Hey, Y'all!

Four

Four years ago, the world became so much brighter, so much happier, and full of a love I had no idea existed before 2:40pm on that very day.  Dean is exactly the child I always wanted and life with him gets better every day.  I miss the little baby he once was, but today I celebrate the very cool little boy he has become.  I'm so glad he's mine.

Happy birthday, my big boy.  

 

Dean's Birthday Observed

Dean's birthday is actually Thursday, but Marcus and I both had today off and the weather was nice, so we decided to observe his birthday today.  He woke up in a great mood and we had a nice, lazy morning around the house.  We played with his samurai castle, ate a lot of fruit, made a swimming pool out of blankets and pillows (yeah, I don't get it either) and played with Chutey. Around lunchtime, we headed to the store where we restocked the fruit, and let Dean pick out lunch. He went for a "chicken piece" from the deli, potato wedges and carrots.  He picked out his annual birthday balloon, going with Winnie the Pooh this year.  His choice shocked me--I was sure we'd get a super hero of some sort. Guess there is a tiny drop of baby left in him after all.

After lunch, we played in his tent, then he went down for a luxurious 2-hour nap, which allowed me to work on his video montage for his actual birthday, write for Food Lush, chat with my pal Andrea, and make some balsamic ravioli salad.  When he got up, we headed to Build A Bear Workshop. It was our first trip and Dean was mesmerized by the choices.

He finally chose Alivn the Chipmunk, then patiently waited for his turn to stuff him. 

When we got to the machine, the worker asked if we wanted Alvin to be soft or fluffy, then had us pick out a heart to put inside.  You take your heart and do a little routine:  rub it between your hands so your animal will stay warm, rub it on your head so he'll be smart, rub it on your tummy so he won't go hungry, rub it on your feet so his won't be stinky, put it on your nose and make a wish (Dean wished for Batman), then put it inside before they seal him up.

Once we'd made our Alvin, we shopped for his outfit. While we were in line, Dean kept picking up this pair of sparkly high heels. Marcus glared at him, but I said, "If he wants to make a cross-dressing chipmunk, that's fine. IT'S HIS BIRTHDAY."  Instead he wandered over to the costume section. They had Spiderman, which I figured would win, Buzz Lightyear and Woody, among others.

Alvin as Woody, complete with cowboy boots and spurs. 

I should mention that Dean went "WOOOOOOOOOOW!" when we walked out of Sears and into the mall. It's the Galleria, so it is big, and I think the last time we were in there was 2 years ago to see Santa, but it was like the kid had never seen anything so wonderful.  Perhaps we should take him to the mall more often. Then again, maybe not. We had to do some creative distracting so he wouldn't spot the brand new Lego store right across from Build-A-Bear.  Had he seen it, we'd have been there til they closed.

After the mall, we headed to Johnny Rockets for a milkshake and dinner. Dean loved getting his ketchup squirted in the shape of a happy face. Alvin was quite well-behaved while we ate.

Dean went to bed happy, snuggled up with Stu the monkey, his friend of nearly 4 years.  Even though the calendar says January 2 instead of the 5th, I think he'll remember today as his 4th birthday.

Despite the poopy look on his face in that picture, he was really happy. He was asking if Alvin could eat with us when I snapped the picture.

Non-Resolutions

There are a lot of things I want to do in this life and a lot I just could not care less about.  Over the past few days, I've written about things I want to do, particularly in the coming year, but here are a few things I could go my entire life never doing and still be perfectly happy.

• Sky-diving.  No desire.  Don't like heights, certainly don't need to jump out of a plane and plummet to the earth. I'm sure it's lovely if you're into it, but I can skip it.
• Learn to like brie.  I've tried it multiple ways. I've eaten it hot, cold, warm, baked, with ham on a sandwich, with fruit, and slathered on sourdough. I just don't like it.
• Run a marathon.  Or a 5K.  Or jog around my neighborhood. I don't like to run and I look like a goofball when I do it.  I don't experience a "runner's high" and honestly, it kind of bores me.  I'd much rather walk fast or get a nice bike to ride to stay in shape.
• Experience New Year's Eve in Times Square.  Bet that one surprised those of you who know me.  This seems like something I SHOULD want to do, like something I would love. I guess I was a NYC resident for too long, which means my survival instinct would kick in on December 31 and I'd stay as far away from Times Square as I could get.  I remember trying to hail a cab at 72nd St. one year and it taking almost an hour. Once I got back to my apartment, Marcus , our friends and I ate mini tacos and watched the ball drop on TV.

Anything you could live forever without doing?

Next

I did ok on keeping last year's resolutions.  I tried to get my engagement ring fixed last week, but the jeweler I want to use is not taking new "cases" until after the holidays. (Totally understandable.)  2011 was pretty good to us. This year challenged us by making us consider some things we didn't think we'd be considering, but it also reinforced the fact that we're doing just fine on the path we're on.  Dean started school and has blossomed into this amazing little person with an imagination as big as the sky.  Marcus and I celebrated 5 years of marriage and 13 years (OMG) of knowing each other and dating and stuff.  We counted our blessings, as well as our losses, and most of all, we loved each other. Our home is more comfortable now that we have a kitty of our very own.  Our kitchen, though not always tidy, is never without tasty smells or creative concoctions, and our little boy goes to bed each night with the knowledge that he's warm, safe, loved and cherished.

2012 will be a big year for us no matter what. We'll have a four-year-old (hold me), Marcus will go up for tenure, and I got a KitchenAid stand mixer for Christmas, so there's no telling what's going to come flying out of our kitchen.  On to the next adventure, my  friends.

Here's my list of goals for the year:

• Have the time of my life at Type-A Parent Conference in June.
• Visit NYC with Marcus to see the Broadway revival of Jesus Christ Superstar. 
• See my best friend and spend no less than 4 hours sitting on her couch watching certain episodes of West Wing, Sports Night, and that classic film Coal Miner's Daughter.
• Visit my undergrad alma mater and finally see my brick. (They give each graduate a brick on the Centinneal Plaza. I graduated in 1999, but have never seen my brick.)
• Use every single piece of baking paraphenalia I received for Christmas. There's a LOT, y'all.
• Put down roots, either here or elsewhere. And I mean DEEP roots.
• Talk to my friends on the phone or Skype or Facetime or Google+ Hangout more.  Email and Facebook are great, but nothing compares to hearing your friends' voices.
• Take Dean to a play. Or 3 or 4.
• Play the Kinect with Marcus at least twice a week.  Look as dorky as possible.
• Find some boots to fit my annoyingly tiny feet.
• Eat less salt.
• Continue to volunteer at Dean's school. 
• Push harder for the people who live here to help me keep the house neater.
• Have a real Christmas tree.
• Meet my fellow Food Lushes.
• Celebrate my 35th birthday with a day out with Dean and a night out with Marcus.
• Get my stupid tooth filled. (I haz a cavity.)
• Get my car detailed, then keep it cleaner.
• Go to the outlet mall.
• Send more letters.
• Teach Dean to read, at least a little.
• Cook for and host the holidays. I did Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, now I'm hooked.

Happy New Year, everyone!

2011 in Review

I've done a post like the before, inspired by one of my favorite bloggers (and the editor/owner of Food Lush and Style Lush!) Jennie of She Likes Purple.  I love the format and I think it's a really nice way to sum up your year. I hope 2011 has been kind, educational and full of love for each of you.  Here's to an even better 2012.

 

1. What did you do in 2011 that you'd never done before?

Visited Baltimore (to see Alissa!), went to a parent/teacher conference as a parent.

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

Well, let's look at last year's list.  I'd say I did ok.  A few things fell through the cracks, but for the most part, I'm happy with what I got done. (And no, I did not quit Coke Zero.)  My resolutions for next year will be up tomorrow.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

A few people we know, as well as a dear friend's daughter (who is becoming a dear friend herself!). I go to hold her snuggly baby boy when he was just over 2 weeks old.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

Marcus's Uncle Billy passed away this summer.  He was one-of-a-kind and I'm very sad he's no longer with us. Fortunately, we got to spend some time with him during our trip to Florida in May, so we were able to say goodbye.  I missed getting his Christmas card so much this year and I will dearly miss discussing Dairy Queen desserts with him.

5. What countries did you visit?

None but this one.

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you didn't have in 2011?

A cleaner house, a sturdy savings account, an herb garden that doesn't die of heat exhaustion.

7. What dates from 2011 will be etched upon your memory, and why?

Dean's first day of preschool and Christmas.  Christmas was really, really good this year.

8. What was your biggest achievement of this year?

I was promoted to Production Stage Manager at work. That means I'm the stage management department head.  It's both awesome and sort of terrifying, but is exactly where I should be at this point in my career.

9. What was your biggest failure?

Not always speaking my mind.  I need to trust myself in my personal life as much as I do at work.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

I broke a tooth, which sucked a great deal. I also got an infection in my finger from a stupid hangnail.  Other than that, just a couple of colds.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

My iPhone.  I love it more than I thought I would and it has made life easier and more enjoyable.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Dean's.  He has done great in preschool, meeting the challenges, working through them as they come.  He's been so patient with us, the parents who still feel like newbies sometimes.   He rocked potty training, once he was finally ready to get serious about it, and he's doing such a good job of telling us what he needs.  I'm super proud to be his mom.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

I plead the fifth.

14. Where did most your money go?

Bills. Food. Gas.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

I had the time of my life working on DRACULA back in October.  It was so much fun to work on a show where everyone was having a blast producing a great piece of theatre.

16. What song will always remind you of 2011?

"Someone Like You" by Adele.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer?

Happier: yes

Thinner: meh

Richer: yes 

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?

Visited with friends.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?

Worry

20. How did you spend Christmas?

We hosted my grandma and my parents at our house.  It was great! 

21. Did you fall in love in 2011?

Yes. With a kitten.  I was determined not to love her as much as my Audrey kitty, who was with us for 11 years, but Chutney has won me over.  She is sitting here with her paw on my lap, purring.  She has truly made our home a happier place.

22. What was your favorite TV program?

I really, really enjoyed The Sing-Off this season. We've watched it every year, but this was the best group yet. 

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

Truvia.  I know that is a product, not a person, but I hate it. I tried it and it's just gross. Sorry.

24. What was the best book you read?

Our family reads at bedtime each night and I have to tell you--Horton Hatches The Egg is a pretty awesome book.  I read some adult books, too, my favorite being Harlan Coben's Live Wire.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Not really sure. I didn't branch out much, but rather renewed my love of some songs from my past.

26. What did you want and get?

A KITCHENAID STAND MIXER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

27. What did you want and not get?

My engagement ring fixed.  I did try, but it won't happen until the new year.

28. What was your favorite film of 2011?

Was Super 8 this year?  Then yes, that.  (We don't go to the movies much.) 

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I turned 34 in February. I was in tech rehearsals for a new play ALL DAY LONG. However, I received 3 birthday cakes!  Dean and Marcus also treated me like a queen on Valentine's Day, which is the day after my birthday (and was my day off).

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

A trip to NYC.  

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept of 2011?

I have discovered scarves, people!  I have also fallen completely in love with one-of-a-kind or very unique jewelry.  A friend made me a gorgeous pair of earrings that I love more than I can tell you. 

32. What kept you sane?

Marcus, Dean, days off, my commute (believe it or not!) , baking, blogging

33. What political issue stirred you the most?

I try never to talk politics on the blog.  Think I'll stick to that. Know that I have issues that make me hot, though.

34. Who did you miss?

I really missed going to BlogHer this year and I still miss my NYC friends.   I also really REALLY miss my friend Tanya, who used to have my job, but left in search of something better. (Which she found--yay, Tanya!)  (But I still miss her.)

35. Who was the best new person you met?

My new buddy Jen B.  She was in DRACULA and will be back for another show at our theatre in the spring.  She's one of the most down-to-earth, hilarious, talented people I've ever met and I felt an instant connection with her.  The more time we spend together, the more I love her. (She made the earrings I mentioned up there.)  She's also a puppeteer, which is maybe the coolest thing in the whole world.  Jen is an absolute ray of sunshine and I'm so happy she's in my life.

36. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011.

Planning things out is really, really cute. Admirable, even.  Then life laughs at you and turns you on your ear and you go "OH" and take it from there.  (I've learned this lesson before...)

37. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

"God only knows what I'd be without you."

I don't know what in the world I'd do without my husband. He's my rock and I'm his.  How lucky that we have each other.

 

What's your year been like?

Merry. Also Bright.

Christmas was downright perfect this year.  We hosted my grandmother and my parents and Dean got everything on his list. I realize Christmas is not about material things, but it sure was nice to see his face light up when he saw that Santa had delivered the two toys he's been talking about for MONTHS.

I'm not sure I could think of 2 more opposite requests than the ever-manly Optimus Prime and the very pink LaLaLoopsy Ferris Wheel.  Both have been played with for HOURS already, along with the slew of other prizes from Santa, us and the grandparents. 

This is the coveted Samurai castle. It has a million parts, all of which move, a dragon wagon (bottom left) and a whole bunch of Ninjas who can change their "costumes" as Dean calls them.  It's pretty rad.

Dean had a blast jumping on playing with my grandma.  Lucky for us, she's got more energy than the rest of the family combined. 

We loved hosting Christmas at our house. We gave the place a deep-cleaning in the days before company arrived, decorated the yard, even broke out the festive Christmasy kitchenware.  We abandoned the traditional turkey meal in favor of Marcus's killer flank steak, served with my own roasted brussels sprouts (with bacon, of course), baked sweet potatoes, huge salad, lima beans (my family's favorite), awesome bread and approximately 6000 desserts made by my grandma.

We opened presents all day long, enjoying every package, playing with toys, laughing at this and that.  It was a perfectly relaxing Christmas and Dean had the time of his life.

Hope yours was just as merry.

A Merry Little Christmas

We are hosting this year.

Dean, Clifford and some dinosaurs enjoyed a festive breakfast, complete with a banana-strawberry candy cane. 

Around noon, my grandma arrived. We went out to lunch, then came home and played with Dean.  We ate several forms of cheese and cookies for dinner.  Dean wasn't in a cheese mood, so he had hard-boiled eggs, which I colored red and green for him, and some fruit.  He opened his one specially assigned Christmas Eve gift, a red Power Ranger.

Santa did his annual drive-by on the fire truck. Dean was SO excited.

We put out toys from Santa.   Grammy and Papa will arrive tomorrow, probably with a trunkload more prizes.  We'll get to Skype with G-Mama and Pop-Pop and the cousins/nephews tomorrow after lunch. 

It's shaping up to be a merry little Christmas indeed.

Wishing each of you the happiest of holidays!

 

 

 

Bake Sale

 

72 gingerbread cookies.  4 dozen zebra cupcakes.   1 very successful bake sale.

We had the annual Holiday Bake Sale, Gift Bazaar and Breakfast with Santa at Dean's preschool this morning.  I was a kitchen helper, schlepping sausage biscuits and donuts onto plates while kids enjoyed seeing the Big Guy In Red before settling down for breakfast.  Dean was pretty talkative to Santa today.  He enjoyed seeing his friends in their Christmasy duds and playing at his school on Saturday.  He also thought it was downright magical that his classroom had been transformed into a marketplace.

We placed a few bids on some baskets in the silent auction and managed to score the Christmas basket.  We are the proud new owners of a candy cane Christmas serving set, including a platter, serving bowl, pitcher, 4 tumblers, and 4 plates.  We also scored a few stocking-stuffer-type things, a Christmas CD, a DVD of Santa Paws (which, so far, is pretty depressing), some poinsettia coasters, several new ornaments  and some cute holiday napkins.  

We are enjoying the holidays so much this year and Dean is having the time of his life anticipating the big day. 

I hope you and yours are enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of the season as well. 

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like...

CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When I was a little girl, my dad told me he wrote that song. (He didn't.)  I believed it until we sang it in music class when I was in FOURTH GRADE and I saw the real writer's name on the sheet music.  He lies.

But anyway.

  Dean and Clifford helped decorate the tree this morning. Dean was more excited that EVER because he got to hang ornaments all on his own.  It was so much fun to watch his excitement every time he unwrapped or opened another ornament.  He asked, "Where's this from?" and we told him the story of all our special ornaments.  He mostly liked the ones that were about him, which is understandable.  We also pulled out the little Christmas tree that I've had since the mid-80s. I used to put it in my bedroom when I was growing up. It also travelled to college with me each year.  It now lives in Dean's room. I love that he enjoys it as much as I did as a little kid.

This morning, we made gingerbread cookies.

Believe it or not, this was my first try at gingerbread. I think they turned out pretty cute. Dean LOVED them and purposely decapitated several of the angels so I'd let him eat them.  He conked out for a nap this afternoon and I did some decorating.

The trees turned out to be super cute. 

I took off around noon and did a little shopping.  Our stocking were nowhere to be found in the boxes of decorations, so I sprung for new ones. Target was having a great sale, so I got Dean one with Lightnin' McQueen, Marcus one with a reindeer and me one with a snowlady.  (A snowman wearing a pink scarf is a snowlady, right? Right.)  I also got  us each a Christmas plate to make dinnertime more festive.

This is my absolute favorite time of year.  It was such fun this morning to laze around in my pj's listening to my Pandora Christmas station and learning to make a new holiday treat with my boy.  Marcus did his usual excellent job of making sure we had an even distribution of red and silver ornaments all over the tree. If it ever stops raining. we'll put out our light-up candy canes in the yard.  My silver jingle bell wreath is on the front door, the tree is lit and in the window, my kitchen smells like cookies, and my trunk is already full of gifts.  I watched The Family Stone yesterday (and criiiiiiiiiiied) and Love Actually is on my list of things to watch tonight.

Bring it on , Christmas.  Bring it on.

So Thankful

Dean had a rough night last night. He has some itchy eczema patches that woke him up, but not quite all the way awake. He was ANGRY, which set the kitty to meowing. I was downstairs bumping around with all the lights on for Benadryl and Marcus was upstairs trying to get Dean to stop screaming, or at least wake up enough to tell us what was wrong.

That was at 1:30am.

Dean got up at 7:23.

After a quick cup of coffee, I got to work in the kitchen.  All day long, I cooked and cleaned, cooked and cleaned.  Our guest, Frank arrived a little after 9am and we had a lovely braekfast of cinnamon rolls and bacon before I kicked everyone out of the kitchen so I could work on my side dishes.  I browned sausage for my stuffing, fried bacon to garnish our brussels sprouts, reminded Marcus to baste the bird, and put together our meal, all while trying to keep Dean out of the oven.  It was such fun to cook and organize the day, then to sit and enjoy it with my little family plus one.  Once the initial food coma wore off, Dean pulled us outside for a mock campout in the driveway, complete with sleeping bags and marshmallows on sticks. He then found himself a "Sword" (locally known as a stick) and reinacted the Power Rangers' performance on the Macy's parade.

When it got dark, we headed in and I put together a chocolate pecan pie that'll knock your socks off.

I am so thankful to have had the energy and means to produce this ridiculously large meal, complete with splurges like fresh OJ, Dunkin Donuts coffee and our family's favorite appetizer (Celery with secret ingredient cream cheese spread).   I'm thrilled to have been able to open our home to a friend and to have finally shared a real Thanksgiving meal with my son. (He ate SIX BITES of turkey, people! We're calling that a win.)

It was exactly the Thanksgiving we wanted.

I hope yours was just as perfect.  Thanks for reading, y'all.