My Favorite Necklace

As a reviewer for Mommies With Style I often get to research the latest and greatest products on the market. Most of the times the items are great. But recently one took my breath away. I'm working on the review so you'll have to wait for the full post, but let me give you a sneak peek at my absolutely favorite piece of jewelry—a necklace from Magic Dog Studio. This necklace was made by Jennifer Bunt. But it was also made by Ellie. See I gave Jennifer a self portrait Ellie had drawn and she hand-crafted a beautiful silver charm from the picture. Mark my words, Magic Dog Studio is THE place you will go to this holiday season and for all those special occasion gifts to come.

The Bestest Model

We had a nice little photoshoot yesterday to get the last image for the website. Ellie was a terrific little model! She was playful and very patient. Of course, after the shoot we headed over for some ice cream. After working so hard, she definitely deserved a special treat.

Slackin'

So I realized I have been majorly slacking over the course of a couple weeks with delaying getting my posts up. So if you're wondering what Ellie and J-man have been up to on any given day, I'll try to make the posts more timely.

In the meantime, enjoy some of these classic (and completely random) pics...

Science Lessons with Ellie

Ellie: Mommy can you turn on the tv for me. It helps me grown.
Me: Tv does not help you grow.
Ellie: That's what the commercial says.

Thanks Sprout. You're little slogan Let's Grow has had its desired effect.

The Baltimore Museum of Industry

On a warm sunny day a couple weeks ago, the kids and I strolled over to the harbor to take in a museum we'd never been too before. The Baltimore Museum of Industry was very interesting and hands-on. Baltimore has a rich history of being a working town and the Baltimore Museum of Industry highlights it all. From operating a linotype press to sitting in a mock-movie theater surrounded by movie posters of pictures shot in B'more, we found a lot to learn about and do. The museum is best geared toward school-aged children but we had a good time taking in the exhibits. For instance, did you know that Baltimore is the American birthplace of umbrella manufacturing? Fascinating I know. Try to contain yourselves.

So, if you're in the neighborhood (it's on the Federal Hill side of the water) you should check it out. It's situated right on the water and since it's not located on the Harbor promenade you'll most likely have a nice low-key visit. Enjoy!

The First Day

Ellie is off to a new school this year. Going to a drop-off program from a co-op (where the parents are very involved) has been a difficult transition for me. Considering it's only the first week, I may be in for some trouble. I've already had to resist the temptation to email her teacher to get a run-down of everything Ellie did the first day. A minute by mintue log would be nice but I'd settle for one done every quarter hour.

Anyway, I'm sure I'll get over it. Who knows, perhaps I'll learn to embrace the fact that I don't go into her school. Maybe I'll even look forward to not having to work in the classroom with all those rugrats. Oh who am I kidding? I loved participating in the inner workings of the classroom. I marveled at the way Ellie interacted with the other kids and how selectively she choose her activities. I loved their little conversations—how sophisticated they sounded for three-year-olds...

Oh, am I rambling? Ahem, ahem. Well then, let's get to the good stuff...pictures! Here are some from Ellie's first day.

Helmet

You know a kid loves something when he brings it to you and whines to have you put it on him. Jonah walked around much of the day yesterday and a good deal of time this morning wearing this lovely yellow number. Thanks for the hand-me-down sis!









Note the box of raisins in this picture. He doesn't go anywhere without them.

Our Big Guy

I should have realized that our little guy is actually quite a hefty guy. After all, the boy can eat! Lately he's been going through about three boxes of raisins a day* (yes it makes for some very lovely diapers) in addition to constant snacking and meals. Plus he's wearing a size 18 to 24 months very comfortably and his shoe size is only 1 and 1/2 sizes below Ellie's.

So needless to say I wasn't that surprised to find out at his 15 month check-up today that he's in the 95% for height and 75% for weight. Well actually I was surprised. Only 75% for weight?? He definitely feels a lot heavier than that!

*Note the box of raisins in his hands. It's in every picture I've taken over the last couple days. It's this fall's most fabulous accessory—that is according to Jonah at least.

Ellie the Photog

It seems as if Ellie is travelling in her daddy's footsteps. She snapped this picture of Dave with the digital yesterday and I have to say, it's better than some of the ones I take. It's a pretty good shot for a preschooler don't you think? But I have to watch out because before I know it, she'll be asking for her own camera! Let's hope she'll settle for a Hello Kitty instead of a Canon 5D.

Twice Yearly Baby Sale

Run do not walk to your local Old Navy to pick up some great deals on clothes for the kids. All Old Navy baby and toddler clothes are on sale and many are 25% off the lowest ticketed price. Take advantage of their closet cleaning to make way for their winter/holiday wear. Oh geez! Is it that time of year already?

