All has been quiet on this blog for a bit and that is due to a few colds we’ve been weathering. Spring colds or warmer weather colds are the worst. You are home, feeling poorly and watching as the rest of the world comes to life and blooms. Thankfully, we’re mostly over them and have moved on to the next worst thing — seasonal allergies. Seasonal allergies though, did not keep us away from visiting my in-laws and attending our good friends’ daughter’s first birthday party. In between of all the driving, and there was quite a bit of it, we did enjoy time at my in-laws and even a dinner out with my sister and her family.
Bubbles, bubbles are all the rage. Who wouldn’t want to squeal with delight trying to catch these bubbles?
… and then there are always care-taking duties to attend to like feeding your baby. You’ll notice, Sophia even put a bib on the baby. Grammie and Pop’s house is like a toy wonderland and she loved it so much, she didn’t want to leave. Hopefully, we’ll get visitors soon. As usual, I will cook in exchange for having Sophia entertained.
“Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do… but how much love we put in that action.” Mother Theresa was right, and this must be the reason Grammie and Pop’s house is so magical for us and especially for Sophia. There is no magic in reality, just an incredible investment of time, attention and love for Sophia and us, too.
Sophia’s social season has begun and we are too happy to tag along to all her soirees. Fortunately, the first event took place close to my in-laws who graciously hosted us. The weather was gorgeous and we were happy to see our friends, get some help with Sophia, rest and unwind in a much quieter setting than offered in our Washington D.C., suburbs.
Sophia loved, loved, loved being on the balance beam, choosing to go on a high one even though she’s never tried a beam before. We should probably sign her up for gymnastics and nurture her budding skills and interest.
Having caught up with our good friends and enjoyed the hospitality of my in-laws, we departed on our journey back satiated and rested wishing the trip didn’t end so quickly and the drive didn’t take so long.
Having entertained quite a few weeks in a row, we’ve decided to be entertained ourselves and gladly accepted my parents’ generous offer to host us. They always ask us to visit with them offering up amazing food — there and to-go –, free babysitting and general fun as incentives.
As is customary, I couldn’t just show up without anything delicious and so, I brought Chewy Apricot Bars for Friday. The recipe is my own and posted here, based on one I saw a while back on Yammie’s Noshery. They couldn’t be easier to make or more delicious — packing even a bit of healthfulness via the use of oatmeal.
There was all manner of everything home-made, fresh and delicious at mom and dad’s house and we were glad to give our own kitchen and tired hands a break. As much as we wanted to sit around and lounge noshing on blintzes, we also had a few house-calls to make namely visiting with Evan’s family including his grandmothers. It is a bit difficult for Grandmom and Bubbie to travel to Maryland and see us, so we gladly made plans to see them.
And of course, of course, you didn’t think a visit to the Philadelphia area would be complete without a visit to the city of brotherly love itself, right?
We slipped out on Saturday right after the start of Sophia’s nap and ventured into the city to take in some of our favorite neighborhoods and haunts as well as try some new things. The city, like most others, is alive and ever-changing always ready to surprise us with its new secrets. I am quite certain that we haven’t seen temperatures in the high sixties and low seventies since last October!
We visited Northern Liberties to see how much that neighborhood has gentrified and were surprised to find so many new townhouses and condominiums being built. Then, we drove past our old residence in Olde City and into Washington Square West. Society Hill and Washington Square West were bathed in the late afternoon sunlight showcasing their stately homes with great pride. As you stroll, you feel yourself walking in the footprints of history. Perhaps it was the fact that we had time all to ourselves, or maybe the good weather helped uplift our spirits. You couldn’t ask for anything better. I know many of my readers prefer the calm and quiet of suburbia and the countryside but having lived that and having lived in the city, I crave the vibrancy, liveliness and all that Philadelphia has to offer. It is true — you never forget your first [city] love.
Continuing with our streak of visitors, we spent time with my parents this weekend. They visited hands full of my mom’s famous sous and we provided Sophia for entertainment and some of our very own culinary creations to round out all the family fun. I can never shake off my parents generosity and desire to ease our kitchen burdens — they will always want to delight us with something delicious. I can’t complain either because as I said before, my mom is an amazing cook. Besides it being delicious, it is nice to know that someone cared enough to make something for you or at least offer. As much as we love to cook, someone else’s culinary offerings are always a treat. Try as I may, I will need years to match my mom’s kitchen expertise especially in Russian/Azeri dishes. But try we do and in our own way, we manage it.
