New Look To My Blog - And Katie's funny Quote

Thanks to my sister in law Amber, my blog is looking much more my style today. I love the bright colors mixed with white and black. Thanks Amber for changing it all around for me. You are super awesome and I love you.

I just got done wiping Katie's bottom in the bathroom. She kept saying "awwww" like something was cute. I finally tuned in and said what are you talking about honey? And she said "look at my poop. I made a Mama poop, a Daddy poop and 2 sister poops. They are a family and so so cute."

This kid is just weird. Fun, hysterical some times, full of drama and weird.

Hack this!!!

ha ha. This is Rick. Amy I hacked your blog, I told you I could do it. J/K this is Amber. And I just want to tell everyone that Amy has the cutest blog ever.

My New Blog Site - My Love Story With My Friend Mike

In homage to the Pioneer Woman who I secretly love and worship and want to be, I am starting a separate blog that will chronicle chapter by chapter my love story with my husband Mike. We met in 7th grade and have been married for 15 years. This story, entitled "Bossy And The Geek" will chronicle our story from my first memory of him in 7th grade, through high school, through my conversion to a different religion, through college, his mission, the first years of marriage, infertility, life as an Air Force wife, life as a Medical Student's Wife, life as a Resident's wife etc. It will chronicle reaching my dream of finally working on Capitol Hill for a Lobbying Firm where I had encounters with Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, getting shot the peace sign from Yasser Arafat, the bagel and table I shared with Katie Couric and the exciting things around every corner that happen when living and working in the greatest city in the world, Washington DC. I hope to share in a very real fashion the ups and downs of marriage, moving away from home, weight gain and loss, depression, infertility, success in career, high risk pregnancy and the whirlwind that has been live since the birth of our twins. I do this for myself, so that I can write it all down, to relive these memories and remind myself of who I am.

Since quitting work I am in the midst of an identity crisis. I am no longer Amy, the Corporate Executive on Capitol Hill who lunches with clients and makes multi million dollar deals. But I don't feel like Amy the stay-at-home wife and yeegads...the housewife. (Breathe Amy. Swallow Amy. Don't hyperventilate and panic. It's just a word. It doesn't mean anything.) So I hope by visiting my past, I can figure out what direction I want my future to go. I hope to discover that there are parts of all of these versions of my former self in me still and I hope to decide where to go from here. For those of you in your mid thirties, it will take you back to your childhood and teenage years with many cultural references like gag me with a spoon and Depeche Mode. If you grew up with me, you might find your own name mentioned a time or two. I did not change names to protect the innocent or guilty.

So, if you'd like...come along with me for the journey. You'll get to know way more information than you probably want to about me. But I offer this up to the ethos as my truth. Who knows, if you decide to join me, maybe it will take us both some place special.

With Love, Amy

Reach my new blog dedicated strictly to Bossy And The Geek at : www.bossyandthegeek.blogspot.com. Hope you have as much fun reading it as I had writing it. Enjoy!

Can You Imagine A Life Without 409 or Windex?

I'm trying to be Eco responsible. I'm trying to also make sure I don't have hidden toxins in our little apartment that could hurt the girls. I watched Sandra Bullock on Oprah and more and more you are hearing about these cleaning solutions mixed from ingredients I cook with. I can't imagine life without my trusty bottle of 409, or windex, or that stuff that eats through soap scum in your shower, or pledge, and glade plug ins and all the things that I have come to depend upon. But what if this stuff is better? Here's an article from yahoo...see what you think??



Sure, it’s great to find that one magical product that solves a very specific household problem. (The Gonzo Pet Hair Lifter a multiple-cat-owning friend received as a Christmas gift truly has no equal.) But the truth is, you need little more than the following six ingredients—baking soda, borax, lemon juice, salt, olive oil and white vinegar—to clean just about anything in your home (pet hair excluded). Here are just a few of the many uses for these, well, magical multi-taskers: 1. Baking soda: Acts as a scrub to remove hard water stains; polishes metal; deodorizes pretty much anything it touches (try stashing some in the fridge).

