DC Cooking Expo

Now that I have my computer working again, and a few minutes to spare while my meringues are cooking, I wanted to talk about the most awesome birthday present I got this year. Chris got us tickets to go see Paula Deen at the Washington Cooking and Entertaining Expo a few weeks ago. I love me some Paula. And what a creative gift!

Right when we got there, we ran into the Deen boys! I yelled out their name and got Bobby to pose with me (Jamie was on his cell and they were running off to something they were late for).



We entered the expo and it was enormous. Crowds of people everywhere, so we formulated a game plan and started visiting the booths and eating all sorts of yummy samples. It took 2 hours to make our way through the whole show and by that time, it was Paula Time! But first, I had to grab a shot of Carla from Top Chef. I love her. Hootie hoo!



Right before Paula's thing, Richard Blaise (another Top Chef-er) was doing a quick thing so I caught a few pics of him throwing these weird popcorn ball things out into the audience.



Paula's presentation was great! Her husband and boys were there and she answered audience questions. She's so hilarious and lovely and it was so fun to see her in person. Here's a pic from me stalking her on her way out of the theater. She was so close to me but moving too fast for my camera to catch her well (stupid automatic mode...I need to learn how to use this damn thing already).



On our way out, all of the sudden Chris yelled out, "It's Mike Isabella!" and ran up to this guy and started pumping his hand all excitedly. Another Top Chef guy that Chris loves. He was so psyched.



We had such a great time and the show was so fun and interesting. I hope we can go again next year!

Mayday! Mayday!

My computer is dead. I haven't been able to check in with my friends, or play enough Cafe World, or update this blog for a few days now. I have pictures from the Metro DC Cooking Show, where I ran into a few familiar faces. I have pictures from Carter's birthday.

I have stories to tell, like the day he didn't want to get out of the tub even though the water was gone and he was cold and shivering and he said to me, "Mommy, I'm mad!" I laughed and told him, "No, you're not." He said yes, that he's mad and then put his head down. I asked him why, and he looked at me for a minute, thinking about it, and then said, "towel." He was mad because he didn't want to get out of the tub and have me wrap him in a towel to get warm and dry. If that's the worst thing he gets mad at me for, I'm a happy gal.

He's used the "mad" thing a few more times and it makes me laugh inside every time. But I just tell him that it's okay to be mad and to let me know when he's happy again. It doesn't take long. Toddler feelings change more quickly than pregnant women!

Gasp!

I was laying in bed in this morning, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. No real reason...just one of those nights. After a little while, I finally decided to give up and come out to the living room and watch some tv in hopes that it would lull me back to sleep. I thought it was about 5:00 a.m. but gasped aloud when I put my glasses on and looked at the clock and saw what time it really was.

3:46 a.m.

Two years ago, at exactly that moment, Carter was entering this world, fist raised like a rock star. Two years ago, life as we knew it ended and became a distant memory. Two years ago, I became a mom.

Happy birthday, my little Turkey. I love you more than you can ever know.

Time Out

We implemented our first Time Out tonight. Well, make that, our first TWO Time Outs. He responded really well to them, though! Once I sat him down and he realized he was in trouble, he cried for a couple seconds and in between breaths I calmly talked to him about why he was in Time Out and asked if he was ready to do what he was supposed to (in this case, clean up his toys). He said yes and I let him up and he cleaned up his toys! Took all of maybe 20 seconds. A little while later, Chris was trying to have him clean up another part of the room with us and he kept saying no, so he got a Time Out. Again, maybe 20 seconds before he agreed to do what he was asked and didn't cause another problem.

I love Time Out!

ABCs

Carter singing his ABCs...with lots of baby tush. Don't you just wanna pinch those cheeks?

Happy Halloween!

Carter had so much fun trick or treating. We pulled him around in his wagon and he loved getting in and out all by himself and walking up to the doors saying "trick or treat." But, of course, the minute the person answered he got shy and would only say anything if I prompted him on what to say. Then, once he realized what was going on, he kept yelling, "Candy bucket!" between houses. He'd never even had candy before, except for a few M&Ms, but he sure was excited.

His costume worked out really well. He was good about keeping the hood part on and would even do his Frankenstein imitation upon request (but of course I didn't get any video of it...just picture him holding his arms out in front of him and grunting).

He got a pretty decent loot, for only going down one street. Plus, we got leftovers from my in-laws. The funny thing is, where I grew up we had TONS of trick or treaters and we'd give one candy to each because otherwise we'd run out. So, that's what I'm used to happening. Well, didn't I feel stupid when my father-in-law was like, "Feel free to give out more candy. We have plenty." Oops.

All in all, a good night. The weather cooperated for the most part, Carter behaved himself, even staying up until 10:30, and we came home with a ton of candy. The bad part? I started Weight Watchers this week so the candy is just sitting there taunting me. I was very proud of myself though; I made it through Halloween with no candy. I had one candy bar today (so far, LOL) but I'm eating a super healthy dinner so it all balances out.

Bedtime TV

Every night, Carter gets some time to lay in our bed and watch tv and just hang out before he has to go to sleep. He loves laying in Mommy and Daddy's bed and usually asks to watch Horton Hears a Who or Jack's Big Music Show. Tonight, he asked for "Jack" so I put it on but then he changed his mind and asked for "Who" so I switched it over. Again, he changed his mind and said "no Who." I hit stop and asked him what he wanted to watch, Jack or Who. He sat up, looked at me, and said, "Oprah?"

Yep, he wanted me to put Oprah on. So I did and he happily watched for the next 30 minutes.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Going to work

This morning Carter told Chris that he was going to work. He then picked up his "briefcase" (a box with a handle that holds 3 books), gave a hug and a kiss and pretended to leave. He even waved goodbye and pretended to open the door.

Tonight, he did it for me and it may have been the funniest thing he's done so far. Okay, fine, the tooting on command when I put powder on his butt is pretty darn funny, but this is a close second.

He's got great taste

Carter and I walked in the door tonight and I asked if he wanted to watch tv. He turned to me and said, "Tennis?" I said it wasn't on. Then he asked for football. I told him it wasn't on. Then...he asked for TMZ. I kid you not. God, I love him.

Weekend fun!

Carter went to his first bounce party yesterday. He had so much fun! He climbed up the big blowup structures (with some help) and loooooved sliding down the big slides. He wouldn't do it by himself but he had no problem sitting on my lap. Every time we'd get to the bottom and he'd yell "Again!" and go running back to the entrance. They had a bunch of bouncy balls, and bouncy horse things you could ride, and a big firetruck you could bounce inside of (his favorite since he is currently obsessed with firetrucks), and a couple of bouncy slides. Plus he got to eat pizza all by himself and play with his buddy "Handsome" who he has so much fun with.



He had so much fun, in fact, that he didn't want to leave. He gave Handsome a sweet little hug (and when Handsome hugs he pats you with his little hands which just ups the cuteness factor). We went outside and the little turkey just plopped down on the curb and organized a sit-in. Once he sat down, these other kids sat down and no one would go to their cars. Little rebel.





Today we went out to breakfast and after Carter's nap we went to an awesome playground near my house. It's similar to Clemyjontri in that it's made to be accessible to all kids, but it's a much smaller version. He ran and played and had a great time. Then we headed to another nearby playground that has a big sandbox. At first he wouldn't walk on the sand and got all panicky. Then I finally coaxed him in but he wouldn't touch the sand at all. There were a bunch of shovels and sand toys in there so he picked up a small shovel with his forefinger and thumb, scooped up sand, and gently put it in a container. If a grain of sand got on his hand he made me wipe it off. He must have played in the sand, but without actually touching any of it, for 15 minutes. Finally I got him to sit down and touch it with his forefinger and that got him interested. Needless to say, when he got home he got a bath to get all the sand off of his scalp.

It's been a lot of fun seeing his reaction to the season changing. He absolutely loves crunching on the leaves, and collecting pinecones is his new hobby. He lines them up and counts them. Today, he counted straight through to 12! I had to help him because he skipped 10 but once I reminded him about 10, he finished by himself. It was really impressive! A baby genius, that one.

Books on Tape

Now that I have a bit of a longer commute, I've been listening to books on tape. I just finished a 20-cd marathon of The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb. To say I loved it would be an understatement. I truly feel that if I'd sat down and read the book, I wouldn't have gotten even half of the emotional connection to the story that I did. I tend to speed read and gloss over what seem to be boring paragraphs, but listening to it sort of forces you to hear those "boring" parts, that actually turned out to be not boring at all! This book was so amazing. I laughed plenty, I cried even more (with actual tears and snot!) and I looked forward to being in the car every single day.

