Wow! I feel so loved, with all the happy birthday comments, messages and emails! Thank you!

The other day, Charles asked me how it felt to be 28. I told him to ask me in two days.  Well, the day is here, and although it’s frightening to think that I’m thismuch closer to 30, I have to say, it feels good! It’s such a cliche, but I have everything I’ve ever wanted: the most wonderful husband; an adorable, happy child; a fun-loving, low-maintenance furry child (that would be Atari); amazing friends; and the best family I could ask for. I’ve really lucked out! So much so that sometimes I wonder about the proverbial other shoe. But, I like to think that I do enough good to achieve some sort of karmic balance. Anyway, suffice to say that I feel extremely blessed every day, which is the best gift of all.

I’m looking forward to this next year. I’ll continue to be home with Jack, to watch him grow and develop, and Johnny and I have some pretty big plans ourselves, mostly revolving around the purchase of our first home. We’re not sure if the current market conditions will work in our favor (declining housing prices) or against us (stricter lending rules), so wish us luck! And this year, we’ll also start thinking more seriously about expanding our family again, although the addition herself probably wouldn’t arrive until well after my next birthday. Notice I said herself. If I just go about assuming that a girl is in our future, I’m sure it will just happen that way. After all, if I’ve learned anything from motherhood so far, it’s that I have absolute control over everything — I say as I am pelted with grapes thrown by Jack. (Have you fellow moms collapsed from laughter yet?)

As for what I’m doing today, Jack and I went to apply for his passport this morning, then we had lunch with my mom. It was fun and delicious — and I’m loving the fact that I can now meet my mom for lunch in the middle of the day! After we got back home, Jack played for a bit while I did a little work, and now, because it is 90 degrees outside, we’re headed to the indoor playground. Jack and I also have plans to share an ice cream cone — it is my birthday, after all! Johnny is coming home at 6 p.m. tonight, woo hoo! And, to top it all off, there’s a new episode of Fringe tonight. Perfect! So, thank you all again for all the warm birthday wishes … I truly appreciate it.

I hope you’re in a comfortable chair, with a snack and beverage in front of you, because this is going to be long!

I had an awesome birthday celebration weekend, thanks to my wonderful family. I turn 28 this coming Tuesday, but it made sense to have all the fun this weekend. Plus, this way, I’ll still Tuesday to look forward to.

Saturday morning, Johnny, Jack and I had a very leisurely early morning, just hanging around the apartment. While Jack took his morning nap, I went for a run. Jack’s nap was extra-long, so I had time to get in a shower and some reading before we headed to In-N-Out for lunch.

Jack munched on veggies while Johnny and I waited for our burgers and fries. We got Jack a beef patty with melted cheese on top.

In the late afternoon, our babysitter, Susy, came, so that Johnny and I could meet up with my mom, June and Charles for dinner and then … the SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE live tour at the Honda Center! We were sad to leave, Jack, of course — especially since he wailed when we left. However, two minutes later, Susy called me, and I could hear my oh-so-loyal son laughing and playing happily in the background. I wasn’t ever too worried; Susy used to be a preschool teacher, and she’s sat for Jack before. Actually, Johnny likes to joke that Jack is safer with Susy than he is with us. She requires all clients to put together an emergency kit for their kids, complete with three days worth of clothing, water, diapers, food, and copies of medical insurance cards. It’s a great thing to have on hand, but I have to admit that before we hired Susy, we didn’t have an emergency earthquake kits for Jack! 

Anyway, the original plan was to meet up at the Boiling Crab in Garden Grove, because I’ve been craving it ever since June talked about it. They boil crab, shrimp, crawfish and whatever other seafood you want from the menu in a pot of Cajun seasonings, along with corn on the cob, and then they dump it all on your table (covered with papers), and you grab and eat. I love places where I get to pig out! However, apparently all of SoCal decided to show up at the Boiling Crab, and at 5:45 p.m., there was going to be an hour-long wait. We didn’t have the time, because SYTYCD started at 7:30 p.m. Luckily, June knew of a wonderful Vietnamese restaurant across the street, so we went there and chowed down on pho, spring rolls and many, many other dishes. Afterward, we got frozen yogurt, then drove our significantly heavier cars to the Honda Center.

