Quick Post

I suck at blogging. Thank God I didn't decide to do that nanoblomo or whatever the hell it's called. I'd be a big fat FAIL.

Halloween was lots and lots of fun this year. Ellie was very excited to don her Uniqua costume, and I must say she was extremely cute in it. Damn me for not posting public pics of my kid!

I also dressed up for the night's round of trick or treating, and my neighbors were really impressed with the fact I decided to. Yep, I'm that cool mom. Heh heh.

After 6 houses or so, Ellie asked if we were going back to her house. It cracked me up. Since she had gotten the major haul from our neighbor, Dave, (3 large-sized candy bars), she was ready to head on home and dig in. We did our entire horseshoe, then headed back to the homestead. She ate 3 small candy bars, then took a bite out of the 4th, decided she "can't like that", asked for a different one, took a bite, and "can't like that one either". You see where this is going. That was the end of the candy for her that night. Luckily, she didn't balk.

The next morning we were up pretty early because of DST (grrr) but made the most of it by decorating the house and the cake. Our first guests arrived by 11am, and the dance party proceeded. The kids had a great time just playing and hanging out listening to the music, and us parents had a pretty good time, too, just chatting.

The family arrived promptly at noon, the kids went outside to play for a bit, and Harry picked up the pizza and was home by 12:30. We dug in and stuffed our faces happily. The kids were like vacuums! Even Ellie. I have never seen her eat so much.

Soon after that it was cake time. I made Ellie's cake this year. She told me what she wanted, and she got it... a chocolate ice cream cake. It was delicious, a big hit, and Ellie was very excited about it all. We got some fantastic pictures of her blowing out her candles and eating. She ate the whole damn piece!

After that, she opened presents, and that went exceptionally well too. In fact, the whole day did. There wasn't one fight or temper tantrum the whole 3.5 hrs the kids were there. Impressive!

Ellie crashed soon after everyone left, and I got a little quiet time to just sit and read. Ahhhh.

We had pizza again for dinner (um, yeah, WW was thrown out the window last weekend), and Ellie ended up playing with all her new loot until bedtime. It was a wonderful day, and I'm so glad Ellie had such a good time.

I'll be honest. I've been noticing a change in her demeanor these last few weeks, and I've been hoping it would progressively get even better. And knock on wood, it has. She's different, older, a little more mature. It makes my heart swell.

Well, this didn't end up being quick at all.

Oh, one last thing. I hit my 40 lbs lost mark this week! Even after all that pizza and cake. Woo hoo!

Oh, and I have my concert tomorrow. I'll try to get off my lazy ass and write about it sometime next week. I promise!

Have a good weekend, everyone!

Prepping

We've got a big weekend coming up. Tomorrow is Ellie's Halloween party at daycare. She's extremely excited to don her Uniqua costume and get candy. She's especially excited about the candy. Everything has been about the candy she's going to get on Halloween. Every subject comes back to the fact that she's going to get candy on Halloween. Candy, candy, candy! I think she may have a problem.

Saturday is the big day (or night), and we all plan on getting dressed up and going trick or treating in our 'hood. A couple of weeks ago, I went as a goth chick for a party, but it might be a bit too cold with opaque sleeves and a dress for a jaunt around our circle. I'm thinking of going as a cowgirl instead. That should be a little warmer.

Ellie's ready and rarin' to go with her new trick or treat bag. She's been toting it around the house, telling me continually we need to go to the store so she can buy some candy to fill it. She's a little O/C about the candy if you haven't noticed.

Sunday is an even bigger day (possibly the biggest of 2009) because it's the day my little girl turns 3 years old. Um, holy crap! I'm about to have a 3-year-old. I'm surprised that I'm a little sad she's growing up so fast because it wasn't long ago when I was saying, "I can't wait until she's old enough to..." Now she's this freakin' cool, awesome chick I want to spend all my time with. Last week she told me I'm her best friend. Can you say, "Mommy is a big puddle of goo" after that one? You're my best friend, too, Kiddo.

We're having a dance party this year... Ellie's idea. She decided after she saw a Backyardigans episode (like a million times) where they have one for Austin's birthday. She thinks it's the coolest thing.

Unusual for me, I still haven't made the damn mix yet. Usually, I'm all over a music mix, but I just haven't had the time. I've got a track list ready to go, so I'm hoping it'll only take an hour or so to make it. A copy of the mix is going to be included in the goody bags for the kids, so I need to get my ass in gear. I decided that it'll be both kids music mixed with adult music, too. A little fun for everyone to listen to, ya know? Ellie's a big fan of Queen, David Bowie, and Guns 'n Roses, just to name a few, so they definitely make it on there. I may be rocking to the CD in the car for the next year. It'll finally replace that Laurie Berkner CD we've been listening to the past 2 years.

We've got the fam coming: my mom, dad, sisters, nieces, Harry's mom, etc, and we've also got a few of Ellie's friends from daycare making an appearance this year, as well as Teri, her daycare provider. Round it off with Kim and my Godson, Niko, and we've got a full house! I hope we can fit everyone. I'm only a little worried about that. We always make do.

We also have to change the clocks between Halloween and Ellie's birthday, so that should be interesting, too. I made sure to write it on all the invites, so hopefully no one shows up an hour early with me unshowered and scrubbing the toilet. Wouldn't THAT be a nice surprise?

On Monday, Ellie will have yet another party at daycare. Good Lord, the amount of sugar this kid is going to consume this weekend is immense. I'm a bit frightened. Not to mention I can't say no to cake, so I'll be consuming some myself. And pizza. And maybe a piece of candy. Or two. Or twelve.

Another introduction

I wanted to be a writer for a very, very long time. Poetry was my forte, but I really yearned to write short stories, novels, epics even! Unfortunately for me, I completely suck at this kind of creative writing. SUCK at it. I can say more in a 16-line poem than I can in 100 pages of prose fiction for some reason. Some would say that was talent; I kinda think it's lame. My brain just can't function with all that white space of empty pages looming again, waiting to be filled. My sentences are clunky, ugly, and boring.

My friend, Erin, on the other hand, is the writer I always wanted to be. She's fucking fantastic. Yes, her skillz are so intense that I will drop an f-bomb to describe them. Erin writes in many styles and genres, which makes me slightly jealous and highly envious. Alas, I can't hate her because she's also flippin' cool, and if I killed her, I wouldn't get to read her work anymore.

She has previously delved into the world of comic books, writing White Viper which was published online last year (her dad, Frank McLauglin, a rather talented comic book artist, inked it). She also writes a column for The Fairfield County Weekly, which is equally as awesome and entertaining as she. The last one I read was about strippers and prostitutes, I think, and how the bad economic times are impacting their world. She did quite a few interviews for the piece, and it was deliciously informative and edgy.

Erin has now decided to dive into the world of blogs. Last week, she started up Memoirs of a Phat Chick. If you've got 10 minutes to spare today, please, please, please do yourself a favor and read the 3 pieces she put up for all our viewing pleasure. You won't be disappointed. You will laugh. You'll probably cry, too (I'll admit at least one of the pieces had me balling like a baby in my cube last week). And you will come back for more. I promise you that.

A picture is worth a thousand words

I actually have a thousand words stuck in my head right now, but I just can't seem to set them down. Too much thinking. Too much thinking. It's why I haven't posted for so long. Sometimes the words flow; sometimes I need a tow truck to get them out.

Pictures will have to do. I'm closing in on 40 lbs. I should hit the mark by next weekend. It feels incredible. Let me say that again: it feels incredible.



Harry and me all ready for a Halloween party this past weekend.



Me and Harry's sister, Cindy, at the Halloween party. She was a Maryland crab:)



Me, Jessica, and Lea after a girls' afternoon at SBC.

Practice, practice, practice!

Some kids practice playing the piano. Others practice different sports.

My kid likes to practice too. She's been at it every day for the past week.

First I caught her practicing in front of the mirror. I guess she had to make sure she looked OK while doing it.

Lately, she's been practicing before nap and bedtime, too. That's when she really excels at it.

Even in the car! There's no where this girl can't practice this natural talent she's been blessed with.

You could call her an expert by now. That's how good she is.

My daughter, Miss Ellie, is an expert whiner. I'm so proud.

Introducing Anne Marie

Anne Marie and I met through Emmaus, a religious retreat run by members of my church community. I don't remember how we started talking, but we soon found that we were very much alike in so very many ways. We would sit and chat for hours at the bar (um, we went to the bar A LOT for a group of Catholics trying to run this thing. Scratch that... we went to the bar A LOT for a group of human beings - heh heh). We learned a lot about one another. It's weird to meet someone so much like you.

Eventually, I no longer participated in the retreats, and we soon lost contact. We both got married, she moved out of state, the norm. Then, last year, we found each other through Facebook. We both now have kids (she has 2 little ones I really hope to meet someday soon). And little by little, over this past year, we've started finding out new and interesting things about each other's lives the past few years.

Last month, she asked me about blogging. She's been thinking about starting one up, and I was happy to help. She was really nervous about putting herself out there, so I'm really glad she took the plunge.

She's been through some major life-changing events. And she's willing to share those experiences with those who are interested. She's also a stay-at-home mom, so she's got some funny stories about that, too.

So please check her out! Stay At Home Mommy Daze is her new bloggy home.

Step one of eleventy-billion-and-one

Writing my last post did me a lot of good. Reading all the lovely comments everyone left did me a whole lotta more good. We'll call that opening the flood gates.

This weekend really started my journey to the new-and-improved me. First on the agenda was to clean out my closet. And I mean that in the literal sense. I went through my closet and my armoire and got rid of every stitch of clothing that no longer fits. To my surprise, quite a few pieces I was banking on to use the next few months (like fleeces and sweaters) were too big when I tried them on. The last time I wore them, they *just* fit. And now I can possibly fit another person in there. That was eye-opening.

I first thought that maybe I could still use them, but I realized quickly that they made me look frumpy and unattractive. Yeah, no thanks. I can do without that.

In the end, I only have about 20 pieces that fit right now. And I'm OK with that. Mostly because I only plan on fitting in these for a little while longer and then moving onto the next size down. That's the plan, and I'm sticking to it.

It took me a couple of hours while Ellie was napping, but it was well worth using my normal down-time to get the job done. I felt lighter after I threw that last piece of clothing into the bag for Goodwill. Lighter in both mind and body. Very Zen of me, I know.

But real nonetheless. I feel different now. All those clothes (and MY GOD there was a lot) were holding me down, the unnecessary baggage of a person who has been trying to break out of herself and the definitions of her for a very long time.

I'm redefining every day.

A million and one

I've had a million and one things to say lately (don't I always?) but I just can't seem to get them out. I feel a little out-of-sorts, and I can't put my finger on exactly why.

I've been taking a long, hard look at myself lately because while I should be happy, and while my life is wonderful, and although my daughter makes me deliriously feel like I am the luckiest person alive, there is something missing. I have no idea what that thing is, but it's not where it should be. Does that make any sense?

Things I have noticed:

I no longer like long, lingering kisses. WTF? Seriously? My body just doesn't react to them. It sucks. I don't know where this aversion suddenly came from, but it can go to hell.

I wish Harry would want to read a book and discuss it with me. There, I said it. Dammit. Just try! Ugh.

I roll my eyes too much. I get aggravated too often. I am quick to judge. I need things done my way.

There really are too many stupid people in the world.

Appearances can be deceiving.

So I'm working on it. I'm always working on it. I'm a work-in-progress.

I woke up in a very good mood today. That's always nice. I went out for coffee with a friend earlier this week, and I have another coffee date slated for tomorrow and yet another one for next weekend, as well. I'm trying to focus more at the office. I get sidetracked easily nowadays, and I don't want it to affect my job. Being employed is too important to mess it up because I can't concentrate.

And the biggest news... I booked a ticket to FLA for the end of the year. It's a short trip, just a Saturday to a Tuesday, but it's a trip about me. Harry and Ellie are staying home while I spend a few days with my mom at her new house. I'll also be meeting up with Annita and Becs! I am very much looking forward to it.

All this is just the tip of the iceberg of all the thoughts that have been running through my brain lately, but I have to start somewhere. I have to get it all out.

Funky Fresh

I'm feeling out of sorts. Yesterday I was Cranky McCrankypants, and today I seem to be walking around in a discombobulated daze. I think I need a me-day.

I look forward to the Saturday Mornings I get with Ellie. Besides the extra cash we so desperately need that Harry's overtime brings in, I get all morning with my girl. The time I get to spend alone with Ellie these days are my absolute favorite times of the week. We just click. We cuddle in front of the TV, play games, read, run around outside, scream like banshees, etc. You know, the norm mommy/daughter stuff:)

This past Saturday was no exception. Both of us were in a great mood. We even ventured out to Target to pick up a few things, and I allowed the stinker to play in the toy department for over an hour. She LOVES being the leader on shopping expeditions. And those first few aisles of Target are Toddler Heaven. Seriously.

Then Sunday comes, and all hell seems to break loose. Ellie is kind of attached to me (read "barnacle"), and if I suddenly disappear, she roams around the house, calling my name, searching every room for me. It gets to the point where I can't take a shower or get dressed or anything really without her looking for me and interrupting a few blessed moments of quiet. She only really does it if she knows I'm in the house; she doesn't do it at Teri's or if she sees me leave in my car. Basically, it boils down to if I'm under the same roof, I'm Ellie's bitch.

It's getting to me.

I love my little girl. Love her love her LOVE HER. But I need a few minutes to breathe. Yesterday, I was feeling suffocated. Add to that Harry yelling right behind Ellie's "Mommy! Mommy, where are you?" with "Leave Mommy alone!", and you have a recipe for headache central with a little added stress on the side. I wanted to shout back, "Both of you, please be quiet!"

Yeah, it's getting to me.

Between Ellie's searching, Harry's reprimanding, Ellie's whining, Harry's reprimanding, and Ellie's crying, I want to run away with the circus never to be heard from again. Instead, I go and console her because I am a sucker. I HATE to see and hear her cry. And it's not like she's fake-crying. This is all-out wailing and big, fat tears-streaming-down-her-face crying. Meanwhile, Harry just stands there. Dude, console her a little. Poor kid's upset.

Is she getting what she wants? Not really. She doesn't want to be yelled at, and she doesn't want me to console her. She wants me to play with her. She wants me to watch her build a tower. She just wants me close by.

Harry tries. He does. He'll ask her if she wants to go outside for awhile or play downstairs so I can get a break, but I hear them out there or down there, and the tension doesn't go away.

Add to that the constant cleaning and picking up, and I'm just a big angerball. And I ain't talking about Ellie. I get that I married the man knowing he's not the neatest person in the world, but damnit, he IS an adult, fully capable of cleaning up after himself. How many times do I have to clean up crumbs or sweep the floor or pick up little pieces of toilet paper that must have ripped off the roll when he was trying to get some (SERIOUSLY. Instead of throwing them away, he threw them on the floor? How lazy can you be? The garbage can is also on the floor. Aim for that).

Yeah, I'm bitching. I'm just tired.

Maybe I want to be a slob and have someone clean up after me. Time after time, I'm tempted to not pick up like I normally do so he could see what the house would be like. In the end, I just can't do it. I can't have Ellie live in clutter or filth of any kind. I just can't. So I keep picking up. I keep cleaning.

Apparently, the toilet and the shower and the sink magically clean themselves. Did you know that? And the counters wipe themselves clean. They must because my husband has only cleaned our bathroom 1 time since we moved in over a year ago and he only cleans the counter after he makes dough on it. There must be elves who do that sort of stuff for you because they end up clean at the end of the day.

Bitch, bitch, bitch. That's me Bitchy McGee.

I get pissed at myself for feeling like this. I have a pretty freakin' fantastic life. I KNOW that. I just want a little pampering from time to time. I'm a little high maintenance when it comes to being married to me. Not monetarily but emotionally. I'm hard to live with. I want things done yesterday. I want help without having to ask for it. I want to be appreciated. I want to be told I look pretty when I know I do. I want to be lavished with priase once in a while. I want to feel like an important person.

Where were you?

Today is a day of rememberance. Today is a day to be thankful for the things you have. Today is a day to voice your hopes, your wishes, your dreams… for yourself, your family, your friends, your fellow man, for this country, for this world.

On September 11, 2001, I was at a turning point in my life. I had just started dating my now-husband. I had a full-time job. I was enrolled in the Fall semester at my college. Things were moving along.

I was at work that morning, sitting at my desk, talking to my friend, Kim. We both got in at 8:30am and usually chatted before the day’s rush of work came in. We were talking about nothing special, possibly the Labor Day weekend that had just past, plans for her birthday, which was in the next few weeks, where my new relationship was going, seeing as I was dating her former roommate. You know, the usual blah blah blah.

We had been chatting for awhile when all of a sudden, Kim said, “You won’t believe this. We’re listening to the radio, and it was just reported that a plane hit one of the Towers.”

My response, “Are you kidding? Don’t they have people that monitor plane activity? How did that happen?”

There wasn’t anything else in the broadcast, so we resumed our mundane and inane conversation.

15 minutes later, and Kim stopped in midsentence. “Another plane just hit the other Tower.”

Both of us were silent. She was listening to the broadcast; I was waiting for her to report what it said.

I got one of those bad chills down my spine and that metallic taste in my mouth.

“Oh my God, one of the Towers collapsed.”

“Oh my God, the other Tower collapsed.”

And the world changed.

She had to immediately get off the phone and call everyone she knew in New York working at the Towers. She works in Finance, so she knew quite a few people.

And I sat in silence in my office with no windows, no internet, no radio, no television, no link to the outside world but my office phone.

The phone rang, and it was Harry. “Have you heard what’s going on?”

Work came to a screeching halt. Radios were found in the office and tuned in. People called their family and friends to make sure they were safe. We were only a short hour and 15 minute train ride to the city; it felt like it was going on right in our backyard.

Around 2pm, they sent us all home to be with our families. We all left in silence, trying not to run to our cars and get home as soon as possible to our loved ones.

I found Harry after seeing my parents, sister, and niece. He was at his local bar, drunk but somber. He was let out of work early too, but because he doesn’t really have any family, he went to his surrogate family instead… his bar friends.

We all sat and drank, but the bar was eerily quiet for a change. The TV was tuned into CNN instead of one of the games, and every head was turned to watch it.

The day ended with tears and fears. Questions. Hypotheses. Anger. Loss. Confusion.

8 years later, and all of that is still here.

We felt the blow a month later still when the company Harry had worked for for 7 years closed down. They manufactured aerospace parts, and after the plane attacks, their biggest client canceled a million dollar order. For a small-town company, there’s no way to bounce back from that.

I was also laid off the end of that year (not due to the attacks, mind you).

We started 2002 unemployed, pretty much penniless, and scared.

We got through it.

And now, on this day of rememberance, I am thankful for all I have. I am thankful that I live in this country. I am thankful for my wonderful family. I am proud that we’re still standing. I’m also still scared about the future… mine, my child’s, my country’s, the world’s.

But I have hope. I’ll always have hope.

And I said my concert days were done

I'm happy to report that I was wrong.

A few days ago, Jess mentioned that Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova were touring in North America this fall. Get out! I figured they wouldn't be anywhere near here. Wrong again! One of the tour stops is in Providence, RI, a mere 2-hour drive from here. When I found out, I asked Harry if he would be interested in going with me. I had sat him down a couple of months ago to watch one of their concerts, and he liked the music. I was really hoping he'd want to go. Lucky me, he said yes.

Right after I got off the phone with him, I found out the presale was happening that day. I got the password code and waited for 11am to arrive. I immediately logged on, put in the code, selected best available seats for gold circle status (that's the first 10 rows orchestra section at Lupo's, and voila! Orchestra Center Right Row C Seats 1 and 2. Kick ass. We're on the center aisle right by the stage. Freakin' awesome.

I also emailed my mom to see if she'd watch Ellie for us, and she even agreed to watch her overnight. I was psyched. A little romantic getaway weekend for us! I started looking at hotels near Foxwoods Casino and saw the new MGM Grand just opened not too long ago. The rooms are a little pricey, but I figured what the hell, right?

So I called Harry on lunch break to tell him about the tickets and staying overnight, etc, and he surprised me by saying he didn't want to stay at a hotel overnight. I have to admit I was a bit crestfallen. We haven't had a weekend to ourselves since Ellie was born. I thought he'd jump at the chance to have a little alone-time, not to mention staying at a friggin' casino. I was wrong. That's THREE times I was wrong in a matter of hours, people.

I talked to him when I got home from work, and he's just not ready to spend a night away from Ellie. That really took me by surprise. I mean, there are nights I've put Ellie to bed without him, and most mornings, he's not here to wake her up. I kinda don't get it, but it is what it is. I won't force it, but I am a little bummed. We didn't really have the money for the hotel stay, but I was going to somehow finagle it with our finances to make it happen. I guess I don't have to work my magic.

That was kind of a downer, huh? Enough of that. The fact remains that we are going to go see an amazing concert in 2-months time, and I plan on thoroughly enjoying myself. Woo hoo!

Oh, and if you didn't listen to the song up top, take a couple of minutes to do so. Really. Their voices are just beautiful. They make me want to weep.

My eyes look all wonky in my profile photo

What's up with that? I look possessed or something. It's only on the work computer, too. My laptop doesn't make my eyes pop out all 3D like that. Weirdness. Am I demonic-looking on yours? Just curious.

Anyway, I had a very nice 3-day weekend. I got to go visit my niece, Jes, up at Central. She's now a junior, and this is the first time I've gotten up there. Shame on me. We had a nice coffeetalk at the local Starbucks there (I may complain about their coffee, but this particular Starbucks had an AWESOME patio). After realizing it's a mere 48 minute drive from my doorway to her parking lot, I'm kicking myself in the ass for not visiting sooner. I'll definitely be up again in the future.

Sunday we had playdate, which is always fun. Harry got to go visit our friends, Luke and Laura (yes, that's really their names), and they're new baby, Luke Jr. Unfortunately, I've had a cold the past week, so I couldn't go. Sadness. I really wanted to see the baby. We'll have to visit again soon. My mom also made us dinner Sunday night which is always nice because A) we get to visit with her, B) Ellie loves going to her house, C) Mom is an awesome cook, and D) I don't have to cook when she does.

On Monday we decided to hit the zoo. We've gone to the zoo a lot this summer. We have a yearly pass, and it's only 5 minutes from our house. Ellie likes to see the animals, but her absolute favorite part is going on the carousel. She has to ride the elephant. HAS TO. She starts talking about it the moment we enter the zoo. She's fanatical about the elephant. I'm not looking forward to the day that someone else gets to the elephant first. Good Lord all Hell will break loose.

Mornings at the zoo are always a good idea for us because it tires Ellie out. After Sunday sans nap, there was no way I was letting her get away with it Monday. She was a little crankypuss on Sunday, and I wanted to run away. Seriously. I would have come back!

So the zoo and a big lunch totally tuckered the little one out, and she took a long nap Monday afternoon. And so did I. I LOVE taking naps. I wish I could take one every day. After naps, we went to the beach to let Ellie play on the swings and playsets. Seems she has a preference to playsets in our town. Figures she likes the one at the beach more; it's 10 minutes away and crazy busy. I prefer the one 2 minutes down the street. Eh.

We ended the day with a special treat dinner from Wendy's. Ellie, the pickiest eater of the year, REALLY likes fast food. Go figure. She doesn't get it that often (from us anyway), but I do so love to watch her enjoying her food. She ate a small fry, a jr. cheeseburger, and 1/2 a small frosty for dinner. That's more than she normally eats in an entire day! She kept making "mmmmm" noises and smacking her lips while eating. Totally cracked me up. This is also the girl that doesn't like meat... unless it's a fast food hamburger. Weird.

I wish we had had another day together today. The weekend went by so quickly. Sigh.

See the little badge on the sidebar?

I'm participating in my first charity walk. Together, we can make a difference. If you'd like, please donate. No pressure. Thank you for reading. Have a nice day.

Finally!

I finally have a few minutes to write about the goings-on of the last month. It's been hectic and fun, and I have managed to talk about most of it using status updates and uploading pictures to facebook. That being said, I still want to chronicle the highlights here for myself and any and all who aren't fans of FB. Here goes.

The first major thing to happen this past month was my sister, Debby's, wedding. It was a beautiful event, and I'm so very happy for her. She got married at a local park in the rose garden, had a small reception at an Italian restaurant the next town over, then had a picnic at her house the next day to celebrate with people near and far. The whole thing was a huge success, and we all had a lot of fun. Debby and Steve celebrated their honeymoon on a cruise to Mexico. Ooh la la!

Here are a few pics of the day:





The next weekend, Harry, Ellie, and I went to the Hamburg Fair for a couple of hours on a Saturday morning. The highlight of that day was Miss Ellie getting to go on her first pony ride. I wish I could post pics (no pics of Ellie on ye olde blog), but you'll just have to trust me on the fact that the girl is a natural. She freakin' loved it. She ended up riding on her own the last minute or two. She even had a little pink-trimmed cowboy hat to wear. She quietly whispered to Harry as the ride was over, "Daddy, I want a pony." I'll get right on that, Sweetie.

The next weekend was the weekend we've been waiting for all summer. We went to Sesame Place! We totally lucked out as the weather forecast said it was going to rain ALL DAMN DAY. I decided we'd go anyway since A) the hotel was already paid for and couldn't be cancelled and B) we were going to a water park, so we were going to be wet anyway. It rained the entire 3-hour drive down. It rained while we had breakfast. It rained as we all piled out of the car and tried to protect as much of our gear as possible. It rained as we upgraded to a 2-day pass. Then suddenly, at the last check-in checkpoint, the rain stopped. Just like that. Eventually, the sun even came out. And we had beautiful weather for our entire stay at the park.

We had an excellent time at Sesame Place, and we plan on going back either the end of this month or sometime in October. They'll be celebrating Zoe's birthday the last weekend of September, and there's also a Halloween shindig going on that same weekend through all of October. We can't miss that! Plus, we have the free pass for a second day. Woo hoo. The only thing we'll have to pay for this time is parking.

We spent the majority of the day in the tidal pool. Ellie loved it. I'm talking like 3 hours in this thing. And she still got upset when we had to leave. She also braved the Slimey Chutes with Daddy, went on the carousel, and a few other toddler-friendly rides throughout the park.

I had also booked the lunch with the characters for that afternoon. The food was atrocious, but it was a lot of fun to see the characters up close (for me and Harry anyway; Ellie didn't like them invading her personal space). Harry and I even got pics with Bert and Ernie!




Even Kaylee, my now 13-year-old niece (ahhhh! she's a teen!) had a great time with us. By 4pm, we were done. We drove to the hotel, checked in, ordered some dinner, and just relaxed until bedtime (8:30pm for all of us!). A little breakfast the next morning, and we hit the road back home. We decided to take I-95 back, and I'll say right now... that was an awful, awful choice. We won't do that again.

The next week, both Harry and I got to spend some quality one-on-one time with Ellie. Teri had the week off, so Harry and I divvied up the week. I got Monday, Thursday, and Friday, and Harry got Tuesday and Wednesday with our little one. We had an amazing week with her. We went to the park nearly every day, she went in the pool, Harry took her to the zoo, and we got to do a little shopping together, too (Ellie is SO my kid - she shopped for an hour and a half!). I'm actually thinking of taking another day off with her soon; that's how much fun we had. I love the age she's at right now, even with the attitude and tantrums. She's really coming into her own.

And last, but not least, I am edging my way towards the 30-lbs-lost milestone. I'm a half a pound shy right now and hope to get there by my weigh-in day, which is Friday. 30 freakin' pounds people! I am ecstatic to say the least.

And not to toot my own horn, but I'm looking pretty damn good.

I'm still alive

Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans. ~John Lennon

I've had a busy, healthy dose of life this past month. And I got a little lazy. And there was no bloggy goodness from me because of that. I will remedy the situation soon.

Stand by.

And have a nice day:)

8 years ago today...

the mister and I started dating. 8 years, and we haven't killed each other yet. Something to celebrate.

I love you, Harry.

I did it!

A quickie...

I hit the 20-lbs-lost mark this weekend! Woo hoo! Not too shabby for 11 weeks. To top it off, I found a boxed brownie mix that's made from whole wheat and is only 2 pts per serving. I just integrated my first baked good into my eating plan. And I only ate one. Baby steps, baby steps.

I want Lolly to makeover my blog!

Looking for a new blog to read? Check out Mommy is Rock n Roll. Lolly's given her blog a major overhaul, and I'm totally jealous. It looks awesome so far. She's a new mommy with a kickass sense of humor, is brutally honest, and someone I have quickly and easily come to admire. Just thought I'd pimp her out:)

(Yeah, I used a cutesy smiley-face. So sue me.)

Lots of stuff!

This weekend, we had out-of-town guests stay at our house for the first time. The house isn't very big (only 1008 sf), and adding 2 more adults and 2 more children made for an interesting yet fun visit.

I met Audra through one of my oldest friends, Jessica. They went to college together and then crossed the U.S. right after college to move to L.A. I had met her a few times before their trek, and I also hung out with her on the few trips I made out to CA. We always got along famously well and noticed many parallels in our lives whenever we'd meet again.

Both of us got married within the same 12 month period (I think), and we both ended up having our first child in 2006, she in the beginning of the year, and me near the end. We both now live on the East Coast again, and up until recently, we both lived in basement apartments with family members living above (oh the stories we trade!).

This visit was very similar to the others with us finding how much we still have in common even though both our lives have drastically changed. We parent much the same way, and as she pointed out, as much as we self-criticize, we both have pretty well-behaved kids. Woo hoo.

Ellie and her oldest, Noah, had a blast this weekend. They chased each other continuously, fought over toys (not too much really), got to swim in the pool, just pretty much just be kids. Oh, how I envy. Her youngest, little Jake, is such a cutie. I must admit he stole my heart. And her husband, Jon, is really quite nice. This is the first time I met him, and I thought he was pretty cool. Audra has a lovely family.

We talked for hours once the kids were in bed, and that was by far my favorite part of the weekend. I love to gab, share horror stories about births and such, and laugh about all the stupid things we did when we were younger. I wished we could have stayed up to chat all night, but that's not really feasible for moms.

****************************************************

Among all the other stuff we did, we made a trip to my local zoo. I just had to put that in here because I got an amazing picture while we were there, and I want to share:



Is this not amazing? They built a new viewing house that overlooks the wolf enclosure so you can see the wolves more close up. It's amazing. During this trip, we experienced something we've never seen or heard at the zoo. The two timber wolves were sleeping as usual, when all of a sudden the both stood up and started howling. Slowly, the red wolves and the maned wolves in the other enclosures joined them. It sounded like a sad lament but it was utterly beautiful in the most basic form of nature, if that makes any sense. I took that shot from my side of the glass wall in mid howl. The zoo worker that was in the observation house told us we had to go outside to listen because it was even more fantastic than listening to it in there. We all ran out, and he was so right. I am so glad I got to witness it. We have no idea what they were howling about, but it was incredible nonetheless.

********************************************************

Ellie's pretty much fully potty-trained now. She does naps, overnights, the works. And last night, she pooped in the potty for the first time. I freakin' threw a party. She got like 20 stickers for that one. I am ecstatic.

********************************************************

Yesterday, I decided to take the day off and hung out with my mom. Neither of us can even remember the last time we spent the day together. It may have been before Harry and I started dating. We had a wonderful day together. I couldn't be happier. And, to top it all off, she babysat last night so Harry and I could go see Harry Potter. Contrary to the book lovers/movie haters, I enjoyed the movie immensely. I could forgive the changes and omissions because I was fully entertained. I want to go see it again. I didn't even remember some of the major omissions until an hour later, so it was no big loss to me. I told Harry about some of them, and he proclaimed, "Man, those would have been cool!" LOL. Yes, they would have. He's hoping they're maybe in an extended DVD version. I don't think that's gonna happen. I know my niece doesn't agree with me, but there are times when I can like both the book and the movie for different reasons. This is one of them.

Another Good Day!

We're two for two! Ellie was a doll last night. She ate her dinner, she listened, like really listened when I spoke to her, and there were no tantrums. Best of all, I was already in a good mood, and Ellie's good mood put me in a fantastic mood. Can't beat that.

And why was I in such a good mood? A simple shirt is the culprit. Last year, I bought this really pretty charcoal grey, button-down shirt that barely fit. The sleeves were tight, it just buttoned without looking like it was bursting, etc. It was flattering for my size, but I wished it was just the tiniest bit bigger.

I haven't worn the shirt in awhile, mostly because as pretty as it was, it made me feel rather large because of the fit. Yesterday, I decided to pull it out of the closet and see if it looked any better on me now that I've lost 18 lbs. Holy crap! It's friggin' loose. Even the arms are loose, which had me doing a happy dance since losing weight in my arms is the most difficult and stubborn area of my body to lose.

I just couldn't believe it. It almost looked like a maternity shirt! Lucky for me, that's kind of the style now so no one asked if I was knocked up. Heh heh. Another 10 lbs, and I won't even be able to wear it anymore. I may just get it tailored I love it that much.

This weekend, I also bought a few storage bins and packed away all my larger clothes. It was very cathartic. I hope I never have to see them again. Yeah, I know you're supposed to throw them out, but I'm just not ready to do that yet. I did that seven years ago and ended up having to buy all new clothes a few years later. I hate wasting money.

I think I can start wearing all my smaller clothes that have been sitting idly by for the past few years, waiting to be used again. That's exciting too. I especially love my summer dresses that I can now fit in again. Love it, love it.

I need more days like this.