a weekend of culinary fun

we had a busy week followed by an even busier weekend.  but the weekend was all about fun stuff and hangin' as a family, which was just what we needed!  i think it was wednesday night when we looked at the clock after dinner, totally wiped out, and saw it was only 7pm. and i think even emre participated in our collective sigh upon realizing bath time was still an hour away!  luckily we had a last birthday present hidden away in the back closet that i figured would help us whittle that hour away.  

what a nut.

a first birthday present???  you ask?  well, let's just say this gift was actually bought as a first christmas gift, but i realized at the time that he a) wouldn't be interested in it yet and b) had already received plenty of gifts to keep his 11  month old self occupied.  i had then wrapped it to give as a birthday gift the next month, but yet again realized he wasn't quite ready for it & was already bombarded with toys.  so, it waited in the back closet along with a random assortment of other gifts we're keeping hidden until the right time.

only, i still don't think it was the right time, considering his enthusiasm for the wrapping paper far exceeded his interest in the gift itself.  ah, well.

the gift, pictured in part here, was a chicco dj music machine.  i wanted to encourage his musical interest.  as i said - ah, well.

his interest in the paper quickly faded when he noticed the camera.

the rest of the week was pretty normal, including the regular bouts of tantrums.

life just isn't fair sometimes.  ESPECIALLY when i don't get what i want.

on saturday we spent a blissfully lazy morning hanging around the house in our pj's.  we even had a nice breakfast with gigi, via skype.

he was loving his breakfast with gigi until - you guessed it - he spotted the camera.

smoothie-face, still wants the camera.

after breafkast i got to work prepping for our saturday night dinner party.  emre wanted to join in the fun, so i  set him up with some kitchen utensils which kept him plenty busy.  i love spending time together like this - each of us doing our thing, chatting away - an entirely new concept to us, now that he's old enough to enjoy playing on his own.

monsieur chef

don't bother me, ma!

my first order of business was making these brownies for our saturday night dessert. they are a cinch to make and so, so good served up with some whipped cream & powdered sugar.

bad ass brownies

then, once ben left with emre for gymboree, i got down to the real work of making coq au vin.  agatha & eric were coming for dinner - he's home for 3 weeks - and i wanted to make us a special meal.  

all prepped and ready to cook.  please note my bouquet garni, positioned above the carrots, which is worth including in any meal just to be able to announce it as you add it to the pot - but only if you say it like julia child, obv.

i also wanted to spend my afternoon in the kitchen - something i hadn't done in a long, long time.

it's coq au vin, suckaz!

i really got into it - even brought out the tapers!  that was when ben looked at me like he wasn't sure who i was.  i guess it had been a while since we'd hosted an adult dinner party?  thank god for 8pm bedtime!

a spring table on a snowy evening

agatha & eric arrived & munched on some cheese & olives while ben bathed emre & i put the finishing touches on our meal.  emre was asleep by 8pm, when we sat down to enjoy dinner, just the adults.  i don't know if i was more pleased with the coq au vin or the timing of it all, but it's certainly something we'll try to do the next time we have company for dinner.  what a treat, enjoying a meal uninterrupted!

agatha critiques my work

it was a fun night with good friends.  on sunday morning i woke up and, still in a culinary mood, decided to whip up some of kevin's famous scones.  emre did his thing again while i baked - a nice, quiet sunday morning activity.  the scones were delish - even though i used whole milk instead of cream (i swear you can't tell the difference - try it).  a nice treat for ben to wake up to.

gettin' our scones on

sunday was all about family time.  we skyped with ado & aydan, then took a long walk after breakfast - all the way to ben's folk's house.  emre loved the cool, crisp air & took a nice nap while we walked.  he then played with ben's folks for a while (ben and i watched from the couch & contemplated sneaking out the door), before his dad drove us home - for more naps (mommy too, this time).  it was heavenly.  then we skyped with the lansford fam & i whipped up a baked whole wheat rigatoni for dinner - which emre thoroughly enjoyed.  a perfect sunday!

is there something on my face?

our week & st. patty's day 2013

happy st. patty's day!  hope you had a fun time celebrating - we certainly did!  here's some pics from our week & st. patty's celebration.

last saturday @ dede's office

helping daddy pack - maybe this is how we will get him through the airport on our next trip?

as i mentioned in my last post, the week was a bit long with ben out of town on business.  on monday i had an epic day which began at 6am with a train ride to eskisehir, a day long meeting, and returning home on the train at 8pm that night.  i was exhausted & ready for the weekend, but it was only MONDAY!

watching the sun rise on the train to eskisehir

the rest of the week was pretty uneventful.  emre and i kept each other company at night - i even took him around with me turning on lights and opening doors so i wouldn't be scared (yes, i'm a chicken).  he's taking care of his mom already! he kept himself (and me) plenty busy with all kinds of games and pretend play... it's so much fun to see what crazy ideas he comes up with & finds entertaining.  

