"Fun"

There was a GNO scheduled yesterday. It sounded fun.

I was an evite "maybe." However, after a fussing/screaming marathon provided by my children during the last few daylight hours, I realized that, while the "night out" was right, it would be better to decline the "s."

So, after putting Damon to bed, I left, with Steven's blessing, to go do something. By myself.

And while this may not astound anyone, I am now indisputably a Boring Mom. Because here is where I went:

1. Goodwill, to look for a stand for my new globe (fruitless)

2. Lowes, to return screw plugs that didn't fit the new bunkbeds

3. Kohl's, to look for 12M terry cloth pajamas for Damon (fruitless)

4. Culvers, to get a Turtle sundae for me (yummy)

5. HEB (grocery store), to get bananas and avocados for Damon, and look at their current $1 jewelry to see if they had anything good for Princess Carmen (fruitful, but jewelryless)

The best part was probably Culvers - it was neat to sit there BY MYSELF, without talking to anyone. I just sat and enjoyed my sundae and watched people. The busboy was perfect - a sweet, gangling teenager with a dorky hat on sandy, shaggy hair and a winsome smile showing his braces-clad teeth, working his geeky little heart out. I just wanted to give him a hug and say, "What a good boy you are. Hang in there. Don't lose the drive and optimism you have right now. Don't try to acquire the arrogance and bravado that girls think they like. Keep being you. Trust me - some day, you will make some woman very, very happy."

So, it was a good Girl Night Out after all.

Alikes Attract: or Why I Didn’t Marry an Abercrombie Guy

The last couple of nights I have been devouring a book by Mary Roberts Rinehart called K. Oh, my, it’s good. And it’s in the public domain, so you can get it free online!

Anyway, last night, I couldn’t wait to get back to it. The kids were in bed and I’d just cleaned the kitchen. I jumped into bed and snuggled up with my kindle and started to enjoy.

Just then I was struck by how lucky I am to be married to Steven. You know those metrosexual guys with the pomade hair and creatine-chests who like hanging out with their buddies? There’s no way that someone like me could enjoy being with a guy like that. What would we talk about? How could we be comfortable being together and saying nothing? Steven is the perfect husband for a girl who can’t wait to cuddle up at night with a book that’s 100 years old and 300 pages long (and him). He’s the kind of guy who would (and did) get his own book and cuddle up next to me so we could snuggle up and play footsies while we read. He’d rather go to the symphony with me than go jet skiing with his buddies. When he comes home from work, instead of heading off for the gym, he becomes a jungle gym for our kids. Rather than protein shakes, he eats the homemade falafel pitas and cucumber sauce I made for dinner, and enjoys trying new things. He has a soft, calming voice that sings beautifully and says intelligent, kind, and honest things – never crude, harsh, or demeaning words. He has big, sexy hands that are perfect for playing the piano, writing code, making things with wood, stroking my hair, and unscrewing baby food jars. From this description, you’d think I’d made him up, but he’s real and really mine, and I really like him.

Moral of the story: it’s nice to be married to someone who appreciates the same quiet things. And, you should all read K, especially if you’re related to me.

Good day

Sometimes I look at my kids and just ache with how cute they are. I can't believe that they're really mine and I'm really their mommy. I can't believe I'm ANYBODY's mommy.

I love days like this when life is just simple. Carmen and I walked Olivia to preschool this morning, then came home and did errands and played for a while. We went and visited with friends at a sewing group. We picked up Olivia, came home and ate lunch. Then Carmen napped while Olivia helped me pin and cut out a maternity dress pattern (I need something new for these last 2 months). I took a break and made some dough for our dinner of Czech fruit dumplings (I'm determined to perfect my recipe). Now Carmen's up and the girls are pretending to change doll diapers upstairs. The weather is beautiful and we're probably going to go play outside while we wait for Steven to get home.

This is the life I always, always wanted, and I'm really thankful for it.

Grab bag

Olivia just said, "Mommy, you are so nice." It made me feel great.

I ordered a new car seat for Carmen on Amazon at 2:00 pm on Friday, and it arrived at around 9:00 on Saturday. Now THAT's service! (And this was with the free shipping option!) The car seat is purple. We have 2 girls, and I'm through with buying unisex stuff for them (at least for now).

My poor little Carmen is having a rough time with her last few molars. She didn't sleep much last night and, after exhausting other appropriate means of inflicting unconsciousness, I finally had to let her cry herself to sleep this afternoon. She was just so tired and so uncomfortable with her runny nose. I'm glad she's finally getting some rest.

We just read "The Communist Manifesto" for book group, and I loved reading it. No one should ever attempt to discuss government, especially communism, without having read it (this means you, former Amber).

Tropical Storm season is fun for me.

Last week, in honor of Independence Day, I decided to start learning the official Armed Forces songs. They're fun. My favorite line comes from "Anchors Aweigh":

and sink their bones to Davy Jones, hooray!

Crazy Navy.

Rant

Dear World,

"Amber" is not the same name as "Amanda." They are not even related; they merely coincidentally have the same first 2 letters. Just like Steven/Stanley, Daniel/David, Jason/Jared/James, etc. - also all different names, also not interchangeable.

