..and the big news is...

You must do the thing which you think you cannot do. ~Eleanor Roosevelt

Well, it's big news in my world, at least :-)

I have accepted a new job!

Through all of my ramblings on this blog about not living up to my potential, not being paid what I am worth, not challenging myself, etc... I finally put my money where my mouth is, so to speak.

After two grueling interviews, lots of prayers and lots of, ahem, drinks ... I decided that this was an incredible opportunity I could not pass up.

I will be working as a web content specialist for a world-famous medical institution. And if you know where I live then you can fill in the blanks. ha.

This kind of goes against my wish of spending more time at home with the boy. But such is life. The timing might not be perfect but when is it ever perfect?

I am leaving a job that I have come to love, and for that reason I am having some major panic attack moments. Did I make the right decision? OMG, what the hell am I doing leaving a job that I love???

But the bottom line is this: I am excited for my new adventure. It will be challenging. There will be moments of doubt and frustration. But in the end I need to do this for myself and for OUR future.

And guess what? I could love my NEW job, too.

So ...

What does this mean for this blog?

I am going to put it on hold for the moment. As I transition from my current job to my new one I will have even less time to blog. I know what you are thinking: "How can she blog any less than she already does (or doesn't)???" I know, I suck at blogging right now. But my focus is elsewhere.

I will be posting things from time to time here, but not often.

However, if you would like to keep up with me on Facebook, Twitter, or my other blog please feel free!

Thanks, all! xoxo

Your Assignment and ... My Response

If you read my post from Friday you will already know that tomorrow is the big 77kids Do Good Day! Our Minnesota Mom Bloggers Do Good Day Team will be at the Minnesota Science Museum from 10am-1pm. Stop by and say hi!

And speaking of that, Erika came up with a great way that YOU ALL can get involved in this Do Good Day, too. So, here is your assignment:

~Write post about how you do good for others or for your community. Then go to The Girl Next Door Grows Up and LINK UP tomorrow!
* What kind of random acts of kindness do you do?
* Have you ever paid it forward? How?
* What will you do today that will make someone smile?

~If you can’t write a post, come back here on Wednesday and leave me a comment about something--one thing--that you did that made someone smile.


Now...I need to respond to Erika's post about how she is so nervous/excited to meet us bloggers in person that she is, frankly, a little nauseated.


Dear Erika and Do Good Day Team:

I am excited to meet you ALL in person tomorrow. Super, duper excited! I always love to meet bloggers in person because if I have been reading you blog that means I know you already, right? :-)

It definitely feels *safe* sitting and blogging from the relative anonymity of your computer. But that is a false sense of comfort! The truth is that we are all real people!!! So meeting in person, while in theory fun and exciting, could also be stress-inducing. But here is what I have to say about that: It's ALL GOOD. I know I will adore each and every one of you, therefore, I am not stressing in the least.

In response to Erika's post I will list some things that I think would be helpful for you all to know about me in advance of our meeting tomorrow:

1. My hair is all kinds of not fabulous right now because I refuse to pay more than $20 for a cut and color. Total. It's super awesome.

2. I do not go potty 100 times an hour like Erika, in fact I am the opposite. I have a bladder of steel and I am made fun of for it. That's just how I roll.

3. I tend to giggle when I am nervous.

4. I am nosy and will ask you a million questions about your life and your family. You have been warned.

5. The back left tail light is out in our van. So if I am late it means I have been pulled over. Or I am getting a coffee. One or the other.

6. I will only do a vlog with Erika if we can also videotape her running. Those are the rules, my dear, take it or leave it. :-)

I will have my camera with me and will be doing a "Meet the Team" post after Do Good Day. So, watch out! I might post the outtakes, too :-)

Love,

Feel Good Friday: Do Good Day Preview!

There are few things in life that I enjoy more than cute kids clothes and doing something good for others.

So when I got an email several weeks ago from my "sister" Erika (if that is her real name..hahaha) over at The Girl Next Door Grows Up, I couldn't believe my eyes!

77kids by American Eagle has teamed up with The Motherhood to put together an amazing group of 77 mom bloggers from around the country to help them DO GOOD in their communities. (They are calling it "Do Good Day") AND as an added bonus we also get to help them launch their brand new stores. What could be more perfect?? AWESOME!

I am priviledged to be working with a group of 6 other Minnesota Mom Bloggers. We have been emailing and planning like the crazy women that we are, and are happy to announce that we will be DOING GOOD at the Science Museum of Minnesota from 10 am - 1 pm on July 14th! If you are in the area please stop on by to say hi!!!

We will also be helping 77kids open their brand-new store at the Mall of America on July 31st!

You will be hearing so much more about this project, and the other mom bloggers in the next few weeks so stay tuned...

Check out Erika's post for a few more details and links!

Know what else makes me FEEL GOOD today?

100 Followers! THANK YOU, everyone!!!

That's What She Said

Grant and I do not have a perfect relationship or a perfect marriage.

This is not a news flash. No one does.

But in so many ways we are perfectly matched.

For instance, we are both the biggest nerds you will ever meet. Ever. Hands down. Huge geeks.

[pause for laughter and head nodding from those who know us in real life]

One example of what gigantic nerds we are happened last night.

Let me set the stage: We had just put Miles to bed. I was laying on the couch and Grant was sitting in the chair right next to the couch I was laying on. We each had our CrapBerry in our hands. What follows is the conversation that we had (the EXACT, word for word, letter for letter conversation) via CHAT on our BLACKBERRYs as we were sitting right next to each other. Nerdy.

Grant: What are you doing?

Anne: None of your business.

Anne: Want to watch True Blood?

Grant: Sure.

Anne: Ok, let's go.

Grant: Ok.

