My Man

I just came upon this today.

Is there any question as to why I am married to this man?

Spooks and Ghouls

Halloween. Costumes. Candy. Personality changes. (Direct result of the candy.) Tantrums. What's not to love?

Oh, and of course, my husband's annual embarrassing costume choice, which, inevitably involves some form of disgusting facial hair. Who would have thought Jake would be such a Halloween afficionado?

Here's the scene just a few days before Halloween. Crazy Denver weather. It snowed another foot and a half after I snapped this photo. Thank goodness for all-wheel-drive is all I can say. Judd had no clue as to what to do with all this snow. He had never really seen it before. This is what happened as soon as I opened the garage door: both kids took off running into the accumulating snow and within a few feet fell flat on their faces. Judd was quite stunned. Ellie, being more experienced in snow, got up and kept on truckin'. Judd made a beeline for the icy puddle at the bottom of the driveway, fell in, and decided he was done.

Ellie decided on Halloween that she was going to be Princess Minnie. Up to that point, I thought she was going to be a Cinderella princess or something like that. Ellie has many princess options. Oh, and by the way, I want you all to know that Jake calls Ellie his little princess. I once heard that one of the cardinal rules of dating for dudes is to never date a chick whose father calls her "princess." Not sure if Jake is sabotaging her on purpose. . .

By the time I remembered to snap a photo of Judd in his Judd-zilla costume, it was after we had trick-or-treated and he was well beyond being able to keep it together. This is the best I could do. (Costume is homemade.) Jake claims this photo is great because this is "classic Judd."

Here is another attempt.

Yes, I am aware that there is something strange growing on Jake's face. I didn't get a photo, but this is the remnant of Jake's Halloween costume. Walker Texas Ranger. He went all the way costume-wise with this one. What he really wanted was Walker Texas Ranger running a marathon, but I nixed that one as just too random. Of course, after he was done with the costume, he had to shave the beard into something that I would totally object to, and this year tops off all other years. I have no idea what this is supposed to be, but it utterly offends me.

Then, Jake makes this commentary: "Do you think there are styles that are just so ruined by certain people that they will never come back into style?"

Me: "Huh?"

Jake: "Well, I'm just wondering when the Hitler is going to come back."

Happy Halloween Y'all!

Disaster

The first time they did this, I laughed and then cleaned it up.

Only a few minutes later, they did this.

This was the last straw for me, when they made almost the exact same mess as the first.

Does anyone want extra kids? I've got two...

On a lighter note, it snowed not too long ago, and I bundled the kids up to run some errands. I was surprised at how excited Judd was to wear new duds and then how happy he was to have his picture taken. I think he might be a little metro. He gets it from his dad.

On a final note, there is one more photo that I am itching to post but Jake has told me that I just absolutely can't. He says it is embarrassing and damaging to our son. I think it's funny and cute. If you want to see it, harrass Jake.

Of Clouds and Billiards

My mom likes to play this game with Ellie where they look at the clouds and tell each other what the shapes are. Elephants, ice cream cones, cars, you name it.

In the last few days, Ellie has adapted the game into other spheres. The one with which I'm not sure what to do, is the poop. It's the cloud game, but with poop. The other day, she called from the bathroom, "Mommy! I made a water bottle poopoo! Come see!" Yesterday, she surprised me with this query, "What shape does your poopoo look like, mommy?" (I will note here for you readers, that like all other women in this world, I do not "go poopoo." Not ever. No gas, either.)

So far, I just play along. "Nice poopoo! Now flush, wash your hands, and tell your daddy exactly what you just told me."

Since I've already ruined your day with this topic, I'm just going to run with it. Ellie also calls her poop like a professional billiards player. You know, like when they say, "5 ball in the corner pocket," or something like that? When Ellie goes in for a number 2, she likes to tell you exactly what she's going to produce. As in, "it's going go be two big ones," or "this time, it's going to be one big one, then two little ones," or my favorite, the triple combo, "it's going to be a big one, then a little one, then another big one." Sometimes she loses track and has me check to see where she's at in her sequence. Is that weird?

