Survivor

~ Brianna. "I feel scared because the weak link today was probably me." And if by probably you mean you sucked ass and contributed NOTHING to the challenge, then yes, you were the weakest link. Goodbye.

~ I hate Stephenie this week. Shut. Up. Did she really think people would know what a pick is? Do Lydia and Brianna look like they’d be familiar with basketball lingo? I don’t think so.

~"I like my girls crazy and pretty... and she's neither." Holy cow. That was HARSH

~I lurve Amy. Her accent, not too dissimilar to Bahstan Rahb’s, is classic cop. And she’s awesome. "You have to stick needles in my eyeballs, I'm still not gonna give up” Love her.

~love the howler monkeys.

~114 degrees. I’m shocked that no one passed out. I sure would have.

OC

~Quagmire. Loved that.

~Dennis/Chili was a little too over-the-top, screech-like for me.

~poor Ryan. although i'm getting a little tired of jealous Ryan...

~and in a rather obvious twist of fate…Taylor is doing the dean.

~"He looks angry.” “No, I think that's just his look.”

~"Public School kids, all kids really, are like dogs. They smell fear." Huh? anyone else catch that?

Apprentice

~it was clear that the men would lose as soon as they started acting all cocky. “I guarantee victory" = sure loss. (ha…I said cocky.)

~biggest dumbass move of the evening? bringing only Markus into the boardroom. He did it out of pure arrogance.

~I like Alla...i'm not the biggest fan of her wardrobe...someone worth 12 million dollars should not wear floral. ever.

~love love loved the dig at Omarosa. funny.

~you knew as soon as there was discussion about the "i" vs. "I" and the question mark that those were going to be the downfall of the team. punctuation and grammar people. learn it. and isn't "green with envy" a cliche? isn't that what Chris wanted to avoid?

my blogger went nutty today and wouldn't let me on...

i. hate. blogger.

i thought today was going to be great because it was freezing this morning and i was able to wear my boots, but little did i know just how good this day was going to get.

i fit into my first pair of jeans.
okay, fine, they are a size 4.
and fine, they are my fattest of my fat jeans.

but they fit.
over my thighs
and
over my ass

i'm the happiest mommy in the world today.

no good, very bad day.

putting it all into perspective, though, it really wasn't all that bad. especially since one of my best friends lost her uncle yesterday.

i made cabbage rolls for rosh hashana yesterday. it took 5 hours from start to finish. it's an undertaking that we jews would call "patchka" - meaning that there are lots of annoying steps. it's not a one dish, throw in the oven kind of thing. the last step of the project was putting the rolls in the oven for an hour. i had 20 minutes left on my timer when i had to leave to go to the funeral. i asked my nanny to kindly take them out.

my phone rang as the funeral was starting, but i turned off the phone. when i got home i saw emily's bag at the door, which i found rather curious, since she was supposed to have gone home with her friend Noam for a playdate. and i was surprised to see that no one was home, and that my cabbage rolls were burnt to a crisp. charred, more like.

i picked up my messages. the first was from emily's school. she's okay, in the office, got left at school. great. the second was from the husband telling me that jhoanne picked her up and took her to her playdate. no trauma. that's good news.

then, when i went to pick her up from Noam's house, i had to witness Noam's baby brother vomiting. and not baby spit up. actual puke. that his mother caught. in her hand. and then smelled her hand and said, "hmm..smells like puke." hmm...smells like i'll be getting out of your house asap.

the boy is sick. just a cold. but he's snotty and whiny and tired and not easy to deal with when he's sick. and the husband wasn't coming home until after 10. and isabella decided to cry from 6:30 last night until 10:04. great. that made putting the kids to bed an adventure. it took about an hour. neither one of them was willing to cooperate. fantastic.

today seems to already be a much better day. even if i'm still worried that emily will get sick from noam's brother. even though i'm still not happy that my cabbage rolls are burnt. even though i don't have any eggs and need to run out and get some. it's still a much better day. :)

~~Jim = John Malkovitch. 100%. with some added twitching and facial tics. wow, he creeps the hell out of me. way too over the top.

~~not a very exciting ending, since it was clear that Chuck wanted a ticket out, and Martha gave it to him. his fate was set when he said he was leaving the loft.

~~i feel like i don't know anyone on the other team, since 95% of screen time goes to the self-destructing Matchstick.

~~Phil and his eyebrow are back. :)

~~Kevin and Drew! Kevin and Drew! woohoo! how come no one except the last guy recognized them??? he should have won a prize. does this mean we'll be seeing some old favorites?? Rob and Brennan anyone?

~~"Pennsylvania might be a state, I don't know."

~~I'm lovin' the Linz family, puking and farting and all.

~~poor Mama Paolo. your entire family treats you like crap. how sad. but, then again, you did lose the freakin' clue.

~~ “Do you know the Lord?” sure, he lives in a brownstone and loves to go shopping. i actually like Team Jesus, and freaked out a little when she got run over by the buggy.

~~is this all going to be North America?? i need Iceland, Africa, i need Americans speaking in English in horrible accents, i need weird food, and crazy airports.

