not so zen momma

“A gossip is one who talks to you about others; a bore is one who talks to you about himself; and a brilliant conversationalist is one who talks to you about yourself.” ~Lisa Kirk

Van is one, and we've got the party pics to prove it. To be honest, there is no such thing as a "simple cake and ice cream" party, especially when you have 23 people over to your house! As you can see, the Hostess cupcake-inspired cake was a hit. But the star of the show: Van the Man.

Favorite Words: Go, no-no, OU, adda (dad), momma, Maggie (sparingly), dog, yay, all done
Mobility: 10 steps quickly progresses to proficient walking. He is working on running.
Best Quality: Fearlessness
Worst Quality: Fearlessness
Hairstyle: Weird comb over
Personality: Silly, outgoing, social, brave, tough, determined, sneaky
Best Friends: Maggie & Paw Paw
True Love: Momma, dadda, and food. All food. The kid is going to eat me out of house and home!

• Blame it on American Express commercials or my love of Celebrity Baby Blog, but lately I've been completely obsessed with anything Tina Fey. She is extremely talented and actually has interesting, real comments during interviews. She is also featured on the cover of this month's Vanity Fair, a impulse purchase while I was waiting for Van's prescription. I can count her as one of my "close personal friends" because I did request and receive an emailed quote from her for Oklahoma Today. (We were covering SNL cast member and Tulsan Bill Hader, who seems to be having an interesting career since that OKT story). Here are some of my favorite Tina Fey parenting quotes: "The life of the working parent is constantly saying, ‘This is impossible,’ and then you just keep doing it." &"I'm pretty organized -- or I used to be. I feel like that part of my brain has atrophied."
• If you call yourself an American, you have to listen to this week's This American Life broadcast (The Audacity of Government). I consume a lot of information, but this piece of journalism truly touched me. You can listen to the streaming audio or download an MP3 right on the website.
• If you are uninspired by poignant reporting, then check out the farting clock. Thanks gizmodo!
• Leave it to your children to blatantly point out your weaknesses, in our instance, cleaning. This week, Van has taken a liking to sweeping. I'm believe it is time to start training him to fold laundry.