Griffin's New Cuzzie

My super talented mother made Griffin an awesome and beautiful hat and mitten set over the weekend! I put the hat on him and he didn't even try to take it off!

Winter here we come!

(via slangon.com)

"Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t'was his intent
To blow up the King and Parli'ment.
Three-score barrels of powder below
To prove old England's overthrow;
By God's providence he was catch'd
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, let the bells ring.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!"

(Anyone know the author of this poem?)

Matt and I have a tradition of watching "V for Vendetta" on November 5th and making

"Eggies in a Basket" for dinner, in honor of Guy Fawkes Night.

A little history lesson regarding Guy Fawkes.

On the 5th of November, 1605, Robert Catesby and his group of conspirators planned to discard the current Protestant Rule. How did they plan on doing this? Blowing up the House of Parliament, of course! To make a long story short, an anonymous letter was sent and Guy Fawkes, the man in charge of the execution of the explosion, was caught almost in the act.

For his crime, he was hung, drawn, and quartered.

Ick.

Today, Guy Fawkes Night is celebrated around the world. The term "guy" meaning "man" or "person" is derived from Fawkes.

Happy Guy Fawkes Night!

Happy Birthday to Me!

So happy and relaxed!

Griffin also enjoyed Dada's raspberry pancakes!

My best friend

Eeeeeeeee!

The Allen's on a walk

Yesterday was my 31st birthday! For those of you who don't know, I have a bit of a standard for my birthday. One day a year, I don't want to make any decisions. I don't want to do housework. I want to be indulged. I want to be taken care of. Well, Matt really outdid himself this year. I had the best day I've had in so very long. I was literally stress free and relaxed for 24 hours!
I haven't been able to say that in years!

My day started out with Matt getting up with Griffin so I could sleep in. My wake up call was Hot Chocolate with Whipped Cream! Yum! After SLOWLY getting up and out of bed (which was delicious, as every other day I have to rocket out of bed, shower, hair, makeup, clothes, work work work!) Matt made killer raspberry pancakes for breakfast! While eating breakfast, Matt took care of feeding and playing with Griffin. Soon after, Griffin went down for his morning nap and Matt and I lazed on the couch, watching one of my all time favorite movies "The Love Letter", with Kate Capshaw (not the one with Ryan Gossling). After Griffin was up from his nap and was fed (which Matt took care of everything in that department while I stayed on the couch!), we went for a walk! It was the most perfect, crisp Fall day. The sun was warm on our skin and the air was so crisp that when you breathed in, you could only smell air.

Ahhhh...

Matt and I then got gussied up for my surprise! I had an idea on where we were going and if I was right, it was going to be amazing! After dropping Griffin off at my mother's I found out....I was right! Wa hoo! Matt took me to The Melting Pot on Delmar! I've always wanted to go there and the atmosphere, music, service, and (most importantly) food was all better than either Matt or I could ever have dreamed of! We had good wine, great conversations, awesome belly laughs, and even a few "I'm so happy, I'm spilling over!" tears (by me).

So, thank you a million times, babe.

You made my birthday completely unforgettable and amazing.

I love you so much!

Happy Halloween!

Movie Time!

Trick or Treat!

Big Man and his Sissy


Some yummy Halloween cupcakes I made!

This year was Griffin's first Trick or Treat experience!

We stuck to our street for a block or two and he seemed to get the hang of things! Big Man was a skeleton this year (which was really just a glow in the dark PJ set that I found at Baby Gap - perfect for getting him right to bed!). He was very excited to spend Halloween with Rachael...So much, in fact, that when he saw her for the first time on Saturday, he screamed and giggled and shook so much that he threw up!
After Griffin went down for the night, Matt, Rachael, and I watched "The Skeleton Key" and had popcorn, cupcakes, soda, and some wine for the adults!

Aside from my being stressed that Griffin only got an hour's nap the whole day, Halloween this year was a great success!