The Beauty of Pregnancy

So Tristyn, just so you know, this is what you did to me. Those are my feet on June 22, 2007. I took this pic on my BlackBerry while at work.

Now keep in mind I actually have quite thin ankles and legs normally. As you can see, my feet and ankles were actually the widest part of my foot, instead of my toes. Those flipflops (one of 2 pairs that "fit" me in the end) actually left indentations from the straps.

BUT WAIT, there's more: FREE with my Shrek feet came this horrid itching/stinging/burning constant sensation combination with pulsations. My legs felt like they would explode at any moment exactly how a hotdog weenie splits when it's overcooked. Ugh.

Plus, my cankles have cankles.

I'd post a 'after' pics for comparison, but I can't stand to look at feet. I only posted the pic because of this.

I'm Intercontinental When I Eat French Toast

I tried to make French Toast tonight. Tried. I've made French Toast many, many times. Every time its as lame as the previous attempt.

I simply can not cook. I can, in theory. I know what I'm supposed to do. I know the basics. I understand logic. I can recognize simple equations such as high heat can equal burnt outer yet inner soggy-nasty-ness. There is just something about the kitchen that renders me tard-like.

Normally I would just stick to what I know I'm good at: cocktails, appetizers, wine n cheese type displays, generally things that don't involve using heat to transmogrify ingredients into edible food. But ya know, cooking for oneself is kind of an essential skill. Without Mike to mastermind all my eating I'd probably be.............skinny. Bastid!

11-Months

Hi T! You're 11 months old today, happy birthday! You spent most of today attempting to properly insert your foot into my flip flop. Sometimes you put them on my feet for me, which you're kind of good at. So today I put your tiny little foot inside my flips, which you thought was just the coolest! The rest of the day was a pretty easy one for me because this kept you busy on and off for quite some time. I'll try to use this new task tomorrow when you get bored in the afternoon.

Speaking of your feet, you now know what the term 'kicky-feet' means. Dad said kicky-feet when we were all in the pool last night and you peddled away with those drumsticks (as your Auntie Michelle calls them). You were in your little baby floaty-boat thingy and with the pool light on we had a great view of those chunky legs kicking away. I wish we had an underwater camera!

Oh, this morning I noticed you were in fact teething and your mouth has broken ground on some prime real estate. The two teeth on either sides of the your top for (of 4) are emerging, and a lower tooth on your right side (I call it 'chomper') has broken through almost fully, about 90%.

You're such a tough girl, I wasn't even certain you were teething. Though there were a few tell-tale signs recently, I only gave you a pain reliever dose once a couple weeks ago. It was the night your Dad invited your Uncle George over to watch the Lakers playoff game. You had been fussy that afternoon. I didn't think anything of it until he got to our house and you were still fussy. That's when I knew you must be agitated because normally you would be investigating a visitor, quietly studying them and their every move. People watching, I suppose. One of your favorite things to do.

Family Guy

While I was cleaning up dinner tonight I heard an email come in on my BlackBerry - I had just made a sale online! Since Mike golfed pretty much all day I had him takeover with Tristyn so I could package it up. I got it all ready to go out and the phone rang - it was for Mike. I walk into the bedroom where he and T are on the bed watching TV. The child is not allowed to watch TV until she's 3 (I know...fat chance of that becoming a reality, but I'm holding off as long as I possibly can. So far so good, she's 11 months today). Irked, I look to see what is on the screen...it's FAMILY GUY. Family Freakin Guy. How crass can you get, Dad? Oh, I'm just jealous, FG is actually pretty funny for that kind of humor.

It's Official

Even though I consider myself more of an out-of-work-mom, I think I'm officially now a SAHM. Here's evidence: I now have a flip-flop tanline. Enough said?

Parents mag contest

I entered you in a baby photo contest for Parents magazine. People, here's the link to the gallery. Please click 'recommend' on the photos next to the photo rating.

117 Degrees

WTF? This is just NOT RIGHT! The graphic to the left is a print-screen shot of the weather widget of my sidebar. Current temp = 117 degrees Fahren-freakin-heit. Whatevs, Earth. WHAT-evs!

San Diego Trip

Hi T. Last weekend we took a trip to San Diego where your Aunt Michelle lives. Believe it or not, I FORGOT my camera! I did however remember to bring the extra battery, yes you are right that's useless. Anyway there are no pics from our trip except I took a few from my BlackBerry (but they aren't great shots) and your Aunt busted-out an old-school film camera and took some pictures but we have to wait til they're developed to see those.

When we got into town we picked up your Aunt and drove over the Coronado Bridge to stroll around town, visit the famous Hotel Del, and show you the ocean again (which you still don't care about yet). You were more into visiting with Aunt Michelle than anything else, and that's okay because you could say the same for her.

