A Much Needed Weekend...

We had such a great weekend with our San Diego besties! They drove in on Friday night and we wasted NO time...we ordered a pizza and turned on the recorded epi of The Office...yes, we love each other so much that we actually waited 24 hours after it aired just so that we can watch it together;) The last time we saw them was at Christmas time which was a lengthy 2 months ago! It was crazy to see little Sophia crawling and pulling up on objects to stand! Two months ago, she was just learning how to sit...and the same goes for Korey. Two months ago, he couldn't even hold an object for no more than 3 seconds at a time and was no where near sitting up unsupported. Today he is a pro at both of those milestones:) Oh, how fast our babies are growing.

The next morning, we woke up to Karlton making us all breakfast! What a treat! Then we hit up Target, Starbucks, and made our way to the Phoenix Zoo. Korey slept for the first 2 hours and finally joined the party just an hour and a half before we left:) My goodness, this boy can sleep through anything!

After a quick lunch break for the kiddos, we went to check out the lions, tigers (no bears), and giraffes and finally headed out after walking for a total of 4 hours.

We stopped by at the Arizona Mills Mall and had dinner (with our very hyper babies) and couldn't help but laugh at our new lives! Wow, to think, a little over a year ago we had no children and here we were eating with one hand and holding our babies in the other. Gotta love the new little excitements in our lives though:) I wouldn't trade it for anything!

Sunday came and went way too fast. We went to church and came home to cook a tasty southern meal, watched a movie, talked the nnight away and called it a night. Then came Monday...

So, here I am, enjoying my stay at home mommy time with my boy. I cannot wait to see them again. Next trip--San Diego!

Little People Have Gyms Too!

Today I had the opportunity to bring Korey to the Little Gym:) and the name is pretty much self-explanatory, wouldn't you agree:)

A little gym for little people!

Right when I walked in, Korey and I were greeted with a "WELCOME TO THE LITTLE GYM!" shout from one of the gym instructors. She signed him in and told me to make sure Korey had socks on before going onto the mats:) which made me smile for some reason. lol.

I attended the "Little Bugs" class with my friend, Benita, and her sweet girl, Naiya (who, by the way, does mini sit-ups at just 4 months! LOL!) There were only two other momma's and their "little bugs" in the class with us and we were promptly informed that it was so small because ten or so move up to the next level (the cut-off for this class is 10 months) !


We started the class by introducing ourselves and our Little Bugs and were asked to share something unique about them. I chose to share Korey's most recent milestone--he just figured out how to put his own feet in his mouth! My silly boy.

Next we sang songs with tiny instruments (bells and drumsticks). Korey, of course, put his in his mouth while I tried to show him how to use them.


After music time, we had "free time" and got to explore the rest of the gym. The instructors showed us how to safely roll down an incline with them tucked away in our arms and even had us help them do little flips:) too cute.

Did you know that if you help your little one do baby somersaults and flips during the first year of their lives that they will be able to perform them by themselves by their 1st birthday? Just something I learned at the Little Gym.

Korey was all smiles during the assisted somersaults and flips exercise. I love seeing his gummy grin! As the class began to wind down, we sang that ever so popular "clean up, clean up" song while we helped them pick up all of the toys:) Korbear truly enjoyed his first little workout.

I think the bubble extravaganza was the best part of the day though! This was the last one...before it popped.

Korey Boy!

Happy (belated) New Year!

Try as I might, I still have not become that avid blogger than I wish to become--but I'm getting there, I think. I have neglected my blog long enough, so here it goes!

Update on Korey Bear- he just went in for his four (and a half) month check-up and weighed in at 14.10lbs with an impressive length of 26.75 in:) He's lanky but still very healthy:) and he took his shots like a champ...my strong boy! He cried for a grueling ten seconds then smiled at the nurses who were "awe-ing" over his big brown eyes. He knew it too.

Sometimes I think Korey knows he's a cute little man baby. He'd rather stare at himself in the mirror than look at his mommy!;) Then again, it is about that time for self-recognition to start kicking in, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

As far as the flipping and turning over milestone goes, Korey accomplished it the VERY day we placed him in his crib for the first time! Talk about a gestures of gratitude! Since then, he fakes the funk and refuses to do it again--but we know he remembers how. In fact, he's doing a "half'-roll" right now! Oh, this boy...

Note to Korey: Sorry Korebear, I'm no longer going to be helping you as much...you have been pushed and rolled over far too many times. I know you've got it!

I am also back "on the radar" as far as attending baby playgroups here in Arizona! I went through a "I-just-feel-like-staying-home-with-Korey-or-going-to-Target" phase about two months ago. That got old quickly and I started to miss my mommy friends dearly. It feels good to hangout out with them again. Getting to know them and their little ones is a joy!...Hey, they also help my days go by faster while waiting for daddy to come home!

