the lost photos

so. just ran through my photo album and tripped on a couple pics that  have failed to get posted. so, in no particular order...here they are. I have also included a little mystery at the end of my pictorial review of my recent weeks (aside from the first pic which was taken in spring 2014). see if you can help J figure out the mystery!

this gem was taken a few months ago...

not sure when, my guess is 7-8 months old? 

just look at that magnificently adorable face!

these.

these delicious little fatty bullets are amazing

 and I might be able to live off of them 

for the rest of my natural life.

yah, they are THAT good.

cute tee.

speaks the truth, my friend.

funny.

little man LOVES looking out the window. 

Hope the neighbors don't mind! little Peeping Jimmy!! :)

halloween! terrorizing the backyard!

and THIS is what a successful Target trip looks like, sans baby.

not only was I more focused in the Land of Bullseye and Dollar Spot, 

but I was also more efficient with my list execution.

I love bringing J to Target so he can experience all the

wonder and amazement of the best store on earth (well, tied with Nordstrom), 

but man, was this a killer trip without him in tow!

oh. then I saw THESE. hi, cute cookies that are festive AND delicious?! 

how can I say no?

oh, yah...I can't.

look at this wet spot!

I have no diaper on!

I wonder what this wet spot is?

I will touch it.

let me ponder what may have caused this wet spot. 

is the biggest clue the fact that I am diaperless?

is another clue the fact that the wet spot is body temperature?

is the final clue the fact that momma is getting out the carpet cleaner?

could it be?

yes! it is pee!

and the beat goes on!

Happy Hulkoween!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

The Irresistible Incredible Hulk!

yes, he is ONE now! ONE!!!

The Hunk and Hulk

me and my lovely :)

what is better than one baby james...? two!

ummm, is too much of a good thing, bad? I don't want to find out!

fall is here...so are the good times.

headed home - around Lake Calhoun, from the gym...

Saturday 7:15 AM Sunrise....lovely!

comin' to get ya!

ha, startled baby, playing with the garden hose/mud

halloween costume?

(future) BFFs. lovey.

the sheeples...participation awards...thank goodness there's BBJ to save us.

so, on a "mom blog" this morning I was reading some posts in regards to the original poster's question, "need suggestions for jeans! any input?" so this woman said she used to wear one brand and size of jeans but now a year after having her baby (all posters on this thread/board have a baby born in October 2013), she doesn't fit her old jeans very well. OK, i get it. so then I am reading what people say (thank goodness at least one person gave her great advice and said SEVENS!!! because duh, they are the best. ever. end of discussion!) and here is what one woman said after naming of her fave brand...ready? ...

"Another awesome thing (about this brand) - I wear a size 4 in their pants! 

That hasn't happened in years!"

UMMMMMMM. OK, this is so wrong!!! You shouldn't like a certain brand because their tag reads a smaller number than all of your other jeans tags! Are you serious? Lipstick on a pig, folks!! You are not suddenly smaller (or larger) based on what pants you put you arse into! it's still the same size!!!! the label is just lying to you! DUH!!! now, some people may come back and say, "oh, whatever makes you feel good, go for it...if the label lies, so be it." look, I get that, but guess what? you're gonna be the one who has the kid who goes home with the "participation ribbon" while I'll be the one who takes home the kid with the "1st place" ribbon. ZING. you are settling on a lie! on a temporary feel good fix that does not address the real issue, but rather masks it like a weak bandaid for a day. If you really want to achieve satisfaction from being a size 4, then REALLY be a size 4. don't just lie to yourself and temporarily feel happy because your jeans are size 4... get there. do the work. be a size 4 no matter what you wear! (or size 6, 8, 12, or whatever 'magic number' makes you feel bad azz!). really. it will be way more rewarding than just letting the label lie to you. 

so there is my unsolicited 2 cents.

