Life, As I Know It

Post-pancakes, pre-church

2011-11-13T08:45:00.001-05:00

Even a week later, the boys are having a hard time adjusting to the time change. Caleb was up at 5:30am yesterday, 6:00am today. Cameron's about the same. Caleb is also fighting an awesome head cold - coughing, sneezing, lots of gunk. Good times. As a result both boys were asleep by 6:30pm last night, and I was lights out at 9:00pm. Ah, the exciting life of a mother of small children.

But all is good now...they're cozy on the couch with Daddy watching Little Einstein with tummies full of pancakes and jammies covered in syrup. Pretty perfect Sunday if you're 3 1/2 and 19 months (and 34 years old).

What to do when there is no school...

2011-11-10T13:10:00.001-05:00

New Jersey has in-service this week so kids all over the state are out of school. Which also means moms all over NJ are scrambling to find something to do with their kids before they tear all their hair out or run screaming insanely down the street. (Ok, maybe that's just me...)

Thankfully, my pal Holly had the bright idea to set up a playdate at In the Swing, and indoor playspace. Unfortunately, every other mom in Bergen County had the same idea. It was a bit jammed, but all our kids - particularly my boys- had a ball. Cameron ran and played until he was rosy-cheeked and sweaty-headed. Munch was confident that he could do absolutely everything big brother was doing - which means I was rescuing him from ball pits, bounce houses, tunnels and slides all morning. Ah well, we were out of the house and working up a killer appetite for Burger King and naps. Perfection.

Here are the boys playing in the balls and hitting (literally) the arcade...

Why do I even try?

2011-11-08T17:30:00.001-05:00

My boys much prefer mass-produced deep-(questionable) fat-fried, formed "chicken" nuggets to my homemade, all-white-meat, toasted-baguette-bread-crumb coated, extra-virgin-olive-oil-pan-fried nuggets. I suppose it's just the start of a lifetime of my children turning up their noses at dinner.

Ah well...I'll try not to take it personally.

*********************************

PS - Dear Mom, sorry for every time I gave you grief - whether spoken or by the silent teenage-eye-roll - over meals you made for us.

If I had only known...

Testing, testing, 1 2 3

2011-11-08T09:12:00.001-05:00

So I just got the Blogger app for my iPhone and I'm testing it out to see how it works, if the posts look the same, if I can upload photos, etc.

We're having one of those mornings where it's not even 9:00am yet and I'm counting the hours until nap time. These boys are crazy today - and therefore making me crazy. We have to get out of the house. Hmmm...playground? Backyard? Ikea? Something better than this madness.

Dinner of Champions...

2011-11-07T21:56:00.002-05:00

I've gotta grow up...

Quotable

2011-04-19T13:16:00.002-04:00

About 10 minutes after Cameron went to bed last night:

Cameron: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! MOMMY!

Me: What, Cameron? What's wrong?

Cameron: (Repeatedly pointing at me with his finger, but not saying anything.)

Me: What? What do you need? Are you hurt? Did you hurt your finger? Do you need me to kiss it?

Cameron: No. Burgerger.

Me: Cameron, don't call Mommy all the way up to your room because you have a booger on your finger. Go to sleep.

Cranky Side of the Crib

2011-04-14T13:16:00.002-04:00

Today has been one of those days, starting the moment Cameron woke up screaming at 6:50am. You just know it's going to be tough...and it has been...and it's only nap time. He's been so not himself. He's been the opposite of himself. He's ornery, cranky, violent, moody and disobedient. He threw toys at his friends; grabbed toys from friends; beaned an 18 month old point-blank with a basketball; ran his scooter right into another friend, knocking him down. And then screams at me when I put him in time out. I feel like I've been in battle all morning - disciplining him, preventing further carnage, and apologizing to my friends who's kids are now like the walking wounded.

I need a nap. Or a drink.

I try to remind myself that he's only 3, but a big part of me expects more of him...expects him to be more generous, more considerate, more thoughtful, more teachable...less like a maniac. And it's times like these that I wonder if I'm doing this all wrong, am I screwing this whole thing up, or is it just a product of his age.

Do you ever wish you had a reboot button on your kids? Today is a reboot-button kind of day.

One Line a Day

2011-04-12T21:45:00.002-04:00

Last week I stopped by Barnes & Noble to pick up a birthday present for a party over the weekend. They had a display at the front of the store for Mother's Day gift ideas - lots of fun ideas, and stuff I'd be pretty happy with. But let's be honest, if I really want any of those books, I need to just buy them myself. Kevin is amazingly thoughtful, but he's not going to be shopping for me at Barnes & Noble any time soon.

Anyway, I found this one little book on a bottom shelf called Mom's One Line a Day. It's a kind of nauseatingly pink book with a rocking horse on the front...but it's the inside that's so brilliant. Each page is dated at the top - April 9, for instance. And then there are 5 small sections on each page that start "20__". So you start the book on today's date, you fill in the year, and then you write a sentence or two about the day. Then tomorrow you do the same thing...every day, all year long. Then, on January 1 next year you move down to the second row of spaces, you enter "2012" and you write one sentence a day.

This goes on for five years. So by the time you finish the book you will know exactly what you did on April 9th for the past 5 years. Amazing, right? It only takes a minute at the end of the day, but think about how cool it will be to have that record of what you did every day for the last 5 years. When I finish this journal Cameron will be 8 going on 9, and Caleb will be 6.

For anyone who is looking for simple way to record your everyday stuff, both large and small, you might check this thing out.

Planning the Purge

2011-04-06T12:38:00.003-04:00

I am desperate to clear out our house. Once the weather starts warming up I get desperate to get rid of the stuff that has been piling up in our house over the coming months. I walk into rooms and I feel my neck tense up as I see all the stuff cluttering surfaces, shelves, drawers, etc. I am ready to start boxing stuff, up and getting it out of my house.

Have you ever noticed that physical clutter gives you the feeling of emotional clutter? And by the same token, when your home feels clear and organized, your heart and internal space feel clear and free?

I am going to take it in chunks - one room, one cabinet, one shelf at a time. Kitchen crap I haven't used since we moved in. Clothes that never see the light of day. Toys that are missing pieces. Tchotchkes that just sit around collecting dust, stressing me out.

Here's to a lighter home and a lighter heart!!

We don't need no stinking potty training...

2011-02-15T20:33:00.003-05:00

Ok, friends...help me out! I have a 3 year old who is not potty trained. Not only not potty trained, has absolutely ZERO interest in using the "big boy potty". Not only zero interest, he frankly could care less if he sits in a diaper full of poo for hours on end. Seriously. How do you convince a kid to use the potty when he thinks being sopping wet and wretchedly stinky is no big deal?

I swear, I'm going to have the first kid who grows out of all regular diapers and has to start wearing Depends.

At his 3 year check-up, our doctor recommended laying off the "potty-talk" (so to speak) for a whole month. Don't suggest it, don't try it, don't talk about it...nothing. If he mentions it, fine. But we are not to initiate a conversation about, say the phrase "big boy potty", or even make eye-contact with the Lightening McQueen potty for a whole month. Then he said we should try again, only this time use completely different incentives. If it was stickers before, it should be M&M's now, or whatever. We may go straight to the standing-to-potty method. Yes, I expect a mess...but there has to be some way to encourage the kid to want to use the potty. Not to get too graphic (and Kevin may kill me for this), but Cameron has recently observed Kevin's pottying prowess, and now talks constantly about "Daddy goes potty like fireman".

Hey, whatever works.

Both exciting and disturbing...

2011-02-14T13:38:00.005-05:00

Today we are having a veritable heat wave. According to weather.com, it is 56 degrees here!! Sure, I've still got a foot of snow in my yard, but 56 degrees!! Come on, that's practically beach weather! Ok, yes, getting a bit ahead of myself, but I can't tell you how exciting this is. I'm sitting here at my computer with the window beside me cracked open, just so I can feel the fresh, cool air. It's heaven.

However, the disturbing side effect is the slow melt of our snowman. This guy was 5'5" at his tallest moment, and a true feat of engineering by a complete novice. I mean, come on people, I grew up in Oklahoma. With the 2-inch dustings of snow we'd get, my brother and I would make these stubby little 8 inch snowmen that were mostly mud, twigs and dead leaves that got rolled up with the snow. Pathetic.

So this monstrosity of a snowman was a true achievement! I thought it was going to be a super fun Mommy-Cameron bonding activity. Yeah, it was pretty much Mommy doing the rolling, patting, lifting and shaping, while Cameron stood on the sidewalk saying, "Good job, Mommy! I go in now and watch a little show?" Ah well, maybe next year.

So, here is a photo of our snowman now (rather poor quality since I had to take it with my phone). Yesterday it looked creepily like a African shrunken head snowman, and has now devolved into the Headless Snowman...complete with the scarf still around it's noggin-less neck. Yep...creepy.

Neverending Snow

2011-02-12T10:31:00.002-05:00

People, we have been snowed under for MONTHS. I don't think I've seen my lawn since Thanksgiving. It is still about 18 inches deep and is now a slick sheet of ice along the top. I swear this snow isn't going to melt until sometime in mid-June. We are stuck inside most days, dying for some entertainment. It's hard not to just turn on Nick Jr. and let Dora and the Bubble Guppies entertain Cameron all day.

Cabin. Fever.

But I'm trying to focus on the spring to come. I'm trying to give myself a little ray of hope by planning for those days when it isn't 17 degrees outside. I'm trying to get to the gym more often to work off winter squidginess that comes from too many comfort foods and not enough activity. I'm starting to strategize for my vegetable garden. This will be my first foray into gardening and I can't wait! I'm reading everything I can on growing vegetables, discouraging pests, creating rain barrels, making compost, etc. I'm starting to think about spring colors and clothes - good-bye sweaters and boots, hello tank tops and strappy sandles! I can almost feel the cool spring air through the window right now. Ahh...

Anyway, I hope wherever you are, you're feeling a little more hopeful about the possibility of spring. Believe it or not, it's right around the corner!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-02T22:03:00.002-05:00

It's a new year, which inevitably brings a whole raft of resolutions, commitments, and proclamations of change. I am not immune to the allure of a fresh start - a chance to reflect on all my failings in 2010 and fervently vow to do absolutely everything better in the new year. I'll be more faithful, more active, more patient and more generous. I'll eat better, exercise more, and go to bed earlier. I'll cook more meals, organize my attic, regularly clean my house and grow vegetables. I'll be a better wife, mother, daughter, and friend. I'll write more, read more and procrastinate less.

Unfortunately, the thing that think I'll be best at is breaking all my shiny new resolutions. But I can't break them if I don't make them, right?

So here's to 2011 - a chance to make a fresh clean start. I plan to show up here more often - hopefully you'll meet me here.

And she's back!

2010-06-27T22:08:00.003-04:00

Hey to everyone out there who has been waiting on pins and needles for my return to blogland...

I'm baaaaaack!

Ok, not so exciting. But here I am anyway.

I am now the seasoned mother of two. I have thankfully passed through the valley of the shadow that is early life with newborn/two children, and think I might survive this crazy experiment after all. Folks, I think we are finally hitting our stride.

For anyone out there who hasn't done it, or for those of you with older kiddos who don't remember...

IT. IS. HARD.

Man. It has been a roller coaster. But there is definitely an advantage to having done all this once before. I'm so much more laid back about, well, everything, then I was with Cameron. Caleb is the easy one...all he does is eat, sleep, and sit around in his bouncy seat. Cameron, sweet boy that he is, is definitely the challenge. I mean, come on, the kid is 2 1/2 years old. It is a daily struggle with his demands, frustrations, and boundary testing. But he's also hilarious! No kidding...this kid is funny.

Anyhoo...that's a brief overview of life around Casa Clem. More to come, now that I'm back in the land of the living and getting regular sleep.

If you're a cutie and you know it, raise your hand!

Sweet Caleb
(Ignore Daddy's legs in the background)

Is this wrong?

2010-03-24T18:47:00.000-04:00

We have been running around like crazy people trying to get prepped for D-Day on Friday. Last minute home projects, baby gear to pick up, groceries to buy, meals to plan, etc., etc. Frankly, it's all rather exhausting.

Here's the screwy part. I'm actually looking forward to Friday. Sure, the having a baby part...but what I'm really looking forward to? Four days and nights with no responsibilities. No meals to plan or cook. No groceries to buy. No toddler (sweet and precious though he may be) to entertain. No dishes to do. No laundry to fold. Nothing but hanging out in bed for four days. Now, granted, I have to have abdominal surgery to get this great vacation. And then I have to go home and try to survive life with a newborn. But right now, I'm just looking forward to 4 relatively easy days in the hospital.

I know...it's kind of sick. But there you go.

Happy Holiday?

2010-03-22T14:51:00.007-04:00

Why do we insist on terrorizing our children at the holidays? Why do we think our tiny 2-year-old is going to want to go anywhere near a 6-foot rabbit? I mean, I don't even want to go near a 6-foot rabbit. And Christmas? Think enormous bearded stranger wearing fire-engine-red from head to toe loudly exclaiming, "Ho Ho Ho!!" It seems as though the photo of your precious punkin' sitting on Santa's knee screaming and crying is a childhood rite of passage. And don't even get me started on clowns.

We had a big Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, which Cameron loved...well, minus the run-in with the Easter Bunny.

Here are the boys headed to the Easter Egg Hunt.

Looking too cute.

Mmmm...chocolate!

And here is Cameron's meeting with the Easter Bunny.

Not happy.

I can't blame him. That thing is a bit frightening.

And in case you're curious, here's me at 38+ weeks.

As if I weren't busy enough...

2010-03-17T22:44:00.002-04:00

I have such high hopes for my blog, and then fail so miserably at staying on top of it. It's embarrassing, I know. Oh well...no one's reading it anyway.

We are having a baby in 10 days. We don't know what kind of baby...we love a good surprise. Some days, like today, I'm not sure I'll make it until the 26th. Some days, like today, I hope I don't make it until the 26th. However, I also know that about 3 days into mothering a newborn I will wish that little troublemaker were back inside where they were a whole lot less trouble.

While I'm looking forward to meeting the little munckhin, I'm not sure I'm ready for the reality of Life With Two Kids. I know, whine whine. People do it all the time. I'll admit it...I'm a wimp. And I'm really lousy at being tired. Just ask my son, he'll tell you. Mommy is impatient, short tempered, irritable, cranky, moody and generally no fun when she hasn't had much sleep. My poor sweet son is going to have a rough few months dealing with a new little spotlight-stealer and a mommy straight out of Night of the Living Dead. Good times.

Other then that, we've been finishing home projects, surviving major snow storms, dealing with days of power outages, going to ultrasounds, and waiting for spring to finally arrive...which happened this week. There's just something about a day over 60 degrees that makes you believe you can survive anything. Let's hope that's true...

Anyway, the Clems 3 become the Clems 4 in 10 days or less. I'll post details for the brave remnant who still check my blog on rare occasions. Hopefully your faithfulness will be rewarded.

Happy Spring!

Seriously?

2010-01-05T18:51:00.004-05:00

Last night, Kevin and I were sitting at home, mostly watching the Fiesta Bowl, when Kevin comes across this "interesting" show on the guide. It's called "Conveyor Belt of Love." Just stop, and say that again to yourself..."Conveyor Belt of Love." People, we have reached a new all-time low in our society when shows like "Conveyor Belt of Love" are not only pitched to networks with serious intent, but some network executive somewhere says, "Hey, that sounds like a good idea."

Here's the premise, to save you from being sucked into the inanity if you happen to see it on your TV - that's assuming it endures past the initial episode. 5 women form a panel and have signs that say "Interested" and "Not Interested". Then, one by one, 30 men roll through on, yes, you guessed it...a conveyor belt. They then have to do or say anything they think will catch the attention of one of these women. These guys were doing everything -- reciting bad original poetry; serenading the women on a ukulele; performing lame magic tricks or Sean Connery impersonations; doing yoga poses. One guy had nunchucks. Another guy, who was actually picked, rolled through in a speedo cradling his dog, who's name during the day is Princess and at night is Rambo...the dog, that is, not the guy in the speedo.

And we watched it.

We spent 60 minutes of our all-too-short time on this earth watching - say it with me - "Conveyor Belt of Love". After having a wonderful conversation over the weekend about our family New Year's resolutions, and the things we want to do as a family to bring us closer to one another and to God, we then spent a slow Monday night watching mind-numbing, intelligence-sucking reality TV crapola. I am dumber for it.

Christmas Break

2009-12-22T12:29:00.003-05:00

For all my lofty goals of posting more often, I was definitely undone by the holidays. Things have been entirely too crazy. I still think it will be a miracle if I survive until we get on the plane Thursday morning. So much for my grand ideas about taking it easy this season.

It has been fun, though. We had our family Christmas Sunday morning, which was doubly fun since we woke up to 8 inches of snow! Cameron has been playing non-stop with his art easel, coloring books and stuffed Brobee (from Yo Gabba Gabba). Kevin and I just exchanged a few stocking stuffers this year. We really wanted to spend a little less on "things" so we could give more in some areas where we feel called. Our church is really focusing on the Advent Conspiracy concept, spending less so we can give more. We are helping a village in Uganda get clean water, and build a medical clinic and a community center. We have really been convicted this season by the spending statistics at the holidays - it's something like $450 billion is spent EACH YEAR on Christmas just in America, and it would only take $10 billion to solve the clean water crisis around the world. It's staggering. Anyway, we are feeling overwhelmed by our own blessings, and called to pass the blessing along.

So, 48 more hours to get all the things done here at home, and then we're off to visit grandparents, great grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc., etc., for a week.

I hope everyone has a truly happy and blessed Christmas! See you in the New Year!

Holiday Madness

2009-12-03T13:31:00.002-05:00

I am finally getting my head above water after Thanksgiving. We hosted in-laws for the entire week, and since the final group decamped on Saturday, I have been busy cleaning up, putting everything back in place, and decorating for Christmas. Our tree is up, we have a few lights in the bushes outside, and Cameron and I are headed for Home Depot this afternoon to find some more lights for our fence outside.

I love holidays. Any holiday. You name it, I love it. I want to celebrate them all! Big. I'm always up for a reason to celebrate, to cook something fun, to have a party, to put up a few decorations. My favorites are the fall and winter holidays -- I love Halloween -- but I love the 4th of July, Cinco de Mayo, St. Patrick's Day, Valentine's, Easter. Any reason to dye and egg, make a heart shaped pancake, give Cameron green colored milk, hang some streamers, wear a kitschy hat, hit a pinata, I'm in!

