Playing in the Park

Does this picture look a bit familiar Mami?

Christmas

So it is the end of Janruary and I am just now getting this video out. These are just a few of Syrah's Christmas Eve and Day highlights.

Mama's Shoes

Syrah was so proud that she got herself into my shoes, but she learned quickly that it would still be a long time before she could walk in them.

Cheezy Face

Playing with Dolly

Dancing With Myself

Syrah really knows how to rock out!

Bunny Teeth

We are up to 4 teeth now! We are starting to teach her how to brush her teeth. She is doing OK. She just want to suck her toothpaste off her tooth brush.

Orange Soda and Mad Libs

My friends and I have a tradition when we get together; we drink orange soda and play Mad Libs. I can't remember when this tradition started, but we could seriously do it for hours. I am sure that our husbands don't understand this odd obsession of our ours, but they played along.

This year's Christmas party was at Carolyn’s and Steve’s apartment. I always like going over there. For the most part, Cari has lived in the same apartment since we graduated from H.S. Going over there now reminds me of when I used to hang out with her after college classes. It will be kind of weird when she moves.

Oh yeah, back to the Christmas party. Syrah had a lot of fun as well. She played with the kitty, the kitty's food, in the fridge and in the cupboards. She also played in the Conservatory with Professor Plum and a lead pipe (as the parents played Clue).

After eating pizza and drinking orange pop for dinner, we played White Elephant. No one traded their gifts because we all liked what we got. There was a desk calendar, a Starbucks card, an Indiana Jones Lego set, hot coco set, an iTunes card, and a Star Wars Monopoly game.

For the rest of the night we played Mad Libs. Below are some of our stories from last night and previous get-togethers. I took these off of Cari's blog, thanks Cari!

"At first you are shy. You start by pissing at the edge of the dance floor and queasingly work your way to the center. You are painstakingly no longer shy." "I spent the rest of the day eating Mom's warts (which had become spicy in the sun)..." "People fall around the grill until he farts a hunk of meat onto their plates." "Then Cari, who is the math hoodlum, made lactating refreshments." There was only one difficult part in the evening … Syrah’s first full on tantrum. We let her play on Cari's keyboard piano and she absolutely loved it ... until we had to make her stop. She was banging on the keys too hard and wasn't listening to us. Once we took her away, it was tantrum time!

This time it was more than the usual whine here and whine there with a cry in between. First she stopped her feet. Then sat down, picked up the closets shoe, and threw it as far as she could (which is only to about her knee cap). Then when she saw that we were "trying" to ignore her, she came walking towards up slapping her stomach as hard and quickly as she could. This continued for about 13 minutes and only took her 3 seconds to calm down. She found her pacifier on the kitchen floor and some plastic mixing bowls ... that was the end of the tantrum.

*sigh* I did record her tantrum, but have decided that it is too mean of us to use her for laughs when she was so distraught. How can I feel good about myself as a parent when I find my child’s “pain” funny? Don’t get me wrong, I still kept the recording. It was very hard for me not to laugh during her tantrum (which I failed). I will keep the recording and show her when she is older to understand. Steve and Syrah

This was earlier in the day. We were out to eat with Jo-Anne, Amanda, and Layla. I guess eating Macaroni and Cheese is a VERY serious matter.

Broken Glass

Imagine you are leaving your friends house at 12:45 AM. You walk out to your car and notice that your trunk is open. A bit concerned, you shut your trunk and think "I must have accidently hit the truck release instead of the door unlock on the keys."

You walk to the driver’s side and notice glass on the ground. You think, "That sucks, someone got their car broken into; must have happened before you got there at 6 PM."

Then in a split second, you realize that the glass on the ground was not there when you parked at 6 PM, and you haven't moved your car the whole night. In another split second, you realize that it is YOUR car that was broken into.

So many emotions run through you mind. What do you do first? Do you check your car or do you call 911? Then the thought runs through your mind "What if the person was still there, close to your car?"

You quickly go back to your friend’s apartment and let them know what is going on. They are surprised. They have been living there for 8 years and nothing like this has happened. It’s Bellevue of all places. After a call to your husband, you (and your friends) go back outside and call the police. While waiting for the police, a couple of neighbors search the rest of the cars in the parking lot; noting 3 more break-ins. You start to jot down what is missing, "An iPod charger, a cell phone charger, and ... THOSE JERKS! Those jerks took my $200 sunglasses; those stinking jerks!" After the police take your information and give you case number, your friends start to ghettoize your car ... Bellevue style. No duct tape or plastic bags, just a cardboard box. You walk around the premis to see if maybe for some chance, the dropped your sunglasses. No glasses found, however, you find your diaper bag next to a tree trunk with all of its contents dumped out. You stand there, looking at 3 diapers, a container of baby wipes, an extra change of 12 m. clothes, a sippy cup and a container or snacks. The only thing that comes to your mind is, "serves those idiots right for breaking into a Mommy's Car! I don't think diapers would sell high at the pawn shops!"

Well, it was a long night for me. I didn't get home until close to 4 AM. Besides the missing sunglasses, I wasn't that upset. I am not saying I am not frustrated, but I wasn't angry. This is life and sometimes things happen in life that just suck. It could have been much worse. I could have had my car stolen or been personally hurt. Heck, a car break-in is nothing compared to some other trials and hardships that people are going through. It has been a week and we finally got the window fixed. There were some issues with replacing the window and we ended up needing to purchase the certified Honda window. Somehow we only ended up paying $250 for the parts and labor, instead of over $350. Even though it was a stressful situation, Tony still found time to play around while waiting for my window to be replaced.