Please, don't answer that.

What a Feelin'!

Ellie had her first ballet lesson yesterday. She's already showing considerable promise. I would tell you more about it, but Ellie has decided that she won't tell anyone about her ballet lesson. That means that I only know what little I saw. You'll just have to aske Ellie about it and see if she tells you.

On the Road

We finally did it. After calculating and comparing the costs of traveling to Utah, we decided to try driving. (Usually we fly, but after considering the cost of 3 plane tickets, 1 car rental, 2 car seat rentals, and airport hassle, we were game for something different.) For the first time, with the kids. From Denver to Logan, it's about a 9 hour drive if you go nonstop. There is no nonstop with a toddler and a baby.

We heard that portable DVD players were the way to go. So we borrowed one. Ellie wasn't interested in it after, oh, about 30 minutes. As I've mentioned in an earlier blog, Ellie has the gift of gab. Imagine a 10-hour drive with non-stop toddler banter.

I had been really looking forward to spending some time in the mountains. In Cache Valley, you are never more than a 10-minute drive from a hiking trail. That is something I truly miss living in the 'burbs. I found myself telling Jake all about the hiking that was always in my back yard when I was growing up.

Our first mountain jaunt was the River Trail. Too bad it was 95 degrees!


My niece, Erika, invited us to her 7th birthday party. I can't believe Erika is 7. I was in the delivery room with her parents when she was born, so she has always been special to me. Here is the precocious 7-year-old.


And her 5-year-old brother, Kalvin, for good measure.


In my last posting, I mentioned that I'm not the kind of mom who bakes cupcakes and then hand-decorates each one for her kid's birthday party. Well, my sister is that kind of mom. Here is her handiwork.


I must mention here that all the kids, except for Ellie, took turns being sick while we were there. That is why in some pictures you will notice that not all the kids are present.

We went to Bear Lake. Jake had never been there, and I didn't realize until we got there that Jake was expecting a stagnant little mountain pond. Any of you who have been there know that that certainly is not the case. I think Jake was pleasantly surprised. Kalvin was sick for this outing.

We had to get burgers and raspberry shakes at LaBeau's, of course. I have to admit, while the raspberry shake was excellent, the hamburgers weren't impressive at all. (I think the LaBeau's in Logan still makes decent burgers, though.) While we were waiting for our lunch, Erika expressed a desire to "hold the baby." The "baby" happens to be about 2/3 her height and about 3/4 her weight. I don't think Judd understood that he was being held.


Ellie was fearless in the water. We had to keep a sharp eye on her because she kept running farther out into the water. Judd, on the other hand, cried when I put him in the water. He got over it quickly, though. (Some of you know my serious aversion to natural bodies of water, and I know you are thinking I'm a total hypocrite for sending my own children into a lake. To that, I can only say, you are totally right.)


Our final excursion on our trip was the Wind Caves hike in Logan Canyon. I have done this hike a number of times, but the last time I hiked it may have been about 10 years ago. We took Ellie with us. Judd was sick for this one. This was lucky for Ellie, because Jake ended up having to carry her most of the way. Thank goodness for the Kelty.

In the cave--Ellie was truly disappointed because there were no flowers or bats in the caves. She thought the hike was a total and utter bust.

Gorgeous views.
Thanks Mom, Maki, Jessica, Erika, and Kalvin for a fun vacation!

My Guy

Time flies. My baby is a year old. My little guy is now nearly three times his birth weight. (Can you believe I gave birth to an 8 lb. 2 oz. baby? If you know how big Jake and I are, you know this is kind of remarkable. Ellie was 7 lb. 8 oz. I am slightly fearful of how large any future children may be.)

I know that as his mother, I'm obviously biased, but I'm still going to say that as a newborn, Judd was a beautiful baby. As a toddler, Judd is still a beautiful baby. Even with his crazy hair.


Judd's first birthday was in June, and I realize that it is now August. I would like to say that this is what happens with your second child, but the truth is, I was never on the ball with my firstborn, either. Another truth is, I think I'm just not the kind of mom who bakes cupcakes and hand-decorates them for birthday parties. But, I am the kind of mom who will buy the most awesomest delicious bundt cake for her kid and his party guests. (Nothing Bundt Cakes on County Line and Quebec, by Chuck-e-Cheese. They have samples.)

Unfortunately, Judd does not like cake or cake-like foods. This includes bread. Every week at church, he spits out the sacrament in total disgust. As you can see, my son was less than thrilled at his birthday fare.

But he made the best of it, as always, and made a total mess of himself.

Judd and Ellie enjoyed opening presents. These are still their favorite. If you are wondering what on earth Ellie is wearing and why, I can't help you because I am too.



Judd's 1-year-old skill:

1. Jumping, though he has mastered crawling and walking along furniture, jumping is a skill for which he has shown remarkable talent.

Yum...pizza!

I don't love pizza. I avoid ordering it as much as possible. So, when Jake took us to lunch at Marco's Coal Fired Pizza a few weeks ago, I wasn't thrilled. This joint is downtown on Larimer, between 21st and 22nd. Boy was I in for an awesome treat.

I ordered their lunch special, which was a salad, beverage, and pizza. It cost about $9. Jake ordered the chicken wings appetizer and the Brooklyn pizza.

My lunch special could have easily fed 2 people. The salad had tomatoes and fresh mozarella--very nice. My pizza (remember I don't like pizza) was wonderful. It was a Margherita--tomatoes, basil, and fresh mozarella. The crust was perfect and the toppings were very fresh. I had one of the coal-fired chicken wings--lemon and herb flavored. Delicious. Unfortunately, the Brooklyn pizza had mushrooms on it.

The food was delicious. The portions were generous--each pizza could easily feed 2 people. Jake's could have fed 3. The cost was quite reasonable--the range for pizzas was $9 to $17.

Another highlight was that the owner gave the kids a ball of pizza dough to play with while our food was cooking. They loved that.

If you find that you like pizza, and you also find that you are downtown, and you also find that you are hungry, definitely eat here. Check out their website: www.marcoscoalfiredpizza.com

Trouble

Ellie and Maki enjoying quality cable programming.

Ellie and her buddy Gunnar in Mickey ears. This one, I didn't really understand, but as Gunnar explained it, they are Princess Minnie and Superman Mickey. ("Pwintheth Minnie and Thupewman Mickey.")

This is why these two can't be left unsupervised for any amount of time.

Ellie is 3...and so is Daddy!

No, I'm not making fun of Jake's maturity. Ellie turned three, and Jake turned thirty-three.

Ellie wanted a PINK cake. So, she got a very pink cake.


Jake's on a diet, so he got a little cake.

3 Ellie Accomplishments:

1. Ellie is potty trained! Hooray!

2. Ellie knows the alphabet, can identify all the letters, and knows what sound they make.

3. Ellie can talk non-stop in the car, no matter the distance. She doesn't stop talking the whole time--not even if you ask her to, not even if you bribe her.

Judd Eats Crud

This is Judd...



...eating crud.

Dithneyland!

If you know how our spring season has gone down this year, you know that a pick-me-up was in order. Good thing we had planned to go to Disneyland! We spent 6 days in Anaheim, 4 of those at Disneyland resort, the other two spent traveling and visiting Little Tokyo.

4 days at Disneyland is a lot of time spent there.

Climbing around at ToonTown.

Ellie had been looking for Minnie for a long time.

Judd likes hats.

Ellie loves Mickey.

