Happy Birthday Miles!

Miles, today you are 1 year old! You are our sweet, happy, curious, energetic, big-little guy and we love you soooo much. You have brightened up our lives and brought even more happiness to our house. You and your papa have a special bond and I love to see your face when he walks in the room - total delight and excitement and a full body smile!

Right now you love:

• Walking! You're a big walker now, taking a few timid steps here and there on your own, but still preferring to hold on to a pinky of the nearest grown-up or sister for balance and comfort.
• Blowing on the fish in your room above your crib to see them move (so cute!).
• Playing with your cousin, Derick.
• Clapping and dancing to music - you love the tunes, I can see a future for you here . . .
• Getting hugs and kisses from your sister.
• Kissing the stuffef Elmo, Dora and Po dolls.
• Avocado, cantelope, tofu, broccoli, mandarin oranges, salmon, cous-cous, rice, and chicken.
• Seeing your papa and/or mama after we've been at work - biggggg smiles!

Miles, you're the best, and worth every bit of the poop, barf and crying. We love you, love you, love you! Happy birthday bubba!

Adventures of the working mother:

April 27, 3 am: Emma comes into my room crying: "I have to go to the bathroommmmmm, I have to go to the bathrooommmmmm . . ."
Okay, okay, go already! Big surprise, she crawls into bed with me after using my bathroom and proceeds to kick me all night in the back, lovely. I stay awake for another hour remembering that I've forgotten to a) get back to friends who have called, b)organize a gift for Emma's teacher for teacher appreciation day (why in the world did I sign up to be room parent???), c)call the new housecleaner back since our current one sucks and left dirt all over the place when she came yesterday.

April 27, 8 am: we all wake up (impressive sleeping in!), Miles is still sick, poor fella, and it's his birthday!

April 27, 8:45 am: I've managed to get the two kids dressed and in their car seats. Miles has a bottle and his nose has stopped leaking like a faucet for the moment, good. I go back inside to get my shoes, jacket and anything else I've forgotten.

April 27, 8:50 am: I open my car door to hear: "mommy, mommy, Miles threw up! Miles threw up!"
Oh dear, the poor thing! He was coughing so much that he threw up his milk. Okayyy, get him out of his seat and take him up to his room to change him, wipe that nose, and try to get a smile out of the wee fellow.

April 27, 9:00 am: We actually leave the house, despite the fact that Miles is sitting on top of a towel on his wet car seat, nice. We head to Starbuck's down the street for a little pick-me-up since we're out of milk and I couldn't make my usual latte to go.

April 27, 9:10 am: Inside Starbucks: "Mommy, I have to go poo-poo!" Ooookay, let's order and then we'll use the bathroom.

April 27, 9:40 am: Bumper-to-bumper traffic on the 85. Miles sounds like some kind of wind machine in the back seat weezing and sniffling.

April 27, 10:00 am: I actually arrive at my destination, my sister-in-law's house where Miles and Emma will spend the day with the nannies. Drop off goes well, Emma gets to go to Happy Hollow with her cousin and cousin's grandma. I get back into my car, take a swig of coffee and let out a big sigh. . .ahhhhh, time to change the tunes and get.to.work.

Sassafrass

I think it's time to rename our little sass-machine. From now on, I'm going to call her Sassafrass - cuz she's all sass these days - even when on an Easter egg hunt as you can see here. Really wondering what the teenage years are going to be like - I figure it can go either way depending on who she ends up hanging out with - hopefully she falls in with the studious crowd and not the six-pack to get started crowd. Of course, I turned out all right . . .eventually.

Apres Easter tasting

Oh, and I can't forget to mention the little mission that Karen and I went on after the egg hunt . . .tee hee. Now that's when the grown ups started having fun. On our way home we stopped in at the Sarticious Spirits distillery in Santa Cruz to try some gin since Karen was in the market for some for her sister in NYC. I don't know if you've ever "tasted" gin before, but it's not something I usually drink straight - and I nearly fell over after taking a swig. Not to say that their gin isn't good - it's just a shocker to the system after Easter candy all morning. They also had some wine to taste there which we started out with which was pretty tasty, but I don't think it did anything to prepare me for the fire in the hole from the gin. So we tried the gin and Karen liked it well enough and decided to buy some - well, you can't buy any alcohol made from grains *at* the distillery in CA - only alcohol made from fruits can be bought directly from a distillery. Hmmmm, strange distinction that goes back to prohobition days. So after tasting we left and hit the liquor store to get our gin - odd, eh?
We also stopped by the Swift Street Courtyard to browse the fun shops there and we both found fun treasures. Karen got a water pitcher that looked like a wine bottle with it's top lopped off and made into a pour spout and a necklace and I found colorful handmade place mats for the kids. Gerroooovy.

The Easter Bunny came late this year . . .

Betweeen Emma being off in Hawaii this year with her dad and the crappy weather, we/I decided to arrange for an Easter celebration a week after the real Easter. So we all went up to my brother's place in Bonny Doon and had a little hunt . .. despite the still crappy weather. This will definitely go down as one of the nastiest springs in No. Cal. where we usually have beach day after beach day. Whatever. Anyway, the hunt - it was fun. We all brought food and had a yummy brunch before hiding the 72 candy filled eggs - 72 eggs becuase there were 4 little girls to look for them and we wanted things to be even and we were expecting a lot more hunters - but fevers and colds got the best of some. So Emma, Chloe, Rinnie and Nicole hit the jackpot and got to hunt down 18 eggs each (see, we're not just rotting their teeth, we're teaching valuable counting skills too). Not sure if Emma's actually eaten that much candy in one sitting before . .. she managed to get a ton down her gullet before I discovered what she was doing and confiscated the basket. Ever heard of pacing yourself girl? I think not. There was a lovely mood to follow later in the day. Charming.
Anyway, another holiday under our belt and moving on. Miles turns 1 this Friday - I can't believe it's already been a year!! Wow, time flies.

Remiss on a VERY important blog entry . ..

Let's see . .. where did I put that blog . . .hmmmm . .. .no, not there . . . hmmm . . .no, that's not it ... oh, shit, there's that parking ticket I haven't paid yet (!), better stack that over there so I don't forget again . . . ..hmmm, where is that blog . ..OH! There it is .. .oh! Hi, you're here already! Okay, well then I'll just get started: I have big news and I am 2 days late in reporting it:
Miles walked! He took 3 steps all on his own! I took him for a walk the other day with Angela and afterwards we went to the very yummy River Cafe to have a little nibble. While there, Miles was busy exploring, as per usual, and he made the executive decision that the River Cafe was where he was going to take his momentous first steps. I was holding his hands, walking him around and I pried my fingers from his grip and he just stood there for a minute - thinking about what to do next - Angela and I held our breath . . .and then . . .(drum roll please!) . . .he took 1 Frankenstein step! . ..2 Frankenstein steps!! . . .3 Frankenstein steps!!! We have lift-of!
Of course, this was that last we've seen of the walking for two days . ..but give him time, what's the rush?? Hey mom, I'm just getting this whole thing figured out - plus - who needs to walk on their own when you're there to hold my hand all the time and that's so much fun!
Our little guy is growing up, and so fast - how does it go so fast?! Part of me wants him to stay a baby forever and the other part of me can't wait for him to pack his own lunch and skip off to school ...

High Tea

Four fabulous ladies and 1 baby boy had high tea the other day in Capitola at the Country Court Tea Room. What fun! I got fun presents for my bday and got to spend time with my good friend Angela, her daughter Bianca, and Emma and Miles and sip tea from a fancy little cup. This has now become our yearly tradition around either my birthday or Angela's. Last year I was the pregnant one and luckily, this year she is.
Miles was a questionable guest for a tea room . . .not exactly the mild mannered clientelle they're looking to see. Luckily Emma and Bianca walked him around the majority of our time there (which I'm sure the other tea sippers loved - not) which kept him somewhat in line - but really, not the place for a baby. Maybe next year we'll have to change our venue since there will be 4 kids to keep a lid on.

Interesting letters . ..

My friend Karen (giver of name Mimi) collects pictures of interesting letters, so I've snapped a couple for her:

hmmm, they look a little blurry ...

It's my birfday, my birfday!

I had such a nice birthday this year! Last night my husband's brother, wife and 2 kids came over for dinner and brought cake, wine and presents. We convinced them that they couldn't possibly drive home (I was sure to fill their glasses every chance I got to ensure this) last night and that they just had to stay. So we had a slumber party and stayed up way too late and drank way too much wine - especially that last bottle that was given to us by a friend a few years back and had a handwritten label that said something forgettable about it being a Zin but something very memorable about it having 18% alcohol by volume . . .hmmm, opening this one at midnight, possibly not the best idea. Headache today to prove it. When will I learn to drink more water as I go? Anyway, that's another post all together.
This morning my fabulous hubby got up, took care of the baby and made a yummy breakfast for all us. After we ate, the in-laws left and I attempted to sneak off to my bed for a little b-day nappy . ..but I was pleasantly interrupted by my yet again fabulous husband who had an armful of presents for me! He, Emma and Miles came in and we ripped open the packages - with a lot of help from Emma, of course (you clearly need help here mommy). The booty was a beautiful necklace and matching earrings, an ipod adapter for my car so I can listen to my tunes while commuting, and a beautiful glass platter with flowers embedding into it. Very thoughtful and sweet gifts, hubby gets big points!
Then, the cosmos aligned and Miles went down for a nap, Emma decided she wanted to watch The Sound of Music (a fabulous 2.5 hour distraction that every parent should own) and WE got to take a nap. Ha! Who thought it possible with 2 kids about? Not me! But it happened and it was heaven.
Later in the day we loaded up the car and got ice cream and headed to the beach for a little play. Unfortunately it was freezing down there, but we stayed a little while anyway and ran around for warmth.
Once we got back we were just worked - tired as all get out. So I layed around being generally sloth-like while hubby miraculously helped Emma rearrange her room (where did I find this guy??). Now he's upstairs putting her to bed - need I say more? I think I have the most wonderful husband on the planet. He rocks.
I'm tired. Time for bed. Another day and suddenly I'm 36. Not much to celebrate there, that's for sure. It's always hard to get into the habit of telling people you're a year older than you were the day before - there's something so strange about it. Why strain myself? Maybe I'll just stay 35, uh, er, I mean 25 - yeah, that's it!

Doggy do-right

Well damn if Emma doesn't keep bringing up the fact that I told her we could get a puppy this summer!
The background story is that we’ve been thinking about getting a dog for quite a long time now, but some major life event keeps coming up that delays it. First, it was the fact that we were remodeling our entire house for-ever, oh, it went on and on and on. We were worried we’d give the little pooch some sort of doggy psychosis what with all the brain-rattling noises and chaos. And then, I was pregnant with Miles and we were still under construction – that was special, let me tell you – I didn’t want to live there. Then, which is now, we’ve got little Miles to think about – we wanted to give him some time to adjust to being human and to grow a bit so he was a least a little bit bigger than the dog. Then? Then I started working and that has thrown a whole new wrench in the works – how can I raise a puppy now when I’m gone all day 3 days a week? Who will take care of the wee thing while we’re all away? Also, we’re planning a family vacation to Germany this summer for 2 weeks and can’t very well leave a new member of the family behind to develop paranoia and abandonment issues (see I’m quite convinced that dogs develop all of the same problems as humans and that’s why there are so many f’ed up dogs out there, because people really don’t get this detail about their pets). An-nee-way, Emma knows that we’ve been talking about getting a dog because we’ve had lots of conversations about what kind of dog we want to get (and I think we’ve decided that we want a mut because all the full breds seem so, well, you know, so full of issues) and so we’re getting committed to this idea. Because as anyone who has kids knows, once a kid has glommed on to an idea, look out, because you will never hear the end of it!
I must, in some sleep-deprived haze, agreed to Emma that we would get a dog this summer after we got back from Germany because I have now heard her bring it up on a number of occasions. The first time it happened I was in her classroom at school volunteering when I heard her talking to her friend and it went like this:
Emma: I’m getting a dog this summer! (mom's ears perk up)
Friend: No you’re not (you couldn't possibly be that lucky)
Emma: Yes I am! My mom said we’re getting a dog when we get back from Germany! (mom slinks away)
What?! Shit! I thought she was going to drop that idea just like everything else I casually mention. She is normally so easy about stuff like that! She’ll want something and then forget all about it. Well, not the dog. Nope, this idea she has glommed onto with fierce determination – because this was not the last time she mentioned it. I’d say since that conversation in the classroom she has brought it up a least 10 times – and it’s always just a little comment here or there out of the blue: Are we going to get a dog like Chloe’s? (her cousin)
What kind of dog are we getting?
Can our puppy sleep in my room?
I want to name our puppy Ruby!
I want to name our puppy . . . .X!
Are we getting our puppy right after Germany?
When are we going to Germany??
It goes on and on. I think I’m committed here. Okay, so now I have to figure out how to make this work so the poor pooch isn’t stuck at home alone all the time. Anyone have any good techniques for integrating a dog into the family with kids and a busy schedule successfully? I'd love to hear how you make it work because the last thing I want is a sad puppy!