What Are You Doing For NYE?

What I won't be doing is:

1. Getting dressed up (to be honest I am already in my PJs and it's only 3:30pm).
2. Wearing any type of high heel.
3. Leaving the house.
4. Standing outside in any line.
5. Freezing my butt off in the snow.
6. Watching the clock strike midnight.
7. Watching Dick Clark (is he still alive?)
8. Waking up tomorrow with a massive hangover.

What I will be doing is the exact same thing I have done almost every year for the past decade:

1. Snuggle up with my little man in our PJs.
2. Have a New Year's toast (his sippy and mom's champagne) at about 7:30pm.
3. Have a nice relaxing dinner with my hubby (spicy shrimp and white bean stew, asparagus, and arugula salad.)
4. Watch something that we have been saving on the DVR (this year it will likely be a 30 Rock marathon)
5. Drink one too many glasses of champagne.
6. Be in bed by 10 at the latest.
7. Wake up tomorrow sans hangover and hit up a 12:00 yoga class with my favorite yoga instructor.

For me this is the perfect New Year's Eve! Whatever your plans are I hope all of you have a happy and SAFE evening! For those of you who are going to be out hitting the town, I salute you. Please have a drink for me!

See you all in 2010... I have a feeling this is going to be one great decade!

Report Card Time.

I've never been one for New Year's resolutions, but I figure since I made quite a few last year, I owe it to myself (and those of you keeping track) to check in and see how I did this year. Ugh, I have a feeling that this is not going to be pretty.

1. I will try to stop obsessing over things that I can't control (emphasis on the try).

Grade A- I'm going to have to give myself high marks on this one. When I made this resolution I figured that I would certainly be pregnant by now, and I had ABSOLUTELY no idea how uncontrollable a two year old could be. I think that I have moved from the realm of obsession into the "safe zone" of careful worry.

2. I will make the bed 5 of the 7 days (my husband hates and un-made bed, I could care less).

Grade C+ If you had checked in on me 6 months ago I would have given myself an A, somehow in the last few months I have slipped into a downward shame spiral with my bed making and well, let's just say if "someone" want's the bad made than "someone" is going to have to make it. Unless we have company, than I'm all over it.

3. I will work on the book with the goal of finishing by the end of the year.

Grade D+ Is 100 pages a book? Yeah, I didn't think so. I still really enjoy working on it, life just keeps getting in the way. This will again be on next year's list and hopefully not the year after that, or the one after that...etc.

4. I will be more patient with my little man and my big man.

Little Man: B, Big Man: C / C- Patience is something that does not come easy for me. In short, I don't have any. Especially for grown adults. Blonde haired/ blue eyed little boys? Well, that seems to come a little bit easier. Especially since his favorite game is testing every ounce of it that I am able to conjure up....all the time... every day... of my life...I feel pretty good about my behavior this year.

5. Bonus Resolution.

One thing that was not on my list but I would have to give myself an A+ in this year is not wasting one ounce of energy on what someone else says or thinks about me. This kind of crap used to keep me up at night, and now I don't even give it a second thought. I don't know if it was the whole "turning 30" thing, or the fact that I chose to only surround myself with positive people now, but for some reason I just don't care what people say. At all. I realize that I have a strong personality and that you either will love me or hate me and I am completely comfortable with that. It's like this blog, not everyone is a fan and the fact is there isn't a damn thing that I can do to change that, so why bother?

New Years Resolution's 2009 = Fail.

Okay, not quite a fail, but there is definitely room for some improvements. I'm not quite sure if all last year's ressies will make it to this year's list (I do hate making the bed) but I will absolutely be adding to it. It's good to start off the new year with a little motivation, right?

I hope you all fared better than me in the resolution department, if not at least there's always next year!

(photo credit: from here)

The Goose Got Fat.

Christmas 2009 will be remembered for one thing and one thing only... the food! Okay, okay there were lots of other happy memories made with the little man, but looking back all I can think about was how great Christmas dinner was. Actually make that, how great the food was all of Christmas day.

We started the day off with my "famous" Eggs Benedict, followed by an early afternoon antipasto platter, which led us to the highlight of the day... Cioppino (a seafood stew) and a Fennel and Orange salad. One word: Yummy. Throw in a pre-made chocolate mouse and peppermint gelato and I don't think that I have ever had such an amazing day of food in my life.

Here is the before. I can assure you my refrigerator didn't know what hit it.

And the after... I seriously want to crawl right back into this picture.

Both of these recipes were pretty easy to prepare and allowed me plenty of time to socialize and help the hubs get the little man to bed. The fact that my sister-in-law was the perfect sous-chef also made for a completely stress free dinner.

The only problem? No leftovers!

The Cioppino recipe can be found here.

The Salad here.

Not Quite The Christmas Miracle I Was Hoping For.

