romance at disney

My mom watched the boys all day on Monday so David and I could go to Disneyland for our anniversary. It was so fun! We held hands, laughed at the funny safety instructions in Spanish, kissed as we flew over London on the Peter Pan ride and didn't have to worry about sleepy babies or temper tantrums. It was kind of heavenly. We went from park to park a few times and just had a really fun time.

My mom also watched the boys on Friday night (our real anniversary was the day of William's birthday party) so we could go to dinner and a movie. We basically got an entire anniversary weekend thanks to her! You're the best, Mom!

Our favorite new ride was the Radiator Springs Racers. It was closed most of the day and by that evening the line was 70 minutes long but someone gave us their fast passes so we got to go! It was the BEST! We also rode the Tower of Terror a couple of times (one of my favorites) and David enjoyed doing the Toy Story ride (his favorite!) As we ended the evening with dinner, David said something really romantic that I don't want to share here because then it's not so special any more but I wanted to document it so I can remember that he said it and smile. Love that guy.

six years

Happy Anniversary to my David. Thanks for being amazing. You got me all tied up in knots and I'm lovin' you lots and lots*. We're spending the day at Disneyland together on Monday. Just the two of us. I can't wait to hold hands and flirt with him. He's the best flirter I ever did flirt with. And he's pretty sweet and just right for me. 

*Ten points if you can name that movie.

makeup, stain-free clothes and my man

My friend, Kristi, and I have started doing some babysitting trades and it's the most ingenious thing ever. I love being able to leave my kids with other moms who have kids. It makes me feel so much more comfortable than leaving them with a teenage girl who doesn't know what to do with a crying newborn.


To celebrate David's birthday I left Fritz with her and her baby-whisperer husband on Saturday night (Will was out of town at my in-law's) and we went to our favorite restaurant in San Diego, Cucina Urbana. It didn't disappoint . . . again. We started with our favorite creamy mascarpone polenta ragu board which I devoured in like two seconds while David looked at the menu. You snooze you lose, birthday boy!

David got the grilled pork chop with mascarpone whipped potatoes, confit baby carrots, grilled onion condimenti and baby arugula. It was delicious and he loved it but I was really partial to my foraged mushroom wood-fired pizza with taleggio, braised leek and truffle oil. Just typing that seriously made my salivary glands start having a party. It went awesome with my mocktail of muddle strawberry, mint, lime, ginger syrup and soda. I want to go back right now.

And how sad is it that the only pictures I took all night were of our food. I have problems. The saddest part is that David looked so handsome in the outfit I chose for him. Oh well, I guess I'll always have the memories.

After dinner, we booked it as fast as we could to see The Dark Knight Rises (in IMAX no less!). I was super nervous because of the recent horrific shooting spree and also because the last Batman movie kind of scarred me. I was terrified of The Joker and couldn't even enjoy the movie because it was too dark for my taste but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this movie - at the end anyway - and how much I enjoyed Joseph Gordon-Leavitt in the film (but that's not really a surprise). Don't get me wrong, Bane was terrifying. Terrifying! 

I missed Fritz and worried the whole time but Kristi did send me this adorable picture of Fritz hanging out with Ollie. Her Oliver boy is so darling it made me just die when I saw this. And Fritz's face is kind of priceless. 

The night was so nice. I loved having time to spend with David, thinking about how fun it is to date him. We held hands, you guys! That like never happens. It's sad but true when you have two kids to tote around with you all the time. We flirted. I snuggled up at the scary parts of the movie. We kissed. I miss date night. Let's do it again soon, babes.


(Update: if you read my post earlier about breastfeeding, I don't want to spark a debate on my blog which is why I decided to remove it. Let me clarify by saying that I left the babysitter with expressed breastmilk in a bottle and I also nursed him before we left. Thanks for your concern for my baby.)

happy birthday dear david

David's 30th birthday was super low-key. I was really disappointed when I asked him what he wanted to do for this huge milestone and he said, "Nothing." I was thinking of a big trip or a huge party with our closest friends but he said he didn't want to do anything like that. I knew he's not the surprise party kind of guy so I just did my best to make the day special for him at home.

He left really early for work so I didn't get to wish him a happy birthday until he got home. I typed up "30 things I love about you" and taped them onto the front door with washi tape to greet him when he arrived. He told me it had been a long day but it seemed like it brightened his spirits to read them all. 

I had asked him a few days ago what he wanted for his birthday dinner. He said, "Ground beef tacos with Ortega." So, that's what he got - minus the Ortega because I thought we had some in our pantry. Whoops. 

I totally reused the banner from William's birthday.

He had to rush off to Mutual (with our church youth group) after dinner so we had to wait until he got home to have dessert. William was very excited for "the cake" and for his pops to see the present he helped me pick out for David (his favorite candies - Jelly Belly's and gummy bears). And then he proceeded to sneak-eat half the bag of gummy bears right before bed. Awesome.

David's not into the whole birthday cake with candles thing (which saddens me) so I made him a coconut cream tart and sneaked in one candle. 

Happy Birthday to my dude.

30 years of awesomeness

It's my guy's 30th birthday today. I sure love him. He's such a bright, cheerful spot in our family and I'm so grateful that even after a long day at work he comes home and makes our home a happy place. Hardworking and always kind, he's a wonderful husband and father. His "crinkly eyes" were something I loved and often complimented about his face when we were dating. They show his fun sense of humor and joy for life. I love you, David, for your kindness, your patience, your strength and your love. Happy Birthday.

blessed

Frederick was blessed on Sunday and it was beautiful. My parents came into town for the occasion (and they're staying until the 4th - yay!) along with David's parents and sisters, my brother and his wife from Laguna Beach, my cousins from Del Mar and a few of my dearest friends. David gave Frederick a beautiful blessing - Fritz and Will are so blessed to have him as their papa.

