Almost Top Banana

This past weekend we spent the afternoon enjoying Gabriel and Joel's first Pumpkin Festival experience. The weather, while predicted to be overcast and chilly, was actually blue skies and warm, and the crowd was bigger than I'd ever seen. Gabriel had his first bite of pumpkin pie (and subsequently his first diaper of pumpkin pie) and Joel was able to see first hand what a costume contest was all about.

As kids, we entered with somewhat elaborate costumes and even managed to take home the coveted Grand Prize ribbon as the HMB Keystone Cops! This being Gabriel's 2nd Halloween, I wanted to continue the practice of making his costume, and now that we're back in the bay area I thought it would be fun to start the tradition of entering him in the Pumpkin Festival contest. Plus it was a good excuse to see Uncle Mikey and Aunt Alena.

My plan was to make him a sock monkey and convince Joel to be a Sock Banana.

I bought 2 pairs of socks (most monkeys require 1 pair) and went to work creating the jumpsuit. I was surprised how quickly it took shape (especially since I have no idea how to sew) but when it came time for a fitting there was a bit of a problem...

This kid is way bigger than I realized. How did this happen? It has been months since I cut out lard and bananas from his diet and yet he's somehow managed to quadruple in size right before my eyes.

I can't believe how much he has grown in just one year...

With the sock monkey costume now a certified bust, I resorted to plan B...for Banana. Using three t-shirts and a pair of socks, I whipped together the yellow ensemble in the car on the way the festival. Once we arrived, it was clear his costume was the most amateur of them all, but I was still proud to have made him something--and 100% recycled too!

Standing among a sea of super hero toddlers and pumpkin babies he entered the 0-3 age group. He even managed to resemble a banana for about 3 seconds--the longest he would allow his hat to stay on his head...and apparently that was all the time it took for him to claim Third Place!

We're very proud of our little banana...and hope to have a picture of him actually in his costume by halloween.

mr. turner turns one

Congratulations Mikey & Alena

Happy Easter!

We had a wonderful Easter day. Olive in her little yellow dress was so kissables (like lunchables, it needs the "s" at the end)

Brandy Rose Sanders (what up?!) came from Corcoran, Ca. We went to church and then came home. Brandy and Brooke were sucked into the Arizona State spelling bee on the public broadcast channel (So-Young Chung won it) and I had to concede to letting them eat our Easter ham in front of the television.

We spent a nice part of the evening out on the back porch. The weather was terrific.

All in all it was a tremendous Easter.

Oh and there's this little girl...

The Crisco Kid

I always thought Grocery Outlets were a funny idea because I somehow imagined aisles and aisles of out-of-fashion foods mingling together in self-pity that their labels were sooo last season. It wasn't until recently that I discovered not only do they carry foods with plenty of time before their expiration date, but what a bargain! I suddenly found myself hooked on getting the best deal possible. Sometimes I could walk out of there feeling like I was being paid to shop. And did you know peach halves are the new fruit cocktail?

Unfortunately, I became so swept up in the wonderful world of coupon-less shopping, that I even stopped reading labels. And that's when things went really wrong...

You can imagine my surprise the other day when I went to the pediatrician for Gabriel's 6-month check-up. As usual, he stripped down to his birthday suit (Gabri, not the doctor) to be weighed. "Whoaaa, we've got a hefty fella here" the doctor said as he adjusted the scale to accommodate his portly body. As I watched the numbers climb well into the double digits, I knew he wasn't over-exaggerating.

Apparently his weight does not even register on the charts anymore, and while it is still technically considered the 100th percentile, he has officially thrown the entire baby curve off balance. (NOTE: if you are the parent of a child 6 months or younger, you will be receiving your baby's adjustment notification in the mail any day now.)

Curious as to why this has happened, I went to the cupboard to examine the foods I have been feeding him over the past few days. Lo and behold, the answer was right there on the label...

This officially marks the end of Grocery Outlet shopping for me.

clever

Photography by Anna Barragan

Not too shabby...

Move over Seacrest, there's a new host in town!

This is...

The Top 13 have performed and now it is up to you to decide...




LIL: Nice voice. I didn't like her outfit. Good song, but she can do better.




SCOTT: He is from Scottsdale so I like him. GO AZ!! I Like him for his heart & soul in his songs, he is true to himself every time. I would like to get into more upbeat & exciting songs. I'm sure he can do it. I think he will be in the top 6.


DANNY: Odd looking trying to dance and sing. Paula was dancing crazy with the song. I can't remember what he sang it just sounded like he was yelling out the song.





MICHAEL: I like his singing. He sings from his heart. He will be in the top 6. He is the oil man. Nice guy. I like him.





JASMINE: She is only 17 years old. She was off-key. I don't think she will be back. But maybe she has the teen vote?



KRIS: I don't remember what he sang. Paula just said “the girls love you, you’re sexy.” What's wrong with Paula? It's a singing contest not a show-what-your package-looks-like contest! I'm not too old to enjoy a nice looking guy, but in this show you have to sing too.

ALLISON: If you like the Punk Rock she maybe for you, but not her best I don't think. I don’t care for the new judge. What does she offer to the show or the singers? They don't need her there where did she come from, who does she know? I think it was better with just the three judges.

ANOOP: Sang Beat It. Well he did beat it...to death! It was so bad I couldn't take much more. No he won't be back. If he is, who voted for him? Tell me! They should have not let him move on. I would have picked a better singer than him.



JORGE: He works hard to please everyone. He has a large supportive family. It was a nice song he gives his all. I think the judges were too hard on him tonight. I hope he is back to show them he can sing.




MEGAN: ROCKIN ROBIN? All the Michael Jackson songs and that is the best she can come up with? Save it for karaoke night! She should not be allowed back.



ADAM: BLACK AND WHITE, The best song of the night. WOW! He has got it you bet!! Even his outfit was right and I liked they way he moved on stage. Great Job!! Number 1!!





MATT: Nice job. Hard to follow Adam, but liked his song also. He is #2 in my book.




ALEXIS: She has talent but I’m not sure if she will last. Her outfit was sexy so she could get some votes but it's not Miss Popularity it's a singing contest. That is what everyone has to remember.



Favorites of the Night:
1. Adam
2. Matt
3. Lil
4. Scott
5. Michael
6. Jorge

Stay tuned for next week...Oatsie, OUT!!!

Anna Banana goes fishing

Just when you thought it was safe to play on the floor...

Happy Anniversary

February 10, 1973

Is this real life?

In honor of my recent dental surgery and why I just say no to pain meds...