What's The Deal, Steele?

Heart Hats!

2012-01-16T22:02:00.001-05:00

We're getting mighty close now to Scarlett's arrival. I'm not sure I'm nesting, since there's a sink full of dirty dishes that I'm actively avoiding right now. However, I have had the itch to start a ton of new projects, so perhaps that's how my nesting urge presents itself. On a whim, I stopped by the yarn store one day last week and picked up some red and pink yarn. I wasn't quite sure what

A Ten Minute Hairstyle

2012-01-14T16:59:00.001-05:00

(Not how long the pigtails took to do, but how long they survived little toddler grabby hands...) This morning was Sophie's second time in pigtails in all of her fifteen months. You know I'm cute. I know I'm cute. Let's all just acknowledge it. She looked so stinking cute, and I think she thought so too. The problem with the pigtails is that, while they are extraordinarily adorable, they are

Whereupon An Enormous Pregnant Lady Cooks Christmas Dinner

2012-01-07T09:00:00.000-05:00

This Christmas, I had both a turkey in the oven and a bun in the oven. (Cue cymbal crash -- she'll be here all week, folks. Try the veal.) What do you do when you are 9 billion months pregnant and you still want to make something nice for Christmas dinner so your poor family won't have to eat Honey Nut Cheerios for dinner (again)? You figure out the simplest possible way to do it. Read:

Handknits for Sophie

2012-01-04T22:22:00.000-05:00

A blurry photograph is proof that you have a toddler. I think they probably invented high-speed shutters and flashes for parents of young children, because they just won't stand still long enough for a decent picture! Its sort of like chasing the Yeti. You get a glimpse, an idea, a shape-shifting shadow of a cute baby. An adorable blur. I am chasing my Mini-Bigfoot around with the camera to

Christmas with a Toddler

2012-01-02T21:23:00.001-05:00

Although this isn't technically Sophie's first Christmas, this was the first one where she could actively participate, and we had a total blast. Having a toddler on Christmas is a whirlwind experience marked with tiny pieces of wrapping paper strewn all about the house, but the concept of "opening presents on Christmas morning" also sort of makes me feel like an incredibly inconsistent parent.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T20:21:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas to you and yours! May your holiday be merry and bright!

Such a Talented Child

2011-12-21T21:02:00.000-05:00

Here is the famed Elmo t-shirt that kept Sophie pointing at her belly even after we put the shirt in the laundry. "Sophie, where's Elmo?" "Elmo!" and points at his face with both hands. The little red monster brings this child such glee. In fact, today was just a happy day in general -- she spent it running amok in the house and laughing wildly. In retrospect, that may have had something to

All Dressed Up

2011-12-18T20:44:00.002-05:00

So this is the part where I confess that I have become that woman. The one who (you already knew) dressed up small dogs in Halloween costumes. I have now graduated to matching my kid's dress to her doll. And I am not the least bit ashamed. Because it is unbelievably adorable that they match. It makes me grin. Especially when Sophie sees her doll and yells "Bayyyy-beeeeeeee!" at the top of

Little Swashbuckler

2011-12-08T07:00:00.000-05:00

Lately we've taken a real liking to dress-up games. The latest costume of choice? Daddy's belt, sometimes worn as a necklace, sometimes wrapped twice around her waist and worn like a jaunty little swashbuckler. She cried when I tried to take it off of her, so we let her wear it most of the morning. See my belt, Mommy? She finally tried to take it off herself, so I helped her, thinking we

Pigtails!

2011-12-06T22:16:00.001-05:00

I finally bought the right size rubber bands to put Sophie's hair in pigtails. And with one snap of the rubber band, she grew up from a baby into a little girl! Eeek! She looks so much older with a "hairstyle." I'm not sure I can handle it. She went to school one day this week with her piggy-tails in, and the folks at school oohed-and-aahed over her. I might not be ready for pigtails. I

Quotable Quotes

2011-12-01T20:50:00.000-05:00

Steven, to Sophie, at approximately 8:30 PM tonight: "Ooookay, you're crying about your flashcards, and that means its time for bed." [Gathers her up to carry her to bed, still talking to her] "You know, Mommy did the same thing when she was studying for the bar exam. She cried over her flashcards, too. Are you doing a re-enactment of 2007? Yeah? Ok. Time for bed." :)

So Many Words

2011-11-20T21:47:00.000-05:00

Our little Chatty Cathy has quite a few "words" under her belt now. I put that in quotes, because they still require a little interpretation. I consider her to have learned a new word when she uses the same set of syllables each time she references the word. So, to the list: Ball: Ba ba! or Baa!! Always spoken passionately, and usually if you hear this, you should duck, because she's going

Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes and increasing my baking repertoire

2011-11-14T22:50:00.000-05:00

I keep talking about opening a cupcake bakery someday. Its a pipe dream, at most, and yet something about it -- I just can't let go of the idea. Steven, as you might imagine, tires of my never-ending enthusiasm for new pursuits sometimes. So the other day, after hearing about my cupcake bakery for the umpteenth time, he says to me, "You know, I've never even seen you bake a cupcake."