At this time of year, which is my all time favorite, I tend to have the bad habit of letting people and circumstances get to me. Steal my joy in the season, so to speak. I'm working extra hard this year to really appreciate the season around me, and to see it through Cameron's eyes. Enjoy every house with Christmas lights, play outside in the cold, take a goofy photo with Santa.

And as Cameron gets older, we are really trying to focus on why we celebrate Christmas in the first place. To make it less about the gifts and Santa Claus, and more about Christ and giving. I don't know about you, but looking back, I can hardly remember a gift I got last year, much less what I got as a child. But I remember praying with my family before we opened gifts. I remember decorating the tree with them every year, watching White Christmas. I pray that Cameron (and the forthcoming child/children) has the same memories. That Christmas is remembered by the times we have at home the things we're doing together...and the gifts we're able to GIVE. Kevin and I are overwhelmed by all we have...we really want to be able to pass on the blessing, and hope our kiddos remember that too.

Anyway, enough of that.

Here's hoping you're all enjoying the holiday season in your own home, in your own way!

Mmmm...Oatmeal

2009-11-20T12:21:00.003-05:00

I am a Crock-Pot novice. I received a lovely Crock-Pot as a gift a couple of years ago, and I think I used it once when we lived in Texas. However, it did not make the move to New York with us. So, after 6 years of sitting in a box, it has finally emerged...and mostly sits in a cabinet. I will occasionally pull it out, study it a little quizzically, and then shrug and put it back in the cabinet. I simply don't know what to so with it.

I heard a rumor about the ease of cooking oatmeal in a Crock-Pot. And frankly the idea of going to bed and waking up to a warm, steaming pot of cinnamon-y, brown sugar-y oatmeal sounded blissful. So I Googled it, and found a great blog with a simple recipe for Crock-Pot oatmeal. We tried it last weekend, and it is awesome. Simple, hearty, and delicious. If you like oatmeal, give it a shot!

I actually read the recipe wrong, and made the whole thing with 4 cups of milk, instead of 4 cups of water and a 1/2 cup of milk or half & half. It turned out great anyway, creamy and delicious. So you could always play around with the amount of liquid based on the consistency you like, and the ratio of milk to water, depending on the creaminess you like.

All credit goes to www.mommyskitchen.net

Overnight Crock Pot Oatmeal

1 cup steel cut oats (this won't work with regular oats or quick cooking oats - too mushy)
4 cups water (if using a slow cooker liner decrease the water to 3 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup half and half or milk
1 cup dried fruit of choice
(apples, raisins, cranberries, apricots etc)
or 1 - fresh apple (chopped)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 - tbsp butter
1/2 - tsp vanilla extract
2-3 Tablespoons cinnamon sugar

First off find a bowl that will hold four cups of liquid, and fit inside your crock pot with the lid on. Measure out one cup of Steele cut oats. Pour that into the inner bowl. Add the four cups of water, milk or half and half, brown sugar, vanilla, butter and cinnamon sugar. If you would like to add dried fruit or a cut up apple the add it as well. Fill the crock with water to about halfway. Set the inner bowl in the crock and see how high the water rises. Add more water in the crock if necessary. Try to match it so that the water reaches about the same height on the outside of the oats bowl or just below the bowl. Place the lid on your crock pot. Set on low and go to bed. When you get up the next morning your oatmeal should be cooked perfectly in that steamy water bath.

Reeling

2009-11-18T21:49:00.002-05:00

Have you ever had that experience where suddenly, without any warning, your legs are knocked out from under you? You are cruising along just fine, when something earth-shattering hits. And your shell of self-reliance is crushed, leaving you feeling immeasurably vulnerable, shaken, fragile.

I have a had a few of those this year. Days, or several days, that have left me reeling. Feeling un-anchored. Lost. Helpless.

And invariably, our loving and gracious God has used these moments as learning experience. A teachable moment - ha. At the time it felt like being thrown in the deep end without knowing how to swim.

The striking thing about these particular moments I'm thinking of is that God allowed them to happen at times when all my earthly "crutches", so to speak, were nowhere to be found. We all have those people around us who hold us up, strengthen us. Those we call first when something happens. Those who bear our burdens as gladly as we bear theirs. These are people God has graciously placed in our lives, and I believe He loves us in a very tangible way through them. But sometimes, at least with me, He has to remind me again in a very real way that while these people can help support me, He alone is my foundation. It is fine to lean on those who know and love me, but He alone must be the source of my strength.

Several of these moments have come this year when Kevin was traveling, friends were out of town, family was unavailable or unable to offer help. And the feeling of being completely alone was staggering. And in those moments, I could almost feel His hand on my back, reminding me that He was there...where He always is.

I am getting better, and faster, at turning to Him first, and leaning on others second. It is a hard lesson, and one I hope I hurry up and learn so He'll stop letting all this crap happen to me and around me. But I am, as ever, a work in progress.

Connections

2009-11-17T19:45:00.002-05:00

It's 7:45pm on Tuesday night. It has been a day. Not particularly good or bad...just another day. Cameron is running a slight fever, but mostly doesn't seem bothered by it. It just makes him sleep a lot. And, no, I'm not complaining.

I hop off the couch about 7:30pm figuring I should start dinner (and by "hop", of course I mean roll my tired, pregnant self off the heating pad permanently located on the couch and shuffle slowly to the kitchen). Hmm...what to make on Tuesday night? Ah, that good old stand-by. Soup.
I love soup. I love making soup. I have a million variations I have made up over the years, and as soon as the weather turns pleasantly chilly, I start making soup. Poor Kevin emerges in the spring slightly waterlogged from the sheer volume of soup we have consumed.

Tonight, it's split pea. What could be simpler than onion, garlic, chicken stock, and a bag of dried split peas? Picking through the peas tonight brought back memories of picking through pinto beans with my grandmother. I feel like few family gatherings passed, large or small, that didn't include a pot of beans, simmered for hours with bacon or a ham hock. And you always had to pick through the dried beans first to make sure no small stones made it into the pot. This was a perfect job for small fingers, and I was often recruited to do it. But I didn't mind, mostly. I got to do it at the table in my grandmother's kitchen, and she was there. Being in her kitchen also meant I had a good chance of licking the bowl from the oatmeal cake icing, sweet talking a piece of candy from the top of the fridge or sneaking some of her homemade peanut brittle.

And as I picked through peas in New Jersey, I thought of her all the way down in south Texas. And I missed her. But this one small pot of Tuesday night split pea soup made me feel connected to her. And grateful for her.

It's Coming Along

2009-11-16T19:40:00.003-05:00

As is all to often my habit, it has been weeks (okay, months) since I posted. It has been a full few months getting settled into our new home, town, routine and lives. We love our house, and still look around and think, "I can't believe this is ours". Cameron loves the space, and will still run laps around the dining room table for the sheer joy of having room to run. We have a few odd boxes in the corner of our study, awaiting the perfect bookshelves, and I still have a few unorganized cabinets that drive me crazy, but other than that, we feel pretty settled.

Here are a few highlights from the last few weeks:

-- We bought a car... the first car we've had in 6 years. And then 4 weeks after we got it, we hit a deer and wrecked the front. After a couple of weeks in the shop, it seems to be as good as new.

-- We had our first house guests for Labor Day weekend. If you want to make yourself crazy, invite people to come stay in your home 2 weeks after you move in. Fortunately, the Cohen's are basically family, so we didn't feel the need to have everything "done" before they got here. They brought their adorable twin daughters, Emma & Avery, who made poor Cameron's head spin. He spent the whole weekend with a look on his face that said, "who are these girls and WHY are they playing with MY toys?!?"

-- My parents came to visit for a week at the end of September. We spent a lovely weekend with them in Cooperstown visiting the Baseball Hall of Fame, and then just hung out the rest of the week. Cameron (and Nana & Papa) were in heaven.

-- We spent a week at the beach in Corpus with Kevin's mom and sister Jamie (in visiting from Panama). It was great fun introducing Cameron to the ocean! Kevin and I also got a weekend away to California, leaving the Mini in the capable hands of Grammy & AJ (that's Aunt Jamie).

-- Cameron had his first year trick or treating around our new neighborhood. He discovered a new and obsessive love of Reese's peanut butter cups. Can you blame him? Okay, I know I'm a little biased, but can you even stand the cuteness?

-- And I guess the only other thing going on is the anticipation of Baby #2 coming in March 2010. I'm at about 20 weeks, and other than back pain, am feeling pretty good. Pregnancy the second time around is a whole new ballgame, as I know you moms-of-more-than-one know. But that's a conversation for another post.

So there's our news in a nutshell. I hope everyone is enjoying the fall, and looking forward to eating too much food and watching a lot of football next week.

Home Sweet Home

2009-08-26T19:33:00.002-04:00

We have been in our house for a week and a half now, though we feel FAR from settled. We have boxes everywhere, and I just can't seem to make it through the piles on my kitchen cabinets and in the bedrooms.

The movers carried everything out of our place in the city, packed it into a huge truck, drove it out to New Jersey, and then carried it all into our new place. And all on the hottest day of the year. It was sweltering. We had a few dicey moments. Our home was built in 1929, so it wasn't quite built with today's furniture dimensions in mind...namely a queen size box spring. The mattress was okay, as it's flexible and can kind of bend around corners. However, the box spring, being completely inflexible, took 4 guys (3 movers + Kevin), and required some shoving, paint scratching, and ultimately completely removing a window in order to make it to the second floor. But in the end we got Cameron's crib assembled, our bed set up, and we spent our first night in one first house!

That was all on Monday. Then on Friday, Kevin caught a late flight for Dallas to pick up another load of home stuff. We had all kinds of boxes stored with my parents that we needed to get...things we didn't bring to New York in the first place because, a.) we were moving into 500 square feet, and b.) we thought we'd only be up here a year (ha, ha). In addition to boxes, we picked up quite a bit of furniture - some things that were ours and some pieces that Kevin's parents have generously passed on to us to help furnish our first place.

Kevin arrived in Dallas Saturday morning, then went to 3 different houses (my parents and his parents' 2 places) to load up furniture and boxes. Then he and his dad left Dallas that afternoon and drove north to Norman to pick up one more piece of furniture from my brother and his wife. From there they headed northeast, and spent the next 2 1/2 days on the road to finally arrive in our driveway Monday night around 7:30pm. Whew.

We are both so exhausted we can hardly keep our eyes open at night. We haven't had a "leisurely weekend" in about 6 weeks. But here we are, in our own - albeit chaotic - home. Cameron loves running around the empty rooms and the backyard. He loves the huge 24-foot Budget Rental truck parked in our driveway. He still thinks riding around in a car is pretty cool. We are so grateful to be here, it still seems unreal.

So, dear ones, we have a couple of extra bedrooms...come on up and see us!

Tomorrow's the day!

2009-08-13T19:10:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow is closing, where we go sign a mountain of papers, hand over a check for a nauseating amount of money, and then receive the keys to our very first home. We still can't believe it's tomorrow.

I have spent every waking moment trying to pack up our apartment in preparation for the movers on Monday. We still have a ways to go, but I finally feel like the end is in sight. Though I guess the end will come whether I'm completely ready for it or not. The movers will show up on Monday morning, and whatever isn't packed to my rather annoyingly exacting, uber-organized standards, will get thrown in a box and sorted out later. I'm okay with that.

I'm so excited about the space and the yard that I haven't thought much about leaving the city. I'm sure it will make good fodder for a piece later on comparing and contrasting the city to the burbs. In the meantime, I am just trying to make it until Monday.

T-Minus 2 Weeks...

2009-08-03T14:31:00.002-04:00

The countdown is on.

Two weeks from today the big, burly men with the large truck will arrive at our apartment. They will load up all of our worldly possessions and haul them to New Jersey, where they will look pitifully insignificant in our new home.

Between now and then I have to pack said possessions into boxes in some kind of organized manner so that they will arrive at our new place in a.) one piece, and b.) enough order to actually find the things that we will immediately need. This is no small feat while I am being dogged all day by "small feet". I can do some packing while Cameron is awake, but I have to be seriously vigilant - he has been known to try to "help" Mommy pack. I have had to rescue sippy cups full of water, pacifiers, bags of coffee, bibs and my keys from boxes that Cameron has tried to helpfully pack for me. Mostly he just wants to get his hands on the razor sharp packing tape gun and the industrial sized permanent marker I use for labeling. Why are the most dangerous/harmful items always the most appealing?! Ah, a spiritual question for the ages.

Anyway, just a quick update on where we are and how we're doing. Closing is a week from this coming Friday. Then Kevin and I have to buy a car that weekend, finish packing the last minute items, all in preparation for the aforementioned burly movers. Thankfully, Kevin's mom was available that weekend and offered to come up and wrangle our little troublemaker while we're taking care of the final details. So nice to have one less thing to worry about that weekend!

More details to come...

A few more pictures of Casa Clem

2009-07-10T17:41:00.004-04:00

We've had a few people ask to see more pics of the house, so here they are. Sadly, I didn't get any of the second floor bedrooms...but these are the more interesting ones. We took all of these pictures on the day of inspection, about a week ago - we're scheduled to close August 14.

This is the front entryway, just inside the front door.

Here's the living room and fireplace, taken from the front entry way.

Standing in the dining room, looking back toward the front door.

Another shot of the fireplace.

Not a great picture, but you can see the coffered ceiling in the dining room.

Our kitchen is the place that will need the most work.

This is a shot of the basement taken from the landing of the stairs.

Another area of the basement - play room! There's also a full bathroom down here.

And finally, the happy homeowners!!

Jersey Girl

2009-07-01T12:05:00.003-04:00

After a year of online searches, open houses, and home tours
we have finally bought house!

This is our new home in Ridgewood, New Jersey. It's a lovely little 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath home with - believe it or not - a white picket fence. We are in the midst of all the home-buying "stuff"...Inspection, applying for financing, organizing a move, buying a car, etc. But we are scheduled to close on August 20. After 9 1/2 years of renting, we will FINALLY own a home. We are so excited. And Cameron, at long last and not a moment too soon, will have a backyard to run around in. Mommy is DEFINITELY grateful for that.

We're about 15 miles from New York City, so the commute will be pretty convenient for Kevin. And we have family in the same town - Kevin's first cousin Carrie and her family (husband, 4 kids and a dog), all live about 2 miles from us. So exciting! Cameron loves his cousins, and we're thrilled to have family close by.

So that's the scoop, friends! Come out and visit us! We're close enough to the city that you can pop in for the sightseeing, but now we have extra space and a bedroom or two to spare!

I promise...

2009-06-04T22:27:00.003-04:00

Today I was the very person I was cursing a year ago. It's the second most heard new-parent cliche, right after "it goes by so fast!". Yes, it's "It gets better, I promise."

I can remember about this time last year (though I use the term "remember" loosely...more like vaguely recall in a kind of hazy, sleep-deprived, Tylenol-popping, caffeine-sucking fog), I couldn't walk out of the apartment without someone saying it, and usually both together. They would take one look at my tiny little bundle, all 6lbs, 2oz of him, wrapped in a sweet fuzzy sweater with an adorable little hat, and they'd ooh and aah and say, "Oh, enjoy this...it goes by so fast." Then they'd take one look at me - baggy sweats, red-rimmed, baggy eyes, who hadn't seen the inside of the shower in the better part of the week - and they'd smile encouragingly and say it..."It gets better, I promise." I can remember the pitying looks from other moms as I shuffled through the park, and knew exactly what they were thinking..."oh yes, I know exactly how you feel, and I am so sorry for you. Ecstatic it's not me, but so sorry for you."

And then today, a mere 16 months later, I ran into a mom in the wine store. I was picking up a bottle or two for the weekend...she was buying a half a dozen. Ah yes, I remember it well. She asked Cameron's age, and I did the same...her response, "3 months...and I'm exhausted." As we're checking out she said, "when did he start sleeping through the night?" I said, "Mmmm, about 5 1/2 months." (Brutal, right?) You should have seen the sheer panic on her face. When you haven't slept in 3 months and someone tells you there is another 2 to go, it might as well be eternity. Then again, if I had said 2 1/2 months, she might have stepped in front of a bus right there thinking she was NEVER going to sleep again.

We walked out of the wine store and headed down the block together. She asked a hundred questions that are impossible to answer in a few minutes on a busy Manhattan street with a complete stranger. "How often did he eat? How many times was he waking up at this age? Did you do Ferber? Cry it out? I don't think I can handle that. How did you handle that? Did he sleep in your room? How did you know for sure if he was hungry or not? Did you let him cry even in the middle of the night?" The one question under it all that is never asked, but is all you really want to know...will I ever sleep again?

I tried to answer as best I could, given the short amount of time and knowing nothing about her or her "baby politics" - and, trust me, baby politics are everything to some moms. I tried to offer hope, and any tip I could think of from my own experience. I wracked my brain trying to remember what exactly I did right or wrong when Cameron was 3 months old (again, using "remember" loosely). I wanted to say, "every child is different, so I can't really tell you exactly what will work for your son, when he'll start sleeping through the night, whether or not you'll scar him for life if you let him cry longer than 4 minutes, exactly what order the bedtime routine should be, or any one of a thousand other things you'd love to have an answer to." So, all I could say as we parted on the corner of Central Park West and 96th was, "I gets better, I promise."

Aaaaugh.

Is there any phrase that engenders more desperate hope and, simultaneously, more sheer loathing to an exhausted new mom? Half of you clings to that promise desperately with both hands and the last little bit of your sanity, while the other half of you grits your teeth, because clearly these well-meaning morons have no idea what the @#%$& they're talking about.

But as a slightly-less-new-mom on the corner of a busy street with my own sweet boy on the verge of his own sleep-deprived meltdown (short naps suck), all I could offer from my 16 month perspective was platitudes. And what I didn't have time to explain, but what she'll soon realize (though it will hardly seem soon enough), is that one day she'll wake up and realize she's getting quite a bit more sleep, all night in fact...who knew she'd ever get there again? And while the sleep is definitely better, in it's place she's struggling with naps. And then it's food issues. And then it's temper tantrums. And then it's "no!". And then it's potty training. And then it's...

And all you can do is look down at your latest challenge, your current struggle, take a deep breath and remind yourself...

...it gets better, I promise.

Hmmm...

2009-06-03T13:42:00.002-04:00

Here I am again...sitting in front of my computer, staring at my blog, wondering what in the world to write. This is why my blog is so pathetically empty, so rarely updated, so - dare I say - lame. I can think of nothing worth writing. I have a friend who has asked me to help contribute to her webizine...I can think of nothing to write. I am hardly an "expert" at anything and feel I have nothing new, novel or innovative to bring to the party. My life is seriously un-blog-worthy.

