What Happens in Vegas...

anyone else noticing the trend where my blog is miraculously updated on the last day of the month because I so badly want to blog at least once a month? I'm officially making a half-year resolution: BLOG MORE. at least twice a month. Sweet Moses! 

As per usual, there's much to blog about, but now that my timeline is almost up to accomplish 30 things before I'm 30, I want to make excuses update: it is completely impossible to cross everything off my list in the next forty days before the big 3-0. In my defense, when I wrote the list I assumed we'd move to Colorado so things like climbing a 14er, start a company with my sister or learn Portuguese from my brother-in-law weren't completely feasible. (cue the failure "whoomp whoomp" music from cartoons).

It wasn't all for naught, however, I did manage some pretty awesome things that probably wouldn't have happened - at least not for years - if I didn't make the list. I got a tattoo, a girls weekend in Las Vegas, run a half marathon - more on this later - and I applied for grad school (and am halfway done with my first semester, YAY! It's so much work though and is totally kicking my ass. Note: my goal to stop cussing for sure didn't happen.)

In May I took a much needed vacation sans children to Las Vegas to meet three of my girlfriends from high school. I had two groups of friends from high school I spent all my time with - my friends from youth group and my friends I actually attended school with. Most girls from youth group quickly spread out over the country so it's difficult to see each other all together, except on holidays, but my friends from school mostly stayed in the area so I'm extremely lucky to meet up with them each time I'm home. I've come to value and appreciate these relationships more and more over the years, even more so than when we were teenagers. Mandy and I talked about going to Vegas when we turned 30 for years, so when we were knocking on the door of old, we decided to enlist our other girlfriends and make it actually happen. I was shocked that it actually worked out for four of the five of us. I don't have many pictures, mostly because I don't trust myself with a beer and a camera (Mrs. One&Done here) but it was such a fun and relaxing time spent with some of my favorites! Hopefully I'll update this post soon and add more pictures when I get them from Emily. Thank you for being responsible Em! 

Emily, Erin and I sightseeing on the first night

does this seem inappropriate to anyone else?
does it matter that it was 10:00a? It was a mixer for later, promise. 

Second night in Vegas - dinner, a show and some dancing if it weren't for those pesky velvet ropes.

Emily, Erin and I made it to Vegas the first night and decided to do some sightseeing and walk around before meeting Mandy the next day. I was visibly annoyed when it was warmer in Cleveland than it was in Vegas that first night. Kind of restricted how much we walked around since I didn't bring a single long-sleeved article of clothing. such a bust. The next day was cooler too but Erin and I had the chance to lay by a pool without applying sunscreen to small children or keep after them to make smart choices, so we were committed to hours of pool time regardless of the weather. The clouds parted and showed us favor just as we laid our towels poolside - four hours of sunshine and pretty drinks ensued (a bonus half hour for Erin and I when Mandy and Emily weren't looking and we snuck back to the pool when we were supposed to be headed up to change for dinner).

A collective decision was made to go see Cirque's Zumanity show that night, and we were all excited to go out together and see a show... the gasps were collective as well when we saw *all* the show had to offer as we somehow didn't realize there was partial nudity. not so much ready for that. Other than the exceptional crude parts, and those weren't lost on this show, it was still incredibly impressive all the skill and talent these performers have. Plus, it's a story and I'll always have that shocking scream from Emily to keep with me from those seriously unexpected acts. SO funny! 

I added the half marathon on my list, and will miss it by one month exactly. I've got one picked out for September 9th, which is pretty cool because it will be one year to the day after Layla was born. The big difference between this race and ones I've looked at doing before: I'm actually training, which I can only imagine will be helpful in finishing a 13.1 mile race.

NeRdY tHiRtY

Justin turned thirty last week and it was really important to me to throw him a birthday party that would make him feel as loved and appreciated as he is by so many. Since his birthday is so close to Halloween, and he's an engineer that loves over-explaining, I decided to have some fun with the theme and threw a "Nerdy Thirty" party for him. Everyone was encouraged to come dressed as a nerd and for the most part, people really got into it and came dressed the part! 

