Friday, July 27, 2007

Mr. Happy


Greeting and salutations! Cole is out of town on business, so I thought I'd take some time to post new pictures of Waylon. He will be four months old tomorrow! I can't believe how quickly time has passed. I'm pretty sure he's the happiest baby ever born, although I may be a bit biased. I'm sure all of that will change once teeth start showing up and he develops a little more of an attitude. He's bound to have one considering who his mommy and daddy are. :)
Waylon's really starting to get friendly with his feet. He's quite resourceful...big toe...pacifier...it's all the same to him.


And here he is chillin' in the tub. What better way to end your day than to kick your feet up and chew on some plastic. Ahhh.....life is rough for the wee ones.






Monday, July 16, 2007

My first post

Here it is...my first blog entry. I have been thinking for days about how to write a witty account of the exciting events in my life and have come to the sad conclusion that not only am I not witty, but my life is relatively boring. So, instead of entertaining you I will just share some of the mundane shit that goes on in my life. I will also be posting a ridiculous number of pictures of Waylon since he is the pride and joy of my (and Cole's) life, and because my mom asks for them on a daily basis.

This weekend I finally attacked the beast that is our flower garden. I could take it no longer. It has been taunting me for 3 months. As I pull out of the driveway everyday I swear I can hear it screaming "Help me!". Our once beautiful "garden" has pretty much turned into an extension of the lawn (it's funny how weeds thrive in these drought conditions, but the flowers are just crispy remnants of their former selves.) This task has been put off due to the fact that I know nothing about gardening coupled with the lack of desire to sweat my ass off in 90% humidity while squatting for hours. Truth be told it's more likely due to me wanting to play with Waylon every chance I get. Regardless, it wasn't getting done and was far beyond embarrassing. (When did I turn into someone who's embarrassed by the state of her flower garden....Crap...I think I'm getting old). But this weekend I did it....I attacked with full force. Ten garbage bags (literally) full of weeds later and the garden is...... 60% done! AHHH! This garden will be the death of me. Once I finally finish I will have to start over again. Who needs flowers anyway?!

I did get a couple of good snapshots of Waylon (looking awfully cute I might add) yesterday though, which saved the day. Maybe once I finish weeding I can get a picture of him sitting in front of my weed-free, dried-out flower bed.


Sunday, July 15, 2007

Buona Finesettimana!

We have had what has become our trademark weekend – doing absolutely nothing! And we loved it! With the weeks that we typically have, we simply look forward to spending time together alone and with Waylon – mostly the latter, of course.

Our Friday was pretty uneventful. I got home relatively early (6:45) and made pasta with a sauce based on a prepared Marzano tomato and sun-dried tomato sauce. I sautéed some chicken, garlic, and mushrooms, deglazed the pan with some Coppola Rosso blended red wine, and added the chicken to the sauce for a short simmer. We topped it with some goat cheese and enjoyed.

Saturday proved more exciting – well, in our own way. I played golf with my friend Brig Stone, who was in from Nashville, his mom, and her boyfriend Tom. We played at Baneberry, in Jefferson County Tennessee. We teed off at 8:00 a.m. I played poorly, but we all had fun, and I was grateful to have been invited.

When I returned from playing golf, Suni and I decided we wanted a light dinner. I often enjoy a cocktail or two in the evenings, especially on the weekends. Suni rarely “partakes,” and it is actually quite a challenge to deliver a drink that she will truly enjoy. Ironically, the only beer she likes is Guinness, which just doesn’t taste right out of a can. She likes mojitos, but those are such a pain in the ass to make, and they never turn out right. I was so happy when the thought occurred me to make bellinis, a traditional Italian drink that was invented in a café in Venice, if memory serves me right. Suni and I had seen a Food Network show – one of Giada de Laurentis’ – where Giada went to the very café, Harry’s Bar, where the first bellini was allegedly made by bartender Giuseppe Cipriani. Our only exposure to the drink, however, was at the Johnny Carino’s chain in Las Cruces, New Mexico – not exactly authentic. (Although the bellini is supposedly one of Italy’s most popular drinks, I can honestly say that I never had one in my semester there).

So I decided that I would get the stuff to make her bellinis. All I needed was frozen peaches and a bottle of prosecco, the Italian version of Champagne. Follwing Giada’s recipe, I made a simple syrup by stirring two cups of sugar into one cup of water over medium heat. After the simple syrup cooled, I blended it with some thawed peaches and grated orange peel to make a sort of puree. The recipe said to strain it through a fine mesh strainer, but I did not have one. I spooned a couple of tablespoons of the puree into a champagne flute and filled it up with prosecco. It was a hit! She drank the entire bottle and proceeded to play “air piano” and “air banjo” to everything from a Bill Monroe bluegrass number to a children’s version of the “Beer Barrell Polka,” which she actually insisted that I download on the spot. It was a spirited night, and we both had a blast!

Our Sunday has been a laid back affair. We basically just lay around and did nothng. I have to get up early tomorrow, as I need to have a very productive day and then I have a doctor’s deposition in Nashville at 4:00 p.m. This makes for a very long day. Suni did, however, weed the garden while I watched The Boy. In fact, as I write this post, Waylon and I are hanging out listening to Waylon Jennings’ “Don’t Ya’ll Think This Outlaw Bit Done Got Outta Hand.” And, yes, Waylon is his favorite. I have been looking all over the internet for a Waylon Jennings pacifier. If anyone happens to see one, let me know.

I hope everyone had a good weekend! I am gone most of the week. Hopefully , Suni will make her first post while I am gone :)

Sunday, July 8, 2007

Great-Grandparents and Such



You know how it is with a divorced family… so many parents and grandparents… it’s hard to keep track sometimes. Given the fact that both Suni and I have two sets of parents, it gets even trickier. Giving the grandparents distinguishing names has been interesting. Cole’s mom is “Nonna,” the Italian word for Grandma, which my niece Klaudia made “No-nee.” Hey, what do you expect – this is Tennessee. Suni’s mom, Jonnie, prefers to be called just “Grandma,” but I like “Grandma Jism” (her initials are JSM). That one hasn’t gone over all that well, and I don’t understand why.

Here is a picture of Waylon and his “Granny,” Cole’s grandmother and one of our heroes. These two get along famously. Granny will be 84 in August, but she is still as sharp as a tack. We know Waylon is cute because Granny says so, and she has never spared anyone from the truth, however unpleasant it may be. When someone offers up a compliment Granny doesn’t agree with, she always says “Well…” and kind of trails off. When we talk about how cute we think Waylon is, we get nothing but wholehearted agreement.

Waylon gets to spend a lot of time with his grandparents and great grandparents here in Tennessee, but he misses his Grandma Jism.




Saturday, July 7, 2007

Tummy Time

OK, well, as it turns out, I will actually be posting more than I thought. Here are a couple of pictures of Waylon during "tummy time," which is always interesting. Waylon flipped over from back to front when he was only about three weeks old, but, until recently, he had not gone from his stomach to his back. Then last Saturday, I put him down for some "tummy time," and he promptly flipped over to his back and laughed. I yelled for Suni to come see. We kept putting Waylon on his stomach, but he would flip over in two seconds flat. After he had done this about five times, it dawned on us to get the video camera. Too late! He hasn't flipped over since.

Suni loves the photo on top, which she entitled "Whassahappenin,' Hot Stuff?" Our child does not normally look like some 40-year old cat who would hang out at the Regal Beagle with Jack Tripper, but this picture would suggest otherwise. He really does seem much older than he is. He's an old soul and my mom and sister say they have "known him before."

Our First Post

Encouraged by her Iowa friends’ blogs, Suni informed me recently that she wanted a blog. This was a surprise to me, as she was quite fond of making fun of the blog that I used to keep – Strange Things Afoot. But, alas, things have changed, so Suni will be hosting the Team Stinson Blog at this spot. “Our” blog will soon be accessible at http://www.teamstinson.com/!

I imagine that the content of Team Stinson will consist almost exclusively of all things Waylon, our three-month old little boy, of whom we are more than a little proud. You never know, though… as a reformed liberal, Suni may also wax eloquent about politics or Lord knows what else. At any rate, it should be fun. Thanks for stopping by.

To give Suni a head start, I have posted one of my favorite pics of the Little Guy.