Warning: Sentimental Blogger!

Blue, Lion and I had some visitors today. Christina and Amy came over for a few hours with their babies. Christina (in case anyone cares to know) has been my friend ever since her family moved next door to mine in first grade. And Amy was my best friend and singing partner in various talent shows in middle school where we covered almost every song on the "Dirty Dancing" soundtrack! It's crazy to me that we are still friends. I mean, I know if you had asked me in seventh grade, I would have said, "Well, duh! Christina and Amy and Andrea and Lesley and I will all live on the same street when we grow up. We'll all be BFF and I'll be married to David Beil and our kids will play with all of their kids and we'll have bar-be-ques every Sunday."

But it's unreal to me that I am still friends with all of them. I didn't marry David Beil. I don't even know if he is still alive. I only think of him now if I hear some really sappy eighties love song, like "Against All Odds." I cracked up when Lesley said to me at our 10-year high school reunion, "This sucks. Where are all the people I really came here to see? Where's David Beil?"

God!  Total strangers would think David Beil was some Greek God-like Jordan Catalano type guy, and he totally wasn't! David Beil was this skinny, loud-mouthed kid who was a really fast runner and who got his name written on the blackboard for talking in class almost as often as I did. I had a massive crush on him all through middle school. We are talking all four years. What can I say? I'm determined. I thought eventually he would break!

Anyway, as I was saying, (I love you, Jonathan! xoxo) I am still friends with Christina and Amy and Lesley and Andrea. All of them. Andrea lives in Brooklyn, but she is my best friend--outside of my husband. She was my Maid of Honor, and she is Blue's godmother. Lesley lives in Maryland, I was one of her bridesmaids, and she has agreed to be Lion Man's godmother. Amy and Christina both still live in Virginia like me (poor souls) and every few months we try to get together and watch our babies play together. Like today. And it's so incredible having friends with whom you can completely, completely be yourself. I didn't have to run around like mad and clean this morning before they came over. (Well, I mean, of course I did, my Mom would've been proud, but the point is I didn't have to!) Amy was my best friend when my parents were splitting up. I brought her ice cream when she had her tonsils out. And when I was recently completely wallowing in post-partum depression, Christina came over and brought my nasty, exhausted, unshowered self some lunch and held the fussy Lion for me for a few hours.

If you guys are reading this--and you are about the only people that do!--Christina, Amy, Les and Dree, I love you. Loveyouloveyouloveyou! And I'm so thankful that I have such awesome friends! I hope we'll be friends forever! LylasBofa!

Uncle George

George William Pepe
May 6, 1948 - September 10, 1969

Blue + Elmo 4Ever

Jonathan, my mom and I took Blue and her cousin, William, to see "Sesame Street Live" today. We had such a great time! Blue just recently developed a massive crush on Elmo, and I have to say it is so cute the way she says Elmo with the emphasis on the second syllable! My mom was out of control--buying Blue a pennant and William a Cookie Monster stuffed animal and a crazy, light up thing with Elmo's face on it for each of them--with the final proof of her insanity being her purchase of an Elmo balloon for $8.


Here's my girl, cuddling with her main squeeze on the way home.

File Under WTF?!

These are the dolls Hasbro was planning on selling to our daughters. Seriously. Seriously.

They are modelled after the girlband called the Pussycat Dolls. You may know them as the group that did that crappy remake of "Tainted Love." Anyway, here's a sample of some of their lyrics:

Ok (ahh)
Yeahh (ahh)
Oh, we about to get it just a lil hot and sweaty in this mu'fucka (oh, baby)
Ladies let's go (uhh)
Soldiers let's go (dolls)
Let me talk to y'all and just you know
Give you a little situation... listen (fellas)

Pussycat Dolls
Ya see this shit get hot
Everytime I come through when I step up in the spot (are you ready)
Make the place sizzle like a summertime cookout
Prowl for the best chick
Yes I'm on the lookout (lets dance)
Slow bangin shorty like a belly dancer with it
Smell good, pretty skin, so gangsta with it (oh, baby)
No tricks only diamonds under my sleeve
Gimme tha number
But make sure you call before you leave

Niiiiiice. Anyway, Hasbro has decided not to sell these Pussycat Dolls dolls after all thanks to a letter-writing campaign launched by a group called Dads and Daughters and another group called Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood.

Dads and Daughters - 1
Hasbro - 0

He Loves Me

Ohhhhhhh mmmmmy Godddddd.

For Mother's Day, Jonathan treated me to a spa day. I just had quite possibly the best day of my life.

This is what I had done:

• Hot Milk Bath
• Massage
• Facial
• Pedicure
• Haircut
• Highlights

I am so spoiled. And gorgeous! And I smell deeelicious. Every girl deserves a Jonathan. That's the God's-honest-truth.

an email from my mother

I got this email from my mother today:

I’m sitting here looking at the strawberry patch pictures, specifically the one with Blue in the foreground covered in strawberry juice and you are in the background with Lion. You looked like you were having such a good time. And I thought, how much your life has changed in four years…those two beautiful kids who haven’t been here that long, does it ever hit you????


Yeah, Mom, it does. Every single beautiful minute.

Yes, sir, that's my baby!

Little Lion Man is now 3 months old.
And, (can I say this without sounding smug?) he is sleeping through the night. For the past 3 nights he has slept in his crib for the entire night. We're talking from 10 pm until 6 am.
I am actually sleeping in my bed again and not on the couch.

In a word

1. Yourself: tired
2. Your Lover: intense
3. Your Hair: dirty
4. Your Mother: fabulous
5. Your Father: patient
6. Your Favorite Item: pen
7. Your Dream Last Night: forgotten
8. Your Favorite Drink: coffee
9. Your Dream Home: Jonathan
10. The Room You Are In: cluttered
11. Your Pet: missing
12. Who You Are Now: Mommy
13. Who You Want to be in Ten years: thin!
15. What You Don't Wanna Be: narrow-minded
16. Your Best Friend: Jonathan
17. One of Your Wish list Items: bookcases
18. Your Gender: strong
19. The Last Thing You Did: ate
20. What You Are Wearing: stained
21. Your Favorite Weather: Fall
22. Your Favorite Book: ...bbbBook?
23. The Last Thing You Ate: processed
24. Your Life: babies
25. Your Mood: tense
26. Your favorite store: Target
27. Your favorite sport: sudoku
28. Favorite memory: honeymoon
29. Who do you miss right now: Andrea
30: Who did you get this survey from: Christina