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?