Category Archives: Nonsense

Let’s Hear it for the Boys!

Posted on May 3, 2012 | 5 comments

When I was young I had my boys. In middle school they were a motley bunch of goofy guys that I fancied myself to be in love with intermittently. In high school I had the boys in the drama department. We worked together, we built things and painted things and sat around in the booth in the dark. In college I preferred beer and bong hits to shopping and sorority rushing, so again, I found my boys.

My boys were my buddies, my confidantes, my playmates. I’ve always had only a couple of close girl friends and a gaggle of boys.

When I left the beach to move to Chapel Hill I left behind my last bunch of boys, some of whom had made the shift from Williamsburg college boys to beach boys.

When I met these fools I had no idea I’d grow to love them so dearly.

When I met MQD I was immediately impressed with the strength of the bond between his friends. He and his boys were no joke. He took me home to Charlestown and again I was amazed. The man loves his boys. And he loves me. Some girls fall for a boy with a great rent controlled apartment in the city and they inherit that. Some girls just want to wear his leather jacket.

I married MQD and I got boys. They’re his boys. But they love him and he loves me and any one of them would help me out if I needed it, of this I am certain.

As we all get older these boys… they are collecting these incredible women. If I am lucky our children will grow up with their children. Thank you for sharing your friends with me, Mike. You are an incredibly lucky man to have them on your side. And so am I.

The Charlestown Boys

5 Comments

Posted in Family, Nonsense

Tagged aniversary, Friendship, Marriage, MQD, wedding anniversary

MQD May

Posted on April 30, 2012 | 3 comments

Several nights ago MQD mentioned that while Emily might not actually be keeping score that he definitely was. Evidently I have not showered him with the love and appreciation he is due here on Excitement on the Side. I laughed and suggested that I write 31 posts about him in the month of May, the Baskin Robbins of Husbands, 31 flavors of Mike. Our wedding anniversary is today, April 30th, so perhaps it is an appropriate month to focus on my main squeeze, in spite of the fact that it is my month. Mother’s Day. My 36th birthday.

I enjoyed counting down the days to Christmas with our decorations. So, May…. I offer up 31 days devoted to my better half. To marital bliss. Brought to you with accompanying wedding pictures.

I’m kicking off Mike month a day early!!

MQD

More than a pretty face, he’s a snappy dresser, too

A lot has changed in the last year. Big stuff. A baby. A house. But by far the biggest change in the day to day has been Mike’s commitment to looking fine.

Note the time. We used to stay up late.

I fell in love with this boy. Perhaps you remember him. He wore camo pants and profane band tshirts. And he needed a hair cut. But he was mine. And I was crazy about him.

Was this some kind of Ridiculous Hair contest?

I really liked this guy with crazy hair and a goatee. But holy shit, did I LOVE this guy with a fresh new haircut.

And then sometime last spring he started wearing a shirt and tie to work everyday. His shopping for casual suits provided this super Easter gear. And Honeymoon Cruise attire galore.

Now shopping for Mike has become a hobby. He is always on the lookout for something. Bow ties. The perfect dress shirt. Saddle shoes. A belt. It is not uncommon while watching television with Mike to find him googling “casual men’s shoes” on his phone.

I was not the only girl falling for that long haired boy.

I watch more television now than I have in years. A nursing infant allows for that. Instead of getting myself sucked in to the daytime tv sinkhole I have been recording a few shows to fill the 30 minutes here and there I find myself in the rocking chair underneath a sleeping baby.

The talk show. There are more than enough to choose from. But I keep coming back to the same one.

Last week I kept seeing one sharp outfit after the next. Nothing revolutionary. Just a plaid shirt and a great sweater with corduroy elbow pads. Loosely tied tie and a really crisp white shirt, untucked with penny loafers. A cardigan sweater and khakis. The other night we were talking about the break of a man’s pant and I was saying that it is impossible to wear pants with no break without looking like you are waiting for a flood, but recently I saw it in an outfit and it was cute. Navy pant, polo shirt and saddle shoes, no socks. It worked. A glen plaid vest with a monochromatic shirt, tie and pant. Things I don’t think I’d think of wearing that come together beautifully. All classic pieces.

