Marvelle Musings

Halloween craft

2011-10-30T21:39:00.002-04:00

BOO!

Elizabeth's footprint turned into a ghost. She loved doing this craft. She is at such a fun age right now!

Keystone Keith Stone Always Smooth

2011-10-30T21:35:00.001-04:00

Halloween is always fun! Last night we went to a party with Keith and Erin, and Keith was sporting a pretty great outfit. In Amanda fashion I will analyze Keith's outfit...

Keith Stone vs. Keith Gerdes

1. Stone has a 30 pack; Gerdes has a 12 pack +1 Keith Stone

2. Gerdes is actually drinking a Keystone +1 Gerdes

3. Gerdes has Makers Mark in the backgorund +1 Gerdes

Gerdes wins!

Unfortunately this was the only picture I took at the party. Nathan and I were Miss Piggy and Kermit. A classic costume that we made for an 80's TV party many years back. For me, a good Halloween costume has to have 2 things - it has to be recognizable and it has to be handmade. In my next post I will do an archive of past Halloween costumes... and wait for it - we have tons of pictures of Elizabeth's costume.

Elizabeth at 17 Months

2011-05-05T11:46:00.000-04:00

Elizabeth at 17 Months from Nathan Marvelle on Vimeo.

Cooking... Homemade black bean burgers

2011-02-28T14:26:00.000-05:00

I put together a few recipes for this one and wanted to document my final compiled recipe.

1 can black beans (rinsed and dried)
1/2 can corn (or frozen corn rinsed and dried)
1/2 green bell pepper
1/2 onion
3 cloves garlic
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1 slice of toasted wheat bread
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup (maybe more depending on moisture) of cooked brown rice
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Blend the onions, bell pepper, and garlic in the food processor. Add 1/4 cup oats and shred the toast and add. Blend. Add the 2 eggs, 1/2 of the cilantro, and spices. Blend. Add 3/4 of the beans and blend. Put the blended mixture into a bowl and add the corn, remainder of beans, cilantro, remainder of oatmeal and rice. Mix. This should be kinda gooey and runny, but you shouldn't be able to pour it. Spray a pan with oil and form patties (~5/6). Put in 350-400 degree oven and bake ~10 min on each side until they are cooked all the way through. There is a balance between cooking them and drying them out.

#13 Making cheese

2011-02-28T14:06:00.000-05:00

I was really in the mood for saag paneer, however, I found out that I couldn't buy paneer (an Indian cheese) at the local grocery store or even at Whole Foods - and it might cost ~$12 if I did find it. I decided to go ahead and make it myself.

I looked at several recipes online and decided on this one.

1/2 gallon whole milk
2 TBSP lemon juice
1. In a heavy saucepan, bring milk to a boil. (When it has reached full boil, it will look very foamy and quickly - QUICKLY, I say - rise in the pot. To avoid the ensuing mess, remove it from the heat right away.) Add lemon juice and stir until small curds separate from the whey, about 2-3 minutes.
2. Let sit 10 minutes so curds can develop, then drain into a collander lined with 2 layers of cheesecloth. When cool enough to handle, tie up opposite ends of the cheese cloth and squeeze out remaining liquid.
3. Place paneer, still in cheese cloth, on a plate. Flatten to 1/2" thick and top with another plate. Rest something heavy on top (such as several cans or the Joy of Cooking) and let sit 20 minutes.
4. Pour off any liquid that remains and cut into cubes or refridgerate overnight.

It was pretty good and easy!

#12 NC Art Museum

2011-02-28T13:46:00.001-05:00

On February 9th Elizabeth, my friend Lisa, and I went to the NC Museum of Art. They just added a brand new wing (see the building behind Elizabeth) and there is free admission everyday! We started off in the old wing which housed their visiting collection. We really liked the photograph by Sangbin Im called Western Paintings.

Elizabeth enjoyed the 3D wooden art forms by Bob Trotman called Inverted Utopias.

We then went to the new wing. Unfortunately, Elizabeth voiced her opinion that she was done with art. All in all we spent ~1.5 hours there, which was a pretty good attention span for a 14 month old. We will probably go back soon to check out the part we didn't get to see.

Bathtime Comedy

2011-02-23T18:37:00.001-05:00

Elizabeth has started to figure out what comedy is all about. She hides her dog in the bath water, asks us where it is, then finds it to make us laugh. She did this for more than 5 minutes tonight. Our little comedian.

Sheldon

2011-02-10T22:33:00.005-05:00

Sheldon is Elizabeth's lovey. Elizabeth's grandpa, Kevin, wrote a song dedicated to Elizabeth and Sheldon and put together this video.

Sheldon is very special to Elizabeth. She sleeps with him every night and every nap. He comes all the way from New Zealand. We bought him there when we visited in 2009. In fact, when we realized that Elizabeth had become attached to him, Amanda went online and bought a second Sheldon. Just in case.

Our friend, DeeDee, named Sheldon. We just called him "Elizabeth's sheep" early on and one evening when DeeDee babysat she came up with his name and it stuck.

Another fun fact: every night, we play another one of Kevin's songs (Dear Little One) as a goodnight lullaby. You can actually hear a snippet of the song on Kevin's cdbaby page.

#11 Same Kind of Different As Me

2011-01-20T14:29:00.000-05:00

Same Kind of Different As Me by Ron Hall, Denver Moore, and Lynn Vincent.
I really enjoyed this book and couldn't put it down. Another book for my book club - someone has good taste. I was really captivated by the characters (though they are actually real-life people they came off as characters because of their unique circumstances) and enjoyed the way the authors arranged the chapters, alternating between voices (same as in The Help). Although my one negative about that technique was that some of the chapters did not alternate, which threw me off for the first few paragraphs of that chapter. This book centered on faith, friendship, and death, and it got me thinking about my marriage and how precious my time is with Nathan. It is pretty much inevitable that one of us will pass away before the other. And although "life" (dishes, dirty diapers, having to be somewhere on time, etc.) sometimes gets in the way, I really want to try to cherish every moment that we have together.

#10 If You Could See Me Now

2011-01-20T14:19:00.001-05:00

If You Could See Me Now by Cecelia Ahern.
This book was not as good as Ahern's other book, PS I Love You. In the end I wanted a little more for the main character, and the plot was a stretch, an adult imaginary friend that she and her adopted nephew could only see helping her through her tough times - Really? But I got out of it what I wanted - a quick read over Christmas vacation.

#9 The Girl with the Pearl Earring

2010-12-22T15:27:00.000-05:00

Book #2! Just finished this book for my book club. While I usually enjoy more modern fiction, I was captivated by this historical novel of a maid and her life working in a painter's house in 17th century Holland. I'm not too keen on writing book reports, so I will not use this blog to summarize the book (there are far too many already on the web). However, I would recommend it if you are looking for a quick read. I would also recommend checking out the book's website to view the actual paintings that are described in the book. I imagined them while reading and then was able to see what Vermeer actually produced.

I was even more inclined to read the book faster because I accidentally checked out a large print version from the library. After going to the gym with it, I realized large print is so much easier to read while working out. This mistake was both good for my waste-line and my reading!

The Contemporary Science Center

2010-12-22T12:29:00.003-05:00

This is a short video giving you some insight into the Contemporary Science Center. I am currently working here as an educator. Over the last few months I have been training and learning the ropes, and in January I start teaching full-time filling in for the current education director (Alice, seen in the video) while she is on maternity leave. I have really enjoyed my experience there so far and think that it is a great organization. The goal of the Center is to present an authentic experience in real science through day long field studies developed in collaboration with a local bio-tech or pharmaceutical company. During these field-trips students follow the narrative arc of solving a problem that the companies are currently facing like developing a drug or combating crop destruction by the corn root-worm through genetically modifying corn.

Fallon

2010-12-16T14:33:00.002-05:00

While I don't watch late night TV, I find myself watching more clips of Jimmy Fallon's show than any other. Love his impression of Neil Young. Hadn't seen him slow jam the news before, but this one was worth it:

Santa

2010-12-13T19:51:00.000-05:00

Have you been

Naughty

Nice?

Elizabeth thinks she is a dog.

2010-12-04T09:57:00.000-05:00

Pancake does not approve.

#8 Quilted pot holders

2010-12-04T00:17:00.000-05:00

I have found another use for my scraps of fabric: quilted pot holders This was so fun and easy that I already have plans for making a whole set!

