Mia hearts Sushi

After my adjustment this afternoon, Mia and I joined Dr. Harry, Courtney and Izzy for dinner at the yummy Ka-Prow. Izzy turned her pal, Mia into a sushi lover.First, Mia took a taste of the gluten free soy sauce (who knew they made such a thing)...she enjoyed it so much, she licked the little bowl clean. Mia then had her turn at some salmon, eel and finished quite nicely with some plum wine ice cream...shared with Izzy. Mia also had some of my Pad Woonsen, and some of Courtney & Harry's dinner as well. Oh, and some of Izzy's fried rice. I do feed my child. I promise.

werms

The following clip is from our gardening adventures yesterday. Today, when we found worms she would great them all the same:

'hi werm'
'how you doin'?'
'how you doin', today' (because she didn't get a response the first time?)
'see ya soon werm'
'ok mama, back in the dirt'

Another difference today is that she actually pet one, gently and without gloves...then, flustered, she immediately said:

'bye werm...mama. dirt. now.'

Then we layed back on the grass under a tree and wondered where the birds were going.

Mia - 'that's a bird'
Mama - 'where's it going?'
Mia - 'to his family for breakfast' or 'flying to the moon' or 'not going to play with a werm...in the dirt'

the many vices of...

when i was younger (mid 20's), i wrote a weekly very Sex in the City-esque column for the Valley's answer to the Austin Chronicle. it was called The Many Vices of Sydney...(i was sydney). i went on and on about everything that was important to me at the time, going out, hanging out, barring, local music, smoking, drinking.....

i hadn't thought about that in YEARS, but what brought it all back into the front of my brain are all my new vices. my good pal, Bonnie, talks very freely and unapologetically of her collection of vices/addictions....f.i. her coffee (i have no idea WHAT she drinks, but am aware that, no, coffee from 7-11 just won't do, thank you very much.

here's my unapologetic list:

~ chai

~ sex (hmmm came after chai, but it's still high on the list)

~ blogging on my TWO blogs

~ taking pictures

~ O'Mama message board...i'm a board whore

~ Amy's Mexican Bowls (i've eaten 5 in one day, but only stopped bc there were no more in the freezer...I checked...THRICE)

~ facebook (don't get me started...i love it all!)

~ drinking bottled water...yes, I'm going to hell, but I'll be hydrated

~ and now (thanks to Bonnie) twitter

~ laughing...i love when i can't stop & always want more

~ beer (XX) & lots of it when hanging with friends

i'm a borderline cigarette smoking addict...i can go for loooong periods of time (months, years)without smoking, but when i start, i can't stop at one. i'll smoke all day & all night. i LOVE it!

what sucks is when they get in the way of eachother...can't finish posting pics cuz i'm playing a game on facebook, but wait...don't want to miss anything on twitter...can someone hand me a mexi bowl and a water (in a plastic bottle)?

i'll keep ya posted if/when i develop any more.

Try to...

....find my daughter.

chai (yes, again)

yesterday, my body, for some freakish reason, responded to Daryl's alarm...at 6am! there was no way back, so i pulled myself from my warm bed towards the kitchen where i would be soothed by a warm cuppa chai.

denied. no soymilk!

how the fuck did that happen? Daryl had stopped off at the store the night before to gather some last min items for the shrimp dip i took to Allison's blessingway. didn't even THINK of adding soymilk to the list. i've been very narrow-sighted these days.

Daryl found me wrapped up in a quilt, sitting in the middle of the sofa...sobbing. why? why can't i just have chai? it's a cruel world out there. i do NOT like Starbuck's or any other chai but my own, but it requires vanilla soymilk (with added fiber), a special chai concentrate and a microwave. I'm classy like that. for some reason i've been avoiding the grocery store. hard to get soymilk that way. there was no chai in sight for me. *whimper*

my husband cuddled me. tried to comfort me all the while (i'm sure) thinking 'how do i get out of here alive, without going to the store and soon...i have to go to work' what he told me was, 'don't worry, i'll be right back with some soymilk...i need creamer for the office anway'. this was said when we both knew that he'd hit rush hour traffic. was it an empty offer? well, we'll never know as i responded with a 'really? *sniff* really? *sniff, sniff*'.

he acquired said soymilk (happily), saved my day, and will forever be a hero in my eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

another note about chai. i guess this can go for coffee lovers as well. i'll be busy typing away, enjoying an occasional sip of the nectar of the gods, and then i'll reach for the cup, and it feels way too light. horror! the cup is empty and i didn't relish the last drop...i didn't even notice it.

