Voyages in Parenthood

What a whirlwind we have been on since last Thursday! Brock and I attended the Jimmy Buffett concert in NYC on Thursday night. We headed up early in the day to make sure we got there and missed all the traffic! Got into the city around 3pm, parked the car and went directly to Molly Wee's tavern (real convenient, a half block from where we parked the car!). We had a few beers and a little light lunch and headed out to walk around the city for a little bit before we met Bob and Linda at Todai for Dinner. We did end up at Brother Jimmy's BBQ for a Land Shark beer - we had been told that Brother Jimmy's would be the place for Parrotheads and believe me, from the sea of Hawaiian shirts we saw when we walked in, we were told right! We had a beer and chatted with one of the bouncers before we headed off to Todai for dinner. Now, I've heard of Todai at least once (or maybe every other) a month since I met Brock. Todai is a Japanese buffet style restaurant that Brock and Bobby (...

There is something all-inspiring about 17,000 people dancing with their arms above their heads, hands clasp, looking like sharks. The first time I saw it happen, I was so amazed, I forgot to join in! Now, I join in, but I am still amazed! We attended the Jimmy Buffett Concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City last night. My first concert ever at MSG (considering I live in Philly area, this is not as amazing as it might sound!). We had an awesome time! More on that later, the Marsons (Abby and Sami - Leda's cousins) are in town for the weekend so it's pretty crazy around here! Lots to update starting with all we did in NYC on Thursday afternoon and evening and ending sometime on Sunday or Monday, after the Marsons take leave. Check back soon!

Nine years ago today, Leda's Daddy married her Mommy in the backyard under the old sycamore tree with lots of family and friends who came to witness. It was a sunny and warm September day. Happy Anniversary, honey. I love you! UPDATED : Oh, and Avast! Happy Talk Like A Pirate Day! Arrr!!

This will be a pretty quick post, due to the fact I have a headache that has plans to hit the Big Time if I don't get myself to bed and relax. Saturday morning we all woke up and, after the obligatory last photo of Leda in her crib, we immediately began to disassemble the crib. Leda was a little concerned that we were taking her bed away, but as soon as Brock started to bring the pieces of her new bed into the room so we could put it together, she got over it. Three hours later, TA DA! Big Girl Bed! The dolphin quilt behind her is from her crib bedding set - we obviously never used it and I never had a place I could put it until now! Works perfectly and goes wonderfully with the bed and canopy! So far, so good. She napped in her bed just fine on Saturday and after we spent the evening with the Durhams, she was so tired by the time we got her home, she was asleep before I left the room! Today, she napped fine (after a few minutes of playing in her bed) and she seems to be asleep now...

Okay, I am officially sad. Leda is sleeping in her crib for the last time tonight. Big Girl Bed will be built tomorrow and crib will be dismantled. After tonight, she won't be a baby anymore (except for the binky). However, she will ALWAYS be my baby! Wonder how many sleepless nights are in our very near future! ;-)

I have recently come to the realization that I am stuck on reality. Yes, I admit it, I watch reality TV shows. Now, I can honestly say I haven't voted for anything on any reality show other than Dancing with the Stars (and only the last season with Apolo on it!) However, I do love to pick and choose my favorites, and when anyone I wanted to get voted off gets voted off, I sometimes cheer loudly! I discovered So You Think You Can Dance this summer and I really had fun watching that show! I never voted for anyone on the show, but I was sure rooting for Sabra and am so happy she won! This is probably the only show other than Dancing with the Stars with Apolo on it that I would almost seriously consider calling in a vote. But I didn't! I LOVE Survivor. I only watched the last show of the first season, but have watched pretty much every season since. It's not something I schedule my life around, but I love to watch it. There is something seriously deranged about shows where peop...

I can add two states to my list of states visited (or driven through) - Vermont and New Hampshire (if I'd ever been to either one, I don't remember it at all, so I count this weekend as the first times I've been in either state!) We left immediately after work on Friday and drove to Deerfield, Massachusetts to spend the night. We got there around 10:30pm and Leda had slept maybe an hour before we got there. So she was WIDE awake. We got into our hotel room and got ready for bed and decided to watch a little news (since Leda wasn't quite ready to go back to sleep). We probably turned off the TV at 11:30pm, but there was no sleeping until about 1am, when Leda finally stopped poking and prodding me and Brock to keep us awake! Of course, then, Duff decided he wasn't going to sleep pretty much the whole night, so he trotted around the room, with his collar tink-tink-tinking all through the night. Oh, and then the whining started around 4:30 or so! The dog, not the kid! W...

...(and a day or so)... until Leda is in a big girl bed. Ikea finally (FINALLY) had the bed we wanted for Leda in stock as of yesterday and so we trundled on down to the store to pick it up along with the canopy and mattress. Since we will be heading off to New Hampshire this weekend, it will be next weekend before I will be able to put it together, take down her crib and get her bedroom all reconfigured with the new bed. Leda's excited. She loves the bed (the set up they had in the store tonight had the bed as a bunk bed and Leda climbed right on up and loved it. Of course, she won't have it as a bunk bed yet, but it's nice to know she likes it that way as well!) I'm excited. Leda's been playing in her room a lot more now an likes to play in her crib (which she can climb in and out of when the side is down). This gives me heart attacks everytime I see her in and/or climbing in or out of the crib. I figure when we have the big girl bed in there, I won't have to ...

This is what I received in the mail today.... Yes, that would be TEN (10) catalogs! Yes, I said TEN! Okay, so I usually get a lot of catalogs - I have in the past purchased from many catalogs (mostly their online stores). But to receive 10 catalogs in one day, now that's gotta be a record!

Why is it that Labor Day is the end of Summer? Isn't the end of Summer on September 23rd? I always feel as though we are being rushed into Fall on the day after Labor Day. Not that I have a problem with Fall. I love Fall - one of my favorite seasons (I tend to like Fall and Spring more than I like Winter and Summer). I just don't want to be rushed into it. Anyway, school's back in session (not that it effects us all that much yet) and the traffic outside the house has picked up during the morning and afternoon hours and the weather has a nice coolness to it that is usually lacking during the Summer months. A leaf or two have begun to change on the trees outside my office window. I may have put away my "baving soup*" for the last time yesterday (*what Leda calls a bathing suit). We had a nice holiday weekend at home. On Friday night we had the Flogaus's join us for dinner. Dave and Annie and Brock and I had some nice adult conversation while Leda and Danny play...