Ok, guys, so Johnny and I are big fans of SYTYCD (isn’t Johnny a great husband for getting into it with me?), and so are June, Charles and my mom. But, I didn’t think that many people would show up for the tour. But no, it was packed, you guys!

Some pics of us and of the packed stadium. In the last one, you can kind of see the dancers as they came on stage

So for those of you who watch the show, the top 10 dancers, plus Jessica, were there, along with “special guests” Chelsea T and Thayne. Everyone looked like they did on the show, although Katee had gotten a lot slimmer (she looked better in her “No Air” pants this time around! Not that she looked bad before, though), and Jessica had gotten chunky! She was always curvy, but when she had on a belly-baring top, it was honestly hard to concentrate on anything other than the fact that there was belly flab hanging out there. We could hear other people around us go, “Oh my gosh, what IS that???” It’s not like she should look like a stick, but this just looked like she spent the past few months eating Pringles on the couch. (OK, I will stop being catty now.) Anyway, the show was great. They performed all the greatest hits, including (but not limited to):

No Air
Bleeding Love
The Garden
Courtney and Gev’s cha-cha
Twitchington’s prison break hip-hop routine
Twitchington’s Viennese waltz
Katee and Joshua’s Bollywood routine, and the group version
Katee and Twitch’s Door Dance
Comfort and Mark’s detention hip-hop routine
Courtney and Will’s ghost hip-hop routine (they even had “wedding pictures” taken to show in the background!)

It was great to see them live. We were up too high to get good pictures, but we did have a good view of the stage. I am just amazed at how they consistently perform so well, time after time, in front of such a large crowd. Afterward, June wanted to wait outside the back door so she could propose to Mark, but somehow we talked her out of it. However, Johnny did get a pic of the rest of us doing the “4 Real” thing. I love how my mom is floating the “4″ above her shoulder. 

OK, so we’re huge dorks

Today, we met up with Aunt Kathy, Uncle Bill, my mom, June and Charles at the Huntington Library for tea and then a stroll through the Chinese garden. Aunt Kathy and Uncle Bill wanted to treat all of us for my birthday. The tea was yummy, as always. Jack enjoyed all the sandwiches and fruit!

I was so surprised and touched by the entire day. Turns out that my mom, June and Charles had secretly ordered me a Baskin Robbins ice cream cake, with strawberry ice cream and chocolate cake (my fave flavor combo!), and coordinated with my aunt to get it to the tea room. So after we had tea, our waitress brought out the cake!

They had also brought presents for me to open, although I wasn’t expecting anything. I just thought we were spending the day together! June got me a really pretty knit sweater dress in a berry color, which is perfect for fall, and goes perfectly with the suede black boots that Charles bought me. I had just been saying that I wanted a pair of flat-soled boots, too! I’m waiting until Tuesday for my mom’s present, since we’re going to have lunch on my actual birthday. Aunt Kathy and Uncle Bill gave me a very generous amount of birthday money, which was so unnecessary because they had already footed the bill for today. From Johnny, I had a pink gift bag, inside of which were two cards, one from Johnny and one from Jack. There was also a Jodi Picoult novel in there (The Tenth Circle), which I had been wanting to read. Then, I noticed something else from Johnny in the bag, and it turned out to be the biggest surprise of all …

I’m surprised, but Jack looks rather blase about it all

A pair of diamond stud earrings!!!!

I was so shocked and speechless. They are gorgeous — they’re somewhere between 0.65 and 0.7 carat each (a little more than 1.30 total carats), and the quality is stunning — they match the quality of the stones on my engagement ring. The pictures don’t do them justice, but here they are.

I was just thinking, “How?? When did he get them??” I love jewelry, especially diamonds. When Johnny and I got engaged, my wonderful mother-in-law reset a pair of her beautiful diamond studs, which my father-in-law had given her when Johnny was an infant, in platinum to match my engagement ring. I pretty much wear those every day — I love them and they are very sentimental to me. However, those had gotten me hooked on diamond earrings.  I had mentioned to Johnny that when I get older, I wanted some blingy studs — somewhere around 3/4 carat on each side. But, I also told him that I wanted to wait until we had a house, and that they would make sense for a milestone birthday, like 30. In fact, when Johnny asked me what I wanted this year, I told him (honestly) that the only thing I wanted was for him to be home at a reasonable hour from work on Tuesday — usually he is gone from 8 a.m. to about 8 p.m. I knew he’d get me something, but I was thinking a book or a clothing item … not diamond studs! I didn’t even think he was listening when I was babbling about the diamond studs.

