internal affairs: RIP

This past weekend we went down to Anaheim for Internal Affairs' last show. Dennis was exhausted from working all night but slept a couple of hours in the car before I dropped him and Matt Bandy off at his practice on Saturday afternoon. I killed time at Target and came back to pick them up. I have to admit, watching all of the guys come out of their last practice made me really sad! I think it hit me all at once that this is the last time Dennis will play music with these guys (most of whom I've known ever since we moved from San Diego.) Admittedly, I am not Internal Affairs' biggest fan. I've been known to bitch and complain every time Dennis had to practice or play a show. The music, let's just say I couldn't relate to it much...they were a straight-edge hardcore band (no further explanation needed.) But Dennis loved everything about being in this band. He loved writing songs, practicing, recording, playing shows (big or small,) and he especially loved touring. And he got to go to some pretty amazing places...places like Australia, Guatemala, Canada, and the East Coast a whole bunch of times. (His band went to Japan & Europe without him...he was bummed.)

The show was at Chain Reaction in Anaheim. It was sold out. There were a TON of people there. I saw a few people I haven't seen since before we moved back when I was pregnant. That was cool. IA played last. When they were setting up I thought it would be a good time to try to find a spot inside where I wouldn't get killed. Dennis was so sweet. I could see him up on stage acting all frantic and asking people if they've seen his wife (it still kills me when he calls me that.) His friend Tru spotted me and Dennis told me to stand up on stage off to the side so I could see. I always felt weird doing this, but literally if I didn't stand on the stage I wouldn't be able to see anything at all. They started playing and crazy me started getting all emotional again. Dennis kept looking over to me and smiling while he was playing. He looked so damn happy. He even took the mic and did a "shout out" (haha I am such a nerd) mentioning how happy he was to have his family's support and how he appreciated me for putting up with a lot through the years... :( (If only those people knew how truly evil I was at times and how resentful I was that he was still even in the band.)

But people grow up and move on. I think IA had a good run. Dennis said they finished on a high note. I guess it's just sad that something he loved so much is ending.

RIP INTERNAL AFFAIRS

toddler bed woes

Tuesday

My sister came over for a visit. I put Olivia to sleep like normal. It was a little harder than usual due to the fact that she wanted to hang out with Aunt Wee, but she got quiet and we assumed she was going to sleep. We were about to head downstairs when I look over and Olivia is just standing next to us in the hallway. I WAS SHOCKED. The rest of that night was an absolute nightmare. At one point, I thought she was asleep and I heard her door moving. I tried to open her door to check on her and found her asleep right next to her door! She got out of her crib and out of her room probably more than 20 times after that. I got about 2 1/2 hours of sleep.

Wednesday

We converted her crib to a toddler bed. It's really more like a three sided crib with two guard rails. She got out of her room twice and woke up for the day at 5:30 a.m. She is so QUIET when she gets out of her room. She doesn't cry or anything and I can barely even hear the doorknob turning. And then when she does get out she just stands in the dark hallway completely quiet (too scared to come out because she knows I'll be mad??) She pretty much scares the crap out of me when she does this. I was too afraid to even go downstairs because I have this fear of her climbing over the stair gate and falling to her death.

Thursday

Night #2 of the toddler bed. She went down ok, cried a little but didn't come out. I assumed it was going great until I heard a weird sound at 11:00 p.m. It sounded like she was playing with the package of her wipes on her changing table. I went in to check and guess what I found??? Olivia was sound asleep on her changing table!! I move her to her bed, she falls back asleep. 3:00 a.m. I hear that damn sound again. She is asleep on the changing table again!! This time she had poop (don't ask me why she went at 3:00 a.m.) so I change her. She wants me to read her a book, I tell her it's still bedtime. She cries a little, goes to sleep and wakes up at 6:00 a.m. Dennis went in to get her and yes, he found her on that piece of crap changing table.

Friday

Night #3 of the toddler bed. I took the changing table out of her room. All that's left is her rocking chair, dresser and bed. She hasn't cried yet. I'm still afraid to go downstairs though. And I'm currently researching motion detectors or door alarms that will let me know when she gets out of her room. If anyone knows a good one, let me know.

This is tons of fun.

Of course Dennis gets to miss this crap.

I miss the crib.

Product Review: Annie's Microwavable Mac & Cheese

I am in love with this stuff! I grabbed it at Trader Joe's the other day. I already loved Annie's regular white cheddar mac & cheese, but this single serving product is even better! It's ready in 3 minutes which is especially convenient for those times when the food cannot be ready fast enough for little Olivia. There is nothing worse than a whiny toddler literally hanging from my pants while I'm busy trying to make her something to eat!

