Ah! The Beach!

This past week my parents joined us in Seaside, Florida for a little R&R at the beach! I love the warm, salty air and the feeling of sand between my toes! It was so great just to be back at this beautiful location. I've never visited the Caribbean, but I can't imagine that it is any more turquoise than the water here. This was Georgia's first major trip and for a 22 month old she handled it swimmingly. I am glad to have had my parents handy, it made everything much, much easier.

This is my sexy "I'm at the beach" pose. Someone mentioned it looks very similar to Blue Steel made famous by Zoolander.

Here is the charming street that our cottage was located on. I didn't take a picture of the house, which is lamentable because it was so perfectly beachy and relaxing.

Scared of sunburn? Not this jolly gang of vacationers!

Georgia had no qualms about jumping right into the sand. She stuck her toes and fingers in willingly. See that crystaline water in the background? Oh I miss it already!

Rodolfo whipped up some delicious paella for all of us to enjoy. He just felt inspired one day and told me that he wanted to make some. Rodolfo must have some terrific chef genes because this stuff tasted fantastic! I was very impressed and am making a note to self to have him do some more cooking very soon.

Georgia got a real kick out of sunglasses. I had about a bazillion shots to sort through. These are some, but not all, of my favorite sunglass moments.

Here is the very last picture my camera took before it ran out of batteries. This was taken on our last evening in Seaside. We had so much fun and can't wait to return!

Say Cheese!

Above is a picture of my cutie saying "CHEESE" by the hydrangeas that are now blooming (my favorite flower). Below is a picture of Georgia singing a song. Doesn't she look adorable?

Lark

Georgia has surprised me lately with very clear pronunciation of certain words. She says "tent" and "tv" with crisp, high octave distinction. I think these are two items she is thrilled to have in her life. Every day for the past couple of weeks she has piled stuffed animals and blankets in her tent and then goes in there with 3-5 books. She is very busy about this whole process and does it with bee-like efficiency. Once in the tent she carefully places the blankets on her stuffed animals and gives them kisses. Sometimes she walks in and out telling them "good night". After she has arranged matters to her liking she snuggles in the middle of them all and reads her books like a dedicated and serious student. I have been quite surprised at her concentration levels. She can sit in there for about 30 minutes, pouring over the pages. She enjoys looking at the pictures, but sometimes I hear her trying to recount the stories in her own baby way. Georgia's other current passion, besides these books are slides, of course, and Elmo. She races to the tv when I ask her if she wants to watch Elmo. For the longest timeI had her watching Clifford the Big Red Dog, which has a lot of good morals to it, but I've decided that Sesame Street is more educational so that is what she watches now. Other talking news, Georgia strings together 2 - 3 words in a mushy sort of adorable way. Example "mow agua psheese" really "more agua please" and a really funny one to hear, "goo bo Walsy" which is really "good boy Wally". Lately she has also been singing along to songs. Current favorites are Happy Birthday Max (we recently went to Max's 2nd birthday party), E-I-E-I-O, Aye, aye aye cante y no llores, and Ashley's song (I love you, you love me...). At night I sing to her 3 songs before she goes to bed. They are Rain Drops on Roses, The Sound of Music and Amazing Grace. When I sing Amazing Grace she loves to belt out the ME part of "... that saved a wretch like me..." and RELIEVED in the second verse "... and grace my fears RELIEVED..." Oh, also we both really like the songs on the OETA show "It's a Big, Big World". Just yesterday I discovered that if you go to their website http://www.pbskids.org/ and click on this particular show you can listen to all the songs for free. We listened to them all throughout dinner last night. It was highly entertaining.

Talking

After breakfast this morning Georgia and I practiced saying some words. Here she is... drum roll please...

Halo

Dear Georgia,

You have been the sweetest person to hang out with lately. I have enjoyed running through sprinklers with you, going down slides, hunting for tennis shoes, pushing strollers, popping bubbles, eating blueberries and apples with peanut butter and watching Elmo with you. Our recent trips to the zoo have been very fun as well, but recounting the gorilla story is almost just as fun! You are really a wonderful daughter and I am so happy to be your mother. Kisses you angel!

Mother Nature Responds

Well, I have told you now about our neighbor, Mother Nature. Saturday I started feeling pretty guilty about snatching the Iris and so I decided to give her a Mother's Day gift to appease my conscience. It wasn't 5 minutes after I gave her the gift that she asked if I would like any plants from her yard. She mentioned the Irises that I admire so much. I politely declined but she insisted that I have something. So, reluctantly (ok thrilled to the bone might be a better adjective) I accepted her offer. I figured she would give me one or two irises, but instead she gave me what I'd like to call a bushel (see photo). Then on top of all of that she handed me a peony in a pot and told me to plant it soon. Can you believe it!?! What a kind and generous woman. I have since planted the irises by a tree outside (see photo) and am trying to decide where exactly to plant the peony.

Midnight Flower Snatcher

It is the month of MAY!!! My favorite month of the year. It is when roses bloom, the air is warm (not hot) and the sky is clear blue. I love this month! And perhaps it stirs within me a slightly rebel spirit because, well, I have a confession to make. Last night, in the cover of darkness, I walked down the street with my pruners and snatched a few flowers from some blossoming gardens. Yes, it is rather criminal of me, but I don't think anyone will notice. My first snatch was 2 peonies that grow in an abandoned corner by someone's garage. There are at least 30-40 blooms in that peony patch and for the past 4 years I have watched them bloom, shine and fade wishing I could saveur them up close. It doesn't seem that anyone ever does anything with them, and so they were just crying out to be admired and appreciated. Then, after plucking the peonies I quickly snipped one delicate light blue iris from the garden of my neighbor who I affectionately call Mother Nature. She has tons (and when I say tons I mean around 400-500) Irises growing right along the street. In addition to these beauties she has countless azaleas, roses, hydrangeas, fig trees, magnolia trees, mint, clematis, easter lilies, redbuds, bouganvillia, ivy, gardenias, etc., etc, etc, ad. infinitum growing all around her house. I am hoping that she will not notice either, although perhaps since she loves flowers so much she will indeed notice. Rodolfo and I were joking that because she is so highly attuned to her flowers that she will be able to deduce from the snip that it occured last night at 9:30 PM with felco pruners from the hand of another gardner. Oh I hope not! If she figures it out I will offer her some clippings from my rose bushes. Above is a picture of these flowers along with some red roses from our garden here in the backyard. Now, not only myself but you too can admire the beauty of these blooms. Below is a video of Gigi smelling these flowers. Hooray for May!

5K Run Completed!

Yea!!!! Rodolfo and I woke up bright and early this morning (5:30 AM) and went downtown to join 16,000 other people running the OKC Memorial Marathon. We participated in the 5K run and completed it without having to stop to walk (my first time to run this far since before I was pregnant... I know it has been a while!)! I'm so glad that we did this event. Every year we see the runners pass by on Classen Blvd and wish that we were with them. And today we were! Man, it feels great to get up and workout. It was pretty cold and misty/rainy but it was invigorating all the same. Next year, if we are not pregnant again, we want to attempt the 10K!

Georgia has stayed with my parents this weekend so Rodolfo and I could run this morning and also attend a charity auction this past Friday. We bought the painting you see in the picture above. Since I'm a big fan of roses this seemed like the best item to bid on. There was also a helicopter ride above OKC to see the lights at Christmas being offered but it went way out of our budget.

Other news, I wanted to place links to some of the places and things that I really enjoyed on our trip to Carmel. They include: http://www.cottagerestaurant.com/ which is a delicoius place to eat breakfast, http://www.carmelsbest.com/ an italian restaurant that we enjoyed. Then, here is a link to a lady who makes bracelets that I just fell in love witH
http://www.tarinatarantino.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=3&idproduct=393
Finally, of course, the Bernardus Lodge, http://www.bernardus.com/, which I highly recommend for anyone who wants to take a romantic getaway.

Wally, Happy Birthday!

Wally Waldorf Astoria Molina turned 4 years old on April 19th. The fam came out to help celebrate and eat some Waldorferiferious cupcakes. We cranked up the player piano and had a good ole' time.

As to Georgia, she is growing fast. She has been singing a lot lately. She really enjoys brushing her teeth. Just this evening I caught her trying to brush her teeth with the plastic scrubber I use to clean the pots and pans in the kitchen. It was pretty gross, but I guess that is what happens every now and again with babies... They experiment without regard to clean vs. dirty. I also caught her about a month ago trying to stir and then drink the water from the toilet. Isn't that lovely? She laughs a lot and likes to run through the water while Rodolfo or I am watering the yard. We've also had fun looking at all of the flowers that are in bloom. Our beautiful tulips came out again this year, but due to the wind and rain they didn't get to shine as majestically as they have at other times. Still I caught some nice pictures. I hope spring lasts a little longer because today it was almost 90 degrees!!!

Sundress

We took a walk today and Georgia wore this adorable dress I found for only $6 at Ross. I had a bazillion great shots, but decided to post these 2. Hope it captures some of the fun we had today!

Carmel

Rodolfo and I just returned from a beautiful trip to Carmel, California. We had fun hiking, horseback riding and enjoying the eden-esque valley where our hotel was located. I love ocean air, and the amazing thing in Carmel is that the air smells oceany but also has a mixture of flower and herb scent to it too. There are herbs everywhere! I saw lavender and rosemary on almost every street corner. Honeysuckle or jasmine was the other dominating scent. After we went horseback riding I expected my clothes to stink like horse, but instead they smelled like they had been freshly laundered. I guess the combination of the humidity from the ocean and the flowers all around freshened my clothes. Wouldn't it be great to hang dry laundry in Carmel?! Well, here are some pictures from our trip.

Happy Days

I just love the pictures I took a few weeks ago and thought I would add more of them here even though I already put the best one on the Valentine's entry.

Whoa horsey!

Georgia's vocabulary spans a broader spectrum than it did just a month ago. She is putting words together to form rudimentary sentences. My favorite is when she asks for horsey rides (see pictures above) by neighing like a horse and saying papi. She also enjoys saying "no wa wa" (meaning no wally). She can now say "mommy" instead of just "mama" and does so at length whenever she wants out of her crib. The "y" sound extends to papi and wally too, but she often defaults to the easier "papa" and "wawa". "No" is actually becoming a popular response and I was hoping it would hold off for another month or two, but it looks like it is here to stay. She calls herself "Nena". You ask her, "Georgia, what is your name" and her response is "Nena". When you ask, "can you say Gigi" her response is also "Nena". This makes me laugh. She likes to show ownership by saying "Nena" and then the item... for example, "Nena agua" or "nena elmo". The language teacher in me is loving this developmental stage. Unfortunately she only says one French word, which is "main" (hand / mano) and I'm assuming she is actually trying to say the spanish "mano". Still, it comes out in French and so I guess I can claim this one word. I need to start speaking to her more in French. We only read books and listen to music in French, I hardly ever try to converse with her in this language. It sure would make my degree more valuable if I could be disciplined enough to teach it to her.

Okay, now onto another topic, first of all I want to say that I have not been able to eat non-processed foods. That stuff is everywhere and quite frankly, living in Oklahoma one would have to be cooking all the time to avoid eating processed food. I'm perusing the internet, magazines, etc. in search of ideas on how to be more healthy. I've discovered one intersting lifestyle, it is called the Raw Food Diet. I certainly don't want to only eat raw food, but perhaps this branch of foodies might have some helpful recipes for a mom. I've even called into The Splendid Table and left a message for Lynn Rosetto Casper asking for ideas, but no one from her show has called me back. Ho-hum.

This leads me to something that I have wanted to do for a long time. I am going to list and review my favorite restaurants in OKC. Here they are (in no particular order):

The County Line - Best bar-b-que brisket, sauce and POTATO SALAD I have ever eaten in my life. The restaurant itself has a great history as a 1930's speak-easy and classic art-deco architecture. I love eating at this place.

Sushi Neko- This restaurant is a cliche as a great place to eat sushi in OKC, but I love it because everytime we go, Georgia is distracted just enough by the atmosphere to eat her food and not complain about it. Plus, their sushi is truly delicious.

Cafe do Brasil- The food is simple, warm and spicy Brazilian fare. Anna the owner always makes us feel welcome and like family. I've known her since 2000 when I used to visit her cafe as a teacher at Classen. Now her restaurant is in a beautiful mediterranean style building and is painted a dramatic yellow inside. Fun place for lunch.

Bellini's- Everytime I eat here I can't help but feel the thrill of the Red Bud Classic. The outdoor patio is dreamy during the late spring/early summer and even fun in the milder part of the fall. I haven't ventured too far off the chart in terms of food. I usually order spaghetti or a pizza margherite and some wine. For me, Bellini's is comfort food and a great atmosphere.

OKC Museum of Modern Art Cafe- Light, bright and modernly elegant is how I would describe this happy retreat from cowboyish OKC. When eating here I feel like I am in a major urban chi chi environment. The huge windows are their best asset! Food is tricky here, it is either fab or just bad. I love their pizza margherite. Much, much better than Bellini's becaue of the goat cheese. Also, on Thursday evening's during the warmer part of the year they open up their rooftop for "drinks under the stars". Escape here when you wish you were a movie star. :)

Old Kaiser's Building- I always forget the name of this restaurant but it houses a terrific old-fashioned soda fountain. There is a squirly lady who comes in and plays the piano at lunch time. She warbles in a wobbly, off-pitch voice that is highly entertaining. I've only been at lunch time. They have yummy, warm German potatoe salad and decadent ice cream sundays. One of my old students works here. Hi Cynthia if you are reading this!

City Bites- This sub shop is Oklahoma born. Their sandwiches are addicting! They also have fantastic cookies. My favorites: Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl, Sooner-Doodle and Snicker-Doodle.

Victoria's- This greasy, tiny restaurant was voted the most romantic restaurant for the OU student back when I went there (1995-99). I wouldn't call it romantic now-a-days, but they sure do make one ridiculously delicious marinara sauce. I think they might put nutmeg in it. Whatever their secret recipe, I haven't found anything that compares. This place is cheap too-- great date place for any OU alum. Go down to Norman, eat some pasta, drink some wine and then walk on the campus reminiscing about your college years.

Boulevard Steak House- Strange to write this, but I had the best scallops of my life at this Oklahoma steak house. Whoever buys their food does a great job. I've only been once but have been dieing to go back.

Saturn Grill- Mouth-wateringly satisfying Asian cold noodle with broccoli salad. Wish I could remember what they call that salad. This place is packed like a sardine can at lunch time. Call ahead and take it out, otherwise you might just be miserable waiting!

Deep Fork Grill- The only thing, and I do mean only, I like at this restaurant is an appetizer of brie cheese with some sort of raspberry/cranberry relish. It is to die for! The rest of the food here is fair and rather smoky tasting.

Cafe Nova- I covet the marble slab on the bar in this restaurant. It would look so good as my kitchen countertop. This place is a little like Deep Fork but in a trendier sort of way. What I do enjoy here is their chocolate Martinis. Actually, I just enjoy sitting at this bar pretending to be someone I am not. The owner of this place was on the Bachelor.

Bahama Breeze- Alas, this restaurant is no longer here, but I write this in fond memory of the many times I sat on its deck looking out onto lake Hefner at the beautiful sunsets and imagining that I was on a Caribbean Beach. Someone needs to buy that building and get something up and running. I would definitely visit!

That is all I can think of right now. Hope you have found this list helpful!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! Gigi turns 1.5 years old on this fun holiday! I took the top picture this past weekend to document Gigi's half birthday.

Yesterday we had lunch with a friend that I have known since before she was born! Michelle Fichtel Graves is the daughter of my parent's good friends Karen and Mike. When we were growing up we went on vacations together and, since we lived in different states, would see each other about once a year. Michelle now has an adorable 22 month old, Ashleigh. Since we both live close by we thought it would be fun to get our daughters together. And what fun we had! Ashley is so talkative and happy! She sang many songs and entertained us with complete sentences! I was so impressed. Gigi and Ashleigh hugged each other non-stop. I think they are on their way to becoming great friends!

I hope all you have a wonderful Valentine's spent with those you love.

Bye bye processed food

Today was gorgeous. Thought it was spring. We went to the park and rode the slides. Here are some pictures. Also thought I'd throw in one of the Gigi "talking" on my cell phone when we were at the mall.

Now onto the good stuff...

I've had another epiphany about life. Yesterday I was at the Affair of the Heart with my friend Jehan. We were having a jolly good time and stopped to eat some lunch. Lunch choices at the Oklahoma Fair grounds are not that exquisite but at least I had an option between a strawberry crepe and a hot dog. Do you know what I chose? A hot dog. Why? you might ask. Well, the reason is because I eat hot dogs about 3-4 times a week. Add on to that Mac n' cheese and then frozen pizza and you might suggest that I'm turning into a processed food foodie. Isn't that horrible? When the lady at the hot dog stand handed me one of the most giant hot dogs I have ever seen in my life the lights finally clicked on. I've got to stop the processed food before I myself turn into a giant hotdog. I used to be such a healthy eater. I read in Parenting magazine that 54% of moms surveyed said that their eating habits have improved since having a baby. I wonder how this is possible because mine have plummeted. So, I am now adding onto my list of self-improvements that I will no longer eat (very many) processed foods. I think I'll allow myself one processed food day per week and that will be all... Let's face it, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese is just too good to say goodbye to for forever. But hotdogs I should have no problem with.

