My good friend Allie was chosen by FoodBuzz.com to host a party celebrating our children and our friendships.

(FoodBuzz.com showcases posts from 24 Foodbuzz Featured Publisher bloggers. The monthly Foodbuzz 24 highlights unique meals occurring around the globe during a 24-hour period.)

Check out the Ice Cream Social from this past weekend.

To say I have an amazing group of friends is a complete understatement. I am so lucky.

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Wow, an entire week has gone by and all I have to show for myself is a TRIP TO DISNEYLAND. Come over to Style Lush Blog to see what tips I suggested to surviving the trip with the kids in tow.

Hopefully, I can recover soon and give a little more intimate detail of our trip, including pictures!

Luckily, we scheduled a date night for this evening, just in time to detox, ALONE.

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The weekend before last, I had the fabulous opportunity to head down to LA for a weekend getaway with some fantastic ladies. Each one represents a period of my life and I was so thrilled I got to share my time away from home with each one of them.

Starting on the left, we have miss caroline. I have known her since I was 6 years old. She is my oldest and dearest friend. She took me in, the new girl in school, and never let me go. We’ve shared school days, college years, (oh my, was that a drunken haze. cards anyone?) the real world together (and maybe dated a few of the same guys? we were like 12. or 17.) It’s been an amazing journey, along with its embarrassing moments, but I’d rather have no one else to gab with along the way.

In the middle, we have miss sarah. Sarah and I grew up in Oklahoma together as well, but we went to different schools. We did cross paths in Sunday school. We were confirmed together. (Go Episcopalians!) Her uncle was our teacher and used to bring us muffins and donuts. I do recall us being at the same party in high school and she told me she liked my boots. And, with that, or somewhere in there, we began our friendship. And I am sure this is due to living in a small town, but we also dated a couple of the same guys. (It just happens, ok?) She’s a keeper, for sure.

Next to me, is miss marci. (aka lvgurl) Marci and I met over 10 years ago when I moved out to CA. She must of been the first girlfriend I met here. (And, no, we did not date any of the same dudes.) Her boyfriend/husband was best friends with hubs in high school. And with that connection, we’ve never looked back. Halfway through our time in CA together, she and her hubs moved out to Vegas. It was a sad day when they moved away, but she made my bachelorette party (and FIRST time to Vegas EVER) weekend, one I will NEVER forget. See?

I’m the one in the middle with a TIARA on. I was asked in the ladies room if I had just won a pageant. Awesome.

And I even got my very own lap dance with TWO dudes in fluorescent banana hammocks. Can’t you just feel the grease on your hands? Wait, where was I? I got distracted for some reason. (I know, CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT. memories. la la la lllall lala)

Point is, these girls, these AMAZING girls have been there for me, MY WHOLE LIFE. And to that, I can never thank them enough. Here’s to many more getaways celebrating true friendship.

Oh, and if your ever in the LA area and need a place to stay, I would suggest the Standard hotel. There, you can have an A/C unit that says something like this:

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My boys gave me my second charm necklace to complete my set.

My journey out West began on a cold, rainy January morning.

10 years ago.

The day turned quickly into sleet, ice and sideways blowing snow. A blizzard.

10 years ago.

I moved over 1800 miles to be with the boy I loved.

10 years ago.

today.

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This isn’t just a regular Monday in Mel land.

For one, I am still in Oklahoma braving the recent chilly ass weather consisting of early morning snow flurries and late afternoon bone chilling wind. Trying to survive with glasses of wine and warm fires.

And Two, today is the lovely Gorillabuns/Shana’s virtual baby shower!! Can we get a WHOOP!! WHOOP!! Awe, yeah.

I had the lovely pleasure of meeting Miss Buns yesterday at her lovely abode. For some unknown reason (like loss of major brain power), I misplaced her address while in route to her house. (not to mention her phone number.) Through the help of my partners in crime LVGurl, and 180/360, I was able to make it to her part of the woods with ease. (Hello, Google Maps, I thank you. )Funny enough, she lives 3 minutes away from where I grew up. Small world, eh?

