Man Up

Blog awards are a great thing. I like 'em, but I don't always understand them right away. When A Duck In Her Pond, Omah's Helping Hands, Mrs. D. Lightful, Under the Sheets-Shhh, and Memoirs of the Queen Bee all passed along this lovely award to us, I thought, gosh, I am just not sure how I turn lemons to lemonade.

I thought and I thought. The trouble is, when life becomes a bit too hectic, I sometimes see my glass half empty, rather than half full. I'm not always the best at making lemonade.

Thankfully, my son, Giancarlo did not inherit his mother's tendencies. I'd even dare to say that he is pretty good at making lemonade...

Last week, I gave Giancarlo a small bowl of popcorn to snack on after his nap. As I was working on dinner, he ran into the kitchen and said that he had "somethin' up his nose." "Get a Kleenex," I replied. "Mama is cooking right now."

Dutifully, he ran to the bathroom and tried his best to resolve the problem on his own. He wasn't successful and soon began yelling for me to help him. I stopped what I was doing, choked back my gag reflex, and tried to figure out what has up his nose. I couldn't find a thing.

I attempted to coax Giancarlo back into the living room with an offer to put on a movie. "But Mama, it's still in there," he said. "Mama tried, Giancarlo, but she couldn't help you. You're just going to have to man up. Maybe you can figure this one out."

After 10 very quiet minutes, Giancarlo returned to the kitchen, completely triumphant with an unpopped corn kernel on the end of this finger. "Look, Mama, I got it. I got the popped popcorn out of my nose. Should we save it to show Dad?"

My little boy could not have been more pleased with himself.

Now it's your turn. To play along:

1) Put the logo on your blog or post.
2) Nominate at least 10 blogs that show great attitude or gratitude.
3) Link to your nominees within your post.
4) Let the nominees know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5) Share the love and link to the person from who you received your award.

Passing along the award love onto....

1) Sherrie at Boogers, Screams, Headaches, & Dreams
2) Jeannie at My Two Cents
3) Jolene at The Little Things in Life
4) Mommy-MoMo
5) Laura at A Form of Therapy
6) Julie at The Sporadic Cook
7) Kel at Girl in the Glasses
8) Girl On A Journey
9) ~OuR cRaZeE LiFe........ tHe JeNsEnS~
10) Heather at A Day With Jake

-Francesca

Really, 25?

Have you seen the latest in social networking? It seems that a little something called tags is circulating around sites such as Facebook. Now my thoughts and opinions regarding Facebook are numerous, but I will save them for another day...say like, Monday.

In the interim, let's take a look at this tag: write 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about yourself.

No problem. We've even followed up on similar tags during our "early" blogging days (aka October and November 2008). See for yourself: 7 bits of randomness + another 15 = 22 fun and interesting facts about the Three Bay B Chicks that are guaranteed to make your life more complete after reading.

Recently, we were tagged by a few of our favorite buddies in blogland, True Love is a Mama, My Confessions of Craziness, and A Nut in a Nutshell, for another "random" post. However, I also received an e-mail stating that I had been tagged for not 7, not 12, but 25 points of randomness. Really, 25? It seems like such a long list. In addition, this particular tag originated from Facebook, and not from blogland.

Who would tag me in Facebook? Doesn't this person understand that I am fully committed to all things blog related and would never betray Blogger for another site?

Who would commit such an act of insanity?

None other than my blogging partner-in-crime, Miss Kacey.

In honor of this criminal tag, I have decided to pass along the list of 25 random things that Kacey wrote in Facebook.

I naturally took a few editorial privileges...

1. Kacey hearts big cities and is not convinced that the suburbs are a place where she or her family should buy a home. This could stem from growing up in small town and not loving it.
2. She is somewhat of an extremist when it comes to pens. Sadly, this means that her husband, Tyler, is not allowed to use her special pen collection since he is not an "up and down" writer.
3. Kacey is going to be super excited to read that I wrote this post in her honor.
4. She prefers the pool to the beach since she does not like sand touching her feet.
5. Rain makes Kacey paralyzed; she is not a fan.
6. Kacey is not an animal lover and has a hard time understanding people’s connection to their pets.
7. She will not eat anything with mayonnaise, raisins, walnuts, or bananas in it.
8. She enjoys cooking, but not grocery shopping. She is also a whiz at ordering take-out.
9. When Kacey was three, she accidentally locked herself in a closet while showing a friend her new Glowworm. Although they managed to get out after about 45 minutes, she is still scared of the dark.
10. Kacey and I were camp counselors to a cabin full of 5th graders while we were in high school. Here we are at age 16, before getting beaten down by our own group of 8 and 9 year olds for a week.
    
