the bean has a big ass head.

we just got back from her 4-month check-up. and you'll be SO proud of me - i managed to make it through watching her get three separate shots withOUT crying. not even one tear!

you know how they (don't you hate when people refer to "they"? who the hell are "they," anyway? heh.) always say that babies can sense things - like when their parents are upset, angry, stressed, etc.? well, i figured that if i was all tense and nervous about her shots, she'd be able to feel it, and that would make it worse. i don't know if that's actually true or not, but i forced myself to smile and be cheerful while she was turning beet red and screaming her little head off. of course, inside, i was bawling my eyes out and melting into a big pile of mommy goo.

but just like last time, as soon as it was over and the hub picked her up and rubbed her back and murmured comforting words to her, she calmed down and her little body relaxed again.

before those shots:

and after (once i got her strapped into her seat and in the car):

heh. oh, and here's the stats:

weight - 15 pounds, 6 ounces. 84th percentile, meaning she weighs the same or more than 84% of other beans her age.
height - 25 inches. or, 2 feet, 1 inch. just like i put on her passport application. 76th percentile.
nugget - 16.25 inches. 62nd percentile. i guess the hub is right - she DOES have a big ass head - but she's gotta have somewhere to put all that hair.

speaking of her passport, we finally got the application all completed and submitted to the department of state. we got up nice and early on saturday morning to get to the post office, and of course we ran a little later than we'd wanted to. by the time we arrived, there were about 8 others in front of us. and of course, there's only ONE passport agent.

so we sat down to wait, next to a lady who was getting one for her teenaged daughter to go on a cruise to mexico. over the course of the hour that we sat there, we learned way more about them than we wanted to know - like why she and her ex-husband (the kid's dad) were divorced, how her sister's husband was getting his DNA tested to see if some heffa's baby was fathered by him, the complete itinerary for the cruise, and how long she'd been in labor with her daughter. mm-hmmm.

my favorite comment from this woman was while they were flipping through the brochure for the cruise together - "hmmm, puerto vallarta offers "sparkling nightlife." damn. that nightlife's not going to do me any good with a KID around. oh, well."

nice.

so if the bean sleeps through most of the day like she did the last time she got vaccinated, i'm gonna be able to get through the rest of these invitations. whee! i didn't exactly finish yesterday, after throwing things at the t.v. (while watching the stupid bowl that i didn't really care about, and was dreadfully boring till the 4th quarter) and tending to the bean, who was being particularly fussy last night. but here's an idea of what they look like - these are inside a chocolate brown box:

they're letterpressed, which i LOVE. i still need to do the RSVPs and direction cards, which will be attached to the inside of the lid with a green ribbon band. and lastly, we're printing the addresses on a green paper sash, which will be wrapped around the box and then mailed.

wish me luck.

so much good stuff

whew, it's been quite a busy week. and the weekend is going to be pretty jam-packed, too:

• tonight, i'm working on a big ass order of wedding invitations that needs to be done ASAP. they're boxed, multi-layered, and include a couple of detailed inserts that'll be attached to the inside of the lid with a ribbon band. i have SO. much. to. do.
• tomorrow, we're going to get up nice and early to hit the post office for the bean's passport. shit, i gotta remember to fill out the forms online. anyway, it's first-come, first-served, and saturdays are always busy as hell at the ol' post office. i'll have to post her passport pic - i think it's funny that infants have to have a passport at all, but i understand it. sort of. ;)
• then tomorrow night is that jonas brothers concert at gibson ampitheatre. heh. sadly, my friend amber had to back out (good luck this weekend, A!), but my brother's girlfriend is subbing for her. that'll be fun, because i haven't had the chance to hang with her much in recent months and i miss her. this means my bro will be helping the hub babysit the bean. muahahahahaha!
• sunday we'll head to church, and then i think the hub's going to join his stogey buddies at the cigar shop to watch the stupid bowl (can you tell i'm not a football fan?). while he's gone, i'll probably hang at home, strap the bean to my person, and finish up those invitations. i'm hoping to have them all done by monday. wish me luck.

i'll probably have the football game on for background noise and to watch the commercials. heh. that's really the only part i ever watch. [ducking]

yesterday, we decided to skip the gym (hey, we went three days in a row - not bad for previously being major sloths) and headed out to pasadena instead to meet up with our friend lilcee. she had a gift certificate for jubilee salon that she couldn't use (i'm still unclear on this, because she said it expired yesterday and i thought this was illegal!), and graciously offered to give us her appointment for a pedicure.

i tried to get an appointment at the same time for the kid to get a manicure, but it turns out that the joint only has ONE nail tech. i thought this was weird, especially when we arrived and found that they were set up with at least half a dozen stations. but whatever - it's not my business.

so instead, i gave the appointment to the kid and settled for watching while dancing around with the bean in the moby wrap. she got gorgeous, glossy french tips, and then lilcee arrived, gift certificate in hand, and handed us these adorable hello kitty red envelopes for chinese new year. so cute!

um, i ended up opening mine to find cash for the nail tech's tip. heh. thank you, lilcee! we owe you one :)

she's also heading out tomorrow to see my new favorite hairstylist, rochelle, for a new 'do. i hope she loves her as much as we did! i've had my new hair for almost a week now and i love it so much, i think i'm going to keep getting it cut this way. for a while, at least - till i get tired of it. knowing me, that won't take long.

a quick trip to paper source, a stop at urban outfitters and starbucks, and we hit the road. i love the fair oaks on-ramp, because you can get right onto the freeway in the carpool lane. this is fabulous when it's a weeknight and there's traffic going our way!

and here's the bean, playing with her sister's teddy on her bed. love this.


off to gymboree! whee!

my to-do list

i refuse to make new year's resolutions. i used to, but i realized that i didn't stick to them, and also decided that it was silly to wait for something like january 1st to start doing stuff i probably should've been doing anyway. you know? instead, i'm making a list of things i'd like to accomplish between now and...well, ever. heh. here goes:

• i actually managed to get one thing done even before i could make my list, but i'm going to put it down anyway. this way, i can cross something off right away! i wanted to find some kind of physical activity for the kid and me to do together. she's always wanted to go to the gym with me, but stupid bally's doesn't let minors use their facilities till they're at least 16. but last week, we stopped in at the local l.a. fitness and found that they allow kids as young as 12 have memberships! yay, a place that'll let me give them money every month so that the kid can work out. anyway, we signed up and went yesterday for the first time - dropping off the bean at the "kids klub." i was totally nervous, but when we went to pick her up after 40 minutes of cardio, the attendant said she did just fine. yay!
• order our wedding album. yeah, yeah, we've been married for over two years. shut up.
• organize all of the old pictures that are currently in boxes on shelves in the garage into nice albums. i love to scrapbook, but considering the fact that it takes me an hour to get ONE page done (which usually includes two to three actual pictures), hell to the naw. i'll be satisfied if i can sort them out and get them into regular old albums.
• bust out all of our digital pictures (from CDs AND the hard drive) and make albums using either mypublisher or shutterfly. i'm thinking mypublisher will be the way to go, though, considering i can order discounted products through costco.com.
  
• get the bean a passport. actually, i guess i can cross off something else, too, since i picked up her official birth certificate yesterday. yippee! anyway, we'll need her passport if we're going to cabo for spring break.
• help the kid get on the honor roll. this is a tall order, considering her solid 2.5 GPA, but i know she can do it. or, at least, i'll beat it into her. KIDDING! don't be calling child services on my ass.
• go through the bean's clothes and donate the ones that don't fit anymore to goodwill. besides, if i clean out her closet, that'll leave lots of room for new stuff. and i'm always happy to take care of THAT.
• clean out my makeup/toiletry drawers and get rid of old makeup that would probably give me gangrene or some shit, and bottles of crappy lotion that are half empty, and random samples of stuff i'll never use. the last time i did this, i put together lots of perfume and makeup samples and listed them on ebay. gotta love making a little cash on shit i got for free!
• ooh, one more thing i can cross off now: get my hair cut into a style that's cute and yet easy to do in the morning. or afternoon. or whenever i manage to drag my ass into the shower. we all know that can be anytime between 8 in the morning and 5 in the afternoon. or later. heh.
  

hmmm. that's all i can think of at the moment. i know damn well there's a hell of a lot more crap that belongs on this list, and yet i'm drawing a big, fat blank. therefore, i hereby reserve the right to amend/modify/add to this list at any time between now and...well, ever.