Happy Fourth of July!

Happy Fourth of July everyone!

I had planned on writing posts for the week, but on the hottest weekend on record our air conditioning broke and the apartment complex management utterly failed as human beings. 

So I was a bit busy. Today I will be celebrating the fourth by cooking out with my family and laying next to the air conditioning. 

We'll talk soon, but in the mean time stay cool!

Saint Patrick's Day 2012

The minute Connor and I arrived at my parent's house, he was scooped out of the car seat into Pop pop's waiting arms. My parents then played their favorite new game: pass the baby around. Seriously, this kid spends all his time being held when he's around them.

 The shirt Nana bought for him. Isn't it cute?

 Connor was staring at something past Nana's shoulder. Turned out to be a pink flamingo. We won't tell Daddy, will we? :D

 Pop pop watching NASCAR with his grandson. Funny story. Before we knew the baby was a boy my parents were looking at baby stuff and saw a tiny baby Cars recliner. My dad said it was too early to buy baby stuff, especially since they didn't know if it was a boy or girl, so they didn't pick it up. We told Dad a girl could just as easily enjoy NASCAR with her Pop pop, but by the time they went back to buy it, it was gone. Lesson learned. I am sure we can find something similar when the baby is old enough to, you know, hold his head up at least.

Speaking of sitting up, Connor really enjoys being vertical. We propped him up against the chair and some pillows and he was a happy baby. We're looking into those baby wedges because he also seems to have some acid reflux going on.

Our neighbors, getting in on the "Pass the Baby" game. Another funny story. They have ten kids, and no grandkids yet. They are bitter. They both have brothers and sisters with about a kid apiece, and each one has a grandchild. They have ten kids, and yet, no grandchildren yet (before you get indignant, the oldest is 29, so it's not like they expect their 20 year old to go out and give them some grandbabies).

The food! The delicious food!

And now it's time to go home. Mommy is tired. Connor slept great since he was being held all afternoon. 

Once again, you guys can feel free to photo shop yourselves into the photos. It could be like you were there as well! We had a slightly tamer Saint Patrick's Day this year, but considering how tired I am, I was okay with that.

How did you guys enjoy your Saint Patrick's Day?

Coming Soon to A Blog Near You!

Image: farconville / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Remember the time I took pictures of my family's insane antics on Saint Patrick's Day? And then blogged about it?

No? Well, check out the link. I'll wait.

...

Back? Okay. So guess what tomorrow is (not just Saturday, smart alecks)? If you guessed Saint Patrick's Day, you get to have a cookie. 

Tomorrow I will be once more returning to my familial abode, this time armed with my newborn progeny. Pictures will be taken, corned beef will be eaten, and since Nana has already bought the baby his Saint Patrick's Day shirt (are you starting to see how crazy we take this holiday?) no babies will be pinched. 

My husband sadly must work tomorrow, so it will just be Connor and I. Once again I will use my intrepid journalism skills to bring you an inside look my family's particular way of celebrating a holiday that most people use as an excuse to get drunk. It will be like the Jersey Shore, only with Irish people and no spray tans. And pictures, instead of only heaven knows how many TV seasons the JS has. And best of all, no Snooki.

Will anyone commit the ultimate faux pas and forget to wear green? How many outfits will the baby spit up on? Will Mom remember to add the soda to the bread this year?

Check back here on Monday to find out!

*Allow me to address the elephant in the living room. That awesome picture at the beginning of this post? Yeah. I was going for something generic and family friendly in Free Digital Picture's Saint Patrick's Day section.But then! But then! I found that gem. I couldn't not use the picture once I saw it. I don't know what I like the best. The Saint Patrick's Day stripper outfit? The obviously photo-shopped body? His pose that seems to say "I have no idea what arms are for"?


Or the fact that there are MORE where this photo came from? As in, someone thought it was a good idea to do several poses of the soulless Saint Patrick's Day stripper (how's THAT for alliteration?). 

One such pose looking like he is sliding into home base, simultaneously combing two favorite American pastimes: baseball and sex.

Home run!
Image: farconville / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 Folks, we live in a Golden Age of Awesome.

Happy Holidays from ELF

Buddy's reaction to Santa coming? That's pretty much me. Only of course I am actually short enough to be mistaken for an elf. The best part is this year Christmas is coming early. My husband has to work on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so we celebrated Christmas last night with his family and today with mine.

You know what that means?

The presents come early. :D

Okay! Okay. So maybe that's cheating a little. I think sitting on a throne of lies is a little harsh though. My husband has to work, and we didn't want to have to rush through Christmas. My son is still in the womb so I seriously doubt he's going to realize the difference. Stop judging me with your eyes, Buddy. I am still going to spend Christmas day with my family.

I hope all of you enjoy the holiday weekend as much as I plan to. I'll see you all on Monday, as I recover from a sugar coma.  

Redux! Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!

*Normally my family is crazy about Saint Patrick's Day, but this year we all have to work. So I thought I would repost my super awesome journey from last year. Enjoy!


Song playing: Siúil a Rúin by Celtic Women

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day everyone! I hope you’re having a good day, whether you’re doing anything festive or not.



I am preparing to enter the trenches of my parent’s house and running down the checklist.

Shirt? Green with “Kiss Me I’m Irish” on it. Check.
Pants? Green. Check.
Socks? Green. Check.
Unmentionables? Green. Check.
Earrings? Green shamrocks. Check.
Eye shadow and eyeliner? Green. Double check.
Eyes? Blue. Cursed Mother Nature.
Hair? Still brown. I didn’t dye it green because I have a job where they frown upon unnatural hair color. Cursed job (and don’t bother mentioning those “one time color” dyes, because they NEVER “just” wash out.)
Skin? Green with envy. Ka-zing! (these are the jokes, kids.) Just kidding. Still pasty white with freckles. Check (I suppose).



Why the obsessive need to cover myself in green today? Well, in my family we take Saint Patrick’s Day seriously. I have been pinched before because I only wore green earrings, and my brother claimed to “not see them.” Anyone caught outside of their room without green on was subject to pinches. One year I went into my little brother’s room before he woke up just so I could pinch him for not wearing green. The little devil went to sleep in green sleep pants the night before! Foiled again!

Now that I live elsewhere, I am a little safer, but not completely off the hook until I arrive at my parent’s house. My little brother stopped by this morning and his greeting to me was, “Damn. You’re already wearing green, I was going to pinch you.” That’s right little brother. I didn’t get to be the older sister for nothing (actually I did, I was just born first (even before my twin! I am the oldest one in the family by a few seconds! (Mom had a C-section)) but don’t tell him that).

Now that we’re all adults you’d think we’d be more mature about the whole thing, but you would be sorely mistaken. Literally sore, from all the pinches you would receive.



So I am off to chronicle the strange events of my parent’s house. I shall return with a full report, from deep in the trenches, and hopefully hilarious pictures, because I am pretty sure they started drinking already (I personally don’t drink so all the more fun for me).

The pictures, by the way, are of the Chicago river, as Michael so astutely pointed out in the comments section of yesterday’s post. We have a lot of fun in the comments section, you should join us. It’s like a party, and we’re all invited.