A weekend to remember... and one to forget

Happy Thanksgiving!!!! (last week). I hope you (my four followers) had a fun, relaxing weekend with people you care about. We've been taking advantage of our new surroundings and trying to enjoy all the festivities that take place in the Bay Area. Two out of two weekends have been unforgettable, but for completely different reasons. Weekend one we attempted to make it down to Embarcadero to watch the lights go on downtown. We made it in time, but it was pouring rain that night, so we were cold, wet and couldn't for the life of us figure out how to get the rain protector on the stroller.

doesn't JJO looked thrilled...

we didn't even bother getting a family picture because of the rain

We made it just in time for the lights to go on, watched the fireworks and then walked to the Ferry Building to find dinner. The least expensive option was also the most crowded and definitely not a baby friendly place. I, for the most part, do ok under baby pressure - crying in the grocery store, no problem, temper tantrum in church, no problem... for some reason in a crowded restaurant with no place to put my child or calm him down I start to sweat and the stress gets to me (mostly Jake suffers in these situations because I just end up in a really bad mood).

dinner was a lovely experience...

The next day we were planning on staying home, cleaning up, organizing and relaxing around the house. Then Jake was offered some last minute Cal vs. Stanford football tickets and said he "couldn't turn them down." I said I didn't want to go. It was cold. I was looking forward to the relaxing day home together. I didn't want to go through the extra work it is to do ANYTHING with a one year old. Yet, somehow the next thing I knew we were driving to the BART station. Nothing from this point on went well. The game was starting at 12:30... it was 12:30. We missed the first train and waited 20 minutes for the next. It was cold. We made it onto the BART, but had to transfer a little ways down the line... annoying. We finally made it to our stop then began the hike (uphill) to the stadium. The only bonus of this hike was it warmed me up slightly. It took us 20 minutes to get to the stadium only to find out the game wasn't even close and it was half-time. Stanford was killing Cal. Our seats were second row from the top and the seating was benches. So we were crammed on a bench with a toddler and a huge backpack full of supplies. What wasn't in the bag?? Diapers and wipes. Sweet. At this point I was having a laughing fit - not because I thought it was funny... but because everything had gone so wrong and the only way to control my anger was to laugh. It worked... kindof. Jake packed raspberries for Jonathan, but we had no wipes to clean him up with so he had a stained face and hands for the rest of the game. Jonathan's chubby hands barely fit in the gloves I brought him. I hate my raincoat... it's not comfortable.

this is a 'fake' smile picture from all of us

Seriously, nothing was going right. We finally gave in to the disaster that had become our "lazy" Saturday and headed home. Oh how I wish we could have just hopped in a car... It was another long hike down the hill, long wait to transfer trains and then a long ride to our car. The blessing of the day was when we walked in our front door and the downpour began. If the rain had started any earlier I would have completely lost it. You know those days???

Then Thanksgiving came and went. I managed to ruin a pumpkin pie... which is pathetic because I bought the crust and ONLY had to make the filling. Not difficult... but apparently it was... and I failed attempt #1. #2 was perfect. My homemade rolls were a hit as well. Our company was wonderful and the house was baby-proofed so I didn't have to worry (too much) about Jonathan. He is in a completely destructive phase. Sometimes I wonder why I even bother picking up the house since his goal all day long is to tear it apart.

Friday night was amazing. We decided we prefer to drive to the city with Jonathan, rather than take the BART. We headed into San Francisco for the annual tree lighting concert at Union Square. Luckily Jonathan manages to entertain the crowds around him wherever we go... he's a natural charmer. The lights were splendid and it was fun to feel the magic of the Christmas holiday kick into gear. We are so excited to embark on some new traditions as a family. We have always had our own families so close by that it seemed impossible to create our own traditions. This will forever be a Christmas season to remember... my first without snow, without the lights at temple square and no Scrooge night. I'm feeling nostalgic for the things back home, but grateful to have my own wonderful family to make new traditions with.

JJO loving his new beanie - i love his face in this picture

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!