whining = wino? A discussion on glasses...

In the interest of full disclosure I'd like to announce that Natalie is a whiner...and Patrick appears to have picked up what she was layin' down...and I'm blaming that trait for my being a wino.  Okay, that's probably unfair...but you Mom's out there must know how a few seconds with a whiney child can drive a gal toward any bottle of alcohol....it can't be just me!  Right?  Right!  Okay, discussion over.

The Hubs has a habit of breaking my wine glasses.  He can't leave well enough alone and just let the glass sit on the counter til I'm ready to wash it and refill it.  Thereby I am left with a set of teensy, tiny, totally unaffective (and, by that I mean, you need an embarrasing number of refills to attain the happy place), old wine glasses. 

So, I'm on the market.  I'm a little strange and don't mind drinking my white from a red glass but don't want to drink my red from a white glass.  Okay, maybe a little too much honesty comin' out in this post...but what the hell, we're all friends here.  Right?  Right!

And this brings me to my point.  Anyone got a good glass out there?

      Good = Large(ish) + Dishwasher friendly + cheap

I'm stalking these little beauties from Target but think that pretty little stem might not be too dishwasher friendly.

I also really like these lovelies...  doesn't the wine look pretty in them?

These actually say they're dishwasher safe but I think they might also have a bridge to sell me in Brooklyn.

Moving right along.  I know these are trendy right now.  Anyone have an opinion?  I'm just not sure I'm going to like sipping my wine out of these until the end of time since The Hubs is guaranteed NEVER to break one of these babies!

AHA(!) re Southern BBQ! and Partypalooza pictures!

It was a crazy busy weekend with Partypalooza at our house but I think a good time was had by all.  I told The Hubs that I wanted to entertain more often and he looked at me like I was insane but I think we're good at it and he'll come around ;)

The menu for the party centered around a South Carolina BBQ recipe that a friend made for me last year.  I've been trying to figure out BBQ since we moved to Richmond 3 years ago and (AHA!) I've finally got it.  And since I don't know too many folks who don't LOVE southern BBQ I'm posting instructions...  I'm not a recipe hoarder and you can all thank me later...after you eat this...and lick your lips and smack your chops and impress your friends :)

 

 

And here are some of my favorites from the party!

At last....Pictures!

Spring...are you out there?

I'm pretty sure while I was driving to work and admiring the pretty Richmond skyline from a distance that I heard SNOW in the forecast for today. ??? I live in VA, right? It's March, right?

In other news... Paddy is dangerously close to walking and that makes his parents quake with fear and dance with joy. I wish I could say that its all just because I'm thrilled that he's so 'advanced' for his 10m age bracket...but I'll confess that it's mostly because I want to wean him off the prevacid and stop shelling out $40/month for a maintenance drug for my infant...and of course the extra time not spent dosing him every morning during the mad dash would be helpful too. Last night he was walking while holding Jame's fingers and when Jame let him go he took 3 more steps. I don't think these qualify as official first steps because he was already in motion...but like I said, he's dangerously close!

I'm getting very excited for a girls weekend coming up soon. Have I told you ladies how much I love you? How I would be lost without you? Well, I do and I would. xoxoxo And because this will be my first weekend w/out kids in tow in more than a year I'm panicked and exhilarated all at the same time. 2 nights! I seriously hope my body will sleep past 6am!
Jame got another A+ in his first BS class and so his fabulous GPA continues to hold. Natalie has been WOUND UP and I think we need many, many days in a row of outside time. Spring is coming, I think, maybe, someday....

I'm currently revamping the garden (as you all know)...seeds were ordered yesterday from High Mowing Seeds but I'm in a quandry over tomatoes and eggplants. And right now I'm making Nattie a crocheted dress (she won't wear) in the most atrocious purple color you've ever seen. She chose it. I am desperately hunting thru my leftoevers looking for a color of secondary yarn that will tone down her "barney costume" and so far have come up w/ nothin'. There has to be a way to make that color look less awful....  It'll be done tonight (I think) so I'll post pictures!
That's all from here :)

More Oldies - 2005

These are just a few that I've been able to pick thru from 2005.  That was the year we got married so there are a ton of pictures.  I'm sure there will be more to come as I go thru and organize so that they can all be backed up and saved properly.

My bridal shower - April 2005

We're missing Leslie but I love this picture of all of the Albright Girls!

Reception - 5/21/05 - Porch, Echo Lake Inn

Stonewall's Restaurant - Honeymoon - St. Kitt's

Honeymoon - St. Kitt's

Abigail's Wedding - Portland, ME

Natalie :)

Fun! Fun! Fun!

Anyone wonder where Paddy got his gorgeous eyes?  Thank you handsome husband :)

Trip to CT - Part 2

Day 2 began like any other except it started earlier and with grumpier kids and a Mom w/ a hurting head! While we waited for the Dawson's to wake up at Gigi's we cooled our heels in the hotel, had breakfast, etc. We headed to Gigi's around lunch for a brief stint because while everyone else had just woken up our crew was ready for their naps. I left Jame to hang out and took the kiddo's back to the hotel. Then back to Gigi's again later that afternoon and Jame took Nattie w/ him and Luke to pick up some items. 2+ hours later Patrick was spent, no one had dinner and I was pretty frustrated. I do love my family but the challenges of being the only ones w/ kids were evident in their total lack of compensation...and the fact that they kept saying things like "Don't let your kids rule your life." I have news for the Dawson's....despite my absolute best efforts...my kids have taken complete control over my life. Perhaps one day they'll learn.

On 12/23 my Mom was supposed to arrive but due to bad weather in Burlington she was delayed. Nattie & I went to the pool and Brian came to our room to hang out for a bit. Then we dropped Mr. P off w/ Gigi and Liza and took Natalie ice skating. Had another enjoyable evening with the family at Gigi's house w/ the best pizza I've had in a long time. Luke gets major credit for knowing how to order an amazing pie!

Here are some more pictures :)