Fun with Pete

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As I mentioned in the previous post, Pete came over on Saturday. Originally it was to cook a meal but we couldn’t figure out what to cook so instead just made ricotta cheesecake (the one I was going to make for the bumblebees). It was fun! The recipe is from Martha Stewart’s baking handbook.

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Pete purees the ricotta.

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I mix the egg whites which I screwed up and got a little bit of egg yolk in there and so would not stiffen.

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Pete whisks the ricotta, egg yolks, flour and salt after I grate in some orange peel
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which I used with the microplane my MIL got me (thanks Mummy! I love it!)
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It’s ready to go in! Without Pete tho!

While we are waiting for it to cook, Pete has fun with Sienna!

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Fun with Uncle Peter from Lisa on Vimeo.

And now the cheesecake is done!

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Pete was making fun of the waffle marks I made while flipping it over. I’m just listening to Martha, she said to use another rack to flip it over!

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Pete is deciding if he likes it or not. And he does! We figured out it tasted more like a custardy orange cake. It was good tho! And it worked out perfectly as he took 3 slices for himself and Nate and Mari for later. I had a slice, Yves had a slice and I took the remaining 2 over to Tammy and Mark on Sunday!

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Pete and Sienna give each other a kiss goodbye. AWWW!!!!

A full weekend part 1

We had a pretty filled weekend! I started and finished 2 projects and am almost done with another one! Peter came over and made ricotta cheesecake with me and I helped Tammy with her baby registry at Buy buy Baby (which is soooo much better than BRU! I wish we knew last year!) So much stuff going on that I will have to make 2 posts about it! Today I’ll show my crafts because I am so proud of myself!

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I’m almost done!! I still have to sew them all together and make the edging. It should be interesting to see it once it’s sewn because not all the squares are completely square! I guess I crochet unevenly. Must be from the muscle I pulled in my right arm from doing all this crocheting! And do you notice the little hand reaching for it? She took all of them (minus the 3 she couldn’t reach) and threw them all on the floor one by one!

And remember the onesie from my MIL that I said I would make into a t-shirt? I did it!!

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It looks great on her!

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The third project is a wristlet I made for Tammy. I was trying to think of something to get for her that is useful and thoughtful. I’ve used this pattern a few times and use the bag I made for myself everyday. I’ve gone through at least 3 different types of diaper bags, all of which I’m not completely satisfied with and the wristlet is very useful in this aspect. I can keep my wallet, keys, tissues, chapstick, etc. all within super easy reach. The diaper bags usually end up getting too stuffed once I put a few of my things in there and who wants to carry an extra purse? So the wristlet is perfect and I thought Tammy would like one. She likes Day of the Dead so I got this fabric online and started it Friday night and finished it Saturday morning. I probably would have finished it Friday night if I didn’t run into a couple of problems!

The pattern calls for one long piece for the outer layer, which essentially gets folded in half. Because of the nature of the fabric, if I did that, the skulls would be upside down on one side. I thought I was being so smart that I realized this before the fact! So I just cut it into 2 pieces and ironed it on the interfacing (which I kept as one long piece) opposite sides. I continued with the bag, did the corners pretty well and then turned it right side out.

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Oops! Forgot about the rough edges! I totally spaced on this because I made another bag with similiar type of fabric and I did not leave any rough edges. I was kinda bummed about having to undo the corners that I tried to be clever and just sewed the bottom without undoing the corners. Did not work out. In the process of this, the needle broke on my machine! A first!

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So it was getting late and Sienna and Yves were waiting for me for dinner so I had to continue this Saturday morning. Plus I had to rip out the seams of the bottom and did that Friday night in front of the tv.

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Fixed! Yay! Tammy loves it!

Happy Leap Day!

Yesterday me and Sienna went to open play at a nearby playgym. It was our first time. For $6 you can hang out in an indoor space for up to 4 hours, us and every other mom/kid in town! Initially it wasn’t so bad. Sienna is still too young to go climbing in the ball pit area but there were lots of mirrors and cushions and balls for her. It started getting more crowded with unruly kids but it wasn’t the kids that annoyed me, it was their parents! For the most part, the parents were keeping a watchful eye on their little ones, especially the one that had a crush on Sienna. She kept following her everywhere and saying how cute she is! I’m glad the mom was close by yelling at her to not touch the baby and not to kiss the baby. But after awhile, she was just getting plain annoying! Sienna didn’t really pay her much attention in the beginning but I guess by the end, she was worn thin and almost kissed her back! Then there was the kid that was running around coughing and not covering his mouth and then the kid snacking with only a quarter of the food getting into her mouth. Uh, hello, where is your mom? Kids snacking on food under signs that said “please no outside food.” HA

Well, I can’t wait for Spring!

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And here is a cute video I took last week. Just leave me a comment and I will send you the password to view!

Maggie Monster from Lisa on Vimeo.

A present from Aunt Natalie

Sienna’s Aunt Natalie sent her an early birthday present. A beautiful hand knit sweater! It’s such a pretty green color and has a cool lizard button on it. Apparently, Aunt Natalie just started taking up knitting last year and has been working on this sweater for some time. I can totally understand that! Knitting is harder than crocheting, which is why I don’t want to venture into it. Aunt Natalie, crocheting is easier and less time consuming! Anyway, she got it last week and I put it on her straightaway but learned that I had it on backwards. The button goes in the back, which is probably a better thing so Sienna doesn’t stick it in her mouth!

So, thanks Aunt Natalie for the beautiful sweater! It fits perfectly!

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And here it is backwards
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Here is also a picture of Sienna wearing a onesie from her Grandma. It says Smile Mon! Jamaica. It’s so cute but it’s a little too short on her. It’s a 12 month size but it’s wide and short. I don’t know what kind of babies they are having in Jamaica but Sienna is lean and tall. LOL. But no worries, I’m going to make it into a t-shirt for her instead!
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Auntie Weekend day 3

Monday was President’s day so Yves had off and we went out to Queens to visit very pregnant Aunt Tammy and Uncle Mark. Of course we stopped off at A.C. Moore (big yarn sale!), Trader Joe’s and the new Michael’s. Can you believe I did not buy anything in Michael’s? The lighting was really dark in there and I think the high ceilings didn’t help make it appealing but it was pretty big. Anyway, they let us gorge on chips and dip and grilled chicken and vegetables. And Tammy made brownies with a coffee icing. YUM! I think it was a pretty successful outting for Sienna as she doesn’t get to visit many other homes. We brought her booster seat so she can sit at the table with us.

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Mark is going to make a fine daddy!

Auntie Sharon

A close friend of my MIL, Auntie Sharon, was in town visiting with Liz and the girls before their big move. They came over for lunch on Sunday and will probably be the last time they are all over for a long time. I know Liz loves my chili so I made that for her and also tried out a new recipe for a lite carrot cake (made into cupcakes). Everything was yummy despite cutting my pointing finger and burning my pinky all on the same hand!

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The next time the 3 of them will be together, they will be soooo much bigger!

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Carrot cupcakes

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Talking to Grandma
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Sienna listens intently to her older cousin’s wisdom.

I let Eli take hold of the digital camera and she took some very nice pictures:elilizblog.jpgelisharonblog.jpgelilivingroomblog.jpgeliskippyblog.jpg

Bumblebee Potluck

Saturday the bumblebees came over for a potluck dinner. Joy brought bratwurst from Milwaukee, salmon caviar and blinis. Ruthie made a delicious Greek orzo salad and DeeDee brought dumplings from Rickshaw. I made deviled eggs. I was going to make a ricotta cheesecake for dessert but since Joy had to leave early, I did not want to risk making it and having more leftovers. I really cannot afford to be eating a whole milk ricotta cheesecake on my own! Joy brought with her the Wii and 2 guitars for Guitar Hero. I never, ever played before but I got the hang of it pretty quickly! It is fun!! It probably is a good thing Joy left early or I might have developed a strong addiction to Guitar Hero. Denise and Ruthie also bought some cute outfits for Sienna and DeeDee also got her a new toy. Thanks guys!!

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Joy & Yves rocking out!

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The ultimate Rock Star!

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Skippy gets some love from Ruthie.

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Pretty clothes for Sienna!

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deviled eggs

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Greek Orzo Salad
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Brats
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Blinis

I swear I thought I took pictures of the dumplings but I guess I didn’t!

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Excited for the toy DeeDee bought for her!

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A hug for Ruthie!

Dim Sum with Sienna!

Monday my parents took us all out to Dim Sum in Brooklyn. We went to Ming Gee. Although cheaper than Golden Unicorn, I found it to be a little bit more greasier. Still good tho! We took Sienna’s booster seat with us and she sat at the table.
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Let the eating begin!

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Sippy cup, chicken feet and dumpling. Perfect Dim Sum plate!

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Enjoying the food
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Hey lady! Over here!

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Did YOU get enough to eat?

Sienna gets cheated at Dim Sum!

Cheated at dim sum from Lisa on Vimeo.

Assorted Cuteness

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Skippy and Sienna gang up on Neo.

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Skippy & Sienna have fun with Grandpa!

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Giants Hat outtake

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Giants Hat outtake 2 (of many). I call this Pope NY Giants!

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Watching the Giants ticker tape parade.

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Wearing the Christmas present from Uncle Kenny.


Please leave me a comment and I’ll send you the password for the video!

Assisted Walking from Lisa on Vimeo. Filmed on 02.03.08

More family fun!

We had the girls over today for lunch. Sylvain has left for France and Yves is still in Palm Springs. Even though we didn’t do any cooking today (besides Mummy making rice pudding), I’m tired!! Having 3 active girls in the house is tiring! It was all great fun tho. We thought it would be fun to order thai food to get the girls ready and it was very good! (But I’m sure it’s better in Thailand!) My parents came over for a little bit to drop off more New Years oranges and we took the opportunity to have a grandparents picture. I took 4 shots and of course, everyone looks different in all of them. I couldn’t decide which one to post so I’m just going to post all 4!
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Here’s a shot of the delicious rice pudding!
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We hooked up with JP, Carol-Anne and Gaby via video conferencing. The only people we were missing this time were Yves and Sylvain!
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Maia and Sienna wanted to touch Uncle Baba and Tata Mouse and cousin Gaby.

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Nana goofs around with her grandpa

Sienna really has fun with her cousins and will really miss them!
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Showing some cousin love! from Lisa on Vimeo.

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