Our Mall Date

What a great idea! I'm so glad you brought me to the mall to ride this fire truck dad!
Why is it making all of these loud noises and why are the lights flashing???
GET ME OFF OF THIS TRUCK NOW!!!!
Keep me safe dad! That truck is really scary.
And NO I don't want to ride in this green car either!!!
Let's get out of here quick.

Warm and Misty

We took Clare over to the beach this afternoon to play. Tomorrow we'll try and be better parents by brining along her beach toys. Today she entertained herself (and countless others) with her attempts to go into the ocean, pointing at the birds and chasing them, admiring the puppies on the beach, and throwing sand into the air. A good day for all of us.

Down Time

Our house is very quiet tonight since the last of our company left this afternoon. And, it is quite lovely too. The washing machine is in non-stop motion, second only to the dishwasher and Clare running laps around the kitchen.

A few holiday numbers:

Nights Gigi and Pop Pop had the air mattress: 3
Puzzles Clare found under the tree: 5
Turkey weight: 27 lbs.
Holiday weight: TBD
Fires: 0
Days in short sleeves: 3
Guests on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day: 5
Gingerbread men baked: 0
Chex Mix: at least 10 pounds made by Dad
Dogs: 2
Gifts to return: 3
Christmas Trees: 3
Pictures taken: 188
Days the phone was off the hook: 0-2?
Football games watched: 3
Movies watched: 1
Dates for Mario and Me: 3
Swiss cake rolls eaten by me: 0
Swiss cake rolls eaten by Mario: 10!

Tomorrow morning we are heading down to St. Simons Island where we will join Dad for the weekend. We're excited to see him, to be on the island, and to have a babysitter for New Year's Eve. We don't have a clue what we'll do yet, but we have a few days to figure that out.

And...Congrats to Ellis and Emily on the birth of Will yesterday~

Talkin' Turkey

So we have the leftovers of a 27 lb. turkey in my fridge. I'm looking for things to do with it...any suggestions? Especially anything that involves the words 'easy and freezer.'

At the park

We arrived in Charlotte a bit early yesterday, so after a trip to Costco we took Clare to the park to play.

Meet the Family

Yesterday we travelled to Charlotte to meet Mikie's mom and sister. And yes, everyone behaved. Clare gave her thumbs up and warmed right up to Joan and Susan instantly...so much so that she refused to go to sleep because she didn't want to miss any of the dinner party.

And that is how we learned the Clare is a huge fan of lasagna~she sat on Gigi's lap and ate spoonful after spoonful of lasagna until the sugar cookies were brought out.

Thanks for inviting us up Michael and Mikie. We enjoyed our dinner and meeting everyone too.

Another Wake

Tonight we travelled to North Augusta to attending a wake/viewing for a family friend's father. This was my second wake ever (and Clare's second wake too) and I think that this one went much better than the last. Even though I worked with patients that died all of the time on the oncology unit and taught Death and Dying classes I still feel terribly odd standing around funeral parlours. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to talk about with the family or other guests.

Clare, on the other hand, had a blast. She discovered a ramp that lead in and out of the funeral parlour chapel. She spent most of her time running up and down the ramp, trying out the stairs, pointing at the Christmas tree, and waving to all of the people.

Poncho Girl

Clare loves her new poncho from Grandma Junie!

Shift Change

We're swapping out parents today. Mom and Stan are heading to Charlotte while Dad remains here with us for a bit. Wednesday night we have the big 'meet the bride's family' shindig in Charlotte and then it's time to start planning New Year's festivities.

The past two days felt wonderfully chaotic. Clare loved all of the attention and extra people around to play with her (and we loved the extra time to sleep in and take glorious midday naps). Now if we can just convice a few grandparents to move closer to us....

Holiday Shots

Watching football with Uncle Mike.
Hanging out with Mommy before bed.
Wahoo! Riding Bella in the living room!

Highlights

• My new coat from Michael and Mikie.
• Green bean casserole.
• Clare's rock band.
• Dueling televisions.
• Group stocking stuffers.
• Phone calls with relatives.
• Mario's baked ziti.
• Watching Clare dance at Mass.
• Ballons in the tree.
• Using Gigi's new laptop.
• The blood pressure machine.
• Yahtzee! tournaments.

Holiday Fun

Ho Ho Ho!

