July 2007

I left off at the end of June. We went to Cayman and Jagger’s birthday party which was a cookout and pool party. The boys had a really good time swimming and eating cake. I enjoyed the adult beverages of course. The next day I got an “IPL with Levulan” treatment. They put this Levulan gel on my face that made my face very photosensitive and they left it on for four hours. Then I went back for the laser treatment. By putting on the Levulan, it makes the laser really get down deep and is maybe the equivalent of three IPL’s. The downside is that my face was bright red and stinging for a day like a sunburn. Then it was bright red. And then pink and then it peeled and peeled. It took about a week to completely get back to normal and then I would say another week to actually look better than it looked before. I think in general my complexion looks better but not as big of a difference as I was hoping. They say you sometimes need 2 to 3 treatments but I am not sure I want to take it on again any time soon.

I reconnected with old friend of mine named Chrissy. We used to be neighbors from 1996 – 2000. It was pretty unusual that two single women the exact same age each bought a house next to each other in a neighborhood with a bunch of families. We lost touch after we moved to our new neighborhood but it turns out our neighbors across the street are best friends with her. She got married and had 3 kids since I last really saw her… we went to their house for July 4th and had a really nice time. She and her husband always put on great food spreads including homemade tortilla chips to go with homemade salsa. I couldn’t help but gorge myself.

Brian and I went out on a date to a new wine bar in Chandler. It was excellent. We sat at the bar and split a bottle of wine and ordered some appetizers and salads. This is my favorite way to eat dinner… not have a big entrée with a piece of meat… I would rather graze.

The next day I had brunch with Missie and afterwards we went to Nordstom Rack. I found a cool top even though it has an empire waist. Brian hates those tops and it seems they constitute 90% of what is on the racks these days. They do make you look kind of pregnant. After being pregnant and looking pregnant in the past few years, it’s not a look I want to have right now. I bought it anyway. Later that day, Sarah came over for swimming and dinner. We have been taking the boys out swimming just about every weekend afternoon and it’s a really nice time. Over a few mojitos, Sarah shared some details of her new long-distance relationship with a guy named Richard. There are some interesting challenges with it since he lives in Beijing so it’s not like someone who lives across the country.

Tuesday night was my first introduction to Bunco. This is a very easy dice game that women play as an excuse to get out of the house and drink with their friends. Pretty much like a book club. Ha ha. Chrissy had a wonderful spread again and I enjoyed meeting a bunch of new people. You need 12 players and you try to rotate houses every month. I had a really good time.

A couple nights later I went to a Party Lite party and bought a couple candle holders. Brian told me I couldn’t buy candles but he didn’t say I couldn’t buy candle holders.

Friday night Brian and I went to the Diamondbacks game with Pam and Murray and we stayed afterwards for the free Peacemakers concert. Brian and Murray are huge fans and were going crazy. I was surprised how many people stayed for the concert afterward. On Saturday we went to the Arizona Science Center with the boys and had a really good time. We ate a tea house afterwards and the boys were pretty decent. I thought it was a risk to go to a tea house with them. That afternoon I got a haircut that I really like. Shorter in the back and longer on the sides. On Sunday morning we got the boys’ picture taken. They were really good again and very cute. And then the highlight of the whole weekend was going to the Michael Bublé with Yvonne on Sunday night. I have always been a fan and have all his CD’s… but his concert was the best one I have ever been to (and I don’t speak in superlatives!) He really played with the crowd and had a great connection and even ran out into the audience and all around the theater. Everyone was going crazy. Yvonne and I had a great time.

I went to Gold Canyon candle party at my neighbor’s house. This time Brian didn’t tell me I couldn’t buy candles so I bought a couple. I don’t know why he thinks we have too many candles! I met a woman in the neighborhood I had met before once or twice who has two boys about Jack and Ty’s ages. We agreed that having two little boys was interesting and crazy and that we should get them together. Just have to find the time.

The next day we had a four hour work event at the F1 Factory Kart racing place… they have kart racing on an indoor track, rock climbing, a pit crew challenge where it’s a real car and real tires and you race each other to see who can do it the fastest and then a bunch of arcade games. I did the rock climbing which I haven’t done since I was at camp when I was 16 years old. It is harder now, even though I originally did it on real rocks where they don’t have really great hand holds. But I was much younger then. Then I did the kart racing which was fun… you are out there for like 15 minutes and it’s quite hot but fun. Then I did the pit crew challenge with Brian and this other guy from work. We went up against other teams of 3 to 5 people that were all men. We had the only team with a woman on it and we only had 3 people. And we won it! That felt great. Then I played the dance revolution game for quite a while which doesn’t require any dancing skills at all. In fact, it sort it worked against me because you have to stomp for the game to recognize your step. I am not used to doing such physical things through the day but I had a blast.

On Friday, I went to a going away happy hour for someone I have worked with for a long time. She is moving to Nebraska to marry the love of her life. What a good reason to leave the company.

