Wine Tasting, Why Not!

For years Todd and I talked about hosting a wine tasting. We flirted with the idea for a number of new years extravaganza's. It never seemed to workout for countless number of reasons.
This month Todd turned 35 years old. Being the party planner that I consider myself to be and the partier that Todd is, we thought this was the perfect occasion.
The most difficult part of the party was that we hosted Rosh Hashana just two nights earlier. By Sunday morning Todd and I were shot. We are both in temporary retirement from cooking.
The party, however, was a success. Because of Rosh Hashana we could not set up the tables until Friday night, giving me much less time to work on the tablescapes. Despite the time crunch, we managed to decorate
nicely. Vases full of corks, personalized cocktail napkins (burgundy for the red wines, cream for the white wines), and a wine bottle cake that was made by my cousin Mindy. A sommollier came to lead us in the actual tasting, and the rest of the evening was a tasting of homemade hors d'oeuvres and appropriately paired wines. It was great to taste wines we do not usually drink (WHITES) paired with a food that really brought out its flavors. There are white wines I actually do like, it seems.
Most importantly, Todd had fun and his 35th birthday will not be one he easily forgets.


For more pictures from the event click here

New Year, Same Old Chaos

Despite never being all that religious, I have always enjoyed the Jewish Holidays. The traditions, the gatherings, the food, and yes, even the chaos. I admit I was happy to know, however, that Chaos does not just come along with our holiday dinners, but at many of my friends' dinner's the same chaos ensues.
My parents hosted Erev Rosh Hoshana on Wednesday night. Everything was fantastic even though we had to eat without three of our very late arrivers, and we had 4 kids who had no interest in sitting for dinner leaving a minimum of one adult missing from the table at all times.
Todd and I hosted Thursday nights dinner. We have hosted holidays before, even since the boys have been born, but not since they have been quite so active. As a result we had to part with them on Thursday in order to prepare for this dinner. The thing is, Todd and I tend to get a little excited about even the smallest of gatherings. I am not sure if Todd was always this way or if it a bug he caught from me, either way he is equally effected. I must say, I am very proud of Todd and I, in that we managed to have everything ready, including our showered selves with time to spare. We were organized, neat, and the kitchen was clean. All was great. We called it for 5, intending to sit for dinner at 6:30. You would think this would be plenty of time for the guests to arrive, but we still had a few late comers, as we've learned to expect. We did sit promptly, however, the boys were whining, the 5 other kids were wild, no one wanted to sit, the volume was loud and the soup, despite simmering all day long was somehow served cold- thank god for microwaves!! Other than these few minor setbacks, all was well. The food got pretty good critiques and we think we know how to better our brisket for next year.
Things were finally beginning to calm as our bellies were full. We had people cleaning up, coffee brewing and we were getting ready to have dessert. We gathered around the birthday cake and as we were placing the candles in the cake, my niece, nesting in her father's arms, used this moment of calm as her opportunity to throw up all over my six and 4 year old cousins. The screaming that erupted from their little bodies as they became drenched was piercing, causing the rest of us to explode with laughter. Jay took Delaney to the bathroom, while a hysterical Mindy and Jay S. rushed their daughters to the bathtub, and still the rest of us laughed.
We laughed for a good 10 minutes before anyone made a move to clean up the mess.
Delaney handled it wonderfully, never shedding a tear, Alexandra and Emma handled it as any child would who had just been puked on. Those of us who laughed, well, I am not sure we handled it so well but how often does anyone get witness a Stand By Me type barfarama.

Another year, same old chaos indeed.

Sneak Attack!

So, I started dreading the boys' first birthday at about 8 months old. For some reason, at that point I just felt like my baby boys were all grown up. As the day got closer I became a little more sad. Then it happened, they turned one, and all the dread went away. I got over it much faster than I expected. I guess I realized quickly that ONE is far from grown up and we still had plenty of moments to enjoy. Since then the boys learned to walk and I took in this milestone with delight, excited that they would no longer clean the floors of every place we entered with their palms. And, for some reason, this did not make me feel like I had lost my baby boys.
But then I took them for their first pair of sneakers. When they were non-walkers I could not wait to buy them shoes, completely suckered by all the cute pairs on market. So, the time had come and we went and the shoe buying experience was rather painless, though tiring. Ryder was more interested in escaping into the mall area by a combined travel of crawling and walking and Chase wanted to try on every pair of shoes in the store. Anyway, we bought two pair of shoes, a size 5 hunter green and black sneaker for Chase and a size 4.5 light blue and gray pair for Ryder, both of which I am pretty sure are too big for their tiny feet. (On a side note, I am not just saying that in hopes of holding onto my babies, the first time they were measured just two weeks before I was told they had tiny feet!)
As many excited kids, they wore the shoes out, and I looked at my baby boys sitting in the stroller in their new kicks and I swore I had traded in my babies for two bigger kids. Suddenly the feeling of pre-ONE swallowed me whole again and I felt like my baby boys were gone forever...literally walking forward into the big world of toddlerhood.

First Pictures with the new camera

Ah, a new camera. It is my special little toy. It is hard to explain why I am so attached to my camera, in spite of leaving it in an unsafe of place, but it is just the way it is. I have a new one now. I vow to keep it safe. These are the first three pix I took....for what they are worth

A letter to my sons on their 14th month birthday!

Dear Chase and Ryder,

Happy 14 months!! The day came and went quickly and quietly but the milestone is still noted. It seems that every day continues to be a new day of growth and change. In your first 12 months you changed daily. From squishy, skinny preemies, to learning to smile, sit up, crawl, eat, etc. Though these changes, particularly at the time, are great accomplishments, these last two months your changes seem far more exponential. I guess because each day the babies that you were become more of a distant memory.
At 14 months you are bigger versions of yourselves. The other day (Sept. 6) I took you for your first pair of shoes. The outing was fun. Keeping you in the store, particularly Ryder was an adventure in itself. Chase, you love shoes. You wanted to try every pair on as you went to the shelves, picked up a shoe and held it up to your feet. In the end, we left with two pairs of stride rite shoes, Hunter green and Black size 5's for Chase and Light Blue and Gray size 4.5's for Ryder. When I look at you in your new shoes I swear I traded my two baby boys in for two bigger kids. Suddenly you seem like little boys, and perhaps you are. But, as I am learning, mommies hold on to their babies forever.
We bought you shoes because you are both walkers now. It is so cute. You have not perfected the art just yet, and occasionally you revert to crawling, but you are definitely in the walkers category. As you first began taking your steps, Ryder you would walk with your arms straight out and Chase you would walk with your arms straight up. It was so funny. Ryder you officially became a walker first, but Chase did not let you get too far ahead of him and always seemed to motivate himself whenever you took steps. Currently, Ryder you walk 90% of the time, Chase more like 75%.
Ryder you got another tooth on the bottom and your top molars are still working their way through. When you smile you do have a mouthful!! Most of your teeth are little and straight, except for this one on the bottom coming in now is a bit crooked. Chase, you got your third (8/14) and fourth (8/31) tooth this month, both on the top. Your top teeth are much bigger than your brother's and they seem to have a space between them.
-->Chase you talk, a lot! You have picked up words in addition to pooh and flower and bubble such as Mo (more) and A-boo! (as in peek a boo) and Apple (sauce). I have heard you count 1, 2, 3 but only after repeating it when someone else says it. You seem to add new words to your vocabulary every day. You can point out planes when you see them, and flags as well. You also started signing the sigh for more. I have not used it in quite some time so was rather impressed to see this.
Ryder you can continue with your same behavior when it comes to talking, occasionally saying a word or parroting what I say but never with any consistency. My guess is you are storing it all up and you will just start telling long stories one day soon.
We turned you around in the car this month. We never actually weighed you again, but Ryder had less than a pound to gain so we figured two months did the trick. Sitting forward means we can use the DVD player (which we did once and you seemed to like it) and that daddy and I can see you when we turn around. It is fun. As a result, you seem to sleep a little less in the car.
We also experienced your first plane ride this month. Now, I am the first one to say that you both are often a pleasure to take anywhere, well behaved and of course adorable, we never seem to have a problem. This flight was not one of those times. In your defense, you were not bad, per say, but you do not like to sit still and that was exactly what we were asking from you. For 2 hours you climbed up and down, up and down, up and down until finally Ryder you fell asleep and Chase you wailed at the top of your lungs for 30 minutes. You were inconsolable, but did not wake your brother. The flight home was a repeat of the flight there and we are not looking forward to flying again anytime soon. We went to Florida, however, and spent time with your great-grandmother (mom-mom Jill's mom.) That was quite enjoyable and I know she loved having her great-grandsons in her presence.
-->Your climbing skills continue to improve. Just in the other day you both managed to climb up onto the kitchen table in the sun room. You have very little fear and continue to turn everything into your personal obstacle course. Ryder you love to play with the buttons on televisions. On, off, channel up, channel down. It is particularly annoying when we are at other people's homes. Chase you love to play peek-a-boo and now you can do it yourself, which is amusing. You are also big into hiding into tiny little spaces, IE: under the crib, under the stroller. You get a kick out me asking "Where's Chase" then you pop out your little head and say "a boo."
Finally, your bathroom is done and we are able to bathe you in the tub, which you both love.
You both continue to be smiley, happy kids. Chase you wave hello and bye-bye to everyone always with a grin showing off those dimples, and Ryder you flash your smile only when you mean it, but its a smile no one forgets.
Daddy and I have such a good time with you and we laugh often. Your laughs are the best sound in the world to us and we pray you remain to be happy, humorous boys. Time passes quicker every day and its hard to believe that it has been 14 months but we are enjoying every minute of this journey with you. We love you both so very much and you make us tremendously proud. Always know, more than anything else, you are deeply loved.

All of my love,
Mommy