Book Review: "Firefly Lane"

Firefly Lane
Kristin Hannah

I had heard a lot of great things about this book and I was not disappointed. From the very first chapter, I was swept up in the characters' lives and couldn't wait to read everyday on my commute (now that I'm taking the bus again, my reading time has increased significantly). I'm not sure how I would even classify this book....a little bit of chick lit, coming-of-age, romance and drama.

Definitely pick this one up!

BFF's Reunite!

This past weekend, BFF's all around were reunited....me & Melissa, Jake & Ben! We loaded up the car & headed to VA to visit our bestest friends. The boys did a lot of playing and Jake has been asking for "Bean" (aka-Ben) since we came home.



On Saturday, the men spent some quality time together while Melissa & I got in some quality shopping time at the outlets. You're probably thinking that you're impressed with my early-Christmas shopping...don't be. This was a totally selfish trip. We had one mission in mind: JEANS. We were on the hunt for jeans that were stylish, flattering and didn't show off the top half of our backsides when we bent over (NOT a cute look anymore...well, let's face it, it was never a cute look....but now it's just not socially acceptable)

We both had luck at Gap (CLEARANCE! FRIENDS & FAMILY SALE! I HAD TO CONTROL MYSELF!) and I found another pair at Banana Republic. I'm still on the hunt for a pair of Sevens (after trying on a pair of Melissa's, I was in heaven....who knew jeans could be so soft??) but I'm glad to have found the others.

Happy Halloween!

Our little penguin made his rounds on Saturday....first, we went to a neighborhood pre-trick or treat party. Here is Jake, looking at a bit nervous about a kid wearing a Spiderman mask that was sitting next to him during the story that was being read:

Next, it was off to do the real thing! We weren't really sure how he'd do and we really only wanted to take him to a few houses of people that we know and show off his costume :) For someone who has never had candy, Jake very quickly caught onto the fact that when he held out his little bag & said "Treat!" he would get something. He'd get so excited and take each piece of candy out to inspect it (fortunately for mommy, he seemed to be drawn to the bright orange packaging of Reeses Cups...mmm....my favorite)

After hitting a few houses, we headed back to our house to warm up and pass out candy....he was, quite possibly, even more into this activity. He handed out the candy to each & every trick or treater that came to the door (even the tiny infants and the moms and dads who were trick or treating....don't even get me started on this, grrrrrrr.....)

Here's a look back at Jake, over the last 3 Halloweens:

2007 (about 6.5 months pregnant....Brian refused to dress as Kevin Federline, I'm not sure why....)

2008 (9 months old)

2009 (21 months old)

Employment Update

Well, I have a lot to catch up on as far as my employment status goes because I realize that I didn't make a blog post when I started my new job. And pretty soon, I'm going to be starting my NEW-new job. Is your head spinning? Yea, mine too...it's been a whirlwind these past few weeks.

I'll try to make a long story short....I was hired as a Career Services Representative for Sanford-Brown Institute in September, which is another school owned by Career Education Corporation (who also owned PCI, my previous employer) The President of Sanford-Brown used to work at PCI, heard I was laid off, called me to see if I wanted their position.

I was torn....it wasn't exactly what I had been hoping for (as I mentioned in a previous post, I was really hoping to take this time to do something different for myself & get to where I wanted to be, preferably within a traditional college) but at the same time, there were perks to this position, including keeping my seniority within the company (which equaled extra vacation time) and a very short commute (less than 10 minutes from our house) and I had been unemployed for over 2 months with no bites on my resume at all from anywhere else, so I took the position.

Literally, the NEXT day (because isn't that just always how things work out??) Pitt called me in for an interview for a position I had applied to back in August (a Career Counselor for one of their grad schools) I explained my current situation, that I had just accepted another position, and asked if I could think about it for a day & call her back. As soon as I hung up the phone, I knew that I had to take that interview, I would kick myself forever if I at least didn't go and find out more about it. What did I have to lose? I wasn't scheduled to start the new position for another week and a half.

