KooKooNoodle

This is the scene that presented itself to me yesterday afternoon. It seems that Teddy, like Chloe, is ready to enter the world of the potty. After several successful visits to this green chair, Chloe is quite pleased with herself. I, too, am brimming with a strange kind of pride that I never in a million years would have imagined. That said, I did spend over 90 minutes in the bathroom yesterday coaxing, supporting, reading, and coaching. I was very grateful for Daddy’s evening shift alongside the potty chair as I sipped a lovely glass of wine in glorious solitude.

Posted on October 7th, 2007 by Stephanie
Filed under: Kids, Toddlers | No Comments »

I made one of my favorite dinners ever last night - Garlic Lime Roast Chicken with Onions. Soooooo goooood. It’s a recipe adapted from a chicken dish served at Versailles, a famous Cuban restaurant in Los Angeles. If you like all things garlic, this is the one for you.

VERSAILLES CHICKEN

1 Whole Roasting Chicken

1 Bulb Garlic (or so), peeled and finely chopped

1 TBS Kosher Salt

Juice of 5-6 Limes

1 tsp or so Chili Powder

3 Large Sweet Onions, sliced

1 Cup or so Chicken Stock/Broth

Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Wash and pat dry the chicken. Place chicken in bottom of a roasting pan. Loosen the skin under the breasts and legs of the chicken. Combine the chopped garlic with the salt to make a paste. Spread most of the garlic salt mixture under the skin of the breasts and legs, then rub the remaining garlic salt all over the top of the bird. Sprinkle some chili powder all over chicken.

Cover the entire chicken with the sliced onions.

Pour the lime juice over the chicken and onions.

Sprinkle some more chili powder over the onions.

Roast in the oven for 20-minutes per pound or until done. Every 30 minutes, rotate the pan and baste with 1/4 cup or so of chicken stock. Keeping the onions moist and the breast covered with moistened onions will keep the breast yummy and juicy. Let rest 10-15 minutes before carving.

Posted on October 6th, 2007 by Stephanie
Filed under: Food, Uncategorized | No Comments »

I rearranged the furniture in the living room a couple of weeks ago. All who know me know that rearranging is an important part of my life. My poor husband just reports for duty so we can move the couch and chairs yet again. But each time I change things up, it brings new life to the room and sometimes something unexpected. Yesterday, the light was just right to hit a vase that used to live on the other side of the room. Surprise, it’s Disco Vase! Little rectangles splashed the whole room with disco fever. Makes me feel like dancing. Gonna dance the night away.

Posted on October 5th, 2007 by Stephanie
Filed under: Home, Life, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Something has happened to me. Out of nowhere, I’ve become a cleaning fiend. Generally speaking, I’m a tidier. I tidy things up, make neat piles, put things away, make order. But I’m not a great deep cleaner, mostly because I think it’s boring and I don’t get a lot of pleasure out of scrupulous clean. There are many more things I’d rather be doing than scrubbing. But there must be something in the water (or aliens, maybe?). I spent an entire day cleaning only half of the kitchen. I even cleaned the kitchen blinds and windows - inside AND out. CRAZYTALK. The glass and windows are glorious now, but it’s so bright in here, I can barely read this computer monitor. (Yikes, were they really that bad before??). I hope to bask in the clean-ness for at least a week.

Posted on October 2nd, 2007 by Stephanie
Filed under: Life, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Here it comes!

Posted on September 21st, 2007 by Stephanie
Filed under: Life | 1 Comment »

It’s supposed to storm tonight.  Hard to believe at the moment.  For most places, the chance of rain is no big deal, but as it hasn’t rained here for months and months, it’s kind of a big deal.  I REALLY want it to rain, but in the meantime, I’m enjoying this perfect day.

Posted on September 21st, 2007 by Stephanie
Filed under: Life, Tags | No Comments »

Chloe’s hair has been looking quite raggedy these days, so we launched off for her first ever haircut this morning! Not knowing were to go, I took her to a kids haircut place in Pasadena, equipped with princess murals on the wall, Cindarella on the tube, and ride-on toys for seats. Cute, I thought. But I was deceived! Evil hair cuttery lurked below the surface…

There was no picture-taking to be had because Chloe would only agree to the process if she sat in my lap. I’d be nervous too if some stranger came at me with scissors, which she knows emphatically she is never allowed to touch. But no problem, it was a bonus snuggling opportunity, although I’m now covered in wispy blonde hairs.

CHOP. CHOP. CHOP. HACK. HACK. HACK.

Ten snips and they said, “That’ll be $16.95.” Apparently I had blinked and the haircut was over. Seriously, that’s all you’re going to do? Couldn’t you angle the cuts a bit so it doesn’t look so straight across?” “Oh, ok.”

So now she looks like a phantom little brother went to town on her hair, and it cost about a dollar a snip. Still cute? Of course she is, but geez! I crack up every time I look at her hair. The lovely slant to the bangs and the zig zag cuts over the ears are very avant garde. Maybe I’ll get her a beret and some pencil pants to complete the picture. Audry Hepburn, eat your heart out!

Posted on September 5th, 2007 by Stephanie
Filed under: Kids, Tags | 2 Comments »

I started this blog as an outlet for my non-photography interests, such as family, crafting, and the general stuff of life.  But I had another motive as well, which was to chronicle my pregnancy.  Alas, after my second miscarriage this year, this blog became a kind of depressing place of baby musings that would never transpire.  After many false starts, I’d like to begin writing KooKooNoodle in earnest now and hope it’s a place of personality, silliness, pretty pictures, projects, and maybe even a touch of wisdom.

Posted on August 12th, 2007 by Stephanie
Filed under: Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Yah, not really. Not even remotely (ha ha). Every few months, I am struck with the desire to get rid of our television and live a quieter, more connected life. I would have so much time available to sew and knit and listen to music and blog, and play games and talk. I would have more time connecting with my family and friends, and I would develop so many projects to keep myself busy.

Ah, it sounds like a wonderful life, filled with activity and connections.

I’ve been thinking about this more and more since Chloe was born. During the day, we only watch Chloe-friendly shows like Caillou, Little Einsteins, and Signing Time. The TV is certainly not on all the time, but frankly, it’s been on more than I would like lately, in part because I’ve been totally kerflopped (more on that later). Without television, I would have to get creative and think of lots more projects and activities for Chloe.

I thought that TiVO would help me to watch less TV, because I would only watch the programs I really wanted to. That’s still the case, but I find that now I can CRAM way more TV into my TV-watching hours. I have season passes to Heroes, Grey’s Anatomy, Lost, Battlestar Galactica, 24, The 4400, How I Met Your Mother, Ugly Betty, Army Wives, Iron Chef America, not to mention a bunch of Chloe shows. Sooooooooo much good TV!!

I love good TV. I LOVE GOOD TV! I worked in TV for years. I made it my career! Can I give that up? Do I want to? And TV has always been such a huge part of my sense of relaxation, and sometimes even learning. I learned what “soup du jour” was on Gilligan’s Island when I was about 7, and I learned all about Incan mummies on Nova the other night. (hmm, that sounds kind of pathetic).

TV might be a big contributor to my sense of numbness these days, but it also serves as company when I’m alone. Even as I write this (Chloe is napping), I’m “watching” Stargate SG-1 on TiVO (sad but true).  Watching is a loose term as it’s only really on in the background.

So, what to do?  What’s the solution?  Can I compromise and watch LESS TV?  Should I limit the number of hours I watch?  Many things to think about.

Posted on June 28th, 2007 by Stephanie
Filed under: Life, Uncategorized | No Comments »

I grew up in New York City in an apartment on the 11th floor overlooking 96th Street (that’s me at the start of my senior year of high school). We didn’t have a country house or out of town relatives that we could visit for the summer, and I never went to camp. It was up to my brother and me to entertain ourselves indoors all summer. Sure, I could roller skate around our building, jump up and down on our pogo stick, or play handball against the wall of the brick school across the street, but a 1-block radius isn’t much of a stomping ground, and going barefooted was out of the question.

But for the first time, I feel like I’m going to have a real “summer vacation.” I want a classic, barefooted, lemonade-drinking, shorts & tank tops kind of summer vacation. I probably feel this way because I’m teaching more now and summer vacation and school are two concepts permanently joined.

Chloe and I are going to Mommy and Me swim classes all summer and are going to try a toddler tumbling class at the YMCA (whoops, scratch that one, it was cancelled due to lack of enrollment, hmm). I plan to go to the beach at least once a month, and run in the sprinklers daily. We’ll have homemade ice cream, movies outside projected on the new fence, BBQ every night, fireworks on the 4th of July (totally unavoidable in my neighborhood where fireworks are legal and used to the point of pandemonium), campfire songs (I’ll have to learn some), vegetables from our garden and the farmer’s market, and lots and lots of sunscreen. Now, if only we had fireflies in Los Angeles…

Posted on June 25th, 2007 by Stephanie
Filed under: Kids, Life | No Comments »