i got that good girl faith and a tight little skirt

back in december, when the bean and i went to watch mini cee in her dance recital, i found a happy coincidence - my cousin mel's daughter and mini cee are classmates.  while we were wandering around the auditorium looking for lilcee, i walked right past my aunt (who was just as surprised to see me there as i was her) and after a minute of chatting, she walked me over to where mel and her family were seated.  it was so weird, but in an awesome way.

so anyway, when we got an invitation to mini mel's birthday party, it was kind of cool to get to hang out with the lilcees - for both me and the bean.  the party was at chirp in pasadena, which i hadn't yet heard of.  a quick search on google told me all i needed to know:  it's a karaoke bar for kids.  lilcee and i were joking that we were probably in for an evening of 6 year olds clamoring for the microphone to warble songs from "frozen" for two hours.  spoiler:  we weren't far off.

the place was super cute, right on colorado boulevard on the east side of pasadena.

inside, there was something for everybody.

the bean made a beeline for the face painting station.

the teen and i headed over to check out the food.  the party happened to fall on march 14th...pi day.

while the kids noshed on pizza and other finger foods, the adults were treated to savory pies from a local restaurant called the pinhole.  i happily dug into a slice of swiss leek pie, which was so damn tasty i forgot to take a picture until i was halfway through it.

the bean was having a blast playing with mini cee and checking out all of the dress-up props.

the next time i looked over, she was signing herself up to take the stage.

mini cee went up there with her to sing backup, and it was awesomely hilarious.  both songs that they chose were from taylor swift's current album, and it was at that moment that it hit me that t-swizzle's song lyrics are not necessarily age appropriate.

the time flew by, and before we knew it, it was time to leave.  here's the bean and the birthday girl:

and their mamas.

yay for fun family reunions!

weekend roundup

i met up with MommyBelle and her two mini sidekicks for a costco shopping trip and yummy, cheap lunch on friday. we strolled up and down the aisles, avoiding some areas that offered big ass displays of princess-related items (for obvious reasons), and ended at the food court for pizza and stuff. and when we were all done eating, LP dragged her mom off to the restroom, and i volunteered to keep an eye on LFM for her. i stuck the bean in the cart next to him, and busted out my trusty iPhone.

oblivious:

"heeeyyyyy...what's up, sweet thang?"

"you've got a little something right...there. here, let me get it for you."

"wait, is that all i get?"

"i think you two need a chaperone."

heh.

and then the long-awaited karaokefest '08 was on saturday night, organized by the one and only monkey. i'd missed it last year, with the birth of the bean, but i was bound and determined to make it this year. i'm not a great karaoke-er, as i have a pretty weak singing voice, but i sure love to participate in group singalongs.

usually, i'm all about snapping away with the camera, even if there are about half a dozen others who are doing the same thing, because i love to write my own blog recap about stuff. but i found myself having so much fun that i didn't even bother with it on saturday - and besides, there's already an awesome post about it by our hostess. yay!

sunday found us down at the beach, meeting up with my family at the folks' house for lunch. and then while the hub, my brother, and BIL took the bean for a walk down at the beach, the rest of us relaxed on the comfy couches and shot the shit for a while. it was a nice way to cap off the weekend, and we all enjoyed catching up with each other.

the bean is a sneaky little shit. we have a little area set up for her, with the tile floor covered in squishy playroom mats, with a couch on two sides, a baby gate set up along another side, and the gap between the couches closed off by the ottoman/coffee table thingy. this way, she has freedom to walk around and play with her toys, while the rest of the room is closed off (where the dog's food and water and potty pads are set up).

but she's figured me out. she climbs up onto the couch:

swings her legs over the other side:

makes her landing on the other side, grabbing ahold of the magazine rack to steady herself:

freedom!

oy vey. and do you SEE that mischievous little grin on her face? when she sees that i've caught on to her little game, she squeals with laughter and makes a run for that doggy dish. it's hilarious.

every day is an adventure in the wan house, i tell ya.