The Dirrty Thirty

I turned 30 on Sunday. 3-0. And I was really excited for this birthday. No freaking out, and no crisis needed averted. I am really really REALLY happy with where my life is and where it is going. And I was even happier about where I was going to be spending this milestone birthday. NYC!

My wonderful, amazing friends helped me to plan a fantastic weekend to celebrate my birthday. It was absolutely PERFECT and I would not have changed a moment (except maybe Rob Thomas could have made an appearance in there somewhere...like at Starbucks. Or a bar. Or anywhere).

Karen, Gail, and I left on Friday, and flew out of the brand new terminal at SFO. The flights were easy and filled with Royal Wedding coverage, SATC reruns, and inflight cocktails.Although our cabbie was steroetypical NYC with his lack of deoderant and crazy Nascar manuevers, we made it to our Midtown hotel just in time for another ddrink with the fabulous Kelly, who had made the trek on THE CHINA BUS from her home. Afterward, our stomaches sent us in search of nourishment which we found in the form of pizza, cookies, and prosecco. We also discovered that you can buy perfume that is the scent of a funerla home and dirt. Not together. But those are the actual names of the fragrances.

On Saturday we ate delicous pizza from Patsy's Pizza.

Then we ventured into the park to cross off one of my NYC bucket list items: rowing boats around the lake in Central Park. Kelly, the rockstar rower, easily navigated us around. Other tourists were not so adept and let's just say that my sweater smelled like dirty lake water for the rest of the day. It was a gorgeous day, with the sun shining and the smell of blossoms lingering all over the park, which we got to enjoy after our trip around the lake.

One of the highlights from the entire weekend was that I got to have my first blogger meetup! My blogging bestie Made a trip into the City and met up with us in the park. It was amzing to finally meet her, especially since I feel like I have known her for well over 2 years. Together, we all went to Dylan's Candy Store, where I purchased some treats for Isaac, and one deliciously chocolate one for myself. All homes should have a chocolate fountain as a standard kitchen fixture, don't you think?  

After that, we headed into Serendipity to cross another item off my list: The marvelous frozen hot chocolate, which I split with Gail.

To work off our sugar intake, we headed back to the park for a carriage ride.

For dinner we met up with my cousin Bethany and her boyfriend for a fabulous Italian dinner. Afterward, we headed to a piano bar called The Rum House for birthday drinks in Times Square. The beverages were awesome. The crazy Canadian man there for a stag party who kept volunteering to remove his pants was not, prompting us to leave after two drinks. We meandered around the square for a bit and ate street vendor hot dogs. I know the stigma they carry, but seriously...oh so very good.

Sunday morning, we awoke bright and early for some serious Canal Street shopping, which we indulged ourselves in for a few hours until we had to return for lunch and to dress for the theatre. We got all dolled up for "The Lion King" which was absolutely amazing. There is no way to accurately describe the show.

Afterward, we headed to the Plaza hotel for pre-dinner cocktails (another list item). We all partook in the delicious specialty drink, the "Bradshaw" inspired by the SATC star. Although it was a $22 cocktail, it was worth every single penny. Talk about mixed perfection!

We walked back up the park to our dinner reservation at TBar Steakhouse, where we had a wonderful dinner. Afterward we headed back to Serendipity for a celebratory dessert...or three.

Monday morning, after a small yet still startling accidently detour through Harlem, we got breakfast at Alice's Teacup, which fit Karen to a T! Wonderful food, yet again. Is it possible to get bad food in New York?!

Our last stop on this incredible trip was to the New York Public Library, where we saw where the SATC wedding never took place, and the original toys that inspired the "Winnie the Pooh" stories. The library was beautiful.

The trip home was spent sleeping and updating ourselves on the new wordly happenings as we were in our own little NYC birthday bubble for theweekend. I could not have asked for a better birthday. I missed my baby boo and my husband of course, but I needed to get away. I needed a breather and a chance to refresh and recharge, which is exactly what I got to do. I was happy to be home with my husband and little Boo.

Although I am not exactly where I pictured myself to be when I thought about my life at 30, I am someplace better. My friends and family all over the country made my birthday so special and created so many memories for me to carry into this next stage of my life. I am so blessed with beautiful and loving people in my life.

