Hanging at Pala Ranch

Gift Wrapping Help - Awesome!

How to tie the perfect bow!

http://www.eddieross.com/eddie_ross/2008/12/all-wapped-up.html

Playing around

We're at Sports Authority playing with balls or as Patrick calls them "baps" while our car's oil is changed and tires rotated.

Proud of dinner

Red chile seafood soup

Thank you Rick Bayless for putting this recipe in your Mexican Everyday cookbook. I just picked it up this weekend at the library and I saw this recipe and it immediately reminded me of the soup I used to get at El Pescador in Del Mar. I had completely forgotten about it until today. Man oh man, was it good. I also was happy to use three new ingredients that I hadn't ever used before. Epazote, chayote squash and guajillo chiles. Patrick liked it too but he only ate the broth and the lime wedges. Sean and I licked our plates clean. I saw that this recipe is online too. Awesome.

This is a perfect end to a great day. We got to meet baby Nate Dinoffria today and spend time with him, his family and our friends. Another great meal too. We got Dilly's and I got to have my Blazing buffalo sandwich. Yum!

Free cute gift tags

http://www.delight.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/delightholidaygifttags.pdf






http://www.livinglocurto.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/locurtochristmastags.pdf

Big Thanksgiving Weekend

We started out the weekend in Tucson with my family. Dinner was so great! We had the usual turkey, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, green beans, stuffing with sausage and celery, pumpkin pie and pecan pie. Yum! We had dinner with the folks above and both my grandmothers, Nana and Grandma Jo. Patrick had a lot of fun but he was not feeling so well. :( He hadn't been sleeping at night (hardly at all!) due to teething. So, we had fun during the day and then a marathon of trying to sleep at night.

We mustered enough energy to go to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum on Friday. Patrick really enjoyed touching the ground squirrel through the plexiglass. We also got to see an otter, a beaver, some scorpions and snakes. Usual desert stuff. It's a great museum that is sort of like a zoo and botanical gardens mixed together with a bit of history thrown in for fun. It got a bit chilly and Patrick was "all done" after about 2 hours. He used his hand signs to tell us he was ready by shaking his right hand left and right.

Then Saturday we packed up and drove up to Mt. Lemmon to check out the snow. This was Patrick's first time seeing snow. We hadn't planned on going up there so we dressed Patrick in 2 shirts, a fleece jacket and his fleece/nylon vest. I think he was warm enough, especially since we had brought some hot chocolate with us in a really old looking thermos. How old is that thermos, Mom?

As usual, we have all the pictures loaded on our web album. So, go here and scroll down to the bottom if you want to see all that snow and a few more pictures.

We headed home once we got home from Mt. Lemmon at chowing down on the Burrito Bandito at Paco's Tacos. They serve a chile relleno in a burrito stuffed with beans rice and enchilada sauce. It's wonderful but I did have heartburn later that night. :(

We raced home to get ready to visit with Sean's friend Jerry from elementary school. He had brought his girlfriend Christina home to meet the family. It was really fun to see them. I made tomato soup and grilled cheese. Not too fancy but I think we all liked it after all the heavy eating this weekend.

Then earlier this afternoon we headed over to Sean's sister Katy's house to visit with the whole family. We'd gotten together to celebrate cousin Ryan's 4th birthday. Happy Birthday Ryan.

Here we are above. Back row: Uncle Jim, Grandma GG, Aunt Vicki, Nana Cyndy, Uncle Connor's girlfriend Abby, Me. Front Row: Uncle Todd, Cousin Ryan (Birthday Boy!), Cousin Emily, Aunt Katy, Cousin Jacob, Uncle Connor, Dada/Sean, Patrick, Shooter the dog.

Ryan got lots of loot and we had a great cake and lots of fun.

Thanks and love to all the families for such a great weekend!!!

Hike, Schnepf, Matchy and Mac

Patrick and I went on a quick little hike yesterday. We went to the Piestewa Peak Nature Trail. It was very nice. The weather was nice, the walk was nice, the snack was nice. It was very fun. I think I'd like to rent one of these ramadas for a party someday. Or if we were having Thanksgiving here, that'd be cool.

