April progress report

It's the end of month one. Let's see how we've done. My goal was to make 2 friends per month, remember?

Here's my #'s breakdown:

23 Number of days in challenge
11 Number of scheduled playdates I attended
7 Number of invitations made by me/extended to me
2 Number of invitations I had to decline
2 Number of groups I joined aside from my neighborhood one
2 Phone numbers stored in the cell phone
2 Friends made!

What exactly constitutes a friend? I've had time to think about this. This is a former acquaintance who I am now comfortable calling up to get together spur of the moment. I can call a friend for a favor, call to ask for advice, call to plan a fun event, whatever. I am very happy to report that I met my friend quota for this month. Both L and M have made the rank change from mere acquaintance to full on friend!

I have a list of 13 other ladies on my potential friends list. I will now focus more of my attention on these girls and see how it goes.

I will be starting May off with a neighborhood family picnic. That should get my outgoingness into overdrive! As always, pictures will be included in my report.

Ciao, April! You've been good to me...

Catch Up Post 3.3: Decisions...

Today we had two events to attend at the same time. Our original playgroup was set to begin at 10:30 and the lunch that I was invited to was at 11. I can't do both so I had to decide.

Luckily the decision was kind of made for me. L was the original hostess for the playgroup. She was ALSO invited to the lunch and thought she would just change the venue of the playgroup from her house to the playground by the lunch site. That way we would be close enough to do both. My husband wasn't too keen on me going to the playground as it's in a pretty seedy neighborhood. However, L emailed me to let me know that she was going to keep the playgroup at her house because there were some non-regulars coming that really were looking forward to a morning out of the house. She didn't want to disappoint them.

That actually worked better for us anyway. My husband was going to be happy knowing that we weren't going to the junkie playground and we could still hang out with L and A a little bit. So after my doctor's appt we headed over to L's. D made himself right at home, playing with A's toys. Surprisingly, not a whimper was made about having to share. I think we are making some progress with sharing, boys...

We are home now and D is blissfully napping. We have no plans for tomorrow but that can always change. Maybe we'll invite some ladies over tomorrow afternoon for a little swing/sandbox/bubble blowing fun. Sounds fun, right?

Catch Up Post 2.3: Dapper Dom

Wednesday we had a themed playgroup to attend in a city about 30 miles away. It was a dress-up playgroup. Screw the distance, I wanted to dress up my little man! Anyway, I had another reason for getting him all dressed up and this would kill two birds with one stone, if you will.

Again, we were the first ones there! I've GOT to re-think this whole punctuality thing. Ever hear of fashionably late??? We brought two dozen spice muffins with us. I even put one dozen in Dora cupcake liners and the other dozen in Spongebob. Sadly, no one noticed. :( Anyway, all the little ones looked so cute!! There were 9 of us moms and it was a little hard to converse one on one with anyone since the kiddos were running around, eating and all. Not exactly the best way to get to know someone.

As I sat looking around I noticed how YOUNG some of these moms looked. I know one mom is my age because she volunteered that information on her profile page on the meetup page. The others looked like they are in their 20's maybe?? That shouldn't matter, though, right? I mean, we're all moms! Going through the same thing?? I'll just have to try and talk with them a bit more to learn more about them, that's all.

Anyway, when we got home we had a photoshoot and this is what we made. It's for my mom and for my MIL. Cute, huh?



And then we are framing this one as their gift from D.



I have another cute idea for their mom's day gift that I'll have to post pictures of when I make it.

Catch Up Post 1.3: A-ha moments

So I have slacked the last few nights in keeping this blog updated. We have been super busy and you'll soon realize why the lag in blogging.

Tuesday we had a toddler playgroup scheduled with the neighborhood group. I met L and A there. As usual, I was the first to show up. We chatted politely with the host and then "the others" showed up. The full-fledged toddlers, now close to 3 years old. Such a jump from my little 19 month old.

I was impressed, though, he held his own! He went immediately for the slide and after two slides holding my hand he was ready to do it on his own. What a big boy he is becoming.



I knew some of the ladies there from our first few playdates last year. I actually had one of Oprah's "a-ha!" moments while watching D play in the sand table: I am one of the helicopter parents I always dreaded as a teacher! Don't get me wrong, I don't meddle in other children's affairs or try to tell the other mom's how things should be done, but I am most definitely right there next to my son helping him with things and teaching him to get along with others. Most of the other moms were sitting to the side, talking amongst each other while their spawn ran around and threw sand out of the table. I patiently waited for one mother to come redirect her daughter after she threw sand at D. Thank goodness he was wearing a hat or it would have gone in his eyes.

So, my revelation is that there are two kinds of toddler moms: the ones who sit back and let things just happen and those who sit attentively nearby to make sure things DON'T just happen. I fall in the latter category and I'm not ashamed to admit it. Maybe the helicopter parents are on to something? I vow that I will never be the one to try and tell my son's teacher how to teach, though. That is just taking it too far!!

Other than that, we had an okay time. Not really a group of ladies that I feel comfortable with, but they've been together all year getting to know one another. I suppose a newcomer to our baby group would feel the same way. Something to chew on the next time a newbie visits the group, eh??

The same afternoon we were invited to check out O's new jungle gym. We walked over and had a sit outside on their patio. It was a perfect day to be outside. D wasn't all that impressed with the huge metal structure so we went inside to play after a few rounds of blowing bubbles. M made a chocolate cake and I had brought some ice cream over so we inhaled the treats and then the boys got down to business, playtime. D fell in love with this tractor.



We talked about Thursday. M and O attend a mommy and me group every Thursday. I had planned on joining her a few Thursdays ago and for whatever reason we have had to cancel. This week I have a doctor's appt so it's another no-go. Maybe next week? D started to show signs of wearing out so we left about an hour and a half later. Good playtime for the boys!!

And the award for Best Playroom goes to........ME!!

We had a long weekend of road trips and no plans for today. I wanted D to catch up on his sleep and get some much needed rest in. He had a good 2 1/2 hour nap and was ready to play when he woke up!

I sent a last minute email invitation to 5-6 girls inviting them to an impromptu playdate at our house in a few hours. L had to decline as she'd missed the gym that morning and wanted to go in the afternoon. M had to take a raincheck as O is running a fever at the moment. K and K both responded that they'd love to make it! And then another K called to let me know that she was going to walk over.

In all we had 2 boys and 2 girls playing. It was a perfect playdate- not too much craziness and fighting. In fact, it was very pleasant. We moms got to talk and laugh and the kiddos entertained each other. The teepee was a BIG hit!



One of the moms joked, "We should have an award for the best playroom, you'd totally win!" That made me feel so good. We have a pretty big room for D to play in. It was just an unused space before he was born and we decided to make it into his own little play area. There's a couch for adults, his Little Tykes picnic table, a TV on swivel mount (to allow all areas to see it), a teepee, several bins of toys, his bicycle and tons of books. The perfect space for a little boy to play!

We all discussed the upcoming playdate and decided that we should do lunch afterward. So plans are made for Thursday. We'll see how the nap situation affects the plans on Thursday.

I took pictures of the girls playing in the teepee and sent them to the mother's shortly after they all left. I have received thank you emails from both of them telling me that they had a great time and they hope to see me this week at the lunch date. Yay for good impressions! One of the moms even said that the afternoon was perfect in every way! :)

Speaking of pictures...as promised here is a picture of the Nanaimo bars I made last week for my cousin's bake sale. Drool-worthy, right???

Sand Trap

Today we went to a nearby playground to meet some of the church mom's group members. We were among the first to arrive (again with the punctuality) and D went immediately to the huge sand pit in the middle of the park. It was awesome! There were stray buckets and shovels strewn about and D just got right down to business.



The mom next to us has a daughter in preschool at the church and also a two year old. He hung out with D in the sand pit for quite some time before running off to the swings. J mentioned that they will be moving to Austin this summer so I didn't get too into a conversation with her for kind of obvious reasons. Strike 1.

I already knew one mom there, D. She has a daughter, C, who is a few months younger than D. We met outside of church one day as we were leaving. She is very involved in the mom's group. She is in the process of buying a house in another parish. Strike 2.

As we were digging in the dirt, another mom approached and introduced herself. When she saw Dominic she looked at me quizzically. She asked if I live in TC. I said yes and she asked if we were on the Creek Crawl this past weekend. Turns out she and her two sons, husband and boxer were in our group! They are actually in the picture from the blog post titled, "Contacts made ". They have the double stroller you see there.

Anyway, her older son, A, goes to the church school and her plan is to have her younger son join him when it's time. Looks like D has met his first classmate as they will be in the same grade due to D's birthday being four days after the cut-off date! Pretty cool, huh?

Another fun-filled day!

Yesterday we had two activities to attend; one in the morning and one in the afternoon. It's a good thing that D has finally decided to switch to one nap! Makes planning MUCH easier.

