Thursday, February 26, 2009

Thursday nights

I have volleyball on Thursday nights - most of the time I just go from work straight to the rec center. That's where I'm at now, waiting for my game to start at 9:00 p.m. This rec center is off of Loyola, which from Lakeway is close to 45 minutes away. I have a blast playing though so the drive, and the wait, are totally worth it. I posted awhile ago that I was starting this league and it's been amazing to reconnect with my old high school teammates and continue kicking butt, 10 years later. As of now we are 6-0 - Go team Old School! At this point we are playoff bound, watch out!

This rec center is a place of hope. It's located in an area that is, for lack of better words, economically challenged, but it's a beautiful place. After school kids are running everywhere, there is kids art all over the walls, and you can tell that the vision behind this place is to create a safe haven for kids to play, learn, and stay out of trouble. Because I usually have a couple hours to kill I can sit and do my favorite thing - people watch. They keep it extremely clean and up to date, pool tables, TV's, computer labs, basketball courts, and classrooms where different classes are going on all night. For some reason it just brings me peace in a time where it seems like peace doesn't exist. I sit with no real distraction and am able to just be. I do miss my little one and Dom, but it seems this time is carved out specifically for me to break from work, mom duties, and all the rest. Funny how we find our sanctuary in the most random of places. I encourage everyone to find one right now as the world around us seems crazier than ever.

Time to get changed for my game and stretch. If I don't stretch like 30 minutes before we play I'm bound to pull something, break something, etc...It's my own personal reminder that I'm old.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

New toy!




Okay so I hope we chose wisely when it came to Brooklyn's next toy. I swear I can already feel the pressure of "mom - Gracie's got a cooler toy than me!!!" And then Dom and I trying to determine if she needs it or just wants it before we go buy. In reality I think before kids turn 5 they should just play with old tupperware, cardboard boxes, pots, pans, and maybe a marker or crayon. But I can't have her not have the cool toys like the rest of the kids on the block. OMG what a nightmare. I blame the manufacturer's! There are a million baby toys out there, jumparoo's, exersaucers, walkers, blah blah blah. After much deliberation we settled on the exersaucer and it's adorable to watch her, she's just so happy to be able to stand!

Friday, February 20, 2009

Girls night out!

Wrapping up the end of another long work week and this evening I get to look forward to some much needed girl time. Can't wait to get lost in the gossip and trash talk, moving on into the more serious topics like kiddos, MEN, or women, and life. What the hell would I do without my ladies? Tonights agenda consists of dinner and drinks and then some live music. It's our chance to transform into our Sex in the City characters without the fuss of uncomfortable cocktail dresses and stiletto's. Although if I owned even one pair of Jimmy Choo's I'd rock them.

TGIF everyone! Cheers.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

My Funny Valentine

is Robin Williams! Dom bought us tickets a month or two ago and I'm really looking forward to going tonight. We celebrated Valentines day at home on Saturday with Bouillabase and wine, tonight is our offical date.

Who doesn't need some comic relief these days? Hey guess what - the economy sucks. I recognize the importance and validity in focusing on it 24/7 but at times it's exhausting. Blame game is useless and denying accountability is to me a driving factor as to why we are in the position we are in.

But - that's not what this post is about. Today is about humor and the relief I get every day by having it. So, in the spirit of good humor:

A completely inebriated man was stumbling down the street with one foot on the curb and one foot in the gutter. A cop pulled up and said, "I've got to take you in, pal. You're obviously drunk."Our wasted friend asked, "Officer, are ya absolutely sure I'm drunk?""Yeah, buddy, I'm sure," said the copper. "Let's go."Breathing a sigh of relief, the wino said, "Thank goodness, I thought I was crippled."

Haha. Alright, cheesy but whatever.

Laugh more.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

But I liked the nipple....

OF my bottle mom!
So, if it's not obvious, we're trying cereal. Up against some resistance as Brooklyn would prefer her bottle 100% of the time. She just sort of 'tongues' the spoon and spits it back out. Oh except for when she took a full bite in and then sneezed. Yes, the rice cereal complimented my hair, makeup, and clothing quite nicely.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

I hate people like this...