Art Museum

Georgia is taking a class at the Museum of Art. The class meets twice a month and is surprisingly fun. The first time we went Georgia finger painted. This last time we made a puppet. The class began with the teacher reading a story that was very similar to the song "Old McDonald has a Farm". She asked the children in the class what their favorite animals are and then took them on a tour of the museum pointing out animals in the different paintings. When we returned to the classroom each child (and parent) created an animal puppet. Georgia, Rodolfo and I decided to make a bee. At the end of the class we all sang "Old McDonald" inserting each of the puppet's sounds. It was really fun! Here is a picture of Rodolfo, Georgia and her teacher. And there is also one of me and Georgia. Apparently the teacher is kind of famous. She just finished being on the reality show "The Biggest Loser".

New Perspective

I've noticed that the pictures posted on this blog are always at our house. This is mainly because I forget to take my camera anywhere. So, in order to prove that Georgia and I do more than just sit around the house all day I've decided I'm going to begin chronicling our weekly adventures. The two posted here are from our visit to Target and Chili's this week. We also went and had Gigi's hair cut, which I actually brought my camera for, but then became so involved in trying to keep her from crying while the lady cut her hair that I forgot to take pictures.

Also, I have had trouble falling asleep tonight because I've had thoughts racing through my head. In order to relieve my mind of my thoughts I am going to post them here for all the world to see. They are (in no particular order):

*I don't want to buy anymore clothes, house doo-dads, hair products, and miscellaneous items for the next 11 months. I've got so many piles and piles of stuff accumulating all around me that I can barely stand it. I've been trying to eliminate for the past 6 months. I have Habitat come by and pick up my piles once a month and I still can't seem to get rid of all it. I think this is because I buy little things here and there. Would it really hurt me if I just stop shopping for 11 months? I don't think it would one bit. Will I be out of style? Yes. But I actually already think I probably am and so this should not really matter. Americans collect way too much junk. We need to do a lot of simplifying so that we can really LIVE. Clutter gets in the way because it consumes so much of our time!

*I'm not going to cut my hair (except for the necessary split-end trim) for however long it takes me to get 10 inches of non-layered hair. I don't work and I am so consumed with taking care of Georgia that I have very little time on my hands to even take care of myself. However, the one thing I can give to someone who needs something is my hair. It is no problem for me to just let it grow. And the organization Locks of Love is really a unique and helpful charity. I want to contribute to it.

*Oklahoma needs better neighborhoods. I have a very good design for the ultimate neighborhood lingering in my head. I have no money to finance such a project but wouldn't that be cool if I could find investors and actually DESIGN a neighborhood. If I could, mine would have two goals: beauty through landscaping and architecture (classic architecture and landscaping that get better over time) and it would c0nnect people to a community-- give them a sense of place.

*I am writing a book. Yes, to all of you who did not know, I am writing a book!! It is in the beginning phases and I don't want to reveal any detail about it because, well, it is just presently my little secret. I think secrets are very fun and now that I think about it I should probably have a few more simply because I am getting so much pleasure out of this one.

Okay. I think that is all I want to write for now. Hope you enjoyed reading this blog. It is definitely not my usual entry.

Naps

We have settled into a nice routine this month. Georgia no longer takes her morning naps, I'm officially able to accept the fact now. She actually gave them up sometime in October and I guess it just took ME a while to adjust. She is just beautiful right now and so desiring to talk. Her words still haven't formed but she communicates with such energy and drama that you really don't need words to understand her. Tonight she heard Wally howling and did a spot on impersonation of his howl. It made me laugh to no end, at which point she continued the howl and then added other sounds. She likes to make a snoring sound which she learned from either her Papi or her grandmother. She typically uses this sound to tell me she is ready for her nap. Isn't that great! She tells me now when she is ready to go to sleep. What a nice treat for me. One less thing to figure out. :) This picture was taken after her afternoon nap. She was happy and telling me hi here.