The Pitter Patter of Little Feet

I don't believe I've mentioned that Lil Mootz is getting his sea legs. Yep, that's right. He's becoming a walking fool. Granted, a drunken sailor can walk a straighter line than Lil Mootz, but he's getting the hang of it. And it's a good thing diapers are so padded these days or else Lil Mootz's little tushy would be awfully sore from all the falls he takes. He doesn't let anything stop him though. Well...except remote controls. Really, though, that's such a guy thing.

I Love You, Sargie!

I love my dogs.  And I would never, ever, in a million years do anything that would cause them discomfort.

Except for this...because it makes me laugh.

To which Sarge replies, "En primer lugar, tener en mis bolas, y ahora se lleva lo que queda de mi virilidad."

Olé, Sarge. Olé.

The Winner of the Sony Touch Reader Is....

There were over 200 entries for the Sony Touch Reader Giveaway!  I wish I could give you all Readers (hint, hint Borders :)), but there can only be one winner.

I entered all of your multiple entries into "The Hat" -

I hope I didn't miss anyone.  Not everyone commented on whether or not they blogged or followed, so I did my best to follow up on all the commenters.  Hopefully, I didn't miss anyone's blog post and everyone received the right amount of entries.

And the winner of the Sony Touch Reader is -

Ana from Sunrise on the Water!

Ana's husband is in the Navy and they are stationed in the Bahamas.  Without a local bookstore their options for new books are limited and expensive, so a Sony Touch Reader will be incredibly helpful.   Also, if I remember correctly, Ana's husband is often found on a submarine, so the more compact he can get his belongings, the better.  Plus, I think we can all agree that the best passtime while laying on a sandy white beach is reading an excellent book.

Congratulations, Ana & Oliver!

Thank you to everyone who entered this giveaway.  Don't forget that I'll be having another Sony Touch Reader Giveaway very soon and it will be open to everyone!

Quick Update On The Giveaway

Yesterday was the last day you could enter to win the Sony Touch Reader.  I want to thank everyone who entered.  I am just as excited as you are to announce a winner, however...

Today has been VERY busy at work.  The beginning of the year is always busy, but this year is even worse than usual.  Health insurance companies are panicking, I think, so renewing our rates and/or switching insurance companies is turning into a HUGE mountain of paperwork and research. UGH!

Okay, so with that being said...

There are dozens of entries for the Sony Touch Reader and I have not had the chance to input all of your multiple entries into "The Hat" so I'm not going to be able to draw a winner today. 

I know, I know! Please stop booing and hissing at me!  I'm sorry!

I will work on it tonight and announce the winner tomorrow.

So, stay tuned.... 

Wicked In NYC

I don't think I mentioned, but for Christmas Stonewall got me tickets to see Wicked on Broadway!

I have been wanting to see Wicked for...well, for as long as I can remember.  Every summer our family heads to NYC for lunch and a matinee.  Every year when it comes time to purchase tickets Wicked is sold out or so unbelievable expensive (basically through scalpers) we opt for another show. 

I was stoked when I looked in my stocking and saw the tickets!!

Wednesday, we took the train up to NYC.  First, we had lunch at Havana Central.  YUMMY!  I highly recommend this restaurant.  Like I said, every year we venture up to NYC for lunch before a show and Havana Central is probably my favorite restaurant that we've been to so far.  We shared the Aguacate Relleno de Langosta (Lobster stuffed avocado) for an appetizer and then Stonewall had the Pernil Asado (Roast Pork) and I had a steak that had been marinated in a lime marinade overnight and then fried with onion.  So good!  For dessert Stonewall had Flan and I had the churros.  I was so full when we left I thought Stonewall was going to have to roll me to the theater.

Wicked was everything I expected and more!  I knew the basis of the story, so the first half wasn't anything surprising.  The actors did an awesome job and the music, costumes, and sets were amazing.  I was surprised with the second act, but in a very good way.  I haven't read the book, so I wasn't sure what was coming next.  I loved the second act!  The Wizard of Oz is one of my favorite movies (and books, for that matter), so this musical had the potential to not live up to the love I have for Oz.  However, it put a whole new wonderful spin onto the beloved story.

After the show we took a rickshaw back to Penn Station. It was so much fun zipping in and out of the traffic!  Quicker than walking and more fun than a taxi!

The hubs did a great job this year on my Christmas gift!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Exotic Vacay Fund

We have an "Exotic Vacay Fund" pot.

I made it at one of those paint your own pottery places.  It is my artistic vision of a "Grand Cayman Sunrise."  As the years go on it will also be my artistic vision of a "Hawaiian Sunrise", a "St. Maarten Sunrise", a "Mediterranean Cruise Sunrise", etc and so forth.