So, how do I bring it up? Honey, I love the look you’ve been developing. And I think I found a style icon for you. I swear, any outfit this person wore last week would have looked great on you. Give them a google, baby. It’s Ellen Degeneres.

Happy anniversary, sweetheart. I love you more every day. I couldn’t love you more if you were a lesbian talk show host.

3 Comments

Posted in Family, Nonsense, Wedding Planning

Tagged Anniversary, MQD, wedding pictures

Let the sun shine in…

Posted on April 23, 2012 | 8 comments

My brother went to the Naval Academy. He was 19. I was 23 when he began his Plebe Summer. We walked through campus on Induction Day, we stood in lines. We waited and we hugged him a lot. The whole time I kept thinking how in the hell do you make a decision so permanent? This one day… you are saying “today I will begin a career in the Navy that may be life long…” and that blew my mind.

I kept wondering when he would start to look like a midshipman. Would it be over Christmas when I saw him next? I can tell you when it was. The moment was the same for every one of the boys and girls that became men and women that day. It was when they got their hair cut.

Scott looked like a baby and a grown up all at once. He’d had his ears lowered. It was summer and his tan didn’t quite go all the way up to his hair line anymore. All these young kids filed in to this hall and we saw them spilling out the other side with this “oh shit, I’ve really done it now” face. Young men and women that had a plan. And a new do.

I didn’t have my ears lowered today. Nor did I sign up with the United States Navy. But I did have one of those “Sign me up and cut it off” moments.

I got a Mom haircut. There’s no turning back. I’m giving Lucy twenty good years and then I am retiring. Heh. We’ll see how well that works out for me, huh?

Lucy seems slightly less suspicious than Em. Em said "Hmm... it's creepy, I want my Mom back." Here's hoping Mike is more open to change.

8 Comments

Posted in Nonsense, Parenting

Tagged hair, motherhood, mothering, nonsense, parenthood, usna

If I was in an 80s Hair Band…

Posted on April 13, 2012 | 5 comments

I have missed my calling. If only I was in an 80s Hair band then I would write songs about folding cloth napkins. Hiding Under the Napkins would be the first hit off my album titled “Stay At Home Rock.” Lucy would be my number one fan.

(Sadly I just realized that my fantastic audio file will not appear on a mobile device. If “audio” appears as a link, have a listen. If not? Just trust me, it’s catchy. And in case you’re wondering “where is Lucy?” the answer is simple. “She’s hiding under the napkins!!!”)

5 Comments

Posted in Nonsense, Parenting

Tagged Lucy, Post by Voice, songs

Speaking of bed buddies….

Posted on April 10, 2012 | 2 comments

I am a compulsive bed maker. I don’t like sleeping in an unmade bed and I don’t like getting dressed in a state of mess. (Keep your comments to yourself all those that may have seen my bedroom before I was about twenty years old.)

I walk in the bedroom and think what the hell? My room is a mess! I know I made the bed. And from behind the pile of blankets I hear the sigh. A contented sleeping dog. With his ass on our pillows. Good thing I love him. Can’t say I have ever had another roommate that I’d let get away with this….

2 Comments

Posted in Nonsense

Tagged co-sleeping, Fisher

This Week in Pictures

Posted on March 30, 2012 | 4 comments

I learned a few things this week. Some of them more interesting than others. MQD sent me one of his texts that ordinarily send me on a wild emotional ride. The kind that start with “I would appreciate it if you would stop XYZ.” They typically make me defensive and cry-y for a day or two but this week I had an a-ha moment. I just listened and absorbed. Put myself in his shoes and realized I am kind of a pain in the ass sometimes. So, there was that.

Em started soccer and went to the orthodontist. MQD and I got our shit together and met with a friend to get our life insurance policies squared away. Somehow that combination of events made me feel like a real Grown Up.

A lot happened. And nothing happened. It was a week, a regular week as a family where nothing crazy happened. No big life changing thought processing. No crying jags. I don’t know what happened exactly. But I feel smarter and older than I was last Friday night.

So no big post this week, thought I’d share a few of the smaller things I learned this week via pictures.