On the mend

2011-11-12T10:43:00.001-05:00

We woke up nice and early this morning, as she likes to do every Saturday morning. Only this morning, she was being very sweet and easy-going. Sat in her high chair and dutifully ate her bananas and Cheerios and drank her milk. No screaming fits, no throwing the bottle onto the floor, nothing. Tired morning eyes. I watched her and thought to myself, "Wow, you are so much easier to parent

Complaints Department

2011-11-08T20:50:00.000-05:00

My back hurts. I blame Scarlett entirely. I left work today at 5:30 pm, walked out the door and was plunged into darkness. Blah, winter. I was going to make cupcakes tonight, but I left the recipe in my bag. And my bag is in my car. The door to the garage beeps when you open it, which could potentially wake up Sophie. Therefore, no cupcakes tonight. I am having a consolation muffin instead

Pumpkin Patch!

2011-11-07T21:22:00.000-05:00

It appears we are past the barfs for now. Steven stayed home with Sophie today to make sure she was okay, because I had a big court argument to do in the afternoon. He enjoyed his stay-at-home-dad day and during her morning nap (around 10 AM), he mentioned to me how much he was enjoying the day with her. By the time I walked in the door at 4:15 PM, she was napping for a second time and Dear

Sausage and Kale Soup and a Toddler who was happy for half the day...

2011-11-06T19:59:00.000-05:00

As I write this, Sophie is asleep for her first nap in her "big girl bed." We put a twin mattress on the floor in her room, put a toddler railing on it, and we make sure to close her door so she can't get out of her room (the stairs are awfully close to her doorway). Seems to be going well so far, knock on wood. Maybe I won't have to buy two cribs, after all. Given her generally happy and

I guess this means its dress up day...

2011-11-05T09:31:00.000-04:00

First she picked up a bib out of the clean laundry and held it under her chin until I put it on her. When I try to take it off, she just holds it up again, so clearly she has decided this is her fashion accessory for the day. She played for a while with just the bib on. And then fished around in her toy tub until she found something else she wanted to wear. Maybe it was too bright

Happy First Birthday!

2011-11-04T11:00:00.000-04:00

I blame it all on Pinterest. If not for that website, I probably wouldn't have had nearly the crazy, ramped up and grandiose ambitions about Sophie's first birthday party that I did. But alas, the internets are very very good at showing you all the things that the other cool mommies are doing. Pinterest is sort of like peer pressure for grown ups. After clicking on a billion zillion kids

Mornings At the New House

2011-11-03T21:25:00.001-04:00

Had to get up extra early this morning for a leadership conference that started at 7:30 AM across town. After we got up and made it downstairs at about 7 AM, Sophie needed a diaper change before Steven took her to school. I have Sophie's diaper changing pad set up on the window seat in our downstairs office (so that I don't have to carry her up and down the stairs for every diaper change -- she

Bet you thought we forgot about you.

2011-11-02T21:26:00.000-04:00

It wasn't so much forgetting to blog. It was more in not having a free hand with which to type anything. That, of course, combined with the fact that most, if not all, of my cute pictures of Sophie are immediately put up on Facebook, and my random thoughts are usually captured by Twitter. I've apparently spread my social networking self too thin. So perhaps we should redefine this space. I

Blogging is harder without the internet

2011-09-03T16:10:00.001-04:00

One little girl is enjoying her new digs! Sadly she will have to go without elmo videos on you tube for a month, since the kind folks at verizon decided to go on strike recently, creating quite the lag time for new installations. No tv, no internet, and no home phone until october 3. perhaps we will go get a library card... Blogging from the phone is too time consuming to be wordy. More to

Bricks and Sticks

2011-08-01T21:51:00.000-04:00

The new house is coming along nicely! Sophie had her first tour this past weekend, just prior to our "pre-drywall" inspection. Our office-slash-first-floor-guest-room has a bay window with a window seat! This is a shot from the back corner of the living room, looking into the kitchen and sunroom. Use your imagination. And now we are upstairs looking over the railing into the two story den.

The Reason for My Hiatus

2011-08-01T20:45:00.001-04:00

So in case you were wondering why I dropped off the face of the planet for a few months there, I have a very good reason. Its called the first trimester blahs. :) Sophie is very excited to tell you that her new brother or sister will be here in January 2012! Or thereabouts. :)

On Recharging

2011-07-27T14:17:00.001-04:00

There's just something about escaping the artificial lighting and temperatures of an office building and eating a cold chicken salad sandwich and a frozen smoothie outdoors under the warm sunshine that's awfully refreshing.

Michael's First Birthday!

2011-07-24T21:30:00.000-04:00

Sophie attended her very first party this weekend! Our neighbors' son, Michael, turned one! At Michael's party, Sophie got to experience a ball pit for the first time. She wasn't afraid, just unclear on the purpose of the whole idea. What am I supposed to do in here? Can I eat these? There were about 5 kids at or near Sophie's age at the party. Michael and his friend Matthew (in the plaid)

So. What Have I Missed?

