Wordful Wednesday - My Boys and Their Toys

What a lovely first Christmas in our new place we had! I was so worried that with all the rush of moving, we wouldn't be able to celebrate the holiday properly, but silly mama, all you need is love and family (and gadgets!) to make your holiday bright. Here are some pics of my boys and their new toys.

In true "geek" fashion, we are a family of electrical gadget lovers. This year, HH gave me the miraculous ROOMBA. The love I have for this robot knows no bounds. It is my own personal cat-hair army. Returning the favor, I gave HH a hands-free blue tooth for his iPhone. Here he is playing with the voice activation. Yes, HH you are a super-spy.

I have to admit however, that this love of electronics didn't come directly from the Fornator line. Here is my dad reading the directions to his new Flip recorder. While understanding all thing related to the heart (the actual human heart, not romance), my dad isn't exactly known for being a techie. Hope you have figured that thing out Dad!

Like papa, like son - here is Noah exploring one of his favorite gifts, a toy with gears. He spent most of yesterday taking the gears off and trying to figure out how this thing worked.

Now, that gear toy definitely got high marks from my 11 month old. But the irony of infancy was not lost with our guy. The next picture is of his favorite thing he got for Christmas. I didn't have to order away for it, or wrap it, or worry about our "Santa" budget. Nope, it came from Albertsons on Christmas Eve and was 2.99. It's a balloon. Take a look at this pic, is it love or what?

Hope you had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas To All!

May the joy of the season fill you with happiness!

Cheers,
The Mantuano Family

Writer's Workshop - A Letter to Santa

Dear Santa,

I think you have a pretty thankless job. You spend all year taking care of your little ones (the elves of course) and picking up after the pets (reindeer). You get constant requests for toys and receive very few thank yous. On your big night you are expected to slap on a cute outfit and jolly smile and fill the wishes of boys and girls all without a night's sleep. Hmmm, Santa your job sounds a whole lot like BEING A MOMMY!

With all of your time spent on others, it's no wonder you have put on a few pounds. I would like to apologize for all the insensitive a-holes who liken your stomach to a "bowl full of jelly." May they receive coal this year.

Santa please know that you are appreciated. I realize you don't receive a paycheck for all of your hard work and have to remind yourself that your effort to make children happy is rewarding in itself...wait what am I saying?....Screw that Santa. This year, put your feet up, open a box of Oreos and LET SOMEONE ELSE TAKE CARE OF THE KIDS! I hear Fed Ex is open Christmas Eve.

Sincerely,

Rachel (Who stills likes ponies...hint hint)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you to Kat for the great prompts and to the bloggers who spend invaluable nap times doing their Writer's Workshop posts. You are the gift that keeps on giving!

Wordful Wednesday - In Da Buff

Couldn't resist more therapy sessions needed for Noah when he gets older....I mean really, have you ever seen a butt this cute? And check out the thighs. Yes, I bite them daily (I know that sounds weird, but mommies, you know what I mean!). The other thing I love, but you can't see in this picture, are the adorable dimples in his legs. Mommy has these too, but for some reason, they are not so adorable on her....

I have posted before on Noah's favorite state of being and marvel each time at the joy he gets from running around naked. I am just a little bit jealous at his complete lack of self-consciousness. I typically avoid even looking in the mirror when I am getting dressed for fear of catching an unflattering glimpse. If my husband is home when I am walking to get underwear from the dresser, I do a backward shuffle to avert his gaze from those "adorable" dimples which sprinkle my thighs. All of this musing leads me to question..."When do we lose our love of our bodies for just being just how they are?"

I think I know the WHY (insert pictures from US Weekly here....). But I want to know the WHEN. It's not that I want Noah to grow up a nudest or anything. I mean what if he had to ride the bus or something? (shuddering at naked people in buses and the germ ramifications of this....) If I could only pinpoint that critical moment when it changes from "I'm awesome!" to "What does __ and __ think about me?" Maybe I could stop it from happening just a little.

My wish would be for him to grow older, always retaining this feeling of unconditional self-love.