I learned that getting your taxes done before April 15th makes you feel like you have your shit together. And that it is totally possible to get your self and your two month old out the door at ten after seven in the morning to be there before 8 am! And that getting some exercise after that is the only way to justify showing up in yoga pants and a sweatshirt. Taxes and exercise in one day? That was a good day.

Last time I went to Cary it was to get boudoir pics taken for MQD. This trip was not as titillating.

I learned that I need to learn to cut myself a break. I’m trying to pull off the working a few hours a week, stay at home momming, working out regularly thing. I don’t seem to manage my stress as well as Lucy. Next time I am feeling overwhelmed I’m taking a page from her book and I suggest you do the same. Sometimes you just need to take five.

Meeting running long? No problem. Take a nap.

For the zillionth time in my life I was reminded that just because a lot of people are doing it… it doesn’t mean I need to refrain, just on principle. I was never the kid that did something just because everyone else was. Rather I refused to do it, because it was too popular. And guys, Words with Friends is good stuff. I am so down with it. For now. Even if Nazis are unacceptable.

Not acceptable.

The last thing that I learned was the most practical. Moms are busy. And if you want to get everything done in a day, including some time for yourself, you need to plan ahead. This week I did just that. I’ve been trying to make it to an exercise class three times a week. And work a little here and there. Twice this week I ran straight to work from class. Changed in to a clean shirt at my car, sweaty sports bra and stinky vibrams swapped for a nursing bra and flipflops. Changed Lucy’s diaper on the front seat and we were off.

Note to self: if you leave a poopy diaper and your stinky vibrams in your car and it is 75 degrees out…. roll your windows down. For real.

In summary – Pay your taxes, take a nap, play scrabble and clean out your car. It will make you feel awesome. I promise. Oh, and take a shower with a friend.

Happy National Cleavage Day

4 Comments

Posted in Family, Nonsense, Parenting

Tagged Humor, Lucy, motherhood, SAHM, stay at home mom

Second Fiddle

Posted on March 27, 2012 | Leave a comment

I couldn't have loved him more if I had given birth to him.

I used to have a bumper sticker that said “My Labrador Retriever is smarter than your honor student.”

This morning I got another bumper sticker. This one was not for my dog. In our county the Kiwanis program sponsors a “Terrific Kid” program. Students are recognized for having outstanding character. Em is this month’s Terrific Kid from her class. MQD, Lucy and I piled in to the cafeteria with parents and Kiwanis members and we clapped and watched the kids get their certificates, their pencils, a sticker and the bumper sticker I had mocked so many years ago.

I held my sweet Lucy in my arms and I smiled back when strangers smiled at her little face. “She’s adorable,” said the strangers and I smiled. But my smile was not as bright as it ordinarily is. Instead my eyes said “Sure, yeah, she’s cute but look up there – my big girl. She is TERRIFIC, dammit!!”

Lucy played second fiddle to our big girl this morning and fortunately she was comfortable there. I took my first child to the vet this morning for his annual check up. In to the reception area we went, Fish on a leash, Lucy in her seat. My hands were full but I did not feel particularly frazzled.

I got the smiles from the strangers in the waiting room at the vet. I smiled back. “How old?” said the woman with the greyhound puppy. “He will be nine this Easter Sunday.”

And I laughed. I think she might have meant the baby. Two months and one week, Miss Lucy was in the spotlight. Then it was unceremoniously taken from her.

Welcome to the family, Lucy Goose. Sharing is a bitch. But you’ll get used to it.

Big, brave boy at the vet

Me & Mrs Hannigan

Posted on March 23, 2012 | 2 comments

Its not like Mrs. Hannigan and I have something going on. Not like me and Mrs Jones. But we do have something in common. We are drippping with little girls. Or so I thought.

Emily June October 2006

“Go and grab me some rubberbands and I will do your hair if you want.” Ordinarily Em does her own hair before school but I had two hands free and felt like making the most of it.

Emily June March 2007

“You mean rubber band,” she corrects me. “Mom, pigtails are sort of for little girls.”

And I saw her back tracking… “I mean for me. I just feel like it is not the hairstyle for me.”

Emily June September 2008

Oh.

I will be 43 years old next time I get my picture taken for my driver’s license. I wonder if I will still be a little girl.

