Spring Has Sprung

It was good to be outside today.

Another One Turns 30

We gathered last night to celebrate our good friend Brandon's 30th birthday.

We road tripped to this little 'grill your own steak' place.

We took several wrong turns, but finally made it there just in time to surprise the birthday boy.

Here you see Hubs grilling my fillet to perfection.

It was some good eats.

Ann, Me & Amy are supervising the grilling process. (Ryan, Amy's hubby is in the background...he had to get in on the action)

Blake & Ann are getting their grill on.

They are having a baby in November.

9 months of having a designated driver. Wonderful.

Early on in the night: Jodie, Me & Amy

Later in the night.

After a few cocktails.

Out. Of. Control.

Hubs & me.

He never did tell me I had to tone it down last night.

After almost 7 years of marriage he's learned just to let me be me.

However, he did tell me to put my camera down when I started doing my investigative work. (see below)

Now although we had a blast with our friends, I do have a few issues I need to discuss with the Black Hawk Co. Public Health Dept. First off, these signs (below) are in the two restrooms I visited; however, one restroom didn't have any soap. I know, NO SOAP??!!! The other restroom did have soap, but no paper towels, the hand dryer didn't work, and there was what looked like a nasty bar rag sitting on the counter.

Are we supposed to dry our hands with that scroungy thing?

(should have taken a picture)

GROSS!

But, this doesn't even compare to the second issue I had with this place.

So at this particular establishment, all this meat sits in these big coolers. The customer picks out the piece of meat they want and then they go grill it. Well apparently at the end of the night the waitresses put all of the meat that is sitting in the cooler in plastic baggies.

OK, no big deal.

Well, in order to get that vacuum seal (of course to ensure the freshness of the meat & prevent freezer burn), the staff puts their lips on the baggies and sucks all of the air out.

Yikes!

Is this really common practice in restaurants?

I apologize for the poor quality of the pictures, but you can sort of see the lady bending down to suck the air out of the baggie. We watched in horror as she did this with probably at least 10 bags of meat. Amy was trying to capture to disgusting act on her Blackberry, but the lady wasn't showing up in the pictures. By the end of the night we had determined that she is most likely a vampire.

That was the only logical explanation.

I think she saw that we were staring at her and started taking the bags of meat into a different room.

At least we cooked our meat well, right Honey?!

Very Nasty.

Here are just a few things I learned on this little trip:

Blake is a poor navigator...and not much of a DJ....but always a good time.

I have absolutely no bladder control. Maybe it is time for some Depends.

We all LOVE Texas Toast and don't know why we don't eat it more.

Ann is a stupendous driver.

Chad & I both think I Am Legend is a VERY scary and realistic movie.

Jodie, Amy & I did some good sleuthing last night. Nancy Drew, eat your heart out.

We probably won't be returning to that restaurant/bar for fear of the vampire, plus no sense in making that trip again because after 48hr, 20/20, or Dateline get a hold of these pictures, that place will surely be shut down.

Above all, being with friends is the greatest thing.

Happy Birthday Brandon!

(Fun Party Molly)

What's In A Name

Has anyone ever asked you the reason behind your kid's name?

Since Griffin is not what you would call common, I am often asked why I chose that particular name for my little Bubs.

Is it a family name? NO

Is he named after someone special? No

Is there a special meaning behind the name? No

To be honest, I don't really know why we decided on the name.

I started to think of famous "Griffins" to see if there was any correlation there.....this is the list I managed to come up with:

Kathy Griffin: the wacko self proclaimed "D-List Celebrity."
Pretty sure she didn't even cross our minds when we thought of the name. To tell you the truth, probably wouldn't have picked the name if there was any association there.



Griffin Dunne: Actor, best known for his stellar role in Who's That Girl with Madonna.
I loved that movie.
Madonna was so cool back then (cone bra, Like A Virgin days)
I really don't know what else this guy has been in.
Nah, he had nothing to do with the name choice.


Eddie Griffin: Actor, well known for his work in Undercover Brother.
(never did see that one)
Think he might be in other low budget comedies.
Nope, not the reason we chose the name.



