Thursday, May 29, 2008

A gushing post about our 5th anniversary...

I'll keep it brief. It was a super great date night with my favorite guy in the world. It involved no children,getting dressed up, a romantic dinner, a glass of wine or two, creme brulee, and a visit to the Griffith Observatory for a view of the city lights. It was a cloudy night so we didn't see many stars, but the Planetarium show was quite entertaining.
So yeah, 5 years! Woot! And we still really like each other. Perhaps even more now than when we first got married.

Monday, May 19, 2008

a mish mash

We are blasting the air today. This morning I went on a good walk with some pals. It was so hot by 9am, I felt like I needed an 80s sweat band. It was such a nice weekend, we just hung out at home on Saturday. Our highlights were homemade pizza, a new kiddie pool that the dog very hopefully will not destroy, and we put some mulch down in the garden and we have happy little plants now. We are most proud of our little pumpkins that sprouted some sweet little leaves the other day. They get bigger and more daring each day, reaching out to the nearly desert-like sun.


Sunday was great too. We had a stellar morning in which there was minimal stress getting in the car and making the trek to church. Besides James' diaper quitting on us and me having to go and administer a change during Liturgy, all went well. I think the kids like taking Communion. James is starting to freak out a little less around Fr. Josiah (after his baptism). After Liturgy we jetted out to have brunch with Jason's family for his brother's birthday. It was a shmorgasborg (is that a real word?). You know - prime rib, ham, omelets, chocolate mousse. All that and more. After we rolled ourselves out of there, we spent the rest of our day at home, watching half of Into the Wild while Hannah napped. I'm not completely in love with the film. Neither is Jason, and if we don't ever get around to finishing it, I think we'll be OK. Parts of it are quite amusing, however, it wasn't what either of us thought it would be. Also, I think it might be a bit heavy on the Vedder for Jason and I. Surprisingly, we both adored a movie called Broken English with Parker Posey. It's basically a love story involving depressed well-to-do people whom drink too heavily and do stupid things with their lives, which normally I don't ever like, but this was done really well and it's kinda funny too.

So, I realize this post is a mish mash but on my mind lately, is the desire for a new camera. I have an old clunker Jason and I got when we first got married. It's a slow dinosaur. Then I have another camera that takes better pictures, which my mom graciously handed down to me (although this came after her frustration with it after going whale watching in Alaska, in which each time she snapped a shot of a whale's tail, all she got was a few bubbles on the surface of a frigid Alaskan sea.) I'm currently feeling her pain. So I'm shopping around, feeling rather discouraged. I had no idea how bleeping expensive decent cameras are! I'd really LOVE to be able to play with the lens a little, but the digitals that offer such capabilities are way out of my price range. Any ideas for me? Am I destined for a point and shoot that does all the work for me? Are my visions of crystal clear photos of sweet children's faces and a blurry background out of reach? Or is there, perhaps, some awesome website with large discounts that I don't know about?

One more thing, I have about a half a pound of ground turkey all thawed and ready to cook for dinner. What would you do with it? I was thinking tacos but I don't have much for fixin's, and I am NOT going to the store today. I have some orzo, some potatoes, stuff for salads. Help me out! I need some inspiration.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

On the Shuffle Mode

Hannah sings very regularly all day. Especially during the more boring days at home, the house is filled with her voice. While she does have the capability to sing quite well, most often she uses this odd falsetto that grates on my nerves. Think Miss Piggy plus Julia Childs gallivanting around you singing random nursery rhymes peppered in between excerpts of the Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom.

"Bah bah black sheep have you any wool? Yessirw yessirw blah blah boo...Weceive da body of Jesus Chwist...Taste the fountains of immowtalities...ALLELUIAH! ALLELUIA! ALLLL-E-LUUUU-IIIII-AAA!

A couple of times after being in the middle of something and growing annoyed I've (on accident) told her to please be quiet. And then I felt guilty right afterward. It's so precious. I love that she just sings her little heart out. I'm praying I will grow to appreciate her vocal styling. And I'm pretty sure I was similar as a child. I seriously thought my parents couldn't hear me singing in the shower until I was like 18, and then I kept on singing anyway, because they're my parents, they'd still love me.

Monday, May 12, 2008

The Big Boy turns One!


It's been a year since Jamesy Boy entered the world with a hearty cry and wide open blue eyes, turning my heart to a big mushy ball of warm fuzzy love. We had a humble celebration at the park with family, honoring our mothers as well.

Cupcakes! Hannah helped with the blowing out of his candle. There was a little cheesecake involved. Hey, it was Mother's Day too. And I particularly like this photo because I think my arm looks skinny. Shameless vanity. Thanks mom, for taking pictures!

James at One:
~Walks/staggers around everywhere
~Climbs things like slides and furniture
~Screams when you take something away
~Eats just about anything, but especially enjoys storing food in his cheeks for several minutes at a time like a chipmunk.
~Points to let you know he'd like to be taken to explore something of interest.
~Can kiss. He makes cute smooching noises too.
~Plays hide and seek. He's a much better seeker than a hider.
~Is VERY drawn to water. S-C-A-R-Y!
~Enjoys putting stuff into containers and then taking them back out.
~Is crazy about his daddy. But he's not over me yet. I think I'm still his favorite.

Happy Birthday James! May God grant you many, many years!

Monday, May 05, 2008

When the Quiet is Appreciated

Today the clouds flirt with the sun. The baby takes a nap on his mama's soft quilt on the bed. The small house is quiet except for an intermittent "click clop, click clop" of a little girl wearing bright white, patent leather church shoes parading on the hard floors as quietly as she can with a light blue, polka dotted bed sheet cinched around her waste. Dishes await patiently for the mother to take them out of their home for the last couple of days in the dishwasher. Even more dishes await her in the sink, hoping that the others will soon vacate the noisy machine. Floors need mopping, groceries need to be bought, but for now peace will be relished. Sleep baby boy, sleep.