Anne: Nerd.

Grant: Vampire Geek.

Grant: We use punctuation more than other texters!

Grant: And CAPITAL LETTERS

Anne: I like correct punctuation, grammar and spelling. No matter what.

Grant: Your a good spellir;

Anne: We shld go down their now and wartch dat telervision show'

Grant: I want to do bad things to you. (It's a line in the theme song, don't get any ideas.)

Anne: That's what she said.

Are We There Yet?

My sister and I are 6.5 years apart. And she hated me growing up. I was always the little, pesky sister who wanted to hang out with my older sister and all of her friends. But I wasn't wanted. I was the little sister who tended to be the center of attention. And she didn't like it.

So, we didn't get along.

Until I was 12.

She went to college.

Then she decided that if she didn't have to live with me, I was ok.

I think it took both of us growing up to realize that we were all we had! Each other. Siblings. And we actually liked each other!

And now she and I are very close, thankfully.

It just makes me think about timing. Life is all about timing. (Deep Thoughts by Anne. That one's for you S & S!) When is the right time to adopt a sibling for Miles? How far apart should our kids be?

I think the short answer is that there IS NO ANSWER.

It doesn't matter how close or far apart siblings are. It just matters if it is the right time for your particular family situation.

I keep thinking that I will know when the time is right. I feel like I will know when we are there. I haven't felt that yet. And maybe it will never come? In some ways I feel like our family is not yet complete and that little girl I have always dreamed of has yet to join our family. But again...there is no right or wrong answer here.

When I get the pang for another baby I am often quickly snapped out of it my the shrill screeching of my toddler throwing a tantrum. And then I am back to reality!

So, are we there yet? No. Not yet.

But maybe someday?

Life is all about timing.

A Twittvite

I just Googled "Twittvite" and apparently there is a "Tweetvite" but not a "Twittvite". Should I coin the term??? Will it make me rich and famous??? Probably not. Dammit.

In any case I would like to offer you all a Twittvite, or an invitation to follow me on Twitter:

Anne's Twittvite!

I have recently discovered the power and magic of Twitter, even though I have been on there for quite some time. At first I could.not.figure.out why on earth people liked Twitter. I just didn't get it. I love Facebook but I really just couldn't get into Tweeting.

And then ...

... the clouds parted and the angels sang me a sweet Twitter song.

And now ...

... I GET IT.

Don't ask me to explain it because you have to have the epiphany yourself.

Pray to the Twitter Gods and maybe you, too, can be so blessed.

I tend to be Tweeting quite a bit lately, so come and join the fun!

* Disclaimer: My Tweets are only funny after I've had a few too many drinks.

Monday Minute and How to Hear Back From Me

Has anyone you've known personally lived to at least 100?
Actually, no. But very, very close. We have some wicked longevity in our family so upper 90s is pretty much the standard. No one's cracked The Century Club though....yet!!

What material possession do you value the most?
Easy: My wedding ring. And my violin.

What do you think happens to us after we die?
This is waaaay too deep of a question for a Monday morning. Ummm, heaven?

Most embarrassing item in your house?
Probably my tummy-sucking-in-undergarments. That's hot.

and finally...

If you could rename yourself, what would your name be?
I would switch my middle name with my first name. Just do a flip flop. Can anyone guess what my middle name is????? (people who know....shhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!) If you leave a guess I will reply back and let you know if you are right or wrong. That is, if you have it set up so I CAN email you back. If not, here is a tutorial:


Go to your Dashboard on Blogger.com.


Hit your edit profile right next to your picture, avatar or whatever else you have showing.


Scroll down to the line that says : Show my email address and CHECK THE BOX.


Hit save.

For those of you who do not want a regular email address to show, go to Gmail, Yahoo or any other number of places and get a FREE email account and set it up.

Wordless Wednesday: The Self Portrait

 

Feel Good Friday: Michael Jordan!

So, we had some bad weather here in Minnesota yesterday.

For about 25 minutes last night we had some REALLY bad weather roll through our neck of the woods. Small trees uprooted, large branches down everywhere, power lines down. And we didn't even get the worst of it, not by a long shot! There were like 35 tornadoes in Minnesota yesterday and thankfully none of them landed in our neighborhood, or anywhere really close.

There was lots of damage and even some deaths associated with this storm so I don't want to make light of it.

However.

Last night was so much fun!!!

This probably sounds freakish considering the weather that we had with an inch of rain in 20 minutes and 60 mph straight line winds. And I HATE storms. Hate. I was nearly hit by lightning last October (that is for a whole other post) so I really, really, really despise storms.

[At this point you are wondering what the hell this has to do with Michael Jordan OR Feel Good Friday. Keep your panties on, I'll get there.]

When the sirens went off we were in the process of trying to get Miles to sleep. We knew there was the possibility of the sirens going off but we were going to give it a shot anyway. So when the sirens went off we grabbed Miles and headed for the basement.

For some reason it was fantastically fun to hunker down in the basement, the three of us snuggled up on the couch reading books. And Miles was having the time of his life! He was getting to stay up way past his bedtime and hang out with his two favorite people! What could be better?! He was silly and sweet and funny and patient as we waited out the storm. It was so much fun and made me incredibly happy! [There's the Feel Good Friday moment, Part 1]

We were flipping back and forth between the weather coverage and the NBA finals. We couldn't care less about the NBA finals but I knew Miles would dig it ... he loves watching basketball on TV. He will cheer loudly and enthusiastically when they make a basket and he will say "almost!" when they miss. It's friggin' adorable.

And then they cut to some commentary. For some reason they were listing some of the bball greats, "Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, ..."

Then came the scream out of Miles mouth: "MICHAEL JORDAN! MICHAEL JORDAN!"