Korey, Ian, and Naiya

1.18.10

Jamaican Beef Patties

Ok. Here we go again! Jamaican Monday;)

Today I've decided to prepare for you the ever-so-popular Jamaican beef patties. Granted, these are not Golden Krust so, please, don't judge.

Pastry dough:
2 cup of all purpose flour
1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
1 teaspoon of salt
3/4 cup of butter--chilled
1/2 cup of ice water

I went ahead and did a "half" version of the recipe...but I wanted you to have the actual recipe as I read it.

When you prepare the dough make sure the butter and flour have a "pebbly" look to them before adding the water. After the water is added, press all of the dough together until the butter it well blended in. I had the dough sit in the refrigerator for an hour, but that's optional:)

If you don't have a pastry disc cutter, just do what I did. Use a bowl! :)

Filling:
1/4 teaspoon of thyme
1/4 teaspoon of chili
1/2 teaspoon of rosemary
1/4 cup of diced onions
1/2 lb of ground beef
Optional: couple drops of a hot sauce of your choice

Cook the beef on the stove before filling the pastries...but remove it from the pan a couple minutes early so that it won't overcook in the oven.

To create the patties, put a couple of tablespoons in the center of the disc of dough, fold it over and crimp the edges with a fork.

Bake in the oven on 375 degrees for 25 min or until the crust is firm and flaky.

Not perfectly shaped, but they taste fantastic:) It took me three tries to perfect this dish! It was the dough that gave me the biggest trouble of all, but it was worth it in the end!

Jamaican Coconut Rice and Peas

My goodness! Believe it or not, I have yet to receive my Jamaican recipe cookbook in the mail!
(my mind's thought: What is going ooooon?!!)

So with the help of the Thanksgiving holiday, I was able to get my hands on my Dad's famous Jamaican Coconut Rice and Peas! And now I get to share it with you all;) ...especially since it is probably the simplest recipe to follow!

I apologize ahead of time for my neglecting to take more pictures of this yummy dish...but Thanksgiving in my parent's house is filled with way too much excitement for me to focus on "food-picture-taking" :)

First know, that the normal measurement for rice:water ratio is 1 cup rice: 2 cups water. If you go this route, just make sure you don't drown the rice!

This is why I did the "water: one inch above rice" rule since I was cooking with coconut milk and water.

...anyhow, here is the rundown of the recipe:

4 cups of rice
1 can of pigeon peas
1 can of coconut milk
3 heads of scallion cut in half
1 bunch of thyme (to your discretion)
1 small Romano tomato diced into 4 or 6 pieces
A couple of dashes of pepper flakes (to your discretion)
Generous dash of your favorite seasoning (Do not use salt if you use seasoning!)

All of these ingredients go into the rice cooker at the same time. If you are cooking on the stovetopm, make sure you keep an eye on it and turn it off promptly just before the rice gets tender (No one like overcooked rice. Yuck!).

Don't need 4 cups of rice? Well, just cut all of the ingredients in half!

...just in case you were wondering what brand we use...

In goes the ingredients (most ingredients not shown taking the plunge, sorry!)...along with good ol' Lawry's Seasoning Salt. Our favorite!

...Nice, fluffy, and seasoned to perfection in the end!

If the rice comes out too sticky, you simply used too much water--to solve this problem let it sit in the pot a bit longer Hopefully, it will cook it through without overcooking it!

If the rice comes out feeling a bit uncooked to texture just let it sit in the pot a bit longer and add a small amount of water. The amount of water you put in will depend on how uncooked the rice feels to texture, so this step requires good judgement. :/

In my opinion, this recipe for me is a "try until you get it right" one because all rice pots cook at a different rate.

I used the Saladmaster Rice Cooker for this dish.

Enjoy!

Oh Joy! San Diego, Here We Come!

This Thanksgiving, we are so thankful for...

...the many family and friend's that we will be spending time with in SAN DIEGOOOOOOO!

THAT'S RIGHT! Looks like San Diego is on the menu for this year's Thanksgiving feast! Just when we thought it wasn't going to happen, Karlton got the news that he got the time off!

We are San Diego bound for Korey's first Thanksgiving....yay!

Things to do today before we are officially on the road to San Diego:

1) laundry.

2) more laundry...and clean up house!

3) purchase more baby wipes.

4) charge the camera.

5) pack our suitcase.

6) pack Korey's suitcase.

7) cook dinner.

8) bathe baby boy.

9) get some quick shut eye.

10) 4:00am-SAN DIEGO, here we come:) Gobble, gobble, gobble!

Blog-free until Monday the 29th!

Stir It Up!

As promised, my Monday blog posts will cover my exploring of the many Jamaican recipes found in the cookbook that I recently purchased (mentioned in this post).

Now, I'm no cook enthusiast (and definitely no connoisseur), but I figure if I devote one day a week to stir up a new dish, then maybe I will become the chef of my very own....home!