I started planning the party a few months ago since I knew it'd be a little hectic to take on a big party so close after having a baby and I was really pleased with how everything turned out. I had a lot of help from his mom and was able to remain pretty stress-free until the days immediately leading up to it. Justin's mom made a ginormous cupcake for the centerpiece of the dessert table and the plan was to stencil in a bunch of math symbols until we found this ridiculously huge Smarties that fit with the theme perfectly! The remainder of the cupcakes had Nerds or a "30" graphic I made - all in all I think it looked really sharp and even though it was cupcakes, still masculine.

I borrowed a couple ideas I saw online as birthday cards and made them my own by blowing them up and hanging on the walls so you couldn't miss the nerd theme no matter where you were. I also had my brother send me a math equation that equaled 30 and I scribbled it repeatedly on our front door Goodwill Hunting style and a couple other places throughout the house (convenient having a high school math teacher at your beckon call!). Still, even after Justin tried to explain what all the symbols were, I have no clue. I have to admit, planning this party (especially the decorations) made me feel a little stupid since I often didn't understand the joke or know if it was funny until Justin started laughing.

Unfortunately I didn't get a lot of the pictures of the tables for appetizers or the chili bar. I'm not sure if I was the biggest fan of the chili bar, but it's fine if I was because it was a cold autumn night and it was delicious. We had three different types of chili (beans, no beans and white chicken chili) with all the condiments available (cheese, sour cream, onions, cornbread and Fritos). But by the time people were over and it was time to set the food out, my camera was borrowed for our mock photo booth (and I was a little too tipsy after a half hour to remember to snag it back) but it all went with our color scheme and looked really cool.

Ohhhh the photo booth. That ended up being a lot of fun and everyone checked egos at the door and were really goofy and had a good time - which thrilled me because I was a little nervous about it. Justin had some old sheets from college that had a dark blue and light blue checker pattern that reminded me of graph paper so I stretched it out, stapled it to a wooden frame and we hung it on the wall in the kitchen so when people stood with it and a hollow picture frame it made for some fun pictures!

Ugh, I also missed a full-length photo of Justin and I in our "costumes". He was in a NASA lab coat and a shirt with the pi sign on it with high-water jeans, white socks and dress shoes. It was hilarious, and oddly not that different from his everyday... haha! I had a graphic t-shirt with suspenders, pigtails, thick glasses with tape, a pleated skirt, white knee high socks and Chuck Ts. 

Austin was a bit of a distraction as I was trying to write the math equation on the door:

Happy Birthday Baby Jesus, Timeout!

Bella loves singing happy birthday to Baby Jesus before we had my family's tradition of coffee cake breakfast. It's all super sweet and melts your heart, but my favorite part is when she goes to hit the high notes, it's so cute!

Then we had a talk about where Baby Jesus from the nativity set was, because he spent a lot of the Christmas season missing. Turns out he was currently in timeout, again. He was missing for over a week at the beginning on the month for touching the Christmas tree, and apparently on Christmas Day he had done it again. tsk tsk.

here, Joseph and the three wisemen had to have been up to something because after Bella went to bed we found them all in trouble. Timeout!

Moving Pictures

This post, like many to follow, is long overdue. in the late summer I saw previews for "Tangled" and was so excited knowing immediately that this would be the first movie I took Bella to. Our first mommy/daughter date night! The movie was scheduled to be released in the middle of November so I bought a couple of the Rapunzel books and the doll thinking that if she was at least familiar with the characters and the story, she'd stand a chance to actually sit through the movie. I waited until the day before to bribe her for good behavior with promises of the "Punzel mobie". She was simply angelic those next 24 hours. So the day it was released we bought tickets for the regular screening (I knew it'd be expecting way too much for her to keep the 3D glasses on) bundled up and headed out for our big afternoon complete with a lunch and the movie.