Two Productions, Two Unforgettable Memories

My time on the theater stage was short lived; one production, one unforgettable memory. Being a part of West Side Story is among the best highlights from High School. I had the opportunity to develop new friendships and to boost my confidence during an emotionally hard time in my life. My stage experience before H.S. consisted of a couple of elementary cameos; nothing comparable to level of a supporting actress. Never the less, I was casted as Anita. I thoroughly enjoyed playing Anita and received many complements on my “acting skills.” Little did the audience know that there wasn’t that much acting involved. I was Anita. Her personality and attitude was something that my parents saw day-in and day-out. When I found out that I was being hunted down and requested to reprise my role as Anita in an alumni benefit show to honor Mrs. Cressey, my H.S. theater director who is battling cancer, I was both excited and hyperventilated, but I knew I couldn’t pass this opportunity up. I own a lot of Mrs. Cressey. Her dedication to have each performer achieve their greatest potential made West Side Story a beautiful play that evoked a myriad of emotions for audience members. To this day, my family and friends still talk about the play, and I knew that being a part of the benefit show would bring a smile to Mrs.Cressey’s face. The draw back was that it has been nine years since West Side. A lot can change in nine years. I am … older, my body is more … round, and my voice is … lets just say I am no opera singer. I was nervous, but after the hard core practice run, lasting approximately 2 hours of singing, I was even more nervous. T he song that was requested was the hardest song Alicia (who played Maria) and I had to do. Not only was the song hard, I was still somewhat sick, I hadn’t been on stage in years, I was singing with a woman who has continued to do theater and has a beautiful voice, I had to hike my originally worn Puerto Rican skirt higher in my hips because I have Mama-hips now, I would be singing in front of a full house, in front to students that haven’t seen in nine years, …. Yeah, no stress… Well, I am pleased to say that the night was AMAZING. Even though we never actually ran through of the show, it was three hours long, and Syrah was way over tired, everything went smoothly. It was great to see all the alumni come back and reprise their rolls. It was even greater to hear Mrs. Cressey laughing and tearing up as she watched; making it two productions with two unforgetable memories.

Left to right: Alicia Anderson (Maria), Nick Holland (Tony), and me (Anita)

This is Daniel Webber, he was playing the role of Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof. Interesting fact: Daniel is the brother to my other friend David, who married my other friend Alyssa, who is the sister-in-law to Julia, who watched Syrah. Easier said ... Daniel is Julia's brother :)

Left to right: Nick, Chris Techa, me, Orlando Morales, Mrs. Cressey, Alicia, and Emily (3 m.)

All the alumni and current students in the show gathered around Mrs. Cressey

Note: For some unknown reason, I am unable to upload the video from the production. I will try later.

Festival of Trees

The Mary Bridge Festival of Trees is an annual event benefiting the Mary Bridge Children's Hospital and Health Center.  Every year, trees (and the space around the trees) are 'Dressed to the Nines' by sponsors, put on display for the weekend for the community to see, and then auctioned off at the annual Black Tie Gala. 

This year, "the four-day event raised $1.43 million to buy new equipment such as infusion pumps and automatic defibrillators for the expanded Mary Bridge Emergency Department and the Pediatric Trauma Room.  The donations also will be used to help run Tree House: A Place for Families.  Tree House opened this year to provide families at Mary Bridge a place to stay while their children are in the hospital." (http://www.multicare.org/home/news/132)

Since Weyerhaeuser is a major sponsor, Tony was able to get free tickets to the open house weekend.  I have always wanted to go and what a perfect year to do so.  Syrah enjoyed looking at all the lights and decorations, but she was more interested in running around herself.  Below are just a few of my favorite trees ... if there are actual trees under all the decor ...

We took the Link Lite Rail in Tacoma to get to the Convention Center. This was Syrah's and Jo-Anne's first time on the Link, but not mine and Tony's.  Riding it brought back MANY memories of UW Tacoma and taking the Link every day for school (I kind of miss it).

1 Year

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SYRAH (and mommy)

The day finally arrived for us to tell Syrah happy birthday.  She has grown so much over the last year that I can't even imagin what the next year will bring.  Tony and I had so much fun being Syrah's parents. Sure there have been some tough days, but that is what life is all about. 

Syrah's 1st birthday party was good. I hope everyone that attended had fun.  I have to give special thanks to Carolyn who came down from Bellevue early to help me out. Without her there, I would have been 50 times more stressed out. I don't think Tony would have survived me if she wasn't there.

I didn't get pictures of everyone. Well, truth be told that I didn't take any pictures. My mother was kind enough to remember to take photos for me. Below are just a few:

It is a well known fact that I am a perfectionist when it comes to some of my projects. Where something may be unimportant to others, it tends to be important to me and I get into this crazy obsessed mode where I can't sleep, eat, or do anything else until everything is according to my standards.

It is even harder when I have an image in my mind and what I create isn't anywhere close to what I picture. Take Syrah's 1st birthday cake for example. I had the perfect cake decorated in my mind and I have been thinking about it for months, but on the special day, it didn't turn out close to anything that I wanted.

The problem was that I used the wrong type of frosting ... and I am no Martha Stewart. So, I decided to try and make her cake again, but that didn't turn out close to the image in my mind again. I finally just forgot about what I wanted, and worked with what I had.