Legoland :)

After a fun filled weekend w/Isabelle, we ventured out to Lego land to meet my sister Ginny! We were sooo lucky to get some free passes w/preferred parking :) It was a lot of fun and A LOT OF PEOPLE!!! Tatianna & Elijah had fun running around while J.J. and Isabelle chased them :) Ha ha... J.J. & Isabelle did go on a fun ride that they waited in line for over an hour (while we tried to entertain two 2 1/2 year olds... J.J. was a little disappointed that the ride lasted "like 2 seconds" :) There was a lot to see and do... I think Tati will enjoy it a bit more when she's a little older... or maybe mommy will enjoy it more when there are not 100,000 people there on Christmas vacation :0 One of the highlight was visiting Mini land, USA. It was amazing to see all the detailed cities and fun to see NYC!! Tati and I reminisced about our trip this summer for a minute, until she wanted to jump on the carousel in central park...

Fun Game?!?

Tatianna came RUNNING into the living room tonight w/a trail of toilet paper behind her?!?! She thought what a fun, fun game until.........

Putter (our cat) saw it and wanted to play... Oops...
The smile/surprised look on her face was precious :)

Tatianna was loving on her baby... don't mind the food stains on baby from a dinner feeding... one day she'll realize that her baby can't really eat all of her leftovers :)

Santa Came Early This Year....

Tatianna is sooooo lucky to get to celebrate Christmas TWO times this year :) Papa & Grandma came over for the weekend to celebrate Christmas with us and we had soooooooo much fun!! Tati sure loves her grandparents and they sure love their little "sweet pea"!

Santa came a little early this year for the Basney's and we put out cookies, carrots and eggnog for his arrival! Tati was so excited that she went to sleep without a peep!
I think I need to tell her Santa is coming every night :)

It was fun to see how excited she was to open every gift. She wanted to take her time and play with each one, instead of racing to the next one... which will most likely happen in the years to come!

Christmas craft time

Tatianna & I were getting into the Christmas spirit with a little craft time this weekend!
I dyed some noodles green and red and had her sort them! She loved it. I had to keep reminding her that she couldn't taste them :)

Turkey Time

Well, who the heck would have thought that little 'ole me would be doing the turkey this year!?!?! My cooking skills are what one would call amateur!!! I guess I have been a bit scared since the "turkey incident of '98"..... My sister Ginny and I hosted Thanksgiving and well, we forgot to remove 1 of the bags of inerds before baking!! Oops!

So you can see how one would NOT want to attempt this again. Well, 10 years have passed and I am going for it! I have to admit I dry-heaved removing the neck, THANK GOD I had some gloves to wear!!! I'm also being a little creative this year and i'm "brining" the turkey. Basically soaking it for several hours in a salty/yummy mixture. Then I am going to be puting it in the oven at 2:00 a.m. to bake all night :) I can't wait to wake up to the most delicious scent in the morning!! I just hope it tastes good!!!!!

The brine mixture: courtesy of Mr. Alton Brown :)

kosher salt, brown sugar, sage, rosemary, thyme, peppercorns, ice, water

Doesn't that look beautiful :)

Keeps getting better :)

A little over 2 years ago I joined an amazing Mom's Group! I'll never forget how excited I was to get out of the house and meet new friends for Tatianna & Myself! She was just 6 weeks old at our 1st event. For the first few months of playdates, Tatianna was asleep :) It was a great opportunity to bond w/amazing women and get wonderful advice.

Now it is... 2 years later and I feel like these moms and children are family! How lucky & blessed Tatianna and I are! I can't wait for our children to grown up together... even if not in person, I know that the friends we have made, are lifelong friends and I pray we never loose touch through the miles that may one day seperate us...

Silly girl!!! Have a great weekend everyone :)

Mmmmm Mmmmm Good

Tatianna and I had a fun "date" yesterday at McDonalds :~) It was sooooooooo hot outside and I decided to treat ourselves to an ice cream sundae! I let Tati just have at it.... She wouldn't even share :( Glad I thought to get one for myself! The look of pure joy on her face was priceless. It was a moment I will never forget. She kept looking at me and giving me the look of "is this really o.k. mom"

SHHHHHHH

Well I was tagged along with every one of you that reads my blog about "Secrets" At first I thought, hmmm if I tell you them, they WON'T be a secret anymore... HA HA!! But here are a few of my many (just kidding) :)

1. I remember shoplifting candy w/my sister Lisa when I was only 5 years old (she was 7) It was a little market by my Grandma's house.
2. I LOVE Country music and Rap music equally... soooo weird I know!
3. I've been planning my boob job since Tati took her 1st drink of milk from me :)
4. I'm obsessed w/celebrity gossip... I have to check TMZ.com and People.com every night before bed or I can't sleep right... Such a complete dork I know...
5. I slept with a special stuffed rabbit I got on a vacation in Mexico when I was 12 until I was 18....
6. The only fake purse I own, is a Kate Spade purse that I bought 6 years ago in Boston and I feel too guilty to use it and hate seeing it hanging in my closet...
7. I remember taking my 1st puff of a cigarette at the age of 5... Again thanks to my sister Lisa!

Well thanks for tagging me & the therapy girls... I feel much, much better!! xoxo

Battery's NOT included :(

I have been planning my sister Ginny's 35th Birthday in Palm Springs for MONTHS!!! I have been sooo excited about getting away w/just the girls and you would have thought that I was soooooo prepared... Can you even believe that I somehow managed to leave my camera charger at home along with the camera card that allows me to take TONS of pictures...

