Update on the Little Goddess

The baby has a name: Juno Constance. I called Lili a few days ago to get her permission to post about her firstborn...something about me trying to respect boundaries and all that. We'll see how it works out. Anyway I haven't heard back from her since OH YEAH! she had a baby. I mean, if given the choice between answering emails and phone calls from your oldest and spazziest friend and, oh, I don't know... caring for your child which would you choose? Plus that new baby smell is intoxicating; could be weeks before the new mama resurfaces.

Juno is named for the Roman goddess and her late maternal grandmother. She has a great deal of strength, beauty, class and wisdom on her side already. Hopefully her future interactions with me won't dilute any of that.

I will hold off on the pictures until I get permission, but I know that the name has all four of my loyal readers in suspense and I figured it's not a secret, so here you go.

Congratulations to the entire family!

It's Like Hanging with Sinatra

We just attended our first Homeowner's Association (HOA) meeting and guess who is now on the Board of Directors? Yep, Captain Rules Enforcement (sorry, Major Rules Enforcement) was suckered in almost immediately. Since I am not technically a homeowner I was not eligible to serve our community; my contribution was poking Mike until he raised his hand. Crafty!

A Neighborhood Watch program is in the works, so my nosiness may actually have a useful purpose. Just call me Gladys Kravitz.

New York Weekend

Mike and I happily embarked on our first road trip together to visit his family in New York. We had a great time and are still on speaking terms after 16 hours in a car together. Sounds like a successful vacation to me!

Time with Mike's family always means great food, wine and lots of teasing and banter. Needless to say, I felt right at home.

We were very fortunate to spend a lot of quality time with all three kids and celebrated Hannah's 6th birthday a little early. Thank you for a great weekend!

The birthday girl picks some flowers for her Dad. All together now: aaawwwww!

Kaiden helps Hannah line up her presents while "Sister Julia" takes a break from texting.

Dad and his Mini-Me Kaiden hanging out and rocking their Marine Corps t-shirts.


Sisters snuggling. Sister Julia is excellent at entertaining and pacifying the little ones!


Dad takes the little ones on a paddleboat ride in the pond in Grandma and Papa's backyard.

And the girls take a spin. The conversation went something like this:

Hannah: "Can I steer?"

Julia: "No"

Hannah: "Please, can I steer?"

Julia: "NO!"

Me: "Do you think Grandma has some wine open?"

Didn't you have your own outdoor bistro when you were little? Kaiden and Hannah fuel up on hot dogs. Completely necessary if you are going to wear down five adults and your big sister.


Pretty in Pink! Grandma knows how to shop for the princess.

You'd think they'd run off just a little bit of energy in the yard. Nope.

Even Old Lady DeFazio gets in on the game of chase. She forgot to take her Flinstone vitamin and tried to convince everyone to take a nap. Care to guess the answer to that one?

Make a wish!

Wise girl saved room during dinner for dessert. I'm very proud.

Shortly after this photo was taken Julia contacted Amnesty International. Something about being tortured and having to be seen taking a family photo in the front yard. The horror!

IT'S A GIRL!

I'm an auntie again! No name yet for Baby Fleetfoot, but according to her mom she is 7lbs, 1 oz, has lots of hair and is perfect. Mom, Dad and Baby are doing great and resting now.

Elisabeth and Nick welcomed their baby girl late last night after 30 hours in labor (think about that for a minute: that's almost an entire work week) and no drugs. Let me repeat that: my girl went natural and was able to form complete sentences this morning. I had a headache the other day and went rifling through my medicine cabinet looking for leftover Vicodin hoping to make the pain stop. As my mom said, "She's a tough cookie." Indeed.

As pictures and more details come in, I'll be sure to post updates.

And I SO called it on the girl thing.

Congratulations Lili and Nick!

Anniversary Dinner

Since Mike was away during our actual anniversary, we celebrated with a dinner out in Fredericksburg Saturday night. My man suited up and I busted out the heels and pearls. We looked real respectable-like if I do say so myself. We saw a few cute young couples out for their pre-prom dinner and I wanted to take their picture too, but realized that I was bordering on crazy old lady behavior and decided against it. Plus Mike hinted he would ditch me.