Before I continue on with today's post let me give you two reasons why there will be no recipe today:

Cue: somber music :'(

Ok, #1---my cookbook has not arrived in the mail yet! Blasted USPS...

and #2---we actually made dinner plans with some pretty fabulous friends of ours.

...with that said, let me leave you with this...my favorite Bob Marley song:

Thrifty Library

This weekend, the Edison trio decided to check out the local thrift shops to see if they could get their hands on fancy little things worth salvaging...

And we ended up at St. Vincent De Paul's Thrift Store!

There were seemingly endless aisles of thrifty goods that I could totally see in our new home:) However, due to pressed time (we were on our way to a friend's daughter's birthday party) we only parted with some festive items from these shelves:

BOOKS!


Kristen + a thifty library + Karlton pushing Korey in the stroller = Kristen in happy-land with an impatient husband.

That's right! I absolutely enjoy browsing (and ultimately purchasing) books from the shelves of Border's, Barne's and Nobles, Kinkos or even grocery stores!...but if I can find a way to get my hands on them cheap, I will buy as many as I possibly can! Take a look at the three books I bought today...for a whopping .25 cents each!

#1: The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans

#2: Christmas in Plains by Jimmy Carter

#3: The Most Beautiful Gift by Jonathan Snow



Yes, I plan to read them all this Christmas:)

I purchased these these books in anticipation for the Christmas season! Since it is less than a month away I might as well start buying items to decorate my home, right? Our entry was is sort of naked right now so I want to spruce it up and make it the place in our home that screams, "Hey, look at me! Iiiiiiit's (insert holiday here)!" I plan to do this by having trinkets, books, and other decor that coorespond with the present season/holiday (Valentine's Day, Fall, Christmas, etc.) and do this year-round. Catch my drift?

The point of purchasing these books was to mock this look here.

Aren't those lovely looks?! I guess I'm ruining the surprise since I obviously haven't finished gathering all of my trinkets and decor, but...who cares.

Oh, I can't forget Korey! These are his new Christmas books...also .25 cents each:)



So the next time you pass by a thrift store...take a look-see:) You may be surprised by the things you find:)

Wrappers, Wrappers Everywhere!

It's that time of year!


Earlier today, to give Korey a change of scenery, we hopped in the car and went to Target! I absolutely love perusing the aisles there in my spare time--even if I have no plans on buying anything;-) Target has almost everything I need, including groceries! Who wouldn't agree with me here? Which is why it is in the top three of my "favorite-places-to-do-a-little-shopper's-therapy" list! Oh, joy!

The first thing I went for when I got the "Holiday" section were the wrapping papers. And, boy oh boy, there are endless barrels of rolls to choose from this year! The rolls pictured above are the Premium Wrapping Papers and are going for $4 and/or $5 each...pricey for a roll of paper, but worth it if you are into glittzy and textured gift wrapping. If you've never gone the textured route, give it a go this year--they are sure to glam things up. I can't wait to start wrapping my loved ones' gifts with the rolls that I purchased. Oh, and Korey was a great shopping buddy--especially when it came to the various rolls that I took the time in showing him.

My bay-bay is a handsome lil' man! Gosh, he's beautiful......

....*ahem*, anyways, I plan to go back at the "butt-crack-of-dawn" (couldn't resist that line, sorry) on Black Friday to grab a few more items that were a wee bit out of our price range...Yay! I'm TOO excited for BF to arrive! Aren't you?! Ok, let's get through Thanksgiving first, right?

Jeez, I feel like the woman in those new Target commercials...

like this one.

Short but sweet tangent:

Try as I might, I am having a difficult time finishing (and posting) the little projects that I have been working on this past week. As I stated here, it gets crazy around the house while hubby (I hate that word) is at work. Especially since my baby boy needs so much of my attention:) In fact, I've gotten up a total of four times to tend to his needs since starting this post...and finally with great success! He is down for his afternoon nap and I get to have some "me" time before starting dinner.

Soda Flowers

Earlier last week I went grocery shopping and purchased those delicious cream sodas that come in the glass bottles....no, I couldn't resist...

Several days later, after Karlton and guzzled them down (mmm!), I had them piled up in the recycling bin ready for trash day when I decided to pull them out last minute:)...I promise I'm not a hoarder! I just happened to remember a post that I had read from a blog that I absolutely love. I went ahead and did the same thing to my bottles that they did with their bottles, but I put a little twist to them...er, a sand twist in this case:) Take look at their post that inspired me by clicking here.

After rinsing and drying out the bottles with a bottle cleaner I filled them up with sand ($3 from walmart!) and put a flower in each of them (also $3 from WM!)---they are artificial but I think fresh flowers look (and smell) much better! Korey fell asleep...I think this project bored him.

The finished look! (I apologize for the terrible lighting!)

I love my new coffee table centerpiece...now our wedding album has company!

What centerpiece does your coffee table have?