For you are "Fearfully and Wonderfully Made"

Hello friends! I took a hiatus and have the best excuse in the world. Henry Norton Maddox made his appearance into the world at 12:59 pm on Sunday, February 23rd, after a quick labor.

The name of this blog post is a quote from psalms and I tell it to Henry every night before we start his bedtime story ("On the night you were born").

Birth story with superfluous detail, plus several other posts, coming soon!

"Sons are a heritage from the lord. The fruit of the womb is his reward." (Psalm 127:3)

Hi, remember me? Let's backtrack to October

Hi blogosphere, Remember me - the girl who used to blog?

Well, I don't even know what I've been busy doing, but I have been! And let's be honest, cell phones just make turning the computer on and using that so darn inconvenient. And my awesome canon rebel, ummmm let's say I still have pictures from Italy almost a year ago on that. Whoopsies.

So here are things I need to catch up on, in no particular order. I'll begin with a very special trip a few months ago.

In October I visited my bff Eden, aka Essy, in Philadelphia.

The night I got in, "ma" took us out for dinner.

We had some fun times.



Ummmm what? I didn't eat an entire pint of Ben and Jerrys. Eden totally helped.



Judge away, the lentil soup needed some Israeli pickles sprinkled on.  I bet Jaren understands. Those pickles make everything better. Pregnant or not.

I also left with a new scar:


Falling while walking to meet her after work. And at the end of January, that scar is there to stay. Since I am about 35 weeks pregnant today and have not shaved my legs due to that, I will spare you a pic of the scar.

Essy's birthday was that weekend so we went out a couple of times. Her good friend Rachel couldn't come to her main celebration so we went out the night before.








Okay I totally just screen shotted those from instagram and didn't crop them. Sue me.

We got to see our other sorority sister Katie (no pics, boo), and also got to see my cousin and her baby - Bridget and Ryan. I have pictures. Look how cuteeeeeee!





Ess was in Heaven - she loves babies, and would ya look at that head of hair?






Eeeeeh I can't wait til she visits and she can do that with our baby boy! (And until baby Maddox meets Ryan, who will have 23947394 times more hair on his head at that point).

Me and Bridget:


And the baby!


And now both babies!


Essy and I made some awesome recipes. I doubt I'll post those, so loose instructions are below...until maybe I make those again when I'm back in a routine. Then I can blog real recipes.

We made a "mexican lentil stew" - I cheated and bought pre-cooked lentils from trader jo's.




It didn't thicken up like I wanted (probably because the lentils were precooked, duh) so added quinoa and it thickened it right up. It was super spicy, but yummmmm.


We also made turkey chili,


 and a white bean/tomato/spinach stew:


Typical us:


The night we went to celebrate her birthday with her friends was very fun - it was a dueling piano bar which I hadn't been to in a while! Those are always fun. She did some weird type shot thing for her birthday.


But I wouldn't let her go on stage, 28 is different than 21. Even though we're both 24 still.....
Here are some more pics - make sure to check out the shoes we saw on some lady!

See ya next time Ess!

Back to July: "I want an apple for my birthday"

Craving: Catching up on the blog! Expect many posts and recipes coming soon.

No idea why I fell off the blogging bandwagon. I have replaced it with scentsy and wreath making. And working out - been working out a lot! Wedding weight goal - I will do it!

Back in July I turned 24 again (for the 4th year in a row).

As you all remember, Charlie and I were living in a hotel room for 2 months this summer. We were staying on base, and stores are closed on Mondays on military bases. We got back from a weekend away and it was too late to get some fruit. Then my birthday was on a Monday and all I wanted was an apple. Starting Sunday night, I just wanted that darn apple!

Monday morning Charlie came into the room during one of his breaks and when I came back in this is what I found:


Mmmmm coke zero. That was a buritto big enough for 3 of me, but I think I probably ate it all considering how much I weighed when I came back from AL, hahaha! (Okay in reality, my AL weight gain was not that drastic, and I attribute it to lays bbq chips).

Well, I opened my present, and it wasn't an apple, but an apple!!!!