I know it's not the end of the world... I was sad for a few minutes, laughed at all the "extra shit" I had brought instead of the essentials... and realized it was NOT going to ruin my awesome weekend with my sisters!!!

We had an amazing time and am so thankful for these moments when it's just the girls! Sleeping in until 10:00 this morning was the highlight of my year :)

"Strike a Pose"

Last night I had such a fun night enjoying "The Material Girl" w/some girlfriends from work!! It was a little too political at times...but Madonna really knows how to put on a show!! Hard to believe she is as old as she is... :~) I would give anything for the amount of energy she has!!!

Happy Halloween

Tatianna enjoying the petting zoo at her school's Halloween carnival!

They had a cookie decorating station... Tati definitely got her fill of frosting :)

"Not another picture Mom"

Tatianna waiting sooooo patiently for her turn in the bounce house!

This little Fairy Princess sure had a wonderful time trick-or-treating:)

Tatianna's Preschool Class

Pumpkin TIme

I just can't believe how HUGE my little pumpkin is!!!

When I look back over all the millions of pictures I have of her...I get a little sad... Where has the time gone??? I remember carving our 1st pumpkin together last year like it was just last night!

This year Tati was a little more timid when it came time to help daddy clean out
the guts!! She still managed to sneak a few bites though:) I hope she'll enjoy the pumpkin seeds that daddy is making special just for her!

Fun October Day...

Bates Nut Farm has been something I look forward to doing every year w/Tatianna. I went for the 1st time right before I found out I was pregnant w/her, and have continued to go back each year. You would NEVER, EVER believe it was the end of October with how incredibly hot it was today... :) We spent a really fun day w/some FABULOUS FRIENDS!

YAY... DATE NIGHT!!!!

Doesn't this picture look sooooooo yummmmy?!?!??! I think I ate all that food tonight......

J and I had a wonderful opportunity to go out for date night tonight!! Tati's school was holding a "harvest festival" 5:30-10:00 (pizza dinner, fun games, movie, ice cream sundaes) It was too good to be true :) Yes, we are the parents that dropped our daughter off at 5:49 and picked her up at 9:00....

We headed out to Roppongi's in La Jolla... It was soooo amazing! I've been talking about going out for sushi EVERY SINGLE DAY since we have been home from NYC...

(we had a great sushi date while there)

Tati was so cute when we picked her up... She was having ice cream sundaes and didn't want to leave.. she kept saying "come on, let's play mommy and daddy"

I forget how much fun it is to go out all by ourselves... We of course talked about Tatianna the whole time... but it was just really nice to have a couple hours by ourselves too.....

Here's wishing date nights to all my wonderful friends :) I'll come watch the kiddos!!!

Are you kidding me....

When did she get soooo big!?!?!

MNO

Another wonderful/fun/crazy night out with my Fabulous Mom Friends :~) These pictures just say it all.....


\

Take Heart....

There comes a point in your life when you realize…. who matters, who never did, who won't anymore... and who always will.

So, don't worry about people from your past, there's a reason why they didn't make it to your future.

Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

A sharp tongue can cut my own throat.

If I want my dreams to come true, I mustn't oversleep.

Of all the things I wear, my expression is the most important.

The best vitamin for making friends..... B1.

The happiness of my life depends on the quality of my thoughts.

The heaviest thing I can carry is a grudge.

One thing I can give and still keep...is my word.

I lie the loudest when I lie to myself.

If I lack the courage to start, I have already finished

One thing I can't recycle is wasted time.

Ideas won't work unless ' I ' do.

My mind is like a parachute...it functions only when open.

The 10 commandments are not a multiple choice.

The pursuit of happiness is the chase of a lifetime!

It is never too late to become what I might have been.

Life is too short to wake up with regrets.

So love the people who treat you right.. Forget about the ones who don't.

Believe everything happens for a reason.

If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands… If it changes your life, let it.

Nobody said life would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.

Friends are like balloons; once you let them go, you might not get them back.

Sometimes we get so busy with our own lives and problems that we may not even notice that we've let them fly away.

Sometimes we are so caught up in who's right and who's wrong that we forget what's right and wrong.

Sometimes we just don't realize what real friendship means until it is too late.

Award time :)

This was sent to me by my fabulous friend Felicitas, of rayraygirls.blogspot.com thanks, Felicitas!
There is a twist to receive this award .......There are rules in accepting this award. I have to answer the following questions with one word answers and one word only! Then I must pass it on to seven others!

1. Where is your cell phone? charging

2. Where is your significant other? bed
3. Your hair color? brown
4. Your mother? Missed

5. Your father? heaven
6. Your favorite thing? sleeping in
7. Your dream last night? real

8. Your dream/goal? Travel
9. The room you're in? Office

10. Your hobby? reading
11. Your fear? dying
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? San Diego

13. Where were you last night? Snuggling
14. What you're not? skinny

15. One of your wish-list items? House

16. Where you grew up? Oregon

17. The last thing you did? prayers
18. What are you wearing? jammies
19. Your TV? on
20. Your pet? crazy

21. Your computer? addicting
22. Your mood? overwhelmed
23. Missing someone? constantly

24. Your car? Dirty :)

25. Something you're not wearing? socks
26. Favorite store? Target
27. Your summer? Amazing
28. Love someone? Absolutely
29. Your favorite color? Pink

30. When is the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? Yesterday

Boy, that wasn't as easy to do with only 1 word!
I would love to send this to : (But don't feel obligated :)

Stacia

Stephanie

Erin