2011-07-16T22:28:00.000-04:00

I blinked, and it was mid-July, and I hadn't blogged in almost two months. How did this happen? Perhaps..... ...it has something.... ...directly to do..... ...with a little person.... .....who lives in our house.... ....and is full of emotions.... ....and energy.... ....and really.... ...just never.... ...stops moving! (Well, maybe that's not entirely true. She sleeps what feels like

Testing 1, 2, 3

2011-07-16T17:49:00.001-04:00

Trying to blog from an Android app that I just downloaded. Can anybody hear me out there?

Lookie What I Can Do!

2011-05-30T22:19:00.000-04:00

Before Sophie was born, I presumed [VERY incorrectly] that I'd still have plenty of time to do all the things I used to do, like blog and knit and garden and learn new crafty things.... After Sophie arrived, I presumed that I'd never again pick up yarn and needles. I packed my yarn away in a box in the garage and bid it farewell. People kept promising me that it would get easier, that

I was hoping she'd nap instead...

2011-05-22T21:40:00.002-04:00

We got home from the airport this afternoon, had lunch, and adjourned to her room, in hopes of getting her to take a nap. Instead, I got a piano concerto. :)

Guess Who's Mobile Now?

2011-05-21T12:00:00.000-04:00

She's started crawling seriously in the last 24 hours or so. She went from belly on the ground, dragging herself along, to on her knees zooming around in a single day! Which, of course, clearly means that my child is a genius. :) YouTube Video

First Time Swimming!

2011-05-19T13:25:00.001-04:00

We are spending a short week with Steven's parents in Florida, taking a much needed break. It's taken me a good solid day and a half to unwind. Sophie, on the other hand, was ready and rearing to go from the first moment we got here.She is so so so close to crawling. She has learned how to move herself forward, but she still drags her legs behind her.She has also enjoyed laughing with and at

On My First Mother's Day

2011-05-07T22:39:00.001-04:00

Those of you that know my husband know that he is a man that loves technological gadgets. I love this about him, because it often results in my getting some extremely cool techie presents for special occasions. (he's also a regular over at Williams Sonoma around the holidays....a true Renaissance gift-giver.)So I'm back with the mobile blogging, but now I am proud to inform you that I am

Discovering the Wood Floor, In Pictures

2011-05-04T10:56:00.020-04:00

Hey, wait a minute. What's that over there? Hmm.... Looks different than my blankets..... Feels different... I wonder how it tastes? Yep, tastes like wood floor. (Don't worry folks, she did not smash her face on the floor, she lowered it carefully down until her nose was touching the floor.) And now I will ponder this new discovery over a nice bottle of milk.

Hoppy Easter!

2011-04-24T10:56:00.000-04:00

Steven can testify -- I'm terrible at planning for holidays. I end up shopping for Christmas at the last minute, I never manage to prepare a good Valentines' Day gift, and I'm just not the greatest celebrator, in general. So, as you might imagine, I was surprised and delighted when I remembered three weeks ago to buy Easter basket stuff for Sophie's first Easter. (Nana sent us the outfits, of

An Epiphany, Of Sorts

2011-03-31T22:59:00.000-04:00

Part of the joy of having too much to do and too little time is that you don't have as much opportunity for navel-gazing introspection. I can remember an era of my college years when I could sit at Barnes & Noble for hours, pouring my thoughts out on paper and consuming too much coffee while doing so. And I had such incredible swaths of free time that I would make these intricate, full-color,

Mobile blogging!!

2011-03-25T10:37:00.001-04:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } IMAG0122, originally uploaded by hrh6181. Coming to you live from the xterra, it's my first attempt at mobile blogging! Given my pathetic lack of posts in the last month, this may be how we have to do this whole blogging

Whoops, There Went February

2011-03-12T15:39:00.000-05:00

Oh, hi. When did it suddenly become March? What have I been doing the past month? Well, I'll tell you. In list format. - I bought a new car. We needed something bigger than the Sentra (remember we got in a car accident back in December?), but I still wanted a Nissan. Enter the Rogue. I really like it. A lot. - We babysat Michael while Amy was in the hospital for an emergency

Sausage, Kale and White Bean Soup (Oh, and a cute kid too)

2011-01-30T22:49:00.000-05:00

I promised a while back to show you the soup I've been making for lunches. I bought a magazine called "Hearty Soups" on a whim from Target, and it's turned out to be a surprisingly good buy. I won't reprint the recipe here because I'm afraid of the copyright police, but I'll give you a general idea of what's in the soup. You could probably figure it out just from the ingredients. It's similar

Cupcakes!