~~the Schroeder dad is slightly creepy. and very uncool with the "I wish I had a handicap kid to push in the street" and "Small animals taste good!"

~~yeah, you'll be looking for "the town of Soho," for quite some time. the hell?

~~best line: "Sorry I couldn't contribute." "Get used to it, dork!" bwah!!

i'll give you a hint:



yes, folks, it's true...my daughter is already a hockey fan...

the funny thing is that Isabella is actually asleep.
and i'm not.
crap.

this sleep training thing is NOT working. she HATES her crib. last night i finished feeding her at 11:36 and then the fun began. not really for me all that much, since i was fast asleep before Isabella even left the nursing pillow, but for the husband, who had to be the one to get her to fall asleep in the crib.

when he woke me at 2:50 and said, "it's your shift," he said that it had taken her an hour to fall asleep...which meant that she slept all of 2 hours in her crib. 2 hours??!!! what the hell? in bed she goes for hours and hours. not just 2 hours. it's not enough for me.

well, needless to say i'm not handling this very well. i've got lots of my plate these days and i've gotten quite used to SLEEPING all night from 11:15 until 6:30 or 7 with a 10 minute break at 4 am-ish. i know, spoiled i am, but that's what i've gotten quite used to...and to have that taken away is VERY DIFFICULT.

so yes, since the husband is the only one around to "take my abuse" as he calls it, he, unfortunately, gets the shitty end of me. i feel badly about this. but, i'm not really all that conscious when i am woken up at this hour. i'm just not. most of the time in the morning i have no clue what i even said or did.

so, i fed her at 3, and she fell fast asleep. and i came up with an idea. we can work on shift one - since the night for me is broken into two parts...part one is from 11 or so at night until she wakes up for the middle of the night feed (used to be 4) and part 2 is from then until the morning. i think instead of going completely cold turkey we can work on making her sleep in her crib for shift one, and until she has mastered that, allow her to sleep in our bed for shift 2.

i think it's a great compromise. but, my husband is ignoring me right now and has gone to sleep in the glider in the baby's room (as a punishment to me, but he's the one who will wake up crabby and achy...well, i guess that's a punishment to me too....) which is why i can't sleep...

argh.

...by getting herself impregnated....and other news...

~~ what is it with these celebrities who can't seem to make it to the bathroom?? First it was Fergie, and now Jenny McCarthy wets herself:




~~ what is it with these celebrities who can't seen to stay married?? First it was Renee and Kenny, then it was Tori and Charlie, then Jamie-Lynn and AJ, and now these two. One Tree Hill stars Chad Michael Murray, 24, and Sophia Bush, 23, who were married last April, have announced their separation. that sure didn't take long...

~~ what is it with these celebrities who are becoming more and more asexual?? Nicole Richie is beginning to look like a little old grandma:



~~ and finally, what is it with these celebrities who are just plain ole' dumb? Kirsten Dunst, when asked about Spiderman 3 said, "We have really great people though as the villains in this film, Thomas Haden Church and Topher Grace -- Venom and Sandman. Maybe I wasn't supposed to say that." and she wasn't. supposed to say that.

I'm having a serious shoe problem. it's this in-between weather. it's killing me.

the summer is easy. sandals. flip flops. easy peasy.
the winter is easy. boots. again, easy peasy.

but what to wear with skirts when it's too hot for boots or nylons or tights but it's way too cool for sandals???

for the first time i'm realizing it was EASIER to dress for work than it is to stay at home. i know that might sound awfully weird - what can be easier than sweats and runners??

but the problem is that i have to drive carpool three times a week...which means i have to put on a skirt three times a week, and look slightly put together, but i'm not going to wear work clothes. so, the clothing is somewhere in between shlumpy sweatpants-y me and business casual me.

so..what to do?? with jeans it's easy (not that i own a pair of jeans that i can fit over my fat ass right now...), but at least with jeans i can wear the right shoes. with skirts it's sooo much harder.

so...what do i wear with a jean skirt? or a cord skirt?
help, please!

so much has happened in the last week...it's been insane. i guess i'll just share the highlights...
on thursday, i went to see Cinderella with Emily's public school class. i've heard all about Ms. Paterson and how she really runs a tight ship. i gotta tell you - i was terrified of her. but it all worked out in the end. Emily was thrilled to have me there. she's still young enough that having her mom around is cool, and not a colossal embarrassment. i have to cherish those moments while i still can (since she seems to be approaching teenage-hood more rapidly than most children.

on friday, i almost killed Avi. i was driving carpool and i went to take one of the kids into his house and when i came back to the car, Avi was hysterically crying and Emily was screaming, "you cut off Avi's finger!" i swore...i believe i actually said 'fuck' in front of my 4-year-old, but i could see the three of us racing to North York General on Friday afternoon and i could see Avi's parents never speaking to us again because i cut off their son's finger with my van door...but, alas, he stopped crying, bent his finger, explained to me that the bloody finger was because he had picked some scab from before and it was actually a different finger that got caught in the door, so i swallowed the bile (ew! i hope the boy doesn't start picking scabs...gross), and we moved on.

