hapiness is...

Relaxing with a good book and a yummy cup of tea while the kiddo is napping.  I have a huge list of chores much easier done without the ankle biter's "help", but some "me time" is so much more perfectly wonderful.

my little helper, kind of

 Liam is kind of obsessed with the watering can.  When it's empty he tries to bring in his car with him.  But he gets annoyed because he hasn't figured out a way to get himself and the can in AND close the door.  When the watering can is full he never waters the plants.  He'd rather jump up and down while holding it so that he gets drenched.  Then he wants to be held.  Of course.

 Like all toddlers, Liam loves water.  However, his favorite water toys are the plastic plant separators that come with a plant six-pack.  He won't let me throw them out.

 I never have to worry about the strawberries from our garden going bad because Liam (and sometimes Jeff) eat them right away.

The only time Liam likes to pretend to water the plants is when the watering can is empty.  Maybe it's because he can run all over the yard with it and not worry about it being too heavy.  Who knows.  My little backyard help is always entertaining.

murphy's law

1. The minute you decide to paint your nails (for the first time in probably a year) your child will wake up from his deep sleep nap two minutes after you put on the final coat.

2. If you leave the bathroom for a moment with your child in the tub he will immediately pull the shower curtain in the tub with him while he rubs the toilet brush all over himself.

3. You attach childproof locks (that your husband can barely open) all over the house because your child gets into everything.  And your child quickly figures out how to open them.  Then puts out all the tv remotes and hids them and takes out the batteries.

I'm pretty sure Liam is going to grow up to be some kind of evil genius.

something deep fried would be more appropriate

This is the billboard for this years California State Fair.

I get the bear because it's the California bear.  But the (wannabe rapper) carrot?  Really?  I doubt there are any carrots at the fair deep fried or otherwise.  This would be a more accurate representation of the fair if the carrot was replaced with a deep fried twinky. 

Dora trailor
This is kinda awesome.

future wino

Liam loves bottles.  I mean like wine and champagne bottles.  When he sees one within his reach (even in the park when the bottles aren't ours) he wants to run over ti it, grab it, and bring it over to give us.  Umm, thanks?

can I take a shower now?

I've been reading Wild for my book club.  Jeff knows it as "that book about the crazy severely unprepared girl that goes on a several month long hike".  Anyway, a combo of that plus watching the REI commercials where dirty people hike in really dusty deserts makes me want to take a really long shower because the people are all so gross.

That's it.  My little tangent.  I swear I'm not afraid of germs or anything.  But going more than a week at a time without a shower sounds icky.

you only wish your kid was this smart

 Let me preface this by saying that I only left Liam by himself for a few minutes at a time today while doing random chores. 

Today Liam managed to (while only being left alone for 2 minutes or so at a time)
1) take 12 keys off my laptop (they are still off because I can't figure out how to put them back on, it is super awkward to type)
2)climb onto the kitchen counter and open his tupperware container of crackers I just made and eat half of them
3) get into two closets and try his best to empty them, and take the batteries out of every remote control
4) try to climb bookshelves and take my books off the shelves

and he also did a bunch of other things all in a two hour or so period, but I've forgotten some of it because of my much needed second glass of wine tonight.

the only way anyone could make me go for a long walk with a bad cold in the middle of the day in July

Today Liam saw his stroller sitting in our entryway and got really excited.  He grabbed onto it and started jumping up and down and making happy sounds.  Having a bad cold makes me want to sprawl on the couch all day drinking tea, but he was just so cute I couldn't say no to going for a walk.  Even around noon in July.  Ugh.  So I caved.  I said "Ok ok" and went to get us both hats.  Liam got really excited and ran to our shoe cabinet to grab his flip-flops.  He threw them into his stroller, then ran into the living room to grab his favorite stuffed animal, Mickey Mouse.  Then he ran over to his stroller and waited next to it until I was ready.  It was so cute!

conversations with Jeff

Jeff: I have a parrot on my shoulder.  But it has no feathers and is in fact a little boy.

-----------

me: (in a completely kidding manner) What if I wore my dress with mermaids and starfish on it to go see "The Little Mermaid" show next week?

