you know when it starts.
you feel that slight tickle in your throat when you yawn.
and then you begin to feel it when you swallow. the knives. feels like knives in your throat.
you've past the point of no return. you're getting a cold and there's nothing you can do about it.
personally, i'm a big believer in medicating. a good regimen of dayquil for day and nyquil for night. gel caps. yes, it does a body good. i can function during the day. i can sleep at night. glorious. unfortunately for me, for the majority of the years 2000-2006 i have either been nursing or pregnant, so alas, medication was ill-advised and therefore, not an option for me.
the husband, on the other hand, is the opposite. he only takes medication in the most dire of circumstances. by choice. insane. he's like those people who insist on NOT having a epidural. like you get extra points for not taking any medication. my dear? that's why they have medication. so you can function. and sleep. and you don't have to make those horrible horking noises all night.

as a slight germophobe by nature - i'm big on washing my hands, not sharing drinks...that sort of thing, how do i avoid getting a cold. a sars mask? one of those new asian solar visors?

seriously...i could just die laughing from these things. the neighborhood around my office is primarily asian. and i would say about 80% of the people i see walking around are wearing these visors.
from afar they look very medieval times.
from up close they look very storm trooper-esque.

here's to hoping the solar visor craze doesn't catch on.
and that none of you out there catch my stinkin' cold.

this is a good indicator of how Isabella spent her weekend.
~going to the water park at Canada's Wonderland. she wasn't quite sure about the sprinklers. she was fascinated and wanted to go closer, but the second we got near she got a little scared.
~swimming at Jack and Ilana's pool. this kid is a total water baby. she loves the water. splashing and kicking. she didn't want to get out.
~we're not even going to talk about the many showers she had to have over the weekend...the poor girl pooped through her diaper every night. (we've decided to switch back to pampers. to hell with sales and cheap huggies. they are SOOOO not worth it)
which brings me to the most embarrassing thing (well, one of them) that has ever happened to me. isabella liked getting into the shower with me. mostly, though, she liked my nipples. yes. like buttons for her to push. she was absolutely fascinated. which is why the shower was a short one. while this was a fun game for Isabella, it was hardly joyous for Mama.
so...my inlaws came over for lunch yesterday and afterwards, Emily turns to my FATHER-IN-LAW and says, "you know what, Sabba? My sister likes to pretend that my mommy's nipples are buttons and she pushes them in and out."
dying, i was. i'm probably still 10 shades of red from it.
and i will never be able to look at my father in law again. ever.

Canadian Mama Bloggers:

1. NinePoundDictator
It's Rebecca Eckler, folks. Need i even say more??

2. Martinis For Milk
ah...a girl after my own heart. she writes about wife swapping and putting the gay (anyone surprised by this news?) Lance Bass in space.

3. The Cheaty Monkey
Someone i actually know! in real life! Haley's a good friend and an ex-cowker (but don't get me started on that) and her cute little monkey turns 1 today!!!

4. MUBAR
she's queen of all things Toronto. The Toronto Mommy's survival guide? yeah, she writes that, too.

5. Sometimes Holland Feels Like Hell
she's Irish. and she's awesome. she's got two adorable boys and a babe on the way. and i know her in real life too. well, kind of.

they come from a world of hockey. and curling.
where people eat poutine. and kraft dinner. and timbits. and coffee crisp. and homo milk (out of a bag).
where people use toonies and loonies instead of bills.
where they have victoria day and boxing day. and thanksgiving is in October.
where people use words like hoser. and tuque. and two-four.
where the beaver is a truly noble animal.
where people shop at roots. and canadian tire.
where people say "eh" and zed

they are awesome.
and there are so many more out there. Jodi. Naomi. what about you? who's your favorite Canadian Blogger?

i am officially the proud owner of a brand new ipod.
sure...it's only a 4th generation.

but it has 20 whole spanking gbs. i'm SOOO excited.
and i got it on ebay.
for $100!
take that apple! one. hundred. dollars.

it's apple's fault that i had to go to my good pal ebay to find me what i wanted.
here's what apple offers:
a) a shuffle. teeny weeny. holds like 2 songs and you can only play them on shuffle. (fine, fine, it holds more than 2, but it's a 512. VERY SMALL)

b) a nano. it's nice to look at, sure. and it's very small. terrific. but...apple only offers it in 1, 2 or 4 gb sizes. um..i don't think so...

c) a video. in 30gb or 60 gb. tons of storage space. more than i'd ever need. and it has video. which i'd never use.


what about the people who want more than 4 gb but don't need the super fancy 30gb video??? there are no options here.
what the hell?
oh, and also...i won a bid on a cover and an armstrap...for, get this, one penny. one stinkin' little penny. i'm so excited. and also completely addicted to ebay. what else do you think i can win for under a nickel???

Canadian Idol. what the heck (that was for you, baby) is wrong with Canada? no, seriously. Didn't the judges just get through telling Sarah that she had the strongest singing voice...in the entire competition??? and then BAM! voted off. does someone need to explain to these voters that you are voting for who you want to stay...not who you want to leave? come on, people, i realize that she chose a bad song. when you are singing Rolling Stones...you best be choosing to sing something everyone knows. that way, even if you butcher it, people are singing along and don't really notice (ala Brandon). but Sarah?

Rock Star. anyone else praying for Zayra to be kicked to the curb?? my god, she's awful. and zayra? sweetie? that jetsons-style jumpsuit wasn't going to save that fact that you can't hit a freakin' note. Dana won't last long in this competition, but at least she's taking the criticism and working with it. not like Jill, the whore. she was humping Gilby a little too much for my taste. ew.
my top three: Dilana, Storm, Toby (with an honourable mention to Lukas)
my bottom three: Jill, Zayra, and Phil

Manorexics. Okay, so a few nights ago I watched Before Sunset. y'all know what i'm talkin' about. the Ethan Hawke and Julie Delphy sequel that we waited about a decade for.
i enjoyed it. but i have to say, i was somewhat distracted by Ethan's manorexia. seriously. don't believe me? check it out for yourself.
here is Ethan, looking all scruffy and delicious (and all Reality Bites-esque. mmmm)in Before Sunrise:


and here is Ethan, looking all cancer-patient and crackhead-y in Before Sunset:


ps. now this is so totally random. remember when that whole thing went down with Ethan Hawke having the sordid affair with the Montreal girl. Remember? it's what broke up his marriage to the lovely Uma (Uma. Oprah. Uma. Oprah). Anyway...well, my sister in law Adina not only knows this girl, she plays baseball with her. funny.

i don't think that the husband could have been happier.
his two little bunnies...devouring steak.
me? i had the veggie burger, thank you very much.
i am sooo outnumbered around these parts.

An evening in reverse.

11:00pm. Emily wanders into our room. "I need a drink. my throat hurts."
9:00ish. Emily finally stops screaming bloody murder. takes her blanket and pillow. goes up the stairs and goes to sleep. the husband and i breathe a sigh of relief.
8:45pm. Emily and the husband are in the laundry room. that's where Emily is spending the night. on the floor. this is a trick we learned from our good friends. the idea of spending the night on the cold floor of the laundry room scared the shit out of Emily.
8:00pm. one last chance. we (well, i agreed. because i'm the softie. and there's only so much crying and screaming a mother can listen to) agree to open the door and the shades if she'll stop crying. i think - for a split second - that it might work. no go. door is closed. shades are shut.
7:30pm. her shades get closed. she's getting unhappier and unhappier. and the screaming is getting worse.
7:15pm. her door gets closed. there's too much screaming.
7:00pm. we take Emily upstairs. she's still screaming. I try to reason with her. she's 5. she should be the one i can reason with. no go. "I want dessert! I want dessert!" camera comes out once again. i taped the screaming fit for posterity (or for when she brings a boyfriend home). i will hold it for ransom.
6:30pm. dessert goes badly. we say no to dunkaroos. like any normal parent. yes, i want my child having cookies and and big ole' tub of icing before bed. we give them a choice - 5 little candies or half a winkie. the boy isn't happy. but, dessert of any kind is better than nothing. he shrugs and takes the candies. he enjoys them. not Emily.
Emily freaks out. the choices were not to her liking. she throws a full-out hot-blooded exorcism-like tantrum.
I tape it. because i can't stop laughing. so, we tell her she can't have dessert.

ah, the joys of parenting.

I had so many things to write about this morning, but now Blogger and I are in a huge fight. It seems I picked a good time to call on my friend Becca to get me the heck off of Blogger and move me onto something bigger and better. And prettier.