The Griffin family from Family Guy
Funny show--slightly messed up.
Definitely had nothing to do with the pick.
Merv Griffin: American television host & media mogul who created such successful game shows as Wheel of Fortune & Jeopardy.
Much more respectable than the other "Griffins".
But, no, still not the reason we stuck with Bub's name.

And then I figured it out: The real reason we chose the name Griffin

(or the reason I'm going to use from now on)

The griffin is a fantasy creature with the body of a lion & the head & often wings of an eagle. As the lion was traditionally considered the king of the beasts and the eagle the king of the birds, the griffin was thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature.
How freakin' bad a$$ is that?!
Apparently everyone needs a reason as to why they named their child so & so.
Now I have mine.

Eye Candy

A little eye candy??
No really, Edward Candy!

Extra Yummy

My girly friend Jess gave me this nice little treat

Want a little of Edward's forbidden fruit?

Yes, please

Only a few more days until the DVD comes out

(March 21)

I do have a small confession to make:

Is that wrong?

Edward Anthony Mason Cullen (swoon)
Bringing sexy back since 1901

Bubs 18mo Stats & misc.

So, today I took Bubs in for his 18 mo. check.

Here's what I learned about little man

His stats:

Weight 25lb 15 oz (55 percentile)

Height 34 inches (80 percentile)

Head circumference 19 1/8" (55 percentile)

His testicles are high, like really high. Dr. has trouble finding them every time we go & has to do a whole lot of feeling around down there. Bubs doesn't seem to mind. Dr. asked me if Husband ever had trouble with his testicles descending. Ummm, to be honest, I don't think that has ever been a topic of conversation.

Bubs drinks too much milk. (never thought drinking milk was a bad thing...kinda knew giving your child beer or tequila was bad, but never milk)

He's very handsome (Dr. said it...I completely agree....but Dr. was the one to point it out)

Bubs is brilliant. A kid his age is supposed to be able to say about 10 words. Bubs knows a lot more...maybe like 13 or 14 words. GENIUS.

Most importantly, HE IS HEALTHY--and that is ALL that matters!

(probably not now after he licked the fish tank in the waiting room)

POTTY TIME! EXCELLENT! (come on, Wayne's World fans?!)Bubs has taken an interest in the potty lately.

Apparently one of the older kids at daycare is in the process of being "trained"

I thought we would get him his own little throne.

It is a simple model.

No bells or whistles.

I figured if we got the standard pot, he would be less likely to jack around & use it only for doing his "business".

Unfortunately, I was also trying to be financially conscience, and decided to buy the 3 in 1 potty.

"For a Happy Tushie"

I mean, who doesn't want a happy tushie.

(it says that on the box, i didn't make that up).

It's a potty, a trainer seat, & a step stool all in 1.

Jackpot.

3 in 1 means more pieces for the little engineer to tinker with.

So, simple pot, it is not.

I took his diaper off and sat him on the potty.

He giggled & immediately jumped up and started pulling the thing apart.
Then he peed on the floor.
And then he stepped in his own urine.

I think it might be a tad bit early to push the potty thing.
It would be nice not have to pay for diapers...
but the thought of asking him if he needs to go potty every 5 minutes
or taking a diaper on & off 200 times a day might tip me over the edge.

On a totally unrelated subject...there was a birthday celebrated at daycare today. Our daycare provider's daughter turned 10.
I thought I would make a little pretty for her to hang in her room.
I started with a blank canvas, a letter "O", craft paint, Mod Podge, 2 pieces of scrapbook paper, cheapo ribbon, & some flowery embellishments.
I think I purchased almost everything at Michaels with a wonderful 40% off coupon.
I painted the sides of the canvas & the "O" with the pink craft paint.

Once the paint dried I covered the canvas & the "O" with a layer of Mod Podge & then slapped on the scrapbook paper.

I let that dry & chased Bubs for a bit.

Bubs decided he wanted to get in on the action.

He wasn't much help, but he sat quietly (for like 3 whole minutes) while I covered the canvas & "O" with Mod Podge.

Next I got out my trusty hot glue gun & added the flowery embellishments & cheapo ribbon.

In real life, (not in blog life with mediocre pictures because of a crappy camera)

this little pretty for Olivia's room is CA-UTE.

Hope she likes it!

