Everything Happens for a Reason

So, I've been on hiatus from blogging for a few months now. Real life was just too damn busy. Busy in a good way.

Just before Christmas, I was informed I'd be getting laid off in early 2010. Merry Christmas. Fa la la la la. So, since February I've been thoroughly enjoying just being Mama. Bobby and I have had such fun. Several trips to the beach. Storytime at the library. Lunches at Chik-Fil-A. Afternoons at the playground. I wouldn't trade anything for the one on one time we've shared. He made me happy every day and I've never laughed so much as I have with my silly boy.

In hindsight, losing my job was a blessing. I got 5 fantastic months with Bobby all to myself. Now, our lives have changed. Patrick Daniel aka "Brother" arrived on June 10, 2010. We're all doing great and Bobby is a wonderful big brother.

I'm hoping to blog more regularly and share some of the anecdotes of life with Bobby (and now Patrick too)!

I'm in training for the U.S. Curling team...

So, lots of changes and things going on in real-life. Some good, some bad, some just meh...but things seem to have settled back into the routine.

I've been enjoying the diversion of the Winter Olympics the past week or so. I do like the Winter games better than the Summer...although personally I do not participate in any sport that would have me outside in the cold. Sure, I have liked to ice skate since I was a kid, but at least 50% of my fondness for ice skating derives from the hot chocolate I get when I go. That, and the fact that my dad encouraged my sister and I to use hockey skates rather than figure skates...a life-saver for a girl with weak ankles!

Anyway, in watching the games, I have come to a few conclusions:

1) I do not generally like sports that are decided by judges. It's too arbitrary and open to favoritism. Give me the luge, downhill skiing or speed skating--be the fastest person and you win.

2) I love the snowboard cross. Racing down a hill on a snowboard trying to pass other competitors, stay on the course and be the fastest. Exciting.

3) I love Apolo Anton Ohno.

He is a badass skater yet he seems so grounded.

You can tell he just loves to compete. Also, he has proven himself a great dancer too :)

4) If any of my kids* ever get to compete in the Olympics, I'm not letting Rob go. Mr. Sports HATES the Olympic games and it is aggravating to watch them with him and his constant anti-Olympic commentary. He can stay home while my boys* and I enjoy the Olympic experience.

5) My niece that is on her high school rifle team needs to learn to cross-country ski so she can compete in biathlon. Shooting and skiing seems like such a weird combination but it's fascinating to watch.
*Yep, Baby #2 is on his way. Another boy, due June 20, 2010!

Please Obey the Rules

I wrote about our new family tradition of the visiting elf here. He has returned again this year, and Bobby is now old enough to be cognizant of him. I re-read the story to him and explained the "rules" of the elf visitor. We can talk to him, but he can't talk to us, and we must never, ever touch him because he's magic.

Well, Bobby is a stickler for the rules. When getting his Christmas photo in front of the tree this year, I suggested he hold Yahootie for the picture. Bobby quickly reminded me that we can't touch him. Oops.

Later that week, Yahootie was "hiding" in Bobby's room, right on his hamper. Bobby was excited that he found him in his room. However, the day before Yahootie had been in our bathroom and Bobby wanted him to go back in the bathroom. Without thinking, Bobby picked up Yahootie to move him. Almost instantaneously, Bobby realized that he had broken the rule and tears started welling up in his eyes and he was frozen. I could tell he wanted to drop him but he was afraid to. So we apologized to Yahootie for picking him up and then we quietly asked him if it would be Ok if we moved him to the bathroom. Yahootie indicated that it would be ok.

Crisis averted.

I hope Bobby believes in the "magic" of Christmas for many more years to come. It's so fun!

Give Thanks

Hoping you and yours enjoy a special day remembering all the things you're thankful for.

I'm thankful for: the health of myself and my family; the good weather we've had; Bobby's laughter; the love of my friends and family; finding a tube of chapstick in my pocket when I need it; the support and love Rob gives me every day-even when I'm stubborn; and so much more!