Now I've decided to get a little culture and I'm starting Pride and Prejudice this morning and really looking forward to it! This book got me interested in reading/hearing some of those books that I never wanted to sit down and read because I thought I'd be bored and I'm looking forward to hearing what all the excitement is all about.

Weekend

My life has been a blur for months now. When I gave my notice at my old job, it was a frantic rush to get them all ready for me to leave. Then I started my new job the day after I left my old one and I'm so busy there that my days just fly. I have no time to read any blogs, talk to my NMD girls, read about what's going on in the world. I'm in an absolute bubble.

So many times I've thought about things that we've done, or things Carter has said and I've wanted to blog about it and share it with everyone, but by the time I get home, and get dinner made, and entertain Carter, and relax a little, I'm ready to fall asleep and start over again the next day.

Our weekends have been busy and full of fun. Sidewalk chalk, crayons, pumpkins, homemade play-doh, hugs and kisses, bubble baths. Lots of good memories being made.

Our version of timeout

We're pretty strict in our house.

Quote of the Day

The funniest part of our Labor Day weekend? We were over my brother's house and Carter said to my niece and nephew, respectively, "Hi Bella! Hi Other Bella!" because he couldn't remember Brandon's name. Cracks me up every time I think about it.

Attacked...again

Tomorrow, I'll be calling the program that we use for Carter's daycare. Remember the biter from last year? He's on the attack again. The other day Carter came home with a bite on his arm and I asked who did it and he said the kid's name. And kept saying, "(name of kid) bite, (name of kid) bite." I talked to Shaista about it and she said she'd keep an eye out. Okay, no big deal. I was just bringing it to her attention so she can look out for this kid biting again.

But today, my baby came home with bite marks all over his arm. At least SIX of them! One of them is pretty bad, but thankfully none of them broke the skin. Chris picked him up and talked to Shaista and she said the kids were playing out back and one of the older kids (about 10 years old) caught the kid biting Carter and tried to stop him but the kid turned on him and started attacking him too! So at least we have it confirmed by a third party who the biter is, and not just relying on the testimony of a one-year-old.

Since this is AT LEAST the 3rd time this has happened, I feel it's time to get the program director involved. I'll be calling tomorrow, you can count on that.

(Click on the pics to make them bigger. You can really see the bite marks in the full size version.)

Puzzles, and other miscellaneous stuff

Carter has several Melissa and Doug wood puzzles that his grandma and grandpa got him for Christmas. He's always enjoyed telling us what the animals are and what noises they make, but he didn't grasp the concept of putting the pieces where they belong. Yesterday, however, we discovered that he can do it now! He picks up the pig, says "pig" and then points out the pig on the puzzle. He has some trouble getting it to fit perfectly and gets frustrated, but he at least understands the concept. So cool!

But what's not cool is that he knows how to curl his little hands into fists and make contact with another person. He does it and then says, "hit" so he knows what he's doing and is doing it on purpose. Not very nice.

Oh,and one more thing. He has a serious OBSESSION with the Horton Hears a Who movie. It's insane. He's constantly asking to watch it and if you try to put it on in the middle, he throws a fit until you start it from the beginning. He won't even watch Yo Gabba Gabba anymore! All he wants is his "Who" movie. Good thing it's a good movie so I don't totally hate it yet. I just wish Horton would sing the alphabet or count to ten or something so I can at least call it educational.

Speaking of counting, Carter has a pretty good grasp on counting. He can count to five pretty much without mistake, if he's really trying. Otherwise, he says, "1,2,5,10!" But he knows the numbers and when you get to 10, he says 11 and 12. So I guess you can say he can count to 12? His favorite is saying, "8,9,10!"

New job

My new job started this past Thursday. I left my old job on Wednesday and started my new one the next day. It would have been nice to have had a day or two to myself, but my old job needed me as long as I could stay and the new job wanted me as quickly as I could. So, that was my compromise.

The first day I spent training on their computer system (it's a different program than the one I used at my old job) and I think I picked it up fairly quickly. It's not really an intuitive program, but I took a lot of notes and screenshots and by Friday I was left to myself to grind out some commitments (I'm a title insurance underwriter) and see how it went. I got a bunch of them back today for edits, but it was stuff that was just related to weird kinks in the program that I need to learn to work around, not underwriting issues, for the most part. So that was good.