The Naked Chef

I don't often cook anymore. It's not that I don't like cooking, it's just that I get in these funks where I simply don't plan the day well enough and before I know it, it's six and the kids are ready for dinner. That's when I realize I haven't allotted time to actually prepare dinner.

But there was a time when Food Network was my favorite station. A time before my food processor was demoted to dust collector. So in spirit of those times, I'm going to share with you one of our favorite dishes from The Naked Chef. It is absolutely delish and you will certainly be the belle or beau of the kitchen when you whip up this meal.

Chicken Breast Baked in a Bag with Coriander, Chili, Soy Sauce, Lemon Grass and Ginger

Serves 2

2 7oz chicken breasts
a handful of fresh coriander
a thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely sliced
1-2 fresh red chilies, deseeded and finely sliced
2 cloves of garlic finely sliced
2 sticks lemon grass, outer leaves removed, inner ones finely sliced
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 heaped tablespoon of good honey
1 lime, halved

As this is for two people, I'm going to make a large envelope/bag to cook everything in. Using wide tin foil, make your bag by placing two pieces on top of each other (about as big as two shoeboxes in length) folding three sides in and leaving one side open.

Preheat the oven to 425. Mix everything, apart from the lime, together in a bowl, including the chicken. Place in your bag, with all the juice, making sure you don't pierce the foil. Close up the final edge, making sure the bag is tightly sealed and secure on all sides, and carefully slide on to roasting tray. Place on a high heat on a burner for one minute to get the heat going, then bake in the middle of your preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Remove from the oven, place the bag on a big plate, take it to the table and break open the foil. Serve with a squeezing of the lime over the top. Feel free to vary the recipe - things like peppers, spring onions and cooked noodles are fantastic to use.

Okay so there's the dish. Now I'm going to add in some other things we do in our house with this recipe. First, Dave found that running the ingredients (without the chicken of course) through the food processor first helps enhance the flavor further.
Second, we often cut up the chicken into smaller pieces so it cooks a little faster in the oven. Plus it's easier to serve once it's out. Lastly, we love this dish over a nice dish of rice. There's so much flavorful goodness in the juice, which tastes amazing with the sauce.

Enjoy!

Mornings

Got my milk. Got my tv. Yeah, all is right with the world.

Some Days It's Better Not to Leave the House

Yesterday was one of those days you look back on and wonder, why did I get out of bed today? It was a rainy, dreary day. We didn't do very much. Actually, Jonah did nap for 2 1/2 hours so that is something. But Ellie and I mostly just hung out.

After a while the kids were getting antsy and I was getting bored. So we got ourselves ready to go out and grab something to eat. We piled into the car, buckled in and left the neighborhood.

As I was leaving the neighborhood, a very nice lady had left room in a line of cars stopped at a light for me to make a left. Since it was raining I carefully inched forward and kept looking right to make sure I didn't cut anyone off. After all, I wasn't concerned about cars from her direction because she stopped to let me through. However, as I went to make my turn, the lady decided she didn't want to wait anymore and I t-boned her.

Thankfully, it was at a low speed. Thankfully, no one was hurt. She was very nice about the incident.
Me: "I'm so sorry, I thought you were letting me through"
Her: "I know, I know. Don't worry about it. It's okay. Are you okay? Are the babies okay?"
Me: "Yes, we're fine."
Enter here the awkward exchange of insurance information

But now, because I was the one making a left (and I had the stop sign) I am at fault. I mean of course I'm at fault. That's just how my life goes sometimes.

Ugh! I've learned two very valuable lessons through all of this. One: don't rely on the kindness of your fellow driver on the road because they'll just end up screwing you. Two: when it's one of those days, seriously don't get out of bed. And don't try to leave the house. Hunker down and hope for sunnier skies tomorrow.

It's Live!

We don't have a shopping cart yet, but we can take orders through a link on the shopping cart page and accept payments through paypal—incase you were wondering how to get your hands on a little EBK!

Ellie the Gourmet on Pickles

They are sweet and juicy.

The Bridesmaids

How could I have forgotten to throw in a picture of the Bridesmaids? Here we are in the bridal dressing room right before the ceremony. We wore Aria dresses made of red silk chantal. The dresses were gorgeous (it helped to have spectacular bridesmaids to wear them) and the flowers really made a powerful statement next to the gowns.

This is one bridesmaid gown I will definitely keep. I'm thinking of modifying it a bit and giving it a cute little shortened hem. Now all I need is another event to wear it to. Personally, I think it'll make a perfect dress for our next backyard bbq, don't you? After all, being a tad overdressed is basically the new black...oooh, that gives me an idea. I'm going to wear it on my next trip to the grocery store. Naturally, I'll dress it down with a pair of flats instead of heels. I'm mean really, heels to the grocery store? How embarrassing.

Congratulations!

Yesterday, we were lucky enough to participate in one of the most beautiful weddings I have seen. The ceremonies (traditional western and a Thai water pouring ceremony) were beautiful, the flowers divine, the food heavenly and the ball room (where the reception was held) breathtaking. I couldn't think of a more wonderful couple to have such a beautiful wedding. Congrats Nita and Jeff! We wish you many, many years of health, happiness and love.

The Skirt

There's nothing like a brand new skirt to make a girl smile—especially when she's 3 (well almost 4). I designed and constructed this pleated skirt for my little dancing queen. It's made of brown corduroy with hints of chocolate and blue peeking through the pleats. And that my friends makes a good skirt for dancing. Dance away little Ellie. Dance away.

Big Sis, Little Bro

Arts and Crafts Festival

On Sunday, EBK is particpating in its last arts and crafts festival; which is a shame because I think we've finally figured out some of their kinks. Even though it's part of our swan song (bye-bye festivals), we've decided to make the most of it by testing out some of our future product ideas.

But rather than spend the day making items to test, I spent the day breaking in my new sewing machine on a super cute pleated cord skirt for Ellie. It's my first piece of real clothing (her pirate costume from last year doesn't really count because it wouldn't have held up with much wear). And since I don't know how to follow manufacturer's patterns I restorted to making my own. I'll have to post a picture tomorrow and you all can tell me what you think.

Now if only I could figure out something cool for J-man to wear. Too bad I don't know how to make a cool set of lounge pants. Hmmm, maybe we can tackle that tomorrow.

Milestones

Hooray! Jonah has added another word to his repertoire. Now in addition to mama (which he calls Dave too), uh-oh (his favorite word to say 20+ times a day after throwing something), nigh-nigh (for night-night) and no-no-no-no (always in 4s and accompanied by a vigorous head shake), he has added a version of bottle.

So let's recap the last two weeks:

Constantly cranky and trying to bite anyone within a biting distance of my mouth while working on getting my last set of teeth—check

Tempting fate and a trip to the emergency room by learning how to climb onto the couch by myself and then proceding to jump on the couch until mommy comes and takes me off—check

Driving mommy nuts by refusing any help eating with a fork which results in a very messy and painfully long meal 3 to 4 times a day—check

Adding a new word just to mix it up so mommy doesn't go completely crazy with everything else I'm doing—check

Honestly, I'm actually quite frightened about what's to come in the following weeks. Next thing I know I'll go into his room to find that he's climbed out of his crib and repelled down the back of the house using a rope he constructed out of his blankies. Let's be honest here: we all know it's only a matter of time.

The Other EBK Bag

I snapped this shot the other day of our other girl's EBK messenger bag. And just to get you all up to speed: the site is actually done and now we're just looking around for hosting and a company to install the shopping cart. Woo hoo!

Wedding Bells In The Air

One of my closest friends is getting married next weekend. Hooray! We're all extremely happy for her and are anxiously looking forward it!

To help the bride prepare for the upcoming nuptuals, Ellie, Jonah and I tagged along for her final dress fitting at Tysons Corner in Vienna, VA. As one of the bridesmaids, I've been tasked with learning how to bustle everything up and relaying the procedure to all the other bridesmaids. Luckily it's pretty easy. Oh, maybe I should have written some crib notes on my hand or something while it was going on. Too gauche? Ah, don't worry, I think I have it down pat now.

The bride had brought along some jewelry to try on with the dress. She had a couple different options and wanted to settle on the final pieces. Well of course Ellie's eyes lit up when she caught sight of the dazzling sparkles. Graciously the bride let little Ellie try on a little something. Ellie loved the necklace and tiara so much she didn't want to give them back.

While Ellie and the bride tried on jewelry, Jonah sat quietly in the stroller taking it all in. He was very good through it all. What a patient little guy!

After the fitting we grabbed lunch and then hit Pottery Barn. I had $75 in gift cards that I had been hanging onto and since they closed the Baltimore area store a couple years ago (which I'm still fuming mad about), I had to strike while the opportunity presented itself. So I treated myself to a new phone (which is quite beautiful I might add) and a large glass vase that was marked down to $12. Yes!

Oh and if you're wondering where pictures of the bride are in this post, I have them but didn't want to give away the details of the dress. So keep checking back in and I'll be sure to post some next week. Let's just say, she'll look amazing!