32

I turn 32 today.

This many

I thought I'd do a little list. 32 Things on my 32nd. Here goes nothing.

1. This is an anti-climactic age.

2. On the eve of my 30th birthday, I had a small identity crisis. I called my friend Eileen and asked her if I was supposed to feel older and wiser. She said no. That made me feel better.

3. CVS just called to refill my prescription. How very nice of them.

4. I'm having lunch today with Auntie M and Loretta.

5. Dean's pretty jazzed about it.

6. Marcus, Dean and I had dinner at Cajun Steamers last night, courtesy of my parents.

7. Dean had his first kid's meal.

8. Dean likes Cajun fries.

9. I wore flip-flops. In February.

10. My favorite color is purple. Did you know? Now you do.

11. I bought my first pair of Clark's shoes this year.

12. They are the greatest pair of shoes I have ever owned. Also the most expensive.

13. I think it's cool when my birthday falls on Friday the 13th.

14. I kind of hate Valentine's day.

15. I especially hate it when people wrap my birthday gifts in Valentine gift wrap.

16. Dean keeps finding my cell phone and programming new numbers into it. This is annoying.

17. The plumber we hired to fix our leaky pipe was great. We will not have to sell anything on eBay to pay the bill.

18. Home ownership kinda sucks sometimes. (see above comment about leaky pipe)

19. Dean peed on me twice this morning. Happy birthday, mommy. ;)

20. My perfect "Fat Breakfast" would be Dunkin' Donuts Hazelnut coffee, Krispy Kreme donuts and hashbrowns from McDonald's, with a soy latte from Starbuck's for dessert.

21. I could eat pasta every single day. So could my son.

22. I don't remember going from the OR to the recovery room after my c-section. This kind of bothers me.

23. In college, we once had a 4-way joint birthday party for a bunch of us who were born between Feb. 10-13.

24. My family's new favorite word is "boon." (balloon)

25. My class brought in their assignment for next Thursday yesterday. Everyone did. So we did those presentations. Better early than late, huh?

26. I really hope Marcus gets me York Peppermint Patties for Valentine's Day. I enjoy them chilled.

27. I always cry when filling out holiday cards to Dean. Last year when he was a wee little tot, Marcus and I had to try 5 times before we could read him his Valentine. I'm sure his 6 week old self really cared about having it read aloud, but it was important to us.

28. I have never used a lawnmower. I have no intention of starting any time soon. (Marcus is getting ready to mow our yard.)

29. My secret dream is to receive an entire bag of trial-sized items for my birthday or Christmas.

30. I once had a pet crab named Charlie. I fed him bologna. He died.

31. Dean calls me "Nah Nah." I love it.

32. Wanna know what Marcus gave me for my birthday? I'M MOVING MY BLOG TO TYPEPAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I need to do the online tutorial and get everything set up, but within two weeks, you will be able to visit me at my new and improved site.

Now go have a cupcake and think of me. :)

Nothing out of the ordinary

We have had a very ordinary week here in Lane Land. I can't believe it's only Wednesday. I'm kind of tired and ready for the weekend already. I'm also amazed at how anti-climactic the week leading up to my birthday has been. I usually get much more excited. I guess 32 is kind of an anti-climactic age--no new privileges, no new decade, no double numbers, just a 3 and a 2. On Friday (the actual day of birth--love it when it's Friday the 13th!), my Auntie M and our friend Loretta (or Roletta) are taking me to lunch. Marcus, Dean and I are going out to dinner that night, then coming home to chill out and watch a movie, probably LOVE ACTUALLY so we can quote it as we watch. (after Dean goes to bed, of course) Marcus has scholarship auditions on Saturday, so Dean and I will surely find something to fill our time while he's gone.

Dean's 4th tooth popped through yesterday. It terrified our manny, BJ, who thought something was terribly wrong. Dean always runs a very low-grade fever when he's cutting a tooth and acts really lethargic and cranky. Poor BJ was sure he was sick and that he would shrivel up and blow away because he didn't want much lunch. Once we inspected his gums, we gave him a little Tylenol and a cold chew toy and he was good to go. He did wake up FREAKING OUT twice during the night, though. Poor little guy. I'm going to make him a grilled cheese for lunch. Toast feels good to baby gums, I hear.

There's a new art gallery in Montevallo! It's called the Blue Phrog. We met the owner last night at Eclipse, our coffee and book store. I'm hoping to get in touch with him this week to ask about bringing my class to the gallery for a field trip. It would be nice for them to talk to a manager of an arts organization that isn't performance-based.

In other news, I really need to get cracking on the workshops I'll be presenting next month at the Southeastern Theatre Conference. Last year, Marcus, our friend Scott and I did one on moving to NYC. It was so well received that this year we've broken it into two different workshops, one on moving to NYC, the other on networking in NYC, and added a fourth panelist. I think this will be the last year we present this one, since we've been gone from the city for close to a year and are already losing touch with the way things are there. I'm also presenting a workshop on stage managing outdoor drama. Should be fun. I'm looking forward to the conference. It's always fun to see old friends and make new connections. Since I'm not job-hunting or hiring this year, I'll be spending my days presenting or attending workshops, going to meetings for my new position with Alabama Conference of Theatres and finding other opportunities to get involved. There is an interest group for people who would like to write for Southern Theatre, our quarterly magazine. I'm going to attend that and pitch an idea: I think we should start a Southern Theatre blog. It's an idea I've been playing around with for a while and I think it would be a great informational and networking tool for our region. I would happily serve as "blogmaster" and be responsible for finding content to post 2-3 times a week. I'd like to do one interview with someone working in professional theatre each week, then a feature about new products, new plays, new programs, etc. I'm reading Blogging for Dummies right now to teach myself a little more about the wonderful, mysterious blogosphere.

How's YOUR week going?

PS:

I am TOTALLY a rockstar!

Let's be honest

In honor of it being only 9 days til Honest Abe's birthday (10 days til MY birthday) and given the fact that I am typing this in my office, where I keep checking the door to see if my boss is coming, much like a seven year old would check to see if her mom was going to catch her staying up past her bedtime, let's be honest with one another:

How much time do you spend on the internet at work for personal reasons? What do you look at?

