The things that make me ..err.. Jaidan happy!

I am a member of MOPS - mothers of preschoolers - a group for moms that meets regularly at a local church twice a month. This morning we held what is called "MOPSwap," a FREE exchange of clothes, toys, home decor, etc. Well, as soon as we started "shopping," I spotted a great little kitchen center. Now, I've been looking at buying a kitchen center for weeks - I thought it would be a perfect birthday present for Jaidan - and here was an absolutely free kitchen in great condition! I snapped it right up.

It's amazing what gets me excited these days. A train set on Craigslist, a discounted pair of kids shoes, a free kitchen... I used to feel that way when I found a pair of designer jeans (for myself) on sale. Another change that comes with motherhood, I guess!

Happy Birthweeks Manish!

We don't just celebrate birthdays around here - our celebrations can last over a course of a week - or in Manish's case - two weeks! The festivites started a couple of weeks ago when I took him to a fabulous Italian restaurant in Fort Worth called Nonna Tata. On Sunday the 7th, Manish's actual birthday, we had a lovely birthday lunch with the family at my parents' house. The big finale was this past weekend when Manish's best friend Chris and his wife Neerali (Manish's friend since childhood) flew in from Philly and surprised him for the weekend! Little sis Sapna was also on hand - she arrived from New York. We had such great time - dinner at Joe T's, bowling, staying up into the wee hours and goofing off - just like the old days! Jaidan loved all the attention and excitement. Here are a few of the 'surprised Manish' moments caught on camera:

Pillow Fort!

Jaidan's newest favorite thing to do: pull all the pillows off the couch, throw them into a pile on the floor, and then roll and jump in his "fort."

Jaidan the Lion...err....again!

Some of you might remember that Jaidan dressed up as a lion last year. Well, the costume still fits and it cost $50, so guess what?? He's wearing it again. We had a great time at our neighbor's Halloween party. After some snacks to fill our bellies (so we won't eat too much candy) we went trick or treating around the block and to our annual neighborhood Halloween festival at the park. The weather was perfect and we also enjoyed a big screen viewing of the Rangers game at the park!

Typical - the men watch TV/check phone while moms play with the kids!

The girls decorating their treat bags!

Snack break!

Boo!

All aboard for treats!

Umm... scary or just plain weird?

First Haircut at a Salon

Jaidan's first real "haircut" was when he got a buzz cut in May, but when growing back it was looking shaggy, so we decided to take him to a cutesy kids salon. We went thinking that he would do well sitting in a "car" barber chair while watching Elmo. Wrong. It was disastrous. He screamed most of the time and at the end, I had to keep him on my lap and hold his little head as still as I possibly could. The stylist did a great job though, and managed to give him a great cut. We tipped her well.

The first of a few pics before he had a meltdown...

The animal crackers distracted him for awhile .

He was happy once it was all over. The stylist dorked him out with this style but we spiked it up a bit once we got home!