Christmas Countdown: Day 25

Santa is here!

And Uncle Brother is on his way! He and Santa are neighbors, you know. Too bad Santa didn't have room on his sleigh so my brother wouldn't have to travel 12 hours to come visit us. Good Brother! I also got a great gift - Eliza slept until 6:30 am!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Love, Peace and Good Health,
Sarah

Christmas Countdown: Day 24

Twas the night before Christmas.

Thanks to antibiotics (and my Dad's prayer warriors) I am up and about, showered, clean and not contagious. I am ready to feast on manicotti with Cap's family for their traditional Christmas Eve meal. Today, Addie and I dropped off a toy at Pier 1 for their Toys for Tots drive. Then she and Cap made chocolate chip cookies for Santa while Eliza and I rested up for the big night. I hope Santa is hungry because the cookies are bigger than the plate!

We are also getting the house ready for Christmas dinner where we will be hosting 12 family members including my Brother who is flying in on Christmas day from Alaska.

I can't wait for tomorrow!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Countdown: Day 23

S'mores (with a twist) by the fire.

We have had our few fires this season in our own fireplace. Addie wanted to make s'mores but we didn't have any chocolate. I thought about raiding her Advent calendar but then Cap came up with a new and even more festive idea - Peppermint Bark - which I bought at Trader Joes. Soooooooo good. Addie loved roasting the marshmallows but in the end gave them to us and only ate a plain marshmallow out of the bag. She's that way with desserts. She thinks she likes them but when it comes down to eating them, she enjoys the process more then the result. Loves making jello, pudding, cinammon rolls, cupcakes and cake but won't really eat them - except the frosting. She does love frosting.

I also decided that I haven't heard enough Christmas music - maybe because I shop online more than in malls, but tonight I had Cap download the Mormon Tabernacle Choir which I listened to growing up and then David Bowie and Bing Crosby singing "Little Drummer Boy" together which I remembered being a lot cooler than it is.

The antibiotics kicked in and I'm beginning to feel much better. I imagine I'll be able to actually eat Christmas Eve dinner. Hurrah!

Christmas Countdown: Day 22

We're taking it easy today. I have strep and poor Cap had to cancel a business trip to SF to stay home and take care of all of us. While I rest, take antibiotics and eat ice cream, Addie and Cap are munching on popcorn and watching movies followed by some Christmas books. The doctor said I'd be feeling better by tomorrow afternoon. I pray she is right because my throat hurts and I want my Mommy! I wish I could get an epidural for my tonsils.

Christmas Countdown: Day 21

Christmas Crafts

Addie could spend all day doing art projects. By noon she had glittered two birds and a dinosaur, drew this awesome snowman, and decorated an orange with cloves. Earlier, I had made this little glittered woodland scene and made a tree from an old issue of Glamour magazine. Addie also made this cute play-dough hand at school which now hangs on our tree. Aren't we a crafty family?

She's off from school and I had big plans that have been thwarted by an evil sore throat. I was feeling lousy but around noon I texted Cap to come home and rescue me. Ugh. I am a wimpy sick person.

Christmas Countdown: Day 20

Sand angels!

Yes, it's flip flop weather again in LA which lead us to a playground at the beach. Addie also wrote her name in the sand. I'm impressed! Little A, Big D, Big D . . .

Christmas Countdown: Day 19

After we came home from a Christmas party down the street, we surprised Addie with a little silver tree all her own in her room. For some reason, she immediately removed it but was willing to be photographed with the tree making silly faces in the hallway. Oh, and that silver "dress" is really my shirt which she insisted on wearing to the party.

I left a little early to take Eliza home, but Cap and Addie stayed for the White Elephant gift exchange. Cap came back with the prize gift - a snuggie. I know. You are jealous. Addie said, "when I grow up, I can fit into a snuggie." It's everyone's dream really. Here Addie and I are snuggled up together as Snuggie Monster. Beware!

Christmas Countdown: Day 18

Addie's Holiday Recital at school.

Cap picked Eliza and I up to go to Addie's first school recital. We thought we were arriving 10 minutes early only to discover that we were 20 minutes late and missed the entire singing performance with her class. I felt awful. Horrible. Like the worst Mom ever. We did catch her dancing and thankfully the music was loud enough that it drowned out my sobbing through the entire video. I know there will be other school recitals but this was her first and that can't be replaced. The good news is that she didn't notice. If she had been at all disappointed you would have had to scrap my heart off the floor and give me a Valium.

There was a small party afterwards and then Addie handed out her hand-glittered bird ornaments to her teachers. Addie helped glitter the wings and was really excellent at it. If we had more time, she probably could have done more but I ended up finishing them up yesterday during the day in time to get them to her teachers on the last day of school. Addie is off until January 4 when Eliza will also start daycare and I'll return to work. My maternity leave is unofficially over and vacation has started. No more Entourage, Big Love or Weeds. Goodbye Martha Stewart, Ellen and Little People, Big World. I'll miss you.

Christmas Countdown: Day 17

Cap's office holiday party at the Pacific Design Center

babysitter
2 vodka tonics
no nursing bra
high heels
and a
photobooth

Christmas Countdown: Day 16

Our Christmas cards arrived yesterday so I'm diligently addressing 70 cards by hand in an attempt to get them in the mail on Friday. Sometimes I can be quite the traditionalist preferring handwritten addresses, but next year I might research cute label alternatives. I gave up writing individual messages on each card when we had kids and I could get away with a photograph instead. A picture is worth a thousand words, right? I'm sure all 70 people are diligently reading the blog year round anyway. Oh, wouldn't I be flattered if that was the case!

Christmas Countdown: Day 15

I surprised Addie with a gingerbread boy pb&j sandwich in her school lunch today. When I asked her if she like it, she said "I did! It went down into my tummy."

Christmas Countdown: Day 14

Girls' Night Out Ornament Exchange!

This is a tradition in its third year. Instead of buying each other gifts, my friends Jamie, Jeannine and I exchange ornaments over dinner and drinks. I love seeing our ornament collection grow remembering and reflecting over our friendship these past years. We are all three lucky enough to have beautiful kids with the oldest kids born within a few months of each other. This year, as part of my Very Glitter Christmas, I made these bird ornaments. II bought the birds from Michael's and then painted each color section with glue and then powdered them with glitter. Super fun (and sparkly)!

Hurrah for Girls' Night Out! Hurrah for Friends! Hurrah for Glitter! Hurrah for Christmas!

Christmas Countdown: Day 13

Gingerbread House Decorating Party!

Addie's friends Rya, Lyla and Clyde and their parents came over to decorate gingerbread houses. I discovered these pre-built ones at Target that come ready to decorate which is great because decorating is the fun part! I think we'll make this an annual tradition - plus the parents can decorate too, play Guitar Hero, watch football and have a beer or two. Check out more photos from our gingerbread party here.

Happy 3 Months Miss Eliza!

Look who is three months old already?! If this was Addie, I would be heading back to work already. I'm lucky this time that I won't be going back until January 4 and will have the holidays to spend at home. I'm also thankful that Addie loves her school and that I could selfishly have my days alone with Eliza and I, just like I got to have with Addie when she was a newborn.



I love that when Eliza wakes up from a nap and sees my face, she breaks into a huge smile. She loves to chat and as of this week, can roll over! I couldn't believe it although Addie achieved that milestone around the same time. Cap came into the bedroom Monday morning to tell me that Eliza rolled over. I thought he meant in her bassinet while she was sleeping, and I freaked out that she was going to suffocate. No, she rolled over on her play mat. There she was on her back and then Cap turned around and then she was on her tummy. I spent the next 4 days watching and waiting to see if she'd do it again. I was rewarded on Thursday when I caught this video. This was the first time I had seen her roll over. I don't know how to edit video yet so the first 2.5 minutes are her gearing up for the roll. You can see her technique. Raise the sail. Capsize. Then flip.

And how cute are Eliza and Cap together. Daddy's girl.

Christmas Countdown: Day 12

Colored lights.

I remember when I thought anything but white lights was capital T Tacky. Now I say, bring it on!

Christmas Countdown: Day 11

What? No star on the top of our tree? Addie pointed to a picture of a Christmas tree and said, "See! You have to do it like this!" So, we found this star at the Pottery Barn Outlet which was originally silver. Addie wanted a pink and yellow start but fearing that it would look like an easter ornament I persuaded her to choose just one color. And pink it was. Addie and I glittered this star together. It was fun to have some time with just Addie which is rare for me these days. She loved the project and was actually pretty good about not getting glitter everywhere. After it dried, Cap helped Addie place it on the tree. I guess the star was so bright Addie had to wear shades.



Happy Birthday Papa Mit! Addie has a surprise glitter present she made just for you!

Christmas Countdown: Day 10

The front door wreath revised.

Glitter, Baby! Sure, I think the bow could be bigger (made do with what I had in the house) and a few larger butterflies would be a nice touch, but don't make me go back to Michael's during the holidays. Boy or boy was it fun glittering those butterflies though! I treated myself to Martha Stewart's 24 pack of assorted micro-glitter. Gorgeous. Watch out because I'm getting my glitter on this Christmas. Stay tuned for more glitter projects. This was just the first.

Christmas Countdown: Day 9

A nice mug of hot chocolate.

Addie was excited for the treat but after a few slurps with a spoon quickly lost interest. Oh well.

Christmas Countdown: Day 8

5 poinsettias all in a row.

Cap said it felt like a suburban mall, but I like poinsettias. I'm sure Martha Stewart would be horrified that I left the foil wrappers on but they are somewhat hidden by the back of our couch. Last year I bought two red ones one of which was transplanted and is still thriving in our front yard although its leaves are green now, not red. This year I chose these gorgeous cream and pink ones.

Christmas Countdown: Day 7

The Stocking Dilemma

For Addie's first Christmas, I had this cute polar bear stocking from Garnet Hill monogrammed with her name. My Mom also bought us these three gorgeous wool felt stockings by designer Ahna Holder the same year. Now that we have a fourth in our family, I wanted to get Eliza a matching stocking from Garnet Hill only to learn that they don't carry that style anymore. Okay, so maybe I'll get a fourth felt stocking instead. Guess what, the store where my Mom bought them doesn't carry them. I googled her and she stopped designing stockings in 2008 and now has a modern shed company. If I wanted a shed I'd be in luck!

I wouldn't mind an eclectic collection I suppose but 3 of the same, and 1 different is just messy and it pretty much annoys me that Addie's polar bear stocking faces the opposite direction from the others. At least we have a total of 4 stockings for Santa this year, but it just doesn't sit right with me.

Christmas Countdown: Day 6

Photo with Santa! (not pictured)

Since we might actually use the photo for our holiday card, I won't reveal it here. Instead you can see what happened when I tried to take a holiday photo of the girls together on my own. Shameful. Frightful. Yet, a little delightful.

Last year we stumbled upon a wonderful Santa with a real beard on the way back from wine tasting in Temecula. Lured by the Pottery Barn at the Lake Elsinore Factory Outlets, we stopped off and found Santa in a unleased store with only one other family in line. This year we thought it might be just a tad crazy to drive 75 miles back to avoid lines but we did it anyway. Call it holiday dementia. Our 2008 Santa photo was great so why jinx it. Plus, there was the Pottery Barn Outlet.

Christmas Countdown: Day 5

8 foot Noble Fir, baby!

Addie insisted she wanted a medium sized tree so we had to tell her that this was medium sized. Sure, it was the tallest at this particular location but compared to say, the tree at Rockefeller Plaza or even The Grove here in Los Angeles it pales in comparison. While Cap was selecting our tree, Addie (dressed as Sleeping Beauty, or as she says Sleeping Doody) swept up the pine needles. She had found some on our hall rug earlier in the day from our wreath and exclaimed, "I think we don't want this in our house. It's messy!"

Happy Feet

Addie gets her groove on to the sounds of a New York subway musician.

She's got rhythm!

Christmas Countdown: Day 4

I hung this delicious smelling eucalyptus wreath on the inside of our front door. I love that our front door is festive whether you are coming or going.

I'm working on personalizing the evergreen wreath so stay tuned!

Christmas Countdown: Day 3

Three nutcrackers standing guard.

These little guys are new to our holiday decorations as an impulse purchase when getting our parking ticket validated at Cost Plus. Addie adores them and promises not to break them, she said. I think we'll wait until next year though before taking her to see the Nutcracker ballet - a tradition my family did every year when I was young and we lived in New York.

Christmas Countdown: Day 2

I bought this generic wreath for our front door from Trader Joe's. Any ideas on how to spruce (ha!) it up a bit?

And Happy Birthday Gran!

Christmas Countdown: Day 1

Well, count up I guess.

Here is our advent calendar that I bought last year on super sale at TJ Maxx Home Goods - one of my favorite stores! This year it's filled with chocolate treats - kisses, santas and pennies. Addie is already super excited for Christmas (as am I) and she was singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" in the car as we drove home from school last night.

First Haircut

Before you think this post must be from the 2007 archives, let me clarify. Today Addie had her first professional haircut. Addie's hair is very forgiving because of it's curl, so I have been cutting her hair myself. We are growing her hair and bangs out and it has been so long since it was cut that my Cinderella was looking less like a princess and more like her broom. Time to bring in the professionals! Addie took the whole thing very seriously. She didn't fidget or even blink.

Afterwards I somehow convinced Cap to go the McDonald's Drive-thru for sundaes as a treat and, guess what, they were out of ice cream and we had to wait in the entire line to get out because there was someone behind us. Lame. That is definitely going to be the last time Cap ever gets near a McDonald's. We ended up at Baskin-Robbins instead where they ran out napkins (what is going on?!) but Addie got rainbow ice cream and a scrap of paper towel. (Okay, and I got a scoop of chocolate truffle in a sugar cone.)

Before the Big Haircut of 2009, we all went hiking at Will Rogers State Park. Poor Cap had to carry both girls at once even. Check out a few photos here .

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving All! I certainly have a lot to be thankful for - a wonderful husband, two beautiful girls and all my wonderful friends and family both here and all over the country.

We hosted a delicious and rambunctious dinner with our friends and their kids from Chudleyvision along with Papa Mit and Grandma Vede. The turkey took almost twice as long to cook as anticipated and Addie tackled 95-year old Grandma Vede to the floor in a giant farewell hug. Nonetheless, dinner was mmm-mmm good and thankfully no harm came to Vede.

Before dinner, we took advantage of a gloriously clear and sunny day to walk along the Venice boardwalk. We got ice cream and then Addie took off with Cap in hot pursuit for the sandy beach while Eliza and I chilled on the boardwalk giving me a chance to call family and wish them a Happy Thankgiving.

And this is my 400th post! Thanks for reading; I certainly enjoy sharing!

The Big Apple

We are back from an awesome 5 nights in New York City. I survived being a solo parent mainly because I didn't have to be as much as I thought. Addie and Eliza were both pretty darn wonderful (most of the time). We kept the girls on LA time which meant I wasn't motivating us out of the hotel any earlier than before 10:30 or 11 am. Cap was often able to meet up with us in the afternoons, I met up with a friend and her daughter for breakfast Thursday and then my sister took a half day on Friday. I must say that I was rather proud of myself for taking the girls on the subway by myself though.

With Eliza strapped to my chest and Addie in a stroller, I opted not to lug my heavy camera around. Unfortunately this meant we have very few photos except a few lousy ones I took with my iphone and then some from the weekend when there was a 3:2 adult to kid ratio.

If you haven't been to Brooklyn you must go. I'm very proud to have lived there for 6 years and it was great going back to our old neighborhood and seeing how much has changed and how much has stayed the same. It appears that our old loft which used to be a sewing factory is undergoing renovation and finally getting re-zoned from commercial to residential. I had an amazing time, but you won't see me packing up and leaving LA for the Big Apple anytime soon. I love having an apartment big enough to fit a King sized bed too much to move back. Nonetheless, I want to make an annual sojourn to NYC instead of every 6 years as this was good for my soul.

Here are a few highlights from our adventures in the Big Apple:

Remembering living in New York with Cap when it was just the two of us

Spending time with my sister

Walking around the streets of New York City

French toast with friends in the East Village
Watching Addie play on the big floor piano at FAO Schwarz
Autumn leaves in Central Park
A baby snow monkey at the Central Park Zoo
Eliza sleeping, Addie eating, and Mama drinking (a pomogranite margarita) at Rosa Mexicano
Taking the subway by myself with both girls
Red silk panda slippers at Pearl River Mart in SoHo.
Buying $3 "I Heart NY" t- shirts for the girls from a street vendor
Walking the Highline
Patsy's Pizza with friends
Addie playing at the Children's Museum
Drinking NY tap water
The best lobster roll EVER at the Brooklyn Flea in DUMBO
Greasy diner breakfast in Midtown with a friend and her 6 month old daughter
Drinking Brooklyn Beer
Trout salad at the new and fabulous Sel de Mer in our old but transformed street in Williamsburg
Gelatto at the Italian corner shop that Cap and I used to frequent and seeing that nothing has changed

Getting vertigo at the New Museum viewing deck

Eliza rockin' it in the Baby Bjorn for hours and hours

Checking out my sisters new hood - Ditmas Park - in Brooklyn

Eating a bagel with cream cheese so thick it left teeth marks

Addie dancing to a subway musician

Seeing Addie go ga-ga over her new BFF Auntie Jennifer

Disappointments:
The biggest disappointment had to be NYC cupcakes. We had 3 cupcakes from 3 different places and all got the thumbs down. Two of the three actually ended up in the trash - even Addie wouldn't eat them.

Phew! Hiccups with a silver lining:

Realizing I left the front door to our house wide open when we left. Thankfully I remembered before our taxi went more than a block down our street.

Leaving my cell phone in the bathroom at LAX and finding it thank goodness! Cap said he has never seen me run so fast.

Missing our flight back home and then finding out once we are on the plane that the ticketing agent sat all three of us in different rows. Who would seat a 3 year old by themselves?! Thanks to a few kind passengers and some creative rearranging, we all sat together and got home safely.

Thinking I lost my brand new prescription sunglasses, calling the hotel and even the diner where we ate breakfast to see if they had them. I found them today in the back of the stroller where they somehow didn't fall out when we checked it at the gate.

I HEART NY!

While We're Away

We are all heading off to New York City today for 5 nights in the Big Apple. I haven't been in over 5 years which is just embarrassing. I made it a goal of my maternity leave to take this trip but wish me luck because Cap is on a different flight out and will have to work for 3 days making me solo parent with both girls until the weekend. Quite honestly, I'm terrified. After having a mini-hysterical breakdown on a test-run to the aquarium, I almost canceled the trip. I'm readjusting my expectations now and am considering getting "Patience" tattooed on my forearm. Pray for me.

While we are gone, enjoy these videos of the girls.

Addie sings "Is There a Ghost" by Band of Horses. I love this song and I love it more when Addie sings along to it. We saw them open for The Decemberists at the Hollywood Bowl in 2007. Perhaps this will launch her career as a child-star.

Here I interviewed Addie on Halloween about her favorite things. Watch it to find out why Numbers is her best friend.


This video is just a few moments of little Eliza so I can remember what she was like at this age (7 weeks in this video). Remember how snuffly little babies are!

Parent-Teacher Conference

I had my first ever Parent-Teacher Conference which made me feel very Mom-like. The first thing Miss Amy said was that Adelaide (they call her by her full name at school) was very bright and intelligent. I knew I liked Miss Amy! She said that before she knew that Addie was going to be in her class this Fall, she saw her playing outside during the summer program and hoped that she'd get Addie in her class.

At Addie's Montessori school, they call their activities "work" since they believe that work is a positive activity that kids learn to enjoy and take pride in for their entire lives. She said Addie loves to work and often makes up her own activities, something that usually the four year olds do. Of course, this could also mean that Addie doesn't like to to be told what to do which is something else Miss Amy mentioned. She also said that Addie enjoys math (I had no idea!), was learning her letters (both the sounds they make and the writing of them), loves art and painting (no surprise here), has an affinity for caterpillars (again, no surprise), doesn't nap at school (didn't know this either!) and has an amazing sense of concentration. Addie can concentrate on her work so intensely that they often have a hard time getting her to move on to another activity - like eating lunch. This is one of the reasons we thought Montessori was a good fit for her since they believe in letting the children choose their work and then spend as much time on it as they want until the kids master the task.

I was also glad that Miss Amy demystified a few of the tools they use to teach math and reading so I can help Addie at home using their same method. I also wanted to be able to ask Addie more specific questions about her day other than "What did you do today?" which I think is too broad and often times she just answers the last thing she did. Other than their regular curriculum, we also signed Addie up for dance class on Thursdays and Mad Science program on Fridays. On Saturdays outside of school, she is taking private swim lessons. Busy girl!

I'm oh so happy that Addie is at this school and is really enjoying and thriving in the environment. As my Dad said, public school is gonna be a rough transition for her later on.

2 Months Old Today

You are my

delicious

dreamy

ooey

gooey

sparkle-eyed

sweet-lipped

chubby-cheeked

dimpled

super smiley

sometimes screamy

always adorable

absolutely gorgeous

little baby girl.

Happy 2 Month Birthday Eliza Wren!

Adelaide Shoes and Things that Sparkle

Wouldn't you know that what are obviously Dorothy shoes, are actually named Adelaide at Target. Adelaide loves her Adelaide shoes so much that she wanted to wear them to bed and of course had to wear them to school the next day along with her "twirly" dress. Now all of her dresses have to twirl and spin otherwise she'll refuse to wear them. In addition to sparkly shoes, Addie is on a steady diet of "sparkly water." She insists on bubbly water before bed and is keeping Perrier and San Pelegrino in business. Spoiled? I think so.