Upon reaching her doorstep, I was somewhat concerned I might not have the right house, until I read a sign posted near her doorbell. It read, ” ABSOLUTELY, NO SOLICITING.” Then, I knew. This was Shana’s house, for certain!

The early afternoon was spent with lovely conversation which included feeding Hola jarred baby food in a travel swing that she let me borrow, (so unprepared. And girl, I am still sorry for getting squash on the swing. agh!) feeding Rt everything they had in their kitchen from teddy grahams to graham crackers to sippy cups of milk, (I owe you girl) taking Rt to the potty, where he spent what seemed like 30 minutes going #2, (I thought I was going to have to ask where the plunger was), Hola spitting up sweet potatoes all over Gbuns while I was in the potty with Rt, and her two little girls being absolute dolls with the baby. (they brought him everything from a bib, to batteries for the travel swing, to every toy they imagined he’d want to play with. They are certainly ready for their sibling. The sweetness, I tell you.)

It really was fabulous getting to hang with Shana. Her family was so welcoming. We had such a nice day. I wish I could post my darling photos of Gbuns and her sweet girls, but I am still away from home, with no cords and no computer, so those will have to wait till I get back tomorrow. boo.

So, Shana, here is to you and your growing family. May your next few weeks be filled with lots of rest. (um, and major preparation on that baby room, get to it!!) And the birth of your third baby be filled with lots of wonderful memories and tons of drugs.

You rock, girl. Seriously.

The end.

The following people are also participating in Shana’s virtual baby shower today; head their way for more: 180/360 Carissa Alphababy LVGurl Kris Metalia Angella Neil Rhi Sizzle Walking Punchline Whiskeymarie Whoorl

dean and deluca hot chocolate and cafe au lait: $5.80

ice skating in Rockefeller plaza for 2: $44

2 tickets to view the NYC skyline from the Empire State Building: $38

2 Papaya Hot Dogs and a Drink Special: $3.50

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Spending the entire day being a major ass tourist: priceless

Yes, the leaves do turn colors here in California, but hubs and I have a better plan to take in the season.

Go to New York City.

Tomorrow.

Alone.

For 5 days.

We are taking the kids up to the grandparents today to get them settled before we head off at the crack of dawn tomorrow. It will be the first time hubs and I are both gone from the boys since Hola was born. Sigh.

I will be filled with major excitement the moment we take off tomorrow at 6a.m.

Until then, I will run around my house furiously packing the kids, then spending most of my afternoon in almost-tears dropping my babies off.

Any last minute suggestions on what to do while we’re there?

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p.s. I almost forgot!! Hola is SIX MONTHS OLD TODAY. Hola hell batman! Time is a flyin!

The lovely gorillabuns showed some interest for one of my baby-carrying contraptions, so I thought I would take all of you on a tour of “How to hold your baby.”

First up, and most-needed!!!!, in my opinion, is the Sling. In my case, the Peanut Shell.

This puppy is the BEES’ KNEES when it comes to holding your baby, ESPECIALLY newborns, right off the bat. Hola was a 4th trimester baby. If there was room, he could have stayed in my womb for another 3 months. For the first month or so, he was not too interested in just “hanging out” after being fed/before nap. He would just fuss fuss fuss. So, I stuck him in the sling, and did everything I needed/wanted to do. (he would literally pass out within minutes!!)

Clean kitchen? check. Write blog post? check. Make something edible for dinner? check.

It’s just like being pregnant, so you do have to work around your belly, but you’ve got two hands AND no back pain. MAJOR BONUS. Hey, I still shove Hola in my sling when desperate, and at 17 lbs, he still nods off to sleep. (Sometimes, it does take some “walking the halls” to the rhythm of the night to get him to settle and nod off, but once he does, I’m set, and so is he.

Next up, a little side talk regarding the Baby Bjorn.

I have owned this sucker since Rt was born. It was THE THING to register for. We used it a handful of times with him, hubs more than me, cause that thing killed my shoulders. No matter how much I tried to make it work, it didn’t. Plus, he was kid #1, so he spent more time on the floor, or stroller while we were en route.

This babe around, I have used it. But, ONLY cause I knew I was going somewhere quickly and wasn’t going to be wearing it very long. If that is the case, then I say, USE YOUR BJORN. Running in to pick up kid #1 from school? Throw babe in bjorn. Going on a long walk around the neighborhood, or trail? NO WAY! If so, run to the nearest massage parlor to get the kinks in your upper body worked out pronto!

And now, the talk turns towards the Ergo Carrier!!

Now, I have to start by telling you I haven’t truly used this yet. Well, I have, but Hola is still too little to ride in it. His legs have to wrap around my waist, and his body is not mature enough to do so quite yet. I have read people started carrying their babies around 5- 6 months.

Since Hola is 4 months now, and clearly too small for the Peanut Shell, I needed something for the NOW, not 1 to 2 months from now. I tried the Bjorn again, at a playdate, and was in pain within minutes. I whipped out my Moby Wrap (oh, ya, another item I purchased for baby #2) and had to have my girlfriend walk me through the process of wrapping it around my body. 10 minutes later, I had Hola chilling on my chest. I thought I had found my NOW answer. Well, until, my girlfriend pointed out Hola’s legs were a beautiful shade of purple. OOOPS. I was cutting off the circulation of my baby!! Not good. Not at all.

Let me just say, there is nothing wrong with the Moby Wrap. I am sure if I spent some time with it, the three of us, Moby, Hola and I would be friends, but I don’t have the time. I do not want to make the time. I am going to resell it on Craigslist (where I bought it in the first place.)

So, what to do, what to do.

I caved and bought the Ergo Carrier insert. (on sale, free shipping!)

While it does work, my baby, my child, looks hilarious hanging out the side of this thing. (the proper way to carry a newborn, both legs off to the side.) I think I need to spend some more time configuring this thingie, but it DOES work! Hola took a lovely little nap, basically lying down, while I ate my dinner the other night out with friends. All with no pain to my backside.

I will continue to update you on my carrier when I get to use it for all its worth. (And just so you know, all of these items were either given to me, won in a giveaway, purchased off of craigslist, or splurged on by me since I was having a same-sex baby!)

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There aren’t many, but one that comes to mind is free travel.

Hubs has been traveling for his job for about 2 1/2 years consistently. If you told me 2 1/2 years ago that he’d be traveling once a week from here to eternity, I would have run for the hills and never looked back. But, one week turned into a month, a month turned into a year, a year, well, you get the picture. Honestly, I’ve kept my head down and have tried not to focus on the big picture.

Hubs is a remote employee and has been since we lived in LA. I don’t know a life without him home during the day. If he has to be gone a day or two a week to have this kind of setup, it is worth it in the end. I know Rt has benefited from it immensely, as have I.

Since hubs travels via Southwest for his business trips, he earns free tickets as he goes. These last two years he traveled so much, he earned a SWA Companion Pass. Basically, whenever we flew together, I flew for free. Not bad, huh? It’s a bummer we really didn’t take advantage of it last year besides holiday travel, but we did take a trip to New York and San Diego the year before.

This year, we are headed back home to Oklahoma for Thanksgiving. Since Rt is 3, he has his own seat. Hola will be on our laps (oh dear God), so in total we need 3 tickets.

Yesterday was the first day you could book holiday travel for Southwest. You should have seen me stalking their website waiting for them to update their reservation page. I knew I had to pounce on reserving our free seats, cause they only have so many available for each flight. Luckily, I was able to reserve all 3 without much of a hiccup. (Phew!) The flying times were less attractive than I had hoped, (hello, landing at 11:30p.m.) but booking the tickets was my first concern.

Southwest also has these fabulous things called blackout dates. For the most part, you can’t fly anywhere around the actual day of Thanksgiving with free tickets. (That’s where they get ya.) Now that there are 4 of us, we won’t be traveling home, but once a year, so staying a good long week or so isn’t much of an issue. (until we pass out on day 5 from taking care of two kids outside the comforts of home.)

Of course there are taxes and fees when you purchase any ticket, so the total for all 4 of us to fly over the holidays this November is $22.50. This trip is bittersweet. This is probably the last time we will have this many free tickets, so next Christmas will be a rude awakening. So, I will revel in our last free holiday travel and start saving my pennies asap.

Ho…ho…ho.

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