After church we snapped a few photos. I felt kind of guilty because we did absolutely nothing for William's blessing. Like, seriously not even a family picture. And I went a little overboard with this one. Oh well. William, if you're reading this one day - we really do love you!

with my parents and David's parents

I'm really loving summer entertaining on our covered back patio. Our house is really small so it's nice to have this outdoor space when we have such lovely summer weather. I served yogurt parfaits with the best coconut granola, awesome ham and cheese sliders, beet, goat cheese and honey-balsamic salad, fruit and my mother-in-law made delicious banana cream pie tarts. It was delicious!

Yes, I stamped Fritz's initials on the cutlery, hand painted a banner, dipped baby food jars in paint and several other silly crafty things but at the end of the day, it turned out really cute and I was happy. So whatever.

my brother and sister-in-law, holding a wiggly Fritz

beautiful friends - Meg, Stephanie and Ashley

I'm so grateful for all my friends and family for coming to celebrate. We're a really blessed family!

fathers day 2012

We had a nice and very chill Father's Day. David slept in a bit while I made him breakfast (my standby of veggie egg scramble and veggie sausage - we shared a piece of toasted sprouted bread with natural peanut butter on it as a treat. Ha!) Then he read the Father's Day cards we got him and got ready for church.  I snapped a few shots of my boys in their Sunday best. People say dressing boys isn't fun but I beg to differ.

The boys took naps after church (oh, blessed naps) so David and I actually got to spend some time together. It was a Father's Day miracle! And he even rubbed my feet for a second. Plus I got to take a nap. It was pretty awesome.

For dinner David grilled up some amazing carne asada with mini peppers and I made an avocado salsa, spicy Mexican cabbage slaw and we had some strawberries for dessert. It's amazing how sweet fruit tastes when a) it's in season and b) you haven't had sugar in almost two weeks. P.S. Before everyone asks for the carne asada recipe - it's premarinated from this amazing butcher in David's hometown that we buy. It's the best ever and he ships all over the world.

David is a great dad. He has had to learn a lot on the fly as the youngest of three and never really being around babies growing up. He is a lot of fun with William, works really hard to support our family so I can stay home with our boys (for which, I am eternally grateful) and sacrifices a lot to make me happy and to be the best dad he can be. I read a quote the other day that said, "Every father should remember that one day his son will follow his example instead of his advice." I feel confident that my boys will turn out pretty dang awesome if that's true.

"I would do anything for love, but I won't do that"

I hate spending money on Valentine's Day. I love receiving flowers and I love making David a delicious meal along with something homemade. This year was no different. Except I had a sick baby and another one inside of me who, I think, wants to come out - at least that's the impression I'm getting from all these contractions! Keep on cookin' little boy!

I love that he bought tulips and not roses.

I made beef stroganoff that was really delicious. I'm not going to be humble here because it was really good. I'll share the recipe tomorrow, in a separate post. Served along side some sauteed brussels sprouts with caramelized onions, lemon and grated Parmiagiano-Reggiano cheese. For dessert we had my strawberry shortcakes with whipped cream and macerated strawberries with orange zest (the orange was a delicious kick!). I'd say it was a successful and delicious meal.

I bought David a pack of Diet Dr. Pepper because he loves it and I never buy it, so this is a treat! I also made him his very own rice krispie treat heart to take to work. Whenever I ask him what kind of treat he wants he either says rice krispies or snickerdoodles.

I also made a couple of playlists for us to listen to during dinner. One was a "David Playlist" and one was a "What I Wish David Wanted Me to Put On a Playlist". I've mentioned before that David loves Meat Loaf and basically any hair metal bands. So, if your husband is like mine and enjoys cheesy, rocker music from the 80's check out this playlist. Disclaimer: the Bryan Adams song is "our song" so while it doesn't really qualify as "hair metal", it stays.

If you're husband is the sensitive, indie, kinda nerdy type then eat your heart out on this playlist.

romance on the 14th

David and I spent last night in bed with a feverish, coughing, moaning two-year-old. When he wasn't coughing or moaning, he was saying things like, "Kipper! Arnold! Jake! Pig!" or "Ehhh, Ninnnne, Ten! Coming, ready or not!" It made me kind of laugh but it also kind of made me go, "William! Go to sleep!" We didn't get much sleep and when David left this morning at 4:30 like he usually does so he can go to the gym before work, he patted my foot over the covers so as not to wake up William who had his body draped all over mine . . . and that's how our Valentine's Day 2012 started.

one of my favorite pictures of my Sweet William.

I plan to make it up to him tonight with something simple but meaningful along with one of his favorite meals (shhh, it's a surprise!). I know everyone thinks they married the greatest guy but I really feel incredibly lucky. Something he does or says often makes me stop and wonder how I got so lucky to marry someone who suits my personality and needs the way David does. I love my tall, easy-going, handsome, ever-happy, Southern-California-loving, great-legged darling. If you can't be cheesy on Valentine's Day . . .

He's going to be so mad I posted this picture. So sue me if I think my man is attractive.

this guy you love

You think you love this guy. This man you're dating and falling in love with.

He asks you to be his wife and your heart wants to burst because you wonder if you could ever love this person more than you do at that moment as you giggle uncontrollably and say, "yes!"

Then you marry him and on your wedding day, you think "I could never love him more than I do now".

Then you have a baby with him and when you see him hold your child, kiss away his tears, teach him and watch him say "I love you", you realize your love for him has grown even though you didn't think it could.

I wonder what will bring on the next elevation of love? Is there more than this?