Redirect to a new BLOG!

I’m starting to centralize all my interweb stuff with T’s help so the new address for my blog is now:  blog.lilsoak.com. Please update your suscribers and such.  I’m excited to be working on lilsoak stuff and there will be more exciting changes in the near future.

Thanks for reading my blog and also updating me on what’s happening in your life!

Awesome Long Weekend

Beth and family came up this past weekend to paint our kitchen cabinets and walls and not everything is put back in place but it finally feels so much more homey and less generic.  I am loving the fresh update to our kitchen.  Will show you before and after pictures once all the cabinet doors are back in place. I agonized over the colours but I’m happy with the results so far.

It was also nice for Paxie to have more family members here in the house the past weekend.  It helps with the clingliness to T and I.  He freaks out when someone puts him down or even when I walk a few steps away from him. I try to give him a toy or at least make him know that we are still around him and then I gently put him down.

A, M, Paxie and I went to the pool here in our neighbourhood which was fun except when it rained.  The rain came down fast and hard.  It also left as quickly as it came.  A & M went back in the pool but Paxie was done after I tried dunking him in the water a couple of times to get him used to be in the water.  There was a birthday party going on at the pool and there was this annoying kid that kept spraying his water gun at Paxie which annoyed the heck out of me.  I think A & M had fun in the pool as it wasn’t too busy.

My veg and herb garden loved the rainfall that we had today.  My long bean plant has been growing like mad and it’s also starting to curl itself on the wire which is really neat to see.  I’m watching it grow right before my eyes and I literally saw it grow an inch from the morning to the afternoon.  There isn’t any beans coming out yet but my herbs have also been growing like mad and the basil will be ready for harvest for some homemade pesto.  Jumpy jumpy claps and a great woo and  HOO!

I’m also very psyched about starting a raised bed garden. I found a snap in kit that is pretty inexpensive and I am very excited to plant the rest of my vegetable seeds that I bought at the garden centre.

I already miss Beth and co. I like having people over but I’m completely knackered so I’m headed off to bed.

Pulling myself up

Pulling myself up, originally uploaded by lilsoak.

This is the best video I have so far of him pulling himself up. He likes is best when he grabs our hands and 85% of the work is done by Paxie himself.

It’s incredible just how much he is learning and how fast the time has past. Although there are days when it seems like it’s never going to end because he is so very needy, I am very happy that he’s really learning to do so much.

Family Run

Family Run, originally uploaded by lilsoak.

After a half hour of running, Pax got tired of being pushed around the stroller so I had to carry him. T rounded the corner and took him from me so I could get actually run the last round out. Pax loves to be on Papa’s shoulders. Sometimes it freaks me out at how high he is, but he seems to cling onto Papa’s ears or hairs really tight.

Running at twilight is the best time especially during this hot weather here in Austin. It’s still warm but it’s not unbearably so. It’s just that it ends up being way past Pax’s bedtime routine which will affect, well, me!

Pax and Mahma

Pax and Mahma, originally uploaded by lilsoak.

Pax had a nice visit with his Mahma. Here they are after a nice run at
dusk. He used to love being in the stroller but lately he starts to whine
and wants to be carried. So then my run becomes a little more challenging
carrying a 20 lb baby.

I need to figure out why he’s so crabby lately because I’m slowly going out
of my mind.

CBC in Austin: Yumilicious

I’m one of those people that lives to eat rather than eats to live. I would rather spend money on food than anything else except maybe camera goodies but that’s why I write about places that I eat or what I cook. It’s because I enjoy eating and I like telling others whether a place is worth visiting or not.  There is always an adventure in eating as there are some people who aren’t willing to try things until they hear that it’s good from a reliable source.

The time to not eat out is here as Pax has been nearly impossible to go out with.  If the service is too slow, Pax gets really unpredictable.

As most froyo places here are self serve, we were okay today. This place was just around the corner from a Chipotle and we couldn’t resist trying some.  This place is self serve and it was 43 or 45 cents per ounce.  The great thing about this place is that they have flavours which they discount and if you have at least that one flavour in your bowl then your whole order is discounted.

I think it was the mango and cake batter flavour that was at a discount.  I never go for the cake batter flavour as it has more of that creamy taste that is more like ice cream rather than yogurt.  I like going for the tart flavours.  There taro tart flavour is the best I have had so far. Subtle but zingy at the same time.  I have had taro in Richmond yogurt places before but this place mixes it well.

T likes the cake batter mix and usually he’s very light on dressing his froyo.  I on the other hand like to mix all kinds of things like granola, reeces bits and so forth. I think that’s the only time I like mixing my food.

Pax also likes froyo. I snuck him a small bit when no one was looking.

Pax is super whiny right now and won’t let me do my own thing right now so I need to finish the post quickly.

