happy friday

i really have nothing exciting to write about.

have a great weekend everyone!

the birds

so we went to my best friend's house on sunday & alex had the time of her life. why? because there were birds. BIRDS!!!

she was literally screaming at them. pointing, reaching, grabbing- she was obsessed.
ok- here are the birds: i sort of forget their names. but i think they're cute:






and the "mean" one- alex couldn't pet him:





ok- and here is alex chasing them around:




"BIRDS! COME HERE!"




this is when she was practically screaming at them. they were confused.



gettin' her reach on...



this was after an "alex NO! don't grab the birdies!" it's blurry- she's fast like that.



and this after all was said & done.

whew. it was fun.

oh, and we're not getting any birds. we're getting chickens- i think she'll be thrilled.

weekend recap

first things first- the giveaway will be going up on August 9th. apparently i suck at reading & my dates were off. my apologies to anyone who got insanely excited and marked today's date on their calendar (though i'm highly doubting that happened).

ok- moving on!

weekend pics & review.

we had an annual family cookout to attend this weekend & i was selected to make dessert. i ended up going with Dirt Cake & Phyllo Fruit Cups:





both turned out wonderfully & both are easy peasy.

the day of the cookout turned out to be a nice (although muggy) day. alex was the center of attention ::head explodes:: and she had the time of her life crawling around on the grass. she was also 10 months old on saturday- so these are her 10 month pics:



(i'm quite proud of myself. i managed to get her eyes in focus (for the most part)and i cleaned up the mess of food she had around her mouth with pretty Ok results (IMO)




(see that blanket & those toys? pointless. her obsession was the grass & her lotion bottle. why do i even try?)

and lets not forget about the dogs. i think they had more fun than anyone. plus, i'm pretty sure they were "slipped" a week's worth of food:



maximus



cessna



and my in-law's dog, Axel:






(he'll stand like this for-ever until you give him something. it's adorable)

and last but not least- alex once again. after hours of crawling, laughing, playing, eating & etc:



sitting inside (hello air-conditioning) with daddy- exhausted.

so saturday = success.
well...mostly. on the way home the hub's grill fell over in the back of the truck & promptly broke something. i guess the bond between man & his grill is very real & runs very deep because the hub's mood was pretty foul for the rest of the ride.

he perked up a little when i uttered the words "new grill" but we'll see. i think it's fine & i doubt a new one is needed.

and then alex & myself had even more fun on sunday while the hubs & his dad put the roof on the chicken coop. but i'll put up that adventure tomorrow.

how was your weekend?

20 weeks- halfway there!

i'm 20 weeks today. which technically = "halfway there"

however, if this child is anything like alex then not so much. my child had to be forcefully expelled from my ute after she stuck around for almost 2 extra weeks. we shall see if #2 is as stubborn.

here i am this morning @ 20 weeks with #2:




and because she snuck in:


"oh- herro prease!"

and here's alex- still glassy eyed from sleep & on slight overload from the flashings of ESPN:





please notice the Skip Hop foam mat that i spent good money on- the foam mat that she refuses to play on but will gladly play with as long as it's all packaged up. super.

also, looking at these pictures i think she's starting to look more & more like her father. hmmm.
she'll be 10 months old tomorrow. 10. months. OLD. i'm not going to think about it. i refuse.

i will instead focus on the fact that she officially says her first word ::drumroll::
it's MAMA!
indeed- i say, "say MAMA!" and she says "MAMA!"
or she looks at me & says "MAMA?!"

i swear i try to get her to say DADA- but no dice yet. she'll play around with it "DADADADMAMJHGYTBEIE..." but no definate "DADA" yet.
we'll work on that....maybe.

have a wonderful weekend- and come back monday- we actually have a pretty sweet giveaway. hooray- free stuff!

cookout dessert idea

i need a quick cookout dessert for Saturday.

i'm thinking Dirt Cake? quick, easy, yummy- etc etc.
any other good ideas? i'm all ears. i'm too burnt out to think!

weekend recap

first off- the girl winner for the BabyLegs giveaway never contacted me- so i've picked a new winner:

Comment #11. Congrats Janineb! please contact me within 24 hours with your info!

friday: i had the day off. so alex & i had a day to ourselves. i brought her to work, where she promptly acted like i was killing her whenever i tried to put her down or let someone say hello. seriously, i think my co-workers suspect that i've been lying about her good nature.

we then went walking downtown (main objective: try on new Hunter's @ the local shoe store) and manged not to spend a single dime. impressive! by this time it was around 12ish or so & it was freaking HOT. so we went back home & spent the rest of the day indoors.

my friend (who just had her 7th child 3 months ago- dear God) called & we made dinner plans. HOORAY! dinner plans with friends? why that hasn't happened in ages. AGES! so i suggested (strongly) that the husband come home early so i could go out. he obliged.

i went out & had the best turkey shnitzle ever. EVER! and then (with the friend's 3 month old in tow) & another friend- we headed to Barnes & Nobles for the next 2 hours. we read filthy tabloids & spent too much on Starbuck's food.

i unlocked my front door @ 10:40pm and was pleased that the house was dark & quiet. off to bed.

saturday: up bright & early to drop the hubs truck off for service by 8am. then we had breakfast @ Donut Fresh (i'm slightly obsessed with this local donut place. it's interesting because it's owned & operated by several Japanese ladies who assualt you as soon as you walk in.

"YOU KNOW WHAT YOU WANT!?!?!"
ahhh- no not yet! have mercy!
the hubs loves it because he think i take entirely too long to make up my mind- but these ladies won't allow it. i've got about 30 seconds to just pick something- ANYTHING!

then the dining room is all decked out in Asian art stuff- so you feel like you're in an Asian food place- but you're not. but i love it.
after eating we killed 2 hours walking through various Feed Stores (think Agway, Blue Seal- etc) looking at chicken stuff. then we had to go to the local gun store- boring. thankfully we left without purchasing any more firearms. Lord knows we don't need any despite the hubs insistance that we do.

finally- the hubs truck was ready so i dropped him off & headed home with alex.

then the highlight of my day- ECLIPSE! finally! i went & saw the 2:30 showing. i swooned, sighed, gasped- etc etc. fabulous.

sunday: sunday was a catch all day. Lowes for paint- Wal Mart for juice, home to paint the chicken coop, mow the lawn, do chores- etc etc.

alex also decided that she didn't want to be put down. unless you were on all fours playing with her. fabulous- considering how much cooking & baking i needed to get done. however, i figured out that letting her crawl around in the kitchen & open all the doors was her vice.

finally- all was done & we had a few hours to simply relax. and play. with a happy, drooling baby:







as you can see- she is surrounded by all of her favorite toys. including a nasal aspirator & my muddling stick.

and there we go.
a very good weekend- even for the hubs who had to paint in 90 degree weather & managed to get paint every-freaking-where.

also- i finally updated my cooking blog for those that have been waiting/asking. i apologize for the 3 month delay. i...well i don't know!

lust

sometimes i am lustful. for things. material things that i need want. but alas- we cannot have everything that we want now can we? but perhaps i can have a few of these things...one day.

so i shall share with you my current list:


Hunter Wellington Piccadilly Leather Boots.

- i have a thing for sleek, flat boots. i'm also picky- and picky mean that all the ones i love have price tags that make me cringe. the above are included. they'll run me a cool $450- but my my, aren't they pretty?
i want.


2010 Range Rover Sport

- my husband has already said "NO NOT EVER IN YOUR LIFE!" so i'm pretty sure that means no- but i'm still holding out hope that one day he'll find it in his heart to suprise me with one of these.


A Beach House on Oahu

- the hubs wants this one as bad as i do. and it's our current goal. so i think this one is gonna happen....eventually.
it doesn't have to be anything big- just a little place. well, medium sized. with 2 bathrooms!


A Perfect Body worthy of In Shape Magazine

- ummmm- this one is also in the "NO NEVER IN YOUR LIFE" category. thanks to Alex, my love of cookies & my loathing for the gym, this is never going to happen.
if i chilled out on the cookies & sucked it up at the gym- then maybe. but alex took care of the rest with her rather overnight expansion around 35 weeks.
hello stretch marks. goodbye In Shape aspirations.
the body that will be lounging around at my Hawaii beach house will have on more clothing that miss Lauren Conrad- that's for damn sure.


more Weiner Dog Puppies

- that's right. i would like an entire LITTER of weiner pups. why? because they ar the cutest things on the planet. i want to eat them up.


A Home Library

- oh my goodness. i want my very own library so bad. there is nothing better than being surrounded by books. encased in the smell of leather bound awesome (ok, maybe paperback but still). i want to go into my brightly lit library, select a book & settle down in my comfy chair.
i want to read for hours without interuption with a bottomless cup of hot tea.

no one would be allowed to come in- except maybe Gary (my favorite cat) because you can't have a library without a kitty curled up on the windowsill. oh oh oh. perhaps one day- but i kind of doubt it. no "man cave" for the hubs means no library for me. alas.


Soup in a Bread Bowl whenever i want it

- you know? like already made for me. i think about it- want it- it's there. done.
the above pic is from a cooking blog i love (Sugar Crafter) and it makes me want soup RIGHT NOW. even though it's close to 85° outside.
oh- also want to be able to eat the entire bowl without worrying about carbs. duh.

and that's all for now. there are many other things i want. little things- big thing- important things- world peace- etc etc. but i'll leave you with these.

your turn? what do YOU want?

recaps

ok- week/end recap:

- we went to the Jack Johnson show on saturday night. it was awesome. it was a long drive but totally worth it. we at mucho overpriced food & listened to an amazing live performance.
the only negative- the pot heads behind us who must have lit up 15 joints in the course of 2 hours. how can people smoke something that smells so bad?
anyway- we got home & alex was sound asleep & had done great. hooray.

- we bought red & white paint for our chicken coop. we also bought all of the supplies for our baby chicks to be. i'm way over-stoked about these chickens. like- ridic.

- alex is so cute i can't even stand it. i swear, she's the smartest kid in the world. like- genius level. well maybe not, because she smacks her head on quite a bit of stuff- but still. i feel like she learns something new every minute. but she tires me out- she wants to GO GO GO! sit & relax? hell no mom.

- i had my OB appt today- i was super stoked to schedule my growth/gender ultrasound for sometime within the next week or so...no such luck. my OB is evil. the conversation went like this:
OB: "let's see, so we'll see you in 4 weeks?"
ME: "oh...well, i was gonna see if i could come in for my ultrasound...you know, sooner? cause i'll be 20 weeks soon....?"
OB: "hmmm..." looks @ chart "...nah, you're due here in 4 weeks anyway so you can wait until then, right sweetie?" looks @ me
ME: (foams at the mouth & chants magic spells that will make all of his hair fall out) "oh...well, i was hoping..."
OB: cuts me off "...yeah- 4 weeks is good. we usually do them between 18 & 22 weeks anyway so no rush!" gets up, slaps my folder shut & smiles (a very evil smile)
ME: "alright i guess..." (decides to try a different tactic & looks pathetic & begs for mercy with puppy dog eyes)
OB: "GREAT! see you in 4 weeks hon!" looks at his Rolex, shakes my hand & skips out of the room
ME: repents for resorting to black magic earlier & prays for patience. then goes & schedules an appt for Aug 10th. sonofabitch!

so yeah- my BIG u/s won't be until August 10th. i'll be 22 weeks & 4 days. honestly- not all that late. but i'm super impatient. it's a curse. if it had been my female OB i could have TOTALLY suckered her into letting me come in earlier, but alas.

aaaand- that's about it. nothing big & bad or wicked exciting. sad news though- i still have yet to see Eclipse (GASP) but i'm 97% sure i'm finally going this sunday. so yeah. see? maybe i'm a little patient after all...

and because everyone likes pictures- here are some shots i took in May when i rented a lense. flowers & bugs:








buzz buzz- i'm pretty sure he wanted to sting my face off.







Poppies!

the end.