Such a great day!

Happy Halloween! I'll be back tomorrow!

Surf Board

Evie: "Mommy?"

Me: "yes?"

Evie: "Why do we have a surfboard in our laundry room?"

Me: *squinting my eyes while I try to figure out the question*

*heavy sigh*

"Oh!"

*disappointed pause*

"Oh. That's not a surfboard, honey. That's an ironing board."

Evie: *confused look* "What's that?"

Me: "You use an ironing board with an iron to get the wrinkles out of clothes."

Evie still looked confused, but at least she now knows that we don't have a surfboard in the laundry room.

My Mom

Missing my mom. Funny how that happens, right? In high school you're just dying to get out of the house and have some privacy, and now you're dying to have your mom's shoulder to lean on. I'll admit that it isn't like that all the time, and I'm certain that neither one of us wants to live together again, but it sure is nice to have a friend in your mom.

She gets me. She annoys me. She makes me laugh. She farts. She's quirky. She can't hear. She's getting old gracefully and ungracefully. She loves unconditionally. She laughs. She frowns. She shakes her head in agreement with the TV. She always thinks we're making fun of her, even when we aren't. She crosses her legs to sneeze. She protects her grandchildren like a mama bear. She coughs funny. She plays on the ground. She can't work a laptop. She adores her Kindle. She drinks coffee. She drinks wine. She obsesses about little things. She loves a bargain. She's empathetic. She prays. She hums. She's hyper. She takes big bites. She doesn't like dogs but she tolerates them. She gives affection freely. She picks up other people's babies. She cooks the best pork chops. She lives to please. She likes even numbers. She means well.

Different Generations

Confirmation from my mother that we are from very different generations:

Mom: Can I use your computer to order my Nook books?

Me: Uh, sure. Don't use the PC. You can use my laptop.

Mom: *Pause* You know I don't know how to use a laptop, don't you?

Where am I?

This is what I'm working on.
All.
The.
Time.

It's a night golf tournament using glow in the dark golf balls. And the wine tasting is taking place at the same time for non golfers. It's fun and benefits a great cause, but I'm the head honcho and very stressed. It will all be over tomorrow night and my life might return to some semblance of normal - whatever "normal" means.

I'll be back then!

My favorite phrase for the past two weeks (and always said through clenched teeth and in my head):

"I'm so goddamn done."

On a side note: I don't often say God and Damn together, so it is really quite serious.

My Failing, My Apology

I'd like to take this moment to officially apologize to my husband and my children for bringing my lack of athleticism to the family. It is truly unfortunate that my children have inherited my ability to run like a girl, inability to catch a ball, severe handicap with golfing, lack of a competitive drive when it comes to team sports, and a general aversion to sports in general. I will admit that we have hope for George, but the other two are lost already. I can assure you that Luke and Evie have no natural ability to run. Their arms are held into their chests and they vigorously and purposely pump them as they run, making them look like the orphans from the musical Annie that somehow ended up wandering the soccer fields. At any moment during the soccer games, I expect them to start pumping their arms and singing It's a Hard Knock Life. Can anyone picture this, or is it just me?

Anyway, I just think it is a sad state of affairs that my children will be deprived of any sort of popularity or college scholarship due to their ridiculous lack of athletic ability. So, for that reason, and for the reason that my husband will watch brokenhearted as our children never score a goal or hit a homer, I apologize. It is all my doing. I promise to make up for it with a full education on how to watch sports and athletics.

working inside and outside the home

things have been pretty crazy with me, so forgive my lack of posting. we got our ADD results yesterday and it turns out that Luke has been diagnosed with a mild form of ADD. medication is not recommended as a first step. excellent news to us. quite honestly he's been doing really well in school after those first two weeks. we even got his report card yesterday and he had all As and Bs and an E in conduct as well as more Es than S's. i think those two weeks were probably part of an adjustment period in which Luke had to become familiar with his surroundings, his new friends, and his new routine. we're doing better at home, but he still has some issues. luckily, it is all very treatable. we're working on it.

as for Evie, well she did awesome at school too! she doesn't get letter grades, just indications of whether she is developed in certain areas or if she is emerging in her development (isn't that so nicely worded?). so, we had lots of Ds for her and only a few Es. not bad, in my estimation.

