Gluttony (aka Thanksgiving)

Happy Thanksgiving!  We had an excellent day spent with Eric's parents, Bob & Trudi, and his aunt & uncle, Randy & Mameka.  Dinner was fabulous, Eric makes the best turkey and stuffing ever and Trudi's potato souffle is out of this world.  We are thankful for all life's little blessings.  I hope that everyone enjoyed the day as much as we did.

Aunt Mamie & Bitty

NAPS, better stated as a lack thereof

My child out and out refuses napping.  She acts like she may miss out on something - really, Bitty cleaning the house and washing your nasty nappies is not that great, certainly I would rather be napping!  When she does nap the average "nap" length is 30 minutes.  Any mamas with helpful suggestions out there?  I could use a few.

weekends

I love the weekend.  It is so grand to have two entire days with my husband and

Bitty.  It has been a rather spectacular weekend for Adelaide and I... Friday we went with Trudi (Ernie's Mom) to a Christmas Fair and out to lunch.  Saturday we hung out with Daddy while he did home improvements ( for those of you who don't know I married the ultimate handyman who is a very talented carpenter among other skills!), we indulged in a Hunter family tradition of delicious sourdough pancakes, and we spent the evening at Kestrel Vintners (my employer before Adelaide) for the 2008 Harvest Party. 

 Sunday was a day of doin' nuthin.'

Eric organized his arsenal/ammo and I knitted, cleaned, did 

laundry, cooked and a host of other "suzie homemaker" activities.  I just want to publicly say how great my husband is - Ernie I love you, immensely.  My life would be crap without you dude!  XOXO

Love that baby...

Holy Cow!!!  They change so quickly.  She has more or less grown out of the 'bath in the sink' routine.  My parents came for a visit this weekend and Ma and I bathed her in the tub in her baby tub. Bitty LOVES bathtime.  

Within one week, Bitty went from flailing arms and legs to manipulating her arms, hands, feet, and legs with surprising aptitude.

Baking...

Today was dedicated to kitchenly pursuits.  I think that I may have just made up a word, 'kitchenly.'  The appropriate adjective would be culinary, but I am sticking with kitchenly.

As I have alluded in other posts, I make all of our bread and today I baked.  I had some bananas and pumpkin that need to be used, so I made a quick bread that I think I will call Autumn Day Delight Bread (for those of you who have seen the film Waitress, naming of the bread in this fashion will make sense).  I also had a loaf of Robin's Bread beginning to get stale, so I made a batch of bread crumbs and Eric's favorite garlic croutons out of that.  Thirdly, I wanted a hearty bread to accompany the Delicato Bisque that we are having for supper this evening so I made Pain de Campagne.  An excellent 'country style' loaf of french origins made with rye flour and perfumed by the addition of oregano and black pepper.  Needless to say, we are eating well at the Stagg household - as if my waistline were not evidence enough. :)

La Ponchita tan Bonita

Everybody is makin' babies and I want to share a new addition.  

Yesterday, I dropped in on my friend Dana who gave birth to a beautiful baby girl on 10.27.08, Salome Ruby Evangeline Botello.  She looks just like her Daddy and is sooooo cute.  Bienvenidos Ponchita!

USA

Well folks, it's no secret that I am the conservative sort, so you can imagine my disappointment at the election results (not that Mr John McCain would have been much better, quite honestly). However, I must say that I am proud of the fact that America elected a black man, although I would have preferred Alan Keyes or Bill Cosby.

The point of my post is that we shouldn't give up hope.  All of those who believe in self-reliance, integrity, a day's hard work, God, the coupling of responsibility and rights, small government, charity (given out of the kindness of one's heart - not 'nanny state' mandated), and our right to bear arms, achievement through merit... to name a few, we must now, more than ever, strengthen our families and communities.  I think the most appropriate action for us is as Ghandi stated, "Be the change you wish to see in the world."  Continue to lead by example and let it be known what your values and beliefs are, do not let political correctness and other pressures silence you.  

I have a baby and today's America is not the legacy I would like to leave to her.

Food for thought: 2 Chronicles 7:14 - If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

random thoughts

Does this picture remind anyone else of those old "bitter beer face" commercials?  In the not so distant future, Adelaide may be angry with me for posting this hysterical photo.  

Just a few thoughts...  

• Don't forget to exercise your grand privilege of the vote (and please use it wisely, there is a lot at stake)!
  
• Do you know that most people are kinder to strangers than they are to their spouses?  Do something nice for your husband/wife today. 
• You should try to bake your own bread - I have been doing it for almost three years now and it taste better, is better for you, is cheaper, and is not very difficult.  However, I will warn you that if your husband likes it as much as mine does, he may refuse to eat store purchased bread and you'll have to do it FOREVER.  
• To the mamas - has anyone else considered going to cloth diapers?  I bought my first setup for them yesterday to try it out, have I lost my mind?  I don't think so, my mother-in-law would beg to differ (maybe she thought I was a nut to begin with!  :) Love ya, Trudi). It is much cheaper (particularly when Adelaide averages 12 diapers/day) and it cuts down on the hideous amount of garbage we create.  
• Tell your Dad you love him today - you never know when he'll be gone and Dad's are taken for granted a lot.
• Does anybody out there watch The Office?  Eric and I don't watch television, but we are addicted to Netflix and we got that show.  Eric hates it, doesn't think it is funny at all.  I, on the other hand, laugh out loud and love it.  Does he not like it because he has never worked in a office and just doesn't get it? 

I hope that everyone has a lovely day.  Enjoy the vivid color and crisp air of fall.  

Eric & Adelaide

Have I mentioned yet that Bitty has a hot temper?  Where on earth did she get that? 

I took this picture last night.  Eric is such a good daddy & this is too cute!  We are so lucky to have him. 

Halloween

The evening was a success!  Prosser's children turned out in droves for candy.  Our neighbors's scary tunnel was a smashing success - people were at their house nonstop from 4:30 - 10:00.  The Bitty fell asleep at 4:45 and stayed that way until about 8:00, so she missed out on most of the fun. 

As you can see (above) we had a baby meltdown and that long nap was very much required!

Atila was, of course, beyond excited and could hardly contain himself.  In fact, he landed himself in doggy jail because he barked at a little, little girl when she was picking out her candy - the poor thing could not have been more than  years old and was frightened of the dog to begin with and then he went and barked right in her face, she lost her grip and Atila was quickly escorted to the fenced in backyard.  He was not happy with us.  

I want candy!

We carved our jack-o-lantern at 3:30 pm yesterday... not bad work for procrastinators doing a quicky job, huh?

I hope you enjoyed the evening as much as we did!