Happy Birthday, Samuel!

My goodness, I can't believe it's been a YEAR since I frenetically got on a plane to Connecticut to meet my sweet nephew, Samuel, for the first time. My, how time flies.

Happy birthday, sweet boy! I cannot believe you are ONE!

Time travel.

I was looking through my old cell phone pictures when I was supposed to be paying attention in a meeting yesterday and came across this one:

This was one of the most perfect mornings of my life. My Mom took it back in November when we were visiting Kelli, David and Samuel. We were having a lazy morning, just lounging and playing with our boys. Just minutes later, Alex climbed up and joined the party and the three of us read whatever riveting child literature Samuel was obviously studying in this moment. Sometimes, life is just perfect.

Who cancels Halloween?

The entire state of Connecticut, that's who. I guess an unexpected hammering of snow will do that to you.

Kelli said it was like a movie - trees down everywhere, no power, and utter chaos. They are safe and sound, but what an experience!

And so, October 2011 marked the first time my sweet 'lil Samuel saw snow. And it was DELIGHTFUL. He loves the white fluffly stuff almost as much as his Aunt Kristi. Behold:


 

Yes, as crazy as it looks, that's a totally legit video taken in Kelli's front yard on October 29, 2011. Mother Nature is NOT fooling around, people. Also? Hi, Ruth!

Dear Thursday: please end.

Because when Thursday is over, that means that it's Friday, which also means that it is the DAY MY SISTER FINALLY CARTS HER ARSE BACK TO MICHIGAN. Oh, and she's also bringing her handsome hubby & that sweet little chubby-cheeked nephew of mine.

But really? It's all about the sister. Like, GET. HERE. NOW.

Those of you with a sister get me. And those with a sister living practically on the other side of the Moon (which is just due east of Connecticut) totally get me. I'll probably never be ok with the fact that she lives in CT nor will I ever get used to these once-a-year-and-every-other-year-at-Christmas visits, but I will cherish them when they come.

And Friday? It's COMING.

Look out, Detroit. This crazy duo is getting all sorts of reunited.

And before my phone starts blowing up with texts from the self-proclaimed "forgotten child" Kyle, you know I love you dearly. And also? Thank you for living in Michigan so I can see your face any time I want. Don't tell Kelli and the others (hey, they might be out there), but you're you're my favorite on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and every other Sunday.

Niephew is a NEPHEW!

It's a BOY!

Samuel Jeffrey Turner was born at 4:15 am on Feb. 13 @ 8 oz. 10 lbs & 20 in. via c-section after THIRTY HOURS and FORTY FIVE minutes of labor. My sister is a saint.

He's perfect and precious and I simply could not love him more.

And also? Alex totally got it right:


Sorry it's sideways. FB won't let me rotate it for some reason.

NIEPHEW WATCH: GAME ON!

It's happening! My flight leaves at 4:30. Wait for Aunt Kristi, baby!!!

Fun At The Hartford Children's Science Center.

On one of the rainy, yucky days in Connecticut (ok, let's be honest...it rains there like 99.9% of the time), we took Alex to the Hartford Children's Science Center. Kelli and David had heard great things about it, but I was nervous that at only 20 months, Alex might be a little young.

Boy was I WRONG!

We had an absolutely incredible time. Each level (there were 6 total) had a different theme. His favorites were the water room, the "engineering" floor and the nature exhibit.

Fun in the water exhibit!

These were cool race cars that you placed different
weights on to race down the track. He LOVED it.

This was a fun air game - you had to point the air

coming out of the cone at a beach ball and try to

move it through a hoop.

I was the only one to actually do it. Snaps.

The big boys playing a racing game with sailboats.

Fun in the erosion exhibit.

Chalk that one up to "things I never thought I'd say."

He was looking through the glass at the ant farm &

my Mom asked him what they were and he said, "Bugs."

I about died. HOW DOES HE KNOW THESE THINGS?!?!

Loves fish, just like his Daddy.



It was such a fun day spent making great memories. If you have kids and you're traveling to new places, be sure to check out the local attractions. We even were able to snag a deal on tickets by purchasing them online in advance. Culture = good.

Listen Up!

I have an announcement to make: I'm expecting!











...a niece or nephew!

Bwaaahahaha. That was a mean trick, no?

Anyway, on or around February 14, Kelli will birth little "Baby Valentine" and make my Mom the happiest woman in the galaxy with grandbaby #2. Seriously. I think the woman was born to be a Grandma. For the record, I am what one could call over le moon about this news...except for one peeny, weeny detail that is may-jah-ly getting in my way: the entire state of Connecticut.

CT is not MI. And thusly, I cannot see my sister every day. I cannot rub her belly whenever I want. I cannot pick her up randomly one night to go on an adventure to Meijer to curb her latest cheesy poof craving. I cannot leave work and show up at the hospital 10 minutes after her water breaks in a state of panic/elation. I cannot visit her every single day after the baby is born and laugh as she hooks herself up to the "milking machine." Basically, I can't do all the amazing things she did for me while I was pregnant. And it sucks. A great, great deal.

But, the upside of this is that I'M GETTING A NIEPHEW! That's what I've nicknamed le babe. They will not find out the sex, so I can't specifically say 'neice' or 'nephew'. And so, I combined the two words and made up my own. Niece + Nephew = Niephew! In related news, I always get the i-e arrangement in niece wrong. Thank you, schpellchek.

Now, it's time to plan a shower with Mom and Jill!!

Connecticut Recap.

So I just realized I only provided 1 day worth of decent recaps from our trip. I have no excuses...basically I just got lazy and was too excited to spend time with Kelli and David to bother blogging or taking pictures.

Here's the long and short of some other adventures we had:

• Took a trip to Stew Leonard's, the coolest grocery store on planet earth. Also home of some so-good-you'll-punch-your-momma-in-the-face gelato.
• Dined at the semi-famous Shady Glen Dairy Barn. Confession: we went because we saw their cheeseburgers featured on "Best Thing I Ever Ate" on the Food Network. Yep. We're those people.

• Had a muy deliciouso lunch at Wood -n- Tap. Sweet potato fries. 'Nuff said.
• Ate some Indian food for the first and last time ever.
• Stalked the roads of Farmington, CT until we found 50 Cent's house. ZOMG. Ridic.

• Lunched at J. Timothy's Taverne, which opened its doors the year George Washington took office.

Come to think of it, it would appear that most of our trip centered around food. I don't know whether I'm proud or ashamed to admit that.

Post summary: 'twas the best trip, ever. And I would like to give a little shout out to the nicest Delta ticket counter lady ever for giving Kelli a pass to get into the gate with us. Employee of the CENTURY!

Rhode Island: Neither Road, Nor Island. Discuss.

Vacation brain is a funny thing. I have lots and lots of funny tales to share with you all, but I can't muster up the creative juices to do our adventures justice.

It will just have to come in spurts. Here's the first: adventures from Saturday.

We took a little drive out to Rhode Island to take Alex to his first beach. We stopped in Watch Hill to be stereotypical tourists...have a nice lunch on the water and dip our toesies in the water. Lunch was an epic fail, since the little shore town was still closed for winter despite the fact that it was like 70 degrees. Not to be discouraged, we took our blankies and some snacks out to the beach and enjoyed the moment. Sun on face = glorious.

Allow me to take a moment to 'splain to you the houses that are on this beach. I mean, really. They were the kind of houses that you can't even imagine the kind of money it would take buy the front door. Ridic. And totally awesome.

From there, we took a stroll to Mystic, CT. And we didn't disappoint - we got the pizza! Confession: I've never actually seen the movie, but it's since been added to our Netflix queue. For those who are curious, the 'za was deeerishish...but the ice cream we got afterwards was better.

I

In front of Mystic Pizza.

Not what I pictured, either.

Mystic is a cute little town. We stopped into some of the shops - I even bought a hoodie at The Black Dog, which I'm told makes me an official East Coast snob. Love it!

P.S. - Did you remember to vote for Alex today?

Alex Gives You Wiiiiiiiiiiiiings.

He was an absolute angel baby on the plane. Totally enamored by the taxi to the runway and takeoff. Courtesy of le Benadryl, it was lights out about 10 minutes in until baggage claim.

Today we're off to Boston. In how many languages can you say 'Sam Adams tour' and FREE SAMPLES?!?!

FRIDAY!

I am so excited that today is Friday for the manymany reasons I shall list henceforth: (I love that word.)

1. A group of girlie friends are coming over tonight for fondue and cosmos. NO BOYS ALLOWED! Joey and Alex will be banished to the upstairs and only allowed to show their countenances when they deliver us cocktails. I even have a bell to ring when our glasses are empty. Muah ha ha...

2. Tomorrow, my blonde counterpart is flying in from the Windy City to visit and deliver my newest 1154 Lill creation. Scads of shopping, wine consumption and tickling of Alex will be on the menu for the day. Yes, she loves me enough to fly here for the day.

3. Today begins le countdown - 2 weeks until we're on a plane to visit Kelli and David! Does anyone have a magical time machine that will make the next two weeks breeze by? I can pay you in Starbuckies.

Speaking of Starbuckies, my morning java got cold and I'm still drinking it. Here's my conundrum for the day: I love iced coffee, but I hate hot coffee when it gets cold. That's weird.

Exciting Recent Life Events.

1. We moved Alex's crib down a notch this weekend. It was a strange reminder that he's growing faster than we ever thought imaginable, but totally necessary if we are to avert the reality of waking up and finding him running crawling wild through the house like a party animal.