(I would also like to solve world hunger and create peace among men, thank you.)

Bust Out the Bubbly!

Hello fellow bloggers! It's time to celebrate! I just received an exciting email - I am going to be featured @ SITS! (Doing a happy dance in my chair).

Pause to regain decorum....

Ahem.

I have to take this opportunity to tell you guys that I am so thankful to have my bloggy buddies in my life, especially my SITS buddies (check out the ladies under Fabulous Links, they rock). You guys have been an amazing support network this year!

So many things have happened! My husband and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary, my son, Noah was born (and is going to be 1 next month - yikes, where does the time go?!?), and we just bought our very first house!

This has also been a year for blogging. Sippy Cup Chardonnay emerged as a way to connect with people. As a new SAHM I thought I might lose it (one can only sing Twinkle Twinkle and attend so many playdates in a week). It began as therapy, and has become an obsession and a great way to avoid doing housework!

Most of my posts are about mommy life. Here are some that were fun to write:

Hasta La Vista, Boobies

My 10 Fears

My Halloween Grinch

Toxic Baby Bums

Hope you enjoy your time here. Pour yourself a glass of Chardonnay and enjoy!

Cheers,

Rachel

p.s. I think you'll find the more you drink, the better my posts are anyway. haha.

Not Me! Monday

After eating a whole package (yes, I said whole package, don't judge me) of chocolate covered Oreos and checking in with some of my favorite bloggers, I am feeling so much better! You guys have me cracking up with your "Not Me! Monday" posts. I have always loved the game "I never" but this takes it to a whole new level. Thought I would join in the fun.

This week I DID NOT:

• Feed my 11 month old Frosted Flakes one frantic morning because I couldn't find the Cheerios. (And he totally DID NOT throw them up 10 minutes later....)
• Threaten to sell the cat to the glue factory after she peed on the new carpet 2 times
• Let Noah play with a box of wires yesterday (they were unplugged at least!) because it kept him busy for 20 minutes
• Confuse Neosporin for my travel sized toothpaste at 12am when I finally went to bed. Note to all: It tastes like what I imagine toe jam would.....
• Try and convince my husband that it was ok for HIM to wear MY jeans to his office, because all his pants were at the old house (He did actually try them on and looked way better in them. Sorry Brian, if your co-workers read this.)
• Go out and buy the $16 dollar Williams Sonoma brownie mix, because I thought I would impress my new neighbors and then BURN THE HELL out of them
• Use baby wipes as my "shower" for the day (2 days this week....sad, very sad)
• Wake up to make at least 5 different To Do lists at various times during the night and then rip them up in frustration in the morning

Ok, so I realize this makes me sound completely neurotic. Truth is, I mostly am anyway, but this has just been an especially crazy week. Good news is most of the boxes are unpacked and my parents are coming back to help us settle into the my new house in less than a week. I promise, no more "baby wipe" showers after that......well, not more than once a month at least....

Have a great week!

You'd better not pout, you'd better not cry....

Just a quick post to check in. We just got internet in the new casa and I feel like they just turned the water on. What did people do before they had the web?

Can't stay on long, Noah is currently screaming from his crib. We are on day four of napping strike. You'd think he would appreciate his fantastic fortune at having a much bigger room and a whole playroom to himself. He seems much happier, however, at the scary wires, boxes and tools laying around that he has to play with.

I will be back later to write more when we both are a little more sweet and a whole lot less pouty.

I leave you with the view from our new house (yes, that is the ocean in the distance, its a far distance, but hey, its's there!). The quality is not great, because I took this with my iPhone. Lord knows where the real camera is....

Writer's Workshop

This week I have chosen to go the distance and do all of Kat's prompts. That lady is so creative, I have trouble picking just one....

1). Post and write about the 6th picture from (the 6th folder of?) your Flickr account and then do the same for the 6th picture of the 6th folder on your computer.

The picture below is the 6th photo from the 6th folder of my Picasa account (don't have Flickr). It's Noah and I in Brian's parents' pool. His Grandpa bought him a raft and he was all about it. My kid loves the water.

