cows, pip, a milestone and a monkey...oh my!

but does anyone have time to actually post to it????

i know it seems like i've neglected my blog lately, and, i suppose as a point of fact, i have. but not on purpose. it's hard to write anything intelligent when a little boy starts to cry and pull at your leg every time you sit down at the computer. so, lately, my time has been limited to paying bills and checking email. thank goodness for the iPhone. it's allowed me to check email from the rocking chair in his room but blogging from a phone just isn't going to happen. i think about the blog all the time, take photos to go with the posts i write in my head and become a little blue when they never materialize. but all that has gotta change...starting now. thankfully wil loves books - even when i am not reading them to him - so i have him set up near by with a stack of books and he is "reading"...for now.*

two and a half weeks ago we made the journey to PA so that i could get my hair did. we decided ahead of time to stay for the weekend to watch the big ohio state/penn state football game. tia graciously made the trip to NJ on thursday to pick wil and i up so that we wouldn't have two cars in PA. we had lunch, shopped at wegmans and headed back to PA. i got my hair done on friday, we cooked the top secret chili for the party on saturday and enjoyed relaxing together. we had a wonderful "tailgate" party on saturday night and got to see so many good PA friends. penn state rolled over ohio state with ease (we are...penn state!) taking one more step in the quest for a national championship. (thank you texas tech for continuing to pave the highway toward miami!) sunday ryan spent the day four-wheeling with the guys and tia and i toured the PA countryside, had lunch at the blue bird inn and met some new friends along the way. it was the perfect way to spend a lazy sunday...driving, talking, eating and trying to pet a cow. (if you know me at all you know that this was THE highlight of my day. i really missed my calling to be a vet.) enjoy our photos from the weekend! (note: all photos of the crew watching the game in the basement were taken by ry. he was attempting to get some candid shots but they are all horrible - no one is looking at him and most people look annoyed although no one was! i kept them in for laughs.)

i love this picture of tia and wil. tia called wil "nixy" while we were there. nixy is a PA dutch term that means: mischievous, ornery, sly. i think she hit the nail on the head; however, i think she is the one who looks NIXY here.

when we got home from PA i learned that my mom, pip, was going to be in DC for a conference the following week. DC is a quick three hour drive from shrewsbury and it was a no-brainer that i make the trip to see her. i miss my mom and i wanted to see her. i know she wanted to see me, too, but let's be real...seeing wil was a HUGE bonus. we had a wonderful time visiting, shopping and watching wil do all his new tricks. we had dinner at clyde's in georgetown and ate some yummy cupcakes from hello cupcake for dessert. mom was at the conference with her co-worker (and friend!) kristi miller. if you don't know kristi she is a fun, easy-going, sweet woman with a huge heart. we so appreciate her letting us bring total chaos to the hotel room she shared with mom. i was delighted to get to know her better and was so glad she shared the time with us. i walked away noting how much she cares for my mother and that made me feel great. i think traveling to DC on the spur of the moment might've completed #3 on my list. no, it wasn't a vacation per se, but anyone that has a wiggly 11 month old boy knows that the extra set(s) of hands made it a vacation for me. thanks mom and kristi...it was absolutely worth the drive. i'd do it again tomorrow! we didn't get many good pictures in DC but i tried.

true love

the day we left for DC wil turned 11 months old. it's hard to believe that 11 months has passed. as tough as it is for me to accept, he is going to turn 1 and 2 and 20...someday. he is still the sweet boy he's been since the beginning although he is starting to show a real mischievous streak and, on occasion, has thrown a fit or two. yikes. luckily ryan and i are n*sync with how to handle him during these moments and we seem to get him through them quickly and no worse for wear. he is starting to be more selective about what he eats although the idea of portion control hasn't occurred to him. he still sucks down three 9 0z bottles per day and will, on most days, also eat three meals. he has a great sense of humor and loves to laugh. that is a beautiful thing and something we embrace. he hasn't taken his first steps yet but he seems like he wants to and we expect it any day. he loves music, has yet to grow tired of the animals (only more fond) and absolutely adores reading. he both "reads" to himself and brings me books to read to him. among those he never tires of hearing/looking at: knuffle bunny, my little animal book, doggies and where is baby's belly button? ryan faithfully reads if i built a car and i never tire of the pigeon books by mo willems. it fills me with pride that he's taken to books. if he didn't care for books i would've loved him anyway but it would've been a lot harder. (kidding. sort of. no really.) everyday brings more curly BLONDE hair, more teeth, more "words", more curiosity, more independence, more laughter and more love than i ever thought possible. he is our wonder and we are delighted by him. happy 11 months!