I do not mind being called any name if you are confused. But once you have learned that my name is Amber, please do not call me Amanda.

Sincerely,

AmBER

(I'm sure all Amandas out there would agree.)

I'm alive!

I don't feel like blogging but I know it's been a while. Here's the worst update I hope I ever write.

We just got back from a vacation to Venice Beach. Olivia loved playing in the sand. The family reunion was fun. My mom put a lot of work into planning it, so I hope she feels appreciated - she did a great job. We saw body builders and film students and a guy dressed as an ear. The ocean was cold. The kids were good on the plane. They charmed everyone and on the way home Carmen was so cute that a lady in back of us took her picture.

I broke my tooth on a BLT sandwich - it felt so much like those dreams where my teeth all break that I had to keep feeling it with my tongue to make sure it really happened. I'm getting it fixed next Monday.

This afternoon Carmen had a huge blowout poop while she was taking a nap.

One of our sprinkler heads broke and needs replacing.

Last night I had horrible dreams about feral cats who had gross snotty ooze all over them and were jumping through my door.

Our poor little camera is dead so we're buying a new two, and I'm excited.

Olivia got a free book today from the Library's summer reading program.

I don't think it's bragging to say my kids are good looking because it really has nothing to do with me. Olivia and Carmen don't belong to me; they are their own people and I'm just here to take care of them. I guess they have some of my genes but since I cannot control those I certainly cannot take credit for their beauty in that respect. Also, it is very evident to anyone who has seen us that my girls are much better looking than I am, so it's not like I'm claiming beauty by association.

Time for bed. I'm hoping for no feral cat or teeth-breaking dreams. Wish me luck.

...and influencing people

Lately I've been a little preoccupied with having friends. Or maybe just more aware that I haven't been as friendly or socially involved as I might like to be.

I say "might" because on one hand, maintaining friendships requires a certain time commitment, and the idea of adopting another time commitment gives me premature stress. But it also feels really good to have someone who you mutually like and can call to do stuff.

...

I'm having a hard time articulating what I want to say here, so I'm going to put in some bullets. These are not in any good order. If I were going to be a better writer I would use adjust their order and turn them into an essay, but right now if I planned on doing that then I would never post (my baby-free time is limited), and you'd have less blog to be entertained by.

• Thank you all for reading my blog, and occasionally commenting. It makes me feel good, and I like staying in touch.
• It seems like a good formula for couple-friends for us, using Couples A and B, is that AM and BF were previously platonic friends.
• I would like to be friends with anyone who wants to be friends with me.
• Lately I feel like I've been in a stage of insecurity. I think it has something to do with my feeling unattractive and needing a haircut, having a stuttering problem, and generally needing to improve my conversation skills.
• I also need to clean my house, but that's neither here nor there.
• I am lucky to have at least three best friends: a brilliant and handsome man who is better for me than anyone I could have hoped for, the cutest and yakkingest toddler alive, and a fat, funny baby who gurgles and coos and makes me feel loved.
  

Lookalikes

This is something I've been meaning to post for a while:

A couple of characters in some of Olivia's (and my) favorite books remind me quite a bit of some people I know.

First up:



This character from Hop on Pop totally reminds me of Hannah (yes, Hannah, I am talking about you.) Smart, curly blonde hair, two younger brothers, well-traveled (her dad reads "Constantinople" and "Timbuktu") - Hannah, it's you.

Then, in Go, Dog. Go!:


Blunt, hat-hating dog reminds me a lot of my father-in-law. Not because he hates hats or offends poodles; he just kind of looks like the dog to me. In a good way.

My couple crush

I am not really a sappy romantic person, so it kind of surprises me when I have sappy romantic moments - particularly because I have them most often concerning other people. I probably don't strike many people as a matchmaker, but I often think about friends who are unattached and muse about people I could or would set them up with. Don't let this frighten you - it's just because I like you and I care, and if at any time you'd like me to take a more active participation in my quest for your marital bliss, please feel free to let me know.

So, I'm not sure why I'm writing about this, but I guess it just makes me inordinately happy: My friend Douglas, who I've known for almost 10 years now, got married last year to the most wonderful person I could possibly have imagined for him. They look great together. They act great together. They make each other better and happier. After I met her for the first time, I spent the whole car ride home talking about how great she was, because it made me so happy that such a fantastic guy had found such a fantastic girl. Somehow, it seemed a confirmation of all that is good in the world. It still makes me shiver with joy just to think about it. And I hope this doesn't creep them (or anyone else) out.

Relationshipi

Last Sunday at church the speaker mentioned our living in a complex world. Steven leaned over to me and said, "So, would that be worldi?"

I spent the next few minutes wondering what negative world squared would be like.

And that is why we're married.

Inflation

I have a monthly prescription. For years, it has not changed. It’s the same medication, in the same amount, in the same form, and the same quantity gets refilled every time. And, up until a couple of months ago, these refills all came in about the same size of bottle.



Look at that last one! With every refill, the bottles kept getting bigger and bigger. I was fully expecting to get a 10-gallon bucket one of these days, just for 30 tiny little pills. (We’re finally back to normal size, though.)