So, I totally forgot to blog or post pictures from when we went to Schnepf Farms with Chris, Beth and Wes November 1st. So, here are a few, in no particular order. If you want to see them all go here.

Here's a cute pic where Daddy dressed himself and I dressed Patrick in almost the same outfit, it wasn't on purpose, totally coincidence. So, we had to take a picture.

And this is my fabulous new idea. I have been freezing meals for Patrick in a silicone muffin tray. I am pretty excited about it. There are so many new frozen health meals for kids out there. I thought I would make my own. I have really enjoyed the Deceptively Delicious cookbook. This is the mac and cheese recipe - the one with squash not beans (I added some dried mustard and nutmeg to the sauce, and cauliflower florets, green beans and cannelini beans to the mix). Patrick loves it and I don't have to stress in the kitchen if he's hungry and doesn't want to wait for me to cook. I just pop a frozen muffin meal in a microwave safe bowl, cover with plastic or an upside down plate and cook for 2 min, mix and serve. So easy!

Cruisin' the aisles

Chillin'

The homemade sandbox

Say cheese!

Humming and the red cup

He's humming walking around the backyard collecting things in a red
cup this afternoon. He shakes the cup periodically to hear the rocks
rattle around.

He has beensuch a good boy today. We went to lunch with my friend
Mary at Olive and Ivy today and he sat quietly the whole time. I
think it was the nice weather (we sat outside) and the ambiant trance
electronic music. It's a little hypnotizing.

Future rocker

I like chocolate pudding

If you dig coupons...

My friend Camille has shown me the way in the world of coupons. The best thing that she's shared is this website: http://www.pinchingyourpennies.com/

It's awesome! Click on "screaming deals by state" and see where there are things for free or very cheap with coupons.

The key I think is to get the Sunday paper (look for a $1 Sunday paper coupon - if you don't already get the paper) and then keep all the ads and store them in a nice way by date.

Go on that website and match up what you want (your shopping list) with the coupons you've saved and the grocery stores that are offering the best deals and voila! Savings galore.

I've only been saving the coupons in an organized fashion for the last 3 weeks or so but I'm excited for all the savings to come.

For those of you who have time, Bashas' is doubling coupons up to and including $1 through today so check the website and print some of the printable coupons and good luck!!

Thanks Camille!!!!!!

Adorable at Daddy's Office

Halloween 2008

Sean was his office costume party winner bringing home 100 bucks. Yay Sean/Daddy! If you don't already know what he is, he's Bender from Futurama.

We were afraid that Patrick would be afraid but he knew it was "Dada." He's been saying Dada a lot these days. The way he pronounces Dada is sort of like the Police song "De do do do, de da da da." The Da da's at the end is what it sounds like. So adorable!

Here's our little lion at his first house trick-or-treating. He didn't do much roaring or say "trick-or-treat" but he did do a great job walking up to the houses. We are so happy to live near a great trick-or-treating spot. Our friend Liz mentioned that her in-laws live on Wagon Wheel and that they close off the street and really make it a special event. Well, she was right and we were so warmly welcomed into the world of trick-or-treating. Nana Cyndy, and cousins Jacob, Ryan and Emily (who were a skeleton, Buzz Lightyear and a pricess, respectively) came to eat pizza and go trick-or-treating with us. It was a great Halloween!!

__________________________________________________

Here is a video of our pre-Halloween practice trying on the costume and roaring. You can barely hear it (turn up your volume) but he does roar at the end.

And, as always, check out all the pictures we post on the Woods Family Photo Album. I usually only pick some of the best to be featured on the blog. Here is the October album that includes the other pictures from Halloween.

Let's all go to the movies...

So, we tried to go to our first movie this week. Patrick and I went to the Beverly Hills Chihuahua movie in the middle of the day at Esplanade. I should have known that it wouldn't go well since he's "Mister Explorer" right now. We were the only ones in the theater (yay!) until an older couple came in (boo!). So, I decided to leave when he screamed for the 3rd time. Oh well...the movie hadn't even started. At least we were able to get our money back.

On a happier note, we found the coolest kid house on craigslist. We headed out to Peoria on Sunday to grab this awesome fort/house.