on friday afternoon i went to Mashie's to discuss my Tiffany diamond. woohoo. i'm so excited. there were some concerns about breaking the ring and having to recut the diamond because it was bezel-set, but this morning she called me, and they popped the diamond and all is good in the world. i should have the ring in a few weeks. i can't wait!

on saturday we went to the grand re-opening of the park across the street. they had taken apart the old park and put in a brand spanking new, more suited to older children park. my kids are in love. the boy especially because there's a giant spider web climbing thing, and my boy has no fear, you see, and he climbed his way to the top without a single worry. i, on the other hand, was scared to death.

on saturday afternoon, i hit a really low place. i've been really feeling so good since isabella was born - i don't think the husband knows how lucky he had it. i had only 1 stitch that healed after about a second, i was up and about so early. i was cooking, cleaning, running errands, and entertaining all before Isabella had even had a real tub bath. and the breastfeeding was working. Isabella latched her little mouth right on and sucked to her heart's content. she wasn't bothered by the thrush that we didn't even know we had...but a little nystatin later and it was all good. she wasn't bothered by the mastitis either...a little antibiotics later and that was all good. but in the last few days, it has started to hurt. and not just when she latches...the entire time. i find myself sitting in my bed, my toes curled up in pain while she's nursing. i was at the point of giving up on saturday, but then i started to feel guilty. not because i have anything against formula and always said that i wouldn't push myself or stress about nursing...if it didn't work, i wouldn't do it...but i felt guilty because it WAS working. because she's such a good nurser and me giving up would have 100% to do with me and 0% to do with her, and i thought that wasn't fair to her.

Sharon has confirmed that it's thrush. she's an expert; she can diagnose over the phone :) apparently, we never got rid of it the first time, or it's come back. great.

last night we attempted to move isabella out of my bed and into her crib. i guess the husband is ready to get back in bed with me. he wants her out. i didn't want to mess with a good thing. she was sleeping so nicely that i was afraid to tempt fate. so...the husband slept on the floor of her room. and she slept really nicely from 11:15 until 1:30..and then didn't really sleep at all until 6. but, we think it was tummy related and not the crib so much...so we will try again tonight and hope for the best. wish us luck, please. we need it.

this morning i began freaking out. i had kind of come to terms with how i look these days. not horrible, but not all that great either. fine, i'm wearing a size 4, but when you are a size 0 normally (i know, i know...you have probably stopped feeling sorry for me at this point) it's really not easy to find anything to wear or feel good about yourself. but, i had committed myself to pilates 3 times a week and have been eating soooo well lately, and i realized that i AM only 6 weeks postpartum and most people don't look all that good. unfortunately, i know too many people who look fantastic right after having babies...and they've all just had babies... anyway, i tried to figure out where my panic attach came from this morning and then i realized.....my mother in law, my worst critic, was coming home from Wales, where she'd been for the last 3 1/2 weeks. and it was about 6 weeks after i had the boy that she said to me, "it's time to start losing that baby weight..." which sent me into hysterics until i lost every single pound of my baby weight. fantastic...

..she's seriously disturbed. and i love her for it. changing the tie was priceless. where's HER emmy?

~~Best line of the night: “She’s family. That makes her our bitch.”

~~Is Paul still stuck in the desert?

~~okay...the chained up guy in the basement...i'm assuming he's the "dead" husband....did he remind anyone of Sloth in the Goonies?? Ruth? Ruth? Baby? anyone? and did anyone else get an incest-y vibe out of Alfre Woodard and her so-called son?

~~hmm..i would have thought someone called Ida Greenberg would have been Jewish, not Methodist...but that's just me..

~~all in all. only meh for me. without Bree i would have been pretty disappointed. Gabi and Carlos. eh. but i did appreciate the photoshop line. Lynette. classic Lynette. of course she had to take her kid to the job interview. and Susan. annoying. and typical Susan.

gets top billing this week because i am so happy to have this show back. i missed me some dr. mcdreamy. yum.

~~I have to put my foot down here. No No No to Izzie and Alex!! just because he does ONE heartfelt thing does not make him good boyfriend material.

~~Okay, i admit it...i don't hate Addison as much as i thought i would. she wears too much makeup and doesn't move her mouth at all when she talks, which bugs. but i kind of like her. she's got just enough bitchsnark for me.

~~was Joe the bartender the same guy as the fiance from My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance??

~~best line: Bailey saying to George, "you're nasty. That's why you got syphillis."

~~poor Dr. Yang. i felt really bad for her when Burke dumped her. he's going to feel like an ass when he finds out about the baby...

~~George the investigative sponge. love him.

~~Cristina and Meredith hugging. loves it.

~~ Markus is a tool. blah, blah, blah, blah...shut the hell up already...

~~Melissa is a fool. who on earth says, "I can't work with women," in front of Carolyn. i'm glad she's gone.

~~loved the opening footrace - very Amazing Race. Ties flapping in the wind! Barefoot tromping through grass! Golf cart races! Wheee! and who was that woman running? she was super fast!