Well, a few weeks ago, Johnny got in touch with my mom, and asked for her help in shopping for the studs. He wanted to go back to the jeweler where he bought my engagement ring, whom my mom has known for a long time. So this past Friday, Johnny took off from work early and met my mom and June downtown, where he looked at many diamond earrings and finally picked this pair. My mom played it so cool — I had called her while she was at the jeweler, and I didn’t suspect a thing! It was really just so unexpected. Of course, I fretted about our down payment, but he had been saving for this for a while, so it’s all good. Really, though, it’s not as much about the studs as the fact that he was listening to me and had taken the time to come up with an elaborate plan despite his busy work schedule (and continued involvement at home). Johnny said that it occurred to him that the last time he got me major jewelry was for our engagement, and that that was “too long ago.” I told Johnny that if there is a perfect husband, he’s it.

But, OK, who am I kidding? Of course it’s also about the diamond studs, ha. I put those puppies in my ears, and after the tea, we went on to stroll the Chinese gardens. Aside from the searing heat, it was fun! Jack really enjoyed walking around with the adults. He spent about 90% of his time walking instead of in his stroller. We also got some great pictures. I think my favorites are Charles pushing June into the lagoon, and the candid one where I’m wearing my sunglasses, because if you click to enlarge that picture, you can see my new earrings.

I also really love this photo of me and Johnny.

So, it was an amazing weekend, and I owe it all to my family for making it so fun! I’ll post again on Tuesday.

Today, Jack and I went over to my friend Jill’s house for lunch and a playdate with her daughter, Maddie, who was also born in July 2007. We had a blast!

First of all, the whole time I was in Jill’s beautiful home, I was taking mental notes on how to decorate and organize our stuff when we finally get a house next year. Let’s just say that although I thought our apartment was relatively free of clutter for being home to a toddler, Jill’s house is extremely neat and yet cozy and fun. I’m not sure how she does it, but I think she should start charging money to teach people how to accomplish this.

Jill made delicious paninis for us, and mac and cheese for the kids. After lunch, Jack and Maddie played together adorably, pushing each other affectionately, giggling and making lots of noise. Maddie generously shared her toys.

And, OK, this is amazing: When Jill tells Maddie to show us her happy face, Maddie does this on command!

Uh, I just told Jack to give me his happy face, and he stuck out his tongue at me and spit out his mouthful of dinner. See, I’m telling you, girls are smarter from the start. Ha.

So this was a great start to the weekend. Tomorrow, Johnny and I are leaving Jack with our occasional sitter, Susy, in the afternoon. We’re going to meet my mom, June and Charles for dinner at the Boiling Crab, where, you guessed it, we will be gorging on crab. Then it’s on to the So You Think You Can Dance tour performance at the Honda Center! I am beyond excited. Sunday, my aunt’s taking all of us to tea at the Huntington Library gardens. It’s all part of my 28th birthday celebration (I turn 28 on September 30). Yay!

If you don’t agree with the other 999,999 reasons to love fall*, you have to love the fact that lower temps = footie pajamas for little kids. Only heartless, soulless people don’t find footie pajamas adorable.  Sure, they’re kind of a pain when you need to change a poopy diaper right before bedtime, but they’re so undeniably baby-like (unless you’re the type of person who buys adult footie pajamas from the SkyMall catalog — in which case, please don’t let me know), and when your child is wearing them, you don’t have to worry about covers being kicked off in the middle of the night.

Behold the cuteness!

I’m so cute, I can get away with putting my hand in front of my crotch!

Sigh. I’m resigned to my relentlessly picture-taking parents.

Have you melted from the cuteness of footie pajamas yet? Jack has some room to grow in these 18-month ones (as usual, he’s tall enough but a little slim for them), but that means I don’t have to buy PJs for a while. Unless, of course, they are on sale at Target and are too cute to pass up.

* Just a few of the 999,999 other reasons to love fall:

1. Halloween
2. Pumpkin pie
3. Pumpkin spiced lattes from Starbucks
4. Hot apple cider
5. Thanksgiving
6. Holiday decorations
7. Shopping!!!
8. Trips to the park that don’t bring on lots of sweating from being in the heat
9. Colder temps = more cuddling!
10. Sweaters
11. Tights
12. Boots
13. The return of new episodes on TV

If you count his naps, Jack sleeps for 13 or 14 hours a day. What’s he up to in his 10 waking hours, you ask?

