Handsome little monster!

You remind me of the babe...

The babe with the power...
What power? Power of voodoo!

Remember the Labyrinth, with David Bowie? Several weeks ago, I was pretty sick of Thomas and Shrek and decided to try out the Labyrinth for Cadiem. I figured he'd like all of the cool puppets. He actually did like it--but mostly because of the baby boy that's in it. Baby! Baby!
Anyway--Bri and I were talking about it the other day...

Me: Seriously, what is up with David Bowie's pants in that movie? What is he trying to say? And why do I find him oddly attractive??

Bri: I know! What are we supposed to think? Is he supposed to be scary? Sexy? Does he want to have sex with me? (yes!)

I think it's the pants... They're sending a message... I'm just not sure what the hell it is! Hahaha. But seriously--David Bowie with the scary hair--and weird outfit--he makes it work! Who, besides David Bowie, could pull of all of that make-up--and is that glitter on his lips?

Moving on... (Pay attention Grandma-this part is for you!) I turned really old last week--for some reason it makes me feel like I need to get out of Blacksburg. I need a damn degree! I am finally going back to school in January. I'm excited to finally be at Tech--I just hope I can get it done quick! Work is going well, I moved into a new position recently--and I've been very busy!

Cadiem is speaking sentences... They're not totally clear--but he's definitely getting a handle on it! He's also starting to remember people's names. Ian is "Ayyn". Bri is "Ahn Bwee", and Nate is "Nat". Haha.
Well, that's it for now... Hopefully I'll be blogging more... If anyone is still reading!!

They're 2, they're 4, they're 6, they're 8...

Shunting trucks and hauling freight... Red and green and brown and blue... They're the really useful crew!
Yes, I can now sing the Thomas theme song! Cadiem is still very obsessed with Thomas. I am so excited for him to open his birthday presents--all Thomas stuff of course :) He's turning two this Friday. Saturday we're having a huge party at Jeff's house, but Cadiem and I are also going to do a celebration on his actual birthday.
Cadiem has also discovered playdough--which luckily for me, he'll play with for hours! He's trying really hard to talk. He'll repeat a word (he thinks it's a word) over and over. It's actually pretty frustrating for both of us. Tonight after he finished dinner, he was repeating "bah bah" over and over--which he said very seriously--as if I was supposed to understand. Turns out he wanted a popsicle. AHHHHHH!
Cadiem was moved up to the "twos" room at daycare about a month ago. He's doing really well. They do a lot of fun activities everyday--he probably has more fun there than at home with me! In the last week he's also made friends with another little boy in his class--they apparently hang out all day and push each other around--but in a good way. Hahaha.
Work has been pretty busy and I'm taking one class. Public Speaking. AGAIN. So far, I have an A. This is a vast improvement from before! My friend Mary and I are in the same class... It's been really interesting to see how different we are in class. I am deathly afraid of speaking in front of people... Sweaty palms, accelerated heartbeat... But Mary is a natural and has no fear! On the other hand, I don't mind writing outlines--and Mary hates writing. We all have our strengths!
Jenni Allison came to visit a couple weekend ago and we had a fantastic time :) It mostly included a little downtown crawl (after Jeff took Cadiem of course!), and she's coming back this weekend--Yay!!
My mom is coming to visit in about two weeks--mainly for Cadiem's birthday--but for some reason, she didn't want to come to the kegger! Heh heh heh.
I'm joining the softball team at work, if we get enoug people for a team... Haven't played since junior high I think... Hopefully I can still hit the ball. Maybe I'll just pretend that the bat is a tennis racket. I already told them to not expect me to catch. Haha. I'm in it for the beer!
Well, I guess that's it! I've got some new pics up--and I'll post more after Cadiem's birthday :)

New Year's Resolution...

YELL LESS. Yes, it's late. But I figure it's okay, since I never make them anyway :) It usually seems so pointless. Yes, like everyone else, I'm always striving to lose that five pounds of cookies and wine. But is that really a resolution? More like an ongoing battle.
Anyway, Cadiem is totally obsessed with Thomas the train right now. He watches the show whenever possible--well, he doesn't actually watch it. More like, insists on having it on--and then goes about his business. He's in the business of lining up his cars and then moving them somewhere else, to line them up yet again... and again... and again... You get the idea! He's added a few more words to his repertoire... But it's still hard to know what he's saying most of the time. "More" is his word for "Put Thomas On NOW!" He has NO patience.

