Why I'm Not Allowed to Craft Unsupervised

So the birthday banner was supposed to look like this:

And it did, after one very unsuccessful attempt:

Instead of cutting all the letters off the string, I should have just set up a row of mirrors.

Time Banking

I heard this really interesting story on NPR the other day about Time Banking. Basically time banking is a regional Web site in which members log hours and choose from hundreds of services. So you could offer and perform an hour of computer help for someone, bank that hour, then exchange it for an hour of someone coming over to clean up your yard. I think this concept is really innovative, especially given the rise in unemployment. It's also a wonderful community builder.

I don't quite know what services I'd offer... commentary on useless reality programming? Or, as my sister suggested, I could offer to go into people's refrigerators and condense their leftovers (see Non-Facebook 25ish Things list on the left hand nav bar.) So many talents, so little time.

What would you offer up to others?

Happy 2nd Bea Day!

I have my mother to thank for the cute play on words in the blog post title.

Our little one is 2 years old today. These past 2 years have been filled with much love, joy, happiness, toys, tears, smells, fears, yells, smiles, cries, thrills, and blessings.

This is your life, Beatrice:

Beatrice's 2nd Birthday Re-Cap

This past weekend, we had the whole family over for Beatrice's 2nd birthday celebration. The turkey did not poison anyone. As a precaution, not only did I make Cory eat some on Friday night, I had him nibble a wing on Saturday morning too. Can't be too careful.

We don't entertain both of our families together very often so it was fun to see everyone interact. We are really lucky to have 2 (somewhat) normal families that blend well. Beatrice, true to form, was a bit shy and somewhat shell-shocked to have everyone over at once. It totally blew her mind to have all of her favorite people under our roof at once (all her aunties, her cousins, both grandmothers, all uncles, ahhhhh!)

She was really funny opening her presents. Every time she got a stuffed animal, she ran into her room to deposit in her crib. Every time she got a book, she ran over to her cousin, Camryn, and instructed her to read it.

Tomorrow is Beatrice's actual birthday so I'll post more then.

Turkey for You and Turkey for Me

I'm a little embarrassed to admit that at 30 years of age, I've never cooked a turkey. There is one in my oven right now, working itself into its 6th hour. That mother of a bird is 33 lbs. It's the biggest turkey I've ever seen. In fact it's bigger than my daughter. If that doesn't make you a vegetarian, nothing will.

This turkey has been floating around since my sister got it as a give-away at work. We've been waiting for an occasion to cook it. We'll eat it tomorrow at Beatrice's birthday for sandwiches. And then everyone will get a goody bag filled with white and dark meat.

Is it wrong that I'm totally making Cory eat some turkey tonight to make sure it isn't salmonella-tainted. I think tomorrow's party-goers will appreciate the precaution.

The Monthly Give- February 2010

This month's give is in honor of Beatrice's 2nd birthday. Our little girl is so lucky to have family that cares for her and showers her with gifts and love. We've made a donation to birthdaywishes.org.

The Birthday Wishes Mission
Our mission is simple: To bring birthday parties to homeless children. Birthday Wishes recognizes the importance of a birthday in a child's life and believes that the gift of a birthday celebration provides normalcy, joy and hope in these children's otherwise unsettled lives. Our grassroots philosophy fosters the spirit of volunteerism and community service in the adults, children and families who donate their time and resources to our mission.

"The house was buzzing with excitement. The moms were very pleased with the party and the kids were just smiling ear to ear. Sometimes I wonder if you all know how much something as simple as a birthday party is to our kids. Thank you so much!"- Jessica, Second Step Shelter, Newton

Crazy Heart

Cory and I had a movie date last night. It was a nice way to spend a Tuesday night and to break up the week. We saw Crazy Heart. It was a good movie. Ryan critiques the film best at his blog. Go take a look (scroll down to find the Crazy Heart entry.)

Valentine's Day Recap

Valentine's Day fell nicely this year over the long weekend. Cory and I made a delicious dinner on Saturday night (if I do say so myself.) We made braised short ribs, turnip greens, and horseradish cream. We modified the recipe we found here. It was a bit involved but well worth it if you have the time.

On Valentine's morning, I woke up to find a lovely note... best use of the Magna Doodle to date.
I made our traditional pink crepes and then we exchanged gifts.
My sister and I had made a little cape for Beatrice. She had been asking for one for months because Swiper, of Dora fame, has one. So I was all excited to give it to her. I had the camera ready to capture her expression. Lately when she opens a gift, she charmingly puts her hands to her mouth and says, "Oh gosh."

She excitedly accepted the present, tore it open, took one look at the cape, and threw it to the floor, muttering "no, no, no." I desperately explained to her what it was, I modeled it, I tried to force her to wear it. Nothing, she wanted no part of it. Later in the day I asked her where the cape was (knowing that it was in her drawer where I placed it) and she replied, "Trash." Then she proceeded to go into the kitchen and lift the trash barrel lid to look for it. Wow, I am raising an ingrate.

