Oh, Christmas Tree

We trimmed the tree tonight. Liam seems to think we're crazy for having a tree in the living room. He laughed all day. He likes the pretty lights.

"So let me get this straight...We put the tree in the living room...then we put lights on it...and then we put silly, shiny things on it?"

That makes perfect sense.

Perfect.

Happy Birthday!

Wednesday marked the anniversary of a truly historic occasion...the birth of Liam M. Sitter.

Wednesday is not a fun day to celebrate birthdays, however. So we partied on Sunday!

To properly celebrate a momentous birthday like 1, you need the right equipment.







You also need balloons...


Winnie the Pooh balloons




And silly hats...well, you really only need one silly hat, but if you can pull off two, why not?



You also need a dumptruck load of presents. Apparently, if you're super cute this isn't all that hard to get.


Don't forget the guests! It's no fun to party by yourself.



You definitely need cake. Even better if it has a sparkly number one candle.



We've done Liam a disservice by not giving him very many sweets. He wasn't all that excited by cake. He hardly knew what to do with that big bite of frosting. He did know what to do with his new Clifford bowl, though...carry it around for the rest of the day.



I'm glad that I cleaned up the house. Otherwise we wouldn't have had room for all the new stuff. We're going to need a bigger house at this rate.

Mister got all kinds of stuff to help attract the ladies.

A snow suit for the ski bunnies...



A whole pile of clothes to help maintain his sharp-dressed image.



A big truck for all the roughneck girls...



A guitar for, well let's be honest...all the girls.



A pile of books for the smart girls.



Cleo and Clifford for the animal lovers.



A hot car for, again, all the girls.



Of course, then there's the dog that comes with his own USB cable so he can learn Liam's name, favorite food (cheese), favorite animal (cat) and favorite color (blue). You can also program the songs he plays...kind of a furry, green iPod. This must be for the nerdy girls.


Mister would like to thank everybody for the great presents and for coming to party with him!

Out and About

I started this post months ago...sorry. I'm working on it...really.

It occurs to me that those of you too cool for Facebook haven't really seen pictures of the house.

I thought I'd start with the outside.


Here's where the magic happens. I love grilling. I don't love the creepy elecrtic meter cover.



The herb crew from the apartment...hanging out on the patio.



Liam's yard.



Weather vane...how many of you have a weather vane? Huh?



Black raspberries...mmm. There's blackberries, too. Not bad for a house in the city, eh?



Ginger's bunny friend.



Blue hydrangeas. I guess this is a big deal. I like the pink ones, personally.



Clematis. I learned that if you don't pick off the dead ones they stop flowering. Noted.



Big orange lilies. There are little red and yellow lilies, too.



I had nothing to do with any of these flowers. They all just do their own thing. It's probably better that way. I am hoping I killed some of the hosta because I hate it, but I think it takes nuclear measures to get rid of it, though. I did keep the tomatoes alive. That's something.

I have some plans for next year...a little garden with some herbs, tomatoes, and hot peppers. Keep the raspberries going strong. Maybe get a rainwater collection system and a compost heap going. We'll see.

The Wonderful thing about Tiggers...

A Tigger's a wonderful thing.



Their tops are made out of rubber...


Their bottoms are made out of springs!

It's Not the Size...

Of your pool that matters...it's how cool the water is on a hot day!

He wasn't all that excited when I lubed him up with his SPF 7,982 sunscreen, but after he got to splashing I think he forgave me.

I think he may have realized that those aren't pool toys. They worked for a while, though...until he tried to drink out of them.

Nothing like a little sunscreen, dead grass, and bug cocktail on a hot, sticky afternoon.

Life's a Beach

Mister and I went to the peninsula today...or as Liam knows it, the place with the water and the girls in bikinis. He dipped his tootsies in again and even sat in the sand.

Liam ponders all manner of scratchy, wet things.


Liam and mommy have sandy toes.

Liam gets ready for winter...practice makes perfect.

Blues and Jazz

On Saturday, we went to the Blues and Jazz Fest at Frontier Park. Mister donned his party shirt and we loaded daddy up with provisions.

Here, Liam and baby Hedwig hang out with Bink on the blanket, listening to the blues.


Liam enjoys a cold one...a teether, that is. Straight from the cooler.



What would a bluesman be without his cool shades?



I think that mister might have a future in the music biz. He's certainly got some rhythm.

Hooray for Yard Sales

I love yard sales. I remember the Lake Street yard sales in Girard way back in the day. My mom always went. I got to a point where I would complain about getting up so early and at some point they just stopped.

The weekend before last, there were sales all the way up and down Harvard Street, just a couple of blocks away, so after breakfast Liam and I headed out to see what we could come up with.

My love of yard sales has been rekindled...to say the least.

I came up with a baker's dozen articles of clothing (including a Ralph Lauren polo shirt and a Baby Gap denim jacket) for 50 cents each. Gently used clothing, by the way, has the added bonus of containing much less residue from pesticides used on cotton...and, again, 50 cents each...what is that? 5 percent of the original cost of some of these things?

I got a couple of annoying electronic toys that mister loves, a Boppy pillow, and a bunch of books.

I also found this...

For those of you unfamiliar with this contraption, it is a Jumperoo. They retail for close to $100, depending on the bells and whistles. This one was $10 and a moment of my spare time to wipe it down (it's barely been used). Score.

I'm going to have to start getting the Friday paper to check out the sales.

The Whole Enchilada

I make really great enchiladas. Really. Ask Ryan.

This is the recipe. You'll notice that I do what I normally do with directions of any kind. I read them, decide that I like parts of them, and then change the rest.



This was the first time I used the grill as part of the enchilada prep. The chicken is rubbed with a spicy blend that is mostly ground chipotle and cumin...I could tell you the rest, but then I'd have to kill you...and, no, that recipe isn't 100% accurate, so don't even try it.

There are, for those of you counting, three jalapenos and two habaneros headed into the mix for eight enchiladas. If you're good at math...(3+2)/8 = spicy.



If you lean in close, you'll probably clear your sinuses. I'll bill you later.



What would the enchilada be without its authentic Goya red beans and rice? (10 points if you can't hear "red beans and rice" without starting to hum a certain Sir Mix-a-lot song...)



One last coat of cheese before it goes in the oven...mmmm...cheese.



The finished product, complete with almost enough sour cream to make it possible to eat without dying. For me, at least...According to Ryan, it was "a good start."


He wants me to make the next batch spicier. He forgets that I have to sleep with him.