Yes, we are cheesy enough to ask the waitress to take pictures of us. Enjoy!

Cheers!

Our waitress even hooked us up with some free dessert!

Push It Real Good

How cute is this guy?

We took advantage of a break in the torrential rain Saturday to do some yardwork. After a trip to Wal-Mart to buy a lawnmower, weed whacker and cute orange gardening gloves (with polka dots!), we did some work in our backyard. OK, Mike did pretty much all of the work while I took a ton of pictures and scooped up the trimmings. Always glamorous around here.

Belated Birthday Pictures

Mike turned 40 on April 26 and we had a full house for the occasion! Eileen and David (our inadvertent matchmakers) and Mike's brother Devan and his girlfriend Jamie came down from New York. I was a little nervous about being a good hostess and making sure everyone had a nice time. My grandparents and both sets of parents would make Martha Stewart look like a derelict, so I had some high standards for myself. In reality if you just have your fridge stocked with lots of food and booze, no one cares if the bath towels don't match the shower curtain. Lesson learned.

As usual, we spazzed out and pretty much forgot to take any pictures. There is zero photographic evidence that Devan and Jamie were even here (sorry guys, we love our blender!); same goes for the friends who stopped by for a barbecue on Saturday afternoon. Whoops. In my defense, I was busy in the kitchen (take a moment to picture that scene) and the gang was having such a nice time visiting and hanging out, no one paid any attention to the camera I put out.

Here's a few shots we did manage to take. Most of them are from Sunday when we stopped in Alexandria on the way to the airport with Eileen and David. Yeah, we're lame.

The BFF's Mike and David


So excited to have my girl Eileen here, too!

What a handsome group!

I Thought I Left These in San Francisco?

An earthquake hit Northern VA early this morning. It was a whopping 1.8 and the interviews with the locals are hilarious. It's like they found the most high-strung crazies and asked for their reactions. You'd think buildings had collapsed and the city was on fire. Needless to say, everything's cool and there have been no injuries or property damage.

1.8? Amateurs!

One Year for Mike & Christen

May 5, 2007: Our first photo together. We weren't smitten or anything...

Mike and I met a year ago today...and what a year it's been. Cross-country flights, lots of time standing around in airports, marathon phone calls, text-messages, meeting each other's families, and big decisions - not to mention a big move - have consumed us for the past year and it has been completely worth it.

We owe our good fortune to Eileen and David. I mean, how else would our paths have crossed if not at their wedding rehearsal?* Thanks for getting married, guys!

If you had told me that day that I would meet someone who likes Sinatra and pirates and The Simpsons and that I would leave San Francisco within a year to move in with him, I never would have believed it. But here we are and I wouldn't change a thing. Happy Anniversary!


*Yes, I hit on the best man at my friend's wedding. But in my defense, he didn't seem to mind.

Is there a 12-step program for this?

The first step to dealing with a problem is admitting it: I am addicted to Facebook. As one of those smug "MySpace-is-for-12-year-olds-and-pedophiles" types, I was reluctant to check it out. At the urging of some former colleagues who said it's a fun way to reconnect with old classmates and such, I decided to give it a whirl and I am hooked. It has completely tapped into my long-dormant internet stalking tendencies, but in a legal, non-threatening way. I've even been able to see pictures of old crushes and boyfriends without having some awkward conversation. Awesome.

So, if you're on Facebook and we're not friends yet, look me up. I'll write on your wall and send you a piece of flair. Woo!

Really? You think?

This article http://health.msn.com/health-topics/addiction/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100202148&GT1=31033# may explain why I punched Boy Chris in the neck in Vegas...or why I felt it was necessary to take a swing at a friend's ex-boyfriend at a fraternity party when he gave me attitude...or why I was almost kicked out of a biker bar on my 21st birthday for being "too rowdy." Thank God someone did the appropriate research on this subject, because my late-teens through mid-twenties weren't proof enough of this fact.

Next thing you know they'll publish an article titled "Cocaine Can Make you Jumpy."