I went in for the first interview....then I got called back for the 2nd interview. Some time went by and I didn't hear anything else from them (I was working at Sanford Brown by this point) and finally they called back....there was a delay in the hiring process because the Assistant Director of Career Services had recently turned in her resignation due to her fiance being relocated. And now they wanted me to come in for a 3rd time to discuss the possibility of taking on that role.

Sooooo.....I was offered that position and I knew what I had to do. I felt horrible that I was about to leave a company I had just recently started with, but at the same time, I couldn't let this opportunity pass me by. I had to do it for myself; I was with PCI for over 6 years and basically did the same thing that entire time because I was comfortable and had no reason to leave. I couldn't get stuck somewhere like that again.

I was so nervous to tell my supervisor, but she was incredibly understanding and assured me that I had made the right decision. There was no room to grow in the position I was currently in, or even within Sanford-Brown and I would regret it forever if I didn't take the job at Pitt.

All of that being said, I am very excited. I think this is a good move for me and I'm thrilled to be back on a college campus and it's even better that it's going to be at my alma mater. And even though I do feel badly about leaving my current job after such a short amount of time, I don't regret taking that position at Sanford-Brown. Because now, I can go into this job with no reservations, no what-if's weighing on my mind....and I'm confident that I made the right decision for myself and our family.

Zoo Boo!

This morning we headed out to the Pittsburgh Zoo for their Zoo Boo event. Jake's costume selection of a penguin was very fitting for the occasion. He had a great time walking around to all of the tables & saying "treat!" (he couldn't get out the full "trick or treat", we'll have to practice over the next week)


Here he is with his best buds, the penguins...he was saying "BIG HUG!" and hugging the glass when they would swim by.

It's the little things in life...like big trucks.

Yesterday was my late day at work and I got to drop Jake off at school (I'm usually on pickup duty only) and this was how the drop off went down.

*Walking into school, we see the kids from his class being loaded up into the ginormous caravan of a stroller....you know, the one that holds about 3 dozen children and I am amazed that they can steer that thing around considering I tend to take out small children and large store displays with my single stroller*

Jake: Walk! Bit-ney!
(Bit-ney = Brittany, one of his teachers who was loading up the kids)

Brittany: Jake, you're just in time to go for a walk! And guess what we're going to see?

Jake: *shrugs shoulders and does his "I dunno" face*

Brittany: We're going outside to see a big fire truck that came to visit today!!

Jake: *immediately flings himself into the stroller with his eyes as wide as saucers* Big truck? Outside? Walk? Big Truck? MAMA!!!!!!!!! BIG TRUCK!!!!!!

I wish I had a camera to capture the smile plastered across his chubby little face, while he sat in the stroller, patiently waiting with his hands clasped in his lap, tapping his little toes in anticipation.

I left daycare with a big smile plastered across my own face, knowing that he was going to have a great day.

Random Updates

I realized that I haven't done a "what Jake is up to these days" post in awhile. To be honest, he's doing so much, it's sometimes hard to keep track of. I swore I was going to keep a running list of his new words, but when there were multiple new words every day, that idea went out the window. Here's my best effort of what he has going on:

*He can repeat a lot of words (Mommy & Daddy have been VERY careful about what we're saying!)

*While he's not speaking in full sentences, he strings a lot of words together to form thoughts. (for example, outside of his classroom there's a picture of an elephant taking a bath & all of the bubbles around him have kids names on them.....the other day, we walked by & Jake did the sign for elephant then said "bubble bath")

*His favorite toys are still trucks, balls and books. If he has one of those, he's a happy camper.

*He now has 13 teeth and there are 3 more ready to come through any day now.

