Babycakes Baking

Busy baking what appears to be an angry leprechaun based on his/her facial features, and curl toed shoes. Surprise-we're not even Irish! But you get what you get, right?

This bundle of joy will be gracing our family and cracker box house at the end of April, right around my birthday. Yeah, leprechaun thinks he/she is going to steal my birthday thunder by arriving on my special day. Nice try, baby. I have c-sections, and you will arrive when I say you arrive.

We are so very thrilled. Not B, she's indifferent. She's insisting on a brother, usually baby Ari, who is now a solid one year old, and more importantly, already has a family of his own. Things are looking good so far. We find out the sex in 5-6 weeks. I'm certain it's a boy, because I've had my boy name picked out since I was 20, and I have a whole lotta nothin in the girl name category. It's not a real feeling, but more the result of laziness. Have I mentioned I'm tired these days? Like bone achingly tired and sick from about 3pm on every single day?

I've also turned into a vegetarian with this pregnancy. I can't tolerate animal protein, but waffle fries and a chocolate shake are vegetarian, so I'm set. Thanks, CFA drive-through. You're helping a pregnant lady move along in this harsh world.

Will post more updates as things progress. Can't wait to meet this amazing little bean in April!

Mindy Kaling is Stealing my Best Work

 

Do you watch the Mindy Project? You totally should if you already don't. Trust me on this one.

The best part? I'm 93% sure she reads my blog and lifts my best bits. In season one, she refers to friends in tiers. Are you kidding me? That's a Mostess original. I was shopping that biz around when she was in diapers.

This season, someone refers to Ms Kaling as the Kool Aid man, breaking down walls and yelling "Oh Yeaaahhh!" Clearly, we know this is a reference to Farts Magee.

So, Mindy--just ask me to come and write for your show. I'll bring Farts, and we can create hilarious characters with worldwide appeal. May I suggest a lady in her mid to late 30's who mildly stalks boybanders and has a creepy and tiny Halloween village, and an early 30's extroverted introverted Mathlete with a penchant for tater skins and roaming malls alone. You can pay us in candy and Diet Coke.

Sounds like must see TV to me.

PS--totally flattered. You/Me are hilarious!

Mama Got a New Ride

Remember how we had yet another disastrous camping trip, and I promised I had come up with a life changing, foolproof way of making sure that never happened again?

We did it. We finally joined the ranks of our fellow suburbanites and got a new Honda Pilot.

This is me delighted with my new ride. Lighting and special effects courtesy of God.

This is my new life now. I can buy groceries with grace and ease.

I can drive around until the wee hours of the morning, listening to XM radio, and turn my new awesome car into a one woman karaoke machine.

I can pick friends up, and road trip like nobody's business. This baby fits 8 (!) people in it, so hitting the road in search of endless adventures is a cinch.

The best part? IT SLEEPS A QUEEN SIZE MATTRESS IN THE BACK. You know what that means, right? No more popped mattresses. No more windy nights camping. No more glare from the stupid moon. We'll be cuddled up cozy and snug on our mattress in a bug free zone with blackout windows. BAM. Many thanks to Lancer for getting his lady riding in style.

Preschool

Blakely started preschool in August. I was conflicted about doing a co-op, or a drop and run. I love the idea of being involved in her school, and working in her classroom, so I decided on a co-op. It's been great! I'm on the board, which has already been a lot of fun. We organized our first ever silent auction, and raised nearly $1300. Our school is a non-profit, so all of the money must be raised within the school community.

It's a charming little school in Birdland, super close to us. I was able to work on B's first day, which was a blast.

Here's little lady--that's a true face of pride. No accidents, no hitting, and no fussing earned her a doughnut with 'sparkles.' Nice work, B! She had the same little backpack last year, and I asked her if she wanted a new one. She said she already had one--so she vetoed it. Thrifty gal she is.

 

Her best friends in class are Jonah and Hadley, according to her. She absolutely loves going to school, playing with her friends, and playing on the playground. I'm not surprised by the fact that she loves it--she's an outgoing social bird. She also loves her teacher, Mrs. Vargas.

I got to work on the day closest to her birthday, which happened to be a field trip to Raynor Park. We brought sack lunches for everyone, and got to celebrate B's birthday with her class. She wore the crown well.

 

 I bid on a Build a Bear date with Mrs. Vargas, and we went with Jonah to cash it in this week.

 Let's just pretend these two goofballs came up with better names than Kiki and Bubble. The best part is that B insists Kiki is a boy. Allrighty, then.

Potty Training Ruined my Summer

Well, it tried to ruin the whole summer, but it really only took out July and August. I was met with a bevvy of cries whenever it came time to use the potty. I'm still slightly traumatized by it all. Things are going well now, but it seriously tried my patience. And it limited where and when we could travel for fun. But little lady had to be done before preschool, so I had to be firm!

When we weren't plying our child with endless juice boxes, and more chocolate milk than is reasonable or sane, we still managed to get up to some good old fashioned summer fun. Here is my summertime photo dump. Enjoy--now that it's nearly November.

Rocked our cute shortalls set

Ate some delicious ice cream with Daddy

Played outside in the backyard in the magical oasis I created for my lovely child. My favorite was this little fruit and vegetable stand I made for B!

I got an awesome haircut and color

B wore this weird medal all summer long

We went to our first movie in the theater, Monsters University. She was pretty good, but not great. She inherited by innate loudness.

Spent our fair share of time at the local parks swinging and running and playing in the sand

 

Visited the train museum and Funderland in Sac Town

Spent plenty of time in our swimsoup, in backyards and at the Cabana Club

Turned the camera around on me with her sweet vintage FP camera

Unwound countless rolls of TP and clogged our toilet all summer long

I drank many, many $1 ice cold DC's from McDs.

I had some seriously fun and totally delicious GNO's with the girls--Tacolicious is a fave!

Took a fun road trip to Napa with Auntie Jojo, and ate our way through wine country

Rocked some seriously cute dresses at church on Sunday, where we continue to have fun with our friends each day--AFTER a huge meltdown pre-church every Sunday while getting dressed. Little Lady does not like fancy clothing.

Showed off our cute summer display

Again--drank copious amounts of chocolate milk in a near endless bid to potty train. B has an iron bladder like no other.

Tried a dance class, and was told "thanks, but no thanks." It didn't work out so well. The dance floor is right in the middle of a gym, and somebody decided the equipment was far more alluring than tapping their feet.

Spent plenty of time running around our hood, and mastering the Radio Flyer. Thankfully, I'm married to an ex-BMXer who can teach B how to ride all things with wheels. He does it in a day. It's like magic.

Went to Build a Bear with Colincito, and earned a Hello Kitty by using the potty

Spent our fair share of lazy days in bed snuggling and relaxing

Hit up Gilroy Gardens for some summertime fun in the sun

Took many roadtrips with Colin and Inger before their new baby came

Lounged and relaxed with our friends

Hit the beach with Lancer

Had some seriously tasty "Meezie n Beezie" lunch dates

Visited Roaring Camp Railroad for the first time and had a blast

We had a great summer, but I wasn't super sad to see it go. I hit every season super hard, and relish all of the fun things each season has to give. We partied, swam, scooted, traveled, ate, partied, and relaxed in style with our amazing friends and family. So long, summer. We had a blast!