Can you see the fireplace molded into the wall? So cool!

I think Sean and the pets and I like it more than Patrick right now but I'm sure that will change when he gets into more pretend-type playing.

Here's a video from today's lunch. Sean and I tried and tried to get Patrick to eat the chicken but it was all sauce...with maybe one bite of chicken.

And then this afternoon after having fun at the Railroad park in Scottsdale with Beth, Wes, Camille, Rachel, Sam and Lydia (sorry no pictures, wasn't thinking), and lunch with Daddy, we went to the Children's Museum for an hour to meet up with Patrick's friend Murphy and his mom Kim from our music class. They had a blast. Patrick really liked scooping the lentils/split peas and rice. Wow, we had a big day!

Celebrity Sightings

It's been a good week/weekend so far, Sean's Mom, Nana Cyndy had a birthday today (Happy Birthday Nana!), Sean has shaved off his beard and Patrick is healing well from a hot Cream of Wheat accident :(.

We can't wait for the weather to cool off - it was something like 95 degrees this weekend. Ick. Let's all sing it: "Heat Heat, Go Away, Come Again Another Day..."

For the celebrity news, I worked the Edible Phoenix booth for the Eats3 event this weekend in Scottsdale. I got to meet Stephanie from Top Chef, and get autographs from her and Chef Ming Tsai (his is the blue ink - for Blue Ginger - I think). Jacques Pepin was there and the food was awesome. I'm always so glad that Mosaic makes their Thai Shrimp Soup, it's one of my favorite soups. I've only had teeny tiny bowls of it at these food shows but it's really really tasty.

For more about the show, see Michele Laudig's post on Chow Bella.

Hot Diggety Dog

We have a walker! He is so cute and walks around with his hands up in the air. He can make probably 20 steps without falling right now. Great Job Patrick!

Sean suggested hot dogs this weekend so we made it to two great joints. First was the southeast parking lot of Mountain View and 19th Ave, where we got some Nogales Hot Dogs, here's a link to another family's spot in Phoenix. It was our first and will definitely not be our last. They bake bacon around a hot dog and fill it with pinto beans, sour cream, guacamole, tomatoes, mushrooms, cheese and hot sauce. I know, can you imagine? It was great...

Patrick is watching the crazy mexican tv where people dress up in costumes. They set a tv with rabbit ears along with some plastic tables and chairs as part of their set up.

Then today we went out to Tempe to Ted's Hot Dogs. Here they charbroil their dogs so they are nice and blistery and black. Also very yum. Patrick liked his with relish.

I got to have fun with a girls night out (or in as we did) on Saturday. We spent hours chatting and gabbing and it was great.

We are continuing to have fun at music class. Patrick really gets into it and dances and sings and just loves it.

More posts to come...

Cute, Not so Cute, and Very Cute

Sean and his mom at his Birthday Make your own Chicago Dog Party from last weekend.

Sean's ugly but tasty Pineapple Upside Down Cake with Sprinkles and 3 candles. One for each decade.

And this is from tonght's bath. Waaaay too cute!

Patrick Stat Updates and a Tomato hornworm that looks like a dog

So, I found this freaky thing on my eggplant plant last week. Yuck. It had eated all but a small amount of the leaves off the plant. Funny, it's called a tomato hornworm but it was on my eggplant. I guess it was headed to the tomato next. I took a picture before it went to bug heaven.

Patrick had his 15 month check up this last week. He's doing very well.

Weight: 22 lb 13 oz (25%)
Length: 31 3/4" (70%)
Head: 19 1/4" (85%)

He's just about to walk. He's been standing on his own and just today he is standing and taking a few steps to the couch. Oh boy! We did get him some real outdoor shoes last week at Stride Rite. He's a 6 M. They are really cute there and take a picture for you for your "first shoe experience."

He's saying more and more everyday. He likes to say "I did it" even when you accomplish something wonderful. He also claps at the end of songs he likes. He dances a lot. He likes to roll around on the floor. He can do the "so big" arm up in the air game. He likes to throw his hands up in the air while on his knees and then growl and flop on the ground.