Clear as a bell.

WHA?!?!?

Grant and I looked at each other in disbelief. We are NOT huge basketball fans, nor do we talk about Michael Jordan incessantly (or at all), nor do I give a flying fart about basketball.

And why, out of all of those names would be have picked out "Michael Jordan" when he was only half paying attention in the first place???

Then Grant remembered: Once a long time ago we went to a pizza place where they have a Michael Jordan pinball machine. Grant remembers saying, "That's Michael Jordan." ONCE. One time. Ever. Never to have uttered his name again. Why on earth would that stick in his little brain?

Some would say (and you know who you are) that it's because he is destined to be a basketball superstar.

I say [and this is the Feel Good Friday moment, Part 2] it's because my boy is brilliant and wicked smart! [parental bias notwithstanding :-) ] His brain is like a little sponge and we are constantly amazed at what a two year old can absorb and learn and RETAIN, even after just hearing something once.

So next time you are around a two year old watch what you say! You never know when it will pop back up and out of their mouth!!

The Proposal (Part 2)

There's really no good news OR bad news to share. Just news :-)

The long and the short of it is that the 'power that be' was less than enthusiastic when I presented my eloquent and well-thought-out proposal (I think I said a lot of things like "ummm..." and "ya know?" ... not my best delivery of all times). But I am pretty sure it wasn't HOW I said it, it was WHAT I was saying. It obviously isn't ideal for me to not work one day in the week, especially considering how tiny our staff is.

So, after more thought and conversation we decided that a happy medium would be for me to just take some days off this summer when I felt I needed them. I have time off, and I should use it. I have already planned some time off so I can spend it with my boy and that makes me happy for the time-being.

Best of both worlds? Maybe. It would be great to have a 4-day work week but for right now that is not in the cards.

Now, who has some good ideas for some fun mommy/toddler activities to do this summer???

It's My LOL Day!

I often wonder if my humor translates on my blog. And I don't really have to wonder long because I think the answer is usually a big NO. Take yesterday's post for example. That was supposed to have been tongue-in-cheek. I thought that was rather tame compared to how shitty I was really feeling yesterday. I *could" have written a really depressing post but decided to go the humor route instead. As I often say, if I didn't laugh I would cry. Does that translate at all??

*crickets chirping*

And moving on...

If you can believe it I am actually the featured guest post today over at Laugh Out Loud. Go over and check it out!

Poetry That Makes Sense to Me

If you are waiting to hear the outcome from this post, well....get in line. Me too.

If you checked in to hear me bitch about my toddler then you have come to the right place. After reading this post you will wonder why I want to spend extra time with our little monster. Again, get in line...I am wondering the same thing today, too. :-)

Here's a little poem I wrote that pretty much sums up where I'm at with the Terrible Twos right now. And I am not a big fan of poetry. I did all I could in college to avoid taking a poetry class. I think I begged my advisor and maybe bribbed her with some Olive Garden gift certificates if I could only just NOT take poetry. I don't like it. Are you pickin' up what I'm puttin' down?

But this, THIS is poetry that makes sense to me.


To My Dear, Sweet Two Year Old

When you cry I want to drink.
When you scream I want to drink more.
When you cry and scream until you throw up I want to break out the hard liquor and a straw.
When you whine I want to inject the vodka straight into my veins.

Oh, my two year old, don't cry because I won't let you eat ice cream for breakfast.
Oh, my two year old, don't scream because I put you in a time out. For the 12th time.
Oh, my two year old, don't kick me when I am trying to change your diaper.
Oh, my two year old, can I take a nap?

Dear sweet little 30 pounder, love of my life,
Give me a break.
Dear sweet size 3T-wearing and defiant child of mine.
I love you so.

But next time you whine and cry and scream...
Go find daddy first.

Mama's sleeping.
And sleeping.
And sleeping.
You tired her out.
And the vodka didn't help, either.

The Proposal (Part 1)

You thought this was going to be the story of how Grant proposed to me, didn't you? Didn't you??? It's not. Although that would be an interesting post...

The kind of proposal I'm talking about is of the professional sort. I am going to make a proposal to my "boss" (those who know where I work can understand why this is in quotes...I work for Jesus...) about my work schedule. I want to work one day less a week. Well, a half-day less. Confused? Yeah, me too.

Let me back up a bit.

Yesterday when I picked up Miles from daycare (Sharon's) I heard these gut-wrenching words for the first time: "I want stay Sharon!" (translation not needed, right?)

Ugh.

When I heard him say that I wanted to do all of these things simultaneously: 1) Curl up in a ball and do the ugly cry. 2) Tell Sharon that I will not be needing her anymore because I am quitting my job to stay home full time. 3) Tell Miles that sounds like a good plan, see ya in the morning.

Now, let me just say that #'s 1 and 2 were the most prevalent thoughts at the time but #3 did sneak in there for a second (I was dreaming of a long, leisurely dinner with Grant and not doing the bedtime fight that is *so* fun right now). Those are words that you just don't want to hear. You want your child to run joyfully into your arms and be gleeful about the opportunity to come home with you. Most days he IS happy to see me and DOES want to come home with me. But he was in a mood yesterday. A foul one. However, that's beside the point. The point is that if Miles could hold up his middle finger he totally would have flicked me off right then and there.

Here are a few side thoughts: I don't want this to become a forum for Stay-at-Home vs Working moms. I do not engage in that kind of discussion because I think to each their own. I don't judge and hope no one else would judge me for decisions our family has to make in that area. I, personally, always want to work. And if we want to pay our mortgage every month I have to work. I think SAHMs are amazing, but I could never, ever do it. BUT (and this is a big BUT) this does not mean that I don't have oodles and oodles of Mama Guilt about it. Especially when my son would rather stay at his daycare provider's house than come home with his own mama. It's natural, I know, for him to be attached. And thank GOD he is! He loves Sharon and loves it there. But still....there is that lingering feeling of guilt that I am not home with him all day, every day.

