Posts (page 2)

3.11.09

Look who decided to come back, like the prodigal son...lil ole me. Life has been a little crazy in the past, oh, FOREVER months. We've been busy with the babies, of course; a move; drinking; watching The Real Housewives of the OC; drinking; changing poopy diapers; watching The Real Housewives of NYC; drinking; catching a marathon of The Real Housewives of Atlanta (and there is NO WAY Kim is 30); drinking, and more drinking. But I swear we are not alcoholics -just thirsty.

Life is great. The good news is that everyone is doing marvelous, and by marvelous I mean the babies are mobile, and I am 6 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight (PPW). The bad news is that everyone is mobile (and by mobile I mean stair-climbing, getting fingers squished in cabinet doors, falling down on hardwoods and getting goose-egg mobile), and the old stomach doesn't QUITE look like it did pre-pregnancy. I now have what my sister likes to call some "loose skin." Haven't ruled out a tummy tuck, but we'll see where it ends up once I'm back to PPW.

The boys are wearing molding helmets, to round out their wee flat heads, and are doing great with them. Scarlett NEEDS a helmet, to protect her from spills as well as the boys' hands, as they do a lot of hair pulling on her luxurious locks (the jealous wee buggers).

So wivout further ado, I present some updated pics of the three live crew. Enjoy.....

 

 

Gavin, Scarlett, Simon - 9 mos

 

I'm flying! I'm flyyyyying!!!!

 

Did somebody fart? Cuz it sure smells like somebody farted...

 

Holy crap - it DOES smell like someone farted!!!!

 

Okaaaaaay, I admit it - it was me. I farted.

 

I KNEW it....Wait, I smell something else....

 

You got me, that one was me....

 

All together now....AWWWWWWWWWWWWW.....

wait - do I smell something?????

9.5.8

They really are the cutest things ever. I swear, I am not biased. They just are.

 

Gavie, Scarlett, Simon

 

Gavin

 

Gavie and Simon

 

Scarlett

 

Just hand over the milk and no one gets hurt.
Simon

 

What baby DOESN'T love AC/DC?

Gavin

9.5.8

I know this is an old clip, but still relevant nonetheless, and damn funny. I heart Jon Stewart. Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFQFB5YpDZE

9.4.8

Dude, has it really been this long since I have blogged? Guess life sometimes gets in the way of things, doesn't it?

It is impossible to think that tomorrow The Trips will be 17 weeks. Seventeen. Weeks. Duuuu-hoooo-ooood. Their personalities are developing more and more each day. It runs the gamut from humorous, to frustrating, to nerve-wracking and back again, as they reveal day by day who they are, how they react to us, and Lord help us, how they may be when they are teenagers. Gulp.

Simon is our Small Silent Type. Sort of. Silent until he is pissed and ready to eat. When the boy is red ta go, he is RED TA GO NOW!!! Brother goes from zero to pissed in about 0.2 seconds. Don't get me wrong. He is a little sweetie. Our chunky monkey who always smiles when you come to pick him up, he is "talking" more and more each day, and I all but had him laughing out loud the other night from The Buh-Buh-Buh Game. You know the one - where you get right in their face and go BUH BUH BUH while tweaking their bottom lip down? What can I say? Simon is very intellectually advanced. We're already considering Mensa. All I know is, the Irish temper runs rampant through his wee veins, and when he gets older, the boys had better watch out because he is going to kick ass and take names. Bro is not playin. However, stick the camera in his face, and Simon is ON.

Scarlett varies between being happy, cooey, smiley girlie girl to big whiny baby. WHAT? Who said that?!!  Girlfriend is definitely a morning person, and she makes you feel like there is no one she'd rather be with when you pick her up in the morning. When she is cranky though, she tends to whine rather than be all out in yo FACE like the boys. It takes her longer to work into a full on tantrum, and if you catch her early enough you can talk her out of it, but let it go too long and DAYUM, girlfriend has some lungs. She is a FLIRT too, and has been known to bat her eyes and smile coquettishly at any person who happens to be holding her at the time, even if being forced to watch The O'Reilly Factor with grandma sometimes (Scarlett - I apologize for that. Please do not hold it against me later...)

Then there is Gavin, or the one I like to refer to as the "Antonio Banderas of my offspring." Talk about flirt. If Gavin could stroke your hair while whispering Latin poetry in your ear, I think he would. He has been known to sit with his hand down a woman's blouse whilst being held (any woman, doesn't matter who), and brother is the KING of eye contact. When you are holding him, he is all "It's just you and me, mom. No, don't talk to Scarlett - forget about Simon - when you are with me YOU ARE WITH ME." He talks more than the other two combined, and my prediction is that he will speak first, but then probably only in Enrique Iglesias lyrics. Just like the boys had better watch out for Simon, the ladies should beware of Gavin, because he will definitely be the heartbreaker. As sweet as he is, though, he has the same quick Irish temper as Simon, and if they both happen to be pissed at the same time (which happens too frequently for my liking) I sometimes fear that one may spontaneously combust in their anger if I cannot devote what they consider to be the proper amount of attention to them.

