Gal Pal Time

It's official. I have now been to visit my friend A. in Connecticut after she's been here about 20 times (literally in the last 7 years). For never having visited she really played the host with most role either an effort to get me to come back or show me so much I won't ever return - ha!

Her generosity resulted in my seeing TWO Broadway shows - Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (with James Earl Jones, Terrence Howard, Phyllicia Rashad and Anika Noni Rose) in the third row! And we saw Wicked from the 8th row! I got to shop and snap pics in Grand Central Station, drive over the George Washington Bridge, eat the world's 2nd best pizza (seriously the owner won 2nd place in the worldwide pizza competition in Europe), dine on deelish quesadillas in New Canaan, eat fabulous Italian in Manhattan, walk through Times Square and see Rupert G.'s Hello Deli, buy fabulously frugal jewelry and relax and read. It was pretty divine and I will definitely go back.

Far-Flung-Family Fun

Our folks drove in from Oklahoma in mid-February and have been staying with us. It has been really great for Emerson to have some good, quality time with his Papa Jim and Gramma Lynn. They have been to his swimming lessons, read a few stories, had some good meals, experienced a handful of meltdowns, and seen what a big boy (and potential doctor - see below) he's becoming.

A Cautionary Tale

Running around naked is certainly fun.

Even more fun when you use your jammies to slip and slide with on the floor.

Not so fun is sliding into the wall and banging your head.

Monkey Love

Emerson can't get enough of his monkey slippers, courtesy of our good friends Ali, Dave, Will and Ben...

Geek Love

Valentine's Day came early for us with my first-ever successful surprising of T with tickets to see a live taping tonight of our favorite NPR Quiz Show: Wait, wait... don't tell me!

Hosted by Peter Sagal and moderated by Carl Kassel the show featured the Governor of our great state - Janet Napolitano and had celebrity panelists Paul Provenza, Alan Ferber and Kyrie O'Connor. We even got pix with and autographs from Carl and Peter!!!

While we may not have topped the list for most romantic V-day gifts (or hippest), it was pretty cool for us. AND if you tune in on Saturday for the broadcast in your local area, you may hear us laugh.

Happy VDay!

"Boting" on Super Tuesday

Despite originally being directed to the wrong polling place, I was able to cast my "bote" and Emerson was able to take part in a little bit of American history (and apply his own pronunciation of the process).

The Future of U.S. Swimming

Emerson and friends at his very first birthday party.

The Big Four

Emerson's 4th birthday proved to be the first where he was totally engaged during the entire party (dinner, presents, cake and all), completely awestruck by the fabulous gifts he received, uttering the palindromic 'wow' the whole night through.

What things?

Upon finishing his nightly poop:

"Mommy, I am wiping my butt with the tissue because there are no more butt things."

Translation:

"Mommy, I am wiping my butt with the tissue because there is no more toilet paper."

First Bloom

I have pretty much what you could call a brown thumb. But, I love flowers -- tulips in particular. Well when Costco had a vase of bulbs anchored so that all I needed to do was add some water, I was intrigued. The fruits of my minimal efforts paid off today with this lovely bloom.

Anticipation

Progress in Paradise

The painting project continues, with an interruption to create my first true library. A work in progress, the library is taking place of what would be a formal living room. Since T and I rarely have folks over for a serious formal tea and finger sandwiches affair, I figured that big plush couches, some nice art, a rug and coffee table (all yet to be purchased) surrounded by my books would make for a cozy and intimate setting perfect for the kind of people and gatherings we do host.

So, here we are, my collection on display, with room to grow.

Traditions

While Times Square celebrated it's 100th ball drop, my small group of friends gathered for the 7th year in a row for a ferocious night of game playing, homemade spaghetti eating and Bailey's shake drinking into the new year. The laughter was as rich as in years past and the story telling as animated. I find myself blessed to have such good friends.

As I embark on another year, I look to carry over many traditions from years past and celebrate some new ones, like keeping a journal and reminding myself of the good things in life on a regular basis. Taking a cue from from my internet blogging friend Karen, here are the 25 good things in my life that I never tire of. As you read through it, think of your own, list. Write it down and keep it handy for those days when nothing seems to be going right, or you just want some time for reflection. It's bound to bring a smile to your face:

1. Emerson's laughter.
2. Fresh cut grass under bare feet.
3. A really well made movie.
4. Good music.
5. Book Club.
6. Making my hubby laugh (which is sometimes easier said than done).
7. Clean sheets and freshly shaved legs.
8. A good joke.
9. The smell of rain.
10. Completing a crossword puzzle without any cheats.
11. My mom's cooking.
12. A game of Sorry! or Scrabble with my competitive Oklahoma family.
13. The Olympic Games.
14. Reading and dozing and reading and dozing and reading and dozing.
15. Sitting in front of the fire.
16. Girly weekend in Mexico.
17. A day at the spa.
18. Story time and songs with Emerson.
19. Hearing I love you.
20. Making others feel happy.
21. Taking photographs.
22. Setting up a new calendar or planner.
23. Starbucks Non-Fat Chai - hot or cold.
24. Looking at slide pics on the old projector.
25. Hugging someone close.

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Painting is progressing nicely, even with the six or so minutes that Emerson contributed. After painting his signature E (to his left), he rolled for a few minutes and was off to watch Elmo.

Sharpie Love

You can personalize a license plate, your Starbucks cash card, and now Sharpie permanent markers! Who knew? I certainly didn't. But Claudia (and this is why she's in the nearest and dearest category) did and knew I would love them.

When TiVo Dies...

...and Emerson is at school, Daddy is at work and mommy has the day off...I become the next, soon-to-be-identified star of DIY-TV.

Now, let the record reflect that I am not a home improver. In fact, we bought this house because of it's move-in-readiness. And it was move in ready, despite some painting (that of course we would hire out) and then we found out about the flooring issue and then the car accident, and well basically everything stopped. Everything, including this past weekend, our TiVo. What on earth could I do on a day off without TiVo? I could take control.

You see, I keep being reminded that there are only so many things (and actually it's really very few things) that we can control in life. So as things for the latter part of 3 months have been spinning out of control, I realized I could control the appearance of my walls. In particular, two walls that are a faux-finish shade of rust that I just don't care for. Today, that all changed. Well, 80 percent of it changed and once my hubby can move our china cabinet for me the remaining 20 percent can change.

Here's the said ugly wall (on right side), upon immediate move in and mess:


Here's the wall now, one afternoon later, sporting a much nicer color!


Now even though this wall will soon hold some bookshelves and much of this nice color will no longer be visible, the important thing is that the nasty color is gone and the wall is just calling for books!

Happy Christmas

Luminaries Line our Lane

On Saturday afternoon, our homeowner's association supplied us and all the houses in our subdivision with bags and candles with the instruction to place and light the luminaries along our sidewalk by dusk on Christmas Eve. This is an annual holiday tradition for Moonlight Cove and one in which we enjoyed partaking (as did the number of drivers and passersby this evening).

The Last Several Weeks

It's been a whirlwind of a good time this past month or so. With birthday parties to attend (Aidan and Lauren's), a Christmas dinner and recital for school, play dates at the park (with Jason), the Zoo (with Lauren), our favorite friends from Connecticut (Alix, Tim and Owen), the city light parade, a visit to the fire station to drop of toys and measure up against a tire, there's barely been time to rest and recoup. Hoping there's some time for that before the year's end!

Accomplishments and Realizations

It has been a busy holiday week and weekend with a lot to celebrate beyond the usual Thanksgiving fare. To name a few...

1. Aside from two gifts yet to purchase, all of my Christmas shopping is D-O-N-E. I even have half of the gifts wrapped. It's still November and this is accomplishment is nothing short of a holiday miracle. To think of all the money I will save on not having to rush ship or have my online retailers wrap my gifts has me giddy!

2. Our Christmas lights are hung! I think we have hung lights maybe twice (with T's busiest work time hitting during the holiday season it just hasn't always been a priority. Now, that Emerson is really getting into the Christmas spirit and we are in a new hood that is a pretty festive one, we got a bit of the lighting bug and T did a great job with some help from Emerson. See the during and after...


3. As of Thanksgiving day, Emerson is no longer a napper, and this leaves me feeling conflicted. Selfishly, I love the time he naps. It's time that I can rest too, or catch up on some reading or just steal some time a way for a couple of hours. On the flip side, it gives us A LOT more flexibility to not have the day broken up by a nap. And, it's a bittersweet reminder that he's growing up faster than we could ever imagine.