The next day Daddy went to the US Open with your Grandpa, and you and I went to the zoo with your aunt and grandma. You had a great time. You saw giraffes, elephants, a panda bear, monkeys, a jaguar, a puma that wanted to eat your feet because you kept waving them in the air, flamingos, koalas and tons more animals. I can't even remember all the animals we saw, but we kept telling you they were a kitty, because that's a word you know well and understand. Sometimes they are hard too see when they are in the trees and such so we would point and say 'look at the kitty" and you would look around while we kept pointing and repeating 'kitty' until we heard a squeal of joy and we knew you'd spotted the animal. You love animals so it made it so fun for us to show them to you.

The next day Daddy and Grandpa went to the US Open again while the girls went to Sea World. More animals! This time you saw sharks, penguins, turtles, starfish and other aquamarine creatures. You're not even a year old yet and you've been to Sea World twice already!

You had a great time the whole trip. You only ever got mad a couple times, you're a great traveler! Of all the new things you experienced I think your favorite was just snuggling with your Aunt in her bed while she read to you. I have a feeling you're going to be visiting your Auntie a lot more now.

Double Tagged

I've also been tagged by Jaime about a zillion years ago to share 7 facts about myself on your blog, some random, some weird.

As I just completed Nik's tagging, I'm 5/7th of the way completed with Jaime's. So to that post, I'll add that (6) I try not to judge people and instead just disagree or attempt to see another perspective, but I will (7) totally judge someone by their email address! Not so much the domain portion (unless it's @aol.com), but the username portion is what I check. If you're an stud4u@ or a boredblond@ I have a hard time accepting you!

I've Been Tagged

Nik from Prose & Converse has tagged me, therefore:

5 Things in my purse:
I like to keep them tidy so usually there are only 5 things in there, or very close to that. Those would be: (1) Diaps/wipes for the Babe, (2) my BlackBerry, (3) lip gloss, (4) my camera, and (5) a teeny tiny green Coach card-case that holds just my debit card, ID and a $20.

5 Things in my room:
(1) The Husband, sleeping/snoring on (2) the new sheets which I refer to as being a pumpkin spice shade of orange, (3) our still-packed luggage from the trip we arrived home from a few hours ago and (4) a super-comfy couch I wish I was sitting on reading (5) one of the books I got from a Mama-friend at a recent swappage.

5 Things I've always wanted to do:
(1) go to bed early, especially when I'm tired, (2) stop being late, (3) sky dive/bungee jump (though I would not now that I'm a real mother), (4) follow one of my gadget inventions through to fruition and (5) have the tattoo on my back covered by a newer/cooler less hideous/horrendo tattoo

5 Things I'm currently into:
Reading (1) books and blogs, (2) Twitter, (3) researching ways to work part-time (4) Karl Strauss Red Trolley Ale, and (5) as always, the color green

5 Impressions of my tagger (Nik):
(1) She certainly must have a great sense of style because we have about a zillion of the same things and (2) similar tastes in nouns (you know, people, places and things). I believe she (3) keeps trying until she gets it right and is (4) a confidant to her friends and a (5) great person to split a bottle of wine with on a darkend patio under a hot summer moon.

6 Quirks:
I seldom fail to analyze any given situation. (1) Case in point: why does the 'Quirks' question not follow the above "5 Things..."? I'm rebelling and only listing 5 because I like odd numbers best. So much so that (2) I only set my thermostat to odd numbers EXCEPT if it's 78.
(3) I have never been able to put my left shoe on before the right shoe. If I'm stepping into a pair of flips and the left accidentally slips further forward than the right side I actually stop and start over again and pretend it never happened. Same goes for clothing - sleeves or pants, rings, even checking pockets before washing garments...always the right side first.
(4) I organize the tops in my closet by color and the bottoms by type, and (5) you will never see my little piggies without red nail polish. I do them myself and they have been red (only red) since junior high.

Congrats, you didn't get the job

So I have been interviewing for a job that I thought I wanted. It was in the accounting department at the country club my parents (aka my daycare) live in. Ultra-convenient and a nice place to work. However, I was looking for something part-time and I stumbled upon this opening, but I knew I had to check it out due to the location. I decided not to debate working full-time until if/when they formally offered me the position. This did not happen.

After the initial interview I was informed they would be narrowing down the candidates to the top 3, and bring them back to interview with the big-whig. I was one of those 3.

My second interview was Thursday. Wednesday night I knew I would not take it. I went to the interview anyway, and I think I was not very enthusiastic about the opportunity. Luckily I have no decision to make...when HR called to let me know they went with the other candidate instead of me, I said "Okay, GREAT!..." all happy. She prolly thinks I'm a freak now. Who is happy when they DON'T get the job?

I let a few people know, and they have all said one of two things: "yay!" or "congratulations". I miss feeling like I accomplished something real during my days, but I just can't stand to leave Tristyn this early. She's so young, not even walking. I'd hate to miss her first steps because I was in some cubicle 10-keying away.

