And Baby Makes Three

I love the color that these lanterns and flowers add to the patio.

Spring is in the air, and we’ve been wanting to get out of the house and enjoy it. Unfortunately, until recently our patio wasn’t a very inviting place to experience the great outdoors. The plants were wilting from neglect, the patio surface was covered with grime and dead leaves from the winter, and the mosquitoes were laying claim to it as their territory. A couple of months, though, I got the idea to throw a patio party, so after the token procrastination, I got busy planning it a few weeks ago. Brad jumped right in to help me prepare. We transformed our patio from a cluttered mess to an inviting escape. Here’s how:

• The biggest transformation was due to Brad renting a pressure washer and cleaning off the patio and vinyl siding. I wish we had before and after pictures, because the difference was amazing!
• We also purchased a bug zapper, and although the sounds of bugs being killed instantly by an electric forcefield isn’t an ideal summer soundtrack, it sure beats swatting mosquitoes away every few seconds .
• I have become more diligent about watering the flowers, so that they are colorful and vibrant.
• We also did some simple decorating for the party by hanging some paper flowers and a string of lighted paper lanterns, both of which we have left up to enjoy for ourselves. They lend a festive air to the patio.

Since making our patio a more inviting place, we have spent a lot of time out there. My party was a success, and a few nights later we had Patrick and Lindsi over for dinner and ate at our patio table. We’ve also sat out there to have coffee a few times, and Benjamin has enjoyed exploring the patio perimeter.

The Patio Party:

• The decor: I decided to go with a Spanish theme, so I bought a Spanish-style table cloth, and plates and napkins with the same design. I also created a “Spanish” radio station on Pandora, with a blend of classical guitar, salsa, Gloria Estefan, Miami Sound Machine, etc. By the way, if you’ve never checked out Pandora, you really should. It’s a free Internet radio website, where you can create and customize your own stations. It’s fun to discover new songs and artists, and to hear other songs that you had forgotten about.
• The food: In keeping with the Spanish theme, I used some tapas recipes. I made Spanish deviled eggs, which had tuna and tomato sauce mixed in with the filling, and created a tray with various items to eat together – sliced tomatoes, green and black olives, imported Manchego cheese, and cubed garlic bread. Also on the menu were shrimp cocktail, taqitoes, chips with olive and cheese salsa (courtesy of Mandy), cheesecake with cherry topping (also courtesy of Mandy), brownies (Keeley brought these), and cookies (Christie brought these).
• The beverages: Brad and I mixed up some fresh sangria, and it turned out to be quite a stout recipe! The ingredients were freshly sliced lemons, limes, and oranges, sugar, orange juice, red wine, and rum. It was quite tasty, but I think everyone diluted it a bit with some club soda. I also provided ginger ale and raspberry white tea.
• The atmosphere: It rained all day Saturday, so we had to wait until an hour before the party to set everything up. The rain also brought a cold front, so it was actually in the low 60s during the party! We borrowed Patrick’s fire pit, and I brought out a pile of jackets and sweaters for everyone to stay warm. Who knew we’d need jackets in mid May?! The air was clean and fresh from the rain, and it was so nice to just sit outside, sipping sangria and chatting with friends. Benjamin went to bed about 8:45, but until then Brad was in charge of him. The last guests didn’t leave until after midnight! I felt young again, staying “out” so late.   Thanks to everyone who came – I had a great time!

Beyond the Party:

• When Patrick and Lindsi came over for dinner, we recreated the party atmosphere with the hanging flowers, the lantern lights, the Spanish music, etc. We served grilled steak with a topping of tomatoes and scallions, along with fresh corn on the cob, roasted potatoes, and yeast rolls. Eating outside on a beautiful night made everything taste even better. And Benjamin was mostly content to wander loose on the patio while we ate and chatted.
• I’ve also discovered that Benjamin enjoys going outside (I guess all kids do), so when he started getting cabin fever, we’ve been going on the patio. He likes to pick up leaves, point out ants and other bugs crawling around, make “music” by hitting his sippy cup against metallic objects like the grill or firepit, and touch the flower petals.
• I also enjoy sitting outside drinking coffee and breathing in fresh air, while looking up at blue sky. We’ve had beautiful weather all this week, and I’ve made a point to get outside and enjoy it before the oppressive summer heat arrives and sets up camp for four months.

Enjoy these pictures of our recent time on the patio:

As I write this post, I am happy to be back in the comfort of my own home. Specifically, I’m sitting at my desk with a cup of strong coffee (no more weak hotel coffee for me, thank you), listening to the whir of Benjamin’s sound machine over the monitor as he continues to sleep peacefully. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip, but it’s always nice to return to the familiar. Now, on to the rundown of the final day of our trip, which mostly involved the journey home.

Day Five:

• 7:30-11:00 – We all “slept in” until 7:30, then got up to start our morning of packing and staying close to the room. Our original plan was to celebrate Mother’s Day with breakfast at Corner Bakery, but to encourage Benjamin to fit in a good nap before our flight, we instead ate the hotel breakfast, like we did every morning. Only today, instead of an omelet we had a waffle. Afterwards, Benjamin slept for an hour while Brad watched tv, I played on the Internet, and we started packing.
• 11:00-12:00 – We loaded up the car, Brad drove us to the Burbank airport, and he helped me get checked in. We said our goodbyes at the entrance to security check-in. He will be in L.A. until Thursday, so we are really glad that we were able to spend this time with him (otherwise we wouldn’t have seen him for over a week!).
• 12:00-12:45 – I let Benjamin walk around a bit at our gate, and I fed him his lunch. He was slightly disturbed by a rather large replica of a WWII plane hanging from the ceiling, but he worked it out by waving at it. I wish I had a picture of me carrying around all our stuff. I had it down to a science: backpack on my back, diaper bag diagonal across my shoulder, pushing Benjamin in his stroller. It really wasn’t too bad. I checked the stroller when I boarded, so from that point I held Benjamin for the next three or so hours.
• 1:00-1:15 – Once everyone had boarded, it was clear that the seat next to us (in our row of three) was empty. Good news! The guy sitting by the window was in his 20s, and quickly put his earphones on, indicating he didn’t want to deal with a one year old ( I don’t blame him). I was hoping for a friendly grandmother type to sit next to me, but instead we were sitting right across from the flight attendant station – you know, where they keep all the drinks and snacks in the back of the plane. So that was more good news. There would be no passengers sitting directly across from us to be bothered by Benjamin. The flight attendant who sat in the fold out seat across from us was a friendly lady from Reno (she actually turned out to be a grandmother type – she has six year old and six week old grandkids). When she wasn’t on attending duties, she chatted with us about her garden, and how her only pets are wild animals like quail and rabbits, and she complimented Benjamin on his expressive eyes and sweet curls. So I guess I got my wish after all – a friendly grandmother – just not the old gray haired kind.
• 3:15-4:30 (skipping ahead to Central time)- The first part of the flight went by fast. Benjamin did fine with the pressure changes on takeoff – he drank his milk then. And it seemed like he was going to settle down and go to sleep. He sweetly listened to music with me (I had one ear bud, he had the other) – as we listened to Gabe Dixon Band and Simon and Garfunkel he bobbed to the music, and started to drift off. But about the time the flight attendants started prepping their drink cart, he snapped out of his reverie, never to return.