Yummilicous

The Village
2700 W. Anderson Ln • Suite 227
Austin, TX 78757

I would rate this place an A.  Bonus that Pax and T like it too.

Experimental Cooking

I love perusing through the local grocery stores.  Today I went to Central Market which is an upscale, organic grocery store that is affiliated with the local grocery store H-E-B. I’m trying to think of the Save-On-Foods equivalent and it’s escaping my brain.  Anyways, it is Whole Food’s competitor to give you all an idea.

The only thing I don’t love is lugging Pax around.  He always manages to do a mini freak out in the grocery store and he managed to open his snack box.  Cheerios flew everywhere and onto the ground. Right next to the parmesan cheese.  I tried to find someone to get to clean it up but I then scattered into another aisle to hide.

Since T’s on this gluten free thing, I have been making up recipes as I got along.  Seems like everything has wheat including soya sauce. This is a huge let down for me as I love cooking with different soya sauces.  I have to cook with the wheat free one which is called Tamari but sometimes Japanese soya sauces don’t taste the same as the chinese ones so I need to see if they have wheat free chinese soya sauces.

I’m into the one pot meals these days so here is what I have made:

• chow mein with rice noodles
• shepherd’s pie
• lasagna
• pork chops on rice
• pasta bolognaise

I’m looking for a slow cooker now as Paxie lately has been really clingy and I think I rather just make one pot meals in the slow cooker and not worry about it so much.  I have my eye on a 3 in 1 right now.

Oh, I have been baking a little more.  I was into the peach cobbler a lot and now I need to find something new to make. I wonder what fruit is in season right now.

Look at me Papa!

VIDEO0019, originally uploaded by lilsoak.

He’s slowly enjoying the swimming. He really likes being in that car floater that we borrowed from Linda. He looks like he’s chilling out in his ride as I’m pushing him in the pool.

T actually had a chance to come with us and witness the little dude go for a swim. That was rather fun treat for us even if he only stayed for about 5 minutes.

Usually we go swimming at the pool during the day as the crowds are few and far between. We stay about a half hour at the most as that’s all Pax can handle at this point in time.

I think I will try this swimming technique that K and P told us about which I may have mentioned in a previous post. I really want him to be comfortable in the water.

CBC in Austin: Farmer’s Markets

farmer’s market, originally uploaded by lilsoak.

Austin is a city where they really like to shop locally wherever possible and they give you a lot of incentives to go local with discounts and coupons.

We went to check out a Farmer’s Market in midtown and it was such a hot day. We arrived an hour earlier as I thought it started at 3 rather than 4pm. I ended up only buying a squash but it turns out that those chinese long beans I like come in purple as well! I wonder how they taste but I ended up not buying it as I just wanted a butternut squash for the Paxter.

There were quite a few booths set up and I think a live band was going to be set up there as well. I wanted to try the tea, cheeses and sausages next time but I’ll have to bring more cash with me.

We had a heck of a time finding this place as it’s nestled in these apartment complexes in a triangle where Guadalupe Street and North Lamar split into two. The GPS and my phone seemed to think it was this large government building and we circled the triangle area until I realized it was in a park within that complex.

There was a mini water fountain which Pax loved. He loves splashing water but hates bathes. I think it’s because he gets soap in his eye or I’m bathing him too late.

Here he is posing for his cousin S.

Peach Pie does not help the belly fat

Losing the last 10 lbs of baby weight isn’t easy!  It sure doesn’t help that I’m eating a peach pie at 11pm.  Does it count if I put a small scoup of non fat frozen yogurt? No?

My strategy to losing weight is to keep moving wherever possible.  So far I can only do a walk/run combination of about 3 km a couple of times a week with Pax. Sometimes I’m carrying him, sometimes I’m pushing the stroller.  Sometimes he decides he wants to walk himself.

I’m also a big fan of the Biggest Loser exercise dvds. The current one I’m working on is cardio max!  They say in 6 weeks I should see some kind of difference!   It’s actually a great heart pumping workout and I like the fact that it’s not overly complex at the start and then eventually they get to more and more challenging moves. They also have a yoga like cool down which I enjoy. Again, with Pax he’ll let me get through about half the workout and then it’s:

• Jumping jacks
• Feed Pax a cheerio. He’s satisfied
• Shadow Boxing.
• Feed Pax some more cheerios. He’s satisfied
• Planks (half a plank)
• Get Pax some kind of toy and play with him while attempting to do the next move
• Pax is done.
• I’m done.
• Workout is still going on for another 10 minutes

Yesterday when we went our for a run, I saw a mom with two kids under 5 and she had a nice tight, healthy body.  I hope I can get to that point.  I just need to keep moving and maybe I need to lighten up on eating peach pie or ice cream or cheese. Mmm  cheese. Now I have a hankering for some cheese.