R and I aren't married because we don't want to be married. If and when R and I ever decide to get married, Facebook will be the first to know. Ok, I'll probably text a few of you and then Facebook will be the first to know, then the masses will rejoice and "like" my status stating so to ad infinitum.

Until that happens, and if you can't fully support the family R and I have built together, then you need to kindly piss off. Piss off and keep your opinions to yourself. I don't need the negativity in my life, nor the ignorance. Yes, I said ignorance. If you can't stop for 2 seconds in your rush to judgement and realize R and I aren't living this calm, stable home life that is conducive to an engagement, wedding planning, dress picking that's ignorance, my friend.

R and I haven't even lived in the same state together for 3.5 years. No I'm not asking for pity but I'd like to see any one of you maintain a relationship, a good relationship, long distance for that amount of time. The simple fact is, a lot of you couldn't. Yeah, I said it. It's difficult, you have no idea how difficult unless you have been through it yourself - and most of you haven't. 

I guess one of the times R and I have been together, we could have rushed to the courthouse to tie the knot so I can finally get my grubby little hands on those almighty military benefits. Because that's why you got married, right? For the benefits. NOT because you loved each other, wanted to spend your lives together, and decided as a couple it was the right time. Only for the benefits. How sad for you. Does your spouse know?

Once upon a time, I did rush to a courthouse to get married because of the career path the man I was marrying was on. Guess what? It didn't work out. Guess what? Not in a rush to do it that way again.

I sit here and think to myself the crap I've heard lately and my thoughts take me to my mom. My mom, the staunch Catholic, who while I was pregnant and upon meeting R for the first time, welcomed him into our family with no questions, and no judgment. My mom never once asked when we were getting married, if we were getting married. She honored the love R and I shared and respected the family R and I were building together. Her opinion is the only one that mattered and will ever matter.

R and I have been happily unmarried for over 7 years. We're going to be happily unmarried for 7 more if that's what we decide. I hate to be pressured, and I hate to do what's "expected" so just to irritate some of you - R and I will Goldie and Kurt it up in here til we're 60.

In closing, I do have respect for marriage. I look upon with awe people that are able to maintain a happy, healthy marriage year after year. I also know the divorce rate is 50 percent. 

And with that, my friends, will be the first and last time I ever address this. Thank you for listening, and your support.

You have to understand, my apartment is relatively child-proof. Short of removing everything that is not a toy (including the TV, sofas, bookshelves, near-empty bookshelves at that) it's about as baby safe as you can get. 

But that's not enough for Can-man, he gets into absolutely any and everything that was not originally bought in a toy aisle. This boy, if housed in a padded room, would find a loose thread holding the cushions to the walls and pull on it til one gave free. 

So after a particurlarly torturous morning, nap time over with, I figured the best thing to do was to get out of the house. A change of scenery has done us some good before. Can-man has been a bit sick so we haven't even been to the gym lately, or anywhere, so I thought: a-ha! Target!

We park and I turn around to see Can-man fascinated with the fact that we're somewhere, other than home. He's looking around, he's seemingly happy at this prospect. 

YES. I did the right mom thing, this was the BEST IDEA EVER!

And then we go inside. My main reason for wanting to hit up Target in the first place is to pick up Valentine's Day cards for R from me and Can-man. From the time it took to walk in the door, stroll over to the card section and peruse the selection for roughly 3 minutes, this happened:

We're clearly not in the greeting card aisle at this point but you get the gist. Why must Can-man hate Target so? Is he even my child? What child of mine would not only hate shopping but Target, at that?

A teenage boy walks down the aisle and asked if Can-man was ok. I replied he was just in a bad mood and the boy replied, "My mom said I never cried when I was little." I retort, "Well your mom was a VERY lucky woman."

Pass the wine.

The recipe I loosely used was this one except I didn't use a fryer chicken (too time consuming) and I didn't make my own crusts (falls under baking which I've already said - I don't do). The filling portion, however is a keeper. The filling to me is the hardest part (outside of the dag-blasted crust) since the flling is really the star. I don't like using cream of chicken soup (although I have in the past) because then your filling tastes like: cream of chicken soup. This filling was perfect-o and R was suitably impressed.

Only changes I made were I used leeks instead of celery since my celery was.... flaccid. Sorry, there's no other word to describe it. haha. I added a couple of potatoes since I love potatoes in my pie and I also tossed in some fresh rosemary along with the fresh thyme. OMG, you guys! You should have seen how many helpings R had. I was afraid I made this enormous pot pie and it'd go to waste but between he, Can-man and I it was over half gone. What gluttons. 