Anyway, first up was shopping at a local outlet mall. I met five other girls for some good, old-fashioned girly fun. We hit up four kid's clothing stores: Carter's, Osh Kosh, Gap Kids and Gymboree. The best part? Outlet prices, of course!

Two of the ladies are preggers and due in May/July. They are both young, compared to me, that is...A moved here from New York and C has lived in this area for her whole life. The third attendee was R. She has a 3 month old daughter, M. The three of them knew each other somehow and spent some time catching up. The last two to show up were girls I had met at the mall playground, L and B. L had left her two kids with her husband so she was alone and B brought her daughter B with her.

B had to leave early as B was getting cranky the closer we got to nap time. L and I shopped pretty quickly so we walked on ahead to the Gymboree store together. The other three girls were chatting anyway so it seemed to be okay. On our way out of the store we ran into them coming in. It was dangerously close to D's lunch time so we had to skeedaddle. I apologized for my fast exit and we went home, but not before I bought this little number:



After a quick nap we were off to stop #2, playdate at S's. We were among the first to get there. (Punctuality has NEVER been a problem for me.)
Soon after, 5 more ladies joined us and we had a wonderful time talking about motherhood and giving advice to the newest mommy. She was full of questions!

Before we left we were invited to another playdate at K's house, which was today at 10:30. We contemplated going, but in the end we decided to stay home. We needed a nice relaxing morning. This afternoon we are having M and O over to play for a while in the sandbox. We'll break out the ice cream, too! What a treat!!

Tomorrow we have a church playgroup to attend. I am really looking forward to this as I may be able to meet some moms who will have kids in D's class when he finally goes off to school.

We are going out of town this weekend for a family baby shower and birthday party. I volunteered to make some goodies for my cousin. She is having a bake sale to raise money for a charity event. I'll be sure to post a picture of them. I plan on making them either today or tomorrow.

Contacts made

Tonight we had the neighborhood Creek Crawl. There is a creek that runs through our hood and there are walking trails along the way. This month the HOA planned a neighborhood get-together along the trail. It was a mixture between a nature walk and a themed tasting. The walk started and ended in the mouth of a cul-de-sac that backs up to the creek. We were in the first group of walkers.

Some of the stops along the way were Creek Scum (jello shots, both alcoholic and non), Coyote Patties (chicken tenders), Fire Ant Bites (red hots), and Trail mix, of course. This is the group at the Creek Scum table:



At the end of the walk there was a dessert station and an adult beverage station, fully stocked. Since we were the first group to finish, we staked out a spot in the shade of the trees close to the trail exit. We ran into two of the couples from last weekend's social mixer.

One lady approached me and asked if we had met before, as I looked familiar to her. She looked familiar to me, too and we tried to figure out how we knew each other. After several negative suggestions we finally figured it was from church. She sat right next to me at church last Sunday! Her two girls were in Sunday school so she was alone. How funny is that???

She asked if I knew about the TC playgroups. I told her that I knew that they were working on putting one together, but hadn't heard from anyone if it had started. She asked for my email and said she would forward me the emails so that D and I can start attending. Yay!!!!

Flexibility

Sometimes the best laid plans go awry.
L and I had made tentative plans to get the boys together today but never nailed anything down. I emailed her yesterday with some suggestions for get-togethers and never heard back from her. I have to admit I was worried about getting a brush-off so soon into my friendship attempt.

This morning I woke to an invitation in my inbox inviting D and I to another friend, K's house for an afternoon playgroup. Since I still hadn't heard from L and her name was also on the invite list, I shot her an email to let her know that we would be attending K's playdate and we could still get together this morning, if she wanted.

About an hour later I got a reply from L. She and A had been in Ft.Worth all day yesterday visiting her MIL, who was sick. A had gotten terribly off his nap schedule and she wasn't sure if he would go down for one or two naps today. We would play it by ear and if we couldn't meet up in the morning we would definitely see each other at K's. I know all about screwy nap schedules. D is JUST NOW a consistent one nap taker and it is at a consistent time, too. Hooray!!

She emailed a bit later to let me know that the morning nap was a no-go so we would just meet up at K's.

On our way to K's I had a thought: I shouldn't show up empty-handed, right? That wouldn't exactly leave a good impression. So we swung by the local Krispy Kreme shop and picked up a half dozen donuts. (There were only 4 RSVP's) Fifteen minutes we arrived bearing gifts. The ladies were SO excited to get a treat! Score for me!!!

There were two ladies there and we chit-chatted a bit and caught up since seeing each other last a few months ago. I learned that one of the ladies is moving to Louisiana in a few weeks. We talked about the housing market and how long it took to sell her house.

Slowly, the other girls trickled in, L included. She and A sat next to us and we caught up. She mentioned that they were going to check out the toddler neighborhood group and asked us to join her. K jumped in and said that she was thinking about taking G to it also, so we agreed to all go to the same one.

One of the ladies was at my neighborhood social mixer and we've "met" a few times here and there. I asked her if she was planning on attending the Creek Crawl in our neighborhood tomorrow night and she didn't know about it. I told her I would email her the info so she and her hubby could go. As soon as I got home I did just that so I wouldn't forget. She replied that they would come and couldn't wait to see us there!

So this was an eventful afternoon. I made plans to see three ladies again within the next few days. Progress...

Mall-Rats

Today I met some ladies from the meet-up group at a local mall. This mall has a play area that was rated #1 Kid's Play Area in the state. Pretty neat, huh?

As usual, we were early. When we arrived there were four other moms there. Only one looked like she was waiting for someone so I tentatively approached and asked if she was from the group, praying that she would know what I was talking about. Luckily she was! We introduced ourselves and our kiddos.

Little by little other moms started to show up. There was a total of 9 moms and 10 kids, ranging from 4 months up to 27 months. The kids had a great time exploring the area and climbing on the play equipment. Dominic preferred to stay close to the ground, which is okay with me.



There are a few ladies who live close to me. I gave one of them the neighborhood website so that she can check it out. I doubt she'll come to anything, but you never know, right??

One of the ladies is 9 weeks preggo. She mentioned that she has to take a hormone and it has been making her nauseous. I asked if she was on progesterone and she was amazed that I knew what it was. We talked about her miscarriage scare and about my recent miscarriage(s). She seemed relieved to be able to talk about it.

Later, when I got home I got an email from her inviting me to a theme playgroup at her house: ties and tutus. The kids will get all dressed up! If you read my previous post you know this is RIGHT UP MY ALLEY!!! Looks like we'll have to break out the tie again next week!

I also received an email from L, the park/library "date". She asked if D and I would like to do something this Friday. Since it is supposed to rain we'll have to find something inside to do, but I'm sure we'll come up with something, afterall we are both former teachers.

I'm actually starting to feel as though this "squeaky wheel" business is starting to pay off. D and I are BUSY but it's a good busy and I know it's for the good of us both. I keep reminding myself that he will model his own friendships after the ones he sees so that keeps me motivated to get out there!

Tomorrow my day is actually totally open! No plans whatsoever!! Maybe we'll hit up the local library for storytime. D has been napping around that time, though, so we'll have to play it by ear. Plus it's supposed to rain. Yuck!

Distance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder??

This morning my doctor's appt was rescheduled to Thursday so I was able to get to the playdate on time.

I found this group on the meetup site. These ladies all live about 15+ minutes away from me. Is this too far to maintain any friendships I might make? My husband mentioned this to me the other day when I told him about the new group. My response to him? Maybe, maybe not, but I won't know until I go.

The sensibility behind his question has been niggling at the back of my mind since. How far is too far to maintain a friendship? Ideally, I'd love to have a close girlfriend that I can call last minute and invite out without having to worry about traffic delays or how much gas I have in the car.

Anywho, we made the trek to K's house and I'm so glad that I did! She and her son, P, are totally normal and really friendly! There were only three of us there which was nice for all involved. It kept the three of us talking and let the kids play without being overwhelmed. K is from LA (lucky!) and her house is bilingual: English and Chinese! P is 16 months old and is just starting to talk.

The other attendee was A and her son, P. He is 20 months old and keeps his momma on her toes! She used to live about three blocks down the street from me. She just moved in October so we talked about the neighborhood and she even knew some ladies from my current neighborhood playgroup. Talk about a small world! She is originally from New York.

D had a great time. Usually when we first get to a new environment he hangs out with me and takes his time getting acclimated. This time, we barely made it in the door before he found a toy that caught his eye and he was off!!

I've already signed up for another playgroup through this group and am looking forward to meeting some more ladies. This one is a bouncehouse playdate. I think D is still too young to play in the thing, but that's hardly the point, right?

In other news, I made sure to take some pictures at the Arboretum of the moms with their little ones. I know how much I enjoy getting pictures of Dominic unexpectedly, especially ones of the two of us together in a private captured moment. I am always the one behind the camera and there are but a few pictures of D and I together. I emailed the pictures to the mommas yesterday in an effort to stay on their mind. Two moms received photos and one has sent me a thank you email.

One activity that I am SO excited for is this weekend at Borders. I just received an email from them and cannot wait!! April is National Poetry Month and Borders is hosting a poetry reading, of sorts. They are reading a "Fancy, Nancy" book. The kicker??? The kiddos get all dressed up for it!! If there's nothing you learn about me it will be this: I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to dress up my little boy to look like a little old man! I plan on sending out an email to my neighborhood girls to see if there is anyone who is interested in meeting up.

Spring has sprung!

Today D and I met some of the playgroup gals at the Arboretum for a picnic. It was a beautiful day and we picked a great shady spot to lay out our blankets and let the kiddos run and explore.



I talked with S a little bit about her part-time teaching gig. She teaches art one day a week for three hours. The school has had real problems with keeping students, so much so that this is the last year for the school to stay open. S isn't that bummed, though, she has a new son coming in July so she'll have her hands full for sure!!

We were all pretty much too busy chasing our little ones or feeding them or cleaning them up to really have any in-depth conversations with one another. But it was a great outing, none the less.

Tomorrow we have a playdate about 15 minutes away. I have a doctor's appt tomorrow morning so I'll be running late. This is a new meetup group so I don't know any of these girls. I'll keep you posted on how it goes!!

Back to my old ways...

Well, tonight was the neighborhood social mixer. I was prepared to be outgoing and ask lots of questions. Unfortunately the old me emerged. I get extremely shy around my peers, plus I had to chase around D all over the backyard.

Luckily, my husband is a social butterfly and was able to talk up the men at the party. Apparently they all know each other from a neighborhood Spades club??? He managed to get an invite by one of our neighbors. This guy and his wife are expecting their first baby in September, right around D's birthday. His wife was busy speaking to another couple and I was too intimidated to interrupt. Does anyone have any tips on how to politely interrupt? I've never quite figured it out.

So, here is the rainbow cake that I made for the event.





It was definitely a conversation starter. Sadly, the conversation revolved around the recipe. I did have many ladies ask for the recipe so I'll be emailing them soon. Maybe I can use that as a way to strike up more conversations.

DH and I have already discussed the possibility of hosting the next get together at our house and making it a pool party. I think that's a great idea, don't you???

Progress made today!!

So today I had a lot on my plate, literally. In preparation for tomorrow night's neighborhood social mixer I made 5 cakes in order to layer them and make a rainbow cake. Can't quite visual it? Here's a sneak peak:



After each layer had cooled, I trimmed them down to make them all even. This is the leftovers. See how pretty the colors are?



This is the bottom three layers; yellow, green and blue.

Anyway, I figured that I would bring a real conversation starter to the shin-dig. When you cut into this baby it'll be a real surprise. I hope to use it to get some conversations going. I'll let you know how it goes after the party.

OK, now on to today's "date": the toddler storytime at the local library. Unfortunately the storytime is only on the first Friday of the month, so we missed this month's activity. Fortunately, L showed up and the boys got to hang out and read some books together. Since it was just the two of us I was able to find out more about her.

At a previous playgroup I learned that A is adopted. Her adoption story is quite interesting but I won't divulge too much personal information. L commented on my t-shirt, which reads "Blessed Matthew 5:5".



**Photo above from www.whatacuteshirt.com site.

I told her how I had bought the shirt in October of 2007 after my husband and I had tried for 19 months to conceive. I thought it would be a good reminder of all the blessings I had in my life. One month later we got our BFP!

This opened up the conversation and L talked about her fertility struggles. It was really good to hear her story. This is one thing that bonds us: infertility is a part of our lives.

First "Date"

Well, today was a busy day for D and I. We had not one, but TWO "dates".

The first "date" was with our neighbor, M and her son O. O is four months older than Dominic and he's always up for an impromptu playdate. M emailed me last night about us meeting at the mall for some window shopping. Dominic and I got there around 10:15 and noticed that the local library branch was having a Toddler Storytime session at 10:30. We decided to sit through it.

To be totally honest, it was pretty fun. I've noticed that when there are a lot of kids around Dominic tends to hover and cling to me. He was definitely paying attention to the lady running the event, though. After about 20 minutes I was ready to bolt. There's only so much positivity I can take at 10 in the morning. Looking around, I found that I was trapped! Strollers and children and moms on the floor were blocking me in. So we had to tough it out.