Those Gleinser Boys!

Last week, Michael (Daryl's paternal uncle) was in town (from Olathe, Kansas!) with his boys Josh & Jake. Now I get to see these guys about once a year, twice if they're lucky. In between visits, we IM and email each other....especially Jake. Josh is super a super busy high school guy, while Jake, well, is in 7th grade and has time on his hands :) I can go on and on about these guys. Josh is super tall, shy, and very affectionate. Jake is a loud little whipper snapper, and smart as a whip. They both are, but Jake is very....verbal :) He has a quick wit and extremely fast come-backs. He's 13 years old, but when he signs off with me he says stuff like 'later, babe'. He's tooooo funny. Anywayyyyyy. Jake asked Dee if Mia and I were gonna drive to Dripping Springs to see them. Dee emailed me, and we were there in about an hour. I wouldn't miss seeing these guys for anything. Jake and I used to play a game of pool, and if (when) he lost, he's have to give me a hug. This time, I just told him that we should save time, he KNEW I'd beat him, so just give me a hug already. He did. :)Mia was well aware of the guys, but refused to make eye contact with them. Jake even reminded her that on the last visit, he fed her cheese :) They guys each gave her a big pieces of a cookie, but NO, she wasn't going to acknowledge them at all. Later, Mia wanted to watch a clip of Yo Gabba Gabba on youtube. She sat on Jake's lap the whole time. Oh, Michael brought down a little wooden rocking chair that both guys used when they were little. It's for Mia and Gwen to share. It's the cutest thing, and Mia LOVES it. Josh, Jake and I hung out on the sofa....I was trying to watch American Idol with Aunt Janice, who was also visiting. The guys took turns farting....toooooo close to me. You know it's bad when I can tell their farts apart. What is it with boys and farts?!?! The BEST part was when Mia and I were on our way out. Jake gave me a long hug, and said 'you smell like blueberries. I like blueberries'. I swear he has me wrapped around his finger, but I'm sure the feeling is mutual.

Allison

the O'Mamas had a Blessingway celebration for Allison last night.

it was lovely.

i was honored to do a little henna belly art.

the baby moved under my hands.

the enchanting mama of the evening

showing off her beautiful belly.

Allison

the O'Mamas had a Blessingway celebration for Allison last night.

it was lovely.

i was honored to do a little henna belly art.

the baby moved under my hands.

the enchanting mama of the evening

showing off her beautiful belly.

that's just super

i'm having a super day!

the sun is shining...right through my new playdate-made suncatcher. Mia's in a fab mood. i'm almost done with laundry (are we ever really done?). i'm going out tonight to a dear prego friends' blessingway celebration. i spent the morning with an awesome group of mamas and their fabulous offspring. my husband is coming home early to get in some quality time before i take off. i found a yummy new recipe....that's always wonderful. I have bunches and bunches of amazingly loving friends. i've got my fav jeans on and my hair looks good!

Fun in the Sun

First Mia and I gardened yesterday. Second Mia and I met up with some wonderful O'Mamas and their kiddos and made suncatchers.

Gardening:

Mia loves bugs. She calls rolly pollys, rolly bugs. She knows she can look at bugs, ants and spiders, but not touch them. She should tell us when she finds a new bug. When I was a nanny, one of my charges came to tell me she found a fly and wanted to sing Shoo Fly. Well, the fly turned out to be a scorpion. So, Mia's learning to tell us about all the bugs she finds.

We got new gardening gloves. While I LOVE to work with the dirt with my bare hands, with Mia being attacked by fire ants 3 times last year, I'm taking some precautions. Plus, her ladybug gloves looked so cute in the store. They were a tad too big for her, but she didn't mind. We're in the process of clearing out the flower bed in the front of the house so we can plant some flowering seeds. Since we're renting, I'm not interested in spending more than a few bucks on landscaping :)

Suncatchers:

Andrea & Sophia hosted an art playdate, and my stalking abilities paid off. The event had been full since it was posted, and I've been stalking the calendar ever since. Well, a spot opened up yesterday, and I was there to POUNCE!

Andrea was all set with brightly colored tissue paper, contact paper, scissors and yarn. It was a pretty easy craft for the kids, and everyone made some awesome suncatchers. We couldn't wait to hang them in our kitchen window. It was so easy and fun, I made one for myself and so did Gale...here she is showing her's off :)
It's always so much fun hanging out and chatting with my O'Mama pals. The kids took turns crying about something or other, but everyone had a fabulous time!!!! We really do love Andrea's art playdates. ~~~~~~~

Mia also had her first try at Hi Ho Cherry-O! yesterday. She loved to count the cherries and was actually pretty good about letting her Mama have a turn.

Video of our gardening (super cute but a little long)

Mia's first try at Hi Ho Cherry-O!

Me

I was tagged by my mamacita in crime Andrea

7 Weird Things About Me

1. I'm afraid of milk. The expiration date seems so fragile. What if the delivery truck got to hot? I started drinking soymilk years ago bc it's exp date is like 3 months after date of purchase...now that's something I can handle....and no, I can't just sniff regular milk to see if it's ok. Once opened and used, the milk around the rim stinks like rotten milk anyway!

2. I can eat something that's been left out all night. I know, I know. Disgusting, and it goes against the premise behind my milk phobia.

3. I deal with anxiety almost on a minute to minute basis. When I'm driving, I can see us in a wreck and mutilated. When Mia's climbing on a playscape, I picture her falling and breaking her back or neck...super morbid, but I'm constantly battling it.

4. I LOVE jumping out and scaring Daryl, Mia or anyone I feel super comfy around and the ideal moment presents itself. The look of terror on their faces is priceless. Don't worry, Mia thinks it's hilarious!

5. My sex drive either equals or is higher than my husbands :) I've got PCOS which gives me a large dose of androgens including testosterone. Hence, the high sex drive.

6. I LOVE to pick my nose. It feels great! What do I do with my boogers? Well, if I don't have a tissue handy, I stick 'em in my pocket! I never EAT them!

7. I play with Barbies. I've always loved brushing their hair and getting them all dressed up. I play with them while Mia naps. I'm sooooo not into sharing :)


I'm suposed to include a self portrait. I just took this outside (better light). I kinda dig it.

i'm trying

a little while ago, a dear friend asked how i was doing. i replied, 'i've cleaned my whole kitchen and finished 4 loads of laundry'. then we mentioned how great denial is. i'm better when Daryl is home, but alone, not so much.

yesterday was easter, and we spent it with family. while i was just fine in the beginning, i quickly became tired and needed 2 naps in a 4 hr period. another dear friend had mentioned in an email that surgery is surgery and my body is healing.

i'm really surprised how hard i've been hit by this. i hadn't shopped, no discussion of name choices... but i'd been pregnant for 10 weeks. almost a full trimester. i've had a lot of loss in my life, so i know how to grieve and what it's all about. i just can't pinpoint anything in my brain this time. it's just a sad foggy feeling that comes over me.

Hoppy Easter

We were reunited with our snapper this afternoon :) When she saw us walk in all she could say was 'Mommy! Dada! Mama! Daddy!' She looked so grown up. I swear she grew 5 inches this weekend. She pretty much has run of her Nana & Pawpaw's house, so she was very comfy there. I love that she has a home away from home.

It was a nice day to hang out with family and watch the girls play. Joe, Melissa and Gwen were there for lunch, too. Tom and Dee really threw a great Easter party. The kids got cute Dora and Diego Easter baskets filled with Peeps, stickers, and eggs filled with jelly beans. What's Easter without that stuff?!?! Daryl and I really appreciate all they do for Mia. Nana and PawPaw really think about them a lot and tried to pick out things she would like. BINGO!
Mia was COVERED in stickers, had one Peep and about 5 jelly beans. She was the happiest girl in the world! After a wonderful lunch of capon, stuffing and green beans (all super yummy), I took a much needed nap (my body is still recuperating)...for almost 2 hours! When I woke up, Joe, Melissa and Gwen had gone, so Mia searched for hidden eggs by herself. Oh, Nana and Mia also dyed the hard boiled eggs this morning. What wonderful memories they're making :)
They kept it simple and hid all the eggs in the billiard room. Mia was thrilled when she found them, and at the end very proudly showed off her Diego basket full of eggs to her Memaw :) Next year, I introduce her to cascarones!!!

Bye Boo

the sonogram on thursday showed that Boo had died a few weeks ago. I had a D&C on friday. apparently all the spotting and feeling lousy in general was my body trying to reject everything. actually, after the D&C, i'm feeling a lot better. it really took a toll on me.