I was in TOTAL shock. I had needed a new computer for forever, and was seriously not expecting it. It was actually from my parents and Charlie, and it's been phenomenal in wedding planning etc.

I have the best family in the world. Thanks Charlie and Ima/Aba.


Two recipes coming soon!

LA weekend part 1 and my attachment to my mommy!

Over the weekend, my mom and I drove to visit my dear friend Emily for her baby shower (and a birthday celebration for her the evening before). I have written about Emily here.

My mom and I rented a Hyundai Sonata for the drive. My dad is a firm believer that if you're driving a long distance, you rent a car. This way, you don't put the miles on the car, the wear and tear on parts, extra oil changes etc, AND since driving long distances increases your risk of accident, you don't risk your car needing body work. About 1.5 years ago, my mom and I were driving to a conference in LA and someone with a bb gun shot our driver side back seat window. Besides being terrified, we just dropped the car off at the airport and got a new one! Anyway, the car was comfy for my mom but I couldn't find the perfect driving position and kept having to crack my back. What a great idea though - rent a car for a couple of days before you commit to buying it!

We arrived on Saturday evening and met Emily and her husband David, and a dozen of their close friends at Casa Escobar in Ventura County.

Here is my mom, Emily, and me:

I had a very good chicken mole and my mom had chicken fajitas. She can't handle spicy food so Mexican is not a good option for her usually.

For Emily's birthday gift I did something that my sister did for me several years ago. Instead of buying her something I'm not sure she wants, I made a donation to a charitable foundation important to her. I have been doing this with most of my friends for their birthdays, and I think it means so much more than buying them a drink at a bar - fun, but who remembers that?

There was a very delicious strawberry shortcake for dessert:


Here is the cake being presented to Emily - her hubby David is to the right, and baby Talya is in her belly. Baby Toddler Shayna was at home with grandma.




I love this picture because you see the cell phone taking a picture in the picture:


Here is a cute picture of me and my mommy:


Speaking of my mommy...

We are close.

Very close.

We used to work in the same department at school, while I lived with her, and we didn't get sick of each other.

We have a special VT/Ima voice that we use. I am VT - my first name is Ravit, so nickname is Vity - aka VT. Ima is mom in Hebrew. The voice is really for nobody else but each other, and lucky Charlie. We have to hide it from my sister! Haha.

I am extremely proud of my relationship with my mom. Not only is she the woman I admire most, she has taught me so much of what I know, without even trying, just by modeling. If I am a good teacher it's only because of her. If I am organized and creative it's because of her. If I am a good cook it's because of her. I can't wait until I am a mom, not just because I've always wanted to be one, but also because I will get to be reminded of all the creative and wonderful things she did with us, that I can't wait to replicate with my children.  You should see the games we played and the cakes she made us.

I am so fortunate to live so close to her! I am also at an age where I think it's socially acceptable to have her involved with my friends. Katy (one of my best friends) and I love spending time together with her, and I almost always invite her to things, such as the girls watching the Bachelorette last night. With her living so close, why would I not take advantage and see her every day?

We are extremely lucky that Charlie and my parents love each other. While we have "ima/VT" time, Charlie has Charlie/Danny time. They probably watch 60 minutes and break things on the computer so they can be fixed, but it works out perfectly.

On Saturday I am going to Alabama and will be there for 6 weeks.

I was gone for college and work for 6 years. Did my mom and I speak every day? Multiple times! Did we see each other several times a year? Fortunately, we were able to. Did we survive without living a mile away from each other and sharing shoes? Absolutely. I will always miss her if we have to be separated, but for the next week, look forward to seeing her every day, and doing exactly the same when I get back.

Ima and VT at Taste of the Nation 2010

And boy, did I find the best groom in the world, who when we were in Hawaii last year on vacation, said out of nowhere "I wish Lauren and Danny were here with us".

I am one lucky lady with the best family ever, and I can't wait to spend time with my future family in one week in Alabama!

And....I'm back!

Craving: My computer screen and flickr pictures to update my blog!

Had a little blogging hiatus.
Last weekend Charlie had a bachelor party weekend with guys from out of town, and then he left for Alabama on Friday, so last week was spent:
a) cleaning after the bachelor party
b) getting loose ends ready for the AL trip.

Then, this weekend, my mom and I drove to LA to go to my very good friend and "big sister" Emily's baby shower. I posted about Em's creative belly pics the other day, and hope it inspired some creativity!

I will catch up in short(er) posts than one long one, but for now, this is what's been going on.

Last Thursday: I surprised Charlie after having worked SO hard and having no time to spend together with a date to Ferraros, the amazing Italian restaurant where we had our first date. I even put my extensions in for the night! We asked our waiter to snap our picture and this is what we got:


Funny flash and Charlie looks like hes about to get out of his seat. Oh well.

Friday - guys arrived. Bachelor party, aka, not enough hours to clean the house since I am ocd and there were like 6 guys here.
The good news? I had to keep myself occupied so I finished my wreath! Are you excited to see the pictures of it all hung up and pretty on my door? Here's a preview of the finished product:

Saturday and Sunday were bunco and Jaren's baby shower which I told you all about.

Later on Sunday my mom and I went to the park for a celebration of "Shavuot" which is a Jewish holiday I like to refer to as "the cheesecake holiday".

We were late because of the shower but here is a lot of mostly eaten dairy food - blintzes and bourekas and cheeses and just lots of cheesy goodness. I will post about Shavuot and the holiday's meaning soon.

Charlie's friend Paul stayed an extra day and gave Odge, my grey dog, a lovely mohawk. Look forward to a post coming soon titled "Paul Calhoun: Future test pilot? No, future dog stylist.

What did I do during the week, besides last minute stuff for the trip to Al?

Well, I decided to go deposit all this foreign money Charlie had laying around. I figured most of it would be expired because of the Euro, but you know what was accepted? Croatian money! That's right! It was worth about $6, score!


Also had some loved ones' birthdays:
May 31: My sister who is 25 (weird how my little sister is now older than I am since I am still 24.....)
May 31: Emily, my "big sister"
June 2: Katy, one of my best friends and bridesmaids
June 2: Sarah, Charlie's sister, who I can't wait to see in Alabama!

Below is me and Katy at the yard house (with some round of guy that paid for the round of drinks we ordered, so we allowed him to be in our picture).


Saturday, my mom and I drove out to Ventura County. We went to a restaurant and met about a dozen of Emily's friends for her birthday celebration and then today we went to her amazing baby shower. I will post about it all later but will leave you with this picture. Her sister in law did all the decor from scratch, including cake pop "trees" - she even baked the cake pops!!!


Okay actually I lied, I will leave you with this picture: me and Shayna!

I'm showing her a picture of the last time I saw her, over a year ago.

See you soon with all my updates :-)

Back to January - a surprise dog party!

Well back in January sh** at work hit the fan and after a horrible week, Charlie called me and told me to come over to my parents house for dinner. It was January 5th. Back in Jan I almost quit, but things seemed to be better again. It was bad. I was PISSED. Well, my mom and Charlie obviously knew this, and set up a surprise party for me. The only problem is, that my birthday is in July. However, Odge and Lee's SEVENTH birthday was on January 5th, and Maya's 6th birthday is January 15th. I have friends like Katy and Eden that go all out for doggy birthdays. I don't, but I still know when they are etc.

Anyway, after work I walked into my parents house for dinner per Charlie's instructions to find this:


I mean come on! Is that not the cutest thing? It instantly made me realize what an amazing family I have. I know gushy stuff doesn't put food on the table, but family is SO MUCH MORE IMPORTANT than your job. I probably cried, I don't remember. It was so sweet. Yes silly, but at least the surprise was for me. If you have ever given your dog a surprise party, please tell me so that I can make fun of you. (katy, eden...? either one of you?)

Anyway, they had also set up the table w/china for dinner in honor of the celebration:


And had gotten them presents they enjoyed:


It was one of those flattened out fox tail type things. They killed the squeekers within an hour.