We missed the Music Together class this week since I got a relapse of the cold. I was in bed whenever Patrick was in bed all day Monday. I have been sick for 2 weeks now and I'm just tired of it now. Please go away cold. Pretty please.

I'm trying to get the nerve to cut Patrick's hair myself. I'm determined to do it for some reason. I really like feeling resourceful nowadays and I think it can't be that hard. I'm trying to decide whether to use the long setting on Sean's buzz cutters or the old fashioned blunt scissors and comb. There are a lot of "how to" videos on You Tube that I have been watching. I hope I get the courage soon and it turns out okay.

I have signed up for my online driving school. While on the way to San Diego for the second trip last month, I got a speeding ticket in Wellton. Look out San Diego vacation travelers. I'm able to take the 5 1/2 hr class online but you have to go to a place to take the test. I'm able to do that at the Kinkos on Camelback. So that makes it pretty easy. Not happy about having to do all this though. Should've done cruise control.

I noticed that my kitchen is sort of starting to smell like Nana's kitchen - probably just for this weekend. It has the faint smells of bacon, coffee, cake and roasted meat. I would like to say that it is because I have been cooking such wonderful food. But I can only take credit for the bacon - and only turkey bacon not real bacon. Sean and I have been feeling yucky again today and have done mostly pick up food. Boston Market rounded out the Nana smells and I like it. I just wish I had a colorful cut glass dish of Almond Roca or mini Snickers out in the hallway...then it'd be perfect.

It's starting to look like Halloween...

Patrick has been helping me in the garden, getting nice and dirty in the process.

I finally started getting holiday decorations. I figured that Patrick is now able to enjoy it, so I might as well start. Here's the first attempt at looking Halloweeny.


I also picked up a cute little sign for the front door and planted a few sweet potato vines in the urn. There are 2 shades of green and then two deep purple plants planted in there. Very fall-looking even though it's still over 100 degrees these days.


We stopped by the mall rides on our way out of Costco yesterday. Patrick thought it was pretty fun. He is looking so big!


So far we've had a low key weekend with Sean getting sick (poor baby!) and needing to study for midterms soon. Yuck! Also, if you didn't know about the knee update, he got a second opinion. While there are still things to be checked on, he is probably going to have to have surgery on his miniscus and ACL. The doctor experience was a heckuva lot better this time around. Thanks Dr. Chick!

I wanted to mention a few great flicks I've seen on Netflix. The Up Series was just awesome. It's a project of an English documentary maker where he's followed a handful of children (now adults) throughout their lives every seven years starting at age seven. This started in the sixties and there are still more movies planned. It think the next is for 2010 or so and the children will now be in their sixties. You have to check it out - it's really amazing to watch. Also, Outsourced is great. It was entertaining but really was pertinent for these times.

Check out this incredible photographers blog from San Francisco. There are the most incredible pictures of their kids on there. Just beautiful. I would love to learn to take pictures like this. I know there is a lot of photoshopping going on and I think I love that. It makes them all look so fantastical.

The Second San Diego Trip

We had a great weekend driving over Friday to meet my parents at Campland on the Bay in "the Prowler" which is their 5th wheel travel trailer. We had surf and turf bbq'd at the campsite and then went to bed pretty early since we were sleeping in the upstairs part of the camper and had to be locked in with the baby so that he wouldn't crawl out in the middle of the night.

We took our time in the morning Saturday with breakfast and even let Patrick take a little nap that morning before we ate at Point Loma Seafoods for lunch and then headed to the World Famous San Diego Zoo. The zoo was perfect, we rode all the rides (the tram and the skyway) to view the animals - it was more fun and was easier on Sean's knee. Then we walked around the children's zoo with Patrick in Grandpa's baby backpack.


After the zoo we headed back to the camper and washed the little guy in the shower/bath.

Then Sunday we went to the La Jolla Shores Beach. I think this is the best baby beach. There are great bathrooms and lots of sand and low key waves. It was overcast and even a little chilly! Wow - that's a new feeling!

Then just before we left on Monday we went to Seaport Village for a carousel ride. We happened to run into my mom's childhood friend (who also lives in Phoenix) at the same restaurant! What a small world. We had a great time and look forward to the next trip!