Wordless Wednesday

I’m starting Wordless Wednesdays this week. I’ve seen this on so many great blogs and since I take a sickening amount of photos of Connor this should be a great outlet. Check here for a listing of others who participate in Wordless Wednesday!!

Horrible

Heelarious

Fearless Fourth and a few more tidbits...

This year, we struggled trying to decide if we were going to take Connor to see fireworks or not. How traumatizing could it really be? Then my dad filled me in that I screamed through it my first "several" years…hmm…how many subsequent years do you listen to your child scream before you give up on the tradition? Super.

Anyway, connor had seen/heard fireworks before at Dbacks playoff games so we figured we’d probably be ok. We had two concerns—1. it being hotter than hell outside and 2. the parking/getting out of the parking lot situation. So, we opted to go and see fireworks at Chase Field. The Dbacks set them off after the game on the 4th every year so that’s what we did. Connor was great through the entire game, but unfortunately fell dead asleep the minute the game ended. Seriously. Since we knew the fireworks would scare the poop outta him if that’s what woke him up we tried everything to get the kid to wake…tickles, loud talking, a wee bit of shaking…nada. He finally had his eyes just a bit open when they started. The noise and fireworks didn’t seem to bother him, but it was really windy and that pissed him off-funny kid. So, all in all, he did great which means no perpetuating a terrifying tradition!! Hooray us!

We also finally decided it was time for Connor to learn how to use a spoon...this is surely the part of the post where you should feel free to tune out if you don't find tiny little child nuances as awesome as I clearly do. It's ok...i'll wait. So, I don't know at what age this is supposed to happen, but for us it's 14 months and we started this weekend. It went really well and even though he holds the spoon like that lefty kid no one talked to in school, nearly 70% of the food gets in his actual mouth so we're pleased with the results.

so good when it hits your lips...

do you triple dog dare me?

seriously? you thought i wouldn't do it!?!?

Other than that, Connor discovered a few new things this weekend...

Zoey has a grab-worthy tail

Toes are rad

...and naked running is number one!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Friday's Daily Dose of Briliance...

So I missed Friday’s post-thanks katy for the reminder first thing today!! I was enjoying the holiday and totally spaced on it.

Here are last week’s can’t miss sites…

Bad Parking-I don’t really know what to think of this. Part of me thinks it’s awesome and hilarious that someone is taking the time to note, stop, get out of their own car, photograph and then submit ignorant and selfish drivers. Another part of me thinks it’s sad that someone is taking the time to note, stop, get out of their own car, photograph and then submit ignorant and selfish drivers.



Frat Pack Blog-I love Vince Vaughn, Luke Wilson and the rest of that adorable group of boys. They crack me up and this site is a great way to movie stalk on what’s coming soon with these guys!!

Friday's Daily Dose of Briliance...

Today's sites are focused on more domestic things. mixin' it up!

Hostess Blog-this site always has great ideas for decorating, menu items, invitations, place cards and all other things that make the party planner in me giddy! baby showers, weddings, cocktail parties, new years, halloween, birthdays, kids parties, and of course many ideas for those upcoming 4th of july parties!!

Daily find-this is part of Cookie magazine's site. every day they post some great (neat if you will) product that you didn't even realize that you couldn't live wtihout. My most recent favorite is the below stationary set which i love. they have entertainment stuff, like this cheese tray with dry erase marker so your guests know which yummy cheese you are serving them. great enviro friendly stuff, like these eco coasters, made of recycled wine corks. stuff for the kiddos of all ages, like the cute wooden train set I picked up for Connor.

I'm not alone

Read this: Mom 101 Post on Etiquette

Holy Crap Hilarity

So, I typically tend to stay away from tv game shows. 1 vs. 100 i'm obsessed with, but the rest not so much. So, i was doubtful when ABC started running promos for Wipeout. wow, hilarious. I think it's people falling and flailing around that appeals to the part in all of us that loves to watch America's Funniest Home Videos.

Anyway, we tivo'd it and watched last night. Jeffrey and I seriously had to stop eating dinner because we were laughing so hard that we were running the risk of choking. seriously. I think we scared Connor.