2. Borax: Mixed with three parts water, it makes a paste for cleaning carpet stains; mixed with ¼ part lemon juice, it cleans stainless steel and porcelain. (Note: although borax is a natural substance, you still shouldn’t eat it—and neither should your kids or pets.)

3. Lemon: Deodorizes and cuts grease on counter tops; rubbed on cutting boards, it bleaches stains and disinfects; combined with baking soda, it removes stains from plastic food storage containers.

4. Salt: Another natural scrubber—sprinkle it on cookware or oven surfaces, then rub; add citrus juice to turn it into an effective rust remover.

5. White vinegar: Deodorizes and disinfects; combine with water (and a little liquid soap—I know, it feels like cheating) to clean windows, mirrors, and floors; use at full strength in a spray bottle to fight mold and mildew.

6. Olive Oil: Mix two parts oil with one part lemon juice and use as a natural wood polish. (Save the really good stuff for dinner.)One added bonus of using natural cleaners: as part of your spring cleaning regimen, you can now clear out all those bottles of specialized (and possibly toxic) potions.For more tips on rounding out your eco-friendly cleaning closet, see Christina Strutt’s cleaning-pantry-checklist from her new book, A Guide To Green Housekeeping; for a video demonstration of how to mix up some natural cleaning solutions with these ingredients, watch this clip from Decor It Yourself.



What are your best natural cleaning techniques? Does any of this work?

Andrew Lloyd Weber Night On American Idol

Did you know I am a huge Broadway fan? When I was 10 years old my parents took me to San Francisco to see the late Richard Burton play King Arthur in Camelot. I was a gonner from that point on. I played the Camelot record over and over. I then got to go see Annie and was convinced it was my mission in life to play Piper in some future Annie production. I belted out Hard Knock Life and Tomorrow in the shower, on my way to school and in my room while other girls were obsessed with a certain Material Girl. Not that Madonna isn't rad and totally awesome fer sure...but I was secretly in my room all alone singing Don't Cry For Me Argentinia and It's May. I was lucky enough to have parents that wanted to expose me to all sorts of musical theatre and got to see: Camelot, Annie, Peter Pan, Wizard of Oz and Evita all in big huge productions as well as many other local productions. I had a great boyfriend in high school that took me to see the ballet production of Romeo and Juliet and the Nutcracker. As an adult I have gotten to see Les Mis twice on Broadway, Phantom twice once on Broadway and Wicked on Broadway and in Chicago. I have also gotten to see Beauty and The Beast and Rent. I love movie musicals too and wanted to be Maria from West Side Story so badly when I was like 16 and my parents didn't want me to date Robert Contreras. I love Moulin Rouge, Evita the movie, Hairspray, all Disney movies and musicals, my Fair Lady, Oklahoma, Annie Get Your Gun and I could go on and on.

Anyhoo, this past week's American Idol which featured the music of Andrew Lloyd Weber was hands down by far my favorite episode of American Idol ever. David Archeleta's pop version of Think of Me had me standing up alone in my living room giving him a standing ovation. Brooke's version of You Must Love Me brought me to tears even though she had to start over. David Cook's Music of the Night made me wonder out loud (again to myself) where the chubby guy with the bad rocker comb over went and who the heck was this hot, soulful brown eyed dream boat??? That song is so seductive and ethereal and is one of the only moments I have cried so hard during a Broadway musical that I literally could not see the stage.

I don't know about you but I really love Broadway. It is my secret dream and wish in life to play Elphaba or Eva Perone or Guinevere in an actual production. I would only want to do it for one night and my voice would be perfect and people would cry and it would be magical. I really think musical theatre is magical. I think Broadway should let me do it. Come on Broadway...let's give up one night for the Aimster!

Luckily my parents and husband while they have joined in and supported my enthusiasm for these songs and my singing them all the time...they have encouraged me to support Broadway...as an AUDIENCE member and have not encouraged my delusions of stardom because they know like I know secretly deep down in places I don't talk about at parties that I cannot carry a tune in a bucket. But don't cry for me blog reader...the truth is it's never gonna happen. The shower is now and forever will remain my stage. And they LOVE me in the shower!

Jessica Comaniche and Katie Lou Retton

So today was the first day of gymnastics. Just a tip...if you need a laugh, one that makes your belly hurt and tears stream down your face. Enroll your twins in gymnastics at age 3. All you have to do is sit back and let the magic happen. Oh, goodness. It was hysterical. Jessica paid total attention, went to her appropriate stations and even pointed her toes at some part in the class. She gleefully clapped for herself, laughed and got so nervous if any other kid came near her. Katie on the other hand...let's just say Katie gets ummm...what's the word...distracted. She wandered off into the big girls classes, she only wanted to jump on the trampoline and walk sideways on the balance beam. She really liked her outfit and the fact that Grammie, Papa and I were in the audience. She could not follow the instructions but was happy happy happy about all the things she was doing right OR wrong. It was great. They loved it. Katie's quote at the end of the class was: "mama, gymnastics my FAVORITE day of the whole day." Jessica came out of the class with a big frown..."i want to do gymnastics some MORE" Once I promised her we could come back again she was fine. They got to go to Chick FilA for dinner after gymnastics and let me tell ya...they were pretty cute. And funny. And clumsy. And totally unstructured. And totally blissfully happy. GO GYMNASTICS.

Fairytale Town

We went to Fairytale Town with Grammie and Papa the other day. Here is a great shot of Jessica and a fun shot of both girls coming down the dual slide.

To Self Tan OR Not? Please Weigh In...

Gretchen Brown and I used to float lazily in our metallic silver air mattresses in my parents pool for hours and hours after slathering ourselves with Baby Oil or if we were being careful and didn't want to burn...Hawaiian Tropic Tanning Oil SPF 4. We made trips inside for Diet Coke or Dr. Pepper and David's Sunflower Seeds and had zero responsibility other than putting together our video taped Spanish Television Commercials for Senorita Almas' Spanish 1 class. Obviously...these days are OVER - or should I say FINITO? Now, I'm living life on the wild side with my SPF 15 moisturizer and my ghostly white skin trying to undo the damage I know is lurking underneath my skin as a result of my misspent youth.

So, the dilemma that I think we all face is this. Tanning is out. Not good for us, no way no how. Even if I wanted to say screw it and make a break for Maui Tan, I have two kids that don't own any pairs of those little goggle thingys they make you wear AND I have a doctor husband who would kick my butt. It's okay for him to drive 85 MPH on the way to work but I can't clock some time in the tanning bed because of what it will do to me. WHATEVER. Again, as usual, I digress and will get to the point.

Okay...so we aren't going to tan. But nylons are out too. Oh, didn't you know? Yep...they are totally out. Up until last Spring, I still thought it was okay to get some that exactly matched your skin tone as long as you didn't wear them with open toed shoes but apparently all nylons are a fashion disaster. And it's spring. And all the cute skirts with the delicious flower patterns and polka dots are calling my name. So what's a horribly white girl to do? Please weigh in on this for me.

1. Do I go natural with my blindingly white calves and feet?
2. Do I avoid all skirts, capris and limit myself to pants and long skirts?
3. Do I reach for the spray on, rub on, might make me orange, substance of my nightmares...self tanner?

Before you weigh in please realize I have sweaty feet. This means my whole foot sweats up to my ankle. My problem with former self tanner has been all the parts of me that sweat or where the straps of my shoe go cause the self tanner to melt off leaving me with pools of orangey-brown spots and splotches all over my feet and ankles. But also please know I am really white. Like super.

Okay please please please let me know what you think. Even if I don't know you - please let me know what to do. It's a big dilemma for me right now and I actually have the bottle of the self tanner that Oprah said was the best in her magazine this month in a bag on my dining table as we speak. Well we aren't technically speaking, but okay. So hurry, I need to know what you think.

