Random musings

Ever since Liam became mobile, our whole world has been turned upside down. We are constantly trying to teach him new boundaries. But he is just soooo darn curious! Lately we have been having to shut the baby gate to the laundry room where we keep the dogs water bowl and crates. It is not uncommon for Liam to flip the water bowl over and then crawl inside one of the dog crates, shutting the door behind him.

Recently Jolyn shared her copy of "On Becoming Toddler Wise" with me. I have had many moments while reading this book where I have breathed a sigh of relief at knowing that Eric and I are not alone in our struggles. I thought I would share a passage from the chapter on The Walking, Talking, Curious Toddler for those of you who may be going through the same thing.

"During the one-year span between 12 and 24 months, the walking, talking, exploring toddler multiples the demands of mother's time, energy and patience more than any other period in his life. It is also a time when clashes of the will abound, for the walking-about toddler is in the process of not only testing his legs but also trying new experiences with his hands. His mind has also caught up with his legs, so asserting himself accompanies his mobility. If left to himself, unhindered by moral and safety concerns, this little person can empty a bookshelf in minutes, connect with Hong Kong on Dad's cell phone, drink from the bird-bath, splash little hands in the toilet, drain the last sips of leftover beverages, flee the kitchen with a table knife, or take a nap in the dog house - which, after all else, would be a positive thing.

Ah yes, the mobile toddler. There is no question that a toddler's mom is a tired mom, and for good reason. The emotional and physical energy needed to supervise an energy-packed tot can take down the most physically fit mom. If your toddler happens to be a boy, add fifty percent more energy. Never so beautiful does this child look to his weary mom as he does when he closes his eyes in sleep."

Christmas wrap-up

This Christmas season was pretty exciting given that Liam is more aware of the holiday than he was last year. At school they have been creating lots of "art." It was not uncommon for him to come home with a Christmas wreath. Or a Kwanzaa kinara. Or a Jewish Menorah. But here in the Pate Household, it was all about Christmas. Each night before he went to bed, we would read him Christmas stories about what Christmas is really all about and what it means for us as Christians. Of course we threw in a few books like "The Night Before Christmas" for good measure!

Earlier in the month, my friend Allison, arranged for a group of us to take a carriage ride in Deerfield Park in Plano. Supposedly the tradition began years ago when the neighborhood was being built. At the time, people thought that the neighborhood was too far north to consider building a home. So the developers decided to give a $5,000 prize to the home with the best Christmas lights. The residents all went overboard and bought so many lights and decorations, that the next year they used them again. And so the tradition began.

As fate would have it, we happened to pick the warmest night in December for our horse drawn carriage ride. The daytime temperature was 85 and the evening cooled down into the 60s. The neighborhood itself was really amazing. And the lights were really beautiful. Liam even got to experience his first hot chocolate.

Greeting one of the horses pulling a smaller carriage.

Taking in the sights with Dad.

Look at these shacks. The poor residents of Deerfield clearly can't rub two nickels together.

Some of these homes were reminiscent of the Grizwalds, complete with timed music.

Saying goodnight to our carriage. What a fun experience for our entire family!

This year, we traveled to Wichita, Kansas for Christmas to visit Eric's family. We were a little bit anxious to see how Liam would do on the six hour car ride, but overall, he did really great. My only complaint about the road trip, was the lack of clean bathrooms. You never notice until you have children, the complete lack of changing tables in restrooms. Why Starbucks? Why?

The day before we left for Kansas, I was treated to a birthday massage and facial, followed by a great lunch with Eric. The evening after we arrived in Wichita, my sister-in-law, Jolyn, arranged for a babysitter to watch all three kids so that they could take me out for a birthday dinner. We ate at this fantastic seafood restaurant with great food and delicious wine. Afterwards we came home where I opened gifts and we ate carrot cake (my fave) that Eric made me from my Nana's recipe. It was a fantastic birthday!

Liam had a great time playing with Sam and Holly who just adore him. The feeling is mutual! It was really funny to see Sam running after Holly and Liam running after Sam.

Liam was obsessed with the piano. He loved banging around on the keys, making...joyful...music.

Moses surveying the scene.

On Christmas Eve, Holly recited the Nativity story to us. She memorized the whole story from the Bible to share with us before Christmas Eve service.

Sam is one of the most photogenic kids I know.

Liam in his Christmas outfit with Grandpa Ron and Daddy.

