I refuse to go back to work.

Lovely weekend! A+! I love my Fridays off! My mom drove up to hang out so was that as really nice (I hate driving and we missed her). Friday night we celebrated September birthdays with friends at the new Blue Door Pub on Selby. I loved it and since we can walk there, it is sure be a new favorite.

Giant Birthday Cookie, looks professional huh?

Saturday my mom & I went out for coffee and then to Goodwill for costume shopping. I bought Nor a skunk costume but it is too little so now Liam Mc gets to sport it and she will be a little ladybug, courtesy of her dad who went back and picked out her new, bigger costume. How sweet.

Hol & Nori causing a scene at Nina's Cafe

You know how people always post awesome recipes to show what a great cook they are? Well, I made a pot roast for my family and let's just say it was like a brick. I got a late start so I put it in the crockpot for 6 hours which translates to high which translates to brick. Oh well.

Family pretending to be excited about dry pot roast. The boxed brownies were great.

Gramsie Hol gave her a baby and she LOVES it. Also, she loves to pull up and stand.

Happy Birthday Melissa Rochelle Nelson Ho!

3 FREE Twins tickets

Vouchers for Home Run Porch tickets to any regular season home game...not many games left. All yours if you tell me the funniest joke.

A miracle is occuring!

Right now I should be rushing off to take T.McB to daycare after 2 plus hours of playing, feeding, diapers etc. But I am not. Why? Because she is STILL SLEEPING! My plan to indoctrinate her into the Seltzbicki ways in finally working. Go to bed early. Check. Take naps. Check. Burp loudly after every meal. Check. And now, finally, sleep in! Check!!! Joy!

My aunts love me...

Not only did my aunts Jill & Tracy stop over to visit and play with my kiddo, Anonymous Aunt Jill brought over a boatload of clothes for me that no longer fit her. I know what you are thinking, "isn't your Aunt Jill that super fabulous fashionista?". No, that is Doris. Anyway, everything was super stylish and in great condition! Here's what fits: 14 pairs of pants (some are dressy, casual, capris & jeans) 4 hot skirts, 1 professional dress and 2 tops. Hello! This is so awesome!! A few pairs of pants didn't fit because they were a tad too short but everything was perfect. I literally do not have enough room in my closet but oh well. I will prob get fired at work because they will think I am interviewing for new jobs. If you happen to see Jill, please tell her about the latest sales at Ann Taylor, GAP and Macy's. Trickle down economics.

Seattle

We're back! Did you miss me? We had a wonderful trip, Norelle was a super traveler and it was fun to get away!

What did we do you ask? Well, I suppose I can give you the highlights...

Thursday
After a smooth Sun Country flight, we hit up Pike's Place. We wandered around the crowded streets admiring the fruit stands, flowers and fresh fish & other sea creatures. It was a cool day so it was fun to be bundled up and have clam chowder outside. All the bakeries were awesome, I found a white chocolate raspberry mini-cheesecake and Jake found some yum cookies for dessert.

Gold Elite

Nori checks the wings for proper alignment

This is what we should have been eating

Just like Rosemarie's Floral & Gift, back in the day

We had calamari later that night, in her honor

Friday
The ferry ride to Bainbridge Island (I kept calling it Brisbane) was sweet, it was cool to see the sights. Lunch at Isla Bonita was delish and Nori enjoyed the Mexican rice, too. We walked around the quaint little town and once again, Jake found some cookies at a bakery. We like to eat.

"Look Dad...Is that Francis Bean?"

Bainbridge beach (named this myself)

Erin & Andrew hosted a pre-wedding par-tay at Pike Brewing Company where we finally caught up with all our Winona friends and the bride & groom to-be. It was an early night because our baby was still on MN time but we stayed out along enough to try the Seattle beer and hot wings!

" I like Pike"

Trying to keep a very tired baby happy

Saturday
Bused it to the Fremont Neighborhood which was our favorite with all the little boutiques and coffee shops. We had a killer Greek breakfast at Costas Opa: mochas and egg scrambles with feta, spinach and artichokes. Shh... don't tell but I found the coolest Christmas present for Nori, a board book set with artwork by artists like Picasso & Degas along with silly baby rhymes. We bought some dark chocolate from a chocolate factory, toured a greenhouse and walked through the Oktoberfest celebrations.

Waiting and waiting in the rain for the bus...

That night was the grand finale with Erin & Andrew's wedding under a tent at the Luna Park Seawall! Yes, it rained but it was one of the most heartfelt, personalized ceremonies I have ever been to and I am so thrilled that Erin & Andrew found each other through such an unlikely encounter (in a corn field in Iowa). The reception was gorgeous, they had beechwood for a guest book, beer mugs & homemade CD's as gifts and loving family & friends everywhere. Cheers Turpins!

Sunday
After another public transportation debacle (really Seattle? my advice: rent a car!), we made it to the Capitol Hill Neighborhood. Not our favorite place but we had an amazing lunch at the beautiful decorated Basil Chile Thai that was worth the trip.

"More rice please!"

Spicy light fixtures, extra heat

Secret garden?

The flight home was a little restless for a baby who just wanted to sleep - mom's collarbone did not make a good pillow. It was wonderful to take our first family vacation together, something we had dreamed about and are grateful we had the resources to do. We have lots of memories and photos to save forever. And now, you do too.

Seltzes leave Seattle
Exhausted!

Waiting for that Seattle update?

Read this by my blog friend Heather of EO in the meantime. She made me cry.

As soon as one of my dear friends has the time to email some wedding photos, I will post. I forgot to take my camera and the bride was wowza.

Gramps

Check out Norelle's Gramps Steve here...

The pre-programmed post brought to you by Mr. A-Z

"In the good book of Goonies, Chapter 12: Mikey, at the bottom of a wishing well says, “Up there it’s their time - Their time up there. And down here it’s our time - our time, down here.”

"So, let’s live it up while we got it. Amen."

8 months old!

I pre-programed this post so as this magically appears on your screen, I will be eating caviar on my private plane.

Bon voyage! We left today for our first family vacay to be sleepless in Seattle (time change should be killer). My mom, bro & I once went on a family vacation. To Rochester, MN. True story. Take care of things while I'm gone.

It crawls.

I am the proud mother of a crawler!

Yes, I can read!

If you had not had the pleasure of watching a television series on DVD, no commercials, no week long wait, you have not lived by 2008 standards. Here is list of my accomplishments over the past few years:

1. The O.C.
This one started my addiction to on-demand viewing and was so timely as we watched the first 3 seasons when my foot was out of commission and I literally could not do anything else.

2. Sex in the City
Also during my non-walking days although I only got through 2 seasons...never did see the rest.

3. 24
Worst show ever. I almost died of boredom and then killed myself to put myself out of my misery.

4. Entourage
Ari Gold forever.

5. Arrested Development
As Sabrina would say "Duh"! This masterpiece got me through my emotional gestation with Norelle.

6. The Office
Okay, I watched this in real time too but it's always fun to start from the beginning and see Michael be an ass all over again.

7. Weeds
Nancy Botwin in not Mother of the Year. But I love Shane, Silas and Andy so it's okay.

Am I forgetting anything?

Next up: Dexter
Wanted: Gossip Girl

Bob Loblaw

Shout out to K! Or was it K? And/or K? And Norelle for appreciating Scott Baio in Arrested Development.

Bob Loblaw is the new family attorney, replacing Barry Zuckerkorn. He is portrayed by Scott Baio. Bob Loblaw first appeared in the third episode of Season 3, claiming this wasn't the first time he's been brought in to replace Barry, and that he could do anything Barry could do, but skew younger, alluding to Baio's experience replacing Henry Winkler (Zuckerkorn) on the 1970s sitcom Happy Days. He is a no-nonsense attorney who is always in the company of his stenographer secretary who records all of his meetings. He advertises his services with the slogan "You don't need double talk; you need Bob Loblaw". As is evidenced by this, his name is meant to sound like "blah-blah-blah". Underneath his commercial advertisement is the phrase "Bob Loblaw No Habla Espanol". Adding to the tongue twister-like aspect of the character's name, the third season episode "S.O.B.s" includes a newspaper headline that reads "Bob Loblaw Lobs Law Bomb" and later in the season the "Bob Loblaw Law Blog". He has a daughter named Hope.

Baby's first word...

Bob Loblaw!

This week...

Quite the week I have coming up!

I have somehow (because I'm awesome at it probs) become the de facto event planner at work so I am organizing a HUGE bash for all of our students on a TEENY TINY non-profit budget. It happens on Wednesday evening so this week I am finalizing sandwich orders, talking with the tent guys, figuring out where will the raptors will go (as in birds, not Snoop Dogg) while simultaneously packing up a baby and all her necessities for a trip to Seattle on Thursday morning. Weather looks to be cool & drizzly i.e. more layers to pack. Nuts! Yes, I should bring some nuts for the plane ride! It will be a fun & chaotic week as as long I have my coffee I will be fine.

Pilates

I thought I would give Pilates another chance and take my core strength to a whole new level. I have tried it before but I always thought I had a bum teacher. So, this week when I had the chance to try two different classes in Pilates for free, I went for it. But I just don't like it! What is Pilates? It's not a nap but not a real work out either. It's laying in a dark room contracting my pelvic muscles... if I wanted to do that we wouldn't have adopted. After the class I still have not worked out nor have I napped.

Happy Birthday Angie Mc!

Question in my head

Sometimes, daily in fact, I go up to Jake and I say "Do you?". And his job is to read to my mind and answer the question appropriately. Usually it is something like "Do you love me?" or "Do you think I'm fat?". He answers correctly an amazing amount of the time. So now I will try it out on you although (hint hint) this question is not about me.

"Do you?"

Amazing!

I walk into the room and much to my surprise Nori has been playing with her blocks. Suddenly, I realize she has a message for me.

More virus visions...

Still sick...

but so very cute. We are home today...I tried to take her to daycare but we got kicked out because she has to be doody-free ( get it? duty-free!!) for 24 hours before she can come back. At this rate, we will be off all week. Our ped says to just keep her hydrated and Dr. Katie recommended baby yogurt so we are trying everything. Jake had an exhausting day yesterday with her - she went through almost a whole load of diapers in just one day so you can imagine how thrilled he was.

Anyway, today is better and Nor & I went to Babies R Us to buy some fall/winter essential like long sleeve onesies, a sleep sack and finally, more bottles. T.McB is napping and I am being the great housewife I knew I could be by cleaning and making dinner for my boy toy. Don't you wish your wife was domestic like me?

Weeds

Television shows on DVD rocks. My brother loaned us the first three seasons of Weeds and I am hooked. I love Strange Botwin!

Sick baby (part II)

The virus rages on! Poor baby has the flu and is not feeling good at all!

Aside: On the plus side, mom & dad have had a great excuse to sit at home and be bums this weekend. Speaking of plus side, our diet has been less than healthy and I am well on my way to a lucrative career as a plus size model. Really, if you watch ANTM you will know that the plus size model are just the average size girls only with spunk. True story: Jake's password to his Facebook account is Dorothy#65 Why? Because 65 lbs is Dorothy target weight. Jake's password to his email is MS#130. Why? Because 130 lbs is my target weight? That's what I thought too!! But actually it's my birthday, January 30. And my target weight, uppermost limit. I am 128 lbs as of this morning and feeling the pinch of too tight pants.

I will spare you all the details of Nori's illness because I remember how my mom used to blog about me when I was little and it was so embarrassing!!!! She would go on and on about my diapers, runny nose and our daily trips to Target. I know what you are thinking...they had Targets back then? Yes they did.

Happy Birthday Andy Ho!

Sick baby

It's just a bad cold that really only gets ugly at night but this week has been very tiring for all. Nori is usually such a good sleeper but we have been getting up 5-6 times a night with her to comfort her because she can't breathe. Poor baby! So our H.A.S. plans are canceled but we can now go to the Winona Crew BBQ at Jeff & Katie's so that's a good thing. Today we are going to take advantage of being vertical during the day to get some stuff done and allow gravity to assist with this cold.

Happy Belated Birthday Dorothy!

We forgot! You should have dropped some hints. Here's to #5!

Featured Blog: The Extraordinary Ordinary

Heather of the EO writes a wonderful post about the lessons and joys of GIVING. This blog could learn a thing or two from her.

nineohtwooneawesome

Did you watch the new 90210 last night on the CW? It was fricktastic. (Right now my husband is cringing and checking the contractual obligations on his wedding vows. Yep you are stuck w/ me). I love all the carry overs from other shows! We have Lucille Bluth from Arrested Development playing Lucille Bluth from BH. Aunt Becky from Full House, the real Brenda, Kelly and even Nat. Did you see Andrea Zuckerman's nerdy daughter at the news desk? And my favorite character is Silver (David Silver's sister) because she has her own blog and just like mine it gets over 500K hits a day. Oh and the adoption themes! Not only is Dixon adopted but Harry has a son that was placed with a family, too. It's like I have a new reason to live.

SoS Readership List (updated)

Wow, I am up to 23 people who have great taste and an eye for genius!

1. Sabrina (mentor and fashion icon)
2. Sabrina's friend Heather of EO
3. my mom (birthed me)
4. Erica in AZ (hot & spicy MN)
5. Steve (FIL, sports enthusiast)
6. Charlie (BIL, beer enthusiast)
7. Sometimes Jake (but only to criticize what I write-husband)
8. Aunt Jill ("Have you tried this? It is to die for!")
9. Sarah, when she remembers (true love)
10. Missy (baby machine)
11. K and/or K (soul mates)
12. Ellen Seltz (sorority girl)
13. Jodi (fitness buff)
14. Abby (young Republican)
15. Angie Mc (Tonka's mom)
16. Heidi (Ang's BFF)
17. Bob Rock (my imaginary neighbor)
18. TC (SR's imaginary boyfriend)
19. Ellen DODDS (French Hornist, formerly trombonist)
20. Susie (trucker lady)
21. ErBear (bride-to-be)
22. Tracy (plumber wanna be)
23. Pat Mc (Liam's Dad)
    

The Palbicki Beak

You know how some families pass along athleticism, brains or even money? We have the nose. I wish I had a better picture of my dad's because his beak reigns surpreme although my grandma's is right up there. Study these exhbisits for now and I will try to get some better shots.

Back to school jitters? A cold? Mexican rice?

I'm talking about Norelle. Last night she was up five times, a new record. Gold medal please! She never even did that when she was a newborn. Maybe she was thinking about how mom would be extra busy at work this week so she wanted to see how I was feeling about it? Or did she know that dad was almost caught up on sleep and that's just not him? She has also entered a new phase called "I scream when I want something out of reach"/ "I know you are just outside the door". Ah, the milestones. Really we are just spoiled because she has been such a excellent baby that we get our panties in a bunch if she isn't perfection for a day or two. Poor kid, she probably isn't feeling well but just can't say so. We love and adore her beyond belief! She is such a joy and a blessing to our every day.

But this reminds me, joys and blessings asides, it is only 4 more days until Home Alone Saturday! H.A.S. is the first time Jake & I will have a whole 24 hours at home to kick it old school while Nori stays with Papa & Nana overnight. What are we going to do? First off, nothing. Then what? Probably go for a bike ride, indulge in yummy food, relax watching some movies and sleep-in.

diapers days...