~~I felt bad laughing at the tiny Tim. what was his name? i chuckled at every group shot. he's soo small.

~~i liked Josh. he's my fave so far. oh, and Randal too. i'm happy he gets to go home for the funeral.

~~Ok, so let me get this straight, Mr. Trump: you can't tell people apart, so you group them together in such a way as to virtually ensure you'll have a hard time telling them apart? that made ZERO sense.

~~all in all, i think it will be a good season. lots of people to loathe.

~~anyone else at all upset that Rafe - - you know, the so-called wilderness guide who couldn't climb a freakin' ladder -- wasn't voted off, or at least on the chopping block???

~~best facial expression of the night...when Danni calls Gary a quarterback. you could see his despair. and you can still see her mustache. and now you can add scary, scary abs to her list of credentials. there's trouble afoot now that he's outright lied.

~~Love the way when Jamie was discussing the team's diversity at the beginning, he says "magician's assistant, fish monger, gay guy, landscaper". Apparantly, "gay guy" is now an occupation.

~~it's like these people have never watched survivor...it's way way too early to get rid of your strong.

~~Lydia...she IS Mama Solis. i spent all last night trying to pinpoint it. ha! and i can't stop saying fishmonger. and was anyone else disturbed by Margaret's chest. ew. or Morgan's really really bad complexion?

~~all in all, NOT a very exciting episode.

~~should i be embarrassed to say that i liked it? i didn't think i would, but i mean, come on, writing a children's book is right up my alley.

~~and i liked the name Matchstick...and i knew that Martha would like it too...that's right up HER alley! but Primarius. Oy.

~~"You just don't fit in. Goodbye." will never, ever beat "You're fired." and the goodbye letter at the end was cheesy and unnecessary. i want the cab-terview.

~~ loved this: Jeff: " I'll look for your failing!"Jim: "I'm sure."Jeff: "Next week, I think." I'm happy Jeff's gone...but Jim is way way way too cocky for me. he's not long for this game, i think.

~~what was up with the Quasi-George and that damn cigar? i want my Georgie back. and my Carolyn. Alexis is boring as toast.

~~it seems Martha and I both have a little man-crush on Howie :) it's not my fault though...i have a thing for men reading to children...

~~Bettheny bugs. big time.

okay..i don't know if this is in the states or not, because i believe he says, "take the challenge, Canada." but i'm not sure.

The ad is for the Special K challenge. Carson Kressley shows up on the screen advising people who have reached their target goal weight to replace a meal a day with special K and these said people can expect to maintain their body weight.

okay...I ask you, what percentage of people in Canada have reached their goal weights? um...i'm guessing about 3%. almost everyone i know is either trying to lose weight or is complaining that he or she is overweight (except for you naturally skinny bitches...and you don't count). So, there is almost no target audience. and trust me, people who are at the weight that they want to be at don't really need tips on how to stay there. they've obviously done something right without the special K.

it's the people who need to lose weight and can't who need the advice. maybe special K needs to go back to selling the pilates dvds. personally, i'd rather look at Cindy Crawford anyday...:)

~~this episode was just "meh" to me, but i did like that it was chock full of pop culture references: the Runaway Bride, Revenge of the Sith, Bewitched, March of the Penguins, conservative blonde beanpole Ann Coulter, ringtones and The Graduate all in the first fifteen minutes.

~~i was super glad to see Luke back in his baseball hat and flannels. i didn't like last week's Luke.

~~Paul Anka is cute, but i think he'll get real old, real fast.

~~i seriously despise Liz and TJ. get them off the tv. pronto. i'd so much rather see Lane or Sookie or Paris.

~~okay, seriously, what was with the whole skirt and bathing suit getup? it took me until she turned around to even realize it was a bathing suit and not a ridiculously tight tucked-in tank top.

~~it's nice to see some Luke and Lorelai chemistry. they had it last night.

~~and which founding father do YOU fancy? i'm going to go with John Adams being the best lover. :)

So, I know i'm not quite six week post-partum yet, but looking at my closet this morning and having exactly ONE thing to put on my body sent me into "i've got to get back into shape" mode, so out came the Winsor Pilates.

My goodness, they were sooo hard. I used to be such a pro. I know in the beginning the last time I probably had a hard time doing all the ab exercises. i did two 20 minute videos - butt and thigh and ab.

holy heck, I feel incredible right now. my goal is to do these two videos 4 times a week. the good thing for me is that isabella slept right through the entire workout. if she does this every morning, i'll have zero excuses.

"Your dress should be tight enough to show you're
a woman and loose enough to show you're a lady"

-Edith Head, legendary Hollywood costume designer

I love Oprah. Really, i do. I've been looking forward to her new season for a VERY long time. and she certainly delivered. a new set that was two years in the making. an interview with Jennifer Aniston, who I swear, gets better looking every month. Divorce looks good on her, it seems.

the CEO of Hermes, to clear up that whole Paris incident. you know the one. but, in the end, they didn't really clear up anything. but, Oprah gave him a big 'ole hug and endorsed the $10,000 Birkin bag. yeah, i'll be buying me one of those, Oprah, just as soon as i donate a freakin' house via your website (but, i'm jumping ahead of myself).

