BAD DOG!

Let me introduce you to Sprinkles. They are one of these ultra trendy cupcake places. They claim to be the original of the "cupcake bakeries". The cupcakes are delicious, much better than I'll ever make, and the frosting to cake ratio is perfect. I'm not a cake kind of person, but I enjoy a Sprinkles cupcake. They are the perfect little "something" to bring someone. Such as my pal Cinnamon, yes that's her real name, and no that's not her profession. I bought some cupcakes for her, and some for me. I saved them until I got home in the wee hours of the morning yesterday, and went to get a cup of milk to enjoy them with. When I got back to the cupcakes 2 seconds later, they were GONE. Just one little crumb remained. Meet Sandy, our original problem child. This dog is SMART and manipulative. She knows the punishment will be temporary, but the bliss from a full stomach of people food will last for hours. What's that under Sandy's paw? Oh, that's a Sprinkles box. Sandy had inhaled the cupcakes off my plate. This is the dog, who limps because she claims to have a bad hip. Looks like the hip is not bothering her enough to prevent her from getting up on the counter. ARGGHH!! I was reminded that Sprinkles has special cupcakes for dogs, and Sandy is wicked smart, so maybe she's sending me a message not to forget her next time I go. And this is Cim, who had a birthday and recieved Sprinkles cupcakes! We went out last night and stayed out late and indulged in lots of reckless behavior. She's known me since the dawn of time, and we laugh nonstop together. We couldn't stop laughing long enough to take a good pic either.

After dinner we hit Pinkberry AKA Frozen Heroin in a cup. It's another hip spot, and we people watched while we enjoyed it's not-frozen yogurt goodness. This place is crazy busy, with a line out the door the ENTIRE time we were there. Apparently Pinkberry has been under some fire lately, because they claimed it's non-fat frozen yogurt. Turns out it isn't really frozen yogurt. This is all very reminiscent of a Seinfeld episode. Anyway, they are too cheap to get new cups, so they just put white tape on them.

Meet Hoppy!!

The newest member of our family... Hoppy. Nathan kept wanting to call it Suzy.. but we've done Suzy before.. .Suzy the Butterfly, Suzy the Ant, Suzy the Worm, Suzy the Roly Poly.

Nathan is very adept to catching the frog. The frog resides next to "Boo" the Fish, and "Nasty" the Tick that bit Ross.

Speaking of Ross, these are his pants, he wore to church on Mother's Day. Notice the GINORMOUS hole in them. I am an awful awful mean wife, and upon hearing that he walked around dropping the kids off at Sunday School with this giant hole in the rear of his pants, I laughed and laughed, and then laughed some more. I shouldn't laugh, but it was REALLY funny. The hole is over 9 inches... I have hung these up in the den, so I can look at them and chuckle some more.

Can you feel the winds of change coming? This weekend Ross and I are determined to sit down and figure out our new bedroom furniture. Want a sneak peek of some of the tear sheets we have narrowed our choices down too?

Ooooo, I can NOT wait!!

Monday...

This cute girl... all girl... well except for the fact that she loves dinosaurs and cars. These boys went to the annual "Father & Son's" campout. They had a BLAST!! Nathan brought home a frog. Nathan can't wait to go "camping" again. (They didn't spend the night, just came home aroung 11pm) Ross got bit by a tick, which can't be good.Collapsed after a day of fun!
Bloomingdales just opened here!! I love it! I was invited to the Private Opening, before it opened to the public. I went with my pal Steph, and we had a blast. I went back today for a little shopping, and found this shirt. Nathan was sooo excited about it. He calls it his "skull" shirt. It's awesome and makes him look like a convict with a bad attitude. Perfect to wear while sitting on the time out chair.

And while the boys were at Fathers & Sons camping, I took her out for ice cream with some friends. I totally wish they made this cute dress in my size.

Tagged...

I've been tagged a couple times, and decided to do this... 7 random facts about me...

1. I love strollers. I am always scoping them out at the mall, and I drool over the fabulous ones. I don't know why, I'm totally enamored with them. I had 8 strollers at one time for personal use. I had a stroller import company, and at one point had a garage full of Austrian strollers. I would go out and look at them, every day.

2. I never did anything remotely athletic until the age of 29. Then I discovered endurance sports. Having a hurt knee is just killing me. I've been watching other runners go by while we eat breakfast, and I just want to get out there with them!

3. I love to BBQ.... but I'm not a huge meat eater.

4. I'm totally addicted to www.postsecret.com

5. I'm a medical wonder, and docs admittedly have chatted to their colleagues about my medical history.

6. I cannot stand the sound of ice scraping. It's one of the reasons I won't live in a cold climate.

7. The first year we were married, I could barely cook. We had spaghetti almost every night for a year. Ross never complained, not once.

Spent the afternoon at the pool....

"We spent the afternoon at the pool" sounds so fancy, when really it's nothing more than the biggest roundest plastic pool put in the side yard with a tarp over it (remember my kids are Irish, so it's either in the shade or an all out WWF Smackdown to slather them with sunscreen. ) There's even a lawnchair and sidetable for mom poolside. It's soooo not classy, but so much fun. The kids and Skoopi splash and play in the pool. It's cool, I sip a fancy beverage, soak my feet, read a magazine for an hour, the kids splash, splash, splash. Then everyone collapses at naptime, exhausted!









Speaking of naptime, these kids are starting to play together. Or more like Amanda follows Nathan around. These guys, both who refused to wear clothes over the weekend decided the laundry room is a perfect place to nap & snack.

Also, just a pic of Amanda last week. She kept pointing to herself in the mirror and saying "Pretty".


And a big shout out to Jai, who faithfully reads my blog. Sometimes I wonder if there is anyone out there... if you are reading post a comment!

Oh my.....

I had just committed myself to another endurance competition, when at the gym I felt searing pain in my knee.... Lots of obscenities later and even more tears... I have something wrong with my knee. I can't remember the terms from the doc, because I was sobbing too much. What I did hear was "time... blah blah.. lots of bruising showing an internal injury is bleeding.... blah blah... no running.... knee surgery is usually very successful. "

The bruising is way worse now, and the back of my leg is BLACK!! I should have taken a pic of both legs for comparison, because you just won't get how much this FREAKING HURTS from this wimpy picture! My poor family, I'm just not very patient when in pain.

Nathan's been struggling with his asthma, poor guy. His new favorite film is George Orwell's "Animal Farm". It's a good lesson to learn. I'm sure his preschool will be very pleased when they discuss socialism in their political science unit.

Also, I relented finally. After plain ivory sheets for the first 3 years of his life, I indulged in some Cowboy Sheets. This kid has never been so excited to go to sleep. He told me "I don't want to close my eyes. My sheets are so much fun"

Fun things from the weekend.... seeing our fabulous dear friends Brooke & Tim and their sweet family. Having dinner at Rainforest with the "Ya Ya's & Family" (sans Christina & family....Bob, you were missed dearly) And pics from Ross's fun day at the Aquarium with Nathan.

Good Thoughts Requested...

Just requesting some good thoughts for my mom! Thank YOU!!

Spring!!

It rained for about 12 minutes the other day, we quickly pulled out the rain gear and ran out to play! Nathan loves wearing rain boots.
And Easter!! Ross and Nathan dressed alike in suits and ties! And Amanda wore vintage lace with an Easter Bonnet. It always amazes me that there aren't more little girls in hats. I think Amanda was the only little girl in a hat at Easter Services.
I loved this lacy little dress, she won't be able to pull off this sweet look forever, so I'm cramming as much sweet little baby frills as I can.
And this is Suzy (named by Nathan). We loved watching Suzy turn into a nice plump catepillar, to a cocoon and then emerge as a butterfly. Suzy got a bit restless on Sunday in her butterfly house, so we released her. Nathan was sad to see her go, however since he says Suzy is flying to Grandma's house, he is happy that he will "see her on Thursdays".

Superman has arrived....

I'm not afraid to admit that I looked forward and embraced this stage. Nathan has discovered the Justice League. He likes to fly around, and rescue people. I LOVE it, and happily have indulged the cape wearing out shopping.


Hopefully, this was a one time thing for Amanda. She had a bad cough that just wouldn't quit, so she got to wear Nathan's mask for a few days. She thought it was fun! I am having a blast with Hats for Amanda. This gorgeous dress was a gift from my dear friend Anna, and it is DARLING! And I found a hat to match. Nathan loves to cook with me, and I felt it was time to introduce him to cake batter. He told me he likes the "cake spoon" better than cupcakes.
Here was an impromptu "Surprise" Party for Grandma's Birthday. We basically threw on party hats and blew up balloons in the other room. But Nathan loved it. I secretly think Amanda thinks we are very weird. She's very wise beyond her years, and often looks at us like we are nutty.