an entire evening spent playing with mommy's socks

morning smiles for mommy

seriously into his cheerios

the cheerios bandit strikes again

he took off running with them when we walked into the house - but i caught up eventually!

bath time play

i can't get enough of those lashes

ben returned home on thursday and we spent the weekend trying to catch our breath.  on saturday ben took emre to gymboree & to visit with his dad, while i stayed home and baked (irish soda bread!) and had some much needed quiet time.

mr. handsome, ready for gymboree

on sunday, it was all about the green.  we had a nice brunch with ben's folks before spending the afternoon at home.  i prepared a st. patty's day feast, and agatha & the boys joined us for dinner.  

his 'wants something from mom' face

enjoying an omelette at brunch with dede

our handsome, half irish boy

back home, skillfully avoiding nap time 

emre, alex & the adult's emerald champagne

emre loves his alex

my cutie, cuttin' up the corned beef

our st. patty's day meal: corned beef, sauteed cabbage with garlic, champ, parsley sauce & irish soda bread

after dinner shenanigans...

...and later

all in all it was a great weekend.  this morning i felt almost ready to start all over again!

proudly struttin' his stuff

i'm freeeee!

my week as a single mom

ben's been away on business this week which has given me a taste of life as a single mom.  let's just say, it ain't easy.  emre is not just walking anymore - he's running.  and he gets into EVERYTHING, and fast.  i turn my back on him for one moment, and he's found a new object to explore (and no, the object is NEVER one of the twenty thousand toys which are lying around the house.  which his mother claims are important for his development.  please don't get ben started on that).  

to top it all off, i'm tired.  scratch that - i'm exhausted.  it's been a crazy work week and e-man hasn't been sleeping so great (teething?  dad's absence?  a passion for taunting mommy?  i'm betting on the third), and ben is usually the one who gets up with him in the night (because he, unlike me, can get him to go back to sleep).  we've been up several times each night, and when he sees it's mommy who came to check on him, he won't settle for staying in his crib.  sigh.

all of this is not to say it's been really bad, but more that we just really miss ben and look forward to him returning home tonight.  it's fun to spend one on one time with my little guy, and he's certainly brought the entertainment.

take sunday, for instance.  after running errands and buying groceries, we returned home.  i lugged emre in one arm and groceries in the other from the car to the apartment.  i dumped both on the floor when we got inside (emre more gently, of course) and quickly put away the cold items before remembering i had left laundry in the wash.  

we head over to the bathroom (emre tends to follow me wherever i go, so at least i can count on that), and i bend over and begin retrieving the laundry from the machine, when all of a sudden i see blue... lots and lots of blue.  i look up and see emre dancing in a pool of laundry detergent which he has just spilled from an enormous bottle.  he's slipping all over the place in the slick pool that is quickly covering the floor.  i quickly right the brand new bottle of detergent - salvaging a little - and grab emre before he falls.  i hold him over the tub while i pull off his socks & pants - which are now soaked with detergent.  i dump the clothes in the tub & put him in his crib, where he is contained, but he hates to be contained so he starts wailing.  i return to the bathroom and stand there staring like an idiot, trying to figure out the best strategy for cleanup, when the doorbell rings.

who could that be, i wonder?

i speak into the call box but no one answers - it's someone outside our door.  i check the peephole and see our neighbor.  open the door, and see that she's holding out my car key.  i dropped it in the elevator!  i look at her - face flushed, baby screaming in the background, detergent on my feet - thank her, and try my best to explain (in turkish) that my husband's gone and it's just been, well, CRAZY (that word i say in english, for lack of a better explanation in turkish).  she just looks back at me and repeats 'cre-zy.'  

yeah lady, crezy.  that about sums it up.

note: the bottle in the middle of the pool is not the bottle that was spilled - but rather a second bottle he had grabbed and was holding before i pried it from his tiny & amazingly strong fingers

the detergent was mopped up with towels & the bath mat, which were going to go into the wash anyway.  turns out? of all the things he could have spilled, the kid made a good choice.  emre was later collected from his crib & has been banned from the bathroom since, much to his dismay.

more from mom's visit

of course, the rest of our visit with mom was busy busy busy!  we really enjoyed having her here & were sad to see her leave.  she's made it back home just fine & she & dad are happily reunited again.  we're in the midst of another busy week, with visitors from ny (for work, this time) and our annual meeting taking place on monday.  for today though, we're just going to enjoy some quiet time!

wakin' up with cheerios, our daily ritual

this kid is crazy for phones

bath time bubbles with grandma

emre tastes asure pudding (grandma spoiled him)

tiny diner

eatin' sgetti

nothing gets left behind

meal time = mess time

daddy holds him steady while i attempt to clean up