Jeff: what kind of crazy person has a dress with mermaids on it?

me:  Uh, me?

(side note- it is a very busy pattern that isn't obviously full of mermaids and starfish, I am not a completely crazy person after all)

never fails to crack me up

Jeff and I have been sick all weekend.  Luckily I don't have work this week, so today I am having a super lazy day with Liam.  Well, I am having a super lazy day today while Liam jumps all around the house like a crazy monkey.  I decided I should put a movie on, so I picked Iron Man 2 because I figured maybe Liam would like it too.  And of course he did.  When Tony Stark put on the Iron Man suit Liam looked at me, smiled, and started clapping.  I kid you not.  He never fails to crack me up.

my husband is a nerd

actual bit of conversation form today, while Jeff was digging in Liam's diaper bag for a snack.  Jeff never seems to be able to find what he's looking for in the bag, while I can instantly find what I want in it pretty much every time.

Jeff: You should paint like outside of this bag to look like the TARDIS.

me: huh?  Why?

Jeff: Because this bag seems disproportionately bigger inside than it should.

oh so true, but still funny

Love it!

tv parents today suck

Been a bit bored lately, and I've been watching some tv.  I've realized that either tv parents are nothing like real parents, or parents today suck.  I'm so hoping to not be like tv parents.  Generally their downsides involve having their kids not feel comfortable talking to them about important issues, being morons, or being absentee.  No matter what though, tv kinda makes me feel like the Wonder Woman of parents, so woohoo!

Am I the last to know?

So I was finally convinced to read the first Fifty Shades of Grey book, not knowing by the way that the books are rather raunchy.  As I was reading it, I kept thinking that the book was pretty much Twilight with sex instead of vampires.  So am I really the last person on the planet to know that the Fifty Shades trilogy was originally an online Twilight fan-fic?

can't hardly wait!

So I know I'm not the best at blogging regularly, but next week I won't be posting at all.  Jeff and I are going on a several month early 5 year anniversary trip to Las Vegas!  Yay!  I'm so excited.  I'm pretty sure I'm the only one I know over the age of 21 who has never been there.  I'm kind of nervous though, because we are leaving Liam with my parents, and we've never left him with anyone for more than 8 hours before.  Let's face it, I'm pretty going to have some sort of panic attack in the airport because I miss my baby.

aah, the easily amused

Liam is officially the most easily amused baby ever.  He has spent the last hour on the back window seat alternating between playing with the light switches (he can reach 4 from his perch) and jumping up and down starring into the backyard.  Oh, and stomping around trying to make his footsteps as loud as possible.  He is seriously having the best time ever.

I am personally a huge fan because he can't reach anything he shouldn't, and therefore can't get into trouble, and also he doesn't realize that he can get down onto the floor by himself (I know this because he regularly gets down off of taller furniture) but he doesn't want me to know he's stuck because that would apparently wreck his coolness factor. 

I leave him there for a while then so I can get some things done, and its ok because he climbed up there himself in the first place, and he giggles all the time playing on the window seat, so I know he's happy.  Win win. 

good to know

I can't wait until next week when Jeff and I go to Vegas for our early 5th anniversary trip.  Yay!  I decided to go onto TSA's website today to see if my razor and sunscreen would be allowed in my carry-on.  Liquids weren't really even mentioned.  What was mentioned were ridiculous items like pool cues, blasting caps, cattle prods, etc.  The list gets more idiotic as it continues.  I actually recommend it.  Its a fun read.

TSA Prohibited Items

not undeserved

This is what I saw when I got out of the shower today.  Liam had climbed on top of the dining room table...and gotten stuck.  He is a pro at climbing, but the dining table is just a bit taller than everything else he scales and climbs back down.  Just tall enough for him to get stuck.  Ha.  I've got to give him some credit though.  Liam put on a big display (as soon as he noticed me) of pretending he really wanted to be up there, and wasn't in fact very bored and annoyed at being stuck.  He really is my kid.  Wow.

I recommend...

Any female who is a mom or wants to be a mom should see What to Expect When You're Expecting.  I know its been in theaters for a while now, but I only saw it yesterday.  It is spot on on the whole pregnancy thing, from great experiences to awful.  Of course, my own experience was most similar to Elizabeth Bank's character (I'll give you a hint, hers was not the super awesome fun time pregnancy).  I laughed so hard in a few scenes that I actually snorted a few times.  I kid you not.  And that hasn't happened for a long time.  Nice husbands or boyfriends might see the movie with you (and possibly enjoy it), but mine is not one of them.  Oh well.

my current top two reasons why I think Liam is hysterical

1. While Luna was taking a nap Liam interrupted her by giving her a foam sword.  I guess to help her protect herself in her sleep?

2. Liam is very talented at firmly closing the door of whatever room he's in.  Shutting himself in, then throwing a fir because he can't get out.  Sometimes in our room he does this several times in a row.  Probably because there is a mirror on the back of our door and Liam is a supreme narcissist.

what happened yesterday when Liam was left with family for an hour

"Do I have something on my face?"

totally stuffing his face like he loves it, so therefore must eat it quickly before an adult has the sense to take it away from him.

For a one year old Liam really has a marvelous sense of good taste.  Dark chocolate (see earlier posting) and red vines are my favorites too.

update

omg.  He slept from like 5pm last night to 7:30 this morning.  Straight through.  I don't even think I could do that, and I'm a champion sleeper.  Yay for not having to get up with the kiddo at 3am.  Hooray!

Happy Memorial Day!

I hope everyone had a great day!  Even those in Canada who don't get a day off.  Sorry Tova!  We went to my brother-in-law Jordan's high school graduation party.  Talk about making me feel old... Anyway, we had so much fun!  Liam (my little fish) swam in the pool twice, even going completely underwater without much more reaction than coughing a little afterwards.  Pictures coming soon, BTW.  Liam ran around like crazy playing with all the friends and family.  When Jeff and I left for an hour we came back to a baby who had adult cousins feeding him red vines!  Which he now loves, of course.  He never eats candy, and then two days in a row... He had pink stains on his little Hawaiian shirt, and was super happy!  And apparently someone let him play in the pool with his leather shoes on, but whatever... Anyway, we had a great time.  Liam who normally goes to sleep between 8-10pm fell asleep in his carseat on the way home at 5pm.  As I write this, it is 9:45pm and he is in his crib, still asleep.  Wow.  Although, I'm a bit nervous that he'll wake up for good at like 3am, and that would kinda suck.  Oh well, he looks so adorable curled up in his crib still in his Hawaiian shirt.   :)

never a dull moment

this is a child... (with unintentional Tintin hair.  Heehee!)

 This is a child on sugar.  (As of today, Liam can pull out a dining room chair, climb onto it, and then climb onto the dining room table.  He did it in just a few seconds while I was stirring dinner!).  He also climbed onto the kitchen counter from the couch (twice!)

 So here's the story.  Liam was sleeping on my lap while Jeff was watering the garden.  I laid him down on the couch, still asleep while I left the room for a minute.  When I came back a minute later Liam had woken up and was sitting on the couch eating a chocolate bar Jeff had left on the cushion.  By the way, it was a 85% dark chocolate bar!  I was laughing so hard it took me a minute to take the chocolate from him!  He did eat about 4 squares though, and was a bit crazy (Jeff called it bi-polar) for a few hours afterwards.

...and he's only a one year old

Liam officially gets invited to more birthday parties than me.

how to tell if your kid is a music lover

Well, the pictures pretty much tell you everything. 

 This Cookie Monster keyboard is one of Liam's favorite toys

Liam totally loves playing the piano.  He started sticking toys between the keys and their cover so he can play with both hands and not have to use one hand to hold up the cover.  What a little smartie pants. 

