Hello, 2012!

So, somehow, a new year snuck up on us, and all of the sudden, BAM!  It's 2012!

The holidays were good to us.  We had a wonderful time with family, got lots of good presents, and began some of our own family traditions as well.  Of course it's always hard figuring out how to balance family time during the holidays, especially once you start a family of your own.  But we managed to make it through relatively unscathed, and not nearly as fatigued as we were during our first Christmas as a family of 3.  So we considered that a success!



Checking out his new play kitchen



All 3 grandkids on my husband's side.

With a successful Christmas under our belts, my husband decided to be bold and throw a New Year's Eve party as well.  You know what?  It was so much fun!  We had about 15 people over, including a couple of little cuties (although our own little cutie rang in 2012 with his Nana, so that Mommy and Daddy could party guilt-free). 



Chris and Pete playing Kinect

 So now here we are, nearly two weeks into the new year.  Benjamin's completed his transition to the 2s room at daycare, and loves playing with the big kids.  Things are going well, and I'm looking forward to what 2012 has in store for our family!


Weekend Wrap-Up

Time for my weekend wrap-up!

Saturday night Branden and I went to a "Stock the Bar" shower for a friend of mine who is getting married on April 3. It was a really creative way to get the couple plenty of booze. The hostess mailed out a card with a drink recipe along with the invitation, and we were to buy supplies to make that drink. We lucked out getting the Cape Codder. It was super easy - vodka & cranberry juice. I found a cool gift set of Stoli vodka with two martini glasses, so I got that, plus the cranberry juice (Ocean Spray, of course!) and I even got a couple of limes for the garnish. (I'm always one for completeness).

The party itself was off the hook. (Am I too old to use that phrase?). Julia and Stuart have great friends - even a couple that I already knew from college (Stuart left A&M-Commerce right as I was getting there...and his best man's wife was in my music fraternity! Small world indeed.) Beyond the good company, there was yumm food and a nice hot tub. Branden and I were the only ones to take advantage of that, but I didn't mind that we had the hot tub to ourselves. We had to seize the opportunity since we don't have access to one where we live.

Sunday brought a nice, lazy morning. We had a late breakfast at Urban Market after sleeping in, and didn't do much until it was time to leave. A co-worker suggested to me a couple of weeks ago that we join her for a performance of "One Man Star Wars Trilogy" , which was playing at WaterTower Theatre's Out of the Loop festival. So the three of us (downtown residents all) made the trek up to Addison to check out the sci-fi nerdiness. The play consists of one man, dressed all in black, acting out the entire Star Wars Trilogy in about an hour. It was quite well done, but I'd say about 80% of it went completely over my head. Branden and Katie had a great time, though, so it was worth it. The three of us went out to dinner afterwards, and then Katie invited us up to see her (parents') fat pad at One Arts Plaza. It was AMAZING. They don't just have a view of downtown...they have THE view of downtown. You can see for miles from their huge balcony. We also had the pleasure of talking to her father for a while, which was really wonderful. He and Branden really hit it off. It just so happens that Katie's father has a degree in City Planning...which is what Branden is studying right now! It was the perfect end to a wonderful day. I leave you with a picture of the man behind One Man Star Wars. He also does One Man Lord of the Rings, which I would LOVE to see some day!