Bending the rules

This year, like all the ones that came before it, I vowed to stay "carb free." This worked for about 36 hours. I also vowed to enjoy myself and not stress out over every single calorie. Today at the supermarket K decided she wanted to make brownies so we bought some brownie making things and came home. Somewhere between Just Dance 3 and Mario Cart she reminded me of my promise to bake with her. I knew this actually meant bake for her while she plays with D. No problem for me, less mess if I do it. In a matter of minutes the house smelled like a bakery and I knew my carb rule was out the window. As promised I didn't stress over it, in fact after K was in bed I opened a nice bottle of something red and had another brownie. Somehow the combination of chocolate and wine just makes me happy.

I can eat a salad tomorrow.

NFL Bad Day 2008.mp4

This was me.

New Yeah!

I know, I know, I'm way behind. The end of this year was absolutely insane. We took a crazy roadtrip for Thanksgiving driving a total of 1045 miles, the best part was a few days in SF staying at our favorite hotel. Then K was busy working (did you happen to see a certain Target commercial with a cute little baker?) then she got sick. Then D got sick. Ugh. Then preparing for the holidays in between the ridiculous amount of socializing we did. K and I did a girls trip down to SD giving D some time to relax. He didn't. That all led up to Hanukkah and Christmas and a visit from my mom. Surprisingly it went really well, I only lost my temper once when she referred to my sister as "you know who." The good thing about that altercation is her new nickname, from now on my sister will be known as Voldemort.

While my mom was in town D and I took advantage of the free babysitter and took off for a romantic night away from home. I kind of knew something was up when we arrived at hotel without getting lost. I walked into a candlelit room full of rose petals. It was one of those epic nights that I will keep with me always.

The Christmas carnage wasn't too bad, K got a crazy amount of gifts. This will make it easy for her to donate a massive amount of old toys and books to a local orphanage where K will actually meet the kids receiving her well cared for items.

More socializing and visiting which brings us to New Years Eve. I'm not a huge fan of this particular holiday, this may be a result of excessive celebrating during my New York days. It could also be way D and I always end up with nothing fabulous to do (and the lack of sittage). This year we had plans actually made before December 30th. Friends (with kids) were having a party. Friends with no agenda, no issues and nothing but fun on their minds. Friends we have known for years and always enjoy seeing. It was such a nice change to ring in the new year with positivity. The kids (who have grown up together) entertained us and did their best to make it to midnight, K did, the other two tried their best.

We spent the final hours of 2011 amongst friends, eating, drinking and laughing. A complete opposite of the way we entered it. 2011 got off to a rocky start but it turned out to be one of the best years ever. Last year my resolution was to spend more time Face to Face than on Facebook. I excelled at this. Not only did I spend an enormous amount of time with friends, I spent that time with new friends because my other resolution was to get rid of anyone who lived in drama.

So my resolution for this year is to continue to share my life with my friends. To be there when they need me and to lean on them when I need to. This was a year of growth for all of us and I am proud to say we did a fantastic job. When conflicts came up (and they did) we calmly worked them out. When we couldn't agree we compromised and it didn't feel bad.

My other resolution is to be better about writing, even if it's just to repost my favorite video. I will also learn to use the new camera lens my amazing husband just bought for me. With a bunch of beautiful kids at my disposal I'm sure my job will be easy.

Here's to a fabulous 2012.

Blur

Prince - The Most Beautiful Girl In The World

The moment I found out I was carrying a girl this song popped into my head. While I was pretty convinced the baby was a boy the news didn't come as a shock. I hoped she would be healthy, I hoped she would be happy and I hoped she would be beautiful. Maybe that was shallow of me but isn't that what everyone wants? So for the months that followed I imagined the video I was going to make of my daughter to this song. Being married to an editor was a guarantee that this was something that will be done (oops!)

