Friday, October 29, 2010
Halloween Parade & Potluck
Every year at Ben's school, they hold some sort of Halloween madness for the kiddos -they of course don't allow costumes on Halloween AT school, so this makes up for it.... this year, it was a parade & potluck & cupcake decorating party held Monday evening... oh my.... Ben really, REALLY got into the cupcake decorating. For this party he was a fireman and since this is pure madness around here with his birthday falling one day after Halloween, he had to have 2 costumes this year because of dressing up numerous times... so, for his upcoming party and actual Halloween day, he'll be something else... for now, he's a firefighter.... stay tuned! :)
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Girls Weekend 2010
Every year, my friend Traci and I meet up 1/2 way with our friends Lori & Dawn that live in the San Francisco area to play, connect, eat great food, shop, go to the spa, drink wine and hang out! Over the years, this weekend has changed on many levels and taken on different shapes based on where our lives have been ... year one was the craziest (no babies yet, no pregnancies and lots of energy from us all).... year 2, I had Ben, year 3 Dawn & Lori were pregnant, and this year I was pregnant.
It's always a great time to see these gals no matter what our life situations ... in the past we have gone to Paso Robles and stayed in that area mainly for the great wine tasting, however this year, we went off the beaten path and stayed at The Madonna Inn. Oh my. What a crazy, obnoxious place! If you have ever driven by it and wondered about it, then let me tell you... it is exactly what it looks like... loud, colorful, gaudy, big, bold and did I mention big furniture? Check out the couch in our room! Each room is themed. We stayed in the "travellers suite" room and what a suite it was!
We met in Avila on Saturday morning for breakfast & shopping, then checked in at the hote, then pedicures and onto more shopping and hanging out in San Luis Obispo. After our afternoon, we headed back to the hotel for a bit and then out to dinner which was FABULOUS at Ciopinot.
Love you girls - looking forward to next year in Big Sur! :)
It's always a great time to see these gals no matter what our life situations ... in the past we have gone to Paso Robles and stayed in that area mainly for the great wine tasting, however this year, we went off the beaten path and stayed at The Madonna Inn. Oh my. What a crazy, obnoxious place! If you have ever driven by it and wondered about it, then let me tell you... it is exactly what it looks like... loud, colorful, gaudy, big, bold and did I mention big furniture? Check out the couch in our room! Each room is themed. We stayed in the "travellers suite" room and what a suite it was!
We met in Avila on Saturday morning for breakfast & shopping, then checked in at the hote, then pedicures and onto more shopping and hanging out in San Luis Obispo. After our afternoon, we headed back to the hotel for a bit and then out to dinner which was FABULOUS at Ciopinot.
Love you girls - looking forward to next year in Big Sur! :)
Big Boy Bed
We finally did the deed and transferred Ben to a big boy bed... at almost 3 (one week away) and the new baby coming (2 months away), it was high time. He has been very attached to his crib and we actually weren't sure how it would go... so, we started plotting and planning a few months ago about what needed to shift for Ben pre-baby #2... we realized that the crib to bed transfer had to be locked in solid before the new baby comes, otherwise there would be considerable confusion, angst and frustration for all of us, especially Ben.
So, of course we went to Ikea a few weekends ago (needing many things) and also getting his bed.
How did he do you ask?
I was away up north this last weekend for girls weekend, so Steve and Ben spent the better part of Sunday putting it together... when I got back on Sunday afternoon, I washed all of his new bedding and fluffed all of his new pillows and organized his animals and rearranged his room and, and, and..... getting him down for a nap took well over 2 hours. Sigh. Getting him down for bed took less time and once we found the right angle of the pillow (which was a new thing for him too) and amount of comforter (he's always just used a little blanket that he loves and now he has a goose down comforter w/ duvet cover) and placement of animals and nightlight and drinks of water and, and, and.... he fell asleep within an hour of starting... Steve and I were feeling darn goood about our parenting skills at that time, so we made a great dinner, put on our favorite show in the world that we watch every Sunday night (The Amazing Race) and settled in... not an hour into him sleeping we heard a very loud THUD! EEEEKKK.... we raced upstairs and yes, you guessed it, he had fallen out of bed. Poor little guy.... he was crying and of course upset but after some hugs, kisses, drinks of water and further strategic placement of pillows, comforter, sheets and animals, he was out like a light and slept til 7:30 am, which is very normal for him.
Last night went better and tonight should be a breeze.... feels good to have that transition checked off the list! Here are some pics from the beginnings of it all at Ikea to the end!
So, of course we went to Ikea a few weekends ago (needing many things) and also getting his bed.
How did he do you ask?
I was away up north this last weekend for girls weekend, so Steve and Ben spent the better part of Sunday putting it together... when I got back on Sunday afternoon, I washed all of his new bedding and fluffed all of his new pillows and organized his animals and rearranged his room and, and, and..... getting him down for a nap took well over 2 hours. Sigh. Getting him down for bed took less time and once we found the right angle of the pillow (which was a new thing for him too) and amount of comforter (he's always just used a little blanket that he loves and now he has a goose down comforter w/ duvet cover) and placement of animals and nightlight and drinks of water and, and, and.... he fell asleep within an hour of starting... Steve and I were feeling darn goood about our parenting skills at that time, so we made a great dinner, put on our favorite show in the world that we watch every Sunday night (The Amazing Race) and settled in... not an hour into him sleeping we heard a very loud THUD! EEEEKKK.... we raced upstairs and yes, you guessed it, he had fallen out of bed. Poor little guy.... he was crying and of course upset but after some hugs, kisses, drinks of water and further strategic placement of pillows, comforter, sheets and animals, he was out like a light and slept til 7:30 am, which is very normal for him.
Last night went better and tonight should be a breeze.... feels good to have that transition checked off the list! Here are some pics from the beginnings of it all at Ikea to the end!
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Happy Birthday Ella!
Ben's good friend Ella turned 3 yesterday and since she loves Irish dancing (you might remember a few months ago we joined her to dance) it made logical sense that her smart momma would plan her birthday party at Dargan's on a Thursday night so that the kids could nosh on their fabulous mac 'n cheese, while the parents could drink their fabulous beers on tap! The evening was complete with mini cupcakes, Irish dancing & lots of love for the birthday girl ~ Happy Birthday Miss Ella!
2 Hodge Podge events from the week
We hit the Jack Johnson concert at the bowl this week, which was fun as we haven't been to the bowl in a while...
Monday, October 4, 2010
October Weekend Getaway
A while back it sort of hit me that we were entering a time of doing a certain number of "lasts" with Ben... ie: last time I would travel with him alone, last time I would be with him at such and such a place with just the 2 of us and so on... I get weird that way. I realized that we needed to have a "last getaway with just the 3 of us" before the new baby comes. Looking ahead at our very busy fall season (so many birthdays, work obligations, events, the holidays, and other obligations) we decided on this last weekend (the perfect weekend - the 1st of October) to take Ben on a final family getaway where he is still the center of our world and the only center.
It was nothing short of perfect. After our awful hot weather last week here in Santa Barbara, it was cool, calm and crisp up north with big puffy clouds in the bright blue sky. Very welcomed. We went to San Luis Obispo Friday - Sunday... we went to the Children's museum (which was incredible), hit the pool, had dinner w/ our friend Elizabeth in Avila on the pier, watched movies in the hotel, saw the seals & all of the marine life in Avila, ate pizza & frozen yogurt & ended Sunday with spending all morning at the Avila Barn, which was the highlight -- apple picking, pumpkin picking, hayriding, feeding the animals, organic market/store, roasted corn stand, and more pumpkins and kids than should be legal on one farm.
In a nutshell, it is now our favorite fall getaway and we're making it a tradition to head up there every fall. WAYYY too many photos to post, but here are some highlights!
It was nothing short of perfect. After our awful hot weather last week here in Santa Barbara, it was cool, calm and crisp up north with big puffy clouds in the bright blue sky. Very welcomed. We went to San Luis Obispo Friday - Sunday... we went to the Children's museum (which was incredible), hit the pool, had dinner w/ our friend Elizabeth in Avila on the pier, watched movies in the hotel, saw the seals & all of the marine life in Avila, ate pizza & frozen yogurt & ended Sunday with spending all morning at the Avila Barn, which was the highlight -- apple picking, pumpkin picking, hayriding, feeding the animals, organic market/store, roasted corn stand, and more pumpkins and kids than should be legal on one farm.
In a nutshell, it is now our favorite fall getaway and we're making it a tradition to head up there every fall. WAYYY too many photos to post, but here are some highlights!
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