I'm A Grandma!!

I always told my girls I do not want to be a grandmother before I'm 40. For some reason 40 just felt safe..a good age to be a grandmother. When my daughter told me she was pregnant...and I was only 37...I wasn't thrilled.

It took some time, I can't lie. I thought this automatically made me "old". Little did my small minded, selfish, naïve self know... but being a young grandma only means I get more time with my little baby boy and I have the energy that is REQUIRED to keep up with him!

We had a very small shower/lunch for CC at Zio's. 

CC loves all things panda, so we had a Tres Leches panda cake special made for her.

I have to say...it was one of THE BEST cakes I've ever had!

This girl hardly gained any weight... got no stretch marks..and exercised and hiked like nothing!

From behind you'd never know she was pregnant! I had to tell her more than once...she is NOT normal!!

The night before the big day we did some last minute shopping. I remember when I was pregnant with CC, a local crafts store, Michael's, was having a six a.m. sale and Mom and I went and I purchased a night light.

I had to get one pic of us before our roles as mother and daughter forever changed...

I packed my little bag and headed over to the hospital.

CC had a nice, big room. Dan was asleep on the couch and CC was being so strong and working her way through contractions.

Let me tell you, as mothers, we kiss boo boos away, hold their head and hands as they cry over their first break up, feel like poop when the grease splashes on her legs while yall are making donuts....

but nothing is as painful as watching contractions sweep through your baby's tiny body, see her face wince in pain...and know you can do nothing about it.

It was awful.

But she had her daddy, Dan, me and her little sister to support her through it!

And it was then he was here!!!

My first grandson, my baby's first baby was born Sept 13 at 2:33 p.m.

and I was in love

I mean, everything about him was just absolutely perfect.

As soon as he was laid down on the scale he opened his eyes and started looking around.

He was so quiet and observant.

I was so afraid I wouldn't remember how to change diapers and support the baby's head and calm a crying baby. It had been 15 years since I had a baby!

I just resolved in myself that I would be calm and act confident and never let the little boy know how scared I was.

And what developed between him and I is something so special...

so sweet and precious.

And his grandpa has declared Daniel his hands down my favorite person that has ALL of his love. He tells us all the time, "Sorry guys, you're not my favorite anymore."

I never knew you could love like this.

Of course you love your children more than anything in the world....

But there is absolutely NOTHING like the love you have for your grandchild.

It's so overwhelming. So intoxicating. It just takes over all of your senses and your emotions.

You heart, your mind, your time, your worries, your laughter, your tears...

everything...

Now belongs to this little person who needs you and depends on you for his every need.

This pretty much sums up Daniel and I for the first two years of his life... in his Ah-ma's arms, being spoiled and being told how perfect he is...

And how beautiful he is...and special...and how in grandma's eyes he can do no wrong.

Ever.

And yes, we have our own little song that I sing to him to get him to sleep.

It started when I would rock him to sleep and we still sing it now as we lay in bed and I rub his head and eyes and back to help him fall asleep.

There have been times where I have even had to make a video of myself singing it and had to text it to my daughter so he'd calm down and go to sleep.

I am so in love with my little baby boy.

I tell my daughter he's the best gift she could have ever given me.

When he's here, he tires me out so fast...but when he's gone I'm missing his sweet face and sweet little hands pulling me to the living room to play soccer

or

dragging me to the front door so we can water our plants.

He makes life so fun.

and

I'm so completely in love.

Chebureki - Meat Pastry Recipe

Ever since I can remember, my Papa Bear has talked about this Russian meal that has ground meat inside a pastry. 

I've made sausage rolls, sausage bread, sausage balls...nothing was even  close.

Then my husband went out of town with his friend and ate at a Russian restaurant. 

And there it was....

Chebureki.

Naturally, when he got home all he could talk about what the Chebureki. And next, naturally, he set out on his mission to recreate this dish.

(I think there is nothing cuter than my husband, with my apron on, in my kitchen, covered in flour and spices! LOVE IT!!)

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For the dough he combined:

2 1/2 - 2 3/4 cups of flour

      1/2 cup water (depending of feel of dough)

4 Tbsp of olive oil

1/2 tsp sugar

1/3 tsp salt

1.) Whisk together all dry ingredients, then add olive oil.

