February Fail

I had grand plans for the month of February.  I was going to finish my book, get “fab abs” and finally read a book for the book club I joined last month.

And how am I doing?  I edited 2 pages of my book and wrote about 4 new sentences.  I worked my way up to 25 sit-ups and promptly quit.  I haven’t even picked up the book I am meant to read for the next meeting and cannot attend the meeting, because the husband and I will be away that weekend.

So I’ve accomplished very little of what I wanted.  I know the month is not over yet, but I am currently on a plane to my 2nd city of the week desperately trying to stay awake, so I can sleep tonight.  I did not sleep last night.  Then I head to city number 3 and fly home, landing well past my bedtime on Friday night.

Therefore, I will be a useless, drooling mess this weekend.  I suspect I will be buried in work next week and then the month is over.

I have failed February.  Perhaps March will be better.

Oh and my daughter is now talking well enough to deliver very clear guilt trips over the phone.  So yay.

 

 

 

 

Ode to the munchkins

On this Valentine’s Day, I would like to focus on the two great loves of my life, the two people who never fail to make me laugh – my babies.

Except, I don’t do poetry.  I can only readily think of 4-letter rhyming words, which is awkward when Danny asks me for words that rhyme with dump truck.  So I am going to express my love in the form of a list, but if you ever want help writing a dirty limerick, I’m your girl.

I love Danny because……

1. He’s the kindest, most considerate person I’ve ever met.  I don’t take credit for his kindness, but I am doing my best not to mess it up.
2. He has big beautiful eyes that are the perfect shade of golden brown.
3. He loves to dance, but is kind of spazzy.  When he gets mad, he sometimes expresses his frustration in the form of dance, a la West Side Story.
4. He sounds a bad word alarm when I curse or say something mean.
5. He takes care of his little sister.  He even drew a picture of her for Valentine’s Day.
6. He tells jokes that aren’t funny, but his laugh is so infectious you have no choice but to laugh anyway.
7. He’s a momma’s boy through and through.
8. He is a budding chef.
9. He is the perfect mixture of thoughtful, mature and typical boy.  He once went from asking if a tree could be hurt if it couldn’t say ow, to calling someone (I think me) a butthead, without even stopping for a breath.
10. He gives great hugs.
11. He’s always there with a kiss and a comforting word.
12. He has a memory like no other kid I’ve ever seen, which made him hard to distract as a baby, but never fails to impress.
13. He is fun to shop with and has excellent, but expensive taste.  For example, the dozen red roses that are sitting on my kitchen counter.
14. He has grand plans…the latest plan is to create a basement playroom with his daddy.

I love Samantha because…..

1. She has huge cheeks, with a giant dimple in one side.
2. She is fiercely independent.  At 2 years old, she is picking out her own clothes and has been known to kiss her own booboos.
3. She is incredibly smart.  She knows how everything works.  If she doesn’t know how something works, she has the patience and perseverance to sit down and figure it out.
4. She is stingy with her affection, but when she gives you a kiss, she gives it her all.  She grabs you by the ears with both hands and pulls you close, before planting a big smooch.
5. She loves to color/paint and really focuses on getting the details just right.  Her teachers tell me she is very dedicated when she paints her hands and arms in class.
6. She loves cheering for her brother at soccer and can’t wait to play soccer herself.  She is insisting that her brother, or as she calls him, “my friend, Danny” watches too.
7. She has a crazy fashion sense and has no trouble rejecting outfit after outfit with a dismissive “bor-ning!”.
8. She is just as happy wearing a tutu as she is playing in the dirt.
9. When she gives you a dirty look with her piercing green eyes, you can feel it to the bottom of your soul.
10. She is tough.  She doesn’t let anyone push her around, no matter how old or how big (except for maybe the witch in her bed).  If you are doing something she doesn’t like, you are going to hear about it.
11. She loves to sing about what she’s doing or who she’s with, usually in falsetto complete with sweeping arm gestures.
12. Ever since she was able to stand, she would dance to Whoomp! There it is.
13. She is the bravest kid.  She was climbing tall slides, before she could really walk.
14. Lately, whenever I am saying something she doesn’t like, she tries to distract me by saying “Eyeball?  Yucky.”

Girl vs. Boy Play Dates

Why are boy and girl play dates so different?

Whenever I have girls over to play with either my son or my daughter, I find myself relaxing on the couch, sipping some coffee, or updating my blog as I am doing now.  The girls quietly play right in front of me, acting out stories with the assortment of animals and dolls that litter my living room floor at all times.  The boy even helps me monitor the action telling his sister that she needs to share and be nice, before I even have a chance too.

When I have boys over, I am always worried about bodily injury.  They inevitably leave the living room to hide in my son’s room, where they seem to climb the furniture, wrestle and/or jump on the bed.  Unless I follow them, I only see them when they run up and down the stairs a hundred times.  I usually spy on them using the video monitor, shhhh.  If I do follow them, they leave the room.  I wonder if I smell but continue to try to monitor the situation anyway.

My daughter always follows the boys around, attempting to join in on the craziness.  It’s abundantly clear to everyone but her that she is not wanted.  So I have the added bonus of worrying about her getting her feelings hurt or getting hurt hurt.  I still drink the coffee, but more in a “I need to be alert” way, as opposed to the “isn’t this nice and relaxing” way I am sipping my coffee now.

I have a boy play date this afternoon, so I will revel in the peace while I can.

Announcement to make

I know, two posts in one day, but I have a very upsetting announcement to make….

My boy has a loose tooth.

I still remember wondering if my baby would ever have teeth (I was slightly concerned he had some weird toothless disease) and now he is getting ready to lose one?!?!

My baby boy will soon officially be a kid!  Not sure if I can handle it.

On the road again

Whenever I tell someone how much traveling my job entails, they inevitably ask “Isn’t that hard with the kids?”  I always reply “yes”, but the truth is I miss it.  We’ve worked and traveled non-stop between December 2010 and early December 2011, so the last two months of staying home were a welcome break, but I am literally itching to get back on the road again.

I am not going to tell you that traveling for business is glamorous.  It’s not, but since I had kids, my list of requirements for a good trip have shrunk. Hotel has a TV – check. Kids aren’t there to wake me up, eat my food and insist I watch cartoons? Check. I can have complete silence if I so choose? Check.

Good trip. That’s all it takes.

I want to get back out there for a number of reasons:

• The above mentioned silence.
• The ability to use my free time as I wish, finally starting rewrites on my book.  The airport waiting time and the plane rides are especially productive, because I am literally trapped.
• Just focusing on one thing at a time.  I am sure many of you moms out there can relate.  Normally, I have a minimum of 2-3 things on my mind at a time, more if I am working from home.  I have one hand on the keyboard, one hand catching falling sippy cups, a kid on each shoulder, one eye on my work and one on the clock so I don’t miss lunchtime or an important call.  On the road, it’s just me and the work.
• And finally, I do really love my work.  There is nothing like learning about someone completely new and how they think and what is most important to them.  It’s a short-term connection, but a very real one and in my work, I get to make many such connections in an average 12-13 hour day.  These days are long but energizing.  And there is little better than seeing the finished product on the shelf or reading about it in the paper.

My travels this coming week have the added bonus of taking me to visit one of my dearest and oldest friends and her family.  So I can focus on her and her kids instead of my own!

Don’t get me wrong, by Wednesday or Thursday, I will be itching to get back home, but for now, I am looking forward to the traveling and the room service!