Is It Just Me?

Or has having children made you hyper-emotional? I definitely noticed a difference during pregnancy, but I figured that with all of the hormone drama involved, becoming weepy or irrational was to be expected. But since having my daughters, I find myself consciously steering clear of anything too sad, too depressing or too scary because I just.can't.handle.it. In fact I rarely watch the news.

Last night I was on the verge of tears while watching the Children of the Storm special in CNN. And this morning I was getting weepy listening to Jay-Z's "Missing You" commemorating the anniversary of Aaliyah's death on the radio.

Getting emotional over seeing the faces of an ongoing human tragedy is one thing. But having your eyes well up while listening to a rap song while sitting in traffic?

I need to get a grip.

Love It! Thursdays

Hello Mamas! Remember little ol' me? Probably not because I have been a terrible blogger this summer. I've been on summer hiatus but I am back and I have several posts I need to complete. While I'm sure no one will be holding her breath, I've got some funny ones lined up so stay tuned. Until then, there's one post that can't wait and that's this week's LIT.

Ever wish you had an extra hand or two to help you out? While cleaning, shopping, cooking, or anything really? Well, there are several baby wraps or carriers that promise to free your hands while your baby sits, sleeps, or nests comfortably against your warm snugly bosom. And they all promise to be the best. So many options but only a few are worth spending your hard earned pennies on. Seeing as how I've tried about FIVE of them (thanks Babies-r-Us for your great return policy I figured this would be a great topic to write about. If you have one that you absolutely love or hate, make sure to write your review and link back to us!

And so, here are they are:

First, we have the Snugli Front & Back Pack Carrier from Evenflo.

This dad looks happy, doesn't he? Well this carrier makes several promises. First, it promises to offer three "comfortable carrying positions: face-in, face-out and backpack." Ha, don't think so. Face in is the only one I could ever put my baby in and this only worked for maybe the first 8-10 weeks or so. After that, your baby will want to see the world.If you place your baby face out, however, you'll have to use one hand to place on your baby's tummy so that she won't tip forward and, God forbid, fall right out.If you're going to use just one hand, you may as well hold your baby in the "football hold," Hubby's favorite way to carry our babes. I don't know if this problem arises because the straps are too thin, or not but, because of this, I returned this Carrier.

I will say, however, that just based on the above picture, it seems that they have made several improvements. I purchased mine circa 2004. This one looks a bit different so maybe it's worth a shot. This carrier gets:

3 gavels: "It was okay. Maybe if it was on sale..."

Next, up, we have the Ultimate Baby Wrap.

This one I liked, but didn't love. At first, you have to not only read the manual but watch a DVD to figure out how to put the darn thing on. That was pretty annoying. But once I figured how to put it on, I was able to position the baby a number of different ways and I was able to adjust it just how I liked it or needed it, nice and tight or lose and comfortable. The only problem with this one, there's soooooo much fabric. It becomes another shirt for mommy. And all the fabric stretches. I had to keep washing it to shrink it back to it's original size. Eventually, it never bounced back. But I did get some great use out of it.

So this one gets a:

4 gavels: "Liked it. I would definitely recommend it."

Last, we have the Original NoJo Baby Sling by Dr. Sears. People, don't even bother. This one also comes with a video. But unless you are probably really tall and really wide, you will not get this thing to fit you. It was so lose. I had to jimmy it to make it work. Even then, it was never tight enough. But, for some reason I never returned it. And one day with Daughter was about 18 months. I found it, stuck her in there and because she was so big, I was able to make it work. Even still, this was really a one time use for me.

So, the NoJo is a big "No, No" and I give it,

2 gavels: "What was I thinking?"

So, what's your verdict?

The Art of Scheduling

Tracey over at More Than a Minivan Mom wrote this post on Monday. It was so funny that I just had to post here for y'all to read. If you want to read it over at Tracey's, click here.


Monday, August 27, 2007

Negotiations

(after reading the e-mail from Sam's soccer coach. Did I mention that Sam is doing soccer?)

Me: "Can you leave work on Thursdays in time to get Sam to soccer practice at 5:30pm?"

Rich: (looking at me like I'm speaking Cantonese) "Soccer practice? At 5:30? You realize that I would have to leave work by 4:30 to do that?"

