My Kid Is So Freaking Adorable.

Seriously.

Go check out his annual pics that I just posted on the biz blog.
And try not to swoon....he IS only 6, you know. :)

Here's a preview:

That's Random (An Aydenism)

Yesterday, as I'm cleaning up the kitchen, AJ comes around the corner:

AJ (sternly): Mom.
Me: yes?
AJ: Everybody in this house has a peepee but NOT you (as he pats where my "peepee" should be).
Me: Yes, that's true.
AJ: Because Daddy has a peepee, and Owen has a peepee, and I have a peepee, and Tyler has a peepee.
(as an afterthought):And Cooper has a peepee.

Me: Yes, that's right. Why don't you think I have one?
AJ: I dunno.....I think's it's becawse you are a goyle (girl).
Me: You're exactly right. Thanks for telling me.
AJ (walking away): You're welcome.

As Promised.....

Photos of the ever-elusive Steve-o, on the eve of his 30th birthday. :)
The entire "shoot" took all of 6 minutes - and he hated every one of them.

I am Sooooo clever.
LOL :)

This was his reaction when I told him to stare directly into the camera and "look badass"

:)

Birth Day.....30 Years to Date

Let's start things off by talking about...well, ME.

Steve and I both have milestones birthdays this year.....turning thirty.
THIRTY.
Leaving the comfort of our 20's in our wake, we drop the "young" off "young adult" and I suppose that now we're just.....well, regular adults. It somehow seems so much more serious and imposing.
While I approach this milestone with alternating bouts of depression and sheer panic - Steve on the other hand is very calm and nonchalant about it.

So, how do you feel about turning 30 next week?
Fine, doesn't bother me at all.

Can you believe that in 3 days you'll be THIRTY?
Yeah, I guess so. It doesn't seem that different to me.

(20 minutes before the clock strikes midnight and his birthday is official): You STILL feeling good about turning 30?
Yeah, I feel fine. It really doesn't bother me. You're going to let me sleep in tomorrow right?

Okay, he didn't actually SAY that last part. But he was thinking it.

So today....as he's sleeping in, as a 30 year old - I draw courage from his calmness about the whole thing. Maybe turning 30 ISN'T that big of a deal, ...maybe you're NOT knocking on death's door, maybe you're NOT leaving behind your inerrant coolness to pick up the nerdiness of being a mom, a dad, a responsible parent. He's still cool, right? He's still a fantastic dad, a great coach, a beloved teacher. A loving husband, a levelheaded man, a fair parent, a fun guy. Nothing has changed between yesterday and today, save for a number to tag as his age.

So to my husband....my 30 YEAR OLD husband: Happy Birthday - I love you more than you know and I'm glad I've got to spend the last 12 years of my life knowing you.
And I'm glad I'm still younger than you for another 6 months.
:)
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Side bar: Stay tuned for PICTURES of Steve on his monumental birthday. He's letting me take some pictures tonight to document the occasion of another decade of his life. Okay....so "letting me" is a bit of a stretch. It's more like I'm making him, and he's not complaining TOO loudly about it. Should be fun. :)

Twilight

So all the hype about Twilight....I watched as Steve's students, former students, athletes, my former athletes OBSESSED over this book series. Then a few of my adult friends started saying how good they were, everyone's so excited for the movie, blah, blah, blah. You would think it was the apocalypse of literary genius the way everyone was talking....it created buzz like the Harry Potter series.

So on Friday night, I caved to the peer pressure and bought the book. Started it Sat a.m. and finished it Sunday afternoon. It was a good book - interesting story, characters that pull you in, mindless enjoyable book consumption. So last night I went to see the movie, and what a disappointment. Usually movies are never as good as the books that inspired them, but i thought that the Twilight movie totally missed the mark. I would guess that most people who saw the movie without reading the book wouldn't have cared for the movie at all. They glossed over so much, filled in gaps with additional material NOT in the book (I HATE that), sped through important dialogues for the sake of time, etc. etc. With Twilight grossing over 70 million at the box office this weekend, I think it's too bad that they didn't just make the movie a little longer and kept in more of the key elements that create the foundations for the story.
I WILL say that they did an outstanding job of casting.....Robert Pattinson who plays Edward Cullen (the vampire) is described in the book as an otherworldly type of beautiful. Compelling, but almost shocking to look at. Pattinson (also played Cedric Diggory in the Harry Potter movies) himself is a gorgeous piece of man, but when you add in the hair and makeup to make him look like a vampire? They totally hit the nail on the head - he WAS otherworldly, compelling...beautiful. He justified the movie for me because well...he's nice to look at for 2 hours. I think he's this next generation's Brad Pitt. YUM.

My overall impression? The books are good. They are romance novels geared towards young adults (I can see why highschool girls are batty over them) so the reading level makes for a quick and easy read. The movie's okay -IF you read the books and are interested in the story and the actualization of the characters on film.....if you haven't read the book: skip the movie - you'll miss out on a lot.

If you like stories about vampires and fantasy-type fiction, a more "adult" type book along those lines would be The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. I read it a few years back when I worked at Books A Million. It took me a LONG time to read - it's a pretty thick book - but it's more along the lines of a DaVinci Code-esque suspense/thriller following a mystery surrounding Dracula. Did you know that legends of Dracula have some elements of historical truth to it?? Vlad the Impaler, a cruel Romanian ruler from the 15th Century inspired Bram Stoker's famous novel, and stories and legends about vampires have been around for centuries. True story. Google it if you're bored one day. :)

So that's my history lesson, movie review, book review and book recommendation for the day.
Happy Monday!

I've Got Christmas on the Brain Again

And I saw this video this morning and found it inspiring. Sometimes it's hard to turn away from the traditional American ideals of what Christmas should be, but when I see videos like this it encourages me.

Kindof Dying...and Kindof Not