He's still alive

"This calls for plastic measures."

-- My Nephew

We were in the pool at the time. No, he wasn't referring to my bikini.

Shades

Her future's so bright she's gotta wear shades. Ugh how old am I to quote that!?

Stowaway

A certain furry someone tried to attempt stowaway status under your crib while you were sleeping. I'm sure he was waiting for me to leave so he could nap in your PotteryBarn chair again. You don't care though...you love that cat! 'Kitty' was one of the first 3 words you learned.

The Phone Game

Hi Baby. I'm not sure if I've already written a note to you about the other day when you were playing with your phones - you handed one to me and I realized you wanted us to 'play phones' together. Of course I had to use the Razr while you made sure you got the BlackBerry every time (smart girl). So anyway tonight you were on the bed with Dad-dad and I, where you found the house-phone handset. You kept putting it up to your head and saying stuffs. Sometimes words like Hi Mum, or Hey, but mostly just super-cute babble. Then you did the same thing with the remotes, putting them up to the approximate area of your ear and saying "haaaaaiii". Dad-dad and I started following suit, and you seemed very happy for us when we figured out what you were doing and played along with the game.

Oh, and that little foot game we play...while you and I were 'on the phone' together, I asked about your foot, and you grabbed your leg to hold up your foot to me :) Maybe tomorrow I can catch it on video.

Crazy Baby Hair Contest

I entered you in a Disney contest. One of our mama friends saw it and suggested we enter. It's surprisingly difficult to get a good picture of your extreme hair wackiness (EHW). You've got some serious Einstein moves goin on most mornings, but to capture that in a photo is a different story. I chose to enter a pic I already had of you, instead of taking one specifically for the contest. It's a little over-exposed, but it's one of my favorites of you. I keep a print of it on my desk.

Readers, check it (and vote!) here: Crazy Baby Hair Contest | Disney Family.com

The grand prize is $5,000 towards your college education.

Stinky Feets

For a long time now we've been playing a Stinky Feets game. I hold your little toes up to my nose, sniff, and say "peee uuu!", "oh peee uuu". Rinse. Repeat. It always amuses you. Then to throw you off, every once and a while I make you do a baby yoga pose and say "here, YOU smell" and hold your tootsie up to your nose. Of course, you don't sniff, but you insert one or more toes into your third hand (aka your mouth). Oh, BTW, they don't smell. It's just for fun. Really, they are suuuuper soft and the only human feet I would willingly touch.

So that's the Stinky Feets game. Evidently that game taught you the meaning of the word "you". Here's why: Last week I noticed you understand the word "foot". Now I ask for your foot, and you either point your ballerina feet up in the air, or if feeling a lil lazy, you grab your ankle with your hand and offer up the feets. This morning I asked to kiss your foot and you held it up for me. After I kissed it, I said "YOU kiss yer foot". Then I watched in amazement as you grabbed your foot and moved it from my hand up to your face, and proceeded to put your toes in your mouth!

What's more amazing to me, is that no matter what kinds of fits you may throw or how late you decide to stay up tonight, I will consider this a good day because of the above 3-second accomplishment. That's how you keep winning me over every day, you're so tricky like that.

I bought a plant

I thought I was all bad (and stuffs) with my stay-at-homeness and bought a plant. Flowers, actually. Well, potted flowers. Oh, I got it: a flowering potted plant, that's it. Doesn't matter, none of the above would be in existence any longer. Par for Mandy.

The Husband schmirked when he saw the goods. Oh they looked lovely at first, but he knew better. He asked simply "Why?". The short answer was I was hosting 3 events at home that week, and needed to kick up the joint a notch. A punch of hot-pink and foliage to splash a little happy through the windows. The long answer, inside my head, was that I wanted to try. Try again. As I do every 2 or so years when I get the itch during a spring of country club pretties surrounding us. An itch to attempt, to better myself. To be good at something other than what I'm already good at. I should see this itch for what it really is: an itch to murder, cuz that's what inevitably always happens.

Sadly, all that remains is, well, I think the pic speaks for itself. No, the cigarette butts didn't come with it. They were an afterthought. Gawd help these children of ours!

Is NyQuil approved for babies?

So Tristyn has decided her new schedule shall be getting up at 8am, taking miniscule, if any, nap(s), and going to bed at 10pm. Uh yeah, I'm miserable! The Husband doesn't understand why I'm going to bed at 2am everynight. HELLO, I still exist! I am more than just a baby follower-arounder! How much more? It's hard to remember with these new hours we're keeping, but I'm pretty sure there's more to be than being that baby's mama.

Currently I'm sitting at a stoplight as I drive her around hoping to get her in bed a bit earlier. So far 6 miles. Nice. This could get very expensive. Hi...I drive an F-150. Only billionaires have the guts to drive an extra 6 miles with gas prices the way they are. Whatevs, Tristyn. Whatevs!