flying high: 11 months old

the day we headed back from DC was halloween. we decided wil should be a monkey this year before the days of dressing up as something cute pass us by for the days of dressing up as something cool. man oh man...was he cute?!?! even if i do say so myself he was adorable in that monkey suit. he didn't trick o' treat (save for his visit to miss heather's house - thanks for the pumpkin book, heath!) but he sat on the porch with us and handed out candy to all the kiddos that came by. initially annoyed with the costume he seemed to embrace it in the end and, as a treat, we let him have one twizzler which he gobbled up with glee. it was a great way to spend the spookiest of the holidays and we can't wait to trot him around next year.

monkey business

needless to say, it's a busy life. in so many ways i am happier than i have ever been before. i know i have a good life (charlotte!) and i am so grateful for all the gifts i have been given. with any luckwil will give me the gift of 30 minutes a day to add to this blog. if he'll grant me that (and if i can lose 10 lbs.) i'll be complete.

*i was stopped 4 times during the writing of this post and it took 7 hours to write. now THAT is dedication.

30.

i did it. i took the plunge. i went for yoga and ended up talking to a guy whom i gave no less than 6 high fives and somehow, in the midst of it all, i became a wowszer... or, in layman's terms, a paying member of work out world. yikes.

i took my first class with jessica this morning and, honestly, i LOVED it. we took the centergy class which combines yoga, pilates and tai chi. i'll admit to being somewhat concerned that the teacher would bust out some madonna type yoga moves but it was all very familiar and i felt right at home. the music was a little queer (jess has referenced the 'nights in white satin' horror) but the teacher was good, the room was hot and i totally got my sweat on. i'm hooked. well, maybe that's a bit strong, but i did throughly enjoy it and look forward to doing more.

when i listed "take a yoga class" on my 34 things list i had a yoga studio in mind but since one session at a yoga studio costs more than one month as a wowszer (high five!) then this completes #30. namaste.

12.

with a yard as large as ours i knew i had to find space to try and grow some vegetables. i have always hoped that i would grow a green thumb. i have tried container gardening over the years (mainly flowers & one tomato plant that yielded zero tomatoes) and love the feeling you get from putting your hands in the dirt and planting something beautiful.

when the landscaper came to redo our lawn this spring i asked him to leave me a small plot for a garden. he left me a small round mound where i planted jalepeno, 3 types of tomatoes, zucchini, rosemary, basil and lemon verbena. it's coming along quite nicely and i am already planning to do it bigger and better next year with the knowledge i've gained this year.

the original plants, may 2008

i have some jalepenos that are ready to pick, some tomatoes that are coming along and i was able to use a few sprigs of basil before the rabbits got to it. the lemon verbena is beautiful and fragrant and i am hopeful that zucchini flowers will give us a few zucchini.

the plants today - july 2008

jalepenos

tomatoes

gardening is good for the soul. being outside and getting your hands in the dirt makes you feel good, a part of something bigger. i am so glad i thought to put it on my list.

19. & 31.

last night jess and i went to see john mayer and colbie caillat at the pnc arts center. it was, in every way, the perfect night.

a few weeks ago i was driving by the pnc and the sign quickly flashed that john was going to be there on the 15th. jess told me a few months ago that he was coming and suggested we go but we'd never discussed it any further. i went home that afternoon, got on stubhub and 3 days later we had tickets. i surprised jess with the news at the party on the 5th and she got so excited that i actually got chills! tickets to an outdoor summer concert was the perfect gift to give for simply no reason at all!

first up...falafel wraps, dolma and hummus from zaitooni, a fantastic lebanese deli in red bank. the food was great and we enjoyed it in the comfort of our AC'd car while watching the younger crowd ramble around the parking lot. i told jess that we could tailgate but that we'd have to shift the stroller, diaper bag and potterybarn kids box around to make room. we decided the front seat was just fine.

up next...a beer for me and wine for jess. we found our seats and, WOW, were they great. we sat right next to the sound booth in the dead center of the stage. we were on the front row of our section with seats on the aisle. PERFECT! we chatted with an odd older couple next to us who were HUGE john mayer fans and had seen him the year before from the lawn. they assured us that the seats we had were much better. we chatted and laughed while doing some great people watching...you wouldn't believe the varied crowed john mayer draws. well, then again, you probably would. we were most confused by two people in their 50s or 60s who looked like they come straight from africa to see the show. music knows no boundaries!

colbie caillat was up first and she was amazing. i first learned of colbie from listening to the singer/songwriter channel on sirius. jess had heard her too and lent me her cd. she is an amazing singer/songwriter from california with a beautiful voice, a mellow sound and she put out a damn good album. the songs are beautifully written and her voice rich voice accompanies them perfectly. you might've heard her songs bubbly or realize on the radio. the entire album, coco, is fantastic and worth a listen. she was great in concert (not just a studio voice) and did a fun rendition of the jackson 5's one more chance.

after she finished we took a bathroom break. i saw the realtor that sold us our house get busted going into the men's room and i shouted out, "barb, what the hell????" the security guy that was taking her out of the men's room dropped her off with me and we had one heck of a laugh. i cannot believe that i saw someone i knew at a concert in NJ...a place i have lived for only one year. small world.

john mayer...what can i say? he started with springsteen's i'm on fire (i gave a mental shout out to rita during this song!) which was a nice way to greet the fans of NJ. the crowd went wild and never stopped. he was absolutely awesome (highlights for me: tom petty's free fallin', gravity & say) and brought the house down for 2 hours. jess and i sang every word and laughed and hugged and danced our way through the show. it was, as jess said, a spiritual experience.

jess...you were a great date. i'd do it again with you anytime. thanks for a great time...my side still aches from all the laughing. if you'd like to see more pictures of our night...click here.

22.

the doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live.
~flora whittemore

ah...the list. supposedly slow and steady wins the race. that is how i am going about this...slowly, deliberately and with thought behind each of these items. i am not just going to fly through willy-nilly. the truth is this: i am a procrastinator and the majority of the 34 things will probably be done in the week before my 35th birthday. but let's hope not. in that spirit, i happily check another one (my second) off the list.

this is what our front door used to look like:


and this is what it looks like today:

a vast improvement even if i do say so myself. don't for a second think that this was easy. this is one of those projects that feels like it should take about 2 hours and ends up taking a week and almost all of wil's naptime minutes during that week. whew. so, 5 coats of black on the door, 3 on each of the sides and 5 coats of white on the trim later and we're in business. i even treated myself to a new knocker, doorbell and doormat to set the whole thing off. i have a little touch up to do but nothing that won't take, oh, 5 hours or so. ha!

i love the finished result and am moving on to refinish the porch and railings next. that was not on my list but maybe i'll give myself bonus points for doing extra credit.

**muchas gracias to mi madre for suggesting the color. see mom...i bet you thought i'd take all the credit.

34 things

it's been said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. in that spirit, i have decided to copy denise's fabulous 34 things list. it's a wonderful way to track personal goals and achievements. the list denise created inspired me to think about some of the things i want to do before i turn 35. trouble is...i am only 33 and my 34th birthday is a mere 5.5 months away. i am afraid i'd be setting myself up for failure with a list of 33 things to do before i turn 34 (especially with a new baby!) so my list is also a list of things to do before i turn 35. the list is a bit ambitious in parts but, hey, i do have almost a year and a half to complete it! i hope this is something i continue year after year...the lists will get longer but with any luck life will just get more fun!

34 things to do before i turn 35

1. start a supper club
2. find a place to volunteer
3. take a spontaneous vacation
4. host a girls night out
5. visit a state i have never been to
6. make a new friend
7. find a church to attend
8. take a class of any kind
9. take a swimming class with wil
10. paint something - just once!
11. visit the central park & bronx zoos
12. plant a vegetable garden
13. attend a baseball game (or two!)
14. see anything on broadway
15. take a music class with wil
16. see a performance at the met (denise...let's do this together!)
17. meet the new babies born in my family (cooper & upcoming baby cohorn)
18. spend a day at the modern museum of art
19. buy and give a gift to someone for no reason
20. go camping
21. take a weekend trip with my sister
22. paint the front door and trim
23. complete a photo album of wil's first year
24. have a family picnic on the beach one summer evening
25. fill in wil's baby book
26. see a performance of handel's messiah
27. play the piano again (maybe this will be my class!)
28. have a date with ryan at least every third month
29. read a daily devotional
30. take a yoga class
31. see a outdoor concert
32. attend one performance per season at the two river theatre company
33. start and finish our mudroom/playroom
34. attend 2 newcomer's club events