I was sitting down to write a blog venting about a particular subject that has been on my mind, but I decided not to because 1) I'm trying to be more positive and uplifting and less cynical and complaining and 2) Micaela has been saying so many cute things lately I just have to share!

Caleb took a night off this week, which is great for so many reasons. Mainly because then he will barbecue, which is the absolute best. Also, he was able to go to Micaela's gymnastics class with me. We arrived a little early, and were waiting outside the classroom with Micaela's teacher, Ms. Tammy. When Micaela saw her she ran up pointed to Caleb and proclaimed "it's dada!" Ms. Tammy acknowledged Caleb, and then Micaela pointed to me and said "it's mama! It's mama and dada!" As if there was never anything in the whole, wide world crazier than mama and dada being together, in the same place and the same time. Fortunately Ms. Tammy understands our situation completely, as her and her husband work opposite shifts as well.

We have decided to start pre-potty training, as no one in my house is ready or willing to do "real" potty training. What is pre-potty training? Well it's a lot of fun talking about peepee and poopoo and when we go peepee and poopoo and telling mama and dada about our peepee and poopoo. I've been trying to help Micaela identify when she is going, and alerting me to the fact. Normally when I sense this, I will go behind her and pat her bottom, questioning "poopoo?" May sound crazy to some, but what I think is crazy is now she will randomly come up to me, pat my behind, and says "poopoo"...in public!

Also, Micaela really enjoys coloring. Not with crayons. With markers. Which I can relate to, as I will only write with pen (not pencil, makes my skin crawl and my hands feel chalky) and color with markers (I still prefer the smelly kind). I was smart enough to get washable markers for my office and the kids that come and see me, but we don't have washable markers at home. Anyways, last night I noticed blue marker on the wall. I called Micaela in and, using my exaggerated voice, said "uh-oh, look at this!" Micaela looked at it very intently, examining from all angles, turned to me and said in a grave tone "uh-oh, dada in trouble." Trying not to laugh I asked "Did dada draw this or did Micaela draw this." Maintaining her serious tone she replied "dada." Apparently my husband now draws on walls!

I think it's odd that 2-year-olds are known for the "terrible 2's." How come we don't talk more about all the funny/crazy/hilarious things they say and do??

Labels: Just Me, The Fam

Yesterday my friend Jamie and I engaged in a long discussion of "being prepared." For what? Well we probably talked about every single horrible possibility that could ever, ever occur. It was a charming conversation. When we got around to the "what if we lost our jobs?" question I began to wonder what I would do if I couldn't work in my field. For example, what if everyone in the whole world became sane overnight and there were no more problems. I would be SOL. Never fear, I have a back-up plan.
Lately Micaela and I have been exploring different fun activities. For a two-year-old she is quite flexible, and I believe it's fair to say she's game for anything. When she was very little, still in a baby carrier little, I used to take her to Barnes and Noble and she would nap and I would read. It worked out well. Then she became loud and mobile and my plan no longer worked. However, recently Micaela and I have been spending quite a few evenings at Barnes and Noble. I LOVE it. Yes, capitalized letters to emphasize my excitement. I LOVE Barnes and Noble so much that I honestly think I could make a career working there. Of course I would have certain demands. I wouldn't want to work weekends (since I've done that for the last 8 years,) I would expect a discount on all books purchased, I would need reading breaks (looking at all those books would be so tempting), and I would not work at a Barnes and Noble that doesn't have a Starbucks. That's a necessity. Salary not important, free pastries would be a bonus.

