A Day In The Life of A Bryden

2010-12-21T18:03:00.000-08:00

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Our week in pictures..

2009-09-12T22:36:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures from this week...

Lily's hair has finally grown long enough to
almost need a barette :)

Thank you to Grandma Kook for the Disney accessories!

Lily loving her new hat and of course,
the beloved snack cup of Cheerios

We were all sick this week, so like Pepsi,
we layed around most of the time and slept..

However, I did make peanut butter chocolate chip cookies

And cranberry/orange oatmeal cookies :)

I finally got a picture of the little fawn that keeps visiting us in the mornings

And of course, we missed Daddy.. Love you Schmoopie!! XOXOXOXO

Birthdays and Boating!!

2009-08-30T21:30:00.001-07:00

My mom celebrated her birthday last Tuesday(HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM) and unfortunately, we couldn't make it down for the celebration this weekend so we made the most of it and took the boat out to Folsom Lake. It was relatively hot (105) so it was nice being out in the water. It was Lily's first time on a boat so we bought her a lifevest (which she didnt really enjoy wearing) and hoped she wouldnt hate the water. Not only did she like being on the boat, she of course loved being in the water and actually passed out in my lap when we were bringing in the boat to the dock.
Hopefully, in the near future, we'll be able to take her on a weekend camping trip and not just a little boating outing.

Josh's family came over for dinner and because of the Dramamine I had taken in case of seasickness, I was SUPER groggy and ended up excusing me to go to bed at 9pm! How embaressing! Today I woke up much better and after a little mid morning nap, we were on our way to return Lily's lifejacket to get a bigger size and to hit up this new sushi joint in Folsom that had 50% off of all their menu items. YUM!!

Unfortunately, the weekend came and went too soon (of course) but I'm excited to go down to San Jose on Wed. to spend some time with Mom and for Jenny's wedding on Friday. Josh and I are excited to go and can't wait to share Jenny and Omar's special day!

Lily's un-assisted step count : 4

Until next time :) CIAO!

Baby Steps..

2009-08-23T21:59:00.001-07:00

Josh was here this weekend and what a weekend it was! Lily got to show her Daddy her favorite park where she thoroughly enjoyed the water features, we went out on this fantastic date to Ruth's Chris's Steakhouse and at the most amazing food and Lily even took her first steps today while walking towards her Daddy!

I even got to decorate my right foot with the henna Nufar brought me from India. It was the kind of weekend that we used to dream about in San Jose. Problem is, it just goes way too quickly. I have to stop thinking about when Josh is leaving as opposed to just enjoying him when he's here. I look forward to his visits/my visits during the week and once they're upon us, I can't help but start the inner countdown in my head to when I have to drop him off at the train station. In a way it does help me appreciate him more, but it would be nice just to forget about Sunday afternoon "what time is it" inquiries in my head.

It has almost been a month into our money saving expirement, and I share my "baby step" journey with my daughter by taking it one day at a time, one little milestone at a time.

Playdates gone sour....

2009-08-18T21:34:00.000-07:00

Today was my first attempt at joining a playgroup here in Sacramento and needless to say 1. After surviving a breakup so to speak of one of my first playgroups in San Jose I'm through with all the "clique" BS.. and 2. the playgroup that I'm still currently attending down in the South Bay is amazing and I'm kind of comparing to that one.. so today's expirement left me a little disappointed. I always give myself at least three meetups before I ditch the group, so.. strike one I guess.

The park we were having the play date at was beautiful though! Lots of shade, a great play area, water fountains that the kids could play in and a picnic area. During our 45 minute outing, not one person that had RSVP'd looked familiar or came up to me to ask if I was meeting someone. I approached several women (who looked like they were on their way to a fashion show rather than out at the park) and asked them but they werent here with our group.

To make the long story short.. no meetup.. but I had a good time with Lily who is walking with just the assistance of one hand :) Eitherway, it will be a fun park to go to with Josh this weekend!

2009-08-17T16:18:00.000-07:00

Lily has taken to my in-laws doggie Shana immensly. Shana in turn never lets Lily out of her sight. The pair is a riot to watch and I'm glad we're giving Shana a new friend to play with and leaving Mia alone to get used to the new surroundings.