Daryl and i spent the last few days together talking and snuggling, and making sure we felt connected and safe. Mia has been with Dee and Tom (my fabulous in-laws) since friday morning. it's really given Daryl and i some much needed time.

love, family, friends and laughter (ok, and a smidge of hydrocodone...it was painful) have gotten us through this.

Mia's first State Libertarian Party Convention

A letter to us from Nana:

Sent: Saturday March 22, 2008

Mia attended her first Libertarian Party Convention today! They wouldn't let her vote, but it didn't deter her at all. She sat in her rocket stroller eating crackers and drinking water while all the candidates gave their speeches. She was underwhelmed by the politics. After 30 minutes, she crawled out of her stroller into my lap and promptly fell asleep! I wanted to join her! :-)

After the convention, we strolled through downtown in her rocket stroller again, and then went to Texas Land and Cattle for lunch. Thanks to Tanya's great ideas, I ordered her a grilled cheese sandwich immediately. She was a little teary eyed on the way there, so we asked the host to sit us far away from the crowds and bring us a sedative. But Mia, faced with grilled cheese and fries, instantly forgot her woes and dove in. I think she ate more than we did!! It gave her lots (and lots and lots) of energy. We were able to stop at the store for a couple of things Tom forgot yesterday (namely, Mimaw's cookies) and then head to Lowes for a new chain saw and weed eater. Mia was MOST impressed by the big boxes!

Mia sang to herself all the way from the restaurant to the stores and home again. It was so cute. She went through a whole litany of songs....Row, Row, Row, Old MacDonald, and Happy Birthday were the ones I recognized!

She has been entertaining herself with swinging (of course - hours at a time) and climbing up and down off the deck, running to the back fence "I checking things out!", walking around and around the house and playing with the dogs. What a sweet heart. She slept like a rock last night. She's showing Mimaw where the water is (in case she forgets). Todays nap was short in my arms (but oh so precious for me!!!!)-I think she'll pass out early tonight. I KNOW I will! :-)

When ya'll get here (Joe, Melissa and Gwen too) we will have an Easter egg hunt tomorrow. Tom brought home Dora the Explorer and Go Diego easter baskets, and we have plastic eggs to fill with jelly beans. Lots of stickers (Elmo and Dora), Peeps, and a Barbie egg. Should be tons of fun! I'd bet Joe and Melissa will be here around noon or so - Joe called and I returned the call but so far we haven't hooked up.Love you guys! Miss you!-
Mama

Bye Bye Boo

I posted the following message on the O'Mama message board, and instead of writing it all out again, I'm just going to post it here.

'This is pretty hard for me to write about, but I wanted all of my friends to know. We lost the baby. Daryl and I went in yesterday for our 10 week checkup and sonogram. Our Dr found the sack and the baby...only 6mm (about the size it should be at 6 wks not 10) there wasn't a heart beat. Our Dr and his staff were super compassionate.

I had a D&C at St David's this afternoon. It went very well, so far no complications. I'm currently on Motrin and Hydrocodone (it's pretty numbing...for my body and brain) Daryl took the whole day off so we could be together. My sweet in-laws picked up Mia this morning. They had planned to take her for the weekend anyway. That gives us a couple of days to relax and recuperate. We'll go out there on Sunday to spend Easter together, eat an amazing lunch, along with some chocolate bunny ears and watch her hunt for eggs.

The sweetest thing was yesterday when I went to my neighbor's house to pick up Mia after the Dr appt. they opened the door, and she came out running and squealing 'mommy!mommy!mommy!' she was in a new Spring dress (2 sizes too big) a pony tail and barefoot. Just what I needed. Daryl, Mia and I spent last night snuggling in our big bed. It was perfect.

I'm planning on laying low for the next few days...not really in the mood to chat on the phone, but I'll be online every now and then.

Right now, my uterus is sore, and my heart hurts.'

Since then, Daryl and I have spent a lot of time together. We even went out tonight (Saturday...I took a LONG nap today, and the sandman is nowhere to be found), and had a great time hanging with some friends. Yes, laughter is the best medicine.

Current Fav Pic

Pal O' Mine, Melanie took this awesome shot of Mia. It makes me smile.

Some days really surprise me

Today was so full of things to do, that when I woke up this morning, I pretty much prepared to just get it all done with as little fuss as possible.

Surprise! It was a super easy and fun day!!!

I met Stephanie at ATA Black Belt Academy this morning to trade money for a monster (a sweet one with a flower on her tummy for birthday girl Bethany). She was there with her home school group (and Roarke & Cole)for a trial self defence class for the kids and mamas. Mia and I were very warmly welcomed to the class. Mia ran around with Cole, while Stephanie and I broke boards with our hands and elbows...yes, we are that good! Then off to Target for 2 stuffed animals for the Critters for Crisis drive that Doc Harry is participating in. They were the ticket for free adjustments for me and Mia...Daryl's going Friday afternoon. Mia also picked out her Easter basket and a new puzzle. (no the Target saleswoman that was so rude yesterday, was not there!) I put her down for an early nap. This was the part that I thought would be hard. I had to put her down early so we could make our 2pm appt with Doc Harry. Thanks to the Tae Kwon Do and running around at Target, she fell fast asleep. I was able to finish a project for work...that's always good. Once up, we hopped over to Doc Harry's for our adjustments. Mia's been going through a growth spurt, and because of her hemivertibrae, it makes her crooked and off balance....lots of falls later, she got adjusted and has been great since. He's soooo awesome with Mia. He actually adjusted her while she was busy picking out stickers with Miss Angela. I love sneaky doctors :)
Last stop Bethany's 3rd birthday party! We got there a little early and it was pouring cats and dogs, but Martha helped us out with a warm towel (fresh out of the dryer....). Mia and I got to go up with Mama Martha to wake up princess Bethany from her sleep. You know we see our friends all the time, but there's something special about how a kid looks right when she/he wakes up.
Juliet & Blake, Ashley & Michael, and Kathy with her Julian and Clara were all there, too. Martha had the place all decked out with streamers (even from the ceiling fan...Mia really loved that) and balloons. We all snacked and had some yummy princess cupcakes with the birthday girl. Mia actually did a little craft of glueing fruit loops to a flower cutout...she ate more than glued...but that's all part of it. It was a great time. Then home to celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary! My sweetheart came home with his arms full of roses, irises, calla lilies, two cards (one funny & one so touching that I bawled like a baby...he loves doing that to me!) and one very nice box of chocolates. We ordered in Chinese food and I even got some sizzling rice soup (kind of hard to come by). Gotta run, a very wet and nakie baby just ran out of the bathroom with her daddy chasing her with a towel and a diaper. Good times.

Some pics from our first wedding

why?

why do i let what some people say bug me so bad that i can't sleep? it's kind of a no big deal subject, but it feels big deal to me.

my husband says to 'let it go'. why? why don't i just let it go, and be done with it? why do i replay it in my head over and over and get more and more pissed?

why am i still sitting here thinking of all the things i should have said? why don't i learn how to breathe, and calmly say what needs to be said at the time it needs to be said and be done with it? why do i instead get flustered, look down or away and pretend it didn't bug me?

i'm more than sure that person is asleep dreaming of whatever pain in the ass people dream about.

I'm more than a little green :)

Artwork by O'Mama Eve & her Rebecca (photo by O'Mama Heather)

Feeling a little green is not the way to spend St. Paddy's Day. I honestly don't remember much about my morning sickness from my first pregnancy...probably why I wanted to do it again :) But Daryl and many mamas are reassuring me that, yes, it will come to an end. Our first stop of the day was at Cypress Creek Family Dentistry so Mia could meet Dr Hoppe (like hoppy) and show off her gorgeous gums and teeth. While waiting for the doc, Mia tried to escape a little bit, but the hall must have seemed too long, because she came right back into the room. Dr Hoppe was amazingly gentle with Mia and it was over in a flash. Mia didn't particularly dig the light shining on her face or the mirror in her mouth, but once the Dr started brushing her teeth, she relaxed and almost went limp. Brushing her teeth is kind of like finding that 'spot' on a dog that makes him shake his leg when you scratch him. Mia's gums & teeth are perfectly healthy, and we don't have to go back for 6 more months.
One of the funniest things is that out of all the possible prizes (and there were some great ones) Mia picked out the smallest blue plastic fish. It made her happy and that's all that counts
Then over to Heather & Ryland's for an O'Mama Shamrock shindig. We hung out and had some yummy snacks. The kids actually did a couple of craft projects...usually, we don't ever get to any of the planned crafts :) Mia was introduced to her first glue stick, and she's in love. I read Barnyard Dance to Sarah & Mia (not anywhere as good as Melanie), but the girls held hands and promenaded, hopped like frogs.... It all was topped off by shamrock shaped sugar cookies.....yum!

Mia not as stealth as she thinks she is (she's stomping around bc she digs she sound the charms on her shoes make when she does so...hard to be sneaky):