Me Too You

My #Best09...Inspired by @GwenBell - Tea of the Year, Word or Phrase, Best Shopping, Best Car Ride, Best New Person

Continuing @GwenBell 's #best09 Blog Challenge...

Read all of my #best09 here.

December 16 - Tea of the Year

Fancy Nancy Tea Party

Lily and Ava were invited to our neighbor's five-year-old birthday fancy tea party (ala Fancy Nancy) and it was so...fancy. If you are ever planning a little girl tea party, take a cue from Michelle (the five-year-old's mom). The table was beautifully set, with feather boas thrown across on all of the chairs. Each girl had white gloves, a pretty berry and marshmallow bowl and a little jar of fudge for dipping at her place setting. Trays of flower and heart shaped sandwiches were in the middle of the table. Tea pots of tea, hot chocolate and milk were on the table - love those choices! Michelle confided to me that she found the glass tea cups at Goodwill for cheap, cheap! The girls got their own little cakes (pre-frosted) to decorate after their lunch.

Other fancy activities included: making bead necklaces, face painting, makeup, nail polishing, and...just playing in the backyard (my girls did a pretty even split of fanciness and playtime). Ava was probably a little young to sit still for the whole tea party, but the five-year-olds did very well.

Stupendous, splendid, fancy!

December 17 - Word or Phrase

"2009 was about letting go."

At the beginning of 2009, I found myself over-committed and tried to trying to live up to being supermom/perfect lawyer. I wanted to start letting go of a few things and being ok with disappointing people from time to time. But it wasn't easy. In fact, it wasn't happening. As soon as I let go of one thing, I replaced it with another. Ok, maybe the other, new thing was more what I wanted to do, but it was still taking cycles and not freeing up my schedule much.

Then, in September 2009, Ben and Lily started kindergarten. Although I anticipated this to some degree, this change completely rocked my world. This was a MAJOR change for us - not only the place, but the time (after enjoying lazy afternoon preschool, leaving for school with 3 kids all ready to go for the day at 7:30am was...ahem....hard, VERY hard), the philosophy, the expectations, everything. Jeff was not around to help due to his work schedule and I was...barely keeping above water. I was worried that I would have to home school (and I am NOT a teacher!), because things were just going so badly with the adjustment. I decided that I would need to take a leave of absence from my law practice. With that...I felt a great sense of relief. I was able to focus on my family during that big adjustment time. I have had to let go of their babyhood and also of the notion of control. There are things I am still not happy with (homework in kindergarten, for instance!)...but I have let go a bit. After all, it is not possible for me to be as involved with their school as I have been with their preschool.

What the leave did for me was to free up my mind to consider other things. And what happened after that month leave was that I was offered the chance to become a partner at Silicon Valley Moms Group, one of my long-time clients. I am now happy to be able to use more than just my law degree, but also my business degree and all of the experience that a bunch of volunteer positions on the board of Gemini Crickets and Explorer Preschool has given me. I am still doing deals, which I love. I am still negotiating and drafting contracts, which I love. I am doing a ton of writing, which I love. I am doing a lot more creative stuff, which I love. And I am a part of a team, which I love and which is something I have missed these past several years being on my own in my solo law practice.  I still have a couple of law clients, but for the most part I am focusing my work on SV Moms and having a blast.

It feels good to let go of pressure, to do something a bit new, to take a risk and to just see what happens. By the way, if you haven't already, please subscribe to the SV Moms Group newsletter (just go to www.svmoms.com and click on the box on the far right that says "receive the SV Moms Group Newsletter") and follow SVMoms on twitter. Thanks! :)

December 18 - Shop

Anthropologie

I adore this store and my twin sister Robin and I have a new annual birthday tradition of shopping together at Anthropologie for our birthday. We used to buy things for each other and now we just...buy things for ourselves while we are together around our birthday. I love the romantic, eclectic look. They have great, classic kid toys and gorgeous kitchen items too. I could seriously spend A LOT of money in there. I usually do very little shopping during the year, so I do save up to splurge on this once a year. Above are some of our favorite finds of 2009. Robin bought Jeff and I the new bedding for Christmas - ocean....ah...thank you very much!