2011-01-15T19:27:00.000-05:00

For Christmas this year, Steven got me a trip to Cookology at the Dulles Town Center Mall for a "cupcake workshop"! I took Erica with me and made her wear a big paper chef's hat! Awesome. We learned how to make three types of cupcakes: vanilla, chocolate, and red velvet. The class was more about baking the cupcakes from scratch than it was about decorating them, although we did pipe some

Christmas Redux and a Couponing Trip

2011-01-08T22:53:00.000-05:00

You may remember that I mentioned wanting to do Christmas over again, since we were so sick during the week of Christmas. Well, I finally dressed up our little elf and pretended it was December 25 again. Hey. Who you calling little? We invited some friends over for a "pretend Christmas dinner," and we made turkey, stuffing, and the works. Michael and Sophie played together in their

I'm Back Baby!

2011-01-02T18:30:00.000-05:00

Okay, so maybe not 100% back. Maybe more like 70 to 85% back. But still, that's an improvement! Mommy keeps dressing me in Christmas outfits because she says Christmas ain't over till Mommy says its over! So Merry More Christmas everybody! Sophie and I went over to a friend's house for a playdate today. Her first playdate, actually! She seemed to like it. She liked his toys, at least.

Christmas Do-Over

2010-12-25T19:36:00.000-05:00

We're finally home, after spending almost three full days at the hospital. I am so glad to be home, and I have so much more compassion for families who have kids in the hospital. The nurses and doctors are very sweet and supportive, but it's still an awful place to be. There's no rest to be had, and after a few days in the isolation room, I was starting to go looney. They checked Sophie at

Places I Didn't Expect To Be In The Days Before Christmas

2010-12-22T23:45:00.000-05:00

If you're a new parent, you naturally spend at least a small portion of your time thinking about all the big firsts. First smile, first tooth falls out, first Christmas, and so on. You don't really spend much time thinking about baby's first Emergency Room visit. Hello, we just got rear ended in a car accident. Sophie's first trip to the ER. Who says new parents don't document everything?

Baseball Baby and My First Couponing Trip

2010-12-11T13:05:00.000-05:00

My little nugget is growing like a weed, and I realized the other day that if we didn't put her Twins fan outfit on her soon, she'd outgrow it without even getting a single chance to wear it. So here's Sophie's tribute to the winter trade meetings. Go Twins! We had to add the hairbow and the flowery jeans so she wouldn't look like a little boy. Daddy absolutely loved this outfit on her, as

Working Girl.

2010-12-01T22:25:00.000-05:00

Soph likes to skip out on daycare early and come visit me at work. Caution: Sophie At Work Which, of course, is such a fun idea but also stressful because what if she starts screaming during someone's conference call or something? I have a quiet-baby strategy that involves a pacifier and Mozart but you just never know. Also, the folks at work didn't want her to have to lay on the floor so

Couponing for Dummies (Or, A Dummy Learns to Coupon)

2010-11-18T22:32:00.000-05:00

So I'm totally and utterly intrigued by this whole "couponing" business. I have seen people doing it (in fact, my sister-in-law is a champ at it), but up 'til now I was clueless about how it worked. I've done some research in the last week or so, and I think I'm starting to get it now. So I am going to give it a (very slow) try... As I understand it, the first step is to start collecting

Blogging One-Handed Again

2010-11-07T20:16:00.000-05:00

Sleeping baby in left arm. Hard to type. Cute pics to show you though. (With pithy, one-handed captions, of course.) The star of our show is nearly one month old. This is her mad scientist look. Tummy time. She can follow the camera with her eyes now. Clearly a Rhodes Scholar in the making. Baby looks inquisitive. Mom looks tired. Had her first playdate on Saturday. Got dressed up for the

All Hail The Triumphant Return...

2010-11-03T17:17:00.000-04:00

All hail the triumphant return... ... of my ankles. Seriously, I thought they were going to be gone forever, replaced by flesh-colored tree trunks attached to my knees. They are still a wee bit swollen (if you squint you can see the imprint of my sock...) but HOLY COW those are my ankle bones and I can actually see them, which makes this a very happy day indeed. I haven't seen those ankles for

Carpe Nappum ("Seize the Naptime")

2010-10-28T09:58:00.000-04:00

Reporting to you live from Baby Central Headquarters... According to my notes from yesterday, this here is prime napping time. Sophie likes to sleep from 9 AM to 11 AM. (At least, she liked it yesterday, and she fell asleep again today at about 9:20 AM. Here's hoping it's a pattern...) Yes, everybody says sleep when baby sleeps, and you can be sure that I will, but this is her longest nap of

One Week Old Already?!

2010-10-20T20:44:00.000-04:00

I can't believe how much she's grown up in just a week. We got home from the hospital on Thursday evening and spent the weekend trying to figure out how to feed a VERY hungry baby. She was a week and a half late, and she showed up with a serious appetite. Unfortunately, I spent the weekend playing catch-up, and we ended up having to supplement her with formula for two or three days. Luckily,

The Chocolate Cake Must Have Worked...

2010-10-16T10:16:00.000-04:00

So when we last left you, our fearless protagonist had baked herself a chocolate cake in an effort to bring about a very, very overdue baby. Well, it worked. I started having contractions at about 2:30 AM on Tuesday, October 12. They started about 30 minutes apart, and gradually got closer to about 10 minutes apart by the time I woke up for work at 7 am. I had convinced myself that they were

Lesser-Known Old Wives' Tales

2010-10-10T18:30:00.000-04:00

I've tried most of the Old Wives' Tales for bringing about labor. Pineapple, spicy food, eggplant parmesan, evening primrose oil capsules, red raspberry leaf tea, climbing stairs, cleaning my house obsessively, walking (and walking and walking and walking...) But there may be a lesser-known Old Wives' Tale that I've heretofore overlooked: That's right, chocolate cake. Double-layer, homemade

Grumble Grumble (But With Lists!)

2010-09-27T21:59:00.000-04:00

Grumble grumble grumble. 39 weeks and no progress. I have an appointment tomorrow, so this is just me being my grumbly little (or not so little) self, because who knows, I could go into labor tomorrow and be eating jello and mystery meat at the hospital before you know it. But as of right now, I feel like she's going to be in there forever. Like that kid with the big glasses from The Sandlot

Two-ish Weeks to go...

2010-09-19T18:06:00.000-04:00

And I'm trying not to pay attention to every little tweak in my stomach. Because it's nothing, right? I'm just imagining things... Anyway! Let's see, what have I been doing? I knitted a hat for Violet Salvia, partially because I wanted to see how the pattern would turn out, and partially because I figured Violet's mom would enjoy having some additional photography props. :) (I realize now

My Cup Runneth Over, Part Deux

2010-09-12T23:18:00.000-04:00

So I've got about a billion pictures to show you from the baby shower yesterday. Be forewarned, this is an enormously picture-heavy post. :) Ok, now that we've gotten that out of the way -- I am so excited to show you all the fabulous stuff that everyone did for the shower! Once again, I am just so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family who take the time and thoughtfulness to put

My Cup Runneth Over

2010-09-04T19:27:00.000-04:00

Well, Sophie and I are already blessed beyond measure, and the baby shower that I've actually KNOWN was coming isn't even HERE yet. Holy cow of awesomeness. My sweet family sent these gifts in the mail, and they all happened to arrive on the same day! Our porch was overloaded with UPS packages -- Steven thought I'd gone on another yarn binge. :) This picture is for my brother Matt and

Blogging with one hand

2010-08-29T15:34:00.000-04:00

I guess now's as good a time as any to start learning to blog with one hand. Because in t-minus 35 days and counting, in the place of this little 8 pound bundle will be a human one. Poor Pringles will probably have to resign himself to sitting next to me instead of laying right on top of me as he is doing now. I think he senses something's up, so he's

34 Weeks and Counting

2010-08-22T19:11:00.000-04:00

Well, it's been a busy couple of weeks at Casa de Steele. Or more accurately, NOT at Casa de Steele -- we traveled to Atlanta last weekend to hang out with my family. The women went for mani/pedi's and visited the Georgia Aquarium, while the men did a weekend retreat on Lake Lanier. Although I forgot to bring my camera, Mom documented the events with hers, so I'll have to figure out how to

Cravings

2010-08-04T22:21:00.000-04:00

In the beginning, it was sour jelly beans. But only the Jelly Belly kind. I probably went through a pound of them every couple of weeks. In the middle, it was fruit. Bananas, blueberries, raspberries, watermelon, you name it. I could eat an entire carton of strawberries in one sitting. Toward the end, we've delved into an entirely new realm. And that realm is called Cupcakes. It all

What More Could A Tiny Human Need?

2010-07-21T17:46:00.000-04:00

So I've been having an existential crisis for the past few months. Let's call it the "Eternal Stroller Debate." Beginning in about May 2010, I learned, for the first time in my adult life, that there are approximately eleventy-billion different kinds of strollers. There are travel systems, there are umbrella versions, there are ones that fold up, fold down, fold inside out, teach your kid to

Iron Supplements! The Breakfast of Champions!

2010-07-16T21:23:00.001-04:00

I have an irresistible urge to start a thousand new projects tonight. No, its not nesting, its too soon for that. (Isn't it?) But I did just start taking iron supplements in the past few days, and it has drastically increased my energy levels. Apparently not enough to take pictures of anything, but I'm sure I'll get around to that soon. In the meantime, help me pick a new project: Topaz

On Documenting Things

2010-07-11T15:04:00.000-04:00

And what a poor job I've been doing of it lately. Truth be told, there's just too much going on, and by the time I sit down at the computer to write a blog, I'm ready to fall asleep (or I hear a sinkful of dirty dishes calling my name...) [Insert comments here about how it will only get worse once we have the baby, etc etc. And so forth. I hear you.] Steven's parents, sister, brother-in-law,

Trip to Twins Territory

2010-06-22T21:59:00.000-04:00

I have so much that I ought to (a) photograph so I can (b) tell you all about it. Like my new sunglasses that Steven got me for my birthday. Or the garden, which is in a terrible state of overgrowth. I yanked up two zucchini plants in a fit of organizational madness over the weekend. The garden looked crazy with too many enormous zucchini plants, and now I think it might even look worse

Cute Overload

2010-06-05T22:58:00.000-04:00

About a year or so ago, I met my second cousin for the first time. As it turns out, she's fabulous. As it further turns out, we're both expecting! Becky's having a boy this time, so she offered to give me some of Ella's baby girl clothes. She mentioned that it would probably be "too much to mail," so we decided to meet up so she could give the clothes to me before she and her family move to

Adventures in Gardening

2010-05-28T21:56:00.000-04:00

Um, the garden is totally out of control. Steven had to trim back the zucchini plant because we couldn't shut the fence gate. My favorite thing we've planted this year? Snow peas. They are growing like crazy. I trellised them about a month ago, and they are quickly overwhelming the trellis. Here they are, freshly picked and washed. We had them for dinner as a side to our beef

A Room For Sophie

2010-05-26T22:51:00.001-04:00

Yep, we finally spilled the beans on the name, so here it is in all its glory: Sophia Dagny Steele! Sophie is Steven's great-grandmother's name, and Dagny is the lead character in a novel I love (Atlas Shrugged). Traditional first name, sorta funky middle name. We think it works. Estimated arrival date, early October! We finished painting her room this past weekend. The paint is from Behr

Steven's Kind of Weekend

2010-05-24T21:00:00.001-04:00

We were supposed to go see the "Bold Fresh Tour" back in January in Norfolk, but it got snowed out and rescheduled for this past weekend. So we planned a lovely early-summer weekend trip to Virginia Beach! There were protesters at the event. Steven wanted his picture taken with them. He found it hilarious. When we got inside, a young, sort of trendy-looking girl was holding a sign for the

Luck and Chocolate Cake

2010-05-09T16:02:00.000-04:00

I tried to make a chocolate cake last weekend. It did not go well. I forgot baking soda and ended up with two dense and inedible chocolate discs. It was too sad to even memorialize with a picture. I really wanted chocolate cake though, so I tried again this weekend. And everything was going so well, and I was so happy about this (stupid) cake, and then I started stacking the layers. And the

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

2010-05-05T23:08:00.001-04:00

If you'd asked me this morning at 8:30 AM, "what's your gut instinct on the gender?" I would have told you it is most definitely a boy. I just had a feeling we were having a little guy, for some reason. Steven had the same feeling. We even told the ultrasound tech, "We think its a boy." She swiped that plastic wand around my growing berth and then she rambled something excitedly, which

A Weekend In Late Spring

2010-05-01T20:54:00.001-04:00

Steven is The Grassmaster. Yes, this sounds like something that could potentially garner him a narcotics conviction, but just look at all that green lawn down there. This lovely lawn is brought to you by several bags of E-Z-Seed Turfmaster, some careful sprinkler positioning, and today's early morning mowing (which I apparently slept through). He's mighty proud of it. (And for good

And Now Back To Easter

2010-04-26T20:57:00.000-04:00

Me: "So babe, do you want to dye some Easter eggs this year?" Steven: "No." Me: "Really?" Steven: "Well, ok. But I never really did that when I was a kid." Me: "Whaaat??" Yes, as it turns out, Steven had never dyed Easter Eggs before the year 2010. I still stand in amazement (and perhaps his parents will chime in and refresh his memory?) -- Easter Eggs are so classic! They rank

No More Carpet

2010-04-18T20:22:00.000-04:00

When we first bought our house, we knew we'd have to do something about the upstairs carpet. It was dirty and stained, and there were remnants of what may have been a melted green crayon in one of the rooms. (I know, I know. You're all going to tell me that I have this and many other messes to look forward to as a parent. I am still in denial. Let me have my final few months of wildly

A Little Pumpkin

2010-04-13T21:32:00.000-04:00

Well, you've probably noticed that I've been strangely absent from the blog for the past few months. A bit distracted. Lacking in content. Or perhaps even (oh, don't say it!) boring. And now I am here to explain myself. I have a good reason for the lull. And it has something to do with this: A weird knitted pumpkin, you ask? Well, not exactly... Yep, you guessed it. We're

Spring is Here!

2010-03-21T18:51:00.001-04:00

It is finally warm enough outside to spend an afternoon outdoors. Certain small dogs were quite grateful for this. (Carlie got a haircut recently, can you tell? She's been wearing a sweater around the house because Captain Minnesotan likes to turn on the A/C in early spring...) She slept peacefully on her little picnic blanket while I got the garden planted (finally!). Occasionally,

A Bit of Sunshine

2010-03-15T19:57:00.005-04:00

The snow has finally melted. Mostly because of rain.It is perfect timing, really, because I have misplaced my big wool coat. Absolutely cannot find it anywhere. How does a grown woman lose her coat? Isn't that something a five year old does? Do I need the mittens-on-a-string next?Perhaps, perhaps.

Coming Up For Air

2010-02-28T09:00:00.002-05:00

Ever feel like you've just been buried in a work avalanche? Its sort of been that way for me in these last few weeks of February. I just know it has everything to do with the torrential snows we got in the beginning of the month (Curse you, snow!), but I feel like I'm just now beginning to dig out (literally and figuratively).So to apologize for my absence, here is a list of randomness for your

Enough With The Snow Already...

2010-02-10T18:32:00.002-05:00

Its official. We have just survived (Survived? Does that mean its over yet?) the snowiest winter on record in the Nation's Capital.Aaaand I'm officially tired of snow.* I won't even post any more snow pictures for you, because seriously, it still looks exactly the same outside. Which is to say, everything is cold and white.So I'll show you something rather colorful instead: I made a

Snowpocalypse 2010

2010-02-06T15:54:00.002-05:00

Attention everyone: This is an Important News Alert."Verily, verily, It Has Snowed."We thought we might be able to shovel the driveway ourselves, but we got one lane cut down the driveway, the exact width of our snow shovel, and we promptly gave up.Not only is the snow tall, but it weighs a metric ton. (I will admit I was glad to have a variety of knit caps to choose from. And those boots?

Why I Won't Ever Wear Scrubs

2010-02-02T20:29:00.006-05:00

So everyone on Facebook has been posting the picture of the "Celebrity that Other People Think You Look Like."And it looked like such fun. I mean, people were posting such cute pictures of people like Christina Ricci, Reese Witherspoon, and I totally saw the connections. They looked like celebrities! Love that!So I started thinking. Hey, I really want to post a pic of who I look like --

Cashew Chicken (only without the cashews)

2010-01-28T20:54:00.000-05:00

I got home from work late tonight. I'd been at a Virginia Women Attorneys' Association meeting (and it was a total hoot. Imagine 10-15 powerful type-A women in a small conference room, with drinks and snacks provided, noshing and discussing the various and sundry details of the Association, and from time-to-time, someone shouting out, "Ladies there is a motion on the floor can we vote please!"

Lasagna Garden: 2010

2010-01-24T13:20:00.003-05:00

I learned a lot last year in my first lasagna garden. I made the garden too deep, which meant that I couldn't reach the back of the garden without stepping in the front. I also learned plenty about the particular likes and dislikes of the local rabbit community. (They love lettuce and carrots. They don't really like tomatoes.) So this year, Steven built me a garden box that will better fit

The Big Day

2010-01-17T19:40:00.003-05:00

My younger brother Matt (the middle of three younger brothers) got married this weekend. Here he is with his groomsmen at the rehearsal dinner. (He's the blonde guy on the left.)We took off work on Friday and drove down to Blythewood, South Carolina for the rehearsal on Friday evening. And we rehearsed. And rehearsed. The dear wedding planner, bless her heart, I think she assumed this was

Quick Weeknight Meal Idea: Red Beans and Rice with Chicken Sausage

2010-01-10T21:36:00.000-05:00

Just popping in to post a quick weeknight meal idea we've enjoyed around these parts lately.The actual contents of this meal could differ, depending on what you like/don't like. The cajun style sausage is a bit too spicy for us, so I usually buy a box of Zatarain's Red Beans and Rice and a package of Sun Dried Tomato chicken sausage (or some variation of savory chicken/turkey sausage).There

Pondering Some Resolutions (Or, Skip All the Mushy Nonsense And Let's See The Cars Already)

2010-01-04T20:27:00.006-05:00

Steven wants desperately for me to post a blog about the cars already. Every time I type something, he goes, "Hey, are you posting about the cars now?"But I'm sitting over here daydreaming about my New Year's Resolutions instead. 2010 kinda sneaked up on me this year. I didn't have my usual pre-made list of resolutions (For example, here's my list from 2008:)And this is what my resolutions

Ringing In the New Year with the Huffs!

2010-01-02T22:25:00.003-05:00

Look who came to visit! Miss Riley Grace Huff herself!The whole Huff family traversed to DC to spend the New Year's week with us, and we loved having them. It was a delightful trip with plenty of snacking and relaxing. We also went and saw Avatar, which was our one trip out of the house. The movie was good -- we saw it in 3D, which was especially cool. We'd planned to go to the zoo one day,

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T20:20:00.000-05:00

As you know, nearly two feet of snow fell here in the DC area last weekend.And although it wasn't quite this deep by the time Christmas Day rolled around, everything was still pretty snow-covered. It even garnered us an extra day off of work on Monday.As things go, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Get a day off work? Congratulations, now your car won't start. We got

On Wool Socks And Making-Do

2009-12-19T18:53:00.003-05:00

To anyone who might have thought that hand-knit wool socks were somewhat pointless, I give you:Shoveling The Driveway, 2009(Um, yeah. That's what it looked like when we opened the garage door...)Steven managed to cut a sidewalk-sized swath in the snow before I came out to help, and I grabbed the rake (Why do we not own two snow shovels?) and helped get a car-sized lane dug through about 2/3 of

A Lot to Live Up To . . .

2009-12-16T21:17:00.002-05:00

The firm took all of the attorneys and their spouses out to dinner last Saturday at Morton's in Georgetown. It was a very classy event (and I was very much looking forward to wearing a nice wool sheath dress that I'd just bought from Ann Taylor the day before), so I was on my best and classiest behavior. Minding my P's and Q's, engaging in polite and mildly witty conversation, mostly drawn from

The Big Picture

2009-12-13T13:17:00.002-05:00

Steven's dad, Dan, has always had a thing for baseball collectibles. One of Dan's prized baseball collectible possessions was an item affectionately called "The Big Picture." It is a picture of the "500 Home Run Club," with signatures from each hitter next to his picture.The Big Picture includes such greats as: (top row, left to right) Harmon Killebrew, Willie McCovey, Reggie Jackson, Eddie

Oh, The Weather Outside Is Frightful

2009-12-06T16:29:00.002-05:00

This is what it looked like when I woke up yesterday.And this is what it looked like by lunch time.Snow!I love it. We stayed in all day yesterday, hunkered down in sweatshirts and thick socks. It was delicious.Steven did manage to sneak out of the house yesterday evening to snap a picture of the house.I love the lights. To me, they say: "Welcome! Come and visit us!"And, since the weather was

The Second Annual Arlington Turkey Trot 5K

2009-11-29T11:44:00.003-05:00

Last year, Steven and I ran the "First Annual" Arlington Turkey Trot. (It was our first time running this race. I think the race itself has been going on for three or four years now.)We've decided to make it a tradition (although you can clearly see I have not bought myself any new running clothes in the past year. Yes. I am very cheap.)Steven had to sit out this year's race because of a sports

And Then There Was Turkey...

2009-11-29T11:21:00.002-05:00

There is, quite possibly, nothing in this world that makes me happier than the careful planning and production of a gigantic meal on an important occasion. I love the preparation, I love the meticulous timing of it all, and I especially love when nothing goes terribly, terribly wrong.(Also, I love Reynolds Oven Turkey Bags.)Steven's family made the long trek out to our house for Thanksgiving this

Hey, Who Put That There?

2009-11-21T08:34:00.004-05:00

It feels really strange to have a high chair in my kitchen.I keep walking around the corner, seeing it, and doing a double take. "Wait a second, what is that?!" I borrowed it from a friend at work, because Steven's family is coming to town today (including our two young nephews) to spend Thanksgiving week with us, and I realized about three or four days ago that I have zero baby stuff. Not a

And You Thought We Were Done Painting

2009-11-16T20:28:00.002-05:00

When we first moved into our house in December of last year, our basement had circus stripes.Crazy, orange-and-yellow, makes-you-squint circus stripes.And back when we moved in, we figured it would take us a good solid year to get the whole house painted.I am pleased to report that we are (barely) ahead of schedule.And we're really getting this whole painting thing down to a science. Steven does

Decisions, Decisions

2009-11-12T21:08:00.002-05:00

So, I'm in need of some opinions.How do we feel about this color? Pattern? The psychological ramifications of doing anything other than stuffing our paychecks into our mattress and refusing to spend a dime until 2013?I know, I know. I'm so torn. On one hand, I would really like to have granite countertops. It would add value to the house and its probably the cheapest and best deal we'll be

Bam!

2009-11-07T15:29:00.002-05:00

We've been having difficulty getting weeknight meals prepared in a timely fashion over here at the Steele house lately. This is partially because I worked late a few nights last week, and partially because cooking just takes time, which is a difficult concept to explain to someone who hasn't really cooked that often.In an effort to solve this dilemma, I wrote up a little schedule that said, "

In Which I Am Delightfully Inconsistent

2009-11-03T19:54:00.003-05:00

Thanks everybody for the responses. Apparently I just needed send a little vitriol out into the world. I feel much better now. And in fact, I was tempted to post a status update this morning about an unintended benefit of my new commute: I've learned how to say "used tires" in Spanish. ("Llantas Usadas!") So I have a feeling I'll be back haunting Facebook before you know it.And Daniel Jay, can I

Apples and Nuclear Fission.

2009-11-02T21:45:00.003-05:00

On the radio this morning:"Its not even like comparing apples and oranges. Its like comparing apples and . . . and watermelons!"Yeah, I thought, but they're both still fruit. It would be more effective to make the comparison just ridiculous.Comparing apples and television remotes.Apples and lightbulbs.Its like comparing apples and . . . and the Horsehead Nebula.And it was this random train of

The Princess and the Postal Worker

2009-10-31T22:49:00.002-04:00

Happy Howl-O-Ween from Pringles the Postal Worker,And Carlie the Princess:I think Pringles really enjoys wearing clothes. Not sure how I feel about that...See his mail bag and sleeve emblem?His hat didn't last as long, mostly because he couldn't see. And when he almost fell down the stairs, we decided that was enough of the hat.We put on the costumes while it was still daylight out, mostly for