Happy Birthday to Me!

So, it was pretty much a great birthday.
My amazing sisters threw me a themed party (see invite below) a la John Hughes. I love the Brat-Pack movies and after doing
some imdb research, I realized I love everything else he's ever had a hand in (minus the Beethoven fiascoes and Baby's Day Out). I've spent almost my whole life wanting to be Molly Ringwald. I'm pretty sure I was first attracted to Blaine because of his name "That's a major appliance, that's not a name!"--Pretty in Pink, and may or may not have named my son because, like "Jake Ryan" in Sixteen Candles, Jake Carter is a hot-guy-name.
Anyway, it was a great time. I'm so happy so many people got into it and came dressed up. Aside from the fact that I'm actually thirty years old now... the night was perfect.
If you're interested in reading a really cool article about how John Hughes makes great, fun and poingant movies, click here.

How great are these invites?

Blaine and me:
"Blane" (Andrew McCarthy) Pretty in Pink and "Claire" (Molly Ringwald) Breakfast Club
I promise the hair was (not much) better than it looks here. I should have opted for a wig, but instead sprayed it red.
Note skinny tie and diamond earrings.
Also note that I may have wanted to date Blaine when he told me his name, I started quoting Pretty in Pink and he finished the quote.

Margaret and Brady as themselves.
Brad and Michelle:
"Harry" (Joe Pesci) Home Alone and "Allison" (Ally Sheedy) Breakfast Club.
Note the authentically burned beanie and tons of eyeliner.

Valerie and Ben:
"Andie" (Molly Ringwald) Pretty in Pink and "The Geek a.k.a. Farmer Ted" (Anthony Michael Hall) Sixteen Candles.
Note the fantastic pink flowey prom dress and wigs.

We thought it would be funny to buy some TAB... Yeah-- I think I have an entire 12-pack left-over. Oh well, it is the greatest invention next to the Walk-Man and Velcro.

Why is Ally Sheedy so angry?

Doug and Jen:
"John" (Judd Nelson) Breakfast Club and "Sloan" (Mia Sara) Ferris Bueller's day Off.
Note the bandannas, steel-toe boots, and fringe-jacket.

Markelle, Brent and Jack:
"Iona" (Annie Potts) Pretty in Pink, "Cousin Eddie" (Randy Quaid) Christmas Vacation, and "Dennis" (Mason Gamble) Dennis the Menace.
Note the beehive hair, the spray-painted yellow slippers, the white tassel-shoes, and black dickie.

Megan and Scott:
"Ginny" (Blanche Baker) Sixteen Candles and "Abe Froman" Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
Note the WEDDING DRESS! (Megan made best friends with an ex-wife, donating her dress at D.I. ... awesome.) Also note that Scott's character is never actually in Ferris. This is so freaking cool. He donned a snooty tux, glasses, and little sausages that he passed out all night. He even had business cards made up that said, "Chicago Meats Inc. : The Sausage King of Chicago". If you don't know what I'm talkng about then shame on you! Go watch Ferris Bueller right now. It is timeless and is still one of my all-time-favorites.

Jason, Laurel and Isabel
"Jack" (Michael Keaton), "Caroline" (Teri Garr) and "Kenny" (Taliesin Jaffe)
all from Mr. Mom
Note the tool-belt, Jack's favorite shirt, the power-suit, blue high heels and amazing blouse, the Sesame Street tank-top and woobie.

Laurel LOVES being a working mom in the 80s!

Megan trying to snap her fingers while trying to get married doped up on muscle-relaxers.
"Bet those people who thought we had to get married feel pretty stupid right now, 'eh Padre?"

Close-up of Isa's rockin' Sesame Street digs. I think I had this shirt when I was a kid.

Janelle (another Ally Sheedy from Breakfast Club), Ange and Craig as themselves... well Ange did sport a side-pony-tail and we did make Craig participate in our Breakfast Club photo op.

"HEY! HEY! HEY! HEY! (Don't You Forget About Me)"

The beginning of a series of dancin' pictures.

Okay, so maybe it was just Michelle and me.

Still going...

I'm pretty sure Michelle's going to kill me for this one.

This is actually the poster from Breakfast Club...

...And a few of us trying really hard to make an idea work.
Thanks, Craig and Jason for being our Emilio and Anthony.

So long, Conan. So long.

After a weighty conversation with Candice last night (check out her blog--she is a true believer!), I've decided a tribute to Conan is long over-due. As you all [should] know, Conan's nights are numbered. He is leaving his late-night slot and headed to host Leno and Carson's (that's Johnny Carson, not Carson Daly) old stomping grounds. Honestly, I don't know how I feel about this move. I mean, it means more viewers, (including me... I just can't stay up that late anymore), more notoriety, and the potential for more hilarity. However, will Conan be able to keep his zany wit and off-color characters? I just don't know. Will he be able to keep up the self-deprecation that is so endearing? Will his writers and producers even be going with him? These are all really important issues that I guess I won't be able to process until June when Mr. O'Brien takes over. Until then, Conan--it's been a good ride. I've watched you for years. I love the hair, the freckles, the string dance, well... everything. You've been on my top ten list for a good decade and I look forward to another ten years.
In other television news... I've decided I love 30 Rock more than The Office and maybe as much as Arrested Development. There. I said it.

All Things Jake

Warning:

Major solicitation of how cute my kid is ahead...

Jake is over five months old and I cannot get enough of him. He is just the perfect addition to our little family and we love him more than we ever thought possible.

Motherhood is incredible. Seriously. The more I am a mom, the more I am so aware of how big a blessing motherhood really is. Needless to say, this kid is our joy and he rocks my world.

Things we adore about him: His laugh (he's got an adorable laugh and he loves to use it), his smile, his bent ear, how he spits (his latest trick), how he kicks his legs up in the air when we change his diaper (this kid loves to get his diaper changed), his little voice, the way he looks at us when we go get him in the morning, how he loves something soft against his cheek when he is tired, how he loves to be sung to (he totally has favorite songs), the way he examines everything, and the constant surprised look he always seems to have on his face.

Okay... here's a shameless amount of pictures of my baby boy.
Gosh I love my life.

  I have hardly any pictures of me with my boy. I made Blaine take a few.

How could you not love this little guy?

He loves his cereal.

Hangin' in the bumbo

This one kills me. I love that face!

He really is this happy most of the time. I am so lucky.

Can't you just guess what kind of crazy person Jake thinks his mom is by this expression?

Smallish photo-session post-church

He's just so handsome!

I know these two are pretty much identical... oh well. I love this kid.

This one's actually from today... He's getting better at sitting on his own.

Jake's first big-time high-chair meal. He's pretty much a pro these days.

I was so excited to use this little bear suit all winter-long. Turns out, he's only worn it for about 15 minutes... the time it took to walk to our neighbor's the other night. Still, he's pretty cute in it.