Angry Rocco

This is the look I get when I don't let Rocco do something he wants to do like clean out the fridge, play with the computer wires, crawl around the garage, or play with my camera when I'm trying to take a picture of him. He's got a very good accusatory look going, don't you think?

Baking

Mmmmm....Black and White cookies. Ever had them? I had never heard of them until I moved to New York, and didn't start craving them until after living in South Florida. There are a lot of awful B&W's out there, but if you get a good one, it is hard to stop yourself from going back and taking another nibble time and again. A few weeks ago I decided to bake them myself since I no longer had easy access to that S. Florida bakery. They were very good and I just have to post a pic for Aunt Lisa, Muggs, and Grandma.

My recent baking project was a 50th Wedding Anniversary cake. It was for a great couple here in Jacksonville that are grandparents of the kids I used to nanny in Fort Lauderdale.

I made a white cake with a vanilla swiss buttercream and a ganache filling. I put a cursive Z on top (their initial) because I couldn't find a topper I liked. Why are toppers so cheesy?

The cake was served after a service at the synagogue and so it had to be kosher. This meant that I had to make it in the synagogue's dairy kitchen. They don't have much there as far as making cakes. They only had one 4 quart mixer from the 60's while I have two 6 quart Professionals (thank you Joansies) at home. It is quite a feat to make a cake, ganache, and buttercream for 100 people with one little mixer. I didn't even have a hand mixer for back up. There was a lot of mixing, transferring, cleaning and mixing again. I also didn't have access to my regular line up of cake tools because they were not kosher, so I had to really simplify the whole process as much as possible.

This picture doesn't capture how truly sad this little mixer was.

Is that my child sucking on a 22 lb bag of chocolate? Why yes it is, I guess some things are genetic! Several times a day, until I smartened up and moved the bag, Rocco would crawl over to this bag of chocolate, suck on the outside and cry.

Rocco's Room

Our new house is painted a neutral beige throughout minus one gold and one turquoise bathroom and a turquoise front door. I painted the door first and wish I had a before picture to post. My next project was Rocco's room. This is our first time not renting, and our first opportunity to personalize with paint colors. For those of you not on Facebook, here are some pictures of my project.

Here is a picture of Rocco in his crib with beige walls in the back. They were fine, but I wanted a more nursery look.

I think the green walls look bright and cheery.

RIP Nick's Smoker

When we moved to our new house, Nick gussied up his meat smoker by purchasing a plant stand to set it on instead of a pile of bricks that had been dug up from the backyard. It did look less WT, unfortunately the visual improvement might have been the death of the smoker. We had a crazy summer storm with hail and intense winds that blew over the heavy pots set high on the thin metal legs and Nick's beloved was no more. RIP Nick's smoker.

Help Around The House

Rocco is not so interested in toys these days. He is much more interested in helping me do my household chores.

He helps me clean out the fridge.

He helps with the laundry. For awhile he was satisfied with the dryer, but now he also wants to be lifted up to see what's in the washer too.

He runs the bath for me.

He unloads the dishwasher.

He even works under the sink!

Listen To This!

Practicing for Carlsbad

The other day Nick and I took Rocco to Jacksonville Beach to enjoy the sand and surf, okay, maybe just the sand.  It was a little breezy, but a beautiful day.  Rocco really enjoyed the sand in Ca, but I thought he might need some more sand exposure before the annual Lake family beach vacation in Carlsbad, Ca. later this summer.   Apparently some babies squeal with delight in the sand, while others scream with irritation.  Rocco loves the sand and had a great time practicing for Carlsbad!

Spring Break

This April Rocco and I left Nick in Florida and took a Spring Break from unpacking the new house to go and visit my family in Camarillo. 

We bought strawberries straight from the fields, ate great mexican food, 

visited our favorite beach (Leo Carillo), 

played Guitar Hero, and enjoyed visiting our family. 

Rocco was entranced by all the people running around and also by his own image in the large mirror in our room.

Easter in CA

Rocco and I spent this Easter in Camarillo with Grandma Laura, Grandpa Kim, and my sister Amy's family. He enjoyed pulling out all the grass from the yard and slobbering on plastic eggs while his cousins had an egg hunt in the backyard.

I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home

Occasionally Nick will come home early enough and Rocco will stay up late enough where they can meet in the middle and spend a little time together. When this happens Nick will play some guitar for Rocco before bedtime and Rocco really loves it.