Go-Go Mommy

Life Lately

Sometimes life comes at you hard and fast. It definitely feels that way in my life right now. The girls are doing well, KB is working harder than ever, and I am getting back to work. Not that I haven't been working beyond my expectations as a SAHM, but now I am even busier after the girls go to bed with a new project that will move me into the "WAHM" and "mompreneur" categories.

It is exciting to be so close to having something that will enable me to exercise my professional muscle again; to put my "thinking cap" back on and get back to a sense of business acumen. I will share more on this later, but in the meantime, I'd like to share my latest life moments that make giving up the "crazy rat race" in the first place so worthwhile.

Today I saw:
-Sweet Pea so beautiful and innocent at 19 months. She has the cutest wispy hair that is too baby fine and sparse to take her for an actual haircut but is now so long in the back and at the sides that it's starting to curl in all directions. It looks sweetest head-on where it sometimes sticks straight out beyond her ears and catches the light making her look like a little mad scientist. Because of this trait, she has affectionately also become known as "Bibble" in our household.

-Poppy lovingly putting shoes and a dress-up bonnet on Sweet Pea and Sweet Pea sitting quietly like a little, live baby doll, watching her big sister with enormous hazel eyes behind lashes that just don't seem to end.

-Poppy sweetly (and sometimes a bit bossy) directing Sweet Pea on where to go and what to look at as we toured some new homes today.

-The two girls together as one "read" a book (Sweet Pea) while the other talked on a pretend telephone (Poppy) and set up a "sleepover" with a close friend. I can finally see that while Poppy's hair is a more striking color, Sweet Pea's is getting close to becoming a toned-down version of the same unique color.

-Poppy help her little sister up into and down from various chairs around our house when Sweet Pea would make noise that she needed help.

-Sweet Pea inspecting all of the flowers at the newly landscaped model homes. She had to go up to each and every bloom and touch them. I'm not sure what she likes more, the color, the variety, or the feel of them.

-Poppy putting on her ballet leotard and slippers and dancing with Sweet Pea who was dressed in a sparkly green Tinkerbell outfit. The image of the two of them twirling and curtseying will always live with me.

In sum, it's so clear that while my new "job" may give me an avenue to pursue some of my personal passions and interests, it's still all about being here for the little moments.

Itching for the Holidays.

Poppy is definitely my girl in so many ways. First, for better or worse she seems to be almost a little carbon copy of me. (Scary for those of you who know me, I know.) But really, when Poppy, Sweet Pea and I are out shopping together, people always look at the girls and nod toward Poppy as they say; "She's certainly her mother's daughter." In other words, if you held up her current photo to one of mine taken at her age, they could be mistaken for being photos of the same person.

She can also be very firm in her convictions and will make a great movie and/or stage director one day. She loves to give people detailed instruction on how to play with a toy or what lines to say when playing "Ariel and King Triton."

However, the most telling feature linking Poppy to being just like me is that not only can she watch the same movie over and over about 30 times in one week (well, maybe not 30 but it certainly feels like that to KB and I) and she notices something new each time, but more importantly is the fact that it's not even June and she's already jonesing for the Holidays. How do I know? Well, the other day she had to watch "A Christmas Story". Or as she describes it; "You know, the one where the bad kid makes the other kid stick out his tongue and then he's stuck to the pole and the firefighters come and rescue him. That's the movie I want to watch, PLLEEEAASE!"

Of course, we watched it. Of course, we enjoyed it. Of course, it's not even June yet, and I usually don't throw in a holiday dvd or cd until about July but I just loved it. I loved that she thought of it. I love that we cuddled as we watched it and pretended it was snowing outside (again, another one of Poppy's directives). I just love that she shares one of my passions. Bring on the holidays! We're ready!

Poppy's Wedding Plans

We had an incredible day: morning park playdate, swim class for both Poppy and Sweet Pea, picnic lunch at the pool, nap time in the car as I drove to Valley Fair Mall, shopping, and playing at the mall "toddler play zone" - carousel ride included.

