Parrrrrrty's heeyah

 

I've been sitting on the computer this evening, editing pictures from yesterday, and I can not believe our son just turned one.
 

I am ONE.

We had a couple other birthday celebrants join us for a small lunchtime party on Saturday. NZ had a birthday last Wednesday, our friend Pere had a birthday on Thursday, and Anna shares Sal's January 13th birthdate, so we had them over to join us for spaghetti arribata, sushi, cookies and cake in celebration of all their years of life.

Cookies from sweet creations by Stephanie

 

Sal & Neil (newest baby on the block)

            
            Sal ate cake, opened gifts and played with his new toys before a nice long nap.



yes,  that's most definitely a boog hanging from the nose.
(He's had a cold all week and finally gifted it to me today)

Dad had to help with the blowing out of the candle.
Sal was obviously mesmerized by the mamarazi.

 

As the day turned to night, we met up with more friends from our apartment complex to light off fireworks to celebrate Sal turning ONE!
  

This one's for you, kid.

Homemade Holidays: Paisano Horeshoes

NZ & his sister play a game of Paisano Horseshoes

In the spirit of keeping our Christmas gifts unique, NZ and I did our best to continue our streak of making Christmas gifts. Last year, NZ made fishing poles for a few lucky recipients, and this year, he and I found ourselves at Home Depot, loading up on materials to make a couple of fun backyard games for our Christmas "picks".

It took him a few weeks from start to finish, and he even learned how to lay and tack carpeting down in the process while covering the boards, which were made out of pressure treated wood and 2x4's. He's pretty crafty, that ol man of mine.

The Zentil family ( all of them, not just the immediate Zentils) love their games. Every year in Yosemite, there are a couple of games of cribbage going at any given time, using a cribbage board that Nick's grandfather made long ago. We all enjoy word games, board games, and anything interactive. At our wedding "after party", a rousing game of Bocce Ball was played in my father-in-law's backyard until it got too dark to continue.

So, NZ and I decided that a couple of "Paisano Horseshoe" games would be a good gift for our family members. The game is usually called "Mexican Horseshoes" or "Washer toss", but to keep in the spirit of being Italian, I just renamed it. So there you have it, it's now called Paisano Horseshoes, and I'm stickin' to it.

NZ's sister, Breakin' in her new game

 Looking forward to watching these boards get years upon years of use, and good family memories made in the meantime.

Long time gone

Remember those countdown chains to Christmas/Spring break/Summer vacation you constructed back in grade school? Well we've been doing a little of our own countdown here in the Zentil house.

{The countdown chain}That ultra long chain you see in both photos traveled all the way to Noida, India with one half of us. The Nick half of Brie&Nick shipped off to India wayyyyy back in August for eight weeks. That's 56 days/1,344 hours /an eternity, if you ask me.

{gringo necessities}
Before the much anticipated departure ( I think I was sad about it for at least 2 weeks leading up to him actually leaving), we stocked up on the things we thought a white guy might need in India.

On our list?

1. FOUR bags of Beef jerky** This would be the closest he would come to beef the entire trip.

2. XBOX + Loads of games **** Which unfortunately couldn't handle being plugged into a 220v socket. The Xbox run was non-existant after that mishap.

3. The two C's..candy & crackers. Primarily Swedish Fish, Runts and cheese and crackers.

4. A photo of his other half for his new workspace at the Noida office.

5. Lastly, a countdown chain from start to finish, with each day labeled. I wrote in special dates, and the week markers " 4 weeks left", " Mom's Birthday", " 4 years ago today, we said ' I do' " and sentiments of such.

Before this trip, NZ and I have not spent as much as 10 days apart since we started dating back in 2003. To say this time apart from each other was "trying" is an understatement, but I whole heartedly, 100% support him and every opportunity that comes his way. We had known about the possibility of this trip becoming a reality for quite some time, but once a date was set for him to leave--and he started getting his immunizations ( lots of them!) and malaria pill prescription filled, it was like "wow, this is really happening".

So, while NZ worked over in Noida, I did the same out in California. I pulled some extra hours at the office, started the P90x challenge to get the old "me" back from the "trying- to- conceive-me" that I have been a stranger to since we started trying 3 1/2 years ago. Although I was initially upset that this trip would interfere with our plans, in all reality, it has been good for me. I needed a mental break from the stresses of "Am I?" or "Am I not?", and "If I am, should I be doing x..y..z?" It really gets to be a headache to deal with, and the obsessedness never really goes away. I envy those whose husband just winks at them and 9 months later out pops a baby just like Houdini pulls rabbits.

Anyhow I'm totally looking forward to fighting for covers again.

++Stay tuned for India photos complete with Nick's commentary..coming soon++