SCAR! or SCAR?

A couple weeks ago, a coworker of mine wrote a post about how she may have traumatized her son when she unintentionally changed a tampon in front of her 5 year old son. One reader told her she was "inappropriate...." another said  "Gross!.... another said "C'est La Vie...."  I personally lean to the "C'est La Vie" side, especially tonight....

As soon as I got home from work,  I threw off my high heeled boots, got down on the floor and started playing with Baby-Ko. A few minutes in to our castle building session, I had to go to the bathroom. Baby-Ko followed me in to the bathroom and attempted to say "potty" (genius) as I sat down on it. Brilliant. As I started to go, I realized that this trip wouldn't be as quick as I had intended. Something came up (This totally happens to other people right? Because my husband and I have a conversation all the time about how he doesn't understand how women, or me really, can just start gong to the bathroom and all of a sudden realize they have to go #2). 

Anyway, as I was sitting there Baby-Ko lost interest in playing with my bracelets on the floor and started to lean over the tub. "Nooooo! Danger!" I screamed. He laughed and leaned over again. "No, baby! No! Danger!" (Btw, remember when I was a SAHM and used to take Wacky's Class and I tried to never say "no"? Ha. Those were the days).  Totally ignoring/testing me, Baby-Ko started to push himself up OVER the side of the tub. I stood up (yes, I stood up). "NO, Baby-Ko! STOP!"  With my pants down, my toddler diving in to the tub head first,  I went into do or die, fight or flight, scar or SCAR mode fast. Without even thinking I yanked open the cabinet, grabbed a box of tampons and held it up. He looked at me (I had his attention). "Look," I said, dumping the tampons out of the box, "Please help mommy put these back in the box." Done. Baby-Ko was now off the edge of the tub and by my feet playing with my tampons. 

One by one Baby-Ko examined the wrapped tampon and put it back in the box. Once he got them all in the box, he dumped them out and started all over again. (Genius). Staring at him, I didn't feel guilty. In fact, I felt accomplished. I felt like a real mom. A mom who had a total "do what you got to do" parent moment. But it occurred to me as I finished up my biz, that there might be some people that find my total parent moment, totally "gross" and totally "inappropriate." 

Personally, I think I have to seize these "do whatcha gotta do" moments as much as I can now before what I "gotta do" actually screws up my kid.   So tell me, is there an age cut off  where you have to stop winging it and parenting by the seat of your pants? That sounds like it takes an awful lot of planning!

SHE'S BAAAAAAAAACK....

The Oscars. My favorite day/night/event of the year. I want to watch it all: the pre-pre-countdown to the red carpet countdown to the "live from the red carpet"to the main event to Bawbwa making someone cry... 

Well, last year, there was no Oscar shmaltz. There was no glitz... there was no glamour... there was no gasping over her dress or his speech...  There was no honing in on every word during the best sound editing acceptance speech. There was certainly no chips, dip or champagne flowing... 

Last year, my (then) 5 month old was horribly sick with the flu and my husband and I were equally sick. IT SUCKED.

This year, THANK G-D, everyone was healthy and mommy got her groove back. We had friends over, alcohol, food galore... The menu was actually based on the region of the film; for "The Reader" I did grilled Sausages with brown mustard & saurkraut... for "Slumdog $" I did grilled Chicken Curry, vegetable samosas, nan bread... and more... 

Even though "they" said this year the Oscars would be toned down due to the recession, the celebs still sparkled and dazzled on the red carpet. There were definitely a few misses, but here's who stood out for me:
-Angelina Jolie: Her hair was perfection and those earrings and ring were to die for. The Color! OMG, GORGE!
-Natalie Portman: Loved the color of her dress, BUT hated the beading... And she looked a little too sprayed.
-Jennifer Aniston: Did NOT like her hair - a little too "undone" for the Oscars. BUT loved the dress and loved that she was there with John Mayer!
-Marisa Tomei: Perfect from head to toe!
-Tina Fey: She looked hot! And seriously, could she be any damn funnier?!

My biggest disappointment: My girl crush Kate Winslet. HATED her hair.

WHO DID YOU LOVE?

LET'S DO COFFEE!

Need a little pick me up? A quick fix? A cup o' joe? Then you've come to the right place.

We are running a contest at momlogic.com and I have been chosen as one of the bloggers to kick off the Mom Logic Community Coffee Club.

Every day for a month, you'll have the chance to WIN a Keurig Single-Cup Coffee Maker, just for leaving COMMENTS in a couple places... It's so easy, there's almost no caffeine necessary!

Okay, so here's what you do:

FIRST, leave a comment on my MLC Coffee Club Featured post called "Sandy Koufax Kind of Sex." I wrote it last April when my son was about 7 months old. Whether or not you're a Dodgers fan, or even into sports at all, if you are a busy parent then I'm positive you have had this kind of sex!

NEXT, you'll need to leave another comment on my profile page in the momlogic community, and voila, YOU just might be the winner!

Okay, enough of the talk. Let's do coffee!

TIME IN A BOTTLE

I've always thought it was strange when people talk about babies and children by saying  "oh, it's such a great age..." or "that was the best age..." It makes me sad-- as if Baby-Ko turning 24 one day won't be as special as him turning 2.

But after I saw these photos that T-Ko took over the weekend, I kind of understood that "aww, enjoy this right now" thing that people do.  I get it...  Seeing these DOES make me want to stop and relish in every second of every minute RIGHT NOW.  

I probably won't be able to carry him when he's 24, but I can still explore the world and spend hours looking at turtles with him, can't I?

BURGERS AND LOVE

After spending stupid money on a pre-fixed shitty steak and service dinner many many moons ago, T-Ko and I decided (like everyone else), that V-day was for amateurs.  We figured why not share our love over something we both really enjoyed and do it comfortably and casually... So for the last few years, V-Day has been all about Burgers and Beer. It's been great. 

Well this year, we decided we'd kick it up a notch and still get our burgers, but decided to "zjuszh" it up a bit and go for massages AND a movie. We had gift certificates to Burke Williams and a babysitter so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to make a "date" of it... 

Some random thoughts and things I had throughout the evening that I have to share...

• Before the massage, in the women's spa area, I noticed something almost instantly: women. Duh. No seriously, women, in pairs. All doing a "girls night/fuck valentine's day" thing. Good for them I thought... I suppose I'd do the same thing....
• In the steam room, I fell asleep and dreamt I was Carrie Bradshaw and Mr. Big was going to have a pair of red Louboutins waiting for me when my massage was over. (Burgers are fine too though).
• My masseuse looked like Chris Farley with a ponytail but he gave me one of the best massages of my life... If you don't count the explosions I heard for 25 minutes coming from the movie theater above the room. (Needless to say, massage was totally comped. Explode away, suckers!).
• I ate a 1/2 pound burger with grilled onions, mushrooms, and cheese on Valentine's Day. I felt like Mr. Big.
• We, okay, I decided that we should see "Confessions of a Shopaholic." The theater was, again, FULL of chicks. It occurred to me though that while I appreciate these women being out on V-Day, the fact that they are out in droves makes their singledom soooo obvious. The "i'm not staying home with my cats and a box of chocolates - hear me roar" attitude is loud and clear.  It's like the valentine's version of the Scarlett letter. Seriously. On the other hand, you've got the men in the audience, who like my husband, are only there because their wives dragged them (and "Kicked them in the nuts," according to T-KO) and are fulfilling the V-Day stereotype on the opposite end...  and I couldn't help but wonder which cliche was worse...  Well, according to T-Ko, our cliche is way worse. Especially since his masseuse looked like Chris Farley's sister....

What did you do for Valentine's Day?  Which side of the Cliche Coin were YOU on?

I'M A CHILD

By now you've probably heard about the fact that Salma Hayek breastfed a starving baby in Sierra Leone. Hayak, who is still nursing her one-year-old daughter, says she isn't the first in her family to offer her breast milk to a starving child-- her great-grandmother did the same exact thing years ago in Mexico.

As much as I complained and hated every second of nursing, (with the exception of the fact that I burned calories faster than Michael Phelps), I think I would do the exact same thing. It was a beautiful and selfless act.

But can I just be a 12 year old boy for one second and state the obvious: Salma Hayak has the biggest most voluptuous (natural) boobs of anyone I've ever seen. She probably has enough milk to feed the entire village and the entire cast of "30 Rock."

Thank you. I will go back to being an adult now.

ENQUIRING MINDS....

As most of you know, I'm a writer/producer for Momlogic.com. Recently, I've become a lot more active in our ML Community which is social networking site much like Facebook. We're working really hard to create more activity and increase our membership, and in doing so, I've connected with some other mom bloggers. A lot of bloggers "interview" one another and Laura from metrogirl.typepad.com sent me some terrific questions:

1) If you didn't have to work (didn't need the income) what would you being doing all day and why?

Okay, this may sound obnoxious but if I didn't "have" to work, it's safe to say that I would be able to afford full time help, right? Because, if so, I would be home with my son all day, BUT have the luxury to write as much as I needed and wanted to... I'd finish my novel (see #2) and other screenplays I've started or developed.  I've often thought about going back to school for my Masters....   First and foremost though, I'd organize my effing garage because it's literally a disaster and I get anxiety thinking about it. 

2) What is your novel about (currently up to 15 pages, I think...?) When do you think you'll finish it?

I actually have written close to 30 pages (I don't know why I wrote 15) and like I said in my random fact list, I think about finishing it every day. I really have no idea when I will finish it. I started it when I was a couple months pregnant by taking a UCLA workshop- it was a great motivator. If I can come up for air this year, I'd love to maybe take another series to write some more. Having deadlines definitely helps. Anyway, my novel is total chick-lit and totally based on a real life experience; A couple years ago, my husband and I went on a 10 day Panama Canal Cruise with my mom, grandma, aunt AND his parents. It was fun and certainly stirred up a lot of thoughts...  So my novel is about a young married couple who are contemplating whether or not they should try to get pregnant after spending nearly two weeks on a boat with their crazy family. 

3) How many kiddos do you want and do you only want biological children?

I would love to have 2 maybe even 3 kids and I am completely open to the idea of adoption. For right now though, I have to say, I'm sort of in a "holding pattern" conception wise. I'm enjoying my son and only my son right now and can't really imagine sharing that love. Talk to me in a year though, I might be singing a different tune...

4) Seriously, what's up with the birds? Did one dive bomb you once? ;-) P.S. it cracks me up.

I know. My bird thing is crazy and trust me I wish it wasn't so real. My husband teases me and says that maybe I was "diddled by a bird." Ha ha.  I do remember one time coming home from school one time though and there being a dead bird on the welcome mat and I froze in fear. I was so petrified and disgusted I couldn't even climb over the bird to get inside the door. There was no such things as cell phones then but I do remember walking back to school, using the pay phone and calling my mom to tell her she had to come home from work to let me in the house, and move the dead bird. 

5) Name 5 -10 (but at least five) things you LOVE about yourself either physical or personality traits.

Okay well...

1. I am really good at accents and impersonations. I do a great Persian accent. Seriously. 
   
2. I love my nose.
3. I love that I probably could go days without a shower and still not have B.O. (is that a physical trait?)
4. I do love my sense of humor-- I'm often told how funny I am and it's a compliment I cherish each and every time.
5. I am really good at dissecting a problem and fixing it... maybe this is a bad thing.
6. I love my ankles.
7. I love that I'm handy and willing to get down and dirty. As long as it doesn't involve birds.

Want me to interview you? Simply leave a comment with your name, email and blog and I'll send you my questions! Thanks, Laura! This was fun!