R.I.P. Our Beloved Team Nugget Canine Mascot, Jack

Our dog Jack passed away this weekend. He's now pain free and chasing squirrels through the woods. This is a repost from 2008, a profile of the sweetest dog in the world, I thought it was a fitting memorial:

A profile of Jackson is long overdue. He is quite possibly the sweetest dog to roam the face of this planet. I thought it would be so easy to write a profile of Mr. Cup, but really what can I say other than he's just a sweet old dog. He's such a good boy! The Bug, well, he's a boy.

Like his counterpart, he goes by many names: Jacksoncup, Speedbump, Jacksonian the Presidential Dog, Mr. President, to name a few. He has the BEST theme song of all the Team Nugget Canine Mascots:

lyrics lovingly crafted by Team Nugget:

Jacksonian, the presidential dog...

He's presidential, and he's a dog!

He's got the quiet dignity of a president,

But he doesn't have thumbs and he can't give speeches.

He's strong on border control,

And he's pro-rawhides and naps!

He's Jacksonian, the presidential dog!

While he is an elder statesman, don't let his advanced age fool you. He has some spunk. When it's least expected, he will show you. Right upside the head.

Imagine if you will, a crazy scenario in which I have elected to make the cake for my own wedding. It was a wee cake, but stressful nonetheless as it would be photographed by all who were to attend. Being the OCD kind of gal I am, I made several cakes so just in case I screwed up the fondant, I would have a backup. (Note to self: you can't really screw up fondant, it's a force to be reckoned with.) So on the fateful cake assembly day, I pull the ziplock-ensconced cakes out of the fridge and put them on the counter to acclimate. They're pretty tall counters so I think nothing of it, I know that our scavenger dog, Stinkbug, can't get to them as he has legs that are only like 3 inches long (hence the Napoleon syndrome and his bad attitude). I go to the store and pick up more tulle or some other wedding nonsense, then come back to begin the frightening task at hand. Except I walk in, and there are cake crumbs all over the floor. So after I come to, I realize that my sweet, quiet, layed-back old dog ate the wedding cake!!!!! After all, he does have dog-sized limbs and could easily snatch the ziplocks off the counter. Luckily he left one package, so we had our wee wedding cake.

So when I got pregnant, Jacksoncup was by my side constantly. Like I said, he's a sweet boy. He always checked on me when I didn't feel well, and would lay beside me when I was crashed out on the couch from carrying the big load that was the Little Nugget. I never had a doubt that Jackson would do well with the baby, and he has proven me right.

I thought he would take care of her like he does me, but he keeps a little distance from the whirling dervish that is the Babygirl. I'm sure this is because of his age: we found out not too long ago that he has bone spurs on his spine and arthritis in his hips, poor guy. But that doesn't keep him from doing the occasional happy wiggle out in the yard. He loves the sun!

We love you Jacksoncup!

All for now,

Nugget

Those Little Saké Cups are for Taking Shots, Right?

Team Nugget can really be dense sometimes. Like when we think we can go out to a nice dinner (something other than fast food or Mexican) with the Little Nugget. I mean, how many times do we need to be reminded? Apparently many. Because we have a keen ability to block unpleasant experiences from our collective memory. Call it our superpower, if you will. Otherwise, why would we keep trying to take our oh-so adorable, albeit fidgety offspring to public places confined by the typical social expectations. You know, like not screaming "NOOOO!!!!" seemingly out of the blue: we're used to it so we no longer have the startle reflex, but most other diners are unaccustomed to spontaneous bursts of adrenaline during their meal. Makes you feel alive, eh?! Our gift to you! You're welcome! :-)

Team Nugget had a hankering for sushi the other night, AND we had a coupon. Score! So blinded by our fog of naive forgetfulness, we loaded up for a family outing. Woo-hoo! Usually the amnesia is short-term, as we gain consciousness as soon as we walk in the door and see 1) it's a nice, quiet restaurant and 2) there are other customers who seem to enjoy the quiet nature of said establishment. Fuck! I will share with you now:

Team Nugget's Strategies for Peaceful & Harmonious Dining in Fine Restaurant Settings, a.k.a. "Damage Control"

1. Order alcohol, tout de suite.
   
2. Waste no time in ordering food, and pray to God it arrives quickly.
   
3. Swiftly unpack the Squinkies and other well-chosen distractions from the Little Nugget's poodle purse.
   
4. Even though you are going to a restaurant to procure food, ALWAYS BRING BACKUP FOOD. Food delivery is NEVER fast enough.
   
5. Once food has arrived, eat! Enjoy and savor it, of course, but just know everything could fall apart at any minute!
   
6. When they come to ask you how it tastes, ask for the check! You just never know when you may be shamed into an abrupt departure!

Bon appetit!!! That really is our survival guide, for reals.

OK, so we weren't shamed *this time*, but we did make a quick departure as Little Nugget REALLY liked the sound her sassy boots made on the hardwoods, and she wanted to make sure everyone knew. That and she felt compelled to do a special sushi house interpretive dance in the exact spot where the wait staff come in and out of the kitchen.

After we escaped to the privacy and non-judgemental embrace of the car, I realized I had forgot to finish my Sake. I was really tempted to burst back into the restaurant, grab the tiny shot glass and down that sucker.

I'm sure the other diners would approve.

All for now,

Nugget

Angels Everywhere...

I dropped Little Nugget off at her developmental preschool a little while ago.

She's autistic for those of you who don't know. Very high functioning, though, and sometimes, just sometimes we allow ourselves to forget what's really going on in her brain.

I was late picking her up at Montessori to take her to her afternoon classes, so like most people, I took a short cut to save time. I forgot.

That one little thing, taking another route, so minuscule and insignificant to most of us, set the Little Nugget into a tailspin of anxiety, hyperventilation and hysterical slobbery crying just because it was totally unexpected. Usually she can be talked down out of it, and frankly I was really hoping for some help from the radio, because a well-timed Mumford and Sons or Phoenix song could have ended up with a much different outcome.

See, one of the things about autism is that once an autie or aspie becomes upset, it's like their brain short circuits. They get stuck in an escalating state of eminent meltdown of varying degrees of severity, depending on the level of stress they are experiencing. On the grand scheme of things, this one wasn't horrible, so I kept going, thinking she'd be OK once she saw we were at school. I've actually been switching up the routes we take for a couple of months now, just to keep her from getting too rigid in her routine.

So yeah, I forgot. I forgot that our girl doesn't have neurons that fire like everyone else, and that she just can't drastically change (in her mind) her routine at will, and that she has to get used to new things on her own time, not rushed because Mommy's running late again.

We get to school and she's still in meltdown mode. I get her to calm a little in the car, but by then, school has already started. We got there on time, BTW, due to my amazing new shortcut, but at what cost? We sit in the car for another half hour. Once calmed, we make our way to the front door, she starts freaking again (maybe the blustery wind?) and breaks away from me. I grab her because I don't want her to get hurt in the parking lot, and carry her back to the door, her kicking and screaming the whole way. I get the door open and she drops to the ground still kicking and screaming when I felt a hand on my shoulder behind me, saying "I'll take her, mom, it's ok". It was her teacher and case worker from last year, Ms. Paula, the one who was instrumental in turning our girl's life around and showing her how to shine.

Autism has taught me many things, some bad, like how judgemental people can be, but mostly good, like taking time to think about things from other perspectives, the value of patience (still working on that!) and the goodness and kind-heartedness of our community. That I'll never forget.

Thank you Ms. Paula and my dear friend Jorgi. I'm eternally grateful for all the hard work you do.

Nugget

Back By Popular Demand...

Well, OK, not popular demand, but my Aunt V got onto me at our family dinner the other day for being a blogging slacker. I agree wholeheartedly. (Get a Facebook account, Aunt V!!!) :-)

To be honest, I just haven't really had it in me. Oh I've got plenty to say, but just didn't know how to say it. Kind of hard to bring up in casual conversation, "I planted my herb garden the other day, and Oh hey, did you hear, Little Nugget's been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder." Wah?

So there you go. Yep, a little over a month ago. Mostly we've been dealing with the "A" word, but it's not really a big surprise. We've known something was up since last summer. She surpassed quirky on the behavior-meter and took it all the way to twitchy. They seemed a little odd at the time, but many of her behaviors could be explained away by shyness, being an only child, etc, and frankly I identified with many of the quirks so it didn't strike me as too unusual. And like I have a whole lot of reference for this type of thing, what do I know, I've only had one kid! Doesn't every one's kid like to snuggle with crayons?

We put her on a gluten-free diet, got her into therapy through our school district, and we've already noticed a significant change for the better since last fall (the dark days). She's more affectionate, and we can see her making strides in her social interactions. We're grateful for the early diagnosis and intervention. It's not going to be an easy road, but lucky for Little Nugget that she got the two stubbornest people on the face of this earth as her parents who will accept nothing but the best future for our Sweet Angelpie of Goodness! Go Team Nugget!

All for now,
Nugget

Damn I'm HOT!!!

And not in a good way!

So I've been sitting here at my computer as I am apt to do when I'm putting off laundry, and I realized that I am SWEATING! Now anyone who knows me is aware that I have the metabolism of a sloth and rarely break a sweat, even in the dog days of summer, and even then only if I'm performing some sort of hard physical labor in direct sunlight. So I thought there must have been some kind of heat wave in the house and got up to check the thermostat expecting it to read something like 85, but no. 71 degrees. I blame this entirely on my daughter.

See, I had the Little Nugget late in life, the ripe old age of 39. (Yeah I KNOW that's not old, but you tell that to my God-forsaken hormones!). I was standing in the middle of JCPenny's buying my Sweet Hubby Nugget a Valentines day present when I suddenly felt like I was burning up on fire! I was beet red! I thought "wow that's weird whats up with that?" Since me and the newly Hubby-d Nugget were working on expanding Team Nugget to three members, I had my suspicions. We'd only been married a couple of months, so it seemed kind of unlikely, but hey, miracles can happen. So I picked up a pee test at the store and told my sweet Nugget about the urinary celebration we were to have the next morning promptly upon waking. I was convinced of impending pregnancy as my body was acting STRANGELY.

There is a point here, and I'm getting to it, just be patient.

So the pee test of goodness commenced, and...nothing. NOT pregnant. Dude, I was bummed. Hubby Nugget was bummed. So on we went about our days at work. Except I had a huge commute and TONS of time to reflect upon the news. Being prone to thoughts of impending doom, I suspected that I had misread my hormones and was not pregnant, but in fact starting MENOPAUSE. Which made me sad because I surmised we were too old to have a kid, blah, blah, blah. That's just how my brain works, and why meds are awesome (I wasn't taking them at the time, rest assured). So the next day, struck by a nagging sense of curiosity, I decided to check out via the interwebs (both of them) the accuracy of those "super accurate" home pregnancy tests. And guess what. They're not that accurate and give FALSE NEGATIVES! Dude, I was simultaneously stoked and freaked out!

Since we had super-awesome health insurance at that time, it was cheaper for me to just go get tested at my doctor's office than buy the test again, which is what happened the following Tuesday, and the rest is history. And now we have the Sweet Little Nugget of Goodness! Voila!

So ok, this is not supposed to be a story of our pregnancy, but it is closely tied for me to the subject of Menopause, because after I had the Little One, I became keenly aware that I was no longer experiencing pregnancy-related hormone fluctuations, but that the pregnancy had in my opinion jump-started my hormones into peri-menopause gear. Damn.

So yeah, it's ALL my daughter's fault. I'm just sayin.

All for now,
Nugget

Bloggedy Blog Blog

Wow, it's been quite some time since my last post...so sorry! I guess I should take the time to recap.

Yes, I found my beloved raffia reindeer, I was not crazy after all. I had indeed purchased them and tucked them safely away, I was just wearing my blinders that day and would have seen them in the box if I had dug a little deeper. Sigh. And as of this moment, I have glued them back together numerous time thanks to the destructive talents of the Sweet Babygirl. The standing reindeer now has a broken leg after giving Tiny Tiny Teddybear several rowdy rides. I will be getting out the glue gun once again, just not till I get ready to put them away! I have to pick my battles.

I think the blizzard is approaching! It's starting to snow! Oh my! It would be really awesome if travel weren't involved in any of the festivities, both for Team Nugget and the fam. Eggnog with a little Cap'n Morgan sounds good right about now! Hot tea will have to do for now.

I think we're ready for the Fete de Noel, except we have one present outstanding (thanks USPS!), which bites. We're not doing much cooking, except for my Mom and Dad who are coming over for breakfast so they can witness the Little Nugget open Santa's bounty! That should be a hoot, pictures to come! I just made spiced pecans to take to Papa and Gigi's along with a fruit tray. Mmm...!

Just got a phone call from Hubby Nugget--he's coming home early! Let the Holidays begin!!!!

Merry Christmas everyone! Be safe and stay warm!!!

Nugget

NaBloPoMoFo is Kicking My Ass...

Seriously, I forgot AGAIN! And now I'm in my jammies and have brushed my teeth...

How about a super-sweet pic of the Little Nugget?

She had a blast playing in the dirt last weekend, the weather was so warm and beautiful! I have more pics from the weekend...more to come tomorrow!

All for now, it's a school night!

Nugget

Halloween Festivites, Partay!

I promised pics, and I deliver! A couple of weeks ago, Hubby Nugget and I headed up to the great state of Iowa to partake in the annual "Lazy K Ranch Halloween Party." Apologies to my Facebook friends who have already seen these!

Hubby Nugget and I went as the Progressive Insurance Girl and the Verizon Guy:

My brother and sister-in-law were the Kennedys, after the shooting:

I present the Bobbits....

...and the dismembered member:

Before you get too grossed out, it was made of bologna. And ketchup.

Jello shots are never a good idea:

The naughty pumpkin!

One couple came as the painting American Gothic (by Grant Wood):

It was such an awesome idea that we all had to give it a try:

We HAD to have HN pose with the group to get a "Verizon Network" photo op:

That was so awesome! Finally, witness Hubby Nugget chillin in the coffin that decorated the front yard:

You just can't beat that!

Good times,

Nugget

Let the NaBloPoMoFo Begin!!!!

Are you excited?!

I just returned from the battlefield that is the Target Halloween Clearance aisle, and I arose from the ashes a VICTOR! Well, at least I thought so. I got the coveted Ghostly carousel with LED lights and real, live, MOVING parts for half price! I wanted one last year, but waited too long (I prefer 75% off, but those just don't make it to deep-discount clearance!).

So now the goods are safely tucked away in the tubs of rubbermaidly goodness, waiting patiently until they are needed again. My guess is that Monkey's birthday/Halloween party will be a grand affair next year, as we will have the backyard patio project completed. We had this year's birthday fest at Papa & GiGi's last weekend, given the muddiness of our yard, plus they have a lot more space in their new house.

Our Sweet Babygirl was a witch (note the broom she's sporting, it was mine when I was her age!!!)

The grub table...

Centerpiece...

Spiders on the scaffolding!!!

We had a sundae bar and amazing brownies and cookies from Amanda's Sugar Shack...

Little Nugget approved of the spread...

So much so that she pulled a chair up to the cookie table...

Hubby Nugget jammed before guests arrived... Little Nugget LOVES the drums!

Enjoying the bounty of her day...

Good stuff!

Unfortunately, Little Nugget wasn't the best hostess, and had a giant meltdown during the festivities, oh well.


All for now,

Nugget!

Just Shoot Me Now...

That's how I felt today. Seriously. It was a craptastic suckfest. Twice a year my Dad's side of the family gets together. Aunts and uncles come in from all over the country. Big family, lots of food, lots of catching up.

Today, of all days, Little Nugget had one of those God-forsaken spirited kid meltdowns. Too many people. Too much noise. Too much attention. I so get it, I was that kid 40-some years ago. Sigh. Big families can be overwhelming.

So I spent our brief time there with her clawing her way up my torso, whimpering, crying, wailing to the point of almost choking. I got her calmed down a couple of times, but then something else would set her off, then she couldn't get herself calmed down again. Walks didn't help. Singing her theme song didn't help. Not even the Wonder Pets could help.

To make things better, I had one hell of a headache due to the impending arctic freeze heading our way.

We managed to eat lunch, but not much else. Soon after, it was clear that she just couldn't shake out of it. We left. I didn't even get to say goodbye. I was so upset I lost it before I made it to the car. Luckily Hubby Nugget got to do some visiting, but I didn't even get to talk to my cousins E or C, or my Uncle R!

Of course once we left she was fine.

I really don't have much to say about it other than it sucked. But I'm not going to let it keep us away from get-togethers. That wouldn't make any sense. So just a heads up! We'll be the ones in the corner with the screaming toddler! She'll grow out of it eventually!

It's all good.

Nugget

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

No, really just a Bobcat:

Last weekend Hubby Nugget rented that fine piece of heavy equipment, and the backyard carnage began!

It's all part of Team Nugget's plan for Backyard World Domination. Our yard is on a diagonal slope (we live on a hill, duh), so HN wanted to level out the future patio area. In the end, it should be like a sunken fire pit space, with benches built into the side. And fabulous sedum growing out of the rock wall. Can't wait!

Go Nugget!

We (and when I say we, I mean my Nugget) jackhammered the existing useless sidewalk down to the backyard (which really was just an excuse for rain water to seep into the basement), and he filled that in with some more concrete chunks from the demo'd sidewalk in the back, and dirt from the patio is going there as well, to level it out a bit.

Jackson was very helpful:

The Bug, not so much! He's freakishly camera-shy, maybe he thinks it will steal his soul...nah, he's just a scaredy cat!

More scooping action:

Hubby Nugget was having fun!

Behold the future driveway extension! We have a bit more filling to do!

Woo-hoo! More places to plant next spring!!!

All for now,

Nugget

I Have Not Forsaken You...

Although it may seem that way. I've just been distracted...again. Hubby Nugget and I have been unwinding these days with the Facebook phenom, Farm Town.
I was going to publish a screen capture of my farm, Avatar Acres...but I'm having technical difficulties! Anyway, I have wheat and watermelons planted right now...Hubby Nugget's got wheat to harvest when he gets home from work! I have lots of animals too, including FOUR goats, yes, FOUR goats. Can never have too many goats. I won't go into the details of how to play this VERY addictive game, but check it out if you're on FB...my animals are sounding off in the background as I type...he-he!


What else has been going on...you know, I've had several blogs rollin around in my brain, but now that I've cranked one up on the 'puter, I'm drawing a blank...


So I guess we'll go with random thoughts, should be interesting. You've been warned.


Random thought #1, titled "WTF?!"


Not to sound all Paris Hilton or anything, but our daughter is stunningly beautiful. To that, add a little bit of sassafras, well, a lot of sassafras, and she's irresistible. We know this for a fact because everywhere she goes, young boys are taken with the sight of her and rendered speechless like tiny little toddler-sized deer in headlights. Young ones (like 18 months) and older ones (like 3 or 4 years old) alike follow her around in stores, parks, zoos, swimming pools trying to win her attention...luckily she is clueless about this right now. But we are so screwed when she gets older and hoping she will go though a prolonged awkward period that lasts through high school, maybe even college.


Random thought #2, also titled "WTF?!"


Where did summer go? I just read somewhere that local institutions of higher learning will be starting in 4 weeks. All I can say is HOLY CRAP! See, I'm still working on mammoth projects for two of the professors in our department. I'm doing OK, but I still panic at the thought of only 4 weeks left. Mind you, I have to have this done BEFORE the semester starts. Oh I'll finish, I always do, but not without several anxiety attacks prior to completion. And to make things more awesome, Little Nugget has done something to jack up Photoshop on my computer that I work on at home...so I have mucho image editing, but cannot get rid of the stupid hand icon so I can, oh I don't know, DO MY WORK!?!! Sorry just another thing for me to worry about, no doubt Hubby Nugget can fix it, but I worry, it's just what I do.


Random thought #3, titled "No really, I am in Weight Watchers."


Nobody forces me to eat birthday cake or scrumptious birthday bacon cheeseburgers, but when you have back to back birthday parties every weekend since the first week of June, it wears on your ability to say no after a while. Again, I take full responsibility for the choices I have made, and while I gained NO weight, I still haven't lost any either. We are now in the clear until October, so no excuses pour moi. Upside my head. And heiny. Got Hubby Nugget (and myself, he-he) a Wii fit for Father's Day, gonna fire that bad boy up! Word!


What else...hmm...


Random thought #4, titled "MAN it's been hot..."

Much too hot to garden in the last few weeks, then too rainy...but this is a perfect gardening weekend. Unseasonably cool, low humidity, no rain in the forecast,...and no plans other than hanging out in the yard. Sa-WEET! Hopefully Crazy Bitch next door won't make it unpleasant with her unbelievably LOUD speaking voice. "Conversations" peppered with exclamations of "FUCK" and "SHUT UP" are also a treat. I say "conversations" because nobody really ever talks when she's around, because she.doesn't.shut.up. AWEsome neighbor. OK she gave us a bunch of plants from her yard (thereby reducing the value of her new house by about 5 grand, stupidhead), but that still doesn't make up for her high level of annoyance. I see you talking neighbor, but all I hear is "Crazy Bitch!!!" Dude.


Random thought #5, titled "Lovin the Duck..."