Uh-Oh- I Feel A New Addiction Coming On...

I'm only on day 3 of Photoshop self training and I can feel that this might become a problem! Here are 3 fun techniques that you can apply to your photos to give them a different look. 1. I cropped and gave it a lovely sort of dreamlike feel and played with the color layers. 2. The beach pix I just added a fresh and colorful feel to it to pop the colors and make it seem fun. 3. I wanted a picture that would seem old like it could have been taken if girls visited Disneyland in the 60's. But I wanted it to have a hint of color too. So walaaaa... 3 very different shots than they started out.

My First Photoshop Edits

Above - Straight Out of Camera Image
Below - I took the gray film off the image that seems to be found on so many pictures. I sharpened it up and lightened the contrasting colors so the image pops more.




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Above - Straight Out of Camera Image
Below - I darkened the edges and gave it an ethereal feel with more contrast.




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Above - Straight Out of Camera Image
Below - Cropped and rotated image and applied hard light to image. I blurred the rash under her lip a little bit and softened the dark circles under eyes and vein on bridge of nose.





I'm just learning Photoshop for the first time. I'm teaching myself and I'm really confused but I wanted to post the first edits I have ever made just for posterity sake.

Friday Confessions #5 (really it's #7) but who's counting?

Here I am on Saturday doing Friday confessions. So let's just get to it shall we?

• I don't do my confessions on time. I think Friday is a bad day for me to confess. I'm feeling all too jubilant and celebratory (there's a 50 cent word). Mike will be home from work shortly and we celebrate a weekly ritual of "Nobody Cooks On Fridays" meaning that we eat out every Friday so nobody has to cook. This goes way back to childhood where my parents and I would go out to eat on Friday nights. In college this meant pizza or subway, in our more prosperous years it meant some snazzy great restaurant in DC that served perfect calamari or perfect caprese salad with real buffalo mozzarella or perfect schezuan beef or perfect blackened prime rib and did NOT serve high chairs mac n cheese, crayons or a kids menu. Now, it means a family type joint that has high chairs, crayons etc. and some sort of entree that comes out of the kitchen in such a large portion it could feed a family of six. Anyway, I digress. I don't feel like confessing on Fridays. But it is the day you are supposed to confess so I will try and do better.
• I totally criticized Kate of "Jon & Kate Plus 8" the other night. In case you live on Mars, Jon & Kate Plus 8 is a reality TV show on TLC that follows this great couple who went through infertility and had twin girls. Then, they tried for "one" more and got sextuplets (6) babies. So now, they're twins are 7 and the babies are about 6 months older than my girls. I love Kate and I love Jon because they are real and they are flawed and this show makes me feel loads better about my life, my laundry, my house...my load actually. It lightens my load for 30 minutes each week where I get to watch Kate and Jon try and get through the challenges of parenting 8 kids, 6 of whom are the same age as my 2. I often feel at the end of my rope and when the dishes pile up and the laundry etc etc. I think of Kate in her home in Pennsylvania and I feel better. In the last episode she freaked out because her sister in law Jodi gave the sextuplets gum and they got it all over their clothes. Collin (one of the kids) got it on his bear and Kate was threatening to throw away his bear while he cried at her feet because in her words "i can't wash him anymore because the gum will get on everything in the dryer." She proceeded to throw away the socks, pants and shirts that the gum was on all the while being very critical of her sister in law who had agreed to watch the kids in the first place, for FREE while Jon and Kate took one of the twins out for a "special" day. I thought while watching...geez Kate, chill, it's just gum. It's not worth Collin losing his bear. Come ON Kate, get a grip. I feel badly about this because Kate has it really rough. Nobody in this world is in a position to judge what it must be like to have 8 kids in 2 births and be a full time mom with very little outside help and she should be entitled to lose it every once in awhile. So, Kate, I'm sorry I judged you.
• My kids were sick this week. So was I. So was Mike. I probably yelled too much when I was achy and wanted to just crawl into a hole and sleep but had to chage poopy pants and clean up vomit. I probably wasn't super loving to my husband who didn't get as sick as the rest of us but still had to go to work. I let my kids watch way too much tv because frankly, I just didn't have it in me to play choo choo train, or I spy, or hide the chip clip. I couldn't get up the energy to make a fort or snacks or chocolate milk. So to my kids, my husband I'm sorry.
• I'm sorry to all the people I say I'll call then don't. I'm sorry for broken appointments, cancelled play dates, unreturned calls and my hermit crab tendencies. They are worse sometimes than others. This week, they were worse.
• I feel secretly glad the kids birthday party got moved to next Saturday. Even if they were well enough by today (which they aren't), I would not have been able to pull a party together.

And the Sickness Marches On......

We're still sick. All of us except Mike. The girls go go go go go and then CRASH. I am just trying to keep up and if you saw my house I am obviously loosing.

Sad, Sad, SAD Birthday day and Poop

The girls got up at 4am super excited for their birthdays. Would NOT go back to sleep. As a result, they were crabby and not playing by my "it's your birthday and we are so HAPPY" rules. They crashed for a nap about noon. They slept until about 2:45 when Jessica called me saying her bed was wet. I don't really like to talk about poop, but DIARRHEA from one end of the room to the other. Bed, pillow, head, back , legs, floor, CINDERELLA PRINCESS rug. You name it. So I cleaned and threw everything in the wash, threw the girls in a bath. While all this was going on I'm fielding calls from Mike saying "uhhh...i'm in Elk Grove but I still have to finish our taxes and drop them off and do I have time for a haircut before birthday stuff begins?" Uhhh...Mike, sweetie, are you FREAKING CRAZY? No, Mike you don't have time for a haircut. Why? Because I am currently getting poop from my hands on the phone. I am fighting poop, crying girls, more poop and you want to get a haircut and still have to finish our taxes on the eve of the 15th which is the birthday of our daughters? Freakin A. Please Mike, for the love of all that is good and holy, if you are off work and in the actual town we live in, just get your fanny home Ay-SAP. So Mike comes home, the bath is in full swing, things are smelling better and we are ready to begin the fashionista portion of our evening program. I had gone on many many many websites to find the exact cute Gymboree Holland Days outfits for the girls to wear on their 3rd birthday including red clogs and the exact hat that I knew Jessica would LOVE to wear with her outfit with a red tulip in sequins on the cute brim. We get the girls all dressed and cute. Sure enough Jess wouldn't take off the hat. And we get in the van to go pick up Papa and go to Old Sacramento for Joe's Crab Shack birthday fun. Then as we are turning left on Elk Grove Blvd after picking up Papa, Katie pukes. I don't like to talk about vomit but just imagine all the same adjectives used for the poop for the puke. Then, presto chango, the birthday dinner is cancelled, Papa is taken home, girls are taken home, stripped of clothes, bathed again and the parade of poop and puke has continued into the evening with me and Mike now joining in the group just to be cool. It sucks. We all have fevers and we all are grumpy and this 3rd birthday just SUCKED. Tomorrow ain't lookin like it's gonna be great either. But Jessica did go to bed in her new hat.

Poop out. I mean peace out.

Shout Out To Cayden - Our Birthday Triplett

My nephew Cayden is 4 today. We think of him as our triplet, just born a year to the day earlier than our girls. The girls think Cayden is an actual Rock Star. From the time they were babies, ANYTHING Cayden does they think is the best thing they have ever seen. When they were little, he came to visit and he just stood on a stool in front of their high chairs while they were eating and jumped off over and over and they laughed and squealed so loudly. Cayden has a great heart. He is precocious and a total boy. The girls couldn't figure out why when we visited him last July he kept giving them a sword and then poking them with his sword. He wanted them to play swords and they were like "ouch, Dindin (they're name for him) poked me". But just because he is a boy or maybe BECAUSE he is a boy, he's one of their favorite people on the planet. Even though we don't get to see our Dindin very often, when we do we know we are in for a great time, a lot of laughs, some mischief and getting to be around the sweetest boy who is worshiped by certain members of our family. We love you Birthday Triplet Boy. Happy 4 today!

Happy Birthday to My BABIES who are 3!!!!

My sweet Jessica Rose at about 5 months old
My Funny Katie Kate at 5 months old

I can't believe these guys are 3 today. It took forever to get them here, but since they have arrived it has truly been one big celebration. Having two daughters makes my knees weak and my heart soft. Seeing sisters makes me so happy and brings closure to the loss of not having my own sibling. Having twins and witnessing that bond everyday causes a lump in my throat as I even type this. The blessing that having THESE kids has brought to my life is indescribable. I thought the joy would be in motherhood, or becoming a mom, joining "the club" of other moms and finally feeling normal and whole. But all of that pales in comparison to the happiness I feel that I have gotten to know these particular girls. Their kindness, their joy, their love for me, for Mike, for EACH OTHER, their learning, their laughter, their hearts is what has honestly brought me the most happiness I have ever known. I feel so lucky to just get to be their Mom. That's how I say goodnight to them each night. I say as I'm walking out of their room "Good Night My Girls. Thanks for letting me be your mom". (usually I hear one of them reply in a sing song voice "good night mama, you welcome)

So I guess since this is a birthday post, I need to stop making it about me and make it about them.

KATIE: Katie is the funniest person I have known. She is pure sunshine and a total drama queen. She flirts, she pouts, she squeals with glee then cries for 10 seconds then gives a belly laugh that causes even strangers to start cracking up. She is curly haired and green eyed happiness. I always knew I would have a Katie. Even as a little girl. She doesn't even know her real name is Katelyn. We probably should change it. She loves to wear high heels and she loves to make up games. Her current favorite game is to line up all the chairs she owns (which is six) and make Jessica sit in one and she sits in the back and "conducts" the train. She yells All Aboard and then makes train sounds and tells Jessica where they are off to. Her stuffed animals get the rest of the spots on the train. Today, there was a California Highway Patrol Bear in Seat 1, A large gray Elephant named Harry in seat 2, Jessica in seat 3, A red and white teddy bear named Red Hot in seat 4, Cookie Monster in Seat 5 and Katie in the back with a gigantic (3 ft tall) yellow flower in her hand conducting the train. Katie walks on her tippy toes and twirls. She is my heart.

JESSICA ROSE: I planned on calling her Jess. But Mike, my parents and Katie all call her Jessica Rose so I guess it's sticking. I still call her Jess when I can but she doesn't look up and acknowledge me until I say Jessica Rose. She is amazingly smart when it comes to numbers which I so don't get. She is so like her Dad in so many ways. I see Mike in her mannerisms, temperament, stubborn-ness. But I see me in her love for others, her desire to have everyone in the room be happy and her ability to argue her point. She is the child we can reason with, explain things to and will actually listen, think about what we've said and decide what the outcome will be. She has a smile that not only lights up the room but is so big and bright, sometimes I think even her toes are smiling inside of her shoes. She laughs at everything Katie does and she laughs at anything her Dad does. Her biggest smiles come from being in Mike's arms on his back on his shoulders. If she is touching her Dad she's happy. On Saturday mornings she just looks at him while he is asleep and touches his face softly over and over. She really likes her Dad. She loves her Katie so much. Each morning when she sees Katie she says "Katie come snuggle, I missed you in the night". She gets up extra early so she can come very quietly into my room and get in bed with me and snuggle. I have to put my arm around her so she can grab it and lay it totally across her and hug it very tightly. She says please and thank you for everything and she is very coordinated. She also loves to twirl.

She has my heart.

I love you girls so much. I know I tell you that all the time but you can never hear it enough. Trust me on that. Please go easy on me this year. 3 is looking like it's going to be harder than 2. Let's all make good choices and not double team Mom too much. I am ALSO also another year older. So many kisses to you both. Thanks for letting me be your mom.