Cadiem got a lot of great toys and clothes for Christmas, thank you everyone! Among them were a play kitchen+food and a Thomas train set. And between all of the grandparents he basically has a new wardrobe! I'm pretty excited about my Kindle and Anthropologie stuff (yay!). Thanks parents! I'm always so sad to leave Arizona, it really sucks living so far from family. At least it's a quick trip to Florida... But I'll have to pay for Cadiem soon, damnit!!

Work has been great, I finally got a real email address (rather than "blacksburg support temp"), yay!! My friend Ted is back in town for the semester (I'm considering bringing him into the alliance), I'm excited to see him. Today I'm hunting TJ Maxx for more Thomas trains... Hitting up the wine tasting, and possibly finding a spot downtown to chill with my Kindle :)
Happy weekend! (They're so much better when you have a job!)

"Clearly, Pandora thinks you are a sap."

Bri said this to me the other day, after I told her that Pandora was playing Phil Collins on my Pete Yorn station. I was excited that Pandora knows me so well! And it was not a sappy eighties love song, it was "In the Air Tonight"... CLEARLY, not a sappy song, BRI!!

Yeah, I'm grinning at a post, a post in Pittsburgh. No idea why! Perhaps there's something shiny on the ground or something... Hmmm...
I had a wonderful time at the Ivey's for Thanksgiving (and Christmas!). We at a lot of yummy food, I even put on a few pounds. I think it may have been all the crazy cheese we were eating.
Which of course went very well with wine ;) We also had a bunch of other yummy treats like Nina's cocoa. It was also fun to be around Fletcher. It was really interesting to see him signing. He can say please and thank you! He also talks quite a bit. We played a lot of Scrabble and Banana Grams... I didn't win a single game! Bri and I also watched the BBC version of "Pride & Prejudice". Which was pretty terrible, but we still loved it since we're both obsessed with it :)
Nate's nephew Ross was in a trombone concert in Pittsburgh, which luckily turned out to be indoors. It was a stage full of all trombones playing Christmas music. It was really cool!
I did really miss Cadiem, but it was also kind of nice to have a bit of a vacation, without diapers ;)

Cadiem spent his first "overnight visit" with Jeff yesterday. Not that they haven't been spending time together previously, but Jeff now has everything set up and was able to have him overnight. He is also going to have him this Saturday. Weird! Me, alone on Saturday night? I might get into trouble! It's weird to not have Cadiem here, but I guess I have to get used to it! I am really glad that Jeff got his place set up. We are getting along well, but he's been at my house with Cadiem while I wasn't home... I was getting annoyed coming home to a million lights on! Ugh!

I had a bunch of people over Saturday night for dinner and to get help decorating my tree. Luckily, Eric was happy to put the lights on the tree. Which saved me from being a crazy-freaky-perfectionist. I have this thing about the cords not showing--which of course isn't even possible to do... So, it DRIVES ME CRAZY!! Thanks to Nickie and Mary for bringing desserts... Addictive cranberry bliss bars and yummy apple pie (respectively :). And Sean for his beer creations! Which I have not been able to sample yet, but maybe tomorrow :)

Ch-ch-ch-changes! Turn and face the strain?

So, I always thought that David Bowie was saying "Turn and face the strange"... Turns out it's "strain". I think he may want to re-do that. It makes much more sense my way!

Well, if you haven't heard, Jeff and I decided to part ways. It's for the best. Luckily, it was an amicable "break-up", which makes it a lot easier when dealing with Cadiem issues. I moved into a townhouse a few doors down from our house and Jeff is living in a house a few blocks away. Conveniently close, but not too close! :)

started my new job at Draper Aden Associates a few weeks ago. I'm really liking it there--the people I work with are all really nice. Cadiem started daycare at the same time, and he's doing really well. He cries when I drop him off sometimes, but I've gotten better at making a stealthy exit! He's usually pretty happy when I pick him up--and usually mid-play. I'm sure it's a lot more fun than sitting at home with me all day! Last week we found out that our daycare is going to close due to low enrollment. But luckily they've decided to keep it open for another six months, so hopefully we'll have time to find an alternative.

Cadiem is talking a lot, we just can't understand him! He has gotten pretty good at saying "ball", "car", "dog", "more"(food!)... He constantly says "uh oh!" and makes a pretty hysterical face at the same time. "Bye Bye" and waving are also new.

Jeff has Cadiem over Thangsiving and they're going to visit Jeffery. I haven't been away from Cadiem for more than a day--so I'm going to miss him! But I'm headed to PA to have Thanksgiving with Nate's family--so at least I'll have Bri and Nate to console me :) And probably a lot of Thanksgiving+Christmas cocktails (they're doing Christmas too!). I'm also excited to take my new (new to me!) car (another honda civic) on it's first roadtrip. It was delivered to my work last week, but I don't have the title yet, or plates/registration... So, it's still sitting there :( But, hopefully that will be remedied tomorrow!

Well, I guess that's about it! Pretty sad little blurb considering the amount of news and time since my last post! I'll try to be better ;)

Stupid Election!

And that's all I have to say... Back to packing!

McDonald's is the Devil!

Cadiem ate his first happy meal on Wednesday. I dragged him around on several errands and felt like he deserved a treat--so McDonald's it was! As soon as they handed me the little golden arched box--the whining began. How did he know that a weird dehydrated onion and pickle encrusted cheeseburger was inside? And why are those worthless little cheeseburgers so damn tasty? And how do they always get such a perfect balance of mustard and ketchup? Cadiem must agree, because he gobbled it down. He also enjoyed the fries--which he doesn't usually care about. I have to say, the happy meal toys have definitely improved. We got the "boy" toy, which was a Batman-inspired-spider-legged-robot thingy, that shoots a little plastic piece. Pretty awesome!
Cadiem and I went to the gymnastics gym again yesterday with Wally & Marin. They had a giant blow-up slide, which Cadiem was pretty excited about. He loves that place!
I am still on the job hunt... I'm really hoping for a job at Tech. I went to the temp agency yesterday, so maybe something will come out of that. Jeff is still working his three jobs--that sucks! I got a letter from my little brother Austin--who is in Marine bootcamp. Apparently it sucks and the food is terrible. Go figure! Haha.
Mary is coming over tonight for some wine, nintendo and I'm thinking some taco salad would be tasty. Does it get any better than that!

Two Things:

One: Aren't onesies awesome? I wish I could wander around in a onesie. What if we all did? We'd look like a bunch of big babies... hahaha

Two: Cadiem's new favorite pastime is ripping the keys off of my computer. I have been searching for my control and caps lock keys for the last hour... I was just finishing my coffee--and found them, in the bottom of my coffee mug! Grrrr!

Cadiem is a climbing machine!

17.5 Months! Cadiem started climbing a few days ago. His new favorite thing is to climb onto the ottoman in the playroom with a book and his sippy cup. As you can see from the above picture, with his favorite book: "If you give a pig a pancake". Which is probably one of my least favorite! Haha. He also has been going up the stairs himself, but hasn't quite figured out the going down part. He has also figured out how to open the pantry (from underneath since he can't reach the handle!) which is full of two of his favorite things, food and cleaning supplies. He's still obsessed with the swiffer! Now if only he'd learn to talk! He does imitate things we say, but you'd never know what he's saying out of context.

Jeff and I have both been on the job hunt. He now has three! Hahaha. Always so ambitious! I've applied to several at tech, so hopefully I'll snag one of them.

We had a visit last week from my grandma plus three of my great aunts and a great uncle. I haven't seen the extended family in several years--so it was great to see them and I'm glad they got to finally meet Cadiem :) My mom also visited prior to that, and Cadiem now recognizes her voice over the phone. After she left, he would hear her on the phone and point to the guest room.

I turned the big 31 a few weeks ago. We had Wally and Mary over (ian you suck!) and grilled up some yummy Spanish brined pork tenderloin followed by lots o wine. Surprised? Haha. Tomorrow it's Mary's turn, so we're having a few people over.

I guess that's about it! I hear a child crying upstairs... :)

check out the video on bri's blog! (i'll be posting soon, i promise!)

blipity!

The last week has been crazy! We've been very social lately :) Cadiem and I have had a couple play dates with Wally & Marin, who we saw today. Cadiem was being a bit of a brat--he kept stealing anything Marin had. Meanwhile, Ari was trying to lick and play with her feet the whole time. Welcome to the house of harassment! Haha. We went to pint night a few days ago with Taub and Sean--Jeff decided to make himself unavailable.. ahem ahem... I blame Taub! Yesterday Jeff was off and we had Mary and our old neighbor Mike over for dinner and Yahtzee. I always forget how much I love playing Yahtzee! Well, I love most games :)

We are really excited about our beach trip! Leslie and I met up at Vintage Cellar today to hit up the close-out and stock up for our trip :) Leslie was pretty funny--she's not a big wine drinker, but I got her to try most of the whites. She pretty much shouted "I hate this!" for most of them. Hahahaha. I don't know how we're going to fit everything for the beach in the car. We're even borrowing a clamshell to put on the roof. There's so much baby stuff!

Jeff might have some changes at work happening--for the better. And we find out soon--yay! He's off (again--weird!) on Sunday and we're headed to a bbq at the Crouthamel's and then another one at the Hypes'. I love summer!

I don't even know where to begin!! I spend so much time chasing Cadiem around that I spend every night playing catch-up... Which basically involves trying to clean up the house, laundry, cooking dinner--all within a couple of hours... Obviously, it does not all get done. Just like tonight, I have two large baskets of laundry to do... A painting I was going to start... I was going to give the dog a bath... Get the guest room ready for Bri & Nate... Meh. Whatever! Here I sit, watching Glee and sipping a glass of wine. Ahhhhhhhh... Sometimes you just need a little ME time!! ;)
Cadiem and I went to TJ Maxx tonight to peruse--and discovered a kiddie/parent hang out. It was a little scary. There were kids everywhere! We made it out alive--and miraculously without buying anything.
We had a great time in Orlando. We went to Epcott and Typhoon Lagoon. Cadiem really liked the water park. At first, he screamed when we tried to put him into the wave pool... But, eventually he was splashing around :) Epcott was having a flower festival--they had flower sculptures everywhere of Disney characters. My mom made us pose in front of several if you check out the pics on Bri's site... Hahaha. Cadiem had a lot of fun being around everyone. Each morning that we were there he would run out of the room looking for them. But we were always the first ones up--haha.
Bri and Nate will be here in two weeks!! Yay!! Jeff is taking a couple of days off while they're here--yay!! And then the week after that we're going to the beach for a week--woohoo! Jeff's plan is to do absolutely nothing. Haha--poor guy! He worked a ton over graduation, and it doesn't seem to have slowed down much. I plan on taking a large stack of books to the beach, and becoming more mexi-skin.
I guess that's it! Here are a few recent pics:
This is before the heat got to us...
Cadiem LOVED the aquarium :)
Bri and I beating the heat with some refreshments :)

The Emperor Strikes Back!

Cadiem has been an awful whiny-mcwhinerson today... Which in the last hour I've had to strike back with a glass of wine. Whiner + wine = whiner + selective-listening-mommy. Don't judge! Luckily, we were able to leave the house earlier thanks to our new wheels :) Kroger & Target baby, yeah! Does it get more exciting than that? I always seem to run into lots of people at Kroger, which is fun--we all have to eat I guess! :)

Tonight we're having chicken curry, which I haven't made in awhile, so I'm pretty excited about it. Kroger finally started carrying nan--which is more expensive than Oasis, but saves me a trip. Jeff is working in the kitchen today, and even though he'll come home smelling like a chicken wing--at least he'll be home early :)

This weekend Jeff miraculously had a Saturday off, so Sean brought a case of his home brews over. Jeff and I also decided to make grilled shrimp and Napa cabbage slaw at the last minute--which made a gigantic mess of our poor kitchen--but it all turned out pretty tasty :) Then we all headed off for a Thai dinner downtown, which was also tasty :) I had the chicken panang--which was all panang and no chicken... but luckily I like the curry sauce more than anything.

That's it for now... Time to tend to the whiny one... I think it might be bathtime!!

R.I.P. Jeep!

Yes, the jeep has been put down... It was time... :) It needs about $2500 worth of repairs--so, obviously it's not worth fixing. But we did get our Honda fixed and also found a new car--which we love :) We got a great deal on a 2002 Nissan Xterra. It's a manual which I prefer and it's supercharged--woohoo! It's really high up--which is different for me. I can't believe I forgot to talk about our new car in my last post! Anyway, it is so nice to not be stuck in the house while Jeff's at work--yay!

The Handy Hippie

Over Easter weekend, while my mom was visiting, our washer decided to stop working. It kept flashing error messages that it couldn't drain. We thought it was the house drain since our tub wasn't draining right either, so maintenance came out and unclogged the drain... And the washer still didn't work... but the tub drains now! Anyway, we read up on the internet about drain issues with our washer--and it turns out there's a tiny little basket inside the rubber "boot" that goes from the washer tub/drum to the pump. A couple weeks prior--I washed Ari's dog bed--and all of the polyester fibers came out... Well, apparently tons of them went through the drain and clogged the stupid little basket! We also found fifty cents and a bobby pin. Anyway, Jeff had to go through the bottom and back panels to get to all of the hoses and clamps. Then we actually had to go buy different clamps because the damn things are impossible to get back on. It's got to be about the worst design EVER. I'm thinking they made it that way so you pretty much have to call a repairman and pay them $200. But, we have the handy hippie to save the day :)

We had a great time while my mom was here. We managed to squeeze quite a bit in. We went shopping, hiking, ate out several times... It always goes too fast! But, Cadiem and I are headed to Orlando at the end of the month while my mom is there (and now Marty too!)--so we'll see her soon :)

We found a little gas grill on craigslist for really cheap--and we're loving it! We're putting our Bobby Flay book to good use :) Jeff made the most amazing grilled shrimp I've ever eaten--which was actually a combination of recipes since we didn't have everything for either recipe. We also had some turkey burgers stuffed with brie and topped with arugula and grilled apples. Tasty-licious!

Cadiem had his first playdate with Marin last night :) We went out to our second home (rivermill!) and hung out with the other Jeff, Taub and Sean. We met up with Wally, Hypes and Marin and then all came back to our house so the babies could play :) It was so cute! Cadiem stole Marin's sippy cup full of apple juice and drained it. She retaliated by taking his sippy full of milk. Hahaha.

In the above pic, Cadiem is busy picking around his macaroni and cheese. He refused to even try it! But at least he ate his peas and carrots :)

How does 2am come so quick? bedtime!

A feast in the land of no wine...

Cadiem was eating (not really) some red potato fries in the above pic--that he decided to smear all over his head rather than eat. I think they were a little too adult for him since they were flavored with parmesan and garlic... But Jeff and I ate them for lunch today and they were yummy!

We are having a feast tonight, which I just finished "prepping" :) Jeff isn't home yet, but usually I like to pre-prepare when we're having dinner this late. I actually used some recipes (kind of)--usually I just wing it! So, compliments of Bobby Flay, we're having pork chops marinated in Spanish paprika, orange and ginger... Which I tried making last year--but used the wrong paprika--and it wasn't that great. This time, I used the right one--and, I think I forgot to add salt last time (the recipe doesn't call for it) but it definitely needs it! Anyway--I think it's going to be pretty tasty, especially with my additions (mine is HOT!). I also stole Bobby's dill potato salad recipe... Although, mine has extra ingredients, less potatoes, and no smoked salmon (yuck!!), uh, or capers. Mainly the extra ingredients are due to my failing to cut them down according to how many potatoes I used... My 6 compared to his 20... Haha--oops! Wow, my run-on sentences are fantastic! I actually only decided to make it because I thought it just required boiling potatoes and throwing on the sour cream (or... greek yogurt ;) dill sauce... Nope... I also had to throw a bunch of stuff in with the potatoes: parsley, green onions, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, more dill... Pain in the ass! Well, not really, just more time than I wanted to invest. We're also having some lemon asparagus which I may or may not wrap in oh-so-healthy bacon. I've been pretty lazy with my cooking lately, making stuff that's really quick and easy. But something about the nearing warm weather puts me back in the mood :) I was a little sad though tonight, we're wine-less. I like to drink wine while I cook, but I had to settle for a Young's Chocolate Stout that's been in the fridge forever. Not a bad compromise :)

Anyway, tomorrow I will be cleaning ALL DAY LONG in preparation for my mom's visit :) She gets in Wednesday--and Jeff got the day off (YAY!) so we're going to tour around downtown Roanoke and check out the farmer's market and a couple places Nickie suggested.

This past Saturday was Eric's birthday. Happy 28th Eric!! :) A pretty large group of us went to Taaza in Roanoke and it was damn tasty. Unfortunately, I got pulled over on the way home (my lights weren't all the way on--ugh!) and my license happened to be suspended (go figure)... Which I'm guessing is due to an unpaid parking ticket--who knows! But the police officer was really nice and I was rescued by my friends. Thank-you Gene, Nickie, Eric and Nichole!!

Okay, I'm off to the shabath... (It's a bath... but it's a shower... all at the same time... ;)

Cadiem Walking!

Cadiem has been taking several steps at a time for the past few days--and I finally managed to get some video. He's pretty proud of himself, as you can see :) He has so much personality--it cracks me up! Today we were laying around on the floor playing and he was trying to attack me and jump on my stomach. Haha--he can't really jump so he was basically just falling on me. He is really into nesting is toys right now. And he's obsessed with the pots and pans. I keep finding his sippy cup "nested" in the pots. Haha. Grandpa Shultz was in for a short visit this weekend. He and Cadiem had fun playing together. Marty was pretty appalled at how dirty the baby is--hahaha. Jeff was off on Sunday, so he got to spend a little time with Marty as well. We made a big brunch on Sunday--it was tasty :) Hopefully when Marty comes back in a few weeks, we'll be able to squeeze in a hike.

Today I was perusing in Old Navy and ran into Nichole. I said to her, "What are you doing wearing that scarf?!" She said to me, "What are you doing wearing a tanktop!?" Hahaha. I'm so excited for the warm weather to get here--that I decided to ignore that it got chilly again in the last couple of days. So I went to class today in my "flippy-floppys" (i'm on a boat!! hahaha) and short sleeves. Haha.

Jeff is off again tomorrow--and then working through the weekend (bleh!). I'm hoping that the sun will come out long enough for us to get a walk in... Maybe it will be spontaneously warm and we can go hiking :) (i'm an optimist!)

My mom will be here in about a week and so far we're planning to hit up the farmer's market in Roanoke, a winery or two, and go hiking. (there's a lot of talk of hiking in this blog!)

I love spring!!

Today was a gorgeous spring day :) The sky was blue, the sun was out--and I think it got pretty close to 70 degrees! Cadiem, Ari and I walked downtown to share some Ben & Jerry's yogurt and enjoy the sunshine. Only to find that there was no ice cream to be had! Ben & Jerry's went out of business! We also lost our downtown Dairy Queen awhile ago, so we had to settle for some Starbucks. No, I didn't get coffee! Cadiem and I "shared" a banana-strawberry smoothie... I didn't get much of it... He is a pig! Anyway, Cadiem was worn out from our walk--and I finally got a picture of him sleeping :)

Yesterday I hung out with Mary for St. Patrick's day... Instead of scary green drinks we tried out some chocolate red wine--which was pretty tasty! Also had yet another cheese plate... I think I have a cheese problem!

Cadiem has started refusing food unless it is not intended for him... And then he wants it. Today I made him a grilled cheese--which he knew was for him--and then refused to eat it. I managed to shove a piece in his mouth when he was turned the other direction. After spitting it out and trying it a few more times, he decided he loved it--and wolfed down the rest of it :) He tried sweet potato fries yesterday and pasta with marinara sauce--both of which he loves as well. Every time I get the cheese out of the fridge--he gets a riled up--he LOVES cheese. He'll even eat my super sharp Vermont cheddar.

Jeff has been working quite a bit in the last few days, but he's off tomorrow afternoon so we're going to walk downtown and have lunch. I love nice weather!