I was going to tell you all about the pool party I went to last night. And about my new tankini. and, no, it does not become see-through when wet. thank the lord.
I was going to tell you about my committment to go to the gym 4 times this week, mostly because my nanny joined the gym and goes EVERY SINGLE DAY after work. Every day.
I was going to tell you that I’m scrapbooking again.
I was going to tell you about the ipod I want to get and ask for some advice from all you wise internets out there.
I was going to tell you about my little bugger who is getting tooth #2 as we speak. And she bit her big sister yesterday. And broke the skin.
I was going to tell you about my favorite pair of shoes that I love and can’t bear to get rid of, even though they are falling apart.
I was going to tell you about the fact that I never used to cross my legs at my desk…because it’s supposed to be bad for you…and now, for some reason, i.can’t.stop. help me!!!

I was going to tell you about all of these things. But, instead, I’m giving blogger the silent treatment. We are sooo in a fight now.

Places you should visit today:
1. one red paperclip
it all started with a red paperclip. one year and 14 trades later, and Kyle MacDonald has successfully traded his paper clip for a house. yes, folks. an actual house. with an address!



2. PostSecret
it doesn't get much better than this.
secrets mailed in anonymously.
The secret can be a regret, hope, funny experience, unseen kindness, fantasy, belief, fear, betrayal, erotic desire, feeling, confession, or childhood humiliation.



3. Gawker
one of my most favorite guilty pleasures.
it's got it all. the break-ups. the babies. the betrayals. the boozing. the backstabbing. the breaking news.
and those are just the b's.

and...a bonus video. because she's just so freakin' cute ;)

Behold!
it's Isabella's favorite toy:


actually, truth be told, it's her ONLY toy.
well, that's a lie, actually. aaron and adrienne were kind enough to lend me this:

so, my almost-one-year old will have something to play with...you know...other than remotes and wipes containers.

the truth is that she's outgrown those baby, baby toys.
those? we have about 500. we've got lamaze and whoozits and rattles and teethers and inchworms and keys and flutterbugs up the wazoo. seriously. hundreds. but...in the around-a-year stage toys?? i can't even remember what my other two were playing with at the time.

any suggestions? ideas?
favorite toys? toys you'd NEVER recommend?
help for a third-time mother with a serious case of amnesia?
(i'm thinking that the boy played with BOY toys - fisher price airport and fire station and the like and i can't, for the life of me, remember what Emily played with.)

Beth did it.
Amy did it.

so, it seems i've jumped on the belly bandwagon.
i took the picture a couple days ago.
and have been avoiding putting it up.
it's all thanks to this website, The Shape of a Mother.
seriously y'all? it's amazing.
these women are so brave and wonderful and amazing and beautiful. each and every one of them. with their stretch marks and their flab and their pooches (i don't have stretch marks, but i'm all over the flab and pooch. sexy, i know.)

this is me, just before Isabella was born:


this is me, now. un-airbrushed. un-photoshopped (and don't think i didn't want to):


so...there you have it.
now i will run away, all shy and red-faced.

so, it seems that taking an advanced step and abs class when it's 99 degrees outside, when you haven't had enough to drink and there was something wrong with the air conditioning in the gym, is not the best idea.
it ended badly. i won't get into specifics...but it involved the toilet. and also dry heaves.
wow. dehydration sucks.
i'm achy this morning. from the class...jesus, i really worked myself hard. i'm annoyed, though, because i LOVED the class. I was so impressed with myself that i was able to keep up even though i had no clue what i was doing. from the puking. from being up half the night.
yikes.
well, the good news is that i was able to catch the 11:00 Canadian Idol. although i missed most of Sarah Loverock (i heard her from the bathroom, though. he)

my early favorites are:
Eva. i hope she wins. she's got both stage presence and vocals. love her.
Tyler. i liked his performance. hey, it's no rockstar:supernova, but he had a great time up there, and i rather enjoyed it.
Brandon. but mostly because i want to take him home and bake him some cookies or something.
Sarah. i didn't see her performance last night, but generally i like her.

and i think that Kati is going home. or maybe Rob?

it's very rare for me to pick up a book, start reading it, and just not be able to finish it. The English Patient. couldn't get through. i'd find myself reading and rereading and rereading the same pages. The Alphabet Sisters. HATED it. i kept reading and thought it was going to get better...and then it just didn't.
conversely, it's rare for me to pick up and book and just not be able to put it down.
usually, for me, books fall somewhere in the middle of these two extremes. the first few pages go pretty slowly and then at some point in the first few chapters, the book hooks me, and a few days, weeks, months (usually not months) later...i'm finished.
so, on Saturday morning, when i picked up "The Time Traveler's Wife" i was shocked at how this book sucked me in. I was already reading "Reading Lolita in Tehran" and was mildly into it, but it was upstairs and i was lazy. so i picked up the book and started reading. and i couldn't put it down. All day on Saturday i was dying to get back to it. and by Saturday night, I was a woman possessed. at every half hour mark, i promised myself, only half an hour more. 11:30, 12, 12:30, 1, 1:30, 2:00...i kept thinking, "Ali, this is a huge mistake...your kids are going to be up in a few hours" but i couldn't stop. it was ridiculous. i read that whole stinkin' book. all 518 pages of it.
and i LOVED it. i wanted more. i didn't want it to end.

* * * * * * * * * *

I usually only weigh myself twice a week. (this is good for me. i'm down from doing it every day...) friday afternoons -when i weigh the least and monday mornings - when i weigh the most.
it's usually pretty consistent. i'm 104 on friday afternoon and 108-109 on monday mornings (now don't go start saying..."oh, poor Ali, she weighs all of the same as my right leg"...remember that i'm a little girl and i'm 5'2 on a good day when i'm wearing shoes. i'm supposed to NOT weigh a lot) it makes sense to me, i guess. i watch what i eat during the week - religiously - because it's easy. and on the weekends? i totally let myself go. i eat whatever i want. an entire tray of brownies? sure! half a tub of half-baked ice cream? why not? an entire bag of twizzlers? bring it on!

so, imagine my surprise when i got on the scale this past friday - - - the VERY week that i had decided to give up baked goods...cookies, cake, etc. - - - and the scale said 109. 109! i almost died. my first thought was that the scale was wrong. broken. had to be. but, then i went into my closet, and like a crazy woman i tried on all my clothing. and NOTHING was fitting me. nothing.
so, i put on an elastic-waisted skirt and got drunk on vanilla vodka and diet pepsi. drown my sorrows in alcohol. nice one, Ali.

sunday morning didn't prove to be any better. the scale was tipping at 111. 111. i can't even remember the last time i weighed that much. i can't freakin' remember. that's how long ago it was. this morning was slightly better. i'm down to 110. down. can you just die. down.

so, i freaked out a little bit this morning. i was crying. throwing clothing. mumbling to myself. the works. note to all you husbands out there: when your wife is freaking out because she's spontaneously fat, the correct answer is not "Well, have you been going to the gym three times a week??" not. the. right. answer. not even close, bud. to be fair to my husband, there probably was no right answer here. tell me i'm skinny? i'll call you a liar. tell me i'm looking bigger? i'll cry some more.

well...i've stuffed my bloated body into something that doesn't zip up the entire way, and i've come to terms with this. it's monday morning. i'm starting fresh. i've got the entire week to lose this weight, and my god, i'm SOO losing this weight.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Entourage was so good last night.
Eric has his first threesome.
Ari has several awesome breakdowns.
Lloyd kicks ass...but only gets paid in yen.
The boys are fucked.

Feast One Hundred & Two
Appetizer
Name one thing nice that you could do for someone else today.
i am helping my friend Ilana with her fundraiser...so when i went to the employee store (yes, I got in this week and didn't get kicked out...it helps that i came to work dressed like sporty spice...!!) i didn't buy a thing for myself...everything i got was for the fundraiser.

Soup
When was the last time you were frightened by the weather?
it was actually just this week. i am not usually afraid of weather....but sometimes i get frightened by lightning that looks like it's close to the ground. and it rained and rained and rained one day this week...(monday?) and i was a little scared..i know, i'm a wuss.

Salad
What would you say is the most useful website or blog that you visit?
useful? http://pro.corbis.com/ I use it on a daily basis for work.

Main Course
Who was your favorite singer/group when you were a child?
wow. there are too many. i had my new kid on the block stage (what girl didn't?!) so i really liked them when i was 12. after that i was all over the place musically, even as a kid. for a while i was very into u2, Billy Joel, Elton John...etc. then, i moved on to alternative - green day, smashing pumpkins, stone temple pilots, pearl jam and the like and then at 16, for a short while, i was heavily influenced by some cool new yorkers (well, they were cool at the time) and went heavy into heavier things like candlebox and nine inch nails. then i moved on to the chicks - - Sarah McLachlan and Indigo Girl-y.
and now i'm totally still all over the place. i can appreciate all walks of music.