• 4:30-5:20 – This part of the flight wasn’t so fun. Benjamin was exhausted, but refused to sleep. So every ten minutes or so he would arch his back and get all upset, which would lead to screaming and crying. Just to have something to do (and because I needed to go), I took him to the bathroom with me. He was a little freaked out by the tiny bathroom and the loud noises of the plane. It just so happens that this is when we hit our one patch of turbulence (isn’t that always the way?), so I got back to my seat as quickly as possible. Thankfully, the turbulence was short-lived. During this hour I also exhausted all the forms of entertainment I had on hand – all his toys, the calculator, my wallet, my keys…
• 5:20-5:50 – By this point Benjamin was rejecting anything I gave him except corn puffs. So for the last half hour of the flight, as we made our descent toward DFW, I handed him his favorite snack one piece at a time. He finished off nearly the whole little container I had brought on board. It was convenient that this helped regular the pressure in his ears, and it also kept the screaming and crying at bay.
• 5:50-6:15 – It takes forever to taxi to the gate at DFW! Thankfully, the friendly Reno flight attendant and a Sky Mall magazine were there to pass the time. In the time it took to go from the runway to our gate, Benjamin ripped an entire Sky Mall into pieces, page by page, and he handed each tattered piece to Grandma Reno. She was so patient! When I was in college, I used to rip paper into strips as a form of stress relief (yes, more proof that I’m weird). Like mother, like son.
• 6:15-6:45 – I am so thankful for friends like Mandy and Will. They sacrificed their Sunday evening to meet us at the airport and help us get to our car. (Remember my day one post, in which I explained that we were parked on the top level of a parking lot with no ramps or elevators?) To further complicate the parking garage problem, my flight arrived at Terminal A, so if they hadn’t met us, Benjamin and I would have had to pick up our luggage at baggage claim, then take an airport shuttle to Terminal C, and then figure out how to get up three flights of stairs with all our stuff. Because they met us, we didn’t have to worry about that. We grabbed my suitcase, and all hopped into their car for the short trip to Terminal C – can’t beat carside service!
• 6:45-8:00 – As soon as I pulled out of my airport parking space, Benjamin fell asleep. How funny that he fought sleep for a three hour flight, but the minute he felt the familiar comfort of his car seat, he zonked out. I was glad he got a short nap after the tiring trip. Mandy, Will, and I picked up burgers and shakes at Braums for dinner and took them back to my house to eat. That was one tasty burger and chocolate malt! Benjamin seemed relieved to be back home (even though he had lots of fun in L.A.). A smile creeped onto his face when Mandy took him into his playroom, and he was more than happy to sit down in his high chair to eat his dinner. As usual, Chloe had opened every cabinet in the house as a sign of her displeasure at us leaving her alone for so many days (do you know any other cats who do this?!). I was most amused by her handiwork in Benjamin’s room: she somehow managed to knock over a whole stack of quilts and a big box of diapers, and made the contents spill out of the closet and onto the nursery floor (see picture below).
• 8:00-9:00 – We said goodbye to Mandy and Will, and then I bathed Benjamin and put him to bed around 9. I was surprised that he was ready for bed at his regular time, after being on Pacific time for five days. He has slept well all night. After he went to bed, I stayed up a couple of hours, watching Lost, checking Facebook, and just enjoying being home.

