Sunday, December 28, 2008

Our Holiday (so far!) in pictures

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We began the holidays by celebrating with Tia Ana and family.  Here, Patrick "helps" in the kitchen. 

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Working so hard (plus all the running back and forth) made Patrick break out in a sweat.  Just like his Dada, all sweaty.

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Christmas morning at our house; Patrick wasn't too interested in opening presents.  BUT, he loved this book from Auntie acb, Uncle Ry, and Cousin Owen.  It was the only gift he cared to look at all day.

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Breakfast on Christmas morning before heading out to Grandma's house.  His pajamas say "What Santa doesn't bring me, Grandma will."

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Once we got to grandma's he was nonstop.

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He did stop for a second to take a picture with his cousins.

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All happy after Christmas dinner.

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Patrick got to catch up with his friend, Ryan.  They hadn't seen each other since Easter, before they could walk and eat Cheerios...

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... which is exactly what they did:  there was A LOT of Cheerios eating (side note:  look at Patrick's toes... NOM NOM NOM).

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Mikey and I escaped for a night to my friend, Linette's, wedding.  Our obligatory self-portrait.  I was a little sweaty - that's what happens to me after a few vodka and tonics, Long island iced teas, and apple martinis.  No, I'm not a drunk... but we had a babysitter and I was celebrating the union of two people in love...  And that's the story I'm sticking to.

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The lovely bride

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We met up with Nita Masi, where Patrick turned on his charm.

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He finally figured out how to open presents.  And from then on, it was rip rip rip...

Hope your holidays are as joyous and merry as ours have been!

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Not Feeling Creative? Just Add Photos and Video!

Patrick's holiday show at baby jail was yesterday.  His only responsibility in the show was to wear a bow.  He refused. 

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Hanging out with Ryan, his cell mate.  I think they are need of naps.

We left work/baby jail early because of the snowstorm.  While I drove for more than two hours, Patrick took it easy.  He must have been tired from his "performance" earlier in the day.

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Stuck in traffic during the snowstorm.  Cars were stuck in the snow, traffic backed up for miles.  Sheesh!

Friday, December 19, 2008

Month 14

Patrick turns 14 months today!  Sorry for the repetition in this video, but I put it together quickly, as I wanted to get it up sooner rather than later.

Also, many happy birthday wishes to my hubby!!

Saturday, December 13, 2008

What I Did

Thanks to those who posted comments, emailed me and called me on my previous post.  It's a good thing to hear people's opinions, and more importantly, to help me feel like I did the right thing years ago by taking my friendship from someone who didn't deserve it.

As far as what I did:  well, because my curiosity will always get the best of me, I accepted the friend request, then I searched her page for details of what had been going on.  Finding nothing and feeling pretty satisfied, I deleted her as my friend a few minutes later.  No harm, no foul, and of course, my curiosity is satisfied and I know she's not all in my page, finding out what's been going on in my life.

And, now, onto more important things - like baking cookies!

Friday, December 12, 2008

A Silly Past that Still Haunts Me

A few years ago, I wrote about this situation.  Granted, it was a decade ago, and I don't think about it much anymore, but today, it came crashing at me like a wave drowning me.

I received a friend request from her on Facebook.  What the what?? 

Now, before I tell you what I did, I want to know what you would do if you were in the situation.

Please leave your answers in the comments section.

Sunday, December 07, 2008

As predicted...

He wouldn't sit still for a photograph.

Here are some outtakes - I still haven't gotten a shot that I am happy with. 

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Excuse me while I go pull my hair out.

Saturday, December 06, 2008

Wanting

I know the holiday season is about giving instead of receiving.  And I have spent the last few months looking for gifts for those close to my heart.  I'm almost finished with the holiday shopping - only a few more gifts to buy.  Everything I have is mostly wrapped, so when the actual holidays arrive, I'll be able to enjoy them.

And because of this, I have started to think about what I want.  I'm not interested in much.  I'm not wanting diamonds or trips.  I just want a pedicure (haven't had one since the summer), a massage (have had one since March 2006!), and maybe some Crocs with the fuzzy stuff inside of them to keep my toes warm. 

Do I ask for much??

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

David Gregory

I read that David Gregory is one of the top choices to replace Tim RussertI'm not sure how I feel about that, because Russert is kind of irreplaceable.  But I do think David Gregory is sort of cute, in that dorky kind of way.

He's always been kind of quirky when I've seen him, especially on news segments involving musical guests.  A few years back, I saw him dancing to the music of Jon Secada (which I cannot find online) and more recently, I caught this clip.  Enjoy, especially around 0:07 and 0:32!

 

Monday, December 01, 2008

It's Already December?

How did the past few months get past me?  Really, it seems like just yesterday it was, I don't know, September, or something.  And now, it's December 1st.

Since I've always been somewhat of a planner, most of the holiday shopping is complete.  I did much of it online, some of it over the last few months, and have only a few more things to buy.  So I'm thrilled about that.  But I'm not happy that I still haven't figured out what to do for holiday greeting cards.  Last year was simple:  Patrick was a few weeks old and I "staged" some shots, uploaded them, sent them to whichever online site I used, and poof! in a few days, I had photos greetings and envelopes.  Easy enough.

This year, things are different.  Patrick is mobile.  He doesn't sit still for more than a few seconds and he knows when the camera is on him, so he quickly wipes any trace of smile from his face.  The other thing is that he's not quite walking yet (more on that later), so every photo is going to have to include a prop to keep him up.  Or, I can quickly go back to photographing him in his high chair (which, let's face it, I can create an entire album of shots of him sitting in his high chair, straps clearly visible over his shoulders, keeping him in, because if we don't use them, he will stand up and hang off the back of the chair, eliciting the fear of God in my little heart!),  So to sum it up, I don't know what I'm going to do.

I am also skeptical of the Santa Claus photo, because I truly think Patrick is going to FREAK OUT when he sees the man with the beard.  He's at the stage where he remembers people and sometimes has a little bit of stranger anxiety (or maybe it's separation anxiety - anyway, something like that) and clings to me with all his might, sometimes taking strands of my hair with him and leaving me half-deaf from the screaming in my ear.

But he's cute and Mike and I renewed his contract for another year, so we'll somehow manage all of this.  :)

We are also in the midst of meeting and possibly hiring babysitters so we can go out for a few hours at a time without having a whole production of 1) what can we do with the baby? and 2) should we ask Grandma or my aunt and if so, we have to drive about an hour to get to either one of them, so then our two hour outing turns into a whole day affair (not exactly what we were looking for).  But I am finding it hard to find someone suitable to watch my PERFECT PRECIOUS MILLION DOLLAR TWENTY POUND PUNK for a few hours.  Do all moms feel this way?

Honestly, look at him:

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Could you leave him with just anyone for a night at the movies?  I didn't think so.

And before anyone comments, no, the boy didn't eat that entire banana split ice cream thing - to continue celebrating the holiday weekend, Mike's entire family (mom, sisters, brother, respective spouses, close family friends) got together for an early birthday celebration for Mike.  This was dessert for the entire table of the eight of us.  It was a mishmash of bananas, vanilla and chocolate ice creams, whipped cream, nuts, cherries, cookies.  And underneath it all was fudge.  Patrick and I enjoyed some of the vanilla ice cream and whipped cream.  Delicious!

Oh, obviously I decided to keep on blogging.  I appreciate everyone's comments and emails.  :)