At Schoen Place today.

Lauren's New Glasses

After a very rough Friday - where she had to get a shot of antibiotics in each leg - Lauren was feeling better. We did pick up her new glasses - NOT the style I'd prefer, but what she needs for now. It has been a battle of wills getting her to keep them on (and yes, I am being defeated by a 19 month old).

She thinks it's fun for a minute, then says, "glasses, all done" and rips them off.



Then I take them, put them back on and say, "glasses on"... and the scene repeats until Mommy gives up.

Happy Birthday Honey

Today is hubby's 40th birthday. We've been together longer than we've been apart - 22 years. I've met him in 9th grade, he asked me to the prom in 11th, asked me to marry him in college, and married on a beautiful day in 1991. This past year and a half has been the best, he is such a wonderful Father. Lauren and I are lucky girls.

And still easy on the eyes.

Lauren and I are both very sick today. Bad cold. She also has an ear infection. We still tried to go to work/daycare today, but then I got a call from Daycare... when they got her up from her nap, she waddled over to the mini-bean bag chair and planted herself, somewhat dazed and half asleep. I picked her up early, ordered us a pizza, (she was very excited, repeating "peeza, peeza, peeza"), she ate a decent amount, played a bit, then passed out by 6pm.

I took some cold medicine and, 3 hours later, can almost ALMOST breath through my nose, but, of course, am not tired. Am wired.

Luckily, we are both "off" tomorrow - it is hubby's 40th birthday (though we may not be in any shape to celebrate)!!

Kissing Daddy Through the Window

When Daddy is out mowing the lawn, Lauren watches him through the door, yelling, "Daddy, Daddy". Daddy stopped over for a kiss.

F*ing Bumper

Fucking bumper!

--------
BACKSTORY:
My brother just sent me this photo of his bumper.

When I was out visiting him in LV in January, he had an "incident". He has an automatic starter on his truck so that he can get the air conditioning going early. But it's a manual transmission. So he leaves it in neutral.

Well, we thought I might go somewhere, so he left it in 1st for me.

Later, when WE went to go somewhere together, he clicked on his automatic starter as we were walking up to the truck. Suddenly, the truck lurched forward about 4 feet. We both stood there, in shock for a minute or two - when suddenly, it lurched forward AGAIN, another 4 feet, into a small retaining wall just past the sidewalk. In the shock of the first "jump", my brother had forgotten that the auto starter tries again.

This time he jumped in, put the truck in neutral, then started it and backed up off the retaining wall and sidewalk, back into the parking spot.

When he got out and assessed the damage, the bumper had been slightly pulled. He managed to snap it back into place, but the gap between the bumper and the body is slightly larger than it should be. What I like to call the only-noticable-to-him gap.

So all he can ever say about it, in disgust, is: "Fucking Bumper" - and we both laugh at the ridiculous stupidity of the whole thing.

As I mentioned last week, my brother moved back from LV. Since then he got 1 job, quit the next day, then started a new one doing groundskeeping at a golf course. He likes this one, but of course, it will end soon as the season ends. Then he'll be on to job 3.

My brother is so funny, even though he's broke, back living with his Mom, single, and will likely never have kids... he's giving my sister marriage advice and both of us parenting advice.

He's actually very sweet and helpful, he decorated at McDonald's playland for our nephew's birthday. Even my sister's husband wouldn't have done that.

Can you tell we have the same nose - we both inherited from Dad. Actually, Adam looks like a spitting image of my Dad, except chubbier and with red hair. Back in the 70's my hippy Dad had long hair and I used to braid it for him. I loved doing that, it was WAY better than having a Beauty Shop Barbie.

Posted new pictures of Lauren. YoBaby Yogurt is having a photo contest, so I snapped a few to maybe submit one. She truly does love the yogurt - it's a "go to" food.

She's starting to be able to repeat almost any word we say, so as she was digging through the laundry tonight, I said, "no, dirty, dirty"... and then she says it right back, "dirry, dirry". That makes her kind of like a fun toy... but I just have to be extra careful not to say some of my favorite words - jackass and dumbass - because I'm sure she'll find those fun to say.

These are the kinds of things that happen to my family...

After spending Thursday, Friday, and Saturday helping my sister move, she was officially "all moved in" to her new house on Saturday.

Sunday morning, at 5:32am, my cell phone rang. It was my sister. I answered but heard only static.

I hung up and she called right back. Again, only static.

Now I am starting to get very worried. She is in a new house and I am assuming something bad might be happening.

I hang up again and try to call her back, as I am calling, she beeps in - but again, static.

Panic is setting in.

I call her husband's phone. No answer.

I call her with my regular phone, thinking maybe it's a cell phone issue. No answer.

Now I am truly panic'd. I think I should drive over there (half hour drive) but am afraid to show up there by myself - if something bad is happening - little me is not going to do much.

I call 911. Tell them what is happening. They need the address. Seeing as though she JUST moved in, I don't even know the exact address.

As the 911 operator tells me that I will probably have to meet the police there, my Sister calls my home phone.

[In a very sleepy voice] "Teen, is everything ok? I saw that you called"]

Me: "You're phone was calling me, hold on a second."

I tell 911 everything is ok.

Me, back on the phone with my Sister... "You're phone was calling me (now I start mostly crying) and it was static and I was so worried that something had happened..."

Sher, "I was sleeping on the couch and my phone was on vibrate, then it started blasting your ring tone. I realized it was 5 something am and you were calling me and I panic'd that something bad had happened".

-----------

Yep, so these are the kinds of things that happen to my family. My sister's phone dials me at 5:30am coincidentally on the first night in their new house... and on my second call back, her phone switches to high volume, wakes her up and she gets panic'd. So we both get a boost in blood pressure, then relief.

It's just freaky, I tell you.

Crazy couple weeks. Grandma went into the hospital, was in ICU for a few days. Her heart rate had gotten very very low. Doing much better, hopefully home this week.

Found out Lauren needs glasses. This will be a challenge.

My sister moved and I spent most of my time helping by either packing, bringing food, and/or entertaining the kids. Note: entertaining the kids can be the hardest part!

Extremely excited to be going to the Toronto Film Festival next weekend. George Clooney is going to be there. If I had guts, I'd bring a box of hair dye and offer to dye his hair. I think of this (not because he needs it) but I read once (not sure where, gossip rag I'm sure) that someone saw him in a drugstore buying hair dye and he said it was "for a friend".

Colin Firth will also be there. He is my favorite. Really hope to see him (again).

Oh Danny Boy

Yeah, so after watching last night's performances, I'd say Danny definitely deserves to win. I love Sabra too. Either way, it's cool that they will all be touring. I just wish that Hok had made it in to the Top 10! They should still hire him for the tour.

This week, along with reading Lauren her favorite books, playing ring around the rosy, blowing bubbles, vowing never to buy toys made in China, still allowing a tiny bit of Baby Einstein DVD viewing, and trying to get her to warm up to my little bro (who looks like a chubbier, scarier, red-headed Jesus), I've been watching tv after the little one is in bed (shocking)...

...finale of Hell's Kitchen (yay Rock), new season of Design Star, snippets of The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch and, my fave, So You Think You Can Dance. It's American Idol for dancers. The finalists are really amazing and many of the routines are breathtaking (yes, I might even buy a ticket for the tour). I am rooting for Neil, he does some crazy good jumps - and he's very cute (though so is Danny). The finale is tomorrow night and I will likely be voting for Neil. You should too.

Here are two of my favorite dance routines:

Neil & Sabra dance Jazz to Annie Lennox



Neil & Sara Disco (Sara was amazing too, especially since she was a B-girl - which means her dance style was a street, hip-hop type of dance)

Green Little Elephants

Have I blogged about these Little Animals Tees before? They are so adorable and, even though I KNOW Lauren will be mistaken for a boy (grow hair, grow), I must get her the Elephant tee (the Elephant is her favorite animal... not that she realizes this yet, but someday she will).

Aside from being insanely adorable, they are green (as in environmentally conscious) - 100% organic unbleached cotton, made in the US (ie, design is not made with lead paint), and the packaging is made from corn, so it's biodegradable.

Slowly but surely Lauren's wardrobe is morphing from neon to natural... but with my Mother-in-Law buying a closet full of clothes every couple months, this is no small challenge! The Grandparents still think GREEN just means the color of their perfectly manicured, pesticide laced lawn.

Can you believe that the retirement village they live in - The Villages in FL - does NOT recycle!! Way to give a crap about the state you leave the planet in, old folks! (Note that my in-laws would recycle if their community supported it, but apparently they don't feel strongly enough to take any action to make that happen.)

Was over in Emeryville today visiting Kodak Gallery. Had dinner at Skates on the Bay - it was a great view and the food was great too. I had Lobster Mac & Cheese - YUM - and Judy shared one of her scallops. I'd never had scallops before - I am a convert - it was excellent.

I talked to my little bro on the phone earlier today (little only as in younger - 28). He had been living in Vegas (he was born there and lived there until he was 11, then moved to NY, then back to Vegas a couple years ago) - he was working as a cab driver (which I think is just the coolest thing - to meet all walks of Vegas life) - but alas, he is young and stupid and irresponsible and therefore broke, so he is moving back home to NY to live with his Mom (my StepMom).

He was calling from the road - driving from Vegas - and was about 100 miles outside of Rochester. He didn't know I was in California, but I hope to see him on Friday.

I am sure Lauren will look at him like, "who the hell are you and what is that THING growing out of your face?" And Adam will look at her like, "she's cute, but I'm not touching her." I'm sure at some point she will become comfortable with him as her Uncle and he will become comfortable with her as a tiny person who goes to the bathroom in her pants.

After the hell that was Sat and Sun morning, I felt well enough to go on my business trip to San Fran Monday morning (Lauren & Daddy are doing much better too). On the plane, watched Spidey 3 (ok) and Blades of Glory - was laughing out loud. Totally stupid hilarious humor. Some real genius lines, like, "I see you have learned to work the Google on the internet machine."

The trip is going very well so far, though chilly, which I am finding to be a refreshing change from the near 90 and very humid weather back home. Took a few pics with my cam phone, when I went to review them, they are not there, not sure what happened. So gone is the picture of the R2D2 mailbox along with a couple others.

Great food so far too. Last night Judy (my boss) and I ate at Cafe Claude, an adorable little French place. I had Coq au Vin for the first time, along with Gratin Dauphinois (Au Gratin potatoes - Betty Crocker, hang your head in shame). DELISH!!! I highly recommend it.

This morning we had breakfast at Cafe de la Presse - again (by coincidence - we were just happening by) - a French cafe type place. Cappuccino was perfect. I got Eggs Benedict and Judy got Vanilla French Toast and we swapped half of each (this is what Jenny and I love to do - and I was so happy that Judy likes to share food too!!) and both were heavenly. Again, highly recommend it.

Both are near Union Square.

And tonight, after a very long day of watching focus groups, Judy and I hopped the trolley to Fisherman's Wharf to eat In-N-Out Burger.

I can go home happy now.

Let me start by saying that Little L has been sick since Wednesday evening, when she promptly barfed up all her dinner. This was followed the next morning by finding her in her crib covered by what was, at one point, peanut butter and jelly. Since then, she's also added a green-snotty nose. She is not eating or drinking much at all. The Dr. said it was a virus and just to keep trying to give her liquids.

I stayed home with her Thursday (watching coverage of the bridge collapse in horror), Daddy stayed home with her Friday, this morning he felt "off" and I went off for my manicure. As I was finishing up, I started to feel queasy. Headed home to find Daddy balled up on the floor, Lauren was in bed. Then things went like this:

L woke up crying hard,
try to feed her, get her to drink...
alert Daddy to open eyes and watch L,
run to bathroom,
barf up all contents of my stomache...
brush teeth and regroup...
put L for nap, put me for a nap...
hear L crying, get up (Daddy MIA - hugging the bowl)...
put L on changing table...
horrible feeling of nausea sweeps over me...
put L on the floor, yell for Daddy, close her door...
run to bathroom and barf up even more stuff...
brush teeth and regroup...
try to feed L (Daddy is even more incapacitated than me)...
let Baby Einstein DVD distract L for awhile...
try to get her to drink...
count down the minutes until her bedtime...
finally she's asleep after much crying...
break out into a fever...
start to blog (when I should be sleeping)

There should be some emergency babysitting response unit or something for when two parents are so ill they can barely move, yet the baby needs care and you don't want your family or friends to catch this horrible bug that floored you all in the first place. This was a bad situation that I wouldn't wish on anyone.

When Lauren's Grandma (Chuck's Mom) was here last, she brought a couple "kits" to put Lauren's handprints on t-shirts - one for Daddy and one for Papa.

Needless to say, Lauren wore more of the paint than made it on to the shirt. I love her expressions.

Who Wins in Cincinnati?

Because it's on before Entourage and Flight of the Conchords (which bears repeating that it is SHEAR GENIUS HUMOR), I started catching snippets of John from Cincinnati. I couldn't quite follow the plot or figure out the characters (is Al Bundy talking to his parrot or his dead wife?) This is the first time this has ever happened to me. So I watched more, each week, hoping to figure out what was actually happening. Each week still wondering, WTF?

Now I think it was some tv exec's (or apparently, David Milch's) maniacal scheme to put on a show with good acting (except the young kid, he's as stiff as Cheney's arteries), good filming, and an implied theme (surfing and family drama, with some sci fi thrown in), but no real overall plot. Just because they can.

I am angry. BOTTOM LINE: John from Cincinnati has nothing on WKRP in Cincinnati.

Chuck just said the f-word

Chuck just said the f-word about another driver - as in, what the ef is this person doing - in front of Mya and Lauren.

Jenny is at blogHer, I

Jenny is at blogHer, I really wish I were there with her! We are on our way to 1000 Islands for Christmas in July.

I need to get a cookbook for ideas on dinners to make for Lauren. I guess now that she is a year and half, I need to start being more responsible / proactive / commited / organized (yes, I'm crying now... I used to be the only one who suffered from my shortcomings... ok, maybe Chuck suffered a little too, but he's perfectly capable so I don't have sympathy).

Here are her (and my) little nuances about meals:

- likes veggies (thought still often gets them in the form of baby food)
- loves pasta
- doesn't seem to like meat
- not quite using a fork/spoon yet - uses fingers
- needs to be healthy (no chicken nuggets)
- needs to be fast and easy to make

I'm thinking of getting Organic Baby & Toddler Cookbook. Any other recommendations?

Save the Planet & Laugh While You're At It

My day...

Wake the baby up, she's out of sorts with two ear infections, but luckily likes her medicine. Even says "meh e sin", as if asking for more.

Driving in listenting to NPR, hear about the passing of former King of Afghanistan, get choked up - it's going to be a hormonal day.

At work, find out about a HORRIFIC, mean comment on one of my Kodak blog posts about Lauren. Burst in to tears. Stupid idiot with keyboard got to me on my hormonal day.

Go to pick up Lauren, am greeted by the director who warns me about an incident report - Lauren fell, scratched her cheek. She was fine, only cried for a sec, but after nap, it looked worse and might bruise.


See Lauren - AAGHH - scratch covering half her chubby little cheek - and a runny nose to boot. Great, two ear infections, a face wound, and a cold, but handling it like a champ.

Hubby calls, asks me to google "clogged ear" - he's been sick and, though he was well enough to golf today (SHOCKING), he now can't hear out of his right ear (btw, you use warm compresses, take pseudophed, and jump around while contorting your face)

Once online, can't drag myself away. The heat from the laptop is burning my leg. Must visit more websites...

Find a site called Project Phin: Clean my Ride, Flex my Fuel

Many funny videos about the quest to lessen our dependency on oil and help the environment (even if it does mean paying more for popcorn - another tidbit from NPR)... from a guy named Phin - supported comedically (is that a word?) by Ben Afflec, Matt Damon, Jen Garner, Sarah Silverman, Jason Biggs, and more.

Here's the first one:

Marathon

UPDATE: DUE TO CHARLIE'S HEALTH, OR LACK OF, IT LOOKS LIKE THE PLAN TO RUN IN THE MARATHON IS IN JEOPARDY.


Hubby is going for it this year - he is running in the Rochester Marathon (the half). He's been running a bit for a couple years now, but he's kickin it up a notch this year. Nothing like waiting until the year you turn 40 to attempt a marathon. But still much better than sitting on your a** eating Margarita cake and watching E! News (any similarity to actual persons, living in the same household, is purely coincidental).

Oh, and THIS JUST IN, he plans to do two Triathalon's next year! Now that's a good way to kick off your 40's. If there were a shopping triathalon, I'd so be there... 1st leg - groceries, 2nd leg - apparel, 3rd leg (and the most difficult) - shoes.

Bedtime Books

For Lauren's baby shower, Aprille got her the book How Do Dinosaurs Clean their Room? Lauren became very fond of this book, especially the last line - "Thank You, Thank You little Dinosaur." She even started saying "dinosaur" a few weeks back. Aprille informed me that there are a few in this series, so I headed to the bookstore to buy another Dinosaur book and maybe one other book. Jenny met me in the kid section and became very animated - "Toot and Puddle... Olivia... the Pigeon books..." She was very excited to point out the must-haves. I couldn't buy them all at once, but along with "How Do Dinosaurs Count to Ten", I opted to get Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems. I think Lauren likes this book, but more importantly, I LOVE IT. Most of the book is the pigeon asking, begging, pleading to drive the bus. At one point and yells, "LET ME DRIVE THE BUS!!" I love reading this part in my best high pitched, exasperated pigeon-y voice

Jenny did not want Lauren to have to wait for her first Olivia book, so she got it for her. She brought it over yesterday and read it to her. Lauren enjoyed it very much. She stayed attentive through the whole book, which is no small feat. Today Lauren grabbed her Olivia book and brought it to me to read. I think it has instantly became one of her favorite books.

So the bedtime book routine has seen it's first major overhaul. Brown Bear and Goodnight Moon have been retired. Goodnight Gorilla never really captured her attention. Now it's the Dinosaur book, the Olivia book, and Mommy's favorite - the Pigeon book (vroom, vroom, vroomy vroom vroom, pigeon at the wheel)...

and then Mommy goes to bed and reads The Devil Wears Prada. I will save that for Lauren to read in another 15 years.

fiddlin with my blog design - tryin to get the new template right

You Give me Fever

Last Friday, hubby came home, took his temperature, declared he had a fever of 99.6 and promptly went to bed. He was mostly better within a day or two.

I woke up this Wednesday with a very sore throat, went to work, felt crappier by the minute, got home, took my temperature, declared that I had a fever of 99.8 (I win) and promplty went to bed - but not before requesting a grilled cheese sandwhich - made with lots of butter - while threatening not to eat anything if I did not receive a grilled cheese sandwich. A little while later, hub brought me up one of the most delicious grilled cheese sandwiches ever. I felt better the next day. He credits his grilled cheese.

Last night and this morning Little L had a fever over 101 (she really wins). Per our "Don't Panic Handbook" from the doctor's office, this is ok if she is otherwise eating and acting mostly normal. Which she is. Except she took the longest nap ever today. She got up at 8am, then was back in bed by 10am, then slept on and off until 3pm! She is back in bed as of about 5:45 for another round of sleep. If she still has a fever tomorrow, I'm sure she will be seeing the doctor.

Ok, she's crying right now, so I must go cuddle my little sickie chickie.

The World Series of Pop Culture has started up again. Some of the questions are relatively easy, but some are ridiculously hard and I don't know how anyone knows them. I find myself knowing some pretty obscure ones, which is why I thought I might give it a go... I did once have the nickname "TV Guide Tina"... but I bombed out on the online aftershow game tonight... didn't know which ball field Ferris Bueller and his friends went to... I guessed Fenway, but it was Wrigley. As soon as you miss one, BAM, game over. Harsh.

They should do a new game - like Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon - but with points for the most obscure connections. Here's my first go:

The handyman's name on One Day at a Time was Schneider, which also starred Valerie Bertinelli, who was married to Eddie Van Halen and who is now doing Jenny Craig commercials with Kirsty Ally, who starred in Veronica's Closet with Dan Cortez, who was originally the host of MtV Sports, with Daisy Fuentes, who now has her own clothing line...

ok, this could go on for entirely too long, but it's fun.

Jenny and I used to do a game where we'd give each other a song title and we'd have to type up what we could remember of (or what we thought were) the lyrics. It was challenging, fun and the resulting "songs" were often pretty hilarious.

There are a couple new shows out about knowing the lyrics to songs. I haven't watched them, but I think I'd be good at this - EXCEPT you have to sing them - and I would die of embarassment. I've never done Karaoke and never will. People tell me, "have a few drinks, loosen up." I say, "I would black out from intoxication before I'd have enough liquid courage to get in front of people and sing." And trust me, it's in everyone's best interest that I do not sing.

Those of you who know me, know that I have Apiphobia - fear of bees. I'm not proud of it. I know I don't need to be afraid - unless stepped on or provoked, bees usually won't sting (and, in fact, I've never actually been stung) - I just can't control the fear that overcomes me when I see a bee - or God forbid - a wasp. I know we need bees to survive and the little buzzers are in quite a pickle right now (which means humans are screwed sooner or later too)...

But when I saw this article - "Bees' Violent Preference Makes Sense" - my first thought was "HA!, I've been right all along..." then I looked closer... it read Bees VIOLET Tendencies... they like the color purple.

Dammit, still just an irrational fear based on nothing but the phobia inherited from my Grandmother. (thouth we won't even TALK about the Killer Bees...)

Flight of the Conchords is sheer brilliance. It's about two New Zealanders who are best friends, live together in NYC, and have a band called Flight of the Conchords. They break in to song on the show - the songs are hilarious.

Tonight's episode has Bret dating Coco and Jermaine going along on all the dates. They write her a song called "What You're In to" and they both sing it to her on one of the dates... here are some of the lyrics, they just get more weird from there...

Bret: If you want me to, I will take off all my clothes for you, I'll take off all my clothes for you, if that's what you're in to

Jermaine (deep voice): how bout him, in the nude? If that's what you're in to. In the nude in front of you. Is that what you'd want to view?

If you haven't seen it, you should. Jermaine is also in a movie called Eagle vs. Shark which is supposed to be pretty funny too.

7-7-07

Watching the Live Earth concerts. Amazing. I can't believe the incredible lineup of artists.

Duran Duran, Bon Jovi, the Beastie Boys, Metallica... all bringing me back to my teenage years. And Linkin Park, tapping into my inner metal head. I forgot how much I like them.

Aside from enjoying the music, I took a little bit of action... I finally changed a few more lightbulbs over to CF. I had bought the CF bulbs a while back but, as things go with our household, it takes forever for us to actually take action. Sad really. I will buy more and I promise to install them within 3 days of purchasing them!

I also went to Green Girl Guide and signed up for their newsletter. Got a $5 off coupon for gDiapers, which I am going to give a try.

I don't do as much as Jenny - who is a beautiful shade of green these days - but I am trying. Especially for Lauren.

The Live Earth website has some great stuff, including some great short films and some beautiful wallpapers.

Had a great trip to NYC. Visited:

Uniqlo - the coolest t-shirt display ever. Got a couple cute ones

Eleni's - got there after 6, stuff was half price, bought a stupid amount of cookies (I'll have the tub and a couple of face creams, two of those dresses, and and a couple of those dad shirts)... I also bought a gorgeous pink cupcake that was as tasty as it was adorable, and a couple mini cupcakes for Jenny that barely survived the trip.

Fat Witch - upon leaving Eleni's in the Chelsea Market, I found Fat Witch next door. I had heard about them on Oprah, I think they were one of her "Favorite Things". I really wanted to like them, but I guess I have to question Oprah's taste because I don't like these brownies AT ALL. Maybe Oprah had one after many days of dieting and that's why it tasted like the best brownie ever. I'd take Pillbury over FW any day.

I also grabbed some pizza, knowing that you pretty much can't go wrong with any pizza place in NYC. The problem was this... the pizza was searing, SEARING hot. Normally I'm impatient because I can't wait to sink my teeth in to the deliciousness. This time, I couldn't wait because I needed to get in a cab to the airport. I bet the pizza would have been delicious if it hadn't been so hot as to take of 3 layers of skin inside my mouth.

Am sitting at Laguardia watching

Am sitting at Laguardia watching bolts of lightning light up the sky and losing hope that my flight home will leave on time.

The Big Apple

Originally uploaded by
ljc@flickr.

I am going to Manhattan tomorrow - a one day trip, but will have some time after my meetings... I am overwhelmed at the possibilities. Suggestions are welcome... shopping, eating, seeing... I will be up near 49th and 8th, but I can hoof it or cab elsewhere.

Jenny's Fear

Hubby is a golf fanatic - and thus hoping to go to the LPGA. Between the four of us (Jenny and our hubbies), we got 4 tickets... but Aaron was going to be out of town this weekend, so we were trying to figure out who could go with who and when.

I said that though hubby and I would like to go on Saturday, we did not have anyone to watch Lauren (HINT, HINT)... here was Jenny's reaction as an attempt to offer to babysit...

uh, I used to watch Hannah, but now I'm outta shape. I'm scared to watch her by myself. I guess I could... it would have to be at your house... not my house of death... knives and stuff laying around...

This is why I love Jenny. Because she says things like "house of death" =)

Plea to Paris Hilton

Paris, Paris, playing dumb,
Got in trouble, to jail you've come.

Money can't buy everything,
it can't buy class or the ability to sing.

Why can't you do something redeeming?
Show Lindsey and Nicole how to have a life with meaning.

Help the poor instead of helping yourself,
put your selfishness and excess on a shelf.

Get out of jail and grow up a lot,
and show people what you've really got.

Use your influence for the greater good,
I'd be happy to hear about THAT on CNN, if you only would.

I got hubby a SkyCaddy Golf GPS device for our anniversary and Father's Day combined (that little sucker was expensive!). Now for those of you who don't know my hubby... he is not the excitable type. No dramatic flare from this boy. But after over 20 years, I can read the tiny signs... and he LOVES this gadget.

It would best be described with an analogy a-la SAT test.

SkyCaddy Golf GPS Gadget is to hubby as meeting Colin Firth in person and having him say, "would you like to have tea and crumpets with me? I find you fascinating!" is to Tina.

Sephora comes to town

Finally Sephora opened in Rochester at Eastview Mall. I share Jenny's sentiment... it won't be so special anymore with it right here, 15 minutes away (as opposed to a plane ride away)... but it is nice to have access to some of my favorite products - Benefit, Philosophy, Aqualina...

I went on Sunday and bought myself a couple little things, including some Oscar Blandi dry shampoo that looked interesting. It smells HEAVENLY and seems to work good, though you look like you aged 10 years at first until the powder gets worked in.

Also sniffed some Marc Jacobs Orange perfume, liked it, sprayed a little paper stick, wanted a sample but, alas, no one was around... so all I have is a great smelling little paper stick. The more I sniff the little stick, the more I like it. A SAMPLE WILL BE MINE!

Lauren started daycare last week, it's been a trying time. On day 1, she seemed pretty happy to be there, "auk, auk" she demanded when we entered class (translation: let me down so I can walk)... saying "Hi" to everyone... smiling alot. Things went downhill over the week... each morning she was less willing to let go of Mommy and crying like crazy as I tried to leave...

And naptime is not going well either - Lauren is not one of those kids who just falls asleep when tired. If she's out and about, she will fight sleep tooth and nail. She doesn't want to miss anything. So naptime, on a cot, in a room full of toys and people, is just not going well... which = cranky, clingy baby, who needs to be in bed early.

And the clingyness is weird.. after 16 months of relative independence (hers and mine) - to suddenly have her "attached to my hip", I'm not sure how I feel. I like the extra attention a little (she likes me, she really likes me), but not when I'm trying to actually DO something, such as cook at a hot stove.

So, we can only hope things will smooth out as she gets more comfortable with the situation.

Aside from that drama, this girlie is becoming quite entertaining. She's communicating well and soaking up new things. She seems to know over 30 words... and over 10 signs from her Baby Einstien video. She likes to golf - she actually hits the ball with the club - and she loves to dance.

This week she also started singing... "ee eye ee eye oh" and "twinkle twinkle"... and she does the hand gestures for Itsy Bitsy Spider... and she says "wow" and "uh, guys... uh, guys"... she is so funny.

But now I gotta stop swearing. Dammit.

--------------------------------------

I love this pic from our visit to my Mom's grave for Mother's Day.

Yay Blake!



On a musically related note, I finally got my very own iPod. How late am I to the game?!! I did use hubby's iPods a bit (even inherited a shuffle but didn't use it much), so I'm not totally lame, but pretty lame. I'm just not one to listen to stuff while working, I find it a bit distracting (but I will certainly try it tomorrow).

So far I've mainly grabbed songs we had already downloaded - so most of them are older - but did add a couple - the new Maroon 5 and Augustana... and of course my all time favorite songs - Battleflag by Lo Fidelity Allstars... and subscribed to several Podcasts...

I'm sure I will be spending many hours and dollars on iTunes buying music! Here's what I have so far for music and podcasts...

- Saw Martha Stewart today, she is amazing

- Heroes was awesome tonight

- Need to buy a new phone, can't decide. I've been a flip-phone girl for many years and an LG fan for most of that... but I am torn between the adorable - but would have to get used to the slider and touchscreen - LG Chocolate Strawberry:


or the newer - flippy LG VX8600



It's not pink, but I can buy a skin for it...

I really want a phone with a higher mega-pixel camera, but the Samsung 3 megapixel phone is megabucks.

Any opinions?

My Sis just called me after dancing the Tango with Bob Lonsberry tonight. She says they "redeemed themselves" with the Tango, so she's hoping they don't get voted off this week so they make it to round 3 for the Tango.

So please go and vote for Sherri & Bob =)

My Sister is dancing on Dancing with Rochester's Stars on Channel 13. I haven't seen it live, but I watched it on the internet. I'm not sure she's very comfortable with the whole TV thing, but either way, it's kinda cool.

On a side note, I'm really ticked off at American Idol... The "Idol Gives Back" was great in what they did to raise money - I donated - but it was super cruel to do the "fake" elimination thing...

I mean seriously, the whole reason they didn't vote anyone off was because they didn't want to do that on a "charity night" but apparently they didn't mind still putting them all through sheer hell - especially Jordin. It was pretty shitty and I have to say, they're probably lucky that I had already called in my donation. I mean weren't any of the producers THINKING about how bad it would look? They should be arrested for cruelty to animals... not that I consider the contestants animals, I just think that phrase embodies my level of anger (keeping in mind how much I love animals)...

I'm sorry I haven't blogged in so long... time just flies... so here's a recap of the past couple weeks:

- San Fran/Emeryville: Jamba, In-N-Out Burger, cupcakes, sunshine, cool work environment and people, IKEA, missed Lauren

- Easter: dysfunctional family was semi-normal

- The Namesake: awesome movie

- Ben & Jerry's: yum

- TV: The Tudor's is better each week, Sanjaya is FINALLY gone - Jordin is kicking ass but Blake is pretty cool, hurry new Heroes, Betty's getting a little too self righteous, Bones & House good stuff, need to catch up on my Sopranos and Entourage...

- Laughing: this video with Will Farrell talking to his "Landlord" is very funny... kind of disturbing... but funny.

- Lauren: more words - up, walk (auck, auck), bottle, outside (sigh), signs (milk, more), and FIRST STEPS - caught on video... as she has the remote in hand and is heading to the TV - yikes, like Mother, like Daughter... is it genetic or environmental to be a tv addict? (I do try to keep it off most of the time when she's up)

I watched the first two episodes of The Tudors on Showtime on demand this weekend. Apparently Henry the 8th - before he got fat - was a young, athletic stud who had his way with the ladies... many ladies... apparently perfect fodder for a cable series... and the casting, well, let's just say, the King and his court are a sight to behold.

Johathan Rhys Meyers, Callum Blue (who I found cute but annoying in Dead Like Me), and oh so sexy Henry Cavill, who plays the Duke of Suffolk. I kept thinking I'd seen him before and, sure enough, he was the handsome traitor in Tristan + Isolde, which I watched last week.

So apparently... Middle Ages + Good Looking Men = TinaTV

And while I really hate to get addicted to yet another TV series, you can bet your 15th century guillotine that I will be watching The Tudors.

Nice Bunny

Nice Bunny
Originally uploaded by tina.

We took Lauren to the portrait studio last week where she got to have her pic taken with a bunny. I thought they were going to bring out a whole (herd? gaggle? swarm?... I looked it up) drove of bunnies, but alas, just one lucky little 7 week old who seemed to be very familiar with having his head grabbed.

I bought the rights to 15 of the images so I could plaster her picture on everything under the sun without paying quite as much as they wanted to rob me of... the rest of the pics are up on my gallery

So on a separate note, Little L certainly seems to be learning alot of words... though often I can't be positive... as in "did she just say that?"

Here are words I am positive she has said, in context, and others have witnessed:
+ sock
+ shoe
+ cheese
+ eyes
+ Os (Oscar)
+ brush (both for hair and teeth)

Here are words I'm pretty damn sure she has said but have not been independently verified:
+ bath
+ glasses
+ Mama
+ Dada
+ Papa

Here are words I think she said, but brief, fleeting, unsure...
+ Jenny
+ necklace
+ outside
+ eggs (while we were coloring easter eggs)

yes... I love you pancake

yes... I love you pancake
Originally uploaded by ljc@flickr.

Lauren has been trying all kinds of new food lately - pancakes, peas, cannelini beans... she will basically eat anything I put in front of her... which, according to stories my parents told me... was not unlike me when I was little. Now, however, if it is healthy I am likely to assume dislike... which I know is bad... I'm trying.

She loves to feed herself though and gets ticked off when she can't... but I can only take so many episodes of teeny tiny pastina all over the place... I'm a hypocrite because I am not a neat person... apparently if it's MY mess it's ok... but I get a bit stressed about sticky gooey come-back-later-and-try-to-figure-out-what-this-was type things...

Hubby has been watching alot of Giada De Laurentiis on the food network... Everyday Italian and Giada's Weekend Getaway... for at least two very obvious reasons (Pollo con Fenditura anyone?)... but I don't mind, because it has inspired him to cook.

He's made Calzones... Italian Sausage... Poached Pears... Refried Spaghetti... Fried Ravioli... and his now-signature dessert, Nutella Ravioli - dollups of Nutella put into a won ton wrapper, deep fried, and sprinkled with powdered sugar. (I don't like Nutella because I despise hazelnut flavor, so he makes me straight up chocolate ravioli - YUMMY).


Here are some pictures of the entire Nutella-Ravioli-making process...

Here's something I never thought I'd say... I have something in common with Dick Cheney. We both had blood clots in our legs. It's safe to say any similarities end there.

On a separate note, here's an adorable picture hubby sent me saturday night while I was out with my sis celebrating my cousin's 40th birthday.

We went to this restaurant/club that, though it's a different name now, was the hotspot we used to go out to in the early 90s.

I think all the same people were there... with the same hair... and the same clothes... listening to the same music. Not that there's anything wrong with that... I just prefer to have moved from Queensryche to My Chemical Romance... from Motley Crue to Maroon 5... from Mama's Boys to Guster... but there will always be a special place in my heart for Judas Priest... I mean seriously, they rock!

Lots of Laurens

At the mall, I wheeled Lauren's stroller up the the three sided mirror. Suddenly, there were like, TWELVE Laurens. She didn't know what to do, she was so utterly amused.

I made cookies for our Cookiepalooza work event last Sunday. Peanut Butter Blossom cookies with peanut butter filled kisses. They were yummy, IMHO, though I only got one vote for best tasting...

then the peanut butter salmonella crisis hit... look for Peter Pan starting in 2111... hmmm, I remembered that I had just bought a new jar of Peter Pan with which to make the cookies... but I wasn't too worried, because I was pretty sure that cooking the pb would kill any lurking salmonella...

But on Friday, I checked my peanut butter just to be sure - AAAGGGH - it was Salmonella Butter.

So I really made Toss Your Cookies cookies.

Luckily, so far, I am not being sued, but my hubby, who ate alot of the cookies, declared that he thought his throat was closing up and that he "went online and he had every symptom". But then I found out he ate some of the raw batter! No wonder he got sick!

Lauren had her 1 year follow up visit at the eye doctor today. For four months after she came home, we had to go almost twice a week! She had Retinopathy of Prematurity (bad eyes?), but it started to get better.

She was an angel today, very cooperative with the doctor. He said that she had a "very good disposition". He also said that she might need glasses before she goes to school.

According to the new In Touch magazine, the Sally Jessy Raphael look is back in, so I tried out the look on her. She looks very intelligent, don't you think? If she grows up like someone else I know who wore Sally Jessy glasses when they were young (you know who you are), I'll be very happy.

Happy Birthday Lauren

Lauren's party was a big success yesterday. She had her first true taste of sugar (as in PURE SUGAR mixed with BUTTER) and, needless to say, she loved it. She was trying to shove it in with both hands!

As we opened her presents, I had LOTS of help. From 2 up to 12, every kid at that party was ready and willing to tear into those gifts, even if what they opened were tiny little girl clothes. As they opened what was essentially an entire wardrobe that Lauren's Grandma got her, they squealed, "they're so tiny - they look like Build-a-Bear clothes!"

---

So to continue the saga of what was happening a year ago... Sunday Morning, I was still on the Labor & Delivery floor, recovering from the night before, mostly calm and sleeping. At 9am, a nurse rushed in and said, "roll over, the baby doesn't like that side". Apparently Lauren's heart beat had dropped and wasn't coming back up... then more nurses... I was bleeding too. Then a swarm of doctors and nurses... time for an emergency c-section. I was in a bit of shock. I looked over at Chuck and said, "I love you Honey", as they wheeled me away.

They had me out cold and had the baby out within about 20 minutes. Lauren was born with an APGAR score of 1 and a collapsed lung. They performed miracles and got her stable. She needed lots of blood and had to go on a respirator. She was 2lbs 2oz. She would spend the next 7 weeks in NICU.

As for me, I would end up having additional 3 hours of surgery. The placenta was attached too deeply to the uterus (placenta accreta) and I was losing a lot of blood. The doctor had been at Church, got paged, and arrived just in time to put a ton of stiches in and prevent the need for a hysterectomy. I got 7 units of blood that day. I think he brought some extra help from Church.

Those several hours were easier on me than they were on Chuck. He saw his tiny, frail baby - a bit deformed from being smooshed in utero without fluid for 5 weeks - being wheeled by to NICU... and had to keep signing consent forms for my surgeries and blood transfusions... and, for a time, I'm sure he thought he might lose both of us. Jenny came to the hospital and really held it together for Chuck. Later, at home, not so much... but she was strong for us when we needed her most.

I remained unconscious until about 9pm that night, when I woke up with a breathing tube in my throat, unsure of what had happened. Chuck told me the baby was doing ok, so I was relieved. He didn't give me a true picture of her situation, knowing that there was nothing I could do and worrying wouldn't help her or me.