Mischief, I tell you! Our little man is quite busy these days.

Friday morning, Jack turned the space below the dining table into an obstacle course of sorts. He kept running and hiding between the chairs, where I couldn’t catch him as easily.

Just look at that smile

Then, during the few seconds I took to respond to a work email, Jack opened up my underwear drawer and somehow extracted the, um, extra padding from one of my swimsuit tops.  Can I emphasize that the padding was in the swimsuit to begin with? That takes some advanced fine motor skills! I mean, I have trouble taking those pads out! Anyway, Jack quickly toddled into the kitchen with his prize, retrieved a mixing bowl from the cabinet and proceeded to put the pad into the bowl, then take it out, then put it back into the bowl for five minutes.

Jack discovers that lingerie is fun!

And today, poor Atari had to go to the vet and get an Elizabethan collar, because his crotch area is all red. Turns out that at some point, it got irritated (perhaps he scratched it or something on a walk), and when Atari kept licking at the area, it became infected. So now he’s on an antibiotic. Anyway, when Johnny came home with a collared Atari, Jack had a field day. When Atari kept bumping into furniture with his E-collar (that’s what they called it at the vet’s office), Jack giggled. He also wanted to bang on the collar and thought it was great fun to grab Atari’s face while the collar was on. Of course, we stopped him … but first, we had to get a couple of pictures.

Jack: Hey, Atari, your E-collar makes a great drum!
Atari: Oh, the indignity.

Jack goes straight for Atari’s eyes. Atari dreams of putting Jack in an E-collar.

During dinner tonight, Jack accidentally flung a piece of food onto the floor. Atari scrambled to get it, but couldn’t because his collar got in the way. Jack laughed when he observed this, and then proceeded to throw a few more pieces of food on the floor so he could watch Atari try to pick up the food. Sigh! I feel so bad for Atari. I keep telling him that in a year or so, Jack will be his best buddy (Jack already thinks Atari is his best friend, but I don’t think the feeling is mutual right now, haha).

Anyway, I hope that gives everyone a better idea of what Jack does during the day! I’ll update about my weekend tomorrow.

Yesterday, at the park, Jack and I ran into Cindy, a mom I met a few weeks ago, and her 16-month-old son, Asher. I’m always happy to see a familiar face at the park (it’s happening more and more, now that I’m home with Jack ). Cindy and I chatted while our sons toddled around.

At one point, Jack was banging on the metal piano attached to the side of one of the play structures. Asher wandered over and also hit a few of the keys. Jack looked at him, squawked in mild protest and waved his hand near Asher’s face. Asher walked away and all was well for a second. Then, Jack walked off after Asher, who had stopped and was looking up at a slide. I thought Jack was just following Asher, but no, he reached out and swiped at Asher’s shoulder. It looked (for a millisecond) like Jack had just been getting Asher’s attention, and that the two boys were going to engage in some cute toddler interaction. However, my illusion was shattered as Jack grabbed a fistful of Asher’s shirt, furrowed his eyebrows, and then pushed hard. Asher fell to the ground in surprise and hit his forehead (his back was still to Jack when this happened). Luckily, that area of the playground is made of soft foam, but I was still pretty mortified. Asher started crying, of course, and ran to Cindy. As soon as it happened, I ran over to Jack, knelt down, looked him in the eyes and said, “NO!” very sternly. I told him (very briefly) that it is not OK to push people. Then we went over to Cindy and Asher and apologized profusely. After that, we went home. No more playtime for the day. Jack took his punishment in stride. He protested at leaving, but that was about it. I’m not sure he knew what he did wrong!

Luckily, Cindy was breezy about the whole thing. I realize that’s what little boys do, but it just seemed so purposeful! My cheerful, happy-go-lucky son deliberately pushed someone! Just earlier yesterday, I had been so pleased when a friend came over with her baby, and Jack tried to give the baby a pacifier when she cried. “What a lovely display of empathy!” I thought. Sigh. It got me to thinking that lately, I’ve observed Jack’s unwillingness to share. He’s fine with me and Johnny, and he shares all too happily with Atari, but at the park, or at his My Gym classes, he gets upset when other kids come take what’s “his.” Interestingly enough, he doesn’t really protest when a little girl takes his stuff, but he swipes his hands and makes squawking noises when other boys take his things or want a turn with something he’s playing with. I wonder if he picks it up by observing older boys, who are rough with each other? I mean, Johnny and I don’t push and yell at each other (at least, we don’t yell at each other in front of Jack, haha) — I’m not sure where he’s learning it. Or is it just innate?

I suppose the positive side of this is that Jack stands up for himself and is independent. To a large extent, I think it’s just normal toddler stuff — exploring boundaries, learning cause and effect (“Hey, if I push someone, it causes them to fall! Cool!”). But, I’ll still be encouraging such concepts as “gentle,” “share,” and “no hitting/pushing.”

p.s. In some kind of poetic justice, as we were leaving the park yesterday, after we had apologized to Cindy and Asher, Jack was walking quickly in an attempt to escape from me. He ran right into Cindy’s leg (she had been looking at Asher, who had wandered off into the distance — probably to escape Jack — and not been paying attention to the toddlers underfoot). The force of this sudden encounter with Cindy’s shin caused Jack to fall back and smack the back of his head on the foamy surface. Of course, Jack cried and held up his arms to be hugged. As I rubbed his back, I said, “Jack, this is an early lesson about karma.” Is it terrible that although I was dismayed about Jack bumping his head, I had to stifle a giggle?

This weekend, I left Johnny and Jack at home for the first time to travel to Washington, D.C. for my friend Michelle’s wedding shower. (Well, technically, it was a luncheon, since Michelle never wanted a shower. Her aunt wanted to host something for her, though, so we settled on calling it a luncheon instead. ) I was very nervous to leave my boys at home, and I missed them so much while I was gone, but I did want to be there. Michelle’s flown all over the country for so many of my festivities over the years — bachelorette party, wedding, baby shower, meeting Jack after he was born — that this was the least I could do! Plus, being all the way over in California, I felt like I couldn’t share in her pre-wedding festivities very well. As if I needed any more encouragement, right as Michelle was telling me about this luncheon a couple of months ago, I found out that I had earned enough credit card points for a free domestic round-trip flight. Score!

It was a whirlwind trip … I left Friday at 1 p.m., and I arrived back in Los Angeles yesterday at 11:30 a.m. Less than 48 hours! But, it was so worth it to have some “girl time” with Michelle, and to be there for the luncheon, and to read two books during my flights!

Here are some pictures from the weekend:

Yummy peanut butter and chocolate truffles that Michelle’s aunt made. Michelle’s mom frosted them with “M”s (although they could also be “E”s, for Michelle’s fiance, Eric)

On left, Sarah, Michelle’s mom, Michelle’s aunt, and Michelle gather in the kitchen; on the right, Michelle, her friends Laura and Briana, and me, waiting to open gifts

The lunch spread was really yummy. Michelle’s aunt made it all! There was cold poached salmon with a spinach cream sauce, cold and spicy lo mein, Chinese chicken salad, pita and hummus and so many other things, I lost count. We also had yummy cupcakes with fresh raspberry cream (made with home-grown raspberries). After lunch, we opened gifts and looked through the recipe book that we’d made for Michelle. Everyone brought at least one recipe, and we put it into a binder for Michelle.

It’s a mini-Northwestern reunion: Me, Becca, Michelle and Kerri

After the luncheon, we chilled for a bit, then Michelle, Becca and I went out on the town. (I use that term mildly … what we did was have Potbelly sandwiches, then hit up a bar called Zengo for yummy mango mojitos.)

Mmmm, Potbelly!! How I miss you. No one else can measure up … not Quiznos, not Subway, not any other sandwich shop!

After our night out, we returned to Michelle and Eric’s apartment, where we watched an hour of Saturday Night Live before falling asleep. (Oh my, wasn’t that Sarah Palin/Hillary Clinton opening skit hilarious?)

Michelle and Eric were very gracious hosts, and I had a really good time. I was definitely happy to get home to Johnny and Jack, though!

I don’t have pictures of Jack from this weekend, but I do have some from last weekend! I haven’t shared these yet. We ran errands at a bank, where Jack ran around and around.

Also, check out this video, which showcases Jack’s walking and noise-making skills.

We also visited a family friend last weekend with my mom, June and Charles. Here’s a group shot. My mom, me (in yellow) and June are in the middle.

My mom got Jack a nifty hat that he wears in the bath, to shield his eyes from the soapy water when I rinse his hair. He thinks it’s hilarious, and it works really well. He loves shampoos now!

Jack’s now eating more than I do at some meals! Looks like he’s over his picky eating (for now). I don’t know what brought on this change, I’m just happy about it. Also, he has a new pastime: “vaccuuming” our coffee table.

That’s all, folks! I hope everyone had a nice weekend.

Warning: Don’t read this if you are already upset about something. I’m going to mention something extremely devastating.

I belong to an online group of other women who gave birth in July 2007. We post threads and comments about the trials and tribulations of our babies (now toddlers), about our families, about work and just about life in general. Even though most of us only know each other online, it does feel like a family — where else can you interact with dozens of other women in the same life stage as you, with the same baby-obsessed brain as you?

This morning, one of the moms posted that her 14-month-old toddler, Reed, drowned last night in a shallow pond in their backyard. I won’t link to her actual post — it seems too personal — but here is a news story about it. Her husband was home at the time, and after not seeing Reed for a few minutes, searched the house for him. However, Reed had wandered into the backyard, unbeknownst to his dad, and by the time his dad found him, Reed was already gone. It only takes a minute for a small child to drown, and of course the pond wasn’t deep, either. Reed was already walking well, but I can only imagine that it’s difficult to regain your balance and stand if you’re a frightened toddler who’s suddenly in the water and can’t breathe.  At this age, it’s easy to take your eye off your child — they seem stronger and less frail than the tiny infants they once were, and yet, they’re so active that something like this can literally happen in a minute or less.

When I read that post, I started to cry. I don’t know this woman in real life, and she’s not even one of the people on the board whom I’m close to. But, I’ve certainly read her stories about Reed over the last few months, and seen the adorable pictures. Everyone on the board knew what words he could say, what he liked to eat, his latest tricks … that’s part of the information we share with one another. And now, he’s gone. I can’t even begin to imagine the pain — and self-blame — that the family must be feeling. If I start to imagine it, I get all emotional. It had been such a happy time for them — the mom had recently revealed to us that she’s pregnant again — and now it’s the darkest time in their lives. Many of us have been through the pain of a miscarriage … and yet that must not even begin to register as a blip when compared to losing a living and breathing child, a child whom you’ve seen through the terribly difficult and trying stages of infancy, a child who is just starting to develop into his own person.

So, if you have a child, please give him or her an extra hug today! And take extra safety precautions. This is a reminder that happiness is so easily lost.

Have you guys noticed? I have finally “earned” my True badge from Xanga! It’s about time! (Thank you, Xanga Team!)

When Xanga first came out with the True badge (the only little badge you can’t buy, unlike the Premium and Xanga for Life badges) to honor its most active members, I scoffed at the idea but secretly coveted one. I was sure I was going to get one. But no, the longest time passed, and I didn’t receive one!

Yesterday, I noticed that my Account Settings section said that I was eligible to “apply” for a True badge. In my almost four years at Xanga, I have made 498 posts, and in the last few days alone, gathered up more than 100 comments. So I hit the “Apply” button. Turns out you need to make a short case to the Xanga team about why you deserve a True badge. It seemed a bit silly to me, but (as always!) I wanted approval. In school, it was about getting the A. At work, it was about getting recognition, a promotion or a raise. Now, it’s about getting one of Jack’s big grins. So, of course I leapt at a way to gain approval from the blogosphere! I wrote up a paragraph about how I’ve shared many big life milestones on Xanga, how I ask for and offer advice from my blog readers, and about how I’ve hosted about 10 Xangans in my home in real life. Basically, I said that if practically running a Xanga Hotel while living in NYC didn’t qualify me for a True badge, I didn’t know what would.

So lo and behold, a badge has been bestowed upon me! Yes, so I’m kind of a big dork. You can laugh, but I have my badge! I’ve earned my approval! Now I’m going to go eat a fudgesicle to celebrate.