Other highlights:

1. Ellie won a screaming contest at the Monsters, Inc. ride.

2. We ate at an upscale restaurant one night and Judd screamed the whole time we were there. He wasn't mad, I just wasn't feeding him fast enough.

3. Jake and I don't do Teacups--motion sickness issues. Jake was the unlucky one who had to ride them with Ellie. I noticed that his and Ellie's teacup was the only one that wasn't spinning.
4. The ladybug ride at California Adventure is the same as the Teacup ride.

5. Shooting is fun. (Just ask Ellie.)

Dork Gear

I just needed to get this off my chest.

Bluetooth is dorky. I am referring, most particularly, to the headset. I don't care who you are. If you're walking around with a Star Trek-reminiscent device permanently attached to your ear, you are a HUGE dork. Plus you look like a crazy person talking to yourself when you are actually talking on the phone. Why do you need to wear a phone all the time? I don't get it.

What is the difference between the teenager who can't seem to stop texting and the adult who has to wear a phone in his or her ear all the time? I won't answer here. I'm sure there are a milion clever answers out there. Care to contribute?

Please, for my sake, just say NO to Bluetooth headset. Or, at least, take it out of your ear when you are doing any of the following things:

1. Spending quality time with your family

2. Shopping. Anywhere. Anytime.

4. Not in the privacy of your home, office, etc.

3. NOT TALKING ON THE PHONE.

Thank you.

Bliss

My good friend recently celebrated her tenth wedding anniversary and posted on her blog her ten favorite memories during her marriage. Taking her cue, I will now present a list of 5 of my favorite things Jake has said during our marriage. Today is our 5th wedding anniversary.

This is just what is publishable. Here goes:

1. Wow, your jeans have gotten really tight in the butt. . . I guess that's one great side effect of having had two kids, huh?

2. If it's funny, it's ok. (The Rosses know what this means.)

3. Stop eating! (OK, so this is really me. I say this any time we share a dessert. Actually, we don't share desserts any more.)

4. Wow, we've been married ___ number of years. It feels like so much longer.

5. You did get kind of big. . . .(In reference to my first pregnancy.)

We have had 5 fun, funny, and eventful years.

Happy anniversary Jake! I love you!

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

Once there was a snowman, snowman, snowman
Once there was a snowman, tall tall tall!
In the sun he melted, melted, melted
In the sun he melted, small small small!

"A thnowman with a cawot nose, Mommy. . . he has a wake!" This is what Jake and Ellie did to pass the time between busy Saturday activities. Ellie is waiting for it to turn into a puddle, which will probably happen tomorrow. Crazy Denver weather!

BTW, Monsters v. Aliens in 3D is worth seeing.

Home Brew

I received the March Martha Stewart magazine about a month ago. It featured recipes for corned beef and cabbage and Irish soda bread. I thought, I'm Irish, I should make an Irish meal for St. Patrick's Day.

Well, I am part Irish--I was a Murphy before I was a Ross. So we had corned beef with cabbage and Irish soda bread for dinner tonight. I'm sure you're wondering what is blog-worthy about such a dinner. After all, you need only throw the corned beef in a crock pot and buy a loaf of good soda bread. Ha ha. Remember that part in the previous paragraph where I was reading the Martha Stewart magazine? Yeah. Crock pot? Fat chance. Crock pot occurred to me only after I had been boiling the corned beef on the stove for over an hour. And, might I add, this was a 5-lb. corned beef brisket that I had cured myself.

That's right. I cured it myself.

I started having second thoughts about the home-curing only after I had put the brisket in the curing solution (two weeks ago). It was only then that it occurred to me that I have never actually liked a single Martha Stewart recipe that I had tried. The curing solution smelled suspiciously like cinnamon. That was the only odor emanating from the brine. That was scary to me. (FYI, we Japanese don't usually dig on cinnamon in general.)

I was very skeptical. Then things got even scarier. Jake is very confident of my culinary skills. He invited his parents, two sisters, and brother-in-law to share in the Irish feast. That is fine, except that I have never made corned beef before, let alone having cured my own meat. I was really just hoping to not poison anyone.