OK, so eight years later I still think of this song (and unmade video) on a daily basis, I got more than I ever hoped to get. My little daughter is as healthy as they come (knock wood) she's usually pretty happy and she is so beautiful sometimes I don't think she's real.

Eight years ago today D and I were in a hospital room with a medical team trying to flip our little acrobat around. We were sleep deprived and scared not knowing what was really happening. My four page birth plan was out the window and we had no idea what was going on. Eventually though, babies come out so I'll spare the gory details (even though I am positive they are on this blog multiple times) and say she made her appearance as only she could.

Eight years ago today I was given a tiny (and I mean tiny!) little baby girl with a mass of black hair and the biggest eyes I had ever seen. D and I stared at her in that plastic box they keep babies in wondering what we were supposed to do next. Nurses and visitors all said how beautiful she was and how lucky we were. We were happy she was healthy and beautiful but scared shitless. Now what?

The rest was a blur, thankfully captured by my relentless picture taking. Today I woke up to an eight year old grinning from ear to ear eager to open the giant pile of gifts she had received. All I could think of were the lyrics to "Once In A Lifetime." How did I get here? Who is this kid in my house? Where's my baby? Certainly not the kid that told me yesterday that a boy likes her (oops, that's a secret, so shhhh!) Who is this young lady who effortless goes from a whole week of modeling to hanging upside down on the monkey bars at school without missing a beat? Who is this girl who can't walk through town without a chorus of "K!!!!!" It can't be my tiny infant whose head smells like cinnamon buns. Can it?

Well they said it would go by fast but I never believed it. Not that eight is the end of childhood but if these last eight years went by so fast the next will be here soon enough. I still relentlessly run after my child with a camera (although her "career" keeps her well documented) but soon she'll be too fast for me. I do cherish each day with her, even the ones where she pisses me off to no end. What quells my anger is the thought that one day I will wish for her rolly eyes. Once she's a teenager I'll probably only see the back of her beautiful head.

Happy Birthday to my beautiful angel baby. I love you with all my heart. I am so proud of the things you have accomplished at such a young age. Keep doing what you're doing but do me a favor, slow down once in a while so I can get a glimpse of your beautiful smile.

Oh and I will make that video, hopefully before your next birthday!!!

Sorry isn't always an option

I have a few other post to finish but I saw this last night and had to share. Dealing with bullying was something I knew was coming, I thought I would have a few years. Unfortunately life never goes as planned and this issue was introduced to our house a few years ago. While we thought we had dealt with it and had it under wraps as you can see from the lesson below it never really goes away. We are lucky that K has some amazing friends and a great teacher. As well as parents that she can come to at any time. When I saw this it reminded me how deep some wounds lay. This is a great lesson for kids to see exactly how others are affected by their actions. Actually it's not just for kids, many adults can learn from this as well, although the capacity to learn from mistakes is a task that kids master a lot easier than their older counterparts. Thanks to my childhood friend Staci who posted this on Facebook last night. I am bringing it to K's class on Monday.


A teacher in New York was teaching her class about bullying and gave them the following exercise to perform:

She had the children take a piece of paper and told them to crumple it up, stamp on it and really mess it up but do not rip it. Then she had them unfold the paper, smooth it out and look at how scarred and dirty is was. She then told them to tell it they’re sorry. Now even though they said they were sorry and tried to fix the paper, she pointed out all the scars they left behind. And that those scars will never go away no matter how hard they tried to fix it. That is what happens when a child bully’s another child, they may say they’re sorry but the scars are there forever. The looks on the faces of the children in the classroom told her the message hit home.

Pass it on or better yet, if you're a parent or a teacher, do it with your child/children.

Friday Wisdom

So true.

SLACKER!

I know, I promise to write and then I don't. My dad is in town and we've been so busy running around and enjoying his visit. Trying to get him to move here permanently by showing him how great our lives are and introducing him to our amazing friends! Also, K has been working so when I'm not driving I'm set sitting!! Not complaining just explaining!!!

Will write soon, promise!!