The Blind Side

Today I was in the living room w/ D/C. D went into the dining room (who am I kidding, it has become more of an extension of our living room, which means it has become an extension of a playroom). D came toddling back with a new favorite toy from Meme (the new 'grandmother name' we've landed on for my mom)--a rubber mama giraffe w/ 3 baby giraffes. D excitedly hobbles across the living room floor, looking down at her new found treasure in anticipation of playing with it. Out of the corner of my eye I see movement, and out of the left corner comes C, full speed ahead. She runs across the room, grabs D in a huge bear hug from behind, and TACKLES her. D goes down, and wrestling over the giraffes ensues.

I stopped myself from laughing and picked up D and hugged her. Then I gave C a stern talking to and a 15 yard penalty for unnecessary roughness.

(and these are just pics i like)

Austin

For Andrew's birthday I decided to take him to Austin to hang out with his high school friends/groomsman. I tried to figure out a way to get ALL of his friends together in one place (college, HBS, etc) but decided that would only leave me w/ Vegas, and I didn't want to try to plan another bachelor party. So, I decided to surprise him w/ a trip to Austin.

The 'surprise' was sort of ruined for him, let's just say by two other men w/ a last name of Dodson. : ) But I think Andrew had a really good time w/o the surprise factor, which was the most important part anyway.

We got in Friday night, and, I'm embarrassed to say, headed down to 6th Street. Yes, there was a big frat guy in Andrew just waiting to bring it on, and we did, eventually ending up at Logans. Of course, w/ all the guys in button downs they kinda stood out, and I'm pretty sure I was the only person over 30 at Logan's that night...C/D might have fit in better w/ the demographics. But it was fun, brought back a LOT of memories.

Saturday I went to the Prices and saw their KICK ASS new home...I think it must be like living a life at a resort, that also happens to be your home (their utility room is bigger than my kitchen...and maybe the dholakias living room :)). Lauren, DR, Royston, and Benjamin came over to visit and we sat in their outdoor living room (so cool), by the pool, and at barbecuse. It was really nice of them to make the effort to come see me, and it made me sad I don't get to see all of them more often. It was also fun to be surrounded by three pregnant women....all with girls!!

After that I met Andrew and the crew up at the lake. We spent a few hours on the lake, w/ some skiing and some just driving, and some just watching the ridiculous scene on the lake (more data to support my secret plan to forbid c/d from going to college in TX). Then we went out Saturday night to Matt's El Rancho and finished at the Belmont). I went home really early the next morning and Andrew followed later in the day.

All in all, a great weekend. It was great to see so many people, including some we don't get to see much (the Weitz's and Marc and Robin) and it really was great to hang out in Austin. It was crazy to see how much it has changed too. I miss Austin, and I like it, and part of me could see us back there again. (The new Whole Foods there is like an out of body experience if you like grocery stores, btw). I was amazed at all the new buildings downtown, the growth off of highway 71, the number of GIGANTIC houses off Bee Caves, and all the high end shopping!

It is tough to be there and get gently beat up by your friends for living where you do...and when you think of your 1100 square foot 2/1 apartment and realize you could fit it inside your friends' homes...SEVERAL TIMES...it is kind of hard to defend SF. And when you see a house like the Victor and Dalton's (where we stayed) in my favorite area--Tarrytown--it is hard not to picture living a great life there. At the same time, it was hard to imagine living there, and being so far from family, and being landlocked, and not being able to hit the park every day because it so hot. Who knows where we'll end up, but it was nice to realize that I still have a very soft spot for Austin.

All in all, it was great to see everyone, it was great to be in Austin, and I think Andrew enjoyed his present.

You Know you've lost your travel edge when...

So for our trip to Austin I booked a flight out of SJO assuming it was the only direct to Austin. Hell, I lived in Austin for whatever years. I made Platinum 6 years in a row (up until, (sigh) last year). I know airports like DFW like the back of my hand. (As SF would have me say to myself-- "You own these airlines! You're a lifetime Gold! M-O-L-L-Y!)

And yet the night before I leave my husband comes home and quietly says "did you know that United flies SFO to Austin direct?" And he says this in a really nice way. In fact, too nice. Because you know what he's thinking...I'm so not in Frequent Flier land anymore.

And now it's official. I'm now one of the travelers people dread getting stuck next to...I'm no longer a business traveler. I'm a leisure traveler...with children.

I Missed You This Morning

Today I took an exercise class at 6:30 am... a huge pleasure I get only when Andrew is in town (this is only the fourth week all year he has been in town all week). So I'm in this class, getting my ass kicked (I literally have the worst body in the entire class and the age range is about 25-50, and I'm not kidding) and I start missing c/d. I know this doesn't really make any sense because A) they are still asleep, a state of mind I generally treasure w/ them, and B) I have been with them NON STOP in the past few weeks (K left to get married). And yet, I have to admit, that is what it was: I missed them. I mean who wouldn't miss these faces?? (And yes, that first pic w/ the open mouth is C's new version of "smiling" for the camera...more examples to come.)
Maybe it is because I'm heading out of town and of course, even though I'm excited to go, I'm sick to my stomach about it. Maybe I'll have to take them with me...

My Commercial

New DVD Player to replace one broken by C while in search of "E'vi" (Elvis) cd: $75

New hat purchased to replace one (my FAVORITE--see pic) lost near Fisherman's Wharf: $30

New shoes to replace blue one kicked off on Marina Green: $36

New crocs to replace pink one thrown out of wagon on Chestnut: $24

New lipgloss to replace one used as "pen" for "art": $15

New camera case to replace one thrown out of stroller at DeYoung Museum: $11

New sunblock to replace bottle lost at Discovery Museum: $7

Rediscovering the world through the eyes of 19 month olds: Priceless

There are some things in life that money can't buy. For everything else there is a very large Citibank school loan.

The Big 3-0

Yesterday Andrew turned 30, FINALLY. I'm not sure what is more shocking to me--that he is still so freakin' young or that he has done so much in so little time. In all seriousness, I'm really proud of him and really grateful (and surprised) that he willingly stuck himself w/ an old lady like me. (Sadly, turning 30 is a distant memory for me).

We celebrated in the evening with a night out at Tres Agaves... one of only two places in SF that serves queso (we went to the other one last year).

We celebrated during the day with a trip to the Discovery Museum (what EVERY 30 year old guy wants to do on his birthday) and cupcakes all around. Today we celebrated a little more with a trip to the beach. Happy Birthday Bug!

60 in Sonoma

This past weekend we went to Sonoma to celebrate my mom's 60th birthday. We stayed at MacArthur Place in Sonoma and had a great time. It was great to see everyone and get all of the grandkids together. I love Sonoma and it was SO NICE to be in warm weather, FINALLY.

My gift to my mom was to have a photographer come take pics of everyone...I think she did a pretty good job of getting pics w/o driving everyone nuts. Here are some of the pics from her as well as a few of my own (skewed towards my kids).

Every Sports Guy Needs a Sports Gal

It is about time I have a guest posting. If you know my husband, tell him he owes me a post. Or at least a picture of me with the girls.

(BTW, should anything happen to me I'm counting on you, my four loyal readers, to tell my girls that I was in fact around them a lot even though there are no pictures of me with them to prove it).

Ellen Valim

Today I went to my grandmother's funeral...my dad's mother, Ellen Ann Valim, who died at the age of 91. "Nana" was a very sweet woman...tiny and petite but strong and quick witted right up until the end. She worked full time as a nurse at a time when almost no women worked. She suffered the loss of her son, she had to have her leg amputated four years ago, and yet she continued to find joy in life.

My brother and I drove up to Chico for the funeral (my sister and mother drove up in a different car), and Andrew very nicely took a day off of work to watch the monkeys. It was very nice to see the Valim side of the family (and to see that they are all doing well and happy) since we see them so rarely. The funeral was a nice celebration of her life, but it also made me sad. Sad because I probably wasn't a very good granddaughter and I didn't see Nana much after my father died. Sad because it made me miss my dad so much I ached.

I LOVE this Age

I love this age. I know people say it just gets better and better, but for me this age stands out. Why?

--They are walking and moving around which opens up a lot more fun things to do.

--They can communicate with you, which makes everyone less frustrated.

--They learn something new EVERY day.
--They are learning their independence but they are still soft, cuddly, lovable, and relatively easygoing (ie. if you say "time to leave the park" they wave and say "bye bye park" instead of "NOOOO!")
--They are starting to play with each other. They run back and forth down the hallway and shreak. They feed each other. They play peak a boo. They make each other laugh.

Other than the fact that they are starting to look like little girls and not babies, which makes me so so sad, they are AWESOME.

What NOT to Say to Your Wife

I have discussed my hair issues post-pregnancy in previous posts. My hair has gone from being stick straight no matter what I did (and therefore VERY easy to deal with) to poofy, wavy in some places, almost curly in others, and overall a total disaster. Last week I cut it a lot, with the hopes of getting rid of some layers in order to have a more manageable mane. After several days of Andrew not noticing, curiosity got the best of me.

Me: "Not to be a total girl, but did you not notice that I cut my hair quite a lot?"

Andrew: "I was looking at it yesterday, and I almost asked you, but then I figured that maybe you'd just washed it."

(Long pause)

Andrew: "Did you cut it yourself?"

Mad Men

A new show on AMC. I'm a fan. It is about Madison Avenue men in the 1960s and from the producer of the Sopranos. It do find it sort of tiresome that there is also some likeable but kinda bad guy full of angst at the center of this show too. But I'm fascinated because it makes me glad that I wasn't a woman in the 1960s at the same time that I wonder if that much has really changed. The costumes and sets are also pretty cool. Check it out...