Fortunately, things turned out fine. Corned beef tasted like corned beef. Cabbage tasted like cabbage. Irish soda bread tasted like Irish soda bread (actually, I can't really say this honestly because I don't really know what Irish soda bread tastes like).


Ellie was very helpful. She set the table all by herself. Amazing, I know, considering that she is still 2 years old. Here is her handiwork:


Then she got creative with the tuna. Imagine this on a larger scale, and you can imagine the state of my entire house on any given day.



She really thought she was doing me a favor, bless her heart.

Oh, yeah. She would also like you to know that she poopooed in the potty today and so she got some new Littlest Pet Shop bunnies. We're all quite pleased with her.

All in all, it was a pretty good St. Partick's Day. Don't hate me because I'm Irish.

Don't Eat Here, Eat Here

Friday night was one of those tired evenings where I wasn't going to make dinner, Jake just doesn't make dinner, and, well, yours truly doesn't eat pizza as a general rule. (I do sometimes, but it's a very rare occasion.) So Jake and I, grumpy as you might suspect, went out in search of something to eat. After much debate, we wearily settled on Jasmine, which is a Chinese restaurant in Lone Tree that we often go to when we don't feel like driving downtown and/or spend very much money.



BIG MISTAKE.



But how were we to know that in the few months we hadn't frequented the place it would have taken a happy little nosedive into to realms of the UNIDENTIFIABLE ASIAN-ISH genre? My instinct was to turn around and head for the closest burger joint when I noticed the main sign had been changed to include the words "Asian cuisine" and another computer-printed sign in the window advertised the "grand open" of the sushi bar.



But we doggedly entered the establishment anyway because we hadn't had a problem in the past. As we walked in, I attempted to ignore that sure enough, Jasmine had built a sushi bar within their restaurant. I was also quite annoyed to find that the menu now included Thai selections as well as Japanese dishes. Actually, let's call them "Japanese" dishes. OK--so NOT even similar regions of the VAST continent of Asia, all on the same menu, and not even claiming to be fusion or something ultra modern like that.



We still didn't run, and we really should have.

I'll try not to bore you with the details, so here's a quick synopsis. First and foremost, someone put mushrooms in the kung pao chicken. No, more like "kung pao chicken." The dish came out and both of us leaned in to get a closer look at the mess--but the waitress declared that it was indeed kung pao chicken. I ordered the Singapore noodles. Basically, this is their version of Singapore noodles: dump rice noodles in pan, dump other stuff in pan, and finally, dump in a pile of curry powder and no other seasonings. Stir. That's it. Big sigh here.

Did I mention that I hate bad food?

But I love good food--pretty much up there with how much I love my husband and children. So I think it's fitting that my most beloved husband took me to my favorite restaurant in town on the anniversary of his proposal to me five years ago. That is to say, on Valentine's Day.

We went to Sushi Sasa and I am telling you unequivocally that Chef Wayne Conwell is a genius. He had a special menu for Valentine's day--an 8-course treat:

Duo of Oysters: Japanese Peruvian Ceviche & Ume Kombu Ponzu

Japanese Bruschetta: Hamachi tartare, ankimo and foie gras pate, etc.

Yellowtail & Roasted Beet Salad

Japanese Bluefin Carpaccio

Pinkberry Frozen Yogurt Float

Colorado Lamb Chop, Broiled Black Cod, and Seared Scallop

Premium Nigiri Selection: Salmon, O-toro, Anago, Madai

Chocolate Cake

Everything that could be served raw on this menu that didn't indicate otherwise was. It was wonderful! My one complaint is that someone put mushrooms (shiitake, to be exact) in my carpaccio, but even that was forgivable.

It was a perfect evening--a perfect reminder of all the things I love in life. (My husband, my family, and good food.)

