Happy Anniversary! What a jam-packed 4 years of marriage Todd and I have had. We have sold and bought a house, bought, sold, and bought another boat, remodeled a kitchen and built a garage, finished our degrees, changed jobs, had some amazing adventures and travels, shared many, many joys, including our greatest source of joy, Mason, and held eachother through many sorrows and struggles.
I am so lucky to have an amazing, supportive, loving husband who makes me laugh and feel safe. He truly loves me just as I am, including all of my bitchy and crazy. And just when I think I can't possibly love him any more than I already do? I see him with our son and my heart just about bursts.
Ti amo con tutta l'anima!
August 12, 2010
August 11, 2010
Different Strokes
Let me start with my apologies to anyone in my husband's family who may actually read my blog. Not sure if anyone does, but just in case, this is not meant to offend. Maybe, actually, someone could leave a comment explaining this strange phenomenon to me.
That being said, I do not understand the birthday situation in my husband's family. I grew up in a family where birthdays were (and still are) a BIG deal. It's your one day a year that is YOUR DAY. As a kid, I loved when my birthday was coming around. My mom has always made the most fantastic birthday cakes, and I would spend hours looking through her cake decorating books deciding what kind of cake I wanted that year. Between my brother and I we have had flowers, cars, wrestlers, teddy bears, dinosaurs, barbies, skulls, penguins, etc. She still makes cakes for us, and now for her grandchildren. They are seriously amazing. We also got to pick what we wanted for dinner on our actual birthday (either something our mom made or a restaurant).
Along with the cakes, we always had a birthday party. Actually, a lot of years we had two (a family one and a friend one). They weren't always huge, expensive events, but they were our party, on our day, and were what we decided. What kid wouldn't love this...a party with your friends, family, your favorite dinner and, of course, a super yummy cake.
I'm sure you're guessing by now that this is not the experience I'm having with Todd's family. Like, not at all. Every year, when birthdays come around for the younger members of his family, I wait for a party invite...and they never come. This leaves me thinking "WTF?" as well as feeling bad for them for what they're missing out on.
I understand that it is unusual that even now as I have entered my 30s that my mom still makes such a big deal over my birthday, but it is totally weird to me that the CHILDREN on his side don't get their one day. I'm trying to be good about not saying that it's "weird" and remember that it's just "different".
So where does this leave us with Mason? He will be having birthday parties...of course, right now he's not even 2 so he doesn't really have any friends, but trust me, he will have the childhood birthday party memories that I have. And he'll probably make his cousins jealous. As my mom told me, sometimes, when you're a parent, you end up doing things that you never thought you would do, not because you want to, but because it's what your child wants, and what will make him happy.
That being said, I do not understand the birthday situation in my husband's family. I grew up in a family where birthdays were (and still are) a BIG deal. It's your one day a year that is YOUR DAY. As a kid, I loved when my birthday was coming around. My mom has always made the most fantastic birthday cakes, and I would spend hours looking through her cake decorating books deciding what kind of cake I wanted that year. Between my brother and I we have had flowers, cars, wrestlers, teddy bears, dinosaurs, barbies, skulls, penguins, etc. She still makes cakes for us, and now for her grandchildren. They are seriously amazing. We also got to pick what we wanted for dinner on our actual birthday (either something our mom made or a restaurant).
Along with the cakes, we always had a birthday party. Actually, a lot of years we had two (a family one and a friend one). They weren't always huge, expensive events, but they were our party, on our day, and were what we decided. What kid wouldn't love this...a party with your friends, family, your favorite dinner and, of course, a super yummy cake.
I'm sure you're guessing by now that this is not the experience I'm having with Todd's family. Like, not at all. Every year, when birthdays come around for the younger members of his family, I wait for a party invite...and they never come. This leaves me thinking "WTF?" as well as feeling bad for them for what they're missing out on.
I understand that it is unusual that even now as I have entered my 30s that my mom still makes such a big deal over my birthday, but it is totally weird to me that the CHILDREN on his side don't get their one day. I'm trying to be good about not saying that it's "weird" and remember that it's just "different".
So where does this leave us with Mason? He will be having birthday parties...of course, right now he's not even 2 so he doesn't really have any friends, but trust me, he will have the childhood birthday party memories that I have. And he'll probably make his cousins jealous. As my mom told me, sometimes, when you're a parent, you end up doing things that you never thought you would do, not because you want to, but because it's what your child wants, and what will make him happy.
August 9, 2010
Playing in the rain
If you don't live here, you've probably had an actual summer to enjoy. If you do live here, you know where I'm coming from. This summer has been nothing but rain, rain and more rain. If we didn't get out and do stuff because it was raining, we would never leave the house. Luckily, we have one tough little guy who loves to play outside no matter what the weather is.
I found something called the "muddy buddy". By far the best thing I've bought for Mason. It looks like a hazmat suit, but it allows Mason to play outside in the rain all he wants without getting completely soaked. As you can see, puddles are his friend. The first picture was taken in Whittier. Mason loves everything about Whittier...there are tunnels, boats, trains, birds, and lots of puddles. The next two pictures are at the park down the street.
With Daddy, playing in the dirt on a rare non-rainy day. (Notice I didn't say sunny day)
I found something called the "muddy buddy". By far the best thing I've bought for Mason. It looks like a hazmat suit, but it allows Mason to play outside in the rain all he wants without getting completely soaked. As you can see, puddles are his friend. The first picture was taken in Whittier. Mason loves everything about Whittier...there are tunnels, boats, trains, birds, and lots of puddles. The next two pictures are at the park down the street.
With Daddy, playing in the dirt on a rare non-rainy day. (Notice I didn't say sunny day)
Here we are at the cabin taking a "bath". This is the same bowl my mom gave baths to my little brother in when he was Mason's size. I will have to post an entire entry about our trip to the cabin as soon as I get those pictures on the computer. To give you a little preview...shocker...he LOVED the cabin!
Mommy Dearest
Dear Mother Nature,
With all due respect, this summer SUCKS! Seriously, what do you have against giving Anchorage a little bit of SUNSHINE? I am so sick of the rain I could just SCREAM. That is all.
-Amanda
With all due respect, this summer SUCKS! Seriously, what do you have against giving Anchorage a little bit of SUNSHINE? I am so sick of the rain I could just SCREAM. That is all.
-Amanda
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