Christmas Vacation: Week 2

The last week of our Christmas vacation can be summed up in three words: family, food, and shopping. Adam flew out to meet us - oh how we missed him. We spent Christmas Eve with my mom, Vernon and family, and Christmas day with my dad and Liz. Then we shopped post-holiday sales, ate delicious leftovers, and spent as much quality time with family as possible. I love being home... staying up late talking with my mom and sisters, hitting my favorite neighborhood restaurants, the familiarity and nostalgia of the East Coast. The best is sharing all of this with Adam, Tyler, and Audrey... watching my kids connect with family, and making my home, a bit of home for them, too.

Scrabble with G-Mom

My sisters Lauren and Stephanie. I love these girls!

Audrey had Grandpa wrapped around her little finger.

Trains from Grandpa kept Tyler busy for hours.

Audrey and Vernon

My cousin Katie and her girls, Olivia and Sofie.

The holiday season is coming to an end, and we have had a great one. 

Musician in Training

Over the holidays my stepbrother Vincent gave Audrey her first guitar lesson. There is definitely music in this girl's blood.

Clara

My little niece is perfection - with loads of personality. We miss her already.

Christmas Vacation: Week 1

We are still in Virginia for a few more days, but here's what we did during our first week off. We survived our cross-country flight, just me and the kids. Tyler was amazing on the plane, and Audrey cried her head off for about half an hour, sleeping the rest of the time. Then we did all of this stuff:

Helped Pop-Pop fix things around the house with real tools... a perfect day for Tyler.

Decorated the Christmas tree with G-Mom. Tyler preferred the candy canes.

Went to The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History to check out the dinosaur bones. Tyler had been wanting to do this for weeks. Dinosaurs are a new obsession in our house. I wish I had a video of his face when he finally saw the bones... completely in awe.
Made this awesome gingerbread house - our first one ever... just like Mortimer's.
My best girlfriends Jen, Maureen, and Adriana drove down from New York City to surprise me for the weekend. It was amazing to see them. We went to brunch without the kids and talked for hours. I am so grateful to have these incredible girls in my life! Miss you so much already ladies.
Spent tons of quality time with cousins - Clara, Alex, and Ethan.

Also occurring during Week 1 - last minute Christmas shopping, eating too much good food, and major meltdowns and temper tantrums from Tyler. He came completely undone for about two days straight... testing my mommy patience like it has never been tested before. I'm happy to say I passed the test - but barely. Things are much better now, and thankfully dad is here to help. Week 2 coming soon.

Going On Holiday

We are leaving for the East Coast this morning, anticipating more holiday fun. Please send some good thoughts my way as I attempt to survive a cross-country flight with my two children. Adam is meeting us next week. I'll be going on a bit of a blogging hiatus. Posts may be few and far between until the New Year. Merry Christmas to all our friends and family. Have a wonderful and safe holiday season.

First Set of Wheels

Happy early Christmas from Grandma and Grandpa Tait. Tyler is in heaven.

"The stockings were hung by the chimney with care..."

Santa is making an early stop at our house tonight. This will kick off the first of four Christmases for us this season. Our children are nestled, and we are vigorously wrapping, cooking, listening to holiday music... enjoying the first of many late nights playing Santa.

Let it Snow!

Tyler and I had a date last night at The Americana at Brand with our wonderful friends The Schoenis. See, it does snow in LA... you just have to go to the mall to see it.

Vanilla

I love this gift idea I saw on Design Mom today. If I can get my act together ahead of time, maybe I'll try my hand at something similar next year.

Tales No More

Tales from the Crib has closed it's doors. It's been a good three year run and it's a little sad to say goodbye. I am grateful for the community of friends and moms that existed because of the site. In many ways the support of these women helped me become the mom I am today. I will still frequent the site for advice from archived posts, and I will certainly be in touch with my fellow Tales girls for many years to come. Here is my first post at Tales, just weeks before Tyler was born. How things have changed in three short years.

Tyler's Countdown

Every morning Tyler wakes up and exclaims, "Today we're going to the airport!" - already excited for our holiday trip. So I got the idea from Carrie's blog to make a paper chain to help him count down the days until we leave. Each day he rips off a chain that has a little note written on it as to what we're doing that day. The last link in our chain is next Monday's big event - finally going to the airport. Hopefully this will help clear up the confusion, and I don't have to keep answering the question, "Are we going to the airport today mommy?".

Holiday Favorite

Christmas at our house means whipping up several batches of toffee for gifts - and of course for us to snack on, too. Our toffee tradition began when Adam and I were engaged. He loved his mom's toffee, so I got her recipe and attempted to make him some. I had never made candy before and it was a complete disaster. Well, two Christmases and at least a half dozen destroyed batches later I finally perfected toffee making, and now I'm quite the pro if I do say so myself. My recipe is no secret... it's essentially this Betty Crocker recipe with a few tweaks here and there. We use toasted almonds and only the yummiest Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips. This is about as domestic as I get, but there is something fun about making Adam's favorite holiday treat each year. The Tait toffee tradition lives on! And who knows... maybe one day it will be my kids' favorite, too.

A perfect holiday gift

Matinee

I'm going to see Spring Awakening with Anne this afternoon. I'm really excited to see it. If you've heard anything about the show, I'm not sure what I'm going to think... seems like you either love it or hate it. Going to the theatre is by far one of my favorite things to do. It reminds me of when I lived in New York and Broadway was right at my fingertips. I miss that. It's nice to look forward to a girls afternoon - spending time with a great friend, and doing a little something for me.

Hives Update

Remember my old friend hives? Well Audrey got her blood test results back today and she is allergy free! Her official diagnosis is chronic uticaria (the fancy word for hives), which basically means her body will sometimes react to sickness or stress by breaking out in hives. This will probably happen on and off throughout her life. Thanks to Zyrtec and her awesome allergist it is under control. The good news for me is I am now free to get off my crazy diet. Back to the world of ice-cream, pizza, and peanut butter - oh how I've missed you!

Good Morning

This is the smile that greets me every morning. Can you imagine a better way to start the day?

O Christmas Tree

This is the newest addition to our Christmas ornament collection. Does it look like us? I think it came out really cute. I absolutely love our tree. I could curl up on the couch with a cup of tea and stare at it all day long. Now I'm searching for a new tree topper, and maybe a little something to represent Audrey's first Christmas. Any suggestions?

"Fa La La La La...."

Today we're spending the morning at home putting up our Christmas tree and decorations, contemplating a Black Friday purchase or two. But the holiday season really started for us earlier this week when we went to see Adam perform. His December gig is being a Christmas Caroler, along with our good friend Anne. Their caroling group had it's premiere performance at a mall nearby and they sounded really great. Then they strolled around the mall singing in quartets. Love the costumes!

For Lauren

Gratitude List

I spend too much time focusing on things that I need or want - wishing for more and counting my have-nots. Today is all about being grateful for all of this stuff:

Wonderful Adam

Two beautiful children that make my life the adventure it is

That my family is safe, strong, and healthy 

My testimony of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 

Friends near and far 

All of the family I am going to spend the holidays with

My dad for making it possible to come home for the holidays

Perfect LA weather

Pilates for making me feel like myself again after two babies

All of my mommy friends and girls nights out

Watching Tyler play with his buddies

Holding Audrey - no baby is more fun to cuddle than this little girl

Diet Dr. Pepper and Carmelized Pear Tea from Aroma Cafe

Adam being able to make a living doing what he loves

Staying home with my kids - not missing a moment 

My time spent with the Young Women in the Studio City Ward

Dark chocolate and Pecan Pie

Our apartment - it has really become our home

Ugly Betty, The Office, and In Style magazine

Saturday mornings at the farmers market

Date nights

My overall quality of life... I think it is really very good.

More Reasons to Celebrate

Happy Birthday to my step-dad Vernon. There is no way you could meet this guy and not love him. He is one of a kind and wonderful - anyone who knows him knows that is true.

I love this picture of us at a delicious italian restaurant that Adam used to work at in New York City. It has since closed, but the meals we had there were some of the best I've ever eaten. My mom and Vernon had come to visit for their anniversary the summer before we moved to LA. Such a great memory. Thinking of you today V, or as your grandkids call you - Pop Pop.

Vacation Week

As co-head of the household I have officially declared this week "Vacation Week". Even us stay-at-home mom types need a vacation, right? I'm treating this week as if my kids were off school and we're doing nothing but having fun together. No crazy errand running, worrying about bedtimes, or major house cleaning. Just park-going, shopping, watching movies and the parade in our pjs, baking this pumpkin pie, rifling through our Christmas decorations, and keeping a pot of apple cider on the stove at all times. 

November Love

This morning I came home from pilates to find these words written on my bathroom mirror: Happy Valentine's Day in November. Adam and Tyler made me homemade valentines and got me a little gift. Adam took Audrey grocery shopping and gave me some one-on-one time with Tyler (which I had been craving). I took a nice nap while a delicious candlelit dinner was made, followed by dessert. Yum. The perfect end to the perfect day. Just goes to show you can have a wonderfully thoughtful and romantic day, even when you can't afford a babysitter.

To Be A Kid

Baking brownies with dad this weekend. This is the face of a kid who loves chocolate - just like his mama.

Twilight At Last

Twilight comes out this weekend!  Thanks to my wonderful husband I am seeing it on Friday with my girlfriends, and again on Saturday night. Yes - that is a bit overboard - but I can't resist seeing it with my Young Women from the Studio City Ward on Saturday. It will be hilarious to watch the movie with them - the ultimate Twilight lovers and critics! I hope it's good... especially since I'm investing so much into its opening weekend. Did you buy your tickets yet?

What We Did Today

Climbing on the trains at Travel Town with our friends Hillary, Oliver, and adorable Abby. It was a beautiful day in Los Angeles. How cute are these kids!

Majority Rule

I got brave and went with the Gwyneth. No guarantees I will always get it to look like this - Kelly has more curling iron skills than I do. But I think it came out really good. Thanks Kelly!

And just because she is so cute, here's Audrey. Look at those teeth and that hair!

Hair Poll

I'm getting my haircut on Monday and am pretty indecisive. I have two ideas and here they are:

Keep it long like Jen's - OR - chop it off a bit like Gwyneth. (I know I watch too much Oprah!)

Do you have an opinion? If so, vote on the sidebar. Or perhaps you have some other idea - you can leave me a comment below. If you don't care, that's cool too. I'll post a photo of the results on Monday (if I'm happy with them). Disclaimer: I may not be brave enough yet to do the chop. And I won't be going blonde.

Slumber Party

What is it about your kids sleeping that is just so sweet?

Pack Your Knives and Go

The new season of Top Chef premieres tonight at 10pm on Bravo. I swear Padma has my dream job. If you consider yourself a foodie and haven't checked out this show, set your TiVo tonight. Not only does it make you wish you had better skills in the kitchen, it will make you so hungry. What's even better - this season is set in New York City... the best place to eat in the world.

Monday Night Dinner

This fall has brought out the cook in me. I recently found a recipe for homemade pesto on Oprah.com. I decided to whip it up because it is in line with my current diet - dairy and nut free (no parmesan cheese or pine nuts, although I think it would be delicious if you add them). This sauce is quick, easy, and so tasty. All that fresh basil - yum. I mixed about a third of the sauce with farfalle pasta, roasted rotisserie chicken, chopped roma tomatoes, and froze the rest of the sauce to use later in the week. Now I'm trying to come up with some more pesto recipes. Maybe I'll spread it on sourdough and make pesto garlic bread covered with fresh tomatoes. Or mix it with tortellini and serve it with a caesar salad. Even Tyler devoured this stuff.

Homemade Pesto

4 cups fresh basil leaves
4 cups Italian parsley springs
4 large cloves garlic
1 1/2 cups olive oil
1/4 tsp. salt

Chop basil, parsley and garlic in a food processor (I used a blender and it worked great). Slowly add olive oil and keep chopping. Add salt. I tend to like mine a bit on the saltier side, so I added extra salt to taste. Enjoy!!

Happy Birthday G-Mom!

Happy Birthday to my wonderful mom (aka G-Mom to Tyler and Audrey). I wish I could be there to bake your cookies in person. Have a great day and let's end it with a Skype date. We're thinking of you today.

Chew On This

I was at The Right Start today and found these adorable teether toys. They had a big assortment of different fruits and veggies. I picked up the bean for Audrey. It fits perfectly in her chubby little hands. I also grabbed Sophie La Girafe and tucked it away for Christmas. And if you happen to be browsing the store, make sure to pick up my favorite teether for your little one. I think these are perfect gifts for babies with sore gums looking to gnaw on everything.

On Location

Yesterday after voting we walked over to our neighborhood park and found this:

They were filming a scene for an upcoming episode of Samantha Who? and brought in this entire faux park. It was so cool. We love this show! I'll have to keep my eyes peeled for our favorite playground on the small screen.

Yes We Can!

Barack Obama is the 44th President of the United States. I am optimistic and full of hope! Here's to hoping I still feel this way in the years to come. These are exciting times.

History in the Making

We voted this morning! Now we wait...

It's Birthday Season

Have a great one li'l sis - aka Aunt Lauren!

Political Ramblings

Things are heating up. The election is just days away. We live in a two-party household so you can imagine that it has been a little tense around here. I can see an end to the "lively" discussions on the horizon. Hurrah! I have to say that I am proud of us. I think (for the most part) Adam and I have learned how to have a well-balanced political discussion without taking things too personally. Or at least we've learned when to end the discussion before it gets too personal. I think our eyes have been opened wider to "the other side" and a point of view beyond our own. We have been pushed a bit outside our comfort zone and I tend to like that in this case.

But here is what I really love. I see how influenced both Adam and I have been by our families and life experiences. I think as much as you try to be even keeled it's hard not to influence your children in politics. I am grateful that my children will have a well-rounded political upbringing - both sides represented in their home - so that someday they will have the tools they need to make their own well-informed decisions. For that reason (and a couple others I can think of), I will gladly share my home with this particular Republican. Here's to Tuesday, and to anxiously awaiting the results!