Our trip to L.A. was a welcome respite from the daily routine, and now that I’m back home, after five days of sun, the ocean, the pool, good food, and the manager’s reception, I feel rejuvenated to face “normal” again. Thanks for following along on our journey!

Brad shares a special moment with Benjamin, as he experiences ocean waves for the first time.

Saturday. Our day to sightsee, relax, explore, whatever we wanted. So we had decisions to make when we woke up. Our original plan was to go to the Dodgers vs. Giants early afternoon game, and then to drive over to the beach to introduce Benjamin to the ocean. However, we decided to be flexible and ended up going with a more low key day.

Day Four:

• 7:00-11:00 a.m. – Waking up, breakfast, and hanging out in the room while Benjamin napped. We decided to leave for the Dodger game as soon as Benjamin had had an early lunch, and then to drive over to Santa Monica after the game. But, Benjamin surprised us by only sleeping 45 minutes, so we shifted gears and decided to “stop by” the beach before going to the game. So then we made preparations for our day out.
• 11:00-12:10 – As usual, Google maps was not very useful in predicting how long i would take to get from Valencia to Santa Monica. 40 minutes turned into 70 minutes, which actually wasn’t too bad, considering how slow moving the traffic was on the congested 405. I began to grow skeptical that we would actually make it to the ballgame, which started at 12:40.
• 12:10 – We miraculously found a metered parking space on Ocean Ave., which as you might expect, is right next to the beach. As we stepped out of the car, we both knew immediately that this is where we wanted to stay all day. It was a perfect day: blue sky, light breeze, temperature in the low 70s. Plus, the beach and the pier were not super crowded, but were bustling enough to give a sense of the energy of Santa Monica. (The last time Brad and I visited the area, we went to the pier on a weekday, and it was like a ghost town!) So, we dropped our plans to rush off to the Dodger game, and switched into relax mode.
• 12:10-2:00 – After we tracked down some change for our parking meter, we made our way down to the boardwalk and headed toward the pier. It was nice to see families, couples, surfers, bikers, musicians, hippies, and all other sorts of people enjoying the day. Since it was lunch time, we headed to the end of the pier, to Marisol Mexican restaurant. We sat inside for a break from the sun, and enjoyed a tasty, leisurely paced lunch of fish tacos and tropical drinks. Benjamin had fun coloring the kids’ menu, when he wasn’t trying to eat the crayons.
• 2:00-3:15 – Beach time! Unfortunately, we didn’t prepare very well since we had only planned to stay a few minutes. With no towels, folding chairs, or swimsuits, we just had to wing it. We must have been a comical sight trudging through the thick sand, Brad carrying the stroller and our extra layers of clothing (which we didn’t need), and me carrying Benjamin and his diaper bag. That was quite a work out! And it was well worth the trouble. Once we made it closer to the ocean, we had a great time. Benjamin was intrigued by the sand, and had no qualms about sitting down in it, getting his hands and feet dirty, and knocking over Brad’s sand towers. (I wasn’t too thrilled about him getting sand in his diaper and everywhere else, but, after all, he is a boy.) Benjamin was a little less confident when Brad took him down to the water. He was starting to get tired, and the sounds of the crashing waves overwhelmed him. He also didn’t like the feeling of sinking down in the wet sand when the cold water came over his feet. But overall, I think he enjoyed his first experience of the beach and ocean. I love the pictures we captured of these moments. They are precious and priceless!
• 3:15-3:30 – When we realized that our parking meter was about to expire, we trudged back through the sand and up to Ocean Ave. to our car. Somewhere along the way, Benjamin fell asleep in his stroller, but we had to wake him up soon after to change his sandy diaper before we drove home. We also came across a group of guys playing street hockey in an empty section of the beach parking lot. Watching them reminded Brad of his street hockey playing days as a child in Ohio. For me, though, this was the first time I had seen anyone playing the sport in person.
• 3:30-5:00 – We had less traffic to deal with on the drive back to Valencia, and we were happy when Benjamin fell asleep for about 45 minutes. We also stopped by Walmart so I could pick up some cold medicine. (I’ve developed some sniffles the past couple of days.)
• 5:00-6:00 – Pool time! Benjamin was groggy when he woke up from his nap, but he quickly cheered up when we got in the pool, which was comfortably warm from the sunny day. The longer we stayed in the water, the more confident he became. By the end of our pool time, he was letting Brad make him “swim” over the top of the water, and he was paddling his arms and legs. It was relaxing to take a dip in the pool as we wound down the day.
• 6:00-8:00 – After rinsing off and changing, we went to the hotel atrium for the managers’ reception, and since Benjamin was content in his stroller, we decided to stay there for dinner. A couple of drinks later, and full of grilled salmon and filet mignon, we headed back to the room.
• 8:30-10:30 – Benjamin went to sleep almost immediately after we got back to the room, and Brad crashed on the sofa. I stayed up awhile longer to catch up on my blog posts. As I finish this one up, it is 10 a.m., and we’ll leave for the airport in less than an hour. I’d better start packing! Enjoy the pictures below.

I’ve had less time to sit around blogging since yesterday, which is a good thing. It means the trip is getting more interesting!

Day Three:

• 6:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. – The first half of the day was uneventful. Similarly to Day Two, it involved us eating breakfast at the hotel, Brad going to work, and me sitting around the room during Benjamin’s morning and afternoon nap. I did at least manage to blog about this week’s episode of Lost. I also took a short nap, and learned via a phone call that we’d have to cancel our plans to visit friends in Santa Barbara on Saturday. In case you haven’t heard, there are terrible wildfires burning out of control there, destroying homes, and filling the sky with smoke and ash. Our friends evacuated to a safer area, and obviously these are not circumstances appropriate for a casual visit, so we shifted gears to figure out something else to do this weekend. Hopefully firefighters will be able to control the wildfires soon.
• 3:30-4:30 p.m. – I was shocked when I checked the weather online, and learned that it was 96 degrees outside! I thought L.A. was supposed to be sunny and warm, but not ridiculously hot, especially in early May! But, at least the high temp wasn’t accompanied by oppressive humidity. Given the hot nature of the day, I decided to risk sun exposure to cool off in the pool with Benjamin. I did my best to cover our fair skin with a high S.P.F. sunscreen, and we ventured out of the shade of our room. Ah, it was so worth it. The water felt great, and Benjamin enjoyed it. He even cooperated by not throwing his sun hat into the water. He realized that the hat was keeping the sun out of his eyes. He would get nervous if I walked too far out into the pool – he preferred sitting a couple of steps in, with me holding him close. But as long as I kept a firm grip on him, he loved kicking his legs, moving his hands around in the water, and splashing water into our faces. We also met two friendly international employees in training for Brad’s company – two women who were missing their young children back home in Italy and Spain. We enjoyed talking with them (well, Benjamin enjoyed waving at them and nodding his head repeatedly), and one of them, upon my request, took a few pictures of me and Benjamin in the pool. Getting out of the room and into the refreshing water was just what I needed!
• 4:30-6:30 – After getting rinsed off and changed, we picked up Brad from work and returned to the hotel for the Manager’s Reception. This is a service that the hotel provides every evening, during which time you can get free drinks from the bar as well as refreshments. It was very relaxing to sit in the lobby sipping a mai tai, and Benjamin was cooperative, being content to hang out in his stroller playing with a calculator (that’s his favorite “toy” these days).
• 6:30-8:30 – After our unwinding time, we ventured out to dinner at Valencia Town Center. This is a great, pedestrian friendly shopping and dining area, where we ate sushi on Thursday night. This time we chose Sisley Italian Kitchen, and had a pleasant meal of pizza and salad on the patio.
• 8:30-10:30 – Same old, same old. We put Benjamin to bed and relaxed a bit before going to sleep. Being out in the sun wore me out!

This is a picture of us chillaxing at The Standard, a rooftop L.A. bar, from my first trip to L.A. with Brad in spring 2005. Life has changed a lot since then, and so our current trip will be quite different.

So I’m going to try my hand at something I haven’t done before – a daily travel blog. We’ll see if I find time every day to write about the highlights.

Yesterday we embarked on a somewhat spontaneous trip to the Los Angeles area. Brad has to be at his company’s home office in Valencia for work from May 6 to May 14, and given the extended nature of the trip, along with it including Mother’s Day, we decided to turn it into a mini family vacation. Benjamin and I flew here with Brad yesterday, but we will leave on Sunday, since I have to be back for my final day of class on Monday.

Day One:

• 10:15 – We left the house right on time – amazing! Our trip had a complicated start, as I had to make an appearance at my 10:30 class (they are working on group projects, due Monday, so they were capable of staying in class without me to finish the projects up). To complicate matters further, Brad had a mandatory conference call from 10:15-11:15. So, while I went in to my class, Brad sat in the car on his call, in the Brookhaven parking lot, with Benjamin in the back seat. He had to drive around a bit toward the end of the half hour I was in class, when Benjamin got restless.
• 11:00 – I jumped in the car, and we headed to the airport – right on time again! I had hoped Benjamin would fall asleep while I was in my class, but he didn’t. But at least he slept for the 20 minute drive to DFW.
• 11:30 – We arrived at Terminal C, and could only find a parking spot on the very top level. I mention this because it will make life difficult for me when we get home. Why? Because there is no pedestrian ramp, no elevator. And there are three flights of stairs! How am I going to get Benjamin in his stroller, to the car, along with a suitcase and two carry on bags? A friendly American Airlines employee suggested that I carry Benjamin up the stairs before getting my luggage from baggage claim, and drive the car to one hour parking for easier loading. I’m sure I’ll let you know how it goes. As we unloaded the car, we decided not to bring our own car seat, because we literally didn’t have enough arms to carry everything. (Instead, we rented a car seat from Hertz.) This will make my life easier on the return trip. We made it through security with no problems, and set off to find our gate.
• 12:00 – Brad and I grabbed some sandwiches for lunch, and we had just enough time to feed Benjamin his lunch and change his diaper before the call to board at 12:30.
• 1:00 – Take off time. I was a little anxious about this part because of Benjamin’s ear infection. At his appointment earlier this week, his pediatrician was throwing out phrases like “possible tear in his ear drum” and “you’ll know from the goop coming out of his ear” and “would require surgical repair.” All of these were in reference to what can happen on an airplane take off and landing when too much pressure builds up in the ear (because of all the fluid from the infection). Thankfully, we had our arsenal of defense ready: a dose of Tylenol and ear drops beforehand, a bottle of milk, a sippy cup of water, a bowl of corn puffs, a pacifier (not so useful since he hasn’t used one since he was two months old), and various teething toys. I am happy to report that we’ve seen no goop in our sweet boy’s ears. And Benjamin didn’t seem to be phased by the whole ordeal of altitude changes and the other weird sensations that come with flying. He was more bothered by the dry air, and thus drank a lot of water (resulting in a leaky diaper and a change of clothes – thank goodness I was prepared!).
• 1:20 central to 2:20 pacific – The flight went… okay. The main reason I won’t give it flying colors? Benjamin didn’t sleep. At all.   That made for an exhausting flight for me and Brad. Benjamin’s favorite activity was throwing his toys and sippy cup on the floor, so our challenge became catching the objects mid flight, so they wouldn’t fall on the germ-ridden floor, hit someone in the head, or disappear all together. Thankfully, he also enjoyed flipping through books and magazines, and listening to Brad’s ipod (he would smile and dance when he heard a good song.) Amazingly, the flight went by rather quickly, but Brad and I were exhausted from constantly entertaining Benjamin and wrestling to keep him in our arms. At least we had an extra seat in between us, and he was generally happy, as long as we didn’t try to make him go to sleep.
• 2:45-5:00 – It took awhile, but we finally got situated in our rental car, and Brad installed the car seat. As I predicted, Benjamin promptly fell to sleep when we hit the road to Valencia. He got in a good 45 minute nap, which gave him his second wind for the rest of the day. On our way to the hotel we stopped at Walmart to buy some essentials (milk, baby food, corn puffs).
• 5:00-6:00 – We got settled in our suite at Embassy Suites. The room is really nice and well designed. There’s a kitchenette with a small fridge, a microwave, and a sink. There’s a desk where there’s room for both of our laptops. The sitting area has a comfy view of the large flat panel tv. And the bedroom is separate, which means we can hang out and relax in the main room after Benjamin goes to sleep (we’re sharing the bedroom with him). The only complication is that there’s no tub in the bathroom, only a walk in shower. And neither of the sinks has a drain that closes. So we had to figure out a way to stop up the drain for Benjamin’s sink bath last night.
• 6:00-7:30 – After we fed Benjamin dinner in the room (since his body and appetite were still on Central time), we headed to a nearby Macaroni Grill for dinner. Not exactly exciting, since there’s one around the corner from our house, but we like the food and were starving, plus it’s very kid friendly. Benjamin entertained himself by “coloring” (his version is more like dotting) on the paper table liner, and occasionally taking a taste of the crayons. He also managed to charm all the people around us, who commented on what a good, quiet, happy baby he is. Meanwhile, Brad and I enjoyed our dinner, and were even able to have some conversations!
• 7:30-10:00 – When we got back to the hotel, we bathed Benjamin, I gave him his bottle of milk, and then put him to bed. He was so exhausted that he went to sleep almost immediately, at 8:45. Pretty impressive that he stayed up until 10:45 central time, since he usually goes to bed by 9. Brad went to the pool for a swim, and then on to hang out for a bit with some new hires for his company who are staying at our hotel. I, on the other hand, got into my pjs and sat down to watch Lost! As always, I enjoyed it, although I was frustrated that I couldn’t fast forward through the commercials like I can on my Tivo at home. As soon as it ended, I went to bed. It was a long, tiring day, but I learned that I can handle Benjamin on a flight. Hopefully the trip home will be easier, not more difficult!
• Here are some pictures of our room. Sorry I don’t have any more exciting photos to share yet!

• Stay tuned for Day Two of our trip blog! Meanwhile, if you have some extra time on your hands, you can read about our first flight with Benjamin, last August, when we went to Denver: Benjamin’s First Flight