But first the "Grand Cayman Sunrise", so a saucy redhead can show me the Caymanian sights and buy me yummy drinks with little paper umbrellas on a sandy beach.

Stonewall and I currently have enough funds for one plane ticket.  Slowly, but surely our exotic Grand Caymanian vacay is getting closer!

Where is your exotic vacay fund taking you? 

More Chances To Win A Sony Touch Reader!

Yesterday I announced this awesome giveaway: Sony Touch Reader Giveaway!

And already there are a good many entries.  However, don't despair!  After you enter the giveaway here at A Pink Park Bench, you can also enter at one of the other blogs having the same fantastic giveaway for active-duty military!

Click Clack Mom (until Jan. 25)

MilitaryAvenue.com - Our Letters To You (until Jan. 30)

My Army Wife Life (until Jan. 27)

Hellcat Betty (until Jan. 29)

Navy Experience (until Jan. 29)
Household 6 Diva (until Jan. 27)
Army Household6 (Until Jan. 30)
A Military's Wife Mayhem (until Jan. 30)

If I missed any blogs offering this giveaway please let me know, so I can add them to the list.

And don't forget I will be having a second Sony Touch Reader giveaway in the near future open to military and non-military readers!  Check back later for details!

Good luck everyone!

Sony Touch Reader Giveaway!

It's giveaway time!

Borders is giving away a Sony Touch Reader to one of my lucky military readers pre-loaded with 10 top titles! That's more than a $299 value up for grabs!

The latest must-have gadget sweeping the nation is the e-reader. And Sony is keeping on top of the trend with three versions of their Sony Reader: the Touch Edition, Daily Edition, and Pocket Edition.  I had the chance to demo the Touch Edition at my local Borders. (You can too, just head to your local Borders and ask for a demo)

Who out there has always wanted a library in their purse?

*raising hand fanatically* Oh, me! ME! ME! ME!

Wait, sorry.  I forgot this is for you guys, not me.

Well, with the Sony Touch Reader you can have just that.  A library and a bookstore in your pocket.  Yep, an entire library and bookstore in 10.1 ounces of technology.  And with the awesome screen technology called E Ink VizplexTM it really is just like reading a book. The screen looks more like ink on paper and is completely readable in the sunlight.

As sold, the Touch is capable of holding 350 of your favorite books.  However, there is a memory card slot, so you can easily add more books to your collection.  All you have to do is hook up your Reader to your computer and you can choose from thousands of books from the Reader Store for prices much less than what you would pay at the bookstore.  If you love the classics than you can also download thousands of free public domain books from Google.  And let's not forget the library part of all this.  With a Sony Touch Reader, as long as you have a library card, you can borrow books from your local library for a certain amount of time.  The Touch Reader is able to support many different formats, such as PDF and Word, so you have unlimited reading options!

The Reader is light-weight and easy to handle.  It isn't nearly as heavy as a book which I liked.  While laying in bed I could easily use just one hand to hold the book and "turn" the page.  Another cool part of the Touch Reader is the touchscreen (hence the name of the Reader).  You "turn" the page by swiping your finger across the screen!  Plus, there's a stylus pen so you can easily take notes and highlight your favorite parts of the book.

Some other cool features of the Sony Touch Reader include the built-in dictionary.  You can choose from five different font sizes to accomodate your eyesight.  Finally, the Sony Touch is available in silver, red, or black.

Okay, back to the giveaway details.

Border's is asking that the Touch Reader winner give the Reader to a servicemember.  The winner will have to provide a military address and military email address for the lucky servicemember.  An email and tracking number will be sent to the servicemember letting them know a Sony Touch Reader is on it's way to them.  Hopefully just in time for Valentine's Day!

Non-military people don't give up hope yet. Please see the "PS" at the end of this post.

"So how do I win?" you ask.

Well, I'll tell you.

First and foremost and for one entry:

Leave a comment on this post and let me know how e-books and Readers will change the way you shop for books. 

For additional entries:

(and don't forget to let me know you did these in a comment on this post)

1 additional entry:

 Become a follower of my blog (if you're already a follower let me know)

3 additional entries:

(Re)Tweet about this giveaway

5 additional entries:

Post about this giveaway on your blog

The giveaway begins as soon as I hit "Publish Post" and end on January 24 at 23:59.  I'll draw a name from "The Hat" on January 25.

I'm done now.  Go enter!