The Original Toys r Us Kid

2 Comments

Posted in Family, Nonsense, Parenting

Tagged Annie, Driver's License, Emily, little girls, Pigtails

Ballerina

Posted on March 22, 2012 | 8 comments

Ballet flats and a ballerina bun do not evidently a ballerina’s physique make.

Eh. Neither do peanut m&ms apparently. Baby steps.

8 Comments

Posted in Exercise, Nonsense

Tagged Ballet, fashion

The Square Root of 49 is a PRIZE!!

Posted on February 6, 2012 | 6 comments

Gee whiz!! You spill your guts on the internet and you get a prize, guys!! My birth story and my postpartum post had a zillion more page views than my ordinary posts (although perhaps it was the pictures that did it, I am fairly certain there is a stray nipple in there somewhere!) and I thought that was prize enough. While I certainly do not write with the intent of generating traffic it is a pleasant surprise when something that I questioned posting at all is a hit.

Last week I received the 7×7 link award from The Waiting. She is an Emily, but a pregnant one!! She is also in the Cackalackey so we have that in common as well. I enjoy her pregnancy related tales, but suspect I’d have enjoyed her tales prior to this shared experience as well. Go. Read her. She is smart and funny. That’s Win Win.

The rules are simple – list seven of my own my favorite posts and then nominate seven other bloggers for the award .

My favorite seven posts

Security – This is an all time favorite because it is the beginning of what has become a valued friendship with my friend Karen. And the first time I realized that barfing my feelings on the internet really makes me feel better about my Universe.

When I Grow Up – another post that was prompted by a question from an old friend. The answer to the question of why I didn’t grow up to be an actress.

A Test of Patience – Sometimes I need to remember that I have come a long, long way. And I have been patient. Occasionally it would serve me to be a little less so.

How Symmetrical is Your Face – I miss This Book Will Change Your Life. I need to get back on the horse.

Express Your Views – Alternately titled “I Told The Internet About my Abortion” – a tough one to write. But impossible not to.

The Post Where I Coined One of my All Time F avorite Phrases – And in what I declare a moment of genius told her that “our hearts are like earthworms. We have endless regenerative powers.” Hillary is a tough cookie. And when I didn’t hear from her I assumed that she was toughing it out. Her earthworm heart mending itself in time to be torn in two for perhaps the gazillionth time, but all in all, no worse for the wear.

And a couple bonus entries to make you laugh….

Magic 8 Ball of Crazy – Pregnant and Bat Shit Crazy –

How My Monday Was Like a Primus Song – Why I love the DMV

Have You Met My Wife – another reason I love MQD

And now 7 blogs I enjoy!!

Toulouse & Tonic: – Read her. Comment. Be engaging and witty. This delightful gal is on bedrest and needs you to entertain her.

Xanax or Running Shoes – Jeanna has an amazing gift for telling a story. She is engaging and funny even in trying times.

Squatch Makes Three – A DADDDY to be blog! He is clever and a fine representation of a real dad to be.

I’ll Sleep When They’re Grown – She is newly pregnant again and a good time. Another good sense of humor. Are you detecting a trend?

Great Big Question Mark – Kim. Kim is a real life person. She was an internet person and made the leap. Kim held my hand through some of my darkest days and it was her sarcasm, her kindness, her smarts… that more than once saved my ass. Kim is smart. And the only really short person I have ever truly loved.

Real Life Homes – Karen had a genius of an idea. Send her pictures of your real life home so we can all stop feeling like rotten homemakers when we look through catalogues. I ruined the curve when I sent her pics of my pregnancy induced nesting home.

The Adventures of the Family Pants – Collen and I have never met but we will. She is a delight, she makes me cry and laugh and makes me want to squeeze her kids and make up songs and pay and wear a lot of glitter. She is good people.

And a bonus nominee because I can’t say enough how you should really read Karen’s blog. She is a hundred times smarter than me. And her kids are way cute. And even her husband has won me over. Uncomfortably Honest & Honestly Uncomfortable.

Muchas gracias, my blog friends. I promise I will get my shit together and get back to more regular posting. I am trying to give the Facebook page a little love, bonus pictures and the like in the meantime. So, come on, Like me! Heh.