My Life in Cell Phone Pics!!! 11/16/12

umm I'm getting old.  look at those wrinkles!  

A friend of mine invited us over for a "Fall play date". Isn't a "play date" where you throw some toys and babies in a pile and chat as you watch them hash it out?  But this was far more that that!  It was a full-on Fall-themed party with 3 kinds of homemade soup, freshly baked bread, crafts, goody bags, and more.  Be inspired.

sensory box with corn, apples, and other Fall treasures!

sidewalk chalk, painting, acorn cookies

I brought some rustic Fall flowers, balloons filled with treats (cool alternative to a pinata, just watch out for those pins!) and snack mix station (Sisi tried her first M&M and then looked at me betrayed, like "mom, why haven't I ever had this before?"

I'm not ashamed to admit I wore this new cozy sweater with leggings 3/7 days this week :)  But I'm ashamed to see that my mirror is so dirty.  ewww!

We biked to the grocery store to start our Thanksgiving shopping!

I went to grab the laundry, and saw this furry little guy had beat me to it.  I decided to postpone laundry one more day.

Sisi picked out her own hair accessories that day!

The sandbox is my little zen garden.  I get to sit down and unwind while I play with sand, organize leaves, and let my mind wander off.

And lastly, I learned how easy it is to make your own candied nuts!  I make a "healthier" version using a spoonful of olive oil, a spoonful of honey, and a ton of sea salt mixed with nuts.  Put it in at 350 for 10 minutes and you have a crunchy totally addicting treat.  See loves "unts" aka nuts.

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Faux Veils

Two pretty little hats for the bride who loves blusher veils, but doesn't really want to squint through one.  These are part of the brand new batch of products I'm making for the brand new website to be debuted soon.  (I love you, etsy, but I need a space to call my own.) 

Bridal hat with crystal "faux veil"

Teardrop hat with  pleated bow and 3 layer "faux veil"

Joe took these pics of me at a secluded beach nearby.  Except it wasn't secluded AT ALL that day.  Being your own model is always awkward, but even more so when you're "workin' it" in front of dozens of gawking beachgoers. 

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My Life in Cell Phone Pics 11/5/12

 Fuzzy head! (guess where we are?)

Good food.

Baby's first pomegranate.  

 Pomegranate pedicure.

Halloween head gear.

 Twins!

Brancaleone Family Circus.

BIG NEWS:Our Magic Bullet finally bit the dust, so we decided to splurge on a refurbished Vita Mix Blender!  Yes, a blender that retails for almost 500 bucks.  Call us crazy, but we think it's worth it. This thing does it all. I made fudge babies (which Sisi lovingly calls 'poo poo') and "chocolate ice cream" (really just my chocolate protein shake frozen in an ice cube tray and re-blended with chocolate chips.)  I also plan on making paleo mayonnaise soon!

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Sisi the Sushi

The day before Halloween, I saw this adorable onesie on etsy, and got sad that it was too late to order it.  We are a sushi loving family, for sure!  Then I decided to give it a whirl myself.  A perfect last minute baby costume!

Simply fabric glue and/or stitch the felt shrimp and fake grass garnish onto a onesie, wrap some black velvet trim around the belly for seaweed, and use neon green and peach felt for the ginger and wasabi.  I also made a ginger/wasabi barette, and stuck chopsticks through her hair.  After the fact, I realized I should have also decorated a Chinese takeout box for her to put her candy in! Someone else can steal that genius idea :)

Surprisingly, Sisi was delighted to wear this getup.  She kept smiling in the mirror and saying "Fishy!!"  She even kept those chopsticks in most of the evening (although I nearly poked my eyeball out carrying her in my arms.)

Joe and I threw our costumes together literally minutes before we had to walk out the door.  I put on a striped dress, made a prisoner badge ("g-dg-d2shus" = goody goody two shoes) and whipped up this crazy jailbird hat (which I secretly want to wear again some way, some how.)   I guess I'm supposed to be a glamorous prisoner? 

 Joe borrowed my wig, jacket and scarf and went as an 80's glam rock drummer.  

Trick-or-treating was a confusing experience for Sisi. A mechanical skeleton pirate with blazing eyes sent her sobbing and quivering in my arms.  She didn't like when people answered the door in scary costumes.  But after shaking off the trauma, she was excited to walk up to the doors, carefully choose one candy and put it into her bag (even though we couldn't bear to let her eat any of it). Sad thing was there were only a handful of other trick-or-treaters out.  Guess everyone was at the mall!

I told her if she gave me all her candy, she could have a piece of chocolate covered banana. She took me up on that.  My  friends were laughing at how easy the trade was.  (Next year she might put up a little more resistance once she actually knows what candy is.)

Joe and I felt sooooooo grown-up taking our child trick-or-treating.  Parenthood is still surreal.  How have us goons been entrusted with raising a toddler? 

Already looking forward to next Halloween!!! How was your's?

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Siena is 21 Months!

Joe snapped pics of our big 21 month old during out Saturday morning ritual, the farmer's market and goofing around at UCI.  

She wasn't feeling too chipper at first...

But free samples and gorgeous zinnias cheered her up! 

 Sisi is curious about other kids, but still not very "social."  She's very much in her own world. 

Lunch time!  

This photo reminds me of a paparazzi picture.  Katie and Suri?  haha

All done!  Time to conk out in the car.  

Siena at a Glance:

• October was a month of verbal explosion.  Suddenly Sisi is saying a ton of new words and has a knack for mimicking sounds (sirens, beeps, choo choos, etc.)  
• New words, some more intelligible than others:  potato, pumpkin, watermelon, "I'm gonna get you", sip, soup, meat, apple, shoes, sit, read, treat, blocks, turtle, tickle tickle, lullabye, chips
• She also mimics what we do- the other day I saw her slowly picking up a stick with two hands while huffing and puffing (aka dead lifts a'la daddy!) and pushing her lawnmower all over the house (aka vacuuming.like mama)  
• I've been baking with Sisi often (too often!  Darn you Autumnal paleo pastries!)  She counts with me as I crack one, two, three eggs, watches in wonder as I pour the fluffy almond flour. And of course, taste tests the maple syrup for me.  By age 3 I want her to be able to bake an entire cake all by herself (like French kids!) 
• We've been dealing with some biting and scratching issues.  My strategy is to hold down her hands and very firmly say  "I will NOT let you bite/scratch me"  while doing my big owl eyes.  This seems to get the point across without adding more drama to the sitch.  She usually turns to hit the closest inadamate object (such as a book or her ducky) while saying "oww oww oww!" It's interesting to watch her test boundaries and find acceptable outlets for her anger. It can also be disturbing seeing your sweet little toddler be such a meanie. This article by Janet Lansbury is helping me to cope with and understand Sisi's seemingly bizarre outbursts.  
• Fortunately, the tantrums are dying down significantly.  It's been a pretty good month in that department!  
• She still believes if she closes her eyes, no one else can see her!  I caught her reaching for a chocolate bar at the grocery store while closing her eyes and smiling mischievously.  
• Personality-wise, she is still somewhat quiet and serious, but often whispers to herself and chuckles.  She thinks she's pretty funny.  She's very observant and cautious.  Super independent- she bumbles around the house and backyard all day long and reads in her crib for at least an hour a day.   I imagine she'll be creative, calm and reflective, with a quiet and witty sense of humor, just like her daddy. We shall see!  

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Belated Instafriday 10/20/12

My life lately, in cell phone pics... 

 dog sitting + marigolds and irises

Sisi was too scared to ride on the horses, and even seemed scared to be on the lame-o bench.  She's definitely not a thrill seeker.

Finally organized my bling stash.

 Chocolate brown toes + sunflowers

 Her dream came true!  I finally let her push one of the mini carts at trader joes.  She almost ran into an old lady and a wine display, but overall did well.  She waited in line so patiently to check out and was just beaming with pride.

I bought 24 packs of potato chips on amazon. White potatoes are a debated issue amongst paleo folks.  While they are very nutritious, they can also be inflammatory and cause insulin spikes.  I tend to stay away from them and opt for sweet potatoes instead.  But my goodness, if you're gonna eat potato chips, these are the way to go! Avocado oil is super healthy and has a high heat tolerance, which makes it great for frying.  Best chips I've ever had.  Too good, really.  I have to keep them in the garage on a shelf so I'm not tempted by them all the time.

 Oops!  Mixing too vigorously I suppose :/

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At the Pumpkin Patch

We invited Grandma and Grandpa to the pumpkin patch for some hokey family fun.  Most of the time, Sisi just sat on different pumpkins reading her potty book.  She did enjoy the petting zoo, especially putting wood chips on the goats' heads.  Her brand new moccasins got goat poop on them though, which was a bummer.  Are robeez washable? But I think it's great that the sheltered kids of Orange County have this opportunity to get a little dirty and get a taste of farm life.  Except those poor kids whose mom made them tie grocery bags over their shoes and not pet anything in the petting zoo.  

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