I know he loves me. I know this because he won't even let go of me long enough to let me pee by myself.

And this comes off of a week (last week) where he was having SEVERE separation anxiety. If I would even look at my car keys he would burst into tears and not stop for hours. Seriously. It was sort of scary but I think it's a normal phase that all kids go through. We are now constantly reminding him that mama ALWAYS comes home. That seems to be helping.

Anyway, the point of this whole, long story is that I am going to propose that I have Fridays off. I only work half days on Fridays anyway, and could probably squeeze the hours that I would miss on Fridays into my Monday-Thursday schedule. I would like to have a whole day with him every week....just the two of us. I love the weekends when daddy is around but I would also love to spend some time with Miles that is purely our own. Know what I mean?

I have been thinking about this for a long time but Miles' words yesterday just pushed me into action.

So, I am going to breach this with the powers that be this afternoon. I have a good argument all laid out and I think I have a good shot. But there is always the very real possibility I will get rejected.

Will I get my wish? Look for "The Proposal (Part 2)" ... coming soon!

Sometimes It's Just All Good

Sometimes you just need a little breather and don’t post on your blog for two weeks.

But it’s all good.

Sometimes you are unhappy that Blogger decided to be super sh*tty and crap out on you the second you actually wanted to post something.

But it’s all good.

Sometimes you slowly try to figure out what your blogging life should look like…and get nowhere in your discernment process.

But it’s all good.

Sometimes things that scare the bejeezus out of you and subsequent trips to the hospital to visit a tiny, treasured friend can make you lose sleep. And drink more. And pray A LOT.

The praying part is definitely all good.

Sometimes a dear friend can be moving thousands of miles away and that makes you want to cry. But then you think about the trips that you will get to take to her new home in a warmer climate…

So, it’s all good.

Sometimes you wonder why your neighbor with the blonde hair and tiny waist decided that doing weeding and other yard work is best done in a cute little sundress. Is she trying to look sexy for Grant? Probably.

But it’s all good.

Sometimes you feel really bad that you have neglected to comment on blogs lately. But then you realize that it is what it is. And they know you still adore them.

So, it’s all good.

Sometimes you drop your brand-new Blackberry (the replacement for the replacement) on concrete and it no longer looks very new. 

But it’s all good.

Sometimes you see your 2 year old son ride his bike for the first time and do it with such ease it fills you with unimaginable joy and pride.

That is definitely all good.

Sometimes you are insanely grateful for things like doctors, nurses, medicine, clean water (*cough* BP *cough*), friends and family that stick with you through thick and thin, a good job, books, wine, kiddie pools in the summer, True Blood (my new addiction....for a whole other post) and loyal blog commenters :-)

ALL GOOD.

Photo Evidence

Here is my tattoo, as promised, in all its glory:

This is the best I could do, people, in the one minute I had to take a shot of it this morning.

Did I get it close enough so you could see the hair on my legs? If not I could certainly zoom in a bit. No? Okay.

And don't blame the tattoo artist for the blah shape and ugly colors of my tattoo. That was all MY genius. Did I mention I had a few glasses of wine before doing this??

My tattoo is an analogy of my life: It might not be perfect. But I love it just the way it is. Wouldn't change a thing.

My Tatt

(Thank you, Twitter, for inspiring this post. You do have a purpose in my life, afterall! I wrote this post a million years ago [or in March] but am just getting around to posting it now...)

May 1998 was the best month of my life. Hands down. No question about it.

That's probably sacrilegious to say. I mean, I should say that the best time in my life was when I got married or when we adopted. That would be the PC thing to say. But that month was particularly cool and life-changing for a myriad of other reasons. I didn't win the lottery or find Jesus or anything like that. But it was still the BEST month of my life.

And I have the tattoo to prove it. (I'll get back to that in a minute...)

May 1998 was a month that I spent traveling in Europe with a bunch of other college students (and one prof.). We went to Germany, Austria, Hungary and the Czech Republic. We saw about 500 cathedrals and churches, stayed with host families and in charming hotels, drank German beer, walked EVERYWHERE, saw stunning castles, rode on trains through gorgeous mountain passes, ate weird things like boar, saw a ballet in Vienna, visited fabulous museums, learned more history that can fit in my brain ... and on and on and on. It was the most amazing 4 weeks of my life.

This was not my first trip to Europe. In fact, it was my third. I had gone with my family when I was 9 and again when I was 16. I have done a lot of traveling so that wasn't a big deal. There was just something so magical about that month. I was free. I was away. I truly felt like an adult for probably the first time in my life. This, coming from the girl who cried when she went away to summer camps and had to wait an extra year after high school to go away to college because I just.couldn't.leave.home. This month was a turning point in my life as I went from Anne the girl to Anne the woman. No, not in THAT way ;) But in many other ways.

I felt like a butterfly that month, just opening my wings and learning how to fly.

ENTER: PRAGUE

If you have never been to Prague you must go before you die. Put it on your Someday List right now. Prague is my favorite city in the world, and I can say that after seeing many, many cities of the world. Paris is great, Copenhagen is wonderful, Budapest is incredible. But there is something out-of-this-world awesome about Prague. It's mysterious in a non-creepy way. I fell in love with it instantly. I will get back there someday. Mark my words.

And I have the best, most everlasting souvenir of my favorite city in the world that makes me smile every time I see it.

[teaser: you will have to come back to the blog tomorrow to see a pic of my tatt. I will wait for you to put that in your planner................okay, now we can continue]

This tattoo came after a couple of glasses of wine and a lot of prodding from my friend Megan, who was a tattoo veteran. We had seen a tattoo shop that was very busy as we were walking earlier that morning, and we just couldn't get the idea of leaving Prague with a tattoo out of our heads. Why not?

So we did it. And it hurt like bloody hell.

Thinking back (and frankly the memory is a little blurry ... wine and all, you know...), I can't remember why I chose a butterfly or why I chose my ankle. (My friend Megan got a lizard on her ankle, BTW.) But now when I look at the butterfly on my ankle I think 2 things: 1) OMG, how cliche to have a butterfly tattoo on your ankle, and 2) The butterfly symbolizes the incredible month I had 'flying' around Europe, spreading my new wings and making my transformation into who I was going to become.

There are, of course, religious overtones to a butterfly that also fit in perfectly with who I have become. But overall the butterfly was the perfect choice for me. I have never and will never regret it.

To my one reader who was with me on that trip...it was an amazing month, wasn't it???

My mom's reaction to my tattoo was classic. When she saw it she licked her finger and tried to rub it off, like it was a fake one!!! LOL!!! I think she had a heart attack right there and then. It was awesome.

And I am planning my next tattoo as we speak. I was thinking of something like this:


Yeah, right. ;)

What tattoos do you have or want to have? What would you think if your sweet little daughter came home from Europe with a tattoo?? Discuss.

Oops, I Did It Again

Wow. I really didn't mean to go an entire week without a post. I keep doing that! I have a been a little stuck in my head the last few weeks. There's just a lot going on, we've been insanely busy, BLAH BLAH BLAH... And no, I actually haven't been posting that much on my 'secret' blog either. Like I said, stuck in my head. I don't know how to get un-stuck but maybe seeing CONAN tonight will help :-) There will be a post about that tomorrow. I assure you. But for now I guess all I can say is to just hang tight with me! I have been neglecting my blog reading, too, so please don't be offended if I seem completely absent. Absent Anne. Has a ring to it. *sigh*

Comment-Love Letter

My bloggy buddy, Kerri (over at Kerri's Klutter), is super cool for many reasons: 1) She has a fun blog. 2) I recently won a giveaway on her fun blog and she sent me something in a box that vibrates. :-) 3) She has an ingenious meme called "Comment-Love Letters". 4) For everyone who does her meme today (or the rest of the Tuesdays in May) she will give $1 to Monkey. (If you don't know Monkey's story please click HERE!)

So, count me in!

To participate in "Comment-Love Letters" I have taken comments from last week's posts and basically mashed them all up in a semi-cohesive way that resembles something like a letter...from all of YOU! This is so much harder than it first appears to be...but hilarious! Maybe YOUR comment made it in?? You will have to read it to find out! Enjoy!!!


Dear Anne,

Gasp! Our relationship is so new and you're already cheating? The horror! I knew something was going on! How *could* you?!?! You sneaky, sneaky lady!!

JEALOUS!!!

Just kidding! I say "Rock On, Sista!" Proud of you. What a lovely feeling that must be. I love it. Good for you! I bet it does feel nice to be able to write stuff that no one else can read. It's your journal. And I am sure it's very therapeutic! I am totally with you.

I like this idea and may have to go on a quest to find the hidden blog. I have to say, I kind of am intrigued. I bet it is much more interesting than you are giving it credit for. Aww man...I wish I could know. I don't have any cash for bribery, but I'll have to work on figuring something out... Your bribe is on it's way to you in the form of a big brown box with something inside that vibrates!! Do I get the address now? lol.

Maybe instead of playing with my dog, I should be blog stalking you. If I find you, do I win a prize? A tell all book perhaps?

You are funny. Funny!

I was much worse than that as a child. My mother had to cut the feet off of my pajamas and put them on me backwards.

WHHHHHAAAAAAAAAT. NO NO NO NO Make the image stop!! What the hell? Is this some kind of conspiracy? Ugh. Oh, please don't tell me this... That is a nightmare indeed. I'm going to get a glass of wine now.

Nuff said.

Have a lovely day!

Your Favorite Commenters

Spoiled Rotten

Mother's Day is very quickly becoming my favorite holiday of the year. Because my husband and family spoil me rotten.

I won't go into every detail of the weekend because frankly WHO CARES besides me. But I will say that I have the best husband and extended family on earth and if you think yours is better you are wrong :-) Just kidding, of course. But seriously, I am one blessed mother. I have to pinch myself often. How did I get so lucky to be this kid's mama????

Photo by Catharine

It got me thinking about what I could do for Grant for Father's Day. Hmmmm.....any ideas??

Here is a quick update on the sleeping situation and then I will hopefully be done whining ... I am sick of talking about it and I bet you are all sick of hearing about it!

Putting him down is slowly getting *easier* every night. And I say a cautious *easier* because it's still far from easy. It's nowhere as easy as it used to be. But we are working with what we've got, making some changes and the most important thing is that we are NOT giving up or giving in. If we are consistent and stick to our guns we will get through this bump in the road okay. I hope, I hope, I hope. Thanks, all, for your words of encouragement and wisdom. I needed them more than you know...

It Got Worse

Oh, how I terribly and desperately wish I could tell you that the sleeping thing was just a fluke but if I told you that I would be a lying liar who lies.

Here's what happened last night:

IT GOT WORSE.

Remember yesterday's post where he was "kicking around in his crib for an hour and a half"? That seems like a nice dream compared to the 2 hours of screaming that we encountered last night. NO he is not sick and does not have an ear infection of any kind. He is just being a pain in the ass and that is that.

So, after going in and out of his room, trying to calm him down, willing him to not fling himself over the side of the crib again ... I let him cry.

I stayed out of his room and listened to him wail for what seemed like an eternity but it was probably more like 10 15 20 minutes.

Then I couldn't stand it anymore. I had to go in.

And what did I find when I went in, you ask?

Everything had been thrown overboard and out of the crib: pillow, blanket and his beloved kitty and lambie stuffed animals.

But that's not the worst part.

The worst part is that he had also managed to unzip his footie pajamas and take them off. And he was half-way toward taking his diaper off.

UGH!

That's about all I'm going to say about that because then mama lost her sh*t and it got ugly. He did eventually fall asleep and slept the entire night like usual. We don't have any problems with him waking up once he is asleep (he sleeps like a friggin' rock) (and now I just jinxed that, too) but now GETTING him to sleep is suddenly a huge chore.

UGH, again.

I would like to add (and this is IMPORTANT so listen up) that this was preceeded by a fantastic evening. The three of us went out to dinner, went shopping to buy him a basketball hoop (yeah!) and we went to a softball game that a friend of mine was playing in. He even got his picture taken by the local paper. Maybe he will be in the paper today? We will see.

In any case it was a super fun evening that was topped off by Miles peeing in the potty!! It's a first!! He has been sitting on the potty and "pretending" for months but this time there was pee action and it was AWESOME. We did the potty dance and clapped and called Grandma ("I pee!") and it was fantastic.

And then the bedtime hell.

Did I mention that his eye is also partially swollen shut from falling at daycare yesterday?

Never a dull moment with this kid. *sigh*

Wish me luck with nap today. I'm gonna need it.

Two Quick Stories

Okay, one more quick wedding story...

I once had a bride who was missing her front teeth. So during pictures she had "fake teeth". She would pop in her fake teeth, smile perrrrdy for a few pictures and then proceed to ........ wait for it ........ spit her fake teeth into her hands. I will never get the image of this bride standing with her fake teeth in her hands out of my brain. So gross. I can't make this stuff up. I really wanted to slip the words "cosmetic dentistry" into a conversation with her but somehow I could just never finagle it in there :-)

Now for a quick story about the fresh hell that is happening in our house...

Last night we listened to Miles toss and turn in his crib for an hour and a half (this is after 30 minutes of crying and stalling before going to bed). Then, when he started yelling for me after being in there for 90 minutes, I went in to hear this come out of his mouth: "All done sleeping, mama." He decided that he was done and wanted out of the crib. *Oh my holy god awful WTF is this hell* And this is NOT an isolated incident. I don't even want to talk about naps. Our once easy sleeper is suddenly easy no more. Kill me now.

Just Call Me JLo

I once did a little stint as The Wedding Planner, JLo-style.

Actually, I was the Lead Wedding Coordinator at our church for over 2 years and it was a fascinating, fun, frustrating gig. Our church performs over 40 weddings a year and I did most of those. It was a huge time commitment.

People always said, "That must be such a fun job! I LOVE weddings!!" Yes, it was fun sometimes. When you had the right bride and groom. But it could be downright painful if you got a cranky Mother-of-the-Bride. Believe me.

But the best part is that I now have some classic stories. Oh so many stories...

Have you ever seen the Mother-of-the-Groom step on her skirt while walking up the aisle and have it fall COMPLETELY TO THE FLOOR? I have. :-)

The most interesting situation came about when I got a call from one of my grooms about 3 hours prior to their Friday evening wedding rehearsal:

"Anne, we have a problem."

The problem? The bride was in the hospital. But not just in the hospital...she was in surgery for an emergency appendectomy. Yup.

The kicker is that we went ahead with the rehearsal without her. And then the next day they went ahead with the wedding!

The morning of their wedding, after she was released from the hospital, we got her dressed, put her make-up on and propped her up for pictures. She was able to stand there for a couple of pictures, then run to the bathroom to throw up. Then she would come back and do more pictures. Repeat. It was awful.

She was such a trooper the entire time. Trying to smile. Trying.

And her husband-to-be? So sweet, so concerned. But helpless.

She made it through without passing out during the ceremony. But we had them sit the entire time. Poor girl.

I heard she actually danced quite a bit at their reception. Unbelievable. But true. They will have quite the story to tell their children and grandchildren about their wedding day...

I have so.many.stories. However, the only thing that would coax me back into being The Wedding Planner again would be the promise of slow dancing with Matthew McConaughey. Mmmmmmm.....

Let the Truth Be Told...Today

I need to tell you all something and it's painful so I'm going to come right out and say it:

The truth is...I am cheating on you.

With another blog.

Do you remember all of my waxing and moaning about how I wish this blog was more 'anonymous' because I would feel so much more free to write what I wanted to write without trepidation? And remember how I said I was thinking about starting yet another blog to fulfill that desire??

Well, about a week ago I DID start another blog.

You know, with all my spare time.

It's out there and anonymous and I have ZERO readers and it's FANTASTIC.

Writing just to write is amazingly freeing. Writing just to have an outlet for things I am struggling with is so therapeutic. SO therapeutic. Hitting "publish" and letting it all out there in the universe is fabulous and I really love it.

I'm not really cheating on you, per se, but I have been rather neglectful. This is my first post in 6 days because I have been working on posts on the other blog. Sorry.

But have no fear. (Because you are all shaking in your booties right now of course because you all LIVE to read this blog I just know it...ha) I will continue to write on this blog because I also love it here, with all of you, my 2 loyal readers :-)

Don't even think about asking for the blog address. But I will accept bribes in the form of cash.

And now with 3 blogs (not to mention a toddler, a husband, a job, life in general ... and a partridge in a pear tree) I will be getting even less sleep. Good plan, Anne. No one has ever accused me of being a genius.

But my blogs are like my children (if I actually had more than one kid): I love them all equally. But have my secret favorites, of course ;)

My truth is here, but it is also out there ... somewhere ...

Life Imitating Art?

Well, by now you have heard the big news...

I am thrilled and think this is fantastic!!! Isn't he just the most gorgeous little thing?? I am equally as thrilled to hear that she is dumping her LOSER husband and going forward as a single mom. Way to go, Sandra.

Considering her recent Oscar-winning role in The Blind Side, it's sort of like life imitating art. Well, it's not like she adopted a teenager. But still, you can't help but think that her role in that movie might have had some kind of profound influence on her choosing transracial adoption. I *might* be biased but I think it's a beautiful thing.

In the PEOPLE article coming out soon, she says, "It's like he's always been a part of our lives." I totally know what you mean, Sandra...

Death of a Blackberry

My Blackberry caught a virus and died today. It was a short, painless death for my phone, I think. "JVM 102 Error" were its last words. At least it didn't have to suffer very long. My misery, however, is deep and prolonged. Well, at least until Friday when my new phone comes...

We spent some good times together, my pink Blackberry Curve 8330 and me.

RIP my beloved Crackberry.

Award Season

Even though I did not win the photo contest (unhappy face) I thank all those who voted for me! And I still have a reason to smile today because I have awards to accept!

I got this award from Kerri at Kerri's Klutter. Thank you, my dear! Go and check out her blog. She is having a fun Blogiversary party over there!!

Here are the rules of the award:

1. copy and paste the award on your blog.

2. list who gave the award to you and use a link to her/his blog (or hyperlink).

3. list 10 things that make you happy.

4. pass the award on to other bloggers and visit their blog to let them know about the award.

10 Things That Make Me Happy

1. The obvious: Hy hubby and my baby ;)

2. Rearranging furniture in my house.

3. Cheetos.

4. Merlot.

5. Ponies.

6. Raindrops.

7. I lied about the last two, sorry.

8. Reading a really good book.

9. Seeing a really good movie.

10. Sleep.


And now I bestow the award on to these fabulous peeps:

Jenn @ Yellow Tulips: Because she so sweetly posted on her blog (twice) asking for people to vote for my picture in the photo contest. That just made my week.

B @ Not a Sparrow Falls: Because she is going through a journey in her life right now that could use a little bit of happy.

Melissa @ My Life and How It's Going: Because she is one of my top commenters (see the widget on the side bar??) and her blog always makes me happy.

Marianne @ Diary of a Fickle White Woman: Because she is one cool chic. Our conversations via comments are always entertaining. And she can't get a date because gay men won't do it with her. :-) (love ya, girl!)

I also choose Marianne because she gave me an award that I have yet to accept...until now! (See? You don't have to harass me about it anymore! hee hee!)

Am I preppy? I don't know. Do I have style? I don't know. If I got a Sloppy Mafia Award that might be more fitting... *sigh*

I try.

1. Who is your style icon?
Michelle Obama.

2. What is your favorite socialite book?
Huh?

3. What is your favorite party theme?
Booze.

4. What is your go-to Halloween costume?
Mom.

5. What is the extravagance you just can't live without? 
Booze.

6. Who is the living person you admire? 
Mom.

7. What is my greatest fear?
 Lightning.

8. What's the trait you dislike about yourself? 
Impatient.

9. Which talent would you most like to have?
Guitar.

10. What is my greatest achievement?
Parenting.

11. Who are the 10 people I'd like to tag with the Preppy Mafia award?
All of you PREPPY people!

Monday Minute

I am a Monday Minute virgin no more! Here goes nothin'. Thanks, Ian! 


1 - What drugs have you done in your life?

Honestly? Zero. Oh, except for that one time... :-)


2 - A/S/L?

If I hadn't already read other people's Monday Minutes I would have no clue what that meant.

Age: 32

Sex: Yes please! (sorry, LAME Austin Powers joke)

Location: Minnesota


3 - Do you pick your nose?

Can anyone honestly answer this question no? I doubt it. I mean, I don't pick my nose like it's my job or anything ... but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, ya know?


4 - What's your favorite childhood cartoon

Scooby-Doo! Still a classic


5 - List the URL of what you believe to be the best blog post you've ever done

OMG, really? That is not for me to judge, I don't think. But if I had to choose I think I would go with my first two posts on All of the Above which, collectively, I call my "Blog Theology":

I'm a Mother, Not a Martyr

All of the Above...And Then Some

One More Favor?

ONE MORE FAVOR...and then I am done asking. I promise!!!

Some of you already "voted" for this last week (and thank you for doing so)....but those votes are now null and void. The short story is the voting was compromised and now has to start over.

You can vote TODAY and today only. And ONCE and once only.

Go to: http://oliveavenuephotography.com/blog/?p=310

Scroll to the bottom of the page.

Enter your name and email address (no spam, don't worry), and then "12" in the comment section.

That's it!

I would love to win this photo contest so thanks for helping me out today!

Any favors I can do for YOU???

His Best Jeans

Grant and I had a date night this weekend. It was our first date night in quite some time. And by quite some time I mean that I can't even remember the last time we went out to dinner, just the two of us.

Sad? Yes. But that is the reality of life these days.

We started a regular date night BEFORE we had kids (weekly, on Wednesdays) because we thought that surely if we got in the habit before we had kids it would be easier to continue the tradition later...when we actually had kids. Bwahahahahaha! That is so funny to me now.

Naive, party of two?

I do believe in date nights, though. I believe that it is essential to have dedicated alone time with your spouse. And no, 10 minutes at the end of the day before we both pass out is not something that I consider good quality alone time.

So, I decided to make date night happen. We did a date night swap with some friends. We took their son one night and they took Miles the next. PERFECT. It worked out better than I ever imagined it would. We had a fun playdate one night and a fun date night the next. That will happen again, you can bet on that!

Here's the funny part: Grant (in his quest to get lucky) put on a nice shirt, cologne and his "best jeans" (his words) for our dinner date.

Then, I look over at him while we are driving to our friends' house to drop off Miles before going out ... and bust out laughing.

Why?

His "best jeans" had huge, green grass stains...on both knees.

Nice.

It's so classic Grant. And it made me love our date night even more because it reminded me of the things that made me fall in love with him in the first place. He is one of a kind.

Do Me a Favor?

Dear Readers,

Can I ask a small favor, please? And in return can I just say that I think you are all the most beautiful, intelligent and wonderful people I have ever known? It's true.

Please click on this link: Olive Avenue Photography

Scroll down to the bottom of the page (admiring entry #12 on the way).

Vote for #12.

Repeat for the next 5 days.

THANK YOU!

I have entered my photo (isn't it adorable? that's Miles and one of his bff's, Sophia) into this contest and hope to win!

And my friend Jess is a very talented photographer, yes?

Again, thank you for voting. Leave me a comment telling me you voted so I can properly thank you. I am offering my FB friends either a big hug or a big kiss, and I will offer the same to all of my readers. Let me know which you would prefer ;)

Why I Hate Claritin

Ok. So. Where to being with this. Maybe at the beginning.

First of all a few disclaimers: 1) I realize that not every kid will have this reaction to this specific type of medication. 2) I realize not everyone would agree to giving their kids allergy meds in the first place, so you will have to just get over that if you want to read this post. 3) No matter what I say in this post I make no claims to have handled this whole situation with any shred of grace.

Having said all that...

We took Miles to his pediatrician last week because he was basically hacking up a friggin' lung and we were scared it might be pneumonia. Even though I had Googled it and he didn't really have any of the other pneumonia-like symptoms, I still went to the worst case scenario and thought that he surely had pneumonia. This theory also came from this fact that at least one other child at his daycare had been diagnosed with contagious pneumonia last week.

So off to the doctor we go. After a thorough exam and lots of talking about his symptoms the doctor tells us what his thinks is going on--allergies. I have suspected this for quite some time now but I was glad to get at least partical confirmation that I was not Crazy McCrazylady to think he might have allergies.

We talk about all of our options and land on trying Claritin. Awesome. After 2 nights of listening to my poor child cough his brains out I was so happy to see a remedy might be in sight.

The first night we gave him like half of what the recommended dosage was for a child his age, per his doc. We noticed that he was sort of restless, that it took him a long time to actually get to sleep and that he woke up at an ungodly hour (5 a.m.) which we thought was odd but we really didn't think much of it beyond that.

Let me just preface this next part by saying that Miles is a good sleeper. A really good sleeper. I am NOT being smug about it in any way shape or form, I am just stating the facts. He almost always sleeps like a rock for 10-11 hours and takes a 2-3 hour nap each day. Again, I only say this so you will know just how upsetting and weird what happened was.

So the next night we give him the full recommended dosage of the Claritin. I had specifically asked the doc about giving it to him at bedtime and he said he thought that would be a good idea since it will most likely help to calm his cough at night.

THEN ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE.

We could hear him rustling around in his crib from the moment we put him down. Finally, at 10:30 he starts to cry. And the crying DOES NOT STOP. He was psychotic, out of sorts, disoriented, upset, AWAKE...honestly. THE WHOLE NIGHT. Did I say the whole night? Because I'm not sure you heard me the first few times. Literally at 4:45 a.m. when we had not gotten any sleep I was still trying to get him to calm down. At one point we thought about throwing him in the car and heading to the ER because he was just out of his mind. He would sort of calm down a little at some points because clearly he was tired and knew that it was "night night" time. But the poor kid was so hyped up on meds he couldn't simmer down enough to actually get some solid sleep.

UGH.

But let me tell you--I thank my lucky stars for my husband's patience that seems comes from a place that I will never understand ... but am always grateful for.

In my totally worried and sleep-deprived state I thought about all the ways I would torture our doctor for giving us the devil's medicine.

I kid.

I know it's not his fault. Like I said, all kids react differently to meds and Miles just happened to react POORLY. (That is an understatement.)

I said in my FB status the next morning that I thought it was one of the worst nights of my life, because it was. I had The Mama Guilt in huge quantities for giving him the Claritin in the first place. And on top of that I was worried that I had somehow permanently damaged my child's brain. And on top of that I had just listened to my boy scream for hours on end, unable to do anything to help him. And on top of that I hadn't slept a wink all night. So Yeah, it kinda sucked.

And the next night, after throwing the Claritin in the garbage, he slept like a rock again. Thank you sweet Jesus.

The moral of the story is this, readers: There is no moral. I don't have any advice or wisdom to impart after all of this. Because, at the end of the day, we did what we thought was best for Miles at the time, and at the time we thought that was giving him Claritin. There's really no right or wrong here. Parenting, in my experience, is all about trial and error. This was an error. And now we learn from our mistakes and move on. We will have to go down a different road in order to help Miles deal with his allergies

We will figure it out.

And we will all sleep better knowing the evil Claritin is in the garbage where it belongs. :-)

Clarification

Hi all-- Just wanted to clarify about the Minnesota Mom Bloggers network (see last post). The network is up and running so please join! Ning will be closing their free networks but they have not set a date for it--might be next week, might be next year. In the meantime, hop on over and sign up! I will take you all with me if and when I move the network. Pass on the word to other Minnesota Mom Bloggers, too. The more the merrier!

Gracias :-)

Coming up on Monday: Why I Hate Claritin