2.) Add water and knead until the dough is no longer sticky.

(If it's sticky, add a bit more flour. If it's stiff, add a bit more water.)

You will see the dough no longer stick to your fingers. That's when you know it's good to go.

3.) In a separate bowl, combine:

1-2 lbs of ground meat

(We used 1 lb each of beef and lamb)

1/2 onion finely chopped

finely chopped parsley, cilantro, green onions

salt and pepper to taste

4.) Roll dough flat to a thickness of about 1/10 inch.

5.) Use small size bowl or lid to create circles, and cut.

(For remaining dough, roll, flatten and cut until all dough used.) 

6.) Fill one side of each circle with meat mixture. Leave a small edge. Pull the empty side of the circle over, covering meat. Press the edges together.

7.) Place each Chebureki meat pastry pouch into a prepared pan w/hot oil.

(We cooked ours alternating between medium and low-medium.)

Cook each about 5-7 minutes on each side until golden brown. 

Drain each Chebureki on a plate with a few paper towels.

Serve alone or with feta cheese or sour cream. 

There are so many variations you can create with this.

You can use ground chicken, potatoes, add feta cheese inside, use only fresh veggies inside...you name it.

The most important thing is getting the dough down and with this recipe, the dough is super simple. 

These Chebureki were so very delicious. I can't believe they were so super simple and we waited this long (nearly 20 years) to make it!

I can certainly see this being served on a regular basis, because they are so very simple!!!

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We had storms all night and they are supposed to continue all day. There are flash floods warning though out the area. 

This is the perfect day to stay home and bake. My neck is still having cramps and spasms, so it will have to be my girls baking.

November 2013

November was quite a busy month. For me it was crunch time at school. Finals were beginning in full force and I had to make one last ditch effort to pass my two classes.

One assignment that needed completing was a trip to the San Antonio Museum of Art.

I love going to the museum. Thanks to my Archaeology class and my awesome instructor Veronica Pue I see everything in a different light.

The first portion we visited was the Egyptian exhibit.

Loved seeing the jewelry that has been recovered. 

Of course I enjoyed the Italian exhibition and sculptures. I hope one day to visit the museums in Rome and take all that in! For now, though, I'll make do with the bits of Rome and Italy exhibited in America. 

Part of my assignment was the Mayan and Aztec artifacts.

Here is the codex. 

This lady, in part of the Mexico arts section, was sculpted of wood.

The detail was amazing. She is unknown. 

Even her eyelashes were made of hair. 

The girls especially loved the contemporary pieces. 

This 3-D piece was one of my favorites! 

This knife was made of gold and encrusted with diamonds. 

The craftsmanship was just amazing! 

I loved the ancient Chinese vases. 

It's amazing that they are still paired and in such perfect condition! 

November had some very, very cold days.

I have to admit, I loved it! 

And I loved getting to wear my warm snuggly boots!

I picked my Charlie up.

He sits on my nightstand by my bed. 

I spent my Thanksgiving on the couch watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

I love the all male tap group. 

They were pretty awesome. 

I made my turkey casserole with the leftover turkey and stuffing. 

The weekend after Thanksgiving we went to visit my brothers and sisters.

My brother Jr made deer chili.

Oh my goodness...it was delicious! 

Luigi took advantage of the cold weather and spent alot of time on my bed! 

These two boys snuggled lots with me. 

Usually Micah plopped down first then Manziel followed. 

I decided to amp up my accessories and wear earrings again.

I'm not sure if chandelier earrings are in style or not, but I sure love my new purchases.

The girls and I went to see Thor, enjoyed Starbucks coffee, spent a little too much at Bath and Body Works and found a cute store, Charming Charlies. 

My word... I am obsessed! 

It's a really bad thing that we found it.

Work has been so busy. 

I may have even broken down and cried a time or two.

My neck/shoulder situation certainly helps none.

These past two months it has hurt more than ever. 

It seems nothing makes it stop.

Nothing.

I am getting really fed up with it!

I can't believe here it it...December 29...this year is almost over.

Time certainly did fly.

This has been one hard, stressful and sad year.

I really hope 2014 is much different!