unfortunately, the week has been so ridiculously crazy with meetings, our nannies on fall break, planning a huge golf tournament and wine tasting on behalf of one of my favorite non-profit organizations, working, handling sick kids, maneuvering around random splinters that the kids have gotten, and trying to maintain some semblance of a real life. it is impossible. oh, yeah, and chuck's car broke down yesterday. a complete nightmare, but i remind myself how blessed i am to have healthy, happy children who have a roof over their heads and food in their bellies. blessings truly abound.

as for me, i'm ready to go to sleep already, but i don't anticipate that my head will hit that pillow for several more hours.

hope you all are having a better week than i am. much love to you all.

Sometimes I wonder how my life became so overwhelmingly complicated and then I realize that it is all through my own choices.

My Birthweek

My birthday is Sunday.

My friend Tracey (aka Attorney Barbie) bought me lunch Tuesday.

There were two birthday cards on my desk this morning from my girlfriends at work.

I had a cup of coffee and breakfast waiting for me too from my dear friend Carrie.


And I just received a beautiful bouquet of fall flowers from Chuckyluv.

Aren't they just amazing?!


How blessed am I?!

RIP Fishie

TMZ really cracks me up sometimes! RIP

Christmas Wishes

Evie asked me last night with a ginormous stutter as if she couldn't get her thoughts from her mind to her mouth, "Um um um, mo mo mom . . . um um uh . . ."

I coaxed, "Yes, what is it?"

Evie, "Uh uh uh . . . I um was um wondering . . ."

Me, "Uh huh . . ."

Evie, "do you . . . uh . . . you know how Santa gives presents?"

My eyes widened with joy. My sweet girl was already thinking about Christmas in October. She's following in my footsteps! I answered, "Oh yes! I know. What about it?"

Evie, "Um do you think that he gives . . .um . . . wishes too?"

I took a deep breath and screwed up my mouth bracing her for disappointment by my looks. I said, "Well, I don't think it usually works like that. Why don't you tell me what your wish is." I was hopeful, but pretty sure I would be denied.

True enough, Evie started to open her mouth but closed it again before she responded, "Well, I can't tell you one of my wishes." To soften the blow, she followed up with a smile, "But I can tell you one of them."

I was satisfied and said, "Okay."

Evie moved my hair away from my ear, leaned forward and in her best whisper, she said, "I wish you could be a ballerina and I could sing for you to dance all, all, all the time."

I looked at her in shock and said, "Me? You want me to be a ballerina?"

She nodded.

I smiled.

I responded, "I would love that, sweetie."

And I would. She's so lovely in every way. Too bad I'll have to tell her that I don't think Santa grants wishes for Christmas.

I think I need to take a mental health day.

Anyone with me?

Memorable Moments

If you want to overload on George, you can visit Memorable Moments Photography and go to the Client tab. Enter the password GB (case sensitive) and there are 110 photos from his most recent school pictures which is really like a mega photo shoot. They are ridiculously cute!

She's an amazing photographer.

George and the Purple Band Aid

Somebody was being extra cute this morning.

Pardon the purple band aid. He fell down at school.

A New Professional Mother

Just had lunch with a dear friend who is also a new professional mother. Her dear little one is only a few months old and she's been back on the job for two weeks. It's amazing to find out how quickly having a child will affect not only your job, but your entire life. Everything changes. (Reminds me of those Johnson & Johnson commercials. The sentiment is so true.)

My dear friend is facing all the same issues that we professional mothers face. There's always the issue of placing your family ahead of your job and having to explain that change to your supervisor. There's the issue of taking off time with a sick child. There's the consideration of whether to go part time. There's the impossibility of explaining to your male counterpart that maternity leave is not a vacation. There's the incessant nagging of guilt as you risk the possibility of missing your child's first words, first steps, first lost tooth, first scraped knee, or any other first. And for me, at least, there's the idea of wanting to be more than a mother while still maintaining your status as "The Best Mom in the World." (The title is self-given and obviously an aspiration as opposed to a reflection of the truth).

This mothering thing is a complicated business, and it just gets more complicated when you throw a career into the mix. So, for all of you new professional mothers, welcome to this wild ride. Hang on tight!