now, here is another thing that drives me nuts ... because no one asked... this morning on my way to work I was headed north on lyndale avenue. there were a few of us stopped at the stop light on lyndale, intersecting lake street; the arrow for north and south facing cars to turn left (which would be west or east onto lake street) came on as green so a car turned left (which was correct), and then a car who was going straight, northbound, ALSO went...but he went forward! so even though he still had a red light and his oncoming traffic had a red light and oncoming traffic lefthand turners had a green arrow, he went through his red light! I cringed, afraid he was going to get plowed over by an oncoming left turner...but, he made it. WELL, then a STUPID SHEEPLE of a driver behind the lawbreaker (idiot) driver ALSO went through his red light!! What an idiot! luckily there were no cars in his way, however all i could think was how extra stupid this second driver must be! way to just follow the person ahead of you, right into danger's path! moron! and this person can VOTE for our elected officials!?!? YIKES! clearly he cannot think for himself (yeah, I am very unforgiving here, i know! but dude - people could have been killed!) as is...it was just a show, in my opinion, of how dumb and absent minded people can be and literally just follow someone else, quite possibly to their death. ugh. stupid. 

anyway, it's friday and I am happy about that. this week i have been very productive at work, which is always a huge plus, and home has been pretty fun as well. Baby James is walking everywhere now and is gaining confidence and coordination by the day!! i love seeing him develop and grow, albeit bittersweet! 

nice hat! "if i dressed like that, I'd kick my own A$$!" 

but really, this hat is adorable on him!

helping me grocery shop. what a little darling!

our kitchen is now known as "The Baby Spa"

"hi. i am the cutest being ever, of all time, 

past present and future. 

I win at being loved.

don't you adore my vest?"

annnnnnnd while searching my electronics for pics NOT of baby james, this is pretty much all i could come up with... LOVE this pic of Claudia Schiffer. seriously, i am obsessed with it. once day when i have my fancy closet, I will have this pic framed and hanging in it (probably by my undergarment section), as well as a pic of Anna Nicole Smith modeling for Guess (coincidentally). I LOVE all of these "old" photos from the early/mid 90s ad campaigns. love all these models!

finally, i love this little inspirational piece. it's a good reminder to us all to hang in there and keep our heads up. 

plus...it reminds me of THIS (below), which I LOVE! 

Anyone remember these little buddies?

(pic taken from here)

That is all for now... happy weekend!

kids and eats.

How cute are my Jameses? I mean, let's take a peek here....

tres cute, if i may brag-so, myself.

So next up...how hideous are these outfits?! More specifically, these god-awful clown pants!? I think these ensembles may be forced upon children as some form of punishment? public humiliation? yeeeesh.

....oh I just threw up in my mouth a little bit!

nope, just threw up in my mouth a LOT a bit! GROSS!

WHY on earth (certainly not in heaven, but possibly these are common place in hell?) would one EVER dress their child(ten) in these ruffle-like pants? and worse, bring the clothed children in public!? ewwww! I have seen, with my own two eyes, children at places such as Target wearing these pants. I have also seen them at the mall....not Southdale mall, of course (poo-poo, for those folks who don't know Edina from Adam) but at Mall Of America (AKA greatest people-watching, year round!). Do parents force their children into wearing these hoof-covering pants so if they are separated from one another, the child is wearing an identifiable article of clothing? The parents can as folks to be on the lookout for a child wearing shower caps on their feet? Is anyone afraid of these pantleg-skirts getting stuck in the escalator grates? What the hell. these are disgusting. Friends, if I see any one of you dressing your child in these pants I WILL call CPS on you. 

Next, next.... back to the good life... let's take another looksee at my darling baby james, 'feeding' himself some green beans and carrots puree. oh, look - he is trying to share with us! what an angel.

wonnnsumm?

the other day I was minding my own business in the baking aisle of Target when I stumbled upon MAPLE BACON FROSTING. now, I am not too nuts about bacon, but big James IS. and I am gaga over maple, pumpkin, sugar, sweets, frosting, butter, desserts, you get the idea... so I thought it only fair and sane to pair some pumpkin bars with maple bacon frosting...like so (below). result? pretty good!! I also bought this new dish and was itching to try it out, so naturally I chose to break it in with some unhealthy baked goods. the bacon part of the 'maple bacon' frosting are shown on the top half of the picture/bars. see those flecks? yeah, those are fine sprinkled of bacon (allegedly). i preferred the frosting, sans swine, but whatever...who am I to turn down a dessert, really?! mmm. pretty tasty. not my favorite, but not the worst.

eat up, piggy!

Lastly (for the food portion of the entry) we have heirloom tomatoes from Whole Foods. I wish the colors would have shown up more vibrantly in this pic, but unfortunately this is the best I could do in my 7 second tomato photoshoot. These puppies were ginormous as well as beautiful! they were not as flavorful as the tomatoes jill shared with us last year (seriously, Jill. yours were better!!), but they were pretty good! I like to slice them up and sprinkle (douse?) them with salt & peppa. yumminess. i could seriously live off these things!! would i buy again? sure. not quite sure they were worth $3.99/pound (they were both bigger than softballs!), but they did fill me up and taste pretty good. so, overall, yes. 

mine! alllll minnneee!!

Last saturday night James and I went out to Freehouse, rather last minute. We met my lil sister and her love interest, Dustin, for a couple fun drinks. I had a tasty beer, james had....some fancy drinks, and then I housed a bison burger!! fantastic! I had been craving a burger over the last week or six, so I am so glad I finally had the chance to get a big, thick burger! it also had arugala, which I LOVE, and was bison, which sadly, i realllly LOVE!! juicy, lean, and delicious. that was definitely a victorious moment of the evening! sure am glad i got all fancied up and left the house! (yes, wearing a "bon-jour" tee shirt and loosely curling my hair counts as getting fancied up!) a very fun night, and even a pic to prove it!

so maybe this was after a few drinks were consumed. 

do we look blurry, to you?

it's been a speedy week and now comes an even speedier weekend. James has a BYE this weekend so he will probably end up doing all sorts of home improvement stuff on the house while I run around with the baby. as long as the weather holds up, we should be able to enjoy a wonderful autumn weekend! fingers crossed!

marooned!

"btw you need to blog," she says.

ok, so here i am, i say.

new things going on? not much. why not? because I have a ten month old child and am training for a marathon and have a fiancé who coaches football and am trying to finish a big project at work and i am sick of excel sheets and am busy trying to hold my sh!t together so i have basically negative time to do anything new. and i need to walk the dog.

did you like that run-on sentence? i think its safe to say that the life i currently lead is one long, run-on sentence, personified! try to say said sentence in one breath, about half an octave higher than usual. that is my liffffeee.  note this is not a complaint. just happens to be a matter of fact.

but really, things have been going pretty well. I even managed to wear a new outfit today. this is huge. why? because my pants are maroon. yup, maroon skinnies. this is a considerable deviation from my standard ensemble of dark denim skinnies. they are maroon. did you hear me the first two times i said it? anyway, funny thing about these (maroon) skinnies. naturally, they are from target. (iloveyoutarget) i have had them for a very long time yet just ripped the tags off this morning. i bought these jeans nearly two years ago to the day! i know this because the receipt was in the back pocket! ha!! yup. i meant to return them but clearly failed...so here we have a 'new' pair of jeans for me today, September 12, 2014. purchase date of September 16, 2012. they have put in some serious shelf time!! gosh i think they are fairly cute too. why'd i wait so long to wear these things!! at any rate, i am a fan and will toss into my rotation!

pictorial update: 

throwback of Angel, Jessica and tiny baby Olivia!

me and my baby. bliss!

Patisserie 46 yummies, hiding out in the bag....

oh, hello there my little breakfast buddies!

darling big James stopped by "P46" (as the locals say) this morning and brought back some delicious coffee and a croissant and some peachy pastry divineness! i tried the snacks - mmmm! and i downed the coffee...will definitely be making multiple trips back, in the future!

well, JILL, I will post a better blog entry next week. promsies. cheers to you, in the meantime! 

xoxx!

running through summer!

ok, so i tried this StitchFix thing...should receive my goodies on September 3rd... not that I need more clothes, but I do need help with coming up with new outfits and I am hopeful this will be part of the solution. will follow up once i get the goods.

the weekend was great - spent a wonderful Saturday on the boat with my dad, the Captain, and James, Rick and Jill... my mom was so kind and stayed home to play with baby j. :D everyone wins! 

we had so much fun that we didn't take any pictures! what a pity! guess that means we will have to do it again...soon!!

luckily i DO have puhhhlenty of other pics, yes of bbj, to share. :) hooray!

helping me at work last week

ready to eat!

Olivia slept over one night last week and we went to Lake Harriet to 

visit Mr. LittleGuy ... so much fun!!

where is he?!

the boys were resting...typical.

baptism for baby Grace Luelle and James Kenneth :D

The Kenny Weller girls...and their girls and guy ;) 

food! I actually made something to eat last week! 

this involved:

 thought, preparation, presentation and consumption!

can you believe it?? all my marathon training/warm months/tiredness and lack of food prep interest has really derailed me from cooking or baking pretty much ANYTHING since probably...oh, I'd say JUNE!!! I can't help it! by the time i get home from work, I change, pack up the stroller and dog and we hit the running path! Big J has only grilled once or twice as well - it's just been a whirlwind of a summer, which is just fine, so our cooking has taken a backseat to other things. :D this is one of our favorite snacks - tomato, basil, mozzarella and oil. this time i added a yummy drizzle of balsamic glaze (or, as olivia calls it, chocolate syrup!). yummola! its so simple and fresh and tasty. maybe i will make another snack - perhaps a WHOLE MEAL (!!??!!??) this week!? wow! 

Marathon training has been going pretty well. We (Jill and I are both running in it on October 5th) are just starting to get to the beff of the training. Based on the Hal Higdon Novice1 program we have runs this week consisting of 4 miles, 7 miles, 4 miles and then the Big Kahuna Saturday run of 16 miles (i think we are on week 12 of 18?). last Kahuna Saturday run was 15 miles and I think we both did pretty well! I started running just before 6:30 AM and was able to beat the heat and finish up by 9 AM...that's pretty important and makes getting up at 5:45 that much "easier." the longer you wait to hit the pavement, the longer you have to be out there as the paths get busier and the temps rise. I mean, it's not like we are in oklahoma, arizona, texas heat... but running for 2-3 hours in 75+ degrees does start to take a toll on you. At any rate, it's always great to get your long run done by mid morning and be able to enjoy and relax the rest of the weekend. :) 

so that has been an update on our little summer activity. 

actually, that's not entirely true. James has been working on the back porch lately which means we may end up with some more usable square footage in a few weeks! new floor, new door, and newly insulated ceiling, walls and floor! HUGE. will post updates as they unfold.

cheers!

some summaaaah!

uh oh. I think i figured out how to upload vids on here. uuhhhh ohhhhh. if so, then please enjoy this clip i made on instagram (look at me, so 2014!!) of baby playing with a spoon. life is just so exciting these days! if the video does not work...well then it's same old me, stuck in 2001.

this was waiting for Big James upon his return from Oklahoma

how could he ever LEAVE this!?

had to save this cup...spelled correctly and smile face? KEEPER!

eating cereal and mashed bananas...hands on!

a very serious happy hour.

more messy eatin'

more happy hour fun with m'bb!

summer has been fun but it's been flying by. I am so thankful we've been improving our time management skills so we can take plenty of walks and spend more "quality time" as a family. 

more pics and hopefully videos, to follow! 

baby j will be NINE MONTHS OLD in two days. eeeeeek!