Long weekends are great…

especially when you eat your way through them.

On Friday night we went to El Mariachi for my brother-in-laws birthday. It was a trek to get there. J was coming in from the city and should have taken a train right to the restaurant but unfortunately, he somehow ended up on Bell Blvd. in Queens. Well, I drove from work all the way to pick him up and then back down to El Mariachi. 2 hours after I left work, we arrived at the restaurant. No one had ordered yet; just so happens that the reservation got messed up. As we step into the place, the almost obnoxiously loud Mariachi band is playing right by our table. You figure that once you start walking towards them they might just move a bit so you can sit down. Nope, that’s not the case. We had to stand there for about 10 minutes as they finished up their song. I guess if I wasn’t so hungry and annoyed it would have been fine but, I was starving and ready to eat someone. So, they finally left the table and we sat down and gobbled up some salsa and chips. 30 minutes later we ordered. I was really putting in an effort not to be annoyed. I think I did a good job, but that’s from my point of view so it’s a bit one-sided. J The baby was really good. She liked the obnoxious band. How could I be annoyed at them when they kept her quiet? I decided to drink some Sangria, something I normally don’t enjoy but it was going down so smoothly… I just had to have more. The dinner was amazing, I easily cleaned my plate. The baby even ate her food and sat in her highchair for over an hour. All-in-all, a nice night out.

We’re re-modeling our bathroom so on Saturday we dropped the baby off at my mom’s and finished gutting the room. It was a lot of work but it felt good pulling down the dark brown wood paneling and ripping off the blue and pink flowered floor. I’ll have to post a picture when I have a chance… you’ll see what I mean. After cleaning everything up, we picked up the baby and went to Fortunoff to check out the outdoor furniture. It’s funny, all the retailers are offering 50-75% off and we’re thinking that maybe the stuff will be affordable. Well, if you consider an outdoor chair at $299.00 instead of $399.00 affordable, then you’re definitely in a different tax bracket. Especially when you think of it, you’ll only get to use the stupid chair 4-5 months out of the year. As the baby played on the $3000.00 rugs that were on sale for $1500.00, we took a look at the outdoor furniture that we’ll never have. We left to go into the rest of the depressing mall; it’s crazy how many stores are vacant. We left before the depression could infect us and went to my in-laws. They were watching the baby for the night so that J and I could go out to dinner in the city for Valentine’s Day. For the holiday, I got J a Wii Console and he got me some awesome chocolates from La Maison Du Chocolat.

When we enter my in-laws house, it smells of freshly baked brownies. Yum… I of course eat some before we leave for the train. They’re so good, Dunkin Hines milk chocolate with about a bag of chocolate chips in them.

As we get to the train station, we realize that we have about 15 minutes to spare. We buy two lotto tickets for $5 each. We’re banking on winning the $2000 a week for life. I win $10 so we buy another ticket for $10. I win again and almost as if we’re trying to lose the $10, we buy another stupid ticket. We finally lose and leave to go onto the train. As we’re on the train we decide what to do for the night. Korean Barbeque, Magnolia Bakery and maybe a movie. We argue over the movie. I want to see the most recent Underworld film and he wants to see some Friday the 13th movie. We settle on Gran Torino. Korean Barbeque was so fun. We walked down 32nd street and there were a ton of places to eat. We settled on Chung Moo Ro Barbecue where the food was delightfully delicious and the experience was stimulating. We shared the Sirloin and Short Ribs meals and barbequed our meat, mixed it with all the fixings that were set out in front of us. It was so yummy.

We left there to go to Magnolia Bakery and pick up some cupcakes and banana pudding. I didn’t realize that there were two other locations outside of the Bleecker Street spot. Well, now that I know, we’ll be getting banana pudding more often. We went to the Mid-town location, picked up our goodies and walked over to Central Park by Columbus Circle. On our way, we’re walking up 6th Ave (Avenue of the Americas) and I glace to my right and notice I’m walking next to Miss J. Alexander; one of the judges of America’s Next Top Model!!!! I love that show! I know, a bit shallow for me, but really, it’s an escape from reality. There was Miss J, walking there in all his/her glory. Looking fabulous of course. Holding some really trendy bag, walking and talking to his model friend (a guy) and some short girl (not a model but obviously beautiful). This was a really cool star sighting so I walked next to them for a bit but didn’t want to bother her/him asking for a picture/autograph. So, we let them leave at the next corner and made our way to Central Park. We ate our goodies and then went searching for a movie theater. We walked to the theater and made it into a showing of Gran Torino. What a great movie. The first one we’ve seen in the theater since the baby was born (yea, a year and a half later!). It was a great night, walked back to Penn Station and went home. The rest of the weekend was a blur of ordering parts for the bathroom, cleaning, eating and food shopping. J made a shepherds pie from Rachel Ray’s 30 minute meals for dinner last night. It was really good. To sum up the weekend, it was great to have a few nights out and some yummy food. Now back to the diet…

