Un Gran Viaje

Earlier this week, Andy's dad threw out an unbelievable proposition. He offered to come and watch the kids for five days next summer so I can go to Colombia to attend Andy's cousin's wedding. Andy hasn't been bitten by the travel bug so he's content to stay home and work/golf with his dad and forego a fabulous adventure. I am in serious need of something to look forward to since we're staying here for Christmas and don't have any other trips planned in the near future. Andy's twin sister and his mom will also be going, along with a good family friend. We'll be in for a major cultural experience with a bona fide Latin Catholic wedding extravaganza. Plus, we'll be staying in Cartagena, on the Caribbean coast, far enough away from the drug runners.

I really hope this works out because South America is the only continent I haven't been to, save Antartica. My passport can't wait for its next stamp!!

Happy Fall

I know, this blog has been horribly neglected over the past two months, so this is my first effort to reconcile the error. Ben, Lucy, and I went to the park yesterday and found a magical wonderland of gorgeous fall leaves. By great luck, we happened to be there with two other moms who are talented photographers and one of them was kind enough to snap this picture of us.

P.S. You'll notice Ben's red upper lip. Any tips for healing chapped lips that a certain boy won't permit to accept Vaseline?

Strike a Pose

Here are some of the photos from Lucy's first photo shoot. She didn't quite have a chance to perfect her catwalk sashay or fierce model stare, but we still think they turned out pretty cute. As they say, time flies, and these pictures were taken when she was about two weeks old, so she's filled out since then. Thanks to my good friends, Heather and Noelle, for taking these adorable photos, and for being so understanding when you arrived to one of one of my post-baby meltdowns. They threw in the listening ears and emotional support as a bonus.

Lucy with Grandma Lori (my mom). She was so kind to manage the star and move her around to all the different locations/positions.

Love this shot of Ben. Yesterday was picture day at his preschool, but maybe we'll just print up some 2x3s of this one and send them out with cheesy messages written on the back.

Lucy's sporting the old man wrinkly forehead.

Siblings. Ben has been good with Lucy, but is still somewhat disinterested. He says she's so cute and gives her lots of hugs, but doesn't like it when she cries and his ultra-sensitive gag reflex kicks in when there's even a mention of a dirty diaper. This photo managed to capture perfectly Ben's mischievous smile/smirk.

Frugal Fashionistas, Rejoice!

Even if you don't consider yourself a lover of fashion, I had to share this great deal on one of my favorite guilty pleasures. You can get a year's subscription to InStyle magazine on Amazon.com for a mere $5, but only through this Saturday night. So think Christmas for the clothes horses in your life or as a style manual for yourself to stay in touch with the current trends. I love looking at the pictures of how they put outfits together or what colors are hip and then shop my own closet to find how I can put a similar look together with pieces I already own. Another option is to use it as a guide to get one or two items to update your look from cheap chic places such as Target, H&M, or Forever 21. Happy shopping or just browsing!

More Lucy Pictures

Here are a few more pictures of Lucy, thanks to my mom who was the official photographer while she was here. Sadly, I have taken very few but vow to change my ways.

Singin' the Overdue Blues

Drat- I've been burned by the library again! Curse those exorbitant $1.25 per day late fees on movies. Well, it's actually a conundrum of my own making, but yet again I owe the library $10 in fees and can't check out books until I cough up the cash. I feel so virtuous by renting movies at the library for free, but then they get you on the back end. I got an overdue notice today saying three movies were due...three days ago. That's information that would have been useful...THREE DAYS AGO!! Gotta keep a closer eye on these things. In the fees I've paid lately, I could have bought the movies myself.

On a related note regarding library Nazis, I returned a book that got a little chocolate milk spilled on it. Not enough to render it unreadable, by any stretch of the imagination. Not two minutes after I had slipped the book back into the return slot, I heard my name called over the library intercom. I went to the front and was promptly informed that they could not accept this book and I had to buy it from them at the full cover price. I quickly offered to get a copy off the Internet for much cheaper, but they said it wouldn't be archival library quality. Huh? The exact same copy? They probably get them off Amazon.com as well. So $17 later I own a copy of a book I didn't even like enough to read when I checked it out. Sigh... Don't get me wrong, I love the library, but lately it seems we have a love/hate relationship.

What's your library story? Are you a library junkie or would you prefer to just go to the bookstore and get the book yourself and not deal with the hassle of overdue fees, waiting lists, etc.?

Dan Brown Strikes Again

Three cheers for the return of everyone's favorite symbologist. Andy bought the book last night and we just started reading it together, breathless with every twist and turn. Our fingers are crossed that it's as good as the Da Vinci Code and better than Angels and Demons. Anyone else excited about it? Which of the other Robert Langdon books did you read and do you give them cheers or jeers?