Family Weekend

This past weekend we won a free trip to Williamsburg from a timeshare company and headed out there for a great couple of days with the boys. Since we are very wary of flying with Little Man, we're always excited when we can take him places within driving distance. Although considering we drove to Wisconsin last winter, driving distance is actually a pretty loose term.

The stipulation of winning a "free" stay at the condo meant we had to listen to a timeshare lecture, which ate a good chunk of one of our days in Williamsburg. Despite that though, we managed to go out to dinner as a family, spend a full day walking the streets of colonial Williamsburg, visit the outlets, and even take advantage of the giant jacuzzi tub we had in the condo! Well... Hubs and the boys did. I sat on the sidelines and laughed at boy's swimtime.

Our major worry heading in to the weekend was what to do with Little Man at night. At home we have our routines and our safety measures in place for him, but hotels are a whole different ballgame. Luckily Hubs' parents had come up with a fairly ingenious solution for when they watched Little Man while we were in Las Vegas, and so we decided to try it on a larger scale at the condo since it was a 2-bedroom unit.

Bed Jail!

The baby gate/playyard went around the entire bed, and we kept it snug using the end tables on either side of the bed. Surprisingly enough Little Man didn't try to get out of bed or even move the end tables to release the gate, which weren't expecting at all! So he stayed in the 2nd bedroom all night and kept to his usual schedule. Hurray and score one for us!

Vegas was another story. He was not pleased with his sleep option - a pack n play in the living room. The first night he cried for several hours while we tried everything we knew how to get him to relax and sleep, and even after finally getting him down he woke up once or twice during the night. That did mean that the next night he was so exhausted it only took a half-hour to get him to bed, but man were we exhausted after night one! We were shocked it was Vegas and not Little Man who kept us up all night, but kids are always surprising little beasts so go figure!

All in all it was a really fun weekend away, despite a little rain and Little Man's refusal to pose for photo ops.

Cold and rain didn't phase him!

Not a fan of the forced photo. Sigh.

The day after we got back we decided the weather was perfect pumpkin patch/apple buying weather, so we headed to a local farm to grab a wagon full of autumn.

Not exaggerating, a wagon full.

The boys probably had more fun here than Williamsburg because we let them explore at their own pace - although Vegas seemed unsure of what to do with all of his freedom...

Perplexed

Little Man was just pleased we let him wander around and clamp his hands over his ears as much as he wanted. It's the little things in life.

Dance like nobody is watching

And while Hubs got in a cute photo or two, I got shafted again with photo ops. Oh well, I'll have beautiful memories, right?

JUST HOLD STILL AND ACT LIKE PINTEREST KIDS!

After the pumpkin patch we headed over to a local winery with my in-laws and then had them over for chili dinner. I don't think we could have crammed any more activities into the weekend!!

By Monday morning we were exhausted and had to use the conveniently placed national holiday to recuperate from all the vacationing. We binge-watched Survivor and caught up on the DVR while eating leftover chili. 

It was really one of the best family weekends we've had yet. Sometimes I can't believe how lucky I am to have these boys and marvel at how much my life has changed in just a few years. We are all so, so lucky.

An Average Birthday

I wasn't expecting much out of my birthday this year.  It fell on a Monday, and that just seemed gloomy already. Being an adult means doing stupid adult things on your birthday too, so I scheduled a well-visit for Little Man knowing full well I'd have to bring Vegas along for the ride. But I honestly wasn't expecting the day to be as chaotic as it was...

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We wake up bright and early - Vegas had gone to bed an hour earlier so he is up and ready to play at 6:30 AM.  Little Man is also up and had a late night diaper so he gets tossed into the tub for a morning swim.  By the time he leaves for school at 8:30, he has managed to exhaust himself with a 20 minute tantrum while waiting for the bus.  I just keep wiping the tears and his nose with a towel and waving to the cars as they pass our driveway.  I toss him to the bus para with a cheery "Someone has a case of the Mondays!" and think that was that.

We are out of breakfast food so I scarf down a fruit cup and 1/4 cup of coffee while I give Vegas his bath.  Then it is time to call Medicaid to make sure Little Man is cleared for his visit.  56 minutes of beautiful elevator music later, I am told that I called the wrong number, and to try another.  Efffffff.  But hey, I manage to put together a pot roast for dinner that night while on hold!

Of course then I realize that I am going out to dinner with my mother that night. Pot roast is already cooking.  Oh well.  I guess Tuesday's dinner is done.