    

11. Kacey adores it when I post photos from our childhood on the Internet.
12. While pregnant with Emi, she ate a McDonald’s hot fudge sundae everyday.
13. Kacey was not convinced that she was having a girl while pregnant with Emi, even though the technician said he was 99% sure.
14. Kacey does not look her age. It is a gift. Many people think her younger sister, Mindy, is actually older than her.
15. Kacey first met Mindy when she was three years old. She decided right away that she did not like her. Lucky for Mindy, the opinion of that three year old did not stick. The two sisters are now very close.
16. Kacey's good friend, Francesca, has a very short attention span and is getting tired of this list.
17. Kacey loves "bad" television. The Hills, The City, Gossip Girl, The Bachelor, and Cheaters are all on her TiVo.
18. She'll watch any movie with Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Sean Penn, or Benicio Del Toro.
19. Scary movies are not her friend.
20. Kacey married her junior prom date. (Francesca is still searching for the photo to post on the Internet.)
21. Kacey and Tyler have not been together continually since that fateful junior prom date.
22. While living in New York, Kacey witnessed the September 11th tragedy from her workplace. It was a very long, scary, and sad, sad day.
23. Never in a million years did she think that she would become a teacher, but she really loves it.
24. Kacey taught English in Osaka, Japan for two years. Unfortunately, she came back to the U.S. still speaking only English.
25. Kacey loves her new iPhone, but hates actually talking on it.

Whew! We made it to number 25. (So glad that I decided not to write this about myself.)

Now, we are supposed to tag 25 people. Ack! If I simply provide you with a list of 25 blogs, would you click on the links? Honestly, I probably would not.

Must. make. this. entertaining.

I will follow Stesha's lead, from Hot Chocolate Carmel Mocha, and try to make this more interesting.

I came up with a short description for each of the sites we are tagging. These are not the actual blog names. You will have to click on the links to figure out who these bloggers really are:

1. A princess inspired by the Nutcracker ballet
2. The biggest Twilight and Edward fan ever
3. A Mom who makes miracles on Mondays
4. A motley crew with fabulous design
5. A Mom living in Poland away from the essentials of peanut butter cups, chocolate chips, and real hamburgers
6. Where to find your muse
7. Possibly domestically challenged, but always exceptionally fun
8. A blogger who plants smiles in between the corn rows
9. A winner
10. A bucket that is half full and never half empty
11. A scrapbooker with flair
12. A Mom with two boys and a happy heart
13. A blogger with Miles to go
14. A super tan, skiing, cowgirl with attitude
15. The girl who has heard every blonde joke ever told
16. A Mom in a divine treehouse
17. If there was a problem, yo, she'll solve it
18. The sweetest girl of them all
19. The American Idol guru who is anything but grey
20. A misplaced west coast girl living in Texas
21. A near-sighted Green Bay Packer fan who plays the flute and the oboe
22. Everything from a baby's perspective
23. Out of nine lives, this Mom is on life #7
24. A wealth of useless and not witty information
25. A funny biyatch

Rules:
Once you've been tagged, write a post naming 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about yourself.
Tag 25 bloggers, as well as the person who originally tagged you.

25 anything is an awfully long list. If you can make it to 10, I think you are doing just fine.

-Francesca

What's Love Got To Do With It?

Back in November, our very good friend, Wendy at Green Girl Art, tagged us with a meme for 75 loves. I followed up on the tag a third of the way at the time, posting a list of Giancarlo’s loves.

Although a few months have passed, I thought the week of Valentine’s Day would be an appropriate time to return to this meme and post another 25 items.

I have been giving this tag my upmost thought and consideration. During the time of year when everything is red and pink, coated in chocolate, and accompanied by flowers, what should I write about? Lucia’s loves, my loves, celebrity loves gone bad?