Little Nugget loves Word World. She has one dvd that she loves, but I got her another the other day just because. This one is just stories about the character Duck, who she loves. OMG I've never seen the girl so tickled about something before in her short life! She cackles at this dvd and gets so wound up! It's been so worth it just watching her run around repeating the dialog and quacking like Duck! Good stuff!


All for now,
Nugget

The Melancholy Begins, aka the End of Vacation

Always happens as vacation draws to a close, especially when you have a 12 hour car ride staring you in the face. So we planned to make the most of day 5. Hubby Nugget wanted to do an alpine slide, and I wanted to check out Dinosaur Ridge. It's nice to have plans.

So after our fabulous breakfast, HN headed out for a quick hike upstream, and Little Nugget and I chilled out at the cabin. She mostly watched her beloved Wonder Pets while I made some earrings, a long-overdue jewelry-making session. When HN got back, he asked if I wanted to go out for a little Mommy-only exploring time, and I said "Oh hell yeah!"

So he watched the Monkey while I ventured forth into moss-lovers heaven. I warn you now, there are a lot of glamour shots of moss in this next section.

In past posts, I may have casually mentioned that I enjoy a good moss. So much so that I tried to plant some in my garden last year, which had mixed results in that the squirrels kept thinking I put it there for them to dig up, and I was under the misconception that it was my garden and what I put in the ground was supposed to stay put. Long story short, my battle with the squirrels ended with me obsessively putting moss pins in the ground like staples to keep them from removing the green goodness, all the while muttering expletives to squirrels who mocked me from above, perched high in the walnut tree chirping at me the whole time. Smartasses. This year we called a truce: I vowed to not plant moss and they hop around and dig as they please.

I digress. Point is, I love moss. And at this place, I seriously could have just plopped down and rolled around in it if I wanted to. I chose to take pics instead. Aren't you glad?!

I have no idea what this is. It was really cool, though:

I just couldn't get over how lush it was:

This stuff was fan-like, so pretty:

This little spot was like a moss nursery, tiny little newborn, baby moss goodness! And lichen too! Behold:

I did manage to switch the camera off macro mode for a nice general shot of the forest floor:

Hubby Nugget had hoped to find some mushrooms, but didn't on his hike. I stumbled upon this little guy on an upturned tree trunk:


Not a morel, but a real cutie nonetheless! That pine cone in the corner was about an inch long, just to give you an idea of the mushroom size.

I also climbed up the rocks behind the cabin, checked out some caves (from a distance, was a little afraid that critters could be lurking within). By the time I got back, it was lunchtime, and it was pretty clear that we didn't want to go into town. So after lunch, we all took a nap, (yea!!!) then went out for more fun in the woods.

Our super-sweet outdoorsy girl in her element:


We were pretty sad to leave!

And that's how Team Nugget spent our summer vacation!

Nugget

Team Nugget Puts on it's Best Bib and Tucker, Day 4

Sorry about the title to the post, I'm running out of ideas and hit a Wild Wild West slang directory. The point is, on day four we had some serious plans!


Plan 1: Play in the forest. Plan 2: Take a nap. Plan 3: Go out to a fancy dinner in Denver.


Plan 1 was a no brainer, and we headed into the woods with glee. Monkey took time to tickle the tree, why it needed tickling, I don't know. But tickle she did.

No discussion of Colorado is complete without the obligatory shot of alpines from below, reaching high into the beautiful, crisp mountain sky.

Next, the Little Nugget felt compelled to shake "hands" with another tree. She's a complicated girl. But it makes for some awesome pics.

We stopped for a mid-hike photo op!

We were happily playing with rocks when it suddenly started to snow! Not sure you can see it here, but know that any visible white specks are frozen precipitation:

Since I was wearing black, we tried to capture the snow on camera with me posed in a most dorky snow-gathering game-show-hostess fashion:

So inside we went as the mountain temps plummeted, with grand hopes of naps and sleep and rest...and yeah, that didn't happen. Somebody didn't take a nap despite our best efforts to provoke her into slumberland. We were pretty sleepy, does that count? Uh, no. Plan 2, unsuccessful.

On to plan 3. Dinner at Rioja in Denver. Of course on the drive there, we were assuming the Sweet Babygirl would nap in the car. No. Not until oh, 5 minutes outside Denver. Crappidy-crap-crap. Usually those are the makings of impending doom, but we were optimistic. Fools.

