Sammie and I

Samantha and I have been enjoying our last days of just the two of us. We went to the zoo together on Monday and have gone to breakfast at our favorite coffee shop, The Daily Grind, two days in row. And since we couldn't be outside today because of the rain, we went to a Yellow Bird Music class and it happened to be a Valentines Day party. Tomorrow she is going to come with me to my hair appointment, that should be interesting! :)

Oh and she keeps telling me that the new baby is going to come live with us on Saturday. Does she know something I don't???

This is the only smile I can get out of her lately.

Baked Vegetable Lasagna

Lasagna can be a bit labor intensive but the good thing is that you can prep it ahead of time, assemble and bake later. Plus, it freezes really well. And if you are pressed for time, try the "no-boil" lasagna noodles and use a store bought marinara sauce - I am sure no one will know :)

I made this lasagna the other night for a large group and it turned out pretty well. The bell peppers and crushed red pepper add some spiciness and the addition of tofu makes it feel lighter than some of the heavy cheese lasagnas that I have made.

From Cooking Light

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 piece)

Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 cup chopped white onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 (14-ounce) package water-packed firm tofu, drained
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
3 cups finely chopped red bell pepper (about 2 medium)
2 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced (about 3 cups)
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
Cooking spray
12 cooked lasagna noodles
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 375°.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add white onion; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute or until golden. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, sugar, 1/8 teaspoon black pepper, crushed red pepper, and tomatoes. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 15 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat; stir in basil and oregano. Cool.

3. Combine ricotta, Parmigiano-Reggiano, tofu, egg, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a food processor; process for 10 seconds or until blended. Stir in green onions. Set aside.

4. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper, zucchini, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt to pan; sauté 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender and liquid evaporates. Remove from heat; stir in parsley and remaining 1/8 teaspoon black pepper.

5. Spread 1/2 cup tomato mixture in the bottom of a 13 x 9–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray; top with 3 noodles. Spread 3/4 cup tomato mixture over noodles; top with 1 cup tofu mixture and 1 cup zucchini mixture. Repeat layers twice, ending with noodles. Spread remaining 3/4 cup tomato mixture over top. Bake at 375° for 35 minutes or until bubbly; top with mozzarella cheese. Bake an additional 5 minutes or until cheese melts. Let stand 10 minutes.

The Perks of Having a Daughter

I have to be honest, I have been very neglectful when it comes to keeping my toes nice and pedicured lately. It has to do with a combination of things but mainly it is because I am constantly in Uggs, the only shoes that fit my pregnant feet, and the fact that I can't see my toes because of my belly. Oh and one other major factor is finding the time to go since I need to find a time/day when Samantha is with a babysitter or with Daddy.

Samantha has been getting weekly manicures from Dancing Grandma so I thought I would take a chance and take her to the nail shop to see if she would be up for getting a manicure/pedicure along with me.

She was a little hesitant at first but as soon as she got the hang of the massage chair and realized she could watch "Oprah" on the big flat screen, she was sold!

I am thrilled that it went so well since my swollen feet will soon be disappearing and now we can add this to the list of fun things we do together. Plus, the new baby can join us. I used to take Samantha with me when she was a baby up until she was about 6 months old. She used to just sleep in her car seat next to me.

And not to sound totally cheesy but it was really one of those Mother/Daughter moments that really was special.

Look at my little princess:

Getting the hang of the massage chair

She insisted we bring in our Chanel nail polish from home (okay, that was Mommy's idea)

She went with Chanel color #367 Trapeze

This is the face I get when I ask her to say, "Cheese"

Walking out of the salon with her "spa shoes"

The last you will be seeing of my swollen feet very soon...........

Not Too Much Longer

90% of your pregnancy has passed, there is 10% left to go

This was the subject of an email I got from one of those pregnancy websites.

Two things I will not miss hearing people say to me:

"You are for sure having a boy, you are carrying so low!" or "I can tell it is a girl, just by looking at you!" Seriously, you sound ridiculous.

and

"Oh dear, you are going to have your hands full with a 2 year old AND a newborn!" No kidding.......The reality is, I have my hands full with just a 2 year old.

I am so ready to have this baby. This third trimester has flown by but nights are a bit difficult with pretty intense Braxton Hicks contractions, ridiculously painful heartburn and insomnia. I would rather be up at night with the baby than by myself, at least I would have company. And as soon as I put my head down on my pillow to go to sleep, I can't breathe. I become instantly congested. And I think I am up to 4 trips a night to the bathroom.

The part I love about being pregnant is watching and feeling the baby move. It is such an indescribable feeling. At this point in the pregnancy you can actually see what looks like either a foot or a hand jabbing me at times.

We see the doctor weekly now and tomorrow she will be checking my fluid levels and blood pressure to make sure I am not heading towards an early induction like I had to have with Samantha. I am really hoping I do not have to be induced. I have visions of another 36 hour labor that scare me.