Dessert
Do you have any rituals? If so, what are they?
rituals? well, i do the same thing in the shower every day, in the same order....that seems ritualistic to me...does that count?

Nancy and Keith should have been in the top ten.
that's all i'm sayin...

she'll be a delight. you won't even notice she's there. well...
~until you ask her to get dressed....and she has a full-blown fit because she wants to wear this dress to camp and you want her to wear sensible CAMP clothing.
~until you are trying to blow your hair DRY and she comes in and runs your brush (the one you are using) under the water so she can flatten her hair
~until you are giving her breakfast and she can't handle the fact that you won't allow her to eat froot loops in the family room. (or any other meal, for that matter)
~until the meal is over and is begging you for dessert. "i want dessert! i want dessert! i want dessert!" for half an hour straight.
~until you want to put something on tv for her and the ONLY thing she wants to watch is Beverly Hills, 90210.
~until you try to get a word in edge-wise but she doesn't let you because her mouth doesn't close. ever.
~until you lock yourself in your room to try to get two minutes of peace to use the bathroom and check your email and she goes into the nursery and presents herself on the monitor "um...i don't think you are, like, listening to me. i have a problem. i think it's time we consider getting rid of joshie."
~until she wants you to put her hair in a bun...but clearly your buns aren't good enough. so she cries about it.
~until you tell her that she can't come into your room, so she pounds on the door and kicks and screams until you let her in out of fear of her kicking the door down.
~until you want to put her to bed and she wants 5 more minutes, a story, her songs, 5 more minutes, fill up her water, wait...stay and snuggle for one more minute, another minute, wait, my stomach's hurting me, joshie hurted my leg at camp, i need you to cut my toenails....

hmm...i'm doing going to be able to sell her, am i?
shoot, and i am dying for a cookie this morning, too.

it's over, Johnny.

this ridiculous obsession with baked goods.
cake, cookies, brownies, muffins, what have you.
it's seriously out of control.
damn you, starbucks, and your amazing lemon poppy seed loaf
damn you, dunkin hines, and your amazing brownie mix (that i could eat in batter form, as well as in brownie form)

i'm done i tell you.
desserts, be gone.
except for these. these are allowed.

please, if you see me, and you see me reaching for the dessert...just slap a big ole hand on my ass or do a little pillsbury dough boy finger push into my belly flab. i'll get your hint. trust me.

in the last few months, i have heard:
"XXX doesn't like you because you once gave her a recipe and sabotaged it."
"XXX thinks you don't like her."
"XXX doesn't like you because once she saw you and you weren't overly friendly to her."
"XXX doesn't like you because you're snobby."
"XXX thinks you don't like her because instead of looking at her, you look through her."
"XXX and i were talking and we think it's weird that you and XXX are friends."

okay, first of all, sabotaging a recipe? seriously, who does that?? (i mean, of course, besides Marie Barone??) that's entirely NOT my style. if i don't want you to have a recipe, i'll say no. i wouldn't go to the trouble to destroy it for you. especially since you are a good friend.
second of all....people think it's weird if i'm friends with someone else? who has the time in their lives to sit and think about why people are friends with other people?? seriously??
and why do all these people think i don't like them?

i feel like i'm stuck in a time loop and i keep having to relive the 10th grade.
it's karma, isn't it?
karma, for not being a nice girl in high school. for being icy, for being mean, and for being snobby.

i feel like this is a battle i just can't win. and i don't know - truth be told - if i'm up for the fight.
~how do you convince people who think you're one way that you aren't?
~how do make someone see that if you turned your head to someone, maybe it was because you were having a bad day, and it had nothing to do with them?
~how do you let someone know that maybe you don't come up to them in a crowd because you feel like you might say something stupid, so you avoid saying anything at all?
~how do you tell people that you have stresses in your life...you have money issues, you have kid issues, you have job issues??

you can't really.
but, my god, no wonder all girls have self esteem issues.

self, in the future, don't drink too much and then announce:
"Wow, there sure are a lot of Jewish noses at this party"

Question:
so, Matt, what are you going to sing to show us that you can rock HARDER?