M asked if I wanted to go get lunch at a local haunt. It was such a beautiful day and I decided I wouldn't turn down any invitations unless absolutely necessary. So it was off to the restaurant. We sat outside and the boys had great fun coloring and making a general mess.



M is probably one of the most interesting friends I'll ever have. She was born in South Africa and lived there until she was 22. She moved to London where she lived for 6 years and met her husband. They moved to the States and have been here since. Her sister still lives in South Africa. She has the cutest British accent! As a mom she is much more laid back than I am. We went to Oktoberfest this past September and her son was actually eating sausage and sauerkraut! He was only 16 months old at the time!!!

D fell asleep on the way home. I was able to securely remove him from the carseat, take off his shoes and get him in bed without him waking. Two hours later we were on our way to our next "date".

This time it was off to the park. I had emailed L and her son A on Monday about possibly getting the boys together sometime this week and she suggested that we meet at the park that's close to her house. We accepted and were on our way to meet them.

L and her family had just returned from a vacation in Destin and I was anxious to hear all about her trip. We had been to Destin the week before and she had emailed to get our suggestions for places to eat, etc.

I found out a few tidbits about their trip. They loved the city. She enjoyed laying out while A was napping. She likes crab. I found out that they like to bike.

While we were there two other neighborhood playgroup girls showed up with their sons. One of them is pregnant and due in June. I hate to say it, but seeing her is just a visual reminder of the miscarriage I had in November and I know it's kind of put a mental block on me getting to know her. So I told myself to get over it already and started to find out more about her. Basically I found out that she was an elementary art teacher before having C. She is an A&M grad and graduated from high school in 95. So she is two years younger than me. Not exactly the most interesting information but three things more than I knew before.

On the way to the car I ran into J and her two sons, I and V. I met her at Starbucks over a year ago and for a while we would talk shop while my husband and I sat outside with our dog, Annabelle. My husband knows her husband and we were introduced when they showed up to get a coffee and ran into us. She knew me before baby and watched as I grew each month and would give me friendly motherly advice. A few months after Dominic was born she found out that she was pregnant again. Their weekly trips to Starbuck's slowed and eventually came to a stop.

She goes to my church and we've run in to them a few times after Mass. It was really good to see her again and we spent some time catching up. I hope to run in to her again soon. Maybe this time I'll be brave enough to ask for a phone number or invite them over to swim. Today I felt like I had stepped out of my comfort zone enough and didn't really want to accost the poor lady with my desperate attempt at including myself in her inner circle.

I did manage to get an invitation to join L and the other two playgroup gals this Friday at a local library event. Even though it's a public event we'll be meeting there so I guess I would call it a "date". Would you?

Oh, I almost forgot: The neighborhood playgroup needed a new coordinator for the toddler group and I volunteered! I got it!!! This should help me remember names and be more involved. Yeah, me!!!

And so it begins...

Lately I've been in a real friendship rut.

As a pretty recent stay at home mom I've found myself looking for activities to keep myself busy. Not that chasing a 19 month old around the house while trying to do laundry, dishes, etc isn't busy enough, mind you.

It's just that as Dominic gets older I want him to have a few buddies to play with and grow up with. The kind of buddies that will learn how to be boys together, get into mischief together and learn to depend upon one another. I envision sitting at his grade school graduation watching a slideshow of the graduates and seeing photos of him with some of his classmates when they were just wee little ones. Surely you know the kind of which I speak: the obligatory birthday party photo of all the boys sitting around the table watching as the birthday boy blows out the candles; the camping photo of the boys holding up their miniscule fish catch with beaming smiles of pride; the halloween photo of the boys all dressed up like their favorite cartoon characters.

I want my son to grow up with other boys that he can learn to love as brothers. I know that as his parent I have a great opportunity to hand pick these friends for him at such a young age. The problem is: I have a hard time making friends myself. So I have decided to start this blog to push me out of my comfort zone and give me the motivation to get out there and find some friends for me and hopefully my son.

If I pick up any readers at all throughout this self titled Odyssey I invite you to give me any suggestions or advise on how I can be a better friend to others. Lord knows, I'll need it!

So here's the big reveal: My goal for the remainder of this 2010 year is to make 2 friends a month, so that would be 18 friends between now and December 31st. Can I do it??? I sure hope so! Certainly in those 18 friends I can find one or two who stand out and will be considered close friends, right?