The two guys who host are more like sports commentators (which makes sense as one is from ESPN) and their comments are just so dry and perfect. The show puts 24 contestants through these obstacle course type hazards where the goal is to avoid wiping out in the mud. One of the guys, they called jazz hands due to his feminine ways. sometime throughout the show, they stopped calling him by his name at all and he was simply Jazz Hands. awesome. Another lady was this large and in charge black woman. she was winded after 2 minutes. at the end they are supposed to grab a rope and swing from one platform to another. she just didn't have it in her and just kinda laid down instead. she sort of slid down the platform making this noise like when you get stuck on a slide. tough to explain.

anyway, i'm not going to be able to do this show justice, so here's a clip and please, please watch it so we can laugh about it next week together. or, you can come to my house and watch this week's episode-we decided to leave it in the tivo so we can watch it over and over and over!!



There are more promos here and here and here. And you can watch the full episode Here.

Humpday Survey

A- Attached or Single? Attached-9 years and counting!
B- Best Friend: Carly, Dawn, Ash, Katy, Jeffrey
C-Cake or Pie: cake please
D-Day: Saturday
E- Essential Item: Flatiron
F- Favorite Color: green, purple, yellow—I can’t choose just one. I’m colorful.
G-Gummy Bears or Worms: bears if they are the plain ones, worms if they are the ones covered in that sour/sweet goodness!
H-Home town: C-Town (Chandler), AZ
I- Indulgences: Pedicures, wine, brownies, wine, naps, and wine.
J- January or July?: January
K-Kids: Yuppers. One and he’s magnificent!!
L-Life is incomplete without: having people around you who you love
M- Marriage Date: 3/6/04
N- Number of Siblings: 3 sisters in law & 1 Lucas
O- Oranges or Apples: Oranges
P- Phobias or Fears: I have kind of evil phobias. I’ll plead the 5th here.
Q- Quote: “You have a freak flag, you just don’t fly it” ~Owen Wilson in Family Stone… “You can only protect your liberties in this world by protecting the other man’s freedom. You can only be free if I am free” ~Clarance Darrow
R- Reason To Smile: my son, my family and my friends
S- Season: Fall
T- Tag Three: Erin, Erin, Erin-sorry, only two people read this I think:)
U- Unknown Fact About Me: I think I’m ready to think about having another baby. Maybe. Possibly.
V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: since there are only two silly options I guess that makes me the oppressor
W- Worst Habit: biting my nails!!
X-Rays or Ultrasounds: What the hell kind of question is this? i've had both.
Y-Your favorite food: Mexican
Z: Zodiac Sign: Aquarius

Updates all around...

Just a quick update on a few things…

First, the biter is history! His mom pulled him out of school. Take that Vampire!

Second, swim lessons went really, really well. He fussed on and off throughout the lesson but did really well having his face under water and reaching for the edge. He even stayed (relatively) calm when forced to float-which is always a tricky thing for the kiddos. All in all, good times. The place is super nice and the instructor was patient with the kids, obviously. I’ll try and get some pics up later tonight!!

That's really it for now i think. nothing too exciting going on. We have our normal Tuesday evening storytime at the library tonight and then I have dinner club tomorrow night. Thursday I'm meeting up with my friend Sienna so she can dazzle me with her newly acquired engagement ring, as so far all i've seen is a horrible cell phone photo of it!!

Friday's Daily Dose of Briliance...

Word to Your-ok, some of these pics are surely photoshopped but that really doesn't make it any less hilarious.

Fanny Pack Antics-because fanny pack wearing tourists are funny. this blog is newish but really, really good times!

Chlorine is my perfume...

Connor has his first swim lesson this Saturday and I’m stoked! Not really sure how well it’s going to go but that’s ok. I had really wanted to get him started last summer but he was only 4 months even in August so I decided we’d wait. I had originally planned to just teach him myself, as I taught for several years in high school and college. Once I started looking into actual schools, I changed my mind. I really wanted him to get the most our of it and for us to have some consistency to the schedule of classes. So…every Saturday morning we’ll be in the pool here learning floating, breathing, and survival skills!

