My New Hobby

I stuck to my guns and made dinner tonight. Besides almost amputating my finger "Gourmet Meals for the Family" went off without a hitch. I took a photo of the recipes if you're interested. They are pretty simple to make with few ingredients. Chris sure didn't complain, but I can't really remember the last time I cooked a full meal for him so he's not too hard to please. Maybe once a week I could learn to cook something new. Although my ulterior motive for this new hobby might just be to get Chris to watch Siege for a few hours while I cook stress free.

All by Myself

I think that I sat down to blog about 3 times but got preoccupied with something else each time, so here I am... 5 days later.

I had every intention of returning to the classroom after Siege was born, when I was pregnant that is. I planned to take 12 weeks off and then get back to work, but after Siege was born and I held that tiny body in my arms, I just couldn't.

However, before I had a child, I remembered thinking that a stay-at-home mom gig wouldn't be too bad. I could do all the things I never had time for. Learn how to sew, go to the gym everyday, learn to cook, have dinner on the table each night, etc, etc. But for the first 6 months I was lucky if I could get a shower in each day. Now things are finally getting easier. Siege at 6 months is bliss.

So, I bought a sewing pattern (which I haven't had too much progress on yet), checked out the kids club at the gym (still haven't used it), and I even went to a cooking class.

I check out the groupons on my iphone each day. It's become my second favorite app, next to Facebook. Chris gets golf offers on there all the time, but I had never purchased one. A few weeks back they had a groupon for a cooking class. You could choose from a calendar of about 50 different kinds. I immediately solicited some friends to see if they'd want to try it out. No one wanted to. Just as I was ready to forget about it, I thought oh, I'll just get it and try it out. After all, it's on my "house wife" bucket list.

Last Thursday I remember thinking this could be the biggest waste of time and money. I probably shouldn't have done it. I was really wishing that a friend or two would have taken me up on the offer to join me. So I got in my car and moseyed on over to "Creative Cooking School" all by my lonesome.

As soon as I got there I knew it would be awesome. We all got our aprons on, sat at our food tables, and mingled while we waited for the class to start. I met some really cool people in that 3 hour class, and it made me think, doing things by yourself is kind of cool. It forced me to talk to other ladies, get out of my comfort zone, and I genuinely enjoyed myself.

The name of the class I took was "Budget Gourmet Meals for the Family." I was a little intimidated by the "Gourmet" part, because my bag of cooking tricks is pretty slim to none. I told the chefs when I got there, that I was a BEGINNER, in every sense of the word. The chefs told the class their motto,

"You don't cook, you don't eat."

I immediately volunteered for a job. We all cooked together. Some of us chopped, while others stirred and glazed. We made two main course dishes and a dessert...

- Lemon and Thyme Roasted Chicken with Whole Grain Mustard Spatzel and Glazed Carrots

- Shrimp Scampi with Sauteed Grape Tomatoes and Rice Pilaf

- Strawberries with Sabayon

The food was delicious of course, but what was even more fabulous was getting to hear the quick cooking tips from the Chefs. I learned the proper, easy way, to chop up an onion, chop garlic, chop carrots, what a pinch of salt actually is, how to cut up a whole chicken properly, how to juice a lemon, how to hold a knife the right way, and that adding butter makes everything more delicious. I completely forgot to take pictures of the food while I was their, so when I make the meals for Chris, I'll be sure to post my final product. I think I will start with the Shrimp Scampi and I am setting a goal to make it Friday! There, I've said it on the blog, therefore it shall be done.

The Little Things...

A few little things that have put a smile on my face lately...

1. We got a new TV. Chris got a TV actually, I should say, because I could care less about the new TV. I thought our "old" one was fine (65 inches or something I think). The word "old" is in quotation marks because Chris considers 5 years old, "old" in the world of TV's. We initially thought, maybe we'll put it on Craig's List, and then I thought, you know, we should give it to my dad. He still watches TV on a 32" and he might want a big screen. I didn't think he'd ever had one before. When he came over the house and we offered it to him, he was in shock. His exact words were, "Tracy, this TV is gonna CHANGE MY LIFE!" He has glaucoma and pretty much no vision in his right eye and apparently he couldn't see the words on his TV that well. Today, we went to set up the TV and you would have thought he won the lottery. Since the set up at 4PM he has even called us to let us know, "His life will never be the same." Like I said, I didn't think we needed a new TV, and I even held Chris off from getting it for months because it was unnecessary, but seeing my dad's reaction made me think we should have gotten that TV months ago.

2. Sitting out in the backyard on these great weather days is the best! We got an umbrella so I can just sit outside and watch Siege swing or hold him in my arms. I love that we have our backyard done this spring. We've never had a yard before.

3. My little bubbas is getting so big. Today he reached for my water bottle and tried to hold it up to his mouth. It was the cutest thing ever! Anyone know when I can start giving him water? He acted like he really wanted some water. He's only had his milk, peas (which he loves), green beans (which he hates), rice cereal, barley, and oatmeal. Feeding Siege makes me smile.

4. I was so nervous to be a new mom, because I had never been around babies before mine really. I'm the youngest and had never even changed a diaper. Whenever I'd hold other babies they'd cry and I'd have no clue what to do with them. Everyone told me not to worry, that maternal instinct would kick in, and sure enough it did. It was as if I knew exactly what to do with that baby the moment he came out. I felt like the first few months Siege was glued to me, like nursing made it my sole responsibility to provide for him. I would be the one up all night. I would get Siege when he was fussy. I would change his diaper all the time, because I was more efficient at it. However, when Chris saw that I was going bananas he knew it was time to step it up. So, the joke is, maternal instinct kicks in right away, and paternal instinct... more like 4 months. Lately, Chris has been amazing with Siege. He is the best daddy and husband. He insists that I get time to myself when I need it. He takes night duty every night that he's off and best of all, he just knows what Siege needs. It's awesome.

5. I got a desk for my empty room! I consider it my mother's day gift... you know, for all the blogging I've been doing! :)

Life is good.

Tools are to Men, as Shopping is to Women.

Who knew I married, Chris- The Tool Man- Gifford? I sure didn't at the time. I mean when we were in high school he was known as "Pretty Boy Gifford" who would never get his hands dirty. I married the studier, not the builder. When I thought about our future together I always envisioned us hiring people for the "manly" jobs around the house. And I'm not exaggerating. Three years ago we were driving to meet some friends for golf when Chris drove over the median and blew out his tire. I almost had a panic attack when he told me his dad was out of town. Papa Gifford is the handy man. We called Papa Giff when our water heater broke, when our shower faucet leaked and when we replaced our dishwasher. Well, somewhere along the line Chris must've been spying on all his dad's tricks. Because, Chris built this just a few months ago and I LOVE it.

Now all of a sudden, Home Depot is his favorite store. He is on a first name basis with some of the staff and he can't wait to buy his next tool. Which brings me to my next thought, tools bring men together. Tools are to men, as shopping is to women. I can feel the adrenaline build in the garage as the guys talk about their latest projects. Now whenever I say I want to buy something, Chris' first response is, "No, I'll just build it."

And I have to admit, I really like being married to a handy man.

So, if this whole pharmacy thing doesn't end up panning out, at least we'll have a back up plan.

Nadi Girl Talk

Whenever people come to my house they are greeted, whether they want to be or not, by our big girl Nadi. During my pregnancy my family would always say things like,

“This dog just doesn’t know what’s comin,” or “Nadia- Your days of being the center of attention are coming to end pretty soon!”

Well if my dog could’ve talked she would have said, “Oh, believe me, I’m not letting anyone steal my spotlight!”

Don’t get me wrong, Nadi is great with Siege, she just will not let us leave her out of anything… EVER. And I know my husband loves Siege more than anything, but let’s just say Nadi is his first-born. So despite my attempts to push her aside, or ignore the little princess she continues to remind me that she is more than the family dog, she is Nadia-Spoiled-Girl-Gifford.

This is NOT posed. She seriously just laid next to Siege like that.

Mommy OCD

I was talking to a friend the other day about her baby girl. She was waiting for her little one to hold her bottle on her own. She picked her up from daycare one day and they said she'd been holding it all by herself for weeks! My friend thought, "That little devil! She's been duping us all along!"

So when I got home that night I kept wondering what Siege has been duping me with. I mean let's be real, I'm at his beck and call all day long! He lets out one little peep and I still jump to see what has gone terribly wrong.

And I just did it again, I hear Siege stir, I look over and the sun was in his face. So... mommy to the rescue! I immediately get off my can, shut the shades, and stick the Binky back in his mouth. I have a disease. Will I ever get over that? The thought of "cry it out" makes me want to take a Xanax, but I think I may go insane if I keep this "mommy OCD" behavior up. Any suggestions?

But that whole entire post was to brag about my little bubba's new trick... which makes everything worth it! Check out this big boy!

The Gifford Blog Returns

So.... being a new mom is a lot more time consuming than I imagined. I know that sounds ridiculous, but for some reason I thought having a child would be sort of like getting another dog.

I. Was. Wrong.

It has been the most amazing experience of my life, but it also has been the most challenging. Time just seems to evaporate into thin air. Hence, the lack of blog updates for the last 6 months. These days my favorite things include... stroller walks,

watching my little guy gobble up rice cereal (actually barley is his favorite),

pushing the swing in the backyard, play dates with other stay at home moms, spending time with my super studdly hubby,

and now... blogging. I think that I'm going to start incorporating the blog back into my routine. I figure it would give me some time to relax a bit and wind down.

I have to admit that each day I really count my blessings. Watching my husband study for the past 9 years has finally paid off. We are enjoying every minute of our study-free lives. Speaking of study-free, I graduate with my masters May 15! Even though I will not be returning to the classroom any time soon, I am thrilled to be finished with my degree in administration. I really did learn a lot and met some pretty great people along the way. I'm not sure what the future will hold for me, as far as a career goes, but I'm glad that we're leaving some options open.

Another thing that I love... our new grill! Chris and I have never owned a grill and now that we have one, I just don't know how we ever lived without it. Chris has grilled every night he's been off since we got it. Meat just tastes so much better grilled than it does in the oven, AND no dishes! I know that was kind of random.

So blogger world, I am back.

And who couldn't love those two?