Category Archives: de rebus familiaribus

An American in Paris and Parzen family expansion update

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love scene

Man, Friday was a really bad day.

41-weeks-pregnant mommy slept in and I got up with Georgia P.

I made her breakfast of scrambled Parmgiano Reggiano eggs and wholewheat quesadillas and we went through all of our regular morning rituals.

Then suddenly, as Georgia P was rolling around with couch cushions (as she loves to do), something — we don’t know what — scratched her cornea.

Corneal abrasions are extremely painful and this was our first episode of having to rush to the doctor with a child who was literally writhing in pain.

I softly wept and wept as I held her in my arms and sang to her her favorite song (Nadia) at our pediatrician’s office.

Georgia P’s eye bandaged to protect it from light (the only remedy), we returned home and she went down for a long nap.

We spent the rest of the day at home, eating ice cream and watching a double dose of Sesame Street, the only show she is allowed to watch (Elmo and Abby are her favorites).

After her dinner, she went down to sleep.

And voilà! The next day it was as if nothing had happened.

Saturday turned out to be a super fun day, with a visit to the park and lunch of Thai noodles that she slurped up with gusto (see the video below).

In the late afternoon, when it was too hot to go outside, we watched the 1951 musical An American in Paris.

Georgia P really loved the final dream-dance sequence (one of the most brilliant moments in American cinema imho).

And when the lovers embraced at its climax, she threw her arms up in the air in joy (above).

And I softly wept and wept…

In other Parzen family news…

There’s really not much news to report. We are now 41 weeks pregnant, one week past our official due date.

We have a ob/gyn appointment first thing tomorrow and it’s likely that we’ll set a time to induce Baby P 2013 and get Tracie P’s labor started.

Thanks for all the wishes and thoughts. They mean the world to us.

This pregnancy has been a healthy and relatively easy one. But little Baby P 2013 is being a bit stubborn about coming into this world.

These last few weeks have been pretty tough. But we’re almost there…

At my favorite trattoria in Florence #FoodPorn #MimeticDesire

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orafo pappardelle

No, I’m not at my favorite trattoria in Florence, Buca dell’Orafo. But Cousin Marty and the Levy clan were there last night and these are the photos they sent.

Has the mimetic desire kicked in yet?

Today is Marty’s birthday: happy birthday, Marty! We love you so much!

orafo ravioli

Cousins Marty and Joanne are currently touring Italy with their son (my cousin) Jonathan and his girlfriend Chiara who is from Viterbo.

And Marty asked me for some dining recommendations.

orafo macaroni

When I moved to Texas five years ago to be with Tracie P, I never imagined that I would reconnect on such a deep level with my cousins from the “estranged” side of my family (my father and Marty are first cousins).

But we’ve all grown really close and they have been so supportive of me and our new family here in Austin.

And now that things are getting so serious between Jon and Chiara (Marty and Joanne met her parents for the first time on this trip), our Italian connection is even stronger!

chiara cordelli

Chiara, who, like Jon, is an academic superstar, loves to tease me about my Veneto accent and we all had a great time visiting when they came out to see my band’s show in San Francisco earlier this year.

Chiara, Jon, Joanne, and Marty: thanks for sending the pics! As we wait patiently at home for Baby P 2013 to arrive (no developments), it’s great to live vicariously through your enogastronomic adventures! I love it…

baci e abbracci

Tannic 2008 Produttori del Barbaresco & veal chop with cremini sautéed in white wine

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veal chop barbaresco

We’re in a sort of limbo these days: now one day after our official due date, Baby P 2013 could arrive at any moment but there are still no signs of labor (yesterday Tracie P had a labor-inducing massage; today, she’ll do acupuncture).

Usually for my birthday dinner, I grill a porterhouse steak Florentine-style and open one of my favorite Langa crus or a Brunello Riserva from a favorite producer.

But this year, knowing that I wouldn’t be having more than a few glasses of wine and not wanting to tempt fate with immodesty, I pan-fired a beautifully tied veal chop and finished it with cremini mushrooms that I had sautéed and deglazed with white wine (some Dettori 2009 Romangia Bianco, for the record). And I opened a bottle of 2008 Produttori del Barbaresco (classic) Barbaresco, a label that you will always find in my Saturday-night cellar selection and one of my all-time favorite wines. (I pan-fired a filet mignon for Tracie P, who’s been craving red meat in these last weeks of the pregnancy.)

In my experience, the greatest expressions of Langa Nebbiolo will be fresh and bright, with vivid fruit flavor, in their early youth. But then suddenly, as if dropping off a continental shelf, they plunge into the tannic depths of traditionally made Nebbiolo.

The bottle I opened on Saturday night, my birthday eve, had already crossed the threshold of this “shut-down” period. And as much as I enjoyed the wine, it was much more generous with its fruit the next night (paired with quesadillas). Just a few months ago, it was still very bright when first opened.

I can hear my wine board fellows crying infanticide!

But in my view of the vinous world, this episode is all part of the joy in watching a wine evolve and remembering each development over the course of my relationship with it.

I drank just two glasses of it on Saturday night and then we finished it on Sunday night (by which time it was showing brilliantly, although still very tannic).

Moral of the story: in keeping with my maxim, never expedite wine, I just needed to give the bottle a day to open up and share its fruit with me.

Thanks again to everyone for the wonderful birthday wishes (mine and Baby P 2013!)! They mean the world to us…

best blueberry pie birthday ever

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best blueberry pie baby

This year for my birthday, Tracie P ordered a blueberry pie from our favorite Austin cake shop, Polkadots (ever since I was a child, I’ve always had blueberry pie — a classic summer pie — for my birthday, which also happens to be Bastille Day, an unheimlich coincidence considering that I am a member of a French rock band).

And being that it’s my birthday today, it was my birthday wish to have blueberry pie with Georgia P for breakfast.

After all, what are birthdays for if you can’t have pie for breakfast?

39-plus-weeks-pregnant mommy is still sleeping. But she gave us the greenlight last night before she went to bed.

best blueberry pie

It’s 7:30 a.m. as I write this and Georgia P and I have already had quite a morning, between pie — hers paired with milk, mine with coffee — and cleanup. :)

Labor still hadn’t begun when mommy went to bed last night. But could today be the day? Tomorrow is our official due date.

Thanks, everyone, for the birthday wishes on the Twitter and Facebook!

I couldn’t have dreamed of a better birthday…

(Thirty) Nine and a Half Weeks (Pregnant)

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39 weeks pregnant

We’ve been alternating massage and acupuncture hoping to bring on labor. But no success so far. As the old adage goes, babies come when they’re ready.

Other than that, no news to report.

Click here for Tracie P’s update on her blog.

In other news…

cutest little girl ever

Georgia P is cuter than ever.

Her nanna and baw baw (paw paw) are staying with us, giving me a hand with household chores and allowing me to get some rest as we gear up for Parzen family expansion.

We’re so lucky to have them and we all have so much fun together.

Georgia P had fun with her baw baw at the splash pad yesterday afternoon and she really loved wearing his hat (above)!

Prosecco Colfondo for the pregnant lady!

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watching tv with mommy

Most experts agree that there is no incontrovertible fact behind the many theories regarding “labor-inducing foods” and other tricks.

But they also agree that, at 39 weeks pregnant (like us; actually 39+), most mothers-to-be would do just about anything to induce labor.

We’ve been doing it all (I won’t go into the details). But Baby P 2013 still isn’t ready.

prosecco col fondo sediment

Last night, when I asked Tracie P if she’d like to drink the fondo of a Prosecco Colfondo (the lees and other sediment of the bottle-fermented, undisgorged sparkling wine), the answer was: at this point, it couldn’t hurt.

Back in April, when I met with Luigi Gregoletto (the oldest continuous producer of Prosecco Colfondo), he told me that in the “olden days,” people would drink the fondo as a tonic. It helps with digestion, he told me.

bele casel prosecco

So last night over dinner, I decanted a bottle of Bele Casel Prosecco Colfòndo (my friend and client Luca Ferraro writes the designation with an accent grave) and decanted it.

You can see the clear wine in the photo directly above and the cloudy sediment in the photo above that.

As of this morning, we still haven’t gone into labor. But we’re not giving up hope that today will be the day.

The only incontrovertible fact is that it ain’t over ’til the fat pregnant lady sings!

Thanks to everyone for all the emails and tweets of support. We’re almost there…

Splash pad! Texas summer living (Baby P 2013 update)

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splash pad austin

Not much news to report here at Camp Parzen other than the not-so-breaking news that we are very very pregnant and ready for Baby P 2013 to arrive.

Her due date is July 15 (next Monday) and so far, the many predictions that she would come early have not panned out.

At this point, especially with temperatures reaching the mid to high 90s every day, Tracie P needs to spend as much time as she can off her feet.

I’ve been doing all the shopping, cooking, and cleaning and Georgia P and I get out as much as we can.

Yesterday, we made our first visit to an Austin “splash pad,” an invention so ingenious that I’d like to kiss the person who thought it up.

In essence, it’s a playground with colorful fountains and it’s so much better than a pool (especially for a toddler like Georgia P). The water is reclaimed after ever cycle (assuaging its environmental impact), there is no danger of drowning, and the fountains create just enough cool air to keep it pleasant on the sidelines for the parents watching over their kids.

Georgia P LOVED IT!

Al pomodoro please: red, white & Nebbiolo for the 4th

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pasta al pomodoro

Mommy and daddy had hotdogs and burgers with all the trimmings for a quiet Fourth of July celebration at home as we continued to wait for the big day to arrive.

We’re now nine days away from Baby P 2013’s expected due date.

Georgia P came nine days early. So mutatis mutandis… Our bags are packed and ready to go.

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harsh times for disenfranchised women but good tortillas in Texas capital

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herdez salsa

Those crazy-assed Texan republicans have nearly prevailed in delivering some of the the most restrictive reproductive policies in the U.S. And when they’re done, they will have closed all but a handful of Planned Parenthood clinics through out the state (one of the richest in the U.S., home to its fourth-largest city, and the fastest growing in the nation). The few remaining will nearly all be in major urban centers. As a result, financially challenged families living in rural areas will have virtually no access to affordable women’s health services. And services in the big cities will be more limited.

But it’s hard to find a bad tortilla in this town, capital of the Lone Star State.

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Happy days, sad days…

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mommy makes everything better

As our pregnancy “comes to term” and we finish preparing for the arrival of Baby P 2013 (any day now), I can’t help but feel a little bit sad about how Georgia P’s life is going to change.

She has no idea that our cozy little family of three is about to become a family of four.

She is such a sweet little girl, always ready to share a smile, a laugh, a kiss, and a hug. And I know she’s going to be a wonderful big sister (the two girls will be nineteen months apart in age).

But I also know it’s going to be hard for her at first, as she gets accustomed to the new and different rhythms that a newborn brings to a household.

We’re all ready for the baby to get here and it’s a very special and happy time for us. But I can’t help but feel a little pang knowing that Georgia P will have to settle into a new life where she’s not always the center of everyone’s attention…

Thanks for reading and thanks for sharing our family’s joy.