Grandma Becky, Mommy and Liam. Unfortunately Liam couldn't stay in the service the whole time after throwing Daddy's Blackberry in the aisle and then squealing at the top of his lungs. A reminder of why we love our Church nursery!

You know what they say: The family that wears funny hats together, stays together!

Jolyn bought the men matching cowboy pajamas and the girls matching owl pajamas for Christmas Day. Gotta love Nick and Norah! This shot is entitled, "What does a kid have to do to get a cup of coffee around here?"

Playing with a kaleidoscope.

I love this picture because amidst the excitement of Christmas Day, Liam was more interested in playing with a hairbrush that he found on the floor. Perhaps next year he will be more excited about the actual presents.

Holly and Sam singing Happy Birthday to the Baby Jesus!

Group shot of the girls.

The men folk

Opening Christmas gifts. Liam definitely had more interest in opening gifts than he did for Christmas last year or his first birthday. But the excitement was short lived.

A monkey pillowpet. It's a pillow. It's a pet. It's a pillowpet!

Sam and Holly were given a few Nerf toys. Eric thought it would be fun to stick a dart on the forehead of our unknowing son. Later Eric and Ryan had several tournaments with the Nerf gun and torpedo launcher. I married a man-child.

Liam wearing Woody's cowboy hat from Toy Story. In addition to his

fireman's hat, Liam has become obsessed with hats.

Chillin' on the alphabet train.

The cousins. This was the only shot (of many) that we were able to get of all three of them with their eyes open and no major blurs. Such is life with children.

Chloe after her holiday grooming.

Cooper in his Christmas finery.

I thought it would be fun to show two of my favorite ornaments from this year. Each year since we have been married, we have acquired a White House ornament. This is the 2010 ornament which celebrates President William McKinley and the role of music in the White House. It is really fun to look back on these ornaments and the historical stories each one tells.

Each year one of my coworkers makes me an ornament off of our

Christmas card. This was the photo on this year's card.

This picture pretty much sums up the after Christmas exhaustion!

Hope your Christmas was a wonderful one!

Aging gracefully?

Twenty something years ago, on a cold December night in Albuquerque, my Mom went into labor. Twenty something years later, her daughter is attempting to accept another year by aging gracefully. So far I have felt a flux of emotions about my upcoming birthday. Sort of like the seven stages of grief. One moment I am totally nonchalant about birthdays and getting older. Afterall, people are suffering all over the world. Why get upset about something as trivial as a birthday? The next moment I am kicking and screaming, wondering how long I can start to lie about my age before the gig is up.

I think big milestone birthdays cause you to look back on your life: where you have been and where you are going. I feel very blessed to have an awesome husband and a healthy son. I have an amazing job that affords me many opportunities. I have a great extended family and wonderful community of friends. By all accounts I am a very lucky girl.

So why does it feel like I am going through some sort of life crisis? I have never before struggled with birthdays. Maybe it is because past birthdays signaled exciting new changes. Old enough to drive. Old enough to vote. Old enough to drink. But now? Old enough to be entered into a new age bracket when filling out the census? Old enough to get botox? Where is the excitement?

However, I realize that this next stage in my life can include brand new adventures. Eric and I still have a lot of traveling to do. We hope to eventually build a home that we have been designing for years. We have new adventures to plan as Liam gets older. I want to do things that I still haven't had the opportunity to do. So maybe, at least for now, I will try to look at this next stage as a new chapter in my life while saying goodbye to what feels like an old friend.

Friends Forever

As some of you may know, my 28th birthday is quickly approaching. My best friend, Stephanie, is also a December baby. We are all too familiar with the hardships posed by having a birthday around the holidays. Birthday gifts wrapped in Christmas wrapping. Christmas cards with Merry Christmas crossed out in ink and replaced with Happy Birthday. Santa saying that he chipped in with Mom and Dad for a combined Christ-day gift. An Advent candle used as a birthday candle sitting atop a slice of birthday fruitcake. Ok. So I might be embellishing. A little bit. I mean after all, the Baby Jesus has to share his birthday with Christmas too so I shouldn't complain! Just kidding. I am really not that disconnected from the real reason behind Christmas so stop hissing at me.