She. did. amazing. She was giddy the entire lunch but settled pretty quickly and quietly into her seat once we got to the theater. (note to self for the future: toddler's aren't heavy enough to keep the fold-down seats down, it literally swallowed her up - much to her laughter - every time I took my foot or hand off her chair, so I need to bring a booster seat next time.) Bell was completely enamored the entire time, not so much as cracking a smile at the funny parts because she was watching too intently. In fact, each time the three teenagers next to us would laugh she would turn her body but not her eyes and "shhhh" them, it was hilarious! It wasn't until the very end of the movie when the hero is riding through the castle to save the princess that Bella started crying... so I just walked her to the aisle and we watched the rest of the movie spinning in circles so she wouldn't see the brief moments I thought may scare her. I have to say, Disney didn't disappoint at all, it was a fantastic movie! Even without the excitement of watching it with Bella, I really enjoyed the entire thing and can't wait to buy it when it's released on DVD.

When the movie ended she was in such a good mood jibbering on and on to whoever we passed on the way back to the car showing them her Rapunzel doll she brought with her from home and telling them as much about the movie as they'd patiently wait and listen to. AND as the bragging mom I couldn't help my chest from swelling a little with pride each time we were stopped and received comments about how cute she was with her curly hair and doll in hand. It was easily one of my favorite moments with her and I look forward to more special moments and memories as she's getting older. That girl, she lights up my life, quite literally.

getting ready to go...

enjoying a quick bite before the movie...

Bella's first movie? check.

more cupcake fun

not so much showing off my sweet baking skills, but I had to share some of the cupcakes I made for my expletive-loving-fbomb-dropping Italian girlfriend's birthday:

she loved them, even though everyone agreed they may be more suited for my birthday with my infantile Turrets, but ruining cupcakes with the real word just didn't feel right... haha!

*sigh*

please excuse me while I brag on my rock-star husband! this pregnancy hasn't been easy... especially considering my pregnancy with Bella was so easy. My back's been hurting a lot lately, I try not to be dramatic about it and I think I mostly do alright about it, until I'm home and then I render myself useless. not only does Justin help as much as possible so I can rest and relax when I get home from work, but he went above and beyond tonight! The other day I was rifling through the mail when I got home and between the catalogs and bills (why do those always coincide? snap.) was a card with just my name on it in J's chicken scratch... inside was a little card with information about a prenatal massage he had set up for me. whaaaat?!

So today after work I head straight to the massage place to get my prenatal massage... I knew they couldn't do any kind of deep tissue massages because apparently I could go into labor (umm, yes please!) but it still was amazing! I left feeling far more relaxed than I'd felt in a crazy long time! SO the hour to myself for a massage isn't even where it ends - a text was waiting for me in the car with directions to stop at Cheesecake Factory to pick up an order of my favorite meal that he had called ahead and ordered. as I was waiting in line to pick up the order all the cheesecake in the display was staring at me calling my name - but I'd been spoiled enough, I didn't need the cheesecake, especially since J's not a huge fan so I couldn't even spin it that I got something for us to share. The lady pulls out my food, I pull out my card and then she pulls out... a piece of strawberry cheesecake - he included it in the order!

now I'm just going to sit here content and comfortable. seriously, my husband is phenomenal.

Bell's Newest Trick

Bella's vocabulary isn't exactly something to brag about (I don't think, I wouldn't have any idea though because I don't know where she's supposed to be at anyway!) but we're thrilled each time she picks something up, mostly because she's so darn cute when she says it! She's got mama, dada, dog, cat, plane (sounds exactly like dog, but whatever. an oversight.) and now "uh oh". She loves uh oh - so proud of herself each time she says it! her favorite lately? sitting in her high chair, saying "uh oh", showing us her perfectly adorable toothy grin, then dropping whatever she's eating on the floor and looking back up at us like she did something amazing. I'm sure the game will get old eventually, but for now, it makes my heart happy!

We Heart America (and Fireworks)

Every year since I've moved to Ohio we've celebrated the Fourth of July by hosting a bbq for friends and family and consequently I've missed fireworks for four years in a row because no one's "well" enough to drive to a park to see the action... we've climbed on the roof each year to try to see something, but nothing. ever. four years. Did I mention 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays? There is quite literally nothing like seeing them at home in Loveland - the entire city goes to the lake and the show is awesome - complete with heart-shaped fireworks (what would you expect from the land of love?!)

This year I really wanted to see fireworks so Justin packed everything up and drove us to Columbus to stay with some of his high-school friends and watch Red White and Boom at the state's capital. Their show is rated in the top-ten in the entire nation (I still liked Loveland's better, expect the finale, theirs was phenomenal). Bella did great the entire day and woke up in the park just in time for the show that started at 10:00. I was nervous she was going to be scared and I'd still miss the fireworks because I'd be walking around with her, but she absolutely loved it. She was clapping and bouncing and completley giddy! Granted, we paid for it the next day keeping her up so late, but it was worth it. Happy Independence Day, God Bless America!

my new favorite picture of Belly Bean - and she's rockin' her first ponytail!
it's kind of a long video, but I love the end, you can literally see her face light up!

Admission: I Am a Witness

Seriously, I have no idea how I'm so genuinely lucky to have been there and seen two of LeBron's biggest games ever - I'm not a huge fan just to be a fan, in fact I usually don't like the superstar simply because everyone else idolizes them so much and I can't seem to figure out the reason (case and point: I don't like Kobe and I hate the Celtics) - but there is no denying he's ridiculous. Countless times each season I'm literally laughing because I can't believe something I just saw him do.

Last night's game... I've never gone from depression to euphoria so quickly ever in my life. Everyone in Cleveland was completely deflated as we waited for that one second. and then AMAZING HAPPENED...

Justin took his dad to the game and described the the moment we won - "we jumped up like little school girls, legs kicked back and all, and gave a double adult high five" HA! I guess Mo coined it perfectly when he said all swagger goes out the window after something like that!

I also got to go to Detroit for the Eastern Conference Finals in 2007 when LeBron had that ridiculous 4th quarter and double overtime victory... ridiculous.

pretending to be Martha

My mother-in-law and I took a cake decorating class awhile ago because I had these high hopes of a rocked out cake for Bella's 1st birthday... we decided to test our skills at my sister-in-law's baby shower and what started out as a complete disaster (may have had something to do with the bottle of wine we shared, oops?!) turned out to be the hit of the party if I do say so myself - and I do. ha!

we had three different types: strawberry, chocolate chip cookie dough and chocolate - the strawberry was made from scratch with real strawberries... delish!

getting started - the first plan was a baby sleeping in a blanket all the pieces seperate...
not any better all pieced together! ((ugh))

Plan B = lady bug cupcakes for her lady bug themed nursery...
MUCH better!

Anyway, my big lesson with Bella's birthday party in four days: not there yet and not worth spending hours trying to figure it out. yet. here's hoping she'll be impressed for the next one... haha!

Bring Out The Broom

Cavs Sweep! On to Round Two!

Best part about it is they're the only team to do it so we have an entire week before the next game, lots of deep breaths for this girl, and not to be uber corny but that's five guarenteed nights I get to be home to put Bella to bed, ALRIGHT!

It Starts...

Life has already become third round hectic at work - which is awesome and exhausting - but all worth it. I really sincerely believe this is our year!!

For those not really following basketball -

(borrowed from the PD to give an idea what this season has been like already!)
Cavaliers 2008-09 By The Numbers:
66: Franchise record for wins in a season.
39-2: Record at The Q, the best in franchise history and tied with the 1985-86 Celtics for the best-ever home record.
27-14: Road record, best in franchise history.
26-4: Record vs. Western Conference, team record.
25-1: Home record vs. Eastern Conference, NBA record.
13-3: Record vs. Central Division.
33: Years between Central Division titles.
23: Longest home win streak in team history.
13: Longest overall win streak in team history.
8: Win streaks of at least three games, most ever.
7: Player of the Week awards for LeBron James, NBA record.
3: Player of the Month awards for LeBron James, team record.
3: Coach of the month awards for Mike Brown, team record.
0: Games LeBron James and Mo Williams sat out due to injuries.