What about 25 things I love to hate? Now that might be interesting…

1. Loud cell phone users
2. Taxes
3. Folding laundry
4. Junk mail
5. Telemarketers
6. Driving down the freeway in what is no longer your clean car because the vehicle in front of you just cleaned their windshield
7. Caillou
8. People who should check their luggage prior to boarding an airplane, but instead try to shove it into the overhead compartment, while you are standing in line, waiting to get to your seat
9. Missing garbage day
10. Really bad reality TV on VH1 that I can’t help but watch
11. The minutes after your child is given a vaccination shot
12. Getting your teeth cleaned
13. The mommy pooch that suddenly takes up permanent residence on your body after you have a baby
14. Target on a Saturday morning
15. Parents who do nothing to reign in their obnoxious or out-of-control children
16. The phrases, “It’s not you, it’s me” and “We can still be friends.”
17. Pop-ups on your computer, even after you have installed every piece of spyware on the planet
18. The end piece from a sliced loaf of bread
19. Identity theft
20. The little old lady in the parking lot of the grocery store who clearly can’t see over the dashboard of her Lincoln Continental, but somehow manages to swipe the parking spot you have been patiently waiting for
21. Guests on the Jerry Springer Show
22. Mondays
23. Lost…Three words: time traveling island
24. Negotiating where to spend the holidays after you are married and, even more so, after you have kids
25. Moving

Before I forward the meme along, here is a quick recap of Wendy's rules:

1. List things you love.
2. Choose a number that is significant to you. For example, 100, the year you were born, the day you were born, {you get the picture}. If you feel like writing a lot, go for it. If not, then cut back by choosing a suitable number.
3. Tag 3 people.

Since there are three of us here by the bay, I will go the extra mile and tag 3 people for each of us.

Forwarding the love onto....

Tiburon at Shark Bait (Think of this as the playground at 3:00. Bring it!)
Kim at The Mommy Machine
Stephanie at Baseballs and Tutus
Nicole at Here's the Diehl
Pam at Twenty Little Piggies
Anna at Addison Marie
Jane Anne at Gravity of Motion
Karen at Mommy, I'm Home
Sue Q at The Quack Shack

-Francesca

A Photo Montage

The lovely Peach Out of Water tagged us. The assignment: Open your fifth photo folder and post your fifth photo.

This should be an easy task for someone who has their photos properly organized either on-line or on their desktop. However, if you are someone like me, whose photos exist in literally 5 different locations, then how do you choose?

I commenced my search using the photos saved on our desktop.

Wow! A prime example of how we have more photos of my husband's home improvement projects, than we do of our children. Pictured here is the pizza oven that Geoff is building in our backyard.

Surely I can do better. How about the photos on our external hard-drive?

Another photo taken by Geoff. This is of his 1975 Harley Davidson Sportster in our garage. Not a single person to speak of, but maybe our blog will get an additional hit or two when someone's Google search goes astray.

Still looking. Perhaps the Shutterfly account?

Now we are getting somewhere. A photo of Thuy, Geoff, me, and the rear of my beloved bulldog, Monty, taken during a luau party we threw about six years ago.

And yet, I feel compelled to do more. Peach regulary sets the blogging bar very high. Her ability to capture her children on film, whether in the middle of a cry or just spending time playing dress up at home, can only be described as a gift. Her response to this photo tag was no different.

Given that Peach posted a Halloween picture, I will return the favor:

Here we are on Halloween, two years ago. Giancarlo was the lion to my Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. Even though I did have a pair of ruby red slippers, there were a few differences between me and Dorothy...the most obvious being that I was 8 months pregnant. Note that the elastic waistband on the dress is stretched as far as it can possibly go. I also had to wear a petticoat/slip since my costume wasn't exactly designed as part of a maternity line.

Giancarlo did learn how to roar as part of his Cowardly Lion responsibilities, though.

Passing the tag love onto five bloggers whose photos make me smile:

Not Too Sticky...
Tiaras and Tantrums
The Bagley Bunch Blog!
Angels Wings Baby
Julie at Tales of Two T's

-Francesca

Barbaloot Suit: The hunt for Kacey's teal prom dress continues. Much to my dismay, I discovered last night that I do not have a copy at my house. Rest assured, though, that my commitment to my mission remains true. I will be contacting her Mom to obtain a copy.