Christmas spirit is alive and well here in Columbia this year! Our bellies are full from Stan's 27 pound turkey and we are all officially bonded together. And as the Scrooge TV master I even let them have TWO televisions running yesterday for football at the same time!

We have bunches of pictures to share however my laptop is still in the shop so they'll have to wait a bit for posting.

Clare enjoyed ripping all of the paper and is the official conductor of our 'Christmas Morning Rock Band' in the living room. Many thanks to everyone who made our day wonderful!

Hanging out with Gigi and Pop Pop

Clare goes for a walk on the USC horseshoe to enjoy the Spring weather!
Watching the grizzly bears at the zoo!

Christmas Eve

We let Clare open one gift on Christmas Eve before bed. Her new 'I'm going to be a big sister' T-shirt. Mikie figured it out first and the rest follwed shortly with hugs and tears. We really enjoyed sharing our pregnancy news with everyone in person!

Offline

More Lima Beans is temporarily offline. My laptop is at the computer store to have the annoying 'power cord issue' sorted out. Hopefully it will be back soon (or Mario's new laptop will arrive!).

Until then enjoy the holiday season and we'll be up and running before you know it.

Bo's 2nd Birthday Party

Clean up on Aisle 12! We need to work on our cart skills.

Boo to you! Peeking under the inflatable.

Sampling the lettuce in the grocery section.

Clare helped her friend Bo celebrate his second birthday party yesterday at Leapin' Lizards. This was our second birthday party at this facility and she has more fun each time she goes. I'm impressed with how easy it seems to have a party there and how much the kids enjoy it. The inflatable toys were great, however the highlight of this party for Clare: the grocery station and her Daddy's surprise visit!

Dolled Up

Holiday Party

Last night Mario's office hosted their annual holiday party at Gervais and Vine. Pretty much the same people, same food, same wine. We had a deal to leave and get dinner together on a 'date' around 9 p.m. since we had a sitter, but one conversation lead to another and we didn't leave until around 10 p.m.

Towards the end of the evening I made my second attempt to use the restroom. Gervais and Vine has a one seater and each previous attempt I faced super long lines. But, you know, I had to go. As in HAD to go.

I waited in line and when the men's room opened up, I jumped lines. I braved the puddles on the floor (seriously boys is is that hard to hit the target?) and unflushed throne out of sheer panic and desperation.

And then I produced the world's largest Holiday Party turd. I felt much better and then I heard voices outside the door from fellow merrymakers. Turns out that Mario's boss was next in line for the toilet.

AND THE TOILET WOULDN'T FLUSH THE WORLD'S LARGEST HOLIDAY PARTY TURD!

I tried a few times and when it threatened to overflow I gave up. I washed my hands, exited the room, and casually mentioned to Mario's boss that the 'toilet wasn't working right.'

We wrapped things up at the party and I urged Mario to leave with me. As we walked past the rest room we saw an employee heading towards the men's room with a giant black plunger. Not sure what to do we just smiled, waved, and gracefully exited the restaurant.

Super Dooper Kudos to Gigi!!

Gigi found out tonight that Simmons Colllege accepted her into their MBA program...and she is the recipient of a scholarship too! We are so proud of her for chasing this goal and her achievement!

Things I find addicting

Hint of Lime Tostito chips
Cheese Balls and Cheese doodles
Peppermint Mochas
Buying yarn
Buying paper and stationary
Hall's Mexican Queso dip
Peeling sunburned skin
Pointing out the lights to Clare

Things I forgot to put on my Christmas list

A Rachel Ray cookbook
Knee high socks
Hair clips
Starbucks gift cards
The Enchanted Broccoli Forest
Lip balms

Each time I go out I seem to encounter more 'ooohs' and I get lustier. The marketing must be working on me.

Lights Before Christmas

Although she is far from 100% we decided to take Clare to see the lights at the zoo tonight. The temperature is warmer than usual and she had an unusual LONG afternoon nap creating perfect conditions for an after 7 p.m. outing.

The visit was our first to the display and we enjoyed being out together as a family after dark! Clare is still on a hunger strike and we topped the evening off with a Chick-fil-a cone to just get something in her system.

For the love of Fisher's

I will always remain loyal to Fisher's popcorn from Ocean City, MD.

However I found a close second today after an experiment in internet recipes. This caramel popcorn really is VERY easy and it may very well be gone by the time Mario gets home this afternoon.

