myscarlettletterdotcom

Dear Scarlett,

One of the sides I made for the birthday party was tabbouleh salad.  OR, as my mom referred to it (no matter how many times I gently corrected her): “Tabore” (pronounced, “tuh-bore”) salad.

Here’s how I make it (adapted from the Barefoot Contessa)”

Ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat couscous
1/4 cup lemon juice (I used the bottled stuff)
1/4 cup evoo
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt (plus more to taste)
1 cup minced green onions (white and green parts)
1 cup chopped fresh mint
1 cup chopped Italian (flat leaf) parsley
1 English (hot house) cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and diced
1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes (halved)

Directions:
1. Place couscous in large bowl.
2. Pour in 1 1/2 cups boiling water, and add lemon juice, evoo, and 1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt.
3. Stir, then allow to stand for about an hour.
4. Add green onions, mint, parsley, cucumber, and tomatoes.  Mix well.
5. Season to taste with kosher salt and pepper.  Cover and refrigerate.

It’s delicious (if I do say so myself)!

Love, Mom (Shelley)

Dear Scarlett,

Where have we been??

My mom (Me-me) and sister (Aunt Emma) came to visit.

Scarlett turned 1, and we marked the occasion by having a big birthday bash at our place.  It was a lot of work, and a lot of fun!  We felt like it was a success.  Too bad I didn’t get many photos of the guests!  This the drinks table – wine, beer, and sweet tea vodka mixed with lemonade served in mason jars and birthday koozies.

Scarlett loved her “smash cake,” and we had cupcakes for all the guests.

The is a desk we had set up in front of the front door: we had favors (koozies for the adults and bubbles for the kiddos) along with an invitation up when people got to the front door.

The party really took place in the backyard though: where Scarlett held court wearing a tutu and sitting in a beach chair, while gesticulating and pondering life’s mysteries.

When she wasn’t trying to escape the clutches of her mother and Me-me, of course!

She received a water table for her birthday from her Nanna and Gramps (grandparents on Chris’ side).  She loved it. Look how cute she is!  Cutest baby girl ever.  I know it’s obnoxious to say that, but in this case, it’s true.

Scarlett played with a water table at another baby’s birthday party about a month ago and loved it.  We thought about getting it for her for her birthday, but then we decided that the party was her present from us (read: we didn’t want to spend more money on the b-day at a certain point), and so Scarlett asked her grandparents for a water table!  Or as a friend of mine put it, Scarlett thought, “Thanks, Mom and Dad. For my birthday present you invited all your friends over for food and booze.  Just what I wanted!”  And to that I say: You’re Welcome!

I love you, Baby Scarlett!

Love, Mom (Shelley)

P.S. I’m having some strange symptoms in the background of my life right now.  I’m hoping to see a doctor tomorrow, trying to not be paranoid (thanks WebMD – I guess it’s either Lyme Disease, a hernia, or Lymphoma), and understanding it could also be…NOTHING.  Hoping and praying for that last one!

Dear Scarlett,

I’m having some major problems with my wordpress photo uploader.  It’s taken me an hour to upload ONE photo!  And this is just the pit stop we took on the way to Monterey!

So, when we woke up on Sunday – Chris’ first Father’s Day! – Scarlett treated us both by falling back asleep after she had a bottle at 6:30 am, and we got to sleep until after 8 AM!  Yay!  That doesn’t always happen.  After a quick breakfast, we went down and enjoyed the hotel pool.  It was really warm over the weekend – especially considering Monterey usually has a mild climate even in the summer – so, the pool was a perfect choice.  Scarlett loved playing in the pool with both me and Chris.

After the pool, we attempted to get Scarlett to sleep in the hotel room while we packed up and got ready.  In reality she stood up in the pack ‘n play and laughed at us.  Oh well, that works too!  As long as she’s not crying.

After we packed up and checked out, we went back to Fisherman’s Wharf for seafood lunch on the wharf, take two.  It was delicious!  We had a fisherman’s trio of peel & eat shrimp, smoked salmon, and seared ahi along with a shrimp, scallop, & mango ceviche, and a half dozen oysters on the half shell.  So good, and perfect for Father’s Day!

Then we headed back to the aquarium!  Insider’s Tip: If you’re staying at a hotel in Monterey, buy your aquarium tickets from the hotel!  Their tickets are the same price as the ones at the aquarium, but they’re good for two consecutive days, which is great when traveling with a baby who may not allow you to spend a whole day, or even more than 2 hours, at the aquarium at any one time.  Since Scarlett didn’t really take a morning nap, and stayed awake (eating Cheerio’s in her highchair) during lunch, she was all tuckered out, and slept in her stroller almost the whole time we were at the aquarium on Sunday.  Although we initially fantasized about showing Scarlett all the cool stuff at the aquarium, after she was so fussy on the first day – and threw up on Chris’ head! – we were happy for the quiet time to enjoy the aquarium ourselves while pushing a sleeping baby in a stroller.