#7 a visit to the Nasher Museum of Art

2010-12-03T15:59:00.003-05:00

I am always looking for new things to do for Elizabeth and I especially in the early evenings before Nathan comes home. It seems like this is the time that we both begin to tire of being with each other all day. I was so happy to find that the Nasher Museum of Art has free admission on Thursdays after 5pm. I thought the museum would appeal to her investigative nature, and I would enjoy it as well.

We arrived right at 5, and Elizabeth quietly viewed all the art work from her stroller. She was a little hesitant at first, like she always is. Instead of looking at the art she began by checking out the Duke students who were clearly there for class credit and enjoyed looking at the skylights. When we entered their permanent collection she was taken by the extremely large (~5ft) and life-like sculpture of a man's head. She stared at it for at least 3 minutes trying to take him all in. I am always intrigued by this sculpture. I was really glad that she was not afraid of him since his brow is furrowed and he looks a little mean.

We then visited their exhibit on The Vorticists. To me, it looked like cubism. She begin to point to some of the artwork and "talk" about what she was seeing. I think the bright colors and strong lines were very interesting to her. She was really taken by a sculpture of a small fawn. She pointed at it and was clearly more intrigued by it than by any other piece she saw in this exhibit.

After that, Nathan joined us and we entered an exhibit call "The Record" - the first museum exhibition to explore the culture of vinyl records within the history of contemporary art. The artists used vinyl records in interesting ways to make art work. They also integrated music and a lot of reinterpretations of album covers. Elizabeth especially liked the piece where they had stuffed birds as the needle for the record player and the albums were of bird calls. She didn't get the irony but did enjoy seeing the life-like birds up close. She also enjoyed wearing the 3D glasses that allowed you to see a life-sized 3D image of a recording studio. Isn't she cute?

Cooking... Sweet and Sour Beet Saute

2010-12-03T15:30:00.001-05:00

The beets in the local grocery have been tempting me, and I finally gave in and purchased a large bunch. We chopped off the tops for salad greens and washed the roots. I was surprised that a little beet can go a long way! We boiled a few to use in salads but still had several roots left. So we decided to make a sweet and sour beet saute and worked from this recipe.

2T olive oil
2 beets peeled and cut into matchsticks
2 onions sliced
2 mashed garlic cloves
1/4 cup raisins
2T honey
2T lemon juice
1T OJ
2T soy sauce

Heat oil in skillet; stir-fry the beets, onions, garlic, and raisins for several minutes over medium-high heat until onion is brown. Add the remaining ingredients; lower heat. Toss well to combine. Cover and steam until the vegetables are tender, 15 to 20 minutes adding more OJ or water if too much evaporation occurs.

Decking the halls - Toddler style

2010-12-02T12:38:00.000-05:00

During the last two months Elizabeth has gotten into EVERYTHING! When she is downstairs we close off all the doors and allow her only in the main rooms- the kitchen, dining room and living room. We had to move our couch to block the stairs so we don't spend all of our time chasing her up them. We locked all the kitchen cabinets except one which she has successfully found and tries to open at least 5 times every day. We moved all extraneous furniture and even our plants upstairs since she started to topple them over and munch on them like they were crackers. We finally thought we had child proofed the house.

Except now it is Christmas, and I really must have a tree. We discussed our options and decided upon a small tree on our TV stand. To make it more secure we tied it to the wall with fishing line. Here's hoping that we can keep it this nice for the next month.

No longer a baby...

2010-11-28T21:21:00.004-05:00

Today Elizabeth is a toddler!

Elizabeth took her first unassisted step on Monday, November 22 in front of both of her parents while she was visiting Nathan's office for lunch. Today, November 28 - one day after her first birthday, she has decided that she is a toddler. Our little girl is growing up!

Toddling from Nathan Marvelle on Vimeo.

#6 First Birthday Button Onesy

2010-11-22T10:19:00.002-05:00

For Elizabeth's first birthday party with our friends this weekend, I made Elizabeth this little shirt. I ironed on a cut-out "1" and then added buttons of different colors. She seemed to like it. And as you will see from another post, she hardly got a crumb on it, so I think she will be able to wear it on her actual birthday.

#4 Allen Toussaint Concert

2010-11-08T10:44:00.000-05:00

So this is not a craft, but it fits into my description of "artsy"...

On November 7, Nathan and I went to see the famous jazz pianist, Allen Toussaint with special guests Nicholas Payton & the Joe Krown Trio feat: Joe Krown, Walter "Wolfman" Washington, & Russell Batiste. The whole first act (~1hr) featured only the "special guests", and I didn't think that they were that special. I was very close to asking Nathan if we could go home, but I am so glad we stuck around. During the second act they rolled out a grand piano, and Toussaint wowed the audience. He was very chatty which I always enjoy. I love to hear back stories about inspiration and context of the musician work. It also gives you a little insight to who the person really is. Toussaint is really interesting and his work is great. I can't believe that he has a catalog of over 600 songs!

Here is a sample of him playing Southern Nights

Cooking... Moroccan Curried Couscous

2010-10-26T13:40:00.001-04:00

1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/3 cup raisins
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 can of chick peas
1 cup couscous
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1 lemon grated
1.5 Tbs lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Combine chicken broth, raisins, chick peas, curry powder and cumin in medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Remove from heat; stir in couscous and green onions. Cover and let sit 5 minutes. Fluff couscous with a fork; cool. In a small bowl combine lemon peel, lemon juice and olive oil; blend until thoroughly mixed. Toss cooled couscous with dressing to taste.

Adapted from this.

Cooking... Minted Pea Purée

2010-10-26T13:13:00.005-04:00

Inspired by a dish from our dinner at Pop's on Friday, we made minted pea puree. It was a little like baby food - ok a lot like baby food - but had good flavor. To lower the calories and fat I left out the butter and only put in enough milk/cream to make it tasty.

Minted Pea Purée
*three 10-ounce packages frozen peas, thawed (we only had 2 bags and used them frozen)
*1/3 cup fresh mint leaves
*3 tablespoons half-and-half, or to taste (a mix of milk and heavy cream to taste)
*3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits (didn't use)

In a large saucepan combine the peas with 1/4 cup water and the mint leaves and boil the mixture, covered, for 4 minutes, or until the peas are tender. Drain the mixture well and in a food processor purée it with the half-and-half, the butter, and salt and pepper to taste. The purée may be made 1 day in advance, kept covered and chilled, and reheated.

$10 worth of fabric

2010-10-26T12:42:00.001-04:00

On Sunday the Scrap Exchange was having their bi-annual fabric sale. Elizabeth and I went and picked up a big bag of fabric remnants for only ten dollars! I put them on our kitchen floor to remove the tags before washing them and snapped this picture with Pancake to give some perspective to how much we actually got! Some of the pieces are quite large and are really sweet designs like a few from Laura Ashley. I hope to make some outfits for Elizabeth. If I had more time or I didn't have a baby strapped to my front in the Bjorn, then I might have gotten a second bag. Oh well, there is always next spring - and I know that I will probably not get to all of this in the next 6 months (or ever!) anyways.

#3 Heart shaped sachet with cross-stitched bird

2010-10-26T12:36:00.001-04:00

I decided I wanted to do a sampler for Elizabeth for her room, but first I wanted to do a quick craft to make sure I was up for cross-stitching a whole project. After checking out several sampler books from the library, I was inspired to make this little pillow as a Christmas ornament.

Baking... Chocolate Pate and Raspberry Coulis

2010-10-25T21:32:00.002-04:00

For Nathan's birthday I made a chocolate pate with raspberry coulis. It was so simple and extremely delicious if I do say so myself. Imagine a dessert that is a mix between a fudge and a mousse. It was super rich but still light. And... it only took about 20 minutes (maybe less) from start to finish!!

Chocolate Pate

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, divided
1 large egg yolk
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Whipped cream

Line 8 x 4-inch baking pan with plastic wrap.
Combine 1/4 cup whipping cream and egg yolk in small bowl.
Combine morsels, corn syrup and butter in heavy-duty medium saucepan. Melt over lowest possible heat. When morsels begin to melt, remove from heat; stir. Return to heat for a few seconds at a time, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat. Add cream mixture to saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat for 1 minute. Let cool to room temperature.
Beat remaining cream and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until soft peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold chocolate mixture into the whipped cream. Pour into prepared pan. Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight or freeze 3 hours.