While we were in San Jose this weekend, apparently, Mia resorted to doing some naughty things like eat other pet's foods and poop where she's not supposed to. So much for consistency!

Eitherway, we had a good time visiting with Dad. Mom was in Mexico City with Yaya so it was just the 4 of us. Unfortunately, I came down with a pesky cold that caused us to cancel some fun plans we had :( Theres always next time! I did get a chance to have a get together with my fave mom from our meetup group and we had a fantastic time at a local park. I have a meetup tomorrow at a park up here so we'll see how it goes.

Until next time!

Do you know the way to San Jose?

2009-08-12T22:17:00.000-07:00

So.. tomorrow we're off to visit our old stomping grounds! The baby and I are headed to San Jose to stay with my Dad while Mom is in Mexico City taking care of Yaya after her surgery. We had originally had it planned that I would take the train but after packing the trunk of the car with "necessary" items, there's NO way that looking at what I have to bring, that I could manage that by myself on a train. Needless to say, the only way I would be able to do it, is if I have two sets of everything down in the bay. I'm sure as time goes on, we'll perfect our living situations.

I'm super excited to see Josh. It seems like yesterday that we saw him (3 days ago to be exact) and I'm really liking the fact that I can take a little more time than he would to make our meetups that much more often. We have a few things that we have planned, like taking the baby to the Monterey Bay Aquarium which we've been wanting to do for a while. I'm so looking forward to it! I'm actually glad we waited until she was 1 to do it, so that she can at least enjoy watching the fish! I'm also hoping to sneak in a haircut and a pedicure!

So here's to 20 degree change in the weather that awaits us and good times with friends and family. Can't wait!! Ciao!!

So Happy Together...

2009-08-09T22:50:00.000-07:00

Well, the weekend has come and gone and we made the most of our short time with Daddy. It was an amazing weekend, not only because we got to spend time with our Josh, but because our new housing situation has really affected our outlooks on life, each other, and our stress levels. We're no longer sitting around and wasting our day watching TV, or not appreciating each other affectionately or counting pennies to make sure we have enough diapers, milk, gas, etc. Even though, our separation is not necessarily welcome, it is appreciated more than ever.

Josh and I had a really fun date going to the local casino and it hit me to think, wow, we're actually gambling money and ITS OKAY. (Not that I had any worry about it, since I DOMINATED the roulette table and won money!) It was so much fun and it made us realize that even though we are totally happy in our relationship, it was causing such a strain with not being able to just enjoy that "date" setting.

Today we cruised on over to downtown Placerville for a craft fair and walked around like a pair of locals. I'm really starting to love this area and appreciate the country living. The Main Street hardware store, kids boutique and quaint little bookstores make me even think of wanting to live here! Am I crazy? Or just on a kick of craving the non-norm. I suppose time will tell, but until then, I can say that I'm a happier person up here. While I miss my husband, parents and friends immensely, its good to be home!

Happy Birthday Babe!!

2009-08-04T22:22:00.000-07:00

Today is Josh's birthday and unfortunately, we aren't with him to celebrate it. My parents did have a little get together with him and we at least got to sing to him via speaker phone when he was blowing out the candles. I have a few surprises for him ( I wont mention them since I know he reads the blog :) ) and I can't wait to pick him up from the train station on Friday.

Feliz Cumpleanos Mi Amor!!!

Butterfly in the sky...

2009-08-03T21:53:00.001-07:00

"If my thoughts were butterflies, every time I set them free, they would fly to you"....

I miss you honey.. I love you.. xoxoxox

2009-08-02T20:20:00.000-07:00

We dropped Josh off today at the Sacramento Downtown Train Depot and it brought me back to when I used to take the train down to San Jose when I lived in West Sac. Nothing has really changed and the drive didnt seem as long getting back to the house.

Lily has made friends with Shana, the golden retriever in the picture by feeding her Cheerios and laughing hysterically about it. In return, Shana has started "delivering" her fetch balls to Lily as a "thank you" for the treats. Needless to say, dog slobber is not exactly what I want Lily to be handling but for the meantime, I'm happy that she and the doggie have become friends.

