mom’s day, take two

It’s hard for me to believe that I’ve already experienced two Mother’s Days as a mother. Ryan was born just in time for me to eek out one mom’s day with a newborn, so that means this year is my second, even though he just turned one. Anyway…continuing on with the nostalgia from Ryan’s ‘younger days’, I just had to capture some comparison photos to show how much he’s changed in a year’s time.

Last year- my mom and I, and the two-week-old Ryan:

And this year:

Last year- Ryan wore a very soft and cuddly pale yellow outfit that I had purchased before he was born. Yellow=neutral, right? FatJ was peeved that his new son looked like a girl. But awwwww, how cute is this? It’s as if he’s saying “I surrender! I surrender to appeasing my mother and wearing yellow on Mother’s Day!”

And this year- dressed in a very manly blue:

Last year on Mother’s Day weekend, we met our nephew/cousin Max for the first time. Here are the two cousins together one year ago:

And here they were today, while we were celebrating Max’s first birthday:

Finally, last year FatJ captured this image of Ryan and I at the end of our first Mother’s Day together. It’s become one of my favorite shots of the two of us:

So I decided to try and recreate it this year:

And one more, for good measure:

Happy Mother’s Day, to all the mamas out there!

really??

See that delectable looking chocolate bar in the header up there? Could you ever guess that hidden inside that chocolate bar are bits of BACON? Really?? Yes, you heard me correctly. The founder of Vosges decided she likes the combo of sweet and salty, and came up with this bar. As much as I love chocolate, I have to admit I was a bit skeptical upon seeing a chocolate bar with a picture of a nasty piece of bacon on the box. That’s why it took me almost a week before I could open it and give it a taste. Last night was the night- FatJ and I busted it open and each ate a square. And then we each ate another square. And then FatJ said “I want another piece of that chocolate” and then I said “no”. Result: it’s good. It really is. Admittedly, it was slightly odd to discover small bits of chewy bacon in my mouth as I savored the chocolate, but all in all, the combo actually works. **Thank you Chicagoan friends for introducing us to such a delicacy.**

another one is one

Happy birthday to another one-year-old! And this time it’s our adorable nephew, Max. He and Ryan were born 13 days apart. He got to practice the party hat wearing and cake eating birthday bit at Ryan’s party. He should be good to go for his big day.

Here’s to you buddy! See you Sunday!

a new foodie blog

There is a great giveaway contest going on at a new foodie blog called Chop. Stir. Mix.

To enter for a chance at their prizes, here’s what you have to do: Leave a comment. Funny comments get two entries. Funny comments about food disasters get three entires. Non-funny comments get just one entry.

I entered with a comment that (sort-of) qualifies for all three categories. And also happens to be my most embarrassing moment. So, if you’re interested in this contest, or in reading about my MEM, head on over to Chop. Stir. Mix and give them some traffic.

chicago and back again

Our trip to Chicago was great- as they always are. FatJ and I have been to Chicago many times over the years to visit his brother, so this trip we decided to forego the ‘typical’ Chicago experience of shopping on the Miracle Mile and walking Navy Pier. Instead, we saw some new sites outside of the city, dined at some fabulous restaurants, drank a few alcoholic beverages, and watched some movies. It was lovely. Lovely.

I won’t give you the blow by blow of every minute of the trip, because I am EXHAUSTED. I guess that’s what a 4-day trip after a year’s vacation hiatus will do to a person?!! And I want to squeeze in a nap before Ryan wakes up. Anyway, here are a few images.

We rented a zipcar and drove north along L. Michigan. Saw some rich neighborhoods, walked out onto a couple piers, etc. Here’s our car- it was a Mini. Which we thought was going to be cool, but it was basically like riding in the back of a jeep without any shocks. Oh and that’s FatJ’s brother Jim…

We go on a trip sans child, and what do we do? Play like children…

We had never seen a contraption like this at a playground before…

Here FatJ and I are, out at the BAR! Drinking!! Past 11:00pm!! And it was a karaoke bar. (No, we did not sing). Needless to say, we were for sure the oldest people there.

And a shot of the city. We were really only downtown for a little bit.

The weather was gorgeous on Sunday, and we took the train out of the city to Oak Park, and visited the Andrew Lloyd Weber Frank Lloyd Wright house. Frank was a famous architect. We toured his house, which was a sight to see. Unfortunately, I don’t have a picture of that…like I said, I took some really random pictures.

It was lots of fun to get away for a long weekend!! I missed Ryan, but not TOO much. He was in great hands with Gram and Gramps, and it sounded like they all had fun. Ryan was a champ with his eating and sleeping the whole weekend. Yay! Maybe Gram and Gramps would like to make it a week next time?!!

yes, you heard me correctly: VACATION

No, FatJ and I are not heading out on a midnight train to Georgia (I don’t know why that song’s in my head), but we ARE heading out on a 4:15 plane to Chicago.

Please pray, meditate, stroke Buddha’s belly for us as we’re supposed to be flying through some midwest storm of the century. And flying into Chicago is never smooth like butter. Each time I fly there I swear it will be my demise. And now we’ll be landing in the middle of a lightening storm, if we even take off at all.

And now, for my cup is half-full take on this trip- FATJ AND I ARE GOING TO CHICAGO!!! FOR A WHOLE WEEKEND!! ALONE!!!! Wooooooo hoooooo!! Have I mentioned we haven’t been away together for one night since Ryan was born? Have I mentioned I haven’t vacationed in over a year??? Just a little bit excited here.

Ryan’s staying at our house with his GrandparentsB, and I’ve been frantically writing up driving directions for important places like the ice cream parlor and the Urgent Care clinic. Must have all my bases covered.

So long for now….

tft: door-to-door salespeople

Today’s deep thoughts for Thurs involve those annoying people who come around to your door trying to sell you something crappy (or get you to donate to a cause). And my question for you is: Are you a sucker who always buys/donates/agrees to something from a door-to-door salesperson? Are you half and half, sometimes you buy, sometimes you don’t? Or do you make it a point to never purchase anything from your front door?

This deep thought was spurred by a few instances that have happened recently. First, a friend of mine was telling me how some man came to her door in the evening, when she was home alone. He was selling magazine subscriptions, made her really uncomfortable, and got upset when she kept refusing to buy anything from him. Second, we had a door-to-door visitor this past SUNDAY, right in the middle of Ryan’s birthday party. Now I don’t know about you, but to me Sundays are sacred and no one should be bothered by an annoying intrusion of a door-to-door marketer. Thankfully (or not thankfully, as you’ll read coming up), I was not the person to answer the door during Ryan’s party. Because if I had been, I would have surely glared at the dude and curtly interrupted his spiel by saying I was in the middle of celebrating my son’s first birthday, and NO I do NOT want to buy anything from you. However, FatJ was the lucky winner to answer the door. And because he apparently comes from a long line of people who can’t say no, he was a SUCKER and bought this dude’s $25 coupon book for nearby restaurants and business establishments. When he first told me he bought the hawked coupon book, I thought he was joking and laughed it off. But then FatJ went on to say what ‘great’ deals there were in the coupon book, such as “buy one meal get one free” at restaurants we NEVER go to. Five dollars off a take and bake pizza at some ‘corner store’ that we’ve never been to in 3.5 years of living here. Not to mention- do we buy take and bake pizzas, EVER? Um, no. “We’re supporting local businesses” FatJ tells me. Hm, not really. Because we’ll NEVER USE THESE BLEEPIN’ coupons, GUARANTEED. And why do I use the word guaranteed, you ask? It’s because FatJ has been suckered by the door-to-door coupon sellers in the past, and has failed to use said purchased “deal” in any way, shape, or form. If I remember correctly, a few years back another door-to-door hawker came by, selling $50 coupon cards to a newly opened gas station in our area. For $50, you get yourself 10 free oil changes, 10 free car washes, 5 cents off gas, discounted auto repair, etc etc. Have we ever used this card??? NO. Well, maybe once. Do we even know where this card is? NO.

Whoooooosh….what’s that I hear? Is it a 50 dollar bill being flushed down the toilet? Followed by a twenty and a five? Whoooooosh…

Don’t get me wrong, I have succumbed to a few door-to-door purchases in my lifetime, but not many. I’ve bought Christmas wreaths from the boy scouts when they’ve come a knocking. (Although when I was pregnant I saw them marching down our sidewalk and just could not DEAL with the boy scouts and their wreaths at that moment, so I threw myself onto the kitchen floor and waited for them to leave.)

And then there are the inner-city ghetto children, accompanied by their ghetto parent, hauling around the Sam’s Club box of microwave popcorn, and trying to get you to buy some to go towards their upcoming summer ‘football camp.’ Uh huh, football camp my booty.

Anyways, to sum this up…you may call me a black soul if you like, but I rarely give in to door-to-door sales pitches and make a purchase. Usually I just say “no thanks, I’m not interested at this time” and shut the door. Or I just don’t answer the door in the first place.

How about you? Are you a yes-man? A sucker? A hide-in-the-closet-when-the-doorbell-rings type? Are you polite and personable, or flat-out mean? Do you say no all the time, or yes all the time? Or a little of both? Do you feel guilty if you say no, so instead you say yes, even if the thing you buy is something you don’t need and will never use?

Tell me what you think. And while you’re at it, I’ve got some ocean-front property in Arizona, if you’re interested.

wanna make a 1 year old angry?

Put a band aid on his finger.

Learned this one today at the ‘ol 12 month check-up. It seems the little dudes don’t know what to make of a flesh-colored sticky thing attached to their poor little finger that was just pricked.

From the moment Ryan’s band-aid was placed on his finger, he was dead-set on getting it OFF. We got about 2 minutes from home and from the backseat I hear what sounds like him slurping and chewing something up in his mouth. THE BAND-AID! I had to perform a gymnastic feat of removing the band-aid from his mouth while driving.

That’s all.

***Is anyone getting tired of my mom-blog posts? I need to find something else to blog about…

enough with the nostalgia

I need to stop this “last year at this time we were blah blah blah”. But come on. My little guy just turned one and I’m feeling nostalgic. That’s just how I am on anniversaries. For proof, look here.

Anyway, when Ryan was a newborn I didn’t post a lot of pictures of him on fatj, or blog much for that matter, because I was still using FatJ’s very own self-created blog, which required me to use HTML code. And I don’t know HTML code. Not to mention the fact that I was sleep deprived and couldn’t see straight, thus had no desire to create blog posts. Anyways, to make up for the lack of newborn shots of Ryan from a year ago, here are a few now.

Here he is, 4.28.07, just as we were about to leave the hospital.

And here he is, moments after we arrived home. (We had stopped at the DQ on the way home from the hospital. That RULED.)

And this would be one year ago this very morning. Waking up in mom and dad’s room, and doing some tummy time.

From the back…I can’t believe how tiny he was!!

Here he is again on 4.29.07. He was a very awake and alert little baby, right from the get-go.

That should be it now for the nostalgia. Until Mother’s Day, that is…

party like it’s your birthday

Ryan’s PAR-TAY yesterday was a huge success, if I do say so myself.

Ryan LOVED his balloon decorations and started saying “ba! ba! ba!” the minute he woke up. After he woke up from his morning nap (and by the grace of someone on high, he took one!), FatJ and I serenaded him with a little “they say it’s your BIRTHDAY Da da da dada! Happy birthday to you!” He loved it. He’s goofy like that.

Anyway, the weather was not gorgeous by any means, but the sun did come out for awhile around grilling time, and FatJ (the grilling maestro) was able to grill our burgers and brats to perfection. So we lunched, opened some great gifts, and then had cupcakes. Again, the words “Ryan likes cake” do not really describe the apparent love affair this boy has for cake. He smooshed it and smashed it everywhere, and even tried feeding some slimey frosting to his mom.

We were so happy that Grandpa Bob, Grandma Karen, and Uncle T, Aunt Kim, and Cousin Max drove down for the day from the Northland!! Ryan and Max had great fun “together”, and Max was such a champ taking a nice long nap in Ryan’s crib! We also loved seeing GrandparentsJ, and Ryan’s Aunties Katie and Ann, and Uncles Troy and Casey.

All in all, it was a great day. FatJ and I are quite proud of our little man for doing so well and being so happy during his birthday party with lots of commotion and excitement. We’re also slightly proud of ourselves for pulling off our first ever b-day bash as parents!

And now, for some pictures…

The birthday boy playing

Some gifts…

So this is what was in that big box—

Enjoying cake and party hats—

Leila likes cake too…

Ryan’s new wagon! And a ride with cousin Max…

(You can see an even better picture of these two in the wagon here.)

Daddy pulling the boys…

That’ll do it!! My birthday ruled- thanks for the fun time and great gifts!