So the dancing lessons are going pretty well. I go one time per week during my lunch hour and my instructor is named Will. He is about 23 years old. We’ve been working at getting me ready for social dancing. Social dancing means you show up to a social “open” dance where a DJ plays music that corresponds to all the ballroom, Latin and swing dances and you dance with pretty much anyone who asks you to dance (or anyone you ask). Given the sheer number of dances and moves to each dance, we’ve been focused on understanding basic patterns/rhythms and then my following skills. Obviously this wouldn’t work if I were dancing with a beginner so I have to count on dancing with someone who knows what they are doing. Friday night was my debut with the social dancing. I felt like I was going to throw up for most of the day. I was worried that no one would ask me to dance for one and secondly that if someone did, that I would be terrible. Sarah came with me for moral support. From 7:30 – 9 PM they do lessons and you keep rotating partners. At 9 they start the open dancing. Will showed up and surprised me by dancing with me for a lot of the dances at the beginning which I thought was really nice of him to do. I wasn’t expecting him to do that. So I really enjoyed that because he is a great dancer and a great lead and I can dance just about anything with him. I danced with a few other guys, most of them about 3 times each. Many were very good leads and I had a great time. Some were OK and we struggled a bit. One in particular wasn’t such a good lead and the West Coast Swing (my worst dance) was a disaster. My other disaster was the Viennese Waltz which I didn’t know the basic pattern for and it is definitely not like the waltz. But overall I had such a good time and I only sat out 2 – 3 dances. I left only because my feet were killing me and I got home a little before midnight. I am not going to be able to go every Friday night and if I’m lucky I can go 2x/months. Brian is going to hike rim to rim to rim in September so he got up at 4:30 AM to hike Camelback the next morning and I got up with the kids at 6 AM. I was so tired!

June 2007

The “Range of Motion Machine” is the one key word that gets random people to this blog when they do Google searches. So I thought I would give an update on the machine. We have had it since January of 2006, so I’ve had a good year and half of usage. I do the machine 4 – 5 times per week and Pilates twice a week. Honestly, there really isn’t much of an excuse to not use the machine since it involves about 8 minutes of my time… doing the settings and turning on the fans and putting in my CD and putting on my shoes half the time (the front part of the machine does not require shoes). So for those of you who wonder if it really works, it does. But regular rules apply… it can only do so much… if your eating is out of control it won’t compensate for that but it can fully substitute your cardio and weight lifting. I highly recommend doing Pilates at least 2x/week, preferably 3x/week if you want the most optimal workout.

Brian and Ty flew to Portland to stay with Brian’s mom for a few days. It was the last few days of Ty’s life as a lap child and Brian wanted to take advantage of it. Jack and I stayed home. On Friday night I got a sitter and Jen and Pam came over. We went up to San Felipe in DC Ranch. I didn’t realize that DC Ranch was so far away. I saw the photo radar flash on the 101 but Jen and Pam assured me it wasn’t me. I haven’t gotten my picture in the mail so I guess they were right. We had dinner there and during dinner some really drunk guy kept trying to get my attention by yelling at me. It was annoying. One of his friends told us that he had been at this bar/restaurant when he learned that his sister had died or some story along those lines. Jen spent some time grousing about a phone call from her ex-husband. Nothing that a couple drinks didn’t take care of. At 10 PM they turn the restaurant into a club and a guy came around to card us. I had to put my cosmo down to pull out my driver’s license. I thought that was funny. The music was OK… a lot of hip hop type music. I would like to go somewhere where they play dance music. But still we had a good time.

I got up early the next morning to meet Jill and Connor at Wildflower for breakfast. The boys played in the play area and we went to the bookstore. We were out for hours, which was good because it meant I didn’t have to figure out how to entertain Jack at home. Jack and I then went to a pottery painting place where I had envisioned making a Father’s Day present for Brian. Jack really wanted to paint a monster truck piggy bank so we went with that. I really thought he would lose interest quickly but he loved painting the truck and seemed intrigued that we had to leave it there to be baked in a big oven for the paint to get shiny.

We went to a little café next door that was yummy. I had a shrimp and smoked salmon sandwich. Later that night I got a sitter again and went out this time with Sarah and Mindy. Sarah works with recruiters/consultants and someone from another company invited her to their office party. So we went and crashed someone else’s office party which was a little weird because everyone knew each other, except for us. The CEO even comes over and introduces himself and says, what are you doing here? Drinking free booze and eating free food and gambling with your fake money? Actually he was pretty cool about it and seemed pleased that we came, especially since I manage a > $6 million budget. They had dealers and black jack, roulette and craps. I played black jack and made a lot of fake money. I really wished that we were in Vegas. After doing this for a while we decided to go to Devil’s Martini. After staying there for a while, we decided to go to Andersens but when we got out on the sidewalk, I realized that I had lost my cell phone in the club. I had brought my cell phone to tell time and had taken it out on the dance floor and I guess it never made it back in my purse. I was really irked because I had just lost my watch two days ago! I went back to the club and the security guys said there wasn’t a chance of finding it until everyone left and they turn on the lights. ARRGGGH. That was kind of a buzz kill so we went home.

I met Missie and Reagan at Wildflower bright and early the next morning. By the time we got home, I was so ready to just chill out and do nothing. It was kind of nice just having the weekend to me and Jack alone. Meanwhile, Ty was having a great time in Portland with Brian’s mom and sister. They really doted on him.

On Monday I had another dance lesson which was exhilarating for me. We are working on a lot on the samba in terms of technique and did a little waltz, salsa and cha cha to see how well I did just “following”. If you are a good follower, then you don’t have to know all the steps… you just do them. Those dances are pretty easy for me to follow. That night I met up with my friend Mike and we went to our favorite meeting place, 4 Peaks. I think we could easily sit there and talk and laugh all night.

I sent out an email message to the distribution list for the workout center at work asking if someone found a watch. Someone had and thought it was mine so I got it back on Monday. I had left a message with the Devil’s Martini about my cell phone and they called me on Tuesday to say they had found one. I drove up there on Wednesday and sure enough it was mine. Score!

I wasn’t so lucky with our volleyball tournament that week because we pretty much came in last. We sucked. Sometimes we come in second in the tournament and sometimes we come in dead last. I personally didn’t play that well during this round. Hope it is better next season.

I had my 6 month check up with Dr. Spies. I am so happy with the results. I think his work is just about perfect and I would do it again in a second. It’s totally worth being miserable for a month. Buying clothes is so much more fun. And to think one of my biggest concerns was what other people would think. That turned out to be the least of my concerns.

On Friday night we took our nanny, Holly and her fiancé and daughter out to eat since it was her last day with us. After over a year of having a nanny, we decided it was time for Ty to move into the all day preschool at the Y with Jack. They will only take kids when they are 2 or older and they agreed to take Ty 1 week early. Having a nanny for Ty for about a year was a really good thing for us and him but I think we were all ready to get Ty into the Y with Jack.

On Saturday I took Jack to the Ahwatukee YMCA to do yoga with Jill. She brought Connor so they could play together. I really liked the class but it was hard work! After the class I took Jack to pick up his monster truck piggy bank. When we got there, his truck was sitting on the counter. Well, half of it. I guess it broke in the kiln. We decided to do another one right then and there. Jack was cool with that and we painted a new one. On Saturday night Yvonne and Colton came over and I took Brian out to dinner to the new French restaurant in Ahwatukee. I thought it was really good but I love eating a bunch of appetizers and they had one of my favorites, duck pate. We had a bottle of wine and topped of the night with a dessert. We didn’t even consider going to a movie afterwards because I would just fall asleep. The next morning we went to Wildflower for a father’s day breakfast and of course, played and went to Barnes and Noble. We really need frequent diner cards for that place.

Brian went to Oregon Monday morning for work which was a little dicey since that was Ty’s very first day in the all day preschool. I managed to get both boys there and Ty seemed pretty happy so it turned out to not be such a big deal. I had another dance lesson during lunch that day and learned a new dance for me, West Coast Swing. It’s fun but the beats are different and it may take a while for me to get used to. I actually changed my shirt before going to this class because I am very sweaty when I am done and I don’t like sitting there in my cube all gross for the next 4 – 5 hours. That night I was putting clothes away and left Jack and Ty unattended for a few minutes. During that very short period, they pulled chairs up to the kitchen sink and pulled out the nozzle and managed to flood the whole kitchen, getting water in all the cabinets and drawers and counters… and all over the floor. I really wanted to kill them but instead said NO DORA FOR A WEEK. It took a good half hour to clean it up.

My week at work was crazy and stressful so I was glad that Friday night was the Drinking Club with a Reading Problem. I think most of us, for once, read the book. Not that we talked about it. This is the second book club where the three new babies were in attendance. This is a sharp contrast to me, Jill and Kathleen who were basking in our childless presence and were gleefully plotting our girls’ weekend in Rocky Point for next year with no husbands or children. I guess the honeymoon period for us is over. I remember not wanting to spend a single minute away from Jack. The next book club will be the big Moms Gone Wild pool party and I would be very surprised to see any kids within a mile radius of that party. No parent should subject their child to that.

On Saturday I took Jack and Ty to the Way 2 Play café where you can get food and coffee and stuff and let your kids play. Jack and Ty really like to play on the stuff there but Jack wants to eat every 15 minutes and they don’t want you to bring food in there because you’re supposed to buy it there. So that drives me crazy. I think people there think I am starving my child. Jack: Mom, I’m hungry! Me: Go play! Repeat 12 times over the next 3 hours. Every once in a while I get him a granola bar or apple sauce.

When we got back, they were exhausted and so I put them down for a nap and sat down to watch a little TV. Although Jack decided not take a nap and instead put Vaseline on all his furniture, toys and walls in his room. Nice. I did a little shopping and found a great work top and stumbled on my favorite jeans in a great wash (Joe Jeans The Muse). So of course I bought them. On Sunday it was Ty’s birthday but we didn’t do anything special. I don’t even feel guilty for that because it’s the last time I can get away with it and plus Brian’s mom and sister had a little party for him when they were in Portland. I met Missie and Reagan at Wildflower and did the mall thing. I bought nice puzzles for the boys (from my mother) which they have done about every day since we bought them. They just LOVE doing puzzles and can seem to do them together without killing each other.

Next Installment: Burning My Face for Beauty—the continued quest for post-baby body improvements

Back to Dancing for Real Now

May is a big month for me with Mother’s Day and my birthday. On the Friday before Mother’s Day, Jack’s preschool had a tea for the moms. They had tea and muffins and brownies and fruit to eat and the kids sang us a song. They were really cute. On Saturday we went to Kierland Commons so that I could get a haircut. Sometimes we go as a family because it’s so nice to walk around. We ate at the News Café and did some shopping after my haircut. That afternoon I took Jack to a birthday party at My Gym or Little Gym… I always get them confused. It was a great little party… I’m always scoping out places for Jack’s birthday because it’s in August and unless you do something in the water, it’s just too hot to have a party outside. After getting back from the party, JenDawg showed up and we went to Nancy’s house in Timbuktu to visit the baby. We had some lovely sangria and enjoyed visiting for a quite a while. When we got back to the house, we had dinner and played with the boys. The next day was Mother’s Day. I had asked to spend half the day with the boys and the other half of the day spending time doing some guilt-free shopping so after spending the morning with the boys, I did some shopping, mostly at Nordstrom Rack. I decided I like Nordstrom Rack more than Nordstrom just because they have a lot of variety but you definitely need a lot more time to spend there. The best part about Mother’s Day is not cleaning the litter boxes.

On Tuesday Brian and I had a date which is a big deal for us. We went to Cheuvont Wine Bar and had pate and appetizers and a bottle of wine. Then we took a taxi to the Dodge Theatre to see Harry Connick, Jr. who is always very good in concert. The next day I went to lunch with a couple of co-workers, one of who was leaving the group and leaving the state. We decided that we should have a “drinking lunch” where we could enjoy some adult beverages. We didn’t do a happy hour because one of the guys is a single dad and hasn’t found a good baby-sitter yet. I only managed to drink 1 ½ mojitos because I had had enough the night before with the wine. The other guys managed to drink a bit more so it was mission accomplished. I found out a friend is pregnant through IVF (Yea, Heather). One egg implanted but it split into identical twins She is freaking out a little. Twins sound great for the first round but maybe not so much for the second round when you have a 2 year old to take care of on top of that. But everyone seems to manage. On Friday I had a consult at a laser place to see what I could do for acne, hyper-pigmentation and broken blood vessels. I opted for a procedure that will leave my face red and peeling for like a week but that should help all three of those things, plus help prevent skin cancer in the future. I had to pick a week when I could work from home so that will be the week of July 4. That night we had book club. We talked about the book a little bit but the three new moms showed up with all their little babies so there was a bit of baby talk going on. Still it was great to see everyone since it had been a couple months since the last book club. All the new moms are doing great and the babies are all very cute. Saturday was my birthday and I had a pretty hard time with my birthday this year. I really didn’t want to be turning 38… it’s getting awfully close to 40 and I don’t feel like I’m almost 40 years old. We took the boys the new play area in Tumbleweed Park that is just awesome because it is mostly shaded. I don’t know why we don’t have a lot more shaded areas in Arizona. They boys played for over 2 hours there before we left and had brunch at Brunchies. In the afternoon I took a dinner over to Jeanette’s and got to see Ava. She is very cute and Jeanette seems to be loving motherhood. That night we met Jill and Gert at La Stalla for dinner. Brian had asked if I wanted a cocktail party or a big going out thing and I decided I didn’t feel up to it. Maybe next year. And then something really big for my 40th! The next day I met JenDawg at Wildflower at 7:30 AM with the boys. She is great with the boys. Afterwards we went to the play area which of course was deserted that early in the morning.

On Wednesday a big group of us from work spent several hours doing volunteer work at St. Mary’s Food Bank. We do these events for “teambuilding” and to be honest I just love doing these volunteer things. I find it fun to work (usually some kind of physical labor) with my co-workers, just because it’s easy to interact with them and have fun when we are busy. I worked on the assembly line making emergency food boxes. They had a big conveyor belt where the first person put on a box, then the next person put in cereal, the next one juice, the next one vegetables, the next one fruit (my job) and so on. Someone stands behind you and feeds you cans of food. It was kind of physically demanding. At some point a tower of applesauce cans fell down on my leg. OUCH. It is now a month later and I still have a nasty bruise on my leg from that. I also had a lot of cuts on my hands from the cardboard boxes. But I still had a great time and would do it again in a second.

Saturday night of Memorial Day weekend we went to a wedding. Actually my last two weddings… I didn’t actually see the wedding part… it was just the reception. Maybe that is a growing trend now. My friend Missie and her husband were there so that was fun but the most fun was dancing. I was surprised how much of the Swing that Brian remembered so we really went for it on the dance floor. It was awesome. It renewed my desire to pursue a hobby of ballroom/Latin and swing dancing. We did other things like go to the zoo and to a new café where the parents can sit and drink coffee while the kids play. I even treated myself to a massage on Monday, my first one since my surgery. It feels weird to lie on my stomach because it feels like I am lying on two firm pillows, which I am. But it didn’t bother me.

The next weekend we went to the same playground in Tumbleweed Park and then went straight to the Kids Fare Expo in Glendale at the Cardinals Stadium. I had no idea what this was… all I knew is that Jack would get to meet Dora. Well, whoever organized it must not be a good organizer because they pretty much had one entrance and a bazillion people who showed up. You had to stand in line for like and hour just to get in. But for those of us who drove all the way there from the east valley felt we had to go through with it. Brian stood in line (no shade outside in the hot blazing sun) while I sat in the shade with the boys. We finally got our tickets and went inside and really it was just a bunch of people who had rented booths to sell their stuff or services. You had to pay extra to do the big bouncy thing. And then they had only one concession stand for all those people but only sold hot dogs and crappy nachos. We finally found Dora and the line was super long but we stood in it. Dora was leaving on her break apparently before it was Jack’s turn, only to be replaced the less desirable SpongeBob, so Brian busted his way up there and Jack was the last person to get his picture taken with Dora. After that, I couldn’t get out of there fast enough and I will never go to one of those again.

Sunday I had breakfast at Wildflower with JenDawg and Pam. We stayed for like 2 hours and it seemed we could keep going but we finally had to go. I swung by Target to buy the latest Michael Buble CD and the Nelly Furtado CD. I think there is a lot of good music out there right now. I bought tickets to see Michael Buble at the Dodge Theatre for July… Yvonne and I are going. Sunday afternoon we went to Ger and Ter’s for Terry’s birthday. I ate so much I could barely stand it. Someone had brought a delicious smoked salmon dip I couldn’t stop eating.

On Monday I finally did something I have been talking about for years. I took a private dance lesson, to be followed by others weekly. My goal initially is to become a good social dancer. This means that you can show up to dances and dance well with anyone who asks you. Yes, there are places you can go to ballroom dance where you dance with a lot of different people like every Friday night. So my goal is to be able to go to one of these and be able to dance any of the dances with anyone who asks me. My favorite dance is the samba so that is what we mostly worked on. I completely underestimated the effort involved in dancing for an hour straight. He didn’t spend much time showing me things… we were pretty much dancing the whole time and we were both sweating profusely. He said I learned more in 1 hour than most people learn in two months of group lessons. That is the benefit of doing private lessons… you can go as fast as you can go and don’t have to worry about anyone else. It felt fantastic and I liked the instructor (my guess is that he is about 16 years younger than me!) I did this during my lunch hour and it took a while for my sweaty clothes to dry and my red face to return back to normal. I will have to think more about how to handle this during my lunch hour without looking to disheveled in the afternoon. I am very excited for my next lesson (Monday!) Maybe you will see me on Dancing with the Stars (for seniors). Ha ha.

