Down In The Dumps.

I've been lagging on my computer duties for at least a week, I'll admit it. I haven't been posting stimulating or interesting mama blog fodder, responding to e-mails, commenting on my favorite blogs, OR posting Noah pictures to flickr and Noah videos to You Tube--point in short . . . I am so sorry Noah's grandmas and great grandmas.

The thing is, it has been hot--I mean real hot. And, L.A. is burning like hell burns. Or at least as I imagine hell would burn if there was a hell? Plumes of brown mask the setting sun turning it into a blazing bright red disc heavy on the hazy horizon. Today ash covered the car and I asked myself again why people pay one million dollars to own a crappy fixer upper in this car-centric shaky piece of pavement by the cold, cold oily sea.

And, well, let's get down the real reason I've been absent--after a delightful afternoon with friends on Sunday, Dean dodged L.A. for a business trip early, early Monday. Ever since, it's just been me and Noah Finn. We're holding down camp just fine, but I certainly can't wait until daddy's plane hits the pavement tomorrow at 4:05 p.m.

And while I am being all down and out about life in Los Angeles this week, let me include a little shout out for the crazy homeless Hispanic lady wearing a pink wig that was screaming in broken Spanish at the top of her lungs at the construction workers jack hammering behind our apartment yesterday--just next door to Noah's window while he was napping--for the first and only time that day. And, let me not forget, since it's already flowing like lava from Mt. Vesuvius, the dumpster diver digging for bottles in the bins next door day before yesterday while Noah was napping--for the first and only time that day.

Oie. Oie. Oie! Los Angeles. You are not a good friend.

So, for now, all of the fabulously fun stuff that I have planned for this blog is going to have to wait one more night . . . or two.

Announcing: September "Little Foodie Feasts" Dates!

Welcome September! Well, almost September . . . although, it doesn't feel much like fall is on the horizon here in Los Angeles. It's been in the incredibly toasty 100's all weekend and the valley is a blazing inferno, literally, as I speak. Let's hope that cooler weather is on the way.

Nevertheless, to kick off "fall" in festive foodie fashion, "Feeding Little Foodies" is proud to announce the lineup of September "Little Foodie Feasts" Workshops! There are three workshops scheduled--including a Saturday date for all of our working moms and pops out there:

• Thursday, September 3 at 1:00 p.m. (*only a few spaces remaining!*)
• Saturday, September 12th at 10:30 a.m.
• Thursday, September 17th at 10:00 a.m.
  

Please visit my workshop flier at my "Feeding Little Foodies" blog to find out more information about the workshop or e-mail me at jonisurettenelson@gmail.com to sign up.

Happy Feeding,
Joni

Nutty Wild Rice Salad.

I usually save recipe posts for my Feeding Little Foodies blog--but this was too good not to share (and besides, it's not baby food).

We finally got around to preparing a recipe found on a blog that my friend Asami introduced me to a few months ago called, Cooking With Trader Joe's. This fantastic foodie find is written by two women--Deana Gunn and Wona Miniati. They are self proclaimed lovers of food, cooking and Trader Joe’s. So, as far as I am concerned, they are my kind of ladies!

As anyone who really knows me knows, we pretty much exclusively shop at "TJ's". So, a blog that provides recipes with ingredients found strictly at Trader Joe's is a winner in our book. And, as luck had it, this recipe was definitely that!

Dean made it for us for lunch today and we can't wait for a refeast! The very simple recipe can be found at their blog, but I am also going to post it below with our minor modifications because what the heck, it was darn yummy. Thanks, Deana and Wona! You'll find our before and after pictures above--hope we made you proud . . .

Nutty Wild Rice Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 (16 oz) pkg fully cooked Wild Rice
• 2-3 cups pre-cooked Just Chicken (or cook your own)
• 1 1/2 cups red grapes, halved
• 1 cup roasted cashews, whole or pieces
• 1 (8 oz) can sliced water chestnuts (WE OMITTED because we don't like them--yuck!)
• 2-3 stems green onion, chopped

Dressing:

• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice (WE USED LIME because that is what we had on hand)

Directions:

1. Open the package of wild rice and put the contents into a large bowl, breaking up the rice.
   
2. To the rice, add chicken, grapes, cashews, water chestnuts (omit!) and green onion. Stir to combine.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil and lemon (lime) juice. Pour over the salad and stir to distribute evenly.

*This can be served warm or cold.
**Preparation time is 10 minutes and it serves 4.

All In A Good Day's Play: 6th Edition.

Here's our sixth weekly installment of, "All In A Good Day's Play"--a post where I chronicle, once a week, our day in snapshots!

Our Wednesday in pictures:

• 7:30 a.m.--Preparing breakfast for my hungry baby: steel cut oats porridge with red grapes, nectarine and banana (recipe over at my foodie blog: Feeding Little Foodies).
  
• 10:00 a.m.--Noah's play area rests as he naps.
• 12:20 p.m.--Dean made us lunch before he left for work--Nutty Wild Rice Salad: wild rice, red grapes, cashews, green onions, chicken, olive oil and lime juice--incredible!
• 1:00 p.m.--The mountain of both folded and unfolded laundry that awaits us always.
• 2:00 p.m.--Noah plays in the clothes basket as I attempt to make a dent in the laundry pile.
• 3:00 p.m.--"Babies On Blankies" Wednesdays.
  
• 4:15 p.m.--Noah, Kai and I spot an incredibly green praying mantis in the park.
• 5:30 p.m.--Asami, Kai and Noah play.

The Five-Toothed Octobaby.

Oie! Oie!

How I morn for the days of Noey past when he was not yet mobile, not yet teething and much, much less active.

I have not done a lot of things lately--fold laundry, call my sister and dear friend in Virginia, pet the cats, push back my cuticles, read and comment on my fellow favorite bloggers blogs. Why? Because gone are the days of infant sensory slumber and here are the days of the finger feasts of burgeoning toddlerhood.

The eighth month for Noah has seen many exciting new developments. Teeth numbers 4 and 5 are making their way through the soft puffy pink of the middle top gum . . . and not far behind are the gleaming pearly white of the two "i teeth" right next door (teeth 6 and 7!), for example. But, among those that are keeping my head spinning are his new ability to crawl and his insatiable curiosity.

Move over "Octomom"--meet OctoNoey. On most days it feels more like I birthed an octopus rather than a baby. The speed and ferocity of his arms and little clammy hands reaching and grasping for anything and everything within eye shot is simply exhausting. And, every morning that he wakes his crawl has gained speed and purpose somehow over night.

He slides without stumble across the living room floor over to the coffee table to teethe on the mini record coasters that I got Dean for a birthday years ago . . . and he glides into the kitchen without pause to heave the small colorful ceramic flowerpots on the bottom shelf of the island containing our garlic and shallots across the floor.

. . . and, he's not even walking yet.

Oie! Oie!

But, he's so, so, so darn much fun. And really quite ravishingly handsome too.

The Swiffer Scare: Post #3.

Some months ago I posted an inquiry into the safety and all-around "greeness" of the Swiffer wet mop, here. And after being contacted by the brand's Account Executive, Chelsea Moreno, I posted a copy of her e-mail to me regarding the issues that were raised, here.

Now, I am certainly one who is just fine with letting sleeping dogs lie. Despite her defense of the product by citing it's proved safety in the laboratory, we still decided to switch to a more natural and environmentally friendly floor cleaner. But, today, I stumbled upon a fascinating interview between Swiffer designer, Gianfraco Zaccai, and green design blogger, Jennifer Van Der Meer, about the product's design and sustainability, here.

It's a tad long, but incredibly interesting and, not surprisingly, reveals the mass market design communities' lack of acknowledgment of the effects their products have on the environment.

Eight Extraordinary Months.

Today is Noah Finn's 8 month birthday, and boy, has it been a wild ride. We're two-thirds of the way to a full year and I feel as if we have already made a full revolution around the sun.

It has gone by so fast--but at the same time it seems like ages ago that we were caring for a tiny, wobbly, bobbly, gurgling newborn. I often sit back and stare at him in his play--my squawking, laughing, crawling, standing, saying "mama" boy--and I am floored that this is my son.

Being a mother is simply amazing. It is more fun than you could ever anticipate. It is more love than you could simply write a sonnet about. It is an experience unparalleled.

Happy eight month birthday, my beautiful boy.

Space Available: Saturday's "Little Foodie Feasts" Workshop!

I hate to be redundant--I guess that's the curse of having two blogs (sorry readers of both) . . .

Attention Los Angeles mommies and daddies . . . there is still space available in Saturday's "Little Foodie Feasts" workshop!

Armed with . . .

• helpful handouts
  
• hands-on demonstration
  
• your very own container of fresh food made during the workshop
  
• a sprinkle of confidence
  
• and a dash inspiration

. . . you will leave equipped to feed your little foodie--freshly, naturally and deliciously!

For details about the workshop, please visit my other blog: Feeding Little Foodies

For more information and to sign up, please contact me by e-mail at: jonisurettenelson@gmail.com.

I hope to see you all there!

Happy Feeding,
Joni

The Ever-Pleasurable Playdate.

Today was a busy day. The mid-morning was enjoyed at mama Carrie's house where we spent some quality blanket time with little Henry while his mama packed boxes and prepared for a move just a few miles east into the valley. I am not sure how much help we were, but we sure did enjoy their company.

The afternoon was lazed away at the park with our regular Wednesday "Babies On Blankets" crew followed by a frolic through the Farmer's Market at the bottom of the park hill.

I used to laugh at the idea of "playdates" before having kids. How silly, contrived and suburban, I used to mutter to childless myself. Now, they are an essential and anticipated part of each day. Mingling with mamas and bantering over beautiful babies is one of my favorite ways to spend an afternoon. And, by gosh, I think N to the Finn enjoys them too!

All In A Good Day's Play: Weekend Edition.

We've been so busy lately, that we haven't been posting our weekly installments of "All In A Good Day's Play" for a few weeks now. So, here's a special weekend edition.

Our Sunday in pictures:

• 12:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m.--A family day of fun and blissfully breezy late summer sun at Manhattan beach. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day.