This just in... from Stars Hollow

Even Lauren Graham thinks the feud was a mistake. Of course, she also thinks Lorelai should end up with Christopher, so her word isn't exactly gold, but it's something.

Recent Kiraisms

On School...
"I think that going to school two days in order (in a row) will be a bit challenging, but I can handle it"

On choosing between tap and ballet...
"Well, when I try to do dances from the Marvelous Musical Mansion (her favorite video) I can tap dance pretty easily, but I think I need more help with ballet so I should have a teacher if I want to do ballet every time I'm onstage"

On her sister...
"Gigi is my treasure"

On my hair...
"You should take a few inches off the ends so you can see your shirt more and color it. But don't do all blonde. Leave some brown in there for interest."

On her hair...
"I like it down better than in a ponytail, don't you? That way you can see more of it."

On What Not To Wear...
"They can turn anyone around!"

Go Hawks!!!

I can't really claim to follow the NFL well or be very knowledgeable about it, but I grew up knowing the names Chuck Knox, Jim Zorn, Kurt Warner and Steve Largent. I thought you were part of the family.

Matt win this one for all of us!

GO HAWKS!!!!!

You're next, Mariners. ;)

I'm it!

I've been tagged by HB, so here's my four!

Four Jobs You've Had:

1. Eddie Bauer Salesperson
2. Marine Insurance Adjustor
3. XBOX games tester
4. Assistant to crabbing vessel owner

Four Movies You Could Watch Over and Over:

1. The Philadelphia Story
2. When Harry Met Sally
3. Dirty Dancing
4. What About Bob?

Four Places You've Lived:

1. Santa Barbara, CA
2. Bury St. Edmunds, East Anglia, UK
3. Seattle, WA
4. Pasadena, CA

Four TV Shows You Love to Watch:

1. Gilmore Girls
2. Lost
3. Without a Trace
4. 24

Four of Your Favorite Books:

1. The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
2. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
3. Absalom, Absalom (William Faulkner)
4. Persuasion (Jane Austen)

Four Places You've Been on Vacation:

1. Hawaii
2. Disneyland
3. Whistler
4. Paris

Four Websites You Visit Daily:

1. CNN
2. Baby Name Board
3. Ebay
4. iTunes Music Store

Four of Your Favorite Foods:

1. Yellow Curry
2. Filet Mingon
3. Pad See-ew
4. Maytag Bleu Cheese Salad

Four Places You'd Rather Be Right Now:

1. Santa Barbara's East Beach with ice blended vanilla in hand
2. The massage room at in Spa
3. Jerusalem's, the old city market sipping some Turkish coffee
4. In an English classroom

All the bloggers I know have already been tagged. ;)

Coffee anyone?

I just learned on Oprah that coffee... drum roll please... makes you younger! Yes, coffee shaves years off of your "real age" and keeps you younger and healthier. I should be about 16 in that case.

And so it turns out that one of my vices is actually a virture. Hooray!

Work Life Balance Seminars

I find it ironic that the work life balance group at my firm is holding a seminar after work next week on how to juggle work and your personal life. Here's a thought... how about attending less afterwork seminars?

And yes, there is a whole group devoted to this that has extra meetings, deliverables, and seminars to talk about work life balance... it's like holding a chocolholic convention at Hershey's headquarters.

Pet Peeve

Robin: Is there coffee?
Randy: In the world? Yes.

Grrrr.....

Kira's Christmas List

I asked Kira what she wanted for Christmas. This is her list:

1. To be princess of Lynnwood, Washington.
2. For Greta to learn to talk now.
3. For all of us to get over our colds.
4. For us to be able to relax all the time.

I'm not exactly sure how to gift wrap those...

Growing up

My girls just turned 3 months and 5 years on the same day a couple of weeks ago. And I realized that suddenly Kira has changed from a toddlerish sort of girl to a real kid. I can see that she'll be ready to go to school and start tackling the world without me by her side every moment. I know I should be glad about that, and I am, but part of me wants to cuddle her up and make her a baby again. It's a good thing I have a new one to start all over with. :)

You can see for yourself. Here is Kira six months ago, and Kira today - when did this happen?!:

And - a picture of my little three month old in case she ever accuses me of never taking her picture... (I've heard second children can do that when they grow up... ;))

On sleeping in her own bed...

Kira: I do not want to discuss that
Randy: Why not?
Kira: Because my feelings are like glass about that. They will break and shatter into a million little pieces.

Guess where Kira is sleeping tonight...

Just your average night at home...

Going to bed in my house is a Saturday Night Live skit on an average day. There's me, finally with a sleeping baby at her natural bed time of 1am slipping her into her Nest, Kira over into the middle of the bed - making sure that she's not just *leaning* that way or she'll flip back the moment I get in. Scooting Randy all the way to his side so I have room to scoot Kira over, and inevitably the baby wakes up and I pick her up and let her lie down with us all for a while as my shoulder goes to sleep because she's using it for a pillow again. That's everyday.

One night this week, all of the above had occurred as usual and then I hear that cough that every mother knows, right in my ear. The cough that comes from the *stomach* not the chest. I flick the light on, lauch the baby into the nest, grab Kira and run to the bathroom. And yes, she's throwing up the whole way. I get her cleaned up. Get her changed. Get her back in bed. Look in the Nest and there's the wide awake baby. I get the baby who is now hungry and nurse her in bed. She finishes nursing and... hmm... there's that cough again but this time it's Gigi's turn. Randy, who had successfully faked sleep through the last escapade, flicks his light on this time and says "Can I get you anything?" and with perfect timing Gigi then throws up ALL over me, and the bed, and herself. And I say "Yes, a towel". And it keeps coming. This event is made all the more perfect by the fact that I'd just washed and changed all the bedding this afternoon.

Randy takes the baby (at arms length) and proceeds to act like the perfect father while cleaning her up... "Nothing comes out of this baby but love!" Hmmm, where were you an hour ago?

So, baby gets cleaned up. I get cleaned up. Bed gets as clean as it's gonna get at 3 am. We all get ready to get back in bed and Kira says "My tummy doesn't feel so good." Uh oh.

Rush Kira to the bathroom - more throwing up. Put her in the bathtub to keep her warm and close to the toilet now.

Finally, everyone is back in bed and keeping their insides to themselves by 4:30. Ahhhhh....

Movie Review

My Date With Drew

One man and his dream, to get a date with Drew Barrymore.

Seriously, this is a guy whose had a crush on Drew Barrymore since he was ten and, finding himself unemployed and with time on his hands picked up a video camera at Circuit City because he could return it in 30 days and get his money back and video taped his quest to get a date with Drew. He used the $1100 he'd just won in a game show to finance the quest - and by the way, "Drew Barrymore" was the winning answer.

It's funny, uplifting, encouraging and if you watch this before you go to bed instead of Law and Order you won't keep imagining yourself as the body in the opening scene. (Um, not that anyone would do that...right)

Coming clean

After years of avoiding daytime television and anything really with a studio audience, I've become one of those people who talk about what was on Oprah. I confess. My sister got me hooked a few weeks ago and I might have even poked fun at *her* for liking Oprah. Now, I'm not only addicted, but really feel like people should *know* that she just sent her entire staff of over 400 people and their families to Hawaii, or just gave some random fan a new house, then remodled it, then furnished it, then promised to send her 10 kids to college.

I'm one of them now. The Oprah viewers. Oprah's on, people.

Kira's Question of the Day

Kira (out of the blue while playing Dora game on my computer): Mama, does an anteater have a prehensile tail?

Me: Um...

Kira, sensing the pause: Prehensile means it could hang from it

Me, defensively: I knew what it meant! (right) Um, yes, they do, they definately have a prehensile tail.

Me: Why?

Kira: Well, I was wondering if an anteater could eat an ant in a tree, because ants climb trees, and if it had a prehensile tree it could.

Oh, well sure. Clearly we've been watching too much of animal planet...

31 and counting...

Today was my birthday and I have to say that I found 31 a touch harder than turning 30. There's so much buildup to 30, it's like a novelty number. Woo hoo! I made it! I survived turning 30!!!

But now, I'm 31 and thinking, "Hey wait, I was good and did that whole turning 30 thing just fine. Can't we go back to my real age now?!" But no, the numbers keep getting bigger.

And then we went out and celebrated and my beautiful girl sang happy birthday to me all by herself in front of everyone at the restaurant, and my husband gave me sweet cards and presents (one of which actually required him going into Sephora and picking out makeup with only a 4 year old to help him!) and I thought that maybe 31 isn't so bad. ;)

product review

I would like to report for all moms and moms to be my new favorite diaper:
Seventh Generation Diapers

Aside from the warm fuzzy I get every time I look at them thinking a certain friend of mine would be so proud of me (unless you go all the way and use cloth, do you Jen?) they are the best diaper I've tried to date and I think I've tried them all. They really DO feel like cloth on the inside, almost never leak, and don't leave any sad little red marks on the babe. And of course, are eco-friendly, or as close as you can get with a disposable diaper.

Malaprops

Kira has a few words that she doesn't quite get right on a regular basis...

1. Otherwise: "I need my coat eitherwise I will get cold"
2. Crutches: "Grandpa Rick used crunches to walk when his ankle was broken"
3. Rest Ye: "Mama, listen to me play God Rescue the Merry Gentlemen on the piano"

But the one I refuse to correct...

Wife: "Daddy, listen to her, she's your LIFE!"

Things I've learned from my daughter...

On food...

Kira: Can I have a bedtime snack?

Me: Sure. What do you want?

Kira: Something sweet that's healthy for you.

Me thinking "Hmm... well, we have nonfat vanilla ice cream..."

Kira: You know, like carrots or broccoli

Yeah, um, exactly what I was going to suggest... I've somehow created a child who's very health conscious and I can promise you that it's nothing I've imparted to her on purpose. I don't know how these things happen. On the other hand, she hates cats, and I don't know how that happened either!

On relationships...

While watching tv at my mom's house she turns to my mom and says she thinks she's had enough tv and they should go to the yarn store.

Grandma: But you haven't seen this show before

Kira: Yes, and I would like to watch it, but loving someone means doing what they want to do, not what you want to do and I know you want to go to the yarn store.


And other times, she locks the cat in the pantry. Life is a mystery.

The Bachelors and the Bobbysoxer

Upon donning the costume:

Kira - "Let's play Movie!"

Randy and Robin - "Ok" (having no idea what this game is)

Kira - "I'll be the movie, and you be the audience."

Hmm.....

After winning third place at the costume contest:

Kira - "But Mom, how could I win without even having an act?"

Robin - "What do you mean?"

Kira - "Well, I just stood so still up on the stage. I didn't have an act or anything!"

Two Months Today

Miss Gigi is two months old today. I'd like to say that it feels like yesterday that I was having her, but in reality, it feels like yesterday that I was saying "Why are there two lines on the stick if I'm not pregnant?"

I'm sure tomorrow I'll be sending her off to kindergarten and the next day Kira will be going to college.

Here is the little two month old.