Introducing Take Two

That's my new banner for Take Two, featuring tush-tastic outlines of a naked Lil and Lo. I have one other version I will be switching between with more on the way. I love keeping things fresh.

It's been a long time coming and I was hoping to debut the final version with pages not yet finished. But time has been short lately, twins have been cranky and it's damn hot (which tends to make me lackadaisical).

Still to come will be A Life In Photos page as well as a page highlighting my favorite blogs and other web gems.

Eventually I hope to move it to my own website which is also currently in the works.

So click on over to Take Two to see how I've reinvented myself online.

this blog is dead to me

I finally admitted it. It's been slowly dying for weeks now. I tried to resurrect it but I realize now I just need to let it go.

However, before you all go type-happy telling me not to give up, I'm starting another project. One that I think suits me much better than this format. If you were reading a week or so back you will remember how I've been feeling a little let down with myself. Like I'm not living up to my potential creatively. I want to write (something that isn't branding, marketing, product descriptions and everything else I do as a copywriter). But I'm so exhausted from my life with my crazy toddler twins (and working, and taking care of cooking, laundry, etc), that I just don't have the energy to come up with a fictional story from scratch.

Then after a horrible 36 hours that involved...
My son 'bombing' the grocery store with whatever I happened to throw in my cart (raspberries, tomatoes, pudding... it was a holy mess).

A runaway stroller in the parking lot with Lily still strapped in that I didn't even notice until she was 5 parking spots away as I was putting Logan into the car.

And the morning of the 'crappy' iron (Michelle and Nichole will probably get a smile out of that. For the rest of you, it's an awesome story. I promise. Just wait for it.)

...I had an idea. I should be turning all of this craziness into story form. On a blog. To be eventually turned into a book. Not sure yet whether it will go in the memoir, fiction, humor or the 'self-help-for-the-insane-mom-with-Cheerios-stuck-to-her-butt' section but at least I'll have a chance to slowly pen stuff down as it's happening. Because these days my brain is like soggy scrambled eggs.

There won't be quite as many photos. And it will be a lot more words than you're used to seeing here (but not whole chapters or anything wicked long).

Now I need a title and your help.


Let me know what your favorite is. Or if you hate them all and have an even more brilliant solution. It's not just going to be about the twins... but how my life as evolved because of them. Trying to keep the fire lit under both my marriage and my career. Trying to maintain old friendships while navigating through new ones. Trying not to feel so fractured, lost or overwhelmed. Trying to enjoy every insane moment. Trying not to lose my mind.

Here are the options I've come up with:
Two Plus Two
Multiplicity
Multiple Choices
L Squared
Double Features
Double Takes

Vote away...

gnaw

gnaw: to bite or chew on; to wear away by persistent nibbling

No I don't have mice. Or rats. Or even pet gerbils who somehow escaped from their cage to find solace in an Annie's Cinnamon Bunny Grahams box.

I have a 16-month old daughter with a mouth full of teeth. I got home from the store and this is what I find.

bananas

bananas: tropical fruit of the genus Musa; to be wildly enthusiastic

Last night I settled down with a fudgsicle to watch Iron Chef America from my dvr. The battle was bananas and it was a good one. My husband doesn't understand why I "torture" myself with my obsession with food shows. "Doesn't it make you hungry?" he always asks. Hence the fudgsicle.

So Alton was telling us all about baby bananas. They were tiny and adorable. And suddenly I needed to have them. How come my grocery stores never carry itty bitty bananas? Then the commercial break appeared and I soon forgot about the tiny little cuties.

This morning I was shopping for Dave's birthday feast-which includes his favorite dessert, bananas foster. And guess what I found in Whole Foods? Must be fate.

malcontent

malcontent: not satisfied or content with currently prevailing conditions or circumstances.

I love the book Julie & Julia and I'm reading it again right now to prepare for the movie. It's definitely my must-see film of the summer. But every time I dive into the book or even watch the trailer I feel unworthy. I see so much of myself in Julie Powell (Lived in Texas before moving to New York-check. Married my teenage sweetheart-check. Sees the genius in Buffy the Vampire Slayer-check.), but unlike her I still haven't found fulfillment.

Right now I'm just skating along doing the same thing I've done for years... writing copy for other companies. It's a job, I'm good at it and it pays the bills. But it's not what I'd call my lifelong dream or my way of creating something that's uniquely mine. And I need that. I'm realizing now that having kids isn't enough. I want something else I can call my own. But the sucky part is that I don't know what that is yet. I feel I have so much brewing inside me, but nothing has culminated to anything remotely clever, new or praiseworthy.

I've always had the goal of writing novels for a living. Ever since I was a wee girl. And I keep telling myself later, later later. Once I get my career started, once I have kids, once the kids are in school. I'm starting to think I'm postponing my dream because I'm afraid I'm not good enough. And because it's hard. Working part time and taking care of 16 month old twins is exhausting. I crash into bed every night feeling like I've just attempted to climb Everest. The thought of finding time to write in addition to all of that is frightening. But on the other hand I can't let my dream just float by.

sparkler

sparkler: a person or thing that sparkles; a firework that emits little sparks

What isn't there to love about the 4th of July? Sure it will never top Christmas. But as far as holidays goes, you can't go wrong with barbeque, watermelon, lemonade and...yes... fireworks.

Fireworks were always a huge hit in my family. But what my sister and I loved even more were the sparklers. (Oh, and those snappy pop noise things that scared my grandmother out of her mind.) May your holiday weekend be full of sparkles.

Photos from flickr.

soiree

soiree: an evening party, especially one held for a particular purpose

This past weekend we escaped our normal routine to head to Long Beach Island in NJ for my brother-in-law's wedding. Logan decided not to attend the ceremony (the two of us picked pebbles and shells instead) and Lily practiced for her own wedding... although Dave isn't nearly ready to give her away.

And after months of dress searching, this little strapless yellow number is what I wore (seen here in a blurry pic where I'm so chicly accessorized with Logan's Blue Dog). After the cocktail hour my mom took the kiddos back to the hotel for bed. I slicked on some red lipstick, took down my hair and immediately guzzled two glasses of wine.

reappearance

reappearance: the act of appearing once again

I disappeared for awhile. Shame on me, I know. But life had become temporarily too stressful to even think about the blog. Soon I started enjoying the freedom. Not having to think about what to say or finding time to say it.

While scrolling through hundreds of fairly recent photos looking for a new Facebook and Twitter pic, I realized that the only ones of me had toddlers attached to my head. And although being a mom is the most rewarding and important part of my life, it's not the only thing I am. So until I teach the twins to use the camera properly (instead of holding it up to their ear because they think it's a phone), I had to resort to my Mac. Ah, precious computer, what would I do without thee.

This weekend was full of excitement: a big family wedding at the shore, the twins' first beach experience and my 32nd birthday. I plan on sharing a little bit of that later this week.

Sorry for the long absence. Did it make your heart grow fonder?

clean

clean: to wipe up

My daughter Lily is sort of obsessed with cleaning things with towels. Meanwhile her twin brother is crazy for mops and brooms. Between the two of them you'd think my house would be sparkling. However you'd be wrong. This video of Lily working away makes me smile every time I watch it.

verdent

verdent: green, fresh, flourishing

I'm back from Canada, and although I didn't take my camera on some of my adventures (shame on me!), you'll have to imagine for yourself my canoe excursion and completely muddy mountain biking adventure.

However I did take photos of this enchanting little flower shop in Guelph, Ontario. The shop, along with the gorgeous scenery in the area, almost made me want to pack my bags and move. Almost.