I’ve been looking for a travel booster seat for Jack for a while. He has a high chair at home, of course, but I wanted a booster seat with tray to keep in the car, for when we’re at restaurants. A lot of restaurants don’t have them, and when they do, many times the high chairs are old or really grubby (even by my standards!). Last week, I ordered the Fisher-Price Healthy Care Deluxe Booster Seat from Johnny’s Amazon account (free shipping, yay!), and it arrived yesterday. Let me tell you: I love it! It’s the best!

Fisher-Price isn’t paying me for this plug (well, since Mattel owns Fisher-Price, I suppose they’re paying me indirectly by supplying Johnny’s paychecks!), but I loved the seat so much that I took some pictures so I could show you the neat features.

The seat attaches to any chair that has a seat back. It attaches by two sets of straps: one that loops around the chair’s bottom, and one that goes around the seat back. Underneath the white base of the seat, there are two blue legs that you can adjust to one of three heights. That way, no matter how short/tall your child is, or how low/high the adult chair is, you can have your child at a comfortable angle. Also, the tray is removable for an older child.

Check out how the tray can be snapped into one of three positions (those three green buttons on the side). The green seat back folds down flat for storage/carrying, and it’s also removable for an older child. Here you can also see the two sets of straps I was talking about earlier. Oh, and the set of straps that buckles under the chair bottom also has velcro so that the long part of the strap doesn’t brush against the floor and get all nasty. Genius!

More on the tray — the green part that you saw in the two pics above was just the tray lid. This white tray is the actual feeding tray. It also snaps off from the blue base tray, and you can put it in the dishwasher (just like most high chair trays). You can also put the green lid in the dishwasher. The tray lid feature is nice, because that way, you don’t have to worry about the feeding tray getting dirty in transport. For us, we’ll be keeping this in the car most of the time, so it’s nice that the green lid will protect the tray from getting all dusty (or furry with Atari’s hair!). Also, after Jack’s made a mess of the tray (as is inevitable during meals), I can just wipe down the feeding tray and snap the lid on, and not worry about the messy tray until we get home. The more I think about it, the more I realize this booster seat was made for germophobes!

OK, here’s the last picture, of how it folds up. One set of straps loops around the trays, and the other set — the one that went around the back of the adult chair — even acts as a handy carrying strap! The whole thing is really light, too — easy to carry or place into a stroller basket.

OK, I’m done with this infomercial now. Way to go, Fisher-Price! I’m excited to use it — we’ll get to on Saturday, when we meet my mom, June and Charles for lunch.

Now, on to serious matters. Who watched 90210 last night? I thought the first hour of the premiere was not that great, and spent most of it chuckling at the cheesy melodrama, and feeling too old to be watching it. Some of that had to do with the fact that Lori Loughlin was playing the mom. I remember her as Rebecca from Full House! She did have that failed stint on Summerland. Johnny asked, “What does Lori Loughlin do these days? Hang around the CW studios, looking for a job?” Haha. In turn, I asked him, “Do you think this is how people who were our age now when the original 90210 came out felt about the show?” He nodded as if to say, “Duh!” I was also unimpressed by the actors’ looks … I didn’t think anyone was really all that gorgeous. Yes, they’re still way cuter than anyone you’re likely to meet in real life, but I remember drooling over Brandon and Dylan, and thinking that Kelly and Brenda were really beautiful in the original show. So, I almost turned it off halfway through the first hour. But then, somehow I got hooked during the last 15 minutes of the first hour! And the second hour got way better for me. I think I’ll give next week another shot. I’m really easily sucked in; Johnny was laughing at me by the end. I just thought it was sad how Ethan came back with the “pentapus” stuffed animal, only to see Annie making out with Troy.

Here’s my question, though: Do you know any high school students who look like that? I mean, a lot of these “kids” looked like they could be in their late 20s! Annie was realistic looking enough, but I’m sure that will change very soon. Oh, and since when did the Peach Pit also become a bar at night? (It was neat to revisit the Peach Pit, though!) It was fun to see Shannen Doherty and Jennie Garth reprising their roles. Did you all notice that the camera very carefully shot around Shannen Doherty? She has not kept herself up very well. At one point, she lifted her arms, and I was like, “Wow! Tricep curls, anyone??” I know that’s mean, but a) she’s a celebrity, she’s paid to look good! It’s her job!, and b) she always seemed like, well, a bit chilly without the “-illy”, if you know what I mean. (I didn’t come up with that expression … that’s a Johnny O’Neal classic.)