www.micahandlindsey.com

Can I just say 20K…..

Remember how I was not allowed to take my mom to her surgery???  Well, Tristen was appointed and screwed up!  She drove my mom over at 6:00am, walked her in and then walked right out to take a nap in her car.  The kicker is that she wanted a “good” nap, so she turned her cell phone OFF!

After fully recovering, nobody could get ahold of my mom’s “contact person”, so the nurse had to come in and ask if she had been dropped off by herself again.  She disgustingly answered, “No…this is the sister of the girl who dropped me off in the street last time!”  I guess it is your turn Megan or Trilby.

Weighing in at 14 lbs. 9 oz…..Scout is four months old!  He currently is twice as hungry as he usually is, he can kind of scoot.  As long as he can get his foot caught on something and push off, he definitely has the strength to get places.  He also is getting more of a personality.  He smiles and coos quite a bit now, and he has a full blown screaming tantrum if he is hungry and can see his food in sight.  He can also stand completely up with my fingers as grip for a very long time. (He has actually done this for a while.)  He is so fun, and a great sidekick to always have along!

Every once in a while I can’t find Scout or Micah, and find them down in his office working away.  The cutest part is when Micah is talking to Scout and kind of gives him a play by play of what he is doing.  I love it!

My mom has to get surgery tomorrow, and there has been this palpable tension over the last few days.  I haven’t quite figured out what it was all about until this morning.  My sister Megan called and talked to my mom.  During the call my mom started laughing, so afterwards I asked what was so funny.  She told me that Megan was the third person to ask who was taking her to her surgery, because they all wanted to make sure it wasn’t me — how rude!  I thought it was funny that Tristen was taking off work, Trilby is coming home early from her job, and even Micah’s name has been mentioned for some pitching in, but I have never been asked or even told about the surgery in the first place! (I heard it through the grapevine) 

Apparently it all stems back to three years ago.  My mom was getting a different minor surgery and I was elected to take her.  Because it was minor (she defends it with, “but I still had to go under!”), I didn’t think it was a very big deal to go into the hospital with her.  And instead of having to go through the hassle of getting a ticket, driving through the whole parking lot, and then waiting in the long line of cars to go out….I just pulled a fast U-Turn and dropped her off on the sidewallk outside of the hospital.  I thought nothing of it until I came home a few hours later to ridicule, mean phone messages and looks of disgust by everyone.  Whoops, I guess I should have gone in.

Everyone thought I had learned my lesson on being compassionate, until a few months ago.  I was taking my mom to a doctor’s appt. and found that the whole area and parking structure was under construction.  I turned around and went to an adjacent parking lot where she could walk to her building.  When we pulled in she looked at me and was silent.  I asked her if it was a problem if she just walked, and to my surprise she got out, started closing the car door and said, “YES”!  Whoops, I should have gone in.

So I guess I am lucky???  At least I am off the hook for taking her anymore.  But does she really want Tristen to take her?  Last time Tristen had her, she made my mom write out her will on a little piece of paper she scrounged up….and had it “witnessed” by two other patients waiting to be admitted.  Interestingly…Tristen ended up with everything.

Scout just in the last week has discovered his hands and is starting to grab things.  The ironic part is that I NEVER wear jewelry besides my wedding ring, and I just recently got a necklace that I will wear all the time.  He has already found it and always has his little fist tightly wrapped around it, and every time Skylar has him he comes away with a handful of hair.  He is also starting to grab at toys and objects which keeps him pretty entertained for a bit!  It is very exciting!

For Lindsey’s 31st birthday dinner, she went, as she likes to say, “out of the box”–the cereal box that is.

First, we started with dessert.  Pat made a delicious pineapple upside-down cake–Lindsey’s second in as many days–and we devoured it instantly. 

Once the cake was sufficiently settled in our stomachs, we moved to the main course which was both a meal and an event.  But not a bit healthier than the cake. 

To end all childhood debates, we created the first-ever Sugar Cereal Bowl.  The competition that would determine once-and-for-all which Sugar Cereal is the greatest. 

 The six judges were selected from thousands of candidates; each possessed a sensitive palate and an iron stomach–or so they claimed.  Each judge had two bowls, one spoon, and a selection of milks that included 2%, skim, and vanilla soy.  In each pairing, judges could eat as much of each cereal as needed to determine their favorite of the two.  Excess milk and cereal would be deposited into the Junk Bowl between rounds.   

16 cereals were separated into two regions and four divisions, the pairing selections for the 1st round were selected randomly as follows:

Wheaties Region
Tony the Tiger Division
Honeycomb
Apple Jacks
Sugar Free Cinnamon Toast Crunch
Cocoa Puffs

Count Chocula Division
Peanut Butter Cap’n Crunch
Froot Loops
Cinnamon Toast Crunch
Chocolate Lucky Charms

Special K Region
Snap, Crackle, & Pop Division
Trix
Reese’s Puffs
Cap’n Crunch
Fruity Pebbles

Honey Bee Division
Apple Cinnamon Cheerios
Lucky Charms
Cookie Crisp
Cap’n Crunch Berries

Divisional Semi-Finals
The competition got started in the Tony the Tiger division, as Apple Jacks beat Honeycomb by a unanimous 6-0 vote, and Cocoa Puffs narrowly defeated Reduced Sugar Cinnamon Toast Crunch in a 3-3 tie breaker (Lindsey’s pick won). 

In the other half of the Wheaties region, Froot Loops beat Peanut Butter Cap’n Crunch by a 4-2 margin, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch easily defeated Chocolate Lucky Charms 4-1 in the Count Chocula division.

The toughest division appeared to be Snap, Crackle, & Pop with four strong contenders–including both of Lindsey’s pre-competition favorites, Reese’s Puffs and Fruity Pebbles.  Reese’s Puffs defeated Trix 4-2, and in the upset of the competition, Cap’n Crunch defeated Fruity Pebbles 3-2.

Apple Cinnamon Cheerios somehow snuck into the Honey Bee division (named after its sister cereal’s mascot), but there would be no nepotism here.  In back-to-back landslides, Lucky Charms defeated Apple Cinnamon Cheerios 6-0 and Cap’n Crunch Berries defeated Cookie Crisp 5-0. 

Divisional Finals
By the time we reached the divisional finals three of the six judges had relinquished their positions.  Calin, Trilby, and Tristen had all dropped out due to stomach ailments, taste bud numbness, or any of another dozen excuses that none could back up with scientific evidence.  Only Micah, Lindsey, and Skylar remained to determine the Sugar Cereal Champion.

In the Tony the Tiger division, Apple Jacks destroyed Cocoa Puffs 3-0 to earn its place in the Wheaties regional finals.

In the Count Chocula division, Froot Loops smeared Cinnamon Toast Crunch 3-0 and earned a trip to the Wheaties regional finals.

In the Snap, Crackle, & Pop division, which was suddenly wide open, Reese’s Puffs narrowly defeated Cap’n Crunch 2-1 and saw its way to the Special K regional finals where it would meet Cap’n Crunch Berries who had waltzed into the regional finals with a 3-0 victory over Lucky Charms.

Regional Finals
The regional finals were both heated battles, worthy of all the pre-taste hype surrounding the event.  Froot Loops was the first to reach the Sugar Cereal Championship by defeating Apple Jacks 2-1 in a fierce battle that was not without its share of controversy.  Rumors of judge tampering ran rampant after Skylar appeared to change her vote to match Lindsey’s; slow-motion replay could neither confirm nor deny the accusations so the results stood as reported.  However the voting process would be changed to a blind vote for the remainder of the competition.

The Special K regional final was an epic slugfest.  Cap’n Crunch Berries defeated Reese’s Puffs 2-1 setting the stage for the long-awaited Sugar Cereal Championship.

Championship
The Championship was a battle of cereal heavyweights.  Froot Loops, the lone survivor from the Wheaties region, squared off against the Special K region champ Cap’n Crunch Berries. 

Lindsey had voted for the winning cereal in each of the preceding 14 matches, so odds makers anxiously awaited her vote.  Tension mounted when she revealed that she had voted for Cap’n Crunch Berries, but in a late charge Froot Loops cornered the final two votes to claim the first-ever Sugar Cereal Championship. 

Talk about a perfect birthday!  You made it so fun, nice and relaxing…just the way I like it. XOXO

Exhausted after a long day’s work!

When Susi asked Gary what he wanted for his birthday, his response was….”mom, the only thing I want for my birthday is to go to L.A. with you and Lindsey, go shopping and have some good food.”

So what Gary wanted is what Gary got!  Susi, Gary and I (+Scout) all headed up to L.A. for a day of shopping and hanging out.  Tristen and Brit were on their way home from a “Thelma and Louise” weekend drive to Santa Barbara in the convertible, and ended up meeting us there — a fun addition to the day!  We all met up in Hollywood, and the fun began!

 First Stop…Marc Jacobs

We all got darling Marc Jacobs bags/totes that are great for a night away, the beach, or anything else you may need a great bag for.  We also got wrist bags that fit all of the essentials perfectly in case I need to just “run out”.  I picked black patent leather for the bag, and red patent leather for the wrist bag.  I also got Micah a cute shirt, the girls great school totes and other goodies for different people.

Second Stop….Fred Segal / Free City

We all got the GREATEST sweatpants ever!  Free City is a little side shop to Fred Segal with the comfiest and cooziest sweatpants and shirts ever!  We were all having so much fun picking out our different colors and sizes.  I ended up with green, alongside Tristen and Susi.  Brit and G both got mustard yellow, and Micah got a black pair!  Gary was so excited about this stop because he knows I am a girl who loves to come home and curl up in my sweats!  These honestly should be on Oprah’s Favorite Things show. (Also note that the paparazzi was camped outside to see Elle MacPherson come out.)

Third Stop…..Helen Ficcolora

(they are all in gold, and one heart is 1/2 the size of the other…too bad I am horrible with a camera and couldn’t just take the stinking picture!)

Gary gave me a heart HF necklace two years ago for my B-Day.  I guess it was about time to update the necklace with some more adorable charms.  I ended up with a crown with three little diamonds in it and another heart - but a mini one.  Micah is the big heart, I am the crown and Scout is the mini heart.  It is SO cute, and we had the best time looking at everything and trying everything on!  Tristen and Brit got butterfly best-friend charms, Sus got the cutest pearl bracelet/necklace (Tristen and I got it for her in honor of Pearl Leigh Seastrand that is currently in Britni’s tummy….hence the later post because i wasn’t allowed to announce the baby until Jason knew!), and G Funk got a very cool I.D. bracelet that he is going to engrave on.  He keeps going back and forth on what it will say, but the latest is “8-21-07″ representing the best birthday he’s ever had!

Last Stop…The Ivy

We ate at The Ivy and had a fabulous meal.  The restaurant was quaint and had a really homey feel.  The food was spectacular.  The lobster ravioli, ceasar salad and onion rings were to die for! I don’t always think the celebrity hot spots are all that great, but this place can cook!  Our waiter was really good and funny…when I asked to have the same thing Paris Hilton orders, he asked me if I really did want a tic tac and diet coke!  Great stop to eat!

Because we had two cars, Gary and I drove home with the top down in the convertible.  We blasted the heat, blared the music, and sang our way home!  Good Times!

I would like to note that Scout was along for the festivities, and he was perfect!  He did not cry, he did not fuss, he just sat and enjoyed the day as much as we all did.  At the Ivy, Gary and I were sitting on the bench with pillows behind us.  We propped Scout up and he sat there enthralled in everything that was happening for over 2 hours!  Everyone commented on how calm and cool he was, and I just smiled and answered, “I taught him everything he knows!”  That is when Tristen and Britni both rolled their eyes!

Happy, Happy Birthday Gary……let’s do it again for my birthday!

HOW EXCITED CAN I BE…..BRITNI IS PREGNANT, AND SCOUT IS SOON TO MEET HIS FUTURE WIFE!!!