Then I finally reach the proper number for Little Man's health insurance.  I didn't need to call them. I throw the phone in disgust.  Thank you Otterbox for your brilliant phone-saving design.

I play some phone tag with mother and Hubs to set up birthday dinner.  Already so exhausted I don't feel like going out that evening. But it's my goddamn birthday.  Plans are made.

My turn for a shower.  Then I have just enough time to do the dishes before I gather up Vegas and a bag full of necessities to pick up Little Man from school.

Little Man is waiting for me in the office, half-asleep with dark circles under his eyes. He falls asleep the minute we get in the car.  Then I realize I've given us too much time to get from the school to the doctor.  I decide that dieting isn't as important as I thought.  I scarf down a 'lunch' of fries hoping that Little Man won't wake up and demand half of them.

I strap Vegas in his Ergo and Little Man in the too-small umbrella stroller.  The diaper bag of snacks and DVDs goes on my shoulder. I have to tilt the stroller so Little Man is lying flat and he won't drag his feet on the ground and tip out. I drop both the diaper bag and Little Man's shoes on the way in to the office. Twice.

I race into the doctor's office.  Little Man is transferring to Vegas' pediatrician for my sanity and to put less mileage on our cars.  His former pediatrician was in the city 2 1/2 hours away.  I could never get in touch with her, not to mention that "dropping in" for a quick visit was never possible.

New Doc refuses to care for Little Man without approval from Old Doc.  I calmly explain that Old Doc is missing, presumed dead (or transferred to her specialty, going to a clinic meant they were just biding time til they left to make the big bucks).  Frazzled and confused secretary then suggests that maybe I can call them to transfer records?  Of course when I set up this appointment 2 months ago, I was told to "just bring an insurance card and the patient."  I don't have their number in my phone.  Maybe I can call the school for his records, since they have a copy too?  As I pull out my phone to look up the number, it dies. Phone revenge. Hubs has misplaced my car-charger so it is dead until I get home in several hours.  Little Man will not be seen today, sorry.

I decide this visit will not be in vain.  After some shuffling, Vegas can be seen today, and Little Man will take his appointment tomorrow.  Brilliant.  I just have to pick him up early from school again, and repeat this part of the day tomorrow. I am tired just thinking about it.

Our visit is pretty routine. Vegas has a horrible eczema patch on his face that has been bugging him for several days.  If by bugging him, I just have been avoiding taking photos of that side of his face, while he continues to be the world's happiest baby.  Doc wants that taken care of with steroid cream, which I inform him will not be happening. He seems displeased but I don't have the time to care. We breeze through immunizations and then an extra head measurement, because of my paranoia.  Each time he goes in for a well-visit both the doctor and the nurse measure his head, because of Little Man's medical history.  They think I'm neurotic, but I don't really care.  

Suddenly he informs me that Vegas' head is now "too big".  It used to be on the smaller side, then it was average, and now it is above-average on the growth charts.  Good ole' Doc is slightly absentminded, and he doesn't remember why I like the extra head measurements, so as he is saying this I am running through scenarios in my head.  He lists off a bunch of things that a big head might mean, from the mundane to the H-word, and what to look for in Vegas.  When I mention Little Man's history again, he whips out his tape measure and starts comparing my head to Vegas'.  He measures Vegas' head again too. My head is average sized, his head is still above-average.  Now I am instructed to take the tape measure home and hope that Hubs has a huge head.

I hold it together until we're home, and then I bawl.  Baby Vegas is practically perfect in every way.  He is alert, happy, reaching his milestones, and really freakin' cute.  I cannot imagine there is something wrong with him.  I know in my heart that whatever could be wrong, it isn't Little Man all over again.  It would be different.  Right?  I allow myself some time to freak out until Hubs gets home from work and I tell the story to him.  To him, I remain calm and slightly detached and try to think positive thoughts.  I don't know if it works so well, but there is no time to dwell on it, because we have 30 minutes to get the kids in the car to go to BIRTHDAY DINNER.

I have sangria.  I get a new kitchen appliance. Things start to look a little brighter.  I have a second sangria and some coconut cream pie and things are downright cheery.  Little Man is polite during dinner because there is a loaf of bread on the table.  Vegas sleeps through the entire meal because his shots wore him out. Then we cuddle him and coo over how adorable he is through dessert, and Little Man watches his portable DVD player with his eyes half-shut holding onto Hubs' arm like a pillow.

My birthday is over, and I couldn't be happier to crawl into bed that night.