Scarlett woke up at the perfect time: just as we were heading into the area with the touch tanks.  Scarlett didn’t really care for sticking her hand in the water (it was cold!), but she did like it when we handed her starfish. She would put them straight into her mouth.  We said, “No, Scarlett, that’s not sushi.”

After we finished at the aquarium, we walked back to the hotel (stopping off for a drink at the Trailside Cafe again since we enjoyed it so much the first day!), and then got in the car to get back home.  We stopped about halfway home to eat the famous clam chowder in Pismo Beach.

All in all, it was a great weekend!  Although there were some challenging elements (especially for Chris), it was a great first trip with Scarlett and us in a hotel together, and a fun way to celebrate what a wonderful husband and father Chris is on his first Father’s Day.

You would think that after all that seafood over the weekend, we would be sick of it, but no!  Last night we had a vegetarian dinner, and tonight – it was back to fish!  This time, fish tacos with some rockfish Chris caught a few weeks ago and squirreled away in the refrigerator.

Maybe tomorrow I can post more pics from our weekend in Monterey.  Maybe.  If WordPress will let me.

Love, Mom (Shelley)

Dear Scarlett,

We had a great trip to Monterey this past weekend for Father’s Day.  Will post photos from our trip tomorrow (having trouble with uploading photos from my camera right now).  We got on the freeway on Saturday morning at 8:30 AM.  We stopped about halfway up at  Avila Beach and ate breakfast on the beach (yogurt, granola, & fruit we brought in the cooler), and then stopped at Avila Valley Farm  so Scarlett could see the farm animals.

She loved seeing the goats, sheep, alpacas, ponies, horses, calves, roosters, chickens, ducks, and pigs.  We loved the cute country store with all the goodies and yummy samples!  I was surprised by what a cute area Avila was, and we are definitely planning to make Avila (and its natural, mineral hot springs!) the place for our next camping trip.

We arrived in Monterey at about 1:30 PM, and after checking into our hotel (not the same one we originally thought we’d stay at), which had a GREAT location, we freshened up, walked out to Fisherman’s Wharf and immediately got suckered into eating lunch at a place that ended up not being that great.  Oh well – lesson learned.  We won’t sit down till we’ve checked a Yelp review on a place now!

After a lackluster lunch, we walked down to the aquarium.

It was about a mile long walk from our hotel, and there was an awesome bike/pedestrian shared use path through town to the aquarium, so it was great to get a little exercise.  In fact, once we parked at the hotel, we didn’t get back in the car again until we were leaving town.  Once we got to the aquarium, it was PACKED.  And Scarlett was being kinda fussy – she had slept quite a bit in the car in the morning, but hadn’t had any afternoon nap.  But, we dragged her through the aquarium for a couple hours.  And she had some fun, mixed with fussiness.  At one point, when Scarlett was being fussy, Chris put her up on his shoulders.  She loves that.  Then I noticed she was throwing up a little bit.  And not spit-up. Full-on vomit.  So, I grabbed her, and checked her out.  She seemed fine.  Smiling.  Not even upset.  Then I checked out Chris’ head – it was sporting some vomit.

Chris went to the men’s room to wash his head.  I was laughing later thinking about him going in there to wash his head.  I asked him what happened – did anyone look at him funny?  He said he went into the restroom, to the sink, cupped water in his hands, and put it on his head.  Repeat.  He did say that he got some weird looks, and that cracks me up.  What were the other people thinking?  That he was so concerned with his appearance that he wanted to wet down his hair in the bathroom and comb it back with his hands?  Remember, the aquarium was pretty packed that day, so there were lots of dudes in there to witness this spectacle!

After a few fussy hours at the aquarium, we walked back to the hotel, and stopped at a cool cafe along the trail back to the hotel.  Scarlett had fallen asleep by this time, so Chris and I enjoyed a couple cocktails and live music while looking out at the water.  This was actually the highlight of the day.  Life’s funny like that – the things you think will be great (like lunch on Fisherman’s Wharf) can end up being just okay, and the things you don’t even plan (like stopping to get a drink at a trailside cafe) can really provide a lot of enjoyable conversation and time together.

When we got back to the hotel, I took a shower, and just as Chris went to hand Scarlett to me in the shower, she peed on Chris’ feet!  It was just not his day – he got thrown up on and peed on.  After that she went to bed in the pack n’ play, and we ate dinner at the hotel.  We were planning on waking her up to take her out to a restaurant with us, but after she was asleep it seemed too cruel to wake her.  So, we ate unimpressive hotel food, and then went to bed.

The next day was great – much better for Chris!  He didn’t get thrown up on or peed on!  Pretty good considering it was Father’s Day.   Plus, the food was better.  I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow (with pics hopefully!)

Love, Mom (Shelley)

Dear Scarlett,

Tonight we fed you leftover pizza for dinner.

What a difference a month makes!  Actually, let’s back up even further than that.  We believed Scarlett was ready for solid foods at 6 months.  In reality, she was probably ready before that, since she was riveted by watching every bite we put into our mouths.  But, on her 6 month birthday, which also happened to be Christmas day*, we pureed some sweet potato, and fed some to Scarlett. As we moved the spoon towards her mouth, she grabbed the handle of the spoon and put it in her mouth herself, as if to tell us, “I know what this is all about!”

Fast forward a couple months, and we’re regularly making Scarlett’s baby food with the Baby Bullet (best.present.ever from Chris’ sister!)  We’re pureeing everything – vegetables, fruits, grains, meats (kinda gross!), and mixing them into “meal ideas.”

Fast forward a little more.  We’re still doing the same, but we’re starting to slip into the reality of feeling like all this baby food making is a little total pain in the rear.  So, we start supplementing with store-bought food.  Mainly just for traveling – whether across the country, or just to San Diego for the weekend, we started using store-bought food for “travel only.”   We lived like this (homemade food at home/daycare, and store-bought food when traveling), for many months.

Fast forward to Memorial Day Weekend.  Everyone else was feeding their babies whatever they (the adults) were eating.  It’s a good thing they weren’t all jumping off bridges, because we decided we wanted to do what they were doing!

So, fast forward to now.  We’re doing a little bit of everything.   Sometimes Scarlett eats homemade baby food.  Sometimes store-bought baby food.  Sometimes a cheese quesadilla (she LOVES them – just cheese and corn tortilla).  Sometimes ahi poke.  Sometimes grilled fish that daddy (Chris) caught.  Sometimes birthday cake – we’ve been to a few birthday parties in the last month and it seems cruel to deny Scarlett a few bites of cake.  And sometimes – like tonight and last weekend’s birthday party – she eats pizza.

Love, Mom (Shelley)

* I believe Scarlett has the best birthday.  She is exactly 6 months before and after Christmas (her half-birthday is Christmas Day), and thus her “big” presents will always be evenly spaced.  LUCKY.  All those kids with late December birthdays will be so jelly!

Dear Scarlett,

I want you to know that we have wonderful Wednesdays! One of my favorite bloggers has Sensational Sundays, but Scarlett, our day is Wednesday!

When I went back to work in October last year, I went back 80% time (with a 20% pay cut), with Wednesdays off.  Although 3 day weekends (with Mondays or Fridays off) were what I was first imagining, having Wednesdays with just me and Scarlett is what has worked out best for us.  Because that means that I only work 2 days in a row with Scarlett at childcare.

Mondays are still like Mondays (oh no!  The weekend is over!), but Tuesdays are like Fridays (no work tomorrow!)  Thursdays are still like Thursdays (only 1 more day till the weekend!) and Fridays are still just as nice (weekend starts at 5 PM or earlier!)

What works the most is that we really make the most of our Wednesdays.  There’s the temptation (and a little pressure) to make them “productive” – as in , another day for housework, catching up on laundry, dishes, etc.  But, the reason for the Wednesdays off was to spend time together – just me and Scarlett.  So, I really make an effort to not get caught up in the chores, and just hang out together.  Right now our Wednesdays are just two girls, enjoying the summer.

Last Wednesday we went to the beach for 3 hours!

Today we started our day with coffee at a coffee shop and meeting up with some friends (baby friend for Scarlett; mommy friend for me), and then going for a walk for about an hour.  Then we checked out the new grocery store, and once we saw the line to pay went all the way around the inside of the store, we went home for nap time.  After nap time, we played, had lunch, and then ventured back to the new grocery store.  Business had died down somewhat, so I attempted to make a few purchases.  Got to the front of the line, realized I’d forgotten my wallet when they ID’d me for the $1 bottle of wine (no kidding!  really ONE dollar!), and couldn’t pay for anything.  So, they held my groceries up front, and I ran home (it’s a half block from my house), went back and paid.

Then it was afternoon nap time.  I love nap time!  Except that it means it’s time for chores.  After nap time, we played some more.  And by “played,” I mean, “ate caterpillars.”  Yes, at one point, I saw Scarlett put something in her mouth.  I tried to fish it out.  She screamed.  She bit me.  I thought, “Why not just let it go?  It’s probably not anything dangerous.”  Then I re-doubled my efforts, fished it out despite Scarlett’s screams, and discovered – it was a caterpillar!  At least it was whole, and not in pieces (shiver).  This is Scarlett just after being denied a caterpillar snack.