Me: "Well, I'm in Temple for clinical on Thursdays. How am I supposed to get back from Temple in time to get him to practice for 5:30?" (for those of you non-Texans, Temple is 50 miles north of me)

Rich: "But I already have to leave work early every Monday night because you have class until 8:30. How am I supposed to leave work early two nights a week?"

Me: "I don't know. How is Sam going to get to soccer? I guess I can see if I can leave my internship by 4:30pm, which means he would only be 10 minutes late or so"

pause

Me: "Okay, so just so you know, Sam has his soccer game every Saturday morning. Lucy and Bailey also have their swim lessons every Saturday morning"

Rich: "Okay"

Me: "But Bailey's karate class doesn't start until 6:45pm because he's an orange belt now. So what if we did karate class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and I can leave for karate with Bailey when you get to the soccer field after work on Thursdays"

Rich: "Okay"

Me: "Oh, and we really need to start going to church again to counteract all this Jesus freak stuff. The opening day is this Sunday. I'll go and sign them up for RE classes"

Rich: "Okay"

Me: "Okay, so that's class for me on Monday nights and you need to get the kids, Bailey's karate class on Tuesdays, soccer and karate on Thursdays, and swim and soccer on Saturdays"

Rich: "Right"

Me: "Except for September 15th because we'll be in Dallas"

Rich: "Right"

Me: "Oh, and September 8th is Sam's first soccer game so they're taking team pictures. And we're also having Sam's birthday party that day"

Rich: "Right"(pause)

Me: "See, this is why I'm going to graduate school. So I can get a part time job after I graduate so that I can manage all of this"

Rich: "Right".

Posted by Tracey Robinson

The Birthday

Pictures!!

After staying up late the night before slaving over 2,000 or so pieces, various nuts and bolts and a disturbing amount of faux backsplash tiles, Auntie Lisa and I finished putting together the kitchen for Chatterbox. Check out my fly gift-wrapping job. I'll be working weekends at your local mall come holiday season.

The birthday girl drinking her morning milk and not looking the least bit impressed at Mommy's wrapping skills.

Post-unveiling. Notice the authentic-looking pepper mill and spice rack. But ignore the "crown molding" accents on top of the kitchen. Fatigue got the best of us the night before, but we ended up putting them on later that day.



Party Time!! This year we partied at Pump It Up. It was big fun. And invloved absolutely no cleaning up by Mommy. Totally worth every penny.

Jumping for joy.

Giggles plotting her next move.

Climbing up the slide.

She is so proud of herself because it took awhile before she could stand up in here on her own. Yay Giggles!

Dad coaxing her to get out of the car to give the others a turn.
"Why? It's my party and I'll drive if I want to."

Chatterbox on her inflatable throne.

Enjoying the fine dining.

The pinata.

No, the huge piece of cake in my hand is absolutely not for me.

Candy! And plastic waterguns. Which I later found out appalled one of the moms.
Oh, lighten up.

Dad chowing down.

Happy Birthday to Me!!

Overall a success. Not without a mishap or two of course. For example, as soon as we got there, we found out the Chatterbox's excitement had gotten the best of her in these early years of potty-ing. After a quick trip to Target, she was ready to bounce in a brand new (dry) outfit. It was sheer luck that the only matching summer outfit left on the rack was in a 4T.

Until next year...

It'll Make You Feel All Warm and Fuzzy Inside

My friend Beth over at I Should Be Folding Laundry is hosting a raffle to raise money for Friends of Heroes, a great organization working for a great cause. Please hop on over to her site for a visit - the prize she is raffling off is fabulous, and that's just how you'll feel after donating what you can to help her reach her goal. And, for additional inspiration, make sure to read what fantastic thing she did over the weekend to raise money for the cause. It's no wonder she's got no time to fold laundry. Hmmm, so what's my excuse?

Just Checking

Saturday, 10am.

I'm tidying up the dining room and hear some rustling around in the kitchen freezer, most likely in the box of popsicles, which, since 7am, I have been saying that the kids can't have until "later."

Me: "Chatterbox, what are you doing?"

Chatterbox: "Checking [the] snacks, Mommy!"

Me: "Don't worry, the snacks are still there and you still can't have any."

She just keeps getting smarter.

LOVE IT! Thursdays

As we approach the Labor Day weekend and I have no plans at all - I thought about the possibility of running away somewhere for a weekend break. But then, I thought - get real, there is no real weekend break when you have a toddler - in fact, if we go anywhere at all it'll have to be somewhere that's extremely kid friendly. So, the topic of the week for LIT is: my favorite kid (and parent) friendly place to visit.

My favorite place to visit is San Diego. I went to SD last fall and fell in love with the city. It was my first time on the West coast EVER and it was the perfect introduction. Aside from the impeccable weather and lovely beaches, there was so much to do. At that time, DD was about 10 months old so we had the challenge of figuring out how to enjoy ourselves while engaging in activities that she could enjoy and participate in.

There are lots of great restaurants - of course, that's the first "activity" that I look for!!!!! Most of the places that we visited were kid friendly, and even some of the more formal restaurants, were not so formal to make you feel uncomfortable bringing along baby.

There is the world-famous San Diego Zoo, Sea World, Balboa Park, Legoland, Wild Animal Park, all fun activities for the kids. For parents, there is baseball, many, many restaurants (did I mentioned that already?!?!?); great shopping; tours of the bay - and of course, for everyone - the beach. The city is right on the Pacific Ocean and there are absolutely beautiful beaches and beach towns like La Jolla and Coronado. Oh, and did I forget to mention that the Mexican border is about 30 minutes from the city - so there is much to explore there. There was so much to do that we didn't do it all in the 6 days that we visited - but I promise to return soon.

We had a blast and we did it all with baby. Check out the visitor's site. What's your favorite family friendly place to visit and why? Please share and remember to sign Mr. Linky once your're done.

Oh.....my verdict on San Diego:




4 gavels: "Liked it. I would definitely recommend it and would most definitely return."

Guilt-Ridden

Consider this Working Mom Against Guilt Monday...

(1) Tela at WMAG wrote an interesting post on the following topic that is worth reading.

Did you hear about the New York City's public hospital system announcement that it will no longer supply new mothers with free formula samples in the gift bags it gives moms to take home with them?

"Instead, the new mothers will each be given a breast-milk bottle cooler, disposable nursing pads, breastfeeding tips and a baby T-shirt with the slogan “I Eat at Mom’s” emblazoned on the front. Breastfeeding coaches will accompany the mothers at bedside “to help initiate breastfeeding within one hour of delivery.” The hospital agency will also give out free breast pumps and make available hospital-grade electric breast pumps to mothers whose newborns have to remain in the hospital." Read the NY Times article here.

I think it's brillant. And long overdue.

(2) In her latest post, Susan at WMAG asks what have you compromised since you became a working mother? And what do you refuse to compromise?

What thought-provoking questions. Something of rare occurrence around here.

I think that I've definitely compromised "me" time. But then hasn't every mom? Whether a WOHM or not? My weekdays consist of getting up, getting dressed, getting the girls up and their milk, commuting in traffic, spending the day at work, commuting in traffic, making dinner, cleaning up, bathing the girls and putting them to bed. My "me" time consists of the hour between 9pm and 10pm when I get to watch one of my trash tv shows and/or check my personal email. On the weekends my days consist of spending every possible moment having quality time with the girls, running errands that I didn't have time for during the week, and cleaning the house. Once a month, though, I try to attend my Moms Night Out so that I can at least socialize with my peers for a few hours every few weeks. But whereas I used to always have my hair done, my nails done, wear fashionable clothing and read magazines, I have time for none of those things anymore. In fact, I had to take the day off of work yesterday just to run errands and get my hair done (yes, desperate measures. but it hasn't been done in a really long time).

And compromising "me" time means that I've also compromised "us" time with my hubby. We used to be avid movie buffs and I can't tell you the last time we saw a movie. Actually, yes I can. It was "Daddy's Little Girls" back in February, when we both left work early to catch a movie. We also love entertaining and what with naptimes, bedtimes, and a lack of babysitting options, our BBQs and cocktail parties have come to a screeching halt. Lastly, we love traveling too. Suffice it to say that we have been on one vacation by ourselves since 2004.

Of course there are other small compromises, like personal space, sleeping-in, extra cash to spend on frivolities, time to read (adult) books, getting to work early so that I can be home early, etc., but I would say that the biggest compromise is the "me" time.

So what do I refuse to compromise? Honestly, I've been sitting here racking my brain for something but I can't think of anything at the moment. Could it be that I've compromised almost everything?

And here is where I'll insert the line about how these compromises are a small price to pay for having these two precious little beings in my life.

Because I am a working mother combatting guilt, after all.

Out of Gas. At least I was.

About 2 months ago I was on my way to a friend's wedding shower and stopped at my local CITGO to put gas in the car. As I was pumping, I saw a guy talking to another lady at the pump across from me. He started walking towards me and began to frantically explain how his car ran out of gas as soon as he got onto the highway and that he had to walk back off of the exit to get gas. When he finally made it to CITGO (which is right next to the highway entrance), he realized that he only had $5 in cash and he left his credit card with his wife who was home with their newborn baby. The gas station attendant was happy to give him gas, but required that he purchase the plastic container to carry the gas in, and that container cost $5 by itself. To make a long story short, he needed some money to actually buy some gas to put into the container to walk back onto the highway to put into his stalled car. A semi-believable story. He was a clean cut guy who looked genuinely distraught and was very apologetic about the whole thing.

Enter Sucker Numero Uno.

That would be moi.

I gave the guy $5 (it was all the cash that I had, grrr), and I told him "You'd better be telling the truth because I'm giving you all that I have on me!" And he assured me that he was and that he was eternally grateful and that things were "a little bit hard right now" at home what with the newborn and all. And so he thanked me profusely and I finished pumping my gas and we parted ways. Me being the dumb happy-go-lucky, trustworthy soul that I am didn't bother watching the guy to see what direction he headed in. I thought about it, but didn't. Later that day I told my hubby the story and he said "Man! You got got!" and started laughing. In his true compassionate hubby fashion. And of course I said "You never know! You have to give people the benefit of the doubt. What kind of place would the world be if we couldn't trust anyone? And that very well could have either one of us in his shoes." Yes, yes, Justice Fergie - the bleeding heart.

Fast forward to last weekend.

My sis and I pulled up to my local 7-Eleven because we had a jones for a Slurpee. Yum. So anyway, she went inside to get them and I waited in the car. No sooner did she enter the store than I hear somebody tapping at my window. It was a guy holding out his driver's license to my window so that I would feel safe enough to roll down my window. Whaddaya know. It was The Guy. I rolled down my window and he launched into his gas/car/highway/money spiel. I said "Let me stop you right now, because you told me this exact same story last month across the street at the CITGO and I gave you 5 bucks." And he looked (genuinely) distraught and begain apologizing profusely and started babbling about how "things were a little bit hard right now what with a newborn at home and all." To which I said "You told me you had a newborn last month." To which he replied "Well, I do, but I guess he is about 3 months old now." Anyway, realizing he had messed up, he quickly apologized and thanked me for my prior generosity and promptly disappeared.

I won't tell you the various iterations of "I told you so's" and hearty chuckles that I got from my hubby once we got home.

But the whole thing really annoyed me. These people take advantage of human compassion which is inexecusable if you ask me.

And not to mention, I was out $5. I could have bought at least three Slurpees with that.

LOVE IT! Thursdays: Back to School Edition

Can you believe it's that time of year already? The end of summer vacation is almost over. Actually, it is already over for some. I know a lot of moms can't wait for school to open. I'm dreading it however because my commute has been just dreamy during these summer months and I know that come next Monday, we'll be back to traffic-as-usual. What I can't believe is that my baby will be starting nursery school in a few weeks! Where oh where did the time go? As a rookie school parent, I am curious to hear what suggestions for Back to School items the experienced moms have. A certain kind of backpack? Nifty book covers? An indestructible lunch box? Or maybe even a tried-and-true lunch item that the pickiest of kids would eat? I'm all ears!

Here's mine: The Bumpy Name Label. Have you heard of it already? It's a plastic, reusable, personalized band that you can slide onto your child's bottle, sippy cup, thermos, etc. so that it doesn't get mixed up with the other kids' stuff (ewww) and you don't have to worry about the sticky label coming off after being washed or using a toxic permanent marker to write your kid's name. Here's a pic of it:

I received mine a few weeks ago (I bought the 3-pack for $7.95) but have yet to actually try it out. From what I can tell, they are lightweight but sturdy and pleasantly cute. They are also dishwasher and microwave-safe.

Oh and what I thought was really cool was that you can put whatever text you like on the label, like what food allergies your child has, etc. Fortunately I don't have that issue but I can imagine that it would be a source of concern for many parents.

So that's my Back to School item recommendation. Keeping in mind that I haven't really used it yet, I give the Bumpy Name Label:

4 gavels: "Liked it. I would definitely recommend it."

Your turn! Remember to sign the Mr. Linky once you've written your post.

And...Happy Back to School!

Weight Loss Challenge Weigh-In: Week 14

Not much to report. I'm safely at -20lbs, give or take a few depending on what day you ask me. I seem to be going up and down 3 or so lbs from week to week. If I were a bettin' woman, I'd bet I was up 3lbs this week largely as a result of me eating Chatterbox's entire ice cream birthday cake by myself. [Just to be clear - it was the mini cake from her actual birthday, not the gigantic Barney (!!) cake from her birthday party over the weekend.] Other than that, I am happy to announce that I've thrown away several pairs of gym shorts and pajama bottoms of Hubby's that I used to wear around the house, because they're just way too big now. Pathetic, I know.

Also, any ideas for low-fat breakfasts? If I have to eat cereal or oatmeal one more morning I'm going to throw myself off of a bridge.

If I do - will somebody please water my orchid? My sister's sweet friend Jeremy gave it to me along with his condolences for the loss of my Granpa. And I'm really trying to keep a plant alive this time around.

A Modern-Day Fairytale

ONCE UPON A TIME...there was a family with two full-time working parents and two wonderful little girls. Here is what happened to us 2 weeks ago:

Saturday: Old nanny quits without notice.

Sunday: We experience a range of feelings beginning with panic and ending with rage.

Monday: Daddy stays home from work with the girls. They think it's Christmas.

Tuesday: I stay home with the girls. They decide to play Drive Mommy Crazy. All day. It's fun.

Wednesday: Daddy stays home from work. And "manages to clean the entire house and make dinner." Goody for you dear. We interview a potential nanny. We like her but, in addition to moving in with us, she wants and arm and two legs.

Thursday: I stay home with the girls. Hubby can't understand how come I couldn't clean the house and have dinner ready. Oh I could have dear. I just didn't feel like it. We had much more fun eating popsicles in the pool. We interview 2 more nannies. We really like one of them. Things are looking up.

Friday: Hubby stays home with the girls. Realizes that Wednesday was an anomaly. The house is a mess and we order pizza for dinner. My sister comes to town to help us out with the girls. She rocks. We interview 2 more nannies. Well, only one shows up. We like the one that came. But she can't start for a month because she wants to give her current family ample notice. What a concept. Oh well, that's ok. We like the nanny from Thursday.

Saturday morning: The nanny from Friday calls. She wants to know if the position is still available. She told her current family that she had an interview. The dad got upset and put her out of the house (she was a live-in). She needs a job asap. Oh and, in order to maintain her visa, she will have to attend class 2 nights a week. At a college that is 40 minutes away from our house. And she has no car.

Saturday afternoon: We decide that it makes more sense to go with the nanny from Thursday. She'll watch the girls, cook and clean and she won't need to live-in because she doesn't live far away. And she has a car. And can communicate in English. Which, after the week of interviews we just had, apparently are attributes rare in nanny-land.

Saturday evening: We hire the nanny from Thursday. We wish the nanny from Friday good luck. She is staying with her cousin until she finds a new family. I feel better knowing that she is not on the street. I ply myself with sangria. I deserve it.

Sunday: We are so nervous about the new nanny that we can't sleep. We consider downsizing our home so that we can afford for me to stay at home. We consider moving (again) to be close to family in order to avoid situations just like these.

Monday morning: The new nanny starts. We love her. The girls love her. My sister loves her. The nanny (re)organizes the laundry room and dusts. Everyone is happy.

God answers prayer. But we knew that.

THE END.

LOVE IT: Thursdays!

Or Fridays. But whatever.

This week's LIT theme is:

" __________ is the only sunscreen I like using on my child(ren) on these sunny summer days."

I decided on the topic of sunscreens because it seems like my kids are using it on a daily basis these days. The sun is in full force and therefore, so is water play! So I wanted to tell y'all about the sunscreen that we use - it's the Coppertone Water Babies Quickcover Lotion Spray SPF50. And it rocks.

I stumbled upon this sunscreen because applying regular sunscreen lotion to two fidgety toddlers was getting to be tedious. So I went looking for a spray. I decided to try this one and I'm so glad that I did! At the risk of sounding like a commercial, we love this sunscreen because the spray is an even mist that is easy to control, the lotion is easily rubbed onto the skin (no more tragic ET-looking kids), it smells yummy, is waterproof and contains Vitamin E to moisturize.

And it doesn't hurt that the kids get a kick out of getting sprayed with the stuff. It's always good for at least 3-minutes worth of giggles.


My rating for the Coppertone Water Babies Quickcover Lotion Spray SPF50?


5 gavels: "Love it! Can't live without it!"

Now it's your turn!

What type of sunscreen do you use to protect your little rays of sunshine? Remember to add a link to your blog posting here:

Quite Possibly the Only Time You'll Hear Me Mention Yard Sale and Thrift Store Shopping. In One Weekend. Not That There's Anything Wrong With That.

Speaking of being tired...I just have to tell you all about our jam-packed weekend. It all started on Friday when my sister came into town to help us out until we found a replacement for our nanny (that story's for another day and another post). Bless her heart. And then we interviewed two more nannies that evening - trust me, that alone was enough to exhaust the most rested person alive.

Saturday the girls were up at the crack of dawn as usual (what is up with that? don't kids sleep-in on Saturdays anymore? Or is not sleeping-in another side effect of global warming? Please explain.) And so my marathon began. On weekend mornings, it's all about me getting the kids out of the house. Otherwise, they tear everything up, get cabin fever and by 11am, all three of us are bat crazy and that's never good. Our first stop was to Hubby's football game to drop off the chair that he forgot at home and desperately needed. What happened to sitting on the grass? Aren't you all supposed to be big, tough, manly men? Anyhoo, we obliged and brought him his Eddie Bauer Sports Chair with matching carrying case. Very masculine indeed.

Then we were off to a yard sale that a friend of mine was having to raise money for our church. I made sure to only bring $20 with me because, well I love a good sale - used goods or not - but really, we don't need one more piece of junk in our house, whether it's for a good cause or not. And good thing I did do that because we left the sale with only $3 to spare. But, in addition to a few children's books and a craft set, I did get these two cute (brand new!) dresses for Chatterbox and Giggles for a total of $8. See Exhibits A & B:

Where to next? Without a plan, I headed towards where any normal, intelligent, self-respecting mother of young children would go: Target. But before we arrived at our old entertainment stand-by (Cartoons! Playing in the electronics section! Toys! And more toys! A full selection of Swiffer Cleaning products! and even Frozen Foods!) my sister and I had the fantastic idea of heading to the pool. It was on. We were women on a mission. I drove home, ran in the house - because unloading the two kids, getting them in the house, getting them back outside and bucked into the car? that would have taken eons - gathered everyone's swimsuits, towels and SPF 8000 for this crazy sun we've been experiencing. The pool was FANTASTIC. We've lived up the street from the swim center for the past 4 years but have never actually gone swimming there. And now I see what we've been missing out on all this time! (And what Big Mama's been talking about all summer) There was a zero-entry pool, a pool with a water mushroom, a tot pool, a huge waterslide and a lazy river for tubing. Basically, a heavily-chlorinated version of heaven. We swam and splashed until we couldn't splash no more and headed home for a bath and a nap.

Meanwhile, while the kids slept, I ran to a meeting and came back home making a bee-line for my bed because I was beat from the sun and needed a nap like anybody's business. And about 13 minutes into my nap, the phone rings and it's the person I met with telling me that I left my purse at her place. WTF? How the heck did I leave, drive all the way home and not notice that I didn't have my purse? I'm losing it people. Don't say I didn't warn you. So anyway, I go and get my purse, stop by the thrift store near my house (another story for another post) so that my sister could see it, and go back home. For about 20 mintues. During which I threw some pajamas and a toothbrush in a bag and then headed to...a slumber party! For grown folks that is. A friend from my mommy group had a few of us over to have some girl time and it was great.

But first, I stopped at the store to pick up some slumber party snacks: Twizzlers, Cool Ranch Doritos, Strawberries and Dipping Chocolate, and...Wine (grown folks, remember?). And so I get to the cash register and of course I have to show my ID to purchase the wine. I open my wallet and the slot where I usually keep my license is empty. Naturally. Again, WTF? Ah yes. I took it out at the pool to show proof of residency for the county discount. And then carelessly threw it in my pool bag so that I could stop Chatterbox from throwing herself into the pool fully-clothed. In any case - no ID = no wine. Now that I was halfway between home and my friend's house, I could have (should have) turned around to go get my license, right? You know, the whole "driving without a license" law violation thing and all. But my girls' night out was starting in 10 minutes and I wasn't about to be late! So onward I forged. I arrived at my friends and life was good. The night went like this: Sangria, blah blah blah, Homemade Guacamole, blah blah blah, More Sangria, blah blah blah, 4-course dinner, blah blah blah, Still More Sangria, blah blah blah, and conversation and laughs that covered topics like whether or not we each thought our child was "weird" to in-laws that drive us crazy to hair weaves, and everything in between. This lasted until 3:45am at which time I passed out in a very comfy bed. Exactly 3 hours later, my loving husband called my cell phone to "remind me" that I needed to be home at 7:30am so that he could go to his football game. Insert curse words here.

I made it home by 7:40am, bloodshot eyes, (sans driver's license) and all. And of course the rugrats were wide awake and rearing to go. So without missing a beat, I made them scrambled eggs and toast, took them outside for fingerpainting, filled up the baby pool so I could trick them into washing the paint off of themselves they could splash around, gave them a bath, got them and myself dressed and again, we were off! We spent the morning at a great park where we rode a carousel and a train and the kids played on the playground while mommy tried to keep her eyes open. Then we met Hubby for lunch (where my meal sucked) and headed home. Finally. Everybody took a nice long nap and all was right in the world. Then I went grocery shopping for the week and watched the latest episode of Entourage (priorities people!) And so it was no surprise that when Monday morning came and it was time to go to work, I was still exhausted. But we had a blast over the weekend and really, who needs sleep anyway?

It's for the weak.

We'll Miss You Granpa

You're Three

I cannot believe that you're three. Three. Three!

It seems like yesterday that we brought you home from the hospital and stared at you in disbelief over how tiny and delicate you were. And, by the way, it also feels like yesterday since, for some reason, I am just as tired as I was back then. Maybe it's because now I am running after you trying to get you to put on pants before running outside. Call me modest. Or it's because I am busy picking shredded cheese out of the dining room carpet because you decided to "make tacos" on your plastic stove.

Perhaps it's because I am running behind you down the sidewalk pushing you "faster! faster!" as you practice "riding" your tricycle. It could be because I'm figuring out the best way to remove the lotion that you've smeared all over your room.

Or maybe it's because I'm out of breath from answering your thousand questions during each and every car ride. It could be because I'm making up a song to the tune of Dora's "We Did It!" each time you finish something that you've been working hard at. It might be because I'm chasing you down so that I can save the poor soul whose ear you're talking off on the phone. Or maybe it's because I'm trying to prevent you from completely submerging yourself in fingerpaint during our craft time.

Or because I'm diving in between you and your little sister to stop you from brushing the heck out of her hair. It also could be because I'm reading "Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother Too?" eleven times before bed.

It may even be because I'm doing a cheerleading jump each time you take a bite of anything that isn't plain white rice. Or it could be because I'm dancing in a conga line with you singing "It's time to Sprout it up! Sprout it up! Before we go to bed, let's Sprout it up!"

It quite possibly is because I stayed up way past my bedtime last night assembling your play kitchen so that I could surprise you this morning. Or maybe it's because I'm so busy thinking about how grateful I am that you're such a happy, healthy and spunky little girl.

Whatever the reason, I'm tired. And I can't imagine being any happier.

Happy 3rd Birthday Kiddo! You light up my life.

And I'm working on that Barney cake. Popsicle swear.