-s

How to Get Her to Talk On the Phone

Last night the little piggy would not stop singing her new song "nonna, papa, nonna, papa, nonna, papa...". It's cute the first minute or so and then it gets into your head like one of those annoying songs so you're singing "nonna, papa, nonna, papa, nonna, papa..." too. I decided to pick up the phone and have her talk to her beloved "nonna, papa" rather than singing it to herself. Now, to give you a little background. When the phone is off, the little piggy will talk up a storm as if there was someone on the other line. However, when there is actually someone there, she doesn't say a word. Odd... I know. So I told my father not to say anything and he sat there while the little piggy said "Hi Papa, Hi Nonna, Duck, Quack, Quack, blah, blah, blah, blah, ya, ya, ya, etc." Then he handed the phone to my mother and the little piggy said "Hi Nonna" whent into her list of words. Then my sister got on the line and she said "Hi Gigi" but it sounded like "Hi didi". It was tons of fun and in the end she said "bye" to everyone and that was that. Well, Uncle Tony then called and said, "hey, I missed her talking, put her on the phone." He proceeded to speak to her and she didn't say a word. I then told him not to say anything... and then she started talking. "Hi Ony" for Tony. It was great. Well, I think we figured it out. My family talks way too much and doesn't give the little piggy a chance to say anything. So now, we all have to shut up and let her talk and she'll deliver ever so nicely.

-s

Don't Scratch the DVD

A quick funny story to lighten the mood here at work while we all await the results of the inevitable layoffs...

My cousin saw her 2 1/2 year old daughter leave one of her DVD's on the floor so she said "pick up that DVD or it's going to get scratched". To which the child inquisitively responded "why? is it itchy?"

-s

Use of the Term "We"

When you are in a relationship, many of the things that were "I" statements now become "we" statements. For example, instead of "I am going to buy..." it becomes "we are going to buy...". I've found that over time, the "we" sets it self up in a way that it is expected in some sentences and not expected in others. I've also found that the "we" can exist when you're simply living with someone (not in a relationship per say). Example: When you lived with your parents, you
would end up including them in your "we". Or, if you are really close with someone (like a best friend) they would be part of your "we". So to get to the point, the "we" should always be used cautiously because it can both confuse and upset people if it's used in the wrong way.

Now to the story... my husband (J) has a tendency to use the "we" in the wrong place. He does it often enough that I have to have him clarify his "we" each time he uses it. Here is an example of the "we" used in the incorrect manner. He approaches me and says:

"Next Saturday, we are going to the game. We have great seats behind home plate. I've never sat there before, it should be fun. We'll probably want to get there early, around 12 and then we'll leave early to beat the traffic. What do you think?"

Hmmm.. I think he's talking about me and him. Perhaps he's inviting me to the game. Should I ask if I should find a sitter? Well, instead of assuming I'm part of his "we" I will ask.

"Who will be going?"

"Well," he says "It will be Jan, Greg, Chris and me".

"Oh, how many seats do you have?" I ask.

He responds "Like I said, four seats. Jan, Greg, Chris and me."

Ah ha, I think. He didn't include me in his "we" and I was getting all excited to go to the game! I of course point it out to him that he forgot that I'm in his "we" and he can't use his "we" so freely. He almost understands and still asks if
it's okay that he goes and leaves me with the baby. I say "yes" and get
angry that he's taking the "we" so lightly.

Well, the "we" is overused often now, and each time I point it out. "Who is we?" I say. He then clarifies. I'm not sure why I have to ask this question and why he can't just use his "we" in the correct places but maybe I'm not the only one with this "we" problem. If anyone else has the "we" issue, please share your stories!