Sooooo, there they are in a nutshell. Time will only tell if Tom and I have strong enough personalities ourselves to survive should The Trips decide to go all Lord of the Flies on us.

8.20.8

Just came across this coolio website through Vox that gives all sorts of top ten blogs, so I thought I'd steal my faves from the list and post for you, lovely readers. Have fun!

Top Ten Popular Blogs for Shopping Moms (das me....)
http://www.blogs.com/topten/10-popular-blogs-for-shopping-moms/

Top Ten Bargain Fashion Blogs
http://www.blogs.com/topten/10-popular-bargain-fashion-blogs/

Top Ten Popular Home and Interior Design Blogs
http://www.blogs.com/topten/10-popular-home-and-interior-design-blogs/

Top Ten Popular Healthy Living Blogs
http://www.blogs.com/topten/10-popular-healthy-living-blogs/

Ten Meanest Celeb Gossip Blogs (we love...)
http://www.blogs.com/topten/10-meanest-celeb-gossib-blogs-we-love/

Ten Popular Style Blogs (From Fashion to Furniture)
http://www.blogs.com/topten/10-popular-style-blogs-from-fashion-to-furniture/

And here are some of my own personal faves. Favey, favey Crockett! King of the wild frontier. Now I'm rambling...

http://madebygirl.blogspot.com/

http://www.becoming-mom.net/

http://www.becoming-home.com/

http://candycoloredbuddha.wordpress.com/

Wheeeee!!!!! Have fun tripping the light internet fantastic (or as Aaaah-nold would say - fans-tastic...)

 

8.18.8

Yesterday was such a great day with the peanuts. They were awake, perky, pleasant, smiling and cooing (yes, they are cooing now - they are VERY advanced). They were awake so much, in fact, that Tom and I were sure that putting them to bed was going to be a piece of cake. When I say "them," I mean Simon and Gavin, because Scarlett was spending the night at Grandma's (who has, ever since we have had all three at home, graciously kept one of the babies every night - it has been a HUGE help).

We were somewhat perplexed when, close to bedtime, the boys started crying and were inconsolable. Clean diaper? Check. Had they eaten? Yes, several times. Burped? Yes. We each had one, Tom with Simon and me with Gavin. I rocked Gavin and put him to bed asleep (or so I thought). Simon, however, was a different story. He was cranky and crying, and Tom was getting frustrated, so I took him upstairs to rock him as well. While I was rocking him to sleep, Gavin was waking up again, cranky and crying. Long story short, this scenario went on back and forth for a good hour and a half, possibly two hours, with one falling asleep as the other woke up crying, then vice versa.

At one point I took Gavin downstairs to where Tom was, laid him on the couch, and left the room. I am ashamed to admit that in my frustration it was not difficult to see how someone in a similar situation could shake a child. I would never do it, and it is why I put him down and left the room. I went downstairs, sat in the bathroom in the dark and cried. Now, having had those feelings, I will not be so quick to judge someone when I hear those stories. It is in the dark where you pray for patience, you pray for your child to be consoled, for him to fall asleep "for 6 hours, please God!" And sometimes, God answers you six and a half hours later as your child is waking up again for the first time, and you go in to pick him up, and he stops crying immediately and breaks into a huge smile at the sight of you.

God forgive me. God give me patience. God, thank you for blessing me with these precious little peanuts that You brought into our lives.

8.14.8

Welcome to the Jungle!

Here it is - my weekly Project Runway recap, with guest judge Amy, from stem. Check her fab blog at www.stemparties.blogspot.com.

 

 

Blayne and Leanne

 

 

 

Chicfreakcubed: I actually like the idea of this, but the “evening” shirt underneath should have been with a completely different outfit. Just give me the button down and the bermudas, and I would have been fine with it. Not a winner, but I would have been fine.

 

Amy: (((squeaky squeaky))) Rubbing eyeballs. What? What part of this makes any kind of sense? The blue shirt underneath is pretty cool but what good does that do me if I have to go through this visual assault to get there? None. None good, that's what.

 

 

 

Kelli and Daniel

 

 

 

Chicfreakcubed: This gets the award for trashtastic ensemble of the week. Holy cow. It was like my Madonna bustier from 1990 that someone dug out of a dresser in my parents’ basement. I think the outfit would have looked better if she had worn the cut off denim shorts, over the knee black tights, suspender garters and black fedora I wore with it.

 

Amy: I love black. I love leopard. I love peacock blue. I actually kinda love the jacket in this photo. So, what's the problem? Problem is I watched the show. I know what's lurking underneath. There's evil below. Do not go down in the basement. Okay, not the basement, but under the jacket.

 

Jerrell and Stella

 

 

Chicfreakcubed: Ames, I could not agree more. I did NOT love this outfit. Hated the color scheme, the zebra belt that junked it up, and the curtainy skirt. The only part I liked was the wide leather obi-ish belt. Thank God for Stella and her leatha.

 

Amy: Can someone tell me what all the praise was about on this one? And Jerrell getting last pick and playing if off? Way to turn lemons into leather, J. Good save.

 

 

Joe and Korto

 

 

Chicfreakcubed: My second favorite outfit of the evening. That jacket was wicked awesome, and aside from the gapey fit on the dress – which I also actually loved, this still rocked. I could see Tim Gunn’s “big giant sweet potato comment,” but DANG, girlfriend pulled this one off.

 

Amy: This is stunning. STUN.NING. It's only fitting that I give this a Gold Medal right now. KORTO! KORTO! KORTO! 

 

I did have issues with the fit under the bust/under the arm on the dress underneath but I can overlook it because this jacket is just divine and the dismount was good. Uh, the sleeves…hellooo? Audible sigh, I love them.

 

 

 

Kenley and Keith

 

 

Chicfreakcubed: Another outfit I did not like that everyone else loved apparently, since it won. I think that skirt would make any normal size woman look three sizes bigger than she is, thanks to all the flutter pieces on it that are apparently on every friggin piece that Keith designs. It is getting ollllld. Nope, this is not good for me.

 

Amy: I think this is heavenly. The print and construction of that blouse are dreamy. When they took off the scarf and let down the sleeves, I was done for. A reveal within a reveal? Does it get any better? The layers on the skirt are so delicate and exquisitely done. The high waist is just icing on the cake. I don't know how you couldn't feel anything but fabulously and elegantly feminine in this outfit as you float across the room.

 

 

Terri and Suede

 

 

Chicfreakcubed: Once again, Mz. Terri has my favorite outfit of the episode. The floofy collar on the shirt (yes, I said floofy), the sash, and I am sorry, but those pants are excellent. The woman knows how to make a kick ass pair of pants. Terri – please just add this to the list of items that you are going to make for me.

 

Amy: This is fantastic. Terri has done it again. I think she made a pact with the debbil.  It may not be the most "officey" outfit of the bunch but I think it is just so well-executed. It's like the most wonderful resort wear on crack. I.Love.It. If I saw this girl out in this, I would do a triple take and secretly hate her for looking so effortlessly chic. I mean, if I was really shallow.

 

8.11.8

Sometimes Newport News is a little toooo 1983 soccer mom for me, and I don't care how in crayon colored jeans are - I will NEVER like them. I think they are hideous. I didn't have a pair when they were in the first time, and I don't like them now. HOWEVAH, sometimes Newport News is the shiz-nit, and they are TRES affordable. I was just perusing the catalog, and the following little gems are my faves:

 

Are you kidding me??? A purple trench with billow sleeves? For $69? It's like they're paying ME to wear it.

 

This blouse in black with more poofery for $29? SO cute. And under a wool bustier dress? Yes please. I JUST saw an ad for some new TV show today, and the girl had that same outfit on and it was a-dor-a-ble.

 

Okay, my obsession with lantern sleeves is starting to scare even me. But I cannot pass this up for $29. Seriously. Someone stop me.

 

Shwew! The bell sleeve nonsense had to stop sometime, but this isn't far off, I know. SO cute. $49.

 

This dress with giant poofy sleeve blouse underneath? I say YAY. I can't believe it's not butter. And I REALLY can't believe it's only $49. 

Now get thee to a Newport News post haste (but please don't buy up all of the above items, as I would like to share the love).

8.8.8

Here is this week's PR recap with my homegirl Amy, who is not only the owner of Stem (check out her website here: http://stemparties.blogspot.com/ ), but is also damn funny. Feel free to post opinions in the comments.

Blayne

 

 

 

Chicfreaksali: Horrific. This is like Buck Rogers in the 25th Century goes to the disco. N to the O. Does anyone else know why Blayne is still there? Is he sleeping with a producer? Did he give someone unlimited tans to the Malibu Tans branch in Yakima?

 

Amy: It's just alright. What I really want to know though is how is that girl supposed to get her tan on in that, Blayne?

 

 

Daniel

 

Chicfreaksali: Meloves this, but did he even take the actual challenge into account? Come ON, dude.

 

Amy: This in no way is appropriate for the occasion but I think it's adorably simple. I love the vintage vibe and I love the model's styling, too. I do not love Daniels' sad clown vibe though.

 

Jennifer

 

 

Chicfreaksali: Did ANYONE take the actual challenge into account? I even thought I liked this just as a cute outfit, but girlfriend is so annoying that I have to discount it.

 

Amy: Again, Opening Ceremony? Really? No. Denied. As a cute little outfit though? Yes, please.

 

Jerell

 

 

 

Chicfreaksali: Okay, minus the stupid leggings and atrocious hat, I actually like the rest of the outfit. That high-waisted pencil skirt is fierce, and I love the lil blouse, but as something that athletic, muscular women would wear to the opening ceremonies? HELL TO THE NAH.

 

Amy: Little Bo Peep has lost his ever lovin' mind. I'd almost rather have USA represented by Lindsay Lohan in her leggings than by this mess.

 

Joe

 

 

Chicfreaksali: I actually thought this one should win, because he seemed to take the challenge the most seriously. Is it my favorite outfit? No, but I do think it’s cute. Howevah, I'm not sure about the skort aspect of the outfit.

 

Amy:I suppose it's sporty and appropriate and well made. I could see some USA women rocking this. I think it's the word "skort" that bothers me the most.

 

Keith

 

 

 

Chicfreaksali: I just have three words for this: A-TRO-CIOUS. Sooooo bad on so many levels, I can’t even begin to describe the bad.

 

Amy: Dara Torres called and said "Don't even make me wear that scarf as a skirt." Yes, Torres was the only female athlete I could come up with w/o Google right now.

 

Kelli

 

 

 

Chicfreaksali: SO adorable, yet SO wrong for the opening ceremonies. The pockets on that skirt make me want to carry Kelli around in them.

 

Amy: I know I'm a broken record today, but vintage look = me love. Anyone that knows me knows how I feel about bows. For those that don't know me. I feel like I love them.

 

Kenley

 

 

 

Chicfreaksali: I’m digging the high waist look on some of these outfits. This is cute. Olympic-worthy? No, but cute nonetheless.

 

Amy: Wow. That laugh IS annoying. They were right. Not an Olympic ceremony frock either, but I adore it. The end.

 

Korto

 

 

 

Chicfreaksali: Am I the only one who could see through the model’s pants when she walked down the runway? I did NOT like this. Not at all.

 

Amy: That's "leatha" as Stella would say. Excellent work, Korto. Kudos. Kudooooooooooze.

 

Leanne

 

 

 

Chicfreaksali: I thought this was SO cute on the runway, but not quite as cute in the photo above. Hmmm…provocative. Still, I think I like it.

 

Amy: How cute is this? Answer: SO cute. More neck stuff Amy likes. Uh oh….3^rd person is contagious.

 

Stella

 

 

 

Chicfreaksali: Is she the villan in the Buck Rogers in the 25th Century fashion episode? Will she and Blayne’s model battle it out for ultimate domination of the fashion world? Clearly, this chick will kick ass and take names.

 

Amy:  I don't HATE it but come on…….enough with the leatha. I'm tired already.

 

Suede

 

 

 

Chicfreaksali: I’ll say this – as annoying as Suede is, girlfriend knows how to rock the proportions of an adorable outfit. This is KEYOOT. Love it.

 

Amy: Cute enough. I'll say more when you stop calling yourself "Suede" though. K? K.

 

Terri

 

 

Chicfreaksali: Okay, I will concede that the Olympic women could wear this to the ceremonies, but I still don’t think it’s quite as appropriate as Joe’s lil number. That said, DANG – this is a cute outfit, and Terri is my pick to win PR this year. If she doesn't market that jacket and sell it in Macy's Inc. line, I'll just DIE Seriously. Terri - are you reading this? Where can I get one? And while you're at it, can you whip me up one of last week's outfits too? Girlfriend is da b-o-m-b. I heart her.

 

Amy: My winner. What's not to love? Tux stripe down pants – cute. Jacket – well made and sharp. Scarfy thing – I think we've covered that to death – love. USA women would KILL the Opening Ceremony in this. So chic.

8.7.8

Thank you, TJ Maxx, for this BAMF* black patent leather Calvin Klein trench which we are about to receive for $39. Your bargainy goodness never fails to impress. I will be back soon for the CK dark denim jeans, and maybe even the CK sweater dress. I don't know why you have a sudden proliferation of Calvin Klein, and I won't question it, but if that's what you want me to wear, then wear it I shall.

 

*(Bad Ass Mother Fruitcake**)

**What - you were expecting another word????