OK, we were early, which was good, so we drove around the city and got to see some of lovely downtown Denver. We saw many signs proclaiming that Denver loved the Nuggets, and we were touched by the sentiment. ;-) Folks were so nice! We love you too!

Our reservation time was drawing near, so we decided to head towards the restaurant and park. By then the Little Nugget was awake, and decidedly NOT happy about that situation, and Hubby Nugget had to pee, so we found a spot tout de suite, only to discover that it was 15 bucks an hour! HA! Dude! Don't get me wrong, I'm no rube, I know it's costly to park in the city, I'm just saying, we were hoping to find a better deal, cuz that's just how we roll. So round and round and round we went. After 10 more minutes of screaming Monkey and increasing urinary distress on behalf of the Hubby Nugget, we finally said OH DEAR GOD LET'S USE THE VALET!

So we whipped the car up to the curb, scrambled out, and the Little Nugget upon disembarking mid-meltdown, saw fit to throw a tube of Burt's Bees lip balm as she emerged from the car, barely missing said Valet. After profuse apologies, we took off around the block to walk it off, and luckily the meltdown subsided, but Hubby Nugget was quite uncomfortable, so we headed to the restaurant a little early. No problem, they had our table ready! Sweet!

OK, how to describe our dining experience...FAN-f*ing-tastic. OK, first off, Monkey was distracted by the enormous bag of usually forbidden toys, plus I gave her a snack cup full of mangos, nuts and marshies. Honestly, she was set and could have really cared less that we were there. She was in her own little world playing with all these tiny, intricate things that I brought for her. Sah-weet! This is most unusual, and quite enjoyable. So let's get on to the sweet-assed meal...

Appetizer: (from their online menu) Flight of artisan goat cheese: Camilla, Caprino lucano di Grotto, Harbourne Blue. rhubarb-strawberry jam, almond cracker, red wine gelee

Team Nugget loves us some goat cheese. So much that I want a goat (don't laugh, I know I already have The Bug, and that little bastard is as close to a goat as you can get). Blue cheese is not a fav of mine, but slather come rhubarb-strawberry jam on it, and it rocks pretty hard. But the best was the red wine gelee, kind of like a red wine gummy bear, only soft, and not bear shaped, and crusted in sugar. Dude. We paired a wine with that, but I don't remember the name. It was good too. I should have taken pics.

Entrees: For Hubby Nugget, Grilled Hawaiian blue prawns and crispy pork belly, green papaya salad, chili-vinegar gastrique, sweet ginger peanuts, peanut sauce. For Me: Seared sea scallops, lemon crème fraîche crispy risotto, mango arugula salad. Found a pic of mine online:

I can't even begin to describe how yummy this was. Hats off to chef Jennifer Jasinski! It was awesome. I paired mine with a pinot noir, and Hubby Nugget paired his with a Spanish wine. I'm really terrible with remembering wine names. Must improve that as we plan to open a winery one of these days...note to self...

Now Hubby Nugget REALLY wanted to order salad & or soup too, and it would have totally rocked super hard, but I said we have GOT to order dessert at a place like this. It was a good call because we got this:

Dessert: Warm cashew tart, chocolate and espresso custard, toasted cashews, vanilla bean ice cream, Hawaiian sea salted caramel; and Sweet goat cheese and black mission fig filled beignets with ruby port wine reduction. Pastry chef Eric Dale deserves a kiss on the mouth for the goat cheese beignets! Seriously. I can't remember the last time I had something so delicious. We had these with champagne, white and rose. The rose was SO good with the cashew tart.

Mad props for the bread too, I could have really been happy with just a plate of bread and a glass of wine, really! I mean come on, lavender biscuits?! You can bet I'll be harvesting my lavender plants this summer and trying to whip up a batch of my own! And the sourdough was superb. Jeez, my mouth is watering!

After the food orgy, the waiter complimented us on how well-behaved our daughter was. He remarked on how he and his wife never go out to nice restaurants because the kids just can't stay still that long. We tried not to snort champagne out our noses and thanked him for the compliment. He got a big tip, too, :-)

So we walked out like rockstars, Babygirl lookin all sassy with her awesome outfit and supercute black patent flipflops (a la Walmart!). All the women just about pissed themselves at how cute she looked (patting myself on the shoulder!). Walked up to the valet stand, they fetched our car and the dude commented on how he'd never had chapstick thrown at him! Now that's good stuff!

In all, day 4 was a smashing success!

More later,

Nugget