December 19 - Car Ride

All around Oregon, Jeff and I's 10 year wedding anniversary

For our 10 year wedding anniversary, Jeff and I went to Portland, Oregon, last minute. We decided to stay a few different places during our 4 day getaway, so we ended up doing quite a bit of driving. We drove to Mt. Hood, past the Columbia River Gorge, from Portland to Eugene and into the woods by the river, then to the beach, along the coast and back to Portland. It was reminiscent of our life before kids, when we would just go for a drive as something to do together. We fought a bit over iPod playlists - we discovered that, left to my own devices, I tend to go for cover tunes...I have quite a few of them on my iPhone... - and I read aloud quite a bit from a book we bought at Powell's Books in Portland, Outliers by Malcom Gladwell. More pictures, etc. from our trip here. We talked A LOT. We put our hands out the window and did that little wave thing. It was nice, very nice.

December 20 - New person

Maxine

Maxine, as I mentioned to you on the evening of our daughters' preschool sleepover at school, I had no idea I would find such a GOOD friend in you this year. We met at the beginning of the 4Day class and our daughters quickly became best friends. Who knew that I would soon find myself hanging out at your house drinking wine and eating your delicious food (OMG, my kids LOVE your mac and cheese to this day!), planning camping trips, talking life and politics and dreams. You helped me, coached me (really, truly) to stop living such a crazy life and to focus on the important stuff. I loved being on the preschool board with you (pilates at the board retreat, anyone?) and participating in your French day at school (Tour de Explorer!). Thank you for sharing your friendship, your family, your "bugs", your wine, your exuberance for life, your perspective, and your swimming pool. I look forward to many more years of friendship to come!

My little princesses are growing up...and going to Disney on Ice Princess Classics

About a year and a half ago, I took Ava and Lily to see Disney on Ice "Princess Wishes." My girls were princess-friendly girls before the show. After all, those Disney princesses are EVERYWHERE and the kids start to see them at a very young age...sippy cups, pullups, toddler backbacks...it is hard to escape. And I've met some princesses in real life - they ARE very, very nice. Awe inspiring, really. After the show, Princess Love was completely solidified. The show was fantastically done and seeing all of those little girls dressed up in their royal finest was So. Darn. Cute.

Now that Lily is five-and-a-half and Ava is three-and-a-half, their Princess Love has grown up a little. They no longer simply sing Ah-ah-ah Ariel, but instead know the words to Aladdin's "A whole new world." But they are still firmly in love. And I know that it is only a short time before they start asking me to go to Miley Cyrus, so I am taking advantage of their youngness to engage in some princess love myself (yes, I do have a favorite princess, but I'm not telling who it is. I am sort of a grownup.) So in a couple of weeks we are headed to this year's Disney on Ice show "Princess Classics."  Compliments of Mom Central, we are headed to the opening night at San Jose's HP Pavillion on Oct 21st. The show in the Bay Area actually starts playing this week at the Oakland Arena, so you can go there as well.

See below for a giveaway (yay!) and a special coupon code from Mom Central.

Here are the show dates:

Oakland                                                         
ORACLE Arena                                                
Wednesday, October 14: 7:30pm                     
Thursday, October 15: 7:30pm                       
Friday, October 16: 10:30am, 7:30pm            
Saturday, October 17: 11am, 3pm, 7pm          
Sunday, October 18: 10:30am, 5pm                

San Jose
HP Pavilion at San Jose
Wednesday, October 21: 7:30pm
Thursday, October 22: 7:30pm
Friday, October 23: 10:30am, 7:30pm
Saturday, October 24: 11am, 3pm, 7pm
Sunday, October 25: 1pm, 5pm

Disney has given me a special coupon code to share with you:
Purchase a 4-pack of tickets for only $44 for Monday through Friday matinee shows, or receive $4 off all weekend shows by logging onto www.ticketmaster.com and entering the coupon code: MOM.**                                                                                                                **Get 4 tickets for $44 Monday through Friday matinee shows, or $4 off all weekend shows by entering the code “MOM” at select ticketing channels. Minimum purchase of 4 tickets required; additional weekday tickets above 4 can be purchased at $11 each. Offer not valid on Rinkside or VIP seating. Cannot be combined with other offers. Service Charges and handling fees will apply.

Giveaway!

Thanks to Mom Central, I have 4 tickets to give away for the opening night show in San Jose on Wednesday, October 21st at 7:30pm. To enter, please leave a comment below with the name of your favorite Disney princess or that of your kids (yes, I don't have to tell, but you do!). The winner will be selected randomly and tickets will be waiting for the winner at Will Call on opening night. Giveaway ends tomorrow, Monday October 12th at midnight PST, so please be sure to leave your comment by then.

Full Disclosure: I was provided free tickets from Mom Central for my family to attend Disney on Ice Princess Classics on opening night. And we are very excited and grateful!

My Yummie Tummie shapewear has left BlogHer'09 Chicago and gone on vacation to Cape Cod

About a month ago, I was at the video shoot for the Silicon Valley Moms Group's new video series A Byte Out of Life, when one of my costars, Sheila, co-founder of Clever Girls Collective, asked me if I would like to be a brand ambassador for Yummie Tummie shapewear at BlogHer'09 in Chicago. I had separately just heard about the Yummie Tummie line from a twin mommy friend of mine has a couple of these magic little items. Um, yes, twins. It is a doozy. Even for those of us, like me, who don't get stretch marks. Yes, I work out and I do weigh the same as I did pre-babies, but the tummy has never been quite the same. I said....SURE!

Coincidentally, that next week I went shopping for a few fun clothing items to wear at BlogHer....and I took my three darling little angels along with me. They were actually VERY good kids and were in great awe of the "mommy store" - Ooh, pretty! Wow! You should get this! You should get that! I went for minimal damage on the pocketbook, which was slightly disappointing to them. But I did let them pick out a couple of things. As you can see...being a mom has left me craving...ahem...coverage in the tummy area. Sometimes I go for awful things, like this ruffle top (dress? For a teenager, perhaps).

Mommy and my three kids in the dressing room, trying on clothes to wear at BlogHer'09

At BlogHer, I did not wear the ruffle top number. No, no. Because I had my Yummie Tummie tank on. Instead, I wore a fitted shirt. Yes, a fitted shirt. And I LOVE the fact that the tank is MEANT to be seen. I am a fan of the layering look anyway, but a layer that actually benefits me? Great. I also really liked how the bust area is separated from the tummie area, so it actually holds EVERYTHING in place. No more annoying jiggle. The tank actually seems to have two layers of shapeness in it. While the top layer might ride up a bit, the inner layer clings to your body, making everything pretty much stay in place. Adjustments ARE necessary from time to time, but overall, I felt everything stay where it needed to and be really comfy and lightweight.

Big Stuff! I was starstruck to take a Yummie Tummie photo with Carson Kressley from Queer Eye from the Straight Guy (loved that show! miss it...even though they did get to be pretty much the same over time), right after he stripped to take off his sweater and put on a RIPT (the guy version of the Yummie Tummie).  (Yes, that's my fabulous friend and BlogHer roommate, Carla taking photos in the background.)

Me and Carson Kressley at BlogHer - me in my Yummie Tummie, Carson in his RIPT. Photo credit: Carla Duharte/BabyJIDesign

This first day at BlogHer, I tucked the Yummie Tummie tank into my jeans. The second day, I wore a looser shirt, but tried out the layered on the bottom look. Worked out very well.

Now...I am in Cape Cod, vacationing with my best friend, who just moved to the Cape, and my sister, who lives in St. John's Newfoundland. The Yummie Tummie tank has continued right along with me, when I am not wearing a swimsuit, that is! I am loving these things, even in the hot and humid weather here. Really want to try the shorts, the spagetti strap tank, and maybe something in leopard.   

Get your Yummie Tummie today - there is a 30% discount in effect through August 7th! Use the BLOGHER30 discount code.

Full disclosure: #1: I am legal counsel for Clever Girls Collective, the fantastic new social media agency that is representing Yummie Tummie. #2: I received two complimentary Yummie Tummie Boyfriend tanktops as part of being a Yummie Tummie Brand Ambassador.

Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique at Disneyland

Part of our trip to Disneyland this year included a special birthday surprise for my friend, Jen's daughter, Sarah, just turned 4. Sarah, her sister Emily, and my girls Lily and Ava, all went to the Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique in Sleeping Beauty's Castle at Disneyland. The boutique just opened up this April and was not too crowded, since I don't think many people know about it yet. The fairy godmothers helped the girls pick out princess dresses and shoes, which the birds then set out in the changing rooms. The girls all got their hair done - they all picked the "Fairytale Princess" style (big surprise...) - had their nails painted and their makeup done. Over the top? Yes. A bit disturbing to see 3 and 4 and 5 year olds in makeup and the whole thing? Oh, yes. But..the girls loved it (for about 2 hours...and then off it all came!) and I think the way it was done was in a very magical, true-to-Disney way. The fairy dust was everwhere for days, which actually helped to dry some tears throughout the weekend when a fall happened or a shoe was lost. We took photos in the carriage, which turned out really cute (I don't have a copy of the professional photos yet, the below photos were just taken with my trusty iPhone). Will we do it again? Probably not. But for a birthday celebration with 4 little girls, it was quite a special experience.

5:30am

Ava, now 2.5 years old, has taken to waking, regularly, at 5:30am. Well, sometimes it is 5:17am or 5:34am. She pads into our room, Bumpies in hand (her favorite blankets - that's another post), in the dark, carefully navigating the stuff stacked around the edges of our junk room our bedroom, coming to my side of the bed, saying "Mommy...I want some cereal. And some milk. Beside it." It is still dark. I have either gone to bed at midnight (damn computer, sucking me in) or at 8:30pm, after a string of nights of 4-5 hours of sleep, probably not all at one stretch, because she has woken up and her covers have come off or Lily has had a bad dream or I have tried (and failed) to get Ben to come out of the top bunk and go pee in the middle of the night. Isn't it a joy having children who don't sleep in cribs anymore and are potty trained?

Sometimes I can convince her to be pulled in to bed beside me, often not to completely go back to sleep, but at least not to have to emerge from the warmth and darkness. Sometimes she tantrums and I give in and crawl out, poor her cereal and milk and lay down again on the couch. Sometimes she sees that I am still out of it and pads back out, not to her bed usually, but to the living room, where she can stretch up on her tippytoes and turn on some lights and curl up with her Bumpies on the couch. And sometimes, if she's lucky, Big Sister Lily will hear her and get up to.

Big Sister Lily loves to be in charge during these times, whispering to Ava to "Be quiiiiet. We don't want to wake anyone up." They will make up some games. Lily will get her a bowl and some Cheerios. I don't actually know what they do. See, I'm still asleep. It is lovely. Until, of course, Ava doesn't obey Lily "1....2....if I get to 3, something will happen....3. 1....2....3. 1...2...3. Waaaaaa!!! Mommy!" Then all bets are off and I reluctantly get out of bed. Today, though, it lasted a good hour, so I was able to stay in bed until 6:34. I can handle that.

There have been some...incidents. Like the time (I was actually gone for this one, having gone to my The Dailey Method class - ahh....joy) that Jeff woke up to find Ava with a purple marker, happily decorating the walls and kitchen cabinets. I arrived home at 7:15am to find Jeff scrubbing the walls. It wouldn't come off the cabinets. That's when we discovered Magic Eraser, which I had bought on a whim a long time ago, thinking "someday, I will probably need this" - it actually works really well. And it has Mr. Clean on it, a favorite of Ben and Lily's. Bonus. However, do keep out of reach of children (we do).

So far we are lucky. My twin sister, Robin - who I'm going to see next Friday and then am coming back here with her and her kids for 6 weeks or so (yippee!) - told me one day last week she and Mark were sleeping in while Hannah (5) and Sam (3) bustled around in the kitchen. From time to time they would come in to ask for things - "Can I have an apple?" "I need a posicle stick." Mommy and Daddy told them where to find these things, still in their snuggly, spoony bed. "Thank you!" When Mommy and Daddy finally got up, they discovered the kids had made a candy store - yay! Let me describe the scene - the featured item was Candied Apples. They had selected apples, stabbed them with popsicle sticks, covered them in caramel sauce (from the fridge - on a shelf they can reach, apparently) and hung them from the kitchen cabinets. Oh it was a messy morning. But very creative. I can only hope my kids aspire to this level of inventiveness. Give them time and opportunity and I'm sure they will.

Girls Night Out with HP

Ahhh....after a long day with all this...stuff - work, kids, school, laundry, dishes, email - I LOVE being able to leave at 6pm (the hour is key, because I get out of making dinner, my most hated mom-chore, mostly because I suck as a cook) to go out with the girls. I actually, luckily, get to do this a lot. First, there are my long time BK (before kids) friends - friends from college and law school and work. We try to get together when we can without the kids so that we can...you know, finish a conversation. And being on the board of Gemini Crickets (my twins club) and on the board of the kids' preschool means there are many "meetings." Yes, there are agendas and we actually do real work, but we do it, well, how to say this...with...wine. Sometimes quite a lot of it. I have made some of my best friends through these moms groups. Then there is Silicon Valey Moms Blog and the various events that go along with that. More photos being taken and products being examined (as in "I'm totally blogging this"), but, really, these ladies are a hoot. 