Labels: Just Me

I am a daydreamer. I just am, always have been. Caleb is fortunate enough to be married to me, therefore he has become an active participant in my daydreams. We play this game, ok I play this game and force Caleb to be involved, called "Lets Pretend." It usually consists of me inventing a scenario and planning an intervention. Or better yet I invent the scenario and make Caleb tell me what he would do. It took him a while to warm up to this, because he very often used the response "...but that would never happen," or the typical guy response of "...I don't know.." which is not allowed in my game! However, aside from a few rough patches, he is familiar with the game. An example might be "what if I got sick and died, what would you do?" Another favorite is "what if we won a million dollars, what would we do with it?" This may seem trivial to many of you, but I personally like to be prepared for all situations.
As of late we (whenever I say "we" I truly mean mostly me and slightly Caleb) have been very interested in real estate and houses. In particular new homes. We have been visiting many model homes and reviewing many floorplans. I find this fascination particularly interesting because we are not necessarily in the market for a new home. I mean we would like a new house, but many factors are preventing us from buying a new house at this time. You would think this would discourage us from being so actively involved in the search for our perfect home, but it doesn't. This new obsession with houses brings Let's Pretend to a new level. As we walk through a model home it instantly becomes Our New Home. Which means that I must decide where all of our furniture goes, what will occupy each bedroom, and what I would immediately change. Lately I have become even more obsessed than normal. We have narrowed down our perfect house search to two models, so we have two homes now. I have now picked out furniture online that I like and designed each room, in both houses. Pretty much aside from Micaela's furniture (which we will re-stain) and my red couches, all the furniture in Our New Home is brand new. I have also began looking at paint samples to pick colors for the rooms. I refuse to consider the idea of white. Just today I was beginning to think I should landscape Our New Home, which unlike interior design, I know nothing about. I am considering picking up a book or two about landscaping at the store. I talk about Our New Home a lot, and Caleb is subtly hinting that I might be overdoing it just a little bit. However, I disagree. When our "factors" work themselves out, which they will, we will be in the market. And I will be ready.

Labels: Just Me, Rave

This post contains spoilers of Pirates of The Carribean.

Caleb and I have been anxiously anticipating the release of the new Pirates movie. We even got a babysitter so we could go to the "real" movie theatre, as opposed to the drive-in, and watch the movie undisturbed. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I believe it is the best Pirates movie to date. Everyone liked the first one so much, and then they were all disappointed by the second one. Not me. I'm a dark and twisty movie watcher. The first one was cute, but I found myself disappointed that everything turns out all good for everyone. That is why I have given up on romantic comedies. I can't stand them anymore. I also cannot stand romance novels. I get so frustrated with the weak woman waiting for the big, strong man to love her, which will make her life instantly gratifying and worth living for. I think anyone who has ever been married knows that you can be in love and still have struggles and hardships. It doesn't always end with happily ever after, which is ironic, as that is the name of my blog. However, it was done in irony!
Anyways back to Pirates. In the first movie the main character, Elizabeth Swann, played a damsel in distress, who was rescued and fated to live happily ever after..boring. In the next two movies the plot took a turn for the dark side. There were choices and consequences and reversal of roles. Nothing was clear cut. Which is very much how I view life. No one is all "good", and no one is all "bad". When someone is too good I begin to wonder what they're hiding, (which essentially says a lot about me,) and when someone is to bad I also begin to wonder what they are hiding.
The third movie was the best. The ending was great. It was not a happily ever after, but it didn't leave me unfulfilled. Also, I must add that I enjoyed the fact that Elizabeth was made pirate king, and really played the true hero. I also really liked it because Johnny Depp is brilliant. I mean the guy is greasy and eccentric, and still very, very charming.

Labels: Just Me

Caleb and I were admiring how adorable Micaela looked after her bath, when Caleb asked her "how did you get so pretty?" She looked at me, than at him, and replied simply "momma." Made my week.

Labels: The Fam

I rarely get sick. I'm just a healthy person. I've never broken any bones, never had any serious accidents, never had a cavity until I was pregnant. In the four years I worked at the restaurant there was only 2 days I called in sick. It would figure that my second day at my new job I would get sick. I had this weak, light-headed feeling, followed by severe stomach pains. I left as soon as I could, but the second I got home I realized instantly I must have food poisoning. I won't gross you out with the details, but it was bad. The heartbreaking part was poor Micaela. She was home alone with me and scared out of her mind. She cried every time I went to the bathroom. Fortunately, Caleb was able to leave early and come and take care of me and her. Being a typical guy he kept asking what he could do, all I could say was nothing. Life is so ironic. How could I possibly call in my third day of work? I know what people would say. Here I am the new girl, the least experienced, with no allies, at a new job. So I got up early and slowly and painfully got ready for work. Caleb actually had to do my hair because I was too weak to hold the blow dryer. It didn't turn out too bad. As the day progressed I began feeling better. Fortunately I have a couch in my office and I took advantage of that, along with my slow schedule, and took an afternoon nap. I suppose this is probably un-interesting to you all, but as I am never sick, I never realized how horrible it was. I also never realized how hard it is to be an adult. I couldn't just miss class and come home to sleep. I had to go to work, and I had to take care of Miceala when I got home. I don't think I'm cut out for this grownup stuff.

Labels: Just Me