PS.  I know many of my readers are not military and don't have a servicemember to send a Sony Touch to.  I don't want to leave you all out in the cold.  I was contacted about this giveaway back in December before my birthday.  My mom, being the awesome gift-giver that she is, didn't know about this and gave me an e-reader.  For hosting this giveaway, they're sending me my own Sony Touch Reader.  However, as much as I love having gadgets I want to share the love more.  I'm going to be having another Sony Touch Reader giveaway in the future, so stay tuned!  If you want me to notify you about this giveaway shoot me an email and let me know.

Giveaway Teaser You Don't Want To Miss!

It's FRIDAY!! It's still before lunchtime, so it's not the weekend yet. However, we are a mere 6.5 hours away, so I'm excited already.

There isn't much in store for us this weekend. We're having dinner tonight with my parents at Red Lobster. Seafood fondue - yummy yummy in my tummy! We may go to the farm show tonight, but that all depends on Lil Mootz's mood after dinner. Tomorrow evening Stonewall's BFF is coming over to hang out. Sunday morning I'll make some cinnamon rolls and hot tea and we'll curl up on the couch for my Sunday AM guilty pleasure, "Property Ladder."

The best part of the weekend though, is for you guys.

I'm having a fantabulous, awegasmic giveaway starting tomorrow evening! I have been super excited about this since I was contacted about this opportunity and it's finally time!

I'm not telling you what it is yet. You'll have to check back tomorrow evening for all the details.

And since the suspense is killing me and I want to tell you all so badly, I'll give you some clues as to what is up for grabs:

And now you're super psyched too! 

Have a great weekend!

A "Roasse" By Any Other Name...

How would you pronounce the name "La-a"?

While you ponder that one can I just say I HATE the current trend of funky names for your baby. And not just funky baby names, but also funky spellings of your baby's name.

Growing up I was never a huge fan of my first name. It was a popular name, so every other chick in my class had the same name. Then my mom threw in another wrench. At school I was called by my first name, but at home I was called by my middle name. And my mom spelled it wrong.

Okay, according to her she spelled it as the current trend dictated, but by the time I was five and wanted a little name plate for my bike, it was spelled wrong. Granted, the spelling isn't way out there and the male version is spelled the way my mom spelled my name, but still....

I realize we're in the 21st century, so coming up with an original name that half the kids in his/her class won't have, but is still normal is getting a bit difficult. However, does that mean you should sentence your child to a lifetime of "Audio Science" (Shannyn Sossamon and  Dallas Clayton) or "Pilot Inspektor Riesgraf Lee" (Jason Lee) or "Sparrow James Midnight," (Actually, I commend Nicole Richie for throwing a normal name into the mix. Perhaps this child won't be completely effed as he gets older.)

And don't even get me started on "Nevaeh." It isn't unique, it isn't cool. It's "diputs."

And then there's the whacked out spellings. I think this is even worse than the abnormal names. Why would you want to give your child a name that people will 1) misspell and 2) most likely mispronounce. Let me tell you, as a person who is very familiar with #1, IT SUCKS!

It stinks that whenever name tags are premade I go around as the wrong person. It stinks that there is never a pen/keychain/anything with my name on it. It stinks that I have to constantly correct people. It stinks that even after I correct people, they still get it wrong. I am very grateful though that while spelled differently, the spelling is not so different that people can't figure out how to say it.

I mean, phonetically these names, Destyneigh, Jennafer, Morganne, Mykal, and Zacharie, are messed up.  Sure you can figure them out, but if pronounced the way they are spelled, they're pretty funny names.

Okay, so now back to "La-a"?  Any takers on how that's pronounced?

Here's the (unfortunately) true story:

The teacher had no idea how to pronounce the name "La-a" and therefore, just pronounced it like it it was spelled.  As in "La. A note to follow So!" with an extra "ah" attached to the end.

Then during Parent/Teacher conferences the parent of little La-a comes in and says, "We need to discuss my child's name because you don't know how to say it!"

And the teacher replied, "Yes, we do need to discuss it because, you're right, I don't know how to pronounce it!"

The parent, "It's "LaDASHa.  The 'dash' isn't silent."

I predict that by the time Lil Mootz's generation is old enough to get married, there will be a huge rise in name change requests in the courts.

And for the record, "Lil Mootz" is NOT his real name or any variation of any part of his real name.

The Wedding of the (Last & New) Year!

Remember this?



Well, the little sis and Dru are finally Mr. & Mrs. The lucky ducks are on their honeymoon right now in warm and sunny St. Lucia.

Their wedding was, of course, absolutely gorgeous! They certainly know how to throw a wedding and a New Year's Eve party. The venue was awesome enough to let the party continue on until 2AM as opposed to midnight as every other venue we had looked at. (Yeah, those venues wanted to shut us down at midnight...on New Year's Eve, plus charge extra for using their venue on New Year's Eve. I'll be honest I'm still trying to figure out the logic behind this one.)

The wedding ceremony didn't start until 8:30PM, so we had all day to get ready for the big event. As you may or may not know we woke up to a bit of snow on New Year's Eve, but nothing too major. Meg didn't seem to worried which was good. We started off with some manis and pedis before getting our hair done.

The bride getting her hair done.

The groom getting a shave.

Brief note: I wish I had more photos to share with you guys, but as the Matron of Honor my day was pretty busy and my camera went dead mid-afternoon. I didn't get to charge it until cocktail hour, so I only have a few photos to share. However, once the photographer sends Meg the link to her wedding photos, I'm hoping I can share it with you all.

The ceremony itself was amazing.  The ceremony and the reception were held in the same room, so for the ceremony we had hired someone to create a smaller room with curtains within the reception room to make it more intimate.  There were candles everywhere, so it was really beautiful.  Meg walked down the aisle to "You and I" by Michael Buble.  We did get a chuckle out of the crowd though when Meg's bridesMAN had to hold my flowers when I did a reading.

After the ceremony was cocktail hour.  Everyone was ushered into a smaller side room and the ceremony room was torn down and the reception room was created.  It was a very cool transformation and I really think it took everyone by surprise at how the same room could be used for more than one thing.  Some of the wedding party hung out in the bridal suite during this time.  I was able to get this picture of the bride.  (Sorry it isn't that great. This is why I won't quit my day job.)

After the intros all the normal wedding formalities took place.

The first dance to "Anything You Want" by Roy Orbison

The cake.  The pattern on the cake matches Meg's dress.  Everything on the cake is entirely edible.

My brother, me, and our dad.  The pin on my left strap was my MOH gift!

Me giving my MOH speech.

(There was not a dry eye in the house.  Except for me.  I practiced this speech so many times and every time I started crying.  By "go-time" I was immune to my speech, so my voice only cracked once or twice and I managed to keep the tears in check.)

Megan and Dru, you guys make a gorgeous couple.  And you're not only beautiful on the outside; you're both beautiful on the inside as well.

Dru, you and I haven't known each other for very long.  However, in the past year I've had the opportunity to see why my sister loves you so much.

While [Stonewall] was deployed and I was incredibly pregnant, you helped me out so much.  You carried my laundry up and down the stairs.  You took my trash out, you carried in my groceries and you took my dogs out in the freezing cold.  You baby sat when I asked you to and you put together baby toys.  The list can just go on and on with all the ways you helped me.

I know you helped me not just because I was your fiancee's sister, but because that's just who you are.  When someone needs help you are there to help them.  So I know you will always be there to help Megan and to take care of her, your house, and your future children.  I have no doubt that you are going to be an amazing husband and father.

That being said, if you screw this up I will beat you with the stroller you put together.

Meg, you gave me a time limit and I can't possibly say all the things I want to say right now in such a short time.  We are sisters and best friends.  It's impossible to fit 25 years into a few short minutes.

So there's a story I want to share with you that reminded me of you and me.  It's from Winnie-the-Pooh.

"Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind, 'Pooh,' he whispered.

'Yes, Piglet?'

'Nothing,' said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw, 'I just wanted to be sure of you.'"

Megan, no matter where we are in our lives or what is going on, I am always one-hundred percent sure of you.  I know all I have to do is reach out my hand and you will be there to take it.

However, there are times when I don't think you're as sure of yourself as I am of you.  So no matter what life hands you and Dru there is something I want you to always remember: You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.  And no matter what, even if we are not together, all you have to do is reach out your hand and I will be there to take it.

Megan and Dru, today was a huge step in your lives.  Today you took a leap of faith and love and I couldn't be more proud of you both.

Please join me in raising your glass to the bride and groom.  I wish for you a beautiful life full of beautiful children and beautiful memories. Cheers!

(Just writing this now I'm starting to get teary eyed...)

The rest of the evening was an awesome party!  We didn't have dinner.  Instead hor d'eourves were set up at different stations and were butlered around the room. Right before midnight all the guests gathered on the dance floor with their champagne and masks (the favors were italian masks).  We counted down the seconds and at midnight we all "unmasked" ourselves as the confetti cannons fired confetti and feathers everywhere.  It was crazy fun!

Defintely the wedding of 2009 AND 2010!

Lil Mootz's Winter One-derland!

On Dec. 27 our Lil Mootz turned one year old!!

