Things on my mind.

First, Mere, I hope you are happy. I changed my colors just to please you. See the power you have over me? See?!?!

It's Sunday, my kid is napping (since I typed that out, it's almost a guarantee she will be awake within 4 minutes), and the sun is shining. We had a super busy day yesterday. We were up early and grocery shopping before 8 a.m. I love grocery shopping early on a weekend morning. The best thing about it is that it's typically the parents with little babies, the senior citizens, and the random dude in cycling gear who's stopping in for a Power Bar and a water. I love having the aisles to myself and seeing the stacks of fruits and veggies neatly laid out. On our way out of the store, we saw 3 giant stuffed dogs up by the front of the store. I was carrying Luca, who also saw the dogs and decided that it would be a good time to kick me in the hipbones (oh, who am I kidding? she kicked the fat covering where I can only assume my hipbones are), point, and yell out "DOHG!".

Once we got home, Kristin brought her little girl, Melody, over so we could babysit. Monday is Kristin's birthday (24, version 7.0) so she and her sister had plans to go get mani/pedis and have lunch. K's hubby was at work, so we agreed to watch Melody, who is 3 months older than Luca. The first thing Melody did when they got here was play ball with Luca. They sat facing each other on the floor, and Luca had a big bouncy ball which she pushed toward Melody, and Melody pushed it back. Those girls are bound for Mensa.



Anyhow, as soon as Kristin left, Melody decided she wasn't that into us after all. I ran upstairs to change into some comfy clothes, and Darrick tried his hardest (put on bunny ears, sing a song, wiggle a little, take off bunny ears, show her screaming monkey toy) to amuse her, and still she sat stoic and wouldn't even crack a smile. I jumped in to try to warm her up and she wouldn't crack for me either. Luca even tried to join in by pulling on Melody's shirt and handing her toys. It even got to a point where we started putting stuffed animals on our heads and Melody's (putting a toy of any variety on your head is a sure-fire way to get a laugh from Luca), but no luck. The stuffed bear on her head only succeeded in giving Luca a reason to crawl up Melody's shoulder.






Luca soon decided to take a nap, so I got Melody situated in the stroller to go for a walk. We were out for almost an hour, during which time she was completely silent. This is so foreign to me, because if you put my kid in a stroller, you are guaranteed to hear some noise from her. Generally she's not a huge fan of long walks because she's always got to be doing something and sitting for so long doesn't excite her. Even if she is happy about the walk, she will babble and hum to herself almost the whole time. The silent baby routine was so not something I was used to.



Melody and I got back from our walk and both Darrick and Luca were snoozing. I took her out of the stroller and put her on the floor with a bucket o' fun (plastic pink easter bucket filled with plastic eggs and books). That FINALLY won her over, and she started crawling around and playing like a crazy, happy baby. We had a blast playing together, and when Kristin called to tell me she was on her way to pick Melody up, I was actually kinda sad. Right when Kristin got here, Luca woke from her nap and the two of them played together some. It was so cute to see them being little buddies. Sometimes I look at them and wonder if they will be friends when they get older. It's strange to imagine them in each others' weddings and their kids being friends. I hope it happens...how cool would that be?!?!







Babysitting did give me comfort, though, because I sometimes wonder about Luca's gassiness and poop habits. Yeah, it's gross - whatever. Since she was a baby, she's had Man Farts. People don't believe such giant toots can come from such a small feminine looking baby. But, they can and BOY how they do! Her nanny has 2 grandsons, and I remember her telling me when Luca was about 3 months old that one of the boys heard Luca farting up a storm and was cracking up. I do believe he started the 'man fart' jokes by telling Lu's nanny that she farted like a man.

Anyhow, her other somewhat disturbing quirk involves her poop habits. The poor kid cannot, for the life of her, poop without everyone within a 20-foot radius knowing that's what is going on. First off, she grunts. Loud. Second, her whole face turns red, with the little rims of her eyes turning reddest (most red?), and she kind of quivers a bit. Third, she locks eyes with whoever is closest to her. Yes, friends...my kid likes to make eye contact when pooping. It's almost as though she's saying, "I know you see me pooping. You best get that diaper and a few wipes ready, because I have NO intention of sitting around in this mess."

So, anyhow, I was slightly comforted to realize that, eye-locking gaze nonwithstanding, Melody has the same little habits when it comes to dropping the deuce. I guess, if nothing else, I can at least take comfort in knowing that. And, other moms have told me that when their kiddos started walking, they would actually hide behind furniture to carry out their diaper-dirtying business. Is it wrong that I look forward to those days?

Thursday 13, Week 2

My Thursday 13 for this week is inspired by my poll about Presidential candidates. Here we go:

13 Questions I've Asked Myself Recently

1. Who visits my blog, and how well do I know them? This question was inspired by the fact that MORE respondents to my poll chose McCain than any other candidate. This flies in the face of logic, which would tell me that most of my blog readers would be flaming liberals like myself.

2. How could I forget to wear sunscreen? I am a self-professed sun freak. Being fair skinned with freckles and an Arizona native, I have learned that sunscreen is my best friend. Better yet, sun BLOCK, which provides better protection if my memory of that one article I read in Allure while waiting at the Dr. 5 years ago serves me right. So WHY of WHY did I forget sunscreen on the very day I had a 4 hour outdoor event for work? And WHY did they not provide shade between the prime sunshine hours of 10 am and 2 pm?

3. Why is it that some people can eat whatever and be skinny, and I am not one of them?

4. Wouldn't it be cool if someone would invent a self-cleaning toilet? I mean, really...I could do without cleaning a toilet ever again. Couldn't you?

5. What's Luca going to look like when she gets older? Part of me hopes she stays long, lean, blonde, and adorable. And another part of me is terrified she will. Is is weird that I'm worried about boys already?!?!?!

6. How many jelly beans can I get away with eating before they make me gain weight? I think I heard one pound = about 24,000 calories? So it seems reasonable that if I eat a handful of the little devils a day I should be ok....?

7. How much shit talking REALLY goes on in this world? I was just realizing the other day that shit talking is like a way of life for some people. It seems that negativity and nastiness are like a hobby. Very odd. I'm not innocent. Oh no, indeed I also shit talk. But I try to keep it to a minimum because I know how it feels to be the one being talked about, and it SUCKS. But sometimes I wonder just WHO is talking about me and WHAT is being said.

8. Should I become an organ donor? This is out of left field, sure. But from time to time I start to think about it. I am currently not one, which seems odd because I am the type of person who most would expect to be a donor. But something about it doesn't sit right with me. I think I have been scared by those stories you hear of Drs removing someone from machines to use their organs when really the person may have been able to recover. Does this really happen? Or am I as dumb as the people who believed the whole 'weapons of mass destruction and Al-Qaida is tied with Saddam' crap?

9. How can people not believe in evolution? We all had tails and gills in the womb...and we BREATHED WATER. Hello? People? Wake up.

10. Am I ready for another one? I've been thinking a lot about baby #2, and Darrick and I have started to talk about when we want to start *ahem* working on that. He's ready whenever, but I want to lose some weight first. But are we REALLY ready? Now that Luca's sleeping a good 10 hours a night and eating solids and starting to wean, we're considering jumping back into the game? Yes. I believe we are.

11. Why can't the window to my office open? It's sunny, the sky is blue, orange blossoms and palo verde are in bloom, and it's 80 degrees out. I think it should be illegal to have to work in an office on a day like today.

12. Why can't dogs live forever? It seems to unfair that such wonderful critters have such a short time to be on this earth. Perhaps I will make Miss Piggy live forever by having her stuffed when she dies?

13. How did I get so lucky? A cute husband, a precious baby, a good job, a wonderful family....I don't know what I did to deserve this, but DAMN! I love it.

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We have a crawler.

Since she was about 6 months old, everyone has been asking us the famous question: "Is she crawling yet?". The answer was always no. While Luca perfected the army crawl well before Christmas, she seemed to have little to no interest in doing an ACTUAL crawl. Our theory was that she was either too lazy to push off the ground, planning on skipping crawling entirely, or just thought crawling was for babies and clearly she was a Cool Kid and not a BABY.

Anyhow, last night I was sitting on the floor and Luca was about 5 feet from me. I needed to change her diaper, so jokingly I said "Luca, get up and come over here so I can change you." And, wouldn't you know it, she got up on hands and knees and CRAWLED to me. Crawled, as if she'd been crawling this whole time and what in the world were we so excited about because duh mom and dad crawling is totally what the cool babies do now.