Yes, my kids know my "meeting shoes" very well. If the "meeting earrings" go on in addition, they know they'd better not stay up late! So a week or so ago, when HP threw a "Girls Night Out" party for Silicon Valley Moms Blog and other local bloggers, my friend Linda and I said "yes, please." We were also able to invite some other friends, Carla (by the way, that's my Lily on Carla's BabyJIDesign website's front page! Isn't she cute?!) and Melisa.

Checking in at the University Club in Palo Alto at 6:30pm, we were handed a glass of wine from Parducci Wine Cellars, (Hold on...I'm getting inspired. Let me grab a glass. Ok, I'm back.) grabbed a chicken skewer from a passed plate and were off! The theme of the night was Gift Giving. With the state of the economy, I know I am looking at all the ways I can save money and making my own gifts for friends is a great idea. The girls and I sipped wine and ate finger foods all evening, while decorating Cookie in a Jars (here are some sample recipe cards - you can do Hot Cocoa or Bath Salts in a Jars too) and cute photo paperweights. I was able to take some supplies home, because I am one of those people who like to have everything in front of me before I start creating...no really, I was just drinking too much wine and couldn't think anymore. Good thing there are lots of links to the stuff we did: here and here and here. We were able to take home some HP brochure and flyer paper too, so I can print out some more supplies. Linda was really in her element. She worked those tables like her best marathon scrappin' parties she used to hold...before we all went digital.

One of the best parts of the evening was the intimate performance for us girls by singer/songwriter Dana Parish. She is an up and coming star and it was a real treat to listen to her and to meet her. She really reminds me of Sarah McLachlan, who I have been a fan of forever. Dana Parish's album "Uncrushed" is on iTunes and is coming out this Tuesday, October 28. I love her song "Hung Up" and the one about fathers and daughters "She Laughed" made all us mommies well up and, actually, miss our littles ones for a brief moments during our night out. So sweet. She was just on Good Morning America too! Dana is now my friend on Facebook and I'm hoping to convince her to join Twitter too. Feel free to bug her about that...

Until the next Girls Night Out...it was a nice break. Thanks HP!

Am I pretty, Mommy?

After her nap today, Ava plopped herself on the couch, dug in her princess purse and touched up her makeup (pretend makeup mind you - blue eyeshadow for her cheeks (close enough, I say, I am not huge on makeup myself) and bright red lipstick for her lips). Then she turned to me and, very matter-of-fact, said "Am I pretty, Mommy?"

Of course, I said "Yes, Ava. You're very pretty." But, having two little girls, I am very aware that all the princessy girl stuff is just the beginning of body awareness and, with it, the pressure to be perfect, to measure up to the picture that is held up in our society as ideal. Soon it will be Hannah Montana and High School Musical - at least that is what I see the girls a couple of years older into. And then, the pressure at school will start - to be popular, to have the right hair, clothes, etc.

I always try to give my girls compliments that focus on things apart from their appearance - you're very brave, smart, helpful, strong, thoughtful, generous. For me, although it has taken a while, as I have grown older, the highest compliment anyone could pay to me on a physical level is to say I am strong. So I tend to use this one a lot. After all, they ARE strong! I hope my girls will embrace their strength sooner rather than later.

However, I do think it is nice to be told you're pretty. So today, I added, "You're very smart, too. Now go build a robot."

Silicon Valley Moms at Slide and Saks: In Photos

All photos below taken by Carla Duharte of babyjidesign.com.

First stop - Silicon Valley Moms Blog: the night before blogher party at Slide. And, yes, I did slide down the slide in the entryway. It was "super fast" (in the words of Ben and Lily) and I landed very ungracefully. Thank goodness I hadn't had anything to drink yet. More photos can be found here.

Here are me and the girls (Carla, me, Linda and Akemi) last night at the Silicon Valley Moms Group party at Saks Fifth Avenue - it was very fun to get all made up and have professional photoshoots. Everyone looked fabulous!

The Princense Parade

Sound the trumpets. The Princesses (pronounced "princenceses") have arrived.

Ava wants to be a ballerina

Oh, yes, Ava was loving every minute of (the 2 minutes she was allowed into) Lily's ballet class, "The Enchanted Doorway" for 4-5 year olds at Capitol Dance. Next year, she will get to do the Mommy and Me class there (I am dreading it a bit, I have to admit...it is one thing to love 2 minutes, but another thing entirely for a 2-year-old to make it through a 45-minute long class). Kicking and screaming she went from the class - to Stabucks for chocolate milk, so all was not lost after all.