The Ten Year Nap...

That's what I feel like I've taken... a ten year nap. I had a brilliant career rising up the ladder of a top ad agency and I was kicking ass, loving my job and making bank, when all of a sudden I found out I was pregnant.

Holy shit! Wasn't planning that. What's this feeling? Excitement? I was newly married... my hubby and I planned on having kids someday... just not today. Then, wham-o about three days later, I was sitting at work and started having terrible pains. Having no frame of reference whatsoever I thought I was feeling the baby... at six weeks. Flash forward a few hours and I'm sitting in the OBs office hearing words like miscarriage, spontaneous abortion, and making plans to go to the hospital for a D&C. And I was suddenly overwhelmed with sadness and realized that I really wanted that baby! I wanted to be a mom!

After a brief recovery period, we started trying to have a baby in earnest. Four miscarriages later it was all I could think about. And when my doctors said the stress of work might be a factor, we jumped at the chance to leave the East Coast and head back to KC where we could afford to live on my husband's salary alone. Bought the dream house. And managed, under the guidance of a brilliant OB, and with the help of some baby aspirin and progesterone supplements to have two lovely daughters who are now breathtakingly beautiful and equally sassy at ages 10 and 8. I love them so much it hurts and I think I've written here before about how spoiled they were those first years because I was certain that they were so fragile they would disappear at any minute. I had certainly learned how tenuous life is.

But recently, with the downturn in the economy and a scare that my husband might lose his job -- I started considering the possibility of going back to work after ten years as a stay-at-home mom. It's as though I've just woken up from a ten year nap. I never really thought that I would HAVE to find a job again, and I naively thought that if I did -- well, I had a great education and a rock solid resume and that people would be thrilled to have me. Ha! Well, I'm awake now. Now What?!!!

freckle juice

My poor baby girl has two freckles right on the tip of her darling little nose. At the start of the summer there was just the one faint little freckle. But now there are two and they seem to be growing. I keep forgetting and trying to wipe them off thinking that it's food. I think the summer sun is bringing them out more and I gotta tell ya... it's disturbing!

It wouldn't be so bad if she had lots of freckles on her face. But she just has the two. On the tip of her nose! I can't let this poor child walk around looking like she has shit on the end of her nose! Think of the endless brown-noser jokes she's gonna endure! The teachers are all gonna think that she has buggars on the end of her nose!

This same poor child was born with a hemangioma on her arm that showed up about a week after we brought her home from the hospital. I freaked! I thought I had seriously hurt her. (If you don't know what a hemangioma is, it is a bright red birthmark. They are a little like a portwine stain, but they have a raised surface and texture.) Anyway... we told her it was her "special" mark and that the angels had kissed her. You can get away with that sort of thing with a three year old. I doubt that will fly with the 2nd grade set.

The hemangioma faded over time. I guess the best I can hope for is that the freckles will fade away with her summer tan. I wouldn't be crazy enough to sneak into her room in the middle of the night and apply cream for fading age spots.... probably.

postscript: Turns it out it must have been brown marker!!! Yeah! still just the one cute freckle after her bath. Much better!

Blog into a book

Check this out! Over at The Cutest Blog on the Block, you can make your blog into a book or pdf file with a couple of clicks! I love this idea! I'm sort of secretly afraid that my blog will disappear into the ether and with it, a significant chunk of my life and memory! Auggghhh!

Has anybody actually done this? How did it turn out? How much work was it? Would you recommend this, or another service?

Click on my title above to link to the actual page on The Cutest Blog on the Block. I hate my embedded links -- you can't see them unless you roll over them and then they are a funky purple... but when I try to change the color of my links, it changes the colors of other things... hence, my desire for someone more adept than myself at blog design. Anyway... I thought this was cool. Have a look.

Does absence make the heart grow fonder?

you know... the thing about not blogging for awhile is that you feel like you need to come back with some substance and an excuse better than "ehhh.... I dunno... I was at the pool a lot... my kids are hogging the computer playing Roblox.com..." but really, that's all I've got. I need to get back to that hardest part of writing... "applying the ass to the seat of the chair." I forget who said it... but it applies to my ass for sure.

So... here are some random thoughts I've been having:

1) Scary/Sci-fi movies: I like suspense, not gore -- but I'm finding that all the scary movies these days are completely unfulfilling. I just watched "Knowing" with Nick Cage... it was okay, probably better than average these days... but still the ending was sort of bleh... And that drivel that Keanu Reeves was in earlier this year -- that one was truly terrible. There was no ending. Where's the slow build? and the smart storyline? the provacative unanswered questions? These writers should be tied to their sofas and forced to watch Hitchcock and Rod Serling til their eyeballs bleed.

