Opportunity knocks

Opportunity awaits in our new home

 When people told us that 2012 would be a life changing year for us, they didn't know how right they were. Of course, they were eluding to the two of us becoming a family of three, with the birth of Sal.

But we have more on our plate than our newest family addition.

And, it's coming soon.

Really, really, really soon.

Out those sliding glass doors lies our next adventure...

...in China.

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Yes, we're moving to China.

With an infant.

And a cat.

And no, we're not crazy. .

(okay, maybe just a little bit)

Oh, the places you'll go

Huzzah! He's ready to explore!

This week marked a new beginning for us.
 Our little man squirmed, wriggled, fussed posed for his first passport photo!
It was quite comical, Nick and I met up for a lunch date to Kinko's and our local post office to get Sal's passport underway. The poor girl had to take about ten pictures of Sal before we got one that fit all the requirements. You know, like, head forward ( have you ever tried getting a 6 week old to look straight ahead? They have ZERO in the head control department, although if you want him to lift his head, he's your man...but turning and holding it straight, not so much), eyes OPEN, hands out of your face, drool to a minimum.

We finally got one though, and I think he is going to make the most handsome little traveller I know.

Sheesh, it took me 22 years to get my passport stamped, and he will have his stamped within 3 months of being alive.

I hope it is the first of many for him-

As Dr. Seuss wrote,

"Oh, the places you'll go."

Ain't that the truth?

A Heavy Hearted Monday

Aunt Lorraine, Uncle Greg, Uncle Bob and my Pop
[August 2011]

I start this week with a heaviness in my heart at the news of an accident that took my Great Uncle's and Aunt's lives. To know uncle Bob & Aunt Lorraine was to love them...I doubt they ever had a single enemy, they were just that friendly. I will miss his jokester ways, and her sweet little sayings. My aunt Lorraine remained in critical condition over the weekend, and sadly passed away this afternoon.

I feel for my cousins, my grandmother ( uncle Bob was her last living sibling) and Bob and Lorraine's three girls.

The two were in Palm Springs to attend a WWII reunion, when they were crossing a street around 7:30 p.m. and were struck by a motor vehicle. Here are links to the News releases.

Noozhawk Santa Barbara
Desert.com article

Keepin it Real

One thing I looked forward to all these years of dreaming about being a mom, was making connections with other moms. I am what some people might call slow to warm, or shy--or if I'm completely misread, stuck up. I often times felt over the course of the past few years, that I didn't fit in with my single friends, yet, I didn't fit in with my mom friends either...I mean, what would I possibly have to talk about with them? I admit, part of my not fitting in with my mom friends was on me..okay, all of it was on me. They were experiencing something I wanted so badly to have myself. I saw it as some sort of super exclusive club, and I didn't have a membership. I'd paid the dues a couple of times, only to have my membership revoked. So, envy kept me from being as good of a friend as I wanted to be.

I got to do something this week, that may seem so silly to others, but it was a big freakin' deal to me.

Are you ready?

Hold your excitement.

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I know it's hard..but try....

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Sal and I...

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...went on our first park date.

It felt as good as I had imagined it would. Being able to join in conversation with my sister-in-law, and newfound friend Rene. The older kids played, the younger ones crawled around, and Sal just sweetly slept as I nudged his stroller back and forth to keep him content. We had bagged lunches, sat and kept it real while we enjoyed the sunny Tuesday weather that Southern California graced us with.

..and I thought to myself...

I'm so happy to be here.

TGIF & baby chub

I've never really been one to exclaim TGIF on Fridays, but I'm making an exception today.

...and boy, oh boy, do I ever mean THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY!!

Today marks the day that NZ returns from a week long overseas trip and gets to be re-united with our family.

I was lucky enough to have a few helping hands in the form of one of my besties, who flew down to stay a few days and finally meet Sal. I also had my sister and sister-in-law chipping in by stopping by to visit with us, allowing me some time to get household chores and errands done.

The week started off a real hot mess a bit rough, with Sal and I both getting hit by the recurrent thrush monster. We had it two weeks ago, treated it full course, and were both doing better, until his crankiness on Sunday night persuaded me to look in his mouth, only to find a white tongue AGAIN! Monday found us both starting another course of treatment, Nystatin for Sal, and a pill of Diflucan for me. Not sure what happened after that, but Sal was one unhappy baby for the next 48 hours. His poor little system was on overload and his belly hurt him really bad. It's a terrible feeling to see yoru baby hurt so bad, and beleive me, I tried everything I could think of ( or that was suggested to me) to help relieve his unsettled belly, but nothing seemed to work. He finally relieved himself Tuesday evening, and proceeded to turn back into the snuggly, cuddly baby I have come to know and love as my child.

Oh, and can I just jinx myself by bragging that he slept FIVE hours straight on Tuesday night? And again on Wednesday night? You can bet I was happy. Bright eyed and bushy tailed would be appropriate words to describe how I was feeling after those stretches of uninterupted sleep.

My sister and my sister in law both came to see us on Thursday after Jen left to head back north...

..and now it's Friday, and I am oh so happy to have NZ coming home to love on Sal's suddenly chubby little legs. Somehow, someway, he has filled out this week... growing out of many sleepers and onesies that fit as recently as last weekend. Although I don't want him to grow up too fast, I sure do love me some baby chub.

Happy Valentine's Day

I couldn"t resist.

Happy Valentines Day

Make it: Kids Valentines

This year, I'm feeling more festive. I decided that Sal's cousins, all boys, ranging in ages from 11 months to 5 years old, needed Valentine's from the little guy. I'm not exactly sure where I saw the idea for the older boy's mailbox filler, but I am pretty sure it was probably the girls over at eighteen25.

Rather than fill the mailboxes, which, by the way were a steal at $1 a piece in Target's dollar bins, with candy and sweets, I chose age appropriate matchbox cars for the older two, and a pair of red socks and a cardboard baby book for the youngest.

I made tags for the matchbox cars that read " Valentine, I wheelie like you" and the socks that read " Valentines would stink without you" on my silhouette SD machine. I like to use my sihouette for my print projects as well as my diecut projects, because of the handy gridlines, and sizing rulers that the program has to offer.

The matchbox car package was a bit too big for the mailbox, so I cut down the packaging to fit.

And the socks...

All packaged up and ready to give to his cousins on Valentine's Day!

1 month old

Where did the 1st month go?

Just this week he grew out of his first pair of pajamas...had his first babysitter (thank you sis!), and decided he is so over his papasan chair that has been my saving grace around the house, since it can be moved room to room with me. He wants nothing to do with it, cause you know--papasan chairs are for babies, mom!

He traded up to  a swing that his cousins are loaning him--they sure have spoiled him with clothes, baby items and the like. Sal has the hook ups to all things cool for kids. I am very gracious for all of the items we've been able to borrow.

I don't want to blink, cause I'm pretty sure when I open my eyes again he'll be a teenager.

Can we slow down time, starting now?

**p.s. if you're lovin' the blanket, check out the Coral Tree shop on etsy for many more adorable baby items. 90%of Sal's blankets, burp cloths and even my diaper bag are all Coral Tree items.

Dancing the night away

Had I written this post 12 years ago, it'd be all about nights out with my friends, that usually ended up with a shoeless walk home following an evening of one too many cocktails and dancing our a$$es off to the likes of Britney, JaRule & our theme song by default, "One More Time".

A night out dancin' with the girls

Oh, those were the days.

But, my dancing skills have made an unexpected comeback.

And just as 12 years ago, I am back to dancing into the wee hours of the morning --but there is a stark contrast between dancing then and dancing now.

Let me compare....

•  instead of high heels and short skirts, I'm sporting nursing tanks and pj pants.

• instead of make-up and curled hair, I am rocking teeth that I may or may not have forgotten to brush before bed & hair that's been in the same ponytail since yesterday.

•  instead of friends "calling the dinosaurs" after one too many drinks, I've got a milk drunk 3 week old who's spitting up on me. Sorta the same thing, right?

The Davis Graduate...Good times!

• instead of a jam packed dance floor at the Grad or Cantina,my dance floor at home has endless space to bust a move without booty bopping someone off the table. ( Yes, we used to dance on tables..Gawd I miss Friday nights at the Grad)

• instead of Britney, Xtina, Destiny's child and O-P-P yeah you know me! I'm now slow jam dancing to Pandora Radio's lullaby station..which means more Jack Johnson songs than anyone can handle.

But, one thing remains the same...

Just as I have stellar memories of nights spent dancing the night away with friends, I am sure that years from now, when Sal is grown up and a man in his own right, I will look back to these late night dance fussy-baby-to-sleep sessions with a smile on my face--wishing I could have another dance with him.

Mr. Valentine

My sister in law pinned a cute "Dapper Valentine" onesie over on pinterest a few weeks back, and I had every intention of re-creating it for Sal to wear on Valentines day along with his drivers cap that cousin Tritia and baby Wilson sent our way..

 Janieandjack.com

But of course,  the inability to get out of the house before noon time got the best of me, and I was forced to use what fabric I had on hand rather than peruse Joann's for some manly fabric to re-create the pinterest onesie.

As seen on pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Charlee on Pinterest

Here's what I came up with. I found some red fabric with Valentine sentiments written on it in my fabric stash. I also pulled out a white newborn onesie that I just happened to have, and drew up a quick men's necktie template.

I'm looking forward to my little valentine wearing this next week. I have some houndstooth pants that I think will go with his necktie onesie and drives cap just perfectly!

Lofthouse bars..a cheater's version

It's a mystery to me how I was able to avoid baking my entire pregnancy, when cravings should have included all things sugary and sweet? I mean, isn't that how they portray it in the movies? The pregnant woman devours a tub of icecream and homebaked chocolate chip cookies in a sitting, just because she can?

What happened to me then?

Unless it was lemony or icy, I had no interest, whatsoever.

..and because of this crazy phenomenon that took over my usual sweet tooth, I did not do my usual baking for the past 9 months.

Now that Sal and I have somewhat established his daytime routine ( watch me jinx myself and have a fussy baby all afternoon now--just for claiming we have a "routine" down) I have some freedom within the confines of our house, I am back to scouring pinterest for sweet treat ideas.

I found a recipe for lofthouse style cookies that looked divine. A soft chewy sugar cookie topped with buttercream frosting and happy little sprinkles.

How could I resist?

But of course, the recipe called for flour--that of which I didn't have enough of --believe it or not...However the chances of Sal and me getting out of the house for a quick trip to the store was highly unlikely. There is no such thing as a quick trip to the market anymore. In fact, I have yet to venture to the market with baby in tow..those trips happen in the evenings once my ol man is home.

So, what's a girl to do when there's not enough flour?

Improvise.

I used a box of Funfetti cake mix that we had sitting in the pantry, along with 2 eggs and 1/3 cup oil to make cookie dough.

..and then Sal woke up...

So, instead of making cute cut out cookie rounds, I improvised again, and spread the sticky dough out onto a jelly roll pan, about 1/4 inch thick.

Baked it at 375 for 20 minutes.

And out came a beautifully golden rectangle of cookie.

Once the cookie cooled, I made C&H sugar's buttercream frosting from the recipe on the back of their powdered sugar box. A half recipe produced plenty of frosting for my lofthouse cookie bars.

I tinted it pink, spread it on thickly, and sprinkled happy little jimmies all over.

Once the frosting set ( about an hour later), I cut them into bars.

..and I must admit...I ate enough lofthouse bars to make up for my lack-of-sweet-tooth while pregnant.

They were totally worth the sugar coma that followed.

Take me out to the ballgame...

Sal sporting his new hat from the Flame family

Is it baseball season yet??

The boy has no choice..he's been born into a Dodger lovin' family.

Nothing like getting started early.