Also, we watched the newer Footloose movie last night, and Liam seriously boogied throughout the whole thing.  This kid has got some moves!

how to tell that you are getting old

I graduated high school 11 years ago.  I know, it does not seem like it was so long ago.  Where did the time go?  I've been back several times though because my brother in law Jordan is a senior at the same school.  Go Falcons!  I (have to) go to every choir recital.  I actually really like going because Jordan, and the rest of the kids too have great voices, and Liam loves to dance to the music.  This year is the 10th anniversary of the Hollywood Bowl.  It's basically the end of the year choir show.  Since it is the 10th year, the choir teachers asked the choir alumni to come back and sing a song.  Since I'm going to the show anyway, and the chosen song is "Seasons of Love" I really couldn't say no.  So yesterday I went to the one rehearsal (the show is tonight) and Jordan is the only person there I know.  Turns out not many alumni responded, so the seniors are singing "Seasons of Love" too.  Most of the other alumni had graduated within the last two years, so they still seemed like little kids to me.  I naturally gravitated over the the choir teachers and talked to them. 

Do you know how weird it is to come back to high school and have far more in common with the teachers than with the kids?  So weird!  The choir teachers (a married couple) even have a son named Liam.  It was really funny then singing with the "kids" (who thought it was awesome that I'm Jordan's sister-in-law because apparently he's a hot commodity, and they were all jealous that I'm a mom with a cute kid who works barely any hours at a clothing store and really only for my discount).  I had a lot of fun at practice, and am really excited for the show tonight.  I really miss being in a choir!

It was interesting too, being with the "kids", because everything seems so different than it was when I was in school.  Everyone was texting and talking about keeping their ratios on twitter of needing to keep more followers than people they follow at all times.  And not a single girl (besides me) had frizzy hair.  Every girl had that "I spent 2 hours doing my hair and makeup today to make it look like I wasn't trying at all to look cool" look.  I definitely never put that much effort into my appearance in high school (or ever, really).  Good thing I had a steady boyfriend all through school and didn't need to worry about that stuff anyway.  Wheow!

Being back in your old high school is so strange.  And it made me feel a bit like Marshall from HIMYM (you know, life among the gorillas?).

when you can tell your kid takes after you (or Michael Weston)

I love yogurt.  I eat tons of the stuff.  Partially because I'm a vegetarian who can't stand tofu, but mostly because I just love it.  Liam takes after me in my love of yogurt.  Oh, who am I kidding?  He acts just like me in almost every way.  Really, I think the only differences are that he likes chicken, he's photogenic, and he's always sweet.  He loves every flavor of yogurt. 

Today I was opening the fridge to grab some things for lunch when Liam saw some yogurt on the bottom shelf.  He ran (yes, he can run) to the fridge, grabbed a yogurt, and tried to run away with it.  This kid knows the drill though, so when I took it from him, he didn't freak out.  He waited for me to get a spoon, sat down on the kitchen floor, and opened his mouth. 

He ate the whole thing.  In about five seconds.  Without spilling a drop. 

And didn't save me any :(

best sandwich ever

you will need:

a whole wheat sub roll
hummus (I used homemade garlic hummus.   Yum!)
fresh spinach
cucumber slices
tomato slices
pesto

add in any order.  Go ahead and try it and tell me its not the best sandwich you've ever had.  I think I might go make another one now...

here it is, a week overdue, Lia,'s 1st birthday party!

I picked a Pixar "Up" theme because Liam loooves balloons, but I wish I had had time to blow up more balloons than we did.  I was so out of time.  Jeff and I were already going crazy when we woke up last Saturday because (mostly Jeff) we worked really hard all the previous week making our house look pretty.  Then I had issues with my cake frosting which made my mom have to run to the store to regrettably buy frosting, and I had to frost the cake very quickly once the party had already started, so it didn't turn out as pretty as hoped, oh well.  Oh, and about half the guests arrived 40 minutes early, while I was still making the food.  And to top it all off, my grandma was taken away to the hospital in an ambulance for dehydration because she has the eating habits of a 2 year old and hadn't eaten or drank anything all day, in addition to wearing sweats in 85 degree weather.  That being said, I love my grandma and was very relieved that she was ok.  Although I was the one calling 911 which shaking and freaking out because she's 86 and she fainted.  You can tell someone is going to be ok though when you tell them an ambulance is coming and they comment they hope the EMTs are young and good looking.  I am kind of pissed that she didn't take care of herself enough to not miss the cake and presents.  The rest of the party went well though, everyone seemed to have a great time, and we ran out of food exactly at the end of the party, which NEVER happens.  As much as I like to entertain, and see Liam have a great day, it is so nice to know that the stress of the party is over, and the house looks pretty.  Yay!
By the way, sorry for all the venting, blogging is free therapy for me.  And please try to ignore the mess in these photos, just remember, people came early.

my little Tigger baby loves the trampoline

sad the balloons tied to the chimney didn't work, but this is more noticeable from the front of the house anyway

Kristin is amazing, she came early and helped sooo much, plus I love catching up

Jeff repainted our previously cream colored door for the party.  Isn't the color pretty?

he also set up our new patio tent the day of the party.  It's nice to finally have some shade in the backyard.

imagine blue frosting instead of white, otherwise perfect.  Skittles are so yummy!

I made cake pops (top right of photo) to look like balloons

Liam thought he was so cool because an ambulance and fire truck came to his birthday!

he ate the whole cupcake (frosting last!) only one year old I've ever seen do that!

best buddies (Liam, Vin and Beau)

my sweet birthday boy!

with great power comes great responsibility

Ok, so its probably not a normal thought, but doing gardening has never been my favorite thing.  Not because its dirty or messy, but because I feel bad for the worms.  I did a tooooon of weeding this weekend to make the yard presentable for Liam's first birthday party and I learned that there are about 4,000,000,000 worms just in our backyard.  Every time I pulled up a weed I'd feel guilty because at least a few worms would come up with the roots and either freak out or crawl over to attack me (I'm assuming at least).  To make this weirder, I'm totally not even a fan of worms.  I know they are helpful in the garden, but they gross me out and I'm never touched one.  Eew.  But still, moving them from their homes in the roots makes me want to build them a nice replacement home, like a birdhouse mansion but with dirt inside.  Worms would like that, right?

how to freak out an advice nurse

Liam was sick yesterday so I called the advice nurse.  We were talking for a while when Liam started playing with his VERY loud fire truck toy right next to the phone.  The nurse freaked out and thought that I had called an ambulance to the house.  Oops.  Needless to say, (after I spent a few minutes calming her down, she should cut out caffeine) she was quite relieved that the noise came from a toy. 

slump

When everything has been going wrong on a given day, what is the best way to get over it and be productive again?  I feel so zoned out and blah.  I'm kinda afraid to start anything new right now because I'm sure they will get messed up like everything else today.  Argh!  Also, what is the best way to get vomit scent of of a car?

what is going on???

this is what was in my mailbox today:

1) ads addressed to "resident"
2) a credit card application for me (whoop-de-doo)
3) three important looking large envelopes addressed to three different people (entirely different names, but strangely all Hispanic), none of which live here or have lived here for the past 3 1/2 years.

At least there were no bills.  But still, sad day.  I am totally hopeful for a magazine tomorrow to make up for the pathetic mail today.

so exhausted

There is nothing like throwing a party (in this case Liam's first birthday party.  Yay!) to make you realize your house is a disaster.  The last two weeks Jeff and I have been slowing cleaning things up or putting junk away.  Needless to say I am going to be very happy and lazy the day after the party.  However, our house is starting to finally look amazing, like things I have hated that we changed but should have really changed 3 1/2 years ago when we moved in.  Anyway, I promise I will have pictures, but I want to wait until the house is done and decorated because if Jeff does all the crazy things he TELLS me he will, then it will be awesome.  I can't wait!

pure sunshine (accurately describes these cupcakes and my cutie pie toddler)

Yesterday was Liam's first birthday and I thought cupcakes would be a better idea than cake because this way he could squish his face in it without wasting almost a whole cake.  Then I had to figure out what flavor cupcakes.  Chocolate seemed a bit much, and vanilla is sooo boring, so I decided on Orange Creamsicle.  This recipe is semi-homemade and therefore way easy.  It smells like Jeff's favorite Jamba Juice and looks like pure sunshine.  These are fantastic.  If you want to go a bit healthier only make a half batch of the frosting (you'll still have enough to to a light layer on each cupcake).  So here is the yummy recipe and I will have birthday photos up soon!




Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes

• 1 package white cake mix
• 1 (4 serving size) package cheesecake instant pudding mix
• 1 (3 oz.) package orange flavored Jello
• 1 1/4 cups orange juice
• 4 eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Pour batter into liners, filling each 2/3 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Allow to cool on a rack.

Orange Creamsicle Frosting

• 1 8 oz. package cream cheese
• 1/2 cup butter
• 6 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon orange extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• orange food coloring

Allow cream cheese and butter to stand at room temperature and soften. In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, orange extract and vanilla. Gradually add powdered sugar. Divide frosting into two bowls, add orange food coloring to one bowl.

so much going on (aka a whole slew of pictures) or, why ita pain when my computer doesn't feel like connecting to the internet for a few days

We had such a fun Easter weekend!  Liam made new friends, went on two egg hunts, and played at the playground.  So far, he's not really a fan of play equipment (swings make him cry), but is this not the cutest outfit (and boy) you've ever seen?

Liam seemed to enjoy his first egg hunt, even though he was a bit clueless.  We got some plastic eggs to practice egg hunting with Liam, but Liam hid them before we could practice! 

Liam's famous "scrunchie face".  He does this all the time because he thinks he's funny

love this kiddo!

this kitchen disaster happened in about 2 minutes.  Imagine Liam doing this to the whole house.  That's what my house looks like.  Ugh.

My midget footed kiddo finally fits (close enough) into his cute bear booties.

Liam's favorite book.  A baby animal touch and feel book.

Liam decided that touching the soft bits wasn't enough.  He wanted to lick it.  What a huge goof.

Never allow 18 year olds to hid eggs for a toddler's egg hunt!

examining the goods.  The boys got matching Easter outfits from their Nana.  Aren't they so cute concentrating?

twins are so amusing.  Jeff and Jeremy just happened to keep doing the same poses.  He he!

more twininess

our little family!  (sorry about my boobs, it's hard to find higher cut shirts!)

Liam's favorite DIY fort.  After he takes out all my pot lids and spreads them throughout the house of course.  I found one in my nightstand recently.

I've had wrist pain recently so I went to the doctor today.  Apparently I have tendonitis, so I have to wear the most hideous brace ever for a month.  Ugh.  Anyway, that's what you've missed this last week at our house.  Crazy messy fun.

the most amazing thing you will ever read

http://www.buzzfeed.com/donttrusttheb/10-absolutely-crazy-listings-for-roommates-on-crai

Nothing I can say will be as entertaining as this link, so just take my advice and read it.  The best craig's list roommate ads ever.  My personal fav is the "personal dinosaur."  And yes, you read that correctly.

what is adorable, eats metal, and large amounts of food?yum

I'm getting a bit worried that when Liam is a teenager he will eat me out of house and home.  He's not even one yet and for lunch today he drank 8 ounces of milk and ate a whole banana.  OMG.

Good thing he's cute at least.

fun in the backyard.  This kid loves the outdoors!

a hat for me?

yum.  Metal splatter lid. 

it doesn't get better than this

I love having a trampoline in our yard!

Such a sweet boy.  He even kept his hat on most of the day.  Poor kid has such fine hair I didn't want his scalp to burn.

Liam has midget feet.  I didn't even know Converse came in size 2!  Sad I couldn't get a better picture, but teeny Converse are the cutest!

I can't wait until Liam's birthday party!  We went to his cousin's first birthday party yesterday and Liam really liked the present opening.  Big shock, right?  He wanted to help and then he wanted to play with all the recently unwrapped toys.  I think he was actually a little confused, because his cousin got a set of toy cars that Liam has at home and Liam gave us this look that said, "Um, these are supposed to be in my room.  And why do these have weird packaging on them?  Oh well, I'm just going to barge right in and play with them."  I swear, that is totally what he said.  But to be fair, he did try to share the cars with his cousins.