Procrastinator Alert! #50-100

Um...remember a loooong time ago when I started to post my "100 things about me" to celebrate my 100th post? And only did 50 because it was way more challenging that I imagined? Not to mention the fact that it made me feel self-absorbed, which does not help the whole Mommy guilt factor...

Without further intro, here are #50-100: Things you never knew about me, and still aren't sure you want to know!
50. I have a small tattoo of a 4-leaf clover and the Notre Dame symbol on my hip.
51. 2 of my other girlfriends also have the exact same tattoo, courtesy of Spring Break 1999. Woohoo!
52. I wonder if theirs is faded and blurry, and looks like a prison tattoo like mine?
53. Working in the emergency room was by far the most entertaining position I've ever held. ER doctors were total pervs, but it sure made the nights pass quickly.
54. My tiny hometown in Missouri hosted the Miss Missouri pageant every year. I was always alternately envious and horrified at that competition.
55. Top 5 CD's I could listen to on repeat: Indigo Girls "Swamp Ophelia"
56. Buena Vista Social Club's self titled album
57. Natalie Merchant "Tigerlily"
58. Marc Cohn's self titled 1st album
59. Smashing Pumpkins "Pisces Iscariot"
60. My daughter's face peering over the rail of her crib every morning is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.
61. I adore Project Runway but I'm no fashion icon in my Gap outlet t-shirt and shorts today.
62. I adore Tim Gunn and about hugged him through the tv when he said "Holla!" on the last episode. Can he really be that adorable in person?
63. I can be extremely compassionate and giving, but have a low tolerance for unnecessary drama and BS.
64. Having to depend on someone else for ANYTHING makes my skin crawl. I dislike it immensely. Which makes marriage a bit of a challenge.
65. Which links directly to my inability to delegate.
66. Which links directly to my job burnout. More on that after Sept 19th - aka "Day of Long-Awaited Freedom but also Poverty".
67. I believe that human sexuality is a continuum between straight and gay. Some folks are reeeeally straight, and some reeeeeally gay, and everything in-between. No hidden message there about me personally, just my belief.
68. We have a fairly small family; I'm an only and my husband is the oldest of 2.
69. Yes, I was spoiled as a child but at least I was appreciative most of the time.
70. I played the Frontline Fairy for all 5 of our animals last night, and only have 1 scratch to show for it.
71. I used to be a voracious reader, but since grad school I've only read a handful of books.
72. Some of this is a result of time constraints, but mainly it is because I become overly emotional when I truly get into a story.
73. For example - on vacation in Jamaica I read The Time Traveler's Wife and cried because it was so sad and beautiful - for 2 straight days. Blah!
74. Most recent ballsy thing I've done: pulled a tick out of my infant daughter's scalp.
75. During the next month I have SEVEN pot-lucks to participate in. If that doesn't say "suburbia" I don't know what does!
76. I always seem to gain weight quickly in the summer and lose it around Thanksgiving, every year. Isn't that backwards?
77. The smell of gasoline reminds me of Twix candy bars. Always has.
78. I've mowed grass exactly 7 times in my entire life.
79. I was almost arrested for public nudity on a spring break trip in Cancun...but I ran. Really fast. And hid from the cops.
80. And then studied super super hard the 2nd half of that semester and pulled out my best grades ever, because I felt so guilty about that incident.
81. I would DIE if my daughter ever did that!
82. Taking a hike or bike ride helps me to feel closer to God than participating in any church service ever has. But I still attend church hoping this will change.
83. Arrested Development is my all-time favorite sitcom and we still watch it on dvd after it was canceled. Why are all the smart shows canceled?
84. I really, really want to have a garden in our backyard and grow most of our own produce. Hope to start the process next Spring.
85. We simply do not talk politics on our house, for the sake of our relationship.
86. I wore hot pink shoes on my wedding day, and Hania had red shoes for her baptism.
87. I just purchased 10 new pairs of cheap undies and it MADE. MY. WEEK. It's the little things, folks, really. Cheap as in inexpensive, not cheap as in hooker-ish.
88. I love baking theme cakes with shapes, and can't wait to do one for Hania's birthday. My favorite was a pair of flip-flops for friends that were moving to Florida.
89. You almost have to sedate me to shape my fingernails with a file. Which is why I've only had 2 manicures in my entire life, and probably never again!
90. I have Aveda taste in hair products, living on a Pantene budget.
91. I feel passionate about youth participating in service projects. This was an integral part of my development, and I would like to create opportunities for them to have a similar experience.
92. Except the experience teaching summer school in Newark, New Jersey. I'll just tell them about that one! They shouldn't have to do it. It wasn't pretty.
93. One of my biggest fears is that my daughter will grow up somewhere that is not culturally diverse.
94. One time in 6th grade I went to a guy's birthday party and gave him the single " I Wanna Sex You Up" by Color Me Badd. I didn't wanna sex him up, I just thought it was funny. My mother obviously didn't catch that one. His family was Pentecostal. Obviously I wasn't invited back. I still cringe thinking about that - seriously!
95. I watched a lot of MTV as a kid, and now when I hear 80's songs I see the videos in my head. And then I describe them to my husband, who didn't watch MTV. My mom was pretty hip, and videos weren't as racy as they are today.
96. I distinctly remember my mom dancing to the video for "Peace Train", and thinking she was so very cool because she could move her hips that like (in our family room with red shag carpet - doesn't that just paint a visual?)
97. I love National Geographic, partly because it is an amazing publication, but mainly because it reminds me of my Dad, who has had a subscription since the 70's. I feel like I'm carrying on a family tradition of sorts.
98. My car has not been washed in over a year. Shameful.
99. But the baby gets a bath every night, I assure you!
100. So very happy to be done with this procrastination post! Grateful to anyone that has stuck with me for the last 50!

Not my kinda' delivery

This is what the tabloids had to say about Matthew McConaughey helping his girlfriend to deliver their child:
Actor. Surfer. Delivery room DJ. "We found a great rhythm. Contractions started kicking in. I sat there with her, right between her legs," the actor drawls to OK! of coaching Camila Alves through the birth of their son, Levi, who arrived on July 7. "We got tribal on it, we danced to it! I was DJ-ing this Brazilian music ... We were jamming! She was sweating. No painkiller, let's go. She just clicked into that gear that only a woman has at a time like this."

Ok... no matter how hot this dude is... no matter how much I like salsa dancing... I don't think I'd be cool with him all up in my business playing DJ during labor.

But then again, this is also the guy that doesn't like deodorant.

Just more Mommy stuff...

So...this week has been brutal. Between work drama, hubby in class 2 nights per week, and our best-childcare-provider-ever/friend leaving for Utah (yes, there is a sappy post coming on that topic later) it has been wild. Is it ever any other way?

Oh, what have we here?
Let's take a closer look... It's Hania's Mommy, who is passed out along with baby! A spoiled baby that doesn't want to go to sleep on her own. A tired Mommy who isn't listening to the advice everyone and their dog is giving her to LET THE CHILD CRY IN HER CRIB ONCE BATH-BOTTLE-BOOK-CUDDLE TIME IS OVER!
Finally we just let her cry a little in her crib last night and it was fine. Only 10 minutes of crying and all was quiet. And tonight only 5 minutes of crying. Who knew it would be so easy?
And guess where my parents are right now? Dominica. Diving. That's right, the old fogeys. Just acting like your typical grandparents...diving over the top of active volcanoes, taking 16 mile hikes around boiling lakes, swimming under waterfalls where they filmed Pirates of the Caribbean II. No knitting or AARP seminars for these folks. Geez. Kinda makes ME feel a bit boring!Mom and Dad, your "future diver" has been practicing in the pool this week. She launches herself off the side of the pool and into your arms without much hesitation. Looks like she'll be ready for diving sooner than you know!

For the rest of you that were hoping for something a little more than just another Mommy entry, don't give up hope yet! I have some good social work stories in the works, which are sure to entertain.

High maintenance

I just can't figure out WHY our precious baby has been high maintenance since she's been back from visiting Poohma & Poohpa.

It wasn't like she was doted upon for a week.

It wasn't like her every need was met in a matter of seconds.

It wasn't like everyone spent 100% of their time attempting to entertain her.

I mean, are those freakin' spirit fingers, for goodness sake?!?
You know you're in deep when you're breaking out the spirit fingers!

Let's just file that one away under "dorky things you do as a mommy"
and not speak of it again, shall we?
Some of us have an image to maintain.

We have a crawler

Guess who started crawling tonight?
And where was Mommy when this awesome spectacle occurred?
Um, on the potty.
Because that is a community event these days, one to be shared between mother and child.
Is it wrong that I'm going to edit that detail in her baby book?

She's been working on it for several weeks now, but this time she went about 2 feet in pursuit of the cat. He about jumped out of his kitty-skin. Run, little kitty, run fast!