may be jinxing it

this week i am thankful for:

1. sleep, glorious sleep! we (finally) borrowed a bassinet from a friend, picked it up on sunday. and the kiddo has been going through a growth spurt and eating like nobody's business. i don't know if it is the bassinet, or that she is so tired from growing, or that she is tanking up so much at night and doesn't need to feed as often in the wee hours, but since sunday she has slept through the night. six to eight hours straight each night. maybe it's a combination of the three. maybe i'm jinxing it by mentioning it, but i have felt amazing this week and hope this continues.

2. mommy + me group. such a neat group of women and the cutest kiddos ever.

3. being a good citizen and paying my taxes, because now the government is sending me disability checks, which are really helping me stay home with the kiddo. i paid in to the system and now it is paying back to me. nice.

summer in the city

this week i am thankful for:

1. a lovely afternoon spent with my sister in the city, even though the kiddo decided to be a bit fussy. i wish we lived closer to that girl.

2. blue cheese, which i had not had in... 10 months? it was divine.

3. gorgeous weather, which makes the city even prettier. as soon as i saw the city skyline from the freeway in albany, i remembered how much i love san francisco and how much i miss living in the bay area. sf is even more fabulous on a beautiful day and today did not disappoint.

did they ever get us good

because we knew brian's leave was ending soon, we decided to take a trip over to the jelly belly factory in fairfield. it's no secret that jelly bellies are my favorite candy ever and i've been wanting to take a tour of the factory in the worst way for the longest time.


we got there just in time to browse the lobby a bit and get in for the last tour of the day. we're not moving very quickly these days with the kiddo and all. there was a ton of ronald reagan memorabilia (he famously loved jelly bellies also!) as well as jelly belly art, "mosaics" made with jelly bellies.


then we took the tour. unfortunately photography is not allowed on the tour but let me tell you how neat it was! i love seeing how things are made and this did not disappoint. there was a room full of huge kettles for melting sugar, right across from stacked pallets of sugar and 2,000-pound bags of cornstarch.


we saw the huge machines sorting out the beans that were too small and too large, and other irregular beans. these are called belly flops. i love that. the factory goes through 85,000 pounds of sugar in an 8-hour period, by the way. c&h comes by every morning to refill two huge silos outside. they also use real oils and flavors in the beans. for example, the chocolate beans are made with real dark chocolate, and the jalapeño ones have real pepper oil. also, the flavor is in the bean itself, not just the hard shell, unlike most other jelly beans.


after the tour of course we browsed in the shop. they sell each individual flavor in bulk which i like because then i can make myself a mixed bag without the yucky flavors like licorice. (that's how we were able to do jelly bellies in only our wedding colors as our wedding favors.) this is where they get you: the tour itself is free, and they even give you a free bag of jelly bellies at the end. we spent way too much money in that shop. man do i love those jelly bellies.

the factory also makes much more than just jelly bellies. chocolate and gummies are two we saw loads of. if you're ever in the bay area, the factory tour is a fun way to spend an afternoon.

for your consideration

this week i am thankful for:

1. making it through the first month with my sanity [mostly] intact.

2. my considerate husband, who always holds the door for me, which is more than i can say for some men when i am walking into the bank with a baby in my arms.

3. a well-stocked freezer. brian isn't doing much in the way of cooking and fast food gets old very quickly.

success!

brian got a promotion!

so proud of you, honey!

these four walls are driving me insane. fresh air needed. now.

this week i am thankful for:

1. mil, who is so wonderfully supportive and encouraging and fun, and even babysat monday night so brian and i could get out and see a movie. there is life after children after all.

2. brian, for giving me time-outs when i need them.

3. mommy + me network. it's nice to be somewhere where the baby's screams aren't a bother, and where other women are going through the same things i am. plus, it gets me out of the house.

happy birthday

to the wonderful man i am lucky enough to call my husband, whom my daughter is lucky enough to call her father. i love you, sweetie.