I read my personal email, sometimes read YOUR blogs (See, it's all your fault. If your lives weren't so interesting, I wouldn't care and would be able to get some work done!), twitter, check facebook, read playbill.com (ok, that one's actually work-related), and often browse Amazon. When I worked at Cornell, I was addicted to a game called Snood. My co-worker and I both were, actually, and we would play at the same time, then IM each other from across the office to compare scores. (If my former supervisor is reading this--she also shared our office--a light just went off in her head. Actually, who am I kidding? I'm sure she knew.)

If you need to be anonymous in your comment, we will all certainly understand.

Now 'fess up.

Things I've learned today

1. I knew my class's presentations would probably be pretty good, but in reality? THEY ROCKED. I can't wait to see what else they come up with as the semester progresses.

2. On the day when you say to yourself "I'll just wait til the manny gets here to get dressed, put on makeup, etc." the manny will run late and you will not have time to straighten your hair. You will also forget to bring your yoga pants and t-shirt to work with you and will end up wearing your dress shirt, heels and a pair of your husband's pajama pants to do stage combat. (see next note)

3. I am SO about to turn 32. And I'm feeling it. Marcus has a studio-type stage combat drop-in session that he does on Tuesdays outside his regularly scheduled combat class (which meets the same time as my arts administration class). He asked me to come and help him teach it. (Didn't know I was a swordfighter, didja???) We did multiple drills with footwork for the first time today. And now I may die. How did I do this 5 times a week in my 20s? Because I was IN MY
20s!!!!!!!


It hurts to type, so I have to go lie down. Yow.

EDITED TO ADD (7:52am on Wednesday): You know, I'm not that sore! My legs were trembling for over an hour when I got home yesterday from muscle fatigue and I have the requisite right buttock soreness that only swordfighting can provide, but all in all, it's not really that bad. And Dean slept through the night, which didn't hurt either!

One month til my birthday

In case you were counting. :)

Warning: This will be a VERY random post! Are you ready? Good!

Class started for me today. I had planned to go in once I got Dean and the Manny settled in here and take a little time to go over my notes, maybe even work on an outline for Thursday's class. That all fell to pieces when the Manny texted me at 8:15 with a 102 degree fever and tonsil pain! I sent him packing to the doctor while Marcus made arrangements for Dean to attend his stage combat class (no swordfighting today, thank GOD), which meets at the same time as my arts management class. I have 7 students, all of whom were engaging and interesting and talkative. We spent today going through the syllabus, getting to know each other and our specific interests in the arts and brainstorming a bit. It was a fantastic start to the semester.

Marcus snuck home with us after class and we're having a nice, leisurely afternoon. I just made Dean some turkey meatballs. He's been eating pasta like it's going out of style, so I thought I'd make some meatballs to sneak in some protein (and more veggies!). Here's the recipe if anyone's interested. They seem quite toddler-friendly. Plus, I just tasted one and they are GOOD.
*To make mine "Dean-friendly," I minced my veggies in the food processor and only used a small amount of onion. If it was for just Marcus and me, there would have been much, much more onion. Oh, and this recipe is salt-free! Woo hoo! That would be me taking control of my hypertension. Also, you will see that I do not really do recipes. I throw things into bowls and cook them. Ok, recipe!


1 1/2 pounds ground turkey (I used a lot because I also made a turkey meatloaf--same recipe!)
1/4 medium onion, minced
1 carrot, minced
1/3 cup frozen peas, cooked and pureed
2 tablespoons fresh parsley
dash garlic powder
dash salt-free Italian seasoning (Pampered Chef makes the BEST)
handful shredded mozzarella cheese
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup bread crumbs

Mix all ingredients together, then roll into balls, or press into loaf pan. You can also use this recipe to make turkey burgers. They may be baked at 350 for 30 minutes (for balls, longer for loaf), tossed into a slow-cooker with some chicken broth for a couple of hours, or fried in a pan of olive oil.

That very well may be the most random recipe in the history of the world. But since many of us are trying to eat healthier and/or feed toddlers with very few teeth and picky appetites, I thought I'd share it.

American Idol starts tonight. Yes, I will be watching. I don't know how I feel about this fourth host, but I do love me a good old BAD audition! Please, let's discuss tomorrow!

Things I have learned in the past 12 hours

On the eve of Dean's first birthday party, I've received an education from the great teacher Experience. Here are my findings:

1. There is absolutely no way to clean your house for a party the day before said party is to occur. That is, unless you send everyone currently living in your home to a hotel. Seeing as the money tree will not allow that at this time, all cleaning of the kitchen and living areas will be left until in the morning. Because Lord knows we'll be up early enough. (SLEEP, DEAN, SLEEP!)
Side note: Other moms, have you heard the tale that just before they really start walking, babies start waking up every few hours? Dean is "cruising" all over, but not walking independently yet, but he IS waking up about every four hours. Just curious if anyone else has experienced that.

2. If your husband comes to you late on the eve of the party when you've decided "What the heck? I'll start cleaning the kitchen tonight!" and tells you he's going to make beignets
for breakfast (for the first time ever, mind you), glare at him until he talks himself out of it and leaves the room.

3. The people at Wilton have obviously never actually baked a cake in one of their own pans. They give you very dramatic instructions like "ONLY coat the pan with shortening, then dust with flour! DO NOT use butter, margarine or oil!!! NEEVVVEEERRRRRRR!" Then in little, tiny 3 point font, they write "Non-stick cooking spray may be substituted for flour and shortening." Gr. Also, they think that a half-round cake pan that is approximately 6 inches deep will bake a cake in one hour. They are obviously ON CRACK. My cake? Took 1 hour 52 minutes. That time may have been shortened had I not had to pause for a few minutes to clean the burned cake globs out of the bottom of my oven when THE PAN OVERFLOWED! They tell you to put waaaaaaaaaay too much batter in there, y'all. I trimmed enough off of that cake to feed everyone coming to this party tomorrow.

4. No matter how many times they visit, I always feel the need to "show off" my house to my parents. Look! A sparkly clean bathroom! Look! Freshly vacuumed floors! Look! All the labels in the fridge are pointing out! (Ok, maybe not that last one) I think deep down I know that they are really just coming to play with Dean, but I still don't want them to think my house isn't up to par.

5. Dean does not nap well with other people in the house. Because he might miss something. He also likes salsa.

In the next few days, I hope to post party pictures, including the insane monkey cake I baked and decorated. Unless the finishing touches don't work out and it turns out to be butt-ugly, in which case I'm throwing it in the leaf pile, burning it and going to Publix for a sheet cake.

Aquariuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuus!

That song will be stuck in my head for the rest of my life. I'm sure of it. We saw HAIR last night and that song kind of sticks with you. It was a good production and Marcus and I were quite proud of the students. Alli, our friend who's in for the weekend, even did our hair for the occasion. Let her loose with a straightening iron and look what happens:














We look kind of emo.
(That's me wearing real clothes and makeup, by the way. Haven't seen that in a while, have we?)

Dean had a swell time with Brittney. HIS hair was out of control and could have used some time with the straightening iron:














I can't believe there are only 7 days of November left. Aren't you glad? Cause then NaBloPoMo will be over and you don't have to read about us straightening our hair every day? :) That also means CHRISTMAAAAAAAAS is almost here and I am SO excited. I'm also gearing up for Dean's first birthday party. If anyone has any genius ideas about what we should get our little guy, please let me know. We would like to get him something memorable, not just a toy. (Grandparents seem to have the toys covered, thank you very much.) Marcus keeps threatening to re-wrap all his Christmas gifts and give them to him for his birthday. Anyone have any good suggestions?


For those interested, the Publix penny item this week was bleach. You had your choice of regular or lemon flavored. I thought that was a weird choice, but I got some anyway! Cause it was a penny!

I got nothin.

I'm having a weird day. So, let's play a game, shall we?
Lay it on me: YOUR FAVORITE GUILTY PLEASURE.

Mine is Glamour magazine. I LOVE Glamour magazine! I started reading it in college. I will never, ever wear high-end designer clothes, but I like to look at them. Glamour has great hair and makeup tips and has recently added a financial advisor to do a column about how to get the most bang for your buck, savings, retirement, etc. They have fun lists like "Top Ten Things each woman should have in her bathroom" and a column written by a "real guy" so we can know how men think (haha) and sad stories about people with illness who triumph thanks to medical technology! They also do neat celebrity interviews and choose the Glamour women of the year and such.

One of my favorite things is "Where has YOUR Glamour been?" which features pictures of women standing on top of the Pyramids in Egypt with the magazine or reading it while scuba diving in the ocean. My friend Kitty and I were all geared up to send in a picture of me in labor reading my Glamour. It was even on the "what to pack" list for my hospital bag (a lot of good that did me...you'll see what I mean if I ever post Dean's birth story). I opened my new issue of the magazine 2 days before I had my baby and wouldn't you know it? Some woman is sitting there hooked up to a fetal monitor, Glamour magazine propped up on her baby belly. She totally stole my idea. And they went on about how cooooooool it was that she brought her Glamour to the delivery room and how they bet she'll be suuuuuuuuch a Glamorous mom. Yeah.

I also enjoy the Fashion Do's and Don'ts. While I was in New York, I was always terrified of ending up on the Don't page, so I paid a little extra attention to what I wore outside my apartment, lest a Glamour photographer be on a stake out for bad fashion at the bakery next door and snap a picture of me in mis-matched yoga pants and a holey sweatshirt. (I have obviously lost this fear since moving to Alabama. If they could see me now, they'd have an entire page of don'ts!)

Anyway, when I get my Glamour, I open it immediately and rip out anything that smells (perfume ads) or is made of cardstock and causes the pages to flip open. Once Dean's in bed, I read it from cover to cover in one sitting. Yay, Glamour.

What is your guilty pleasure?

NOOOO! This is NOT happening now!

So, my wireless card is dead. At least I think (and hope)that is what's wrong. I cannot seem to connect to the internet on my computer. I tried for 3 hours last night and again this morning. I have finally given in and moved over to Marcus's computer, which is not making me happy. His computer is fine. I even kind of prefer typing on his keyboard. But I miss MY computer. It has my bookmarks and my pictures and a purple background and my shortcuts and it's MINE. Guess Deano and I will be going to Best Buy today to get some help from the Geek Squad. [Speaking of which, did you know that they really drive that silly little car when they come to your house? It's true.] I cannot believe this is happening, especially during NaBloPoMo (or as Marcus calls it, NaNaBloPop).

I had a fun post with a picture for today, but I need my computer to do it. Boo. SO, let's see. What can we do instead? I know, in honor of my mom's birthday (happy birthday, mom!!), let's have everyone tell me about a birthday memory. It could be a cool party you had, a nice gift you received, whatever you'd like to tell us.

One of my favorite birthday memories is from this past year. Dean was about 7 weeks old on my 31st birthday. We'd had a particularly rough night, preceded by an even rougher day. This was around the time we found out that he's a little lactose intolerant, so we were experimenting with different feeding techniques. The doctor had recommended that I only feed him "sensitive" formula (no lactose) for an entire 24 hours to see if that made a difference. I was still nursing at this point, so needless to say, we were both miserable with him on just bottles of new formula. He woke up at 5am, was not too happy when I popped a bottle in his mouth, and half-heartedly ate. After he was done, he burped, spit up, then nuzzled in for a cuddle. Then he looked up and smiled at me. His very first smile. Just for me. On my birthday. Kind of made the fact that I'd only slept 2 hours that week worth it.

You can't look away

You must visit this blog.

Cake wrecks

As a baker of cakes, I am always nervous about someone "judging" my cakes. After looking at this site for about 2 hours the other night, I have a new confidence in my cakes. My favorites are the ones where people have obviously put on the order form "I want sprinkles" and they write it ON THE CAKE! Check it out. It will make you giggle.

In other news, Dean has grown approximately 3 feet over the weekend and is currently sitting in baby jail with a Victoria's Secret bag on his head. Whatever floats your boat, man.

My birthday's in 3 months, for those keeping count

I have apparently lost the ability to cook overnight. Last night, I made dinner. Sure it was a simple menu, but I worked in a new chicken batter (salt-free, no less!) and made sure we had a green vegetable and such. This morning, I got up with Dean at 5:47 (imagine that in all-caps, if that were possible with numbers) and made strong coffee and cereal. As I sat down to eat my Cheerios, Dean made me a little present in his diapee, so off we went to change. By the time I got back to my bowl, the cereal was icky and soggy, so I tossed it. And, of course, that was the last of the box. I wanted to make cookies, but just couldn't justify having those for breakfast. Dean fell asleep at 7:30 and I went and got back into bed. Marcus grunted at me. I told him I wanted cookies. He said he did, too, so I went and put some in the oven. (we got some of the break-apart ones that you just pop in and bake.) I burned the bottoms. Once Marcus went to work (early, by the way, probably so he could stop and get something edible on his way to class), I decided to make eggs. I don't know what I did, but they were a weird texture. I give up. I do, however, think this is a sign that I should go to Chik Fil A for lunch. ;D

Marcus leaves tomorrow morning to fly to DC to pick up our "New" car. His dad is letting us take his 2004 Honda Accord because he just got a snazzy 09 model. We are SO excited! He'll pick it up and start driving home Saturday, stopping to spend the night with his grandparents in Knoxville. I HATE it when Marcus is not with us, but I'm not as bummed this weekend because Meredith is coming! I haven't seen her since March when she and her husband came to NYC for a visit. Many of you will remember Meredith from previous blogs about how I almost ruined her wedding by becoming pregnant right before the big day and how I nearly put out people's eyes by shoving my already-swelling-newly-pregnant body into my bridesmaid's dress. Seriously, if I had been a minute more pregnant, we would have had to go to the mall to find me something else to wear. Anyway, good times are sure to ensue. I think we're going to the Galleria. Just for sport, I'm going to let her be in charge of dressing Dean all weekend. Maybe between the two of us, we can get his diaper on without breaking a sweat.

Be sure to check back tomorrow, when my blog will hopefully be more inspired and entertaining, and when there will be a new caption contest with a randomly awarded PRIZE!!!!!!!!!

Common annoyances and other unusual problems

Even though I'm in a good mood today, I think I'll do a list of pet-peeves. Heather recently did one on her blog, so I'll follow suit.

Dean is happily standing in his new and improved baby jail holding on with one hand , flinging toys with the other and sporting new, snazzy Spiderman flannel PJ pants, so I think I have time to post!

STUFF THAT AGGRAVATES ME:
1. The misuse of quotation marks. This must be a problem for others, too, because there is a whole blog devoted to it. I read this blog for hours on Sunday and it had me laughing so hard I cried.

2. The fact that the site of my epidural STILL HURTS from time to time, even ten months after it was administered. Other moms (or people who have had spinal anesthesia), do you have this problem? You know, though, even though this pain flares up from time to time, I am still SO glad I had that epidural!!!

3. Stepping in gum. Didn't your mom teach you to save the wrapper to spit it in!?!? I mean, really.

4. The fact that Dean WILL NOT keep socks on his feet for more than 10 minutes at a time. His little toes felt like ice when he got up from his (short) nap today.

5. The word "playdate."

6. The fact that my feet do not reach the ground on airplanes, at the movies, in restaurant booths or even now, on my own couch.

7. My dishwasher is broken. GRRRRRRRRRR. Mama no like dishpan hands...

8. College students who think they know more than me. This is particularly challenging when you, uh, teach college.

9. When my mother says "nourishing." This has always irked me. I think she does it on purpose sometimes. (She is now leaving a comment using that word. Look for it.)

10. People looking at and remarking about my food when I'm the only one in the room eating. This used to happen a lot with a woman I worked with. She was a total foodie but was on Weight Watchers, so she would hover just over my shoulder and sniff at my food. It totally grossed me out and I'm pretty sure I lost more weight than she did because of it.

11. Earwax. Bleh.

12. Unsweetened iced tea. I have tried, believe me I have. But the southerner in me will win every time. Put some sugar in that stuff!

13. One-sided friendships. I hate these. I have lost 3 good friends (or people I thought were good friends) as a result of one-sided friendships. Here's what I've learned: You can only give so much.

14. Yo Gabba Gabba.
Go ahead. Watch the video. Tell me you're not scared. DEAN LOVES THIS SHOW.

15. I covered this in my 100 things list, but I feel it merits mention in this one, too. I HATE when people spell things with a K that should be spelled with a C. (Krunchy Krispies, Kountry Kitchen, etc.) The only exception is Krispy Kremes, because they are JUST THAT GOOD!

Ok, enough of that. Lists are always fun. I think this one was really prompted by the epidural site hurting because MAN does it hurt today.

On a brighter note, Dean and I went to play with the play group for the first time today and had a swell time making new friends. It has thrown our nap and eating schedule off for the day, but who cares, right? (Ask me again at 8pm...)

One's trash is another's treasure

This is the most unbelievable thing to happen to me since I was on THE VIEW last year and got hooked up with a million awesome baby prizes.
Last night our friend Jason called. He was so excited that he was out of breath. The conversation went a little like this:
JJ (his initials): JEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN! Our neighbors just threw away a bunch of baby stuff!
ME: Oh, cool!
JJ: No, you don't understand, it's a BUNCH of baby stuff!
ME: Oh?
JJ: We just brought up 6 bags for Kate (their daughter) and we aren't going to have to buy clothes for her for 2 years! We pulled out about 60 outfits for Dean. I'm bringing them over!
ME: Holy cow!
JJ: There are also 2 car seats, 2 swings, a diaper genie, a BRAND NEW Graco high chair and some toys!
ME: WHAT!!? They didn't want Salvation Army to come get them? They'll pick it up!
JJ: I KNOW! I asked and they were throwing it out with their trash! I'm coming over!
ME: Why aren't you here yet!??!

Well, it was better than he said. We have over 50 new outfits that Dean can either wear now or grow into. We have like-new stuff in newborn sizes that I can pass along to my friends TJ and Amy who are expecting a girl baby (eeeeek!) in May. We have a NEW GRACO HIGHCHAIR! I mean, look at this:



















My bed is covered with baby clothes! (Please do not judge ugly bedspread---we are waiting for the really cool comforter we like to go on sale...)
And some of these have designer labels on them! I didn't know people bought designer clothes for their children! There is a Polo shirt for a 12 month old! Look!



















It's the Polo horsey! (No idea why this picture will not be right-side up.)
There were also shoes:














Spit rags (and who couldn't use more of those, right?)














This cool swaddling blanket, which will go to TJ and Amy's baby (lotsa luck figuring out how to use this, y'all!)




















And even 3 Halloween costumes of the Elmo, Pumpkin and Tigger variety.
(No idea why Elmo insists on only posting upside down. My pictures have a mind of their own today...espcially the ones of red items...)





















But the best part? THE EXTENDER PACK FOR OUR PLAYARD! We had already planned on buying this next month when the money tree blooms again and were making-do with the playard as a hexagon. ("Playard" still looks misspelled, doesn't it?) We dreamed of a square playard and only needed the two-piece extender pack to make it happend. Jason walked in and said "Here's two weird looking baby gates." And I almost passed out. I screamed for Marcus, who was burning pancakes in the kitchen. He came down and went "Is that the extender pack?" Then we did a little happy dance and now Jason probably thinks we're nuts. (or did until we explained. Then he was totally excited, too. He didn't dance though.)
Behold square baby jail:














Dean is very excited about his new, expanded play space. Perhaps that is why he refused to go down for his nap until 11:19. ELEVEN NINETEEN, PEOPLE! He better sleep for 3 hours...

Anyway, yesterday was certainly an unexpected blessing. It was like Christmas around here. I spent the morning washing all the new baby duds, so the house smells like Dreft. (not a bad thing...better than burned pancakes.)
Hope everyone's having a good Monday!

Rock the vote OR Seasons change

Get out there and do it!


Betcha think today's post is going to be about voting and politics. WRONG! It's not that I don't care or have lots of thoughts on those subjects, I just don't intend to use my blog as a place to display those thoughts. I think it comes from living in NYC for so long (and during the last election) where people would come up to you on the street and scream at you about their political views. I happily filled out my absentee ballot last month in a room alone and am looking forward to avoiding the polls today!

I have seasonal nostalgia, y'all. Every time the seasons change, I get a little yearning feeling in my heart for places I've lived before. Fall is the worst. I miss Ithaca, NY, where I lived for three years. It was the first place I experienced what I would consider a "real" fall. Having only lived in the south until I moved there, I had never even owned a scarf. It was like a new world was opened up to me when I moved up there and experienced Apple Fest, colored leaves that seemed to explode on the trees overnight, crisp fall mornings and the like. I even had these feelings about Ithaca when I moved to NYC. On the other hand, when living in NYC, I would always get really excited when Christmastime rolled around. (More excited than usual, if you can imagine that!) I can't even describe how much fun it was to walk through the streets I'd always seen on TV and see them decked out for the holidays. The tree at Rockefeller Center, the Unicef Snowflake across 5th Avenue (which my friend Matthew called the "Unisex" snowflake), Macy's window displays, giant wreaths, musical light shows inside the Time Warner Center, the tree at Lincoln Center and the Christmas music pumping through speakers on Steinway Street in Queens are just a few of the things I'll miss seeing first-hand this year. When living up north, I always got really nostalgic for the south when the seasons changed to warmer weather. I love summertime in the south, even the blazing heat. There's nothing like a small-town 4th of July or a Southern Easter with a picnic. I hope I'm always able to embrace these feelings, as I think they keep me connected to where I have been and help remind me how I got to where I am today.














You are miiiiiiiiiiine! Myyyyyyyy mooooommmmyyyyyyyy! You will do what I say because I have cast a spell on you with my cuteness! Gimme Cheeeeeeeerrrriiiiiiiiooooooooooooooos!

It's a good place to be.

**Don't forget that Starbuck's will give you free coffee if you go in and tell them you voted! Certain Ben and Jerry's locations will also give you a free scoop! Yay, America!

100 things

I've been meaning to do one of these for a while, so here ya go!

1. I was born in Jackson, Mississippi.
2. My birthday is the day before Valentine’s Day.
3. I don’t like Valentine’s Day.
4. I especially don’t like it when people wrap my birthday gifts in Valentine’s paper.
5. I DO like Valentine’s candy.
6. But not as much as I like my friend Pam’s home-made Christmas candy.
7. My parents have been married for over 30 years.
8. They were young when they had me.
9. They have been the perfect example of love, support and marriage.
10. I met my husband in college.
11. I was engaged to someone else at the time.
12. The first thing I ever said to my husband was “Man I’m tired of hearing about you.” (One of our friends had been talking about his coooool new friend Marcus for MONTHS.)
13. My favorite color is purple.
14. Not lavender, purple.
15. In pre-school, I would get angry if we didn’t get to color something purple each day.
16. My favorite toys growing up were my Barbies and Strawberry Shortcake dolls.
17. I called them my “Little Dolls.” (Abbreviated LDs.)
18. The first thing I did was undress them and cut their hair into a Mohawk.
19. Each had an intricate backstory, all of which I remembered.
20. I don’t remember them now.
21. I should have written them down.
22. I had a Hello Kitty diary when I was little.
23. Its name was Roxy.
24. I named it so it would be like I was writing to a friend.
25. I no longer keep a diary.
26. I keep a blog instead.
27. I was on the dance team in high school, the Bronco Belles.
28. It was one of the happiest times of my life.
29. And the thinnest.
30. Gaaaaaah, my legs looked great back then.
31. Yours would too if you high-kicked four hours a day.
32. I grew up outside Baton Rouge in a town called Zachary.
33. We had 2 stoplights.
34. My husband calls me Monkey Butt.
35. I’ve always dreamed of being a mom.
36. My little boy is better than I could ever have imagined.
37. I didn’t like his name, Dean, when my husband first suggested it.
38. If he had been a girl, we would have named him Olivia Faith.
39. My great-grandpa’s name was Pervie Lester.
40. We will not be naming any offspring after him.
41. My strongest pregnancy craving was mandarin oranges.
42. I went to college to major in musical theatre.
43. I ended up a stage manager.
44. I made the right choice.
45. I have done 2 Broadway shows.
46. They were truly a dream come true.
47. I never dreamed I would live in NYC.
48. I LOVED living in NYC.
49. I did NOT love riding the subway at night or paying high rent.
50. I lived across from an Italian deli.
51. I would kill for some of their balsamic ravioli salad right now.
52. I am super-picky about grammar.
53. I proof-read all important things my husband writes.
54. He is not picky about grammar.
55. Bono is my fantasy boyfriend.
56. I totally have a crush on John Clayton, the dorky little man who does injury reports on ESPN. He is my sports boyfriend.
57. I REALLY love coffee.
58. Especially hazelnut coffee.
59. I do not like French Vanilla coffee.
60. I have polycystic kidney disease.
61. And high blood pressure.
62. My mom has it, too.
63. She had a transplant in December 2007.
64. Her donor, Bradley, is my hero.
65. He has red hair and doesn’t eat anything green.
66. I love vegetables, especially home-grown ones.
67. I like to buy produce on the side of the road.
68. I never had braces.
69. My eyes are two different colors.
70. The only foreign country I’ve ever been to is Poland.
71. I have no desire to go back to Poland.
72. I went there to produce a show at a theatre festival.
73. I ate at McDonald’s so I could order a Royale with cheese.
74. After getting my Master of Fine Arts degree, I moved from Montgomery, Alabama to Ithaca, New York.
75. I had never seen snow before.
76. I also did not own a “real” winter coat.
77. I bought a parka. It was a good move.
78. I love moo cows.
79. I have texture issues with raw tomatoes.
80. I hate olives. My husband, unfortunately, loves them.
81. I was 6 weeks pregnant when I served as Matron of Honor in my friend Meredith’s wedding.
82. If I had been a minute more pregnant, my dress would not have zipped.
83. I have switched to Coke Zero.
84. I could eat pizza or pasta every single day.
85. When I was in labor and on Demerol, I drunk-dialed my mom.
86. I hate mayonnaise.
87. I am a good baker.
88. My Texas Sheet Cake will make you slap your mama.
89. I enjoy “Your Mom” jokes. A lot. (Your Mom’s a lot!)
90. I find vacuuming to be the most satisfying chore.
91. I get along really well with my mother in law.
    