I have a 16 month old who whirls around like the Tasmanian Devil, leaving destruction in his path, yet doesn't speak a word. Oh wait, he does say "uh oh". Take one look at my living room, and you'll see he says that a lot. He has also said "Da Da" on occasion, though not regularly...and not actually to Kevin. But if he sees a picture of Kevin he will point to Kev and say "DaDa...DaDa...DaDa...". Mama? Nope. Ah well.

We spend hours each day at the playground. They have now turned on the summer sprinklers in the playgrounds, which Cameron LOVES. We both came home from the playground yesterday soaking wet and covered in sand. The Mini was in heaven, and Mommy spent naptime sweeping all the sand up off the floor, though totally worth it. Do you guys know about the baby powder trick? It is the best way to get sand off of tiny hands and feet. Just sprinkle baby powder all over their sandy hands or feet, and then dust it off...all that stubborn sticky sand sweeps right off with it. Plus you have a sweet powdery smelling Mini.

We've done a bit a traveling...trips to Chicago, Dallas and Maine in the last 2 months. But mostly we're here. Like I said...not blog worthy. Frankly just writing about this makes me want to go take a nap out of sheer boredem. But there you have it...a little something to dust the cobwebs off. Hardly worth writing, certainly not worth reading. We are alive and well, and keeping our heads above water. And that's about as exciting as it gets...

Death and Taxes

2009-04-13T13:21:00.005-04:00

We finished up our taxes at the end of last week like the good, responsible, morally-upstanding citizens that we are. Kevin single-handedly tackles the madness with TurboTax as his guide. The Night of the Taxes, was a roller coaster that went something like this...

1.) Kevin enters all of our information - income, charitable donations, other financial type stuff I don't understand - and from the living room I hear, "What?!?". This is never a good sound from a husband trying to file taxes. Our friends in the IRS were trying to tell us we owed $6000+ .

2.) Kevin grumbled and frowned at the computer, shuffled papers, and eventually upgraded to the "deluxe" version of TurboTax in order to enter more detailed information. Ah ha...this seemed to fix the problem! After 30 minutes of adding more details, surprise!! We were getting paid $16,000! You can imagine the happiness...we were dreaming of heading out and buying a house that weekend! Fantastic! All has been provided...God is so good! We were giddy.

3.) Then...Kevin notices that some things aren't adding up. He decides to go back and delete and re-enter some information. And we watch our little green number at the top of the screen...the one that tells us how much we're getting back, how much we get to pocket, how much more we have to put down on a house...slowly scroll down, getting smaller and smaller and smaller.

In the end, let's just say while the number never made it into the red, it is significantly less than the $16,000 lottery we thought we had won.

And while it isn't logical, I feel I should confess that I was a little irked with God. Here we were, $16,000 theoretically in our pocket, and we're talking about how faithful God is, how he has taken such providential care of us. After a discouraging conversation just the night before about down payments and when we'll be able to buy, this seemed like God's serendipitous way of making it all okay, showering blessings on his children. And then it was yanked from our pockets by the grasping hands of the blasted IRS. And I felt let down.

While I told God I was grateful he was taking care of us so that we were getting the right amount and wouldn't be audited later and have to cough up a huge chunk of cash, inside, in a very small, ugly part of me, I felt like God had given us a little gift, and then snatched it back. I felt disappointed.

He knew. He knew I was half-heartedly thanking him for "taking care of us", when in my heart I was mumbling, "if you really wanted to take care of us, you would give us that $16,000 back." He knows what kind of selfish, ungrateful person I am. Such a spoiled brat...turning my nose up at a wonderful gift because it's not the gift I really wanted. Ignoring the fact, that just 20 minutes before we were going to have to pay $6000. It is a wonder God puts up with me at all. I am like Cameron, laying on the ground crying and kicking my legs because I didn't get what I wanted. That doesn't work with me, and it certainly doesn't work with God. Like any parent of a toddler, I am sure he shakes his head at me a little sadly, and wonders when I'll ever learn. It's a miracle he doesn't give me a good swat and stick me in time out.

Yet in the meantime, he continues to love me and take care of me, he dumps bucketfulls of blessings on me, he gently (and sometimes not so gently) teaches me, and he hasn't given up on me...and promises that he won't. And that steadfast love and lesson re-learned is worth more than $16,000 that was never really mine in the first place.

Sigh of Relief

2009-03-27T14:29:00.004-04:00

I hate to say anything and jinx it, but I think we may finally be done with winter. Shhh!!! I don't even want to type it, for fear it will come roaring back, holing us up in our little apartment again, virtually climbing the walls, desperate for some room to roam.

I have a friend who lives in Texas who is constantly singing the praises of the balmy Texas winter and beauty of the fresh early spring warmth. She waxes poetic about the glories of 70 degree days at the beginning of February, about throwing her windows open and soaking up the fresh air, about the lift to her spirits the spectacular weather brings, about her kids running willy-nilly through the backyard, reborn at the dawn of a new spring. I read all of this while sitting in my apartment, bundled up in a sweater, stuck inside for the (seemingly) 750th sub-freezing day, while Cameron pulls every bowl out of the cupboard, every book off the shelf, every toy out the box, desperate for a change of scenery...and knowing we have weeks, WEEKS left of winter.

And then, today...the birds began to sing, the light began to dawn, the heavens opened up, and upon us miserable Northeasterners a 65 degree day was bestowed. We saw the first tree in Central Park with buds on it...real, green buds that will some day soon (barring another freeze) turn into real, green leaves.

Cameron and I spent nearly 2 hours at the playground. He crawled and climbed all over the playground equipment, slid down the slide 37 times, ate handfuls of sand, and generally was blissfully happy. He probably would have run willy-nilly around the playground if he knew how to run. Let's just say he was crawling with enthusiasm.

I feel like a new person. Like we have survived the endless winter again, and spring is our reward.

I hear Cameron waking up from his nap (man, was that kid exhausted when we got home from the park!). Gotta get back outside and enjoy the rest of the afternoon...'cause who knows how long it will last.

If you don't have something nice to say...

2009-03-23T18:54:00.004-04:00

And apparently I don't. I haven't so much as looked at this blog since the last post in November. It has fallen way down the list of things I find time to do...somewhere well behind re-roll the toilet paper roll that the Mini has unrolled...again, and empty the towering pile of recycling. I have an epic list of things to accomplish every day (I know...don't we all?), and putting "Update Blog" on the list merely sets me up for failure.

But here I am, with something like an update. And why do I find time now? Kevin is still at work, the Mini is fussing in his bed 30 minutes after bedtime, and I really don't want to do any work. Makes for an inspired writing session.

Cameron turned ONE in January. Though he has only aged one year, is it possible I have aged 3? I think it's gotta be something like dog years. But I will say, 14 months olds are WAY funner than 2 month olds. Yeah...funner. He is a sponge, picking things up at a terrifying rate. He is taking steps all over the place. I'm sure he will be climbing up the walls by next week. Currently, he is trying really hard to grow some more teeth, and teeth have been his nemesis since the first one started bothering him around 6 months (though didn't make an appearance until 8 months).

Please tell me someone else out there has a kid who had teeth struggles. All my mom friends around here say, "really? My kid never seemed to notice he was growing teeth." Is this one of those things moms conveniently forget about 3 weeks after it happens? The sweet Mini has cried, drooled, and painstakingly chewed his way to 5 teeth, with a 6th apparently on the way. They have been battles hard fought. And he has 15 more to go. We are living on Infant Motrin and Orajel (don't judge).

Kevin is still consulting. I am still full-time Momming, part-time assisting, though my boss says she may have to be my assistant before too long. As I'm sure you all know, the to-do list gets longer and longer, and the snippets of available time in which to do it get shorter and shorter. The Mini only slept for 30 minutes this afternoon. This is not enough time to do, well, anything. By the end of the day I am exhausted from entertaining a cranky tooth-growing Mini all day, and still have a dozen things that need to get done, yet inevitably don't.

So do I do them? Do I pour myself a fortifying glass of wine and tackle the pile on my dining room table? Nope...I blog.

On a fun note, we are also house hunting. We have been renters for 9 straight years. We have never owned a single piece of real estate. We are the only people for whom this current housing crisis is an absolute blessing! We will be buying our first home (God willing) without having to sell a home. For those of you who thought that someday we would be leaving this heathen land and returning to God's Country, all I can tell you is, we thought so too. But God, in all his infinite wisdom, gets a good chuckle at all our so-called plans. We are glad we're here to entertain Him.

Anyway, that's all the comings and goings in our lives. All of my nearest and dearest out there in blogland are so faithful to update me, I thought it was time I returned the favor. I make no promises about consistency...all I can say is, I'll do my best.

How can the glorious effects of vacation be so short?

2008-11-19T12:18:00.006-05:00

I am having one of those days. You know the ones. Where all day long you are seconds from pulling all your hair out by the roots, and then banging your newly-bald head against the nearest wall while chanting "why me? why me? why me?". Yep, that's me. None of the things that are making me crazy are bad on their own...but pile them all together on top of me at once, and they are suffocating.

Why is it that little Minis insist on waking up extra early to practice new skills - like standing up in their cribs? Why is it that bleary-eyed Mommies don't notice that the crib mattress is now entirely too high for standing Minis...until they go to put the Minis down for morning naps? Why is it that sweet, helpful husbands always have meetings on the mornings bleary-eyed Mommies have to lower the crib mattresses, thus leaving the Mommies to attempt this feat while cranky, tired Minis who woke up too early are screaming their tiny brains out in nearby Exersaucers?

Why do overtired Minis insist on only taking 45 minute morning naps on days that Mommies need to look especially cute because they're going to get their passport picture taken - and will have to look at it for 10 years? Why do Mommies think anyone else cares what they look like in their passport pictures? Why do Mommies insist on putting on cute(ish) tops that only make them try to suck in their Mommy-tummies all day long? Why do little Minis insist on wiping their crumby (not crummy) hands all over their Mommies cute(ish) tops before she's even had her passport photo taken?

Why does all of this happen before lunchtime??

Why do Mommies with too many tasks to accomplish and not enough hours in the day think they have time to blog?

Some time in the next decade, if you see my passport, you won't have to ask why I'm bald with a bump on my head and wearing a dumpy sweater. It will all make perfect sense.

And they're off...

2008-11-04T19:21:00.002-05:00

Take a deep breath, folks...

Kevin and I are off...out, gone, see ya, sayonara...or should I say hasta la vista. Tomorrow, we are lovingly dumping our baby off with the grandparents and we are heading to Cabo. For 5 blissful days we are going to sleep late, act silly, drink a few too many margaritas and eat way too much guacamole. I'm going to stick my feet in the sand, my nose in a book, and no one will hear from me until Monday. I don't want to drink anything unless it has a paper umbrella in it...and that includes my morning coffee. For 5 - count them, 1,2,3,4,5 - days I will have my arms all to myself. My day will not revolve around naps, meals, bottles, more naps, Cheerios, sippy cups, silly songs, rattles, poop, strollers, or drool. I will be a certified adult, doing adult things, having adult conversations about adult topics with other adults.

I am so excited I'm giddy.

Ok, yes, I will probably miss the Mini. In fact, I will probably miss the Mini more than I realize. I mean, good grief, I haven't spent a night away from him since he was born 9 months ago. Heck, I've never spent more than a couple of hours away from him. But, trust me...the kid will hardly know I'm gone. He's going to be living the sweet life with the grandparents...staying up late, eating junk food, watching late night TV. While I am living the sweet life laying in the sun, wearing a sombrero, eating chips and salsa, and sleeping like I did before the Mini came along.

So wave good-bye, we are all off for a vacation. And I feel quite certain that 5 short days - and a few margaritas - will go a long way to making me a better wife and Mommy.

Back off my kid!

2008-10-28T20:39:00.005-04:00

If you've seen photos of my child, you know that he is quite a guy. We laugh about him being a "chunky monkey", and this was well before his Halloween costume. Yes, he is on the upper end of the scale when it comes to those "all-important" baby percentages. And there is not a day that goes by that someone - typically some random stranger - doesn't comment on how big he is:

"Wow! He's a big guy! How old is he?"
"Well, he's certainly a good eater, huh?"
"Ooh, you're a big boy, aren't you?"
"Is he crawling yet? Well he'll thin out when he gets more active."
"You need to get that kid on a running program." (From a college friend upon meeting Cameron.)
And the ever-popular, always inappropriate,
"How much does he weigh?"

Truly, it's enough to give Mommy a serious complex.

So, I was in a children's clothing store yesterday waiting in line to purchase a winter hat for Cameron, and another mother says to me, "He sure is a big kid, isn't he?"

Really, how am I supposed to respond to that?

Other mother: "Wow, he's like in the 100th percentile, isn't he?"

Me: "Um...well, yes, he is in a higher percentage."

OM: "What is he, like 4 months old?"

Me: (huh?!?) "No, he's 9 months old."

OM: "Oh...huh. Well, (here it comes) how much does he weigh?"

Me: "I don't know...20-21 pounds."

OM: "Oh. My daughter is 8 months old."

Me: "Really? And how much does she weigh?"

OM: "Um...16 pounds." I think at this point she's starting to realize she's being a bit rude. "I just meant he looked really tall for his age."

Me: "Uh huh."

Look, sister, back up off my kid. He could pancake your 16 pound pipsqueak without even breaking a sweat.

Come on, mothers of the world! We need to stick together here. We all know what it's like to have perfect strangers ask us all kinds of inappropriate questions! As soon as you get pregnant, suddenly you're fair game:

"How much weight have you gained?"
"Are you going to breastfeed? For how long?"
"Are you going to co-sleep?"
"You're using disposable diapers?"

Is any of this anyone's business but those with whom I choose to share it? This is between me, my husband, and my OB/GYN.

And it just keeps going from there. Motherhood...the great barrier breaker. Suddenly any topic is fair game, whether you know the person or not. So, come on moms...when you see another harried mother just trying to buy her baby boy a dang winter hat, think twice before you smugly express your astonishment about how big her sweet baby is and asking what percentile he's in. Hey, she may not thank you...but at least she won't write about you later on her blog.

MIA

2008-10-13T15:15:00.002-04:00

Clearly life as I know it does not include blogging. Disgraceful, I know. And even more pathetic when I realize that all of my friends with multiple children blog regularly...and here I am with one little Mini, and I haven't posted anything since July. And even that was mostly a cop out. You'd think with 2-3 naps a day and a 6:30pm bedtime I could sit down and write something.

So here's something.

Life is rolling right along at a pretty regular pace. Cameron will be 9 months old this week. Really?? He's army crawling his way around the house. I've threatened to strap a Swiffer cloth to his chest so he can clean my floors. Yeah, start earning your keep, kid. The bad part is when he finds dust bunnies, and tries to eat them. Yech... Speaking of eating, he now simply tolerates his baby food. What he really wants is Cheerios, cheese toast, bananas, Gerber Puffs...basically anything he can eat on his own. It's amazing how many Cheerios this little man can pack in his mouth.

Kevin is all done with his MBA...hallelujah!! He finished in August, and is now home every single night. No more class until 9pm. It's wonderful. And, since Cameron goes to sleep every night by 6:30pm, we have our nights to ourselves.

Me, I'm picking up more hours as a personal assistant, and generally figuring out how to juggle the 7 million things I want/need to accomplish each day. I find it rather astounding that I can run around like a crazy person all day, then collapse on the couch at 6:31pm and feel like I have completed nothing. And again, with only one child. How do you people do it? There are definitely moments when I think, yeah, one kiddo is plenty. We're at this great stage where he sleeps 12-13 hours a night, can often entertain himself for short stretches, takes great naps, is happy and fun and pretty hilarious...why do I want to go screw all that up by having another baby?? Plus, since there's simply no way I could even consider loving another kid as much as I love Cameron, wouldn't that just be cruel?

Ok, ok...I know...all you veteren moms out there will assure me that you do love your subsequent children (almost) as much as you love your first. And I believe you...really. Sometimes it's just hard to imagine.

Anyway, that's us in a nutshell...a quick little catch up. We a currently enjoying a lazy Sunday, and are looking forward to dressing Cameron up in his Halloween costume for the Fall Festival at church this afternoon. Oh yeah, pictures will be forthcoming.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful autumn weekend!

Bookworms Unite!

2008-07-29T10:45:00.011-04:00

The National Endowment for the Arts has an initiative called the Big Read. According to the Web site, its purpose is to "restore reading to the center of American culture." They estimate that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they've printed. Jeez! I originally found this list on my friend Jill's blog. I've read 34 of these. Take a look and let me know which ones you've read and loved.

Here's what you do:
1) Look at the list and bold those you have read. (My bold doesn't show up very well, so the ones I've read are in light pink.)
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) [Bracket] the books you LOVE.
4) Reprint this list on your own blog (if you feel so inclined).

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 [Jane Eyre] - Charlotte Bronte
4 [Harry Potter series] - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 [The Bible]
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 [Little Women] - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 [Rebecca] - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 [Gone With The Wind] - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 [Chronicles of Narnia] - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 [The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe]- CS Lewis
37 [The Kite Runner] - Khaled Hosseini
38 [Captain Corelli's Mandolin] - Louis De Bernieres
39 [Memoirs of a Geisha] - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 [The Da Vinci Code] - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 [Anne of Green Gables] - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 [Charlotte's Web] - EB White
88 [The Five People You Meet In Heaven] - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Who knew?

2008-07-26T19:58:00.008-04:00

Today Kevin, Cameron and I went to visit some friends here in the city who just had their first baby. Their little guy was born a week ago today, so we dropped by to take them food (take out gets old real quick), and meet the new little guy. Baby William was such a sweet little bundle. The thing that absolutely blew our minds was the fact that he was 7lbs, 12oz when he was born, and is nearly that now. He looked so tiny! Particularly held up next to our little Chunky Monkey, who started out 6lbs, 2oz and is now pushing 20lbs and eating solid food!

How is it possible that that was only 6 months ago? Everyone always said, "Oh, it goes so fast!" I can tell you right now, when you're a brand new mom who is only sleeping in 2 hour stretches at a time, showers about twice a week, and can hardly remember her own name, much less what day of the week it is, all you want to say to these people is, "Bull..." well, you know what I mean.

But then suddenly one day you look around and you are sleeping in rather long stretches at night, if not all night long. You shower daily, actually put on make-up and are potentially wearing clothes that are starting to resemble the things you wore before you gained (cough, cough) pounds. You have a little person who has gone from a bundle of nerves to a bundle of personality. And it has only been 6 months! I remember wondering if I would survive 6 weeks...6 months might as well have been the moon.