2. Panera no longer carries their decadent double chocolate cookies. Those cookies were the only thing I craved when I was PG, well, except for the random 2 times I really, really, really, really wanted a tuna fish sammitch. So, I guess Panera has made the decision for us. We will be a family of three for all of eternity. I simply cannot go through another pregnancy without those cookies.

3. I'm quite sure I've performed a triple Salchow (also announced by Brian Boitano as a "sow cow") on the whole driving to CT thing. Meaning I've completely changed my mind. We'll be flying now. Why, you ask? Because yesterday when I told Joe it was 12 hours (not the 8 he thought), he immediately threw his wallet at me and told me to book the tickets. Travelocity, here I come!

To Drive Or Not To Drive?

That is the question.

Joey, Alex and I are going to CT to visit Kelli and David at the end of March. If you remember, Alex and I made the trip with my Mom back in October and did quite well barely survived.

After said trip, I vowed to never, ever make that drive again. God invented planes for a reason. Most likely because toll roads are evil, but I digress. No person should have to sit in a car for eleventy billion hours just to see her sister! It's preposterous!

I began searching for plane tickets for the March trip about a month ago. The prices are reasonable, and truth be told, we probably wouldn't save any money by driving. We have gas guzzling SUVs and both feel the strange urge to stock up on $20 worth of various road trip foods and/or collectible paraphernalia at pretty much every stop...so really, flying would probably be cheaper in the long run.

And then I remembered Alex. Yesyesyesyes...the little Mister that throws a wrench in my plans to casually arrive at the airport 30 minutes before boarding with nothing but a cardigan and an oversized purse with me.

Flying with a toddler (he will be by then) seems to complicate things. I'll have to check a stroller. And a carseat. And keep him quiet on the plane (which, let's be honest, I would do with the help of my friend Benadryl). And pack snacks for the trip. And diapers. And wipes. And toys.

We'd have to install the carseat in Kelli's car when she picks us up from the airport. We'd need to take that car with us everywhere we went, leaving Kelli without a car for the week (she still has to work while we're out there). We'd have to uninstall the carseat at the airport when we leave. And begin the whole thing again...

I mean, really. The entire process gives me a headache. So I'm going to say something I never thought I'd say: I think the better (and easier) choice is to drive to CT.

Le sigh. Common sense wins again.

The Land of The Lost.

I've returned! And I'm ALIVE!!! Barely.

And not because the trip was bad or anything...quite the opposite, in fact. Mom, Alex and I had quite the adventure: 14 hours there, 12 hours back. All in one weekend! And FWIW, Alex was an angel. Seriously, he was better than I was in the car.

I'm just SURE that the New York State Thruway neverevereverever ends. It has some porthole at the end where it just drops you back where you started and then you have to do it all over again. I swear this is truthiness.

And might I just bitch for a hot minute about the insanity that is toll roads? I get that they are good for the economy and provide great jobs creation and yadda yadda yadda but for the love of all things holy I should NOT have to pay $28.70 to drive on your roads, New York. And you, Massachusetts! I want my $6.80 back. And you, Canada...you owe me at least 8 Loonies. Hookers, the lot of 'em.

Northwest Air (Delta Air...merger...whatever I can't keep up) rest assured that you will be getting a large portion of my paychecks until my sister finally sees the light and realizes she and David must move back to Michigan. At this rate, I would even settle for Toledo or Chicago. Anything 5 hours or less!

All in all, aside from the above rants, the weekend was awesome. And not long enough. They never will be. Even if I could spend a whole week out there it will never be enough hours or minutes with my sister. To put it bluntly, nothing will be right in my universe until she's back. Or at least closer. Until then, I will probably spend too much time being emotionally unstable while relentlessly begging God to move mountains and put CT in my backyard.

Pretty please? With Splenda on top?

...and in case you forgot whilst I was out, vote for Alex today!

Hump Day!

Weeeeeeee! It's the middle of the week!

I don't know that I've fully expressed my excitement on the blog that I get to see my sister this weekend. Insert screams of delight here.

Mom, Alex and I are cartin' it to Connecticut to attend Kelli and David's bridal shower out there. Yes, we are driving. Yes, it makes me want to kill myself. No, I'm not sure I'll survive.

We're actually taking the shortcut through Canada. I know, crazy...who travels somewhere via car when the shortcut is through Canada? It's also a perk because I don't have to drive through Pennsylvania, which I'm quite sure is the worst state in the galaxy. It. Never. Ends.

We're leaving at the ass crack of dawn on Friday so that Alex can be sleeping in the carseat as long as possible. He gets sweaty in that thing, you know.

Should Monday roll around and I'm not back in action, wait until at least Thursday to contact the authorities. Tell them to look for me somewhere north of Narnia.