Cat vs. Baby

Last night while we were playing on the ground with toys, my kitty Aimee attacked Zoey! In that cat's defense I think she was just trying to play with the edge of the blanket, but sure enough she reached out and clawed Zoey's head and even drew blood! Zoey suddenly stopped moving, her face turned bright red and she went silent for a few seconds, and then out came a high pitched scream. Poor baby! Needless to say we now have to be extra mindful of our cats during playtime, and we must be more vigilant about trimming our kitties claws on a regular basis. I told Aimee to just wait until Zoey is mobile and can grab tails.....she will get her revenge soon enough!

So speaking of cats vs babies, check out this video. : )

Life through my daughter's eyes

I'm beginning to realize that one of the most exciting aspects of parenthood is the ability to re-live my own childhood through my daughter's eyes. I get to help recreate all of the amazing, fun-filled, and exciting memories that my parents created for me, but I also get to shape new experiences for Zoey that I hope she'll look back on one day with happiness and joy.

But I also must be careful not to pigeon-hole Zoey as being one type of kid, or limit the types of activities, experiences and adventures that she gets to explore. For example, I was both a tom-boy and a girl-girly at the same time, if that's possible?! I loved to climb trees, get dirty, build block towers, jump in piles of leaves, collect rocks, and run barefoot through the yard. But I also loved to play with my barbies, dress up dolls, put on makeup, and play house with my sister. I would love for Zoey to be like this too, but I'm sure she'll show us soon enough what toys and activities she likes and prefers.

But one thing is for sure, I really want Zoey to fall in love with Disney movies as much as I do. It's ok if she doesn't become a girl-girl dressed in pink frilly dresses who asks me for a "Princess" themed birthday party, but like it or not I am definitely going to expose her to the wonders of the Disney heroins early on. And to start with, I recently bought her the "Disney Princess Ultimate Song Collection" CD - yay! I played this CD last night during her bedtime routine as I sung her lullabies from my favorite movies, i.e. The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Pocahontas, etc. Maybe one day we'll even get to sing these songs together. : )

Happy President's Day!

...from Zoey, David and I! xoxo

Happy Hallmark Holiday!

Valentine's Day was actually pretty fun and exciting as a kid - exchanging character cards with classmates that were put into homemade mailboxes, making sure to give that "special one" to my current crush, eating boxes of conversation hearts even though they never really tasted that good, and simply feeling special, loved, and entertained by silly little cards in white envelopes covered with heart stickers.

As a angsty teenager and young adult, the holiday was painful. Being lonely and single was only thrown back in my face and I felt great resentment towards young couples around me who shared silly gifts of flowers, candies, and cheesy stuffed animals. And then there was the Valentine's day in 1999 where my boyfriend at the time decided to break up with me that night after a seemingly nice date....what a jerk!

Early on in our relationship David and I willingly engaged in the whole V-day thing, i.e exchanging cards and gifts, going out to dinner at nice romantic restaurants, and celebrating in the obligatory sort of way. But then somewhere along the way we realized that truly loving someone is a 356 day per year journey, not something that happens out of obligation every year on February 14th with roses, chocolate and other silly presents. And now that we've been together going on 11 years, and especially since we don't really have either the time nor the money to spare right now with an infant in our lives, we both just decided to share in the simplest of all Valentine's celebrations...a hug and a kiss and time together eating yummy food. So tonight we splurged and ordered Chinese food from East Ocean, opened a bottle of sparkling wine, and watched a movie.....living it up!

In summary, I honestly believe that this holiday was a creation of Hallmark, See's Candy, Hershey, and your local florist conspiring together to make a profit. And if you really love somebody, you shouldn't have to show it one day of the year by giving over-the-top gifts and going out on fancy dates. But since February 14th will always come once per year, I won't refuse the reminder to kiss and hug my hubby and be thankful for the love that fills my life. xoxo!

Bath Time!

When Zoey was a newborn she was NOT a fan of the bathtub. She would scream and cry and get all red in the face with anger/confusion/discomfort. But now that she's graduated to infant status she actually enjoys her baths! She splashes around and kicks her legs with excitement like a rambunctious little fish...it's adorable...and messy! But unfortunately the part that she now dislikes is getting OUT of the bathtub! On most occasions when I pull her out of her baby tub she starts crying and fussing because I think she wants to stay in the warm water! I look forward to taking baths together with Z when she's older and can sit-up on her own. Splish Splash! Oh, and in honor of my favorite bath time song that I sing to Zoey, here's a little Sesame Street entertainment for you!

Zoey is 4 months old today!

Look at how much she has grown and changed sine she was born on Oct. 9th!!

Got Bacon......envelopes???!!

Yes people, this product actually exists - bacon flavored envelopes! I saw these 'MMMvelopes' featured in the Hungry Girl newsletter today and I was quite shocked and intrigued by this interesting invention. The manufacturer of this bacon-inspired mailer is J&D's, who's slogan is none other than, "Everything should taste like bacon!".

They go on to explain their product with the following description:
"Technology has given us a lot lately. The car. TV. X-rays. The refrigerator. The Internet. Heck, we even cured polio. But what have our envelopes tasted like for the last 4,000 years? Armpit, that’s what.

Really, people? If we can’t overcome this kind of minor technical challenge, it’s only a matter of time until some super-advanced race of aliens with lasers, spaceships and a delicious federal mail system comes down and colonizes the world. And nobody wants that (except for the aliens, of course).

So, after thousands of years and kajillions of horrible tasting envelopes licked, we’re happy to report that J&D’s Bacon-Flavored MMMvelopes™ are here to save the day. No longer will envelopes taste like the underside of your car. You can enjoy the taste of delicious bacon instead.

That’s right, bacon. It’s not real bacon, mind you, so you won’t have to start storing your envelopes in the refrigerator. But it really does taste like bacon. Which is what you really wanted in the first place, isn’t it? And it only took us 4,000 years to get there. Eat that, alien invaders."


**Now I admit that I LOVE bacon - yes, it is quite a tasty and amazing food. But somehow the idea of licking a bacon-flavored envelope just seems plain WRONG. How about starting with something more universal such as cherry or grape flavored envelopes? And for some icing on the cake, J&D's also offers bacon-flavored popcorn...ha! Hmm.....gotta love America. : )