didionville

until i get a new one, that is …

but really, the exersaucer mommy and daddy got me is soooooo cool! there is so much to look at … so many things to push and pull and squeeze and (of course) taste!

the seat is really neat because it revolves around the center table, where all the action is. it also rotates in itself, so i can spin around! granted i haven’t yet coordinated my feet and legs with my brain, so i’m not taking advantage of all these opportunities for movement, but once i get my tootsies under control … WATCH OUT!

in the meantime, i am more than thrilled to be in a standing position. I LOVE IT! i am also content to concentrate all of my efforts on the duckie paddleboat. when mommy and daddy pull the fish in the lifeboat, the paddle spins around. it moves. it makes sound. so it makes perfect sense that i would want to touch it and taste it.

and i don’t mean she’s a peach …

my feet are really big (like hers), and last week she was shopping online for booties for me because i keep growing out of everything i have. but she couldn’t bring herself to pay $25 or $30 for shoes/booties that will only fit for a month (if i’m lucky) and that i won’t care about anyway.

so she found a pattern last week and went to the fabric store, and today she made me a pair of booties. (daddy had to help mommy set up the sewing machine, and he had to entertain me and be at my beck and call while she worked.)

lo and behold and against all odds, mommy did it! the shoes actually fit!

so steven and i know we have a pretty rockin’ kid. we are so god-blessedly lucky that he is as healthy and as chill as he is. he’s pretty darn cute, and our friends and family dutifully think so, too.

but i had no idea the power this kid has over complete strangers until yesterday …

chapter 1: at the post office … we had to mail a big box of baby stuff to good friend and currently preggo-with-third-kid-and-first-boy, buffy. and by big box, i mean BIG box: 18×18x18 … it wasn’t heavy, but it was a little unwieldy. i put d-man in one of our baby-wearing carriers and was able to hold the box with both hands. once in the post office, i saw we were the only woman (except for the woman behind the counter) and child, and boy, was didion holding court. all the men in line (six or seven of them) were offering to help with the box. they were smiling and cooing and making faces at the kid. one asked me how old he is; two others commented on how big and tall he is going to be. and didion was turning it on FULL FORCE … smiling and jabbering right back at them all, throwing in some well-timed burrowing and nuzzling of my neck. WHAAAAAAATEVER!

chapter 2: the grocery store … first, there was the old lady in the produce section. then there were the three guys behind the meat counter. then there was the old man who made a special trip down the cereal aisle just to tell me what a well behaved boy i have … and didion really was awesome … lookin’ around, snoozin’ a little (but making sure to wake up and smile to whoever said anything to us), bein’ patient.

i think we got extra attention because i was “wearing” didion, and i think people aren’t used to seeing babies out of strollers or car seats. but i also think we have a kid who is rapidly learning how to “work it” … this was the first time d-man had it turned on for such an extended period of time, and his public was hooked!

(and i am the mommy who is shamelessly saying her kid is pretty freakin’ fabulous.)

Last night, we all watched UCLA play USC in the semifinals of the Pac 10 tournament. We were going to go bed after the first half, but we decided to stick it through and were rewarded with an exciting game. (Though, Didion did excuse himself at the half.)

Unlike the last week’s pre-conference-tournament games, UCLA did not need extreme luck and help from the officials to win. The teamwork was much better; Kevin Love was lights out for about five minutes during the key opening minutes of the 2nd half, and UCLA played effective and deliberate defense. There were examples of the poor play that matched what we saw last week. (For instance, Collison’s 2nd-half “play,” running the shot clock down while standing around, then driving into the lane, leaving his feet with no place to go and dumping the ball to Love for a desperation 25 footer.) Thankfully, such poor judgment was rare. UCLA built a solid lead thanks to Love’s outburst at the start of the 2nd half, but then USC’s OJ Mayo — scoreless during the first 12 minutes of the 2nd half — put on a run to match Kevin Love’s. The game got a little too close for our comfort. In the end, Mayo missed a game-tying shot and we could relatively relax.