So, I tell my friend the new mom, "Oh, it goes so fast!" And I know exactly what she's thinking. And when I hold her sweet little 7lb, 12oz baby I think, "I wouldn't go back to being a first time mom with a 1 week old for a million dollars." Then Kevin and I leave with our little Mini, who isn't quite as mini as he used to be, and I think about how far we 3 have come in only 6 months. How different all 3 of us are. He is certainly not the Itty Bitty we brought home from the hospital half a year ago...and neither am I the same person that carried him out of the hospital that day.

I knew that babies changed so unbelievably, so dramatically in that first year of life. Who knew that Mommies and Daddies changed so much, too?

This is my life right now...

2008-06-05T10:42:00.002-04:00

Prayer
By Marie Howe

Every day I want to speak with you. And every day something more important
calls for my attention -- the drugstore, the beauty products, the luggage.

I need to buy for the trip.
Even now I can hardly sit here

among the falling piles of paper and clothing, the garbage trucks outside
already screeching and banging.

The mystics say you are as close as my own breath.
Why do I flee from you?

My days and nights pour through me like complaints
and become a story I forgot to tell.

Help me. Even as I write these words I am planning
to rise from the chair as soon as I finish this sentence.

Yes, we're those people...

2008-04-16T13:15:00.003-04:00

We just returned yesterday from a week in Texas introducing Cameron to all his family -- both by blood and of the heart. It was a wonderful and tiring trip. Poor punkin' spent the majority of the week absolutely beside himself with exhaustion. Life is hard when you're 10 weeks old.

Mini's usual schedule is to wake up, eat, have a little play time, and then go back to bed. This routine rarely lasts more then an hour. At the end of an hour he is yawning and staring...clear signs that he is ready to be swaddled up and rocked back to dreamland. Well, that's not exactly how it works when you're flying 4 hours on a plane, or spending time with grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts and uncles, "aunts and uncles", cousins, friends, etc., etc. Both Saturday and Sunday he was so tired from being up meeting people, he could hardly get himself back to sleep. Talk about break Mommy's heart.

The other thing that broke Mommy's heart was that for a week before we got there he was basically sleeping through the night...eating at 11pm-ish and not waking up until 6am or 7am-ish. Talk about HEAVEN for the sleep deprived Mommy. Sadly, it didn't last, and now we're back to waking up halfway through the night to eat. Sigh. I can't decide if I'm hopeful because I know he CAN do it, or frustrated because I know he CAN do it, and won't. Oh well, 1 step forward, 2 steps back.

This trip marked Cameron's first airplane trip, and I finally knew what it felt like to be "those people". You know the ones...with the crying child on the airplane. To be fair, he did really well. On the flight to Dallas (which was just him and me), he got really upset just before we took off. He wasn't the only one, as we were stuck on the plane for over an hour after they shut down the airport because 4 F16's were flying over Shea Stadium to mark Opening Day for the Mets. Can I just say it is not easy to try to nurse a crying, squirming baby in a ultra-narrow airplane seat, sitting next to a perfect stranger (older gentleman who was pretending we weren't there), surrounded by all our stuff (diaper bag, jacket, scarf, baby carrier, nursing cover, burp cloths, et al.). This happened twice during the flight.

On the way home, Kevin was with us, and he only got upset once, again right before we took off. I had already fed him, but he wouldn't stop crying. You could practically hear the people around us rolling their eyes, sighing, and shifting around in their seats, imagining that my son was going to cry the entire 3.5 hour trip. We were doing everything we could to soothe him. The lady behind us started offering advice. I wanted to turn around and say, "here, since you know what to do, you take him."

He finally settled down, and then slept the whole way home. But those few uncomfortable minutes felt like hours as we're trying to stop the crying, and imagining the glares of the entire plane on our sweet, yet overtired baby boy.

Ever been there?

All around, a good trip...but it is absolutely GLORIOUS to be home.

The Post-Maternity Wardrobe, or How is it Possible that Nothing I Own Fits Me?

2008-03-26T22:25:00.004-04:00

I have the post-maternity blues. I'm not talking about Postpartum Depression, thankfully. Or even the slightly less serious condition with the undeservedly cute name, Baby Blues. Trust me, the blues you feel post-baby are not "baby" in size...it can feel pretty stinkin' overwhelming.

No, the blues I'm currently talking about is the post-maternity wardrobe blues. The realization that absolutely nothing you own fits. No single piece of clothing in your wardrobe fits your transition body. My pregnancy clothes are blessedly too big. And even if they do fit (let's hear it for drawstring waists!), I'm sick to death of wearing them. On the other hand, I'm not nearly back in my normal clothes yet. My body is strangely out of proportion from the way it used to be.

Oh sure, I got the 6 week "go-ahead" from my doctor. You know, the "you're-fully-recovered-from-your-surgery-and-can-start-exercising-again" go-ahead. Did anyone else feel like laughing in your doctor's face when she said that? I'm sorry, there are times when if given the choice between sleeping and doing absolutely anything else on the planet, including winning the lottery or meeting Hugh Jackman, I will choose sleep without even thinking twice. Yeah, exercising doesn't even make my top ten list.

So, it's really no wonder that nothing I own fits me...but it's still supremely annoying. Even shirts that fit fine everywhere else, now look a little...um...okay, a lot trashy with my newly inflated nursing figure. Yep, The Girls are currently of a size that many people pay good money to get.

However, it is against my religion to go out and buy clothes for my transitional state. I did give in and buy a pair of jeans a few simple shirts from Old Navy...always affordable. I hated doing it, but not nearly as much as I hate not having anything that fits right.

Oh well, such is life after having a baby. I just needed a chance to vent about it to people who would know the feeling and share in my annoyance. Here's wishing you all beautiful spring weather, restful sleep and jeans that fit.

Little Piece of Heaven

2008-03-22T14:56:00.004-04:00

Cameron has been going through this new phase for the past week. He's pretty predictable...Kevin calls him Clockwork Orange. He wakes up, I feed him, change his diaper, re-swaddle him, and then he's ready to go back to sleep. It takes about 10-15 minutes to rock him back to sleep, and then he's down for about 3 hours. So we're on a rotating 4 hour schedule. Not too bad. To make things better, he's started sleeping a little longer at night, which is wonderful.

The not so wonderful new development is he has started refusing to go to sleep in the evening. So he and I do this routine all day, then at his early evening feeding (sometime between 6pm and 8pm) we feed him, change him, swaddle him up and then he stares at us for the next 3 hours. No amount of rocking will lull him to sleep. But he's tired... if we try to play with him he gets all cranky. He just lays on a pillow, swaddled like a little bundle, sucking on his pacifier, staring. He'll occasionally doze off, but if we try to lay him down in his crib he wakes up crying and it only escalates until we pick him up and return him to the pillow on the couch where he continues staring. This continues until we hit the magical 4 hour mark, at which point he cries to eat...then we feed him, bathe him, swaddle him, and then he goes to bed. He'll often wake up about 15 minutes later crying, but once he goes down after that, he's out.

Okay, that was much more long winded then I intended.

ANYWAY, last night we did this same new little routine starting at 10:45 p.m. -- feeding, bath, pj's, swaddle, one little wake up, and then he was out. He woke up to eat at 4:30 a.m. and then again at 9:30 a.m. Pretty dang good!

After the 9:30 a.m. feeding, Kevin took him to rock him back to sleep, and I crashed back out. Ok, here comes the good part...the whole reason I started this embarrassingly long winded post. At about 11:30 a.m. Kevin comes back in and wakes me up with breakfast in bed!! He brought me a huge plate of pancakes and cold glass of milk. I got to lay in bed, eat pancakes, and read a magazine for 45 minutes. It was bliss! Then, to make things better, when I got up to shower, Kevin had separated the laundry (which he has since taken down to the wash), cleaned up the kitchen, and picked up the living room.

Ahh...it makes me happy again just thinking about it.

Well, just wanted to brag on my fantastically thoughtful husband. Also, if anyone out there has any thoughts about Cameron's little little sleeping strike, let me know.

Who am I?

2008-03-20T22:10:00.003-04:00

Well, after a 2 month hiatus, I figured it was time to write again. Little Cameron turned 7 weeks old on Wednesday. Sometimes I feel like we just brought him home from the hospital. And other times I feel like it has been the longest 7 weeks of my entire life. I am amazed that I love this Little Man so much...and yet sometimes want to throw him out the window. I can't imagine life without him...yet sometimes miss the ease of our old life so much it makes me want to cry. I sit in our living room feeding him at 4:00 a.m. and wonder if I'll ever have a full night of sleep again in this lifetime. Yet I know that before long he won't let me rock him to sleep anymore. The most sleep I get at any one time is 3 hours...and I have only been out of the house without him 3 times in the last 7 weeks. I'm tired.

My house is a disaster. The laundry is about to take over the living room. I have dust bunnies bigger then Cameron. Days pass before I find time to call people back or respond to email. My once impeccably organized life is in complete disarray. I am reduced to considering a day that includes a shower and some make-up a success. I hardly recognize myself or my life. Who am I and how exactly did I get here?

This is, without a doubt, the hardest thing I've ever done.

But could he be any more beautiful? Could he smell any sweeter? I love kissing his little neck, and his crooked little toes. I love the hilariously adorable little frowny face he makes right before he starts crying. I live for bathtime, watching him suck air through pursed lips as we lower him into the warm water, and then relax as he remembers how much he loves the bath. I can hardly wait for that first smile that will suddenly make so many late nights worth it. I love sitting here on the couch right now and looking over at Kevin, feet propped up on the coffee table watching basketball, Cameron swaddled up like a little bundle asleep (finally!) on his chest. I fall in love with my husband over and over again every day.

Through it all -- the sleepless nights and erractic schedule; the interrupted meals and sore back; the fatigue and frustration; the days of being sucked on, spit up on, peed on, sneezed on, and generally covered with baby yuck; the feeling that I hardly recognize myself -- I am overwhelmingly grateful for this Little One's presence in our lives. He is a miracle. I pray that I never forget that.

What's new?

2008-01-22T10:44:00.001-05:00

Hey everyone! Well, it has been awhile since I've posted anything. Disgraceful, I know. We are doing well, and just kind of sitting in a holding pattern waiting for the Littlest to make it's grand debut!

We had a fantastic Christmas here in New York with just the two of us. It was fun to celebrate our last year as a family of 2 in our home. Since then we've celebrated our 8 year wedding anniversary and also had a fantastic couples shower with some of our dearest friends. (I hope to have some pics to post soon.)

Most recently, though, we had a dramatic weekend attempting to flip this contrary little munchkin over on its head...the proper position for birth. For all the latest news, check out our Baby Blog!

As this is the most exciting thing we've had going on recently, I'll leave it at that. I'll try to post something else interesting here...but at this point in our lives, the most interesting stuff is probably going on at the baby site!

Eat, Drink and Be Merry...for tomorrow we have jury duty.

2007-12-04T21:34:00.000-05:00

Sometimes you just have to revel in the absurdity that is pregnancy. I mean, really...how many times in your life are encouraged to gain 25-35 pounds (give or take a pound or two...or ten) in less then a year, eat (almost) anything you want, wear enormous clothes, waddle around feeling like a whale and be told the entire time how ADORABLE you are!

Tonight I had a one of those moments where you stop and look at yourself and think, "if I weren't pregnant, this would be completely unacceptable!" After a long day of jury selection and a quick trip to the doctor to confirm that, yes, I am indeed having Braxton Hicks contractions, I came home and collapsed on the Aerobed. Again, the only piece of furniture we have in our apartment. The high today was about 30 degrees, with the winds howling around 30 miles an hour. Kids, it was cold. I pulled on the biggest, most comfortable, most unflattering pair of yoga pants I own, and curled up under the down comforter for a nap.

I woke up about an hour later starving, and mentally assessed the food options in the apartment. With no working stove or oven, no toaster, no microwave, no dishes or pots or pans, I was limited to peanut butter & jelly or a turkey sandwich. Mmm...turkey sandwich. Then I realized that I couldn't possibly eat a turkey sandwich without Cheetos. There was absolutely no way on the planet I could eat anything without Cheetos. I needed Cheetos, and I needed them now. Who cares that it's 8:30 at night and 20 degrees outside? Who cares that I'm practically in my pajamas? So, I got up, and pulled on one of Kevin's sweaters (he's currently in Detroit, or he might have succeeded in talking me out of this madness...might) and my tennis shoes, wrapped myself in coats, scarves, and gloves, and walked the 2 blocks down to the local market for Cheetos.

And did they have Cheetos? Noooooooo. They had Cheetos Puffs, which are CLEARLY not Cheetos. And when you want Cheetos, Cheetos Puffs are NOT going to cut it.

So I walked 5 more blocks to a Rite Aid, where not only did I find Cheetos, but they were ON SALE! My persistence is rewarded!

I happily walked all the way home with my 2 bags of Cheetos (for $3.00), and had the world's best turkey sandwich with all the Cheetos my little heart desired. And as I'm sitting here on the Aerobed, eating my turkey sandwich off of a paper towel because we have no plates, munching Cheetos from the bag, and reading my Food & Wine magazine about places I can't travel, wine I can't drink, and food I can't cook (did I mention my pots & pans are in a box in storage??), I was struck by the ridiculousness that is pregnancy. It is truly 10 months of temporary insanity. And the entire world is your accomplice.

Well, I'm off to Jury Duty tomorrow, where I will be serving my civic duty as one of 8 jurors in a automobile/pedestrian collision trial. Could be interesting...but probably not. I'll let you know.

Camping out...New York style

2007-12-03T20:03:00.001-05:00

Ok, so the week after we came home from Montreal, I hit the house packing hard-core! I ordered boxes from a great website that I would highly recommend to anyone getting ready to move. You can buy inexpensive, high quality, used cardboard boxes, and they'll ship them to you in about 2 days for free!

But, I digress.

I spent the entire week following Montreal packing all our worldly possessions. It was brutally exhausting. It's just an overall more complicated and taxing process when you're 7 months pregnant. But the light at the end of the tunnel...by Friday it would all be over and we would be in our new home! Ok, well, that dream came crashing halt on Tuesday evening. Here's the short story...

Back in September Kevin happened to mention to a friend from work that we were looking for a new apartment...something with 2 bedrooms, and a little more space, roughly in our same neighborhood. Well, come to find out, Kevin's friend was in the process of purchasing an apartment that he was then going to turn around and rent out. It was all too perfect to be coincidence, and we have been breathlessly thanking God for giving us more then we ever hoped for in a new apartment ever since! As so often happens when you're dealing with management companies, banks and attorneys, the closing process on the apartment has taken longer then originally anticipated. So, on that Tuesday, we found out that they still hadn't closed on the apartment, and until they did, we could not "officially" move in. However, we definitely had to be out of our old place, as there were people moving in the very day we moved out!

Needless to say, after several long days of packing chaos, this did not go over so well with the little mama. Sweet Kevin came home with a dozen roses that night, knowing I had very well been pushed over the edge. (And all our vases were packed, so the gorgeous pink roses graced our mantle in my blender!)

Wednesday morning, I awoke with a new found sense of peace from God. I began to see our situation for blessing that it was. God was handing us a gift, and if we weren't careful, we were going to miss it. We had to be out by Friday, and our stuff was going to be moved into storage. Which left us with 2 suitcases and our Aerobed on the floor of our new apartment as "guests" of our friends (who no longer live in this apartment -- it's just a big empty space). So after an exhausting week of packing and moving, God was giving us an entire weekend of...nothing. No television, no internet, no boxes to unpack, to pictures to hang...absolutely nothing. We realized that it was perhaps our last chance to have a totally unstructured, unencumbered weekend to do anything or nothing at all. It was bliss! We slept in, explored restaurants in our new neighborhood, went to a movie, went shopping, met friends for brunch, went to bed early, marveled at the leaves changing in Central Park, marveled at the sheer size of our cavernous new apartment, rested, and were blessedly restored.

It is now 2 1/2 weeks later, and we are still on our Aerobed with our 2 suitcases...but the end may very well be in sight! We are told that closing should go through this week, and we may actually get to spend this weekend moving in. We are so excited about it! But more then anything, we are astonished and grateful for the way God has provided for us over the last few months. We are humbled by his regard for us, his loving consideration, the tender way he meets our needs, and the generous way he gives us more then we could hope to ask for. We are also learning to look at our situations through the eyes of Job, who endured more then we can imagine, and still said, "The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised."

Oh Canada

2007-11-12T08:52:00.000-05:00

What a fun morning...I sat down at my computer this morning, amid chaos and moving boxes, and pulled up my friend's blogs, which I love to do to find out if anyone has done anything new. What a joy to find that almost everyone had posted a fun new update over the weekend! Halloween pics of some of my favorite kiddos on the planet, gorgeous photo reminders of God's grace, fun news about trips taken, general updates about the lives of those I love, but don't get to see nearly as often as I'd like. Thanks, dear ones, for making my morning!

Kevin and I ran away from home this weekend. We realize that in a few weeks it's going to get much more complicated to do that. We threw everything we needed in one suitcase (yes, I know, those days are SERIOUSLY almost over), and caught a flight to Vermont. From there we rented a car and drove north to Montreal. Neither of us had ever been to Canada, and we had some free hotel nights that were slated to expire by the end of the year.

Every year feels as if on October 1st I'm standing on top of a mountain looking down on my favorite time of year...the holidays! I love EVERYTHING from October 1 to January 8 (our wedding anniversary). Then, just as I'm taking a deep breath and preparing to enjoy this fantastic time of year, someone gives me a huge shove from behind, and I am rolling down this mountain. Faster and faster the days fly by, the weekends fill up, the holidays whiz past....and I slam into a tree at the bottom of the hill, stand up, shake myself off, and realize it's mid-January and it's over. I have nothing to look forward to now but 4 more months of rather dreary winter weather without all the fun. Granted, we do have something to look forward to this year around the beginning of February, but that doesn't mean my fall is moving any slower. In fact, it's actually busier -- Kevin's sister is getting married at Thanksgiving, I'm having a baby shower in Dallas in December, and before all of that, we're moving.

Needless to say, a girl could use a break.