Teeth Again

It's not even a month since we last took the baby to the dentist. We've been brushing with the Spiffies and even with the tooth brush and baby toothpaste and she still has tons of stains. They're not just on her molar now. They're all over; on her front teeth too. So, instead of going back to the first dentist, we're going to go to another dentist. I called a few today and some of them require an initial fee of $85 for an evaluation. I then found one dentist that would take us in today (yep today!) and took my weird insurance (Metlife). Also, I thought it was pretty cool that the lady on the phone told me to download the new patient forms from their website http://www.kiddsmiles.com/. We'll see how it goes!

-s

Sledding at School?

Just a quick note - I thought this was really cool. I was walking into the daycare center this morning and a bunch of the older kids (3-5 year olds) were dragging their sleds in. They're going sledding today! How cool is that? I never went sledding during school. THat's so unfair! I think we should have a sledding day at work.
-s

Missing Her Daddy

The little piggy has been getting very good at talking lately. Instead of just talking, it’s more of a conversation now. It’s kind of nice when you ask her if she wants “more” and she’ll say “moowr” or if you ask if she’s “all done” she’ll say “al don”. Well last night we had a real conversation. It was very cool. J was in the city so he wasn’t home when we got there. As soon as we came into the house, the little piggy ran to her father’s office and said “daddy?” I told her he was coming home late and that we had to eat dinner so she walked over to her high-chair and waited for me to sit her in it. We ate dinner, cleaned up and played a bit. Then about an hour and a half later I asked her if she wanted to get changed and she said “yes” shaking her head up and down. We walked into her room and changed her into pajamas then went to play some more in the other room. Well, when 8:30 came around, I asked her if she wanted to go to sleep and she said “nooow” meaning “no” shaking her head side to side. I picked her up anyway and brought her into her room and laid her down in her bed. At first I thought she’d go to sleep because she laid down and closed her eyes. I shut the light and went back to the other room. About a minute later she was crying (or screaming if you want to be exact). I let her yell for about 5 minutes and then decided it wasn’t going to stop. So I went into her room and she was standing up in her crib yelling and shaking the railing back and forth saying “da da da da da”. I picked her up and said, “looks like you’re not ready to go to sleep”. She giggled and she sprinted into the other room just as I put her down on the floor. We played some more and she watched her Tinkerbell movie intently. She was looking very tired and I kept asking her if she wanted to go to sleep. She again said “nooow” (or “no”) shaking her head side to side. The phone rang a few times with J and my Mom calling and then it was almost 10:00 pm and I said to the little piggy “it’s time to go to sleep”. She cried out “NOOOW” and proceeded to shake her head side to side and say “Dadddd dadddd” and point at the door. Just then, the phone rang and the little piggy put her hand up to her ear and said “hawoah” (or “hello”). It was J, and I told him that she wouldn’t go to sleep. He said to put her on the phone. I gave her the phone and she was so excited. Talking (or blabbing) and then listening intently to her daddy for about a minute. J said good night to her and she waved goodbye into the phone. Then he hung up and she gave me the phone. I then asked her “do you want to go to sleep”. She said “yes” and grabbed my hand and dragged me into her room. I kneeled down and said, “give me a kiss goodnight”. She kissed me saying “muwah” and then put her thumb in her mouth. I lifted her up into the crib and she fell fast asleep almost immediately. This morning when she woke up and saw her daddy she was the happiest little girl ever. Smiling and hugging him. She kissed him goodbye and watched her show on the TV without being upset. I guess all she wanted was daddy to say good morning and good night. She needs him! It’s the cutest thing in the world.
-s

Livvy's Teeth

I forgot to give a quick update... Livvy's teeth are fine. She had a stain on her back molar and the dentist said that it's okay, no cavities. We're using Spiffies now to brush her teeth. Only thing is that it's getting stained again and I don't know why. Probably because of all the vitamins she's taking so she doesn't get sick again! Well, we'll be back at the dentist again in 4 months. What fun! Here's a recent pic of the funny girl...

Recap of Christmas Gifts of 2008

Happy New Year everyone. It's been a busy few weeks but now that I'm settled down in front of my laptop, I figured I'd share with you the great new toys I got this year. On Christmas Eve, late at night after visiting 2 houses and making sure everyone got their little bit of the little piggy, my husband and I sat down to quietly open our gifts. I got him a bunch of little things that he needed, probably nothing he wanted but that's okay. He'll probably return everything and get what he wants anyway! I had one small gift stuffed in my stocking. It was the size of an iPod touch but I figured he wouldn't buy me one since I already have an iPod. I then thought it was jewelry, but the box was a little too big for that. So, to get to the point, I opened it up and it was a really cool new HD Video camera called a Flip Mino. It's smaller than my blackberry and the coolest thing is how you connect it to the computer. You press this little button and out pops the USB connector! How great is that!! That will not only connect it to your computer, but it will recharge the camera as well. Below is a picture of it and you can go to http://www.theflip.com/ for more info.

Then, the day after Christmas my fun little PC decided to crash. Blue screen with a nice error saying it can't find the hard drive. Very nice especially since I had just uploaded all the pictures from my camera. So, I went in my frustration, I lashed out at Microsoft and said "FINE, lets get a friggin Mac". Well, he didn't know what a friggin Mac was, but an iMac was what I was talking about. I've never seen a guy run to get ready so quickly. We were out the door in about a minute, the baby in tow. In the car, he drove like mad to get to the Apple store and buy the beautiful machine. A 24" screen, wireless keyboard, mouse and printer. Everything you've ever wanted. Here's a picture of it and of course you can go to http://www.apple.com for more details.

Well, I absolutely am a traitor now. Love the Mac and haven't been confused once. I learned how to use it over the weekend and even created a movie for my in-laws using a video of one of their vacations. I know that Apple is looking to come out with a new version this year so if you are looking to buy, you may want to wait a bit. However, if you're frustrated like me, go buy now. It's okay to leave the PC world for a while... you'll always have it at work to crash and burn on you. Don't worry. Only problem is that Picasa doesn't work with the Mac yet. It's in beta testing though so as soon as it's out I'll let you all know so you can go buy your Mac. BTW, now that I'm a Mac user, I no longer consider myself a computer expert. So don't call me if you have a problem with your PC... I don't know how to fix it anymore. The last gift I wanted to mention was that my grandmother bought me a manicure/pedicure at a spa. Went there, did the whole thing, got my hair dyed too. It was great. Got home and wah-la! My living room was rearranged! I've been asking to do this for 2 years now. I'm so happy and we have so much more room. That was probably the best gift ever. I know, sounds crazy but organizing my house makes me happy and stress free. I have to find a business to organize things for others. I really can do it... did my cousins garage once. Anyway, that's all for now. Just a quick update on the little piggy before I go. She's doing good, getting big, sets the table, cleans up, talks up a storm, can count to three (or she says three after I say one, two). Only issue is one of her little molars has a black stain on it. I'm really worried because the doctor said to go to the dentist. I have an appointment tomorrow and will let you know how it goes. I think it's hurting her because she hasn't slept well this past week. Poor baby. I feel really bad because I had a similar problem as a baby. They actually had to put me under to give me two root-canals! Yea, and for all of you people that think I'm feeding her junk, I'm not! She hardly has any juice and doesn't get sweets more than twice a week. She hasn't had the bottle since she turned a year old too so it's not "bottle rot". Anyway, I'll let you know what he says.

-s

Christmas Cards are Stressful!!!

Until the little piggy was born, I thought nothing of Christmas cards. Never sent them and didn't expect to start. Well, as many of you know, sending Christmas cards when you have children is expected. Not only is it expected, it's also required by many. Around Thanksgiving, people start asking if you're going to send cards. It's their way of saying, "don't forget to send me a picture". Since we sent ours so late this year, we actually got a few inquiries as to the status of our Christmas cards. Well, for those of you who were wondering why it took so long, I blame the delay on the fact that I had so many great options this year and chouldn't choose.

First there was this one of the little piggy and her cousins...

We thought the screaming, nose picking and blank stare weren't exactly what everyone would be looking for in "the" Christmas card. So, we then started taking pictures of the little piggy in front of the tree and in various positions. That didn't work. Don't have any to share as they all were deleted in frustration.

Then the little piggy's teacher sent us this one that was so great...



Yea, again, not something to share with the family/friends for the a happy holiday's message. At least it was funny. Finally we got a picture of her in front of the tree hugging her bear. Well, you'll see it as we sent them out very late this year (on December 26th). I signed most of them "better late than never" in the hopes that someone would find that funny.

Merry Christmas Everyone!! Have a Happy New Year!

BTW, New Years Eve is at my parents. We're having a pizza party (make your own pizza and stuff). Come join us if you're not doing anything. It's sure to be a lot of fun.

-s