92. I love SEC football.
93. My all-time favorite TV show is Sports Night.
94. I pronounce my name “Gin” due to my southern accent. It has 2 syllables when I say it.
95. No one vomits alone in my presence.
96. I hate when people spell things with a K that should be spelled with a C. (Example: Kountry Kitchen or Kiddie Kandids.) The exception to this rule is Krispy Kreme donuts.
    
97. I don’t like peanut butter cookies.
98. I want a pug dog.
99. I can’t wait to start teaching again.
100. I actually had fun filling this out!

Musings of a first-time mom

Here are some things I've learned about parenthood this week:

*When you know the time change is coming, start training your kid to go to bed later BEFORE THE DAY BEFORE the change happens! You don't even want to know what it was like trying to get Dean to stay up til 9 last night. He finally just gave out at 8:35. We didn't even finish Goodnight Moon.

*I think he's allergic to Pampers. We bought a gigantic box of them at a too-good-to-pass-up sale at our grocery store (of course) and since we started using them exclusively, he has his first-ever diaper rash. EW. Anyone need some size 3 Pampers?

*While the baby may enjoy a couple of bites of peach cobbler, make sure you know the consequences of feeding said baby said cobbler. Can you say W-I-L-D sugar high?

*Getting up at 6 am means you are ready for lunch by 9. This is not good, especially if it's 2 days after Halloween and you have an entire bag of Reese's and Kit Kats and 5 popcorn balls in your kitchen.

*Right before Dean is going to pee on me when I'm changing his diaper, he makes this weird little grunt sound. This is information I wish I'd discovered before this week.

*Kids these days ARE lazier than we were at their age. What proof do I have? As Dean mentioned in yesterday's post, we got rolled Halloween night. And it's the WORST TP job I've ever seen! I guess they were nervous or something because it's just kind of tossed over a branch or two. Marcus just laughed and said "Man, when I was rolling houses, we made sure you couldn't see a leaf on the tree!" Come on, teens of 2008. If you're gonna do it, do it up right.

*The guilt you think you will feel accepting trick or treat candy for your 9 month old child quickly goes away when they break out the mini Oreos.

*We need to contain Dean. He is waaaaay too interested in the bricks on the fireplace and the buttons on the cable box, not to mention all wires, plugs, stairs and doorstops. He is crawling faster than ever, which prompted us to buy him a playard. I think it should be spelled "play yard," but what do I know? Anyway, the reviews were good and they showed pictures of 3 toddlers playing in one together, so it's much bigger than it looks in the picture. It will keep our cable box safe, hopefully keep our child from banging his head into bricks or eating wires, and give him a cool place to play. He will only stay in his exersaucer for a few minutes at a time these days and I think he's about a minute away from learning how to escape from the pack n play. I'll let you know how the playard works out.

*It is not easy to get sweet potatoes out of your channel-set diamond wedding band.

*I cannot depend on my husband to tell me if I have applesauce on my face or formula stains on my shirt before we go to Target.

*My almost-ten-month-old now officially looks like a little boy to me and not a baby, unless he's in the tub. Nakedness seems to make him appear smaller.

If ya can't beat em, join em

I started blog entries 3 times yesterday and ended up ditching all of them due to lack of interest (from me). I've already told you everything Dean can do, and after talking to not one but two claims adjusters, I have no desire to talk about my wreck again. EVER. SO, I'll take it as a sign that several (like, a weird, uncanny amount) of my favorite bloggers wrote about music in one form or another over the past few days. I cannot tell you my absolute favorite song in the world. It doesn't work that way for me. Music has always been super-important to me, thanks to my musical parents, and certain songs define certain periods of my life. Nothing can evoke feelings of nostalgia in me like hearing a song from my past. So, in no particular order, here is a list of some of my favorites. Remember, I grew up in the 80s and was a teenager in the 90s, but had parents and uncles who grew up in the 70s and early 80s, so that has definitely informed my musical tastes. It doesn't help that I married an 80s alterna-guy.

Song I wish I'd written: "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses" by U2. Anyone ever heard this one? Because it's awesome. OH, Bono, how I love thee... I really love all U2 songs. Their lyrics are amazing.

Favorite sappy lyrics: "Bed of Roses" by Bon Jovi. I mean, come on, who doesn't love the line "Tonight I won' t be alone, but you know that don't mean I'm not lonely." I used to like listening to this one when pining over boys in my single days.

Song that immediately reminds me of my husband: "Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash. He once sang it with the band at a Mexican restaurant, but he forgot the words to the second verse. So, in true Marcus form, he yelled, from the stage and into a microphone "Baby! What's the second verse?"

Song that immediately transports me back to high school: There are so many of these, but the first one that comes to my mind is "Friday I'm In Love" by the Cure. Every time I hear the opening riff, I feel like I'm back in my old Dodge Shadow driving to Bronco Belle practice. (The Bronco Belles was our dance team. We rocked it. I was much thinner then and looked hawt in my sequined leotard.)

Cassette Single my 8th Grade best friend, Paige, and I wore out fastest: It's a tie between "Blaze of Glory" by Bon Jovi from the "Young Guns 2" soundtrack and "To Be With You" by Mr. Big. Dean and I just heard the latter on the all 90's music TV channel. He was unimpressed that I knew every word.

Best song for skating: "Mickey" by Toni Basil. This is the only song I ever remember them playing at the skating rink. I'm sure there were others. I vaguely remember hearing "Karma Chameleon" at one point, but "Mickey" was definitely the most-played at our particular rink.

Most played slow song at high school CYO dances: Again, a tie. Growing up in Louisiana, we had a lot of country fans, so "The Dance" by Garth Brooks was a constant fixture at our dances. For the rest of us, Asher the DJ always played "Everybody Hurts" by REM.

Favorite song we did a Bronco Belle routine to: "If" by Janet Jackson. We actually had to change the choreography right before the pep rally. (Scandalous!) My friend Jessica, whose father just happened to be our assistant principal, choreographed this one and it was a bit, um, risque in her dad's opinion. We toned it down.

Favorite song from college: "Turn My Head" by Live. My roommate, Charlie, and I used to listen to this and classic Aerosmith for HOURS.

Favorite song from grad school: Ok, so this song was not written or recorded while I was in grad school, but I played it on the juke box every single Sunday night at Bumpers, the place we went to sing Karaoke. (Karaoke with theatre folks, by the way, is amazing. They actually added a second karaoke night just for us.) I digress. The song is "Come Monday" by Jimmy Buffett. We all liked it because Monday was our day off.

Song I wish I could sing really, really well: ANYTHING by Dusty Springfield. GAAAAH! She's amazing. "Song of a Preacher Man?" Awesome! "Wishin and Hopin?" AWESOME! Heard her version of "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?" Cause guess what? It's awesome!

Favorite song to hear at Karaoke: "Kiss" (The Prince version). I should add a disclaimer that I only like this when it's done well. There's nothing worse than bad, off-key falsetto, you know?

Song that reminds me of my dad: "When A Man Loves A Woman" by Percy Sledge. Because my dad can sing it JUST LIKE Percy! (I'm sure he will appreciate me sharing that with the internet) Dad, Mom and I once saw Percy Sledge in concert in the lounge of a casino in Tunica, MS. It was surreal.

Song that reminds me of my mom: "Breakin' Up Is Hard To Do" and "Build Me Up Buttercup." We like to sing them in harmony. We sing them to Dean sometimes. I think it confuses him because our voices sound alike. He seems pretty underwhelmed. But dang it, we've been working on these songs for 20 years and planning to sing them to a baby and you are going to listen and love them, Deeeeeeeeeeean. Yeah.

Non-baby song that Dean likes: "Pour Some Sugar On Me" by Def Lepard. Seriously, there are nights when Marcus and I have to sing it over and over just to get him to eat.

So there's a sampling of my, uh, eclectic taste in music! Share your favorite song in comments!

I've obviously inhaled too many Clorox fumes today..and why rose-colored glasses should be taken off the shelves

Look at this hilarious website I found: www.yearbookyourself.com. You put in a picture of yourself and it turns you into a yearbook photo for every even-numbered year from 1950-2000! This was my favorite, from 1988.



















The ones of Marcus from the 80s were surprisingly accurate, according to his REAL yearbook photos!



















And we learned that Dean would look hot with an afro!




















Ok, enough goofiness.
We have spent today cleaning like mad people and putting a few finishing touches on the house. It's nowhere near finished, but we do have towel bars now. (How did I not notice in our walk-through that there were no towel bars or toilet paper holders!?!? My word, that would've been a deal breaker! Ok, that's not true.) Anyway, we're pooped now. Dean had to go to the doctor yesterday for an ear infection and is now taking amoxil, which makes him sleepy, so we got a lot done while he napped today. Poor guy.

I've started an entry for today about 11 times and deleted it each time. I know what I want to say, but am not sure how to A. make it brief enough for my blog and B. start writing on this topic. So, I'll just dive right in. A little backstory first, so you know where this is coming from. I read a lot of blogs. By a lot, I mean that I religiously follow about 6 and I have 3 or 4 others that I check pretty regularly. If folks leave me a comment on my blog, I visit theirs and try to reciprocate, especially if their blog is about something that interests me. I enjoy reading about other folks with kids. I also often visit the blogs of folks who leave interesting comments on the other blogs I read. (Here I go again, saying BLOG a lot...) ANYWHO, just this week on three of the blogs I follow closely, the authors have felt as though they needed to apologize for something they were saying or were scolded by readers for their content. One of the blogs I like a lot on Parents.com, "Not That You Asked," is written by a woman named Emily who has a toddler and one on the way. What I like about her writing is that she is a REAL person talking about REAL things that happen in the life of a parent. A reader left the first comment on a post of hers recently scolding her for "complaining" so much in her blog and telling her she should suck it up and stop taking her life for granted. This led to her loyal readers sounding off about why they like her blog (for the reasons I explained above) and telling her not to change a thing. On my very favorite blog, Parental Discretion Advised, Bree, the author, revealed that she's having a little boy. We were all thrilled, but one reader felt the need to immediately hop on the soapbox about "genital integrity" while another made a snarky comment about her grammar. Amalah, whose son struggles with some social issues, felt like she needed to preface her blog about her son's breakthrough at school with an apology. These women are all strong, independent, hard-working moms who should not have to apologize for what they write ON THEIR BLOGS. Who would want to read about your wonderful life with your precious, perfect, clean children who frolic in meadows and never throw sweet potatoes in your hair and your immaculate house and wonderful husband every single day!?!? Life is sticky and stinky and downright funky sometimes, folks, and what I like about blogs like these is that they remind me I'm not the only one out there spending half her day helping an 8 month old blow his nose.

Wow, it felt really good to say all that, and I hope you followed at least some of it! If you know me, you know I'm an over-achiever and I try to be the best all the time. I will now admit that there are days when motherhood is kicking my tail. I love it so much, even more than I could have ever imagined, but y'all, some days I would give anything to be able to take a shower whenever the desire hit me. I adore my little family and am extremely thankful that Marcus and I were able to have a baby so quickly and that he's so amazing, but I don't ever want to sugar-coat my life for my blog.
I'll give you the good and the bad, because sometimes at the end of MY day, reading about YOUR kid throwing a tantrum in McDonald's makes me feel just a little more normal.

So write on, fellow bloggers, and have a great weekend!

Baby asleep by 7:45...leaves Mommy with idle time on her hands!

Well this is weird. Dean, who has had a BAD teething day (still no teeth, though), finally settled down and fell asleep on me at 7:45. So we put him to bed. Even though he needed a bath. Because there is food in his hair. Oh, well. Anyway, I don't have a specific topic for a post, but let's review some things that have happened this weekend, shall we?

*We went to Tuscaloosa yesterday for tailgating. Not the game, just tailgating. Each year, a lot of theatre alumni come in for one game and this was it. We got to introduce Dean to our old teachers and friends and we got to see how much the campus has changed. Which is a LOT. The student health center, which used to be a small room in a scary building, is now a huge complex on the other side of campus. And there is a water slide on campus. A WATER SLIDE. When I was in college, we once made a slip and slide out of a garbage bag. Looks like college has gotten a lot cooler since I was there, kids.

*We didn't eat anything at the tailgating party, which is unlike both Marcus and me. Dean was hungry, so we fed him and visited with friends and just never got around to eating. Which we made up for on the way home. There is now a Five Guys Burgers in Tuscaloosa! If you've never had one, they are wonderful! We always go when we're in DC visiting Marcus's folks. YUM. And when we were done there, the HOT NOW sign was flashing at Krispy Kreme, so you know we had to stop.

*Krispy Kremes, cheeseburgers and fries are counter-productive when trying to lose baby weight.

*On the flip side, I started walking with my aunt and her friend in the mornings. We did three miles on Friday. Up hills. Pushing Dean in his stroller. I still have shin splints.

*We went to the lovely Kate's second birthday party today. It was a trip, as most children's birthay parties are. There was chili cheese dip.

*Anyone else have a new "McCafe" at the McDonald's in their town? They have been advertising it here and I picked up a coupon for a chicken biscuit with purchase of an espresso coffee. Dean and I will have to check it out this week. Again with the not helping to lose the baby weight!

*This weekend, my grandma and my parents are coming to visit! My cousin Heather is also coming up to meet Dean for the first time. (Shout out to Heather's new blog! Check her out if you have time.) We are very excited to see the fam and show them the house. We are also excited that Grammy and Papa will be taking care of Dean on Sunday afternoon so we can FINALLY unpack some boxes! Or nap. The jury's still out on that one.

*Meredith, if you don't come visit me soon, I will cry. CRYYYYYY. No pressure.

*Dean peed on me today. Twice. Then he laughed. A lot.

*I really think I'm going to bed now. At 8:30. Because my child will probably wake up ready to party at 4am. And, chances are, he'll pee on me.

Everyone have a great week!

Physical Therapy--not for the weak!

Or "PT" as those on the inside call it. YOWZA! I had my second PT appointment today and my shoulder actually hurts worse than when I went in! Johnny the physical therapist is a lot of fun, though, and he explains everything he's doing and has quite a gentle touch. I'm so grateful to him for working me in. We'll be spending even more time together next week. The whiplash is still around. While my lower back is feeling much better, the left side of my neck and shoulder are KILLING me! (I'm sure lifting my near-20-pound child doesn't help!) Johnny the physical therapist suggested I take a full day off work and lay flat on my back in bed. Yeah, like that's gonna happen. He then added "Since that's not going to happen..." and showed me a few exercises I can do between cues at work and gave me some disposable ice packs. I have a feeling I"ll be partaking in a Skelaxin tonight!

MANY thanks to all who emailed and commented about my last post. It's good to hear that all moms seem to go through this big re-adjustment period. I expected to go through a lot of changes, just not quite this many at once. We've had a heck of a six-month period, what with organ transplants, birth, major abdominal surgery, moving twice (ugh!), new jobs, etc. I'm happy to hear your stories and even happier to realize I'm not losing my mind!

This weekend, we head into tech for High School Musical. Marcus (he's directing) and his stage manager, Sarah, were at the theatre til about 3:30 this morning setting lights with the crew. I covered the morning rehearsal for them so they could sleep in. Oh, y'all. 57 middle and young high schoolers is A LOT. A WHOLE lot. Fortunately, some of our older (college-aged) company members are also in the show, so they provide a nice break from the insanity. The show is looking good, though, and the set is fantastic. (It's our GREASE set from last summer with a new coat of paint and some snazzy new bleachers!) The show is selling like hotcakes and should be a really good time.

Dean had breakfast in his booster seat for the first time this morning. He went nuts over the toy tray that snaps over the eating tray. His little eyes almost crossed from the excitement! I was able to take my time fixing his cereal and my coffee while he played happily. I tried putting the bowl on his eating tray, but soon he learned that he could splat his hand in it, so I had to move it. Then he figured out that, since he's higher up, he can reach the coffee table if he leans over the side of his chair. We had to do several readjustments and repositions, but I think we've found a place for the chair where he's safely out of range of anything that could potentially damage him (or vice versa!). Solid food continue to go down well. And out--he pooped 4 times yesterday.
Hope everyone has a great weekend!!!