Then we got ready for Nite Moves!  Nite Moves is a summertime Wednesday night 5K run in Santa Barbara, and I signed up for the entire season.  So we go every Wednesday night.  Tonight we walked though because Chris went with us (after work), and we wanted to walk and talk to catch up on the day.  We loved tonight.  After the 5K, we sat on our beach towels, listened to the band, enjoyed some beer (Chris) and wine (me), and chicken, vegetables, quesadilla, yogurt and fruit (all Scarlett!)  It was a Wonderful Wednesday!

Love, Shelley (Mom)

Dear Scarlett,

Your 1st birthday party is coming up soon!  Sunday, June 24th.  We’ve sent out the invitations, but aside from that, we haven’t done any real planning.

Invitations have gone out, so it’s high time we started planning!  So, we just need to plan for food, drinks, favors, cake (cupcakes), decorations…anything else?

I’ve got the “drinks” part covered!  I’m planning to make sweet tea vodka lemonades in mason jars!  And I’m thinking of possibly ordering some koozies (if Chris will let me), and doing canned beer.  A lot of cool beers come in cans now!  Let’s be real – the first birthday party is really for us, the parents.  It’s for us to celebrate that we made it through the first year!

As for cake, I’d like to do a “smash cake” for Scarlett (Chris is against this idea, but might be overruled), and cupcakes for everyone else.

As for “decorations,” I’ve got a few ideas, but nothing really solid.  It’s a backyard BBQ, so I’m hoping to get some cool stuff hanging from the trees, and fence, and hopefully making a good use of space (we have a really small house and a really small yard, and we’re inviting a lot of people!)

As for “food,” we’re throwing around ideas still.  We definitely want to make it easy on ourselves, but not sure we really want to get it catered.  I’m leaning towards Chris doing some try-tips on the grill and having pre-made sides, snacks, and apps.

For “favors,” I’m thinking (because it’s summer), getting some beach toys (buckets with shovels maybe?) and stenciling (or writing neatly – not my strong point) the names of the kids attending on them.  For the adults, I’m still hoping for some koozies.

I need to get ON IT!

We have a new grocery store in town – a Fresh & Easy, the first for our town – opening up on Wednesday morning at 10 AM for grand opening.  It is only 1.5 blocks from my house (which I am most excited about!), and I am seriously planning on skipping an AM nap, just so we can be there when the doors open.  Is that the dorkiest thing you’ve ever heard?  

No?  Well, how about this.  Our other closest grocery story, a Vons, just finished a re-model, and we received an “invitation” (read: ad) in the mail to attend their party to celebrate the re-model on Thursday evening, and I am excited to attend that as well!  Did I mention this is the same Von’s that Oprah shops at?  It is!  It’s closest to her house, and a friend of mine saw her there once doing her own grocery shopping.  Can you imagine? If I was Oprah, there’s not a chance in hell you’d find me at the grocery store…

In other exciting news: we have a ma-jah caterpillar epidemic happening in our front & back yards right now.  Seriously, the yards and patios (and clothes I left out drying – oops!) are covered in caterpillars!  I couldn’t figure it out, and then Chris and I had a debate discussion about “where caterpillars come from.”  Chris argued vehemently that butterflies and moths come from caterpillars metamorphosing, and emerging from cocoons.  I did not disagree, but I was sure that the caterpillars must come from the eggs of butterflies and moths.  Turns out, we were both right, and Chris was just confused about the question!

Anyway, a few weeks/months ago, I noticed a TON of moths all the time – just in general – buzzing around trees in town, and in our yard.  Today, I noticed not just a ton of caterpillars on our porch (as usual for the last week), but also HANGING from the tree in our front yard by what appeared to be spider web material (silk?)   I crap you not – when I took a more serious look, I noticed HUNDREDS of caterpillars hanging from the tree by threads!  What?  How come I’ve never noticed this before?  Is this something that happens every year in the spring/summer?  Is there a serious uptick in the amount of moths and caterpillars this year?  Weird!

That reminds me….one time, last July, when I was a brand new mom with a brand new baby and spent almost all of my sleep-deprived time on the couch breastfeeding (can I get a holla!?), I went to the bathroom & saw a “worm” in my underpants.  I googled “worm in underwear” (don’t do it!), and convinced myself I had parasitic worms (gross!)  So, I went to Urgent Care (alone with my brand new baby), and when I had to tell the intake nurse why I was there, I wrote down “worm in underwear” and pointed at the paper because I was too embarrassed to say it out loud in front of everyone!  Anyhoo – by the time I finally got in to see the doctor, I found out that it was not a parasitic worm.  It was a caterpillar.  That had somehow gotten into my underpants.  From OUTSIDE of my body.  I’m an idiot.  Good news though – I didn’t have to take a de-wormer!  

Happy Monday!