just us.

4 years

The first time I ever met Mike, we were on a triple date with our significant others at the time.  It was around Halloween and we were going to the Queen Mary for the holiday event.  All he remembers of me from that night is that my BF and I had a fight at dinner.  I don't remember much about him, but I vaguely remember his GF wearing knee-high boots.

We starting dating at the end of 2001, while I was still in pharmacy school.  We dated for 4.5 years before we got engaged in March 2006 (it was our first vacation together to Maui) and got married 14 months later.

4 years down the road, we have a 2-year old daughter and a new home and sometimes still can't imagine how far we've come.  Is it weird that our lives still seem surreal at times?

Happy anniversary to the best husband I could ever ask for, and thank you for being a part of this life that we live together.  You are a great father to Keira and sometimes I wonder how we got so lucky to have you.

I'm looking forward to many, many more years with you.  I love you :)

movie date night

Mike and I did something we haven't done in almost two years.

we went to see a movie.  in a movie theater.

the last time we did that was the night before I had Keira, because we knew it would probably be our last for a long while.

but with it being a holiday weekend and having my parents and my brother in town and with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows being newly released, we knew it was the perfect opportunity for us to go out and catch a flick.

so we did.

(pictures courtesy of the Evo)

we found two unrestricted movie tickets that were gifted to us sometime ago and a $25 gift card as well.  and as luck would have it, they were for the same theater company.  can you say score?

since our entry was paid for and we had $25 to spend, we went all out on snacks.  my initial thought was to get a hot dog, but then I saw the nachos and I was sold.  throw in a refillable soda and unlimited popcorn and we were set.  I'm a sucker for chips and cheese.

Mike's weakness?  popcorn, with extra butter on the side.  usually he leaves very little behind, but tonight we still had half the bucket left.  we thought about bringing the leftovers home, but decided we didn't want Keira feasting on it the next day.  she's her daddy's child and likes popcorn too.

I have to say, the movie had me hanging on pretty tightly to Mike's hand for a majority of it.  I'm not one for scary movies, or ones that involve suspense and keep you wondering what is around the next corner.  I found HP to be pretty dark, and Mike said it only gets darker from here.  While I could watch the series over and over again, I could probably crawl out of my skin just sitting there.  I'm pretty much a wimp.

Mike had to explain a few things to me on the drive home, and with the strong encouragement of both Mike and Linda, I hope to start reading the books...again.  I got up to book 4, but stopped halfway through because I got bored.  looks like I'll have to restart it, and borrow book 7 if I ever get there.  maybe I can get it done before the final movie comes out next summer.

maybe.

he's just sort of funny sometimes

so here's the story.

Keira fell asleep on the couch while Mike and I were eating dinner (homemade pho...the best).  so rather than semi-waking her up to bring her upstairs, we decide to just make it an indoor camp out for the night.

I proceed to bring down all the fixings of an indoor campsite: pillows, blankets, a fold-up cushion and a twin-sized mattress.

keep in mind Keira is still asleep on the couch, so we use our "Keira is asleep on the couch" voices i.e. we whisper.

Mike was supposed to bring the mattress down, but once I get it in my head that I can do it, I do.  I decide that instead of pulling and dragging it down the stairs, I would just flip it on its side, kind of like rolling a tire down the street.

The first section of stairs, the mattress gets away from me but is stopped by the wall.  I lay it up on its side again and continue to flip it down the next section, to which is falls on its flat side and slides the rest of the way, only to stop at the wall again.

Mike is in his "office" and whispers, "Jamie" to which I go "yes?".  "Be careful" he says.  "Um, thanks" is my response, as I'm tumbling the mattress down the last flight of stairs.

not sure why we found that so funny, but it was.  I wonder if he would've said the same thing had it been me tumbling down the stairs.

not all peaches and cream

I was originally going to post about finally being out of our first home (well if you don't count the bench and the bbq grill still on the balcony), but instead I feel like letting out a little steam.

Mike and I don't argue much...well hardly at all really.  and not that we fought tonight, but there was a moment.  all over putting Keira to bed.

Because of my current work schedule, I don't get to be home most nights.  and one thing I wish I didn't have to miss was bathtime and bedtime.  by the time I get home from work, she's usually asleep and that's about all I see of her for the day.  so there's a reason why I cherish my weekends because that's the only chance I have to do those parental sorts of things.

Keira was a bit late going to bed tonight, by a few hours actually.  so this meant she was overtired and that doesn't make for an easy transition to la la land.  we're trying to get into a nighttime routine (along with trying to wean off other things) with her, but it can be rough since we're in a transition period between homes.  we're making do with what we have.

so after our gazillionth attempt to get her to sleep (we're trying to let her do it on her own, rather than us lay with her until she does), she starts crying again.  yea, we're trying the whole crying out bit (so far with no vomit involved) but since she's sleeping on the floor, she gets out of bed and opens the door to come get us.  Mike and I both make a beeline for her, he says he'll do it, I say I will. 

we both want to do it, probably so the other doesn't have to.

well my excuse? Mike gets to do it all the time, and I don't.  so please, let me.

she's asleep now, but not without a fight.

end of story.

tomorrow, a post with snapshots of an empty townhouse...sort of.

a rare night for two.

Mike and I got to go out and play for a night.  wanted to watch a movie, but nothing in the theaters even remotely grabbed our attention. oh well.

but instead we shopped, had dinner, and walked off dinner at our favorite place with the big, red bullseye.

shopping at the Gap:

new pairs of jeans for the both of us...at 25% too!!  so I decided to splurge and buy two pairs, plus a cute ruffled henley sweater.  score!  we didn't dress appropriately for the cold weather, so we ended up wearing the jeans out of the store.

waiting for our table at the Cheesecake Factory.  not the best picture of us, but that's what a tired mommy and daddy look like.  hey, at least we're smiling.

dinner for two: an appetizer of crab wontons, bread (we love the brown one with the seeds), a strawberry and a raspberry lemonade, chicken and shrimp gumbo, and louisiana chicken pasta.

we took home 3 leftover bags.  yea, we were stuffed.  no cheesecake dessert for Mike and I, but we did bring home a piece of Kahlua Coffee Cocoa cheesecake for my mom and dad.

since nothing at the movie theater seemed to interest us, we decided to stop by Target on the way home to pick up Up and watch it when we got home.  We assumed the kid would be in bed by then, but...

this little one greeted us at the door when we pulled into the garage.  I guess that's what happens when she takes a 2.5 hour nap at 5 in the evening.

my mom watched Keira for us and said she ate a ton of rice porridge for dinner.  She gave Keira a bath too, and said it was like bathing a wrestler, since Keira just wouldn't sit still.  my mom ended up soaking wet in the end!

Mom, thanks for watching the little munchkin for us tonight so that we could go out on a date.  we can't wait to see you and dad again in 2 weeks!

we can never resist the dollar spot at Target.  we saw these kid mittens and bought a pair for Keira.  she seemed a little confused as to where her hands went when we put them on, but she didn't mind them.  the best $1 we've ever spent!  now her hands will be warm this winter :)

2 years ago...

we were doing this:

 

I'm not sure if I've ever shown a picture of my gown in its full, cathedral length glory, but here it is.  and as you can tell, you can't even see the entire train.  I had a cathedral length veil too.  I sure did make my bridesmaids work that day, didn't I?

 

it's been two years since that fateful day, and it's amazing to see where we've been.  I think we probably would've almost forgotten our anniversary, since we've got a little one on our hands now.  Mike came to bed last night (after saying he would be there in 10 minutes...it turned into 2 hours) and reminded me.

 

happy anniversary to my life partner, the father of my child, the one I will spend the rest of my life with.  I love you and look forward to many years to come!

cat's out of the bag

http://www.labeltulip.com/gallery.shtml

much better

post-thai-food-for-lunch picture.

one year

enjoying our wedding cake from a year ago, 2 days before our anniversary.

it actually didn't taste as bad as I thought it would.  the cake was still moist, possibly from the thawing process it went through, and the strawberries were still frozen.  but it was quite edible.

i took two pictures of us this morning, our actual anniversary, but considering I was still half asleep, they weren't pretty.  so I'll give it another try later on at lunch, since we won't be having dinner together (I work).

we had a nice weekend in Ventura at Michelle's house, even Mike said so.  we shopped the outlets in Camarillo and ate dinner out Friday night at Wood Ranch, breakfast at the Mesa Cafe in Santa Barbara on Saturday, walked State Street and the Santa Barbara Harbor, spent time at the beach by Michelle's, surf fished a bit, rode the kids' awesome tricycles and slept.  the weather was kinda icky most of the time, being overcast most of the weekend.  but no matter, we still had a lovely time.

happy anniversary hubby bubby.  our first year has been pretty nice, looking forward to the next...and the next...and the next. 

i love you!!

so fresh and so clean

I am so lucky.  why, you ask?

well, while I was at work yesterday, my dear hubby bubby cleaned the house.  and I mean cleaned. 

floors are mopped, both bathrooms sparkling clean, rugs vacuumed, blinds dusted, windows washed on the outside, stove free of cooking mishaps.  he did good.  (and this is one huge reason why my mom loves her son-in-law.)

my technician says that we should always start the new year with a clean slate.  Amen sister, amen.

but if you're asking about the scrap room upstairs, don't even go there. 

so, to show my appreciation, I will be making some of these little dumplings.  we ate loads of them over Christmas and felt we should continue down here. 

they're so easy to make and don't take long to cook.  so I guess I should stop posting and get crackin' huh?