Those that are Fabulous

Stesha of Hot Chocolate Carmel Mocha recently passed along the Fabulous Blog Award to us. An award like this, from such a fabulous blogger, is wonderful. It made us definitely want to return to her cafe to read everything she has to say again, and again, and again.

The Rules:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.

2. Nominate at least 10 blogs that you think are fabulous.

3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.

4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.

5. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.

So what makes a blog fabulous? Is it the number of followers or how many hits the site receives? The answer is no.

In our world, what makes a blog fabulous is its ability to evoke some sort of emotion. Make us laugh, make us cry, make us think, tell us a story, entertain us. That is what these blogs do...

1. Suburb Sanity: To say that Debbie of Suburb Sanity is funny does not do her justice. The woman is HI.LAR.IOUS. Her recent post on exercising had us in tears. (Are you looking at the photo of the yoga ball holder?) Debbie also takes an unique approach to memes and tags, which you know is something we adore.

2. Pulsipher Predilections: The great commenter, known as Kristina P., is everywhere you want to be on the internet. Her ability to visit thousands of blogs a day is amazing. However, Kristina P. is much more than simply a cyber-BFF to the masses. She is also incredibly goal-oriented and a giver.

3. Hello World It's Me: There is so much fabulousness to read from bloggers outside of the U.S. Nadine is the perfect example. She is a Dutch, working Mom, who writes better than most Americans we know.

4. I Need a Martini Mom: When Vodka Mom reads that we passed along an award to her, her response will probably be something along the lines of "WTF? I don't give a rat's ass about these things." However, we'll still love her anyway.

5. The Doan Gang: It can sometimes be difficult to read a blog that is primarily about one family's day-to-day life. Without a personal connection to the blogger, photos and antedotes are simply lost on the reader. However, Misty's fabulousness comes from being easy to relate to and always oh-so-fashionable.

6. Follow Our Journey: Cindy is a Mom to triplets. From what we understand, that means that she had and is raising three children, all the same age, all at the same time. If you take a moment to log onto her site, be sure to read her profile. I have read it at least a dozen times and it still makes me smile every time.

7. Too Much Information: We heart Tara for this post. What is not to love about a fellow child of the 80's? And the fact that she has been "bringing raisin' the roof back for years" makes her that much more fabulous.

8. Ummmm: Log onto this site. Please. You don't even have to read a single post. Just be awed by the brilliance that is PeeWee's sidebars.

9. Folky Musin's: I don't remember how we came across Deb's blog, but the best way to describe her is that she is a writer. Her approach to blogging is witty, funny, and always original.

10. The Misplaced Americans: Tales of an American Mom, her husband, and her three boys living in Brazil. She is a super hero who broadens our world.

Wow...10 blogs is a long list. Remind me to return the favor sometime, Stesha.

-Francesca

Just a Little Bit Quirky

An update and insider tip to the Three Bay B Chicks' blog:

To those who are interested in buying the Downtime Sleepy Hat pictured in this post, simply click on the photo. The link will take you directly to the company's website. In fact, to the extent that we can, all of the photos on our site are linked to where the item may be purchased.

Sundays are good for many things, like going out to eat breakfast, watching CBS Sunday Morning (love me some Charles Osgood), and big, Sunday night dinners. What is not to enjoy about a slow paced day before the work week starts?

Sundays are also good days for following up on tags. And so, the Three Bay B Chicks are following up on the last tag that was sent our way over Christmas. It came from Sandy at The Adams Family. Sandy is a lovely mother to five (yes, five) children and is currently experiencing technical difficulties in her life. Go give her some comment love today if you can.

The guidelines:

1. Link to the person that tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

Sandy, thank you very much for thinking of us, but we have to tell you that after giving this matter serious consideration, we have determined that we have no quirks. Yes, the Three Bay B Chicks are quirk-less. Our children, however, are a different matter entirely. At three years old and younger, they have a quirk or two to speak of...most likely inherited from our husbands.

Six Non-Important Things, Habits, Quirks about our Children:

1. Thuy's M has acquired a plethora of flying toys from his Dad, such as monkeys, bats, fireflies, and stunt flyers. M loves them all. Strangely, his mother does not.

2. Kacey has been trying to teach Emi sign language for months, and depending on how you interpret the results, may have achieved success. Emi understands many signs, especially the word for "please." Whatever Kacey signs the word "please", Emi not only throws things at her mother out of frustration, but she has recently also started crying.

3. At one point or another, Giancarlo, Emi, and M have all slept better for their care givers than they have for their own parents.

4. Emi requires complete darkness in order to take a nap. This is most likely due to the sleeper hat (pictured here) that she wore as an infant.

5. Giancarlo refuses to use blankets whenever he sleeps. Instead, he prefers to lay on top of a pillow and then have one or two pillows covering him for warmth.

6. After months of attempting to teach Lucia sign language, Francesca is on the verge of giving up. Rather than using the "all done", "get up", or "no more eating" signs, Lucia prefers to simply arch her back and scream to convey that she wants out of her highchair.

Now we will pass the tag love onto:

1. Mary Moore at Holy Mackerel
2. Laura at The Smith Corner
3. The Sustainable Backyard
4. Anji at I Wasn't Born a Soccer Mom
5. Laura at LAURASCOOP
6. Megan at The Hastings Family

Enjoy your Sunday!

-Francesca

2009 New Year's Spirit Award

As the days to the Christmas holiday approached, the Three Bay B Chicks were lucky to receive a number of awards and tags from our friends in blog-land. Although these coincided with our brief hiatus from the blogosphere, we are excited to have been recognized and are committed to keeping the tag love moving along.

One of the awards we received was from Tammy Jackson at Omah's Helping Hands. She passed along the 2008 Christmas Spirit Award. The caveat was that you must be a true Christmas lover to receive the award. What fun!

Tammy, we thank you for your lovely award and apologize that we weren't able to follow-up in a more timely manner. BUT WAIT, in true Three Bay B Chicks fashion, we'll tweak things a bit and make it work! Thus, we give you...

The 2009 New Year's Spirit Award!

The rules will be modeled after the 2008 Christmas Spirit Award. Thus...

1. You must be a true lover of the New Year to receive this award. The person to whom you give the award must also be in love with the New Year.
2. List 5 things that you love about the New Year. If you can't limit it to 5 things, then keep going till you run out of space.
3. Pass the award along to as many people as you like. That can be 1 or 50. It's up to you! But keep the New Year cheer going.
4. Let your recipients know that you have tagged them by leaving a comment on their site. Also, link back to the person who gave you the award.

Here are the five things that I love about the New Year:

1. I love that hope springs eternal in the New Year. For the entire month of January, I truly believe that I can lose weight, be better organized, save more money, and be wiser about my investments.

2. I love TV during the month of January. Morning shows, such as Good Morning, America and The Today Show, along with the endless string of Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig commercials, all help me to perpetuate my belief in my ability to be a better human being.

3. I love the "Year in Review" news stories. Which famous people died, what were the biggest news stories of the year, what were the top 10 songs of the year? Any story that begins with the words "top ten", I am guaranteed to watch, listen to, or read.

4. I love the calm and quiet that comes with the New Year. After all of the frantic shopping, gift giving, visiting with family and friends, and plain ole making the season merry and bright, I need a break. January offers this.

5. Presidential Holidays. What is not to love about having a shortened work/school week?

Since the countdown to the New Year starts at the number 10, I will pass this award onto 10 fun and fabulous blogs:

10. My Confessions of Craziness
9. Joy to the Blog
8. Handful of Blessings
7. What a Trip!
6. A Nut in a Nutshell
5. Hot Chocolate Caramel Mocha
4. Be Different...Act Normal
3. The High Family
2. Confessions of a Yummy Mummy
1. It's a Zog World

(Did you countdown the numbers in your head?)

Happy New Year to All!

-Francesca

Fa La La La La....La La La La

To say that December is a busy month for my family and for me is not entirely accurate. Somehow, my lifelong love of the Christmas holiday managed to get the best of me over the years. My husband and I now celebrate most of our major events within the course of 30 days. L’s birthday is on December 13th, our anniversary is on December 21st, and G’s birthday is on December 22nd. It’s a bit chaotic, but we make it work.

Because of this, I often find myself lost in a flurry of details and unable to really enjoy this time of year much. Whitney's Christmas greeting, which arrived in the form of a Deck the Halls Meme, was exactly what I needed. It reminded me of the little joys that make up this wonderful season.

Egg nog or hot chocolate?
Egg nog. My Mom has the best recipe in the world. Have you ever had homemade egg nog? It really is heaven in a cup. I’ll post the recipe sometime soon.

Does Santa wrap presents or set them under the tree?
He is absolutely wrapping the gifts. If Santa and his elves could not get it together enough to wrap gifts, there would be words.

Colored lights on tree or white?
Ahh, the great debate. My husband adamantly prefers white lights and I come from colored lights people. This year, we have colored lights on our tree. For the past eight years, they have been white. My time has finally arrived!

When do you put your decorations up?
It is a gradual process. The tree is usually up first, sans decorations, for at least a week. Currently, our house is decorated, the tree is up (with a patch of decorations on the bottom portion where G decorated), and the stockings are in a heap on the couch. (I still need to find the stocking hangers.)

What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
Crab cakes. My mom makes them every year for dinner on Christmas Eve. She makes the tartar sauce too. Delish! Another recipe that I need to post.

Favorite holiday memory as a child:
Holiday celebrations with my Mom’s extended family at my grandmother’s house. She had a lovely, lovely three-story home. There were tons of kids, tons of food, and hours of story telling. I miss those days.

When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
I wrote about this in a previous post entitled Random Facts. See #4.

Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Not so much. I am all about extending the holiday as long as possible.

How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
Sporadically and over the course of a few weeks. Geoff does the lights and I work on the ornaments with the kids.

Snow! Love it or dread it?
Love it, but I live in California where it absolutely never snows, so this is super easy for me to say. If I were being completely honest, I would have to admit that I am not exactly an “outdoors girl.” I like to look at the snow while sitting by a fire with a cup of hot cocoa and Peppermint Schnapps in my hands.

Can you ice skate?
No. I can barely rollerskate.

Do you remember your favorite gift?
There have been many favorite gifts from friends and family over the course of the years. Too hard to choose just one.

What's the most important thing about the holidays for you?
I have the same answer as Whitney…family. I also love finding the perfect gift for someone and watching them light up as they open it.

What is your favorite holiday dessert?
Anything decadent and guaranteed to add inches to my waistline. Chocolate, crème brulee, candy, trifle, cake, cookies, and pie all qualify.

What is your favorite tradition?
Watching Christmas movies with my sister. We usually kick off our movie marathon season with National Lapoon's Christmas Vacation on Thanksgiving Day. Once that is finished, there are a number of favorites that we must fit in before Christmas, such as White Christmas, Miracle on 34th Street, and Elf.

Which do you prefer, giving or receiving?
Giving. Receiving is great, but definitely not as fun.

What is your favorite Christmas Song?
Oh Come All Ye Faithful.

Candy canes! Yuck or yum?
Yum, if you are referring to the rainbow candy cane. Yuck, if you are referring to the small, often broken, peppermint candy canes.

Ever recycled a Christmas present?
Oh yes. It wouldn’t be the holidays if there at least one recycled gift under my tree.

Don't Be A Scrooge! Tag 7 friends to Deck the Halls...
True Love Is a Mama, Peach Out of Water, Mo of Four, My little World: Choo-choos, cars, and lip gloss, My Stay-at-Home Momma Drama, A*May*Zing, and Life is Good.

Happy Holidays!

-Francesca

The Beginning of 75 Loves

Wendy from Girl in Green tagged us last week with 75 loves. In talking about how to follow-up, Thuy and I initially thought we might put together a list of 75 things we need to cross off of our beloved “to do lists” before the end of the year. However, we later decided against the idea since it probably would not make for very interesting reading for anyone but us.

Instead, in light of the Thanksgiving holiday, I give you 25 things that my son, G, loves and is thankful for.

