New Buddy

Annmarie appears to be adapting well to her new environment with the Nanny and her new little friend. The first day was a bit rough. She didn't want to go down for her nap and then only slept an hour. She normally sleeps 2. But the last two days have been better. I get very detailed reports from the Nanny. You should see these reports, puts my journal to shame. I think she is also adjusting to having a playmate, because she is pretty worn out by the end of the day.

Here is a pic the Nanny sent to me. Let's hope they always play this nice.

Sunday Funday

A lot happened on Sunday!

First, we went out to support Bonnie in running the SF Marathon, which runs right by our home. Look how great she looks at mile 23. She makes running a marathon look like fun. We are all so proud of her, what an accomplishment!
Annmarie flashing her happy face to the runners. She stayed in the stroller for about 5 minutes and then wanted to join the runners. Like father like daughter.
Then Annmarie and I headed to a birthday party for these two darling twin sisters!
The party was at the little gym that Annmarie belongs too. Annmarie got to go on a jet plane.
She also got to bring home this very cute green bag with her name on it as a party favor.
We ended the day with having the Schultz's over for dinner.
Whew....what a day!

Good Times!

Grandma and Papa say Good-Bye to SF

For a little over the past year, we have had the great fortune to have my parents care for Annmarie while Jamie and I go to work. We are so thankful that my parents were able to do this for us. They uprooted their relaxed, quiet, retired lives in Arizona and braved the city streets of San Francisco. Moved into a small studio apartment and lived like they were in college, all for their sweet granddaughter.

My parents by no means are city people. So all the frustrations of dealing with parking, climbing two flights of stairs to get to our loft, the “weirdo’s” of SF, shopping in a city, traffic, etc, etc, is really not their cup of tea. But aside from all of that, they were here to see Annmarie learn to sit, crawl, walk and become who she is today.

Over the past year, my parents and I have had our differences, just as any semi-controlling daughter and parents would have. We argued what to feed her, how to put her to sleep, by no means were they ever going to let Annmarie “cry it out”. But we maintained a balance. And when Annmarie went to one nap a day, I stayed home from work and showed them how it was to be done – period. My parents also had their differences between them, on a few occasions I would hear my Mom say, “If your Dad was around this much with you kids, I think I would have gone crazy”.

So even though we all had some differences, above all that Annmarie was given the best care possible by her adoring grandparents. It made my transition back to the work force that much more bearable and provided me with a much needed peace of mind. My parents also helped out with things around our home, so when we would be out of dish soap, they would be sure to replace it. They also cooked us countless dinners. So Annmarie was not the only one who got spoiled.

But alas the time has come for my parents to return to the unbearably sweltering hot sunny state of Arizona. We have arranged a nanny share for Annmarie with another family in our neighborhood that have a little boy that is 4 months younger than Annmarie. We are feeling good about the arrangement, the nanny has been working for the other family for a while now and their boy is very fond of the nanny. We were able to see this first hand. I think it will be good for Annmarie to have a playmate, while still receiving that one on one attention. And my parents can be just grandparents vs. grandparent and caregiver. That way when I come home form work and find out that they have given Annmarie treats of juice and gelato from Whole Foods, they won’t see my eyes rolling back into my head.

Again, we are so grateful and thankful that my parents turned their lives upside down to do this for us. I know the bonds Annmarie and my parents have created are strong. And it will be sad for all of us to see them leave. I know they will be back often and once it cools down we will make a trip to AZ. Thanks again Mom and Dad!

Annmarie has a cold

Our sweet Annmarie has a cold. It's not too bad of a cold, just the typical runny nose. Doesn't she look sad?
But then I asked her if she could show me her happy face. Not so sad now.
Due to the cold we were home bound for the day. Fun. Not really. We had to cancel on our playdate with the GVZ's. So bummed about that, but this stuff happens with kids.

So we studied geography today. I'm kidding. But Annmarie did find this world atlas in our magazine rack and it's her new favorite book. I think she likes the colors, so that is what we go over.
I also tried showing Annmare where her Uncle Jeff (my brother) is. The place wasn't even on this map its so small. I had to go on the internet to find it. He's in Diego Garcia, which is a very small island somewhere in the Indian Ocean. He'll be there for a couple of more weeks before he goes back....
here....to Okinawa. My brother is in the U.S. Army.
I made some zucchini bread today. I had originally planned on making this and binging it over to the GVZ's. Next time guys.
And hopefully Annmarie kicks this runny nose soon.

Annmarie loves Mike

On Tuesday our good friend Mike from San Diego paid us a visit. Here on business, he joined us for dinner. Jamie and Mike go way back, to like the 3rd grade, they ran track together, went to prom together. Well, they didn’t go together, they had dates. Mike actually went to prom with Aunt Bonnie. That still makes me laugh. Anyway, we love Mike and it was great seeing him.
Annmarie warmed up to Mike right away and Mike had her smiling and laughing in no time.

We went to the Yankee in our hood and enjoyed some good bar food, watched the All-Star game and enjoyed the great weather. It was absolutely gorgeous last night.
Wait a minute is Annmarie standing on the table? Who let’s their kid do that?
And we look forward to seeing Mike again in a couple weeks and this time with Vanessa too! Even better.

Randall Museum

Last week Grandma and Grandpa took Annmarie to the Randall Museum. It looks really cool.

Here are two funny pictures they took.

I have no idea what she is looking at and that expression. But look at all those bees, I'd be scared of those.
This one looks funny with AM in the cage with the rabbits and all the other kids looking in? I hope they are saying nice things to her.

Cooking Club: Summer Celebration

For Saturday's CC recap go - here.

100th Post! The Blog

In honor of our 100th post, I thought I would touch upon the history (all 7 months of it) of the blog. I think it’s fair to say that I have pretty much taken over the blog. Jamie has made some contributions and he will sometimes edit the posts, add a little commentary here and there, but I like to keep him involved, so I like to refer to the blog as “our” blog. Heck, it’s named after him.

Jams’ house started under this simple vision - “This is our attempt to capture the everyday moments that we will want to remember forever”. Awwww. I came up with that. I'm deep like that. Well, I think I actually saw it on some scrapbook stuff I had. I tried scrapbooking and I completed one project and never finished the second, which was our trip to Paris circa 2004. Scrapbooking is just not me. And I’m ok with that. I have moved on. Someday I will figure out what to do with the thousand of photo’s I have on the computer. I regress. Anyway, the statement is simple and that is what I’m, I mean we are trying to accomplish by blogging.

The goal here is the everyday moments. Our ordinary life is being captured and to me that is priceless. Because it’s the everyday things that often get forgotten (getting deep again). A sick baby, fun days at the park, a meal with good friends, a good recipe, a good book, the phenomena known as Twilight (had to get that in there), and for Jamie, a great run. This is the good stuff. It’s this stuff that is shaping our lives. I want to remember this.

I also like taking pictures and I can work on my writing. Something I have never been good or comfortable with. My little voice (and Jamie’s) is being heard (by our 20 or so readers), which at times can be a little scary, but thrilling at the same time. But I am finding it very rewarding. I like this blog thing. A lot.

I also like to think how great it would be to have a blog my grandmother wrote or even my mother. To read simple motherly advice, a recipe, a simple life experience, etc., would be very special to me. Maybe they have a secret diary I don’t know about, but I doubt it.

Reading other blogs plays a role in all of this too. Once in a while I come across a blog that reminds me of how fortunate we are. I have shed tears when I have read about a baby being diagnosed with cancer or of a husband losing his wife after delivering their baby daughter. Their ability to share their stories with us is amazing. I also laugh daily with my friend’s blogs and other mom blogs.

I don’t get too hung up on people leaving comments. They are nice (very nice) to receive, but you can see we don’t get many. I’m ok with that. That’s not why I do this. I am also not worried about our life being out there on the big bad Internet. We tow a fine line with what we put out there and what we choose to keep private.

So with all that said, I encourage anyone and everyone I know to start a blog. Let it out people! Let's hear your voice! Oh, and leave a comment, or don't, either way is fine.

Angela

P.S. So the name – Jams’ house. Jams’ is one of Jamie’s more appropriate nicknames. And since I didn’t take his last name, I thought I would boost his ego a little bit and name the blog after him.

Annmarie's Art

Annmarie's artistic abilities are starting to take form and I think she now understands that we do not eat crayons.
And here I am trying to get artistic with the windows, but AM came out dark. I really need to learn how to use my DSRL camera properly.

Recipe: Mango Salsa

Allison and Molly's Baby Shower

Don't worry this first picture is not from the baby shower, but here is everyone circa 2003 in Germany. And now Molly and Allison are both pregnant with baby number two, another boy for Allison and another girl for Molly. I can still remember them joking about having kids on this trip. Jamie and I were not married, nor were we engaged yet, so the subject of us having kids was a bit scary. But I remember laughing with Allison and Molly as they joked about having kids. And I’ll just leave it at - Worm and Bobble-head. For those of us who know these crazy people (well, their husbands) will understand. The rest of you are safer not to know. Just kidding, it's not that bad, I just don't feel like explaining it.
So on Sunday we traded our liters of beer for English tea and some of us girls got together for a tea party at Lisa’s Tea Treasures to celebrate Allison and Molly. Thanks Vangie for organizing. Their due dates are only three weeks a part.

We indulged in afternoon tea.
Had these delightful tea sandwiches.
And sweets!
Played a few games.
Annmarie even joined the fun. I was a little scared about bringing her, as everything there is so......what's the word - breakable. But she sat patiently in her booster seat as she ate her lunch and I stuffed her with Lisa's cookies.

And I can't wait to take Annmarie here when she is a bit older.

Allison and Molly opened gifts. They got a bunch of cute little outfits and I got them the diapers. :)

What a fun afternoon!

Congratulations Alli and Molly!

4th of July

For the 4th of July we had some good friends over and:

Annmarie sported pigtails.

I made a mango salsa and Bonnie made a strawberry salsa. Take note of the different size portions. So Bonnie.
Cole cooking with the Salad Master, making a enchilada pie.
Lauren and Annmarie reading a raw cookbook.
All sitting down to enjoy dinner. Jamie barbecued chicken and shrimp. I made a pasta salad. Cole made made an enchilada pie. And Anthony supplied the mango margarita's. Yum!


Lauren made this beautiful chocolate cake! Super Yum!
We went up to the roof to try and catch some of fireworks. Note: these are fake fireworks.
The boys. Jamie, Cole (aka Blanket Jackson), Anthony.
The girls!
Good Times!

Happy 4th of July!

Crepes Fines Sucrees

After reading Julie and Julia I was inspired to try and make crepes. I have never made crepes and was ready to try. They were relatively easy. The first three were a disaster, but by the forth one I was happy with the results. I didn't do anything too exciting for the filling just used fresh berries we had in the house. I just wanted to try the crepes out first.
The crepes also looked patriotic with the strawberries, blueberries and white powdered sugar.
Julia Child - Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume One

yield: Makes 10 to 12 crepes 6 inches in diameter, or 16 to 18 crepes 4 to 5 inches in diameter

-3/4 cup cold milk
-3/4 cup cold water
-3 egg yolks
-1 tablespoon granulated sugar
-3 tablespoon orange liqueur, rum, or brandy
-1 cup flour (scooped and leveled)
-5 tablespoon melted butter
-An electric blender
-A rubber scraper
-An iron skillet or a crêpe pan with a 6 1/2- to 7-inch bottom diameter
-2 to 3 tablespoon cooking oil and a pastry brush
-A ladle or measure to hold 3 to 4 tablespoon or 1/4 cup

Place the ingredients in the blender jar in the order in which they are listed. Cover and blend at top speed for 1 minute. If bits of flour adhere to sides of jar, dislodge with a rubber scraper and blend 3 seconds more. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hour or overnight.

Brush the skillet lightly with oil. Set over moderately high heat until the pan is just beginning to smoke.

Immediately remove from heat and, holding handle of pan in your right hand, pour with your left hand a scant 1/4 cup of batter into the middle of the pan. Quickly tilt the pan in all directions to run the batter all over the bottom of the pan in a thin film. (Pour any batter that does not adhere back into your bowl; judge the amount of your next crêpe accordingly.) This whole operation takes but 2 or 3 seconds.

Return the pan to heat for 60 to 80 seconds. Then jerk and toss the pan sharply back and forth and up and down to loosen the crêpe. Lift its edges with a spatula and if the under side is a nice light brown, the crêpe is ready for turning.

Turn the crêpe by using 2 spatulas; or grasp the edges nearest you in your fingers and sweep it up toward you and over again into the pan in a reverse circle; or toss it over by a flip of the pan.

Brown lightly for about 1/2 minute on the other side. This second side is rarely more than a spotty brown, and is always kept as the underneath or nonpublic aspect of the crêpe. As they are done, slide the crêpes onto a rack and let cool several minutes before stacking on a plate. Grease the skillet again, heat to just smoking, and proceed with the rest of the crêpes. Crêpes may be kept warm by covering them with a dish and setting them over simmering water or in a slow oven. Or they may be made several hours in advance and reheated when needed. Crêpes freeze perfectly.)

As soon as you are used to the procedure, you can keep 2 pans going at once, and make 24 crêpes in less than half an hour.

Recipe Found - here