*I can't complain at all about his eating, he's still a champ most of the time, though there are some days that he's more picky than others or days that he refuses to eat something that he loved 3 days before. Such is the life of a toddler, I suppose. Things that he will never turn down have remained the same: chicken nuggets, YoBaby yogurt, Annie's honey bunnies and blueberries. Other things are hit or miss.

*Nearly everyday recently, we've been going "Pumpkin Hunting" where we walk around the house & count pumpkins. He knows where they are now & will run into the room and point to them during the "hunt".

*He still LOVES Elmo but has also starting obsessing over "Dinosaur Train" on PBS. He know that every morning after breakfast he gets to watch one of those shows, so he runs out of his highchair & onto the couch, grabs the remote and says either "Melmo" or "choo-choo" to indicate his selection of the day.

I think that's about it for now. I'll leave you with a few of my most recent favorite pictures:

Baby Feet

One of my favorite things about babies :) (if I could take pictures of their smell, I would post about that, too)

Vote for Jake!!

Do you think my kid is cute? Well then, cast your vote! We've entered him into the Gap Baby Photo Contest...just for fun, but of course if he gets a lot of votes, we'll take them :) Here's how you can do it:

Go directly to Jake's voting site OR go to the main casting call page and enter this ID: 60001245



Here is the picture you'll be voting for....handsome, yes?? :)





Thank you for voting!!!!!

Are you watching these shows??

If not, what is wrong with you? Run to your DVR and set it to these shows immediately. (and if you don't have DVR...well then, you're missing out in life)

Seriously, I hate it when I get hooked on a show, it's a great show and maybe it doesn't do so hot in the ratings right away...and rather than giving it a chance for more than half of a season, they yank it. Reunion, anyone?? My So-Called Life??

Friday Night Lights has survived a few seasons now, but just barely. It's shown on DirectTV in the fall, then NBC in the winter, so you'll have to wait a few months to catch it, but I promise you won't be disappointed (or-you could make the time between now and the winter go by faster by catching up on old episodes at NBC.com) It's drama, it's football, it's cute quarterbacks that my BFF and I crush on and get teased relentlessly by our husbands, who claim it's twisted because he plays a character who is under 18 (um, hello.....he's in his 20's in real life, so it's not illegal or anything, sheesh)

And Glee is the perfect combination of singing, dancing and sarcasm that leaves me looking forward to Wednesday nights. It's quirky and I don't think that it's the kind of humor that appeals to everyone, so I hope that it survies. (PS-even Brian enjoys it. A lot. And there's singing & dancing...I can't even get him to watch the opening sequence of "Grease" with me after 8 years of being together. So it says a lot that he loves it)

Why are you still sitting there? Go turn on your TV to these shows and tell your friends to do the same. You have TV shows to catch up on, get moving!

Mumpkins!

"Mumpkin" = Pumpkin in Jakespeak.

And he was able to see plenty of them at Schramm's Farm this morning.



Unfortunately for him, just as he was starting to really enjoy himself, he was totally betrayed by his beloved pumpkins when he tripped over a vine & fell face first into a huge pumpkin. He was a bit skeptical after that and I can't say that I blame him...his little mishap resulted in a bump on his head almost immediately.



Eventually, he forgot about the incident and ran around the farm....happy pumpkin season to everyone!!

PS~I had my first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season the other day (I know, I'm late!)...ahhhhhhh, so worth the wait!!! Pure.Heaven.

The Wheels on the Bus Go.....

Well, the jerseys didn't help much....

....but at least we looked good cheering for the Steelers over the weekend!! :(

Happy Birthday, Ben!!

My BFF's son turned 1 over the weekend & there was a lot of celebrating to do!



The awesome cupcakes made by Melissa:



Happy Birthday Ben, we love you!!! :)

Just a few thoughts for the day....

You should always take some time each day to stop and smell the flowers.



Snuggies are best when shared with a friend.



You can't put a price tag on genius artwork.



If you offer your kid a bite of your cupcake, he will shove the whole thing in his mouth & save none for you.