In more positive news, we successfully cleaned out our garage and got out all the baby stuff that we saved. We ordered a new infant car seat and bought a box of newborn diapers, which by the way, are so tiny compared to the Size 4 diapers that Samantha was last in, they fit in the palm of my hand! The bassinet is all set up, newborn clothes washed (if it is a boy, he is going to look awfully cute in pink), bottles, sling, baby carrier, breast pump, pacifiers, swaddle blankets....it's all ready to go!

We would not have been able to get any of this done if it weren't for Todd's parents so graciously taking Samantha overnight for us this past weekend. Samantha came home with new toys, new clothes, new shoes, a new book and a new manicure. Spoiled?!

Here are some pics:

Matching Outfits :)

And I thought I would throw these cute pictures in of Samantha. We had such a great day Monday going out to lunch and then to the beach. She has really been into posing lately and showing me her dance moves and singing. I think we are just about ready to sign her up for dance lessons or gymnastics. She is quite the little performer. I wonder where she gets it from? :)

So now we just wait....... Any predictions on the sex of the baby and birthday (actual due date is 2/28)?

Here is my guess: 2/17 and a Girl

Todd's guess: 2/18 and a Girl

Weekend with Connor and Zuki

This weekend we watched Connor and Zuki while his parents were getting a well deserved break at the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa. While they were relaxing by the heated pool and getting spa treatments, we were up to our ears in toddler tantrums. JOKING! They actually were really good. We realized after day 1 that naps and bedtime were going to be a bit difficult but other than that, they were great.

I decided the first day to let them nap in the same room because when I tried to separate them they were both hysterical. They were like kids at a slumber party chatting away for over an hour. I listened to them on the monitor saying things like:

"Do you like orange? I like the color orange"

"Mantha, shhhhhh, be quiet, I'm resting"

"Connor, you there?"

"I'm a dinosaur, roarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!"

"You tired? I not tired. No nap"

And then when I would go in the room they both would pretend to be asleep.

Poor little Zuki had just had surgery to remove a cancerous tumor on his face. We are so happy he is going to be okay. Lollipop took it easy on Zuki this weekend and didn't play too rough and Samantha helped nurse Zuki back to health by hand feeding him because his cone made it difficult for him to eat.

All bundled up and ready to go out for pizza and pasta.

Cheese!!!!!!!


They both insisted on taking flashlights to the restaurant.

We told them they couldn't play video games until they finished dinner


Connor finally started to shovel it in once he realized that we were serious.

At what age do they realize they aren't really playing and start asking for quarters?

Who wants icecream?!

Getting ready for bed or at least we thought they were ready for bed :)

Book Club

I belong to a Book Club with a group of wonderful ladies. About every 6 weeks we meet to discuss the chosen book, eat yummy food, drink good wine and mainly socialize. I would say that 5% of the meeting is talking about the book while the other 95% of the time is spent catching up, sharing stories and laughing about the silly things our children do.

It was my turn to host the meeting and the book we read was "Sarah's Key". The majority of the group gave it two thumbs up. I really enjoyed it, but I warn you, it is not a very uplifting book, not many stories about the holocaust are.

With some menu planning help from my ultra-talented friend Holley (who should write a book on entertaining), I made a variety of tapa's which included: 3 Cheese Mini-Mac Bites, Roasted Shrimp Cocktail, Caesar Salad Spears, Spinach-Artichoke Dip and Miniature Stuffed Potatoes. Later in the evening we devoured 3 desserts that other's brought to share: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, Chocolate Cake and Brownies. And I would say that not much wine was drank this time around because there were 6 ladies who are expecting their 2nd child.

Here are some pics from the evening:

Don't let this picture fool you. While it may seem like Kristin is expressing her point of view on the book, she is really just telling us the birth story of her newest addition, Baby Maritt. We were all listening intently, especially those of us who are expecting, hoping to hear that the 2nd time around is much easier than the 1st :)

Random Samantha Post

Samantha is 35 inches tall.

I have been meaning to measure her since she turned 2 because we weren't able to get her measured at her 2 year check-up.

Samantha is very close to being fully potty trained!

She has been out of diapers for almost a month now. We ditched the little potty and she prefers the new potty seat we got her that she can put on the big potty. She can take herself to the bathroom and do the whole routine. She is great about telling us or whomever is watching her that she has to go and has adjusted really well to using any bathroom. We are just waiting for her to wake up in the morning and from her naps consistently dry and then we will ditch the pull-ups altogether.

Samantha is about to be a big sister!

Has anyone else noticed the pregnancy countdown on the right side of this blog? Todd and I have a date with the garage next weekend to get out the bassinet, bottles, baby clothes, baby toys..........