From September

The next picure shows you who he gets it from.........

This is Noah's papa surfing it up in San Diego. It just happened to be the 6th picture from the 6th folder on my hardrive. Not too weird that it is another water picture. We are beach lovin folks, I think Noah should have been born with gills.....

2). Are you still friends with you high school friends? Describe them.

I am delighted to say I have 2 best buddies from high school whom I love very much. Cynthia, I wrote a post about a while ago is a beautiful island babe. Gorgeous on the outside, freakin hilarious on the inside. We share a love of puppies and nose picking. Beth is who I want to be when I grow up. She is a woman who strives to be the best person she can be and is not afraid to be the change she wants to see in this world. She is also as sweet as pie and a loyal friend. She is my "warm hug." (Cynthia, you are my itchy sweater...:P)

(My beautiful bridesmaids - Beth and Cynthia on the right )

3). If you had to star in a reality tv show, which one would it be and why?

This one's easy. I would be on The Hills so I could slap that douche-bag Spencer from here to Kentucky.

4). Describe a time when your pet caused chaos

Daily. Today's episode occured about an hour ago when she came out of her bathroom with a rather large dingleberry hanging from her bum and I chased her all over the house with a paper towel trying to wipe it off her butt before it got lost in the depths of my shag carpet. She hid under the bed for 20 minutes and emerged "dingle-free". GAH -how will I sleep knowing it's under my bed somewhere!?!?

Cat says: "There's more where that came from. Keep giving me the diet food and next time it will be ON TOP of you bed.... I am thinking your pillow......"

Wordful Wednesday - The Playa

I can't get enough of the sound Noah makes when he's really excited about something (in fact, I have made it my new ring tone). The phrase "squealing with delight" comes to mind, but doesn't fully explain it. I think "audio joy" is a better description. Exuberance pours out of him, fills the room with happiness and touches everyone around him. You can't help but smile. Check out his papa and uncle, they've clearly been feeling the audio joy.

Awards!?!

While I was gone some very sweet ladies decided to send some awards my way. I can't tell you how nice it was to come back home and find out that I was missed by more than just my cats!

Thank you very, very much to Sandy, YaYa, and Suz for your kindness. I will be spreading the award love soon!

On another happy note, Mommy got another great award today - normal Noah poop! I never thought I would be so happy to see a BM. He's definitely on the mend! (Note: didn't take photo of this as I didn't think others would be quite as excited by this occurence. I was tempted, however, to put in a photo of his red-concentrating face. Couldn't do it. The poor guy will already be in therapy for all the TMI I share about him.....)

Have a great week!

Explosion!

Firstly, I would like to say a huge"thank you" to all my bloggy buddies. I just saw my comment love while I've been away and it gives me a tingly, happy feeling inside (not unlike sipping some delicious champagne). And I have some awards - what!?!? You guys spoil me. Seriously, it has been a pretty sucky week and you have made me feel so much better. I am sending you all out some happy mojo right now. Do you feel it?

Here is a quick update about what's new with us.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Explosion!!!!

So do you want the good news first or the bad?

I am a good news first type person. Think of it as a sedative before the crappiness (literally). In the last two weeks little Noah has had a "word explosion." Something must have clicked in there, because now he says: mama, papa, cat, duck, ball, up, cup, ba-ba, and car. He has also become a pointing machine. He points to label things, he points when he wants more, sometimes he gets so excited he points two fingers in the air and screams with joy. (I call this his "touchdown" move).

Pointing to the ducks in Grammy's kitchen. He was obsessed with the ducks. Hurrah for distraction!

The OTHER explosion was not so fantastic. Noah got the stomach flu. The barfy, squirty, poo, stomach flu. I won't go into too much detail, for those with a sensitive gag-reflex, but it was bad. New pants needed bad.

I am sure you parents out there can agree that there is nothing worse than watching your little ones suffer. After 5 days of this I felt like I am going to need some therapy and it was just the stomach flu. No hospitalization required (though we did get him ready for the ER at one point).

Noah eating his "prison" diet of bread and water. Accessorized with nifty head-temp sticker.