LETS GO CAVS!!

She's Gone Viral

my little belly bean was the cavs.com photo of the day. it's good to know people. haha!

- close up -

Bouncy Baby Bella

To help avoid cabin fever we took Bella to Bounce City yesterday afternoon on our way to J's parents house. I took Bella to one in Loveland when we were in Colorado for Christmas and even though it was obviously geared more toward older children, there was definitely stuff for her to do and toys to plan on. It was free to take her too since she was under two, so I figured when we had to pay a couple dollars for Bella at this one we took her to yesterday, they must have plenty for her to do... which was not the case. not a huge deal, because it was only a couple bucks, but there was not one thing for her that she was big enough to play on. I staked out one inflatable with balls and when no one was in it we put her in and let her play, but I think she was confused and really just sat there. We barely got her out in time before some screaming tweens rushed in and caused mayhem. oh well... now we know. After big-bust Bounce City, we went to his parents house where she got to ride on a rollercoaster/train set his mom got. She liked it, but rode it right before nap time, so she didn't get into it as much as I think she will next time.

Bella wanting to befriend the dog... Bella flattening her new friend!

a little unsure of the rollercoaster, but she'll go with it
she got confident - look ma, no hands!

Going Once, Going Twice, SOLD!

A couple weeks before Christmas I was looking for a radio clip for a media summary I was working on at work, and I heard about this online auction a group of radio stations had put together and was donating all bids to charity – I’d tried to do this last year because you could bid on a year of day care, but my computer froze right when I was trying to sign on and I lost the opportunity… This year I signed on immediately and made sure to stay signed in and on their website for the final four hours of the auction. I may miss the employee of the month plaque, but I did win 52 weeks of snooty day care for $5,000. That’s less than $100/week!

The event was pretty intense, I had Justin on the phone, who was also watching the auction as time slowly expired… you should have heard us talking to each other panicking when this crazy lady kept trying to outbid me last minute! Unfortunately for her, I was a solid ebayer in my college days so I played the game better than she did and beat her in the last 30 seconds. victory was ours! I think my favorite part of the whole thing was that I won – not that we got day care so cheap. haha, something may be wrong with me!

The day care she’s going to now is really nice, I’d heard about it and it had been recommended to me when I was pregnant, but I couldn’t afford it. The kids start learning French when they’re two years-old and add Spanish at three years. They have the opportunity for gymnastics, piano and taekwondo and Bella already has lesson plans prepared for her weekly which are considerably more impressive than anything I can do with her.

For now we have to drive her 20 minutes out of our way, but we’re first on the waiting list at another center that’s much more convenient, and she seems to handle changes really well so I’m not that worried about switching her to another one whenever the opportunity presents itself. Dropping her off on her first day was really hard for some reason, almost as hard as my first day back at work. I think she was almost glad to get back to day care to play with kids and toys and the songs and dances I don’t know – I’m almost certain she was getting bored with us over Christmas and New Years, shoot – but it almost had this preschool/kindergarten feel… augh she’s growing up WAY too fast already!

Bella's Cribbs

I really need to post more often. I thought I'd have more time to at work, but I guess playing catch up from being out for 12 weeks has been a little more time consuming than I thought. haha! In the mean time... when I had about four weeks left before Bella was due, I was working at a Cavs game escorting Joshua Cribbs (the pro-bowl kick returner for the Cleveland Browns) around for meet and greets and appearances. He was helping me think of names for Baby Bail and even signed an autographed picture for Justin, who of course, is a big fan. On my first day back at work my friend gave me a present that she'd been holding on to since May. Josh Cribbs had mailed a jersey onesie to the office for Bella and even signed it for her! It was completely unexpected and absolutely restored my faith in professional athletes! haha! I took it home and slipped Bella into it (I think we're going to eventually frame it becaues she can't really wear it since we can't wash it!) and brought it down to Justin as a surprise - to say he was elated was an understatement. He text pictures to his friends and family immediately! what a dork, I love it!

SO... who wears it better?!

Defying Gravity

When Justin heard the musical Wicked was coming to Cleveland last year he did everything he could get tickets, but it quickly soldout before it even went on sale and I refuse to pay three times the amount of a ticket to a scalper. He was bummed because, those who know me well, know that I'm a huge Wizard of Oz fan.

We waited an entire year and when the musical came back to Cleveland I pulled a few strings from peope I met in the industry (it's nice to know people, I'm not going to lie) and we got to buy four tickets to see the show on Valentines Day. It was AMAZING! -without a doubt my favorite. Even Baby Girl loved it, she never stopped moving the entire time! I don't know if it was the music or my excitement that got her going, but she was doing backflips and barrel rolls for hours!

The musical itself was phenomenal! I laughed and cried, had goosebumps and was amazed the entire time! I love that Justin enjoys going to the theater too, it's not something we were able to do when I was younger. I remember going once to see a Christmas Carol with my entire family. My Dad's treat, we all dressed up and made a big deal of it. Justin took me to see the Nutcracker our first Christmas when we were dating and we try to go at least once a year now... it's the first tradition we've made for ourselves and I treasure it. Each time we're at the theatre I still feel like I'm playing dress up and practically skip into the building with excitement! (such a dork!)

We've seen Phantom of the Opera, Lion King, Nutcracker, a Christmas Carol (he took me again because I remembered enjoying it so much when Pops took me) and Wicked is easily my favorite. I want to go again so bad, but have to be practical. apparently. I'd like to see it with my mom sometime, I know she'd love it too! I don't want to write too much about it for those who haven't seen it, but when Elphalba (a name for Baby Girl maybe, haha!) sings "Defying Gravity" in the last song before intermission, I was stunned by how good she sang and crying because it was inspirational and amazed by the theatrics.

The best part was how it added a totally different element to my favorite movie... it truly gives this incredibly unique and creative untold story about what happened before the little girl from Kansas lands Over the Rainbow. It really has you rooting for the underdog and wondering how many people you yourself have been quick to judge. The soundtrack has been on repeat in my car and my computer at work, I can't get enough!

fondant fun

I truly don't think it was a subtle hint (or I'm very good at denial) but Justin's mom gave me cooking lessons for my birthday last year... we had talked about it previously how it'd be cool to take a class so I got to pick whichever one I wanted. I was looking through the list and they had some interesting ones but nothing very basic. I didn't figure a class on cooking a gourmet Mediterranian meal was something I'd be able to utilize often, so I opted on a cake decorating class. I'm not entirely sure that's what everyone was intending, but how cool it would be to make my daughter's first birthday cake and have it be kickass!

J's mom told us about this cake decorating show on Food Network called Ace of Cakes (we're both completley obsessed with it now) and even though I've no intentions of making a cake shaped like an airplane or armadillo, it only put in my head that I wanted to learn how to do the fondant and extras for a cake... we just recently took the class and it was a ridiculous amount of fun! Miriam and I had a blast, laughing together and learning (and messing up) the technique. It's the sort of thing that would be fun to do with a group of girlfriends or family as well. I would definitely do it again. Anyway, my itty bitty cake they gave me to work on is hardly impressive, but for my first time even touching fondant and getting it over the cake smoothly, plus the extras, I was pretty pleased with it. I'm looking forward to trying it again soon!

The place we took the cake decorating class is the company that makes all the birthday and special event cakes for the Cavaliers... here's one they made for one of our forwards, not bad eh? I'm sure I'll be making stuff like this in no time! right...