We were cracking up. And then this morning I told her 'nanny' about it, and she just smiled at me. I was like 'Oh my god..she's been crawling for you this whole time, hasn't she?!?!' She just smiled and said 'I didn't say that.'

I am Ernie

Yup, I'm a conspiculously gay orange critter who likes to bathe with rubber ducky. Which Sesame Street character are you?

You Are Ernie

Playful and childlike, you are everyone's favorite friend - even if your goofy antics get annoying at times. You are usually feeling: Amused - you are very easily entertained You are famous for: Always making people smile. From your silly songs to your wild pranks, you keep things fun. How you life your life: With ease. Life is only difficult when your friends won't play with you!

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

Easter.

Yup, 3 posts in 1 day. Clearly I need a hobby.

Darrick's mom came into town on Thursday, and we had dinner with the family on Friday night. If you didn't know that they were brothers, Darrick and Brandon may be mistaken for lovers with an adopted child in this picture:



Luca prepped for Easter fun by taking a bath and then lounging in the robe Aunt Jaimi got for her. Just by pure luck, I was able to catch an amazing moment on film. If you really look at this picture, you'll see she's standing entirely on her own. She does this ocassionally, but as soon as she realizes what's going on, she either sits down quickly in a panic, or starts laughing and then sits down.




We had a wonderful Easter with both sides of the family. We hosted my family for brunch on Easter morning, and then went to Darrick's parents' house for dinner. Luca was spoiled rotten (THREE baskets!!!) and went on her first ever Easter egg hunt...with a little help from mom. ;) She really had a good time, but by egg hunting time, she was pretty exhausted, hence the slightly annoyed look in the pictures.

Hey Baby and the German Tourist, Take II

Let's try this video again:



the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4GwKJgU7KU

Nothing Interesting.

You may not know this about my kid, but she's a fat girl in a skinny body. You do NOT mess with Luca when it comes to meal time. I took these pictures to document the process of prepping and feeding her dinner. She's not into purees anymore (much like crawling, she also thinks pureed food is for babies), so I was simply trying to prep some pears by slicing them into small pieces. Apparently, I was not swift enough, because before I knew it she'd army crawled her way into the kitchen and was pulling wildly at my legs.

And, here's a video of Luca.



If the video doesn't work, here's a link to it on You Tube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPGwoA3Rxj8

Thursday 13.

I'm not sure who started this, but my friend Jennifer told me about it. Every Thursday you do a 13 point list about something, and this week I'm stealing hers and making it mine. So here's my Thursday 13.

Thirteen Crushes I've Had, From Birth to Present:

1. Ray Saenz in 4th grade. He was just so stinking cute, and I
thought he was digging on me too, especially once my mom cut me some
rockin' bangs which I would curl in rows and spray with my Aquanet.
And then, he bent over to get a drink from the drinking fountain and
I kicked him in the balls. Crush over.

2. Elvis. WAAAAAAY before my time, but hot none-the-less.

3. Dylan McKay, aka Luke Perry in 90210. He was a bad boy, but had a
sensitive side. And he had sideburns that went on for days!

4. Nathan in middle school. His dad was a lawyer on the back of the
Yellow Pages and he had the best curly hair. We dated for about 2
weeks, and then Operation Desert Storm broke us up. I was adamantly
opposed (as much as an 11 year old can oppose a war), and he was all
for it. It was painfully clear we had to go our separate ways. I
imagine he is working somewhere in the Bush Whitehouse now.

5. L.L. Cool J. That body. Those lips. He was the source of many a
white-girl goes with black-guy fantasy when I was in middle school.
And he's STILL dead sexy.

6. Brad Pitt. Before he was ****BRAD PITT****. I had a picture of him
thumbtacked to my wall by my bed. He was dreamy back before he was a
philanderer.

7. Stephen Dorff. He's a loser with no career now. Whatever. He was
sexy and broody and slightly naughty back then. I used to dream of
being an actress and him being my leading man and falling in love
with me. Le sigh.

8. Wade. He was friends with my brothers. He was older. He was tall.
He knew how to do skateboarding tricks. He drove an old blue Kharman
Ghia. He called me 'Katebetty' or 'Wednesday'. He smelled like
cigarettes, motor oil, and Irish Spring. And he hooked up with my 2
best friends before marrying a third. Luckily, I was over him after
he hooked up with friend 2, so setting him up with his wife was
actually my idea. Still....that was one of those BIG crushes you'll
always remember.

9. Lennox Lewis. Not 'The Apprentice' Lennox....the Heavyweight Champ
Lennox. The body, the power, the dreads, the accent. He made ME
sweaty!

10 and 11. The Klitchko brothers. Eastern European. Gorgeous. And
well educated. They each have a Master's degree and speak multiple
languages. Boxing's finest imports.

12. Gavin Rossdale. Before he became Gwen's bitch, you know
you thought he was sexy too. Same for Guy Richie pre-Madonna's bitch.

13. My husband. Whatever, it's cheesy and I'm lame. But he can't be
beat. Best. Crush. EVER.

Who are your 13 Crushes? Post them on your blog and let me know, and I'll put a link to you!

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"Full Time Mom"

I am breaking the cardinal rule of blogging: I am writing about work. Sort of.

I was informed the other day that a woman I thought was a trusted colleague had some dirt to talk about me, and the crux of it was some nonsense about how she was wondering if I was wanting to be a 'full time mom' since I missed a meeting to be with my sick daughter.

Now, there are a few issues here. One is her talking shit about me even though we're both professional adults (she's, like, my MOM'S age). Another is her talking shit to my boss.
But it's more than that. Isn't it always more than that??? Because when you, as a woman, ask someone's boss (also a woman) if a professional who happens to be a woman (notice a theme here?) is wanting to be a 'full time mom' instead of a working mom, you are really really treading on thin ice.

What the hell is wrong with women? Can ANYONE answer this for me? ANYONE????? Did we or did we not fight for YEARS to gain equal footing in the workplace, in the home...in life and in history? Do we not have the first female Speaker of the House? Is it my imagination, or is there a woman in strong contention for the Presidency as I type this very entry? And yet, in light of - - - or perhaps despite - - - these things, our gender seems to have NO problem hanging each other out to dry and trying to neatly place each other into categories that seem, to me, to have been created by the very system our gender has worked so hard to break out of.

What's wrong with asking if a woman wants to be a 'full time mom' instead of working? Maybe the notion that a woman can't be both a mom AND a professional. Perhaps the implication that a working mom is NOT a full time mom? I'm not sure if this woman got the fucking memo, but moms who work outside the home rarely JUST do that. It's not as though I get up and head to work on my own time, then come home and loaf about the house, only to resume parenting on weekends and state or federal holidays. No, my friends, sad but true: I am a mom 24/7.

I'm a mom when I wake at 3 a.m. to soothe a crying, sweaty baby back to sleep. I am a mom when my morning routine consists of a diaper and outfit change, breastfeeding, bottle cleaning, breakfast and lunch prep, loading the car, and daycare drop off...and that's ALL before 7 a.m. I am a mom when I have to stop working for 20 minutes 3 times a day to pump for my baby. I am a mom when I am sitting at my desk and a thought of Luca flashes through my head and I feel a dull sadness that I can't be with her at that moment. I am a mom when I get home from work and, before I even set down my bags, I have a sweet smiling baby in my arms. I am a mom when she is fighting sleep at 10 p.m., and I'm faced with the knowledge that once she's in bed I still have to shower, prep her stuff for the next day, and wind down.

Full time mom? I didn't know there was another option. Working in the home...working outside the home...stay at home mom...we are ALL working moms and we are ALL full time.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Luca wishes you a good one.









ps: Happy Birthday, Lindsey and Brandon!

Over the mountains and through the desert...

...to Grandmother's House we go.

We took a little trip to my Grandma's house in LA this weekend since it was the tail-end of Darrick's spring break. We drove over on Thursday evening, arriving in LA about 1 a.m. We stayed in a hotel that night, then went to Grandma's on Friday. We also got to see some of my cousins and second cousins, as well as my Aunt and Uncle while there. All in all, it was a great trip.

These first pictures are in the car on the drive over. Luca didn't want to sleep at first, so we entertained ourselves with her light up musical maraca. I didn't use a flash to take these because I didn't want to wake her more and I thought they looked cooler this way.










These other pictures are of us hanging out with Granny at her house.