He spent quite a bit of time in the pool in Vegas so hopefully he’ll enjoy himself. He also really, really loves bath time so that should help.

Here are his super duper cute trunks. I think they the are made to hit the knee—on my kid they look like man-capris…how cute is he?

So, I’ll update after the lesson and probably have a few pics to post too!

just one more connor pic!

Friday's Daily Dose of Briliance...

Post Secret-this site is amazing. people send cards with their very private secrets and the site posts them. Some of the secrets are racy!

listkiller-awesome. you make lists (which of course i love) and are timed. i tried to name all 50 states and got to 38 of them. not very american-like, kinda embarassing and a huge blow to my 5th grade geography bragging rights...

Mystery solved

i found out which kid was the biter

Friday's Daily Dose of Briliance...

Ok, i think i'm going to try something new here. there are so many awesome, hilarious (by my standards of course) sites and blogs out there so i think i'm going to devote a post every friday to any new sites i've discovered that week. so, i'm going to start with the following awesome additions to my list of sites i must visit daily...

The first is just funny. no description really necessary.

Stuff white people like

The next site is perfection. It's all about people taking photos of those passive aggressive notes/signs you see in office kitchens, restrooms and sending them to this site. awesome.

Passive Aggressive Notes

If it can lick, it can bite

Sad news. Some vicious toddler bit Connor yesterday at school. Jeffrey picked him up at school at and when I got home at 8pm the bite mark was still on his hand! No broken skin, but still geez. He didn’t ask who it was which is funny because that was literally my first thought. Who is this little shit that bit my baby and how fast can I get to his house?!? Ok. dramatic? Yes. Don't care. I intend on trying to sweet-talk the kids name out of Connor's teachers when i pick him up today. and then i intend on staring down this little vampire and trying to look scary. that's right. i said it.
also, i read this morning that once a child is bitten it makes them more likely to bite another child. super.

longest.weekend.ever

Well, we are on our way home from vegas as I write this. Thank you Verizon wireless card for allowing me to check my email, keep up on all things celebrity and update my blog while driving through lovely Wikieup, AZ. For the record, i hate car trips. really, truly hate them. I just can't do it ever again. I start to go crazy. I passed crazy about 2 hours ago btw.

So, first off I suck and never took a single photo while we were in vegas. Yup…connor was in the pool for the first time in his life and I didn’t document it. Worst.parent.ever. But we did have a pretty good time. Here’s a quick rundown of the long weekend there…

Thursday we didn’t even leave town until 11:45 which was super annoying. Jeff and I wanted to leave around 9am but jeff’s sister had an important doctor appointment so we waited until she got home. Check in was at 4pm and I’m the type of person who likes to get all the available hotel time in as possible so I’m thinking 11:45 + 5 hours drive time = 4:45…ok, now remember that we have two kids age 2 and under…add 1.5 hours for 3 stops...and we’re arrived at 6:15…and yes, we arrived in our rooms a bit after 6:30pm. Rediculous. Anyway, once we got there we were so incredibly exhausted. We just wanted to crash and we did. Wait=that's not true…since Saturday was jeff’s 28th birthday I wanted to make him brownies so Stephanie and I ran to target to get supplies.

Friday we got up and went swimming. I’m casper white so I needed to get a few good hours of pool time without spf800 or whatever it is that my paranoid hubby uses. So, we’re playing in the little children’s pool with the 4 boys and my inlaws. The water was so nice…literally like 90 degrees and awesome. It felt like bathwater and I loved it. So we just played with pool toys and kept the boys entertained. Connor mostly liked it-he’s a happy baby pretty much all the time so not too tough to please. He stayed in his little baby raft and threw toys at everyone. Well, he’d had enough after a couple hours so we decided to pack it up for the morning and get some lunch. I didn’t notice, but Jeffrey told me that my back was ‘kinda red’. Yeah. Sunburn. I’m a dummy. So, that sucked. Putting a bra on when your upper back/shoulders are burned is not #1 on my list of things to do. Still hurts. So, we went to lunch, and even made a costco run. Exciting right? in case you’re keeping track…our wild & crazy las vegas vacation has so far consisted of target, costco and a swimming pool. Ok…as we waited for my sister’s flight to get in we swam some more—this time with the sunscreen. Sarah arrived around 5 and we got cleaned up and had dinner. We decided to head to the strip and leave the kids at the hotel with steph who doesn’t do the vegas stuff. Ok, so gambling totally isn’t my thing. I’m too practical and too boring I think. I’d just rather buy a good wine, a great pair of shoes or even a yummy meal for the money I could crap away at a table. Anyway, sarah, Jeffrey and my MIL spent 3 hours at a 3 card poker table. Jeffrey ended up $60 I think and Sarah and Diane walked away broke. Nice. See this is what I don’t get. There is just no appeal. I played slots off the same $20 for about 2 hours and spent the last hour at a blackjack table and ended up down a total of $8.75. thrilling. I eventually started to nod off at a video poker machine at the bar and decided it was time to go. I do though, love, the free drinks so there is that perk…

Saturday we got up reluctantly and tried to figure out what we were going to do. Sarah and I had planned on seeing SATC at the 11:45 show on the strip. Unfortunately, she was still sleeping off the night before and I just couldn’t wake her. I was really looking forward to seeing it. And seeing it in vegas seemed like a cool idea. Crap. So we went swimming again, and then had lunch at this little café at the resort. When ryan and megan arrived late the night before, we told them that we’d check out the outlet shops across the street. I’m a coach whore and that’s how they got me to agree. So, we got all packed up and checked them out. Unfortunately, it was a bit too much AZ Mills and it was horrible. I really hate outlet crap. I love Coach outlet but does there really need to be a Big Dog outlet store? Really? When we got back, we barbequed and had planned to play games and hang out all night. Unfortunately, those who remembered we were in vegas wanted to go and do more gambling. I was not interested so I skipped it and stayed back and watched Enchanted with Meg, Steph and Ryan. Another crazy night for us!!
Sunday we got up and had a big breakfast together. Then I was totally blown away by jeff’s mom telling me that we have to wash the dishes in the suite before we check out. Ok, this is something I wasn’t going to write about because I tend to come off as super snobby and whiny, but…this place was a shithole. Seriously. Jeff’s parents have it this weekend as part of their timeshare. They kept telling us it was a ‘resort’ not just a hotel so that’s why there wasn’t a casino on site. Then she tells us it’s only 2 miles away from the strip and there is a shuttle. Yup, it’s over 4 miles away and that’s 30 minutes in vegas traffic. And this ‘shuttle’ only runs until midnight and only picks up every hour and a half. So dumb. And the room…our sliding door blinds were broken and were stuck open. Jeffrey pulled them desperately trying to keep the 5:30am sun out of our room that I think they are permanently jacked up. The water closet door in the bathroom was one of those pocket doors and it didn’t shut. Let me tell you that this is absolutely imperative with 4 kids around…geez. The big adult pool heater was broken. That was piercing cold. It was empty except a few drunk peeps that probably didn’t even realize they were in water. The part that really drives me crazy is that I have two favorite things about staying at a hotel/resort and it’s the trial sized products and not having to clean up after myself. Can you see where I am going here? No trial sized items. Nothing. Seriously-nothing. And housekeeping-non existent. No turn down service, no fresh linens, no new towels, no refilling the toilet paper rolls, emptying garbage cans, replacing used cups, etc. I’m not kidding. There are two doors down the hall from our room. One says Trash Room and one says Housekeeping. When your trash gets empty you drag it to the trash room and get new bags. If you want new sheets or towels, you take yours over to the Housekeeping Room and get new ones. Am I being ridiculous here? So yeah, when we left for the weekend we literally had to clean the place. I was going out of my mind. No one else seemed to think it was a big deal.

Well, that was it. It’s now about 4:45 and we’re about 20 miles from Wickenburg.

Also, as a random thought, my son loves the Plain White Tees song “Hey There Delilah”. When he was really sick earlier this year, and I had to give him breathing treatments he’d scream until I sang the song. When he’s fussy in the car, we’ll put it on and he calms down immediately. Not so for this trip. We played it on repeat each night. I almost died. I liked the song in the beginning. But you can’t hear the same song 135 times during a night of sleep and expect to still enjoy it. Yes, I did the math. Anyway, in summary I hate that song now.

I’m ready to start planning/saving up for a real vacation. I’m totally fine bringing connor along. I like spending time with my son, but I’m fine the other way as well. Adult time is good for everyone. I really like cruising and would be open to doing that next time. I really refuse to count this as a vacation. It would be like going out of state for a relative’s funeral and calling it a vacation. Ok, I just likened this trip to a funeral so I’m going to end this negative tirade now and try to nap a bit before we get to Wickenburg. Connor is screaming and we’re going to need to let him run around a bit the first chance we get. maybe i'll take a few rest area photos so this trip isn't a complete photographic slack off!!

Vegas Smagas

well, we're leaving for vegas in about two hours. we're driving up with jeffrey, connor, our 2 year old nephew jacob and myself. jeff's parents will be right behind us, caravanning as they put it, with my sil stephanie, and two more nephews kaden who is 7 and jalen who is 12. tomorrow, my sil sarah is flying in and my other sil megan and her husband ryan are arriving. good times.

i'll be back sunday night and will surely have stories, photos and annoying stories of what happens when you bring 8 adult family members, plus 4 children to sin city. wow. hopefully it's going to be as awesome as it sounds...i can only hope.

Readers are plentiful, thinkers are rare

I’m a snob. Fine. Whatever. But, when did USED bookstores become snobby? Seriously. I went to Changing Hands last weekend (which I love) and had a few books to get rid of. There were a couple titles I wanted to pick up and figured, hey, I’ll sell my books back and get some credit…sure why not? So, I give them nearly 15 books. Now, I’m good with books. I don’t trash them, I don’t have them near water so they get that gross wet wiggly look to them and I certainly don’t make notes, fold corners or anything else crazy. So, when they gave me back my bag and it only had two books missing I was confused. Huh? She said yes, we don’t buy paperbacks that have creases in the bindings. So, how do you read them without creasing the binding. The dirty look she gave me was completely not necessary. I was totally serious. How can I accomplish that? Teach me snobby used bookstore peddler.

Anyone know of any less particular book stores where I may unload these books? Don’t say Bookman’s. Again, I am a snob and this snob has her limits.

Update: Ok, I no longer have limits. I went to bookmans at lunch and they only bought back 3 more books. They asked if I wanted to donate them. Heck no, thank you very much, I'll just haul these last 10 books around with me until I find someone who wants them. Anyone want some free books?

My new favorite websites

Fail Blog--ok, this site is absolutely amazing. trust me.

Postcards from yo momma--wow, if i keep laughing outloud to myself they are going to commit me. moms are crazy.

There are two motives for reading a book: one, that you enjoy it; the other, that you can boast about it.

In case anyone feels like reading along…here are the upcoming books that my bookclub has chosen. yes, i'm in a book club. I also stole some brief summaries from amazon so enjoy! If you’ve read them, let me know your thoughts!

Paula by Isabel Allende...Paula is a soul-baring memoir, which like a novel of suspense, one reads without drawing a breath. The point of departure for these moving pages is a tragic personal experience. In December 1991, Isabel Allende's daughter, Paula, became gravely ill and shortly thereafter fell into a coma. During months in the hospital, the author began to write the story of her family for her unconscious daughter. In the telling, bizarre ancestors appear before our eyes; we hear both delightful and bitter childhood memories, amazing anecdotes of youthful years, the most intimate secrets passed along in whispers. Chile, Allende's native land, comes alive as well, with the turbulent history of the military coup of 1973, the ensuing dictatorship, and her family's years of exile.

Angels & Demons by Dan Brown (guy who wrote DaVinci Code)...Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is shocked to find proof that the legendary secret society, the Illuminati-dedicated since the time of Galileo to promoting the interests of science &condemning the blind faith of Catholicism--is alive, well, & murderously active. Brilliant physicist Leonardo Vetra has been murdered, his eyes plucked out, and the society's ancient symbol branded upon his chest. His final discovery, antimatter, the most powerful and dangerous energy source known to man, has disappeared--only to be hidden somewhere beneath Vatican City on the eve of the election of a new pope. Langdon and Vittoria, Vetra's daughter and colleague, embark on a frantic hunt through the streets, churches, and catacombs of Rome, following a 400-year-old trail to the lair of the Illuminati, to prevent the incineration of civilization.

As Shakespeare knew, love burns high when thwarted by obstacles. In Twilight, an exquisite fantasy by Stephenie Meyer, readers discover a pair of lovers who are supremely star-crossed. Bella adores beautiful Edward, and he returns her love. But Edward is having a hard time controlling the blood lust she arouses in him, because--he's a vampire. At any moment, the intensity of their passion could drive him to kill her, and he agonizes over the danger. But, Bella would rather be dead than part from Edward, so she risks her life to stay near him, and the novel burns with the erotic tension of their dangerous and necessarily chaste relationship.

Clare, the narrator, is a prematurely cynical Ohio girl, daughter of a left-wing schoolteacher, who says up-front that all she wanted out of college when she went to Oberlin in 1973 was "unrest and demonstrations." Sally Rose is her roommate, an apparently nave, sheltered kid from a wealthy Los Angeles family whose occasional sly wit and perfect word choices appeal to Clare. The girls grow close, and soon Clare is making regular visits to the big house off Mulholland Drive where Sid, Sally's indulgent, wise-guy father, seems to cast a spell over a happy household. Sally never questions the source of the family wealth, but inquisitive Clare does and that is the first of many shocks that unfold as the shadows begin to gather around the Roses. Sally's bright, perky younger brother, Ben, turns into a haunted druggie; their mother, ace cook Esther, becomes increasingly remote; Sid begins a long decline into Alzheimer's. Yet despite their geographical distance, the two girls, Sally going into law of a peculiarly California kind, Clare becoming a hardheaded doctor with a specialty in AIDS, never lose their deep attachment, which somehow sustains them through a darkening landscape. They both suffer their share of unhappy relationships and here Moody's skills at character drawing, already clear in her portraits of Sid and Ben, take full rein and both come to rueful realization of their limitations, and those of life itself. Even in its dying fall, however, the book never loses its edge, at once compassionate and humorous, nor its moving conviction that a strong friendship between women can be one of life's most powerful relationships.

Congratulations Bush Family!

Excuse me? I am a sacred vessel, alright? All you've got in your stomach is Taco Bell

ok, i totally don't feel this way about being a mom but that doesn't mean i can't find the humor in this ecard--'cause i can! there are many, many more on their site i'm sure but since the silly ass firewall on my office computer won't allow me to check them out, i stole this one from DadCentric. hilarity.

I love mother's day. i think it's awesome. i really wish that instead of gifts and pampering i could convince the holiday to erase some of the things being a mom gave me-like scaring and a complete inability to be selfish, attend happy hours at a moments notice and carry nothing but a medium sized purse. let's brainstorm on this immediately. we can do this.

so, my mother's day was pretty good. can't believe this is actually my second mother's day. i barely made it out of the hospital last year in time. this year, connor and i took my mom to brunch at Crackers & Co. Yum. Bonus~they were handing out free desserts to moms. I wonder if they would refuse you if you weren't a mom. hmmm. that'd be kinda jerky of them. anyway, then connor and i ran over to Changing Hands where they would only buy two of my twelve books i was trying to get rid of. that's annoying and another post alltogether. my plan was to drop connor off with jeffrey and go and get a facial and massage. unfortunatly when we got home jeffrey and i were wrestling around with connor and he managed to slam the back of his head directly into my nose. holy crap. i iced if for about half an hour and the swelling went down. i had serious concerns that it was broken. happy freakin mothers day to me. anyway, not broken and some serious makeup was able to cover the bruising this morning. awesome. anyway, after the swelling calmed a bit more we went to dinner and then home. all in all a pretty good, quiet day. with our family, any day where we have less than 5 planned activities is a pretty quiet day.

Jeffrey (and connor) did great with the mommy gifts this year. here's some of my loot!

super cute necklace that says 'Mom, I love you' in French...lovely pearl bracelet with a Mom charm...and Juno...and of course the undying love of my husband and child! good times. permanent facial deformity-0, Lindsay-1. Take that.