The LaGreca Family

Usually, I am blogging about “a first” that Nicholas has had — and of course, there are always LOTS of firsts for a little person.  This time, I have a first that Joe and I experienced together.

We made an APPLE PIE.  From scratch. Together.  And it was a first for BOTH of us.

Joe had the idea last week – he just decided he wanted to make an apple pie.  I must admit, I wasn’t fond of the idea.  I have NEVER made a pastry from scratch – and I was convinced it was going to be hard and it would turn out bad. (Yes, it’s true – I like to do things that I KNOW will turn out well — I have a problem with failure.  Cooking/Baking does not come naturally to me – I have only learned how to cook, sort of, over the last 5-10 years).

I started with making the dough, and once I got them into these two balls – I was convinced something was wrong with them. I was petrified of having to roll them out.

So, I set the dough aside (hoping that Joe would do the hard part) – and got to work on the apples.  Wow! It takes a long time to skin and core apples (no, I don’t have an apple corer).  But, I will admit – the best part about the task was the fact that I could sit at the kitchen table and do it (much easier on the back).

I got lucky – Joe agreed to do the hard part!  He put the bottom crust in the pie plate and then got to work on the top.

Joe was a professional.  What would have been a disaster (if I had done it) turned out to be absolutely perfect! And, he even added some creativity (he gets a perfect 10 for display).

I didn’t take a picture of us actually eating the pie (oops), but we brought it to a friend’s house for dessert.  I must say (and I am not trying to “toot my own horn”) that our 1st apple pie was REALLY good. The crust was flaky (just how Joe likes it) and the apples were delicious.  I am still shocked!  I guess, now that I have done it, it really isn’t that hard (the crust is the most important thing). We have a few modifications to the recipe (at least 3-4 more apples) and maybe a little more cinnamon, but we were both SO happy with the outcome (and when you add vanilla ice cream……YUM!)

Miller – we are going to give you a run for your money.  When you get home from London – the apple pie competition is ON!

It’s been awhile since I posted something soley about NCL.  Here are some random tid-bits on our little person:

He is 2 yrs and 3 months now.  It doesn’t feel like his 2nd birthday was THAT long ago.

He continues to be very stubborn about talking.  His vocabulary did grow while we were in Buffalo, but he is very stubborn about repeating words that we ask him to say.  Most of the time he will look at us and say “no” – it’s as simple as that. We really can’t force him to say a word (we do our best to encourage STRONGLY though..he he).   And for those of you who care to know – he STILL calls trains, “gee gees” – I wonder if he will EVER say “train”???  (The truth is: part of me doesn’t want him to give up the “gee gee” just yet, since we are so used to it and it’s such an “NCL thing” at this point).

We found him a big boy bed last weekend.  On Saturday afternoon, the boys put the bed together.

NCL was a great little helper, as you can see above.  He is very interested in “helping” Daddy with anything and everything.  Sometimes, he gets in the way of things – but most of the time, Daddy is happy to have the help and happy to teach NCL something new.

Below, NCL tests out the new bed.  Is it me or does he look little in the bed?

As I have said before, Joe and I are nervous about the new bed.  Don’t you just love the way things go with kids? Just when you have a good routine/schedule — something happens to mess it up?  NCL is FINALLY sleeping really good at night – and we are going to introduce a NEW room with a NEW bed, are we crazy?!

If we have learned anything as parents, it’s that one should never feel like things are “set” — because as soon as you have something figured out or working the way you want it…it will change.  From what I understand, this is how it goes for the rest of a parent’s life.

Last night was a “teaching night” for NCL — an important lesson in life:  “How to eat a cherry”

After the little guy ate his Mexican food take-out (half a rolled taco, 1/4 beef enchilada, 1/4 mixed burrito, rice, and beans) – it was time for some fruit.  Joe started us off with cherries and figured this was a perfect opportunity to teach NCL how to each a cherry. (I had to grab the camera – because, for some reason, I was thinking that this could NOT possibly be a normal dinner conversation for other families with 2 yr olds).

Joe is SUCH a good teacher and of course, when it comes to food – he wants NCL to know and try everything!  So, he showed NCL the seed in the cherry and showed him how to eat around it. And then told him to leave the seed on his plate when he was done. (NCL already knows about pulling the stems out — that was Grapes 101).

NCL paid very close attention to what his Daddy was telling him and he TOTALLY got it. Nearly perfect on 6-7 cherries

On a side note – after the cherries, he ate blueberries, and then a kiwi, and THEN he ate a WHOLE yogurt.  When he is hungry, he can put away a LOT of food. It’s amazing to watch (because he is such a small person!)

We have a little brute on our hands. He is so ROUGH!  If he was around 5-8 year old boys, it would be fine because they could handle him.  But – that isn’t the case. He actually knows quite a few little girls and let me tell you, little girls do NOT like to be pushed or wrestled with!  NCL gets in a lot of trouble for being so rough with people (and with things!)

He is also VERY tough.  This kid gets hurt all the time. There is always a new mark, scratch or bruise on his face – most of which we can’t tell the story behind.  His pain tolerance must be very high because it’s rare for him to come crying to either of us.  He if runs into something or falls – he just rubs it and says “Owie, Mommy” – and I say “Are you ok?” and he says “Yeah” and goes on his merry way.

It’s true what “they say” about boys. They are simple.  As long as we have cars, trucks, fire engines, airplanes, trains and helicopters around – Nicholas is happy. Oh and he loves sticks, dirt, and rocks — how could I forget?!

Lots of people ask if NCL understands that he is going to be a big brother.  The short answer is “No” – he really has NO idea.  But, cut the kid some slack – he is 2!  We aren’t pushing it.  He knows what a baby is and if you ask him about the baby, he will point to my belly. Sometimes he says “I wanna see baby.”  And, that’s about it.  There isn’t much more for him to “get” – right?

And finally, just today, we picked a date for NCL to start Pre-School at our church! I think this is a big deal (it feels like it is). We have been talking about it for awhile now and we finally got all of the paperwork and called his daycare to give his two week notice.  We are both really excited for NCL and we are so happy that he will be at our church.  Pictures of his “first day of school” in a few weeks –  How fun!

Nicholas is such a joy to be around. He is a fun little kid – full of energy and excitement.  He wakes up happy nearly everyday.  He enjoys being around both of his parents, yet he enjoys the company of little people his age (and older).  He LOVES apples and he continues to be a good eater.  Watching this little person learn and grow has been so awesome!  We still love to watch him sleep at night (nothing more peaceful than seeing him still, with his eyes closed).  When he hears a plane in the sky – he does the cutest dance of joy (this “dance of joy” is also used for food or when we tell him he can watch “the duck” on youtube).  He sleeps with his Nemo Halloween costume every night – he uses it as a pillow, (I guess I won’t be selling it on craigslist anytime soon).

Life with NCL is awesome

I think the name has become somewhat of a tradition, in itself. I can’t come up with anything better.  It really is a festival devoted to sausage.  We make it and then we eat it!

With ~25 friends and family gathered at our house and the garage transformed into a Butcher’s Shop – we successfully made 77 lbs of Italian Sausage…in RECORD time!  We weren’t trying to break a previous record, but the fact that we were eating by 3pm was amazing!

Here are some of the event photos (I didn’t take very many pictures – I stayed super busy in the kitchen with dinner prep and watching the kiddos).

The early preparations – waiting for the meat to arrive.

The meat has arrived – 77 lbs of pork butts (thank you Costco).

The man with the meat and the Grand Master Sausage Maker – Mr. Joe LaGreca

Little LaGreca helps out. He attempts to “fix” the laundry basket handle with his pliers (he calls them “bites” – because they bite things, of course)

Penny chops Italian parsley

Dennis came dressed for the occasion (I should have snapped the picture earlier when he had the fake sausage links around his neck – it was awesome).

The men are hard at work – grinding away.

A team of girls twisted links and packaged – like pros!

I don’t have a picture of the cooked sausage but we did get quite a few compliments.  It’s my favorite – you just can’t buy this stuff at the store!

Thanks to all the friends and family that helped. We had a GREAT time and we certainly look forward to the next Sausage Making Party (perhaps a Sausage Fest November 2010????)

The title might sound a little….negative….but it’s not meant to be.  I actually entered into the 3rd and Final Trimester today — so, it really is the “Beginning of the End”…of this pregnancy.  I am not even sure I believe it. For some reason, I was thinking the 3rd trimester was still 2-3 weeks away.  I was wrong.

I was also wrong about something else.  Just yesterday (Wednesday), I told one of my co-workers that I felt like my belly had gotten a little smaller in the past few days.  Yeah…no….not really.  Joe took this picture of me tonight and there is NO mistaken that belly – it’s getting bigger!  One of my friends sent me a message the other day and said “it looks like you swallowed a basketball!” — and, it kind of feels that way.

Just this week, I have run into a few things with my belly.  I don’t think I realized just how far it sticks out.

I am feeling good.  Energy level is good (thank goodness – because I have been so busy at work AND the rain has added 20-30 minutes to my commute home, so I need to be AWAKE and ALERT!) The baby has been kicking a ton. I am loving that.  I just sit back and enjoy the little dance Baby LaGreca is doing inside my belly — what a miracle!

This baby continues to be shy around Daddy.  The other night I was sitting at my desk in the office, and the baby had the hiccups (and he/she was kicking) — so after awhile, I finally nudged Joe and had him put his hand on my belly….wouldn’t you know it…that baby stopped EVERY bit of movement.  Poor Joe.

Now that we have started the Baby Guessing Game — I am even more excited to find out the baby’s sex. Of course, I can totally wait 3 months, but how exciting that we will find out soon!  As of right now, my guess is “boy” — but, I think it will change at least 20 times before the baby arrives.  At this point, I can’t see myself with anything but boys (since my house is full of them right now!)  Obviously, we don’t care either way – and it really doesn’t matter, because it’s already been decided

Anyone ready to play a little game?

Since we didn’t find out the sex of the baby – that leaves a TON of “unknowns”  for Baby LaGreca #2 — and it’s PERFECT for a Baby Guessing Game.

Take your best guess (or 2 or 3..) and see if you can out smart everyone else.  The person with the FEWEST points will WIN (Joe and I will have to come up with a prize…we will think about it over the next few weeks).

Here are the point values (remember, you want as FEW points as possible)

Wrong Gender: 400 points

Birth Date: 5 points / hour

Weight: 5 points/ ounce

Length: 10 points / inch

As you can see – getting the gender right is the most important for your score – you have a 50/50 chance!

I will continue to keep everyone updated on the pregnancy (maybe there are “voodoo” things that will help you decide the sex….that’s what Joe thinks they are..just a bunch of old wives tales).

I will close down the game as the due date gets closer, but for now – you have plenty of time to think it over and enter a few guesses.  Can’t wait to see what everyone thinks!

Good luck and have FUN!