Halloween-Step 2

This is the" Step 2 Car" Bobby got for his birthday in May:

He loves this car. He drove it-and parked it-all summer in our driveway. It was the best gift ever for a kid that loves cars. So, I decided he would be a Step 2 Car for Halloween. I thought of using a box, then I thought to try something softer. With the help of my sister, we made him the best costume and HE LOVED IT!

"A lawyer's time and advice are his stock in trade." Abraham Lincoln

Sitting here in my office today, I just noticed that the big, framed "Supreme Court of Pennsylvania" bar admission certificate indicates that as of October 27, 2009 I have been a practicing attorney for six- SIX- whole years.

I still remember that butterfly-excited/dreadful feeling in the pit of my stomach while I scrolled down the on-line list of applicants that had taken the Pa. Bar Exam that July...and the utter excitement and jubilation I felt seeing my name on that screen! I honestly don't know if I could have lived through another exam season if I hadn't passed. Of the 5 associates I worked with at the time, we all passed but one.

If it's any indication of the stress of not passing...I am not lying when I say I never saw or heard from that girl again. She left work the day the results came out and never returned. She didn't call in sick, she didn't quit. She wasn't fired. She just went home and moved onto a different non-lawyering life. She didn't even clean out her office before going.

When you pass the bar exam, you still have to have a practicing attorney "Sponsor" your admission. Some associates kissed up to their bosses or partners and asked them, but I wanted someone that I really admired and looked up to in the legal profession and who taught me that a lawyer can be human.

I chose my favorite law school professor: W. Edward Sell, "Dean Sell". I took his Corporations class my second year. He had a reputation for NEVER canceling class, and being very difficult. Many 2nd and 3rd year students advised me NOT to take his class because another professor was an easy "A". But, Corporations was on the bar exam and I wanted to learn it--he was the foremost expert and actually authored the textbook. He also had a bust and plaque dedicated to him in the law school after 50 years of teaching. Do you know how daunting it was that first day of class, passing this on my way:It was a great class and he quickly became my favorite teacher of all time.

After that semester, he often persuaded my 2 friends and I to enroll in his other classes--and we did- in legal topics that we were not too interested in: Agency and Partnership, Sales etc. but we always looked forward to our hour or so a day with Dean Sell. We relished the stories and tales he would tell. Some students were very adept at probing questions to get him off topic and telling some colorful tales...(and he loved to tell slightly inappropriate jokes, with a wink, of course).

Dean Sell passed away the year after I became a lawyer. The day I dreaded had come. There was always some comfort in knowing he was only a phone call or short drive away. Over the past 6 years there have been some rough waters and some times that I have questioned what I was thinking when I applied for law school, but on those days, I look at his name on the certificate on my wall and I think back to how proud and honored he was to sponsor my bar admission and I try to remember that I have his legacy to fulfill. He saw something special in the quiet, frantic note-taking student that was afraid to raise her hand...and he seemed to instinctively know when to call me out and force my bluff...

It is a mathematical fact that fifty percent of all doctors graduate in the bottom half of their class.

I got a card in the mail reminding me to make my yearly ob/gyn appointment. What fun. I know it's important to do, but not one of my favorite things to do. Knowing that they get booked up fast, I called to make my appointment for December only to be informed that the Dr. I really liked is no longer with the group. The Doctor I saw last year is out on maternity leave. So, it looks like I'm going to have to see a new physician. I chose the day and was told that Dr. Michael Bummer would be in the office that day.

As any Internet-savvy person would do, I googled Dr. Michael Bummer. I have never met him so I just wanted to see his credentials and what he looked like. Unfortunately I got more than I bargained for. Watch this clip and I'll let you see for yourself:




So, Dr. Bummer, as a licensed medical professional I would expect that you have enough money to buy a jersey and have your name stitched on the back like a real uniform if that's the look you're going for on a nationally televised game show. The DIY jersey you were sporting is just pathetic.
Second, Sixty-Nine. 69. Really? How am I going to take you seriously?

So, I guess I would be more impressed if he were on Jeopardy! but I suppose it takes some skill luck to make it to the Showcase Showdown...

I just wish he had been on with Bob Barker instead, at least then I could talk to him about Bob and the Barker Beauties while he's down there checking out my bits and pieces.