Answer:
oh, i think i'll sing Duran Duran.

right...nice choice...

in other Rockstar news,
Dilana scares the crap out of me...but she's awesome.

there are a few words my daughter says:
dada, um, up, hi, bye bye (which sounds like die-die), yes ...typical baby words.

and last night she added a new one to her repertoire...
hot dog.

i'm not even joking.
the husband took out some hot dogs to make for the kids and she made a beeline for them and starting grunting and salivating.
I said, "Isabella, do you want a hot dog?"
and she started giggling and smiling and screaming in delight.
and then she looked at me and said, "hock gog"
plain as day.
and then she said it about 50 more times.
"hock gog. hock gog. hock gog."
figures. my porker of a baby says hot dog.

before she properly says, "Mama"
as least i know where her priorities lie...

Now this is for me.
It's not a secret. the husband and i are NOT big zoo-goers. we'll go once a year. or we'll go when we are in Milwaukee and there's NOTHING else to do, and we can't stand another day of just sitting around on our asses doing nothing.
Riverdale Farm, sure. it's a farm. it's interactive. as is Bowmanville Zoo.
i don't really have the animal cruelty issues, or what have you.
i just think they are boring as hell.
how many times can you go to the same zoo and look at the same animals doing nothing but being lazy? sure, you may get lucky and get some active animals (ooh...everyone hopes for the monkeys going at it, until their children turn to them and say, "mommy, WHAT are they doing???), but usually, they are just sunbathing. or scratching their asses. or sleeping. there's nothing like getting your kids exciting to see some snoring animals!
also, there seems to be a tremendous amount of WALKING at the zoo. each exhibit seems miles away from the next. why do they do this? oh...i know...so after one long stretch my 5-year-old will say, "i'm sooo tired. and hot. and hungry. and thirsty. i hate the zoo." and then about 15 minutes later, you can hear me saying the exact same thing...
maybe it's just because if i'm going to spend that much money, i want some excitement. i'd rather get canada's wonderland passes. or i'd rather go to African Lion Safari. now THAT is good times! I even enjoy a good aquarium (the new one in Atlanta is AMAZING), but i don't think i could go more than once or twice.
i have NOTHING against people who love the zoo. some people do! (it's the whole 'not that there's anything wrong with that' thing) we have many friends who have season passes and go all the time. that's great for them.
it's just not my bag, baby.

thanks, Orah, for giving me this idea!!

shamelessly lifted from Kimba, but i'm giving her all the credit, so that counts, right?

after i finished watching Canadian Idol yesterday (holy crap...i'm addicted. embarrassed...but addicted...i even voted. yes, i voted, people. what's wrong with me??), i watched a Beverly Hills, 90210 marathon.

i'm so happy that this show is in syndication in canada, you have no idea. this show was such a huge part of my life for so long. the guys? I'm totally a Dylan kind of girl. the girls? always liked Brenda better. a girl who goes out of her way to find Balzac's house...anyone remember the first thing Dylan said to Brenda when they first kissed??? "You are so warm." could you die? that's seriously the weirdest thing i've ever heard.

watching now, though, it's hysterical to see how dated the show actually is. and it wasn't even THAT long ago. the high-waisted, belted, tapered-leg jeans. the baggy pants, tight-rolled at the ankle. the vests. jesus, the vests. david's mc-hammer/vanilla ice button down shirts with the mock collars. the hairstyles. the bangs. oh, the bangs. the sideburns. the giant sunglasses. and that's just seasons 1 and 2....

we're not even going to get into the long, flowy flowered dresses and the chokers....

"Donna Martin graduates! Donna Martin graduates!"

so, when you hear that someone you know who has been married for 20 years is getting divorced, you are slightly shocked.
and then when you hear of another couple you know, who has five kids under 6, are getting divorced, you are slightly more shocked.
and then when you hear of yet another couple you know who has been married for a while and has kids is getting divorced because the WIFE has a girlfriend, you are even more shocked.
but nothing can prepare you for what the husband and I found out last week. nothing.
and shock doesn't even begin to scratch the surface.

so, another couple that we know, one that we know VERY well, or at least thought we did, are getting divorced.
why?
because the man in the relationship is becoming a woman.

it's a lot of information to digest.
(but, i think this might be the closest i'll ever get to being on Oprah!!)

this is what happens when mothers leave their children with their fathers: