Tag: mom

New Year’s with Old Friends

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We spent new year’s eve with one of my best friends, Beth (Marengo) Meyers and her always hysterical hubby Grant. They hosted a fantastic get together at their house where we ate, drank and played games until the wee hours of the night.

Beth slaved all day (or many days I’m sure) to create a tablescape that was second to none – not only were the appetizers delicious, they were beautifully presented. Shrimp salad in martini glasses, pulled pork sliders with slaw and a pickle on top with little toothpicks, beef crudities, antipasta platter, dips, chips, homemade pizzels, cheese cake bites and the list goes on and on! It was delicious too. She comes by it naturally, but it does seem a little unfair that she has that much talent 😉

Around 10, we started Celebrity. A game my step siblings introduced us to a few years ago and we’ve been obsessed ever since. PW and I have taught many a group of friends how to play, only to pass on the obsession  and fierce competition. We played boys verses girls and of course, the girls wiped the floor with the boys – despite rampant attempts to cheat on the guys side. Next came catch phrase and with a few doosies like “storm is brewing” and “au revoir” the girls were again triumphant. The new catch phrase came from Grant as he repeatedly declared the games “bullshit”.

PW and I enjoyed a lovely munchkin free night in B&G’s cozy casita and awoke to fresh baked cinnamon rolls, coffee, eggs and tasty leftovers from the night before. PW’s mom Marilyn, brought Bay over and she joined us for some breakfast and then it was home for everyone to catch a nap. Which is one of the standard favorite parts of a weekend for me.

We spent the afternoon packing up Christmas and enjoying the EIGHTY DEGREES outside by opening all the doors. The breeze was blowing and there was a tangible feeling of 2011 leaving and 2012 blowing into its place. We had some the saddest moments of my life loosing Mame and Travis T. Dog, but we had some really wonderful times too. Here’s to hoping that the breeze is warm and there is smooth sailing for 2012!

2012 Resolutions

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I have never been much of a resolution maker – I’m just not patient enough to wait until the new year. If I’m going to make a change, it’s now or never!

Last year I decided I needed to get serious about volunteering and also about our garden. I failed miserable on the volunteering – Travis T. Dog was just not up for visits to the nursing home and when we lost him in March, that was it for Pets On Wheels. I am however, a Room Mom and on a few fundraising committees at B’s school – a little too self-serving to be considered serious volunteering, but it’s a start.

I did do much much better with the gardening. I managed to keep our tomato plants alive all summer. That is not a small feat in the Arizona heat – not to mention this past one was the third hottest in history. I may have looked like a freak with a double layer of shade screen AND an umbrella, but damn if those tomatoes aren’t producing a second round of fruit right now! The lettuce table is on round two now and there is only minimal frost damage on our plants (so far….) so I think I’m winning on this end.

I’ve still got some more work to do – I am a bonified killer of rose bushes. I think I’m up to 5 now. Which is embarrassing. I’ve got a theory about their untimely deaths and I think the solution lies in 1. a new tree and 2. a super cool sail shade that will stretch from the wall to the roof of the garage. Details to follow…

2012 brings a new round of resolutions: first, to be more spontaneous. I like a schedule and I despise unpredictability. I also don’t like being bored so we plan a lot of things to do and places to go. But because of that, we’re rarely available to meander down the street and play with our neighbors. Or go for a walk with our friend and her baby. I decided I need to do more in less time and let some things fall off / get re-prioritized. If we end up having frozen pizza for dinner instead of a home cooked meal because we decided the park was just too fun to leave, then that’s ok. I don’t think Bay will be traumatized too badly and if she is, well then she’ll have more to talk about in therapy.

Which leads me to my next resolution: cook more, less often. I tend to make way too much of any meal because PW and I like having leftovers for lunches. But I am going to make even a little more than usual so that I can throw a tupperware into the freezer. That way we get a home cooked dinner, but without the extra time to make it.

Simple resolutions? Maybe. But they will hopefully have a lasting impact that will mean happy and even more fulfilling moments with our family. Happy 2012!!

Little Foodie

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For some freak reason, the munchkin is totally into some fun, new foods. I really don’t care what the reason is, but I like it!

Baked beans? Not such a far stretch – she loves beans and they are sweet so this makes sense. But I just think it’s so fun.

Cantaloupe – again, not a big deal, but I love that we have a new fruit.

Chili, even with a little kick – she started with eating the beans out of my bowl and now she’s asking for a bowl of her own.

Quiche – she loves eggs so I don’t know why I didn’t think of making her quiche…but we enjoyed family breakfast together this weekend and we all ate the same thing. This is actually a bigger deal than it sounds.

 

Minnie’s Day Out

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Every morning after breakfast, I turn Bay loose to run amok and watch cartoons. Tuesday morning she was particularly busy – she was playing with her new toys and bouncing from room to room.

As PW was ready to head out, she grabbed her new Minnie Mouse rolling backpack and helped Peter carry his stuff to the car. When she got there, she told him that Minnie Mouse was in the bag and that she was going to work with him. She kissed him and Minnie and headed back into the house.

When he got home, he wheeled Minnie inside and Bay greeted them both with kisses. She began to unpack the bag – it was then I realized that not only had she packed Minnie in the bag, she had packed a tupperware full of play food, a dish towel and a blanket. She explained that Minnie needed a lunch, a place mat and her blankie for nap time.

I sat down and marveled at how thoughtful and sweet she had been. And when I hugged and kissed her for the 19th time, she looked at me as if I had lost my marbles – which only made it better that her thoughtfulness was second nature.

Christmas Recap

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Christmas is always a whirlwind of family parties, church, food and wrapping paper and this year was no different. We are truly blessed to have such a wonderful family – we were missing a few members this year to their in-laws, but we managed to adjust tradition and make it a beautiful holiday.

We kept with the tradition of the family sneaking all their gifts to one house so that the kids awake/arrive to a sea of presents. This year we hosted gift opening and it was a blast. PW and I both went to Bay’s room when she woke up and the first question out of her mouth was “did Santa come?”. We told her yes and that he had eaten his cookies and milk and that the reindeer loved their carrots. Her response? “did he put his dishes in the sink?”. Clearly she is my child.

She got to open one gift first thing – her new backhoe scooter – complete with a tool kit. What? Not everything has to be pink and pretty! She loved that she would have something that she could get around on quickly (she hasn’t quite mastered her trike yet) when she plays with Britain down the street.

She beeps when she backs up

“rip and tear!!”

Once she was done opening her presents, she asked for a “time out” in her crib. Which I think was a nice way of saying “overloaded”

“Boots like Morgan!!!”

We switched up our usual schedule a bit which left Christmas day afternoon open – which meant plenty of mimosas at brunch and a nice long nap for the whole family. The best part was that we had several friends stop by. Normally getting together with friends means much planning and coordinating of calendars, but the shared day off by all meant lots of very welcome impromptu visitors. We got to catch up with a great friend and best man from our wedding, Ryan and by Baylor’s Godfather Joe and his fiance Brandy. There was also a convoy of new bikes, scooters and cars with the neighborhood kids while the parents sat on the patio and sipped champagne. It was a perfect holiday.

After Bay had gone to bed last night, PW and I enjoyed our gift from my parents, a 2007 bottle of Cakebread Cabernet (we typically by wine base on the fact it’s under $15, not so much on the year). We were snuggled on the couch when PW looked over at the coffee table full of new Legos and said:

“Your Lego tower is pretty wonky”.

“It’s a tree” I replied.

“Wow. That’s a pretty crappy tree.”

“Listen, I don’t work at Lego Land, ass. Use your imagination!”

 

 

 

Merry Christmas!

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Merry Christmas!! 

Thank you all for reading The Goon Room,  for all your comments and words of advice. I’m grateful for all of them! I hope you all have a wonderful holiday filled with family, friends, memories and much happiness.

Hand print Santa by Baylor Wand

I love looking at all our friend’s smiling faces!

It wouldn’t be Christmas without torturing Bear with some antlers.

Baylor’s Christmas list:

1. Boots like Morgan (her best buddy has a rad pair of green galoshes)

2. Presents.

Well said little lady!

Baylorisms – Part 3 – The Christmas version

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Christmas has brought a lot of new words to Bay’s vocabulary and not all of them are easy to understand. The Grinch, for example. I asked her to repeat herself 16 times before I sent her to PW for interpretation.

Silly Lu Lu – Cindy Loo Hoo.

Zinsh – The Grinch. This one is hard to write because it’s really more of a sound than a word and leads me to ask “show me what you’re talking about”.

There’s me! – her greeting when she walks into a room.

Sarah – Dora the Explorer. She doesn’t watch Dora but for some reason thinks her name is Sarah. Her swim diapers have Dora on them and when I put them on she says “Hey Sarah!!”.

The Teddy Bear – Winnie the Pooh. We’re going to see the Winnie the Pooh Christmas play today so I’m guessing she’ll know his name after that.

Krishness – Christmas!

 

Kid Friendly Nativity

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Growing up, we had the most beautiful nativity scene. It was all carved wood and was incredibly detailed and had so many people – it was like a religious Barbie house to me. I loved playing with it. I like staging all the figurines, hiding baby Jesus and enjoying every minute of it.

As an adult, I had a hard time finding an equally beautiful manger scene that was kid friendly. But then I came across a hand-made set at a silent auction for Circle the City charity (amazing amazing amazing. If you don’t know, find out). I was stalking a bid I had made on a bedding set for Baylor and noticed the adorable figures. They are all knitted and include the three wise men, shepherds and sheep, a donkey, camel and of course the holy family and an angel. The auction was closed for it, so I asked the lady collecting the cards if she could give me the information for the person who made them. The lady said she didn’t have it, but if I would give her my info, she would have the lady contact me.

Flash forward 3 months and I got a call from Sister Joan. I had no idea who sister Joan was, but when a nun calls you, you listen. She explained she was driving to Arizona from California and that she had my manger scene for me. Huh? I confirmed that it was for me and not someone else since I had only been interested in knowing how much one cost…and yet now I apparently owned one. Or at least I was going to own one, once I knew how much it cost. To keep it brief, I almost drove off the road when Sister Joan told me what the winning bid was for the nativity scene at the silent auction. But she then told me that the lady who make the scenes donates them to Circle the City so whatever amount I wanted to donate was perfectly fine. I decided on a number that didn’t make me want to choke and handed over the check and collected my goodies.

Bottom line? Worth every penny. The best part about the figurines  is that there is not much that could destroy them so Bay is free to play to her heart’s content. She had baby Jesus in her baby buggy and was pushing him around because “His mommy Mary said it was ok”. Just love it.

The whole gang..happy at home in the hutch.

The wise men

The shepherds and the camel

The Fam – I love the donkey hiding behind them!

It’s Happened, G*ddammit

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So it’s finally happened. It was bound to happen and I think most parents go through with this (well, maybe not the good parents). I’m talking about when your kiddo busts out a swear word. And even better, uses it correctly and in multiple forms.

Last week after swim lessons, we were home and getting dinner started, laundry done and catching up with our neighbor, Melissa. I was headed out the door to the grill when Baylor walked out of the office and said “Oh no. Daddy forgot his pens for work. Goddammit!”. Melissa and I both paused and asked her what she said to which she answered “Daddy forgot his goddamn pens!”.

I stopped and silently absorbed what she had just said to me. I can’t lie and say that it wasn’t funny that she used it so perfectly – but I bit my tongue and held back the giggle and explained how that was not a word we use. Ever. No matter where she heard it from (i.e. Me).

The next day we were at the grocery store. It was particularly windy and her hair was not in her now trademark pigtail “knots” on top of her head. Which meant her hair was everywhere. As I was putting her in the car she declared “my goddamn hair clip won’t stay in!!”.  This time I asked her to look me in the eye where I explained that she is never, ever, ever to use that word. It wasn’t funny or ok. She then proceeded to say it 3 more times. I mustered all my strength and said nothing. I didn’t look at her, tell her to stop, nothing. I simply put the groceries away and ignored all further comments until I heard a very soft “I sorry, Mommy” from the back seat.

That was Friday so I’m crossing my fingers that we’ve at least side-stepped this one. That is until the printer wouldn’t print in anything but variations of yellow and blue…PW is responsible for that one.

The Wands Need Sleep

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Between PW’s late work nights this week (he’s averaging at least two nights a week after mid night) and Bay’s early mornings, we’re all starting to look like the walking dead.

Here’s how it typically works:

730pm: Bay is in her crib but still chatting to her animals

930pm: I decided I really do need to get to bed.

1000pm: No really, I’ve got to get to sleep

1045pm: Sleep timer turns off the TV and I was a goner when my head hit the pillow.

1145pm: PW gets home and announces himself loudly so that I don’t have a heart attack thinking he’s an intruder (we learn from our past around here).

1215pm: PW still goofing around the house which wakes me up and confuses me.

100am: PW finally goes to bed and again, wakes me up.

400am: Bay starts whimpering in her sleep.

405am: More whimpering.

408am: I decided I better go figure out what she needs before PW’s alarm goes off at 5am because then there is a chance she won’t go back to sleep.

415: Clean diaper, socks and a blanket and Bay is back down. I am now awake.

440am: I finally doze off…

500am: Alarm goes off. I tap PW who promptly asks me to snooze the alarm.

510am: PW gets up on his own.

515am: Snoozed alarm goes off again.

545am: PW leaves for work.

600am: Whimpering…

615am: I get my lovely wake up call of “MOMMY!!! AWAKE!!!”

And this is why it takes three coats of various colors of concealer to cover up the deep, dark circles under my eyes…So looking forward to nap time on Saturday when I can catch 2 hours of guilt free sleep time.