I'm going into town tomorrow to run some errands and hopefully catch up with Jenny, Josh's cousin.

Goodnite honey! We love you and miss you :)

Welcome to Sacramento... again.. :)

2009-08-01T19:13:00.000-07:00

So we did it! We moved! After the packing ordeal, the loading of the truck, the 3.5 hour drive, unloading at the storage place and unpacking at our parent's home, we are FINALLY here. They left out of town to take my sister-in-laws items to her new house down south for college, so Josh and I had the place to ourselves to get everything in order. After learning the back roads, where the nearest Safeway and post office is, I feel a little more prepared :)
The pets are responding well, and have adjusted nicely after a few days of accidental messes ;/ and attitude fits. Lily is also getting adjusted as well and has had a few rough days with unsuccessful nap times.

I'm sure by the end of this week, everything should be just fine and our daily routine will be a breeze. Speaking of which, I've tried to plan out my week to include some "outside" time where I actually travel out of Sleepy Hollow and get myself to civilization so to speak. I'm joining a local playgroup and hope to meet some other Moms in the area. Since its pretty hot during the day and people have huge property, its not very common to find a playground park I can take Lily too. So I think I'll blow up her kiddie pool tomorrow so we can have an afternoon of fun.

Josh leaves tomorrow on the train and I'm trying not to get choked up about it. The way I have to see it is that he lives here with us, but works 4 days a week in San Jose. If that's not the point of view that I have, I'm sure I'll just stress about his absence and his lack of living with us.

All in all, it went smoother than I expected but I can already feel the knots in my stomach for tomorrow's farewell between Josh and I. I'm not looking forward to it but instead, anticipate his return in 4 days.

Until then.. Ciao!

V

T-Minus 2 weeks and counting...

2009-07-15T09:54:00.001-07:00

So we're in the home stretch of the move, and its slowly coming along. This weekend will probably be the busiest with the packing and to tell you the truth, I'm actually looking forward to it. I think its the anticipation of it all. Not that I'm looking forward to not having Josh around. I'm more under the idea of the sooner it comes, the sooner it will go away. The distance that is..

I think we picked an ideal time to do this. Lily is no longer a baby (wow, I have a toddler) and shes starting to want to be independant and walk around. She's been taking steps with more confidence now and she suprises me with how well her balance is. She's a very healthy 22 pounder and shes in the 80th percentile for her height! America's Next Top Model for sure!! :) This is the first week where I have been giving her a sippy cup instead of her usual morning and night bottle in hopes that by the time Sacramento comes, we'll be rid of bottles. Which is fantastic because I loathe to wash them. I'd rather do a sinkfull of dishes than wash her 6 bottles. Don't ask me why.. its just a chore that honestly takes no skill (like loading clothes into the washer) but yet still makes me complain everytime.

I'm taking Lily to get her 1st year photos on Friday and im planning on having two poses.. one with this ADORABLE romper Mom gave her for her bday and a tutu that I will be making for her in the next few days. Should be fun!! I'll post pics when I get them.

Until then.. packing awaits...

Bye Bye!!

Happy Birthday Lily!!

2009-07-14T12:26:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Lily!

2009-07-12T21:09:00.001-07:00

What a wonderful day we had! Of course, my focus was on the cake which turned out really well. And was only slightly frazzled when it started sprinkling on us for about 15 minutes. SPRINKLING.. in JULY!! Craziness...
Well, our friends and family came of course which was wonderful. Even Grandma and Grandpa Dawson came from Santa Barbara. We had a great time and even got a chance to have the kids take a dip in the pool :)
Lily got tons of gifts and I'm headed to Micheal's tomorrow to get started on our thank you notes because everyone was so generous! I'm really glad we got to have her party at our house for our last shindig in our backyard because today has officially started our packing process.

My records have been bought and taken away ( to a very good home mind you) and most of the things I've decided to sell have sold. All that's left is divvying up the goods between Josh and I and sticking to packing a little each day over these next two weeks.

I'm making it a point to try and see everyone one last time and actually have me and Apple's 10 year anniversary coming up this Friday. We are planning to go to a Japanese restaurant and singing karaoke afterwards. It should be a blast.

Other than that, just tying up some loose ends with my Avon business in order for my change of address to not affect any deliveries and trying to really pick and choose what I want to take with me to the Bryden's house.

It is the last weekend before the madness happens.. and im takin it on like the bull that I am!

Ciao for now

HappyJuly 1st!

2009-07-01T13:47:00.000-07:00

Happy July 1st everyone!! This month will be rather hectic because we will be moving out of our house, preparing for Lily's 1st birthday party and trying to accomodate a toddler in the midst of all the chaos. Lily is now attempting to take her first steps and getting more courageous with pulling herself up and wanting to maneuver her way around the house.

I am in the middle of selling/ebaying everything I havent used since we moved in and that means tons of things that we've moved over and over in the past 5 years that have either sat in a box, cant fit on my body anymore or projects gone undone. Apple and I finally organized our sea of records and I'm only keeping the tracks that I really enjoy listening to. I think each weekend, other than the baby's birthday, is going to be filled with a "whats next?" approach to getting our things in order. I think the hardest part to all of this is figuring out what I will need at my in-laws house and what I can put into storage for half a year. And im such a packrat that the thought gives me a headache!

For this next month, I'm going to try and socialize Mia as best as possible with other dogs, since she'll be living with Shayna (my in-laws golden retriever). So i'll be taking her to dog parks every other day so that she can start acting more like a dog and less like a rabbit :) Speaking of rabbit, Im praying the buzzards that fly around my in-laws property dont see her as a rabbit and pick her up one of these days thinking shes dinner. EEEEEeeek!!

This weekend was SUPER hot and we had a bbq because our house was like a sauna. We tested out this new kiddie pool that we bought Lily and it worked out fantastically. The water stayed cold (sometimes too cold) and it was big enough for the three of us to enjoy some cooling off time.

Well, im off to check my ebay listings.. sell sell sell!!! CIAO

Happy Father's Day!!

2009-06-22T12:25:00.000-07:00

It was Josh's first Father's Day and we had a blast! We stopped at a park near Mom and Dad's house to spend some time with Lily so I can get some shots of her and her Daddy. Her first encounter with sand was fantastic so of course I had to get a video shot of it. Can you tell I'm inexperienced with a mobile child because I opted her to wear white pants? At a park? With a sandbox? Yeaaaahhh.. utter failsky. But good thing I brought her an extra change of clothes because she got her outfit totally trashed. You live and learn :) Either way, she was super happy swinging on the swings and making friends and getting sand all over her face. Now knowing that she likes it, I think a beach day is definitely in order!

Afterwards, we went to Mom and Dads and had a great time with Maria and Gabe who came down for the afternoon. It was nice to finally see them since we dont get a chance to hang out with them often. The guys will be doing a post Father's Day brofest going deepsea fishing off the coast of Berkeley Marina.. which means one thing... LINGCOD... YUM!!

Until next time!

Happy 11 months Lily!!

2009-06-17T08:45:00.000-07:00

So, our big girl has turned 11 months and its crazy to think that in less than a month, she'll be a year old. I'm planning her 1 year birthday to be a luau theme, so that everyone can participate. Being, that it will mostly be an adult party, I didnt want it to be overly kiddish. I figured, she'll have plenty of years to do that :)

So far the milestones are crawling (like crazy), being able to get herself to a standing position and eating everything you put in front of her (except Jello). She's on her last days of formula, thank God, and is drinking whole milk instead. Which is MUCH easier on the wallet. Her vocab consists of nene (child in spanish), agua (water), mama, dada, and she does a variation of dog and cat :)

To celebrate it, my parents took us out to breakfast where Little Miss Thang threw a temper tantrum because she only had a bite of cinnamon apples and wanted more. Which consisted of her screaming loudly and coming at me to bite my hand. Its sad to say that Lily is going to be "The Biter" in school, im sure, because whenever she gets mad and doesnt get her way, she flashes her three teeth and comes at you with a vengeance. I'm trying to kick her of the habit, but at this age, time out is irrelevant.

Until next time.. Ciao!

Sacramento.. Here we come!!

2009-06-12T21:54:00.000-07:00

We made a pretty big decision last weekend, and I've been hesitant to write about it because of course, once you publish something, it becomes more real. We've decided to move to Sacramento! Well, actually Shingle Springs and it would be only me and Lily for now. It's come to our attention that no matter how much we like living in our house now, we're never going to have enough money every month to substantially save up to get our own place. Considering that once we add more kiddies to the mix, it will get harder and harder. And Lord knows I would love to be pregnant right now. So, my in-laws have been gracious enough to let me stay with them rent free while we save enough money to possibly buy a house either up in Folsom/El Dorado Hills or perhaps down in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Depending on how it goes, we should be in a much better situation than we are now. Not that we're out on the street panhandling, however, its a kidney blow to see Josh's paycheck disappear 24 hours once its been deposited in our account due to rent, bills, credit cards, etc.

I think its to that point in our lives where we're young enough to be able to sacrifice this for a year and do it for our future and we're old enough to know the potential of growth that we can get out of it. Josh will be staying with his coworkers down here and going up every weekend or we'll come down to visit him so we'll get to see him at least every couple of days. Sure it will be super hard not to see Josh every night or be able to have him tuck Lily to bed at the end of the day, but it will so be worth it and trust me.. the words "stick it out, it will be worth it" has been embedded in my mind for the past two weeks. So here it is, I've said it.. it's going to happen .. and im ready for it.

We're Back!

2009-06-07T20:38:00.000-07:00

We made it back today after a long weekend up in the Northern Sacramento area for one of our oldest friends we used to DJ with back in the day. It's so nice seeing all of our friends getting married and settling down and this particular friend of ours, was always somewhat aloof about getting serious with a girl. Of course, the guy WE saw this weekend was smiling from ear to ear, beaming with pride and completely hopelessly in love with his new bride. I can't help but get nostalgic with thinking about our wedding and how time has flown so quickly since then.

The ceremony/reception was at his parent's house on this gorgeous (and huge) plot of land in the Placerville area. Thank goodness, it wasnt blazing hot and that the thunderstorms and rain subsided for the event. It was a fabulous event other than the DJ who was TERRIBLE.. (I can't help but critique) but all in all, we had a great time. Lily was such a good girl and didnt fuss at all during the whole night. Then again, I managed to stash a binkie in my cleavage for the perfect "mute" button during the ceremony when I started to hear my Little Miss Chatterbox start to pipe up.

After the event, we had planned to stay at our parents house up the road until Sunday. We got to see Allie at her swim meet, go out to sushi with Josh's cousin Jenny and see Great Grandma Gil and Bob. Lily even got to play a little concert for them on their antique looking piano.

I even got to see some deer in the backyard! Talk about country living :) I loved every second of it. Tthis week will be pretty easy going with some little plans here and there to take the baby to some swim sessions.

Until then... Adios :)

Weekend Wrap-Up

2009-06-01T12:46:00.000-07:00

What a great weekend! We got invited to some BBQ's and even got to take a dip in a pool with the baby. We visited the Sproehnel's new house and got to hang out with Maggie and Robert for a lazy Sunday afternoon visit. Lily is getting much better at crawling around and I've gotten a taste of the "dirty child" look of her pants now that she's getting into all the dusty unswept nooks and crannies of our house!

We're getting ready for an upcoming trip this weekend for Andy and Jennifer's wedding, which we're really excited for.. so today I went to go get my beautiful dress hemmed and hopefully I'll get some more scrapbook time in because my baby pictures keep piling up and taunting me that I have done nothing with them.

Until then... Ciao!

Our new blog!!

2009-05-29T12:19:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our new blog! I've been wanting to do this for a while now and just out of "decidia".. I dont know how to say it in english.. basically.. procrastinating.. I finally got around to changing our blog. The old one was just too complicated, it was hard to put up pictures(which is half the fun), and didnt support video. So.... TADA!!

Now being on this much easier blog to write in, I will be much more enthusiastic to write, post pictures and anything that comes along in our life :)

Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

XOXOXO

V