But, as you can tell from the beautiful picture above, Lauren improved. I had a couple set backs with blood clots and a near mental breakdown, but I got better too. And through it all, Chuck was a saint, taking such good care of me and Lauren.

And all this struggle was worth it. Slowly, the stress diminshed to the normal level that every parent has over a child... the fun is now growing each day as she does new things, starts to talk, and forms her personality.

We will never forget the difficult start, but we pray that the good times will far outweigh the bad.

A year ago today, I was in the hospital, 29 weeks pregnant. After 4 weeks on bedrest at home, my water had broke Christmas night, and I had laid in the hospital for 5 weeks in a constant state of worry that I'd miss signals from my body that things were going awry. They kept telling me, "oh, YOU'LL KNOW"... but on that day last year, I didn't REALLY know, I just felt a little off and wasn't feeling the baby move much. Sure enough, when they put me on the monitor, I was having contractions... and with each contraction, a big dip in Lauren's heartrate ( a decel, as they call them). They moved me over to the Labor and Delivery floor, where they monitor you constantly. Chuck and I watched the monitor for hours, focusing on the number for Lauren's heart rate, anxious to see it go back up after each contraction. The contractions got further and further apart. They almost sent me back to my room, but decided to wait until morning... thank GOD they waited. If I hadn't been being monitored, Lauren would not be here today.

While Lauren was playing with the newspaper (yes, I was letting her wreck the place), I noticed that she kept leaning over. Then I spotted the pic of President Bush and realized she was kissing his picture! She continued to do it over and over again. It was hilarious. I grabbed my camera, figuring it would be, at the very least, interesting as part of future history.

I'm not sure what drew her to it, I haven't seen her do this to a picture before... regardless, I opted to have a bipartisan response and find it adorable.

Brave or Stupid?

And now for my next family story... about my older brother who lives in Vegas...

He was coming out of a grocery store a little after midnight one night last week... he noticed a seedy looking guy, so he was wary as he walked up to his truck... sure enough, the guy ran up to him, pulled a gun and demanded money.

Here's where a normal person would have handed over their wallet. My brother is not normal.

So he grabs the guys arm (the one holding the gun) and "swoops" the guy - body slamming him to the ground. The guy got up and ran away, but before he got too far, he turned around and pointed the gun and my brother and mouthed "pop"... as if to tell my brother that he could blow him away but is choosing not to...

My brother ran in to the store, told them to call the police and about the tempted robbery, only to find out 2 other people had been robbed earlier that week. The police arrived quickly but couldn't find the guy. So my brother's been trying to get the market to step up security and catch the low life.

DRAMA.

Crazy Aunt

Have I ever mentioned that I have a crazy Aunt? I think she was normal at one point in life (if you call taking the doll clothes my Mom had stolen from the five and dime and sneaking them back into the store normal), but then she got in a very bad car accident, almost died, and had to learn to walk and talk all over again. Since then, she has been a little off, in the I-bought-you-a-singing-stuffed-rose kind of way.

So the other night, in the middle of the night, 3am-ish, she went to Wegmans to buy hot dogs for the next day. When she got home, she found that she could not get her coat unzipped. This I can relate to - I have a puffy coat and a puffy vest from the Gap that have gotten stuck before. Once Jenny & Aaron had to fight with my pocket zipper - of which my cell phone was trapped - for over a half hour before my phone was freed. I haven't zipped the pocket since...

so anyway, it was 3:30am and Aunt Del was stuck in her coat. A normal person might decide to sleep in the coat and deal with it in the morning, but not a Crazy Aunt. Crazy Aunt heads out to the nearest police station for help. She couldn't find a doorbell at the police station, so she went to the fire station. They had a doorbell. She rang it (remember, it's about 4am now). A fireman opened the door and she said, "I can't get my coat unzipped".

I'm sure this fireman was thinking one of two things... a) this lady is crazy or b) this lady has been watching too much late night cable and is trying to get lucky. Either way, I'm sure he was worried. So he woke up his partner and another Firefighter showed up, bleary eyed and sleepy.

Together, they tried to unzip her coat, but couldn't get it. They pulled out the heavy artilery (pliers) and freed my Aunt from the confines of her puffy coat... and sent her on her way.

I couldn't make this up if I tried.

Am I terrible or what. Just seems like no time to blog. Or nothing exciting to blog about. But this weekend was good. Went to Vegas to visit dysfunctional brothers, who were actually mostly normal for the few days I was there, and to hang with Jenny.

We went a little crazy and even played some QUARTER slots ;-) My personal faves are the nickel video poker machines, five bucks can last over a half hour. That's alot more fun than dropping 20 bucks in the span of, oh, about 3 minutes. That's when I get a sick feeling in my stomach and walk around angry for the next hour. But $5 for half an hour of poker... it's worth the money in entertainment value. I actually hit four Aces twice on this trip, won about $40, not a windfall, but better than losing. I then popped some of my winnings into the Megamillion machine ($3 a spin) to try to win $11 million... but as I'm sure you can guess, no such luck.

Little L had her 1 year follow up at the NICU today. I can't believe it's been a year since the ordeal! The first couple months were very rough, but the little one is doing so well now and is so much fun. She tested very well today and is not developmentally delayed for her adjusted age (9 mos). Whew. We got lucky (and blessed) with this baby, in many ways.

They say she should be talking soon. I'm sure that will be fun too, until the day she says, "I HATE YOU MOMMY". Though honestly, I never even had an INKLING to say that to my Mom and I don't think Lauren will say it to me. Though I am going to be much more strict than my Mom, who was letting me drive her Dodge Charger 2.2 around without a license when I was 15!