4,000 Miles

What a fabulous trip we had! It began last Thursday when we drove to Laughlin, NV and stayed the night. Laughlin is about the halfway point to the Bay and it is super cheep, which we love. Friday we woke early and got on the road. We stopped in Lompoc, CA where my college roommate Amy and her family live. She was kind enough to cook us a hot meal and pass down some baby boy clothes to us. It was a quick but great visit. I promised not to post pictures of her on my blog...so Amy I am keeping my promise!
Friday night we made it into the Bay and got some much needed rest. Saturday was full of fun. First, Marilou and I took Cienna to Pixie Play Land which Cienna just loved. It is the perfect age for Pixie...

Riding the Crazy Cars With "Mimi"

My Little Pilot Cienna

Riding the Carousel

That afternoon my mom threw a graduation party for my younger brother Jonathan. I got to catch up with all the old people from the "hood" and eat my very favorite Mexican food El Tapitio. Yummy!
Sunday we visited with Tony's great aunt Marion, brother Dominick and Phyllis as well as Whitney & Niko (Cienna's cousins.) We celebrated an early father's day for Pops in downtown Walnut Creek with more Mexican food and a little shopping. I am sad to say that I actually had to look at the store guide for downtown. They have put in so many new (and swanky!) shops that I didn't know what was there anymore! For someone who spent 4 straight years down there slangin' shoes for Nordstrom I felt so out of the loop!

Cienna with her Cousin's Niko and Whitney!

Monday my "little" brother graduated from high school. I never thought the day would come...and I still find it hard to believe that he did it (and that I am so old!) I still remember the day he was born like it was yesterday. My little brother is not little anymore!

My Mom with the Graduate

The Three Amigos

My Burrito Baby (It Was Cold For A June Night!)

Dinner at Skipolini's Before the Graduation

Tuesday morning we left our peanut porkchop with the grandparents (who share custody of her when we are gone) and headed up to Tahoe for 2 days. We stayed at a beautiful cabin that is owned by a friend of ours with views of the lake from the back deck. I got to catch up on Real Housewives of New Jersey, shop, eat great meals and most importantly...RELAX!

View From the Deck

Tony Feeding the Fish at Fanny Bridge

Thursday we headed to Las Vegas and the Luxor hotel. We had dinner at Palm Resturant and then went to bed. 8 hours in the car was a little much for us to be out on the town. The next day we did some more shopping (I forgot what fun it is to shop when you don't have a 2-year old with you!), had a great lunch and then rested before dinner at Bellagio. We gambled a little (I won $100!) and turned it in early for our big drive back to ABQ.
Saturday we made it home around 7:30pm...and met Marilou and Cienna at the airport at 10pm. They were not planning on coming until Sunday, but the flights were full (and they were flying standby) so Saturday was their best bet. Marilou had quite an adventure (she managed to break the escalator at the ABQ airport) and Cienna was SO EXCITED to see mommy and daddy. 4,000 miles we drove...and what a great trip it was!!!

Livin La Vida Loca

Things have been crazy as ever here in ABQ. Business is booming, and it reminds me of that old saying "be careful what you ask for because you just might get it." We definitely want the work but it has kept us out until all hours of the night trying to get it all done. I now refer to us as the "traveling trash family" because Cienna is right there in the thick of it being such a trooper! We got a break in the action last week when Tony's brother Chris and his girlfriend Wendy flew out to ABQ for a long weekend. They arrived Thursday afternoon and we immediately piled into the truck and headed for the cabin. We had a blast rafting, fishing and playing games. Cienna and I went with our friend Heather and her daughter Skylar to the circus in a nearby town. I had never been to the circus and it was everything that I imagined it would be. Cienna had her first batch of cotton candy and to my surprise she wasn't all that into it. In fact, she didn't even finish it all!

Enjoying Her Cotton Candy


Riding A Pony

Thanking Mama With A Big Smile!

We left Sunday afternoon, headed back to ABQ and enjoyed a great dinner at Pappadeaux. Monday morning they flew back to CA and Tony and I resumed our crazy life. We had our first dumpster "tagged" among other things. Never a dull moment here. Tomorrow we start our road trip to CA to see my little brother graduate from Concord High School on Monday! The weekend is already filled with parties and family gatherings that I can't wait to be at. Then Tony and I are graciously being allowed a week to ourselves as we head back to ABQ with stops in Lake Tahoe and Las Vegas. Cienna will stay with the grandparents and fly out to ABQ with Tony's mom the following week. Wheew!
I have been really bad about taking pictures lately but I did have some cute ones from last week. I suddenly became overwhelmingly addicted to baked potatoes wrapped in bacon and pretty much ate them every day last week. The phase has passed but I have the pictures to prove it...and two of the best cooks that a girl could ask for!

Memorial Day Weekend

While most people spend Memorial Day weekend camping, boating, and grilling, we in the Mazotti house like to do projects. It is an age-old tradition that started, let me think...well just this year, but I think that it is going to be a life-long tradition now that I know how much stuff can actually get done in a 3-day weekend. We didn't spend Saturday running out to Home Depot getting stuff for our projects either. No, we have our "projects" piled in our family room just waiting for the right weekend to tackle them. Here is a snapshot of what we got done:

-Grouted the kitchen backsplash
-Installed new door handles
-Hung flower boxes under the front windows (well one got installed...the other is back in the living room)
-Put new tires on the smoker (one of which is already flat again)
-Planted flowers
-Replaced string lights on patio
-Mowed the front and back lawns
-Hung a bug zapper (really for mosquitos and aparently mosquitos are smarter than I thought)
-Leveled the washing machine
-Replaced a toilet
-Finally mailed a 87lb compressor for our Coke machine

While I am sure that this does not sound like much, imagine an 87lb compressor, toilet, flower boxes, door handles, bug zapper and string lights sitting in your living room for 3 months. I am damn proud of our Memorial Day accomplishments!
We hope that you all had a great weekend...and were able to relax and welcome in the summer that is finally almost here!

It's Official

I must hand it to my husband who was able to keep our baby's gender a secret for the last 6 weeks. I'll admit that I did not think he would be able to do it (or some of our friends for that matter!) but everyone came through for me....except Presbyterian of ABQ. Because of the kidney situation, I have had to go in for ultrasounds every 4 weeks and every 4 weeks someone has indicated that we are having a boy. Well yesterday it was confirmed when the doctor came in, looked at my chart and asked me "so what are we having here? Oh a male." I said "WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WE ARE HAVING!" To which he replied "oh, sorry, well whatever it is a boy or a girl it looks good." I couldn't believe it! They told me! When I got home I told Tony that "his son weighs 1lb 10oz" and the grin on his face said it all. Done deal. It's a boy!
Your thoughts, prayers and "uh, ohs" are welcome. I already know that I am in trouble. Like father like son right?

My Happy Mother's Day

Back in 2007, I spent my first Mother's Day in Texas with Tony packing up our house while Cienna was in California with family. As we walked our dogs around our neighborhood for the very last time Tony asked me if I was sad because I wasn't spending my very first Mother's Day with Cienna. I told him that it would all be worth it if he could promise me that my next Mother's Day would be spent at our "cabin in Colorado." He promised that he would do his best to see to it that we got the cabin that we always wanted by then. In 2008, I spent my second Mother's Day with Tony and Cienna at our newly purchased cabin in Colorado. I felt like the luckiest girl in the world. This year, my third Mother's Day, I am feeling enormously emotional as I blog on the couch. I received a necklace from my favorite jeweler, Lily Barrack, which my husband designed especially for me. He gave me a card with words so sweet, it made me cry. My daughter just told me that she had to go potty...and she did! I am not only a mother, but also a mother-to-be, just one more blessing that has been bestowed upon me. I truly so happy, which makes this the best Mother's Day that I have ever spent.

Last Monday one of my best friends, Lindsay, and her fiancee Joe drove out from California for a visit. We spent Monday - Wendesday hanging out in ABQ, where they went to Gymboree, hung out at Maloney's Bar for Cinco de Mayo and got to see what a crazy life we truly live. Wednesday afternoon we left for Colorado and had so much fun enjoying the fabulous weather (it was HOT in ABQ) and catching up. We played Spades, BBQ'd and took the raft out on the lake. Since I forgot my camera (and Linsday is probably just getting back into CA as we speak) I used some "stock" photos of the raft (and Cienna on our maiden voyage last year!)


On Friday we drove into Pagosa Springs, CO, where we visited The Springs resort for the day. They have 17 hot springs that range anywhere from 93-114 degrees and if that wasn't relaxing enough, they all overlook a beautiful river. It was truly a treat and Cienna loved her choice of "tiny pools!"

Saturday morning we went our seperate ways...Lindsay and Joe headed back to CA and we headed back to ABQ. The time came and went way too fast but I am so grateful that they are our friends. Thanks for the great visit you guys! We will see you soon!
P.S. Just got some pictures from Lindsay...here are a couple!

Busy Busy Weekend

Since Tony returned to work on light duty last week I started to get a feel for what having a husband with a regular 9-5 might be like. Home every night, weekends off... it is so wierd! I decided to take advantage of his days off by cramming as many activities as we could handle into 3 days. I am sure that Tony is very grateful for my planning, although he failed to mention this at any point throughout the weekend. He did, however, keep mentioning "sleep" or "rest" or "nap" but I just assumed he meant this week when my friend Linsday and her fiancee Joe are coming to visit. Anyway, we had a blast this weekend starting with our date night Friday night. We went to Seasons, which is a fabulous restaurant in Old Town ABQ. The best part of the night for me was being able to take 10 minutes just to read (and re-read) the menu prior to ordering. Usually when we eat out we have our meals ordered in 30 seconds flat and are begging the waiter to bring crayons, bread and water on the double before Cienna wigs out. I loved taking my time. It was more satisfying than the meal!

Saturday we took Cienna to see Pinkalicious, the musical, at the ABQ Little Theater. The theater is located in our neighborhood and while we have always wanted to go, we did not think that Cienna would sit still through the various other plays that they put on throughout the year. Pinkalicious was our perfect opportunity to go considering she loves the book (and the color pink!) It was very cute and captivated Cienna for an entire hour!

Sunday we went to the ABQ Isotopes AAA baseball game. They are the farm team for the LA Dodgers and it just happened to be Public Safety Day so we got a discount on the tickets. The game was fun, but the best part was the games / activities that they have for kids behind the outfield. Cienna bounced, slid, and carouseled her way through 9 innings (along with scarfing down some nachos and an ice cream.)




We rounded out the day by celebrating Tonka Maria's 4th birthday with some "Drooly Dog Ice Cream Bars" from Three Dog Bakery. Tonka and brother Zeus were obviously in a festive mood....


Another great weekend, come and gone!

My Favorite Fireman

I just received these photos from one of Tony's co-workers and had to share them. It makes me so proud to see that although his work is tough......

He doesn't have to look like a tough guy to do it!

Tony is a big guy with a big heart...and he truly loves what he does! I love him! XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO