Well Let's Just See

I'm doing piles of work, Mike's scrambling in the other room to do our taxes on April 14th, and Rachel went to bed without a bottle tonight after fighting us on it for over an house.

What kind of sleep do YOU think we're going to get tonight?

And you can't say "A big pile of #$%!" no fair, cheating, that's too easy!

Answers may be:
a) Some
b) Sketchy amounts
c) Minimal, irritating to coworkers in the morning amounts
d) Tired, killing rampage tomorrow amounts

Stay tuned tomorrow for the answer!

p.s. Rachel, my little overachiever, c'mon - go for the "A"!

p.s.s. You can easily do good billing reports while watching American Idol. And yes, I DO love you, Kutey Pie Kris!

YES IT'S REALLY ME and no I'm not ready to recap the last 6 weeks yet

Hi friends! I simply couldn't let one more minute go by without posting and catching up on my friends' blogs. So there I go to Erin's to see what I missed about her family, and see her recap of our cruise vacation together last week. But then her post about Digital Moms got me intrigued, so per Erin's suggested I surfed over to Dooce.com to see what SHE had to say about Twittering and FB'ing moms. (I was of course just waiting for the big controversial oh, moms neglect their kids or oh, moms risk their kids privacy stuff ... and was waiting to see if I had a violent reaction to it, one way or another).

And then I did NOT read that article, but instead got sucked into one of Heather's (many) side advertisements, specifically, this video from the Momversations.com website. The topic? Family dinners.

Now I'm thinking: (a) what do I care about family dinners? (b) what does Miss Heather (who talks politics and depression and "deep stuff") Armstrong care about family dinners and (c) gee the digital mommy advertising revolution really has sort of, well, Madison-avenued out the best and most sincere of us. Momversations? Please.

But then I actually really enjoyed it. I learned of several new mommy bloggers that I might start following - seemingly smart and funny women I wouldn't have known about except for this dumb "ad." (Giyen and Mindy - anyone read 'em?)

I also mostly appreciated seeing how a seemingly commercialized Heather ... agreeing to do this sponsored link (yes I sat through the full 30 second opening of a Target pitch) looked completely uncomfortable and nervous being shot on video. It was sort of reassuring that even as marketers tap bloggers and leverage them for their own purposes, and moms vie to make some money from it (hey more power to ya), real people are still real people ... yes you can use me for it but I can't complete change who I am. Anyway, that's my deep interpretation of a 3 minute web video.

It als reminded me how much I've missed the interweb these last 6? 7? 8? weeks of intense work and lack of life balance. I am enjoying a beautiful sunny Spring Saturday morning view out my back window, drinking my coffee, posting my random and inconsequential thoughts, and catching up on those from my friends - and complete strangers, of course! - from the last month and a half. And just thinking ahhhh ... I'm home.

Next up: a real update on my life.

Give It Up for the Left Brainers

Can I get a whoop whoop for my pal Erin who redesigned my entire web site for me? Just because she CAN and is GOOD and ENJOYS it?

I'm sure I would enjoy it too, if I had the faintest idea how to use PhotoShop. Or pick a matching color palette. Or, you know, just have a creative vision of any sort.

Okay, I'm not THAT bad. And, I have learned over the years to appreciate that "creativity" in my field (communications) means more than just the visual side of the work. For instance, I can creatively manipulate a too-short-to-complete-the-project timeline into something workable. I can creatively figure out how to tap the right people, at the right times, at the right order, to get the job done. I can turn not much meaty content, into a snazzy newsletter or intranet article.

I can even IDENTIFY good creative when I see it, or know how to edit something bad into good. (I know, probably your worst nightmare right? A non-creative who "likes to edit.")

But editing is just SO different than looking at a blank page and having that vision, and also the courage, to pick up the pen, mouse or what have you to make something happen, out of nothing.

I've gotten to work with some really creative people in the last year ... people at work that just, can see, what they want something to be like. And I've got Erin and some other friends that have their own businesses based graphic design - web, print, clothing and gifts. (Small plug: see bottom right nav for some of said ladies' really awesome web stores.)

And I gotta admit, I'm a little jealous.

Because you can learn to write, you can learn to project manage, you can learn to pitch and proofread and prepare budgets. But you can't learn to be a left brainer.

(CAN you, Mr. President?)

And we love ya for it!

Tag Nag

Ok. OKAY. Not only am I gonna play the Facebook tag game. But the one zillionith mention of FB has just made me setup my damn profile. Happy? There goes the remaining tiny amount of sleep I was getting!

And, here goes my "25 fascinating things about me" list - sleep deprived style...


1) I was born in New Zealand, and had dual citizenship until I was 18. Yet I have only seen those N.Z. family members three times (Grama) once (uncle) and nonce (uncle, Grampa who passed away). It never seemed weird growing up.

2) I was a national merit scholar, I had a good GPA, I was a good test taker ... and I'm still childishly proud of all that.

3) I'd bite my nails any time - in public, business meetings, probably a job interview.

4) I rarely lie, I've never shoplifted and I don't cheat. I am a girl scout.

5) I have the biggest feet of any girl I know - 10's (probably more if I let 'em). Also I've never owned boots, ever, because of a lil thing I call cankles.

6) I get jealous of friendships easily, but I'm not competitive with my girlfriends in other areas of life because I think someone else being strong does not make me weak.

8) My parents told me once I should be a stand up comic and while I laughed, I secretly believed that was my calling.

9) Having my son shook my whole life to the core where I feel embarrassed that I had so much trouble returning to work compared to other moms I know.

10) I loved Laura Ingalls books to death and reread them for years. I had very serious feelings for the TV "Almanzo."

11) I second guess my decisions constantly.

12) I realize exactly how loud I talk yet most times I just forget (too bad for you, Lisa W, with the whole shared wall and all).

13) Sometimes when I appear unsympathetic, it's really because I'm so upset or emotional about what you're telling me that I don't know what to do for you so I turn kind of, well, off.

14) My husband has a nickname for me that is too embarrassing to tell anyone much less post here...yet I know he genuinely thinks of it as a term of endearment.

15) I love biscuits and gravy like, crazy love.

16) I question liberalism, but could not ever be a conservative.

17) I've been to Rio de Janeiro and while cool, eh, I'd rather do a Destin condo with beer, cooler, babies and friends.

18) I am not certain yet or not if I'm doing now what I'll do for the rest of my career - but for the first time I like my job and that feels like a miracle.

19) I can do a decent impersonation of a lot of people. Maybe YOU.

20) Running a half marathon and getting my MBA are two goals for my 40s.

21) I am closer to my friends than most of my family and yes, that bothers me sometimes.

22) I have an awful throw up reflex. If I do it once, forget it - it'll be 20 times until I'm about dead. New Year's was ... unpleasant.

23) I boss my husband around in public, but his opinion carries the most weight on many many decisions around our house.

24) I draw well - give me a B&W photo of your kid, I'll draw him up good.

25) I am apparently not self aware because I'm having a VERY hard time with this list.

Buy Their Stock Now

What is going on with me and my coworkers and Starbucks? Since I went on maternity leave it's become MANDATORY that someone's going on a morning and an afternoon run.

Not only is this expensive, but it takes time away from doing your actual work, so you can finish and leave at night. But yet, we go. We all go.

What sort of liquid crack are they putting in there? I mean, the festive red holiday cups are cute and the coffee tastes good but that cannot be the end of it.

Some ambitious young crack (no pun intended) reporter needs to get inside their operation stat and figure out how they're suckering us all in (God love ya Starbucks, but you're killing my checking account) before I spend another $4.04 on hot water and beans!

The Latest "Life is Interesting ..." Post

Right now my husband's trying to remove our bedroom door knob which is locked from the inside. The door knob we didn't even know could lock.

I realized it was locked when I went to get my shoes so I could go do our weekly grocery shopping, you know, at 9 p.m. on a Sunday.

This was after I prepared my list and went to put it in my purse ... and had to empty the kitter litter out of it.

Yes, my friends, life is good, lovely ... but so damn "interesting" with two kids and three pets, some days, some days ... well, 'nuff said.

I Not Sophisticated

Am I the only one who can't relate to this baby-vegetable size-analogy?

Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to
heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard).

Come on, Babycenter.com, get off your high horse.

***UPDATE: She is now LEEK sized. Should be perfect for a subtle yet pungeant broth for a light summer supper...

No, That is NOT What's In There?!

Anyone else continue to marvel that newborn babies are actually what is inside there...
Making you fat?
Giving you heartburn?
Making you rage at your husband?
Making you cry in front of your husband?
Making you eat the Taco Bell?
Sometime making you throw up the Taco Bell?
Making you tired and crabby? Swelled? Nervous? Not sleep? Waddle? Struggle with back pain? Do acrobatics with pillows? Stress over doctor appointments? Constantly schedule doctor appointments? Gain 25, 35, 45 lbs?

Seeing four newborns in as many weeks has reminded me that what is in, really does come out. It's not just a belly and a backache. It's not an eggplant, rutabagas or whatever fruit-of-the-week the BabyCenter e-mails describe. There's a baby in thar!

A pink, wrinkly baby that blinks, breathes, eats and poops. That pressure I feel in my rib really is BABY FOOT.

Ok, frankly, you babies are freaking me out. Time for bed, and I'll just ignore the "indigestion" kicking me in the ribs because tonight, you, baby, are blowing mama's mind with how NUTS it is that you're in there, growing into a real working person, in my big old Taco Bell filled tummy.

Differences

It's hard to remember exactly what's different between my pregnancies. But here are a few things I've noticed:

She kicks more and more frequently than Matthew. Foretelling of awful one hour nap, one hour awake pattern?

My ligaments feel much more sore and stretched. Guess hauling a 30 lb struggling toddler and two laptop bags this time around isn't conducive to nurturing my "delicate condition." Unlike last time, when I spent an average of 3 hours a night watching TV being waited on my my husband. Then another 10 hours a night sleeping, going to bed at 8:30 or 9, and waking up at 7:30, regularly.

I am overall, LESS of a lazy bones than I was with Mathew. Despite my fears about being totally overwhelmed with being pregnant, having a kid, moving and working... most days, I am somehow accomplishing more than I do usually.

It's not to be a contender for the SuperMom awards, I assure you. Not my style - I am more of a "yep I give up, I'm not perfect, secret's out. Flip it to Idol, I'm going to get more ice cream" type usually.

It's just out of sheer necessity of having to keep up at work, raise my son, help sell my house, and help purchase a next one. And you know, clean and dress myself. It's taxing as hell and May's going to be intense. But, it's reassuring that when push comes to shove, Momma can get some sh*t done even 5 months pregnant.

Let's hope that momentum continues at least through early third trimester. After that I take no accountability for not being super, or even effective. I will only take accountability for going to work, coming home from work, hugging my son, putting him to bed, driving to doctor appointments. And eating lots and lots of ice cream in my new house filled with rooms of unpacked boxes and hideous paint and wallpaper projecgts left untouched.