Shout out from the Brown Street

Hi all! Kyle and I are-- as I type-- relaxing in the care of Mark and Bob at the Brown St. Inn in Iowa City. We're celebrating our 7th anniversary while our kiddos are hangin' out in Des Moines with Kyle's parents.

Thanks to Darby for the great tip to get some wonderful Indian food last night at ExoticIndia and coffee this morning from Capanna.

We also had a pie shake from the Hamburg Inn (ice cream blended with a piece of pie), a nice long bike ride around the city, some gallery touring and a super dinner at a badly named restaurant called Motley Cow.

Tomorrow back to the grind stone.

Who Cares Breakfast & W.C. kids playdate

when: Tues., May 27 (this coming Tues.)

where: Cheryl's house (email me for directions)

time: 8:00a.m.-whenever

Our beloved founder will be in attendance.

Please bring: your kids if you have them, some sort of breakfast food or drink to share

If the weather is nice, I'd like to set up a table on the deck. So, if no one answers the door bell, just come on around back.

I know that there are several of you traveling. We'll miss you.

Rainy Day Idea

Ada: I pulled all the cans and boxes out of the pantry. I asked her to put them all back.

Linus: I pulled all the fruit and veggies out of the fridge. I gave him a bowl of water and a towel and asked him to clean all of it and dry it.

They are finished. Now what???

hair, hollister, and tina fey saves the day

i hate hair salons. and i hate going into hollister (the store). but, i had to do both of those things yesterday and the article that perked my mood...tina fey interviewed by amy poehler for marie clare. here are my favorite little blurbs (check the may issue for the rest):

AP: What are your beauty rituals?
TF: Some people work with a trainer, some people work with a stylist. I work with a celebrity fecalist. A fecalist is basically a person who comes and collects my stools, and then examines them to see if I'm eating right and if I should be drinking more water and what my moods should be.

AP: Amazing. There are a lot of stories about you peeing in corners when you go on a photo shoot to mark your territory. Is that right?
TF: Yes. Yes, it is.

Am I crazy?

I've been eying this rug from CB2 for months and months now. It is finally on sale enough for me to snatch it up. However (and I mean a big however) it is white. And, I have kids. Am I crazy? Would you buy it if you were me?

clicking my heels together three times...

i don't want to steal anyone's attention from alicia and nate's happy news! however, i'm excited to say that we're making our move back home to omaha this week. andrew graduated from law school on saturday, we're packing our boxes, and will roll in on wednesday (we don't close on our place until mid-june, so we'll be camping at whealy manor for a couple of weeks). i would love to meet any and all for play dates, coffee breaks, walks and farmer's markets. can't wait to re-connect with all of you.

well, that was quick!

She's here! Ella Katherine Perry is here! (i hope i didn't spell her name wrong) Nate just called...here's the specs:

born 10:15 AM, came out screaming and healthy
7 lbs. 3 oz.
20 1/2 inches

She did have the cord wrapped around her neck, but she is just fine.
Welcome to the world, Ella! So glad you've finally made it. Many congratulations to Alicia, Nate & Isaac!

dedicated to alicia

this video goes out to alicia. fully automated.

BREAKING BABY NEWS!

I called Alicia this morning at 8 to see where she was - along with Cheryl, we were supposed to sign our kids up for a tumbling class at the library and I hadn't seen her yet - and Nate answered the phone. They went to the hospital at 3 AM this morning (!!!) and by 7 AM, Alicia had her epidural (whew). I asked him to give me a call when Ella finally makes her entrance, so with any luck we'll have a new Whocares baby today! Say your prayers! Al was having some good contractions last night and all signs pointed to having a baby in the next day or so.

*I was able to sign Isaac up along with Reese, so they'll all be tumbling together. Ha. In case you were in suspense over that. I'm sure you weren't. :-)

Where's That Baby?!!

CMON ELLA! WHEN ARE YOU COMING OUT? GIVE YER MA A BREAK!

a body does get around: a new side project

hi all.

i wanted to float you a link to the summer travel blog i started up. i'm headed from east to west and back between now and august, so feel free to check it out. i wish i knew html so i could space the photos and captions the way i'd like. if anyone can give me a tutorial, i'd be grateful. and by the end of the summer, you might be too. anyway, come see the sights. click the title for a link.

mirth day

my first kid was born 5 years ago today!  happy birthday, shorty!

Fear Factor

I've mentioned this to a few of you already-- I have a fear of flying. It looks like this on the plane: sweating, trouble breathing, panic, trembling and a heavy dose of irrational thoughts.

So, next month I'm flying to Seattle because I'm not going to let this thing kick me in the butt.

Any thoughts? Suggestions?

gardening fun

today, ali and i planted a vegetable garden in my backyard. when we started, it looked like this. yuck!

but, by the time we were done, motivated by the mandatory working-in-the-yard oldies on the radio and this not-so-friendly fellow

we had this:much better. and soon, if all goes well, there will spring up a bounty of tomatoes, peas, green beans, sweet peppers, banana peppers, beets, sweet corn, onions, cucumbers, butternut squash, and zucchini. hope you'll all help me out with the eating of what garden-goodness there may be. let the feasting begin (in about 50-60 days)!

ps. last year, my garden turned into a jungle. this year, some preventive measures have been taken (like believing what they say about spacing of seeds, etc. on the back of the packets), but i'd be glad for any garden-management tips...

Happy Mother's Day!

To all you hard working WhoCares mamas-- I hope you had a wonderful day today. You've helped me through many a tough day in this honorable profession. Love you all and your kiddos.