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In the grand scheme of things, it wasn't the worst birthday in the world.  The time my mother scheduled my wisdom tooth removal the morning after my 21st was definitely worse.  The year I was grounded and missed seeing 'Titanic' with the rest of my friends was emotionally devastating (until I was un-grounded and saw it the week after).  This year I guess it just didn't live up to the hype of being a special day 'just for me'.  Which is the moral of parent/adulthood I suppose - it's not all about you all the time, even when you think it's gonna be all about you.  

On the bright side, I did manage to celebrate the weekend before my birthday with some great friends, and the weekend of the 18th I will celebrate with my sorority sisters and family! My phone and Facebook were filled with amazing people wishing me well and keeping me positive! Things also fell into place the next day which made the day before seem less intense.  Instead of trying to do the doctor's appointment with both kids in tow, my brother-in-law watched the baby while I took care of Little Man.  Then Hubs took care of the house and kids while I went to play practice and had my "me-time".  We even had dinner already prepared because of the pot roast from the day before!

At Little Man's appointment (which was uneventful, for a nice change of pace) we found out that Hubs' head is also average and so if at Vegas' next monthly checkup things don't look more average, he will go see a specialist at Children's Hospital.  While the doctor didn't give me a resounding "things will be fine", he also assured me that Vegas doesn't seem to exhibit any symptoms of neurological problems and this is just a precaution.

So Happy Birthday to me!  The only present I want is a kid with an average sized head.  Send me your good karma, and I'll put it towards a good cause. I'm staying away from Google and WebMD for the next few weeks, and going to relax and enjoy my amazing little guy.

The One Where I Got To Practice

Last week was an adventure to be sure!  We had a great time grilling out on Saturday with our families and a few of my girlfriends to celebrate Baby Vegas.   Food, chocolate, gossip, and gifts - what's not to love?!  I was so excited to have everyone over I seriously overdid it on the standing and running around, and paid for it dearly the next day.  I spent most of Sunday in bed with sore feet and an aching back.

Me and Hubs!

Monday and Tuesday one of my girlfriends needed a sitter for her little one while she worked.  Her daughter is five months old and the cutest thing I've ever seen, so I jumped at the chance to watch her.  Of course, Monday was astonishingly easy... she ate, she giggled, she slept, she smelled so good I wanted to eat her (Little Man, I love you, but you smell like a Big Kid)... after her momma picked her up I called my own mom and bragged about how I was the baby whisperer.  No really.  I was a freakin' genius with the babies.  I even managed to cook and do laundry. YOU GUYS BABIES ARE SO EASY!

Then it was Tuesday.  And the baby came back for Round 2. Which she won, hands down. She was still really cute, she smelled good, she was really snuggly...  But she didn't have her magical go-to-sleep-binky.  So she didn't sleep.  She just wanted to be held, or she would cry.  Which made my Little Man cry and cling to my leg in response to the noise.  Which made my dog bark at the insanity of two crying ickle beasties.  YOU GUYS BABIES ARE SO HARD!   So my husband came home early from work arrived in the nick of time so we could divide and conquer the tiny humans. [And I should note here that if I hadn't already been pregnant, the sight of my husband cooing at and carrying a tiny little baby would have gotten me knocked up immediately.]  When I talked to my mother that night I implied that perhaps I will be letting Baby Vegas stay in my womb until he is two or three and I am ready to take care of him.

So the rest of the week seemed uneventful after my babysitting adventures.  I had an OB checkup where I found out I am finally gaining weight - 4 lbs in two weeks!  Yikes!  It actually still leaves me under where the "average" weight gain is for 32 weeks (+13 overall) but I am not really thrilled it is all showing up so fast!  If I look at my weekly pictures though I can tell I've finally "popped" and gotten that preggo-belly, so hopefully that's where I put most of the poundage.

See!  Belly-time!

Then on Friday the baby girl came back over for a lunch date (with her mom and another friend of mine), and was such a precious little angel I decided I would let Baby Vegas come out of the womb on time after all.  Not to mention it is getting seriously crowded in there... he is a pushy little fellow!  His kicks and movements are almost sharp, and very aggressive - I definitely don't remember them being like that with Little Man.

So overall, baby-sitting was a great success.  I got to help out a great friend of mine, snuggle with a cute baby, and remember that despite the occasional rough patch with a little one, it is all worth it when they smile at you and fall asleep.  I cannot wait to have a sweet-smelling bundle of newborn baby in my arms come August.   And I will definitely be baby-sitting again sometime, although perhaps I will not be so quick to name myself Baby Whisperer...

Is It Really Almost June?!

I can't believe June is about to arrive!  My third trimester is finally here and I'm waist-deep in preparations for Baby Vegas to make his appearance on the scene.  We've finished almost all of the To-Do List of things I wanted to accomplish before I get too pregnant to be of any help - the last big push will probably be this upcoming weekend when we clear out the old guest room.  Once that is done we get to paint and turn it into the nursery, so I cannot wait to finish up!!!  We got a 6' tall tree decal that is going to go on the wall, plus a few other decorations that will make our "Giving Tree" themed nursery really adorable.  Pinterest and Etsy are giving me a ton of ideas that I want to try too... but both of those sites are dangerous to anyone on a budget!  I want to buy all the things.

In the midst of the organizing, we took Little Man up north to an appointment with a sleep clinic.  Hubs and I both went into the day with high hopes, and we both left more than a little disappointed.  Basically we spent two hours retelling a behavioral psychiatrist and then a neurologist Little Man's entire medical history and sleep habits.  Then they both came back with all of the usual ideas that we've tried, tested, and had fail on us.  The only real information we got out of the day was that it might be a good idea to try melatonin after all, and that Little Man snores because he has slightly enlarged tonsils.   And really the screaming and kicking involved in finding the latter out was definitely not worth it.

Blurry cellphone photo of me and Little Man on the train for "Day Out With Thomas"  I'd have written about the day, but he was sick and grumpy.

I also ended up not auditioning for a show I really was hoping to audition for.  I had convinced myself up until last week that I could totally handle being pregnant and rehearsing for a show that would open less than a month after my due date.  Every single person I talked to about it seemed to think I was insane (perhaps a clue?), but I was sure I would be just fine - how hard would it be?!?!  Well then a few days before auditions I ended up getting the worst round ligament pains I've ever felt.  They were bad enough that even trying to stand up straight left me completely breathless.  I knew it was probably because I'd been running around like a madwoman trying to finish household projects and not taking the time to rest and hydrate like I normally do.  So I reluctantly admitted to Hubs that I can't do everything and that I would skip this one.  I was so bummed out and grouchy for the entire weekend thinking about missing out on yet another show, but in the end I know it was for the best.  Making a selfish decision would have felt great in the short term, but come August when the baby arrived I knew I'd be kicking myself for not setting aside more time for our home and family.  I'm still working on squelching the green-eyed monster feeling I have going on as people talk about how much fun it will be working on shows all summer.  I think it will be easier once I get a little rounder and unable to move without groaning - then I'll be so glad I don't have to leave the house I'll probably laugh if you remind me about how I was upset about not being able to rehearse three days a week in the heat of the summer!!

Until then though the next few weekends will be insanely busy - we have plans at least one day every weekend until July!  I can't wait to spend time in this beautiful weather with my friends and family.  I was a little worried that we'd have nothing to do on the weekends since a lot of our summer weekends usually revolve around concerts and wine festivals that aren't especially pregnant-lady friendly, but I should have known better.  Just because I can't party like a rockstar doesn't mean I won't be partying at all!

Before heading out to a pool party to kick off the summer!

Pre-Baby To-Do List Update!

The last two weekends have been fairly uneventful ones.  Usually as the weather gets warmer my first instinct is to SCHEDULE ALL THE FUN!!! and book us solid til the end of summer.  But between being pregnant and the fact that it has been over 9 weeks since Little Man has gone on a visit to Ex's house, we haven't been going activity crazy like we usually do.

We've actually spent the last two weekends cleaning house and organizing our lives.  It has been a tedious and exhausting few projects, but the results are making my inner-Martha Stewart ridiculously happy!  Our linen closets have been cleaned out and organized, bathrooms cleaned and decluttered, basement emptied, pantry moved and restocked, bookshelves built, and my office cleared to make headway on turning it into a guestroom.  Whew!  Typing all that reminds me that we have gotten so much more done than I even hoped we could have in just a few weekends.

There are still several projects we want to get done, but it is looking like we'll be able to finish the last of the cleaning and organizing in one or two more weekends at home.  Then it is on to decorating and organizing the nursery, which I can't wait to get to!!

The One Where We Relax

Well we did it!  We finally finished painting Little Man's room!  I'll post pictures eventually when we're done decorating and touch-ups, but the paint is dry, the fumes gone, and he's back to a good and safe night's sleep.

While the painting was being done and during the drying process, Little Man slept in the guest room in his Pack n Play.   Yeah, that went really well... never.  He is too big for the Pack n Play now really, so he can't get comfortable.  Which meant he tried to escape constantly, and woke up very early every day.  Like before the sunrise early.  After a week of that, putting him in his room for the first time was like Christmas all over again.   He slept in til 10 am and Mommy couldn't have been more grateful.  Of course, I got up at 8:30 panicked he was out of his room already because it was so peaceful, and then couldn't get back to sleep.  But it was the thought that counted.

We had a great three and a half day weekend together since Hubs was off on Monday and it was his Friday off.  I am feeling so lazy with this pregnancy that it is hard to get motivated to do anything!  But we still managed to get some shopping done on Friday after I spent the afternoon in the Social Security office changing my name!  By the way... Did you know that no matter how hungry you are, it is against the rules to eat at the SS office?  Yeah, found that out the hard way when Little Man was yelled at for eating a fruit snack by an armed security guy.  So one very grumpy Mommy waited by herself for two hours while the boys waited in the car and got Dunkin Donuts.  I'm not bitter at all.

The rest of the weekend was movies and relaxing with family.  We saw Hub's family for dinner on Saturday night and my mom came over on Sunday to help us do a little interior decorating and play some Wii before the big Ravens game!   I will be the first to admit that I have never cared much about football, I usually root for whatever team my friends are cheering for - so the fact that I have actually been voluntarily watching all this football lately is hilarious.  This season has been really... strangely... fun!

Anyways, this week is going to be pretty quiet and I am looking forward to the relaxation.  My mom also dropped off about a hundred (I'm not even exaggerating) romance novels a friend gave her while decluttering - so I have plenty of lazy days reading and hanging out at home ahead of me.  

Our Vegas Wedding - Part 2

Friday dawned bright and early despite all the partying from the night before.  Hubs and I lazed around the room with coffee and breakfast sandwiches until I met my mom and sister downstairs for some shopping.  Then we left for the courthouse in yet another limo!  By that point I felt ridiculously spoiled transportation-wise, since until Vegas I'd never been in a limousine in my life.

After we sped through the courthouse we ended up back at the MGM for a quick happy hour at Emeril's New Orleans Fish House.  A must try if you are ever at the MGM,  we loved every thing we ate there.
We lucked out with our bartender and ended up getting some amazing free appetizers, and then kept ordering drinks and food as various family members stopped in to join us.  We ended happy hour(s) with a champagne toast with both our families, a moment I really enjoyed.

That night was dinner and show - we had tickets for a group of us to all see LOVE by Cirque de Soilel.  Before the show my mom, sister, two of my friends and their guys headed with us to Samba, which featured an all you can eat Brazilian BBQ.  The meats were all good, and next time Hubs has vowed to go back with an empty stomach so can eat twice as much.   Between the food, the great drinks, and the even better company, it was a nice relaxing Wedding Eve dinner.

Being cuddly before Cirque began...

The show was breathtaking - the music, the acrobats, the dancing... I loved every minute of it!!  Poor Hubs was so tired from the time change that he might have dozed in a couple spots (it was a 9:30 show)... but he liked all the parts he was awake for (sorry hun!).   After the show almost all of us were ready to crash and call it a night, but one of my best friends had been recruited into steaming my wedding dress with me back at my hotel, and she (and her husband) generously gave up more sleep in order to make sure my dress was pressed and ready for the next day.  Lifesaver.  [K- You know I never would have gotten it done.]

And so Friday went off without a hitch.  Next would come the best part - wedding day!

Our Vegas Wedding!! - Part 1

Today I am finally well enough to start writing the posts that at least three people have been waiting for! ;)   Hope it was worth the wait...


So Thursday morning started late, of course.  We had to get the pets to the kennel, the Little Man needed to be washed and packed up for a week at Ex's, the bags needed last minute everything - our plan was to leave at 9:30 and we definitely left the house closer to 10:30.   By the time we dropped off Little Man, we ended up doing the Home Alone dash through the airport, racing to our gate just as the last two people were boarding the flight.  Of course that means on Southwest that we didn't get to sit together -ugh- but I made friends with a nice couple and we watched movies together the whole flight.  I assume Hubs had fun, he sent a beer my way with apologies as a celebration, and we were on our way!

When we finally navigated our way to the MGM and talked to the wedding guests (most of them had arrived on an early morning flight), we made plans for that night's bachelor/bachelorette party.  After a quick dinner in the food court everyone went back to their room for naps/drinks before the night began... and it was an absolute blast.  Nothing went according to plan of course, because that's how I roll... the guys and girls decided to stay together instead of splitting up, we left an hour late because of excessive picture taking (and because girls take forever to get ready), everyone was exhausted, there were no cabs to be found - but somehow it all managed to work out amazingly.  We got the guys in free everywhere because there were plenty of girls with them, because there were so many of us we got pulled out of the long cab line to a limo service that was even cheaper than two cabs would have been... Everything just worked out great!

I had so much fun that night, and I couldn't have asked for better support from my friends.  They took care of all the hassle of collecting money and calling the limo driver for return trips, getting us into a club without waiting in line, making sure I didn't get kicked out of a club due to a drunk girl stealing my tiara - it was fantastic.  It really hit me that night that everyone had gone out of their way to make my wedding an amazing event that I would never forget.  I knew right then that a destination wedding was a perfect choice for us.

Because my best friends have not given me permission to make them famous, I leave you with pictures of me and Hubs enjoying our night in style.

He cleans up nice doesn't he?  

I hated my shoes, but they were oh so cute. 

Limo kisses for the future Hubs.

The One Where I Get Married For The First Time All Over Again

Tomorrow morning we leave to get married.  HOLY SMOKES BATMAN.

We are heading out to Vegas with 28 of our closest friends and family, and it is going to be an amazing, epic, fantastic, legendary weekend of fun.

I just finished packing, got my very first spray tan, my nails done, and my eyebrows all cleaned up.  I feel ready, but also not ready.  Makes no sense I know, but that's what it is.

I feel like this is my first wedding, even though it is not.  I suppose it is because I feel like this is the first day of the rest of my life, the day we will begin our family, the day we commit to making a home for all of us. 

I am in a completely different place than I was when I got married to Ex. I would never say I regret that marriage or the short time we had as a family, I feel like he supported me through one of the more difficult periods of my life.  But we were not compatible in the long run, and so I am also forever grateful he had the foresight to realize that I was much better off without him we didn't make a great team.  My "failed marriage" makes me cherish every single moment I have with Hubs, and it will make me value our marriage all the more. 

I am in love with Hubs, and we are an amazing team.  I am finally at peace with who I am and who I will become.  I am no longer lost in my own skin.  I don't have doubts.  I don't have fears.  I have confidence that this is the person I am meant to be with.  We've seen the worst and the best in each other and dealt with it together.  He loves all of me just as I love all of him.

And so I prepare for tomorrow like I have never done this before, because I haven't.  I haven't walked down the aisle as this person, this happy, well-adjusted, healthy person that I am now.   This relationship that we have is a special and wonderful new chapter in my life, and I am ridiculously excited to start it.

It is going to be a beautiful wedding.

The One With More BedWars

Disappointment doesn't even begin to describe how I felt when I opened up our letter from the insurance company.

"The request for a medical bed w/canopy is denied.  Reason: Called primary care physician and they were not available, talked to on-call physician and they could not give a valid reason for medical bed."

Say what???  So basically, you made a phone call and didn't reach my doctor immediately.  Then you talked to another random doctor who didn't know Little Man or anything to do with his case, and you decide that is enough information to proceed with this denial?


UGH.  I want to hit something.  I want to drop off my son for an overnight visit with the insurance company and have them see how "unnecessary" it would be to get the medical canopy. 

The REM social worker told us that a denial would be most likely at first and we'd have to reapply with more ammunition to refute their denial.  But this denial is useless because there is nothing to go on.  And now we are five weeks out from the wedding and losing the REM coverage anyways, so its looking less and less likely that we are going to get a bed. 


The only thing that kept me from dwelling on the denial this weekend was that we had an amazing time at a local wine festival, and I got to spend quality time with my little sister and my mom.  We took Little Man to the festival with us and he had a blast running around outside and playing with his auntie.  That night we stayed up til two in the morning playing cards and drinking wine, making popcorn and being ridiculously competitive.   We haven't had a chance to have one of our family nights in awhile, and I'd really missed them.

Little Man being a party animal at the festival

Anyways, today will be spent working on our appeal for the bed, and recovering from the crazy weekend.  Hubs is off til Tuesday so hopefully we can get a few house and wedding errands done.

The One About Television, and With An Abundance of Parenthesis

So what is everyone watching this season??