Raspberry Coulis

1 bag of frozen raspberries
1/4 cup sugar

Put ingredients into a sauce pan and boil until raspberries break-up and sugar melts ~10 min.
Press through a stainer to get rid of all the seeds. It should look more liquid than a jelly, but not too watery.

I got my recipe from here: http://allwomenstalk.com/15-ingredients-and-directions-of-chocolate-pate-with-cranberry-coulis-receipt/

#2 Happy Birthday Banner

2010-10-20T15:31:00.001-04:00

While thinking about what I want to do for Elizabeth's 1 year birthday, I decided I wanted to make a banner to hang from the wall like these. I've seen a few other people do it, but I swear, I've been thinking about doing it for a while :) I guess these are the new "in" things for birthday parties.

I had all the materials - my trusty box of fabric, Steam a Seem to fuse the letters onto the flags, and ribbon. My sewing machine has been broken since early August, and this was a great inspiration to go get the part so I could start sewing again. Twenty-five dollars later, I had a functioning sewing machine and starting cutting out the flags. I ironed the ribbon in half and sewed the flags to it. I cut out the letters and ironed them on. I was trying to get it done yesterday, because today is Nathan's birthday and I hung it up last night after he went to bed to celebrate. I'm a little disappointed at how the H and the Y flags look with the letters; I was hoping they would stand out more... oh well. You can still read it, and I think it looks cute.

These were two great projects to start out with. They were very easy and quick which just inspires me to do more! Any suggestions for my next "act of 30"?

#1 Fabric Wreath

2010-10-20T15:19:00.000-04:00

I decided to get artsy yesterday and made 2 projects in under 24 hours. Inspired by this wreath and my box of fabric squares that I haven't found a good project, I Googled "fabric wreath". I stumbled upon several and followed instructions from this blog. She said ~200 pieces, well it was more like 500 - but it was still fun, easy, relatively quick (~3 hours and could tie on while watching Elizabeth), cheap (originally 2.99 but with a Joann fabric 50% off coupon only $1.61 for the wreath base and free fabric scraps) and I think it looks shabby chic. What do you think?

6 months until I turn 30!

2010-10-20T15:03:00.003-04:00

October 9th marked 6 months until my 30th birthday. I know that on April 9th, I will not feel any different than the day before, but the changing decade is somewhat a big deal. I've been thinking about what I want to do to celebrate.

I'd brainstormed a couple of ideas.
Run a marathon - the plantar fasciitis that has been bugging me for the last two months has sorta sidelined that idea.
Read 30 books - I am such a slow reader that I would need to read either crap books, or do nothing but read. And I have a few other things on my plate so I will pass up that one.

However, with help from Nathan, I have come up with a goal that I think is obtainable and fun, but will help me feel like I've accomplished something [not that a B.S., PhD, and baby aren't something]. I am planning on doing 30 "artsy" things before April 9th. The definition of "artsy" is a little liberal: making a craft, reading a book, going to a movie, and going to a show. I may add to/modify this definition as I go.

I plan on posting each thing on the blog to keep track, and hope to do at least 5 a month so I am not doing them all in March.

10 month pictures

2010-10-08T09:57:00.002-04:00

As you can see from our recent video, Elizabeth no longer likes to be stationary. This was also apparent in our recent attempt to try to get her 10 month block picture. Here are the first four pictures from that set and two others that illustrate the difficulty of capturing her cuteness (with blocks).

Nathan placing her in front of her blocks

He hasn't yet had the chance to even get out of the picture (see the green sock) before she starts reaching for them

Elizabeth looking at Nathan as he asks her not to grab all the blocks

Here you can see her total disregard to our attempt at trying to capture this month's photo. Blocks right in the mouth and scattered about

Retreat!

A now somewhat common occurrence in our house - the temper tantrum. She knows what she wants and would prefer to have it her way.

However we were still able to capture a few sweet moments. Pay no attention to the shadow behind her. Unfortunately, our house doesn't get a lot of natural light and we can only do so much.

This one makes her look like she has super long legs.

10 months and cruising

2010-09-30T00:05:00.001-04:00

Oh... we are about to have our hands full if they weren't already!! Elizabeth has just started to cruise efficiently this last week.

Elizabeth cruising at 10 months old from Nathan Marvelle on Vimeo.

How I find recipes to try

2010-09-21T12:14:00.000-04:00

Going with the idea that my food should look tasty, I have taken to looking at Google images to find the recipes that I want to cook. I spot a picture that looks good - then go to the website to see if the recipe is doable. Another website I've stumbled upon is called Taste Spotting. I love the pictures! I've used this to find a recipe for savory bread pudding with swiss chard and sweet potatoes... Just type in the item that you have and up comes a bunch of pictures with links to recipes. Yummy!

Babies of the 80's

2010-09-12T22:41:00.001-04:00

My mom saved a few of my outfits from when I was a baby, and when I get bored I dress Elizabeth up in them and take her picture.

Most of the outfits are completely unpractical - for instance the pink sleeper only has buttons up the back with no access to the legs and diaper region. I can only imagine that being a very unplesant and time consuming middle of the night for my mom. However, the design of the little greenish/blue onesey should be duplicated for modern times. The flap that goes around her bottom comes up and snaps on her belly. There are multiple places you can snap it meaning she can wear as she gets longer. Unfortunately, it is not the cutest of the bunch, so she doesn't wear it too often. The top outfit makes her look like she should be out on the prairie. I just love that hat. But she didn't - I have several pictures of her trying to take it off, however it is a good design and she couldn't get it to budge!

We have a few more outfits to get her into and I'll make sure to take a photo. Good thing they are baby outfits, because I can just hear her now saying "mom this is ridiculous!" I have to admit they are pretty ridiculous, but they're pretty darn cute too!

Cooking...

2010-09-01T14:48:00.000-04:00

"Sun" dried tomatoes

We sliced up some tomatoes and baked them on a cookie cooling rack at 250* for ~ 3 hours. This produced shriveled little tomatoes that tasted amazing - as if we had doused them in some kind of dressing. Our inspiration came from this recipe.

While I am really looking forward to fall taking hold here (why is it still mid 90s today?), I am not looking forward to the end of tomato season.

Growth chart idea

2010-09-01T14:31:00.000-04:00

I have been looking for ideas for a growth chart for Elizabeth. I want to record her height on something for a visual of how fast she is growing, but knowing that we are not going to be in this house forever I wanted something that we could take with us. I also didn't want something too gaudy or too cutsey that would not be appropriate for when she gets older. After doing a thorough internet search I came upon this.

I bought a 6 foot board from home depot and painted it white. I plan on recording her height with a line date and then close to here birthday every year have her put her hand print in alternating colors. It fits all my criteria; I just love this idea!

Nine months old

2010-09-01T14:20:00.000-04:00

Today Elizabeth had her nine month appointment with Dr. Salter. She weighed in at an even 18lbs and she is 26.5 inches tall. She is hugging the 25th percentile curve for all her measurements.

From what we can tell and from what the doctor said, she seems to be developing right on track. She is pulling up on everything and crawls like a champ. She has 3 teeth - all on the bottom. And she is still a very happy baby. Well, except when she doesn't get her way... she hates having her diaper changed, not eating what we are eating, having things taken away from her (especially things that she should not have like the dog's water bowl or paper that will inevitably go right in her mouth), and initially being put in her car seat. She doesn't have stranger anxiety which we have read could kick in during this month. We are hoping that it never does. She is still a great sleeper but her bed time is creeping earlier and earlier. We would prefer to have her go to bed a little later so we could go out and do things, but these days she prefers to go to bed around 8:15, and we will probably be pushing that more towards 8 in the next few weeks as she is getting grumpy during those last 15 minutes if we are not doing something to entertain her. I remember when she used to go to bed at 10:30 and we asked the doctor when she would start going to bed earlier. Now we know. She still takes 2 to 3 naps during the day at 45min to 1.5 hours each.

All and all she is great!

Cooking...

2010-08-16T13:30:00.001-04:00

Tomato Jam

Inspired by the wealth of fresh tomatoes that we had (some of which were cracking and needed to be used immediately), I looked up recipes for tomato jam and decided to make this one from the New York Times.

5-8 coarsely chopped tomatoes

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon fresh grated or minced ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1 jalapeño or other peppers, stemmed, seeded and minced, or red pepper flakes or cayenne to taste (which I left out because I didn't see it in the recipe... but I'm glad I did because what we got was really sweet and tasty. Maybe next time I'll try with a little spice).

