Top Ten of 2010

It is hard to believe that I have been blogging for one year.  One year and four days to be exact.  To bring in the new year and celebrate my year of blogging, here is a recap of my favorite posts from 2010!

January: Money Matters

February: Guest Blogger: My Life and things I like

March: Heavy Drinking and 5K Training Just Don't Mix

April: Dear Big Sister

May: Lawyers Fly First Class, Right?

June: So, about that 5K...

July: HGTV Lies

August: So, I am not as big of a nerd as I thought

September: Would you like to hear the news?

October: Back away from the juniors section!

November: Senior Moments

December: Control

This year has certainly been a year of ups and downs.  From the frustration and anxiety of being unemployed, to the happiness and relief of finding a great new job.  From the dispair of never-ending dieting, to the satisfaction of finishing a 5K.  I have many things I want out of life yet...so next year let's see how much I can do!

Happy New Year!

He is very polite

I already know I am instilling great values in Nikolai.  He is so polite, that he even bids farewell to his new toy laptop ;)

Haha, what a cutie.

Control

I have never felt guilty for being a working mom.  Never felt guilty for sending my kids to daycare (in fact, I LOVE them being in daycare).  Never felt guilty that I was not always the one to pick them up and/or drop them off. 

I am a working mom and very happy to be one.  In all honesty, I am not cut out to be a SAHM and think those who can happily do so are amazing.

Anyway, my guilt-free working mom attitude took a dive a few weeks ago.

I am typically at my desk and working before Noelle and Anwar even leave the house.  One morning I got a call from Anwar and the first words out of his mouth are: "She's okay, but Noelle fell down the stairs this morning."  After getting all the info - yes she fell, yes she is okay, the school nurse sent her to class, she was more scared that anything...I hung up the phone.  And nearly cried.

The only thing I could think was how horrible I am for not being there when my daughter needed me.  Why wasn't I there to stop her from falling?  Why couldn't I have caught her?  Why wasn't I there to make sure she knew everything was going to be okay?

I felt like a horrible, horrible working mom because instead of being there - I was at work.

I mean, I know that Noelle has people who love and care for her, but I have a single-mom mentality when it comes to her.  I am used to being the parent who cares for her and makes sure she is okay.  Don't get me wrong, I know Anwar to be wholly capable, but I am just so accustomed to be the only one.  Even after all this time I am used to kissing the boo-boos better and giving Noelle a hug when she gets hurt.  I am used to being in control of making her feel better.

But you know what?  It is time for this type-A mom to give up control.  I am not going to be, nor can I, always be there.  I am raising my children to be independent, to think for themselves and to figure out what to do when a problem arises.  I have entrusted my children to people who are great caregivers, kind-hearted and responsible.  I have a great daycare, a great school and an amazing husband who all make sure my kids do well and are okay.

That said, I need to know that in my absence my children are well cared for and well loved.  I need to know that when she falls, Noelle can pick herself back up.

When I picked Noelle up from school that day, I apologized to her for not being there to help her when she fell down the stairs.  She said to me:  "That's okay, Anwar caught me."

Merry Christmas to you!

We had some presents, we had some fun.  But now I am exhausted and glad it is all done!

Til next year, Santa Claus!!

My "Start typing the right words" Wednesday

There are many things in life that bother me.  Trust me, many.  But today I am irked by one thing in particular.

“let me meet u at ur place later.” 

Or how about:

“ur the best.  Can I buy u dinner?”

What in the world is so difficult about typing the TWO extra letters to complete the words “you”?  Is it that much more effort to type out “you’re” instead of “ur”?

I completely understand that such shorthand became popular since the advent of texting.  Honestly, it was difficult on those older phones to press the number key a particular amount of times to get the right letter.  As such, having short hand came in, well, handy.

But come on people.  We now have FULL keyboards on our phones and the .5 a second it takes to type a “y” and an “o” is really not much of an imposition.

Furthermore, the bastardization of such short, simple words has traveled from the texting realm into everyday life.   I get emails and facebook comments from ADULTS that include my least favorite letters “u” and “ur”.  

Seriously?  YOU ARE USING A KEYBOARD!  Type out the whole word for goodness sake.

I suppose this thought sums up the reasoning behind the pet peeve:  quit being juvenile.  When you cannot seem to get the word “you” typed up on your computer screen, then you come off as a tween, an idiot, uneducated and/or lazy.

**sigh**

Vent over.  Somebody give me some Christmas cheer now…

Yup, that day is today.

My bio over there on the left is no longer true.  That's right folks, I am no longer 29.

Today I turn the big 3-0. 

In honor of such an occasion, I would like to tell you (aside from the date, of course) how exactly is that I know I am thirty (aka old). 

1.  I have crows feet.  Yes, crows feet.  My otherwise youthful smile is broken apart by the noticeable wrinkles around my eyes. 

2.  I cannot remember what I am supposed to be doing at any given time of the day.  Lists and calendars people -- it is how I keep my job.  And my sanity.

3.  Unlike after I had Noelle, I have yet to regrow the hair I lost after having Nikolai. 

Although there is hope...if you look really closely below, I have SOME re-growth.  Maybe by 40 I will have a bit more ;)  (please ignore how ghastly pale I am...tanning is in my future).

4.  8:30 p.m. is late.  Really, really late.

5.  I really like to watch Dateline and Antique Roadshow.  Add that to my other TV favs - Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy -- and I should just go right to the old home.

6.  I very much look forward to reading the Sunday paper. 

7.  People call me ma'am.  I look around for my mother every time, but no, they really are referring to me.

8.  I rock out the "back in the day" mixes on the radio. 

9.  My bones crack and make odd noises when I get up in the morning. 

10.  I can no longer tell people I am in my 20s...or can I?...

Dry clean only

Do you think this should go on low or permanent press?

LOL!  Maybe it is time to invest in a cat bed.

Catching up!

Oh my dear blog readers,

Keeping up with you and my little blog has proven to be challenging.  This is especially so when I am off in BFE for work more and more these days.  You understand, right?  Right.

To help make it up to you, I have decided to show you what the kiddos have been up to as of late and to promise I have several things to blog about this week.  (I expect  your super excited shouts to be inserted here).

Well, Miss Noelle is doing great.  I have recently convinced myself that she has managed to read all the books in her room...maybe twice.  Trips to the local (not so great) library have proven frustrating because she has read many of those books too.  Plus, WTH does the library not carry Sweet Valley Twins anymore?!?! Please say I am not that old...

Anyway, all the rage at school has been that she just got a pen pal and cannot wait to finish up her letter for her new friend.  She is also anxiously awaiting helping me make cookies for a Holiday cookie exchange I am doing with my friends (xoxo ladies, you know who you are).  Now the only question is: which cookies to make....Hmmm, decisions, decisions.

Now, apparently when I am out of town for work, Mr. Nikolai has decided Noelle is my substitute.  I was informed by Noelle yesterday that "Nikolai wants me a lot when you are gone."  I just told her it is because he loves her so much :)

How could you not love these two.

Now, as for Nikolai, he had not been very pleasant lately.  Poor kid cannot help it, however.  Naturally, the week I was gone was the week Nik had to stay home 4 out of the 5 days because of a fever, eye infection and double ear infection.  We believe there are some molars in the mix too.  Tubes are 18 days away...I hope he makes it until then!

In other news, Mr. Man has discovered that all he needs to do to reach things we have placed too high for him is to grab any object over to the place he wants to reach, climb up, and viola!  Yeah, we have taken away some toys for the time being. 

Nikolai is also officially a big boy at daycare!  He was moved into the toddler room a bit early because it was agreed he was ready for the older aged toys and more mobile kids.  He is doing such a great job and looks so happy every time I pick him up.  I love that place -- how did I get so lucky in finding such a great daycare?

Well, overall the kids are doing such a good job with me working.  Kudos to my husband for being such a trooper through all of my out of town trips and the sick kids that follow. 

On a side note, how the hell did Christmas come up so fast?! I suppose I should start shopping, lol!

Click here, my friends.

Totally Random

I think it is high time that I write a post strictly regarding some of the quirky, random, possibly little known, things about me.  So, without further ado, random facts about Anne.

1.  I have been coloring my hair since I was 12.  I honestly have no idea what my natural color is anymore.

2.  Noelle was supposed to be named Dominica.  Yeah, I don't know what I was thinking either.

3.  I don't know how to iron clothes.  At all.

4.  I am not permitted to use sharp objects during family gatherings for fear that I will cut myself...I usually do.

5.  I like watching Phineas and Ferb.

6.  When I was in 3rd grade I wrote a book report on seals and received a very good mark on it.  Unfortunately it was not as well received when I tried to recycle the same paper in 5th grade.  Oops.

7.  I have totally worn clothes to work that I thought passed the sniff test only to realize later that day they should have failed...badly.

8.  When I was little I wrote all over the walls and dresser in my bedroom and then wrote "Michael (my brother) did this"  Unfortunately my very young little bro did not know how to write all of that.  Busted!

9.  I used to walk around in high heels every day...now I can barely last an hour in them.

10.  I have seen every episode of Star Trek the Next Generation and wish it would come back!

Yeah, I know.  I am pretty cool ;)