Our DVR this season is full of our favorite shows - and we're only mildly embarassed by some of them.  To be totally honest, here is this season's lineup:

Switched At Birth                   (ABC Fam is my guilty pleasure)
Revolution                              (Hubs' new favorite show right now, and I love it too)
NCIS                                       (Hubs' old favorite)
New Girl                                 (Our favorite comedy )
The New Normal                    (We're trying to fall in love but it's not quite there)
Survivor: Phillippines             (I watch every season)
Glee                                        (It's not as great this year)
Grimm                                     (We love this show!)
DCC Making the Team          (Hahaha I conned Hubs into watching it)
Once Upon A Time                 (We love this show!)
666 Park Avenue                     (New, and super scary!)

Yikes.  Does everyone else watch this much tv??   And to be fair - the DVR means this is only our "can't miss" list. 

Yesterday was spent out in the "city"... we walked on the waterfront and ate at a crappy seafood place.  Total bummer since we live so close to so many amazing seafood places.  But I was being really obnoxious slightly cranky because I was so hungry and we chose the closest one.   Wrapped up the day with a trip to the pumpkin patch and farmer's markets.  It is really starting to feel like fall!  I dropped off the Little Man and Hubs at home that night and went out to see an outdoor play with some friends, and got the news that I did not get the part I had auditioned for in a different play.  Bummer, but it wasn't meant to be.

We spent our Sunday cleaning up our DVR and watching old Disney movies on ABC Family. Hubs mowed the grass and I made that White Pizza Grilled Cheese from Pinterest (not so great, and I lost the pin somewhere) and a homemade tomato soup from Tasty Kitchen (very good recipe! You can see my rating on the recipe as proof!)

Hope everyone else's weekend was as relaxed as ours!

The One With A Wedding

The wedding this weekend was truly amazing.  I cried as I watched one of my best friends (I firmly believe you can have multiple "best" friends) walk down the aisle.  We'd all swore to ourselves we'd be hard as nails and need no tissues, but the minute the double doors opened up I knew I was going to be a blubbery mess.  Thank God for waterproof mascara!

Hubs and I finally got some cute photos of us to add to the wall. Some are a little too ridiculous for the internet to see... but here is a keeper:

Some of the photos from the wedding will need to be deleted... had a little too much fun ;)

 

 

 

We picked up Little Man this morning and are taking today realllll easy-like.  I found a frozen block of chilli deep in the back of the freezer, and we're letting it thaw out for dinner.  With a side of a couple Redbox dvds.  

 

Perfect weekend complete :)



The One With Deadlines, and a Recipe!

I have a lot of posts swirling around my head.  If you could see my page of drafts, you'd see a lot of half-assed  half-written ideas swirling around that I haven't finished.  It's just been an insanely busy week.  One of my best friends is getting married this weekend, and I'm in her wedding.  She has not asked us to do a single thing other than enjoy the day (thanks gorgeous!), and yet somehow I'm still running around like a crazy person trying to cram five days worth of To-Dos into four.

So tomorrow afternoon Hubs and I head out of here bright and early so I can get my mani pedi for the big day, and then we're staying in the city all weekend.  Little Man gets to go to his dad's for possibly the last time til our wedding in November, because I am at the end of my rope with the Ex. 

Hubs and I have been driving Little Man to the Ex every other weekend, which is a three to four hour round trip for us.  We've been trying to find excuses to make the trip worthwhile, like going to the mall or hanging out with my mother who lives halfway between the two points.  And we've been able to schedule a lot of fun adult activities to keep us needing and wanting him to spend time with the Ex.  But we're tapped out.  Ex has indicated that for various excuses reasons he will not be able to make the trip to us in the foreseeable future, so that's that.  I never want to keep Little Man from spending time with Ex, because he adores him and vice versa... but at some point I need this to be an equal partnership.  Gah.  Frustration. 

Anyways, since this week has been so busy most of our meals have been tossed together in a rush.  On Tuesday I went to Marshalls and found an amazing selection of kitchen spices and sea salts, so when I came home I threw together this spaghetti dish that is one of our standard "Hurry Up I'm Hungry" meals.  Hubs raved, I gave it four out of five stars.  I'm not sure it is as good as Honey Boo Boo child's mom's spaghetti (oh god, look it up, its so gross) but it's a start:

Please note, I'm writing it how I cook it, so don't be alarmed.  Your fridge may look different than mine, in which case feel free to substitute your own wilty veggies.

Spaghetti-ish 
-1 onion, diced
-1 smushed from the crisper drawer red pepper, diced
-1 orange pepper, diced
-1/2 slightly shriveled and dry container of white button mushrooms, chopped
-1 can of tomato sauce
-1 can of diced tomatoes
-Olive oil
-Everything left in the bottom of the chopped garlic container, maybe 3 tsp or so
-1/4 cup of Cabernet, from the box in the fridge
-Italian seasoning
-Sugar
-Black lava sea salt from Marshalls that you absolutely are dying to use
-Black pepper
-1 pkg of homemade basil pasta, also from Marshalls

• Have your Hubs chop and dice all the veggies while you are out shopping for shoes for the wedding.  Realize you want to spend hours at the store stocking up on spices you don't need and will never use, but sound delicious and amazing.  Then when you get home, your mise en place is done and waiting in the fridge.  BOOM take that Ann Burrell.
• Hubs has decided not to chop up the mushrooms because they look funny.  Decide that mushrooms are a fungus so they probably can't get worse.  Chop 'em up.
• Add olive oil and all the veggies to a big pan.  Let them get soft while you show Hubs how much you spent on shoes and spices.  Appease him by showing him the pair of pants you got him.  Stir veggies, change into pajamas at 5:45 PM.
• Pour a glass of wine for yourself.  Splash some into the pan first because cooks always use wine, right?  Add the cans of diced tomatoes and sauce.  Stir.
• Realize you need to boil water for the pasta.  Get on it.
• Add a couple shakes of Italian seasoning to the sauce on the stove.  Use the precise measurement of "til it looks like there is seasoning all over the top of the sauce."  Stir it in.  Add a lot of pepper, and then your black lava sea salt (yay a reason to use it!).  Taste and add more of whatever it is missing, plus a tsp of sugar.
• Add the noodles to the boiling water.  Cook til they are al dente.  Hubs is confused as to why you want to eat noodles with no sauce, he's more of a "It said 6 minutes on the box so that is when they are done" type guy.  PS: The box said 2-3 minutes but it took 8 to make them not crunchy, so I won that battle.
• Stir the pasta sauce til the noodles are done.  Have Hubs drain the noodles and then add them to the sauce pan.  He thinks this is a bad idea, but you convince him it is brilliant and saves a bowl to wash.
• Serve to all adults and eat.  Nuke 4 nuggets for the child.  If he's anything like mine, he'll be much happier that way.

I will completely understand if you try and recreate this recipe and it falls short.  It is clearly a complicated and difficult dish to master. I'd have taken a picture, but I was stuffing my face instead. 

Bon' Appetit!

The One About the Weekend

This weekend flew by!   Little Man had an appointment with his behavioral psychologist on Friday, which meant that I dropped him off at his dad's for the weekend a little earlier than usual.

I got to use the extra time to hang out at the Amish market down here and pick up some incredible summer peaches and lots of veggies for our healthy eating plan.  And "21 Jump Street" from Redbox.  I'm going to be honest with you - I don't miss Blockbuster at all.  There is something amazing about being able to run out in the middle of the night in your pajamas and busted up flip-flops, knowing that you can rent a movie without having to talk to a single human.

So Hubs grilled some steaks and I made tomato salad and we had a quiet date night in. 

We woke up early Saturday to go to the Crab and Beer Festival at National Harbor.  Its always a fun time, and this year my mother (born and raised in the Midwest) picked her first crabs!   We drank enough beer to a kill a fish, and then ate lunch at a restaurant on the harbor.  The plan had been to try and do something after the Festival since it ended at 3, but we were so exhausted (and tipsy) that we decided the best plan was to go to sleep by 9:30.  

Sunday was church with Hubs and his family.  I haven't set foot in a Sunday service in... many many years.  But his family had donated some prayer books in his grandfather's name and there was recognition for them during this service.  So I sat/stood/sat/stood/knelt/stood/sat through a Sunday service, and did not burst into flame.  And it was all worth it when the little old ladies came over to coo over Hubs and praise him for finally finding a nice girl to settle down with like they'd always wanted for him. Hahahah... I don't think he's going to go back for awhile... 

After lunch I had to drive up to my mom's and meet my ex-mother-in-law to pick up the Little Man.  She dropped him off there because she "lost my number" and couldn't figure out how to get a hold of me.

Seriously?  Passive aggressive on a whole new level.  Little Man was covered in bug bites again and smelled dirty.   I hate that neither Ex or his mother can communicate what goes on during their weekends, and neither can Little Man.   All I know is that he comes home and is a hot mess for a week until I can get him calmed down and back on schedule.  It drives me crazy.

I think everyone in the house is napping now... perfect time to finish more of my book and watch some TLC.   I have my priorities.