Tommy is One!

What I learned about kids' birthday parties:

Babies really love EZ-ups and drink buckets and probably would be just as excited about them as a huge party.

This kind of stuff takes HOURS. (Cowboy boots by Emily at SewBananas).

That if you're stupid enough to have a bucket of sodas, the kids will make it their mission to drink every single one.

 That at this age,  it's not about eating the cake, but playing with it.

That all the hard work was so worth it. We had a blast.

Lazy Mom

I'm a lazy mom. 

When I was pregnant, I had visions of making having a baby look easy. I'd be working during the week (with the baby at the office with me), lunching with my girlfriends on the weekends, going on dates with my husband at night, Mommy and Me classes mixed in somewhere, and looking good doing while doing it all, one-handed.

The reality is this: the baby and the office do not mix. Lunches on the weekends are no fun if you have a baby who throws his toys on the floor every time you hand them to him. Dates with your husband at night can't happen when you had to change your work schedules because bringing the baby to the office didn't work. Mommy and Me doesn't exist at night. And the last thing I want to do is sacrifice an extra 20 minutes of sleep in the morning for makeup. 

What I'd like to every day is this (on our new $148 patio set, by the way):

I don't want to be a lazy mom. And I know three-year-olds don't put up with lazy moms...Tommy will be three someday. So, I've got to work on this. To help me this summer, I am writing a summer bucket list. Here's my work in progress:

1. Orange County Fair
2. Go fishing at the Irvine Lake
3. Discovery Science Zone
4. PJ Storytime
5. Swim Lessons (Lessons for 1-year-old...whatevs)
6. Make fresh-squeezed lemonade
7. Make a fort outside 
8. Go on a boat (or would it be ride on a boat? They both sound weird)
9. Ride a bike with Tommy 
10. Go to a splash pad
11. Have a sleepover with my husband like we used to on the living room floor
12. Spend the night away from Tommy / Wine tasting in Temecula
13. Find an ice cream truck (they just don't come around anymore)
14. Go to the LA zoo and/or San Diego zoo
15. Hand-dip frozen bananas or balboa bars
16. Make a stepping stone for the yard
17. Plant herbs in a galvanized tub
18. Make popsicles
19. Baseball game!
20. Go to the strawberry farm
21. Hike to the waterfall (maybe without Tommy, it's a real hike)
22. Ride on the Irvine Park railroad
23. Make Collin ride a horse (he never has!)
24. Get back our Disneyland passes (at the end of summer because summer sucks there)

I just hope we don't die at the end of all this. You know, it being a bucket list and all...

Hair Woes and Foresight Fail

It was a beautiful day so we stretched out under a big tree. The baby, with reckless abandon, rolls around the grass. The telltale sign of summer, red welts, mark his tender little skin almost immediately. My husband, fresh out of a class on learning how to photograph better (look forward to a vast improvement in my blog's photos soon), happily snaps pictures and plays with his white balance. Whatever the hell that is. I just sit and watch (I'm not going to sit here and give you some bullshit about how I put my toes in the grass and felt one with the earth and watched my beautiful creation...blah blah blah. I'm just not that reflective). 

A lady walks by. 

"Oh, she is so cute. My daughter only gave me grandsons. I always wanted a girl baby."

I just roll with it, as usual. 

"Oh, thanks. How old are your grandsons?"

Try to change the subject so I don't have to reveal the truth. 

"Nine and eleven. But I hate the second one's name. What's her name?"

"Ummmm.....Tommy."

No big deal. Something I deal with every day. My little boy is so cute he could be a girl. And I like it. The problem: this lady then went into a litany about the hair. 

"Mom, it's time to let go. It's that hair! You gotta cut that hair! You gotta cut it at least by the time he's one. He's going to have issues." 

"Yeah. I'm good with it. I like it." I wasn't offended per say, but I do hate when people tell you what to do with your kid. He's not even one yet for goodness sakes.

"Well, all of those celebrities have ten-year-olds that look like girls and can't go to nice schools." Hmmmmm.....

Anyway, we have the coolest stroller; it was like a million dollars and it can make a million different stroller combinations. Hypothetically, we never have to buy another stroller for as long as we live. 

And now for our real problem: we bought it in white. 

This Will Bore You

We had a long weekend with a family wedding, graduation, and a night out at a hipster restaurant with an ex-post-bedtime baby on Sunday.

On Sunday night, we put Tommy to bed and literally collapsed on the couch. Maybe you other moms can relate, but ever since well...becoming a mom. I can't focus on anything longer than a commercial. I can't help but feel that that I am so much more useful than just sitting on the couch. And let's face it: there is always something I'd be better off cleaning.

I owed my husband a batch of chocolate chip cookies and he was just craving something sweet (we've also been on a diet).  I found the recipe for the world's BEST chocolate chip cookies here (okay, I really found them on Pinterest, but I didn't want to mention it for the third post in a row). They are the world's best according to the New York Times, which was a pretty reliable recommendation. They were pretty damn good.

I like just three little pieces of ice in my milk to make it super cold, by the way. My mom's chocolate chip cookies are still number one, but only when she makes them, of course.

The real reason I blogged about these cookies is because other blogs (and yes...Pinterest) give me a false sense of what real food and real kitchens look like. These are just some pretty average pictures of some cookies taken in my pretty awful blonde wood kitchen (we rent). Cabinet doors and drawers open, window (still) missing a pane, ingredients all over the counter, Brita not put back in the fridge because nobody EVER puts in back into the fridge, eyesore highchair. (I think) THIS is how real people bake.

A Snapshot in Time and One More Thing About Pinterest

"Enjoy it, because it goes way too fast." "You blink and they grow up." "My baby's 25 already."  I can't say people didn't warn me, but I really didn't expect it to go by this fast.

I just want to take a snapshot of this moment in time and remember exactly what I love about this perfect age. 

Nursing. The milk bar will only be open a couple more months. Snuggled up in our chair, doing our thing. He taught me to be a mom. 

His simple fascination with a rock. Not a Nintendo DS, boobs, or monster trucks. A rock.

Footy pajamas. 

Waking up. The moment when he realizes "I'm back? Mom's here! Dad's here! Today is going to be awesome!"

 The way he holds onto me when he's on my hip. I can't explain why but I love those little grubby fingers holding on for dear life. 

Enough sappy mom stuff for now. We've gotta talk serious craft business now. Pinterest is inspiring me left and right. See my latest move. 

There's a "tutorial" here. But really if you want to do this, just buy some umbrellas and a wreath and stick the umbrellas in the wreath. My kind of craft. I'm in love. Summer is here!

PSA: You gotta try this.

I guess in these new-fangled days hospitals don't take babies' hand and footprints. My baby book calls to me whenever I pass that page, "Why am I so empty?" And I say back, "Don't worry, lonely page, I will get to you soon!"

Move to my next thought with me. Pinterest. Inspiration, style, decor, crafting, even more Internet-based time-wasting. All rolled into one handy-dandy website. Originally recommended by Lacey. You look at pictures of things and if you like them, you "pin" them to your virtual inspiration board.

So...instead of continuing to "pin" things that I will one day get to, I stopped at Michael's and bought some paint and headed home, looking forward to finally making my first Pinterest-inspired creation (and for you, connecting the two random thoughts above).

Here's the result of the inspiration:

(Idea came from here)

While it looks like it might have been fun, it wasn't, so don't get any wrong impressions. A squirmy, 10-month-old with paint on his hands and feet is just not smart parenting.

But, the book is feeling better. It got the leftovers.

If you haven't tried Pinterest yet, let's find a way for me to get your email. I'll invite you (said in snobby voice as it is invite-only).

I want...

...to make more fun things like this and fill my house with clever and creative things that make me happy.

...to learn to cook creatively, effortlessly, and quickly.

...to dress better and get rid of this...

...to learn to use my camera like a pro (this was supposed to be one of those pics where the sun is just beautifully beaming through). 

...to have another one just as cute and sweet as the first.

...my husband to fix the damn windowpane. 

I'll keep you posted.

Hot Date!

This is where we live. 

 This is two creepers caught out after dark without their offspring.

 This is the sushi restaurant that is two blocks away from us.

This is "smiling for the camera."

 This is literally called the "Hot Date."

This is a combination for a great night.

 This is reasonable.

This is Emily's costume for my girlfriend's Buffy, the Vampire Slayer birthday party (the requirement was to dress 90's).

 This is us not dressing accordingly.

 This is "special."

How was your Easter?

I'm going to be honest here. How my Easter? It was a little awkward.

First we couldn't get this kid to give us an Easter "money shot."

For the entire Easter service, Collin sat outside playing with a very loud and disruptive Tommy. Every time we try to attempt to go to church we wonder why.

And for the first time, I did not see my entire family on Easter. My parents are getting a divorce (have been for the past five years, so it's not news...we're all just ready for it to be over) and my mom has a new boyfriend. Everyone just went their separate ways. It all made sense, but it was just sad. So Tommy, Collin, and I went over to the in-laws. It was a very nice day, just not what I'm used to.

Also awkward:

Try bringing this as your contribution to the Easter feast. Everyone looked at me quizzically. Yes, those are cornflakes...Yes, there are potatoes under there. I had to keep up some semblance of my family tradition and made the Sutter Creek Potatoes for my in-laws. There were gone in the blink of an eye.

Super easy, super unhealthy recipe...perfect for a complement to ham or some kind of breakfast situation with diced ham thrown in there.

Last awkward moment: practicing my photography skills on four (4) tubs of sour cream.