YUM

13 Jan

It was a 20 minute drive and very worth it!  My Caramel Frap was the most delicious one I’ve had in awhile. Sometimes they skimp on the caramel and whipped cream – not this time though.  I always order the smallest size but it’s been so long since I had one I went all out and made it a “venti”!  Man was that thing HUGE!  IT WAS AWESOME!

I don’t get out much, can you tell?  I don’t care – it was a very enjoyable moment for me and I look forward to the next one!  I think I’ll wait a week or so though after savoring all those calories and fat!  At least now I know where I need to go for my Frap fix!  (Thanks to Jason for the tip!)

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In Search of a Starbucks Drive-Thru

12 Jan

Yes, I’m one of those people.  The one who needs their Starbucks fix.  I have $50 in gift cards burning a hole in my new really cool diaper bag (thanks to our new friend Monica) and they are all I can think about. As soon as I’m finished posting this I’m going to search for the closest Starbucks drive-thru and then load up the kids and take a road trip!  I haven’t been out of the house during the day all week so what better reason!?!? (Forget about the groceries and other necessities we need – Caramel Frap here I come!)

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Nice 29th

12 Jan

Yesterday, I turned 29 years old and it was great.  I spent the day just like I have been, me and the kids, only I took time to try and work out a little (you know in honor of getting older and all).

It was a riot.  Nate was sitting on the floor of the living room, calmly staring at his silly mother as she tried to do ab crunches – then it got really entertaining for him.  Justin Timberlake’s “My Love” came on the XM channel I had the TV tuned to and it just made me feel like breakin’ it down some.

There he was, eyes wide, holding his blankie, as his mother started leaping across the room, swinging her head around – hair flying – I even tried to do a few turns and kicks!  I know I had to be the most ridiculous sight but I didn’t care it was so much FUN to be so crazy stupid.  I was worried for just a second that I might pull something – but right after that second I pulled another spin move and threw my arms up in the air like the gymnasts do.  HE JUST SAT THERE!  (By the way, his sister was very nicely playing with her princess dolls in her room at this time so she did not witness the mommy dance out.)

Well, fast forward to today and I pull up JT’s “My Love” on the computer – Nate starts shakin’ his money maker!  It was so hilariously adorable – I actually got some of it on camera – please don’t miss it – I even tried to add some cheesy effects to it to make it all music video-ish.

I just didn’t want to forget how I felt right after turning 29.  I had a fun day with the kids and then their daddy bought me my favorite perfume and took us out to dinner with our new parent-friends, Monica and Steven.  I got to talk to my family and I thanked my mom and dad for having me (to that my dad grossly replied “it was my pleasure”).  HA!

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Silly Things I Say During the Day

10 Jan

They are only silly because they so very pointless to say – like a 3 year old and 1 year old are really going to listen/understand.

“Don’t make a big mess.” (Said right before they manage to tear apart 3 rooms – with toys/objects spread throughout the house.)

“Try the food mommy cooked for you, you might like it.” (Usually said when I cook something like stew.)

“Nate, don’t give all your food to the doggy!” (Meanwhile, the dog is in heaven and the boy is smiling.)

“Stop pushing your brother down on the floor.” (Said as Nia is chasing him around the house – both are laughing hysterically.)

“Can we please stop screaming?” (Usually said right after the previous silly statement.)

“It’s night-night/nap time.” (Right after this one Nia begins to freak out about how she is not tired and doesn’t want to go to sleep.)

“Do you want mommy to lose her mind?” (This one comes after a really trying day.)

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Mommy’s Here

3 Jan

I just feel so special to get to say those two words. Tonight, I realized how much they mean to say and to hear.

Around midnight, Nate woke up screaming and crying.  Even though I was clear downstairs and had the television on – I heard him and went running to check on him. He was fine – he just had a stuffy nose which probably made him angry.  I was so thankful he didn’t have a fever or didn’t get sick in the crib – I was so thankful that all he needed was for me to wrap my arms around him and tell him “Mommy’s here.”  He laid his little head on my shoulder and his body was relaxed as I swayed with him and rubbed his back.

It’s amazing how you’re able to hear them over everything when they need you. At first with Nia, I was always worried that I wouldn’t hear her if she cried while I was sleeping – I mean the alarm blares right next to my ear and I don’t hear it – how was I going to hear her in the next room?  The fact that I can is so unbelievable and beautiful to me.  What’s even more precious to me is how you don’t ever lose that ability.

My mom just came down for a visit and during her time here she comforted me in that “Mommy’s here” kind of way – not by humming me a lullaby like I did for Nate – but just by being here to stay up late and laugh with me, by giving me a hug before bedtime, by cooking us delicious food, by making me feel better about the job I’m doing as a mom – I’m going to be 29 in a week and yes, I still need my mommy in many ways.  I only hope my kids will like me enough to want me around when they’re older!

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Turning One

26 Dec

Tomorrow our little angry man becomes a one-year-old angry man.  He is so hilarious – even when he’s doing something he totally should not be (pulling on the blinds, yanking the tablecloth off of the table, touching the night lights in the electrical sockets) it is hard not to laugh at him.

Andrew and I will yell “NO!” at him with the most mean face we can force to try and scare him away from the bad doing – that doesn’t work – he just smiles at us. We’ve even tried giving him a tap on the hand (because he could fry himself if he doesn’t stay away from that darn socket) – he LAUGHS at us and then tries to hit the object he shouldn’t be touching.  We are obviously doing something wrong with him.  We’ve tried moving him away from the object over and over again – NOTHING WORKS!

Last night at dinner Andrew tapped his hand to stop the boy from crashing our Christmas dinner on the floor – it was like a game to him then – Andrew and I had to cover our mouths and turn away from him so he wouldn’t see us laughing – it’s so funny because when he knows he’s in trouble he just looks at us with very wide baby blues and forms the teensy tiniest little circle with his lips – WHY DOES HE HAVE TO BE SO DARN CUTE?  I mean, he had spaghetti sauce all over his face and his eyes were huge and his mouth like Dr. Evil when he says “One Million Dollars.”  (An example of the face is in the picture below.)  It’s just so hard to be angry with him.  I’m sure that will change though…

Funny Face

I can’t wait to see the kind of little boy he’s going to become.  In his first 12 months I’ve already discovered that he is a major handful and a joy – a headache and a laugh – a terror and a sweetie – a screamer and a giggler –  and a 100% daddy’s boy.  I am so thankful for my precious little boy and all the moods/feelings he’s brought us and am anxious to experience what’s next.  Happy Birthday Nathaniel Robert – mommy and daddy (and big sister) love you so very much.

Busy Boy

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Please Forgive Us…

26 Dec

Telling her he won’t come if she’s naughty –
Telling her he’ll only bring her Little Mermaid Castle if she takes her naps and is nice to her brother –
Having her leave cookies and sugar for him and his sleigh-pulling friends (and then leaving a half-eaten cookie for her to see)
Causing her to love him so much that she runs up to the mall Santa without hesitation (even though I think he’s pretty skeevy)
Telling her he came while we were all sleeping (and her responding – “He was very quiet huh?  He tiptoed huh?” and then demonstrating to me just how he tiptoed – standing on her toes, bending her knees and back and putting her hands pointed down in the bunny hop position – I mean come on – how adorable is that)

I know it’s something a lot of parents tell their children – Andrew and I both believed and I hear he got pretty upset when he found out the truth – but there’s something about being the one who encourages the belief…  I don’t know – I just feel guilty.

Some fairy tale part of me still wants to believe – like maybe after we put out all the presents and go to sleep they’ll be one extra that no one bought or knows about – (and hopefully it won’t be a stinky candle or fruit cake).

I know it’s all about tradition and I know the fun of believing – I just dread the day when they find out the truth. I’m sure it will be a time they will never forget – many of us probably remember when/where/how we found out – I guess that’s all a part of the tradition too – I guess I just want our kids to just figure it out on their own because Andrew and I are such terrible liars – I just want them to understand the spirit of it all and that it wasn’t meant to hurt them.  Santa or not – there’s a beauty in believing.

Kitchen Cabinet Playground

23 Dec

Almost everyone has one in their homes – a cabinet/area where Tupperware and other plastic containers are stored.  Some are pretty neat with lids organized by size and bowls stacked nicely within each other – others are filled with mismatched bowls and lids that fall out of the door every time it’s opened.  I am an anal person and have always tried to maintain a very tidy cabinet – I did, that is, until the kids discovered it.

At least twice a day after the two of them tear through the cabinet, I have to collect all the pieces off the kitchen floor  and sometimes other parts of the house.  It is a pain but allowing them to cause such a mess allows me to finish dinner or do the dishes.  Tonight though, their time in the cabinet involved more than just tossing piece after piece out – tonight’s toss-out was a little more creative.