And if you wait until your kid is 20 months old before you give him a juice box for the first time, he will suck it down like it's crack in a box.

FeeBall

Jake has found a new passion; he refers to it as "feeball". Like a typical guy, he parks himself on the couch, pushes a bunch of buttons on the remote, has his sippy cup in the other hand and yells "FEEBALL!!!!!"

We decided to start the season off right with some terrible towel training:



Followed by some pregame dancing:



As always, Gracie was thrilled with the festivities.

Unemployment Update

Obviously, you can probably guess that since I haven't made a post that was titled "OMG, I got the perfect job and I start tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!" I am still unemployed. I've applied to a few positions, had one interview (which I'm still waiting to hear details about that) and sent my resume to a few people with contacts at various companies. The waiting around part is frustrating at times, but Jake & I are still enjoying our time off together.

I had been randomly selected to go to an Unemployment Seminar today (with the threat of having my unemployment checks cut off if I didn't attend). Brian liked to refer to it as my "unemployment rehab" which caused me to sit there the whole time, singing Amy Winehouse to myself, making my morning even brighter. Really, the class was not as bad as I was expecting (and much shorter than I had anticipated, which was a plus) But I would like to say that while I was in that class, I received this voicemail from my BFF:

"Hey there, it's me. I know you're in your unemployment class right now and I have to say that I detected a note of sarcasm in the message you left me earlier stating that's where you would be this morning. It did not sound like you were taking it very seriously. I expect you to be in there taking lots of notes & I want them summarized and sent to me to review. While you're doing that, I'll be enjoying a mani-pedi, so uh...yea, hope you're having fun in that class!"

Thanks. I'm sure that your mani-pedi was not nearly as exciting as what was going on in my world at that moment. :-P She's lucky that I love her so much I can overlook these little comments!

Mystery Solved!

For close to a month now, Jake has been randomly saying "Dabby" a lot. Sometimes it was like he was looking for "Dabby", other times it was said in a sing-songy voice ("Dabby, Dabby, Dabby") We were starting to think that maybe he had an imaginary friend or something (can kids even have imaginary friends this young? Just curious)

The mystery was solved last week...Jake went to school on Monday and at dinner, I said something to Brian about how Jake had fun with his friends at school and Jake contributed to the conversation by saying "Dabby!!". It clicked for Brian & he said to Jake "Are you talking about Gabby, your friend at school?" and Jake said "Dabby! Nom!" Nom = Dom the Bomb!! Our little man has been talking about his school friends while at home and we had no idea. Thankfully, we're in the loop now and he can fill us in on all the good daycare gossip.

Things I Love About Pittsburgh

For no particular reason and in no particular order, here are some things that I love about the city we call home.

-Oakland (including, but not limited to, Dave & Andy's ice cream, Fuel & Fuddle, Hemingways, the Cathedral, Towers and the whole Pitt campus)
-The Steelers (who knew I'd grow to enjoy watching football?)
-The Clarks
-Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium
-The fact that for being a decent sized city, Pittsburgh really is a small world. I'm pretty sure the whole 6 degrees of separation would be more like 3 degrees here; everyone knows everyone some way or another.
-PittGirl, who sums up the way I feel about many things in Pittsburgh in a much more funny and witty way than I ever could.
-Fort Pitt Tunnels; of course I have a love-hate relationship with these tunnels and the people who drive through them. Hey drivers, do you see that ginormous sign that says "maintain speed through tunnel"? Yea, that means to GO THE SAME SPEED YOU WERE GOING BEFORE YOU ENTERED THE TUNNEL. That being said, for as annoyed as I get with the traffic sometimes, there is nothing like coming out of that tunnel & seeing the fabulous view of Pittsburgh in front of you (especially at night!)

The Snuggie Saga Continues....

As you've already noticed in a previous post, Brian is now the proud owner of a Snuggie. One by one, other members of our family became jealous........



Next thing you know, Gracie will be asking for one of these: