2012, 2012, 20, 20, 20, 2012!

Historically, I have not been a fan of New Year's. But in the last few years, I've been coming around on New Year's... and celebrating my birthday. 

Last night we got the best of both worlds when we got to visit the Freak house and hang out with our buds for a couple hours before coming home and heading down to our GwenTen's house. Both parties were lovely, and it was good to see everyone. 

I thought I was going to get pretty seriously happy (i.e. have more than two drinks), but since I spaced my three drinks over 5 hours, there were no serious side effects. And Mrs. GwenTen is an expert margarita maker. She has the whole hood hooked. 

But this morning, I've reached the end of my ability to "lay like broccoli." We've been just hanging out, pretty much this whole winter vacation. And while I like the extra sleep and the comfort of my fuzzy pajama bottoms, I've had enough. 

Plus, even though it's stupid warm outside, the wind kicked up last night. It was whacking into the house around 4 a.m. and it woke me up. Then it woke up Lily, and MacTroll and I took turns dealing with her morning neuroses. :-) 

So, now that my breakfast has been consumed, I'm off to get into some warm clothes to get out there and  walk lily. She and I are going 5 miles today... because it's the start of my workout plan from my trainer. I now have workouts to do six days a week. It makes me feel better. But it also means I have to get better at time management. 

I also have $50 at REI to spend, and I'm having trouble deciding what to get... There are so many things. that I want. Guess I'll have to think about it! 

On the Road to the Mouse

Tomorrow morning, the family and I are headed to Orlando to see Mickey Mouse. It's X-man's first trip to Disney World. When he was 3, we spent 4 hours at the California Adventure Park in California. It's a long weekend, but I have a feeling it will feel like a short vacation.

When we return there's only four more weeks before Winter break.

I'll be sure to take lots of pictures and will put some up. :-)

Happy Pink, Pink, Pink Day

Enjoy your reds, whites and blues you lucky yous. 

I have pink eye. 

So, I'll be hanging out at home while MacTroll celebrates this Independence Day with the munchkin. 

I remember this

I had two cocktails and two shots last night. There were two sips of champagne, and the drinking lead to a lot of social eating.

Today, I woke up with the feeling that I had socks on my teeth. I stumbled into the shower. Now I know I'm clean, but I still feel slightly hung over. MacTroll managed to get himself up, put X-man in front of Nickjr.com to play games, get himself some water and come back to bed.

I don't think we'll see the bartender much today.

And I'm hoping our friends who came over last night are recovering okay from the debauchery. :-)

The holidays are over... next stop -- Paris -- in seven weeks.

Bowling on Christmas Eve Day

In the summer, my friends who are also parents are always on the move to the pool, to the park, to baseball games, etc. In the winter, everyone is always trying to come up with new and different ways to keep kids physically busy when outside conditions get ugly.

Every day that X-man isn't in pre-school, and sometimes on the days he is in pre-school but they don't get to go outside, I'm scheduling gross motor time.

Yesterday, I decided today's gross motor time should be bowling at Old Orchard Lanes. Today, we took my mom and met up with Special K and and Rudy's families. The boys all bowled, so did some of the parents and my mom. It was a fun time. And when we got home, X-man was able to spend two hours of quiet time with his Legos and helping me make chocolate chip cookie dough truffles (holy cow, are they good).

The Excitement of Thanksgiving: Variety

Last year, I hosted a group of folks at my house for Thanksgiving. It was nice because I was recently "out of the box" with Weight Management, so I could figure out the calories and the contents of everything going into my mouth.

My plate looked like this:

This year, it's just the three of us. And I realized the problem with holidays isn't so much the content of the food as it is. The problem is that I want to try everything on the Buffet. I don't eat at Buffets a lot, but I gander that this is always the problem. You put a mess of appetizing food in front of people's faces and even if you just use a 1/4 cup scoop of everything, you've got a mess of calories on your plate.

Since it's just the three of us, I limited the menu, but added dessert, which has become a rarity in this house due to our inability to have just one scoop or one slice of something.

So, on the menu is Pork Tenderoin Agrodolce, Citrus Green Beans with Pine Nuts, Spinach Salad, reduced fat crescent rolls and a Chocolate Walnut Tart.

The total caloric value should be high, twice what a normal meal for us would be, at a bit over 700 calories due to the dessert. But I feel like we're eating well without stuffing ourselves full because our brains tell us to try the 20 different items at the buffet. We're also meeting the 2 vegetables/fruit at each meal requirement that I'm trying to pass at home. We're at the 75% mark. Sometimes, I just get lazy...

Here's a photo of tonight's dinner:

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday. We're heading out to see Tangled at 5:20 p.m. at the Savoy 16 today. X-man is totally looking forward to it.

Halloween Weekend

On Friday night, we went to the Little Gym for a Halloween Party. MacTroll was Jabba the Hutt. I was Princess Leia, and X-man was Obi Wan Kenobi. The Jabba the Hutt costume actually has a little fan in it that inflates it with air so that even a tiny person can get large. But it's very hard to walk in. MacTroll just hung out in the main area, and a bunch of people came up to him and wanted to have their photo taken with him like he was Mickey Mouse. It was pretty funny.

After the Little Gym we moved on to the Savoy Recreation Center. We saw a lot of our friends there, which was awesome. Special K makes an awesome Ernie. :-)

On Saturday, I went to Decatur to visit my friend Captain McKee for lunch. We had a good time catching up and wondered why we do such a crappy job talking during the week. When I returned, I took a shopping trip to Karen's Kloset, where I found an awesome running shirt, two dresses and a pair of jeans. They're having a big sale next Saturday, Nov. 6 where everything is up to 25% off.

Then after dinner, MacTroll and I got on our costumes and headed out to High Dive to see the Brat Pack play and hang out with Freak and friends. There's something comforting in knowing every song a band plays (mostly late 70s through the 80s). The band was dressed up in Star Wars costumes, as it was a theme. So when "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" came up, I got summoned to the stage by the lead singer who had changed from her Jawa costume to an identical Leia costume.

That was fun. Then when I was up there she asked for Jabba. So we did a Leia sandwich on MacTroll wearing his Jabba costume on stage to "Hit Me with Your Best Shot."

It was something I've never done before. I had only consumed a Diet Coke and it was ever so much fun. We left early because on Halloween morning I had a 5.5 mile trail run to do in Allerton Park in Monticello. It was a ball. Yes, I tripped over a tree root during mile one, and holy hell, there were a lot of hills. But I fall well, as anyone will tell you, and came right out of it without taking anyone else down. So, hooray. But the best part, was that as I'm hearing this lady yell at the person behind me to "go get her" (I'm guessing that means to pass me at the finish line.) I hear a "There's Mommy!" I look over and see MacTroll and X-man. I was so happy. They're never at my races. This was a big deal. I was so happy afterwards, I finished, turned around to find them, sunk to my knees, held my son and got all teary eyed. Seriously. It was awesome to have people there supporting me in something I've always felt so alone doing.

Today, we hung out around the house, which can be verified by it's state of messiness right now. Trick or treating went well. X-man has a ton of candy, and we only went to our neighborhood. Everyone kept telling them to take as much as they wanted, except at one house where the woman said, "Only take one." X-man furrowed his eyes and looked at her and said, "Why?" And the woman said, "Because I said so."

How come it works when she says it? :-)

It's a whole new year, thank goodness.

MacTroll and I spent Dec. 30-Jan. 2 alone in Chicago at the W in City Center. It was our first time staying there and I do prefer it to the W on Lakeshore. The building has much more character and the staff is much more service oriented. The two Chicago Ws still pale in comparison to the Montreal W... but you know -- they're Canadian and uber friendliness is part of their culture.

Our only goal during our 3 1/2-day stay was to do thing we couldn't normally do with X-man around. For example, we got to finish whole sentences when we talked. We didn't have to carry around extra clothes in case someone demanded new pants because he spilled two drops of juice on the ones he was currently wearing, we had enough room in our bed and no fear of anyone kicking the living crap out of us while we were unconscious AND we only had to get up when our bodies told us they wanted to. As it was, we took naps 2 out of the 3 days. I was in bed by 10:30 p.m. two of the nights (the exception being New Year's). I also ran on the lakefront before the temps dropped to single digits. Afterwards, I used the hotel gym (it had Nike+ equipment!), which was fine for an hour, but holy cow I'd get bored doing the typical gym cardio equipment all the time. We also went to the movies -- twice. We saw Up in the Air and Sherlock Holmes. Both were funny and entertaining. We even got excited about the preview for Death at a Funeral. There's just something hilarious about Danny Glover and toilets.

New Year's was a little sketchy. We don't celebrate it. We don't believe in resolutions. Why make up something new for a calendar year? Why can't you just make a resolution because it's the third Tuesday of whatever month... It's symbolic, I know. We went out to dinner at a fine, but nothing extraordinary restaurant (Catch 35: a seafood place near the river). Then we worked out at the gym. On our way up the stairs from the 3rd floor to the 14th floor (Elevators were FULL of girls in stilettos and their dates.), we ran into some football player-sized dude in a nice suit covered in blood. Someone had popped him in the nose. He was so trashed he wasn't feeling anything. When we got in our room and finished showering we heard a commotion in the hall. Big, bloody dude was accusing the 20 people or so -- waiting at the elevator -- of hitting him. Shouting ensued. Then quieted. Then returned. $330/night hotel... MacTroll was entertained and hiding behind his peephole.

Things quieted down when everyone hustled down to the party room for the new year's countdown. I fell asleep by 12:30 a.m. MacTroll said that by 1 a.m., everyone was back upstairs, drunk and screaming. Someone else got punched twice and then the guy who punched him highjacked his room. Hotel security called 911. Fire department came to look at the guy who got punched. Then a squad of 4 policemen took the room that had been highjacked. Lots of screaming and such.

When we left for brunch at 9:30 a.m. -- the lobby looked like no party had ever happened. Our hallway outside our room was covered in mushed pretzels. But downstairs was quiet, like it had been the day before. By the time we returned to the hotel room at 9 p.m. that night, everything was spotless and the whole joint was silent. It was awesome.

As for our few days, we spent most of them hunting for a jacket for MacTroll, but they were sold out of his size, and although lots of places had post Christmas sales going on, a fair amount were putting out spring things -- seriously. There were bathing suits everywhere. We also ate at some foodie restaurants. We'd definitely recommend Graham Elliot for special occasions, but I'd recommend that on any dish where there's a "froth" have them remove it. It doesn't add much--and the visual was kind of unappealing to me. But the rest of the food is heavenly, particularly the blood orange dreamsicle dessert. (Seriously, it's worth it just to go for that.) The better "date night" is Eve in the Gold Coast a little north and west of Water Tower. I recommend the chestnut pear soup and the seared Wahoo.

A Day of Friends

This morning I woke up in a particularly ugly mood. I had trouble sleeping last night, and I wanted to get up and do the Turkey Trot in Urbana. It's a 1-mile fun run/walk for the family. I wanted to do the event -- as a family.

But in the middle of last night I kind of got kicked out of my own bed by my boys (who are all bed hogs) and I ended up in X-man's bed. The alarm went off at 7 a.m. and MacTroll wandered into X-man's room. I was aware he was in there, but all he did was crawl into the bed, pull the covers up and fall back asleep. Some time later I woke up with a start, ran into our room and saw that it was 7:53. I was supposed to meet Libbygirl and her family at 8:30 a.m. Both boys were still sleeping and there was no way they'd be up and dressed and ready in 15 minutes. So, I got dressed and went by myself. It was uber crowded for a cold, rainy Thanksgiving morning. I saw one of the ladies from my weight management class there. But it was crazy.

Libbygirl showed up with her family and we all lined up at the start. I ran with Lightning McColin the whole way. He did the whole mile running except for about 30 seconds -- three 10-second segments where he said, "But if I walk I won't win!" and started up again.

Afterwards, I went home to start working on the turkey. It was a little nutty for a while, but I felt better once the sucker got into the oven. Then I went on a long run, came home and continued to set up for the 11 people that were coming to dinner. I ended up in the shower and dressed about the time that Libbygirl showed up with her family. A little bit before 4 p.m., Quigs walked in with her family, and we ate around 4:15 p.m.

It really is lovely getting together with nice people. And it was very enjoyable to have my sister and her friend, my mom and my friends all in my house. And we had enough low calorie, gluten free, dairy free and "loaded" to go around.

Now it's 8:30 p.m. and I'm exhausted. I'm seriously thinking about putting on my pajamas and going to bed. Tomorrow we're headed out to Karen's Kloset, Ten Thousand Villages and Body N Sole to do some shopping. I've got to do another 45-minute run. I'm hoping to do it at Meadowbrook, and we'll arrange to see our friends Mitra and JF from Montreal at her parents' house in Urbana. It was a lovely, full day.

The Day of Labor

Look at this kid. Doesn't he look like he's the cat who caught the mouse? Really, he was so excited at the Labor Day Parade in Urbana. He was surrounded by friends, family and candy. Hours later, we went to the free admission skating at Skateland. His leg wasn't really ready for it (or so he said) but I give the kid credit for trying. Later, he and his friend J-man loved playing games and pushing buttons. 

Look at this kid, again. Doesn't he look happy? It was the first time he got into a "pool" of any kind since before the broken leg. 

It was a busy Monday, but it was busy with a lot of fun. So much fun that he passed out around 9:20 p.m., which made MacTroll and I very happy.

Extended Family

I moved out of my mom's house 4 weeks after I graduated from college. Out of the 4 years I was in college, I lived at home for one summer, but I worked 2 jobs that summer so was hardly home. We never had a grandparent live with us, and even though my father is the oldest of 4, we really only saw aunts and uncles for major holidays for a few hours. We saw even less of my mother's two siblings. The point being that I've never really had extended family around in my every day life. 

Now that KTDID is returning her Budget rental truck, and all of her possessions are in our basement making kind of an "in-law" suite, it changes the dynamic of the house a bit. I'm about to install a lockable doorhandle to keep X-man out of her area. KTDID has a cat and the apartment is hers -- not to be disrupted by my cats. My cats have been kept out of the basement since my Loosey cat died in February, so that shouldn't be any big deal. She has a lot of storage, a closet and a full bathroom to her disposal, not to mention her own parking area in the garage. 

I am so happy to have her home that I could burst. Somehow I always hated that my best friend barely got to know my favorite person in the whole world -- X-man. And now, she gets to see the delight and the challenge up close and personal. 

As for X-man, he helped carry things to the basement today. And when he couldn't carry things he directed KTDID's family members about where to go. The only thing he is confused about is where KTDID is going to cook her food. When I explain that she'll use our kitchen it crosses the boundary line I'm trying to create that the basement is KTDID's home, and we live upstairs. It, of course, didn't stop him from dragging his doll and crib downstairs. But I'm sure it'll be a work in progress for a while.

In other news, the jackasses at the apartments next to us (I usually find them to be fine neighbors except around the 4th of July) have started setting off fireworks at all hours of the night. Last year they were smart enough to do it over the lake in the park. This year, the dummies just set them off in the middle of the complex. 

In other news, we were supposed to head up to my Dad's on Saturday morning for the holiday, but he currently has the flu with a fever. So, we're going to call him tomorrow a.m. and see how he is. If he's sick, we'll stay here. Which makes me think maybe we'll go to the Monticello fireworks tonight. Should have bought the train ticket, I guess!

Wordless Wednesday: Happy New Year!

Big Hugs to All and All a Good Night!

We made a deal with X-man that Santa would NOT come to our house tonight. That instead, Santa would send our presents to us via the mail. And true to our word, while X-man was playing in the basement the doorbell rang. 

MacTroll went to answer it. And X-man came running up the stairs calling out, "Santa, Mommy! Big Hug. Santa brought the presents!"

So I hugged him and showed him that it WAS NOT Santa in person, as we had agreed, but instead was the UPS man. An hour later the Fed Ex ground woman showed up with another package, so we had the same event happen.

Then, of course, he wanted to open them. We explained that tomorrow was X-mas. And he got sad. But then we let him open one package from my friend CD in D.C. She sent him a Cars sticker book and a Cars Read and Find book. (Kind of like 'Where's Waldo'). X-man rocks at finding things (this is definitely a Mom-trait). 

So now we're sitting here in the living room. There's a fire in the fireplace. The tree is lit up. Curious George is on the big screen. MacTroll is reading the Economist and X-man is playing with his slinky from my Dad and Barbara. 

Happy Holidays, everyone. 

Friday Fun

If you lived here, you could be having this much fun too. :-P