Now that the end of winter is near, I am somewhat sad about its imminent departure. Before it really goes away and snow is no longer likely, I decided to make Pelmeni which are hand-made dumplings with savory fillings. I opted to fill mine with veal for flavor, pork for texture and sautéed onion and garlic for that extra little something. Shaping and filling the little dumplings turned out to be quite an undertaking. I probably spent three hours at the task but the result was well received by even the youngest of critics. They are typically served with sour cream and plenty of freshly cracked pepper or sautéed with butter and onions.
As you can see, we prefer ours with sour cream and cracked pepper. Even Sophia, who admittedly was skeptical when I first placed her plate in front of her, ended up completely smitten with these. These are absolutely a labor of love. I’d make them again, but only once in a blue moon and for someone I truly love. Thankfully, three hours of these have yielded two more dinner-sized portions in my freezer.
Cheese and dairy seemed to play an accidentally integral part of our weekend as we also made blintzes, ricotta gnocchi and that farmer’s cheese cake my sister shared with me last weekend. The blintzes I just had to show off to my mom as she makes them so well and I’ve recently freed her of said responsibility for us. The ricotta was burning a hole through my culinary to-do list and I’d missed making home-made tomato sauce. The gnocchi were super easy and the tomato sauce is fail-proof.
The gnocchi, finished off with basil were part of Sunday lunch which I finished off with the cheese cake… I changed the recipe my sister shared with me and it needs a bit more tuning before I will share my version of it with the world. That said, I think I’ve made mild improvement but have more changes I’d like to incorporate.
All this would not be possible without two extra pairs of hands to help with Sophia.
What’s more, I took advantage of a few free moments to treat my mom and me to an excursion to the shoppes. Mother-daughter time is something that I don’t get often, cherish and thoroughly enjoy. Great fun was had by all. This weekend was originally supposed to be just the three of us, but I am glad my parents visited. We are officially declaring next weekend time for just-the-three-of-us.
Hanukkah is one of my all-time favorite holidays. For one, it features latkes and jelly filled donuts. Secondly, it is celebrated for E-I-G-H-T days and nights. Last year, my sister gifted Sophia EIGHT presents. They were such a hit and Sophia loved the attention her Aunt showered her with. The winner was a hand-made color book where each of the primary colors was quilted into a page and its name was cross-stitched on the opposing side. She still reads it and loves it. This year, I caught the crafting bug and tried my best to spread the crafts around.
This year, my sister who’s a genuine balabusta — a perfect homemaker and gracious host — hosted a Hannukah dinner for my parents and us. She made latkes, khatchapuri, sufganiyot and a few other dishes, too. After all, whoever said that Hanukkah couldn’t feature a few Georgian dishes? To compliment all the fried dishes, there was my mom’s to-die-for beef stew and a few others, too. Let’s just say this was a practice run for tomorrow’s Turkey Day dinner hosted by Evan’s parents.
As we were celebrating the festival of lights and gifts were on the kids’ minds, we delved in. Evan and I held off on giving Sophia any gifts just yet as she was yet again a lucky recipient of my sister’s generous gifts. I will reveal some of my own crafty creations in due time as Sophia opens them. Until then, I am especially grateful to Evan for watching Sophia while I crafted not only for Sophia but for our cousins (all six of them!!!).
Sophia is going to be turning the big TWO. I can’t really believe it and even though I’d like to say I am not ready for her to continue growing up, I really am. I hope that being two means better sleep. Believe it or not, she still doesn’t sleep the night and despite this being our reality, we are still never going to be able to get used to it.
My lamenting aside, I started to plan the celebration today. We spoke to Sophia about what kind of a party she wants; She said “orange butterflies”. Before placing the order for the invitations, we had to commit to a time, date and most importantly the location. Our choice has been made and the decision is final — we will celebrate Sophia’s birthday at our house in Maryland. Now I know this is not the most convenient location for our families, but we made this choice for many good reasons.
You see, despite having a great love for Philadelphia and wanting to move back the second we get an opportunity, we do live in Maryland and have decided that rather than wait and hope, we will continue establishing our life here. We have friends here, Sophia has friends here. Our parents are willing and able to come and visit and celebrate here and so are our siblings. In fact we are feeling very loved and are not short on the invitation list. Many of our friends with little kids (1-4 yrs old) have already committed to making the trip down south from Philadelphia, its northern suburbs and even New Jersey.