1. Combine all ingredients in a heavy medium saucepan, Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often.
2. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until mixture has consistency of thick jam. Since we did not core and get out the juice it took about 4-5 hours of simmering and occasionally stirring for ours to cook down to be thick enough. It was so worth it though!
3. Taste and adjust seasoning, then cool and refrigerate until ready to use; this will keep at least a week.

The final product is one that will make all the saliva glands in your mouth work overtime. It hits sweet and savory notes that make this little gem one that will become a staple if I ever have too many tomatoes (and really no one can EVER have too many tomatoes!)

Not knowing what to do with our jam other than salivate over it and sneak bites directly off of a spoon out of the jar, I did a little internet searching and found these ideas for ways to use the jam:
Slather it on warm cornbread or biscuits (Check!)
Use it as a condiment on sandwiches--roast beef on ciabatta, turkey breast with roasted sweet onions on toasted sourdough, smoked pulled pork with on a roll. (Check!)
Spread it on a toasted garlic bagel with cream cheese.
Mix it with softened cream cheese for a flavorful spread or unique party dip.
Thin it with a little sherry vinegar and use it as a glaze on chicken or fish.
Mix it with mayo for your secret "special sauce" on a hamburger. (umm not so much for me - what a waste!)
Fill crepes with tomato jam and goat cheese.
Use it in meatloaf in lieu of ketchup or BBQ sauce.

Elizabeth at Eight Months

2010-08-15T23:31:00.002-04:00

Elizabeth at Eight Months from Nathan Marvelle on Vimeo.

Cooking...

2010-08-15T17:44:00.000-04:00

Baba ghanoush

3 medium eggplant
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup tahini
3 cloves garlic minced
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil to thin

Pierce each eggplant with a knife multiple times and place in a cast iron skillet in a 400 degree oven. Cook for ~40 minutes rotating so each side gets evenly roasted.
Remove from oven and cool (either in fridge overnight or in cold water).
Remove peel.
Place eggplant, lemon juice, tahini, and garlic in food processor and pulse till smooth. Add salt and pepper. Taste... add more if it seems like one ingredient is lacking. Add some olive oil and pulse again until the correct consistency.

Cooking...

2010-08-13T10:52:00.002-04:00

Stuffed Bell Peppers

One of our trips took us to Asheville where we raided my parent's garden and came home with TONS of produce! I have been making lots of things and probably should have been writing them down because they were good, and I can never remember what I did later since I always put together several recipes.

Here is what I remember of the recipe I made (note - I just added lots of things because we had them... it would probably be good without most of these ingredients. Measurements are estimates.)
2 cups uncooked rice
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup shredded summer squash
2 diced banana peppers
1 diced onion
4 jalapenos (seeded if they are too hot)
1lb ground beef
2 tomatoes
1/2 cup cilantro
4 cloves minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin (more to taste)
1 cup spaghetti sauce (marinara)
3 egg whites
Salt
Pepper
1/2 cup crumbled feta
5-6 large bell peppers

* Cook rice in rice maker
* Saute carrots, squash, banana peppers, onion, 2 cloves garlic till soft
* In the meantime chop off tops of bell peppers and cut off the good part of the tops and throw in the saute. Remove ribs and seeds. Place in a oven safe casserole dish with some water and put in a preheated oven of 400 for 5-10 minutes.
* Add the ground beef to the sauteed veggies and cook until done.
* Make the fresh salsa - Dice the tomatoes, 2 jalapenos, cilantro, garlic, oregano, and cumin
* Add most of the rice (leave about 1/2-1 cup cooked rice to add if you feel like you need it) to the veggie - meat mixture.
* Add spaghetti sauce, egg whites, salt, pepper, feta, some extra cumin and oregano for taste, and 3/4 of the salsa mixture. If it is too watery or it looks like you need more rice... and the rice you set aside. If not keep it for something else.
* Spoon mix into peppers. Put the extra mix (there will be left over!) in a loaf pan. Put in oven for 25-30 minutes.

Enjoy! Elizabeth (she is now eating real food!), Nathan, and I sure did

Where have we been?

2010-08-13T10:33:00.001-04:00

July and August have been busy months for the Marvelles! We have been non-stop traveling since July 4th... meaning lots to blog. Check back regularly while I try to update and record our fun filled summer.

Almost crawling?

2010-07-29T23:57:00.000-04:00

Elizabeth has been getting up on her knees for a month now... but not a whole lot of forward progress that has looked anything like crawling. This last week she has started to move her hands and knees forward, but prefers to go a few "steps" then sit. She is pretty quick at getting across a room and we have started baby proofing.

Check out our latest video:

Almost Crawling from Nathan Marvelle on Vimeo.

6 months of Elizabeth

2010-06-10T17:27:00.000-04:00

Cooking...

2010-06-09T22:30:00.000-04:00

Inspired by this recipe we cooked a
Swiss chard and potato gratin.

Our variation on the recipe:
10 new potatoes sliced thin in the food processor leave skin on
1 cup aged cheddar
1/2 lb swiss chard chopped in small pieces
1 tablespoon butter
dash of salt and pepper
1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350.
Par boil the potatoes so they are almost the texture you'd like them in the gratin (this saved us so much time!). Spay a deep cooking bowl with non-stick spray. Layer 1/3 of the potatoes, 1/3 of the chard, and 1/3 of the cheese, 1/3 the butter cut in little pieces, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Do again twice making sure the top is cheese not swiss chard or else it will burn. Pour the milk down the edge. Bake in for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted and the chard has cooked to the right tenderness.

Cooking...

2010-06-09T22:23:00.000-04:00

Cabbage and Apple Slaw

A very tasty and a good way to use our CSA pointed head cabbage
I used a combination of recipes and this is what I ended up with:
1 pointed head cabbage (~4 cups) shredded in the food processor
2 granny smith apples diced in small chunks
1/2 cup low-fat sour cream
1/2 cup plan fat-free yogurt
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Mix the dressing in a separate bowl. Combine with the cabbage and apples. Enjoy.

A new face

2010-06-07T23:54:00.000-04:00

We snapped a few shots after her bath, and she started doing this new face.

Cooking...

2010-06-07T11:52:00.001-04:00

Yellow squash and zucchini rice casserole. What a great way to use all the squash we are getting from our CSA.

The Grueling Triathlon of Doom

2010-06-06T23:45:00.007-04:00

Putting the "Do" in Doom since 2008. GToD.

This morning I participated in my first triathlon. Before I injured my knee I have played with the idea of doing a triathlon. I had even looked into signing up for several, but never got the courage. Recently I've been working out pretty consistently and again started to think about doing a race again. Coincidentally, my friend Erin told me about this race, and even though I was past the registration date she was able to get me in. We met up this morning and were able to do it together.

The North Carolina summer did not disappoint - at 8am it was in the low 90's with sweltering humidity and the air was completely devoid of a breeze. Amazingly enough the weather wasn't too much of a factor. I might have been a little faster on my run if not for the sun beating down on me, but then again I had just finished swimming and biking so there is no way I would have been going very fast no matter what the weather. While the name sounds intimidating don't let it fool you; this triathlon is for the beginner triathalete. It is an actual super sprint distance. We started off at the downtown Y with a staggered start of 10 lengths of the pool, then transitioned in the parking lot and hopping on our bikes for a 6 mile ride down the American Tobacco trail, then back again to the Y parking lot to transition into the 1.5 mile run (more like slow slow jog for me).

The whole event was super fun, and I really hope to do another one soon!

The two of us swimming

Me finishing

Erin finishing

More pictures here.

Elizabeth's first hike

2010-06-06T23:37:00.004-04:00

This afternoon we tried to find a heron rookery by Ellerbe Creek here in Durham, but were unsuccessful. I think they were hiding because it was too hot!

Elizabeth did great. She didn't mind the heat and even managed to briefly fall asleep in the Bjorn.

Elizabeth's new swing

2010-06-05T23:35:00.000-04:00

Elizabeth's new swing from Nathan Marvelle on Vimeo.

Family photos

2010-05-24T00:53:00.000-04:00

My mom has been wanting a family photograph of the Naves, Marvelles, and Lankfords for a long while... and before we get around to it the family gets bigger. So as a gift to her, I organized all of us (it is crazy how hard it is to get us all together for a weekend) and had photos made. Here are a few of the best.

Elizabeth rolls over from back to front and leaps tall buildings.