Nia and Nate had taken just enough out so they could each sit inside the cabinet.  The door in front of Nia was closed – the door in front of Nate was open. I would hear Nia say something like “Da Da Ba Da Ba” and then a lid would whiz past Nate and land in the pile they had already started.  They would hysterically laugh each time this happened – it was tons of fun for all of us and made me wish for a moment that I was small enough to fit in there with them. It also made me think how funny it would be if I go visit them when they’re older and living on their own just so I can destroy their cabinet – then I remembered- they’ll have kids of their own one day!

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One More Try

22 Dec

After another aggravating issue with our DSL phone internet service, we are now surfing hi-speed with the cable company.  This just better work!  I can’t even begin to describe how incredibly frustrating it’s been not having a reliable internet service – especially since I was counting on the internet to do most of my Christmas shopping!  Really, the only problems we’ve had since we’ve moved have involved two of the pastimes we love the most – this and TV watching.

It’s funny because before the move we were talking up DIRECTV – saying it’s so awesome and we always get great service.  Since the move, we’ve been through 3 different High Def DVR receivers (something that made us miss the last episode of Heroes before the new year!) and now the access card on another new one could be going bad!  And every time Andrew would call to try and get help they would put him on hold where he would eventually be disconnected!  Hopefully, we’re through with our TV/Internet issues.  The phone company problems made us so angry that we’re completely canceling service (even though we had a great phone number!).  All of you friends and family reading this – please bear with us – I’ll let you know the new house phone number as soon as we know it.  🙂

One other ridiculous thing that’s happened to us since the move – I tried to order pizza from Pizza Hut (which is like less than a mile away from us) the first week we were here.  We didn’t have a house phone number yet and when they asked for a number I told them I had to use my cell.  The girl then tells me my cell is not registering in their system and because it’s not registering I can’t order pizza from them!  WHAT?!?!  What about the days before everything was computerized and they had to take down my order on a notepad and drivers had to have maps in their cars?  I mean, all I wanted was two medium original pan crust pizzas with Italian sausage!  Of course, Andrew’s response to all this didn’t really help my disbelief – he simply said “Well, we won’t be ordering from Pizza Hut anymore.”  NO!  I LOVE FREAKING PIZZA HUT!  Although I’m annoyed they wouldn’t deliver me pizza I don’t want to write them off altogether.  Every once in awhile I need that grease fix that only Pizza Hut can give me!  I just thought it was a riot.  NO NUMBER?!?! NO PIZZA!

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C-Minus One Week

18 Dec

At this time next week, Santa will be busy putting Nia and Nate’s presents under the tree, filling their stockings with all sorts of goodies and snacking on cookies that the sweeties left for him and the reindeer.

Right now though, Santa is stressing – worried about what to cook for dinner that day, what kinds of cookies to attempt to bake and whether to pay the extra ten bucks to send presents in the mail express or priority. I mean, the pressure of deciding how to ship something really torments me – I pick out what I think are pretty cool gifts, go through the checkout process and then have to pick which shipping method will get it to the special someone on time.  It’s something that forces me to use my fingers to count the business days it says it will take to get there and then I round up a day just in case.

Now I’ve cooked Christmas dinner before but for some reason I’m really thinking hard about this year’s.  I think it’s because that’s all a part of my new job now – before with work, I hardly had anytime to shop and or I was working on the day so we just kept it simple.  Last year we were spoiled because my mom was with us and she took care of EVERYTHING.  It was AWESOME.  Now though, it’s all on me to make sure our meal is yummy and special enough to be enjoyed every Christmas. I know I’m making the Rafiani recipe homemade spaghetti (what I’ve always had on Christmas) and I’m going to try and bake a ham (I’m nervous about this because I never have by myself) and I also must have Wedding Soup (another Rafiani family tradition).

As far as the cookies go – I’m scared to death.  Last year was the first year I even made homemade cookies for the Holidays and my mom really did all the work.  My sister is a baking queen – she’s the reason I’m even attempting this. I plan to start baking Tuesday.  We’ll see how they end up then…

What’s funny about all of this is how Nia doesn’t care a thing about any of it.  All she’s worried about is that Santa’s not going to bring her a Little Mermaid castle – you better believe Santa got that stress over with and is now just waiting on shipping!

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