Friday afternoon: Lucy starts complaining about ear pain, and I start giving her topical antibiotic drops we keep on hand for just-in-case situations.
Saturday afternoon: Lucy starts oozing strange things out of her ear. I start biting my nails, wondering if we could make it to Monday when the pediatrician opens.
Sunday morning: At about 2:30am, Lucy starts screaming and turns into a crazy person. No amount of Motrin or snuggles can calm her down, and I wake up Matt. He takes one look at her, looks at me, and says "She's got to go to the ER."
Sunday 4am: I try to convince Lucy she can leave the house in her nightgown. She's not having it.
"I must get dressed Mommy." she says. "I must wear a dress."
20 minutes later, she's in her Lilly Pulitizer dress (Costco, people!), with her sandals ( because Crocs wouldn't match). She did agree to not have her hair done, which is when I knew she wasn't feeling well.
The night staff at Matt's hospital were overjoyed to see her little highness, and she charmed the pants off all of the scrub nurses until they decided to irrigate her ears with warm saline. It took two of us to hold her Lilly Pulitizer self down.
Two hours later, they tell us she perforated her ear drum. (Ouch!) She's on some pretty strong antibiotics, and now we're headed back to the Ear Nose and Throat surgeon. Good times. Good, good times.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Sliding Doors
Did you guys ever see that Gywneth Paltrow movie where she jumps between 2 different versions of the same life? In one, she has long hair and is mousy and shy, and the other Gwyneth sports a sassy short haircut and has bigger cajones? I was thinking about this yesterday when playing with George.
At the fundraising auction when we got him, I was bidding against this other guy across the room. He was well over six feet, in excellent shape- and looked exactly like Gaston from Beauty and the Beast. He was related to the people hosting the auction, and had met George the night before and had fallen in love.
After I got my hands on the puppy, he came up to talk to me and I apologized for outbidding him. That's when he told me what George's life would have been like. He was going to call the dog Primo- and turn him into a hunting dog. I have visions of George, cavorting through marshlands with a duck in his mouth, and sleeping in front of a fireplace while he chews on somebody's wellies.
Instead, he lays down on the ground while my 2 year old feeds him kibble out of her hand. She holds the water bowl up to his face so he does not have to be bothered with bending down. He has a little stuffed duck we bought him at Costco that he trots around with- the closest thing he will ever see to hunting in this household. He poops on our patio, directly on the shuffleboard deck the previous owners painted there for some weekend fun. He's scared of grass, which makes me wonder how successful Primo the hunter would have been.
At the fundraising auction when we got him, I was bidding against this other guy across the room. He was well over six feet, in excellent shape- and looked exactly like Gaston from Beauty and the Beast. He was related to the people hosting the auction, and had met George the night before and had fallen in love.
After I got my hands on the puppy, he came up to talk to me and I apologized for outbidding him. That's when he told me what George's life would have been like. He was going to call the dog Primo- and turn him into a hunting dog. I have visions of George, cavorting through marshlands with a duck in his mouth, and sleeping in front of a fireplace while he chews on somebody's wellies.
Instead, he lays down on the ground while my 2 year old feeds him kibble out of her hand. She holds the water bowl up to his face so he does not have to be bothered with bending down. He has a little stuffed duck we bought him at Costco that he trots around with- the closest thing he will ever see to hunting in this household. He poops on our patio, directly on the shuffleboard deck the previous owners painted there for some weekend fun. He's scared of grass, which makes me wonder how successful Primo the hunter would have been.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Am Happy
Just finalized arrangements to go back to Houston for a brief stint this fall. Plan? See our long lost friends, shop till we drop at the annual Nutcracker and go see Madonna! I'm sure I will manage to sneak in a cocktail or two.....
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Happiest Place on Earth
Political rant over. Back to talk about poopie and cute kid musings.
I got a bit fed up with all of my puppy, unpack house and work duties and decided to play hooky on Tuesday. Annie got a free pass to try out an extra activity (because they ABANDONED her from her regularly scheduled class- but don't get me started) so Lucy and I were left with much of a whole day to ourselves.
After we dropped Annie off at her class and left a homing device in her Ladybug lunchbox should they lose her again, I stopped Lucy in the hallway of school.
"Hey! Want to know where we're going today?" I ask my two year old who usually doesn't like "Mommy/Lucy" days and misses her sister more than Lance Armstrong misses his non-soccer ball.
"Starbucks?" she asks, in a resigned tone.
Nope. 30 minutes later we were entering the Magic Kingdom- for a half day of stolen Mickey pleasure that felt naughty and exhilerating at the same time. We scooted over to the new Finding Nemo ride- and I figured if the line wait was less than an hour we were in. 45 minutes later we boarded our yellow submarine, and all I have to say is "eh." It was ok.
We did Dumbo. We did the carousel. We hugged Goofy and talked puppy shop talk with Pluto. (He did not poop in front of us, thank God). We oogled over princess dresses. We had a lovely lunch together. My eyes kept watering- cherishing this special time with my little one and feeling guilty that the rest of the family wasn't with us.
"Lucy? I'm so glad I get to spend the day with you." I said, as I squeezed her hand outside Cinderella's castle.
"I'm so glad I get to spend time with the princesses." she replies.
She definitely knows her priorities.
I got a bit fed up with all of my puppy, unpack house and work duties and decided to play hooky on Tuesday. Annie got a free pass to try out an extra activity (because they ABANDONED her from her regularly scheduled class- but don't get me started) so Lucy and I were left with much of a whole day to ourselves.
After we dropped Annie off at her class and left a homing device in her Ladybug lunchbox should they lose her again, I stopped Lucy in the hallway of school.
"Hey! Want to know where we're going today?" I ask my two year old who usually doesn't like "Mommy/Lucy" days and misses her sister more than Lance Armstrong misses his non-soccer ball.
"Starbucks?" she asks, in a resigned tone.
Nope. 30 minutes later we were entering the Magic Kingdom- for a half day of stolen Mickey pleasure that felt naughty and exhilerating at the same time. We scooted over to the new Finding Nemo ride- and I figured if the line wait was less than an hour we were in. 45 minutes later we boarded our yellow submarine, and all I have to say is "eh." It was ok.
We did Dumbo. We did the carousel. We hugged Goofy and talked puppy shop talk with Pluto. (He did not poop in front of us, thank God). We oogled over princess dresses. We had a lovely lunch together. My eyes kept watering- cherishing this special time with my little one and feeling guilty that the rest of the family wasn't with us.
"Lucy? I'm so glad I get to spend the day with you." I said, as I squeezed her hand outside Cinderella's castle.
"I'm so glad I get to spend time with the princesses." she replies.
She definitely knows her priorities.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Warning! Post About Sex & Politics Below!
Thank you Theresa for sending this my way.....
Dear Friends:
We may have thought we wanted a woman on a national political ticket, but the joke has really been on us, hasn't it? Are you as sick in your stomach as I am at the thought of Sarah Palin as Vice President of the United States?
Since Palin gave her speech accepting the Republican nomination for the Vice Presidency, Barack Obama's campaign has raised over $10 million dollars. Some of you may already be supporting the Obama campaign financially; others of you may still be recovering from the primaries. So, if you feel you can't support the Obama campaign financially, may I suggest the following fiendishly brilliant alternative?
Make a $5 minimum donation to Planned Parenthood. In Sarah Palin's name. A Planned Parenthood donation is tax deductible, while a political donation isn't.
And here's the good part: when you make a donation to PP in her name, they'll send her a card telling her that the donation has been made in her honor.
Here's the link to the Planned Parenthood website
https://secure.ga0.org/02/pp10000_inhonor
You'll need to fill in the address to let PP know where to send the 'in Sarah Palin's honor' card. Use the address for the McCain campaign headquarters:
McCain for President/Sarah Palin
1235 S. Clark Street
1st Floor
Arlington , VA 22202
Dear Friends:
We may have thought we wanted a woman on a national political ticket, but the joke has really been on us, hasn't it? Are you as sick in your stomach as I am at the thought of Sarah Palin as Vice President of the United States?
Since Palin gave her speech accepting the Republican nomination for the Vice Presidency, Barack Obama's campaign has raised over $10 million dollars. Some of you may already be supporting the Obama campaign financially; others of you may still be recovering from the primaries. So, if you feel you can't support the Obama campaign financially, may I suggest the following fiendishly brilliant alternative?
Make a $5 minimum donation to Planned Parenthood. In Sarah Palin's name. A Planned Parenthood donation is tax deductible, while a political donation isn't.
And here's the good part: when you make a donation to PP in her name, they'll send her a card telling her that the donation has been made in her honor.
Here's the link to the Planned Parenthood website
https://secure.ga0.org/02/pp10000_inhonor
You'll need to fill in the address to let PP know where to send the 'in Sarah Palin's honor' card. Use the address for the McCain campaign headquarters:
McCain for President/Sarah Palin
1235 S. Clark Street
1st Floor
Arlington , VA 22202
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Taco Mesa
There is this shack of a Mexican place in Newport Beach that serves up the best food you can imagine. We were introduced to this place in college- when Matt and I came to UC Irvine to visit a couple of high school friends that were going to school there. (One guy lived in a college sponsored trailer park of sorts- kind of like bohemian college living that had been overtaken by wild, fluffy rabbits). We've gone back to this place countless times. I've sat at a table outside, (always freezing, nevermind what time of year) and contemplated graduating from college, having them cater my wedding, eating one last meal before moving to New York, celebrating the end of Annie's first day at Disney. When I lived in Los Angeles, we would get a craving for this place and hightail it on the freeway at 10:00 at night. It's that good.
Now, we live 20 minutes away. We went there for dinner last night- and as always, I ordered some vegetarian nachos with cojita cheese and asked for some blackened shrimp to be thrown on top. I still forget to bring a sweater, and now I forget to bring one for my girls too. I always wonder if I'm sitting in the same exact chair as that girl from college did so many years ago. She'd be the one eating the nachos with shrimp.
Now, we live 20 minutes away. We went there for dinner last night- and as always, I ordered some vegetarian nachos with cojita cheese and asked for some blackened shrimp to be thrown on top. I still forget to bring a sweater, and now I forget to bring one for my girls too. I always wonder if I'm sitting in the same exact chair as that girl from college did so many years ago. She'd be the one eating the nachos with shrimp.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Oh Poop.
The other night we were watching the sunset, and Annie says, "Hey! Look! God is painting the sky orange!" I say this not to make you puke, but because it was just so sincere, and I want to remember it.
I do not want to remember this puppy continually taking poops on my living room floor. He shits about half his body weight daily. All of the puppy training advice is all "ignore the bad things, just reward the good." I find it hard to stop seizing in displeasure when he leaves his presents in the midst of my unfurnished bowling alley of a living room. But then, ten minutes later, he's stealing someone's shoes to chew on, and trotting around with his ears perched and waving his tail, and you are suckered in by his contagious cuteness. Puppies do that to you.
The house still doesn't feel like home yet. We've got all of the boxes emptied (for the most part) but nothing's where it should go, and nothing is hung on the walls, and furniture is in undecided places. Usually I jump in and get down to business- but maybe it's the poopie living rooms, or my daily commute on 3 freeways, or starting a new job, or missing my Houston friends- but I'm slow to the get-go with this one. It's a bit overwhelming.
I'm currently reading "An American Wife" and wondering if Laura Bush has read it? How weird to have a book inspired by you. I already like it much more then "Prep." Still not really cooking. I made chicken fajitas tonight, and you would have thought my family was eating lobster. Poor deprived souls.
I do not want to remember this puppy continually taking poops on my living room floor. He shits about half his body weight daily. All of the puppy training advice is all "ignore the bad things, just reward the good." I find it hard to stop seizing in displeasure when he leaves his presents in the midst of my unfurnished bowling alley of a living room. But then, ten minutes later, he's stealing someone's shoes to chew on, and trotting around with his ears perched and waving his tail, and you are suckered in by his contagious cuteness. Puppies do that to you.
The house still doesn't feel like home yet. We've got all of the boxes emptied (for the most part) but nothing's where it should go, and nothing is hung on the walls, and furniture is in undecided places. Usually I jump in and get down to business- but maybe it's the poopie living rooms, or my daily commute on 3 freeways, or starting a new job, or missing my Houston friends- but I'm slow to the get-go with this one. It's a bit overwhelming.
I'm currently reading "An American Wife" and wondering if Laura Bush has read it? How weird to have a book inspired by you. I already like it much more then "Prep." Still not really cooking. I made chicken fajitas tonight, and you would have thought my family was eating lobster. Poor deprived souls.
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