World's Cutest 8 Month Old!

Really, I'm not trying to brag. But, seriously, just watch this video. How can you argue that he's not the cutest? He's been so darn funny lately, it's hard to take. He's interested in everything, and while this can be annoying when trying to change his diaper, it's funny at all other times. Yesterday, while out to breakfast with Will's parents, the waitress had barely set down my plate before Ethan had his fist shoved into my skillet meal. The other day at a department store, he knocked a box of shoes off the shelf as we were walking by. He's mischeivious, this one.

Here's Ethan playing in the bath tonight:

Oh Mama - Obama!

I can't stop myself from writing a little bit about Barack today. I say Barack instead of Mr. Obama because, let's face it, we're practically family. My name is Michelle; his wife's name is Michelle. He has a daughter named Malia; I have a sister named Malia. He grew up in Hawaii; my parents lived and my sisters were born in Hawaii. He lives in Chicago; I live near Chicago. Oh yeah, and I think his brother-in-law is married to the college counselor that used to work at LT. Seriously, do I need to go on? Our similarities are almost eerie, like that JFK/Abe Lincoln stuff.

Really, I am just so excited about Barack Obama! Partially because I'm home this year, and also because of its historical significance, I am following the election much more closely than any other. In fact, the election alone is the reason I wish we had cable tv. I have not been able to watch any of the debates. Do you think I could go to a bar and watch them? Are there "smart bars" where people go to watch C-span instead of ESPN? I wonder...

I am currently reading Barack's first book, Dreams from My Father and am enjoying it immensely. I love that he uses big words - and correctly. He really is such an interesting person and it's so neat to be reading this book all the while thinking, This man could be our president soon. When he does win the election, I will love that I feel like I know a lot about the man in the oval office.

While he is definitely drawing a lot of peoples' attention and really gaining momentum in this election, I know there are a good amount of people who are wary of him for various reasons. Because this is my blog and I can say what I want on it, I'm going to take some time to give my opinion on some of the Obama complaints. Don't worry, there aren't too many. Here goes:

1. He doesn't have enough experience - life or political.

There's a line in a book we read in one of my classes that says something along the lines of, "She's a lot older than her drivers licence indicates." We talk about what this line means and how age really doesn't equal life experience. Often, my low level students have more life experience than I do, even though they're 10+ years younger. But they have had to grow up quickly because of the home lives they have. This is not to say that growing up with tragedy is the only way to gain life experience. Barack Obama does have some tragedy in his past, but who doesn't? But not many of us have dealt with being of mixed race and facing discrimination, living in Hawaii, living in Indonesia with our mother and step father, traveling to Kenya to meet many brothers/sisters/aunts/uncles, living in both New York and Chicago (at different times), working as an organizer in Chicago, going to Harvard, being in the state and US senate, etc., etc., etc. Now, that's life experience.

But what about political experience, you say? Well, before becoming a US Senator in 2004, he was a state senator for Illinois from 1996-2004. George Bush's only elected position, before running for president, was that of the governor of Texas, a post he held for 5 years. Now, being a state governor is certainly different than being a state senator, I don't dispute that. But I'll relay what a friend of mine was saying about Obama's "lack of experience." Basically, my friend argues that Obama's short tenure as a politician is one reason to vote for him since he has not had all the time spent in DC, making all kinds of deals and fraternizing with all kinds of lobbyists. Obama does not feel the pull that many other politicians may feel to vote one way or the other based on long-time relationships. I couldn't agree more. Isn't everybody always complaining about corruption in politics. Doesn't it seem right that the longer you've been in politics, the more time you have had to be corrupted?

2. He's too eloquent and can't go on charisma alone.

OK, now this is just funny. Are we so used to our current president being such a moron that we've decided that's the norm? Being able to speak well is considered a weakness? Since when is being eloquent and having charisma an insult? Obviously, the meat behind this argument is that Obama does not have policies to back up his Campaign for Change. That's just not true. Do some research. Go to his website. You'll see where he stands on the issues and his ideas for change. http://www.barackobama.com/

Well, those two items seem to be the main complaints I've seen. Just two that I can think of...not bad. As the election draws nearer, I'm sure there will be more complaints thrown out in desperation. The fact of the matter is, there's not a lot to complain about. He's a good guy. Read his first book, a memoir written before running for office. I promise you'll like it.

I realize I'm mostly preaching to the choir here, as I know a lot of my regular blog readers have pledged allegiance to Obama. I just felt the need to respond to the major items that have come up against Obama. You'll notice I did not badmouth any other candidate. All are qualified in their own way and any of them will be an improvement upon the current administration, I hope. But I truly believe with all my heart that Obama is the right choice.

And to pacify some of the non-Obamas out there, here's what you really want - pictures of the little guy, matching his daddy:

Recipes

Here are a couple of recipes I've been meaning to post. The first is for Olive Garden's Pasta e Fagioli soup. I made this last week and loved it! It is amazing how much it tastes like Olive Garden's Pasta e Fagioli, which besides the salad, is the only thing I get at OG. As is, it's a bit thick, more like a chili, so next time I'm going to add 2 cans of V-8. Here is the link:

http://www.topsecretrecipes.com/recipedetail.asp?sessionid=&login=yes&id=76&agree=yes

The second recipe is for Will's latest favorite, turkey meatloaf. Emma gave me the recipe a couple years ago, but I made it for the first time this fall. It's fantastic. I choose not to coat it with ketchup and I think I cut the salt a bit because the first time I made it, it was a bit too salty for our taste. Without it, this turkey loaf has plenty of flavor! I serve the meatloaf with mashed sweet potatoes (with butter, salt, thyme, brown sugar, milk) and a veggie. Yum!

Turkey Meatloaf
from Health

1 T. olive oil
1 lg onion, chopped finely
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon pepper, divided
1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup fat free, less-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons ketchup, divided
1 3/4 pounds ground turkey, 97% lean
3/4 cup dry breadcrumbs (I always use Italian style, a staple in our house.)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 large egg white, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, 1/4 t. salt, and 1/4 t. pepper; cook, stirring, about one minute. Stir in Worcestershire sauce, broth, and 1 T. ketchup; transfer mixture into a large bowl, and cool.

Add turkey, breadcrumbs, egg, egg white, and remaining 1/2 t. salt and 1/4 t. pepper to mixture in bowl, and mix well. Mixture will be very moist.

Cover baking sheet with aluminum foil, and coat lightly with cooking spray. Form the turkey mixture into a loaf, and place on the pan. Brush meatloaf evenly with remaining 2 T. ketchup. Bake one hour or until thermometer registers 170 degrees. Let meatloaf stand 5 minutes before serving.

Love is in the Air

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope everyone had a nice day. It may still be pretty cold, but at least the sun has been making an appearance on and off. It's been a few days since I posted, and I feel like a lot has happened. Last Saturday, Will's parents took us all to see Jersey Boys and out to dinner at Brassiere Jo. The show was phenomenal, and dinner was incredible. Two strong words. Really, we loved the play and have been listening to the soundtrack daily. Ethan's getting real tired of us making him "Walk Like a Man." If you have a chance, go see the play!

On Monday, we finally got Ethan's basement play area set up. Will set up mats in one corner and created "walls" around the area with a play yard we bought at Babies 'R Us. We moved the couch against the wall and my old dresser on the other wall with the television on it. My mom had given us a little couch from her old daycare and my sister gave us a kids table that belonged to their neighbors. I found a great deal on two area rugs and a slipcover, so it looks pretty homey. Now, I'd rather there were non-concrete walls and an actual ceiling, but this is definitely a start. I'll put pictures of it up. Ethan and I have been playing down there all week, and twice I worked out while he played in the "playroom." And, actually, one idea Will had was to hang a swing from the steel beam down there, so I guess that is one advantage of an unfinished basement. How many kids have a swing in their basement? Oh, and don't worry, mom, we set up a heater fan so Ethan is not cold. The novelty might wear off, but I like having an area other than my living room to go to. Our living room looks like a living room again...well, almost.

The play area has really been my big project of the week. Today, though, I busied myself making a nice Valentine's dinner for Will. I made his favorite: turkey meatloaf (Still loving that recipe, Mr. Miagi.) with mashed sweet potatoes. I also made and decorated a really nerdy cake for him. I bought a decorating kit from Homegoods because I aspire to be as good a cake decorator as my mom (see Hooter Cake picture from earlier post). You will see from the picture of my cake that my skills are in need of polishing. In my defense, I rushed through frosting the cake because I knew Ethan would be waking up soon, and I wanted to finish it before he was up. The cake was not as cool as it should have been for me to frost it properly. Plus, I made the frosting myself and the consistency wasn't the easiest to work with. I got a lot of cake bits in the frosting and the piping on the edges was runny. :( It's the thought that counts, right?

Ethan is doing very well. He's been sleeping like a super stud lately, usually sleeping from around 6pm-6am. It's been amazing. He has his days (or nights, I should say), but he's been sleeping like this most nights for a couple of weeks. Somebody grab some wood and get to knockin'! He's a maniac in his crib and loves to twist and turn around in it. We have a video monitor and I love to watch him when I put him down for his naps. The camera only catches on half of the crib. Yesterday, I put him down and went in the office and turned on the monitor. But he was not in the picture at all. Now, I had just put him down, so he must have wiggled himself out of view very quickly. I could hear him talking to himself for a few minutes, and when that stopped, I peaked in his room. He had turned his body in the complete opposite way of how I put him down and his head was stuck in the corner and his butt was up in the air. Priceless.

(By the way, Ethan must have known I was typing about him because he is currently flailing around in the crib and fussing a bit. Shhhhhhhh...)

Other than his disappearing act, Ethan also has started a Baby Olympic act of throwing his pacifiers out of the crib. It used to be cute. Now, it's just plain annoying. Today, I went in to get him after his morning nap. He's playing in the crib, happy as can be, without any pacifiers. He started his nap with two (we always give him a backup). Sure enough, they were on the floor. I picked them up and put them in my pocket to throw in the dishwasher later.

(He has stopped fussing and is quiet, but is actually mooning the camera right now. His knees are tucked underneath him, and his butt is right there, pointed at the camera. Why do kids always do this? It just doesn't seem comfortable. Oh, he just fell over onto his side. Yikes...and he's tipping a paci out over the crib. It's like he's toying with it, playing pacifier god...)

Ok, so anyway, I got to thinking that he didn't seem to have any clean pacifiers in the container we keep them in, despite the fact that the dishwasher was empty. That's when I found his stash. That's right, everybody, I found a hidden stash in Ethan's room. I moved his crib out from the wall and there were seven , count them, SEVEN pacifiers on the ground. They were all fuzzy and full of dusty goo, reminding me I really ought to swiffer back there. I couldn't resist videotaping my find as Ethan cooed innocently in the crib. What a weenie.

(Will and I are currently dying laughing at Ethan's crib gymnastics right now. Will is especially entertained because he doesn't see it during the day like I do. It's like there's a pea under his mattress or something. Our little prince just can't get comfortable, it seems.)

Time to say goodnight. Be sure to say a prayer for all those affected by the NIU shooting tonight. It's a scary world.

The Results of Three Days Inside

To put it plainly, the weather has sucked lately. And I'm not talking about the snow. I love snow. It does make for dangerous driving conditions, but at least it's pretty. I'm talking about rain. And lots of rain. And grey days. Today, in fact, was the first day in all of February so far that the sun decided to make an appearance. As soon as Ethan was up from his nap, I slapped his coat on and got him into our SUV stroller, the jogger. It has super thick wheels that can roll right over the snow, though not always easily. We walked outside for a good 25 mintues, then Will met us out and he continued the walk while I left to tutor. It was a good dose of vitamin D.

But this week has been particularly rough weatherwise, and, by Wednesday, it had taken it's toll. Wednesday was the day that it was raining in the morning and then it turned to snow by the afternoon. Ethan and I stayed in all day and I was so desperate to get out of the house that I called Will and told him if he came home while there was still daylight, I would LOVE to shovel the driveway. Ambitious? No. Going a bit cuckoo from so many grey days inside and feeling like I might have to get on top of a roof with a machine gun soon? Yes.

So I got bundled up and went outside to tackle our quite long driveway. Will had warned me that the snow was very wet and, therefore, heavy. The newscasters called it heart attack snow. I was confident that if I took it in small enough sections, I could easily clear the drive in, say, 20 minutes.

I'm still confident that that would have been the case, but we'll never know. Because this is what I decided to do instead....

Meet Oscar the Snowman! Oscar was, by far, the most difficult snowman I have ever made. I was telling a friend I didn't really build him, I more sculpted him. The traditional snowperson building techniques were not to be attempted with this kind of icy snow. I had to simply make giant mounds and then mold a circle out of the mounds by chipping away at them with my mitten-clad hand. A lot of elbow grease; wet knees from kneeling in my non-waterproof pants; way too much time spent looking for material for his face; disdain from Will when he realized I was not shoveling; and yet, oh so worth it. Don't you think?

In other news, Ethan had another appointment with his orthotist today, and his head continues to improve. We are having his head scanned March 25th and we will have even more accurate measurements of the improvement and will also get an idea of how much longer he will need it. By the time of his scan, he will have had the helmet just shy of 3 months. Their original guess was that he would have it at least 3-4 months, so we'll see. As long as it's off before it starts getting too hot, I'll be happy. I'm definitely going to keep it to use during his learning to walk phase. I figure it will come in pretty handy then.

Our Civic Duty

Happy Super Tuesday. I imagine everybody voted today, and I hope you all had positive experiences. I was lucky enough to go mid-morning and avoid any crowds. Our polling place is just one street over, on 7th Avenue, so I bundled Ethan up and pushed him in the stroller to the school. On the way in, a cute old lady informed me that if you do not vote for the presidential delegates, your vote for president does not count. She said no one tells you that. I didn't know what she was talking about until I actually voted and saw the page with the delegates. If what she said was accurate, I'm sure glad she told me.

Since I was at the polling place at 10:30 AM, I was the youngest (besides Ethan) of anyone there by about 75 years. Of course, this means that everyone was just gushing over the helmeted little guy. I was a bit worried that some people might not be so thrilled with him once they saw the Obama sticker displayed on the side of his helmet, but I have a feeling cataracts and, in general, poor eyesight saved us on that front. No one seemed to notice except the one young woman in the place who took my name. She was amused.

I opted to do my voting with the touchscreens, and an adorable old man volunteer explained how to use it, which made him even more adorable because it was clearly something I - as a 27 year old who grew up with abundant computer technology - could figure out, and he clearly had only just learned how to work with the machine mere hours beforehand. I patiently listened to his speech and then was on my way. Ethan looked over my shoulder from his stroller and took it all in, pacifier breathing in and out in deep thought.

When we were through, I walked over to the adorable old man who gave me a sticker and then said, "Wait a minute" while he peeled another one off and plopped it right on Ethan's helmet. This gesture made him all the more fantastic to me. The other voluteers were laughing as we left the room, obviously in good spirits to see the young voter. It brings new meaning to the phrase "vote early," I guess.

I feel so excited about this election first because, no matter what the outcome, it will end with a Bush-less administration and, number two, it is such a historically important election with both an African American and female candidate. I cannot help thinking that if this election is occurring when I am only 27 years old, the future of our country and its treatment of minority populations and women can only improve. It will be exciting to see what other cultural and historical milestones I will witness in my lifetime. But at times I also feel a bit anxious about the election, wondering what kinds of ridiculous sexist or racist events might occur before, or even after, the election. To put it simply, I just hope everybody plays fair.

Now, I guess it's just a waiting game. Good luck to everyone, and may the best man, or woman, win!

Go Giants...I guess

I don't have a lot of time to write, but I thought I'd post a few pictures from the last week or so:

Here is Ethan in his doggy towel after a bath. He looked too adorable!
Friends of ours sent this great "Hot Tomato" onesie. We think it's hilarious!
Here is Will posing with his homemade calzone. I got the recipe from the Feed Your Family blog I found through a friend. The dough is super easy and it was fun to roll it out and stuff them.
This one is filled with ricotta w/spinach, tomato sauce, mushrooms, and mozzarella. They were tasty! There's a link to the Feed Your Family blog on the right if you'd like the recipe.
Here is Ethan today, Superbowl Sunday. While we really have very little preference concerning who wins, we decided we'd go for the underdogs: New York. And, we found yet another convenient use for Ethan's helmet.

OK, now the following video is somewhat lengthy. Unless you're a grandparent, or a big Ethan fan, you may not find it all that entertaining. I was trying to capture his Pilates Happy Dance, as I call it, a move where he not only flails his legs (he is constantly moving his legs, but he seems to balance on his core muscles and pump his arms, too. It looks exactly like a move from my MTV Pilates video. I do it some mornings while he plays, so he must have picked it up. You may also notice how Ethan is anywhere BUT his blanket. Now that he rolls, we cannot keep him contained. He goes wherever he shouldn't.