We were not only impressed with Kevin Love’s play, but also with his statesmanship. As usual, he did a great job in the post-game interview. He was gracious and diplomatic and complimentary towards USC, especially when talking about fellow freshman phenom OJ Mayo. He also praised his teammates (avoiding — refreshingly — the ubiquitous props to Jesus). His father, Stan Love, a former NBA player, obviously prepared him well for being in the public eye. Interestingly, Stan Love is the brother of the Beach Boys’ Mike Love and cousin of the Wilsons, explaining (according to Leslie) where Kevin’s good looks come from.

Seven hours from now, UCLA meets Stanford in the conference championship game. UCLA was able to make the adjustments necessary to summarily beat Cal on Thursday. Have they made the appropriate adjustments and do they have the lessons from their last meeting with Stanford in focus? We certainly hope so.

so my dad gave me an italian cookbook for christmas. the recipes are simple (which i need right now … sigh …) and really quite tasty. i modify them here and there, like this one …

spinach fettucine with sundried tomatoes and gorgonzola (as usual, this makes a lot … cut it in half and you could still feed 3-4 people.)

start to finish: about a half hour …

1 pkg spinach (about 8 oz. or so) … rinsed and drained

1 cup low-fat or fat-free plain yogurt

1 pint cottage cheese

1 cup crumbled gorgonzola (about 4 ounces)

4 oz. (or so) sundried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and cut into strips (RESERVE THE OIL!)

16 oz. spinach fettucine, cooked and drained

pepper to taste

OPTIONAL: shredded or sliced skinless chicken breasts … i’ve sliced leftover chicken breast from a rotisserie chicken … i’ll also slice chicken breasts i’ve roasted in the oven, seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder, thyme, and olive oil. BUT this recipe is just as hearty without the meat.

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1. wilt the spinach in a large saute pan: put the rinsed spinach in the pan, with only whatever water is left on the leaves from rinsing. cover the pan and cook on the low side of med/low heat until the spinach is wilted. this only takes about five minutes or so. drain and coarsely chop the wilted spinach. set aside. wipe out saute pan.

(1.a.) i’m boiling the water for the pasta while the spinach is wilting, and while the sauce is cooking, i am cooking the fettucine. after i drain the pasta, i put it back in the pot and stir in the oil from the sundried tomatoes. doing this adds extra flavor and keeps the pasta from sticking together.

2. combine yogurt and cottage cheese in a mixing bowl and stir the heck out of it to break down the cottage cheese curds, but don’t break your arm over it. (combine it in a blender if you prefer a super-smooth sauce … i don’t do this because i don’t want to have to clean the blender, and a little texture from the curds is fine with us.) cook it in the saute pan on med/low heat, stirring pretty regularly for about five minutes. turn the heat up a bit and add the crumbled gorgonzola. cook, stirring frequently, until the cheese melts into the sauce … about 5-7 minutes. (it doesn’t have to be perfectly smooth, though. again, we like the texture.)

3. add the chopped, wilted spinach and the sliced sundried tomatoes (and chicken, if applicable) to the sauce. add pepper. stir well to break up the spinach and get everything nicely combined. cook for another five minutes.

4. add the fettucine, coated with the sundried-tomato oil. fold the pasta with the sauce and cook about 3-5 minutes, or until the pasta is heated through.

5. wolf down!

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and a quick note on the sauce … i modified this recipe quite a bit — changing measurements, using oil-packed sundried tomatoes, and adding the spinach and chicken — but one thing i didn’t change was the sauce base of cottage cheese and yogurt. now, i do NOT like cottage cheese, and when i first saw this recipe, i wanted to give it a pass. i mean a cream sauce without the cream? and what about pounds of cheese? … but after seeing (and tasting) the depth of flavor yogurt adds to indian cuisine, i reserved judgment on the cottage cheese issue and took the plunge … how glad i did! now when i think of pasta and cream sauce, i remember i can whip up a sauce base that is quick and healthful.