From this experience I have learned two things:

1) My in-laws are saints. THANK GOD Noah got sick in a house with a nurse and a doctor. Grammy helped me clean him up and keep him calm and Lolo held him throughout the nights and gave him the best health care a Mommy could ask for. We are so blessed to have such loving grandparents.

2) I also need to be more THANKFUL for my son's general health. He gets a virus and I fall apart. I am so very grateful that he is blessed with good health and is usually very easy to care for. Mommies out there with constantly sick little one's, I have a new found appreciation for your courage and patience.

This Thanksgiving I got a chance to be very thankful. Thankful for my wonderful, caring family. I hope you all had a fantastic turkey day filled with yummy food, family, and happiness.

Off to check out your blogs!

AFK

Hello Bloggy Buddies!

Just wanted to say that I will be Away From Keyboard for a few weeks. No big deal, just celebrating the holiday then the big house move. I will try and take lots of pics so I can share when I get back.

Hope you all have a fantastic Turkey Day!

Hugs,
Rachel

My Absent Minded Professor

I don't think I have talked much yet about my dear husband, Brian, who hence forth shall be referred to as HH (Hottie Husband). While being completely adorable, HH has been blessed with an engineer's brain which makes him process information a bit differently than most folks.

He is FANTASTIC at all things electrical and computer related. For example, I asked him for a Marie Antoinette blog (Coppola version) and he provided me with my current header and background. Thank you, HH! He works as a software engineer (where they call him "The Brain")and takes computers apart for fun.

What comes with all this left-brained logic, however, is an interesting outlook on fashion. Note the following picture:

Me: You couldn't find the matching pants to these pajamas?

HH: They do match.

Me: And how's that?

HH: You know, they are horses and dogs.

Me: Ah, so it's and animal theme.

HH: Exactly.

I kid you not. He really thinks they match. He also believes that pajama-clad is a perfectly normal way for adults to leave the house (or take your son to the PUBLIC library in). Which may explain this:

I have no explanation, however, for the pimp-jacket.

-----------------------------------------------

Did I also mention he is a great sport? Love you Monkey!

Writer's Workshop - Dude Looks Like A Lady

The Mama Kat assignment I chose this week was to write a haiku about what I saw out my window. The first thing I saw was a ladybug crawling across my window screen and I thought about how funny it is that male ladybugs are still called "ladies" (Do you think they get insulted?)Here's my haiku devoted the cross-dressers of the insect world.

Creeping ladybug

You're not a "lady" at all

Sex changes aren't cheap

Ok, I think this post proves I need more sleep. Off to bed soon to dream of ladybugs with mustaches. Can't wait to read what you all wrote tomorrow!

Wordful Wednesday - Just Chillin

Hello up there Mama!

You sure have been running around a lot the last few days. I just wanted to remind to to relax every once and a while and pay attention to me. See how I am just chillin' here on the carpet? Come on, lay down. I will forgive you that you haven't vacuumed this week, or that I have to wear my pjs because all my clothes are dirty. It's ok. Let's lay down and snuggle. I will even let you give me big kisses and nuzzle my cheeks.

I promise, if you take this moment to sit with me, you will feel better.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: This totally worked for Mommy. Thank you little guy. You are very wise!

Home - Accents and Attitudes

So if you read my previous post (rant), you know I am frantically trying to get organized for the move. I have been searching through magazine after magazine for furniture and art for our new place. Most of our current stuff was bought in our college days and still carries the faint musk of Coors Lite and possible throw up. Now that we are home owners, I feel the need to "grow-up" and get some adult furniture.

After hours of searching I can upon the only piece of art I MUST HAVE. I found it in the Uncommon Goods catalog and its handmade by the artist Erin Smith. In case you can't read the text, it says:

"Your boots may be made for walking

but mine are in case I need to

kick your ass."

I think this just may become my new motto. So much for being grown up!

Brain Blitz

Firstly, I would like to say I have had three cups of coffee already this morning, so bare with me.