Poop Stinks

We didn't go to the park today. It was a gorgeous, warm day. We didn't need jackets. The kids were in t-shirts--no layers. We didn't go to the park.

This time, it wasn't because I was too lazy or too tired to go. This time, it was because of a tantrum. It was a tantrum like none I have ever seen before. It wasn't the magnitude of the tantrum that amazed me, but the subject matter:

"Mommy put the poopoo back in my butt!"

How do you even begin to reason with that? Here's what happened. We were getting ready to leave for the park when Ellie sauntered into the kitchen and announced that she poopooed. I asked here where. She said in her pants.

Ellie and I have a deal. When she is properly potty trained, she gets to have a party at Chuckie Cheese (bad, I know!) with her friends. Today, I informed her that she also has to make a poopoo in the potty in order to get her party.

Apparently, she got super motivated at that point and decided that she needed to make a poopoo in the potty right then and there. She told me to put the poopoo back in her butt so she could put it in the potty herself. I told her I really couldn't do that, especially since I had just flushed it down the toilet.

We didn't go to the park today.

Did I mention that she was having her tantrum sans clothing below the waist? About 3/4 of the way through, she demanded pants--I think it might have gotten a little bit cold and uncomfortable.

Other poop-related issues:

1. Why does one of my kids always poop just as we're heading out the door?

2. Why does Ellie want to look at poop--especially her own, but not limited to her own?

3. I think my son poops out more than he eats. That bothers me a little bit.

4. I have become indifferent to poop at the same time that I have really really come to hate it. In other words, I don't freak out any more when I inadvertently touch the poop, but I still resent it.

5. Jake still holds his breath when he changes the kids' diapers, but not so much when he takes out the trash.

Of Mice and Men

I was browsing the photos on my computer and came across some choice pics of my brother. I was also thinking about New Year's resolutions and thought about how a year ago, Maki was living with us here in Denver. I also remembered something that occurred to me shortly after Jake and I got married: Maki and Jake have a lot in common. (Just so you know, Maki is a 35-year-old man with Down Syndrome and Jake is my attorney-husband.)

Neither of them can ever find anything. If you send Maki into a room that only has one item, he will not be able to find that item. Jake is pretty much the same. When we were first married and living in different states, he would often call me asking where various items were, such as spaghetti sauce, chicken, and forks, to name a few. Mind you, it was a one-bedroom apartment that I only lived in every other weekend. I recall actually walking Jake through the apartment over the phone to find these items.

Here's another one. They both love music and they both love to sing. One of them is completely tone deaf and the other is only slightly better. I won't tell you which is which. Here's Jake rockin' out in Tokyo.
Here is Maki rockin' out on stage. He is also an incredible dancer. Backstreet Boys have nothing on my brother.

They both make me laugh. Good thing I have a sense of humor. Since my birthday last month, I keep thinking of a date Jake and I went on when we were in law school. Here's how the conversation went:

Jake: You're the oldest girl that I've ever gone out with.

Me: Uh....I'm younger than you are.

Jake: Yeah, but you're still kind of old for me.

After 4 1/2 years of marriage, the comedy has not died.

My brother is just as graceful. When I was in college and sporting half blonde-half brunette hair, he called me a skunk. When I was single, his favorite thing to do was ask about former boyfriends in front of my new boyfriend. Also, you should ask Jake about the first time he stayed at my parents' house before we were married. It involves a shower and an event that I will always deny happened.

I came across this picture and nearly fell over laughing. This is Maki with chocolate fondue all over his face and a Curious George bandaid on his hand. My sister had given me a fondue set for my birthday and we were trying it out. Maki got a little bit overzealous, and in his attempt to stab a strawberry onto the metal skewer, he stabbed right through the strawberry and skewered his palm. After we cleaned him up and bandaged his hand, this is what he had to say:

"I'm Jesus. See, my hand!"

Thanks, guys, for making me laugh!