We are not unrealistic and realize that this is not an easy trip to make and this is why those who do make it with kids — their attendance is that much more special. Everyone’s time is precious as is your sanity and believe me, I know what it is like to drive a few hrs each way in a car with a toddler who is not a fan of driving. Sophia still gets motion sick, still doesn’t like the drive further than 10 minutes and still does not sleep well in her carseat. Evan and I are going to be keenly aware of the burden of commuting to a family gathering almost every weekend in September. Our family managed to have back-to-back birthdays for most of September and October. While I may shutter at the thought of packing up a suitcase each and every weekend for a drive north, I realize how fortunate we are to have so many cousins and aunts and uncles to celebrate with — it is a small price to pay to have a close-knit family.
Oh, and last, not least and perhaps not very related… look, look. We are in a new age… an age of “I do it” and the “no help” which of course goes along with “no kisses”.
Life and everything about it is just a matter of perspective. Who says you can’t wear your left shoe on your right foot?!
Why is it that weekends and summer in general, seem to be running by faster than I can ever remember? My parents visited this past weekend and (thankfully) offered some much needed help with Sophia. We seem to have settled into a routine with them — my mom cooks and brings over a cooler-full of some of our favorite dishes and we cook some of our own for my parents to enjoy with us. Grateful to have our hands untied, Evan and I got busy with preparing a healthy/fresh/delicious Saturday dinner. That started off with
a fresh summer fig and Gorgonzola dolce crostini
Because the crostini was clearly a luscious indulgence, we decided to go light and switch to Asian flavors with Evan’s famous (at least in our family) steamed rockfish with perfumed scallions, serrano and ginger.
Finishing off the meal with something that’s decidedly summer…
A homemade ice-cream trio. The chocolate on the left, vanilla on the right and fresh, local peach front and center.
I am pretty sure my dad is ready to move in with us just for the ice-creams.
We had a great weekend! My sister and her family came to visit with us for the day on Saturday. It rained out our grand plans for a lazy day at the neighborhood pool, but the weather didn’t deter us from family time. My nephew recently, and for the first time ever, went away to overnight camp. He had a great time and the letters we got from there speak to that. My sister and brother-in-law received a letter almost every day. We found out on Saturday that the counselors would offer the kids canteen if they wrote a letter :-).
But I digress… while at camp and without being prompted by anyone, he bought Sophia a toy froggy with his own allowance. He presented Sophia with his offering as soon as he arrived at our house. She’s been fast friends with the Froggy and remembers it as soon as she wakes up. She also says “Sam brought it to you” when she picks it up. This is because we reminded her that he brought it to “you” when addressing her and she doesn’t know yet that she has to say “he brought it to me”.
His thoughtfulness — not about the gift — but rather that he thought about her while away reminded me of a quote from this lovely book. His care for Sophia is real and I know that it will never become unreal. In fact, it was never unreal to begin with.
This post is dedicated to my sister who is also my other mother and the mother of my amazing nephew.
Never have I known such patient love. My sister deserves her own post because she is not just my sister, but was as I said, my other mother. Since we’re 10 years apart, she has had a significant (lucky for me) role in my upbringing. I don’t know quite how to describe my sister as a mother — just an incredible person. I know this because I have seen how she loves me, and how she loves her own child.
What I have found to be extraordinary is that I see how she loves my child … as if she were hers. She dotes on my little girl and Sophia loves her back. She “talks” about her all the time. Not a day goes by that Sophia doesn’t ask about her and it isn’t surprising. We see my sister’s hand everywhere in Sophia’s room; from the quilt she sewed for her baby naming to the rad raincoat she bought her.
One of the saddest days of my life was when my sister went away to college. I was sad for a long time. She was far away and it would be months before she would come home to visit. I remember wondering what she would be like when she came home for winter break. … and then, she came home and brought me lots and lots of board games. We played each and every one of them for as long as I wanted. From then on, for the next few years, my sister brought new board games for me every time she visited. I remember thinking that I couldn’t wait until my sister would be back from school for yet another break moments after she left. It was great and very little has changed since then; I still look forward to every one of her visits just as much. We don’t play many boardgames now, but we play with our children, we talk, and we laugh. We are at the same point in our lives — we are mom’s. In our minds, though, we are two little girls playing board games.
… and then there are always care-taking duties to attend to like feeding your baby. You’ll notice, Sophia even put a bib on the baby. Grammie and Pop’s house is like a toy wonderland and she loved it so much, she didn’t want to leave. Hopefully, we’ll get visitors soon. As usual, I will cook in exchange for having Sophia entertained.