Because we are sensitive to the plight of the December birthday, we take special efforts to recognize each others special day. Yesterday Steph sent me the most awesome gift a 27 year old could ask for (yeah get comfortable with me starting to lie about my age - deal with it). We are true fans of "Saved by the Bell." I mean hardcore. Why, just this morning as I was blow drying my hair for work, I was watching the episode where Tori Spelling was dating Screech and her parents wouldn't approve of their relationship because....well because he was Screech. But as you SBTB fans know it all turned out ok and they were able to perform in their high school glee club competition. But I digress.

Among the gifts that Stephanie gave me was the most awesome magnet a girl could wish for:


And it got us talking. We somewhat joked that everything we learned in life we learned from watching SBTB. It is not a bad rule of thumb to place yourself in the shoes of your favorite SBTB character depending on the situation at hand. For example, if you are about to go to a great event, you might ponder, "What would Lisa wear?" Trying to weasel your way out of a sticky situation - "What would Zack do?" Attempting to figure out how to solve a mathematical equation? "How would Screech answer this?" Or maybe Jessie (before she went off the deep end and stared in Showgirls). What hair product to use to get that wet mullet look? Slater all the way.

Then we discussed another equally important point in dissecting the magnet situation. Team Zack or Team Slater? We both agreed: Team Zack. After all, Mario Lopez is sort of a male Jezebel. And it is sort of creepy that he hasn't aged at all. Sort of like he sold his soul in exchange for that youthful mullet. So I bid you a fond farewell in the only way I know how. Via montage. Crank it up and enjoy.

Wordless Wednesday

What dreams may come

Holy water. Pumpkin pie. Kristen Stewart. It is funny how real a dream can seem, even when they don't make any sense. Growing up Catholic I have, what I assume, is a healthy dollop of guilt. When Eric and I decided not to get married in the Catholic church it felt like my membership card to "the faith" had been revoked. Ever since Liam was born I have felt this nagging feeling that he should be baptized in the Catholic Church. Except that it is not that simple to find a priest willing to baptize the child of a non-practicing Catholic. When my parents came to visit recently, they either intentionally or accidentally left a vial of holy water in our guest bathroom. We halfway joked that my parents probably baptized Liam while we were sleeping at night.

It might have had something to do with the slice of pumpkin pie that I ate before bedtime last night...that created the bad dream...that left me in such a panic that I awoke this morning in a cold sweat. In my dream, Eric and I had just purchased a really lovely, but dilapidated Georgian mansion. Clearly the first sign that I was in a dream. We moved in with big plans to renovate our rundown dream home (no pun intended). Until, that is, we realized that our home was haunted. And not just a little haunted, but out to do-in our family haunted.

Kristen Stewart came for a visit whereupon she promised to give me the banana yellow pants she wore in the first Twilight movie. I realize in real life that no such pants exist. But as fate would have it, she was wearing said pants to our lovely, albeit haunted home. "Score," I thought. I would be able to sell those pants to some lonely fan on EBay and have a little extra money to buy those boots I have been salivating over. It just goes to show that I am always trying to figure out ways to save money even in my dreams. Or so I thought. The house attacked Kristen and threw her down our stairs. And to add insult to injury, she bled all over the promised banana yellow pants!

At this point I realized that our house was for sure haunted. It occurs to me to hire a locksmith to change the locks. Because clearly pure evil is deterred by a locked door. No such luck. Then the house tried to capture Liam. For the gals in my book club, I channeled the parrot in our more recent read, "Olive Kitteridge." I started running through the house yellowing "Praise the Lord!" and throwing holy water at these invisible forces. I also had one of those pointy crucifixes from the movies and was ready to strike should the moment arise (it did not, in case you were wondering).

When Liam was sick at the end of last year, a well intentioned person mentioned that, perhaps I should find my way back to the Church, as if there was a correlation. So perhaps my guilt has settled in. But I can't help but think that he has had every vaccination he could get to spare him from illness, but perhaps he needs a spiritual vaccination as well. Any how, I woke up this morning with a strong conviction that I needed to get Liam baptized and soon. And that I should never buy a rundown mansion with fixer-up potential. Especially if it is in my price range.

Catch up

The past few weeks have been busy in our household, so needless to say, I haven't had much of an opportunity to blog. Eric has been working really long hours, so my computer time is fairly limited. Liam is growing like a weed, and keeping up with him is definitely a test of endurance. The elections came and went. And I think that I, like so many others around me, can sleep better knowing that the world is on the mend again.

Earlier this month my parents came to visit us in Dallas for a long weekend. If we are being quite honest with ourselves. they really came to see Liam, but as a bonus got to see me and Eric. They hadn't seen Liam since he started walking, so it was great for them to chase him around. We are extremely blessed to have two very generous and loving sets of grandparents that spoil Liam rotten. It is not uncommon to have them send Liam gifts for no reason at all. At Liam's age, I feel that the excitement of a package in the mail from one of the grandmas is mine, and mine alone. While I try to get Liam to share in the anticipation of ripping open a brown paper package, he has usually moved on to chasing the dogs with a spatula. I, on the other hand, love pouring over the books and sorting through the clothes that his generous benefactors have bestowed upon him. Needless to say, it was lovely having a visit from my parents. One of the hardest things about living in this area is being so far from home.

Our friend, Amy, took our holiday Christmas card photos. We have ordered our photo cards from Shutterfly and they should arrive any day now. I have posted a few of our favorites that didn't make the card for your viewing pleasure.


For those of you who do not live in Dallas, you know that the weather here has been unseasonably warm and beautiful. Needless to say, the day we took our pictures felt more like an early September day rather than November.

For Thanksgiving we went to Houston to visit Eric's family. It was the first time we had stayed in a hotel with Liam, and it was definitely an experience. I told my mother-in-law that if I didn't know me, I would totally judge me as a mother. I realized how much of a routine we have settled into as a family. While we try really hard not to live by a schedule, I now know that our schedule has consumed our lives more than I would like. So it came as no surprise that when we were taken outside of our "norm" it was definitely hard to adjust. Liam had a difficult time sleeping in his pack-in-play and all of the noises associated with being in a hotel made it hard for him to fall asleep. This led to him to crying out for constant reassurance for me and Eric. And while we are at home we are "comfortable" enough letting him cry it out, at a hotel you don't have the same level of ease. Heck, if I heard a child crying inconsolably I would probably call CPS. So for the first time, ever, we let Liam take a few naps in our bed. The child kicks.

Eating was a whole other matter. He was so distracted by the constant excitement of his cousins and doting family, that he ate as much as a mouse on a diet. And if there is one thing I have learned, you cannot force a child to eat. Now that we are back home, we are hoping to settle back into our routine. Until Christmas that is!

Speaking of Christmas, tonight we are putting up our tree and lighting the fireplace. We really debated whether we should put up a tree this year. Last year, Liam was not yet crawling so our tree and decorations were safe. But this year is a whole other matter. The child is just soooo curious, so we were not sure whether it was "safe" (for the tree or Liam) to put up the tree. However, in our constant efforts to teach Liam boundaries, and also because Christmas without a tree doesn't really feel like Christmas at all, we have opted to put it up. I love, love, love the holidays and have been listening to Christmas music for about two weeks now. I have been lighting our cinnamon clove candle from White Barn Candle Co. and making pumpkin cookies. At the first sign of cold weather we have been making chili or green chile stew. And the holiday teas have been broken out. So yeah, not putting up a tree feels...just plain wrong.

This Thanksgiving was such a welcome change from last year. The biggest blessing of all is having a happy, healthy, loving child and an amazing husband. I am so grateful for my loving family and friends. I feel blessed in unimaginable ways. I hope you all had a really wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving.

Season's greetings from Shutterfly

For years we have used Shutterfly for our holiday cards. They have the best selection of Christmas cards and announcements. Plus they make it super easy to order cards. Last year was a tough year with Liam being in the hospital around the holidays. Needless to say it was a miracle that we even were able to get holiday cards out to family and friends! But part of what made it so easy was that we were able to snap a quick family picture, upload it to Shutterfly's website at http://www.shutterfly.com/ and pick it up at our local Target. Start to finish only two hours!

While it was a difficult to choice to pick out just one card design for this year, I have many favorites.

I love the idea of this card because while I love getting Christmas cards from friends and family, it is always really great to find out what is going on in the lives of those I love. Plus I dig that you can use multiple images with this card.

This card is so funky cool. Any "merry merry" just says it all! It is super casual, but fun at the same time.

This is one of my favorite cards. For anyone who has been to our home, you know that our decor features a lot of red accents with dark stained furniture, so this is totally us. I think the design is classic and I am always a fan of simple black and white images. This is the sort of card that never goes out of style!

You can see all of Shutterfly's amazing selection by going to this link: http://shutterfly.com/cards-stationary/christmas-photo-cards

This next weekend, our dear friend, Amy, is taking our holiday card photos. Shortly thereafter, I will be uploading them at http://www.shutterfly.com/upload-pictures/ and come December 1 I will be done with my cards! If only someone would address and mail them out for me!

And as a bonus, every Blogger who writes about Shutterfly's amazing holiday card promotion, will get 50 free holiday cards. For those of you who are interested, go to http://bit.ly.sfly2010/ and start the process of gettin your FREE cards!

Halloween

Last year Liam was really too young to understand Halloween. But this year we were hoping that he would be able to join in on the many festivities he was invited to. On Friday, his school had a Trunk or Treat celebration. Thanks to Grandma Gladys planning 10 months early, Liam was the cutest Park Ranger in the world! I think we can all sleep a little better knowing that our National Parks are being taken care of by such an upstanding young citizen.


Part of Liam's costume included aviator sunglasses. Which he promptly broke. Two minutes after getting to hold them. The binoculars, however, proved much more sturdy.

Liam totally had no interest in trunk or treating. When forced to go up to strangers and offer his plastic jack-o-lantern, he chose to run away. Mommy and Daddy, however, could not let such goodies go to waste. Believe me, we have taken care of all the candy that was distributed.

"Noooooo! You can't make me trick-or-treat!"

Liam was much more excited by the orange balloons hanging off of one of the parent's cars. She generously gave him one. And for the three minutes that he was interested in it, life was good.

For those of you who read my pumpkin patch post, you will be happy to know that pencils are interchangeable with a good stick. Until someone eats the eraser.

Liam enjoying his first ever sucker.

On Halloween night, some friends of ours that we met in our child birthing class (it later turned out that we lived in the same neighborhood and go to the same church) had a Halloween party. Again, Liam had no interest in trick or treating. He did however, have a strong interest in running all over the place and trying to bring the canopy down.

His second sucker ever. He was a big fan of this Tootsie Roll Pop and ate the whole thing, even the chewy center, before I could wrestle the stick away from him. Overall, a great weekend. Next year it will be fun when he really gets into the spirit of the holiday!

For your viewing pleasure: A little jig by Liam.

Dieting and the holidays

Upon first looking at the title of this post, you might think that I am talking about food dieting. Heading into the holidays has always been a time of gluttonous pleasure; a time of forgiving sweaters to hide the evidence of too many mint mochas at Starbucks. And I can't say that today at my monthly book club meeting, which gathers at Cafe Brazil, that the thought of starting out my day with a slice of pumpkin cheesecake with a brownie crust didn't cross my mind. But today I am actually talking about a debt diet.

This economy has struck most everybody I know in one way or the other. And if it hasn't struck you personally, you probably know at least several people who have, in some way been affected. A friend of mine teaches free financial literacy classes and over the past year I have attended several, including "Recession Proofing Your Finances" and "How to Survive a Financial Crisis." This past week his organization had a financial literacy forum with panel guests that included Pamela Yip from the Dallas Morning News and Elizabeth Leamy, a regular contributor for Good Morning America and the author of "Save Big: Cut your top 5 costs and save thousands." I won't go too into all the knowledge that I gleaned at the forum (however, for anyone that is interested, I could talk your ear off on the brilliant why didn't I think of that? revelations).

Immediately after leaving the forum, I called Eric and proclaimed that we needed to go on a "debt diet." My friend had indicated that he and his wife tried an experiment of not going out to eat for...an...entire...month. It was almost a challenge to see if they could do it, but after the first month they saved over $1100. For everybody, a debt diet can be different. For our family, the money doesn't just fly out of the window in one particular area. We don't have just one vice that consumes our entire paycheck. For us, it is about feeling like not cooking one night at getting take-out instead. One night too many. It is about going to Target for a gallon of milk and leaving $60 poorer because we saw a tuxedo shirt that Liam just "couldn't live without."

Really, our attempted debt diet will be about generally reeling it in financially. Thinking once, twice, and maybe even a third time before we charge an item. Paying off debt where it exists. And realizing that, with any diet, you have to have realistic expectations of yourself. You can't be discouraged when you fall, and given the time of year, it will indeed be a challenge. In an effort to save big, I will definitely be more diligent about taking advantage of the deals around me. Pairing coupons with weekly sales. And not taking for granted little deals that hardly seem worth the effort of taking advantage of (i.e. not being so darn lazy).

Wordless Wednesday