Magic

This past weekend, we took Isaac on a very special vacation. We took him to Disneyland for 2 days, which we have been trying to do for MANY months. This was such a special trip for us, for so many reasons. I have been trying figure out how I want to write about this trip, how I want to detail and describe it.

We left last Friday and drove to Anaheim. I was worried that Isaac wouldn't handle these drives very well, being in the car for 8+ hours. He handled both trips like a rock star and was fascinated by the amount of semi trucks he could exclaim over. For about 2 hours solid, while driving through almond orchards in middle California, all we heard was "There it goes! Big truck! Honk Honk! Big truck!" He napped briefly, and only really got restless during the LA rush hour traffic we hit. All in all, he did very well, and seemed to understand that he could not get out and that we were going somewhere special. We took more stopping breaks for Ben than we did for Isaac. :)

Once we got settled into our hotel we took Isaac over to the Downtown Disney area to watch the fireworks. We purchased his autograph book for the upcoming two days. You could see the excitement on his face as he saw Mickey Mouse plastered everywhere. He still had no idea.

The two days we spent in the park were absolutely AMAZING. I can't even begin to detail the fun that all three of us had. It was just  us, with cell phones that died by 2 pm, not worrying about schedules or money. We rode the rides, met the characters, and filled ourselves with junk food. We treated our little boy to 2 days immersed with his favorite things. We watched him laugh, and smile, and run around with boundless energy. We held him when he was tired and carried him through lines. We rode the carousel, which became evident was his favorite, again and again until we were dizzy. We (ok, I) let him splash through the giant garden spigot in "A Bug's Land" until he was drenched from head to toe. He didn't really nap, but that was ok. He snoozed in the stroller or on my shoulder while we waited in line.

Every single penny we spent was worth it. To see our child so happy, so excited, has no price tag. I literally had tears in my eyes as  he ran up to Mickey Mouse and gave him a huge hug, squealing in delight. I can't tell you  how many times I heard "WOW!" and "that's AMAZING!" and "Look, Mama! Look, Daddy!"

It was a tiring two days that involved a lot of walking. By the time we finished with "World of Color" on Sunday night, we were definately done.

I can see why Disneyland is called the "happiest place on earth." For those 2 days, for us...it truly was magic.

A Break From Shopping

Auntie Gail took this picture on her new fancy smancy iPod touch, and I LOOOOVVVVEEEE it. :) After a bit of shopping we took Isaac up to the fabulous Women's Lounge at Nordstrom's to left him run around like a crazy fool for a bit. There is a GIANT mirror on one wall and Isaac was fascinated by his full reflection. He may have even um, licked the mirror. Sigh.

Mish Mash

My delightful co-worker A so delicately pointed out that I haven't blogged in a week. Sorry, over a week. So here, I am stuck with writer's block, big time, throwing together a post of updates, I guess. Let's start with a visual aid. :)

Isaac likes swings again! We discovered a new park, where ducks swim semi-free in an enclosed pond that also contains mutant koi. Whew, the "IHATESWINGSGETMEOUTOFTHISTHINGRIGHTNOWORIWILLSCREAMANDSCREAMANDMAYBEEVENBITEYOU" phase is over, seemingly. And he is so over the little play structures that are age appropriate. He wants to be on the big kid ones. And we, uh...kinda let him. He's an adventurous, fearless little boy. The way this kid climbs, you would like he was part monkey. We follow him and make sure he isn't leaping off things. He pretty much just wants to climb and go down the big slides. He knows to sit down at the top and not lean over the side. He makes it sound as though the climbing is alot of effort because with every single step, we usually get an exertionous grunt (is that a word, hmmmm I hope so). We don't let him go on said structures if there are big kids who actually belong on the big equipment there, and I wouldn't get pissed (assumably) if he injured (knock on wood) himself on them because I let him on there. I TAKE FULL RESPONSIBILITY HERE!

Speaking of the little man (still my baby boy), he has developed an affinity for Lady Gaga and Glee. TRUE STORY. He is partial to "Bad Romance" but he will also sing along to "Telephone." I think it's adorable that he will sing "el-o, el-o bay-be" and I am pretty sure he likes the singing on Glee.

And he counts to 10! He can get to 6 unassisted, and needs a bit of coaxing past 7 and 8, but definately gets the 9, 10. :)

So, the 3 week great stash reduction of 2010...I am happy to say that I have only spent $7.48 of my $10 budget. And to be honest $2.50 was on accident. I am so accustomed to impulse buying, that last weekend at Target, I threw 100-calorie cupcakes into the cart without even thinking about it. I didn't even realize I had bought a grocery until I got home. Anyway, Other than that, I have only bought milk for me and Isaac. I have used several canned goods, two boxes of pasta, and several things from the freezer. We have had fried chicken, spaghetti and meatballs, turkey chili, potato crunch fish, pizza, and mac and cheese. And to be honest, I am not seeing any dent made in the stash. Maybe because it is the first week? Or maybe because I just have THAT MUCH STUFF.

There are several professional opportunities looming on the horizon for me and hubs. Hopefully (fingers crossed, please please PUH-LEASE), something will pan out successfully for one of us, providing us with the opportunity for change. We are feeling a bit stuck right now. Like, that inbetween phase, where you know you have to move forward, but you need that little kick start in that direction.

No more decision has been made on whether or not the IUD is actually coming out in November either. :( Much trepidation though. I think it depends on how the aforementioned pans out.

Tomorrow we are going to the SF Zoo, with a friend and her two kids that I haven't seen in AGES. I haven't seen her son since he was an itty bitty baby, and I have never met her daughter, nor has she met Isaac. I am deliriously excited.

Ok, that is seriously all I have now. I am suffering serious writer's block. Hopefully it will vanish soon. I apologize. :(

Road Maps

When my husband (who was my fiancee at the time) made the journey across the US from Ohio to California, we had this marvelous little tool from AAA called a Trip Tix. It was great. It mapped out our entire suggested route and gave all necessary information. It gave us the toll roads, construction that was occurring. It gave us suggested hotels and resturants, auto repair facilities, touristy attractions, gas stations, etc. It came with a bunch of those paper road maps and a big fat atlas that I don't know if we still have or not. It was cumbersome, but it got us easily and relatively uneventfully from point A to point B. It gave us a clear route that was logical and easily navigated.

Last week, while on vacation, I drove to Virginia to see one of my college roomies, Kelly. I drove all day on Tuesday and then all day Thursday to come home. The trip was fantastic, albeit too short, but the activities themselves are not the point of this post and what I refer to. It was the trip there.

I used our GPS Garmin thingie. Lord, what on earth did we ever do without these navigation systems (oh, right...the trip tix)? How did we find our way anywhere? I hardly remember what life was like without these marvelous little GPS satelites recalculated my route. Merely plug in your destination address, and viola! I have a perfectly mapped route, getting me there in a timely fashion. It even tells me if there is traffic backing up the roads. I needed a starbucks fix in the middle of my trip and it found me one! If I got lost or made a wrong turn or missed my exit because I was singing Lady Gaga at the top of my lungs (totally hypothetical), it easily got me back on course. With the aid of little Garmin, once again a long voyage was made easy from point A to point B with few to no snafus.

And while in the car, I had a lot of time to think. You know what would be nice? A little life Garmin. Like say for instance, I want Job A and to live in City B while having Child C and volunteering at Organization D with Accomplishments and Certifications E,F, and G. I type it in and it tells me the easiest way to get there and how long it will take. It maps the journey for me. And if I get thrown off course, it will tell me how to get back on track. If I want to take a little detour, I can plug that in as well, and it will recalculate for me.

I would even settle for Life Trip Tix from AAA.

My vacation gave me alot to think about. Now, I just have to figure out how to get there. And I have to do it on my own, no GPS.

Duckies

Yesterday Isaac and I spent the day with Auntie Karen and Auntie Gail. We started with our usual date at Olive Garden (ooohhh have you tried the zeppoli?!) and did some shopping (correction, I did some returns, they did some shopping. Oh, water, water everywhere....) before leaving the mall and heading to Golden Gate Park. We usually end up somewhere where little boo can run around like a crazy fool, his reward for watching us shop without causing too much disruption and damage. I specifically packed some bread so he could feed the ducks and let's be honest. The bread sticks from Olive Garden are too good to save for the waterfowl. :)

Anyway, Isaac clearly had a blast. He's such a curious and adventurous little boy, I don't even try to hold him back from the dirt and falling down anymore. He loves to climb and run and shreik. And he got plenty of all three!