The reason behind this caffeine splurge has everything to do with some exciting and overwhelming news. Our little family is moving! In one week we will be the proud owners of our very first home.

I know there is never a good time to move, but boy are the holidays going to be chaotic with a new house. It's Noah's first turkey day and first Christmas, so I have that crazy, "everything must be perfect for him" mentality. Will I be able to put up a tree? How will we get the lights up in time? Where can we find a Santa Suit for Daddy to dawn on Christmans Eve? The holiday anxiety continues despite the fact I know he won't remember any of it. Oh, rational thought, why have you forsaken me?!?

Last night I plopped into bed, exhausted from some pre-packing organization. To my utter dismay, I couldn't fall asleep for four more hours. My mind was involved in what I like to call a "brain blitz" - a spiral of non-productive thoughts and worries that only leads to sleeplessness and unanswered questions.

I closed my eyes and saw the new house. Then I saw the puke-like paint in the family room. I started listing new paint colors and made a mental note to check for low-toxin paint at Home Depot. Then I thought, when will I have time to go to Home Depot, before I do the laundry or after I feed Noah breakfast? What should I feed Noah for breakfast? He has been a bit "plugged-up" so maybe I should try the flax seed oil I read about...but first I should call his pediatrician. Damn, I forgot to schedule his one-year shots. ACK! One year shots! Need to do more research on the MMR vaccination........ By this time 20 minutes of sleep has flown out the window.

Tell me please that this happens to you as well. I will then be comforted in the thought that I am not suffering alone (not in a "nah-nah-nah, schadenfreude sense", but more a "phew, I am not the only crazy one" type of feeling.)

----------------------------------------------------

*Note: Wanted to somehow impart that I feel completely blessed that I have a new home to live and make memories in. I don't think I did that very well, so here is the addendum to try and convince myself I am not such a whiny biatch after all.

I've Been Picked!

Noah's mommy over at Project Mommyhood has picked me to be a part of her game of TAG.

Here are 7 tidbits about me:

1. I am a sci-fi, fantasy novel junkie. If the book has vampires, witches or werewolves, I am all about it. I am currently reading "Sorcery and the Single Witch." It's super cute.

2. One of my favorite qualities in a person is enthusiasm!!! I love to meet passionate people (even if they are schooling me in which diaper brand to buy *wink*).

3. Whenever I hear someone with an accent, (especially a British accent)I inadvertently start talking like them. Words like "blimey" and "have a go at it" start creeping out of my mouth. This usually ends in at person thinking I am mocking them. I can't control this. There must be a syndrome with this name.

4. I love cleaning, but HATE to cook. Anyone want to trade a toilet scrub for some lasagna?

5. My junior year in college I lived in Madrid, Spain. There they have a scheduled siesta (nap) every day. Why doesn't the US jump on this?

6. A very long time ago I used to play Belle @ Disneyland (pre-wrinkles and baby).

7. If I could eat one thing all day, everyday it would be bean and cheese burritos. The man I share a bed with has something against this idea....

Thanks for reading my TMI. Now go visit these ladies, because they are IT next!

• Summer @ Le Musing of Moi
• Jenn @ Random Thoughts
• Yaya @ Yaya's Stuff
• Tiffany @ Alabama Redhead Adventures
• Bmommy @ Bishop's Room

Wordful Wednesday - My Little Mcconaughey

Noah has a quirky mommy. I work for the arts department of my local school district. I love theater, music, and teaching creative movement to kiddos. Because of this passion, Noah and I spend a lot of our day finger painting and dancing to James Brown. So its no surprise that at 9 months my little guy started to groove.

What has been surprising, is that my son has become a djembe playing maniac. He sees the drum and MUST play. He also appreciates playing them in the buff (ok, well with a diaper on). I think this makes him A LOT like Matthew McConaughey, without all the creepy, shirtless-old-man action.

Here's a pic of him in-between sets.

My only hope is that he doesn't grow up to live in a trailer by the beach and be famous for doing pushups in little more than a Speedo. A mother can dream, right?

This post was brought to you by:

Toxic Baby Bums?