Oprah gives 10 million dollars to hurricane relief. ten million. holy crap. and then she ask YOU to donate

i just have one question, really. how does someone go from this:



to this:



seriously, her hair and make-up people really are miracle workers. sometimes i think that if i ran into Oprah somewhere i wouldn't even recognize her.
i still love her...

my husband is sick...once again.
i truly believe that when it comes to being ill, men and women truly are at a mars/venus place. well, maybe not all men and women, since i know many a female who can't cope when she is under the weather, and many men who can just deal. actually, i really can't name any men who can just deal. that part i completely made up.

but, that's certainly how it works in our family.
yes, he is sick. his throat hurts. he's exhausted. his body is achy (mostly from running the Terry Fox run...and leaving me with all three kids...on sunday morning). yes, i get it. he doesn't feel well. i empathize and i feel badly for him and hope he feels better soon.

but guess what? i had the EXACT SAME THING about three days ago. in fact, i'm about 100% certain that he got this from me. fine, i didn't do the Terry Fox run...but 5 weeks ago, i did do the labor and delivery run...and methinks that beats the crap out of a 10k run any day, in terms of what it does to the body.

so, yes, when i was feeling sick, i did ask the hubby to take Isabella a little more than usual, and i did say, "i think i have strep" or "i can't swallow" about 3-4 times to make it clearly known that i was feeling under the weather.

but, did i stop doing my errands? no.
did i skip any carpools, even the ones in the pouring rain? no.
did i not make dinner because i just wasn't up to it? no.

my life DID NOT STOP.

the good thing for the husband was that last night - when we were both ready to hit that wall from exhaustion - we but Bella down in the middle of our bed, on her tummy (mostly to give her some tummy time, which she adores), and she proceeded to pick her head up and hold it ever so nicely, and then collpse her head down and fall asleep.

for 6 hours.
she slept from 9pm last night until 3 am this morning.
when i woke up and realized that all 3 of us had fallen asleep. with our clothes on. with the lights on.

so, i fed the Isabella and watched a really old episode of chicago hope - Jeremy Piven was in it (bald and hairy-chested, i might add) - then she peed on me, so i changed her, and then she slept until 7.

how did she know that this was what we truly needed?

and i know what you are thinking...i'm a bad mommy for letting my baby sleep on her tummy...

the girl:


the boy:


the baby:


and yes, her shirt really DOES say "here comes trouble" :)

see some more pics of our kids here (thanks Adina!)

..here she speaks about hurricane "Corrina"

PIVEN
WAS
ROBBED





that's all i have to say about that.

oh yeah, and the Emmys sucked arse.
Ellen, who i normally find hysterical, was not even remotely funny.
and the songs? what was up with that?

~~ okay, i've truly had enough of Ryan kicking the crap out of everything. he's got too much anger in him.

~~ooh...the reading of the will is going to be good! i can't wait. jimmy needs a storyline other than his serious issues with money.

~~i'm kind of enjoying summer vs. taylor (aka Tracy Flick. ha!) "She IS Karl Rove!" Hee.

~~the new dean = huge asshole. 'nuff said.

~~Julie said "gangsta". ha.

~~ I was so happy to see that the returning two survivors were Bobby Jon and Stephenie. i love them. although i could use a little less "eye-rolling back into the head" Bobby Jon and a little more "aw shucks" Bobby Jon. and Jeff called them "tools" - i got a good chuckle out of that one (i'm such a kindergartener).

~~ Poor Jim. he was so cute. but, then again, he voted for margaret. what a dumb-ass. but still a cute old man with the homemade sling.

~~ has anyone else noticed that the show has gotten awfully graphic in their puking coverage. it used to just be the noise, now they show EVERYTHING. yuck. kinda like that episode of Family Guy...only that was a cartoon.

~~ I was glad they didn't get rid of Blake just yet (although from the previews his fate does not look good) - he's all kinds of pretty. except for the teeth. were they glowing?

~~ okay..who was the FEMALE at tribal council with a full grown mustache??? imagine how bad that's going to be a few weeks from now. i hope they vote her off quick.

~~ heh. Gary the landscaper. too bad there's a sports reporter in the game. she's for sure going to recognize him.

~~and the guy in the mud? Judd? was that his name? i laughed so hard i think i peed a little bit.

~~anyone else scared of the shrieking monkeys?

~~on what on god's green earth is a fishmonger? that isn't another term for a really, really short woman is it?

see some more new Isabella pics here.

but Britney Spears is now a Mama. god help us all.

at least she didn't opt for the $2500 kabbalah water tub birth. nope, instead she went for the voluntary c-section to deliver the little boy. not something i'd personally do, since it IS major surgery, but hey, no judging on other people's birthing methods. (after all, i have friends who give birth without epidurals...and i can't, for the life of me, fathom how that is even possible. they are amazon women, i tell you.)

the good news is that Isabella slept such a nice stretch last night from 11-5 - 6 hours. ah, heaven.

the bad news is that after she ate at 5 she decided to stay up and not go back to sleep.

the good news is that she was behaving herself and not too upset

the bad news is that between 5 and 7 in the morning there is NOTHING on tv except for infomercials and old fear factor episodes.