So, Friday night we drove into Montreal. The weather was positively frigid! We had dinner on Friday night at French brasserie not far from our hotel, and then crashed. Saturday we had brunch at this fantastic place called Great Eggspectations, where they do more things then you could possibly imagine with eggs. We spent the rest of the day following a walking tour of Old Montreal that I printed online. Every 10 minutes or so we would duck into some gallery or tacky souvenir shop to try to thaw out, as it never got out of the 30s. It was frosty and fantastic! The whole weekend was low key -- sleeping 12 hours a night (yes, I know, another thing we're going to kiss good-bye very soon), eating fantastic food, wandering around parts of the city, stumbling through my lousy French. (If you've ever seen any clips from Flight of the Conchords, we sang Foux Da Fa Fa all weekend.)

Now I'm back home, again surrounded by stacked moving boxes and chaos. I've gotta make some progress, as we are hoping this move will happen on Friday. I'm going to be really glad when this is over. I've found that moving is a much more complicated proposition when you're pregnant. Not that I'm all that big, but it's just a little more physically challenging. I am so getting a massage when all this madness is over!

Whirlwind

2007-10-26T10:50:00.001-04:00

It has been one of those weeks, and isn't quite over yet.

I flew to Dallas last Thursday to visit my parents, whom I hadn't seen since we got pregnant. I was really looking forward to hanging out with them for a few days. Last Sunday, before I left, we got word that Kevin's grandmother had passed away. With a memorial service in the works, we began shuffling and buying flights. So I flew to Dallas last Thursday, as planned. Then flew to California on Sunday evening, and landed in the middle of the firestorm that is sweeping the southern coast. The Santa Ana winds were unbelievable, and the sky was full of smoke. It was wild. We had the memorial service on Monday morning, then Kevin and I both flew out Monday night -- me back to Dallas, and Kevin on a red-eye back home. I spent another couple of days in Dallas, and then flew home yesterday.

I got one glorious night in my own bed last night, albeit without Kevin, who caught a train to Boston yesterday for work. Now, I'm meeting Kevin's train at Penn Station tonight, where we will catch a train over to Newark Airport and rent a car (which is considerably cheaper then renting in the city), and drive 3+ hours to Delaware to celebrate his mom's 60th birthday this weekend with his family. We will finally be home on Monday night.

It has been fun -- seeing my parents and grandfather, getting a quick visit with Kevin's extended family in California -- and we're looking forward to this weekend with his parents and sisters and spouses. But we will definitely be ready for things to slow down (hopefully?!?) next week.

Whew!

Calling all mothers!

2007-10-16T08:51:00.000-04:00

For all those moms out there (or even for those of you who know a mom), I'm looking for a little assistance...

I'm losing my mind

2007-10-08T10:32:00.000-04:00

Ok, I had heard about "pregnancy insanity", but never really thought much about it until recently...when I clearly began losing my mind. How is it possible to completely forget so many things. I mean, write something down for work, and then totally 100% delete it from my brain. I'll run across a note a week later and think, "Wait a minute. When did I write that down? Have I done that?" It is seriously the most disconcerting feeling. Like I have left part of my brain in a different purse. This is so totally unlike me...I tend to be a rather compulsive list-maker, scheduler, organizer -- and not just for me, it's what I get paid to do as well. So, you can see how this would be a problem at work.

Any day now I'm going to have to start leaving myself to-do lists on the bathroom mirror that say:

Brush teeth
Take shower
Get dressed

Or I'll walk right out the front door barefoot, in my pajamas, and not even realize anything is wrong. This better go away when the Littlest gets here, or I'll leave it somewhere -- at the park, at the grocery store, in a cab -- and won't even realize it until Kevin gets home and says, "Where's the baby?"

"Baby? We have a baby?"

Just a few pics from Asia!

2007-09-30T22:49:00.000-04:00

Our 3 week trip to Asia produced 900+ photos. Yep, more then even WE want to look at! So here are just a couple of highlights from our stops...

On our first day in Hong Kong, we took the tram to the top of Victoria Peak where we could view a very cloud-shrouded Hong Kong and Kowloon Bay.

This shot in Bangkok is of Kevin with one of the guadians of the Wat Phra Kaeo temple.

Here I am with the Reclining Buddha at Wat Po in Bangkok. It was huge!

Here's Kevin inside the Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia, overlooking the surrounding valley.

Angkor Wat

We rode an elephant to Phnom Bahkeng, a temple at the top of a hill that overlooks the surrounding valley. From there you have an amazing view of the sunset.

On our last day in Cambodia we went to Ta Prohm, which seriously looked like something from Indiana Jones.

Back in Bangkok, Kevin gave me a day of Thai cooking school for my birthday.

Then that night we went to a Muay Thai boxing match at Lumpini Stadium.

Our last week was in Bali, which has some amazing sunsets.

This sunset was towards of the end of our trip over the Tanah Lot temple.

Our final photo of the trip...leaving paradise, back to reality.

The Bug in the Big Apple

2007-09-26T11:36:00.000-04:00

Last weekend, my "little" brother came to visit for a few days. I say "little", which is actually a misnomer. He is much bigger then I am (or at least taller -- give me a few weeks, and I'll definitely be wider), but will remain for all eternity, my little brother. That's just how it works. I hadn't seen him since Christmas, and he hadn't been to New York in over 3 years. It was fantastic to have him visit.

It was a rather laid back weekend, in all. On Friday afternoon we went to the Natural History Museum to see all the stuffed animals from all over the world artfully arranged in their "natural" habitat. We also went to a show in the planetarium called "Cosmic Collisions". This rather picturesque bit of ridiculousness was narrated by Robert Redford, and insists that billions of years ago, when earth was a new planet orbiting around the sun, an enormous space rock crashed into it with terrifying force. This caused all manner of molten hot rock debris to shoot out into space, and immediately start orbiting the earth. Over the course of 1 MONTH (according to Robert) all this molten hot rock debris clumped together and formed itself into our moon. So now, this freak space collision knocked our planet off its axis so that now we have 4 perfect seasons, and also created the moon which rather perfectly controls the tides on our planet. Reeeeeeeeeally.

The other great part about the planetarium is this rather lofty statement. As we are queueing up to go in, the announcer says, "Once inside, please move to the end of the row and leave no empty seats. All seats in the theater offer equal views of the universe." Wow, really? From anywhere we sit in this theater in the middle of Manhattan, I have equally excellent view of the whole universe? Who knew?

On Saturday we went out to to the Bronx to see the Yankees play the Blue Jays, in what had to be the longest baseball game in the history of the universe (which you can see perfectly from 81st Street and Central Park West). The 1:00 p.m. game didn't start until 2:30 p.m. due to a rain delay, which we got to sit through. Then the game just dragged on and on. Hey, don't get me wrong. I love baseball games. But this took forever. By the end of the 9th inning it was tied 11 to 11, and there had been no home runs. We decided we had gotten the full value of our tickets, and left...which is a big thing for us, as Kevin and I practically have a religious conviction about leaving games early. We got home in time to see the recap of the game, which finally ended in the 10th inning.

Sunday was nothing but church, napping on the couch, and football -- with Kevin working on a 10 page paper for school thrown in there. I was able to enjoy one of the truly great life experiences available...that is, watching a Dallas Cowboys game with my brother. He is a crazy die-hard Cowboys fan, and a loss on Sunday will ruin his entire week. Because of his work schedule, this was the first game he was able to watch this season. It was fantastic! He sits on the edge of the couch the whole game, and yells at both teams. He actually yells things like, "Come on! Kill him! Make him die!" This is serious stuff. Thankfully, the Cowboys won, and my brother will be able to live in peace for at least this week.

Here are a few pics from the baseball game...Enjoy!

We're Back!

2007-09-16T10:01:00.000-04:00

We got home from Asia last Friday, and it's been a whirlwind week! I'm just now getting the chance to sit down and pen a quick update. Our trip was fantastic! It was really like 3 vacations in one. We saw the city sights of Hong Kong and Bangkok, hiked the temples of Cambodia, and then recouped on the beaches of Bali. It was perfect!

We left on Sunday night the 19th and arrived in Hong Kong early Tuesday morning the 21st. Blessedly, we slept 10 hours on the flight...which is an absolute miracle! I NEVER sleep on planes without a little medical assistance, which is unavailable due to the presence of Baby Clem. So, I was thrilled that I actually slept at all, much less 10 hours! (Of course, there was the requisite 6 trips to the bathroom -- another joy I can attribute to the presence of the Littlest.) We arrived in Hong Kong at 5:30 a.m., stored our luggage, and hopped the Airport Express into the city. We spent the entire hot, oppressively humid day seeing HK, as it was the only day we were going to get there. We took the tram to the top of Victoria Peak and drank iced coffee overlooking the very overcast city; we tried to visit a food market that was MIA; we took the Star Ferry across to Kowloon; we walked up Nathan Road and were hounded to buy tailored suits; we ate Cantonese food down a little street off of Nathan Road. Hong Kong is intersting, but is really just a very large city. Exhausted, we caught the Airport Express back, grabbed our bags, checked in, and mercifully had a shower at the airport before we caught our 10:30 p.m. flight to Bangkok, and slept the whole way!

As a city, we enjoyed Bangkok more. We were there a total of 5 days and visited amazing Buddhist temples in the city; we saw the extremely holy, 18-inch tall Emerald Buddha and the unbelievable 50-yard gold Reclining Buddha; we had traditional Thai massages; we rode boats up and down the Chao Praya River; we visited a food market and drank iced coffee out of a plastic bag; we went to half day of Thai cooking school; we spent one night at Lumpini Stadium watching Muay Thai boxing; we rode the Sky Train all over the city and ate lots of curry; we ate dinner one night at restaurant while reclining on a bed. It was fantastic!

Our 5 days in Bangkok were interrupted in the middle by 3 days in Cambodia, which was probably our favorite part of the trip. It was crazy hot and humid -- even worse then HK and Bangkok. We're talking nearly 100 degrees with humidity around 90%. Brutal. But the temples were amazing. We had a guide everyday named Madonna...no kidding (pronounced MA-doh-NA) and a driver named Key. They would pick us up in morning around 8:30 a.m. and we'd hike around the temples until we were ready to collapse, then they'd take us back to the hotel to recoup. They'd pick us up again around 3:00 p.m. and we'd go hit some more. We visited a land mine museum and tasted palm sugar from a woman on the side of the road; we rode an elephant to a temple on top of a hill to watch the sun set one night; we have the most amazing pictures of Angkor Wat, as well as plenty of other unbelievable temples you've never heard of; we had a Khmer massage one night in town, which was an experience to say the least; we rode around in a car and marveled at the mopeds driving everywhere that often carried entire families -- we're talking dad driving, carrying a baby, mom on the back with 2 toddles wedged between them; we saw people headed to market early in the morning on their bikes carrying bamboo cages off each side of the bike like saddlebags full of live chickens; we rode around town in the evenings in a Tuk Tuk -- a cart attached to the back of a motorcycle; and on and on and on. It was a truly remarkable 3 days.

Finally, we spent a week in Bali, where the weather was blissfully perfect, doing nothing but laying by the pool reading. After the 2 week boot camp vacation we'd had, the week in Bali was absolute perfection.

We took about 900 photos, which we haven't even downloaded yet...but I'll post a couple of memorable ones once we get them all sorted out. We certainly felt protected the whole time. We never had a delayed or missed flight. We went through immigration about 16 times, and never had a problem. We never got sick, despite a few suspect meals and sketchy water. I can count on one hand the number of mosquito bites I got in Cambodia, which is a miracle in itself. Baby Clem was a champ, too! We loved the trip, and are finally now, a week later, starting to get our sleep schedule sorted out. But it was definitely worth every sleepless night we've had.

...And we're off!

2007-08-18T11:53:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow morning Kevin and I are headed for our last big travel adventure before we tackle a life adventure of a completely different kind! We leave in the morning for 3 weeks in Asia! We can hardly wait!!

We fly to LA in the morning, where we will spend the entire day soaking up the SoCal sun. We're actually meeting our dear friends Aaron and Karrie, who actually live in DC, but will be in LA for the day. Then that night we board a midnight flight for Hong Kong that arrives on Tuesday morning. The rest of our itinerary looks something like this...

Day 1 in Hong Kong, but night 1 we fly to Bangkok
3 nights in Bangkok
3 nights in Siem Reap, Cambodia
2 nights in Bangkok
1 night in Hong Kong
7 nights in Bali -- laying on the beach!
1 night in Hong Kong
Then we fly from Hong Kong back to JFK

We have been planning and strategizing for months, and now we're finally going! It's hard to believe. I'm running around today -- much as I've been doing all week -- doing those last minute things that you have to accomplish before you leave for 3 weeks. You know, stopping mail and newpapers, buying guide books, buying sunscreen, bug repellent and first aid stuffs, buying snacks for the preggo since I'm hungry about every 30 minutes, buying new clothes and swimsuits (go here for that lesson in frustration), charging cameras, packing, unpacking, re-packing, cleaning up the apartment, cleaning out the fridge, double checking reservations...and the list goes on and on. Kevin is in Chicago this weekend, so I've been tackling it single-handedly...he'll fly in tonight in time to pack his bag, go to sleep, then get up and go. We've both had our fair share of craziness for the past few weeks, and are so anxious to get away and unplug completely...no phones, email, BlackBerries, TV...nothing!

You know, it's funny...usually when we travel I work really hard to "blend in". I try not to wear or carry anything that screams TOURIST, much less AMERICAN. Then I realized, that on this trip, I'm pretty much going to stick out no matter what I do...not to mention my 6'4" red-headed husband! Kind of funny...

Anyway, just wanted to send a fond farewell, and let you know I'll be back in a couple of weeks. Below I've included a map so you can visualize where we'll be for the next few weeks! And, but the time we get back, it will be autumn in NYC...my FAVORITE time of the year!!!

Happy Birthday to Us!

2007-08-15T11:00:00.001-04:00

About a week and a half ago Kevin and I celebrated our birthdays. I turned 31 on the 3rd, and he hit the big 3-0 on the 4th. So this year's celebration was all about him. While I couldn't quite pull off stretch limousines and surprise hotel suites, I did have a trick or two up my sleeve. I had our friends Hicks & Dana fly in to surprise Kevin for the weekend. He knew about a big dinner I had planned on the 4th for 10 people, but didn't know of smaller dinner on Friday night with Hicks & Dana, his cousin Carrie (Tom graciously stayed home with the 3 kiddos when they couldn't get a babysitter) and our friends Matt & Laura who couldn't make it Saturday night. We had a fantastic dinner at a place called Fig & Olive down in the Meatpacking District. I don't get to pull it off very often, but Kevin was truly surprised!

The girls at dinner -- me, Dana, Carrie & Laura

Here's the crew after dinner -- Hicks & Matt on the right, and Kevin acting as photographer.

Dana, Carrie, Hicks and the Birthday Boy!

The next night we met friends at this great BBQ place called Hill Country down in Chelsea. We stuffed ourselves with Texas-style BBQ and just hung out for a couple of hours. It was a great night and a full, fun birthday weekend!

The Birthday Boy blowing out his candle...

One final shot of the b'day pair after a long celebration weekend!

Pathetic

2007-08-01T10:37:00.000-04:00

Okay, okay...I know! After I jumped all over Tami for not updating her blog, I look back to see that I haven't written anything new since mid-June. Really sorry. But I promise I have a really good excuse! Here's what's been going on in our lives since then...

True New York Experience

2007-06-13T18:27:00.000-04:00

Last month, Kevin's company -- Huron Consulting Group -- had their 5 year anniversary. It was rather momentous, as they were formed from the ashes of Arthur Andersen, and have gone on to be a wildly successful company. To celebrate their 5 year anniversary, they got to ring the opening bell at the NASDAQ. The company drew names to determine the 20 people who would get to participate...and Kevin was one of the ones chosen! Here are a few pics he took at the event, and if you go here you can see official photos taken during the ringing. The NASDAQ is right in Times Square, which you can kind of see in the second two pictures. Enjoy!

Two Weekends Running...

2007-06-08T09:08:00.001-04:00

For the last two weekends we have been going non-stop! And while we had a fantastic time, we are so ready for a weekend of laying on the couch doing nothing! Fortunately, that is exactly what this coming weekend will provide.

For Memorial Day weekend we flew down to Atlanta with our friends Matt & Laura to meet up with Hicks & Dana -- former New Yorkers who relocated back home last fall -- and Kevin & Marcie -- other former New Yorkers who moved to Pittsburgh, but are about to become New Jersey-ans. We had been planning this weekend since Hicks & Dana moved back to Atlanta. Dana's parents have a lake house outside Atlanta, and we took it over for the weekend! We spent 3 days in swimsuits playing in the lake...swimming, sunning, tubing, skiing, wakeboarding, barefooting, jet skiing, etc. As Dana was the chef, we ate like kings all weekend. We played hard, and got home late Monday night absolutely exhausted.

Here are a few pics of Kevin trying to get up on the barefoot boom that was extended off the side of the ski boat...

Here's Hicks showing how it's supposed to be done...

After getting home from Atlanta with Matt & Laura late Monday night, the four of us turned around and flew to Maine on Friday night. Matt & Laura grew up together in Portland, and have been together since about 7th grade, when apparently, Matt was the coolest kid in school (according to Laura). Matt is, I'm sure, the only person on the planet who would choose to to go back and re-live 7th grade because it was so great. I would personally choose to wipe those awkward Junior High years from my memory, but whatever.

We were scheduled to catch a 9:40 p.m. flight from JFK that got us into Portland at 11:20 p.m. We got to JFK at 8:00 p.m. so they guys could check their golf clubs. Friends, our flight finally took off at about 2:00 a.m. Seriously. They said the delays were due to weather, but we couldn't see any problems outside. When we found out the next morning about the terror plot to blow up JFK the day before, we wondered if that had been the hold-up. Sure, that makes sense...people are trying to blow up the fuel lines at the airport...let's keep as many people stuck there as possible! (No one worry -- we were never in any danger!)

All of that to say, we got into bed in Maine at 4:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. Then, we had to get up at 4:00 a.m. Monday morning to catch our 6:00 a.m. flight back to NY so everyone could go to work. 48 short hours. But in those 48 hours we hung out with Matt's parents, got the grand tour of Portland, Scarborough, Cape Elizabeth and Freeport, we visited the LL Bean store, the guys played golf, the girls went to the Old Port Festival, we ate lots of seafood -- mussels, scallops, lobsta rolls, seafood chowda (that's how it's pronounced in Maine) -- we went to an osprey sanctuary and visited light houses. It was fantastic! We had chilly weather, which was great after leaving New York in 90F and 90% humidity. It was a very homey weekend. We loved it!

Who needs a dryer?

2007-05-29T17:47:00.001-04:00

For those of you who have never been to our home, we live in what might generously be 500 square feet in a brownstone that was built in 1904. It's a fantastic apartment with hardwood floors, exposed brick walls, a lovely (albeit non-working) fireplace, hissing radiators, and, at the moment, an insidious pigeon infestation. We love it. What it lacks in space and modern conveniences it more then makes up for in charm.

One of the things we don't have is a washer and dryer. There isn't even one in our building. We drop our clothes off at the laundry place down the block, where for $1.00 a pound they wash, dry and fold all our clothing and intimate apparel. Once you get over the fact that some stranger is pawing through your unmentionables, it's actually one of my favorite things about New York. However, it does leave me with a problem on occasion when I have delicates that need to be laundered. See, while the Chinese Laundry is great for most all our clothes, there is no escaping the fact that they dump all our clothes in an industrial washer, add some industrial detergent, and then industriously pound them into cleanliness. For anything that needs a little more TLC then that, I wait until I have a shopping bag of clothing to be hand washed, and then spend an hour washing it in the pedestal sink in our bathroom, and rinsing everything in the bathtub.

I tackled a huge amount of hand washing today...it was just time. After washing tights, pajamas, swimsuits, sweaters and lingerie, I then had to find a way to dry it all. It looks like a closet exploded in our small bathroom today...there are clothes everywhere -- hanging on the shower fixtures, draped over the curtain rod, covering our one small drying rack. Since our little bathroom has no ventilation, a set up a floor fan to blow in there, and then turned on the vent to pull out all of the humidity. It's like one of those really expensive drying cabinets you can buy on those fancy schmancy dryers. Only it's my bathroom...and it's free! Sometimes I marvel at my own genius...and level of boredom.

Anyway, I thought I'd give all of my friends out there in large apartments and 3-4 bedroom homes a reason to smile, sigh a big sigh, and thank God for your laundry room.

I've got nothing...

2007-05-20T15:22:00.000-04:00

You know, for the last month I've thought at least once a day, "I should really write a new post on my blog." And the reason that I haven't is that I have got absolutely nothing to say. I have opened up a new post a dozen times, typed a few lines, rolled my eyes, and deleted it. Why waste your time and mine saying nothing? My sis-in-law Kelly got on to me for it. A self-proclaimed "blog stalker", she loves seeing what we're up to, and all of our friends too. I have to say, we have friends with some pretty darn adorable kiddos. Your blogs are way more fun to look at then ours. Anyway, Kel says that when I don't write she doesn't know what's going on with us. I know how she feels. When I visit my friends blogs and they haven't changed, I feel like they are still where they were when they posted last...kind of stalled in that moment. Then, when they post something new, I'm excited to see they've been doing something! So, accordingly, I have been stalled on April 25th for nearly a month now. Which, I guess, isn't too far from the truth. I might as well still be on April 25th, as I feel like I've done very little since then.

Spring has come to New York, and the weather is holding steady in the 70's. Now that it has warmed up, I can run in Central Park again without feeling like I'm breathing in ice crystals. It's magical to watch the seasons change in the park. The cherry trees blossomed and shed their blooms in the space of 2 weeks. If you blink, you miss it. At their peak, they are so extravagantly beautiful they almost hurt your eyes.

We had dinner last week with Nate, a friend of ours from Pepperdine. He lives in DC, and was in town for an event with Rudy Giuliani. He invited us to join him for dinner with a couple of the staff members from Giuliani's campaign. You know, government and politics are pretty impressive until you realize that it is mostly run by "kids" our age. I can't decide if that makes me hopeful or scares me to death.

Mother's Day came and went, and I was awestruck yet again my the amazing mothers around me. Not just my own and my husband's...who are both remarkable women AND amazing mothers. But also my friends who are the most extraordinary mothers. I am sure that Kevin and I will have children one day, and I am overwhelmingly blessed to have these moms in my life as examples. I have the chance to watch them be moms, friends, wives, homemakers, and career women simultaneously. They may be occasionally overwhelmed by what they must accomplish in a day...but are always overwhelmed by the blessings in their lives. They have been generous enough to honestly share their joys, burdens, friendship, frustrations, and blessings with me...not to mention their children. It is a gift I hold dearly, and do not take lightly.

Our friends Amber (one of those amazing moms) and Audra came to New York this past week, and crashed on our couch/floor for 3 nights. They saw the city from top to bottom, navigated the subways like pros, and partied like rock stars in the Meatpacking District until 4:45 a.m. These girls know how to make the most of a vacation! On Friday night they didn't even go to bed! They stayed up until they had to catch a cab to the airport at 6:00 a.m. Kev and I were impressed! Having people visit NYC for the first time always makes me see the city with fresh eyes. I am thankful for that.

It's a lazy Sunday afternoon. Kev is reading Conde Nast Traveler and dreaming of our next vacation. (Though, if you know Kevin, you know there aren't many times when he's not dreaming of our next vacation.) I'm writing this much delayed post, surfing my friend's blogs, and looking forward to a nap. (By the way, if you have the time, check out April Spicer's blog. Another one of my remarkable mom friends, she just had her second baby last week and has the sweetest pics on her blog.) None of these things were sufficient for a post on their own...but I guess they work okay together.

I hope everyone had great weekends, and are looking forward to Memorial Day next weekend! Hmm...maybe I'll have something to write about then!

Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'...

2007-04-25T10:43:00.000-04:00

I was in Dallas about a week ago to spend some time with my family. All of my dear friends in the DFW area are going to read that and say, "WHAT?!? You didn't even call us!" I know, guys. I'm sorry!

It was the 1 year anniversary of my grandmother's death. She passed away on April 14th of last year from cancer at the age of 85. I knew the anniversary was going to be tough on my mom and grandfather, so I wanted to be there to share that with them. My grandfather is 84 and is more active then I am. He spent his entire career as a CPA at a firm he founded, and when he "retired" at 65, he became a certified financial planner and now owns a new company. He goes to work every single day...weekends too, sometimes! The man is amazing. Anyway, for better or worse, Nana passed away on April 14...the day before tax day. Papa still handles the taxes for a few of his long time clients, so he literally worked until around 9pm every night I was there, including Saturday and Sunday. It's a stressful time, I know, but I can't help but think that it's not a bad thing that he stays as busy as he does at that time.

It's hard to believe a year has passed since her funeral. Last year we were out at the gravesite and it was over 100 degrees! This year, when we went out to lay flowers on her grave it was freezing. Guess that's Texas weather for you.

So many things have been reminding me recently of how time goes screaming by. My sweet friend Dana's little girl Sydney turns 1 on May 1st. How can it have been a year? I was at the hospital when she was born, crying and taking pictures as the grandparents saw her for the first time. I took my cousin Carrie's son Thomas to Super Soccer Stars yesterday...his little soccer class. It's the punkin'-est thing you've ever seen. 10 little 2-year-olds running little soccer drills and trying to kick balls into nets without falling down. All the way on there he's chatting non-stop about what he sees..."Tracey, ambulence! Look, ambulence! Look, big white truck! Look, yellow taxi! Tracey, another yellow taxi! Look, yellow tulip! Look, bumblebee! Bzzz!" Wasn't it just last week that we visited him in Neo-natal ICU because he was born 5 weeks early (but still 7lbs. 7oz.!!) ?

I guess being around kids does that...they grow and change so much, so fast. You can't believe they were once so little!

But more then that. I can't believe we've been in New York for 3 1/2 years. Didn't we just get here? I can't believe we've been married for more then 7! As far as we're concerned, we're still on our honeymoon! I can't believe I'm 30. I don't feel any different then when I was in college. I still feel like Kev and I are kids playing house...not real, responsible adults, living and working in New York City. Please!!

I'm sure it only gets worse...time only seems to speed up the older you get. But at this moment, it makes me more aware of the need to savor it. To stop floating through it half-aware. To be a little more tuned-in, eyes wide open. To be more present. It's sometimes easy to look ahead so much that you miss right now. I want to be more involved in right now. Otherwise, I'll turn around again and right now will be a year ago, and I'll wonder where it went.

I'm dreaming of a white...EASTER?!?

2007-04-07T09:09:00.000-04:00

It's Easter Eve, and it's 34 degrees outside with predicted snow flurries. I mean, come on! We have the warmest winter on record, but we start getting snow in April? We've had snow flurries the last two days, with more to come. And we're not the only ones! Dallas is predicted to get snow. What?!

Kevin's parents and younger sister are in town this weekend, and are currently off trying to score tickets for Jersey Boys tonight. I am home baking bread and getting ready to go to kickboxing (Yay!). We are hosting Easter brunch tomorrow morning before church for Kev's family and our dearest friends Matt & Laura, so I'm putting the finishing touches on a few things so all I have to do in the morning is throw them in the oven. Later this afternoon we are headed over to Carrie & Tom's to dye Easter eggs with little Thomas. Then I guess we'll go outside and play "Hide the Easter Eggs in a Snow Drift." Geez.

To Yoga, or Not to Yoga...

2007-03-29T18:50:00.000-04:00

I told someone recently that I have this theory: There are two kinds of people in the world...people who do yoga, and people who don't do yoga. I'm not entirely sure what separates the yoga-ers from the non-yoga-ers, but I'm sure there is a common denominator.

I fall firmly into the non-yoga camp. I finish an hour and a half of yoga, and then have to go have a "real" workout. Exercise that can be done in your pajamas to soft, soothing elevator music, with a full face of make-up on, without even breaking a sweat, is not exercise. Oh, and I don't "Om". I'm sorry, I just can't. Every time we get to the "Om" part, I start laughing. I mean, really. What is that about?

I'm less yoga and more kickboxing, and it is not pretty. If I don't leave class red-faced, sweating through my clothes and feeling embarrassed about standing too close to people on the subway, then I have wasted my time. I'm sure this says something about my restless, Type A, high D, control-freakish personality living in a multi-tasking, caffeinated world of constant stimulation. Whatever. All I know is that my blissed-out hour of roundhouse kicks and uppercuts on Saturday morning flies by...but 15 minutes into yoga and my eyes start glazing over. I could burn as many calories at home...for free...sleeping.

Now, I shouldn't disparage yoga. I have many friends who are firm believers in it, touting its benefits to body, mind and spirit. And I know that to have a well-rounded physical routine, it should include some form of stretching. I try to fit in the occasional yoga class. Tomorrow, for instance, I'm going to a 10am yoga class at my gym. Why, you ask? Well, they don't have a kickboxing class on Fridays. And I did wash and dry my hair today...if I go do yoga I won't have to worry about sweating. I guess I'll just work twice as hard at kickboxing on Saturday.

Alright, everyone, say it with me.

Ommmmmmm...

Aimless

2007-03-26T20:19:00.000-04:00

Ever have one of those days that if there were an entire roll of Nestle's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough in the fridge, you would definitely eat the entire thing? Or, while you don't want to open a bottle -- cause that would definitely make you an alcoholic -- if there were an open bottle of wine in the fridge, you'd probably use the whole thing to wash down the cookie dough?

It's one of those days in my world.

I don't even think I can articulate what's going on with me. I'm standing in the center of a whole world of grey (with cookie dough in one hand and a wine glass in the other), and I've got no idea which way to go. On Sunday, our pastor talked about our all-knowing God who knows the path before us, even though we can't see it. He said that uncertainty is normal, it's a natural feeling, but that we should give God our uncertainty.

My problem is, I'm having a really hard time "giving God my uncertainty" when I am the one who has created the uncertainty. I'm the one who has abandoned the path. I don't deserve the help, since I'm the disobedient, willful child who veered off-course...so I'm not asking for it. I'm the one who has been presented with opportunities, and has chosen fear over faith. I'm the one who sat in the boat -- safely seat-belted and life-jacketed -- while Christ beckoned on the waves. Now that he's back in the boat, giving me what I imagine to be a rather disappointed look, I want to jump over the side and do it one my own...I certainly don't deserve his help since I turned down the offer the first time. The first 500 times.

So I stand here in my self-created greyness with no direction, no certainty, no point...and clearly no intention of asking for help. I throw my hands up and stomp around in a circle. I tell God what an idiot I am. He knows. I apologize over and over for being so faithless in the face of his continued faithfulness. He shakes his head a little sadly. I look back at choices I've made and wonder if I've learned anything in this life. I look around and realize I am stranded...aimless. And I know He's standing just over my shoulder waiting for me to turn around and ask. Just ask. But, you see, I've blown it. I missed my chance. I refused to trust. I have missed the blessing He wanted to give me. The situation where He wanted to use me. I'm the unfaithful servant with one talent who buried it in the ground. I'm the servant who's talent has been taken away, and who is now standing in front of big closed door with empty pockets and a heart full of woulda, shoulda, coulda.

Yeah...it sucks.

So, I'd like to say that after all of this deep soul searching, and mind-numbing mental self-mortification, I came to some epiphany, some light at the end of the tunnel. Not really. But I feel like the saying it out loud, so to speak, is part of the process. It has been gnawing on me for weeks, and today I knew I had to do something...let some part of it become words. Hey, why not online. Confession heals the soul, right? I still don't know what I'm doing. I still have no idea what point my life serves. I still feel sick about the "No's" I've said to God. He has every right to wash His hands of me, and move on to more promising candidates.

I just have to take a deep breath, and cling to the prodigal son. I have no problem admitting that I am the son, opportunities squandered, knee-deep in the muck, knowing I don't deserve to be considered hired help, much less beloved daughter. I just haven't quite made it over the edge of the hill to see the Father racing towards me, arms outstretched, fattened calf at the ready.

I'm not quite there yet...but almost.

In the meantime, pass the cookie dough.

A Taste of Spring

2007-03-23T10:53:00.000-04:00

After a crazy snow storm last Friday (which we missed), this Friday it's already 61 degrees at 11 a.m. Yesterday was the first day we had warm weather - in the 60's - and walking by Riverside Park it looked like the entire city took the afternoon off. There were executives in business suits sitting on park benches with their laptops, or pacing the sidewalk talking on the phone and smoking cigars. There was a boy sitting on an enormous rock outcropping practicing his violin. Every stay-at-home mom and nanny in the city was out, thankful to be able to let their kids run around outside. The sidewalks looked like stroller parking lots. We slept with our windows wide open last night...it was nice to feel like spring was finally coming.

Our trip to California was fantastic! I won't bore you with details, but we had an amazing drive up the coast...gorgeous weather! We spent time with college friends in LA and family friends in Santa Rosa. We had a couple of spectacular wine tastings in Napa, a wonderful night in San Francisco, and 2 full days in Riverside with Kev's family. We even had a bonus day as our flight home Monday morning was cancelled because of weather and we had to stay one more night. It gave us a chance to walk the 3rd street Promenade in Santa Monica, drive up to Malibu, climb the cliffs at Point Dume, and eat fish tacos for dinner at the Barefoot Bar at Duke's. Perfect ending to the trip!

We are home, and so looking forward to weekend to recoup after all the travel. That 3 hour time difference is brutal...I need a weekend to recover from my vacation! (I know, I know...pathetic.) We are looking forward to lounging on the couch and watching our March Madness brackets either boom or bust.

I hope you are tasting spring where you are, as well!

Goin' West to California...Part 2

2007-03-09T10:46:00.000-05:00

It's been a bit of a whirlwind since I got back from California, and as I'm writing this, I'm preparing to head back to the West Coast again!

As a quick recap, the first trip to California with Carrie and her kiddos was fantastic! We had a smooth trip to the airport, across the country, and all the way to Riverside...which, with 3 small children and 6 large bags is no small miracle. My 4 days out there were such fun. I rented a car on Thursday morning and drove from Riverside through LA to Agoura to visit Amber for one night. We had a low key 24 hours together -- lunch at Corner Bakery, a rainy afternoon on the couch watching Oprah and Dr. Phil, a swing through the Oaks mall in Thousand Oaks, and the dinner with Tami, another dear college friend and bridesmaid, at the Cheesecake Factory.

On Friday, I drove back to Riverside, turned in the car, and spent the rest of the weekend with Kevin's 3 cousins -- Becky, Kristen, and Carrie -- and their collective 7 children! We had a great time. I flew back home on Monday night late, arriving Tuesday morning, spent 3 days here, and then flew to Dallas for a weekend with Kevin's family. His older sister Jamie and her fiance' Randy are headed to South America indefinitely, so flew down to bid them farewell!

We are back in New York now, but are leaving again on Monday for California. We're flying into LA, renting a car, and headed up the coast. We're staying one night with Amber and Jeremy in Agoura before heading north. Our first night on the road will be in a yurt in Big Sur. Then we're driving up to stay in Santa Rosa with family friends and a few days of exploring Napa. Then it's back down to Riverside for a visit with Kevin's grandmother before we fly back home.

So looking forward to that blissful SoCal sun!

Goin' West to California

2007-02-19T10:43:00.000-05:00

It is currently 15 degrees outside, with winds between 20 and 25 mph...occasionally gusting to 40 mph. Kids, it is cold outside. Our radiators are hissing away, but with 2 window air conditioner units, there is always a slight chill. It's about this time each winter that I start craving spring so badly I can taste it. If I have to put on a scarf, hat, gloves, boots and a coat one more time, I may run screaming down the street. And I LOVE winter! But this time of year feels like we will never ever be warm again...it will be 20 degrees until I die.

Blessedly, I only have to put up with it for 2 more days, and then I get a reprieve. On Wednesday afternoon I'm flying to Southern California for 5 whole days. I can hardly wait!

My cousin Carrie (she's actually officially Kevin's cousin...but I claim her as my own!) has recruited me to go with her to CA to help her get her 3 small children out there for a much needed visit with grandparents and aunties. Her twins (7 months old) will get to meet their great-grandmother for the very first time. Carrie will get to meet her new little niece (6 weeks old) for the first time. I get to go with them, get a break from the monotony of winter, see my friend Amber, spend some time with Kevin's family, and play with some of my favorite kids on the whole planet! I'm really looking forward to it.

Hmmm...according to weather .com, it's supposed to be 68 degrees and sunny this weekend. Pefection!

Guess I better get started packing my Reefs, t-shirts, and sunglasses.

What kind of reader are you?

2007-02-08T21:23:00.000-05:00

My friend April brought up a very interesting point about reading. There are essentially two kinds of people in the world...well, I should say two kinds of readers in the world. There are Library Readers and there are Barnes & Noble Readers. April, as well as my husband Kevin, are Library Readers. They get a book, read it, and are done. With very few exceptions, they have no desire to re-read a book they have already read. I mean, come on...what's the point? You already know what happens! No suspense, no drama. Boring!

I, on the other hand, am a Barnes & Noble Reader. If I like a book, I will read it numerous times. Why, you ask? It's like re-visiting an old friend. I have invested time, energy and emotion in these characters, this storyline. Sure, I know what's going to happen...but I enjoy watching happen again anyway.

Kevin will start a book, then, for whatever reason, put it down and not pick it up for years. When he does, he'll briefly skim the part he already read, and then pick up where he left off. In contrast, when a new Harry Potter book comes out, I will go back re-read every Harry Potter book that came before so I'm all caught up with the storyline. I've read some of those books 4 times!

April says, "I have always thought people were NUTS for re-reading a book. Real book nerds do that." Yes, I have been called a book nerd a time or two...and I'm okay with that. I am a nerd in many areas. I own my nerdiness.

So...what kind of reader are you?

Book #3 -- Alpana Pours

2007-01-31T02:37:00.000-05:00

I have never been one to have multiple books going at the same time. I guess you could say I've always been a monogamous reader. New York has kind of changed that. So much of my reading is done on the Subway that I have to have books small enough to fit in my bag without contributing to my already strained shoulder. This causes me to have one book only for "on the go" and another book only for "on the couch". My "on the couch" book, which I'm still working on, is a full sized hardback with 641 pages. A little much to schlep around town. So this was my "on the go" book that I picked up on a whim at B&N.

Alpana Pours, is a non-fiction wine and lifestyle book, by Alpana Singh, one of the youngest people ever to reach the level of Master Sommelier. It is a lighthearted book about de-mystifying wine...making it more understandable and more approachable. I'm a big wine fan, and thought this might be interesting for picking up tips on choosing wines, as well as food and wine pairings for dinner parties and dining out. While the book does provide some helpful tips, it is mostly disappointing. I felt like Alpana was trying just a little too hard to sound cool, sexy, and edgy. A few too many unsolicited dating tips...how to pick a guy based on the wine he picks. A few too many unnecessary innuendos. Trying a bit too hard to be "Sex and the City".

To be fair, this book delivers exactly what it promises..."About Being a Woman, Loving Wine & Having Great Relationships." So, if you're wanting something more along the lines of the 840 page Oxford Companion to Wine, Alpana Pours is probably not for you. If you want a few general, helpful tips, this isn't bad...but there are probably better books on the market.

Book #2 -- Three Junes

2007-01-22T16:57:00.000-05:00

My second book of 2007 is Three Junes, by Julia Glass, and was recommended to me by my boss right after the holidays.

Pause -- I just remembered that many of you may not know that I'm working as a personal assistant for a wonderful woman here in the city. She is an executive with a financial company and found that with all that she had going on in her life, things were slipping through the cracks. A friend of mine from chuch recommended me, and I've been working as her PA since September. I work out of her home on the Upper East Side and do everything from financial records and organizing insurance appraisals to buying clothes and designing her Christmas cards. It's a flexible and fun job...and one you don't find very often outside of NY and LA. -- Unpause.

As we were going over her Christmas card returns, one of them was from a woman she went to school with (I believe). My boss -- we'll call her W -- said, "Julia's an author. In fact, you might enjoy her first book, Three Junes. It's one of the best books I've ever read." Well, how can you not rush out and buy a book someone claims may be one of the best they've ever read? And W is a serious reader!

Three Junes is is the story of a Scottish family, the McLeod's, during three key summers, and stretches from the Greek Isles, to Scotland to New York City. The book is divided into three sections, with each section centering on one member of the family...first the father, Paul, after the death of his wife Maureen. The second, Fenno, the oldest son, immediately after the death of his father, Paul. And finally, Fern, who you meet in the first section.

To boil it down to a sentence, it is a beautifully written story about the choices people make and living with consequences of those choices...both good and bad. Ms. Glass' writing is colorful and emotional...you can easily picture the locations, and the people. Some of the situations she writes about are heartbreaking, yet sadly, very real. (One of the sons is gay and lives in NYC during the rise of AIDS, losing friend after friend. Another son and his wife struggle with the inability to have children.) And it's very satisfying how her story comes full circle in the end.

I must warn you, should you read the book, some of the scenes in Fenno's life in NYC can be disturbing. Not graphic, necessarily, but definitely unsettling in their depiction of the homosexual lifestyle and the effects of AIDS. I don't want to end all of my book reviews with a disclaimer, but, then again, I'd hate for my friends to pick up a book on my recommendation, and halfway through go, "WHAT?!?"

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted

2007-01-19T20:56:00.000-05:00

I learned this week of the death of one of the most amazing young men I have ever known -- Adam Langford. Adam was serving as a missionary in Uganda when he was killed in an automobile accident, along with another member of his team.

I feel like I've known the Langford clan my whole life. I grew up at Quail Springs Church of Christ with the Langford family, and his older brother Ben and I were best friends from the end of high school into college. His family was my second family and his two younger brothers, Adam and Jonathan, were like my brothers. Those amazing Langford boys had hearts that were completely sold out for Christ. They knew He had a calling on their lives, and they were eager to go anywhere, do anything to serve Him.

Adam was the kindest, funniest, most talented "kid". He had a contagious laugh and a heart of pure gold. He never met a stranger, and was fearless in his faith. I believe that a bright light has gone out on earth now that Adam has gone home.

My love and heartbroken prayers go out to his parents, Terry & Kathy, to Ben, Kym and Eli, to Jon, and the rest of his family. My prayers of praise go to God for Adam's precious life and the hundreds and hundreds of people he has blessed. Adam loved the Lord and followed Him fearlessly. I pray that I might do the same.

For more about the ministry being done in Uganda, visit www.jinjamissions.org.

Book #1 -- Julie & Julia

2007-01-17T17:44:00.000-05:00

So, in my quest to read more books this year (stop laughing, Kevin!), thought I'd blog about the ones I've read to, "a. of all") hold me accountable to actually reading, and "b. of all") provide you -- whoever you are or aren't -- with book ideas, or not, as the case may be.

My first book of 2007 was a memoir -- Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously, by Julie Powell. I received this book for Christmas from my sister-in-law Kelly who knows that I am an aspiring chef and absolute food nerd! Julie Powell is a would-be actress in NYC working as a secretary (or "government drone" as she calls it) and living in Queens with her husband. Approaching age 30, she is absolutely lost...no acting jobs, no accomplishments, nothing to look forward to...hopeless. The only things that bring her any joy are cooking, drinking vodka gimlets and watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer. A strange sequence of events brings her in touch with the cooking classic Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. 1, by Julia Child, and Julie sets off to complete all 524 recipes in 365 days. And now the fun really starts!

The book details the year Julie spent cooking through Mastering the Art of French Cooking (or MtAoFC), the highs and lows, goods and bads. The successes and abyssmal failures. It is oftentimes laugh-out-loud funny...just as Kevin...he had to put up with me laughing. Julie's life is absolute drama...or, more to the point, Julie reacts to situations with absolute drama. She is witty, smart and a smart a$$. She is an oftentimes crass, serious liberal, dyed-in-the-wool Democrat, who thinks Republicans are sub-human, and is very vocal about her strongly held opinions. Even though our lives appear similar (Texas native, living in NYC, acting, cooking, approaching 30, etc.) we are more mirror images. She is all the things I am not, and I am all the things she hates.

Poignantly, there is a quote at the end of the book that Julie writes after finding out that Julia Child, whom she has never met, has died. She writes: "I have no claim over the woman at all, unless it's the claim one who has nearly drowned has over the person who pulled her out of the ocean." And I thought as I read that, "hmmm...much as I feel about Christ."

If you like food or cooking, this is a fantastic read. It makes you want to "cook dangerously" or at least with more daring then you have before. If you aren't necessarily a self-proclaimed food nerd, this is still a hilarious book about being thrust out of your everyday, normal, boring life into a adventure of your own making. If you can look past the rough language at times and the conservative bashing, I think you will find Julie a brash and funny ordinary person on a search for the extraordinary.

The 7-Year Itch

2007-01-11T22:43:00.000-05:00

Monday, January 8th was my 7 year wedding anniversary! Honestly...where did 7 years go?

On Saturday, Kevin and I flew to Lake Tahoe for a weekend in the mountains to celebrate. It was nice to actually see snow, since New York has been ridiculously warm. In fact, the day we flew out we packed our coats and wore short sleeves to the airport...it was 70 degrees! We stayed on the North Shore at the Hyatt and skied three days at Squaw Valley. Sunny weather everyday in the 40s...gorgeous!

We arrived Saturday night and stayed in Reno, since it was a little late to make the drive into Tahoe. We got off the plane around 10 p.m. (which is 1:00 a.m. body time) and stumbled down to baggage claim, only to find that 2 of our bags arrived...and one was stranded in Denver. Which one? The one with all the ski gear. We filed a claim, and United gave us vouchers so we could rent coats, pants, goggles, and gloves, and they actually bought us hats and thermals. After finally making through the line, filing our claim, and finding our rental car we were headed to our Residence Inn to crash.

Then, as we are driving down the highway, what do we see shining like a beacon off the highway, its bright, golden arrow pointing world weary travelers towards an haven of joy, welcoming home it's prodigal children? That's right...In 'n Out. We don't care how late it is. We don't care how tired we are. We KNOW that the cure to what ails is us a Double Double with cheese, hold the onions, and fresh-cut french fries. All is right with the world again.

We checked into the Hyatt, and then made our way to Tahoe Dave's for some gear. They outfitted us with all the requisite ski/board accoutrements and sent us out to the mountain. While we cut our teeth, so to speak, on the icy slopes of Southern California, we were seriously spoiled last year with feet and feet of fresh powder in Colorado. It took us awhile to remember how to navigate on snow that oftentimes felt more like we were skating. But we quickly remembered, and had 3 wonderful days at Squaw.

What can I say about 7 years of marriage? I can say that I truly never knew a person could have this much fun. I didn't know I was signing up for such an adventure. And I'm not talking about Mediterranean cruises and ski weekends. I mean the day to day routine of building a life the person you'd rather be with then anyone else on the planet. I mean the Saturday mornings and the Tuesday evenings. The nights on the town and the nights on the couch. The elegant 3-course dinners in chic New York restaurants, and the pad Thai at home in front of the TV. It's laundry, and movies, and cooking, and groceries, and alarm clocks, and musicals, and Bible studies, and grad school, and running in the park, and cleaning...and all the things that add up to life. Except that to me they are a never-ending, always surprising, breathless adventure...because I'm sharing them all with him.

Is it any wonder seven years feels like just the beginning?

Taking a stand!

2007-01-05T09:47:00.000-05:00

So, one of my other New Year's resolutions is to read more. Now, if my husband happens to read this he is going to laugh out loud. He thinks I read plenty of books. But I feel like I didn't read much last year, which is seriously not like me. Actually, the entire resolution is "more books, less internet". Do you ever feel that with the wealth of information literally at our fingertips, we are actually dumber? It's like, if it can't be communicated in one page view, one instant message, one 30 second spot, I can't be bothered with it. Well, I say no more! I say, more books! More handwritten letters! More thought provoking conversation! Let's expand our minds, people, not just our MySpace pages!

Don't get me wrong, I love the convenience, information and communication the internet offers. I would be lost without it. But I should be able to use the internet for those things without becoming a mindless drone slumped on the couch in my pajamas reading about Britney Spear's New Year's drama, watching SNL videos on YouTube, and playing Tetris. Pathetic.

So, this year I'm reading more books! I went to Barnes & Noble (well, to their website, anyway.) and took advantage of their post-holiday sale. I bought a bunch of stuff I've been wanting to read, but have been too busy downloading music from iTunes and webcam-ing with friends in Georgia to get to. I have a great stack started...which is a little inconvenient in a 500 square foot apartment. I'm completely out of bookcase room, and have started stacking books under the bed. Ah...someday I'll have a library. So I'll let you know what I've read, and if it's worth reading. And, if you have recommendations, please post them! I could always use another good book in my stack.

All I Want for Christmas

2007-01-04T09:20:00.000-05:00

I think it's definitely a sign of adulthood when at Christmastime you ask for, and receive cookware. And are so excited you want to do a little dance. Or maybe it's a sign that you should, a.) dream bigger, or b.) get out more. Either way, it was a cookware Christmas for Tracey! As I was approaching my 7 year wedding anniversary (Monday, in case you're curious), I realized that I could seriously use a kitchen upgrade. I am now the ecstatically proud new owner of one 8-inch All-Clad skillet, one 4-quart All-Clad sauce pan, and one 10-inch All-Clad all purpose brasier. It's cookery heaven!

On Christmas morning, instead of the 10-inch brasier, Santa actually brought me an enormous, shiny All-Clad lasagna pan. Clearly, Santa had not been in my kitchen, for when I got it home from Texas and put it into my oven (no, there was no lasagna in it), the oven door wouldn't even close. Sigh. So I had to return the large lasagna pan and get something that would fit in my miniscule oven...which is when I returned with the brasier. Imagine a 10-inch skillet, but instead of one long handle, it has two small handles on either side. It's, very cute actually, and made a delicious crusted chicken cacciatore two nights ago. Even with purging the old pans, I'm still having trouble finding cabinet/pot rack space for the new pans. Yes, that's how it is when you have one small cabinet for all your cooking/baking/mixing/ricing/spinning equipment, and one already overflowing makeshift pot rack (it was a towel rack at Bed, Bath, and Beyond in it's former life). Ooh, and did I mention...I also got a brand new food processor! I won't bore you with the details of it's shiny white surface, large 7-cup bowl, and wonderful inventive 3-cup bowl that fits down in the 7-cup bowl for smaller chopping jobs. Let's just say it's beautiful.

By contrast, my husband got very practical and marginally exciting things like a snappy new computer bag (don't worry..."snappy" is my word, not his), framed pictures for his office, a new coat, tickets to see Duke vs. Gonzaga at The Garden. But what was his most loved gift? A black market video game set I bought from some member of the Russian Mafia down on 14th street, west of Union Square. For $12.99, this thing has literally 76,000 games. All it is is a cheap, Nintendo looking game controller that you plug directly into your TV, and it is pre-loaded with games. I'm not talking new, high detail, graphically spectacular games. I'm talking Super Mario Bros., Duck Hunt, Contra, Joust, Donkey Kong...all those games that, if you were born in the mid-70's were the games you got with your very first Nintendo. It is fantastic. The night we opened it we were up until 3:00 a.m. playing games...and have had some subsequent late nights since. This thing is seriously ghetto, but I don't think I've bought my husband a gift that has made him this happy in our 6 years and 361 days of marriage.

I hope you all had cookware-video game Christmases, getting just what you wanted, or loving what you never knew you needed!

Happy New Year!

2007-01-01T13:21:00.000-05:00

Happy, happy New Year! It's impossible to believe we are almost a decade into the "new millennium". I know it seems cliche, but each year goes faster. We spent our New Year's Eve with Matt and Laura, two of our dearest friends here in New York. It was low key, and wonderful...slumped on the couch eating take-out and watching the ball drop from the comfort of the living room. Perfection!

It's the time for New Year's resolutions, and though I'm not sure how effective they are, it's hard not to re-evaluate your life as you face a fresh new year. So here are a few of mine...I reserve the right to amend, adjust, re-think and discard as needed:

- Read the Bible more.
- Make healthier choices (who needs the "lose weight" pressure...this sounds easier!)
- Be a better friend
- Blog more (Ha!)
- Give more than I get

How's that for a start? I know some of them sound ambiguous, but they are clear in my head.

I pray you all had a wonderful holiday season...a blessed Christmas and a fun New Year's. I pray you are looking forward to 2007 with anticipation and excitement. And I pray we all have a greater sense of God's presence this year.

Autumn in New York

2006-09-27T22:24:00.000-04:00

This is truly my favorite time of year in New York City. Nights are cool and we are sleeping with out windows open every night. Sweaters are coming out of the closet, and though the leaves aren't changing in the city quite yet, you can just tell that at any moment they are going to shift from green to gold. The apples in the market are fantastic, and all the candles in our house smell like cinnamon. It is an amazing time to be in the city.

Kevin is back in his normal grad school classes after a summer full of intensives. He's taking highly fascinating classes...Global Economics and Technology Innovation and New Product Development. I can barely type it without yawning. But he's enjoying it, which is what matters. I am going to auditions several times a week, which remains a simultaneously interesting and frustrating experience. Let's just say the Lord is using this experience to teach me more lessons then I have time to talk about here...not the least of which is patience. For instance, yesterday I auditioned to be a singing Christmas Tree at Macy's during the holidays this year, which was fun. Today, on the other hand, I arrived at 8:30 a.m. to sign-up for an audition, only to find out that all of the 5 minute time slots from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. were filled, and I was number 100 on the alternate list. Needless to say, I didn't stick around. Oh well, I just keep pounding the pavement, pouring myself out in 16 bar increments, and trusting in God's perfect plan.

Anyway, thought I'd throw out a quick update since it had been awhile. I hope this finds everyone well, and I hope you're feeling autumn in the air where you are, too!

The Big 3-0!

2006-08-10T22:40:00.000-04:00

Last Thursday, August 3rd, was my 30th birthday. Quite a milestone, and one I was frankly looking forward to. It feels like an accomplishment. So here's the rundown on my birthday festivities. As you may or may not know, Kevin is in grad school, and attending classes on Tuesday and Thursday nights. Because of the intense summer schedule, they are not really allowed to miss class sessions. So I have known for months that Kev had class on the night of my 30th birthday, and I was going to have to come up with alternate plans. I emailed a couple of my girlfriends here in the city -- Dana and Laura -- and said I wanted to get a Girls' Night Out planned for my b'day. Dana and Laura jumped on the idea and immediately took over the planning, effectively leaving me in the dark.

I woke up on Thursday morning to 30 roses from my husband, delivered and arranged by the Flower Fairy (Dana from across the street). I also received a birthday present...tickets to see Wicked in London in November! And not only that, Idina Menzel will reprising her Tony award winning role of Elphaba. This may not mean much to you...but this is HUGE for me!!!!! I simply could not believe it. Kev treated me to an early morning breakfast at the diner around the corner from our place before he had to head into work.

I had a relaxing morning at home, and then headed to an audition at noon. I spent an afternoon in a small holding room waiting to sing 8 measly bars...ridiculous. But I got through it, and was free to spend a few hours at home before the girls came over. Kevin called me a little before 6:00 p.m. to say Happy Birthday as he was headed into class. Dana and Laura arrived about 6:00 p.m. and we opened a celebratory bottle of champagne to kick off the evening. Dana had provided both a crown and a purple leopard print party hat that said "All Hail the Birthday Princess"...and they were insistent that we take them with us for the evening.

As we were getting ready to take off at 6:30 p.m. my phone rang...Kevin? He said, "Hey, I just snuck out of class to call and tell you that you need to go downstairs...there's something waiting for you. Have a great night...I love you." And hung up. What? So the three of us head downstairs to find a black stretch limo parked outside our building. The driver was standing by the back door and as I walked out he says, "Are you Tracey?" Uh...yes. "This is for you." As we walked up to the limo the driver opened the back door and all these people yell "SURPRISE!!!!" Out jumps Kevin, and a whole group of friends -- Hicks, Dana's husband, as well as Brian & Jen Henson. Needless to say, I was absolutely speechless!!!! Kevin had sneakily gone to class the night before...same class, but a different session. He'd clearly been planning this for months. Well, over the next two hours we picked up Laura's husband Matt and my dear friend and Kevin's cousin Carrie. By the time we made it to dinner there were 9 of us! {Carrie's husband Tom selflessly stayed home with the three kids! :) }

After cruising around New York for 2 hours the limo dropped us off at the W Hotel in Midtown for dinner at a restaurant called Heartbeat. We had a fantastic dinner, topped off with white chocolate cheesecake for dessert...complete with 3-0 candles...not actually 30 candles, but the numbers 3 and 0. :) I blew out the candles, we ordered coffee, and then Kevin hands me another envelope. Inside is a note that says, "Having fun yet? Why stop here? This turning 30 thing only happens once. Party continues upstairs!" And with it is a room key! So all 9 of us head up to the top floor -- 18th floor -- to room 1805...the corner suite. This room had a terrace that was bigger then our entire apartment (I know, I know...if you've seen our place you know that's not saying much!). We cranked up the music and hung out on the terrace for the rest of the evening. Kevin gave me another envelope...a massage scheduled for the next morning at the Bliss spa at the hotel. Are you kidding me?!?

Everyone finally left around midnight, and Kev and I crashed. But not before opening one final present. When we were on our honeymoon we bought a black pearl with the intention of having it set in some piece of jewelry. Kevin had sent it to our jeweler in Texas and had him set it as a drop on a necklace. I was so stunned...it is gorgeous!

We stayed the night at the W, I had my massage the next morning, and we vegged all day Friday (Kevin's birthday) at the hotel...we didn't check out until 4:00 p.m.!! Absolute heaven!

To make the whole thing funny, I had been planning a low-key surprise party for Kevin on Friday not, clearly having no idea of what he had put together for Thursday. I told him we had a dinner reservation, but I had invited all the same people over for a game night. I had to do a little scrambling on Friday, but at 7:30 p.m. Friday night everyone showed up at our apartment, much to Kevin's shock! It was such a lazy night...we were all exhausted. We ordered pizza, all the parents brought their kids, and we just hung out in our living room. Perfect recovery!

Whew...quite a story! Here are a couple of photos from the night. It was an unbelievable, unforgettable birthday!

What in the world?!?

The big 3-0 birthday candles!

The Girls in the Limo -- Jen, Laura, the B'day Girl, Dana. (We picked Carrie up later).

The Master Planner and the Birthday Girl!

Introducing Mr. & Mrs. John & Kelly Kent

2006-07-23T23:34:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday, July 15, Kevin's younger sister Kelly was married to John Kent in Dallas. We went back for all of the festivities of what was a whirlwind wedding weekend. We flew in early Friday morning, and dove straight into the craziness! Bridesmaid's luncheon, bowling, rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, wedding, reception, post- wedding brunch, etc., etc., etc. But, we all had a wonderful time, most importantly Kelly & John. They are off on their honeymoon in Hawaii right now, hopefully recovering from all the stress! They'll be setting up home in Washington D.C. upon their return. Here are a few pics from the happy weekend!

Here are Kelly & John getting a little snack before heading into the reception!

Kevin and older sister Jamie in the sanctuary before the wedding.

Here's James and me, the proud sisters, before the ceremony.

My country tis of thee...

2006-07-05T15:57:00.002-04:00

For the second year, Kevin and I spent the 4th of July holiday in Washington D.C. with dear friends Aaron & Karrie Cohen. There are few things more exciting then celebrating our country's independence in our nation's capitol! D.C. does the 4th up right!

We flew down on Saturday morning, watched some World Cup soccer at Aaron & Karrie's, and then met friends for Mexican food...good Mexican food like we can't find in NYC. That night the guys decamped to the back porch for poker and cigars while the girls played card games in the dining room. Sunday morning we had brunch with the newlyweds, Nate & Daffnei Riedel, and then we all drove out to Annapolis for dinner. We went to this fantastic restaurant called Cantler's right on one of the off-shoots of the Chesapeake Bay, and ordered fresh crab by the dozen. The 14 of us sat under this tin roof pounding fresh crabs with wooden mallets, while a crazy thunderstorm rolled over and shook the rafters. In fact, we returned home to find the power out and the Cohen's new puppy about ready to pass out from fright! The guys got up early Monday morning and played 18 holes before it got too hot, and the girls met at AMC for a 1:20 p.m. showing of "The Devil Wears Prada"...which I highly recommend! Monday night we had a cook-out in the Cohen's backyard with about 15 people...burgers, dogs, chicken, and all the trimmings. On Tuesday the 4th, we slept in, and spent most of the day in our pajamas...ah, bliss! We played card games and watched more World Cup Soccer in the afternoon. In the late afternoon we went to a BBQ at the home of a girl we went to school with, and then headed into the district for fireworks. Some friends from school had tickets that allowed us all on the roof of their office building, which is right across the street from the Mall. We had the U.S. Capitol to our left, the Mall right in front of us, and the Washington Monument to our right. It was amazing! We had the best fireworks views in the city!

All in all, a great vacation with wonderful friends, and all the things you could possibly want in a 4th of July weekend bash! We are glad to be home, looking forward to a short week, and a few days of vacation recovery. Happy 4th of July to you and yours!

California Skies

2006-06-30T09:08:00.000-04:00

I just back to NYC on Monday from LA, where I got to spend a long weekend with Amber, my college roommate and one of my best friends in the whole world. It was supposed to be a long anticipated Girl's Weekend with the inclusion of Kristin, the other member of our trio, but life being what it is, Kris was unable to make the trip out, and was sorely missed. Amber shipped her sweet husband Jeremy off to his parents house in Northern California for a few days, and we took over the house. It was a great weekend of SoCal stuff I miss. I flew in on Thursday and we had lunch at Marmalade Cafe in Santa Monica. We spent an afternoon in Malibu, including lunch at John's Garden down at the Malibu Country Mart, an extra large Mocha Iced Blended from the Coffee Bean, and a trip up to Pepperdine. Amber and I drove around campus, swung up to our old home in Towers, and reminisced about college. Ah, the good ol' days.

If you've never lived in California, I don't know if you can truly understand how it can get to you. Now, I'm sure it doesn't happen to everyone, but for us there is quite literally this physical longing for California sometimes. When Kev and I get really nostalgic we can actually feel the SoCal air. There is a scent in the air that I find nowhere else, but when I smell it there my heart aches. It's a smell I associate with Pepperdine...this damp, verdant green scent that I wanted to bottle and bring back for Kev. Every time we walked out of Amber and JJ's apartment in the evenings it would hit me and couldn't inhale deeply enough. Living in New York calls this into sharp contrast because in the summer the streets of NYC smell like a Porta Potty. Seriously unpleasant.

We are leaving tomorrow morning for Washington DC for the long 4th of July weekend. We're going to visit our dear friends Aaron and Karrie. This is our second annual Independence Day in DC, and we're really looking forward to the vacation.

I hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July celebration!

M.I.A.

2006-06-03T09:45:00.000-04:00

Ok, we're not even going to talk about how long it has been since I updated my blog. Let's just say the first half of 2006 has been nuts. So, let's put the past behind us...let bygones be bygones...and all those other cliches, and move forward. Ok?

It is a foggy, rainy, miserable spring day in New York today. So what am I going to do? I'm going to go do 12 hour walk for cancer. Smart, huh? I'm headed out to Astoria, Queens this afternoon for the Relay for Life. I am on a team with 3 other gals from church, and we're heading out to raise both money and awareness for the American Cancer Society. We are pitching our tent along with several hundred others at Astoria Park, and then someone from our team will be walking around a track (I think) from 5:00 p.m. today until 9:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. Yep, should be a long night. But I am determined that it is going to be fun! I think they're going to have fun events and bands all evening...Twister tournaments, Limbo contests, pizza parties, yoga classes...fun stuff like that. Or maybe I should say, stuff they are hoping we all consider fun at 3:00 a.m. after we've been either walking or sitting in the rain for hours. It's all about attitude, right?

But who cares about rain, lots of walking, and a long night. This is all for an excellent cause. Maybe our children won't even know what cancer is...

Striking out...

2005-12-21T21:42:00.000-05:00

It is Day 2 of the New York City Transit strike, and the whole city is more then a little fed up. The brief story is that the MTA (Metro Transit Agency) and the TWU (Transit Worker's Union) can't seem to agree on pension terms. So the transit workers went on strike as of Monday night at midnight. And the entire city is in complete disorder.

Yesterday, Kevin had a meeting across town on Madison Ave. He had to get up extra early, put on his buisness suit and tennis shoes, throw his laptop and his dress shoes into a backpack, bundle up (it was 20 degrees outside, with a wind chill of 11), and hike about 3 miles to his meeting. Completely nuts.

They have all of these rules in place for transportation...no cars into the city across the bridges or tunnels between 5am and 11am with less then 4 people. No cars below 96th street with less then 4 people during those hours (for non-New Yorkers, EVERYTHING is below 96th street). Cabs can pick-up up to 4 separate people, and instead of running the meter, they have separated the city into zones, and it's a $10 flat rate per person in one zone, and an another $5 for each additional zone you enter.

I can't even put into words how extraordinarily frustrating and inconvenient the whole thing is. I made the mistake of riding in a car with a friend today to get across town. It took us an hour and a half to get from the Upper West Side across Central Park to the Upper East Side. Needless to say, we are all ready for the stupid strike to end, and these people to start driving their buses and subways again.

There is no other city in the country that would be paralyzed like NYC is by a transit strike. I can't even think of anything to compare it to. In any other city, It would be like all the cars went on strike and no one could drive. So the week before Christmas all the cars are picketing for ridiculous reasons like the MTA isn't providing competitive enough re-sale values for cars that haven't even been produced yet. Now everyone has to ride their bikes or skateboards to work...oh, and it's 15 degrees outside. Lovely, huh?

Say a prayer for us, and everyone else who is trying to get out of the city in before the holidays.

Did you see me?

2005-11-27T22:04:00.000-05:00

On Thanksgiving morning I got up at 5:00 a.m. and caught a cab to the New Yorker Hotel, where the Special Characters and Clowns (creepy) were to get dressed. I, along with my fellow Founding Fathers, Raul and Daniel, got dressed in the bottom half of our costumes, and boarded a bus with a bunch of other special characters and clowns (creepy) and headed uptown to join our parade line at 81st street between Columbus and Central Park West.

Daniel, aka Benjamin Franklin, is in front.
Raul, aka George Washington, is in back.

We arrived at 81st around 7:45 a.m. It was an overcast morning, and at that point the temps were in the 30's. The Weather Channel had predicted snow, but forunately we saw nary a flurry. Our balloon techs were there working on our balloon heads.

Here you can see Benjamin's head on the left, and my head on the right.

At about 8:00 a.m. they got us suited up in our gear...full metal framework worn as a backpack, and six foot balloon head on top. The hardest part was, then we had to stand around for an hour and a half until we actually joined the parade. The parade started at 9:00 a.m. We didn't actually start walking until 9:30-ish.

Here I am in my Thomas Jefferson get-up. You can see the pants and shoes of my costume, as well as the backpack to which the balloon head is attached. The overcoat attached to the metal frame above my head at the base of the head. My arms went through the arms of the coat so I could wave at the crowd.

Let me just say, this costume was exceedingly uncomfortable to the point of painful. I had bruises along my collarbones and across my shoulder blades from the harness. The weather was actually perfect for the parade...chilly, but sunny. The real struggle was the wind gusts. There were moments when I was truly afraid. The wind would gust so hard I would be thrown around, often to the point of being thrown off my feet with no way to catch myself in this huge costume. Columbus Circle was the moment of absolute terror. With the wind swirling around the circle, all three of us were spun around, and were actually screaming at the people who were supposed to be helping us to come save us. There were definitely some dicey moments.

We walked all three miles of the parade, from 81st and Columbus to 34th and 7th Ave. If you were watching the parade on NBC, my big ol' noggin was on TV right after Aaron Neville sang his heart moving rendition of Deck the Halls on the Postal Service float.

But overall is was a really fun experience! A once in a lifetime experience...and when I say once, I mean ONCE. I would absolutely do the parade again, just don't call me to be a balloon head. I'm afraid I'll have to opt out. No clowns either...did I mention, creepy.

This is Kevin and TJ...this is actually the CBS broadcast in Times Square. You can even see my little hand at the bottom of the screen waving.

Isn't that sweet?

Movin' on up...

2005-11-21T23:32:00.000-05:00

So, word is getting around that I am going to be the esteemed Thomas Jefferson in the parade on Thursday. In fact, at church on Sunday there was a group of people talking about it backstage. The conversation (as relayed to me by my worship pastor) went something like this:

JH (the assistant worship Pastor): We have a bunch of our actors in the Macy's Parade.

Nelson (the teaching Pastor): Really? Like who.

JH: Well, Tracey Clem is going to be in it.

Nelson: What's she doing?

JH: She's going to be George Jefferson.

Nelson: (pause) She's going to be who?

JH: (with all seriousness) George Jefferson!

Later that morning, a similar conversation took place between Nelson and Jason, the aforementioned Worship Pastor. Jason mentioned that I was going to be in the parade, and Nelson said, "Now, who is she going to be?" Jason said, correctly, "Thomas Jefferson." Nelson said he spent all morning trying to figure out how a tall, blond, white girl got cast as George Jefferson.

So, in case anyone out there is confused (because, obviously, it can happen), I have created a cheat sheet for the Parade. Please feel free to print this out and carry it with you on Thursday.

This is THOMAS Jefferson

This is GEORGE Jefferson

Any questions?

Afloat in a sea of balloons...

2005-11-16T09:39:00.000-05:00

Get this...I have been hired by Macy's, the world's largest department store, to be a Special Character in the Thanksgiving Day Parade!

I good friend of mine from church, Misti, is a singing Christmas Tree in Santaland at Macy's during the holidays. Last Thursday we were at an audition together and she said, "you wouldn't be interested in being in the parade, would you?" I said, "uh...yeah!" She said they were looking for some actors to be some of the special characters in the parade. She immediately called the casting director, Wesley, who hired me on the spot.

So, last Saturday I, along with the other actors, met with Wesley at Macy's and he piled us all on a bus and sent us across the river to Jersey to their parade warehouse. This is where all Macy's floats go to die. You can see floats from years past all dismantled and stacked in this huge airplane hanger. There are also huge rooms full of costumes...every costume worn during the parade.

Is the suspense killing you? Are you dying to know what I am? Drumroll please...I am Thomas Jefferson. Not only am I Thomas Jefferson, I am basically a 15 foot tall walking float. Seriously. I am considered a float all unto myself. There are three Founding Fathers...me, Benjamin Franklin and George Washington. My costume includes this enormous backpack that looks like a hiker's backpack. You know, the big ones with the aluminum framework. Well, that's what this is like. There is a big lumbar support belt, shoulder straps, and the framework extends above my head by about a foot and a half. I am wearing these enormous padded pants, and then the Colonial style coat attaches to the top of the aluminum frame. Then, get this, my head is an enormous, 6-foot tall balloon! They inflate it with helium and then lash it to my frame. No kidding...I am a float. I have two balloon handlers...dressed as Betsy Ross. I will be walking the entire parade route on Thanksgiving day, including past the cameras in front of Macy's. So, all of you parade fans - look for Jefferson...it'll be me!! I'll try to post pictures next week.

Sorry it's taken so long for an update...I'm even getting heckled by my friends (thanks A.S.)! I"ll try and be a little more timely. Hope everyone is having a great week!

A Beautiful Learning Experience

2005-11-07T10:11:00.000-05:00

So, I went to an audition last week for Beauty and the Beast on Broadway. It was my first venture into the world of Equity auditions...not being an Equity member, myself. It was in the Actor's Equity Building in Times Square, which is highly intimidating. They have a lounge specifically for Equity members, and then this hallway with benches for us plebian non-Eq actors. From what I understand, the luxurious Equity lounge has a few more benches and some carpet.

I signed up on the non-Equity list, number 60, and took my spot on the bench to wait. About 15 minutes later the monitor came out to give us an update. Ok, the monitor is basically the person who acts as the go-between for the auditioners and the people doing the casting. He or she controls the sign-up list, organizes the actors, and runs all the admin stuff. This guy came out to the hallway (Kevin would call it "steerage"), to let us know that there were about 120 Equity sign-ups that they had to get through before they would even touch the non-Eq list. He said they were getting through about 40 people an hour...which means it would be 3 hours before they even looked at our list. He said it was still possible, but wanted us to have a realistic picture of our chances of being seen. We all settled in for the wait.

About 20 minutes later Monitor Man came back out with another shot of reality. He explained that there was no way they were going to get to us at all. This is a reality you have to be prepared for at any Equity audition you attend as a non-member. He also explained that this particular audition was a required replenishment chorus call. You see, shows under certain contracts with the union (which include most if not all Broadway shows), are required to hold these replenishment auditions every 6 months. They may not have any open spots, but they have to hold these auditions and then file the headshots and resumes they receive. He told us that they have been holding these auditions every 6 months since the show opened...11 years ago! So let's say they have 120 people at every audition...and at this point have had 22 rounds of replenishment auditions...this is a file of well over 2500 people! Hmmm...

Needless to say, we all left. He did say that if we believed we were really right for this show, to forward our headshot and resume to the casting director. So there you go...my first Equity experience. I can hardly call it an audition...but it was definitely a valuable experience.

Welcome to the World of Blogs!

2005-10-27T09:14:00.000-04:00

Well, here I am...giving this blog thing a shot. A dear friend of mine thought I should try this. And, to be honest, it's something I've been thinking about...but just hadn't ever signed up for. So, here goes. I make no promises of clever & witty content, exciting stories, or profound insights or wisdom. It will most likely be inane jabber and blah, blah, blah. But that's the beauty and democracy of the web...you don't have to read it!