Life's Hard Lessons

We went to see the movie "Earth" yesterday and it went about how we thought...Collin fell asleep after there were no animals chasing each other (plus the sound of James Earl Jones' voice just has that sedating effect) and Maura was fascinated. I was a little worried at some parts, because it seemed to me that there was lots of large, predatory animals killing and eating the smaller, cuter animals. I kept looking over to see her reaction, but she seemed unphased. There was one particular moment when a cheetah is chasing a gazelle and, well, you can probably guess how that one ended. I asked her if she was okay and she said, "Ya, most of them lived, so its okay." Good point. So it got me thinking of one of the major dilemmas of parents. Where do we draw the line on wanting them to stay innocent and pure, but not completly pulling the wool over their eyes, so to speak. A part of me wants them to believe in magic and imaginary friends, but I also want them to understand that the world is not all sunshine and rainbows and I think it is my job to prepare them for this. I don't want to traumatize them or anything, but I have a hard time lying when the tough questions are asked. At what age to you just lay it down and tell them the truth, that no, they won't be able to fly...no matter how hard they wish for it. And yes, the lions will go after the baby elephant because it is weaker and they have a better chance of killing it.

Hippity Hoppity

So I thought I would post some updates. Sorry for the long boring post, but inspiration has been escaping me as of late. I'm pretty sure some brain cells are missing along with it.

...little Max tried to make an early appearance, but after some injections of something that made me feel like my skin didn't fit and my heart would explode, everything calmed down. I am increasingly uncomfortable and still surprised that none of my ribs are broken. Only 4 more weeks. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can. The doctor said he wouldn't stop my labor now, because everything from now on would be "icing on the cake." I don't even like icing. I just like well-baked cake. Who needs icing??

Yes, Rand won the name game. I guess telling your husband that a name is too masculine makes him want the name more, not less. So even though I still think Max Bruno sounds like a comic book villain, at least we don't have to argue about it anymore.

The kids had a blast on Easter. Easter is kind of confusing for me. Growing up, it was made very clear to us that the Easter Bunny and Eggs were Pagan traditions. You could call my dad now and he would be happy to give you a lecture on the pagan origins of the holiday. So now that I have my own kids, I have mixed feelings. But deep down, I just like my Pagan rituals, what can I say? So we do the baskets and we hide the eggs. We do stop short of the Easter Bunny, so I guess you got your way a little Lars. Here are some pictures from the day. Nobody put an egg in my tailpipe this year, so all in all it was a very good day. Olivia is missing from the picture because she was upstairs throwing up. There is something with holidays and our kids, but one of them always ends up puking. I'm glad it was Em's turn this year and not mine.

Here is Maura helping me make cupcakes. She likes to cook a lot more than me, so I'm hoping to get her trained early so I don't have to anymore.

Grandma and Grandpa Bruno's house

Emily's House

"I have a mouthful of chocolate and life is good"

Two seconds after I took this picture they spilled the dye all over and I yelled at them. Good times.

Maura got nail polish in her Easter basket and gave me a manicure. I thought she did pretty good.

Time For Change?

My blog needs updating. I can't decide what to do with it, so I do nothing at all. I like the cute scrapbook-looking blogs...but they just aren't me. If anyone has any ideas, pass them along my way.

Also, since Sally is no longer with us (i.e. crossed over, gone to the light) I'm wondering if I should change the name of the blog. I guess she will always be a part of our lives, but I'm afraid there will be no more Sally stories. My little girl no longer converses with orange crocodiles, owls that live on the ceiling and undead children. I have even been hoping lately that Sally, as much as I dreaded her appearances and the darkness they brought to our lives, would make one last visit to say goodbye to her surrogate family. It makes me a little sad that Maura would rather talk to actual people now. But there is always Collin, and I have great hopes for him in the way of imaginary friends. He has one that lives in the kitchen, who he goes and talks to when he gets in trouble. The details are shady. I'm not worried about things getting too dull around here.

So what do you think? Should My Friend Sally move on? Do people wonder why I can't just name my blog something normal like everyone else? Speak to me people.

29 + 1 = OLD

**I hate to do this to myself, but it is just too funny. My "friend" Andrea posted a picture of me on my 17th birthday here and it is freaking awesome. The fake red hair. The curdoroy jacket. Does my necklace really say "Cobain?" Wow, the 90's were not kind to me. 30 is sounding better all the time.


My 20's have officially departed. Actually, considering how I'm a "glass half empty" kinda person most of the time, I'm surprised that I'm not really sad at all to welcome in my 30's.

I was awaken at 4:00 this morning by a 3 year old little boy. An hour later a little girl came in our room too. I guess the baby didn't want to miss out, so he arranged for a monstrous leg cramp to wake me up for good soon after.

Rand is currently baking cake and cleaning, and that is pretty much the best present ever.

Happy Birthday to me!

I am LITERALLY having an AHA moment and it was THE BOMB.COM

Okay, so most of my posts are about things that bother me. I guess lots of things bother me, what can I say? Here are some words/phrases that I wish would disappear forever. There are many more, but these are some highlights. If any of the following are in your vocabulary, please erase. Forever.

1. The phrase "Aha moment." Everyone is having one. I don't know what it means but I think Oprah had something to do with it. Make it stop.
2. The word literally. I would say just the misuse of the word, but I know that it will always be misused, so let's just get rid of the word altogether. Overheard: "My head LITERALLY exploded." Wow, sorry I missed that.
3. The word "pop." Example: "That shirt really makes your eyes pop." Again, I think we are misusing the word...and it sounds dumb.
   
4. Adding "Gate" to the end of a word to describe a celebrity situation. Like when Britney went without underwear and they called it "Panty-gate." Really?
   
5. "It's the bomb.com" I heard a grown man say this. Out loud. I'm serious. He wasn't trying to be funny.
   

Green Goodness.

I wish green food made me so happy. Actually, you know what? It did make me pretty happy. We celebrated our Irish ancestry and St. Patrick's day with LOTS of green stuff. I'm not sure of the connection yet, but we did it anyway. And no, that isn't antifreeze, it's just green Gatorade. On the menu: spinach wraps, cucumbers, broccoli, avocados and green jello jigglers. Most kids run away from green food, but mine love it. They are strange in so many ways. We also made a green slush concoction for dessert. The recipe called for rum, but we omitted it. We figured they had enough beer with their lunch...

Time for Botox

A few days ago Maura and I were talking about all the ways she looked like me. I was telling her she had my skin, my eyebrows (or eyebrow to be more exact... poor girl), my nose, my lips, my ears...and she looked at me and said,"What about those wrinkles under your eyes, do I have those too?" It's all downhill from here.

Workin' 9 to 5

I know we all have to deal with people we don't like from time to time, but lately people have just been bothering me. Maybe it is because I am pregnant. Maybe it is because I would rather be at home in my sweat pants than at work. Whatever the reason, I have a few comments for the people I am forced to interact with on a daily basis. And don't worry, if you work with me and you are reading this blog, I'm probably not talking about you. But I could be.

Guy who paces the aisles talking loudly into his blue tooth: Don't invade my cubicle space with your attempts to seem productive. Just sit at your desk and pretend to be busy like the rest of us.

"Person" who I have worked with for years but you still don't know my name: Never mind, there is probably no need for you to know my name. You wear suits and are more important than me.

Insecure male: I know I'm female. Women's rights and all.. get over it.

Mostly everyone: Are you really getting an email important enough to stop listening to me and start typing on your blackberry? REALLY?! It can't wait two seconds until we finish our conversation?

Person who thinks we are best friends: Just because you call me "BRUNO!" every time you see me does not make us friends. Ever notice how I'm always on a phone call when you are at my desk? There isn't anyone on the other line.

Lady who gives me a disapproving look every time you see me with a Diet Coke: It isn't crack, okay? And no matter how much caffeine that I consume during my pregnancy, my kids will still be cuter and smarter than yours.

Person who blogs all day at work and is always disinfecting their desk with Lysol wipes because they are afraid of germs: Oh, wait that is me.

Lady who parks her giant minivan in visitor parking because she is too lazy to take the 10 extra steps from the other parking spaces: Me again.

I know I sound cruel, but like I said, it is one of those days. And I get a pass because of the whole pregnant thing. I checked into it.