Portraits

I love Etch A Sketch tablets and always have. It's a challenge to try to draw something with a toy that only lets you draw vertical and horizontal lines, and doesn't let you "pick up the pen". In fact, I freely admit that the Etch A Sketches in our house (full-sized model and mini model) both belong to me, though Ana thinks they're hers. I had Jason buy them for me as a gift before we ever had kids.

The other day Ana asked me to draw Mommy and to draw Ana on the Etch A Sketch. Ana's portrait turned out pretty cute.



The one of me, on the other hand....



I promise, I don't really look like Jay Leno's ugly cousin.

My little boy and my little girl

Ana is still having so much fun with Muck (her new plastic backhoe.) Today she used him to scoop up sand at the volleyball court in our neighborhood park. She also introduced him to Eli the other day, and my little guy quickly became friends with ol' Muck.



But despite Ana's preference for traditionally boyish toys, I occasionally see a glimpse of a "little mama" in her, and it is precious.

Foundational truths

For The Odd Couple I'll be wearing a couple of fabulous vintage 1960s dresses. (Pictures later!) I "modeled" them both for our director, Linda, the other day.

Linda complimented me on the second dress, then came close to me and lowered her voice.

"You may want to get a good foundation garment," she said in a kind, conspiratorial tone. "It'll help smooth things out and will make it easier to zip it up."

Foundation garment--that's code for girdle.

Yep, I've had two kids, and my body is still recovering from the second, and honestly I wonder if my skin is ever going to entirely bounce back this time. I have...

(deep breath)

...a little tummy pooch. Yes, I said it. Hear that, Eli? I've got some saggy skin on my belly, thanks to you. And while we're being honest, there's still some extra fat there too. You are worth it, kiddo...but I miss that taut skin.

So I will be "smoothing and cinching" with this bit of spandex, stays, and hooks:



The comfort of this garment is still to be determined; a brief time in a fitting room doesn't tell me much. But it definitely works--my tummy profile is nicely smooth with this little miracle (or little torture device, however you look at it).

Think it would go well with a bikini?

Oops...guess I Mucked that one up....

Ana loves construction equipment. Which means she loves the Bob the Builder TV show and characters. My friend Karen recently hooked me up with a box of "boy toys" that Ana will love, including several small, die-cast Bob the Builder vehicles--cool, quality, metal toys. I've told Ana she can choose one of them when she poops in the potty for the first time. I'm certainly not above a bribe...um, I mean, a reward.

Today we were at Goodwill and I saw a plastic backhoe toy, about a foot long. Of course, since it was Goodwill, the price was right, so we went home with it. Ana was psyched. She started calling it Muck (who is actually Bob the Builder's bulldozer, not his backhoe, but it's still a good name).

A little while after we got home, I looked over to see Ana standing at the breakfast room window. Ana standing at a window means one thing. It's her special place. She's creating a lovely gift in her diaper that Mommy will soon be unwrapping. Get out the wipes and haz-mat masks.

"Ana," I said encouragingly, "would you like to poopie in the potty so that you can choose a Bob the Builder toy?"

"No thank you, Mommy!" she replied politely. "I got Muck! I got big Muck!"

So let me get this straight. Brilliant Mommy bought Ana a construction toy that, being bigger than her die-cast Bob toys, is better in her toddler mind. And brilliant Mommy gave it to her, no strings attached.

My apologies to her future college roommate, whoever you are. Because I'm convinced I'll be changing her diapers until the day she leaves home, and after that...it'll be your turn.

Would there be any interest...

...in me posting a video of Eli's birth?

It's not graphic; the video camera was set up on a table in the birthing room, and with me in the tub the view is of the top of me (wearing a bikini top)--not to mention the fact that the midwife spent quite a bit of time between me and the camera. But you can hear what's happening, and see some of it, and you can see when I hold Eli for the first time.

I just got up the courage to watch it this morning and of course bawled my eyes out...but it's my baby and not yours and so I don't know if it would be of interest to many of my blog readers or not. Just comment below and let me know. With years in theatre my inhibitions and modesty are not what they used to be, so I need honest opinions here!

If I do post it, you'll have to click to watch it, so it'll be "optional"! But if I post, and you click...be prepared for lots of obvious statements like, "This really hurts!!!!!" Yep, no painless birth for me. Beautiful...but not painless.

Edited--thank you for the comments! I may be posting it at some point. It's not uploaded yet, and I'm still talking to Jason about the privacy aspect of it. I'd like to share it; I just never know quite where my boundaries should be as I share information in a forum accessible to anyone with Internet access. Stay tuned.

23,400 days

That's the number of days in 60 years. And that's the number of days my grandparents have been married, as of today.

I talked to Mamma and Papa this morning. I asked them both how she has put up with him this long. Mamma graciously said he's put up with her too! She also said that Papa learned really early on he wouldn't be able to change her even though there are a lot of things he'd probably want to change...hmm, that might be a good one for me to learn too.

They have 3 kids, 10 grandkids, and a slew of great-grandkids. (I've lost count.) The oldest great-grandchild is 20, so in the next few years they may be able to add great-great grandparents to their impressive list of titles.

Papa served in the Navy after World War II. He worked for the US Post Office until his retirement. He has incredible skills as a woodworker and I'm thrilled to have some of his pieces, such as Ana's little rocking chair.

Mamma stayed at home with her kids, crafting gorgeous clothes for them without patterns, and working as an Avon Representative. (She's been doing that over 45 years now--yep, still going strong.)

On their wedding day they went to a drive-in (the food kind, not the movie kind), and while it's changed names, the place still exists. So they'll head out there today, sixty years later, to celebrate. A burger and fries never sounded so romantic.

Congratulations, Mamma and Papa!

My week

My week (so far)

Rehearsals started for the play
(Wednesday was a LONG day)
Eli's fussy, feeling sick
Ana snorted play dough--ick!
Today I'll play; I'll read a book
Today I just won't clean or cook

Yep, time for a personal day for Mommy. I'll play with Ana, read to her, read to myself, waste time on the computer, and take a relaxing bath during the kids' naps. I'll even clean up Ana's toys (with her help), move her books to the new bookshelf, and straighten up the kitchen, since those things, once done, will help me feel more relaxed. But I'm putting off housecleaning and planning leftovers for tonight. Sometimes it's more important to relax than to be Super Mom!

And if you're a mom, whether working or stay at home, you have my official permission to let go of your cooking and cleaning duties for the day. Relax and pick it all back up tomorrow!