Have you ever stood in line at a grocery store and felt like the person behind you was peeking into your cart, evaluating your choices? I have, but maybe it's just my guilt over the Oreos, white bread, soda and other items in a nutritionist's nightmare I have hidden under the veggies in my cart. However, while I frequently get this creepy feeling, I have never actually had someone comment OUT LOUD on my cart contents. Today I did.

I had just finished placing a bottle of California Baby Bubble Bath on the register when the woman (accompanied by a toddler) said to me, "Good choice! That brand is paraben-free and my son loves the essential oils." Well thank you strange lady, I appreciate your approval. But, paraben -free? Ok, so I knew it was something they put into lotions, but it didn't sound like such a bad thing to me. I had plucked the Bubble Bath from the shelf because it said, "For Cranky, Overtired Babies," and thought -hey, that's right up my TIME CHANGE alley!

She then gave me a 10 minute lecture on why paraben is horrible. I sorta listened with one ear because to be honest, I was in Whole Foods. The people there can be a little, well, "granola" some times and I can't afford to listen to a rant on why I need to buy re-cycled toilet paper, when Costco sells the cheap stuff in bulk. (Speaking of Costco, she told me NEVER to buy the wipes, apparently they are like pouring bleach on baby bums - funny, Noah seems fine).

When I got home I did a little research on paraben and came upon the site Safe Mama. I should have just watched a SAW movie or the Excorcist for the amount of fear it instilled in me. Yes, I had the BPA free bottles, no I didn't have a BPA free teether. My wipes had enough toxins to peel skin off, but my Sippy Cups (the ones without Chardonnay :P ) were ok. My head started to spin.

After a half an hour of freak-out, I finally decided to take a deep breath and GET OVER IT. I do what I can to keep my little guy happy and safe. I've read the books, I watch out for recalls, I don't let him take candy from strangers, etc. And seriously, I should be more worried about the crappy air quality of SoCal, I am sure paraben is nothing compared to a little green house gases.

So if I have the pleasure of seeing Whole Foods Mama again, I am going to whip out my Costco wipes and offer her some. I may even suggest a good bottle of chardonnay for its therapeutic relaxing qualities- organic, of course!

A Tall Glass of Saucy!

Today "my cup runneth over" - Sippy Cup has been nominated as a Saucy Blog!

After peeling my eyes open to baby cries at 5am (what Noah, you don't understand the time change? neither does Mommy....) I stumbled into my office to see the great news.

I have to give a shout out to all the lovely bloggers I have met so far through SITS, what a wonderful support network you have become. To the newcomers, thanks for stopping by, I can't wait to visit you all soon!

Cheers,
Rachel

Halloween Parade - Our Little Pirate

At the door and ready to plunder some treats!

You know you just gave candy to a baby, right?

Ice cream too? Being a pirate is AWESOME!

Sug-AR High!

Come on over to SITS and join the Halloween Parade!

Writer's Workshop

This week I chose prompt #5 from Kat's List. The following list is my Top Ten Reasons (a la David Letterman) why hubby and I should start trying for another baby.

(Our little Noah James - 1 day old)

10. Because Summer's new baby is so adorable, she makes my ovaries hurt.
9. I could tell my mother it was her Christmas gift.
8. No periods and bigger boobs!
7. More Blog Fodder (just kidding....I think)
6. Pregnancy is a great cover-up for holiday weight gain.
5. So Noah will not have "Only Child" Syndrome.
4. To have a little girl. (Hurray for dress-up and Disney Princesses)
3. Baby making is fun!
2. Because I only have 2 more months left of Noah's babyhood (cry!)
1. I am insane.

Wordful Wednesday - My Halloween Grinch

And I thought no one could possibly hate Halloween costumes more than my cats.....

The following two pictures are attempt #1 and 2 to get Noah excited for his first Halloween.

The first photo is Noah just wearing the hat from Grammy Tutu's lovely "Monkey Suit." His grandma ordered it special from one of those fancy baby catalogues where nothing is under 50 bucks. Funny, as I looked through the catalogue I saw nothing but smiling, happy babies. In fact the kid wearing the monkey suit is about the cutest thing I have ever seen. Here is Noah's take on the costume:

(*note: photo is blurry due to vigorous head shaking on Noah's behalf. I guess he thought he might be able to fling the thing off...Or maybe he is wishing it away?)