1. Cars and trucks and all things that go
2. Larger than life balloons
3. Treats of any kind
4. His best friend in the world and our neighbor
5. The park
6. His Dad
7. The million and one ways his grandparents indulge him. (I might expand on this topic more in an upcoming post entitled, "Grandparents Gone Wild.")
8. Fire engines
9. Carnival rides
10. Heffridge Trumpler Brompet Heffalump IV (nicknamed "Heffy")
11. Pillows
12. Garbage trucks
13. Scissors
14. Holidays
15. Birthday candles
16. Eating breakfast with a Disney character at Disneyland
17. Lightning McQueen and Mater from the movie, Cars
18. Macaroni and cheese
19. The beach
20. Cameras and being able to take pictures of L
21. Hard work with his Dad around the house
22. Kleenex
23. Band-Aids
24. Crocs
25. The electric train around our Christmas tree

I'll leave the other 50 items on the list for Kacey and Thuy.

And now, to pass the love along, I will tag some old friends and some new: Forever Folding Laundry, Baby Tunnel Exodus, Overstuffed with Abundance, Running Along, Tammie and the Hellions, Jeff & Me + Three, Malfunction Junction, The Kids Did WHAT?!, and Ramblings of a Crazy Mom.

I figure the 3 tag requirement x 3 Bay B Chicks = 9, so I had better cover all of our bases!

Wendy's rules:
1. List things you love.
2. Choose a number that is significant to you. For example, 100, the year you were born, the day you were born, {you get the picture}. If you feel like writing a lot, go for it. If not, then cut back by choosing a suitable number.
3. Tag 3 people.

That's it. Adapt the rules to fit how you roll.

-Francesca

It's Called an Award

I was delighted to log onto Whitney’s Baby Tunnel Exodus blog yesterday and read that the rather unknown, yet very prestigious “I Heart Blogging” award had been bestowed upon us. Whitney is the 3BayBChicks’ first bonafied follower and, for that, we are forever grateful. Whitney picks me up when I am feeling down on the blogging world and gives me hope that someday more than she, Keri, and my beloved neighbor will read what we post.

Until that day arrives, we are committed to follow-up on any award (aka tag) that is sent our way. In this case, we are tasked with naming 15 things that we are not afraid to admit. Thankfully, since I am one of three girls that contribute to this blog, I can also offer up what I think Thuy and Kacey are not afraid to admit. Good times! Let’s get started, shall we?

Numero Uno: Thuy, Kacey, and I all met our husbands in high school. Although we married in our late twenties, our fates were sealed at a very early age.

2. For as long as I can remember, Kacey has been the coolest chick I know. Even in junior high, I aspired to align myself with her sense of style and creativity. If she thought something was worth doing, we did it. Case in point: Matching Guess Jean symbol costumes for Halloween, circa 1988.

3. My definition of holidays is very broad. I consider the day we set our clocks back as something to celebrate. It gives me an extra hour in the day. I get giddy just thinking about it.

4. Although normally outgoing girls, there are times that Thuy and I can be anti-social. During one recent get together, she and I decided to hang out at her house with our kids because we “just didn’t want to deal with people.”

5. I am strangely competitive about lame things. Example: I recently succumbed to years of peer pressure and joined Facebook. My new mission in life is to build my network of friends to rival that of Ree Drummond (aka The Pioneer Woman). At last count, Ree was winning.

6. I am totally guilty of adding people to Facebook and then realizing that I have no idea who they are. After squinting at their photos, it turns out they just have the same name as those from my past.

7. In my quest to build my numbers, I do not delete people from my Facebook account that I do not know. I figure that if they are OK with it, then so am I.

8. I do not remember what my husband and I used to do on the weekends before we had kids. I asked him yesterday if he remembered. He wasn’t sure either.

9. I love the rain and all things winter. For me, there is nothing better than snuggling deeper into my bed and listening to a fierce storm outside.

10.Thuy can sniff out a bargain on the internet better and faster than anyone you know. She is like a bloodhound. If you have any doubts, I am willing to put her skills to the test. Believe me, she’ll win.

11. My husband carries my freshman prom photo in his wallet at all times. Kind of funny except when he brings it out at parties.

12. Like Whitney, I do not camp. My husband’s family does. This makes for a long Memorial Day weekend, as every year his family hosts a three day reunion among the pine trees and fresh air in Big Sur, California.

13. Thuy once told me that she had been sky-diving. I was impressed. It seemed so out of character for her. I later found out that she actually went sky-diving several months after having made her grand proclamation to me. Her incentive for following up on her claim: Telling me that she had completed this act of insanity in the first place.