2010-05-24T00:22:00.004-04:00

Last night, a few days shy of Elizabeth's 6 month birthday, as I was out with some girls I got a text from Nathan telling me that Elizabeth rolled over. He got out the video camera immediately and caught her new trick on film. Today she is doing it as if she always knew how. She even started to move her knees and try to get across the floor - crawling is not far off. She is really developing into a little person. It is crazy!

Elizabeth at six months from Nathan Marvelle on Vimeo.

Cooking...

2010-04-28T19:49:00.002-04:00

Creamy Green Garlic and Potato Soup

We started getting our CSA last week from Brinkley Farms. We are so excited about it! This particular CSA allows us to choose what we want in our box each week from a list of available items. Last week we choose chorizo, red leaf lettuce, green leaf lettuce, bok choy, and chinese cabbage. This week we choose to get some ground beef, green onions, collards, spinach, and green garlic. We weren't sure what to do with the green garlic... but after asking around, we heard of a green garlic potato soup that Toast (one of our favorite Durham restaurants) makes.

I googled and found a few recipes and ended up doing a composite of multiple recipes.

2 Tablespoons butter
2 large green onions
3 bulbs green garlic, thinly sliced (I used the whites, pink, and part way up the green)
4 medium Golden potatoes
Salt to taste
1 Quart Chicken Broth
Fresh Ground Black Pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons 2% milk
a splash of lemon juice to taste

Heat butter in a dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions and saute for 3 to 5 minutes.

Add the garlic, potatoes, and some salt, and saute for another 5 minutes.

Add the broth and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, allowing the soup to simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are nice and tender. Do not cover. When potatoes are soft and most of the liquid is absorbed or evaporated, use an immersion blender and puree. We didn't completely puree till smooth, but you could do that.

Add milk and broth until the soup is a soupy consistency. Taste the soup - add lemon juice, salt and pepper until the flavor is bright.

Mmmmmm - Yummy!

Making...

2010-04-21T00:30:00.000-04:00

Shirts for Elizabeth and Lily.

Elizabeth's first baseball game

2010-04-15T16:24:00.001-04:00

On opening day (April 15th) we took Elizabeth for her first baseball game. It was an amazing night, although the Bulls lost. Elizabeth loved it! Which is pretty standard for her as she is very social. She enjoyed the music, watching all the people, and being outside.

New pictures

2010-04-05T01:16:00.002-04:00

Check out our fotki site. We have tons of new pictures!

Beets can't be beat!

2010-04-02T15:46:00.000-04:00

Check out this article on the New York Times about the TripAdvisor review of the agrotourism destination Schrute Farms from The Office. So funny!

Elizabeth Laughs

2010-04-01T00:26:00.002-04:00

I can't stop smiling whenever I hear her laugh...
Make sure your sound is up for this!!!

Elizabeth laughs from Nathan Marvelle on Vimeo.

Cooking... Tuna and eggplant stew

2010-03-31T21:11:00.002-04:00

Tuna and eggplant stew

Nathan found this recipe on the New York Times, and when I read it, it initially did not appeal to me. But Nathan was game, and we had most of the items. For items we didn't have we did a bit of substituting.

No anchovy fillets (not a staple in our cabinets)
Eggplant for the bell peppers
1 fresh tomato, 1/2 can of tomato paste, 1/2 cup water for the 14oz can of chopped tomatoes with juice (we usually have this in our cabinet, but we were out!)
Cooking sherry for dry white wine (the white wine we had was really too sweet)
Russet potatoes for red potatoes
Ahi tuna filets for albacore
Cilantro for parsley

We also were short on time so we cut out the 1st 30 minute simmer and reduced the second simmer to just enough time to get the potatoes soft.

During the middle of the cooking process I tasted it and was really disappointed! But once it was done I was quite surprised at how delicious it was!

BABIES the movie

2010-03-30T22:01:00.002-04:00

We loved this trailer:

Spontaneous laughter

2010-03-30T19:40:00.001-04:00

Elizabeth has been giggling for quite sometime now. She giggles on the changing pad when you tickle her belly and under her arms. She has recently started giggling when you hold her up in the air above you head and lift her up and down and just today I started giving her a little toss and she laughs even harder!! But this afternoon she giggled for the first time spontaneously. We were standing at the bottom of the stairs and I was holding her on my shoulder with her looking up. Pancake started running down the stairs and Elizabeth broke out into laughter! It was the best!!! We still haven't gotten it on tape yet, but hopefully soon.

Wilco at the DPAC

2010-03-29T00:12:00.005-04:00

As Jim would say: "It was epic"

What an amazing evening! First we met up with some friends for dinner at Piedmont (I got the steak I have been craving), then a quick walk to DPAC. While it was a little chilly, it was a perfect after dinner stroll across downtown Durham. And since it was dusk we could see all the people milling around outside and inside of the theatre. This really pumped me up to see an awesome show!

Now, I've seen Wilco once before at Memorial Hall about 4 years ago and then a solo acoustic Jeff Tweedy show that same summer at the North Carolina Museum of Art, but this show was definitely the best of the 3. While I'm not a big fan of their newest album, I am huge fan of all the ones preceding it, and they did not let me down. The show started a little after 8, and they played until sometime after 11... around 3 hours of straight awesomeness (all except the girl 2 seats away from Nathan having a reversal of fortunes. We didn't notice until the attendants came to clean it up). Below is a setlist I grabbed from another website. As you can see, they played something off almost all their albums.

Wilco (the song)
Bull Black Nova
You Are My Face
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
At Least That's What You Said
Deeper Down
Handshake Drugs
Side with the Seeds
One Wing
She's A Jar
I'll Fight
Impossible Germany
Summerteeth
California Stars
Poor Places
Spiders
Forget the Flowers
When The Roses Bloom Again
War on War
When You Wake Up Feeling Old
Laminated Cat
Passenger Side
Airline to Heaven
A shot in the arm
Hate it Here
Heavy Metal Drummer
You Never Know
Jesus Etc
Walken
I'm the Man Who Loves You
Thank You Friends (from Big Star)

Encore:
Via Chicago
Hoodoo Voodoo
I'm A Wheel

I especially loved the production. They had these cool single bulb long lights that lit up with the rhythm of the songs. During the middle of the performance the went from rocking out on their more intense instruments to playing almost acoustic in a living room like setting. They did this by having floor lamps and bringing the piano guys and drummer to the front of the stage with stripped down instruments (a miniature drum set almost looking like a child should be playing it compared with the giant one for the rest of the show, a bass, and small keyboard).

To end the night we went to Whisky where it was extremely crowded at first, but we scored a table and spent the rest of the evening in good conversation. We even tried a new beer from Highland brewing company: Black Mtn Bitter. The website describes it as an organic pale ale, but it was dark and extremely tasty. It turned my mood from - 'eh, I wouldn't mind going home to bed' to 'hey, let's stay and drink this!'. The table and seats didn't hurt to turn my mood around.

Elizabeth 4 months old

2010-03-27T23:31:00.002-04:00

Today Elizabeth turned 4 months old.
We measured her at home on our bathroom scale and a tape measure on her changing pad and she is roughly 14 pound and ~23 inches. We will get better measurements at the doctor on Wednesday.

Overall Elizabeth is a pretty laid back little baby. She is really very good most of the time and when she melts down it is probably due to over stimulation (which is completely our fault), but these times are few and far between.

Sleep:
We are extremely (and I can't even express how extreme this is!) happy that she has been sleeping through the night since 7 weeks. There have been a few times that around 4 or 5 we go up and give her her pacifier. And at 3 months she woke up in the middle of the night, and only because I had been reading that children have growth spurts around that time, I fed her. I realized I didn't want it to be a habit so if it happened again I'd try to soothe her before nursing, but it hasn't happened again! We've been lucky that she also goes down really easily. This also happened around 4 weeks. We started with a bedtime routine of getting her in her PJ's before her last feeding which is around 10pm and then nursing her, taking her upstairs to her bedroom, laying her on her changing pad and changing her diaper if it is wet, while playing a song that her Grandpa Kevin wrote her. Then we zip her up in her sleep sack and read her a story. We've been going through all her books and all three of us love: All of baby nose to toes. After reading we turn on her sound machine to ocean waves which is on an hour timer. We lay her down in her bed and then swaddle her in the cool swaddler that is attached to her sleep sack. (however they only make it in newborn, and she is about to grow out of the sack it attaches too, oh no what to do then?), spin her mobile, kiss her goodnight, and close the door. For the most part she puts herself to sleep. About 50% of the time we have to go upstairs and put her paci back in if it falls out before she is in deep sleep. Otherwise we just watch her drift off to sleep on our video monitor... the lifesaver for having a downstairs master and an upstairs nursery. She wakes up around 7:30 every morning. Nathan goes up stairs to get her when she starts stirring and I get ready to nurse her. As I'm nursing Nathan either gets ready or sleeps in for a little while longer. When we are done, we all have our morning cuddle and then Nathan gets up to get ready for work and I stay in bed with Elizabeth a little while longer as she drifts off to sleep for a while longer. She may sleep until 11 during which I eat breakfast, search the internet and clean up the dishes.

Our daytime schedule

Play:
She is becoming more and more interactive every day. Just today she would not stop giggling when we lift her up and down above our heads. She also seems ticklish under her arms and neck and giggles when we tickle her. However, she is stingy with her giggles and once she has done it a few times she stops. She is not stingy with her smiles though and smiles a lot. She is especially smiley in the mornings.

She just started using her Johnny Jumper (or as we call it Lizzy Leaper). She doesn't jump in it yet, but she just looks around and sucks on the front of it. She plays a lot on her playmat both tummy time (try to get her to roll over more consistently) and on her back grabbing at the toys dangling in front of her and putting them in her mouth. She puts everything in her mouth. She doesn't much care for her bouncy seat very much anymore, but I sitll put her in it when I need to take a shower and she is awake or I need to do something else and I don't want her "getting into to trouble". She loves her bumbo chair, but I can't leave her in that without watching her at all times. She has started to arch her back and I'm afraid she is just going to pop out of it. She also likes to lay on our bed and gaze and talk to our ceiling fan. She does this on the changing pad in our bedroom too. She was really interested in the ceiling fan from early on and we used to put her on the "changing pad of solace" when she was a new born because it would snap her out of any funk that she was in.

She loves watching Pancake, but he does not want anything to do with her. I am kinda glad it is like that right now. They coexist in the same house, but he would prefer his own space.

Nicknames:
We call her Elizabeth, baby, and chublet - because she is pretty chubby :) and you just want to eat her up! (sometimes we call her Pancake too by accident)
Nathan's parents call her Liz (for the record, I'm not a huge fan of this)
My parents call her Elizaberry... a combination of Elizabeth and Strawberry (her name we gave her while she was in the womb since we did not share her name)
Elese calls her Eliza

Baths:
She gets a bath every other day or so and she loves them! We put the bathtub on the kitchen counter that is beside the sink so one of us can stand on each side of her. It makes it really easy since we aren't breaking out backs and knees leaning over into a tub. We will probably keep doing this until she starts moving more and sitting up on her own - which will be too soon!

Eating:
She eats about 6 times a day around every 3 hours from when she wakes up and goes to sleep. She is a pretty good nurser, but can get distracted. When we were on the plane taking our first trip we were glad we had brought a bottle because she did not want to nurse - she just wanted to look around. She still eats on both sides. I use the my brest friend and I love it, but I can nurse without it.

Baking...

2010-03-02T16:18:00.004-05:00

Apple Cider and Rosemary Locopops!

These tasty treats were the perfect finish to a tapas girls night dinner party. Very easy to make, and I highly recommend them! Follow the link above for the recipe.

Making...

2010-03-02T16:10:00.004-05:00

A little fabric book for Elizabeth

I was inspired by a friend of mine from college, Kristina, who featured this craft on her blog Thimbly Things. If you'd like to make your own follow the link and she explains step-by-step. I used some of her patterns but added some of my own. Also it was really easy and allowed me to use some of the scraps of fabric that I've been racking my brain with what to do with. For the book itself I used the scraps of fabric from our curtains in our bedroom instead of denim.

12 weeks of Elizabeth

2010-02-26T21:00:00.000-05:00

The silliest baby contraption

2010-02-23T00:03:00.000-05:00

I think this photo speaks for itself. Doesn't she look silly!!! but she loves watching us working in the kitchen.

The World is a book...

2010-02-13T23:36:00.001-05:00

The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. ~St. Augustine

Nathan and I are big travelers. Don't get us wrong, we love being at home -- the comforts, our friends, our King sized bed. I am even living in the same state that I grew up in, but we love to get out and see the cultures and sights of other places, and we plan to pass this passion onto our children.

Elizabeth started her journeys on January 15th when she traveled to DC to see Nomi and Kevi (Nathan's parents) and many of our friends. We weren't sure how things were going to go with Elizabeth, Nathan, me and Pancake in a car for 5 hours, but we are please to report that everything went very smoothly. The dog slept in the front seat. The baby slept in the back with one of us while the other drove. Nathan gave her a bottle both on the way up and back, since she is on a 3 hour eating schedule. She would have preferred to sleep, but we knew that if we didn't feed her I'd be up with her at night catching up on that feeding.

While in DC, she mainly stayed in and several people came and visited her: Mike W., Ruth and Michael, Julia and Allen, and Chris and Lou. On Sunday though, we took Elizabeth to our favorite brunch place, Don Jaime's to meet up with our DC friends: Rose, Dave, Sarah, Rich, and Jake. She loved it! We could tell because she napped most of the time.

She did really well adjusting to sleeping in a pack and play and on Sunday night she slept from 11 to 7 (to be honest she was pretty fussy before she went down, but I can handle fussy if I get 8 hours of sleep!) This was the first time she slept through the night without her 3 o'clock feeding. I woke up at 5 all flustered and went to make sure she was breathing... she was. After a consult with Nathan (who would have preferred to be sleeping himself) we decided to let her sleep. What a milestone and to have it while away!

Her second trip was a trip to Greer, SC and Asheville, NC. Elizabeth and I drove 3.5hrs from home to Greer to celebrate Kim's baby shower. She slept the whole car ride and ate right when I got to Kim's house. She was a little angle at the shower. At first she was awake and I held her, then she fell asleep and I put her down in her carseat and she slept for the rest of the shower

Her and I drove up to Asheville after the shower to stay with my parents for the first time. She did really well. That morning she hung out with my parents (see her cuddling with Pappy) and she played with Nana. In afternoon she visited with Grannie and Nancy. It was really great for her to see Grannie. That evening we had an uneventful drive back home.

So far she has been a wonderful baby to travel with (well, she is also pretty wonderful at home so we are glad she is being herself when we travel). We are hoping this continues as our next big trip is on a plane... Keep your fingers crossed.

Cooking...? Baking...?

2010-01-31T20:28:00.009-05:00

Snow Cream!

As a kid we used to make snow cream, a combination of clean fresh snow (only to be collected when the wind is not too bad so there is not extra fiber included), evaporated milk, sugar, and vanilla. You can substitute sweetened condensed milk for the evaporated milk and sugar or just use cream. With all the predicted snow, on Friday night I put out a bowl to collect the quintessential ingredient.

Saturday morning I had more than enough snow! By 11am I couldn't wait any longer and had to make it. I can't believe how good it tasted (just like ice cream), but maybe this had to do with the fact that I had not had it since I was a kid and memories sometime make food taste better. I can't wait for Elizabeth to try it... the way it snows around here, though, she may have to wait until she is 5!

January 30th Snow

2010-01-31T18:24:00.005-05:00

On January 30th Durham got the biggest snowstorm that Nathan and I can remember since we moved here in 2004. It started snowing on Friday night (the 29th) and didn't stop till Saturday night, and we had a total accumulation of 5.5 inches. On Saturday I shoveled our steps and walkway, but the weather was COLD and overcast.

While this wasn't Elizabeth's first snow (that was December 18th) it was the first that we could take pictures with her and the snowy backdrop.
Saturday night Nathan took to the streets and drove over to Michelle and Mark's to give them a helping hand and babysit Camden so they could go to Mamma Mia since their scheduled sitter was iced in.

Sunday morning was the most beautiful blue-bird pow-pow day! We started our morning by calling Hong Kong Chinese... we had made plans with friends to go and have dim sum but with the weather we were not sure they were open. With no answer, we rescheduled to go to iHop. On our way out the roads were not too bad. The powdery snow made for good driving. Amazingly Durham had not plowed, salted, or sanded I-85, Hillsborough, or Guess Rd by 11am. These are all major arteries through Durham! I am wondering how long the city will be shut-down due to the snow.

As we drove by, we were surprised to see that the restaurant was indeed open. I think that we choose the best time to go! They had pretty good Dim Sum with the full service, but there was hardly anyone there. And from what I have heard, it is generally a mad house on Sundays. As we were leaving the crowd was starting to gather. With 6 people we were able to try lots of dishes: shrimp dumpling, fried shrimp taro cake, spring rolls, BBQ pork buns, eggplant, bok choy, BBQ pork, lotus leaf wrapped sticky rice, fried rice, short ribs, fried pork dumplings, and sesame balls. My favorite was the BBQ pork buns, fried pork dumplings, and the sesame balls.

In afternoon we took some photos and then while Elizabeth was taking her afternoon nap, Nathan and I shoveled our driveway - the whole thing. It is longer than it looks and it looks long!

Doesn't Elizabeth look cute in her infant snow suit?

Elizabeth's visitors and timeline from birth to January 31st

2010-01-28T20:59:00.002-05:00

Warning: This is an incredibly long post.

For Elizabeth's baby book I have been writing down who has visited during her first weeks. Here I wanted to document it with pictures. Unfortunately we didn't get a picture of everyone, but I have documented them here as well. I have also put a few other events in case I don't get to them in another post. I fear if I don't write down all her firsts now, then I wont remember them.

November 27th
For her birth Nathan and Nana were present. 6:52am

Pappy and Jesse at 11am

Keith Gerdes and Erin Riney at 5:30pm

November 28th
Elese Stutts at 5pm
Aunt Michelle at 10pm

November 29th (homecoming day!) 1pm
Pancake
Nana, Aunt Michelle, and Cousin Alex

Nana stayed through December 5th. She left that Saturday afternoon.

November 30th
First trip to the doctor (Dr. Singleton)

Michelle Leslie

December 2nd
Umbilical chord fell out
First bath

December 3rd
Heather Petrusa brought us dinner - Foster's adult mac 'n cheese

December 5th
Mark Leslie

Marie Fogarty and Ian Carroll brought us dinner - Veggie chili with cornbread and sherbert

December 6th
First outing! Went to pick out our Christmas tree

Anna, Josie, and Nancy Nave

December 9th
Laurel Clayton brought us dinner - Apple salad and white chili and oranges

December 11th
Two week check up Dr. Lail

December 12th-13th
Nomi and Kevi

December 13th
Dan and Sarah Calvert brought us dinner - stuffed shells with salad and garlic bread

December 15th
Suzanne Minton brought us dinner - red beans and rice

December 17th
Michelle Leslie brought us dinner - lasagna with garlic bread

December 18th
Visited Amanda's lab - Kyle Gaulton, Li Qin, Damien Croteau-Chonka, Marie Fogarty, Karen Mohlke
Attended Health Planning Source's Holiday party.
First snow!

December 19th
Sarah Birken brought us dinner - Shepard's pie

December 20th
Daddy gave her first bottle feeding

Graham, Christoph, and Elese Stutts

December 20th
Alex Russ (spent the night and first non-family house guest)

December 21st
Marissa Akerman brought us dinner - chicken pot pie and cream puffs

December 25th-27th
Pappy, Jesse, and Nana came for Christmas

December 27th
Lily, Alex, Todd and Michelle Lankford came for Christmas dinner and gift exchange

December 28th
Four week check up with Dr. Hosford
Sarah, Ben, and Jane Birken brought us dinner - chicken french bread quiche

December 31st
Visited Michelle and Mark at their house for New Year's Eve dinner. Elizabeth got to meet, Michelle's mom, dad, and brother as well as Mark's mom.
Went to a New Year's Eve Party at Dan and Sarah Calvert's house. Elizabeth saw Rebekah and Brian Wrenn and Lindsey and Joe Heidrick. Several other people were at the party too.

January 1st
New Years's (black eyed peas and collards) brunch party at Rebekah, Jackson, and Brian Wrenn's house. In attendance: Lindsey and Joe Heidrick; Heather, Dianna, and Matt Madsen; Sarah and Dan Calvert; and several other people

Danny Loss and Rebecca Rogers spent the night January 1st and 2nd

Elizabeth's first game of Settlers of Catan
Elizabeth's first outing to a restaurant - The Federal

January 4th
First smile

January 5th
Heidi and Jim Brantley brought us dinner - gumbo and french bread

January 6th
First lunch out - The Old Granary at Farrington with Sarah and Jane Birken

January 7th
Laurel Clayton brought us dinner - roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, and mac 'n cheese

January 9th
Lindsey and Joe Heidrick's Asian dinner party

January 12th
Visit to Amanda's doctor and Amanda's lab

January 13th
First family dinner out at Rockwood Filling Station

January 15th -18th
The whole family (even Pancake) traveled to DC! Very easy baby to travel with. Slept the whole way. Nathan fed her a bottle while we were driving.
First trip to the Don's
Visits from Ruth and Michael Brannon; Mike Wipfler; Rose Stellar, David Stern, Sarah Davidson, Richard Hoppock, and Jake Thomsen; Christine Swearingen and Lou Steadwell; and Julia and Allen Lear

January 20th
First babysitting! Christoph and Elese babysat Elizabeth while Nathan and Amanda went to the UNC vs. Wake Forest game (UNC lost).

January 22nd
First Science talk. Amanda and Elizabeth went to Kyle Gaulton's happy hour genetics talk. We saw lots of people in the GMB program.

Sepi Alavi spent the night the 22nd - 23rd

January 23rd
Dinner out at Tyler's Taproom - woke up at the end of dinner

January 24th
Drove to Greer, SC for Kim McDonald's baby shower. 3.5 hours with just Amanda. She did very very well. She did not wake up until we got to Kim's house. After the shower we drove the 45 minutes to Nana and Pappy's House where we spent the night.

January 25th
Spent the day with Nana and Pappy and visited Grannie and Nancy Nave

January 27th
2 month appointment with Dr. Hosford
Visited Michelle and Camden in the afternoon

January 28th
Dinner at Broad Street Cafe with Heidi and Jim Brantley

January 29th
Snow storm!

January 31st
Brunch out at Hong Kong Chinese with Lindsey, Joe, Sarah, and Dan

Baking... (well sorta)

2010-01-27T21:02:00.003-05:00

No Bake Cashew Brittle Bars

Cooking...

2010-01-27T20:54:00.004-05:00

Matzah Ball Soup

I made homemade chicken broth from the chicken leftovers that Laurel brought us earlier this month and then froze it. Tonight we added boneless chicken breast, carrots, celery, and a dash of thyme. I shredded the chicken when it was cooked and added Matzah Balls we made from a mix.

Cooking...

2010-01-11T22:26:00.002-05:00

Pear French Bread Pudding

I substituted Pears for Apples, used a whole loaf of French bread (~5 cups), an extra egg, ~1/3 cup of brown sugar, and put it in a 9X13 pan. Delicious!

The pope hat

2010-01-11T15:41:00.001-05:00

When I put this hat on Elizabeth I thought she looked like the Pope... you decide.

Cooking...

2010-01-11T15:05:00.001-05:00

Shepherd's pie (inspired by Sarah and Ben who brought this to us after Elizabeth was born)

Reading...

2010-01-11T14:23:00.004-05:00

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I flew through this short story last night and this morning while trying to get Elizabeth to sleep. This is thanks to our iPod Touch and the application that lets me read books. There are so many free books, that I think I will be reading quite a bit more than I used to.

6 weeks old

2010-01-08T22:11:00.004-05:00

Today Elizabeth is 6 weeks old. I've been doing a bad job keeping up with her milestones on paper, but we have done great with getting pictures of it all!

The big thing is that on Monday January 4th she smiled as seen by the video below!
Our normal morning schedule is for her to eat then we get up and I put her in her bouncy seat on the dining room table. I open the shades and she can look out the window and experience the sunshine. I prepare my breakfast and/or pump. On Monday when I walked to the table with my breakfast I said "Hi" to Elizabeth and she smiled. I did it again and she smiled again! I grabbed our big camera to try to capture her pure joy and she looked at it like - what the heck is that? you think I'm going to smile to that? I called Nathan and told him the good news and he suggested I use the video camera. Brilliant suggestion! why hadn't I thought of that. Oh, maybe because I was up at 3am for an hour feeding and changing and getting her back to sleep... I grabbed the camera and caught 3 more smiles. This was so special, because if I had not caught it on film Nathan would have accused me of lying. She has only smiled a few times since, and they are not as big and as pronounced as those Monday morning smiles. We are just waiting until she smiles and laughs all the time!

Another thing - she has grown out of two of her outfits. This is the first and only time I will mention this because from her on out she will be growing out of things weekly. And she is finally able to wear the outfit that we planned to bring her home from the hospital. However, to mark this first milestone we took a picture of one of the outfits that is too tight on Pancake's head. He's being such a good dog. He just ignores her mostly and is loving being out all day basking in the sun and napping. We will see how good the family interacts when we take a trip up to D.C. with all 4 of us in the car.

To go with this we have also moved up to size 1 diapers this week. She can still wear the newborn since they are up to 10lbs, but the ones go from 8-14lbs and she is well over 8. They are a little roomy in the tush, but they do the job (well not all the time).

Loving...

2010-01-07T22:28:00.002-05:00

Dooce.com

An amazing blog of a mom who writes freely about her life, husband, two children, and two crazy dogs. Nathan and I love it!

All smiles

2010-01-06T09:31:00.001-05:00

Elizabeth smiles from Nathan Marvelle on Vimeo.

How to charm me...

2010-01-05T11:17:00.003-05:00

Still find me attractive when I don't take a shower and am packing an extra 30 pounds (mainly focused around my midsection). [Thinking - maybe the larger "girls" help?]

Reading

2010-01-03T15:12:00.000-05:00

Raising America: Experts, Parents, and a Century of Advice About Children by Ann Hulbert

Elizabeth at One Month

2009-12-28T22:24:00.003-05:00

Elizabeth is one month old already. She had a doctor's appointment today and weighed 7 lbs 15 ounces. She's growing every day, sleeping better (sometimes as much as 7 hours at at time), and is more alert and interactive.

We have lots of pictures posted on our photo site: http://public.fotki.com/natemarvelle/ and will have more coming soon!

Happy Holidays

2009-12-28T21:49:00.006-05:00

For the last few years, we have sent out a holiday card featuring a silly picture:

2008

2007

2006

In years past, Amanda has used Powerpoint to design a postcard, front and back, and had them printed at Kinkos. This year, we upped the ante. With a little help from the internet (thank you, pshero), we designed a holiday card/birth announcement using Photoshop which we uploaded to Costco's photo printing site and then picked up at the store.

2009

The toughest part was getting good pictures of our little girl. Now, I'm looking forward to finding another project that we can tackle with Photoshop.

Elizabeth in moving pictures

2009-12-26T00:31:00.001-05:00

Here are two videos of our little girl:

Elizabeth Cora Marvelle from Nathan Marvelle on Vimeo.

Elizabeth's 1st Days from Nathan Marvelle on Vimeo.

Baby's first bottle

2009-12-20T23:41:00.000-05:00

At 3 weeks and 2 days old, Nathan gave Elizabeth a bottle. Both Elizabeth and I had finally gotten the hang of nursing, and it seemed like Elizabeth would suck on anything. I went in the other room just in case, but as we had expected, she took it very well. Even now she loves the bottle a little too much and tends to drink much more than her little stomach can take and then spits up.

No more silent nights

2009-11-30T21:11:00.000-05:00

Elizabeth Cora Marvelle arrived November 27 at 6:52am, 6lbs 4oz and 18 1/4 inches.

Whoa! She's Pregnant!

2009-11-23T18:27:00.005-05:00

Another picture we found when cleaning up... Recently we went to Saint Louis for a wedding of a friend of Nathan's. They have a really cool set up where a photographer would take black and white pictures of people. I thought this one was too funny!

Here are the others.

Seattle Video

2009-11-22T23:22:00.005-05:00

So when I "retired" I had to give back my work computer. We ended up purchasing a new computer and this meant moving and organizing all of our files. We stumbled upon some old pics and video. Here is a video from our 4th of July trip to Seattle:

Seattle from Nathan Marvelle on Vimeo.

You can see it in HD here. And our pictures are here.

Retirement

2009-11-21T11:30:00.003-05:00

I have been working/studying since August 2004 and now it was finally over. Friday November 13th was my last day at lab... it felt really weird, but it has been great to take the time to prepare for our baby.

Face

2009-11-12T22:35:00.001-05:00

When cleaning off my old computer I found this really cool picture:

Nursery

2009-11-08T04:34:00.000-05:00

Today we put together most of the nursery. Here are some pictures. We still need a twin bed which will go in the corner where the swing is currently, a bookcase which we plan on putting behind the door, and curtains.
This weekend we also got a white side table which is now in the place of the maroon ottoman and we have a pink rocker from my sister, which is downstairs for a little while until she moves upstairs to sleep and will go in the place of the pink chair in the pictures. Finally we got a crib skirt - brown with polka dots.

So really we will need to updates these pictures, but here is a taste.

On our way...

2009-11-06T22:04:00.002-05:00

I am feeling more and more pregnant and looking it too. My doctor says on Tuesday that I was 50% effaced, 1cm dilated, and the baby has dropped. However, none of those mean that I will give birth anytime soon... it could easily be another 2 to 3 (or 4 or 5 or 6!) weeks. My pelvic bone aches and sometimes I feel like it will break in half! I am predicting that she will come early, but don't really want to think that because if she comes late, then I will be so anxious, and I'm not sure if I will be able to handle the waiting... (I'm not really good at this not knowing thing). All I know is that she will be born by December 14th. They wont let her go any longer than that.

Baby bangs

2009-11-05T18:27:00.003-05:00

This is the worst! While I'd love for our little one to have hair, this has gone too far.

Baby bangs for the girl who has everything except hair.

What's next...baby spanx for those unsightly rolls!

NaBloPoMo

2009-11-05T11:19:00.000-05:00

November is NaBloPoMo - National Blog Posting Month, where the goal is to post every day of the month. I learned this from a friend's blog and thought I would try it!

It has been a while and I'm 5 days late, but hey - what the heck why not try posting for the rest of November?

Pregnancy Picture Update

2009-10-21T20:03:00.007-04:00

The newest pictures 33.5 weeks and 34 weeks. See the progression and other updates in the slide show.

Pancake Jesus

2009-09-17T23:28:00.003-04:00

From AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com

My 15 milliseconds of fame

2009-08-31T11:53:00.002-04:00

The president of my firm was interviewed for a TV news story about hospital expansion in North Carolina and they brought a video camera to my office for some 'b-roll' as they call it. It was casual Friday so my 15 seconds of fame aren't pretty :)

http://news14.com/content/local_news/triangle/613942/hospitals-across-north-carolina-begin-expansion-projects/

Marvelle Musings

More photos and video

Halloween craft

Keystone Keith Stone Always Smooth

Elizabeth at 17 Months

Cooking... Homemade black bean burgers

#13 Making cheese

#12 NC Art Museum

Bathtime Comedy

Sheldon

#11 Same Kind of Different As Me

#10 If You Could See Me Now

#9 The Girl with the Pearl Earring

The Contemporary Science Center

Fallon

Santa

Elizabeth thinks she is a dog.

#8 Quilted pot holders

#7 a visit to the Nasher Museum of Art

Cooking... Sweet and Sour Beet Saute

Decking the halls - Toddler style

No longer a baby...

#6 First Birthday Button Onesy

#4 Allen Toussaint Concert

Cooking... Moroccan Curried Couscous

Cooking... Minted Pea Purée

$10 worth of fabric

#3 Heart shaped sachet with cross-stitched bird

Baking... Chocolate Pate and Raspberry Coulis

#2 Happy Birthday Banner

#1 Fabric Wreath

6 months until I turn 30!

10 month pictures

10 months and cruising

How I find recipes to try

Babies of the 80's

Cooking...

Growth chart idea

Nine months old

Cooking...

Elizabeth at Eight Months

Cooking...

Cooking...

Where have we been?

Almost crawling?

6 months of Elizabeth

Cooking...

Cooking...

A new face

Cooking...

The Grueling Triathlon of Doom

Elizabeth's first hike

Elizabeth's new swing

Family photos

Elizabeth rolls over from back to front and leaps tall buildings.

Cooking...

Making...

Elizabeth's first baseball game

New pictures

Beets can't be beat!

Elizabeth Laughs

Cooking... Tuna and eggplant stew

BABIES the movie

Spontaneous laughter

Wilco at the DPAC

Elizabeth 4 months old

Baking...

Making...

12 weeks of Elizabeth

The silliest baby contraption

The World is a book...

Cooking...? Baking...?

January 30th Snow

Elizabeth's visitors and timeline from birth to January 31st

Baking... (well sorta)

Cooking...

Cooking...

The pope hat

Cooking...

Reading...