Moments in a Bottle

Hello Beatrice, it's been a while since I've written you a little note. Every day when you do something funny that catches my attention, I want to bottle that moment and remember it forever. I need to get better about writing these things down. Some of these latest gems include:

• Every morning you insist upon watching an episode of Dory (Dora the Explorer.) Every night you insist on watching an episode of "The Beeeeers" (the Berenstain Bears.) You never want to mix it up and watch Dory at night and Beeeers in the morning. You are a creature of habit like your mama.
• You've been pushing your boundaries lately like all nearly 2 year olds. We've been using the time out corner at least once a day for the past couple of weeks. Now when you know you've done something wrong, you say "Pout" (your version of the words, "time out.") Then you put yourself in the time out area and proceed to laugh and talk to the wooden statue of the little old man over there. I peeked in on you yesterday to find you kissing him. It took all I had to keep my composure. I think you are treating "Pouts" like a chance to steal a private moment with your new boyfriend.
• You sleep with about 15 stuffed animals and 10 books. You love the feeling of being completely encapsulated. Every night, after we've tucked you in, you throw your Smurfette doll out the crib. When mama or daddy comes to get you in the morning, sure enough, she is on the ground, discarded to the side. I've asked you what happened with Smurfette and you've offered up a couple of concocted stories. Last story was that she pushed you. You put her in a "Pout" in the morning. Clearly Smurfette has committed some offense, I don't know that I'm buying the "pushing." Your father and I need to know the truth. Should charges of some sort be filed? Do I need to get Papa Smurf on the phone?
• You are almost 2 years old. When I ask if you want a birthday party, you say "Yes, cake." I ask how old you're going to be and you say "Ten." Meanwhile, when anyone asks you anything about how many this is or how many that is, you always without fail say "Two."
• When you realize there are two things that are the same you clink them together and say "cheers." Last night I had on a pink shirt and you had on a pink pair of pants. You sidled up to me and banged your leg against my arms, proclaiming "Cheers."
• You are obsessed with having your picture taken. And you always insist on sitting on your stool up against the living room wall. Then you pose away.

• The other night when you were watching 'The Beeeers', I put your hand on my belly so that you could feel your brother or sister move. You immediately lifted my shirt because I think you believe that the baby only exists if you can see my bellybutton. If my shirt is down covering my swollen belly, it doesn't count. You need skin on skin. This is fun when we're in public discussing the baby and you run over, without fail, to lift my shirt and expose all of my girth. After you put your hand on the naked belly, I expected you to hold it there for a minute, then take it off. But instead you left it there the for a long time. That was a really special moment for me as a mother. Thank you for that.

All of these moments are so special to me and I know that there are more to come. I am honored to be your mother and privileged to watch you change and grow. I love you, my precious girl.

Snowy Day

It's finally started snowing here today. It's really pretty from inside. While I am totally ready for the Spring, at least days like today make me appreciate the beauty of winter.

Custom Option

Maybe everyone else already knew this, but I just figured out how to customize my Gmail background. Every time I open my email now, I see pretty pink cherry blossoms. This is much nicer than the other drab background I had before.

I happened upon this because I am in the midst of showing my mother-in-law how to use her new laptop. Wow, that's an exercise in patience. We are making progress, slowly and steadily. At least it's better than the time I had to show Cory's grandmother how to use her computer. That didn't go so well.

Happy Birthday, Husband

My husband is one of those people who would skip their birthday celebration if it was allowed (too bad it's not allowed in this house.) It's not because he's one of those annoying people that complains about getting older each year but instead he'd rather do without the fuss. That's kind of his personality in a nutshell. He's not as good at receiving as he is at giving. If that's the worst thing, someone can say about you, I'd say you're doing OK.

So happy birthday, my love. Here's to another wonderful 31 years of health and happiness.

P.S. About 5 years ago we were on a plane on his birthday, en route to the Bahamas with friends. I committed the ultimate offense in our marriage by asking the flight attendant to announce his birthday over the loud speaker. In my defense (is that a legal defense) I was drunk but I'd do it again. That's what makes our marriage work. I annoy and he gets annoyed. That's our special kind of love.

Misery Loves Company

Pretty funny website where people kvetch about shit that's gone wrong.

This one is my favorite so far:
Today, I asked my girlfriend why she can't treat me like the way I treat her. She said, "because you love me more than I love you." FML

Do You Think This Is Weird

I ordered a salad today from a local place. It was one of those places where they mix the salad up for you. The guy waiting on me was friendly, making small talk while he assembled my salad. When he finished mixing it up, he commented, "This is a lotta salad" to which I replied "I'm a lotta woman." Dead silence. My filtration system clearly needs a tune-up.

Work's for Jerks

Sorry I've been so lax in posting this week. Work has been crazy. Things to note this week include the Lost premier last night. I watched 1/2 but need to watch the rest tonight. That show is wacky. I am currently reading a really good book, The Girls from Ames. I highly recommend it (Thanks to Molly for recommending it to me,) I just finished Jhumpa Lahiri's Unaccustomed Earth. Great if you like short stories. And she's a local writer so her Cambridge and Natick references are not lost on me.
Back to work for now but I'll write more later. I hope you're all having a great week. We made it through January!