14. Kacey was absolutely positive that she was going to have a boy when she was pregnant with Emi. She was so convinced that she tried to obtain a second ultrasound to confirm that her suspicions were true.

15. I have no, zero, zilch athletic ability. As testament to my lack of skills, I was awarded the “Most Spirited” prize on my high school volleyball team. I really was that bad.

There you have it. More insight into the 3 Bay B Chicks. Now I suppose I have to pass the award onto someone else. Let’s see, I will pass the baton onto Wendy at Green Girl Art and Jessica at Farm Fresh.

-Francesca

Random Facts

Our good friend, Keri, tagged us on her Forever Folding Laundry blog. Here is my attempt to share 7 random and/or weird facts. Because there are three of us that contribute to our blog, there are some interesting tidbits about all three of us...enjoy.

1) When Kacey and I were in junior high, she graciously gave me a critique of my handwriting. She informed me that my printing was much better than my attempt at cursive. Initially, I was horrified, but later realized it was true. It was at that time, I began printing...permanently. My grandmother and mother have beautiful, almost artful, handwriting. This ability unfortunately was not passed onto me.

2) The three of us have collectively agreed that newborns are not, shall we say, the cutest. While there are definitely exceptions to this rule, we believe that babies are much more photogenic between 3 to 6 months old and urge the world to send out more pictures of their children at this age, rather than directly after birth.

3) While living together after college, and before kids, Thuy and I "trained for a marathon". Thuy found some type of training schedule on-line, typed it up, and we proudly posted it in our kitchen. The thought was that if we looked at the schedule each and every day, we would be sure to adhere to it. The schedule required us to run five days a week, increasing our distance each week. We started out strong, truly becoming long-distance runners...which in our world was defined as anything over three miles. However, around week three or four, we began to fall off the wagon. By the beginning of week 5, fall programming had started and we thought some of our to-go menus might be better accessible if they were posted over the running schedule on the cork board. In the end, we didn't run in the marathon, but the dream is still alive.

4) I have always believed in the magic that comes alive during the Christmas season, seriously. I will never forget one Christmas Eve, when I was in junior high. I was walking downstairs and my Mom was walking into the garage. Just as casually as if she was asking me to take out the trash, she called up to me, "Francesca, can you wrap the Santa gifts?" What? Why would I need to wrap the Santa gifts? Santa should be delivering them in a few hours, shouldn't he? Then it hit me...OMG. OMG. Is my mother really saying what I think she is??? Sad, but true, this is how I learned that Santa lives in our hearts, rather than at the North Pole.

5) I love knowing people a long time. I believe that it enriches your relationship with them. One of my favorite all-time photos is of Kacey, Keri, Wendy and me at Halloween, again in junior high. (Looking back, this was apparently a very critical time in my life.) We are all smiling at the camera and look so very young. I can even tell you what we dressed up as: Wendy was a nun, Keri was a baby, and Kacey and I were matching Guess jeans symbols. It was the 80's, after all.

6) The older I get, the more trouble I have sleeping. If I had the capability, I would cut out sleep altogether a few nights a week. I love the blessed quiet that comes with the night in my house. It is the only time a day that I feel is truly mine and I can do whatever I want with it.

7) I am truly afraid of scary movies and won't watch them. This permanent change happened after I saw two very critical movies, The Lady in White and Watcher in the Woods, during, what else? JUNIOR HIGH. The Lady in White was shown on consecutive rainy days as a time-filler. (Educators today would never get away with this.) Watcher in the Woods, which is the most frightful movie Walt Disney ever made, and the Thriller video, were both shown at my first slumber party at Amanda Lane's house. I was so traumatized after Watcher in the Woods that when it came time to watch the Thriller video, I said that my parents had instructed me not to watch anything with Michael Jackson and left the room.

And there you go. 7 fun and interesting facts about Kacey, Thuy, and Fran. What's that you say? Stick to writing about your kids? You're probably right. :)

Next we are supposed to tag 7 blogs. Wow, if I only knew that many people to tag. The only blogs I can bring to the table are Good but Hard and Heartbeats and Violins. (Sorry, Susannah and Mr. Rich, but you have been tagged.) Maybe Thuy and Kacey know of other blogs that we may also tag, so that we can increase our numbers.

-Francesca