Oregon and Florida

I got home from Vegas around 5 PM on Sunday. I would estimate that in Vegas I got 5 hours of sleep the first night and close to 3 hours the next night. I was shocked I didn't crash on Sunday night. On Tuesday I got up 4 AM which ironically was one hour before the time I went to bed in Vegas. I had to catch the plane to Oregon for a three day meeting for work. Normally we have our meetings at the work site but this time we stayed in Cannon Beach, OR. I am covering for my boss while he is off for 8 weeks and this was a big staff meeting. There are about 10 guys on the staff and one woman. So I am the second woman on staff for the next 8 weeks. I rode from the airport to the beach with the other woman, Julie. We also shared a suite because it was more cost effective. The meeting was pretty boring I must say. Very administrative which is a necessary evil for staffs. After several hours of this, we all went to dinner together and it was OK. I spent time in my room after that preparing for a big presentation to a VP that I had to give over the phone the next morning. That presentation went fine and then the rest of the staff meeting was again, really boring. In a way, I think I still had a Vegas hangover, meaning I went from all that excitement to something very boring. It picked up a little when we all went to this place on the beach and did a little hiking. It was really cold and invigorating. After this little excursion, Julie and I went to a nice restaurant and split appetizers and had wine. The wine got us very relaxed and we joked about meeting up with the guys saying "The Boobies are here!"

Julie did get a call from some of the other guys and they were at a brew pub so we joined them. We got a little silly and said a bunch of things you don't typically say to your co-workers but we were laughing so hard... we decided that we needed to build a bonfire on the beach so three of us went to the liquor store to get a few bottles of wine. We got back to the hotel, rounded up the other people and spent a while on the beach drinking, laughing and being stupid. This may not sound like a big deal but this group had seemed like the biggest group of stuffy nerds ever and our work environment is so politically correct that everyone acts so bland and boring. It was great to see everyone cutting loose and having a great time. The next day at the end of the meeting, one of the guys says "This was the best meeting ever! (referring to getting crazy the night before) and also says, "We DO need more diversity on this staff."

I got back Thursday night and got ready to fly to Florida very early Saturday morning with Jack. Brian and I decided that for trips to visit our respective families, it might be easier for one of us to travel with one of the kids versus all four of us traveling. So this was an experiment for us. This trip was to Port St. Lucie, Florida to visit my 87 year old grandmother. I brought my laptop with extended battery for Jack to watch DVD's. I didn't bring a whole lot else in our carry-ons because that is really all he cares about when we travel. We had a connecting flight in Atlanta and just as we were about to touch the ground in Atlanta, Jack said he had to go potty. Well, everyone knows you cannot get up when the plane is landing so I gave him a bunch of gummy bears to hopefully distract him. It worked for about 2 minutes and then he said he REALLY had to go. By then he had pretty much peed a gallon all over himself and the seat. Since he is potty trained, I hadn't brought any extra clothes for him. I was completely stressed out because I didn't know what he was going to wear and we had a layover and another hour and a half to fly. The flight attendant gave drink tickets to a couple who had a kid in exchange for a diaper. Then she managed to find a men's Hanes white T-shirt. So that is what Jack wore around the airport like a dress. He really didn't seem to care, even though everyone was looking at us very strangely. He even managed to flirt with some 20-something girls in the waiting area by the gate. So on the flight from Atlanta to Port St. Lucie, Jack said he had to go to the bathroom. This time we could get up but he went poop and I didn't realize that the man sized T-shirt was hanging down the back and that got covered in poop. Now I was panicked again because I still had nothing for Jack to wear and he couldn't wear a poop covered shirt. So I ended up putting my zippered hoodie on him. My parents had driven down from South Carolina the week before and took a cruise and picked us up at the airport. We had a 45 minute drive to my grandmother's. On the way down, Jack said he felt sick. Dad didn't pull over in time and Jack puked all over himself and the car seat. I couldn't believe it. At this point, we just took all his clothes off and he rode the rest of the way naked. The air conditioner had gone out in the car so he was warm enough. The moral of the story is to always pack extra clothes for kids, no matter what their age.

We were only at my grandmother's from Saturday afternoon until Tuesday around noon. My grandmother loved seeing Jack and she introduced him to chocolate milk. Jack thought that was pretty cool. We went to the beach one day when it was just gorgeous weather and blue water. But we didn't bring our swimsuits because usually it's cloudy and brown, rough and windy. So we went back the next day with our suits and sure enough, it was cloudy, brown, rough and windy. Oh, well. I did find out that my grandmother, who is very healthy and very slim, lives on Krispy Kreme doughnuts, pie and cookies. I'm contemplating this diet for myself.

We weren't there for long but it was the right amount of time because although Jack was in a pretty mood the whole time, he was a little clingy. I mean, he only saw my grandmother one time when he was 6 months old and then he only sees my parents a couple times a year... I guess it was like being in a house full of strangers to some extent. He didn't like for me to be out of his sight.

I packed just about all his clothes in a carry on for the trip back but of course nothing happened. It was good to get home. Brian is going to attempt a similar trip to Portland with Ty to see his mother. I think a man traveling with a 23 month old by himself will get a lot of positive attention. OK, this gets me to the first of May. More to come.

Vegas Baby

I last left off around mid-April. On Saturday April 21st, we got a visit from Brian’s Aunt Cathie and Uncle Pete who were in town from Alaska for some kind of car racing. They are really good with the kids so that is a nice diversion. The next day I had my brunch with Missie and was able to do a little bit of shopping before I met Kathleen, Lisa, Pam and a very pregnant Jeanette and Jen at Kona Grill for Kathleen’s birthday. Lisa and I had mojitos that were $9 each which I thought were expensive until I went to Vegas (more later). That afternoon JenDawg came over and we had fajitas outside. Jen seems to like the kids and tolerates their “high energy” behavior pretty well. I spent the whole next week worrying about what I would wear in Vegas on the three day all girls trip there.

I’ve never been to Vegas before which is amazing because I’ve lived in Phoenix for 11 years. Shannon kept saying that we would be staying up all night and doing a lot of walking so I was obsessed about finding some comfortable dressy shoes for Friday night and Saturday night. I was told that I needed a dress for one of the nights so I had bought a dress at Nordstrom Rack with the help of my friend Sarah, a several time Vegas veteran. I had a nice pair of shoes to go with the dress but I wore them to work one day this week and could barely walk in the them so I didn’t have confidence that they would hold up in Vegas. I left work a little early one day to go to DSW and I found some perfect dressy shoes. I selected the brown and black ones because they were so comfortable and when I got to the cashier I realized I didn’t have my wallet. Now I completely freaked out because I instantly thought that someone stole my wallet. I am the worst when it comes to guarding my purse. I will put my purse down gaping open on the floor in DSW and walk down the entire aisle to see if shoes are comfortable. I am too slack and trusting. The thought of getting a new drivers license and all new credit cards 2 days before going to Vegas was enough to just about give me a heart attack. I was already late picking up Jack so I asked them to look out for my wallet and put the shoes on hold and rushed to get Jack. I dropped off Jack at home with Brian and drove back to work, hoping for some reason my wallet was there. I raced into the building and into my cube and there it was sitting on the floor. WHEW!

Later that night I went to Target with Jack where I bought him a Dora suitcase for our upcoming trip to Florida and went to DSW to buy those shoes.

On Friday morning I got up super early, got ready, threw my suitcase in the car and went to pick up Tracy and Shannon. Shannon brought a giant suitcase which of course we teased her about. We drove to Annette’s and Todd then drove us to the airport. The flight to Vegas was uneventful and we rode the shuttle bus to the Mandalay Bay. We met up with Annette’s sister Michelle and her friend Ann when we got there. We first went to the Venetian for some shopping and had lunch there.

Kelly and Annette at Lunch


Posing in Front of the The Blue Man Group

Then we went to Caesar’s Palace for some more shopping. Caesar’s Palace had the really nice shops like Louis Vitton and Juicy Couture. I bought one top. After walking around all day, we ended up at a bar. I wandered around the casino while the girls smoked. I couldn’t believe all the different types of slot machines. It was finally time to head back to the Mandalay Bay to check in. The rooms were nice and I shared a room with Shannon and Tracy. We spent time getting ready to go out that night and I decided to wear my extreme push up bra because well, it was Vegas.


The Girls Friday Night


A Couple Hours Later

We went to the Rum Jungle first and this was my first exposure to how expensive the drinks were relative to the size. I ordered a mojito and it was $13 for a tiny tumbler of it. Very disappointing. I was eager to gamble but the girls weren’t too interested in it so they went to the next bar while I tried to find a less than $15 minimum bid black jack table. I had no luck so I found the girls at the bar drinking $10 drinks that were even smaller than the first place. At 11 PM we went to dinner at a Mexican place where I had a big Tecate and some ceviche. After dinner we went to a lounge called the Foundation Room at the top of the Mandalay Bay. I just wasn’t really quite feeling the whole Vegas thing yet and was a little bored. So I went out on the terrace which had an amazing view of the strip. I started talking to a local named Joan. Joan decided that I needed to flirt and called over this guy and made up a story about us being sisters and a bunch of other crap but I ended up talking to this guy (also a local) for a long time and he bought me drinks and was attentive so that made me feel good. Shannon and I believe that you should not be buying your own drinks in Vegas! Meanwhile, this guy David had all his friends there and they were being drunk and rowdy and kept Tracy, Shannon and Annette entertained. It kept me entertained to watch all of this going on. All the girls went back to the room and I stayed with Shannon until we were kicked out of the lounge around 3 AM. We hung out at the casino for a while, again looking for a cheaper black jack table, but no luck. So Shannon and I went to bed around 3:30 AM. We woke up around 9 AM the next day and lay in bed laughing about the night before. I had a bunch of details written but I’ve decided that that I need to adhere to the “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” rule. After the complete review of the previous night, I went down and got Starbucks for everyone and then we got ready to go to the pool.

We get down to the “beach” area and there are a thousand bodies and no chairs. Yikes. And no shade in sight. We ate lunch there and fortunately found a smaller pool. The girls laid out in the direct sun and I found some shade to hang out in. It was awesome just vegging out without a care in the world—no kids to feed, no work to be done, no laundry taunting me. It was heaven. After we get back to the room, we got ready for the night thinking we should start earlier than we did the last night.


Kelly Pre Funking (Drinking) Before Going Out

Kelly and Tracy Ready to Go

Kelly and Shannon Ready to Go

We had a little party in the room for Stephanie, who the trip was in honor of—her 40th birthday—complete with cake and vodka/tonics. After the party we headed to the Hard Rock Café where Stephanie and her friend Nicole went to a concert and we ate at the Pink Taco. By this time, I had gotten pretty disinterested in eating which is a side effect of Vegas. After eating and having a martini, Shannon and I tried our hand at a black jack table. I was out $75 in 7 minutes with the $15 minimum bid. The dealer got 20 and 21 all 5 hands. That really sucked. We played some slots after that and then found a bar to hang out in to wait for Stephanie and Nicole. We ended up at a lounge at the Wynn, maybe around 11 PM… and I went to bed at 5 AM. So yes, 6 hours of details are missing… but that stays in Vegas. Ha ha.

The Taxi Line at 3 AM

Even after going to bed so late, we still woke up at 9 AM and did another post-mortem. On my way up the elevator with the coffee, a woman goes, Hey weren’t you in the elevator at 5 AM? We checked out and did a little more shopping and walking around and then got our luggage and headed to the airport. I still felt pretty good even after getting just about no sleep. Then when I got home, I felt like I was so ready to see Brian and the boys but then the boys were all over me the second I got home and it was really overwhelming. I decided you cannot go from a place like Vegas where reality is suspended and then come right back into reality where you left off without going into shock. What I loved about Vegas was just the opportunity to be Kelly and not a wife, a mom, an employee and to flirt and feel attractive. Everyone is so friendly in Vegas…everyone is there to have a great time. And they do. So it was a little shocking to immediately get back to wife and mom. But I didn’t have a lot of time to think about it because I had to work the next day and then head to Oregon for three days…

Get Off Your Butts

Volleyball started up again the last week of March. I play fours in the sand courts outside of work. We really have a fun time together. We are competitive and laid back most of the time but sometimes we play against teams that are really arrogant and that annoys us—then we get kind of feisty. I mean, it’s not like we are playing the Championship of the Universe. You can play competitively and still be nice. I had a happy hour to go to on Friday night but I decided I would rather spend the time with Brian and the kids so we went to ZTejas. I don’t know if it’s work stress or what but I definitely want to drink more often. I wanted to try something new so I ordered a mojito. This is almost like a Tom Collins or Mint Julep—it was yummy and refreshing and I would like for Brian to add this to his repertoire of drinks. He bought some rum and mint plants last night.

The next day we went to a birthday party in one of those places where they have giant inflatables inside a big room. I had to go on everything because Jack was a little timid at first but after a few trips down the big slide, he got confident and so I could rest—I was getting tired and sweaty! Brian, on the other hand, had to take Ty up and down all the stairs and slides and so he was getting a really good workout.

We’ve gotten into the pattern of getting out and doing something with the boys every weekend morning. We went to the Tempe Art Festival with the boys. After all these years I still don’t get tired of going to this… although I do move through the booths very quickly. I saw a booth for the marble rings that Tracy, Annette, Shannon and I all own. Apparently they make necklaces and earrings too. Brian bought a hummingbird feeder but that’s about it.

Most of the time I avoid talking about work in this blog. First of all it’s boring for other people to read but also this is a public blog so I should be careful about what I say. But I don’t think what I agonize about is unique to me and my company by any means. I tend to be passionate and driven at work and made a fairly quick ascension since working here. I’ve plateaued in the past 3 ½ years that I have been having babies. I’m actually OK with this for now because my priority is my kids and with my current job, I really do not have to work much overtime and don’t have to travel much. The problem is that there is a part of me that yearns to take on more responsibility… I mean, if I think I am well qualified, it’s a little hard to watch someone less qualified take on positions and even potentially become my boss. Especially if I think they are incompetent. So I am in a bit of a conundrum. And this is another reason that drinking more seems like a good idea. Ha ha. Brian traveled for a couple days this week. That always increases my stress. On Wednesday I wanted to go to a parenting seminar at the YMCA so I had to get a babysitter since Brian was gone. The seminar was good—it was given by Jack’s preschool director who had a lot of good ideas. She had 6 kids herself and has been in elementary education for 30 years. Jack started swimming lessons this same week so I had get Ty and take him to Jack’s swimming lesson. It wasn’t so bad. Jack LOVES swimming lessons this time around. He has a huge smile on his face the whole time. That makes me happy.

We had another birthday party the next Saturday in one of those place with the big inflatables so I came well prepared in workout clothes. Unfortunately I got chafed going down the big slide (like a bad rug burn). Of course, none of the kids got hurt. After the birthday party I took a couple meals to Kathleen’s house for delivery to the two preggo’s in “Egypt”. OK, east Mesa but it seems like a long way away. I ran into Jeanette there and we ended staying about an hour. We also got to see Marion briefly as she dropped off a meal. Then we helped Kathleen load up her car with all the meals. The idea is that the meals can be frozen and used after the babies comes.

The next day was Easter which is an interesting day for me. I was a Christian growing up and still consider myself a Christian even though I don’t go to church. However, growing up our church did not observe Easter because it originated as a pagan holiday. I cannot seem to get past that, just like I cannot eat pork. It’s emotional baggage. I will probably never recognize Easter as a religious holiday for that reason. So the truth is that we have no Easter traditions. I’m OK with the secular/traditional element of the Easter egg hunt. That seems like a fun kid thing. So that’s why we went to Encanto Park for their big Easter egg hunt. Us and about 1,000,000 Hispanic people. The instructions for the hunt were in Spanish and the Spanish speaking radio station was broadcasting. It really was quite the mob scene. Cross that off our list of possible traditions. We decided to stick with opening presents from Gramma in front of the web cam (which we did Easter morning) and then will do an Easter egg hunt in the backyard. And that will be it for us.

Friday after work I went to a co-worker’s going away party at Teakwood’s. Teakwood’s really does have the best burgers and steak fries. And I’m not a burger and fries kind of gal. I left around 6:30 and met up Brian and boys at Wildflower. We went to the play area in front of Barnes and Nobles where the kids were wild and crazy. After that, Brian took Ty home and I went to the Discovery Store where Jack and I looked at our favorite toy there: a clear ball filled with fake worms. It’s really gross but for some reason I love it. One day I will actually buy it. I bought a jade necklace there since I love green jewelry and it was all 50% off.

The next day we went to IKEA for breakfast and walked around through the store. We bought a second “high” chair since Jack and Ty fight over Jack’s chair. It’s really like a bar stool but for the table, so no more high chairs or booster seats in our house. Saturday night Brian went to the George Thorogood concert. I went to my first George Thorogood concert when I was 18 years old. That was 20 years ago. He is the best performer I have ever seen. (For those of you who are scratching your heads wondering what he sings… “Bad to the Bone” and “I Drink Alone” and “One Bourbon, One Scotch and One Beer”.) Every single concert I’ve been to see him has been a small venue, with no seats and lots of beer. Everyone stands and dances and hangs out. So I was looking forward to this concert because it’s been about 9 years since I had seen him. It was a disappointment! Don’t get me wrong… George was great, as usual. But the problem was that everyone sat in their seats like we were at the symphony! Brian and I stood up for a couple songs but everyone around us was just sitting. I was completely baffled. We ended up moving to an area where we could stand up for the rest of the concert. If anyone has any ideas why people would be sitting through someone like George Thorogood, please let me know. It’s not like he has any ballads. Brian said, “Well the crowd is older.” Does that mean that you no longer have the use of your legs? Has your rhythm been sucked out of you? Are we that out of shape in America that we cannot stand for an hour and a half concert? I mean, George has to be in his 60’s now and he wasn’t sitting on stool—he was all over the place. I have to believe that he likes to have people standing, clapping, singing, moving… ARRGGHH.

I watched the “Sound of Music” over the course of the week. Our nanny had recorded it and so I watched it little by little through the week. I’ve seen that move about 100 times and it was still good. Although as an adult, the romance part of it was more interesting than when I was a kid and the resistance to the Nazi’s was also more interesting. But I wonder if this movie is like “Star Wars” where if you saw it as a kid, you love it as an adult but if you saw it for the first time today, you would think it was really bad.

Sunday we did a lot of chores. Gert and Jill came over with Connor and Luke for dinner. We ate fajitas and it was such a nice evening that we ate outside. The boys played well together. After they left and the boys went to bed, I sewed a button on a pair of pants and repaired a hole in Jack’s sock. I think the official term is that I “darned his sock”. That made me feel very domestic.

March

I wonder if anyone still reads this blog since I update it so infrequently. My last post showed the Manicure and Martini charity event (on March 2) which was so much fun that I will definitely do it again next year. The rest of that weekend was a blur—we went to the Farm with Jill, Joe and family and Kim and the kids, and Pam and Murray. It was a beautiful day and the kids ran around and had fun. That night we had dinner with our friends Liz and Inigo from Washington, DC, plus Jill and Gert and another couple. I enjoyed catching up with Liz but the acoustics aren’t that great at Z’Tejas and so it was hard to hear others. I had my favorite restaurant dessert, the Ancho Chili Pie. J The next day was Jeannette’s shower. Brian ended up making the cheese tray that we contributed to the cause. It was a nice shower and they served coffee with the cake. I’ve decided that baby showers should always have coffee served with the cake and that makes my baby shower experience complete and satisfying. Ha ha. Either that or a stiff drink. I did win the baby shower Mad Lib game. Nicki and I used to do Mad Libs all the time and would come up with the most “out there” words. We never used nouns like “chair” or “table”. I had to apply the same philosophy to the baby shower game.

The next two weekends were kind of repeats. We went to the Desert Breeze Train Park with the kids and met Jill and Gert and their kids there. The next week I met my friend from Oregon there. We met through work and she was down here with her husband and her daughter for vacation and spring training. Then it was time for Jen’s baby shower. Since it was in Glendale, we carpooled so the trip wasn’t too bad. I won yet another baby shower game by guessing the baby food flavors, including the tie breaker “chicken pasta”. There was no coffee but there were petit fours which were yummy and addictive. The coffee would have probably put me over the edge into a state of ecstasy.

Last weekend I had ‘the girls’ over for cosmos and Sex and the City shows. There was more chatting, drinking and eating than TV watching but that is OK. No one got too silly, unfortunately. We went to the Salsa Challenge the next day and I ate a ton of chips and salsa. I was so stuffed. But most of it was really yummy. The next night Brian went to a Peacemakers concert with Pam and Murray. I didn’t go because I don’t necessarily enjoy the crowds and late night that go along with a concert but I make exceptions every now and then. I saw “Jesus Christ Superstar” at the Orpheum at Sunday night. That originally came out in 1970 but it was one of the better musicals I’ve seen. The guy who played Jesus was the guy who was in the Broadway show which means Jesus was more like 60 years old than 30 years old. That was weird.

Monday night I went to Lifetime as Shannon’s guess for a salsa dancing class. I thought we were going to be learning how to do the salsa but the class was a fitness class where we did the salsa, cha-cha-cha and samba very fast for a whole hour. My body was in shock but it went fast and it was fun. I would do it again but I won’t be joining Lifetime anytime soon. Maybe I will go as a guest again.

I was talking to Jack’s preschool director about what to expect when he goes to kindergarten and she asked when his birthday was. It’s August 26 and he is still only 3 1/2. She said even though September 1 is the cut off, that we should hold him back. Not academically but for social reasons. Frankly I was shocked that she said that because it never occurred to me to hold him back if he makes the cut off so now I am obsessing about this and he’s still only 3 years old. I think the best I can do is just continue to watch how he does. Fortunately I don’t have to make any decisions about this any time soon.

We learned yesterday that my dad has melanoma. My dad is the healthiest guy I have ever known (he’s a vegan, has exercised for an hour a day every day his whole life, etc.). I am really hoping it’s the early stages but I’m also very worried. It sucks.