HAPPY BIRTHDAY MADDIE!!!!

November 26th is Maddie's birthday!! For the occasion, I thought I'd post some recent pics I took of her and make a little list of why I love her so much. First, the list:

1. You are contagiously happy.
2. I love your independance. You don't smile at strangers when you don't want to and in fact give them frowns!
3. You love "High Ho" from Snow White.
4. You pat my face every morning and say "ma ma."
5. You sing beautifully- in the tub, while playing and when you wake up in the morning.
6. You can't run very well.
7. You HATE shoes. And socks.
8. You love yogurt, raisins, chicken, green beans and of course CHOCOLATE MILK. You have become a "choca" holic.
9. Animals are your favorite.
10. You are very tender, are good at sharing, love babies and especially sand.

We love you Maddie and are so blessed to have you in our lives.

Happy Birthday!!!Happy Birthday!!!Happy Birthday!!!Happy Birthday!!!

Oh- I'm so excited!

I went the grocery store this afternoon in preparation for our Thanksgiving feast on Thursday, and I got so excited. IT IS MY FAVORITE HOLIDAY OF THE YEAR!!!

My favorite part about Thanksgiving is the day after Thanksgiving sandwich with cranberries, turkey, maybe even a little stuffing. Oh my gosh- it is seriously the best thing on earth.



My second favorite thing (but a very close second) about Thanksiving is the stuffing! To die for. This is the one tradition in my family that we have had every year since I can remember. It may seem a little odd to some of you, but it is the best stuffing I have ever tasted: Oyster stuffing. It doesn't taste fishy, but is so moist and is not made from the mixes that are so generic. I am so excited to make it, that I'm going to make it early this year starting tomorrow!!!

Every Thanksgiving, we have tried to incorporate the "old" recipies with new ones. This year, I'm going to embark on Paula Dean's pumpkin pie recipe that 284 people on foodnetwork gave 5 stars?! (very impressive). Since she is the diva of all things sweet, I have no doubt that it will deliver the 5 stars... but of course, throw your diet out the window.

Can't wait to try it Paula!

Possibly the worst movie ever

I would consider myself a die hard Twilight fan- I loved the books, read them multiple times, went to the book party, read the Twilight Lexicon (religiously for months on end-- it's the Official Stephanie Meyer Fan blog)...

and now I've been to the movie.

I was expecting it to be bad. Of course the book is never as good as the movie. But- it was really really (let me add another really) bad. I cringe when I write this because I feel that somehow I'm turning my back on Meyer or the books that I love, and probably represent the minority of people who saw it this weekend... but it was shockingly terrible.

I think I agree with these reviewers 100%:

"Meyer is said to have been involved in the production of 'Twilight,' but her novel was substantially more absorbing than the unintentionally funny and quickly forgettable film," remarks Claudia Puig in her USA Today review. Justin Chang at Variety agrees, saying, "[Director Catherine] Hardwicke can't get inside the head of her young protagonist, Isabella 'Bella' Swan (Kristen Stewart); consequently, Bella's decision to get hot and heavy with a hot-and-hungry vampire, far from seeming like an act of mad, transgressive passion, comes across as merely stupid and ill-considered. The result is a supernatural romance in which the supernatural and romantic elements feel rushed, unformed and insufficiently motivated, leaving audiences with little to do but shrug and focus on the eye-candy."

Unintentionally funny is the key. I think the script was really poorly written- I don't think you could understand the movie at all without reading the book- it was extremely choppy, and one second Bella/Edward don't know eachother, and the next second, they are in love. The soundtrack didn't help at all either- who did it? It made everything 100 times worse than it really was.

So, the result was, people laughing at all the wrong spots (at least I didn't think the director was trying to make this a comedy?)

On the upswing- I thought Bella and Edward were great for what they could do with it. I just feel bad for both of them, because I know they are better actors than what they did in this movie.

And- even though I'm not a 12 year old that obsesses over Robert Pattinson (played Edward), he is a very good look'n fellow. He definitely was eye candy for the film and made it bearable.

What did you think?

a SWEET ride

I divide my purchases into cheap/temporary and expensive/long lasting. If I need socks or play shirts for Maddie, I go to the cheapest stores I can go to. I figure these items will get trashed and will need replacing sometime soon.

But- when it comes to something that I am going to depend on for a while, I try to get the best. And- so I did. We got this:
JUST KIDDING. Maybe when we retire. But, we did get something special! And- I am so excited.

We used our REI dividend and took advantage of the 20% sale... to get:

One of my friends has the previous model, and I loved pushing it around. It is so easy- it seriously feels lighter than my one clunky stroller. This is the newest Bob Stroller- and I can't rave enough about it. It just gets me excited to start running again and push the two in it.

People tried to get me to buy some other models, but I just couldn't keep away from this one, and I am so happy. I pushed Maddie around in it last night, and we were both laughing because we were so excited!!

An ice cream shower

I was *lucky* enough to plan this shower with some friends... I have to admit, I had a lot of fun planning it. I think it was because of the colors and the ice cream?

We decided on brown, white and green to match the mom to be's favorite ice cream: mint chocolate chip.


We rented ice cream glasses that were so cute. If you are ever in need- Classic Party Rentals is the way to go.


Here are the awesome lanterns that we got to match... from http://www.lunabazaar.com/. I recommend them highly!


The cute flowers are from Safeway! Thank goodness they had green flowers? I didn't know what I was going go to do?

We wore little ice cream hats to serve people when they came in...

All of the party planners and mother to be in the center. It makes it so easy when so many people help out!

Two more months?

I am due in the middle of January sometime (I like to think of it as an average, not a day- since I was 2 weeks late last time!), and I'm starting to feel "pregnant."

