About once a month, some friends of mine and I go out for a girl's night out. Since three of are moms, it's usually pretty low key. Our usual haunt is the bar at La Griglia, although last time we ended up at JR's, a local gay bar. Since Weezie goes to bed at 8, it works out well since I leave after she's gone to bed and I'm usually back by the time she wakes up (I always sleepover at A's after we go out).
Last night we didn't end up getting to La Griglia until 10:30 and the restaurant bar closes at midnight. I managed to drink three grey-goose tonics and two Kamikazie's that were sent over to the table before we left. I didn't feel too tipsy last night, but this morning I felt like crud. I don't know what's worse, the headache, or knowing that I had about 900 calories worth of drinks, LOL.
In any case, I still had a lot of fun. While I love being Weezie's mom and wouldn't trade it for the world, it's nice to be out once in while with just other adults.
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Thursday, July 27, 2006
I can taste the margaritas now...
As we were driving to my parents' house for the requisite weekly Weez visit, I was thinking about how summer was coming to an end and we had yet to make a trip to the beach (a real beach, i.e., NOT Galveston). By the time we arrived, I had already mapped out a trip for the whole family - my parents, sister, Weez and I renting a condo in South Padre for a week, and J joining us for 3-day weekend (work's too hectic right now for him to take a full week off). Everyone thought it was a great idea, so I immediately made arrangements for the condo and flights for J and one of my sisters (who has to return early to start back at work August 8).
Interestingly enough, because of the last minute plans, I ended up booking the same condo we used to go to on our family vacations in Padre when I was a kid. I'm excited since I love going to the beach, and it'll be fun to spend time with my family and vacation with them as an adult. Not to mention the 24/7 access to free babysitting :)
We're leaving next Tuesday and driving to McAllen to visit my Aunt and her family for a day before moving on to South Padre (1.5 hour away from my Aunt's home). It's about 5 hours to McAllen, so I'm a bit worried about Weezie being in the car so long. Luckily, she will have my mother and sister in the car to be at her entertainment beck and call. Her last long trip was when she still a wee babe and we were trying to leave Houston to avoid Hurricane Rita. We were in the car for 7.5 hours and traveled 25 miles - not something I'd like to ever repeat. Hopefully this trip will be a might less stressful.
In other news, J found a property in the Heights that's perfect for flipping. We drove by together on Sunday and made an offer. The owner accepted, and we should be closing August 30th. Woohoo! Now, normally I wouldn't get terribly excited since J does this pretty regularly, but we've decided that this flip will be my project. I've wanted to get more involved, and now I actually have the time to do so. The house needs top to bottom work - rewiring, sheetwork, the whole shebang. It's a small house, though, so I'm hoping I won't get too overwhelmed. Obviously I'm going to rely a lot on J's experience for the contractor negotiations. I can never hope to be as good as he on financial negotiations, but I think I'll hold my own as far as cracking the whip and getting things done. Famous last words?
Interestingly enough, because of the last minute plans, I ended up booking the same condo we used to go to on our family vacations in Padre when I was a kid. I'm excited since I love going to the beach, and it'll be fun to spend time with my family and vacation with them as an adult. Not to mention the 24/7 access to free babysitting :)
We're leaving next Tuesday and driving to McAllen to visit my Aunt and her family for a day before moving on to South Padre (1.5 hour away from my Aunt's home). It's about 5 hours to McAllen, so I'm a bit worried about Weezie being in the car so long. Luckily, she will have my mother and sister in the car to be at her entertainment beck and call. Her last long trip was when she still a wee babe and we were trying to leave Houston to avoid Hurricane Rita. We were in the car for 7.5 hours and traveled 25 miles - not something I'd like to ever repeat. Hopefully this trip will be a might less stressful.
In other news, J found a property in the Heights that's perfect for flipping. We drove by together on Sunday and made an offer. The owner accepted, and we should be closing August 30th. Woohoo! Now, normally I wouldn't get terribly excited since J does this pretty regularly, but we've decided that this flip will be my project. I've wanted to get more involved, and now I actually have the time to do so. The house needs top to bottom work - rewiring, sheetwork, the whole shebang. It's a small house, though, so I'm hoping I won't get too overwhelmed. Obviously I'm going to rely a lot on J's experience for the contractor negotiations. I can never hope to be as good as he on financial negotiations, but I think I'll hold my own as far as cracking the whip and getting things done. Famous last words?
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Birkenstocks come in different colors, right?
Weezie's shoes were getting snug, so off we went to Stride-Rite to get some new sandals. It pains me to buy shoes there (their average baby shoe is $40), but they have the best selection of wide width shoes for children. While I don't see the resemblance when everyone tells me she looks like J, she most definitely got her father's feet. J just got a pair of tennis shoes in 14EEEE. Yes, that's 4 E's.
They had a bunch of the cutest sandals on sale, for about half off original price - I was stoked! We got a few 6W's to try on and... they were too narrow. Yes, my baby needs Extra-Wides.
They only had one pair of sandals in XW, not on sale of course. So $45 later, we left with the most boring, plain white sandals in the store. I know it's ridiculous, but I was sad because she couldn't get the cute shoes with flowers or the ones with flashy lights (she would have loved those!). I'm a shoe horse (I probably have a hundred pair;I've lost count), so I became even more sad when I started to think about how she'd have a hard time finding shoes when she's older, when she'll actually care.
Yes, I realize that I should just be happy she's a healthy, happy baby...and that she has a really stable base, LOL.
They had a bunch of the cutest sandals on sale, for about half off original price - I was stoked! We got a few 6W's to try on and... they were too narrow. Yes, my baby needs Extra-Wides.
They only had one pair of sandals in XW, not on sale of course. So $45 later, we left with the most boring, plain white sandals in the store. I know it's ridiculous, but I was sad because she couldn't get the cute shoes with flowers or the ones with flashy lights (she would have loved those!). I'm a shoe horse (I probably have a hundred pair;I've lost count), so I became even more sad when I started to think about how she'd have a hard time finding shoes when she's older, when she'll actually care.
Yes, I realize that I should just be happy she's a healthy, happy baby...and that she has a really stable base, LOL.
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
The good ones always are....
I am devastated. I just found out from reputable sources (the Internet) that my boyfriend, Anderson Cooper, is gay. This ranks up there with finding out George Michael is gay ("George, not George! But I wanted to marry him when I was a teenager!")
With as many gay friends as I have, it's obvious gaydar is something you're born with and can't cultivate.
Off to sulk now.
With as many gay friends as I have, it's obvious gaydar is something you're born with and can't cultivate.
Off to sulk now.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Bueller? Bueller?
I wonder if anyone reads this blog - I think I have 2 readers, LOL. I guess it would help if I actually let people know I have a blog.
I took Weezie to her first music class at Gymboree (she's had music classes before, but not at Gymboree). As she normally is when she's around new people, she was very shy and wouldn't leave my lap. She wouldn't sing or clap along to any of the songs because she was too busy staring down the other children and teacher. Part of me (the hypercompetitive, Type-A part) wanted to scream out, "She sings all the time! And dances! Oh, you should see her dance! Did I tell you she raps?", but I think I managed to be encouraging without pushing her too much. I hope once she's gone to a few classes she'll open up more - the daycare told me she loved Music & Me (the music classes she took once a week), and she stops in her tracks when music shows come on TV.
After class, I went to Ikea to pick up a little kid's table/chairs so she'd have a place to color (other than the wall, which she's already done). I made the mistake of trying to put it together while Weezie was still awake. As if putting together Ikea "furniture" isn't frustrating enough, Weeze ripped the instructions to shreds and then insisted on helping. Let me tell you there are few things scarier than a 1 1/2 year old coming at you with a hammer in one hand and a screwdriver in the other. An hour later, I finally had it setup and immediately regretted my decision to buy a table from Ikea. I don't think it's going to survive the WMD (Weasel of Mass Destruction). I can't wait until we're back in a house so that I can buy real furniture again.
Speaking of the house, we drove by the lot yesterday. They've cleared off the old house on the property and have started building out the alleyway. The existing alleyway is just grass and not level, so we're leveling, paving, and installing a drainage system. We're started about two months later than planned, but surprisingly, my blood's not boiling yet. Because of our last building experience, I went in expecting delays, and I know that there will be many more to come. It helps that I do like living where we are now. The location is fantastic, and I love never having to park my car. If we had more space, I could live here indefinitely. At this rate, we may have to, LOL.
I took Weezie to her first music class at Gymboree (she's had music classes before, but not at Gymboree). As she normally is when she's around new people, she was very shy and wouldn't leave my lap. She wouldn't sing or clap along to any of the songs because she was too busy staring down the other children and teacher. Part of me (the hypercompetitive, Type-A part) wanted to scream out, "She sings all the time! And dances! Oh, you should see her dance! Did I tell you she raps?", but I think I managed to be encouraging without pushing her too much. I hope once she's gone to a few classes she'll open up more - the daycare told me she loved Music & Me (the music classes she took once a week), and she stops in her tracks when music shows come on TV.
After class, I went to Ikea to pick up a little kid's table/chairs so she'd have a place to color (other than the wall, which she's already done). I made the mistake of trying to put it together while Weezie was still awake. As if putting together Ikea "furniture" isn't frustrating enough, Weeze ripped the instructions to shreds and then insisted on helping. Let me tell you there are few things scarier than a 1 1/2 year old coming at you with a hammer in one hand and a screwdriver in the other. An hour later, I finally had it setup and immediately regretted my decision to buy a table from Ikea. I don't think it's going to survive the WMD (Weasel of Mass Destruction). I can't wait until we're back in a house so that I can buy real furniture again.
Speaking of the house, we drove by the lot yesterday. They've cleared off the old house on the property and have started building out the alleyway. The existing alleyway is just grass and not level, so we're leveling, paving, and installing a drainage system. We're started about two months later than planned, but surprisingly, my blood's not boiling yet. Because of our last building experience, I went in expecting delays, and I know that there will be many more to come. It helps that I do like living where we are now. The location is fantastic, and I love never having to park my car. If we had more space, I could live here indefinitely. At this rate, we may have to, LOL.
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
18 months update
A little late, but Reese had her 18 month appointment a few weeks ago. Inspired by our friends the Handkes who recently posted baby Van's stats, I thought I'd post Reese's.
She is in the 70th percentile in both height and weight at 25lbs 3oz and 32" long. Yay for being proportionate!
Words:
My parents are convinced that when she says dog-dog, she's actually saying cho-cho (dog-dog in Vietnamese). They also have a dog that is similar in size to Sassy, and they think she's trying to say "Chelsea" (their dog). It's quite funny - kind of like the sound that a dog makes (bow-wow! ruff-ruff!) is different in other countries (wau-wau in Vietnamese, bau-bau in Italian, etc.)
The words we do agree that she's saying in Vietnamese (Ong ngoai and Ai day) are perfectly accented. She also repeats many of the words my parents say to her, but since she doesn't use them consistently, I haven't included them in the list. I've been trying to teach her Vietnamese, but it's difficult since for all intents and purposes, Vietnamese is my second language. I speak it fairly well, but since I don't "think" in Vietnamese, I often forget to speak to her in it. Oh, yeah, Whitey's a problem, too, since he only knows how to say pho (noodle soup), bun (vermicelli), and ba ngoai (grandmother). Though I suppose Reese is all set if she needs to ask my mom for lunch :)
She is in the 70th percentile in both height and weight at 25lbs 3oz and 32" long. Yay for being proportionate!
Words:
- Dog-dog
- Elmo
- Mama
- Dada
- Way Dada? (Where's dada?)
- Ba-ba (drink)
- Baby (for babies and her Stitch doll)
- Shoes
- Ball (balls and grapes/blueberries)
- No
- Hi
- Yah (yes)
- Mine!
- Allo? (hello?)
- Boon (balloon)
- Clock
- Ta tu! (thank you)
- Up & down! (bounces when she does this)
- Bubbos (bubbles, she says this with an accent on the second syllable)
- Coo-Coo (cookie and crackers)
- Sassy (name of her friend Mia's puppy)
- Bye-bye!
- Poopy!
- Ong ngoai ("grandfather" in Vietnamese)
- Ai day ("Who is that?". I don't think I spelled that right. She also uses it for "What's that" as well. Incorrect, but still cute)
- Um-um (eat)
My parents are convinced that when she says dog-dog, she's actually saying cho-cho (dog-dog in Vietnamese). They also have a dog that is similar in size to Sassy, and they think she's trying to say "Chelsea" (their dog). It's quite funny - kind of like the sound that a dog makes (bow-wow! ruff-ruff!) is different in other countries (wau-wau in Vietnamese, bau-bau in Italian, etc.)
The words we do agree that she's saying in Vietnamese (Ong ngoai and Ai day) are perfectly accented. She also repeats many of the words my parents say to her, but since she doesn't use them consistently, I haven't included them in the list. I've been trying to teach her Vietnamese, but it's difficult since for all intents and purposes, Vietnamese is my second language. I speak it fairly well, but since I don't "think" in Vietnamese, I often forget to speak to her in it. Oh, yeah, Whitey's a problem, too, since he only knows how to say pho (noodle soup), bun (vermicelli), and ba ngoai (grandmother). Though I suppose Reese is all set if she needs to ask my mom for lunch :)
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Cluck, cluck!
RG and crew have raved about this roast chicken recipe, so I've been meaning to try it. Feeling industrious this morning, I went to Central Market to pick up the ingredients. Even though the recipe is really simple, I didn't have any of the ingredients on hand (chicken, kosher salt, thyme). After some pointers over IM from RG and four viewings of this trussing video, the bird was in the oven. When it was ready, I excitedly pulled it out of the oven. It looked amazing! I didn't think to snap a picture until I had already started carving, so it doesn't capture how wonderful it looked. Nice enough to impress your guests! I'm pleased to say that it tasted just as good as it looked. Scrumptious! The skin was golden and crispy; the meat moist and flavorful. Like many who make this chicken, I ate my serving standing up, standing over the cutting board, LOL.
Even Reese loved it! Reese generally does not like meat, and even she was won over. More often than not, I have a really hard time getting her to eat anything other than pasta and bread. If there was ever any question whether she is my daughter (okay, not much of a question since she CAME OUT OF ME) her love of all things starchy is definitely a trait from me. This recipe is definitely a keeper.
Saturday, July 15, 2006
TGIS!
If it's one thing that I love almost as much as food, it's sleep. I LOVE to sleep, and have a talent for being able to nap anywhere (which comes in handy when you're backpacking through Europe. I've napped everywhere from a cold, damp doorway in Salzburg to an overpacked, overheated train stuck somewhere between Nice and Pisa filled with...ahem...pungent Italians). I'm definitely one of those people that needs 8 hours of sleep. Unfortunately, becoming a mother has put a big dent in the amount of sleep I get. On weekdays, I usually get about 7 hours of sleep a night. I know, that seems like a lot of sleep, but when I said I need 8 hours, I REALLY MEAN I need 8 hours.
On Saturdays and Sundays, however, Jim lets me sleep in while he watches Weezie. I do feel a wee bit guilty that he still takes weekend morning duties even though I've stopped working, but the flip-side is that I'm much more pleasant to be around when I've gotten a full 8 hours. I slept until 10:15 this morning - Heaven!
Like megmoo, I still look forward to weekends even though I don't go to the office anymore. It's not just the ability to sleep in; Jim's home and I love just putzing around being a family. We usually don't have anything too exciting planned - we'll visit with friends, hang out by the pool, that kind of thing. It's incredibly relaxing because there's no agenda we have to follow or appointment we have to make like we have to on weekdays.
On Saturdays and Sundays, however, Jim lets me sleep in while he watches Weezie. I do feel a wee bit guilty that he still takes weekend morning duties even though I've stopped working, but the flip-side is that I'm much more pleasant to be around when I've gotten a full 8 hours. I slept until 10:15 this morning - Heaven!
Like megmoo, I still look forward to weekends even though I don't go to the office anymore. It's not just the ability to sleep in; Jim's home and I love just putzing around being a family. We usually don't have anything too exciting planned - we'll visit with friends, hang out by the pool, that kind of thing. It's incredibly relaxing because there's no agenda we have to follow or appointment we have to make like we have to on weekdays.
Friday, July 14, 2006
LMAO
Since I've been on a health kick, I've been perusing various blogs about losing weight/getting fit/etc. From The Fat Man Walking site (one man's journey across the US to lose weight and to find himself), I found The Lost Hawaiian. Josie is freakin' hysterical. I started reading her archives from the beginning and am working my way back to current entries. I'm still in Sept. '05, but I think I've lost a few pounds laughing so hard.
Blah Blah Blah Blah....
I thought that I'd be blogging more once I became a SAHM, but alas that has not been the case. In pondering why I don't write more often, I came up with a dozen reasons involving all the quality time I'm spending with Weez (you know, like when I've fallen asleep on the couch while she's watching Elmo for the 5 billionth time). In truth, I realized that I don't post because I don't think I have anything to write that anybody would actually want to read. I mean, isn't that the point of blogging? To provide insight into your life while being at least mildly amusing?
In any case, I've decided to just blog without concern if it's actually interesting in an effort to use a few brain cells on something other than memorizing all the words to "Wheels on the Bus".
Which segues me nicely into today's topic - my life as a stay-at-home-mom. It's been about six weeks since my last day at work, and to be honest, I thought that I'd be bored to tears by now. I'm happy to say that I'm having a blast. It's not quite the same as managing multi-million $ IT projects, but it's still incredibly rewarding. While some things haven't changed at all - I still find myself having to deal with temper tantrums and cleaning up someone else's messes - the primary difference is that I go to bed looking forward to the morning when I can hang out with the Weez again.
In any case, I've decided to just blog without concern if it's actually interesting in an effort to use a few brain cells on something other than memorizing all the words to "Wheels on the Bus".
Which segues me nicely into today's topic - my life as a stay-at-home-mom. It's been about six weeks since my last day at work, and to be honest, I thought that I'd be bored to tears by now. I'm happy to say that I'm having a blast. It's not quite the same as managing multi-million $ IT projects, but it's still incredibly rewarding. While some things haven't changed at all - I still find myself having to deal with temper tantrums and cleaning up someone else's messes - the primary difference is that I go to bed looking forward to the morning when I can hang out with the Weez again.
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