...i had to. i said i wasn't going to watch. but then i was sitting around, nursing my babe, and the husband was jogging, and i just gave in.

the good:
~Paris. she still continues to make me heart her.
~the rings. and the old ladies. 'nuff said.
~Babbette. love her.she holds her boobs when she runs and she said "I smell toast." she's the best.
~Michel and Emily.
~Luke's response to the proposal. priceless.
~"Maybe it's a little too Mennonite" - i think Emily might be my favorite character on this show.

the bad:
~Luke's hair. oh my lord. it's really really bad.
~Luke's make-up. i swear. he must have been using Homer's make-up
gun.


did anyone watch supernatural or bones last night??? i'm interested to hear people's reactions to them...

...this is the best nursing invention since the nursing pillow. Tova introduced me to them and i will NEVER go back. they are awesome. i feel like a normal person again.

...Piven love i have, but two hysterical things crossed my path this morning that i just had to share.

this is the first. Look at how thrilled Jeremy Piven looks to be there. it just cracked me up.

and the second, which was in Liz Smith's gossip column in the New York Post this week: "I DON'T think anybody has ever seen my body!" So despairs Emmy-nominated Jeremy Piven, the breakout star of HBO's "Entourage," a show where he plays a ruthless, suit-wearing agent. But we are sure somebody has seen Jeremy's body!

yes, somebody has seen his body. all of us who have seen Miami Rhapsody:

Nicole and Mischa dress like Bubbies:


Lindsay Lohan eats Ginger Snaps:


and the Hilton sister amuse the hell out of me:

my internet has been down all weekend until right now.
why, you may ask? something wrong with rogers? nope.
the husband decided that for some reason he needed to make his xbox faster so he began moving things around. so, he did manage to make his xbox super duper fast (yes! i'm so thrilled...) but, in doing so, he totally f$%%^ed up my internet. cripes.

i feel completely naked without my internet. i'm quite attached to it. sad, i know.

so, Isabella is feeling much, much better. she's still slightly congested, but she's sleeping 4-5 hour chunks at night, how can i possibly complain?

we are still trying to figure out what color her eyes are. sometimes they are green, sometimes gray, sometimes dark blue...when do they change??? i seem to remember my other two already being brown at this point.

the girl started public school in the afternoon, so she's officially gone from 8:40 in the morning until 3:20. nice.

i bought a side-by-side double stroller today - my 15th stroller or so... - it was on sale from $200 to $149...i couldn't resist. i wanted something crappy to throw in my car and to travel with, because the peg tender xl is way, way too bulky and huge.

Poor Baby Bella. she's so sick. she's been coughing and snorting and horking and sneezing.

i only have two people to blame for this. the girl. and the boy.
they both wouldn't. stop. touching. her. when they were sick.

now i feel like what most new mothers feel like. she was up a lot during the night, so i'm exhausted today. and i was so nervous when her breathing got really bad during the night. one would have thought i was a first time mom.

but, she's such an angel. even with this horrible cold, she's been so good. i'm sooo lucky.

...totally freaked out by the Exorcism of Emily Rose preview???

~~thank heavens that Ryan decided to get himself a big boy haircut...i was beginning to get tired of that kindergarten bowl cut he had going on. he looks good!

~~lurved the beach scene (except at times i felt a slight tinge of cheese - very Dawson's Creek). i feel like when Ryan was mocking Summer it was a total ad lib. and i totally laughed.

~~who wants to give a big aw to the Sandy/Ryan hug. loved it.

~~who else loves Julie Cooper Nichol?? she's the best thing about this show (well, after Jimmy of course)

~~Jeri Ryan is bugging already. wonder where they plan to go with her storyline. single white female?? i loved when Kirsten said "my boys"

~~big shout out to Teen Wolf! yes, Seth, why does being a wolf make you a better basketball player?

~~best line of the night: "I can work with the gunshot victims, because you can't catch that!"

i've been tagged.

Okay, here's how it works:

1. Go to Music Outfitters.
2. Enter the year you graduated from high school in the search function and get the list of 100 most popular songs of that year.
3. Bold the songs you like, strike through the ones you hate and underline your favorite. Do nothing to the ones you don't remember or don't care about. Commentary is optional, as is good taste.

Here's my list from 1996:
1. Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix), Los Del Rio
2. One Sweet Day, Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men
3. Because You Loved Me, Celine Dion
4. Nobody Knows, Tony Rich Project
5. Always Be My Baby, Mariah Carey
6. Give Me One Reason, Tracy Chapman
7. Tha Crossroads, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
8. I Love You Always Forever, Donna Lewis
9. You're Makin' Me High / Let It Flow, Toni Braxton
10. Twisted, Keith Sweat
11. C'mon N' Ride It (The Train), Quad City Dj's
12. Missing, Everything But The Girl
13. Ironic, Alanis Morissette
14. Exhale (Shoop Shoop), Whitney Houston
15. Follow You Down / Til I Hear It From You, Gin Blossoms
16. Sittin' Up In My Room, Brandy
17. How Do U Want It / California Love, 2Pac
18. It's All Coming Back To Me Now, Celine Dion
19. Change The World, Eric Clapton
20. Hey Lover, LL Cool J
21. Loungin, LL Cool J
22. Insensitive, Jann Arden
23. Be My Lover, La Bouche
24. Name, Goo Goo Dolls
25. Who Will Save Your Soul, Jewel
26. Where Do You Go, No Mercy
27. I Can't Sleep Baby (If I), R. Kelly
28. Counting Blue Cars, Dishwalla
29. You Learn / You Oughta Know, Alanis Morissette
30. One Of Us, Joan Osborne
31. Wonder, Natalie Merchant
32. Not Gon' Cry, Mary J. Blige
33. Gangsta's Paradise, Coolio
34. Only You, 112 Featuring The Notorious B.I.G.
35. Down Low (Nobody Has To Know), R. Kelly
36. You're The One, SWV
37. Sweet Dreams, La Bouche
38. Before You Walk Out Of My Life / Like This And Like That, Monica
39. Breakfast At Tiffany's, Deep Blue Something
40. 1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin' New), Coolio
41. The World I Know, Collective Soul
42. No Diggity, BLACKstreet (Featuring Dr. Dre)
43. Anything, 3t
44. 1979, The Smashing Pumpkins
45. Diggin' On You, TLC
46. Why I Love You So Much / Ain't Nobody, Monica
47. Kissin' You, Total
48. Count On Me, Whitney Houston and Cece Winans
49. Fantasy, Mariah Carey
50. Time, Hootie and The Blowfish
51. You'll See, Madonna
52. Last Night, Az Yet
53. Mouth, Merril Bainbridge
54. The Earth, The Sun, The Rain, Color Me Badd
55. All The Things (Your Man Won't Do), Joe
56. Wonderwall, Oasis
57. Woo-hah!! Got You All In Check / Everything Remains Raw, Busta Rhymes
58. Tell Me, Groove Theory
59. Elevators (Me and You), Outkast
60. Hook, Blues Traveler
61. Doin It, LL Cool J
62. Fastlove, George Michael
63. Touch Me Tease Me, Case Featuring Foxxy Brown
64. Tonite's Tha Night, Kris Kross
65. Children, Robert Miles
66. Theme From Mission: Impossible, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen
67. Closer To Free, Bodeans
68. Just A Girl, No Doubt
69. If Your Girl Only Knew, Aaliyah
70. Lady, D'angelo
71. Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First), John Mellencamp
72. Pony, Ginuwine
73. Nobody, Keith Sweat
74. Old Man and Me (When I Get To Heaven), Hootie and The Blowfish
75. If It Makes You Happy, Sheryl Crow
76. As I Lay Me Down, Sophie B. Hawkins
77. Keep On, Keepin' On, Mc Lyte
78. Jealousy, Natalie Merchant
79. I Want To Come Over, Melissa Etheridge
80. Who Do U Love, Deborah Cox
81. Un-Break My Heart, Toni Braxton
82. This Is Your Night, Amber
83. You Remind Me Of Something, R. Kelly
84. Runaway, Janet Jackson
85. Set U Free, Planet Soul
86. Hit Me Off, New Edition
87. No One Else, Total
88. My Boo, Ghost Town Dj's
89. Get Money, Junior M.A.F.I.A.
90. That Girl, Maxi Priest Featuring Shaggy
91. Po Pimp, Do Or Die
92. Until It Sleeps, Metallica
93. Hay, Crucial Conflict
94. Beautiful Life, Ace Of Base
95. Back For Good, Take That
96. I Got Id / Long Road, Pearl Jam
97. Soon As I Get Home, Faith Evans
98. Macarena, Los Del Rio
99. Only Wanna Be With You, Hootie and The Blowfish
100. Don't Cry, Seal

okay..i have to say that i don't even know what half these songs are! and when i was 18, i listened to a lot of music.

okay...with the OC premiering tonight, i suddenly realized i have no idea when anything starts this season. I've been so anxiously awaiting the return of my favorites all summer long, and it's finally september.

here's what i'm looking forward to this season:
Sundays:
Desperate Housewives (9/25)
Grey's Anatomy (9/25)
Family Guy (9/11)

Tuesdays:
The Amazing Race (9/27)

Wednesdays:
The Apprentice: Martha Stewart (9/21)

Thursdays:
Survivor (9/15)
The O.C. (9/8)
The Apprentice (9/22)

i can't yet get too excited about some of the new shows coming out like "how i met your mother" and "reunion" i'm sure i'll most likely give several of them a try, but they might suck so badly that i can't quite get excited for their debuts.

what are y'all looking forward to? any new shows you think will be good?

Isabella had herself two playdates last week!! She's very popular :)

the first was with my co-worker Haley and her daughter Joey:


and the second was with Tova and her son Noah:


(she was well behaved for both, even though she's crying a little bit in the second picture)

gosh..kids are cute!

so, today was the first day of carpool. it worked out perfectly. i put my two in the booster and car seat in the captain's chairs (but don't tell, since the girl is way under the 40 pounds...) and the woolfs in the car seat and booster in the back.

I got a spot in the lot. not an excellant one. but at least i didn't have to circle and recircle, so i was happy. i brought the kids inside. Maya found her line. The boy and Kyra held hands and went straight to the teacher (they were so delicious). so, then i just had to drop off the girl. went to her classroom. empty. what? i don't get it??!

so, then i ran into my brother in law, David, who saved the day. Junior kindergarten begins at 9:30 today. well, that makes sense. the ENTIRE school starts at 9:00, but jk starts half an hour later. yeah. smart thinking. and why didn't anyone tell me? jewish day schools are very disorganized.

here was the glitch. i had planned it out perfectly that i would leave isabella with jhoanne and then come home to feed her at 9:15. there was no way i could sit around and wait. no way. isabella would have freaked out. she's a scheduled kid and only eats every 3 hours, but it would be unfair of me to make her wait. so, i left the girl with her uncle on her first day of school. i didn't even get to meet her teachers or see her classroom.

she was fine and went to him easily. and she doesn't seem unhappy about it now. she had a great day. but i felt so guilty the whole day.

she likes her teachers and lots of her friends are in her class, and she got a big kick out of them calling her by her hebrew name, Meira, because junior kindergarten at her school is hebrew immersion (she's very bright, my daughter, she's already become friends with an israeli girl who can translate for her when she gets confused.)

i swear, i'm not making this up.
Sean Penn decided that he was going to save the world again...well, maybe not the whole world...just New Orleans, so off he went with a boat and a personal photographer in tow.

but, the boat sprang a leak after Penn apparently forgot to plug a hole in the bottom of the vessel, which began taking water within seconds of its launch. Penn was seen frantically bailing water out of the sinking vessel with a red plastic cup.

The motor also failed to start, and those aboard were forced to paddle down the flooded New Orleans street. Asked what he had hoped to achieve in the waterlogged city, the actor replied: "Whatever I can do to help." The locals were unmoved, and one bystander even taunted the actor: "How are you going to get any people in that thing?"

after what looked like it was going to be a disastrous morning, actually turned into a fantastic first day of school for the boy (the girl doesn't start until tomorrow).

this morning i was getting dressed...well, not so much getting dressed as i was staring at my closet with tears in my eyes because NOTHING fits me...and Joshie comes running into my room crying his eyes out.

"What happened Joshie?"
"Jhoanne threw him off the couch!" Emily tells me.
"What? Joshie..what happened?"
"Jhoanne threw me off the couch and i hurt my hand." Joshie answered.
What? What? What?
"Emily, tell me exactly what happened."
"Well, joshie was playing with isabella and started to get rough and jhoanne threw him off the couch."
so, at this point, i'm still not sure what happened. and then Joshie shows me his thumb. his ENTIRE nail bent backwards and was bleeding underneath. no doubt he was in a lot of pain. but, there was ZERO explanation from Jhoanne.

****UPDATE - i did ask jhoanne about it, because i was slightly concerned. it seems it was an accident, and she was just trying to protect isabella at all costs. i really, truly don't think she would EVER hurt my children on purpose.

he's fine. and we were off the school.
Joshie had a great time. he played. he had snack. he loved the story. he liked his teachers. and best of all...he didn't cry once. or even look nervous for a single second. and as we were leaving he said to me:

"Mommy, that was fun!"
ah, that's music to a mother's ears.
this nursery thing is going to be a breeze!
pray for me that the girl is just as good tomorrow.

from Dooneybug:

7 things I plan to do before I die:

get my novel published
get back to my prepregnancy weight
get tickets to Oprah
own an SUV again (and not a minivan)
see U2 in concert
go back to school
be on tv or in a movie (even as an extra)

7 things I can do:

i can touch my nose with my tongue
cook and bake
play the piano
make cute babies :)
scrapbook
recite any john hughes movie, line by line
outeat my husband

7 things I cannot do:

resist a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie
dance without looking like a total freak
not correct bad grammar
swim well
sing to save my life
wait until my kids start school next week
stand messy, dirty kids

7 things that attract me to the opposite sex:

eyes
smile
hands
ass
hair
sense of humor
intellect

7 things I say most often:

whatever
give her (the baby) some space
relax
what the?
oh, man!
i about died
this is SO going on my blog!


7 celebrity crushes:

Jared Leto
Jude Law
Jeremy Piven
Ryan Gosling
Thad Luckinbill
Josh Duhamel
Jeff Probst

7 people I want to do this:

alrighty...i want anyone who wants to do it to do it...but if i have to choose 7, here we go: Mer, Nicole, Jenny, Gerah, Sean, Angie or Jon, WriteWingNut

check out a few more pics here.