A Special Message from Claron

Claron loves this song. He thinks all should partake.

Eliza's Feelings About Santa

Anniversary Follow-up

Claron and I had a great anniversary. We went out to dinner at Fresco Cafe, while Eliza stayed with our friends and played games by fire light. I also made Claron a card this year. Claron is famous for his homemade cards. I am famous for recycling Claron's cards without his knowledge. It is a long standing joke of ours. Claron also got me some lillies and perfume. I got him a tie... oh and a daughter.

Snow in Santa Barbara?

On Saturday, we went to the zoo for the Snow Leopard Festival. It was a lot of fun. They had snow! They also gave the snow leopard some snow and packed meat in it. He was really active. Eliza had a great time!

Beach Park Day

On Saturday, we went to the park at the beach. I thought Claron was furiously working on his paper, so we were trying to waste time.

Catch-up: Tucson Thanksgiving in Pictures

7 Years

Seven years ago today on a cold, snowy December morning, I married the love of my life. He is caring, kind, sweet, forgiving, loving, passionate, tender and giving. I am thankful every day for my dear Claron. Happy anniversary, honey!

In a strange turn of events, my friend, Kristy and her fiance (now husband) Chopper, also got married that day... in the same temple... at the same time! We did not plan this. Happy anniversary, Kristy & Chopper!

A different kind of Princess

This is Princess. She is my Nana's EIGHTEEN year old cat. Eliza loves her.

A Picture for Poppop

Dear Daddy (aka Poppop),

This could be you!

Sucker!!!

Love,

Your daughter & granddaughter

Fun with Trader Joes

Dear Trader Joes,

Are you aware that even tall toddlers/preschoolers fit in one of your handy-dandy bags? Well, apparently Eliza is.

With love,

The Ridges

Monsters Vs. Aliens

Eliza loves the movie Monsters vs. Aliens. I would rate it just alright. The other day she was casting for the movie. Here are her decisions:

Girl knows what is going on. Raaaawwwwr!!!

Finally, a BREAK... maybe

This has been a rough trip, but a great trip. One of the downers is that Eliza spilled orange soda all over her car seat. I washed the cover, but the yellow is a bit more orange. This would definitely fix it.

My heart just overflowed

Eliza just climbed up on my lap, laid her head on my chest and fell asleep. Ahhhhhh....

Too old, too fast

I took these pictures this morning to show the beautiful outfit that Julia brought Eliza from Vietnam, but instead I got a shock at how big my girl looks. She looks school age in this picture.

Here she is looking more like a 2 year old.

*Sigh*

No, I don't miss the change of seasons

I took this on Saturday.

It starts

Eliza and I had the following exchange today:

Eliza: Mom, I has a hungry.
Me: You mean you are hungry?
Eliza: No, its my hungry, mine!




This also happened:
Me: *Smash a spider into the carpet repeatedly with a shoe*
Eliza: Stupid Spider!!
Me: *ROFL*

She's so funny!

P.S. What do you think of the new redesign?

A Mixed Bag

We have a very, very busy weekend. Eliza is sick. We think she has an ear infection. This is her right after her fever broke.

Notice the rings around her eyes, her dewy glisten from the fever breaking. Well, this is what she was doing.

The joys of toddlers. You turn around for one second and they are scaling the furniture. This adds a whole new element to the equation.

Takin' Care of Business

Awesome, rockin' news! Today in the car Eliza kept on singing after the radio stopped. Was it a dumb Wubbzy song? No! Was it "Boom Boom Pow"? Nope! It was "Takin' Care of Business"!! Super cute!

In other interesting news, a few minutes ago Claron referred to a mosquito as a "bird of prey." I think he is losing it.

Totalitarian Toddler

Many bloggers give their kids fake names on their blogs because they are afraid of stalkers. I've seen cute names... Little Sister, JJ, Muffin, Flower, etc. Eliza's name would be the

Totalitarian Toddler

She loves to be the boss. I'm convinced one day she will take over a small country and force them all to eat Craisins, watch Potty Power and clothe themselves in all things Princess. Oh, an they would definitely all wear purple, plastic heels aka "purple shoes" regardless of the blisters. Beauty is pain and even my 2 year old gets it.



Here she is contemplating strategies to take over the world:

P.S. I put up a new post on my other blog.

IMMD

I read this site called "It Made My Day" (IMMD) and basically it is all of these little win moments or funny things.

Here are my two for the day:

1- I was in the left turn bay and as soon as the light turned green the woman behind me started honking. After that, she passed me going twice the speed limit in a SCHOOL ZONE! I caught up to her at the next left turn and she had a bumper sticker that read "May all beings treat each other with kindness and compassion"! Really!?! IMMD



2- I saw a Siekh man walking his daughter home from school. He was carrying her pink princess backpack and his matched is turban perfectly! IMMD

Blast from the Past

Doesn't this make you want to have a baby?

She's only a few weeks old here. I miss my baby!

Arggghhh... It's Halloween!

So, the original plan this year was to be Melman (the giraffe) from Madagascar. We had everything ready, but a week before Halloween we tried on the costume and it was a flood! Eliza apparently has grown many inches in just a short time and it was waaaay too short. So, this is what we came up with:

We had a great time trick or treating. We missed trunk or treat because Eliza decided it was time for a nap. It was a great Halloween!

Pumpkin Patch - Irvine

We visited Irvine this weekend. It was great to see Clark, Lilly and Violet. We went to the pumpkin patch. I can't decide which picture I like better.

Isn't she getting so big?!

Warning: It's a RANT!

You can thank the LA Times. I was reading today and some guy wrote a letter that he was mad that he couldn't bring his dog to work. Why did he feel slighted? Well his boss brings his toddler in once in a while... and of course, what's the difference?

I just don't get it. I've actually experienced this multiple times in different situations, and let me make my feelings perfectly clear.

CHILDREN ARE NOT ANIMALS, AND ANIMALS ARE NOT CHILDREN!!!

Don't get me wrong. I'm a naturist. I love animals, but your animal does not in any way deserve the same rights and privileges as a child.

Animals are animals, and they deserve to be treated well, but not to the detriment of humans. I'm not saying you should beat your dog and leave it outside, but I am definitely saying that my child deserves a seat over your dog at an airport. I am saying that your dog does not have any right to be in a grocery store (including Costco), drug store, or any store (besides Petco) AND my child definitely does! I'm saying that you have NO right to look down your nose at my child for being a child, all the while coddling your dog. Oh, and don't you DARE act like my child will give your precious pooch germs.

What I want to know is: When did people forget what it is like to be a child? When did they lose touch with the wonderment of childhood? When did society decide that is it is not normal for a child to be just that, a child? Children are noisy and messy and sometimes crazy, but they are not a bother. In fact, children are the most amazing creatures in this world.

I've decided I'm no longer going to apologize for my child. Most of the time, she is an absolute angel, but she is still a child. And, unless she chucks a canned good in your face, you're just going to have to get over it. When she giggles wildly because she thinks the balloon at TJ's is hilarious, you'll have to get over it. When she shrieks at how great she thinks your dog is and points and you make an evasive maneuver, you'd better hope that I'm in a good mood because I may just call you out.

P.S. Don't bother leaving me comment about how great your pooch is and how he deserves rights because even if I like you, I'm going to delete your comment.

Along Came a Spider

Dear Itsy Bitsy,
As you know, we are not friends. In the past, we've definitely had our run ins. There was that time in 1992 when you sat on my shoulder and smiled, causing me to shriek and tear off my shirt in front of my grandfather! We met again in 1995 when you camped your entire family under my bunk at camp and took nips at will. I ended up with tons and tons of bites and a severe allergic reaction. I know that over the years I have taken down tons of your friends and family, but really!?! You bit my baby! And not just once, but like 15 times. Don't worry. The war is on.

I do need to thank you for one thing though. You sent us to the doctor today. While there, the doctor told me that they had a few H1N1 vaccines and asked if I wanted one for Eliza. My answer was, "Absolutely!"

We are still not friends, but I am not going to bomb the house this time.

Yours in hostility,

Little Miss Muffett (aka Amanda)

Uhoh! He's got a sword!

My baby brother aka Uncle D is below.

As many of you know, Uncle D is a top notch motocrosser. Recently, he's taken up MMA (mixed martial arts). He apparently is an awesome grappler, as you can tell by the fact that he won! Instead of trophies, they give out samarai swords.

Disclaimer - Uncle D is not high. Mom said, "No, he just looks like that when he's happy." haha.

The Queen of Hearts

Can you imagine Eliza in this for Halloween?! I know I can.

They are giving this away here: Queen of Hearts and Alice in Wonderland Costume Set GIVEAWAY!!!! at Grosgrain. They are amazing!!!

I luff puddles!!

It RAINED today!! I know the east coasters are rolling their eyes, but really, it hasn't rained like this in close to a YEAR! Can you imagine!?

They were calling for rain yesterday and it never came. Eliza kept vigil at the windows and back door waiting for the rain. Today, when we woke up to the pitter patter of rain drops, she ran and got her boots. She was ready!

We spent all afternoon running around in puddles. She kept exclaiming, "I luff puddles!!!"

You know what? I luff puddles, too!!

In 3D!

We went to see this today:

It was awesome! You should definitely go see it if you have the chance. I hate to admit this, but I had actually never seen either movie. I'd seen pieces of the first. Eliza thought they were great, but didn't wear her glasses all the time.



So, there are some movies coming out that look great but I think may be too scary. What do you think?


-Where the Wild Things Are


-Princess and the Frog (some of those voodoo scenes look scary!!)


-Fantastic Mr. Fox (Has anyone read it?)

She will hate me for this

I know one day she will look at this picture and say, "Mom, I can't believe you dressed me in this!" Of course, I will ascribe it to the fashion of the day.

Eliza, you must know that you got at least 6 compliments on your outfit today. Trust me, it was the fashion!! Oh, and just for the record, you chose this outfit.

Smile!

It's park day!

Doctor Time

I took Eliza to the doctor today. Here is her chart:

Her head size was also above the charts. The doc was a bit concerned, but I just laughed and said it runs in Claron's family. I really do think they need the large heads to accomodate the extra piece of brain for physical chemistry.

We also had a funny interaction. So, the doctor is asking about her learning, and like the proud mother I am, I spout. Here is what happened:

Amanda: She is really smart. She really likes numbers and loves to count. She is really good at counting things when she wants.

Doctor: You mean she repeats numbers.

Amanda: No, she counts.

Doctor: *skeptical look*

Amanda: Eliza, how many stars are on the wall?

Eliza: 1, 2, 3. 3 stars

Doesn't this doctor know that she has the extra physical chemistry brain? Of course she can count!

Outfit of the Day: Sometime Last Week

Sorry everyone. I know that I have been neglecting again. There is a real reason this time... well in the past two weeks I've been through THREE courses of antibiotics... just when I fix another problem, I get hit with something else.

Thankfully, Eliza is amazingly patient and helpful. She still makes an awesome mess though. It is probably because she has more purses and shoes than most 30 year olds. Here she is putting them to good use:

What you can't tell because someone refused to stand and smile is that the gold purse coordinates perfectly with the gold flowers on her boots. She getting so good and choosing accessories. Speaking of which.... This was the scene at Nordstroms the other day:

Someone refused to part with a FIVE HUNDRED AND TWENTY FIVE DOLLAR (no, not pesos) purse!!! She does have taste though. I'll give her that. For the record, I don't even have a purse that expensive!

The Next Twilight?

My SIL, Lilly, had heard about this book being called the "next Twilight." It is a young adult book so it is free of swearing or over sexuality. When I first saw the cover, I was reluctant, but I would definitely recommend it. Like Twilight, it is a very fast read... maybe even faster than Twilight. Give it a read and let me know what you think. As for me, I'm diligently watching my list at the library waiting on the sequel.

The Wedding Dancer

Last week we were able to attend a lovely reception for Mr. & Mrs. Sam Shipley.

Eliza had the best time. She danced with everyone. Here she is dancing with Katrina:

Dancing with Luke, the brother of the groom:

Dancing with the Sam, the groom:



And of course, dancing with Kaisey, the bride:

This isn't the best pic of her, but check out the dress. I love this dress.

She loved it so much that she didn't want to leave. We had to bribe her with Skittles.

Let's Get Dirty

Eliza hates to get dirty. I am trying to cure her of this aversion, so we fingerpainted. She loved it, but definitely insisted on a "princess bath" afterwards.

FREE Night of Theatre

This is awesome!!!

For the 5th year in a row, the Theater Communications Group is offering it's Free Night of Theater program in theaters in 120 different cities across the country on October 15, 2009.

Find out if a location near you is participating on the production listings page and check out the Free Night of Theater 2009 homepage for more information.

This sounds like a great date night!!

Outfit of the Day: Sept 23

Who is this fashionista living in my house? Lately, I feel like the Sartorialist following her around.

She must have been feeling tropical today. She insisted on:

• -A pink flower lei
• -A woven pink flower purse
• -Brown and pink Dora sneakers
• -Pink bows with pink, yellow and green butterflies

P.S. Mom Ridge: This is "the look" that Eliza inherited from you.