Yes people that is snow. And yes, that is snow falling on Christmas Day (err night.) I know I said that all I wanted for Christmas was for some of the white stuff to fall, but in the back of my mind I was really hoping that Santa would instead bring me a positive pregnancy test. Well, it looks like he got my first letter, but forgot about the second. Yep, Christmas morning we got our final negative pregnancy test. Our last chance before some serious medical intervention came and went and starting today we begin injectibles and then insemination or IVF depending on how many little egglets I produce. In short, now the fun begins.

I thought I would be nervous about the whole process, but the truth is that I am really ready to get this ball rolling. The only thing that has my stomach in knots is the timing of all of this. Honestly, it couldn't be any worse. Basically for the next 14 days I have to be at the doctor every morning at 9 for a blood test and ultrasound. Of course this is a holiday week which means that school is closed, my sitter is out of town, and any friends who would have been able to watch my little man are also visiting their own families. This means that EVERY DAY my two year old and I get to go to the doctor together. As I said fun times. Today a TV show on my iPod and a bag of jelly beans did the trick, but I have a feeling I am going to have to get more creative in the coming weeks. Note to self: move closer to family if we are every going to do this again.

I'm actually in a pretty good place about where we are at with all of this and I am very much looking forward to this being the end of our journey (fingers crossed.) "Taking shots" is about to take on a new meaning in this house, although I'm thinking it's not a bad idea to add a real shot to go with my fertility shots. Nah, maybe just a giant glass of wine.

Bling, Bling: Christmas Stocking Edition.

Imagine the look on my face when I saw that a little box from Henri Bendel had been perched right on top of my Christmas stocking. Had Santa made a pit stop in NYC to make all of my dreams come true? Had I finally made it onto the nice list? Or, the more likely possibility, had my fabulous sister-in-law who had recently located to the big apple brought up a little treat for this lover of all things sparkly? Bingo!

I tore open that little striped box to find the most perfect stocking stuffer this mum had ever seen. The Bendel Swarovski crystallized ear bud covers specially made for iPod!

Talk about the perfect present! I had told my sister-in-law that I was addicted to the hands free option on my iPhone and was wearing my headphones whenever I was out of the house. Apparently when she saw these babies she knew that they would find the perfect home on my boring white ear buds. She couldn't have been more correct and I absolutely love them.

Bling, bling! This must be how Jay-Z feels!

We Wish You a Merry Christmas!

From our family to yours, we would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas filled with love and laughter. The little man and I are patiently awaiting the arrival of Santa who will not only be bringing in goodies this year, but also my brother and sister-in-law (yay!) We are very thankful that we are spending a quiet Christmas at home this year and are looking forward to spending a long weekend with our family and a little boy who is *full* of Christmas spirit.

As much as we would of loved to send all of you a holiday card this year, that is a lot of stamps to lick and the little man's tongue wasn't sure if it was up for the job (that and I do believe that we have some pretty strict child labor laws in this country.) So we are sending you all our card virtually, wishing you the happiest of holidays.

I Know What I'm Doing May 28th!

154 days... I think I can, I think I can...

Best. Trailer. Ever.

The Nutcracker = Amazing!

I have lived in Boston for almost seven years and for the first time last night I went to the Boston Opera House to see the Boston Ballet's performance of The Nutcracker. Add this to the list of things I should have done a long, long, long time ago. From beginning to end it was absolutely amazing. The Opera House, the set, the dancers, the costumes, and the music was all completely breathtaking. My 15 year old sister was in town and I was so happy that I was able to share something so beautiful with her. I can assure you that this will become an annual tradition in our home. Here we are on our way to the show.

And this is a sampling of the magic that is The Nutcracker.

Needless to say, last night I went to sleep with visions of sugarplum fairies dancing in my head.

On a side note I read that the Boston Ballet accepts kids in their classes as young as age two. I am so signing my little man up. Jumping, running, and spinning around for hours? Let's just say my kid's already a natural!

An Email From Santa? Too Cool!

All you parents out there (who celebrate Christmas) have to take 5 minutes and fill this out, it literally blew my kid's mind! It is... (ta da)... an emailed video message from Santa complete with stats about your kid, what they have been up to, what they want for christmas and it even includes a picture of your little one. Amazing!

To get your own personalized video click here.

A Little Snow Can't Stop Us!

Mother Nature didn't really think that a blizzard would keep us from our Sunday morning park outing did she? Despite the fact that the Little Man couldn't walk in the foot deep snow...

We still found a way to get around.

Which allowed the little man to focus on his favorite new hobby... eating snow.

We finally made it to the park and soon realized that we were the only ones there.

The LM didn't seem to mind, that just left more snow for him to eat.

And then we did this... for about an hour.

A little snow (or a lot) can't stop us!

I Actually Let him Go Out In That.

Lately the little man has been fighting me for some more independence. Last night when we went to the store I "let" him win. In truth after a long day of fighting with him over everything I didn't have the energy to battle any more. Hence the snowman head piece, turtle pants, fire truck wellies (or welly because he is only wearing one) and mis-matched socks. Yes, I actually let him go out in that.

Needless to say he got quite a few looks and laughs.

The Michelin Man.

It is officially freezing here. Freezing. With the wind chill the temperature this morning was in the single digits, and it's only December. Crap, we are in for a long winter. Today when the little man and I left the house he bore a striking resemblance to the Michelin man.

Michelin Man

My Little Man.

What is he wearing exactly?

• One pair of leggings.
• A pair of corduroy pants.
• A long sleeved shirt.
• A sweater.
• A fleece.
• A down jacket.
• Snow Boots.
• A fleece blanket.
• A stroller bag.
• A hat.
• Mittens.

Whew, it took us about 40 minutes to get all of that on and that was just for a coffee run and 15 minutes at the park. I can't even imagine how long it would have taken if I had two of them.

Note to self: move to a much warmer climate before we have the next baby(s).

A One Track Mind.

Yesterday the little man and I wrote our letter to Santa. Actually we wrote our letter to Santa Mater (the character from the movie cars.) I spent the hour trying to explain that Santa liked things like Christmas trees, candy canes, and pictures of himself, but the little man had a one track mind. Cars, cars, cars, and more cars was all he wanted.

Yep, that's out letter to Santa. He would like a new toy (nondescript), and a new auto (that's what he calls cars.) Well that should be pretty easy!

A White Christmas?

Who doesn't dream of a white Christmas? For me this was one of the worst parts of growing up in Southern California, palm trees and 70 degree weather don't do a lot to put you in the holiday spirit. But snow? That will do it! In the 8 years that I have lived on the East Coast I have yet to get my snowy Christmas morning. Snow on the ground? Yes. Snow lightly falling from the sky? No. According to the forecast, this year I might just get my wish. Do you see what I see?

(insert cheery Christmas music here)

Okay, I know that the snow isn't predicted exactly for Christmas but we all know how unreliable these 10 day forecasts can be. This mum is now dreaming of a white Christmas!

Bring on the white and fluffy!

Crib Acrobatics.

Lately I've been hearing quite a few strange noises coming from the little man's room. It is always right after his nap and usually goes something like BOOM, BOOM, BOOM followed by "OUCH." The other day I went in to investigate. Turns out my little man has been working on his audition for Cirque Du Soleil.

Behold the crib acrobatics.

Yeah, I'm thinking it might be time for that big boy bed.

Now That's What I Call Recycling!

Remember that old TV cart that I had been complaining about? You know, the one that was sitting in my future nursery with an old never watched TV sitting on it? Well, I was finally able to unload that TV and I agreed to go against everything I believe in by allowing my husband to mount a new one in our bedroom so he can play xbox on the one upstairs, how old is he? 5? (That's another post all together.)

Great right? Well, the problem was that I was left with a giant piece of wood furniture that wasn't worth a whole lot, but was too nice to throw away. At the same time I had been looking around for a bench for my entry so we would have somewhere to store shoes, hats, gloves, etc. Basically I needed a mud room.

Light bulb! What if, I thought to myself, I could find a way to turn the TV cart into a bench. Sure it's a little high, but this would be a great way to recycle that new/old piece of furniture. Turns out I was actually right about this one.

Before.

After!

Can you tell I'm pretty proud of myself? For about 50 dollars I was able to have a cushion made by a lovely designer at etsy, and voila! I now have my mud room. Even better I found a place for those pillows that no longer match our new rug.

Now that's what I call recycling!

Cutting Down The Christmas Tree: City Edition.

I remember as a kid, growing up in Colorado, going with my mom out into the snow covered woods searching, and searching until we found the perfect christmas tree which we would then cut down and haul back home to decorate (at least I think it when something like this.) When you live in the city "cutting" down the family christmas tree takes on a whole new meaning.

Yesterday we continued with our new family tradition which consisted of loading up dad and the little man into the Prius and driving a few miles over to Chinatown, double parking, getting yelled at by a hotel doorman for double parking, yelling back at said doorman, running around the 12 x12 "farm," finding the perfect tree (aka any one that said it was 7 feet tall,) greasing the guy 10 bucks to wrap and load it into the car, driving back home with the little man covered in the packaged tree, and then fighting with dad for hours because the tree is not 7 feet but rather 9 feet and doesn't fit in the stand. Ahhhhh holiday memories.

Ok, ok it wasn't all that bad, and in the end we do have a beautiful tree, but I can assure you this is not what Norman Rockwell had in mind.

Here we are at the "farm."

It was love at first sight for the little man and this year's tree.

After hours of sawing we finally finagled it into the stand and the little man and I were able to decorate. The little man first sorted all of the ornaments.

And then told me exactly where they needed to go.

We continued this process for about two hours.

Until finally we were ready for the Santa tree topper. The Husband (who was still very annoyed about the size of the tree) took this very flattering photo of me. Thanks for that one babe.

Our finished result was a slightly too large tree that was decorated with lots and lots of love.

Maybe next year we will venture out into the woods, but for now our family tradition of tree cutting is intact.