I've always been sensitive to things that happen around me, aware of the lost souls, bad decisions, stupid people, and ignorance. Occasionally there is a story that gets me more than others:



Stories with children/babies always strike a cord, but now that I have my own this absolutely breaks my heart and enrages me. Leave the kid on a doorstep, ring the bell, and leave! There are resources everywhere for you to leave a newborn if you can't handle it. You are 20 and know the difference between right and wrong, regardless of your circumstances. Wake the f*** up and start being responsible. Based on this it's obvious that baby is in a better place - I hope and pray this woman gets everything she deserves.

Friday, February 6, 2009

Why being female sometimes SUCKS.

Because we have cramps, and no matter the dose of Midol still freakin hurt(the inspiration behind this post).

Because we're emotional - that's why! Tough on the outside but suckers on the inside for anything to tug at us. Like this post from one of my favorite bloggers, dooce . I mean, WTF! I don't know you at all but your daughters 5th birthday has me in tears.

Because on any given day the empty aspirin wrapper on the counter can put us over the edge screaming "Throw your shit away!"

Because we long to be the stay at home mom with kiddo dropped off at play date, attending our yoga class at 10:00 a.m., fitting into the perfect size 4, lunch with the girls, Oprah at 4, and dinner ready - but also to be the successful career woman kicking ass in the corporate world.

Because we have to spend $130.00 to have cute hair.

Because we have to live, and join into, the world of female caddiness. We are bitches people, watch out!

Because we need constant gratification, "why, yes honey, I did clean the house, THANK YOU for noticing!"(now please tell me how wonderful I am 10 more times before we go to bed)

Because no matter how we slice the routine it takes an hour to get ready - for anything.

Because we long to be creative, start projects we never finish, pretend we are photographers, and feel the need to re-decorate twice year. Do you think any straight man has EVER thought about any of these things?

Oh who am I kidding? Life is good I just felt the need today to call out some obvious reasons why I feel like we women are rockstars in our own fight.

I look at my daughter in her innocence and think, Oh lord, I hope you don't turn out like your mother. ;)

Monday, February 2, 2009

For poops sake!

What? Does the title gross you out somehow? If it does than you must not keep reading. If you are brave enough to continue, welcome.

So Sunday morning rolls around in our house and it had already been quite the weekend. Not near as relaxing as I thought it would be on my drive home from work Friday. Let me set the stage for you: Dom is outside washing my car. I'm sitting on the counter in my bathroom about to dry my hair. Brooklyn is in her swing in our bathroom kicking her legs up and giggling loudly.

I looked down at my precious little spawn only to realize that something wasn't quite right. The pink & white footy pj that she had on was suddenly different colors in different areas. "Crap!" Literally. So I picked her up and as I suspected she had shit all over the place. I start to take off her pj's and realize this is not a one man job. I walk to the front door with baby in hand - holding her with arms fully extended - manage to open the door and tell Dom that I need help. I shut the door, walk back to our room and decide that the only place this can be fixed is our bathtub. So here I go to attempt to take off the pj's and I realize it has literally gone all over her legs, feet, and as I was putting her in our tub - the wall. I am leaning over the tub holding her arms waiting on Dom because it can't go any further without another set of hands and I wait...and wait...and wait...

Literally about 5 minutes go by and no sign of him so I pick B back up, at this point she's in her diaper (or what's left of it) and I go again, carrying her across our living room to the front door with arms in full extension, open the door back up and this time make it a little more clear I NEED SOME FREAKIN HELP. Dom looks up at his smiling, naked, daughter covered in poop and says "Oh shit!". I say, yes exactly.

He came to my rescue and as a team we tackled this. A nice long bath later and our baby girl was all sparkly and shiny clean. Dom had to shower also as he suffered the most during the cleaning process. As did our tub, our wall, my pj pants, and her ruined footy pj's.

I'm convinced she has done this in retaliation for the rice cereal and formula bottle I gave her early that morning. It's part of her resistance to change as she already let me know how pissed she was when we transitioned exclusively to formula.

Oh, the years to come. If you are contemplating having a baby DO IT! Don't be afraid of a shitstorm like the one my daughter managed this weekend. Embrace it and realize you can do anything.

God bless single mothers.