Why Hello, you handsome thing!

We have had a 35inch Monster in our 10x12 foot bedroom for years. It was a HUGE 35 inch TV. Wayyyy to big for our teeny bedroom. Ross LOVES this TV. He says it reminds him of Happy Memories. I had nightmares that it would tip and crush the kids or the dogs, it had already destroyed two dressers, because of it's sheer weight. Every night I would stare at it, and say DIE TV DIE! But alas, Ross had bought the Top of the Line TV, and of course it lived on to spite me.
I was making dinner on Saturday night when this LOVELY gorgeous LCD TV was carried in by the men of the house. (Nathan & Ross) I am in Heaven. It can be mounted on the wall. Our dresser gave a sigh of relief when the Monster size TV was removed from the bedroom. People... This is wayyy better than a dozen roses!!

By the way, BIG thanks to our pal Bret who dropped everything to come over and do some heavy lifting!! He's a good friend!

I will say this new fabulous TV does clash a bit with our hodge podge of free furniture.... but that is okay.... for now. ;)

A tribute....

It was two years ago, Ross's Dad lost his battle with ALS. He is dearly missed. Each and every time I prepare a tax return I think of him. I think he would be proud of the path my life has taken.

Terminal Illness is hard. It's tragic. There is no other way I know how to put it. During his illness, photography became my outlet. I was reminded of this today while chatting with my pal Mary. I captured this pic of Ken being a grandpa riding with his grandson on a merry go round.

And here is Ross at our last Tax Appointment with his dad. Ross still has a hard time with me doing our tax return... I know it's just one of the ways he misses his dad.

And this was a dream fulfilled, right around the time of diagnosis, Ross & I were starting the adoption process... our hope was to adopt a child, while Ross's dad could still hold a baby.

There were good things that came out of the experience. I learned a lot about myself, I grew to know and love Ross in a whole different way. I won't forget some very kind actions by my friends Teri, Theresa, Cinnamon, & Laura during a very difficult time.

On a happy happy note, my dear friend Big Pat, welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world!!

This is NOT normal!

Nathan has some funky stomach thing going on. He hasn't been eating much, and check out this GIANT belly!!

So.. I was wrong.. I'm not ancient....

My birthday was fabulous.

We went to Rainforest Cafe with the kids, played poker with some friends. I shopped and bought some fabulous things.

This is Amanda's first ride on the carousel at South Coast Plaza. Nathan insisted I ride too, and sit on the dragon bench.

I'm totally having hair envy. I see all these cute baby girls with long locks and bows. I'm determined to slip a bow in her fuzz by next week.

So.. 30 really is the new 20. I'm a total believer now. I will have to say this week, I was at a doctor's appointment and the doctor said, "Well, the reality is your 30...."And I interrupted with.. Uh.. I'm BARELY 30. Anyway.. those words stung a bit.

So.. it's here.

Ok... deep breath...I can do this..

The big
3-0.

Midnight came while driving back from LA. I put on Black Eyed Peas "Let's Get It Started" because well.. it gets me kind of pumped up when I'm starting out a long run, so why not use it to get pumped up for a long decade.

I couldn't help but be a bit nostalgic on my drive home tonight. I have grown up A LOT in the last ten years. Ross.. has been there for all of it. He has made me want to be a better person, and encouraged me to follow my dreams. He has also given me space when I needed to try things out on my own.... even if it means trying.. and failing at things. Remember.. when I was 23? and thought I was oh so wise... Remember how I was oh sooo foolish?

Ok.. I'm ready..
This decade:
I'm going to be fit & fabulous.
I'm going to be a great mom.
I'm going to be a marvelous wife.
I'm going to figure out life/work balance.
I'm going to be a better friend.
I'm going to kiss someone underneath the Eiffel Tower. (Ross.. you game for that?)
I'm going to own a bed with a headboard that is not propped up on cinderblocks.
I'm going to be wiser than I was at 20.

Ok... deep breath... Let's get this party started.

5 days.. and then I'll be Ancient!

In less than 5 days I'll be 30. Each morning I wake up and look in the mirror and say.... "Really... do I look 30?"

Anyway.. Blogger refused to post these pics yesterday, but I logged in and found them uploaded. So here we are at Prehistoric Pets. It's an amazing pet store specializing in reptiles. They have a giant turtle pond, with Catfish bigger than Amanda. Ross was holding Nathan up to look at a Green Iguana, and it JUMPED at the window, startling everyone! It was hilarious to watch. The turtles cracked me up, and this little guy next to Nathan kept trying to make a break for it, while he thought everyone was distracted with getting worms from Nathan.
http://www.prehistoricpets.com
This is an old pic, but it caught my eye the other day. Here's Ross... but where are the kids. I swear Thomas the Train ropes in the dads more than the kids.
Ross was home for over 3 weeks on hiatus. We were all really bummed when he left for work last week. Here are the kids watching him leave.
Nathan is a freaking genius. No surprise to us. While Ross was home, we all read the newspaper every morning during breakfast. I can't tell you how much it warms my heart to see him reading my favorite publication "The Wall Street Journal"
And on a Final Note... A message to Al Gore:
Look, I've been called a granola girl many times. We eat mostly organic foods, we recycle, I bring my own cloth bags to the store instead of using grocery bags, I'm eagerly waiting for the Honda Pilot Hybrid. But Al, it hasn't hit 60 during the last 3 weeks, and at night it's been in the 30's. This is Southern California. I'm just having a really hard time buying into global warming when my fleecey organic cotton pullover just isn't cutting it for warmth.
P.S. Al, check out how cute my kid looks in her winter gear. Hat compliments of Linda (thank you!) and don't you love the cute Pom Pom on top!

Just a thought...

I stumbled across this postcard that I saved from http://www.postsecret.com

I love that website and have laughed, cried, and sympathized with the senders of the anonymous postcards.

This postcard was a great reminder to let my friends know I love them and they make my life much better. So, thank you for being my friend!

I feel like a Million BUCKS!!

I, Wendy-who-never-has-done-anything-remotely-athletic, completed a half MARATHON TODAY!!! 13.1 miles ran by my little legs!! Not only that I exceeded my goal of completing in under 3 hours. And honestly... I was not very optimistic of completing under 3 hours. But I did it! I don't have my finish line shot yet, so for now... this is what I look like after running 13.1 miles.
My legs ache a bit, but other than that, I feel GREAT! This was such a confidence booster. I am ready to tackle my thirties now.

Some random pictures...

I've been challenged to post a photo a day to my blog by a friend. Sounds fun... and I'm determined to update more often.

More pics of fun ways to cover Amanda's head. Her hair is starting to grow back, and she is doing great! No more treatment!!

Here is Ross and I all dressed up for his company's holiday gathering. It was at Dolce on Melrose in Hollywood. I always enjoy hearing his colleagues talk about working with Ross.

Amanda was not feeling so great on the day this picture was taken. She crawled around the house whining, didn't want to be held, couldn't keep anything down, and just crawled around for a half hour. Finally, she stopped, and this was where I found her!

And here is Amanda with Santa Claus at our Church's Christmas Party. What you don't know from seeing this pic is that I'm in the Foyer holding Nathan on my lap who split his head open... in an unfortunate "just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time" type accident. We are trying decide whether or not to take Nathan to the hospital, and Ross went to grab Amanda who was with our friends and our gear. Ross felt bad that Amanda would have to miss her chance to have her pic with Santa... so he threw Amanda on his lap, snapped the pic, and away we went.

What was I thinking!!?!!!

Tommorrow

is the Big Run!! 13.1 miles. A half marathon.

On Tuesday, I went for my last long run. Add at least 1.75 miles to the pedometer, because I dropped it and it reset itself. So.. I figured almost 11 miles. I stopped because I ran out of time to run, not because I couldn't go any farther. My legs ached that night, and the knees hurt for part of the morning, but other than that, I feel like I'm in the best shape of my life!

This was all part of my plan to feel better about turning the Big 3-0 in a couple weeks. I wanted to be fit and fabulous for my 30's. So... I signed up for the half marathon as a goal, and started officially training last August. I've never been athletic... ever... but this is a new start. Now, I have my eyes set on a Triathlon in December. But training for a tri with two little ones, might be super tough. We will have to see.