Well, if you busy mommies haven't tried this yet, you should. Olivia loves when I mix in peas or broccoli. And I will be the first to admit that yes, I do eat her leftovers and call it "dinner" from time to time. ;)

Oh and I almost forgot to mention that like most of Annie's products, it is 90% organic and has no added artificial coloring. Cool!

I heart Valentine's Day 2009

I love Valentine's Day. I guess that makes me a super cheesy person, but for some reason when I start seeing all of the heart paraphernalia in stores I get really happy. I think it has to do with my birthday being only 10 days before, it brings back memories of heart-themed birthday parties and when I used to take conversation hearts to all of my classmates at school.

Yesterday, when I opened the door at 7:00 a.m., Dennis was standing there with his arms full of sweet things. He was really excited to give Olivia her Valentine which consisted of a heart full of M&M's (her favorite,) a ladybug balloon and a really cute teddy.

Dennis slept for a good portion of the day, but Olivia and I had fun going to store to pick out some cards for Daddy and eating lunch together. (It's the little things that I enjoy most - I hardly ever get to eat lunch with her.)

Then my parents came over while Olivia was taking her nap to babysit. Dennis took me out to a movie then dinner. It was so nice. Taken is really good, pretty suspenseful. And Giuseppe's never fails to impress. I had a Raspberry Lemon Drop, felt kinda weird at 5:00 p.m. but oh well. The waiter checked my ID which used to be nice but now it's just annoying. I don't look even close to 21.

I hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day! I love you all!

little chef

So it looks like I have one serious little chef on my hands. Olivia loves loves loves her kitchen. She also loves sitting on the kitchen counter while I cook dinner. She also loves to pour cups of water into her kitchen sink and then proceed to spill water everywhere. She also loves to make huge messes and when I tell her to "pick that up" she responds, "No, YOU pick it up." hmmm, things are getting interesting.

Also, something interesting happened this morning. It was approx. 7:00 a.m., Dennis and I were both downstairs. Olivia was awake but just chatting it up with her "guys." I go upstairs, Dennis was right behind me, or so I thought. (I didn't close the gate at the top of the stairs because I thought he was coming right behind me.) Anyway...I go get ready for work and the next thing I hear is Dennis running up the stairs. He busts through the bedroom door and yells, "Did you close the gate?" I said, "Didn't you? You were right behind me?!" He said, "No, I was washing her cup! And I heard something on the stairs and guess who was there?" My heart stopped beating at this point as I realized that my worst nightmare had come true. Not only had Olivia climbed out of her crib but she also made it down the stairs!!! For those of you who really know me, you know how scared I am of her falling out of her crib or down those damn stairs. Well, if I dwell on all of the bad things that could have happened (for example: her falling down the stairs and landing on her head, crushing her skull on the tile, dying instantly) I will go crazy. So I'm letting it go. What's crazy to me though is how stealth-like she was...climbing out of the crib not even making a peep the whole time. Sneaky little Livi.

Looks like the toddler bed is in our very near future.

Livi's Yo Gabba Gabba 2nd B-Day Party!!

We FINALLY had Olivia's 2nd birthday party on Saturday! It was so much fun. Olivia had a blast. I'm pretty sure her favorite part was the cupcakes. She had about 3 of them before she even blew out her candles. Thank you to everyone who could make it to the rescheduled party!

Trying to decide which one to eat first!

We made these "Muno balls" for the kids to unwrap while Olivia opened presents. We wrapped a thing of play-doh in the middle and added a few other super cheesy surprises in there too. (I got this idea from another mom on gabbafriends.com!) Pretty cool!

She is OBSESSED with thie fruit/veggie cutting set from the Rittenhouses. She can just sit and cup up veggies for days!

Another year has passed, another party down...our baby is becoming a little girl right in front of our eyes. Happy 2nd birthday Livi!

27

Today I turned 27. It feels really weird to say it outloud. I can honestly say that this is the first time in my life that my age doesn't make sense to me. It might seem strange, but I don't feel 27!

I didn't really think about my birthday this year. I've been pretty busy with other things. But my birthday turned out to very nice. I got to spend it with friends (last night) and family (today) and work wasn't even that bad. I even got cupcakes! :) Thank you to everyone for all of the birthday wishes and gifts. It really means a lot to me to have such thoughtful people in my life.

Instead of being negative about getting another year older (those thoughts have already crossed my mind) I am going to try to think positive. I might be 27 (yikes!) but I still feel young, I have my health, amazing friends, a silly husband, a darling daughter and an amazing family. So I guess getting older isn't really all that bad. Now if only these pesky gray hairs would go away, life would be perfect!