15 months

I am 30 1/4 inches tall. (5oth percentile)
I weigh 21.8 pounds (25-50 percentile)
My head is 17 3/4 inches (25-50 pecerntile)

and

I got FOUR shots today at the pediatricians.

It's 7:52 p.m.

and I am still in my pajamas.

Our family is stuffy and sick. I hope that we are all well again soon and that our dueling humidifiers will start to kick in.

On a plus note, I did manage to wrap a bunch of holiday gifts and I realized what I challenge that will be this year. Clare was all over the ribbon and wrap, so I guess that's what I will be doing during naptime over the next few weeks.

And Mario got to watch his beloved Buffalo Bills beat the NY Jets this afternoon in full pajama glory. Clare wore her Bills warm up suit to cheer them on and she is certain that is why they prevailed.

Shop Girl or Bag Lady?

How is it that she is drawn to purses? We have a plethora of trucks and boy things in our toybox too, yet she seeks out the purses and beads.

Clare and the Yarmulke

Clare loves this souvenier yarmulke from the batmitzvah ceremony!

Lost Cookies

This morning I walked into the living room wearing my pajamas to have a seat on our comfy red couch. My plan included surfing the internet, checking a few store hours, and gazing at the tree.

And then I felt cold, brown, wet dog vomit squish between my toes just before I reached the couch.

TGIF

I have my fingers crossed for a better day today. Again we have no agenda other than to get well as soon as possible so we can rejoin the rest of the world.

She still isn't into food (other than the ice cream I gave her at lunch so that she would eat SOMETHING) and her blankie appears to be her main source of comfort. My boobs may fall off from excessive nursing and today we may attempt eating popsicles to get more liquids in her.

I am ready for our holiday shopping to be done and I'm full of lust for those that are already finished. Maybe after this weekend we can join those ranks.

Our Afternoon

Sick House

I looked over at Clare this morning and found her sprawled on the living room floor clutching her beloved blankie. Nap time? I think so.

The poor girl is a snot and cough factory. She wakes up because she can't breathe and then we try to get her settled enough to fall back asleep. A long night around here.

And I think she's given the bug to me...so we are housebound again today.

Mario on the other hand is feeling super industrious. Last night he bathed Clare, bathed Bailey, scrubbed the tub, did the dishes, folded laundry, went grocery shopping, and took care of both of us.

The Real Santa

Santaland in and of itself was magical, I can't even imagine being Clare's size and taking it all in.

Phones and Purses

Aunt Rena's Babyproofing

How could we not laugh when we saw this. In an attempt to babyproof her Village apartment, Aunt Rena taped everything shut!

Clare and Xander

Aunt Mikie and Uncle Mike

Cousin Tina, Densil, and Baby E

Our Matriarch: Aunt Peggy

Cousins!

Clare Dances (and dances and dances)

Clare and the Tree

Lunch?

Does 1.5 Ritz crackers, 3 bites of mac and cheese, and 1/4 of a fruit leather count as lunch for Clare? I can't wait till she's feeling better (but the sick snuggles are wonderful).

So we went to NYC

and now we are back. It feels great to be back home and I didn't get the urban bug as bad as I have on previous visits. Columbia feels just fine to me and I am happy to be back home.

Things we did:

Attended Jennifer's Bat-Mitzvah
Visited with family members
Explored the East Village
Had dinner with Rena and Kevin
Loved having Rena around for a babysitter so we could go on dates
Took Clare to see the Macy's windows
Toured Santaland
Ate and ate and ate
Visited the light show at Union Square
Slept in

Right now Clare is super sick and is hopefully sleeping off her snotty nose, cough and general gunk. We went to the pediatrician's this morning and are waiting on a stronger set of meds to help her get better. Overall she was a super trooper (even during the 3 hour delay stuck on the runway Friday nite) and a great travel partner.

New York Green Bean Casserole

Okay, I know it is New York City but I really almost had a heart attack at the grocery store tonight. We opted to eat in tonight with Mario's cousin and sister. We made GBC, stove top, and bought a rotisserie chicken. Here's the breakdown from the grocery bill:

1 can Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup: $1.69
2 cans green beans: $1.39 each
Those onion things: $3.69 can
1 Rotisserie chicken: $10.69
StoveTop: $2.69 box