The first day has some good stuff and some bad stuff, but it seems to be getting better each day. Right now my desk is right out in the open, no walls or anything. I'm told my cubicle has been ordered but it takes a while for delivery. It'll be nice to have a tiny bit of privacy again. I'm used to having my own office, so the open work environment is taking a little bit of getting used to. The other thing that I didn't like was that on my first day, no one offered to go out to lunch, or sit with me at lunch, or anything. I sat outside on a bench and ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It was lonely and embarrassing, to be honest. Now, I just bring my Kindle and eat in the lunchroom, and chat with whoever's in there. It seems that most of my coworkers eat at their desks, but I don't want to get into that habit. I did that for too many years.

My coworkers are nice for the most part. I'm still getting to know them but we seem to work pretty well together. As with anywhere, there are those I click with more than others, but so far no big conflicts of personality. Ask me again in a few months and I'm sure I'll have more colorful things to say. :-)

So, that's what's new with me. As for Chris, his last day of work is this Wednesday, and then he starts school on Monday. He's very excited!

And little Carter...well, he's just a hilarious dude. He imitates EVERYTHING. We were at Dick's the other day and there was a man bent over, looking at the bottom shelf of one of those glass displays. Carter stood right next to him, leaned over just like the guy was, and smiled at him. The guy was like, "He's imitating me, isn't he?" We said yes and we all laughed and laughed. And then we ate bologna sandwiches. (Only Heather will understand that last line, so the rest of you can ignore it.)

And since I haven't posted any new pictures in forever, here's a pic of Carter after we went blackberry picking a few weekends ago. He tasted some of the merchandise, as you can tell.

Labels

Everything now needs a name. I hear "Wut dis?" a hundred times a day and I never tire of it. First of all, I love the way he says it, but second, I love that he's curious about his world and wants to know what things are. And when I tell him, he repeats the word and moves on with what he was doing.

And there's a new body part that he knows. Armpits! I didn't teach him that; Shaista must have. I was just going through his body parts with him the other day and just decided to ask where his armpits are, thinking he'd say he didn't know. But he reached his arms up so his pits were showing and said "armpits." Love it.

Other than that, we've just been busy wrapping things up at our respective jobs and looking forward to all the changes that are coming. Chris' textbooks came yesterday along with his new graphing calculator (1. damn, those are expensive and, 2. they're just as big as they were in 1993 when I had to use one in high school...isn't technology supposed to be getting smaller???). My job has hired my replacement and she's learning quickly and doing well, and my boss is comfortable with how things are going to end up there. She sort of panicked when I gave my notice because it's hard to find someone who does every aspect of what I do, but thankfully this woman came along and she's going to work out great. It's all going to be good. I feel it.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Chris has applied for and been accepted to utilize the new Post-9/11 GI Bill, since he served active duty after September 11th. He's been talking about going back to school for years now, but it's never been feasible financially. Thankfully, his service has now paid off and he's going back to school next month to finish his degree. He'll be going back full-time, which means he'll be leaving his current job and will be a student and SAHM dad (on the days he has classes at night or no classes at all). This is a good thing for a lot of reasons and we're all very excited about it.

Since he's going back to school and leaving his job, we'll be losing our medical insurance (his company provides our insurance benefits). As much as I love my job and the company I work for, I quickly realized that in order to make this school thing happen, I'd have to move on and find somewhere that can offer me insurance for my family. It was a really hard decision to make, and one that made me cry more than once, but it's a sacrifice I need to make for my family.

I applied for a few jobs that sounded like something I'd be interested in, and I quickly had three interviews lined up. The first interview offered me the job on the spot but I had to wait for a background check to come in, the second interview just didn't feel like a good fit, and with the third interview I got a call 10 minutes after I left offering me the job. After a lot of deliberation and talking to Chris and my mom about the pros and cons of both, I decided to go with Offer #1.

I'll be working for another title company out in Chantilly, so my commute will be quite a bit longer than my current 10-15 minutes, but the pay and benefits are more beneficial to what we need to survive the next few years. I'll miss my one day off a week, but that's sort of gone by the wayside recently anyway since most Mondays I find myself dialing in from home or even going in to the office for a little while.

Giving my notice to my current employer was really, really hard. She and her husband (also an owner of the company) are like family to me and I really enjoy working where I do. But, after seven years, it's time to move on I suppose. I'm really going to miss it there.