After all of our activities, it was time for some "hot and ready" pizza with crazy bread for dinner - one of Poppy's favorite meals! As we were pulling out of our parking space, one of the gentleman from Little Caesers Pizza came out carrying a stack of about 10 pizzas and helped a young woman put them into the car next to us. Poppy saw this and commented:

Poppy: Wow! Look at all that pizza!

Mommy: Yes, that's a lot.

Poppy: Maybe she's getting it for her wedding.

Mommy: Maybe.

Poppy: That's what I'm going to have at my wedding - pizza! Everyone just loves pizza!

Mommy: That's right, everyone does like pizza.

Poppy: And crazy bread too, of course.

The wedding planning has officially begun!

Thanks Grandma and Papa B!

We had such a great visit... so many memories were made. Here's just a glimpse:

Watching Poppy at gymnastics, ballet, and swim class;
Going for our train ride (maybe next time we'll make it farther than San Mateo!);
Having a swim/beach weekend in Carmel when the weather couldn't have been any better;
Listening to the roosters and making new friends at the park;
And who could forget our trip to San Francisco Zoo? Sweet Pea had her first
carousel ride and I even got my exercise in for the day!

But the sweetest moment by far was when Poppy went the movies with Grandma and Papa - without mommy and Sweet Pea! Her first venture into independence! Yes, my baby is growing up and I'm the one suffering from separation anxiety. At least I can report that in addition to Papa sharing the popcorn, Horton from "Horton Hears a Who" is "very funny" and says "I'm as light as a feather" - which is really funny to Poppy since he is a huge elephant and so far I've heard her say it between all the giggles a few times a day.

So thank you for a wonderful two weeks. We can't wait to see you soon!

The Sleep Fairy.

We're trying a new experiment at the Go-Go house: having Poppy and Sweet Pea room together. Now that Sweet Pea is almost 18 months old and is sleeping through the night at almost the same schedule as her big sister, I thought this would be a good time for us to try this new arrangement.

So, what led to this decision? Why did we do this when each girl seemed perfectly settled in her own room? Well, did I ever tell you about my little penchant for causing trouble? Actually, there are two main reasons for my madness: (1) my own childhood, and (2) my pediatrician.

First, as the youngest of 10 children, you can bet your last pair of shoes (whatever that means) that I had to share a room with my sisters. As a result, I got to know my older sisters in a way I would have completely missed if I had my own room. For instance, I wouldn't have known that the reason it took my sister, "G", 45 minutes to get dressed in the morning for high school was because she had to try on a minimum of 5 outfits before she could settle on "the" one for the day. Nor would I have had known that my lovely sister, "N", was so good at telling bedtime stories.

The second, and main reason, was that my pediatrician was all for it. When I took Sweet Pea in for her one year check up, I asked him what he thought about having Poppy and Sweet Pea in the same bedroom. Without hesitation he said "definitely yes, as soon as you think they are ready!" (My mother-in-law, who was at the appointment gasped as she thought the doctor would suggest that it would be best for the girls to have their own space.) As we talked, Dr. H emphasized that the girls would develop skills that would help them down the road. Things such as negotiating living with someone, learning to share possessions, helping to displace "night-time fears", and facilitating a closer sibling relationship were all mentioned. This sounded great to me!

So it's going on night number three and so far there haven't been any major bumps in our road to Sleepville. Oh, there are the usual details we need to address: what to do when it's time to read to Poppy and put her to bed but Sweet Pea is already asleep, and how we need to rush in at 5:30am when Sweet Pea is crying and ready to get up but Poppy is still trying to sleep. So far, however, these seem issues seem to be minute in comparison with the benefit of being together that we hope to see in the long run.

Now, I just have to figure out how to talk KB into converting Sweet Pea's bedroom into our new playroom/Go-Go Mommy HQ. Any tips out there?

And so it goes.

We've reached a new milestone at the Go-Go house, Poppy and Sweet Pea are now officially playing together. Sometimes it works out:

Poppy: WEEE, we're playing tug of war! (With each girl on the end of Poppy's favorite/only blanket known as "soft blanket" and running together back and forth.)
Followed by lots of giggling and girlie screaming.
or
Poppy: Come and find me! (The classic game of hide-and-seek.)
Followed by lots of giggling and girlie screaming.

And sometimes it doesn't:

Poppy: No, don't take my teacup.... No, that's not how you play, you use your own bowl.... You've ruined my tea party, I'm very upset with you! (As she storms off into her room.)
Followed by a door slamming.

At least Poppy is using her words!

Here we go again!

If there's one topic that every mother out there can write about it's this one: mommy guilt. Whether you work outside of the house, stay at home, or participate in any combination thereof, it's something that is unavoidable. Granted that "guilty" feeling may stay away for a while and lull us moms into a false sense of security, but soon enough it rears its ugly head and there we are, staring at the elephant in the room.

"Am I doing the best I can do for my child? Am I spending enough time with her? Should I be spending more quantity time or more quality time? Are those mutually exclusive? Should I be staying at home with my daughters or is it better for me to work and give them a chance to socialize with other kids? If I stay at home do they get enough socialization at playdates and organized activities? Should I breastfeed? How will I continue to breastfeed if I go back to work? Am I a bad mother if I can't/don't want to breastfeed?...."

The list goes on and (I imagine) only gets longer as new topics are added as the years go by. School, summer camps, dances, dates.... does it E-V-E-R end?! My guess is - no.

The ironic thing is that this "mommy guilt" topic came up at a time when I was just thinking about my "foodie guilt." I'm no stranger to guilt; I'm Catholic (ie: almost an expert), I've written about it before, etc., but I find my realm of guilt is spreading from "caring for my kids" to "caring about what I feed my hubby and kids."

Sounds normal, doesn't it? Here's the catch: now that I stay at home, I do a lot of cooking and love to treat my family to new recipe finds for dinner. Now, however, the mommy guilt enters and it looks like I have to "step it up" for breakfast.

Last week was my turn to bring a hot breakfast food for my mother's group. I headed straight for my handy "Simple and Delicious" magazine (a year subscription was great and really helped get me started on some new recipies) and found a VERY yummy recipe for a hot breakfast dish: "Baked Apple French Toast."

It was a great recipe where you slice fresh bread into a pan, spread apple pie filling over the slices, top it with another slice of bread, and pour an egg mixture (eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg) over it and let it marinate overnight. As if that's not enough, you top it with a chopped pecan and brown sugar "crumb" and toss it in the oven to bake.

Can't you just smell it cooking?! Well, Poppy did. She came out for breakfast that morning like she was in a Folgers/Maxwell House coffee commercial. (Insert your favorite memory here - I think mine is the one where the son came home from college for the holidays and made coffee with his little sis, then the mom woke up to the lovely aroma of coffee served by none other than her son who she probably hadn't seen since September - sob, sob.)

Poppy: Mmmm, that's smells yummy!

Mommy: Thanks honey. Are you ready for yogurt and toast?

Poppy: Well... I think I'll have that! (Pointing to my bubbling french toast creation in the oven.)

Mommy: Uh, I would love to give that to you but it has to finish baking and then it goes to the mommies today for our meeting.

Poppy: But I want some too!

Mommy: I know. I'm sorry. How about some bagels with the yummy strawberry cream cheese that you love?

Poppy: Well, okay. But mommy, do you think you'll make that for me someday?

(OUCH!)

Welcome mommy guilt - my favorite almost normal state of being!

Cross-posted on Silicon Valley Moms Blog (JB).

Photo Friday! 03.14.08 (Catching a breath!)

Yeah! My laryngitis is gone, Poppy's "morning sleepover" birthday party is over (it was a success but mainly I'm just happy that it's over), and I actually had time to go to the Cantor Museum today with the girls. Thank goodness the gift shop is way in the back because museum gift shops are definitely one of my weaknesses - they always have the coolest stuff!

The weather is shaping up here so I thought we'd check out the Rodin garden and get some info on taking our Parents Group there for one of our monthly outings. Here are some shots I thought you might enjoy.

Hope you take this weekend to catch your own breath! If you do, let me know how you did it - I'm always up for new ideas!

Also, here's the latest "Poppy" story which took place at 6:00AM today:

Poppy: Mommy we need a dog.

Me: If we had a dog you would have to take it outside right now to go potty
and it's freezing outside.

Poppy: No I wouldn't. It could just use our potty.

Me: How in the world would a dog be able to use the potty?

Poppy: I would just hold it over the potty and it could go to the bathroom.

Me: First, dogs aren't made to sit down and go to the bathroom. And second,
the bathroom is only for people.

Poppy: Okay, then I could just put a diaper on it!

--How is it that kids think of everything?

My 30 days: 26 (Confessions of a wanna be "Mock".)

Surely you've heard of SAHMs (stay-at-home moms), WAHMs (work-at-home moms), mompreneurs (mom entrepenuers), and a whole lot more mom-type acronyms. I have one of my own that I secretly wish to become and that is a "Mock" or a mom-jock.

I want to belong to the ranks of moms who wear cool workout gear (ala Title 9), comfortable running shoes, and sport easy to maneuver jogging strollers not just out of laziness comfort, but because those items are really used.

I want to be one of those moms who has upper arms with great definition and no "jelly shake", who can drop the summer skirts and actually wear shorts, and who can take the kids to the pool without having to worry about constantly having a towel or other camouflage covering the area from the belly to the knees. And now, with spring around the corner, it's definitely crunch time - literally!

I'm still on my "everyday moments" blogging project (see here) and yesterday morning included a great moment for Poppy, Sweet Pea, and me. Through my city's Parents' Club, we got the opportunity to get an incredible workout at one of our local parks with a group called Stroller Strides. Not only did we connect as a family, but it gave us the opportunity to meet some great moms and their kids too.

The workout was so much more than I expected: you didn't have to feel bad for whatever fitness level you are currently at - exercises are modified for each level, you didn't have to feel bad if you aren't a natural born runner (definitely me), no part of the body was neglected (we worked on legs, hips/thighs/buttocks, arms, and abdominals with lower back stretches too), and encouragement & motivation were generously given throughout our time together.

To top it off, we were given great "goodie bags" with coupons, treats, and even a small gift for the little ones (Poppy loves her Crayola "explosion" marker):

Thank you to Wendy and everyone at Stroller Strides for providing me this incredible time to take care of myself. My goal as I join the group on upcoming workouts? Keep up with Poppy!!!

My 30 days: 22

We've hit another toddler milestone with Poppy: the "I'm-acting-like-I'm-working-on-my-coloring book-but-I-want-you're-attention-while-you-are-on-the-telephone-so-I'll-just-give-my-hair-a-trim-with-my-colorful-toddler-scissors" stage.

Here are the scissors:

Here is the hair:

And here is the result: (Not as bad as I thought it would be.)

My 30 days: 3

I was led to this article which ended up inspiring today's "everyday" moment:

Oh me, oh my,
how quickly time goes by.
My little loves soon to be
self-sufficient adults, just like me.
But before that comes to pass
it's time to review today at last.

My Poppy and Sweet Pea:

Greeted daddy at the door after a weeklong trip
with eyes shining bright, squeals of delight
and arms open wide, ready to hold on so tight.

Poppy helped clean up for daddy with grace.
Shared her "cozy" chair with 'lil sissy,"
excitedly showed dad her new dog "Missy,"
and planted many loving kisses on my face.

Sweet Pea woke from her nap in inconsolable pain,
its' origin unknown, I got peed on while dad phoned.
The urgent care diagnosis: simply congestion again.

A trip to Borders divided in two - before and after dinner.
Sweet Pea only wanted to go up and down stairs,
while Poppy's "energetic" voice caught customers unawares.
Both left mommy and daddy feeling like beginners.

Then the simple act of love shone bright
During our evening meal out, Sweet Pea turned about,
grabbed my hair, and face to face, held on so tight.

The Big Question!

Well, the day has finally arrived. Wait, why am I saying "finally" when I should say that it has already arrived. No, no one is getting engaged or married. I'm talking about the big question from Poppy - the "birds and bees" and "I don't know what in the heck to tell her" question because I thought I had at least another year or two to go before this topic came up. After all, she's not even 4 years old yet!

So this was my Sunday morning:

Mommy, Poppy, and Sweet Pea head to Target for the Sunday morning run. Just as I pull into the parking spot, this is what I hear from my little love in the back seat:

Poppy: Mommy, how did I get in your tummy?

Me: [after a cough or two to clear my quickly constricting throat] What was that honey?
[Translation: I heard you the first time, I'm just hoping you change the question.]

Poppy: If I grew in your tummy, how did I get in there to grow?

Me: Well, uh, let's see, um...[beads of perspiration starting to gather] Well sweetheart, [don't blow it, don't blow it!] after mommy and daddy got married, we loved each other so much that we wanted to share our love with a baby and, uh, we asked God for a baby and he helped us [OMG, I'm blowing it!] by putting you in my tummy to grow.

Poppy: Silence. [She's either not buying it OR it's sinking in to the gray matter.]

Me: You know, Aunt M is a nurse, she'll know just how all the technical stuff works. Maybe we should ask her [as I'm dialing furiously on the cell phone].

After a quick debrief from me:

Aunt M: You're right. After mommies and daddies get married and when they are ready to have a baby. God gives them a special way to put the baby in the tummy so it will grow.

Poppy: Oh. Okay.

God, I love her!!

Thanks for the help Aunt M!

Daddy, I want chili today!

Poppy: Daddy, I want chili today!

Daddy: That sounds great. I haven't made chili in a while and today is the perfect day for it!

One shopping trip and about 9 hours later:

Daddy: Who wants to have the first taste of the chili?

Poppy & Mommy: I do! I do!

Daddy: Okay Poppy, you've been such a good girl today you can have it.

(Daddy hands out spoons and puts some chili into a bowl. He lowers the bowl for Poppy to dig in with her spoon first.)

Poppy: What?! That's NOT chili!

Daddy: Yes it is.

Poppy: NO it's not - it's soup!

Mommy: Honey, that's daddy's famous chili. (Taking a taste.) It's very yummy!

Poppy: Well I don't want it.

Daddy: But this is what you asked for this morning.

Poppy: No, it's not.

Mommy: Wait a minute everyone. Poppy, what does chili look like?

Poppy: It wiggles and jiggles!

Back to the drawing board - anyone have any jello mix handy? hee hee

A Season for Memories

My dearest Poppy. Just a note to say "thank you":

Here's a memory that will live forever for me and hopefully, for you too Poppy. Where do I begin? Oh what a fun time we had together last night at your first visit to the ballet to see The Nutcracker at the San Francisco Opera House!

It began as all good "nights out" do - with the preparation of finding the right dress (yours was a beautiful hunter green velvet with a white silk shantung collar and bow that tied at your waist in the back with delicate smocking in the front - thank you Grandma B for providing the perfect outfit!) and buying new black patent dress shoes (these actually had heals on them - another first!).

You were so good while we were getting ready to leave that we even had time to paint our nails a sensible shade of pale shell pink. What we didn't have time for, however, was dinner since it rained earlier in the day. In the Bay Area, even a "little rain" can wreck havoc on the evening commute. So we simply had a quick cookie and milk. And yes, it actually was one cookie each - a shortbread cookie with a chocolote drop on the top that we made the day before.

Thankfully, daddy made it home from work early so he could help you with the final touches (he put on your shoes, brushed your hair, and told you how beautiful you looked), while I finished getting ready. Then, we quickly said "goodbye" to daddy and 'lil sis Sweet Pea and headed off on our adventure. You certainly do love going on adventures!. By the way, daddy was very disappointed that he couldn't join us. Unfortunately, Sweet Pea's babysitter was ill and Sweet Pea had a little fever herself. Daddy wanted to give us our "girl time" and take care of Sweet Pea himself since she is still too little to go to such a grown-up event, but he is definitely looking forward to joining us next year for our (now) traditional Nutcracker outing.

Photo Friday! 12.14.07

Poppy & Mommy's ever-so-hip homemade holiday decorations. Hey, you gotta start somewhere!

That's what I call "out of the box."

Poppy has done it again!

When I told her we had to wait until tomorrow to start wrapping our gifts because we needed tape from the store, she said; "Mommy, wait. I have the perfect idea! We can use my stickers!"

I just love the hearts, stars, and flowers. Poppy definitely started a new holiday tradition for the Go-Go household. Why use plain, old scotch tape when stickers look so cute?

Do you have a favorite holiday tip to share? We'd love to try it!

Princess Poppy: Pre-Mean-Girl-Teenage-Angst

We do our best to raise them. We give them love, guidance, and direction while emphasizing the importance of having a "good heart" and being a "caring" person. We do this with the best intention, hoping to somehow ingrain upon their personality a spot of humility, caring, and compassion for others. No matter what our walk of life, we instinctively know that life will be better for those around us and, in-turn, for us by demonstrating "good-will" in our everyday life.

Goodness knows we are not always the best example for this and whether you're 2, 32, or 92, these can be difficult words to live by - especially in certain circumstances and when we seem to be tested daily.

So in honor of this time of year, when we see kindness flowing from others in situations where none might othwerwise exist, I wanted to share this simple tale of Princess Poppy who was headed to her playdate with the effervescent "Miss J" last week:

Me: We're going to have to get ready so we can go and have a playdate
at the park with Miss J. You remember Miss J, right?

Poppy: Oh, was she here when we went through the (collapsible play) tunnels?

Me: Yes, that's Miss J.

Poppy: Oh yeah! I love Miss J. She has such pretty eyes.

Me: Yes, she does.

Poppy: They're blue eyes. And a pretty smile, and very beautiful hair.

Me: Wow, that's very nice of you to say.

Poppy: (While jumping up and down.) Oh YAY! YAY! I love Miss J!
I can't wait to see Miss J!

If girls could only stay this sweet! Love ya, Poppy! Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!

Hey mommy, I really love your boyfriend!

In a certain context these words could be very sweet and innocent. In my world, where I've been happily married extremely happily married for the last 13 years, they instantly raised my blood pressure and brought a nervous sweat to my brow.

My brain immediately started to go through the mental exercise of flipping through the images of the last few days. As a SAHM, the images were mostly all the same: Sweet Pea up at 4:30am (apparently 10 hours of sleep is her limit, whether we like it or not), Poppy up at 6:00am, breakfast, lunch, nap, dinner, bath, bed. Of course I did go to the grocery store with the girls, however, I had a female cashier and no assistance out to the car. No opportunity there. Wait, we also went to the San Jose Children's Museum on Friday for a playdate with one of our hip and cool SAHM friends and her beautiful 14 month old girl - nope, just more moms and babies there.

Did Poppy, my ever-observant 3.5 year old, see me talking to some stranger I couldn't recall? Maybe while we filled the car up with gas? How had I led Poppy to believe that I had a boyfriend?! My mental rolodex of possible scenarios ground to a halt and I finally said: "What did you say?"

Poppy: "I really love your boyfriend, he's very nice."

Me: "You're silly, you know mommy doesn't have a boyfriend."

Poppy: "Mom (pronounced as a 2 syllable word like "Mo-ohm"), yes you do."

Me: "Oh really, who is it?"

Poppy: "It's daddy, of course!"

Whew! I breathe again and lean over to give Poppy a big hug and rumpled-hair kiss. Kids, you just never know!

Photo Friday! 11.09.07

Poppy was teaching class today, here were the attendees.... Maybe I do have a fashionista on my hands.

Hey kids, wait up!

Second chances. Everyone wants them but rarely gets them. Everyone knows that hindsight is 20/20 and there is little one can do to in the light of a new day to manufacture a different result. What better time to preform a little magic and create my own second chance than on Halloween?

Today is Tuesday, October 30, and tomorrow, KB and I actually get an opportunity to play Superman. Not because we're both dressing up for Halloween in matching blue body suits, red tights, and red capes - although it's quite a picture! Rather, it's more like we get to fly super-fast around and around the earth so it rotates in reverse thus turning back time to a point where we can actually make a difference in Poppy's Halloween this year.

Last year, our beloved Sweet Pea was born prematurely on October 12. She was actually due on November 20th. After spending some time at LPCH's NICU, she came home before Halloween - my beautiful little pumpkin. Needless to say, the difficult pregnancy and delivery left me out of the loop for Halloween, 2006. Luckily, daddy came to the rescue but there were obstacles we had not anticipated!

Photo Friday! 10.19.07

Poppy, NaNe, and Aunt G's artwork!

Remember when...?

Fun lovin', sometimes heartwrenching, but always hip sayings by Poppy at age 3 and a half:

-----
When Poppy wants to watch the news: "Mommy, let's see what's happening in the world."

----
Question: Poppy, what does daddy do for a living?
Answer: He sucks his thumb.

----
Papa and Grandma were babysitting one night during dinner while Go-Go Mommy got a haircut. Apparently, Poppy is getting used to Mommy being at home:

Poppy: I'll have something else to eat.
Grandma: This is a special dinner mommy wants you to have tonight.
Poppy: I'm sad. I miss mommy.
Papa: If you eat this, you can have pineapple. (Which Papa and Grandma
just brought from their trip to Hawaii.)
Poppy: (Going over to the front door with one hand on her hip.) I'm not in the mood. I'm sad, I'm jealous, and I'm angry.

----
Poppy's Favorite Joke:
Why did the elf run out of the kitchen?
Because the recipe said crack one egg and beat it!

Want to share your kid's classics? I'd love to hear them!

Photo Friday! 9.28.07

Missed some "Photo Fridays" due to travel. Here are Poppy and Sweet Pea having fun with their sewing cards. This was a great find at Target on-line.

Poppy and her Papa

Poppy:  I have to go to work in Chicago.

Papa: You do?

Poppy: Yes.

Papa:  What do you do for work?

Poppy:  As a matter of fact, I don't know.

New Face on the Block: Poppy the Politician?

In today's political climate, it's easy to get caught up in the in all of the "mommy-wars" blogging, fundraising, debating, and policitical posturing that's going on out there. It makes one ask: "Who will be brave enough in the future to put themselves (and their family) 'out there' to serve the public?"

I don't know if Poppy will be thick-skinned enough for such a calling but I just found out that she is a natural politician.

Poppy: (Watching the movie Air Bud.) Wow! His mommy is very beautiful!
Me: Yes she is, that's nice of you to say. Is she as beautiful as your mommy?
(I know, I know, leading question but what to you expect from an attorney?)

Poppy: You're beautiful too, mommy.
(Time to get more specific.)
Me: Thank you, but who is more beautiful? Mommy or Air Bud's mommy?
Poppy: Well, you are just both beautiful to me.

I needed that "mommy pick-me up". Thank you Poppy!

I also blog at Silicon Valley Moms Blog as JB.

Call Mensa - This Girl ROCKS!

So I'm preparing dinner and Poppy, who has been busy playing in her room, rushes out with an armful of stuffed animals saying: "Mommy, Mommy, you have to come and see this!" So I turn down the heat under my turkey burgers (I've been known to burn a meal or two) and sit as directed at the dining table. Poppy then proceeds to line up the 6 or 7 stuffed animals she brought out while she explains: "Okay, so this goes here, then this one goes here..." until all of the stuffed animals are in a curved line like a backward "C". Then she lay down (proper English? I never get the laid, lay, lie correct. Does anyone remember the rules in a simplified version to share with me?), straight as an arrow, next to the curved line of animals and said: "Look mommy, it's the letter D!"

OMG, call Mensa! What brilliance, what creativity, what out of the box thinking! Is she going to be the next design/art/fashion visionary, or what?! Where do kids come up with this stuff?!

Of course, my first reaction is to take photos to share with the granparents on Ceiva (see below).

Next, I call all of the grandparents to share this fantastic moment. All was well until my mother-in-law reminded me that Poppy "probably saw it on Sesame Street." Then it all rushed back: the man who painted the "letter-of-the-day" everywhere he went (actually, wasn't he "Harry Bentley" from The Jeffersons?). Oh well, I guess the call to Mensa will be delayed until further notice.

Check out more of my blogs at Silicon Valley Moms Blog - JB.

Sometimes Mommy Has To Go Potty Too

Originally posted on Silicon Valley Moms Blog as JB.

Haven't we all been here?  Feeling a little guilty and maybe even silly because we are looking for a "hideout" in our own home?  In my home, the only room with a lock on it is one of my bathrooms.  Unfortunately, I just found out that the lock can be bypassed by simply turning harder on the handle. 

My day began well enough. I found myself actually making a dent in my to-do list:     -attend morning swim class with the girls
    -pick up grocery essentials for dinner
    -get Poppy (3 year old) signed up for "Pre-dance/Tap Class" for fall semester
    -start to tackle laundry from vacation
    -catch up on email since vacation (ie: planning playdates and sending out vacation photos)
    -work on planning a September Kids Outing for our local Parents' Club
    -feed Sweet Pea (9 month old) at appropriate times and get her to take 2 naps to help with nighttime 
     sleep

I guess I got so into the groove of moving from task to task that it didn't occur to me that I set up a recipe for disaster until it was too late. 

Sweet Pea had been cranky on and off due to teeth numbers 3 and 4 now doing their best to push through those beautiful little pink gums and make their appearance.  This combined with her usual nighttime fussiness started to fuel her cries just as I made my way to "the haven."  Poppy (whom I'm told has the "energy of a boy") then runs around wildly in and out of the baby's room screaming "it's okay, it's okay, calm down" and then running to the bathroom door looking for mommy.  According to Poppy, she wanted me to 1) stop the baby from crying, and 2) send some attention her way since I was so busy "accomplishing" so much today.  And, of course, all of this chaos begins just as my husband returns from a work trip where he spent all day in meetings and an airplane and was in recovery mode.

Was it wrong of me to take advantage of the reinforcements (okay just one - my husband) and put my foot against the unlockable door to gain some "me" time and do a Sudoku puzzle?  Should I admit that I cranked up the fan to drown out some of Sweet Pea's complaining cries? And should I apologize when those 3 year old fists on the door were met with my response "Sometimes, mommy needs to go potty too."?  I now realize that kids aren't the only ones with potty issues.  Where is your haven?

And the *Hip* Princess lived happily ever after.

Ten short months ago I was in the hospital after the delivery of "Sweet Pea" - our second girl. While there, "Poppy" (our first daughter) came with daddy to visit us. On the way in, she asked to stop at the water fountain to throw in a coin and make a wish. Daddy immediately obliged and heard the following; "I wish I have a good marriage and marry a good man." Although she was only 2 years and 8 months at the time, it became clear the disney princesses were having quite an impact on our little girl. Okay, so maybe the Barbie videos weren't helping much either.

Fast forward to last month, and at 3.5 years, Poppy is now so in love with her little sister that she introduces her as her baby. That's right, not "my baby sister", but "my baby". She also started acting out a very abbreviated pregnancy, which is a little funny since the whole time I was pregnant she didn't seem the least bit interested. Anyway, she'll put a doll or Pooh bear under her shirt and say "I'm going to have a baby." Whereupon she immediately goes to her room and brings out said baby wrapped in a blanket cooing "Oh, you're such a cute baby." Needless to say, I decided it was time to take action and have the talk about exactly when babies come along.

I am now happy to report that after only a few weeks of brainwashing guidance she now is happy to tell everyone she meets exactly when one has a baby. In fact, we had two new friends over - XiaolinMama and daughter (yes, I'm shamelessly name-dropping) and Poppy was happy to explain this to them: "First you go to school, then go to college, you get a career, get married, and THEN you have babies." Yippee!! Let's just hope it sticks.

You can also find me at Silicon Valley Moms Blog as JB.