Dude!

Ma'am dropped her first "dude" today. I'm so proud. We were sitting on the kitchen floor carving pumpkins, she comes cruising around the corner and said, "dude! that's so cool!" Mister and I looked at looked at each other, then at her and I said, "totally dude". She says "yeah".

I'm a Lazy Photographer

I've been spending a lot of time with a new friend lately and she happens to be a fabulous photographer. Which means that I never take my own pictures anymore. Unfortunately, I don't get copies of her pics right away. Which means I have nothing to post. And they are great pics too. And the great pics are holding up the great stories because I don't have the pics to paint the picture.

But let me tell you, they are great! They're just not here. Which means they are pretty much worthless and I have a sucky blog. Its time to find my own camera and get busy snapping pics!



Gratitude of the day: My son's growing vocabulary. He's talking up a storm and I love it!

A little gratitude please

Listening to talk radio on the way to work this morning, I began to feel very grateful for my job. Even though I question my place in the home, I am so very grateful to have this as a problem. While I think the family would like it if the house were a little cleaner, Mommy was a little stressed out, and we all had a little more play time; I think they are all pretty happy with our life and its really just me with the problem. One that I will probably continue to struggle with from time to time but for now, I'm glad to have a great job. Also, I'm grateful for my husband's birthday wishes. He asked for a cast iron skillet and new dishes. Ha, he was probably tired of hearing me fuss over the ugly dishes we've had for the last 14 years. Mister better cook me some bacon on his new skillet!

When I grow up...

When I grow up, I want to be a Housewife. Not of the desperate sort but one who is fulfilled and nourished by providing a home for her family. It took us so long to have children that I became "a career girl". Which is fine, it was actually great. It taught me a lot about myself, about how I feel about the world around me and is a large contributor to who I am today. The problem with that is, I'm not sure I like the person I am today. I firmly believe that you can have it all. Just not all at once. My career has grown considerably over the last few years and next year, I'll have an even bigger chance to make an impact at my firm. Things are really looking up and I have an unbelievable opportunity to really reap the bounty of my harvest. Problem is my little one's, their only little for so long. How well am I harvesting them? They are really my life's work. Don't get me wrong, they have a great life. And a fabulous Daddy who works from his home office and is able to give them a lot of time and attention. I guess you could say we are in reverse caregiver modes. I leave the house at 7:15 each day, returning at 6:15. Daddy gets them ready for daycare, goes to gymnastics, school parties, and cooks dinner. I clean the house, clean the kids and kiss them goodnight. Wow~ writing that made me take pause and explained why I feel like a servant. I...wow...I can't even finish this post. Or post the cute picture I have picked out. I have some soul searching to do.

A parting wish for all of you, I hope you feel fulfilled in whatever it is that you do.

Vampires and Vaseline

Mister took Ma'am and friend to see Beverly Hills Chihauahua at the drive in (boy, I dodged a bullet with that one!) and I'm catching up on the entire season of HBO's True Blood cuddling a sick sleeping Sir. I'm trying to really enjoy the show but I'm distracted by a sweet smell. The smell of Vaseline. The Vaseline that Ma'am used earlier to spike Sir's hair. The Vaseline that will not wash out, brush out or be scrubbed out with a towel.

I'm loving the Vampires, pretty much hating on the Vaseline. So if anyone out there knows how to remove petroleum jelly from hair, I'd appreciate the help. Cuz right now... it's a sticky mess.

I'm a Republican AND I recycle

Here is Sir circa 2008, wearing his sister's shirt circa 2004. Debates start in 40 minutes. Let's get ready to RUMBLE!

My Baby is Growing Up

It took my husband and I, eight years to successfully have a child. We had been through a miscarriage at 8 weeks, fertility treatments (for years) and the horrific loss of our twins, Nathan and Noah who were born prematurely at 23 weeks. To say the least, when Ma'am was born she fixed my broken heart. She was a shining beacon of hope in a very ugly time. And now... she has layers. Yes, you heard me right. Layers. At 4 1/2 Ma'am got her first haircut. She has long beautiful curly hair but it was getting too fuzzy at the ends. It was time. And she was sooo proud during the whole experience. And worse than the layers that she loves to talk about, she now has her own product. Mousse. I'm starting to become afraid. Very afraid. Of my beautiful little baby... my beacon of hope... the fixer of my broken heart... of her growing up. I think I need a drink.

Policemen, Firemen, and... Aliens

While on our way to Super Target to buy MORE decorations for our Halloween party, Mister and I are continuing our education on Strangers with Ma'am. What do you do if a Stranger talks to you? What do you do if a Stranger grabs you? etc. Ma'am then has a question for us, "Who do you call if a Stranger tries to get you? You call 911. And then the policemen will come and help you. Or maybe the fireman will come. Or the aliens. They will all save you from the Strangers." Aliens? Me, I'm not a big fan of space. Not even all together sure if I believe in it. It could all be a hoax. And my daughter, precious Ma'am, thinks that ALIENS will save her in a time of need? Where have I gone wrong as a Mother? And then I realize that she doesn't mean aliens of the UFO kind! She means aliens of paramedic kind! Aliens, ambulance. Tomato, tomahto...

A Haiku

My mojo is gone

Could I be getting sick? No!

I will not give in

Poor Choice

I got home just in time to kiss the kids and put them to bed and flip on the TV. I chose with my head rather than my heart and I think chose poorly. The debate put me to sleep. I woke up to my husband's snoring so my guess is that he wasn't that enthralled in it either. I'm sure Housewives would have not only kept me awake but would have also filled me with enough fluff to last the week. Good thing Bravo keeps their more popular shows on a continuous loop so I'll be able to catch it sometime this week.

My thoughts on the debate... As indicated by my McCain/Palin sign, I support them. I fundamentally believe in what they stand for from the economy (big fan of Reagan and trickle down economics) to energy to the social issues. I do not believe that he will be another 4 years of the current administration (which I think history will look more fondly on than we do in the present). Unfortunately, I think too many people vote on charisma and showmanship. If this were a beauty contest or a who's most likable contest, I would say Obama wins. However, being well spoken, polished and looking good in a suit won't take care of our current needs. Or our future needs. In an Utopian world, with rainbows and unicorns, Barack would probably be a great candidate. But that's not the world I live in. Sorry to get all political but I'm scared and I need to support my candidate.

Big Problem, Big Decision

I have a Junior League meeting tonight which really needs to wrap up by 8:00 so I can chit-chat until 8:30 and make it home by 9:00. I HAVE TO BE HOME BY 9:00. Why? What's the big problem? Prime time TV. Here's my issue... Do I do my civic duty, educate myself and watch the Presdential debate? Or do I fullfill the completely shallow and constantly hungry side of me and watch The Real Housewives of Atlanta?

What do I do? What do I do? The angst!

**Update 10.15.08**
I finally caught up on Housewives of Atlanta. Umm... One word... TRASHY! But! riveting!

There's no place like home... There's no place like home!

Let's see... This time last week, I was spending my first of two nights in an illustrious Boston Holiday Inn. After spending two hours in the Boston airport trying to convince airport security and the state police to not let the the obviously cracked out guy on the plane, a short flight landed me in NYC. One night in the city, countless taxi rides, a couple of client visits and one of the best burgers I've ever eaten landed me at home at 1:00am Friday morning. Auto pilot through a couple of hours at work, come home to kiss the kiddies and Mister and then Saturday morning off to Disney World. Finally last night, I settle back home to stay. Hopefully for a while. I think I'm even too tired to click my heels.