Third trimester pregnant = heavy, tired, oversized, big, slow, uncomfortable.

One of my favorite celebs is heidi klum- and this is when she was pregnant:

If only all of us could look as cute as her!

Some things that have changed:

1) About a month ago, I traded in this:

For this.

Ellipticals are not my favorite. I feel like a mouse on a wheel, and when I'm not pregnant, I don't feel like I get as good of a workout as running. But, since I have limited options, I've been trying to make it work. I have also tried to swim, but when it's cold in the morning, it's not very appetizing :)

2) I have turned into a 80 year old woman. I get tired at 7:30 pm after I give Maddie a bath and put her to bed. Oftentimes, I am in bed earlier than I want to admit. But, then wake up at 5:30! Luckily I'm pretty productive in the morning, but it's driving me insane! I tried to go to sleep later, and still woke up at 5:30... so I guess I will be going to bed earlier in order to survive

3) On the upside, I think my hair is getting thicker and more luxurious! hee hee. I wish my hair could be like this all the time, but I am trying to appreciate it now.

4) And finally, I bought 2 AWESOME pregnancy pants from Gap. Last time, I decided that I would not splurge because it was totally unecessary and expensive. But, this time I was sick of looking so frumpy, so I decided to splurge when they went on sale. They are worth EVERY PENNY. I cannot rave enough about them- they are comfortable, the perfect color, and go with about everything. Stacy and Clinton would be proud.

November update on the house

We hired some terrific people to finish hanging the drywall and finish the mud and tape for the walls. It is so nice to sit back and see people do the work! hee hee.

They should be done by the end of this week or early next week.

Here is what it looks like thus far:

The little den which will be to your left as you walk in the front door.

The guest room on your right as you walk in the front door...

The great hall and it's fireplace! So so excited for the fireplace.

A view from the great hall to the kitchen...

The mud room.

Bigger picture of the great hall.

I didn't take any more pictures because the guys were hard at work... but my favorite room in the house will be the kitchen/family room area which you can see an opening to from the photo above.

The bathroom tiles should be installed next week, the kitchen and bathroom cabinets a couple of days before thanksgiving... and then the molding around the doors and windows, paint, and the floors...

It is getting close!

The Times are Tough

Woke up. Got dressed. Went into work. Boss came in and laid it on thick:

"We are needing to lay off 55 lawyers because of the rough times... The high tech industry is slowing down, and they aren't hiring foreign nationals or anyone like they used to. This is the first round, and we are expecting to do more in the future when it really get's bad."

(gulp)

Today, since I'm just the little one on the pole of lawyers, I joined the ranks of the unemployed. After recovering from the shock of it all, I have to be greatful. Greatful that I was able to pull off such a sweet deal for a short amount of time, and greatful that I'll be able to apply again when and if the economy get's back on it's feet.

And- most of all...greatful that I am not the breadwinner of my family and that I was doing it more out of enjoyment and experience. My heart goes out to families who really suffer from the breadwinner losing his/her job.

So, now the burst of the economy has hit home. More than ever, my hope is that our country can recover from this mess.

Riding the wave of life...

Yes We Can!

So, a while back I posted how I was excited that Palin was chosen as a vice presidential candidate. Many agreed with me, many were frightened. But- I gave her a chance. And, then I changed my mind. A couple of interviews was all it took. (No need to dwell on that one).

I am excited for these next few years! Obama has a lot to do, and I fear that the expectations are so high that people won't be patient... but I believe he can do it. I don't endorse everything he espouses to, but he was definitely the better candidate hands down, and I am anxious to see what happens.

The wheels are turning

Most things that little kids do are copies of what they see around them... but last week Maddie did something that made Steve and I both scratch our heads...

She really is thinking by herself! Pretty ingenious...

She went searching around our house for her package of diapers. After carrying them around, she plopped it by the wall...


Stood on it... and turned the light on!!!

She definitely has not seen us do that!?

Halloween!

Maddie took Halloween very seriously! After getting the hang of it for two houses, she was on a mission and knew how to say "treat." We went out with a group of little kids her age and it was almost like a pottery barn commercial. They were so cute.

Very proud of herself!

Where's the next house?

One of our last houses before she melted and we went home.

I LOVE HALLOWEEN!

Some other cool ideas I love

I came across both of these ideas-- and just wanted to share how cool they are! I think I might use the apple idea for Maddie's b-day party.

IDEA #1- Mini carmel apples.


1) Wash and peel a large, fairly tart apple like Granny Smith. Using a melon baller, extract balls of apple. A large apple will yield about 6 balls (plus scraps for you to snack on). Place in a bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice.2) Prepare a dipping station. You can use mini cupcake papers (as shown above) and lollipop sticks. In addition to a bowl of warmed caramel apple dip, you may want to add chopped nuts, m&ms or sprinkles.3) Carefully spear each ball of apple through the ROUND end (not the part with the skin). Keep the flat end on the bottom, so they stand upright. Using a paper towel, blot off the excess lemon juice. This is important- if the apple has too much juice left on it, the caramel won't stick.4) Dip the apple in the caramel, using a twirling motion to coat it evenly.5) Transfer the apple to the nuts and roll, using a gentler twirling motion.6) Stand the apples upright in the cups and let them chill in the fridge to solidify.


IDEA #2: Fruit Pizza (with sugar cookie and yogurt or cream cheese, with fruit on top). You can have a lof of fun with this one!

Inspiration

My in-laws told me about someone in the family throwing a wedding on Halloween. WHAT? That sounded horrible. But- then I came across these photos, and I totally LoVe it. Someone get married on Halloween- I want to come!!!

So classy and so fun... but this is my favorite:

BOO POTATOES!!