I hope you give this recipe a whirl. Pot pie is up there on my ultimate "comfort food" list. 

Anyway, the 29th means another milestone for Can-man! He is 19-months-old today. I texted R to remind him and threw off a comment about how we should get cupcakes. To my surprise and delight, R texted back: "I was thinking the same thing." Say what?

This is the man that monitors his carbs like he's Atkins himself, this is the man who has ONE spoonful taken out of his Nutella jar. One, people, one spoonful. And no, he did not just buy it. This is the man who will take the tiniest slice of dessert and then WALK AWAY.

My point is, when a man like that says we should get cupcakes - we get freaking cupcakes! There is only one place we go, the same place we got Can-man's 1st birthday party cupcakes: Azucar in Ocean Beach. 

I have to say the best flavor is Key Lime, which they only make by special order. What we got today were a red velvet, coconut, and a seasonal flavor we hadn't tried before: chocolate mint.

No surprise, chocolate mint was our favorite. I wish we had a holiday party to go to so we could take some along because y'all KNOW I don't bake. Me baking is just a waste of perfectly good sugar.

I asked R what he wanted for dinner, he asked if there was anything I had been wanting and my answer was quick: CHICK-FIL-A! Since I don't get to have it in Portland (probably a good thing), I do try to indulge at least once (or twice) while I'm in San Diego. 

Can-man says, "All this? For ME?" Actually that was at the laundromat earlier today. I don't know what says birthday quite like "laundromat".

Tonight was Can-man's first time trying the yummy Chick-fil-A nuggets and waffle fries and he loved it, which made me feel a whole lot better about picking his birthday dinner for him.  Yay! He liked it! He really liked it!

Full of cupcakes and chicken. 

R remarked how quickly time if flying by and it truly has since Can-man has made the scene. Everyone always tells you to enjoy when they're small like this since it seems like it goes by in a blink of an eye. It's bittersweet to have one son entering adulthood and one being a young toddler. The juxtaposition is a constant reminder of how fast your children grow up.

I'm grateful to R for allowing me to cherish every moment with Can-man, I felt like I did a lot of struggling raising The Teen as a single mom. Some days, the realization of that weight being off my shoulders will hit me and the gratitude I feel towards R overwhelms me. Even if we are not always together in the same household, he is an amazing partner for all he does and tries to do. I love our little family of four.

Mission Valley: was small, the front desk person was really friendly and helpful, the kid's club was tiny (they can only accommodate 5 kids at one time), the Turbo Kick class was insane (6 turbos!) but the instructor had a ton of energy so the time flew by. I don't know how often I'll go back, though, the small kid's club stresses me out (if it's full you're S.O.L.) even though the kid's club worker could not have been nicer to Can-man. Between her and the TK instructor, I may have to consider a return trip.

Miramar: Can-man didn't make the trip with me as he stayed home with papa. I took Turbo Kick here as well, the room is HUGE so I will probably go back to this one. Even though California is way better about not letting their classes get too packed, it's still nice to know you'll have plenty of room to maneuver and it makes for a WAY better work out. There is nothing worse than wanting to give it your all in class but being so crowded you end up just feeling frustrated and like you didn't even work out.

Hillcrest: Another small one and another Turbo Kick day. I'm not as obsessed as I am trying to find an instructor I either a) like a lot or b) is doing the most current round (neither of the previous ones did). The front desk person was helpful and informative. The reason I keep bringing this up is when you walk in a cavernous place, not knowing where anything is at, it's nice to have someone point you in the right direction so you don't wander around like a dummie. This location has a parking garage but they do validate the parking. The kid's club worker was super nice to Can-man, she had a very nice friendly way about her so I'll probably be back as I also enjoyed the TK class.

Vista: It took way too long to get here from R's apartment. I would go back, though, if the experience had been a good one but - eh. The front desk person - eh. The kid's club person - eh. The people in the Muscle Blast class - really eh. I broke the cardinal rule, apparently, and took a woman's spot (who was late to class so maybe she should think about getting there on time to secure it). Some people in some classes can get so proprietary about their "spot" in class. As long as I'm not a) in the front or b) by the windows so all the dudes can see me flailing around, I'm good! People need to grow up. However, the instructor was good, the class kicked my ass but the other factors will keep me from returning. 

Next up, we're hoping to hit up Carlsbad and Escondido this week. Hey, whatever gets us out of the house while papa is at work, right? Happy exercising!