Sunday, November 14, 2010

Working Mommy Rant: Staying Out Of The Asylum

Trying to get Jojo to begin sleeping in her bed, again (yes, again). We were one of those lucky sets of parents blessed with having a baby that slept through the night... for about 5 month out of the 20 months she has been alive. At one point she would sleep from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. without waking once. For the past 2 weeks, she has been waking every couple of hours and when I put her to sleep in my room and attempt to lay her down in her own bed, immediately she snaps up screaming. WTF! We were on a roll, man. Where did this come from?

That's not all. When she IS awake, she is soooo clingy. If I am trying to get housework done, she hits me on the leg saying, "Momma, stop it. play. plaaaaayyy" So, I play a little bit and as soon as I sneak away she follows me. Seriously. The dishes are piled up in the sink and the laundry is a mountain that I am beginning to think I will never get to the end of. It's like she is 2 months old all over again. It's like my life is just her and work and nothing else. I used to be the type of mother that would look down upon those mothers always dropping their children off from babysitter to babysitter for weekend excursions and nightly activities. But I'm beginning to think that having SOME small portion of activity besides my child may be good for me. (Now, I am not giving myself a trifling mother pass to hit the club every night, but I am just considering a monthly movie or book club)

Then the mother guilt kicks in. Should I be complaining about this? Isn't this just motherhood? Isn't she just a baby? Who cares if she has to sleep with you for a little bit to get some sleep, that's your job isn't it? Am I not allowed to be annoyed, tired and irritated by it all? Who the f%&* knows the answers to all these questions? I know I don't. But I do know that I need a break before I become a woman in a orange jumpsuit. I need some room to breathe. So, I am writing this post and watching Sarah Palin's new show, "Sarah Palin's Alaska" which is really adding some amusement to my evening.

I think it's OK to get annoyed at being a mom sometimes as long as you have a plan to make it better and you don't stay glued in that space of unhappiness. See CrazyBabyMomma's Blog Post, "The Good (Enough) Mother". So, my goal has been to get her out the house. If even for an hour, each day when she comes home and on the weekends we go for a little walk. To tire her out a bit more and take in some fresh air. The jury is still out if this is going to work or not. But today I took her to the Rose Garden near USC, I found myself praying as I was walking. Spending some time breathing deep and really thanking God for our blessings we have in our lives. Even though I still had to be around her. I was still having my moment and all was well for a little bit. Maybe the walks are better for me then they are for her. But maybe taking care of me is better for her in the long run anyway. I would hate to have to meet her new husband from the other side of a plated glass window, no sharp objects of course.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Delta Airlines Harrasses A Famous Passenger For His Tattoos

I have no tattoos myself. You know why? I could never imagine what to get permanently put on my body that I would want when I'm like 80. At one point, when I was in junior high, I wanted to get Bugs Bunny's female counterpart "Babs" with a pink dress holding a lollipop on my lower back. Can you imagine that being pierced in the forehead when I got my Epidural shot? Really.

Los Angeles Times Reports - Los Angeles food stylist Adam C. Pearson had his adult world shaken up by his tattoo, complements of his adolescence. As he sat waiting for takeoff on a Delta flight, the flight attendant to step off the plane. (By the way, this is the second time there was a major goof by Delta airlines this year, see "FUI: Drunk Flying Delta Airline Pilot") He was then interrogated by she and the captain because another passenger had reported him for suspicious behavior. The passenger mentioned that Pearson had the words "Atom Bomb" tattooed across his fingers. This is not a behavior but an accessory on his body, but who's counting?

Pearson (a frequent Delta passenger with over 142,000 air miles) explained that the tattoos referred to a childhood nickname. "I was just shocked," Pearson said. "All eyes were on me, I felt everyone staring at me and I was like, 'I didn't do anything.' "

News broke through the social media scene because Pearson tweeted before the plane took off. His message: "Just pulled off delta flight, passenger said I was suspicious looking due to my tattoos @DeltaAssist not happy at all #goldmedallion fail" By the time he landed, he had 150 e-mails from L.A.'s close-knit food world, where Pearson is well-known for his stylish presentation of food so that it can be photographed for glossy magazines, advertisements and cookbooks.

A Delta representative told Pearson the airline would look into the incident. “A public apology would be nice,” Pearson said. “I’m not out for blood,” he added, but why didn’t they offer to book that other person on another flight if they didn’t like my tattoos? Why was that other person more important than me?”

Thursday, November 11, 2010

California Budget is Worse Then We all Thought

San Francisco Chronicle Reports - On November 2, Californians arrived to vote for our broke state in the hopes of making things better some way or another. Supporters of Proposition 19 said that in addition to the use of marijuana the legalization would help close the state budget deficit by generating more than $1 billion every year in tax revenue.

It turns out that the $1 billion would have just been a drop in the bucket because the deficit is $25 Billon. This is double what the lawmakers predicted before the election. Which I am sure wasn't an accident.

Cutting services and raising taxes will be a difficult task for legislators because the passage of Proposition 22 during last week's elections means that $800 million in certain transportation and local government funds will be frozen and unavailable to help bridge budget shortfalls. There is a special legislative session being called before Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's term is complete. Sorry Terminator, no sneaking out the back door.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves here; The public is just glad we have a freaking budget. Just last month, lawmakers were 100 days overdue in passing a budget allocating $86.5 billion in general fund spending. Well, the Prop. 19 marijuana law passing may not have solved the budget crisis, but it might be able to chill out the masses to help us until we can get over this mess.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

'Dog Whisperer' Gets Sued for NOT being an Alcoholic's Best Friend

According to TMZ.com - Sean Hawkins, The former Executive Director of the Cesar and Ilusion Millan Foundation filed a complaint in L.A. Superior Court today claiming unspecified damages for being fired and stripped of his title.

Allegedly, he took a leave of absence to seek treatment for alcoholism in June, returned to work the next month clean and sober, to be fired. He says he was assured before he took the leave of absence that his job would be safe.

Hawkins alleges the very first day he returned to work, company big wigs stripped him of his title.  Then a few weeks later he says he was given an ultimatum -- a pay cut or the door.  Hawkins says when he asked for a little time to think about it, he was fired.

We shall see how Cesar Milan whispers his way outta this one.

Halloween Fun Party: For the Little Monsters

Even though it took a lot of drama to get it off and running, (for a real horror story; see "Halloween Party Maddness and the Fall of Super Mom" post)  the Halloween party was somewhat of a success. It ended up just being a get-together night with close family. But I thought I would share with you some of the highlight shots.

I couldn't get Jolie to sit still long at all so her is a motion shot of her adorable costume, Tinkerbell! I was interested in all the other costumes that would arrive to the party but once the word was out that this would be a more chill affair we only had a few adults with costumes, one sheriff and a house full of fairies.  My hubby was Prince Naveen and I, Tiana, both pre-froggy of course. He is pictured to my left with Lil Wayne. Don't let me forget, Nicki Minaj! (pictured below, right).
One thing that did save me from complete oblivion was the Potluck style party. So much food! We had homemade spaghetti with meat sauce (two kinds!), shrimp with white wine sauce lasagna, lemon chicken lasagna, fresh made salad and garlic bread. Spinach dip, Goat cheese and crackers, popcorn, jello shots (non-alcholic of course), fresh fruit and animal crackers for the kids. I only had fruit snacks and candy corn for everyone because I didn't want to go too candy crazy. Oh, an we can't forget the cupcakes, thanks Cousin Jessica!

After eating the kids had an opportunity to decorate their own mini pumpkins with stickers, markers and puffy paint! They had a pretty messy and fun time. And the result of the pumpkins was, well, interesting to see. The adults relaxed on the couch and watched "Avatar" (something Halloween-y) due to the excessive make-up but not to scary for the children, and drank hot apple cider.

It was a nice evening, and I'm glad we did it all. Thank you family for coming.






Monday, November 1, 2010

Halloween Party Maddness And The Fall of Super Mom

Our attempt at a Halloween Party this year came with the same package most of our life's events come with, a nicely wrapped box of drama. With a red bow of course...

I ambitiously sent the invite for this thing a month in advance. Requested the days off from work month(s) in advance. Bought low priced decorations online weeks in advance. Shopped for party favors, kid activities and recipes also weeks in advance. But what does God do when he hears our plans, laughs right? right.

Maybe I should have looked at the calendar. Then, I would have noticed that we were moving our office the week before this shindig and we WOULDN'T be closing. Which means the same work would have to be done in between packing and unpacking myself and 3 attorneys. Maybe I would have known that each night the week before this party, I would be too dog tired to do any shopping, cleaning or preparing. No No, not me. I'm Super Mom.

Maybe I should have thought about the weather. Then I would have noticed that it was going to rain every single day leading up to the party, including the weekend before. Meaning no outside decorations could have been put up till the day of the party. And dragging my family in the cold to buy shit may not be the most responsible choice. No No, not me. I'm Super Mom.

Maybe I should have bought Jolie's costume. Oh no, I had to get all Martha Stewart Wanna Be and ask an amazing friend of mine (who is just Renaissance amazing woman but that's another post) to make it for me. And no, my dumb overachieving multitasking mother of the year ass didn't stop there. I asked her to make a matching one for me too. Maybe I would have thought about the fact that I would never even get home early enough throughout the week to even get fitted for it. And I in turn for her kindness, would waste her time. No No, not me. I'm Super Mom.

But then the one thing happened that even I, Super Mom, could not have forseen, Jolie getting sick. And oh, no, not just regular sick. Teething, bacterial infection, whining, fever, mommy-don't-put-me-down-or-in-my-own-bed-up-all-night sick. Yea, that's niiiiiiiiice.

2 Hours before the party: What do you get when you mix a stressed, guilty, sleep deprived mommy with a screaming baby in the background and a long "To-Do" list? A healthy heaping of meltdown.
I laughed. I cried. I dramatized. It was better than "Cats" on Broadway.
The thing I just couldn't get past was that I had done all this for Jolie and she wasn't even well enough to enjoy it. She was in teething hell, poor baby. I couldn't focus on anything but that. This was all for her. Then, I collapsed on my bed crying like an orphan child.

As I lay there frazzled, calling and texting all I could to tell them it was cancelled. Certain family and friends began to call back. Worried. Telling me that they still wanted to come, if even to check on us to see that we were OK. The party wasn't important to them. It was our well-being and being together that was the important thing.

Now, I know all this but being told by others is something much better. Especially, when you are in such a fragile state. So, I pulled myself together. Whisked through the rest of the decorations, got the baby dressed in the one finished costume, helped Hubby in the kitchen and put a smile on. The smaller more managable family gathering ended up being a success. Everyone had an amazing time. And I learned yet another lesson.

Super mom is not the truth. Just doing the best I can with the cards I'm dealt is the true miracle.