I know. I can't believe it's been a year already either. My oh my, how the time does fly!

We had a little get-together for his first birthday. I didn't want to go all out this year. Yes, it's his first birthday, but he doesn't really understand what's going on. I decided to save the big blow-out for his second birthday.

We had a great time even if it wasn't a big shindig. I decided to go with the "Winter One-derland" theme. I hadn't planned on really decorating, but I went to the Dollar Store on the 26th and everything Christmasy/Wintery was $.50 or less, so I figured why not indulge a little. I bought all of the snowflake decorations, garland, some platters, cups, napkins, plates, and tablecloths for $30. Not bad. I also bought two really nice ceramic cupcake trays at AC Moore for $5 (orginally $20)! I've never bought Christmas decorations after Christmas, but I'm thinking I might make a yearly trip because the sales are amazing.

Anyway, here are some pics from Lil Mootz's Winter One-derland!

Enjoying his Shepard's Pie!

Not really digging his "Birthday Boy" hat.

Lil Mootz celebrating blowing out his first birthday candle! (With Mommy and Daddy's help, of course.)

Digging in!

Yummy! Lil Mootz enjoying his first birthday rainbow chip cupcake with rainbow chip icing!
(Okay, I'll admit the menu was more my favorite foods than Lil Mootz's favorites, but his favorite foods are those baby puff snacks and I didn't think they'd go over too well with the adult crowd...)

We had to pause the festivities here, since Lil Mootz was getting grumpy and needed to take his nap.  But he woke up all ready get back into things!

Opening his gifts!

Mimi and Pap-Pap's gift to Lil Mootz.  He didn't quite get the hang of pushing the go button himself, but he sure did enjoy riding while the adults pushed the button for him!

Lil Mootz's first birthday was so much fun! Everyone enjoyed fussing over him and watching him eat his first birthday cake!  Although, I was told I messed up by making a white cake instead of a chocolate cake which apparently makes for better "First Birthday Cake Messy Face" pictures.  Oh well.  I'll keep that in mind for the next kid.


PS. Lil Mootz didn't win the Baby of the Week contest.  Thank you everyone who voted for him and who left such wonderful comments about Lil Mootz here on the blog and on the New Parent website.  And no matter what, this little face will always be the cutest in my book!

Holding My Baby

Lil Mootz keeps waking up and crying tonight. I should just let him cry it out and eventually he will go back to sleep because his diaper is clean and he has a full belly. However, I keep going to him and rocking him back to sleep. I know I shouldn’t because we don’t want this to develop into a habit, but it’s just one night. What’s the harm?

Tonight I just want to hold him.

He’s a year old. One year already.

Already I think I’m missing too much. I don’t want to look back one day, the day he’s going off to college or enlisting in the Army, and think, “I should have held him more. I should have rocked him to sleep more.”

I once told Stonewall that I could pick out my baby just by the way he smells. He smells like lavender baby soap, milk and baby boy (which is to say diapery and powdery). By tomorrow afternoon he will smell like baby boy, milk, and fruit.

I love the way his silky hair feels on my cheek and how his buttery soft skin feels when I tickle his face. He snuggles his little body into my side and plops his head down on my shoulder and he instantly stops crying. Within seconds he’s asleep and I just listen to his deep sleepy breaths.

Isn’t it funny how that works? Moms are always the most comfortable pillows. I know my mom is. Even to this day. It’s so hard to believe that in one year I’ve become that pillow.

And the most comfortable pillow in the world is the best thing to be.

One year ago.  A brand new baby boy and his momma-pillow.

Lil Mootz's First Christmas!

I promised everyone some Christmas photos of Lil Mootz's first Christmas, so here they are!

 The night before Christmas!

(These PJs are actually from 2008. Lil Mootz was supposed to be born before Christmas of 2008, but he held on until Dec. 27. Well, everyone had already bought "Baby's First Christmas 2008". I love these PJs! So even though they are a year too small we made do.)

Opening gifts with Daddy on Christmas morning.

Lil Mootz loves his My Pal, Scout!

And when he saw his new push toy he was done.  Once he got his hands on this he had zero interest in his other gifts.

He did, however, quite enjoy playing with the $4.00 wrapping paper.  Go figure.

After this there aren't many pictures of a happy boy.  Around lunch time Lil Mootz developed a 102 degree fever.  Not a fun way to spend your first Christmas.  He was pretty grumpy and tired the rest of the day. Around 9:00PM the fever broke, just in time for bed time.

Except for the fever Lil Mootz had a great first Christmas! He got so many wonderful presents from everyone. No one can claim he isn't a much loved baby!