oh, this is how it starts. lightning strikes the heart & goes off like a gun, brighter than the sun. ~Colbie Caillat

braindump oh, this is how it starts. lightning strikes the heart & goes off like a gun, brighter than the sun. ~Colbie Caillat
  • I need another cup of coffee.
  • I think we just entered the Thomas the Train era of toddlerhood.  Every morning, Harrison gets to watch an episode of Curious George but today, he saw Thomas on Netflix & was all “CHOO CHOO!  CHOOOOO!”  Hold me closer, Tony Danza.
  • This is darling for Blissdom business cards:
60306082480050627 3bnb7s6e c oh, this is how it starts. lightning strikes the heart & goes off like a gun, brighter than the sun. ~Colbie Caillat

Source: etsy.com via Beth Anne on Pinterest

  • We’ve been having an epic battle between human & sippy cup for the last six months when Target stopped carrying Harrison’s top choice, some no-spill flip-top by Nuby.  He refused to take any cup that did not have a straw, but we were losing a battle between gunk or dishwasher loss.  Turns out we should have kept it simple, because the Take n’ Toss with the straws are perfectly simple & priced right.
  • Now that I don’t have an HR department giving me the side-eye, I’m digging the idea of going a little crazy with my hair.  Like, blue ends.  Or a pink streak.
60306082479767522 uPo5PAzB c oh, this is how it starts. lightning strikes the heart & goes off like a gun, brighter than the sun. ~Colbie Caillat

Source: tumblr.com via Beth Anne on Pinteres

  • We’ve been having huge sleep issues at our casa for the past week & a half, in case you aren’t following me on the Twitters.  Harry has been fighting sleep & naps, then waking for long periods in the middle of the night.  It’s like newborn stage, but worse since he wakes up the entire house.  Yesterday was Operation Wear Harrison The F*ck Out day, so we hit three separate playgrounds.  I proudly report that we all logged over 10 hours of much-needed rest last night.  Today I will be taking him on walks.  Lots of walks, kind of like a new little puppy that you have to wear out for good behavior.
  • I met this really cool mom at the park yesterday & I was going to swap phone numbers with her, but Harry slipped on this random fish bridge & busted his lip open right.  I need to start carrying my business cards on me that have my email on them for tragic moments like that.

HeirtoBlair500x150 v41 oh, this is how it starts. lightning strikes the heart & goes off like a gun, brighter than the sun. ~Colbie Caillat

Don’t worry, it’s not all sad-sad-unemployed-sad-sad-dramz around here.

So today, I hit up the dentist because HELLO, insurance runs out in one week & I’m making all the popular pit stops.  Dentist, eye doctor, birth control, & of course, the psychiatrist who desperately needs me to bitch on her couch for an hour.  I dropped Harrison off with his auntie for two hours while I got my teeth scrubbed (he had been asking for her & considering she was a daily fixture in his life for two years, he needs some Auntie time).  Then we hit up the craft store because a) it’s time to get my Pinterest on & b) The Momma’s birthday is coming up & I’m on a budget.

Let me just say that I can stand in a board room or jet across the country, but I turn into a complete wuss once I step through Michaels.  All those women with glue stick burns on their fingers, willing to cut a bitch over the last vial of Martha Stewart glitter?  THEY TERRIFY ME.  Same thing with fabric stores.  Also, the strangest thing happens that once I hit the first aisle, I completely forget what I was there for.  Confidence takes a crash & burn so I stand there in the aisles, completely overwhelmed by the choices in felt.

In short:
Before Michaels:  BIG SPARKLY INSPIRATIONAL UNICORNS OF HAPPINESS!

After Michaels:  I WILL NEVER ACHIEVE ANYTHING GOOD IN MY LIFE.

yeah.

I’m standing in line with Harry in the push cart & a matronly lady turns to me.

“Is your mother’s name Karen?” she asks.

“No,” I say politely.

“You look like my friend Karen, so I figured you must be her daughter,” she explains.  I shrug.  Raleigh is a pretty decent-sized city.

“With two children, I figured you had to be her,” she persists.

Is this lady drunk?  I only have one child in the seat & I’m pretty sure the firstborn’s that were traded for Christmas Cricuts weren’t eligible for the 40% off coupon.  Like I said, I’m on a budget so if it’s not on sale, it’s not in my cart.

“You know,” she says.  ”With your boy & the one on the way.”

oh.

shit.

Awkward silence abounds.

Does this lady not know Rules of Feminism #253: Don’t ask a woman if she’s pregnant unless the fetus is 75% down the birth canal with a hand waving?

First Day.

I made it a point to get up when Doug left the house yesterday, even though it was not yet 7am & the entire house was still.

I knew if I stayed in bed, we’d have a repeat of Friday where I was in pajamas at 4pm with no shower & pretty much a sorry state of affairs.

So I got up, poured a cup of coffee & popped muffins in the oven.  Straightened my hair & rubbed a dash of perfume under my jeans & light sweater.  I felt silly at first – who would see me?  I looked at the silk tops & pencil skirts & lined slacks hanging in my closet.  I’m going to need more jeans.  Will I ever wear that purple silk shift again?  I’m going to need a hat & gloves that aren’t dressy.  Should I just have a “shop my closet” sale?  I’m going to need more Zoloft.

I typed out words & listened to the quiet, finding thankfulness in not having to commute.  That bumper-to-bumper traffic was really fraying my nerves & patience.  The oven dings – muffins are ready.  I make a second cup of coffee & wonder if the new kitchen chairs will be delivered soon.  I wonder if I should send them back, even though they were purchased with Christmas money.

An hour later, Harry stood at the top of the stairs, bleary-eyed & hugging his stuffed monkey.

& so this new journey begins, the journey with an unexpected start & no set end.

The big news.

It’s kind of like pulling a band-aid off.  You feel that twinge of nerves, you know it’s going to hurt, but you go ahead & yank anyway.

So.

I am unemployed.

YANK.

It was unexpected.

YANK.

(also?  ouch.)

.

More to come after coffee & getting dressed & figuring out my first day as a temporary stay-at-home-momma.

The first brain dump.

braindump The first brain dump.
  • There is nothing better than freshly cleaned carpets in a home.  It might be sad that I own two different types of steam cleaners but y’all, I enjoy lying on the carpet without having an asthma attack.
  • I’m having a serious love affair with pennant banners these days.  I could decorate my entire house with them.
  • A lot of folks have been asking me about my red lipstick, & the name has rubbed off on the tube but it is Clinique.  My best advice for finding a good red is to ditch the drugstore & see a makeup person.  I just feel like red lipstick should be taken seriously, you know?  Get your pink at Walgreens.  Get your red at a department store.  I tried on about 5 different shades before landing on “the one.”
  • I’m so digging Taylor Swift’s new song “Ours.”  I’m a shameless T-Swift fan but the lyrics are so sweet & wonderful.  Just listen to a preview on iTunes & I promise, you’ll be swaying happily a wee bit.
  • Harrison has started screaming every night when it’s bath time.  The crazy thing is, he LOVES a bath or shower.  I think it is him realizing that bath = end of the day & he doesn’t want the fun to end.
  • As part of being “pretty” in 2012, I ordered two new pairs of pajamas.  So long, wearing ratty tshirts & cheer shorts to bed.  Hello, cozy & matching jammies.  They honestly help me feel more confident going to bed & getting up in the morning.  Weird, right?

Did you brain dump this week?  Lemme see!

Stealing is for losers. Copyright 2011 Beth Anne Ballance