8 days...

Until we are heading to Ireland...

Finn's excited about the leprechauns.

I'm excited about the in-flight movies.

Amanda is excited about the souvenirs.

As you can see, this trip has got a little something for everyone...

...ahem...except Nick and Luke....who aren't going...because they have to work.

*whispers* soooorrrrry

Anywho, my mom's family lives in Ireland (hence the trip, duh.) and besides my grandparents, nary a person over there has met Finnsticks.

And while a trip of this epic-ness requires an international flight and 5 hour layover with an energetic toddler, I gots to admit I am really excited....

...and also hoping he'll sleep on the plane.

I also got him a little backpack with a leash attached to it (for those against leashes, hold your judgement here bc he loves the thing.) for the airport so he can run around the airport without getting abducted. Because really, who wants to worry about that right before a 12 hour flight.

Like, a boyscout, always prepared!

I digress...

Since I've spent practically every summer of my life since i was BORN in Ireland, I feel like I've got a lot to bring a lot to the table for this guy as far as tour guide goes...But I've got a feeling he won't appreciate/nor remember any of it. Silly boy.

The thing is, we're only going to be there for a week which seems like not enough time to: a. get there; b. let Finn recover from jet lag and; c. do absolutely everything I want to. It may end up with me dragging a sleeping baby around town "showing" him the sights. He'll love that, I'm sure.

For some reason I can't find pictures of me and Nick in Ireland on my computer...so use your imagination and plant us somewhere in this picture. You can do it!

Here you go...

...this is basically what happened at the party.

Mini Dr. Who Visits the Dinos...Party. UPDATED!

Our mini Dr. Who officially visited some (paper) dinosaurs.

And to say that Finn's birthday party was the party of the year would be an understatement. We went beyond that. Way beyond.

Not really. Well, maybe for Finn.

But really, while it wasn't a party of P-Diddy proportions ( I knew I should have had a black tie mandatory dress code...), it was super duper. Finn wore some tweed pants, a pinstripe button up and a red bow tie for all the Doctor Who Matt Smith fans out there.

But besides immediate family, no Dr. Who fans were actually in attendance (greatly confusing some of the guests as to the theme). There were dinosaurs, there were mini-TARDIS's hanging from the ceiling, Luke busted out his mega Tom Baker scarf. You get the picture.

Speaking of pictures!!! (I'm a master of segues what can I say?):

He wore his new Nike Free's to complete the look...

Dalek Cake...

...exterminated!! Oh wow, things are getting nerdy...

A TARDIS!


The (in)famous scarf...

We went to the zoo the next day (aka today) to celebrate the celebration of celebrations that we celebrated. He ran around the place like he owned it. Stroller = now, obsolete. Fine by me. I'd rather have my kid run around instead of being pushed around. Which is what he's wanted to do for the last 2 months.

I'm glad I didn't have to push the issue. Hardy har har...puns.

Anyway, Monkeys were a huge hit because frankly, I think the kid has a little Mowgli in him and would rather climb some trees more than anything. And despite his disinterested look in the picture below, he totally dug the elephants

365 days ago...

Hard to believe that one year ago this is where we were (on our way to the hospital):

And then this:
And also this:

And now we have this:

Birthday!

I remember after taking him home from the hospital I was lying in bed and he was in the bassinet next to me and my heart was racing because I thought, "I would literally die for this child"... ait felt momentous then but the thing is nothing has changed. I still lie in bed and my heart races because I think the same thing every single day.

In any case, happy 1st birthday punkin! My stubborn, adventurous, fearless little stinker who walked before he was 10 months old, who's first word is officially "moose" and who is unbelievably independent but still manages to sneak into bed with me every other night :)

We're Building an Army...

It's 6am and trust me, I'm not up because something exciting is happening. Tooth #14 (one of my molars...I love that they number teeth) is keeping my up for the 1200385th time and it HURTS. Backstory: Tooth #14 got a root canal about 5 years ago....4 years ago it got infected and I had to have some serious surgery on it...On and off until NOW it has hurt, gotten infected, talked smack at me, etc...and then on Monday I had ANOTHER root canal on it, you know, just for funsies. And now it hurts worse than ever. Shoot. I seriously tried to convince the doctor to just pull the sucker out but he said maybe later.

Rant: Over.

Other news! 2 days until Finn's birthday! Remember when I said he wasn't getting anything? I lied. I just dropped some serious cash on some new bigger winter clothes. Plus side: He's going to look adorbs all winter long. He's like a Gap model over here. Down side: Who knows how long it's going to fit him. Sigh. These darn kids always growing outta stuff.

He also got a potty. As a warning of what's to come.

And on a last note, for the party, we've got an army of TARDIS's!

He's so excited :)

If it be now, 'tis not to come...

Not only did I survive the GRE but there is an actual chance that I did ok on the parts I needed to do ok on. Shweet! At the end of the test they give you your range for the math section and verbal section. For the verbal I got between 570-670...good, good. The math? 340-440...ahem....not so good. Which is fine because they don't look at that anyways. 'They' being the elusive yet legendary, bespectacled admissions board...

I'll get the actual scores after two angst-ridden months in November.

On a different stroke, in November we are moving to Springville to be a little closer to Luke's work. I'm excited for two reasons. A. We're closer to Luke's work. Duh and; B. Redecorating! I've got some pretty baller ideas...some from Jenna's sweet website and some from my own little brain. If you're familiar with T.S. Eliot and Shakespeare it's going to be awesome, if not it's going to seem kind of weird.

Por ejemplo: The sign in the kitchen will read "Do I dare to eat a peach?"....the one in Finn's room will read, "Well roared, Lion"....the sign by the door will read, "The readiness is all"...another is, "Fight till the last gasp"

...*crickets*......anyone?....

I think Megan Winegar-Long will like it, at least :)

And on the last and most differentest stroke, Finn's birthday is in 9 days! The party has been planned. The gifts have not been bought (this kid already has everything you could ever want ever), and the only thing left to do is make a bunch of little TARDIS's....trust me, it's gonna be great. The theme is officially and irrevocably Dr. Who visits the dinosaurs (logical because he can time travel in the aforementioned TARDIS...google it). I've bought him an outfit, I've color coordinated stuff, there will be dinos involved. Done and Done.

This is probably the most excited I've been about a party where the person of honor isn't going to even remember it.

Judgement Day

There's a dark cloud hanging over me today. Maybe it's a cloud of shame, guilt, or nervousness. But it's there...

GRE tomorrow and I haven't really studied, like, at all. And as a result I feel guilty, a little bit of shame and definitely nervous. See dark cloud above me for reference.

I keep try to convince myself that I haven't been lazy...it's just that I'm an ENGLISH major! I don't need to study because I don't need to do the math section! Makes sense, right? Right?!

And then I use Finn as an excuse, because how could I possibly study with a baby around?! Don't mention the fact that said baby naps for 2+ hours a day and goes to bed at 730....not my best material as far as excuses go.

But yeah, definitely not lazy.

So strategy wise, I'm planning on going in to the testing center and crumpling under a desk in defeat before I start and then just look at the questions and guess like I have never guessed before in my life...except for the time I took the SAT...didn't study for that either. Boo ya!

But really, while I haven't studied a whole lot I still think I'm going to fare just fine because I'm confident in my scholastic abilities. Fingers crossed, wish me luck, break a leg and all that.

Taking the GRE is like being in a desert....because you're not allowed to take water in with you and you're bound to get pretty thirsty.