By the end of the day, he was screaming for the "dah keees" and quacking. :) He fell asleep on the car ride home.

Birthday

So this year kind of got away from me. I got a card from my grandpa in the mail earlier this week and was all confused, and when I opened a birthday card, I had to walk over to the calendar. Um, yep...my 29th birthday is totally tomorrow.

Birthdays, especially mine, used to be a HUGEMONGOUS deal to me. This time 2 years ago I was ready to party it up with a group of friends at Par.ma. I drank alot, and I don't mean water. My friend H (who is preggers right now) and I were the first to my soiree and drank a WHOLE. BOTTLE. of prosecco by ourselves before anyone else arrived. And I sang MB20 at the top of my lungs the whole drive home to Sonoma.

It just isn't a big deal anymore. The focus, as it should, has shifted to Isaac and making his birthdays as memorable as mine were as I was growing up, so that he looks forward to the special day that is just his every year.

Don't get me wrong, I still think my birthday is special. There are just more important things now. I am shocked when people remember my birthday, especially when I don't even remember it!

And I still want a Canon Rebel EOS. and to meet Rob Thomas.

Sadly, I don't have the money for either. Which means my husband doesn't have the money for either. (Let's face it...we know who controls the cash flow in this household.)

What is even sadder is that I would have the money. Not for Rob Thomas, but for the camera. If I didn't buy my starbucks dark cherry mochas everyday (I know, I can't believe I even thought that, but it's true!) or I didn't buy crap. All the $20 purchase I made here and there, if I had put that $ aside, I would have more than enough. That camera was not so important to me before. I had/have a nice digital camera. But with Isaac, I want more. So I am taking what my grandparents sent me and will put $20 a week into my savings account until I have enough.

Tomorrow will be a nice day. Isaac and I are going to the Academy of Sciences (We are geeks!) to see the extreme mammals with some of my friends. Any day that I get to spend with Isaac doing something other than errands is better than any type of birthday party or celebration.

I don't need cake. I don't need a party. I don't need presents (well, except meeting Rob Thomas...if someone gives me that I won't turn it down! :) ). Cards and well wishes are nice. All I truly need is the time with my baby, my husband, my friends, enjoying the life we have built and are building.

And We Marched

On Saturday, we got up at 5 am. We loaded into the car and headed into San Fr.ancisco over the bridge we would soon be walking to. We parked at Ft. Ma.son and waited with hundreds of people to begin, and we listened to their heartbreaking stories and admired their courage. As 9am grew nearer, we became more and more inspired, moved, and motivated to make a difference.

Saturday was the SF March for Babies, and Isaac and I were on team Marching for Monkeybutts in honor of D's preemie twins, Drew and Drey. It was a gorgeous, gorgeous morning and the weather was perfect. We got there pretty early so we had breakfast with some other walkers. Isaac was excited. And so was I. We wore our Monkeybutt shirts with pride, and I wore a purple headband for Maddie.

The walk was about 6.5 miles from Ft. Ma.son to the Gold.en Gate Bridge and back. It was beautiful. It took a bit of time, walking with 3 kids under 2 who wanted to walk by themselves and didn't understand the limitations. But we did the whole thing, from start to finish.

We did the whole thing to help prevent premature births and to help families with children born prematurely. We did the whole thing in memory of those babies who became angels too quickly, and to show support for their families. We did the whole thing in celebration for those babies who struggled in the early weeks but are now thriving.

Drew and Drey were born 9 weeks premature and spent 5 weeks in the NICU. My Isaac was born 3 weeks early, but we were blessed that he was born without any complications. It is heartbreaking to hear the stories from families who lost their babies, and I cried about 3 times before the March began.

I look at my beautiful son and feel so blessed. He is my heart and soul, and I would do anything to protect him. I will do this March every year to make sure every other mother can do the same.

The day was moving. I did more physical activity before noon than I usually do in a week. I love spending time with D and her boys. She inspires me in more ways than one, and more than she will ever know. We are blessed to have her presence in our lives. Isaac enjoyed the scenery and got his first real look at the towering bridge.

Our team raised over $3200 for March of Dimes. It's a beautiful cause and so many people supported us. A huge thank you and hug goes out to every single person who donated to our team! :)

Isaac's First Kiss

My son is going to be a heartbreaker. Really. Isaac has a way with the ladies.

Last night after dinner, I took him to the park to run off some energy and get him some fresh air. There is an enclosed toddler area that has age appropriate playground structures, and he loves running around and swinging. On this particular evening there were about 4 toddler age girls there. I put Isaac in the swing and pushed him for a while. While he was laughing and smiling, I noticed he was watching the girls run around. When I got him out, he went down the slide a few times, then he clearly wanted to run around.

I put him down and told him to go. He stood there for a good 2 minutes and was totally scoping out where the girls were. He looked at each and every one of them.

Then he took off toward a little girl with brown curly hair who I would guess was about 2. Once he got up next to her, he "fake fell", like he threw himself down and the "fake cried." The little girl said "awww" and reached her hand out to help him, which Isaac eagerly grabbed. He stood up and I brushed him off. The little girl gave him a hug and then KISSED HIM ON THE MOUTH! Isaac smiled and then ran off.

Seriously. My son is 15 months and already had his first kiss and is macking on the ladies!

When I got over the instant fear of "Oh my god is this child clean do I need to be worried about hepatitis," it was pretty cute and I kinda wished I had taken a video. The parents of the little girl were thrilled because they are expecting a baby boy later this year were anxious to see how their daughter reacted to a boy. Apparently that is not an issue. :) And yeah, it was pretty cute. Isaac totally knew what he was doing.

Sigh. I thought I didn't have to worry about this for at least another, oh....13 years?! ;)

Of course, his father is beaming with pride.

Memories

I like to expose Isaac to alot of different things. I like to take him places and get him out of the house. I like him to play with different things and learn to be imaginative. I like him to meet new people and be in social situations as well as be around things and people who are familiar.

My husband is at his annual convention, so it's just me and Isaac this weekend. Yesterday, I took him to the Bod.ega Bay Fish.erman's Festival to see the Pet Parade. There were dogs EVERYWHERE and he loved it. The parade itself was kind of short, but there were llamas and alot of people let him pet their dogs. The festival was on the bay and it was a beautiful day. We browsed the booths, bought him a pinwheel and some windup toys, ate fried fish and donuts, and watched the boats. It was a really fun time for the both of us.

As he was watching the boats and barking at the dogs, I was wondering to myself if he would remember this day.

My first memory as a child is a bit fuzzy. I remember being in my crib at my grandparents big house in the town where my family grew up. The crib was in the landing of the upstairs, between the bathroom and where the laundry shoot was located. I remember standing up in the crib and crying because the angel projection mobile I had had turned off. And I remember my mom coming out of her room and walking over to the crib. I have certain images in my mind quite clearly.

I don't know how old I was at the time. Still in a crib, implies maybe 2?

It makes me wonder what Isaac's first memory is going to be. Will it be the day his Mommy took him to the festival on the bay and he saw llamas and got a pinwheel? Will it be walking through the parks, feeding ducks? Will it be the swings? Dozer? Something from our NC vacation or trips to Ohio?

He's growing up so fast, too fast. I am trying to make each day a good one for him, so he has many happy memories of his childhood. Regardless of what day he has in his first memory, I really hope its a great one!

Birthday Celebrations

My son got three, count em, THREE first birthday celebrations. In retrospect, this was extreme overkill, I know. And I know he won't remember a lick of what he did for him. Regardless, it meant something to us to have our baby surrounded by people who love and care about him on his special day(s). And we have already decided that the best day was his actual birthday (at least logistic and $$$ wise) and he only gets big celebrations at 5 and 10 years.

For Isaac's actual first birthday, Ben and I took him to Mon.terey Ba.y Aq.uarium. It's quite a haul, so we had to stay in a hotel overnight and go to the aquarium the next day. He absolutely loved it. He had a blast watching the fish and pressing his little hands up against the glass trying to grab them. The aquarium has amazing exhibits, including a well thought-out toddler area that had a huge wave simulator (similar to a waterbed) that Isaac played on for about 20 minutes. It also had water he could splash his hands in and blocks to play with in a room surrounded by fish tanks. There was a huge tunnel he could crawl through, which he also liked, and that Mommy braved with him. It is possible that Mommy may have been scolded for talking in "educational terms" at various exhibits, throwing out lines about regeneration, niches, sequential hermaphrodism (oh yes, I did!), and ebb and flow. During the wave simulator fun, I may or may not have thrown in words like peak and trough. Jury is still out on that. :) I stand on that you are never too young to learn...

After the aquarium, we took him to Bub.ba Gum.ps and he had his first kids meal supplemented with carrots and sweet potatoes. :) He loved the jello and that Daddy wore a lobster bib similar to his Bibster! And man, did the day tire him OUT. He made it through the entire aquarium, which was about 3 hours of fish-filled fun, and another hour in the restuarant. As soon as he was in the carseat for the drive home, he was out like a light. I don't even think we made it out of the parking garage before he was snoozing.

It was the perfect way to spend his birthday. It was great to have time just me, Ben, and Isaac and to spend his first birthday as a family.

The second birthday celebration was his Handy Manny themed birthday party here in California involving our friends. Isaac has many fans. :) It ended up being a really nice time for everyone. My friends came from all over the Ba.y A.rea and D made him a cupcake tower. He tore up his cupcake, believe you me! During this party, we discovered that Isaac loves to have people sing "Happy Birthday ." He laughed and laughed, and clapped his little pudgy hands (Sorry, kiddo, but you gots some pudge!). Ben was a little overwhelmed (to say the least) by the number of small children at our house and I am pretty sure I will be doing the birthday party thing solo for a while (going to other people's parties, I mean). Isaac got some nice gifts and it was fun to see him play with the other babies. He's around other kids all the time at daycare, but these where around his age. He's a social baby! :) The third and final celebration involved the long trek back to Ohio. We flew Southwe.st, and thank the lord we did. He got our own row every flight and it was needed. Isaac is just not at a good flying age. He doesn't like to sit still and his attention span is very limited. Daddy did teach him to look out the window and say "ooooooooh!" which was amusing.

This party was pirate themed. And the cake was a family effort and it was AWESOME! I had a very specific picture in my head of what I wanted the cake to look like, and it came out perfectly. We only had to purchase the sheet cakes. Isaac was surrounded by his family. And I really can't describe how wonderful that was for him. He had so much fun and he (like his mommy) loves to be the center of attention. Everyone signed a big card for him that will go in his memory chest. I know that being so far away from so many people that love and care about Isaac and us is hard on everyone, and it is difficult to miss these milestones in our lives. He was completely disinterested in presents. However, once we got started, he entertained everyone with his "oooooooh" ing. :) Love my baby! So the first birthday festivities have come to their close. It was a seriously big deal, so much in fact that it almost warranted opening and closing ceremonies, similar to the Olympics. It is very bittersweet for us. I am glad the mayhem is over, but sad that my baby has passed another milestone and is racing toward the next. He's so big now, and such a little man.

It truly has been the best year of our lives in so many ways.

Recharged

Our family just took our first vacation in a long time that did not somehow involve a wedding, our parents, or Ohio. (Hmmmm, our layover was in Cin.cinnati, but that doesn't count right?) Not that those are bad things, but still. They aren't really vacations then.

We went to North Carolina to visit my husband's best friend and his wife and son. And we didn't do ANYTHING. We didn't plan anything, we didn't go on day trips. We layed around. We relaxed. We took the boys to see Santa. Ben and I went to see "A Christmas Carol" (PS, NOT a suitable movie for kids. Holy cow, some of those ghosts were SCARY!). Isaac enjoyed Otis, the dog and he learned to stand up. He liked having other people's stuff to play with. I liked not having a house to maintain or work to worry about. We rolled with the punches and it was wonderful. We played and watched TV.

It was exactly what we all needed, more so than we thought. We came back refreshed, me especially. We had the next day to get our Christmas tree and decorate. We felt like a family. :)

I came back to work feeling more motivated and ready to tackle things. I am more focused.

Seriously, we didn't do ANYTHING. I suggest you try it!

Isaac does well with the tree. I put a bunch of baby friendly ornaments around the bottom. He only plays with those. :) The cats....not so much. I just had to strap him down so I could a good picture. He doesn't hold still. AT ALL. And it looks like I need a haircut. :)