Homemade Corn Tortillas

We finally used the tortilla press I received for Christmas in 2009! I was a little intimidated to use it, so it stayed in the cabinet. Dave noticed we had Masa Harina in the pantry and suggested we try to make our own corn tortillas for dinner, rather than purchase them from the store. And we are so glad we made them from scratch! They were easy and delicious! Dave doesn't think we should ever by store bought corn tortillas ever again. And I'm pretty much in agreement. The homemade versions didn't break nearly at all and they were a little thicker. We use the corn tortillas to make grilled fish tacos for dinner. Below are pictures that document our process:

Mini corn tortilla balls.

The corn tortilla press!

A corn tortilla ball becomes a corn tortilla after it's been pressed (between wax paper).

Cooking the corn tortilla. Hint: You only need a very little bit of olive oil... don't go even close to overboard. In fact, we probably will just spray some PAM next time.

Finished corn tortillas.

Our toppings for the tacos.

Dave grilled tilapia on the grill and topped it with salsa.

Our finished (empty!) plates. I meant to take a picture of our tacos, but they looked so good we ate them before I remember to take a picture. Trust me, they were delicious.

Me and Lil Fab at 22 Weeks!

This is me and my little boy! I was 22 weeks along yesterday, but my outfit was cuter today so we took a picture this morning before I left for work. :)  You'll see more pictures this weekend (via Facebook) because we are headed to Alabama for the homecoming football game. Alabama plays Vandy, so we'll be a house divided. But Dave's realistic and roots for Alabama every other weekend. I have a maternity houndstooth dress to wear that my friend in Austin let me borrow. I cannot wait to wear it, walk around campus, visit friends, and enjoy the game with Dave!

More Baby Stuff from Generous People

Lil fab is a lucky dude! We have been gifted a lot of things for lil fab, and this post is to share what we've gotten so far. My college friend, Brandi Ferrari, lives here and she gave me some stuff (along with the pass to that church consignment sale). My good friend Christine Janaske sent a package, and then my cousin, Sarah Noble Loftis, lives here and offered to give me some of her baby stuff. Her boys are 4 and 1, and she's done having children. She had a lot of stuff to give us! Dave and I were completely overwhelmed. I am very surprised at her generosity, given we hadn't seen each other in ten years or so prior to my moving here and we've never been close. I guess this is what family does, though! Below is all of the stuff we've been given and some of the items I got from the church consignment sale that I forgot to include in the last post.

 The bumpo seat is from Sarah.

 This onesie is from Brandi. Our mutual friend Andrea gave it to her when her boys were little. Isn't it cute and funny?!?!

This is a ducky bathrobe/towel and six washcloths I got at the church sale.

 Sarah gave us this bath tub thingy.

 I picked up these two blankets at the church sale.

 I hope you can read upside down! I swear I rotated this picture before I imported it, and now I'm too lazy to change it. The book on the left is the first thing I bought for lil fab, and the "Walter the Farting Dog" book is from my mom.

 This is the boppy I picked up at the church sale. I bought this one because it came with a cover, and it was before I found out lil fab would be a dude. We'll save the cover just in case we have a girl someday. I did see a Houndstooth print cover online and I think I'll register for it!

Sarah gave is this entire bag of bottles!

I'm apparently technologically challenged this evening. This is supposed to be a picture of the bottle sanitizer Sarah gave us.  

 This is the bottle warmer from Sarah.

 Sarah gave me this breast pump from Medela.

Sarah gave us this infant car seat... 

 And this one!

                                                Sarah also gave us this car seat blanket thingy.

 Sarah also gave us this vibrating chair.

                                           More from Sarah! She also gave us this drying rack.

Please use your imagination again. :) My good friend Christine Janaske sent us this book and two bathtub puppets. I don't know if that's what they really are... but they are very cute!

Church Consignment Sale

I went to a church consignment sale at Brentwood United Methodist last Thursday night. Brandi Ferrari, a friend from college, is a member there and gave me the pass to shop in advance of the public. I learned from my coworkers throughout the day that church consignment sales are a big deal down here. I ended up leaving work at 4pm to go get the pass from Brandi's house so I could get in line before the sale opened up at 5pm. I arrived at the church just before 5pm and waited in line for about five minutes. The best way to describe the atmosphere is like the day after Thanksgiving sales. Women were in line with laundry baskets so they can grab whatever they see. Craziness! Even when "competing" with the women who've had experience at this type of sale, I found some pretty good deals of my own! I spent $107 and I got a swing, a travel crib, a play yard, a boppy, two outfits, two receiving blankets, 5 onesies... and I think that's all. Here are the pictures of my great finds!

 I got this Graco Travel Pack and Play for $20!!! I checked BabiesRUs.com and they sell this for $99.

 Mr. Riggins is helping.

 And Mr. Parker helped, too.

 David helped keep Riggins occupied!

I also picked up this Fisher Price play yard for $25. BabiesRUs.com had this on sale for $52.99, with a regular price of $75! Another good deal.

And I got this swing for $30, and BabiesRUs.com had it on sale for $130. SCORE!

 All that helping made Parker (above) and Riggins (below) very tired.

12South is a cool place to live

Okay, I think the neighborhood in which I live is a little too cool for me.

Last Thursday night Dave and I walked down to Imogine+Willie for "Supper and Song". I+W is a shop where they make custom jeans. Think $300+. I plan to get a pair as a reward for losing pregnancy weight! I've been following I+W on twitter for a while now, and noticed every Thursday they have the Mas Tacos truck pull up for dinner. And every third Thursday of the month they host Supper and Song, which means the Mas Tacos truck pulls up and they have someone singing live music outside behind the shop.

I was very excited when I got home last Thursday and Dave suggested we walk down there for dinner. We walked right up and got in line for tacos. I ordered a Cast Iron Skillet Chicken Taco and a Quinoa Sweet Potato Taco. Dave ordered the same chicken taco and a Spicy Beef Taco. All tacos were very good! Next time I definitely want to order the beef taco.

We took our tacos to a back table (the only table, mind you) where others were standing around to eat their tacos. The music had already started and the "stage" was under lights - the kind of outdoor lights you would string across your backyard. It was very cool. There were approximately 100 people there, eating tacos and listening to music. About five minutes after we set up at the back table, a young woman asked us if she was allowed to be there or if she crashed a party. Dave and I were very confused and told the woman that I+W does this every third Thursday and anyone can come. She mentioned she wasn't sure once she saw Nicole Kidman in the crowd listening to the music. WHAT? WHAT? I hadn't seen any celebrities in person since I moved here, and there Nicole was, not ten feet from me sitting down and listening to music. Cool! When Dave and I finished our tacos we moved away from the table so others could use it. We stepped up closer to the music, which happened to be about five feet from Nicole and her small entourage. The entourage included her children, and Sunday Rose was playing around while the nanny played with the younger child (they have two, right?). At one point Sunday was play-yelling at a man in their group and Nicole stopped her conversation, pulled Sunday over to tell her that was not acceptable behavior and to apologize to the man. Sunday walked over to the man and said she was sorry. So 1) yes, were close enough to hear all this without trying, and 2) Nicole parented - which was nice to see even though she had the nanny there.

Overall, the night was very cool! I think Dave and I will try to head down and participate in Supper and Song on a monthly basis. It's only three blocks from our house! I am hoping the "coolness" factor of 12South rubs off on me. :)

I felt lil fab move!

Two weeks ago when I was at the doctor's office she asked if I had felt the baby move yet. I said I wasn't sure if I'd be able to tell the difference between gas and baby movement. :) Last night I thought I might have felt lil fab, but it was immediately after I finished some leftover pulled pork and garlic cheese grits (yum!!!), so I couldn't be sure. Tonight while I was sitting down after I ate dinner (granola and a banana) I thought I felt lil fab move. So I pushed in on my stomach to see if I'd get a response... and I did! Lil fab pushed back! It was awesome. It's so cool! Just thought I'd share. :)

Lil Fab's First Trip to Notre Dame

Dave and I made our annual trek to Notre Dame for the home opener this weekend. Despite the ridiculous weather and horrible performance by the ND football team, we had a good time! Here are a few pics of me and lil fab to share with you...

Me and lil fab at The Grotto. Just before the picture I went in and said a prayer for the little dude/dudette.  

Me and lil fab at Main Building, aka the Golden Dome. And yes, I look bigger here because I was taking direction from the photographer who told me to stick my belly out further if I could. :) I think this is a framer, though! Thank you, photographer.  

 Dave and I bought lil fab's first piece of clothing! A Notre Dame onesie. So cute and relatively gender neutral. 

Me, my friend Jen (she was a bridesmaid in our wedding), and our two fetuses. She is due 9 days after me. Dave and I stayed with Jen and her husband, Pat, this weekend in St. Joseph, MI. They were great hosts!