Whole craft cost under $10 & took maybe an hour to complete (just because of paint & Mod Podge drying)

Easy Peasy!

Reality TV Junkie

No need to feel sorry for Melissa, kids. She is so over Jason. She's moved on to bigger, better things. She's landed herself a new gig on Dancing With The Stars. In addition to The Bachelor, she had previously starred on CMT’s Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team. I read last week that Melissa had released a statement saying she “decided to move on from my reality television days, and get some sense of normalcy back to my life.” Ummm sweetie, I think DWTS is still Reality TV. My prediction is that she'll soon make her way onto Celebrity Apprentice, then an appearance on Celebrity Fit-Club, and finally she'll end her reality TV stint on Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew. Oh, come on, I'm not a Melissa hater. I'll gladly watch her on whatever reality show she lands on next, no matter how pathetic it may be.

Bubs is 18

In honor of Bubs turning 18....18mo. that is, I thought I would fill out this little Facebook survey: all about my baby.

1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED? YES!! It took us awhile to get pregnant--but we were finally blessed.

2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME? Yes--almost 5 years.

3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS? We found out New Year’s Eve 2006 several minutes before my sister and her husband arrived at our house. Jason & I were beaming.
4. HOW OLD WERE YOU? 28

5. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT? Sent Jason to get a pregnancy test—he was going to get a haircut at WalMart, so I figured he could pick me up this 1 item. Actually, I might have taken several tests, just to confirm.
6. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST? Hubs, then my sister.
7. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX? Yes. I’m very impatient & this was something I could not wait for. I'm too much of a planner.
8. DUE DATE? Sept. 12. Day after my birthday.

9. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS? Never
10. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE? Everything--especially ice cream.

11. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST? Living in the apartment while we waited for our house to be completed & golfing in nasty humid Iowa weather with ankles the size of my thighs.....and people making comments about how big I was & asking if I was sure there was only 1 baby in there. Oh, and how can I forget, I had a patient (male patient) ask me several times if I was going to breast feed. Don't you even be talking about my chest, ya perv.

12. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD'S SEX? Boy

13. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING? Absolutely not. I was thrilled we had a healthy beautiful baby. Didn’t care about the sex.
14. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY? A few.

15. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER? Several (wonderful friends & family)
16. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW? I knew----I HEART Target Registry!!

17. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY? Lots of acid reflux. Several nights I woke up vomiting in my mouth. I lived on chewy Rolaids & had to sleep sitting up during the last month of pregnancy.

18. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH? Mercy Hospital, Iowa City

19. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR? About 5; only had to push about 30 min. ( i know, i was very lucky)
20. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL? Husband was driving. It was funny, (OK, now it is funny, wasn't so much back then)as we were getting close to the hospital, the college students were on their way out to the bars. We actually had to stop and let a bunch of scantily clad girls cross the road. Good thing Hubs was driving. I probably would have run them all over. Inconsiderate bi#che$! Hello, I'm having a BABY!

21. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH? Jas, couple of nurses, my Dr....possibly someone from housekeeping, maybe someone from dietary, and most likely someone from human resources (probably checking to see how long I was going to be off on maternity leave). I actually have no idea who was in the room--I was too busy trying to figure out how to push "like you are having a bowel movement." Epidurals make it difficult to control what the lower half of your body is doing. (luckily, i did not have a bowel movement--i think husband would have been mortified)
22. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION? Natural
23. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN? Of course. I'm no super hero. Epidurals are good.

24. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH? 7lb 15 ¾ oz (could have sworn there was a 12lb baby in there)

25. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY Born? September 8, 2007 (09-08-07)..my mom was so excited about the date. I think it is easy for her to remember.

26. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER? Griffin Cole
27. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY? 18 months!!

*********************************************

Today we ventured to the airport to pick up Grandma & Grandpa B.

G&G took a nice little (well-deserved) vacation to San Antonio.

Bubs was thrilled to see G&G back home.

Mommy & Daddy were relieved to see G&G back home.

Not having our back-up babysitters around during tax season is scary!

We celebrated Bubs special day at Buffalo Wild Wings (his choice, i swear)

These past 18 months have gone so fast.

It makes me sad to think my baby is now a little toddler.

Time to have another??

Yes, I think so.