The beginning.

So lets get things started shall we? I'm starting this blog, and not really certain where it will be heading. I know a few things already.
1. I am a mom of three children. All four years apart. 8, 4, and 8 weeks today.
2. I love food. I love to cook. I don't ever follow recipes, and I often become obsessed with hunting for new and improved ways to feed myself and my family.
3. I like a good cocktail.

Maybe I should go back to the beginning? So let's start with this, October 2001 I got married. I had a fairytale wedding. And I'm not exaggerating. I got married at one of the Disney Hotels. By November 2001, I was pregnant with our surprise baby.
We were living in Seattle, with no family, and my husband was a temp at Microsoft. I was working for a local restaurant chain in their head office as a Marketing/Front office person. I hated it! But my husband loved his job. And when I got pregnant, his boss created a position for him to be hired on as a permanent employee. We were ecstatic to have this opportunity. To have health benefits, plus all of the extra perks one gets when they work for 'The Evil Empire'. So we stayed in Seattle although it wasn't where I wanted to be. We spent a lot of time being the typical first time parents. Ordering the crib at five months pregnant. Making all of the shopping trips to as many stores as possible to do research on car seats, bedding, strollers,  eating whatever the heck I wanted. We had no idea where life would take us. All we knew was we were about to have a baby girl in August 2002.
By November 2003 my husband got laid off from Microsoft. There we were with no family in town, an apartment, a 15 month old, a brand new car that we had JUST bought a few weeks earlier, and my husband got laid off. We made the decision rather quickly that we were done with Seattle and needed to get back to California. I didn't want to wait around and see what else could happen in Seattle, so within 20 days our lives were packed into boxes, and we were putting our daughter on an airplane to go back to California with my Mom. My husband and I packed up the car with the important things (computers, CDs, my shoes) and we drove our brand new car to our new lives.
We were offered a place to stay with my brother in law in San Diego. As unappealing as it seems to move in with family when you have your own family, this was actually the best thing that ever happened to us. Our daughter was in a home with three loving adults. And we were able to get on our feet and move forward. My husband did contract jobs and before we knew it we spent almost two years in San Diego sharing a house with my brother in law.
Then something happened. November 2005 I got pregnant again. This was also in the midst of my husband interviewing for jobs in the Bay Area. Not really serious planners are we? We tend to fly by the seat of our pants, and see what comes toward us. It has been difficult living that way, but it's how we roll.
This pregnancy was harder. From the moment I took that test I knew I was having a boy. This is also when all of a sudden my husband was offered a job in Marin. And took it. In the midst of a pregnancy we packed up our lives and moved our family North. And before we could get ourselves situated August 2006 brought us our baby boy.
We've made a great life for ourselves here in Marin. We had a perfect little family of four. One girl and one boy. The kids both love their schools. We have really great friends. We finally were able to purchase a second car. We have a great townhouse (rental) that has a nice neighborhood feel. The kids can run around outside and ride their bikes and I know they are happy. Last year I even started working a bit and contemplated going back to school, or perhaps start my own business. By trade I am a make-up artist but that is another story. I really got into the idea of working and creating beauty again.
On May 1, 2010 I was booked for an entire day to do hair and make up at this incredible wedding. I was up at 6AM that day, and was on my feet until midnight. I came home to a sad daughter with a tummy ache and all I could do was look at my husband and say "I can't. I have to go to bed. Now." It took me two days to recover from that amazing day of work. (And believe me it was worth it to do that work because if I do say so myself it was some of my BEST work ever!)
By Cinco de Mayo I had visions of tequila and guacamole dancing in my head. I then woke up and realized something. Something was off. My longing for coffee was absent. My usual morning-person perkiness was gone. My want of having nothing but coffee for hours on end was replaced with the sudden rush of I MUST HAVE A FRUIT SMOOTHIE RIGHT THIS SECOND! And then I dropped it all over the floor. What is up with the klutziness? And the need for fruit so early in the morning? Random. And then, the iPhone told me the date. And a lightbulb literally lit up above my head!

I'm pregnant.

Cocktail of the day: None