flowers & friends in bloom

last friday wil and i were invited to take a day trip to the new york botanical garden with heather, lily and heather's parents, rob & diane. it was members day (thanks rob & diane!) and the opening of the 2008 kiku exhibit. kiku is the japanese art of chyrsanthemum cultivation. it was fantastic! i have never seen anything like this and cannot believe the time and care and PATIENCE that obviously goes into creating these beautiful flowers. if i wouldn't have been arrested i would picked the flower below - i thought it was the most beautiful and unusual thing!

the gardens were beautiful, the exhibit was amazing and it was a trip i would love to make again. we spent a wonderful day outside in perfect fall weather enjoying nature, lunch and friends. thank you heather for inviting us and thank you rob & diane for sharing your membership with us. we had a wonderful time!

surprise, surprise, surprise

there is nothing better than an unexpected gift to boost your spirits and last friday* i was the lucky recipient of one such gift.

ryan and i had a pretty lame friday night planned. we were watching wil use his walker and throwing a stuffed chicken for lucy when ryan offered me a deal...i would shower with wil, he would shower with lucy. both desperately needed a bath.

in the middle of my shower with wil i heard ryan talking to someone and thought he was on the phone. he then opened the door and i could see someone down the stairs staring up at me...it was TIA. i was so excited. tia, shawn & hank made a surprise trip to NJ for the weekend. it was perfect! we had a wonderful weekend eating portuguese food, watching football, visiting the beach and laughing. (especially when while tia was giving wil a bath, hank felt the need to get in on the action.) it was just what the higgins family needed.

sadly we took only one picture (above) but we have good memories. thank you tia, shawn & hank for making the trip. it was fantastic!

*this was the weekend of the 11th. i had a busy week last week and am just getting around to posting this.

appetite pleasin'

oh ranch style beans...how i love you. let me count the ways:

1. oooey
2. gooey
3. spicy
4. thick
5. bean-y
6. delicious
7. stylish

about a month ago i used the last can of a case that lasted exactly one year. i was stingy with the beans but once used 2 cans (!!!) in a kooky casserole i made when i was preg. because they are not available in the stores here lindsey and i drove a case from texas to new jersey last summer. having a whole case to myself was fabulous and so much better than bringing back a can or two in my suitcase. yum. if you've never eaten ranch style beans it's very difficult to explain what all the fuss is about. they are unlike any bean i know and the best way to describe them is to borrow from the can which describes them as appetite pleasin'.

i was feeling so sad to have eaten the last of the beans that i photographed the last can before we ate them. luckily my aunt becky loves me very much and felt so sorry for me that she sent me not one, but TWO, cases of RSBs for my birthday!!! people, in case the math escapes you, that is 48 CANS! yeehaw!

thanks, beck, for the beans. what an unexpected and delightful gift. i promise not to use them all at once...and if i do, i promise to stand down-wind.

a perfect 10

wil turns 10 months old today. it seems hard to believe that he's now been "out" longer than he was "in". he is growing so fast and time seems to be moving at warp speed. i became a little emotional over it all this morning and ryan, ever the optimist, said to me, "just think of all the cool conversations you'll have with him as he gets older." ryan always knows what to say to make me feel better. and, honestly, he's right. if he didn't grow we'd never hug, laugh at the same joke, run in a three legged race together, make cookies, and on and on. but, gosh, does it have to go SO fast???

the 10 month old wil is chattier than ever, loves music and moves around like a whirling dervish. he sings along with songs (to the delight of our music class teacher) and, although he isn't clapping just yet, he loves to keep rhythm on his drum or anything flat. he is delighted by all animals, especially stone, and seems to have a genuine love of reading (although the days of sitting still for more than 1 or 2 books at a time are dwindling.) he laughs at us and at himself. he will break into spontaneous laughter after babbling to himself and we wish like mad that we were part of his inside joke. he is happy always (unless hungry or overtired) and i fill with pride each time someone acknowledges his joy. he is studious and thoughtful, mischievous and playful; characteristics that fondly remind me of us. he continues to chow down like a competition eater and the only food related trouble we face is getting food to him fast enough. he continues to love the water and we get him in the pool or the ocean as often as we can. he crawls on all fours, pulls up on EVERYTHING and takes fragile steps anywhere he can find something to hold onto.

he is physically growing like a weed. he wears size 18 mo. in most clothing and has an extra wide foot. his bottom two front teeth are completely in and make him even cuter than he was without them. in the past week, the top four middle teeth have broken through the gums and i cannot wait to see how that affects his million dollar smile. he is tall and getting taller by the day; strong and getting stronger by the day.

over the past few weeks i have seen changes in him and felt them in myself. i am both amazed and frustrated by an outstanding increase in energy but only because mine does not match it. i am in awe of his charm, his mind, his heart and see his personality evolving each second. he is amazing and no i longer plainly love him but have fallen in love with him as well. my heart is overflowing - as queer as that sounds - and i know now, even better than i did 10 months ago, that my life will never be the same.

happy 10 months, wil. you continue to delight and amaze us...we adore you.

just-in time

it seems like every time i am about to get homesick to see someone from home i get a visit. at the end of august i was beginning to feel bummed that i wouldn't see any family until november. after much consideration we called off a september texas trip due to insane airline prices and bad timing. about the same time we were deciding not to go to texas, my delightful (and cute!) cousin justin made arrangements to come up and visit. justin is one of the most relaxed guys i know and truly lives a "go with the flow" lifestyle. because he is so easy his visits are always freewheeling and fun. we did three states in 6 days and it was a blast. here are some of the highlights:

*thursday: train trip to NY, lunch at isabella's (best burger ever!), afternoon at the museum of natural history. i think we could've spent 2 days in this museum and still not seen everything. it was fantastic!


*friday: car trip to liberty state park, picnic on ellis island, visit to statue of liberty. if you've never visited ellis island it is truly a sight to behold. and old lady liberty isn't too shabby, either.


*weekend: labor day with shawn & tia in PA...guys watched football, i got my hair done, we went to a rib & clam bbq, shot off fireworks and lounged by the pool for two days. it was great!


justin and wil made great friends. it's not hard to imagine knowing how chill they both are. about 100 people over the course of our touristy activities thought wil was OUR child and that gave us some good (but a tad uncomfortable) chuckles. justin was a great sport to hit all the sights with his cousin and a baby who used him as a human jungle gym. i hope we didn't dampen his style too much. we were so sad to see justin go (ryan and i tried to convince him to be our manny) but we are already looking forward to the next visit. love you justin! thanks for coming... just in time.

for the picture version of this story...click here.

happy hair

after writing the longest post in history on hair (it made kyle's head spin) i have failed to update you on the haircut. i spent a wonderful, quite morning in a lovely salon and got to rest, chat with friends and read a magazine cover to cover completely unmolested. it was a great experience the best part of which was the outcome. i love my hair, it is perfect for me and exactly what i wanted. (i chickened out on cutting it off. it's just not for me....right now.)

thank you gwen for the best haircut i have had in a long time. i have yet to even blow it dry because, for once, i LOVE the way it looks when it dries naturally. i am so pleased that i will be a repeat customer for many years. thanks a million!

the new 'do.
(sorry for the repeat of this picture. it's the only shot i have of the hair.)

7 years....no itch

it was on a beautiful day seven years ago that ryan and i said "i do." from the very first time i spoke to ryan i knew he was someone special. i have never met anyone like him - before or since. he is a laid back, kind hearted, funny, loving guy who lives his motto, "it is what it is." there isn't much that gets him upset and there isn't anything that he doesn't face with an open mind and a peaceful heart. ryan is a guy that everyone wants to know and be friends with. he is the most wonderful person i know and i feel so grateful that he chose me all those years ago.

the past seven years have been nothing short of interesting. we have experienced many ups and downs but we never lost sight of our humor and have laughed (A LOT!) through a lot of tough times. i believe that we truly were made for each other and i couldn't imagine my life without him. he is the perfect husband, a wonderful father and my very best friend. we balance one another well and have since the very first hello. there is no one else that i'd rather go through life with than ryan. borrowing from jerry maguire...as queer as it sounds....he completes me.

so thanks ryan for seven wonderful years. i love you more than anything and i enjoy every day of this ride with you. thanks for keeping me laughing and for loving me so fiercely. you are one of a kind and i love you very, very, VERY much.

that was then....

this is now...

***thanks to rob & jess for keeping wil so we could celebrate. we love you guys!

farewell summer

this has been, to say the very least, a summer of ups and downs for our little family. it seems like every good event has been accompanied by one not so good.. while i appreciate the concept of balance, this summer has been a little too balanced.

over memorial day weekend, the official start of my summer, we celebrated wil's first two teeth and mourned lucy's horse and buggy accident. two weeks later we welcomed shara dee & larry and then left on our first texas trip. our trip tragically coincided with gail's death. things seemed to be on an upswing as we celebrated the arrival of lindsey, kyle and my parents in early july. we had a fantastic party and a week full of fun. we rejoiced in lucy's regained strength but began to worry about murphy who seemed to have some prostate issues. just as we were starting to gain some momentum we were leveled one by one with bad colds. and just last week we had to have new pipes put in under the house one day and justin arrived for a visit the next. up...and down.

through it all wil has been amazing and seems to thrive in any situation. he feels right at home no matter where we drag him and truly lives that old cliche, "home is where the heart is." he makes it easy for us to smile. he's lived a third of his life during this crazy summer and all of the changes he's gone through are amazing. he clearly says "dada", "mama" and "dg" (dog) now. he is starting to crawl on all fours and pulls up on everything. he has a fantastic sense of humor and loves to "dance" with me. he delights in other children and has never met a stranger. without him i am not sure where ryan and i would be. the stress of the events over the past three months has left us both physically, emotionally, mentally and financially exhausted. seeing our son grow and prosper as the world seems to spiral out of control gives us both renewed energy and peace. balance.

the residents of 126 park avenue are ready for fall and we greet it with open arms. it hasn't all been a bummer though. when it's been fun, it's been really fun. here are some of the highlights:

*shara dee & larry visit. wil and i go to texas. it was a success and we can't wait to go back!
*lindsey & kyle visit. ryan and i get to go on a date while they keep wil. both were exhausted afterward. lindsey's comment, "i don't know how you do this day after day." i took it as a compliment. kyle, my future brother-in-law, rocks the party and we love him.
*mom and dad arrive. we get to relax, i get a pedicure, we spend a day in NYC (dad's first time) and make a trip to the central park zoo which completed number 11 on my list.
*lucy finally gets back in the ocean...she is the dog version of michael phelps.
*wil begins to move. he is hilarious.
*justin comes to visit and we have a fantastic time in NJ, NY and PA!
*we spent labor day in PA with shawn & tia. it was the best labor day in recent memory.
*i convince ryan to take a short vacation. it was perfect...just too short!

so farewell summer and welcome fall! hello football, crisp air, the world series (go sox!), a new playgroup and music class, a trip to the PA mountains, wil's first birthday and much more! who wouldn't welcome a line-up like that with open arms.

(items in grey are upcoming posts! stay tuned!)