2) Something to bitch about: Last October I sent about $250 to Delicious Design Studio (big mistake!) to create a new blog look for me. Guess what -- It's now July (that's ten months later!)and I haven't gotten so much as an email or a phone call - so if you are thinking about hiring someone -- I'd recommend that you look elsewhere. When she was trying to get my money, I was on the Calendar for January. When I spoke to her in April -- she was gonna start it next week. Now... nothing, nada, bupkis! Not even an apologetic email. What a drag. That took some of the fun out of my blogging because I was really excited about a personalized design. No matter -- now I've found the Cutest Blog on the Block and they have lots of freebies! I may try for a custom designed blog again... but I think I'll do some better research next time. Buyer beware. Duhhhhhhh!

3) nah... you only get the two. A wise woman pointed out to me that blogging is a winter sport and damn that seems to be true. I promise that come September, my ass will be firmly planted in my blogging chair. Til then, I hope that you are having as much fun this summer as we are!

ciao!

Slacker Blogger Award

And the Slacker Blogger award goes to... ME!

What can I say? I've been uninspired. Is that a word? Actually life just keeps coming fast and furious and I haven't had much time to catch my breath. Mostly good things.

Had a lovely vacation in Branson, Missouri... yes, you read that right. I know... there are way too many confederate flags around that town for me to really be comfortable. And I definitely felt that my Obama bumper sticker was painting a target on my back. But I went with three wonderful friends and 7 kids between the ages of 7 and 10. We had a ball! Silver Dollar City was about my speed as far as theme parks go. Lots of shade. Surprisingly good food. And the best funnel cakes I've ever had. Meg only dragged me on one really serious rollercoaster. Anything called "Powderkeg" is probably not a good idea once you pass 40 - but I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth and was "Cool Mom" for all of 5 minutes. I may have chipped a tooth -- but apparently my ticker is still rock solid.

The Dixie Stampede was an interesting cultural experience. From the uncomfortable racist comic/magician opening act, to the history lesson which managed to pit North vs. South in the Civil War without ever a mention of slavery. Still... there were pig races and horses jumping through hoops of fire, girls in hoop skirts lit up like Christmas trees, and an entire chicken for everybody in the place. I grew up in Missouri and our history lessons in school followed that same logic. I was taught that Missouri was a border state. Do you think Alabama and Mississippi can get away with that shit too?

Seriously though -- it was a fantastic trip. And my love and thanks go out to Crazy Cat Lady who made it all possible. Smooch!

She also makes a kick-ass vegetarian lasagna which she brought over yesterday because she felt sorry for me. You see -- remember our theme for 2009? (Look back a couple of posts, it's been awhile.) In keeping with said theme, darling baby girl has developed pneumonia. The girl who can completely lose her shit over a lump in a pair of socks has been surprisingly docile through a fever so high she practically sizzles, and two hour non-stop fits of coughing which make ME want to cry. She puts up a fantastic fuss when it's time to take her antibiotic and it takes a good twenty minutes of coaxing, bribes, begging, threats and intimidation to get her to take it -- but eventually (and usually only seconds before mommy is about to lose her shit) -- she surrenders.

What else? Oh yeah... I met Weekly Jules! Hi Jules! She's gorgeous and fabulous just as you would expect and it was soooo fun to actually meet her. We have a mutual friend (Hi Friend! I still think you need to blog 'cause you are freakin' funny, but whatever!) who had a big ol' birthday bash and we bonded.

Now I'm gonna go catch up on a month's worth of blog reading! I can hardly wait. Thanks to everybody who has checked up on me. I appreciate it more than you know!

Happy Days!

One of my passions is photography and I just love this shot. I took it this past week when I was out walking at the Overland Park Arboretum. There are all these great gardens, waterfalls, and nature trails that go back into the forest. I love it. I took the girls on Sunday and they had a blast climbing down to "Wolf Creek" and playing in the water. They were catching frogs and crawfish and splashing each other. It was a slice of heaven.

I've got cute buns!

Meet Annie (the blonde) and Echo... These two came to live with us this spring. I might die from all the cuteness! The girls are over the moon. And they make pretty great pets! Way better than the guinea pigs (God rest their little souls!)

So for those keeping track... we're down to two dogs, two rabbits, and 3 fish tanks. And I love them all.

Happy Spring!