So no luck with Mr. Monkey.

Insert Attempt #2.

I got really jazzed when I went into Gymboree and saw this penguin costume - ON SALE!

It was only $15 (a third of what the monkey suit cost my poor mother). The "hat" element didn't seem quite as binding and didn't go around his neck, which is what I think really pissed him off in the first place. Its soft and adorable and much like a hoodie sweatshirt (which Noah has no problem with).

Here's what he thought of it:

Again with the blurry photo, not so much from head shaking, but a fantastic back arching in attempt to throw self out of costume.

So now I am left with 2 days until Halloween and no costume for my kid.

Really, I am thinking of going with the Captain Underpants idea I saw in a magazine...diaper and a cape. I know he can rock that.

What's the Word?

The "Word on the Street" today is brought to you by my nine month old, Noah. It's his first word, so drumroll please!

(pause for effect)

And the word today is CAT. Not mama, not dada, nope, it's cat. The cat who bolts out of the room when Noah enters. The cat who glares menacingly at the baby who has taken rights to my lap. The cat who LOATHES the baby.

A little ironic, don'tcha think?

Writer's Workshop

Under "Fabulous Links" you will see a fabulous lady called Mama Kat. This is my third attempt at her Writer's Workshop.

*Warning the following post contains excessive dorkiness. Please bear with me.

-------------------------------

This may come as a surprise, but I AM COMICON-ATTENDING, WORLD OF WARCRAFT LOVING, GAMER. It all started at the tender age of 9 when I received the oringal Nintedo NES from Santa (my dad's way of trying to compensate for living in an all female house surrounded by ballet lessons and tutus.)











After about 2 days of trying to "bond" with my little sis and I, and being completely schooled by his two young daughters at Super Mario Bros, he gave up. That year I spent hours challenging male cousins to tournaments in games like Elevator Action and DKJ. Oh the giddiness at beating them -my passion for gaming was born!


In high school, I graduated to a more sophisticated N64. I once played Mario Cart for 18 hours straight. No, I am not making this up. Lucky for me I later started dating a boy (now my husband) who also had a thing for Mario Cart. It is through that passion (addiction?) that I got the nickname, "Peach." Well, "Princess Peach" to be exact, but just call me Peach for short (he still does).

I love how unforgiving Peach is as she shoots on past her buddies with a smarmy little "Thank you!" She's seems like she is being proper, but really you know she's thinking, "Eat my tiara boys!" She's my favorite kind of princess!

After my Mario Cart years, I spent a lot of college playing Zelda: Octarina of Time. This is probably why I got a C in Calculus (stupid Water Temple, oh how you taunted me!), but boy was it worth it.

In the last few years I had moved on from console games to PC gaming. I REALLY loved Diablo until I discovered the World of Warcraft. And I thought I has spent a lot of time gaming before.....oh boy.... Have you guys seen the episode of Southpark about WoW? Yes, it really is like that. (Minus the fact that I DID take potty breaks, that's just dirty.)

Anyways, my husband and I had to put our games away when we discovered I was pregnant with Noah. I just couldn't be a mommy and be pwning mage too. So now I blog instead! ;)

Long story short. My husband still calls me "Peach" after all the time we have spent gaming together. And that's how I got the nickname "Peach."

Wordful Wednesday - I Plan My Escape

Hey, check me out Mommy, I can totally reach the door lock now. I know you took lots of care growing me all those 9 months ....and I know you like to chase around and snuggle me (yuck) and kiss me (blech) ....but hey, I am an independent guy now. I have things to do and people to meet. The whole world is waiting for me outside this door! It's like that book you read to me,"Oh the places I will go!!!!"

Hey wait....why are wearing a sad face Mommy? Don't cry Mommy....

Ok, Ok, I won't leave you yet Mommy. I can't reach the door handle anyways.