Is it the weekend yet? Wrap-Up

I'm finally starting to feel like my life is getting back into a manageable rhythm! Despite the fact that we have two Open Houses this week, and despite the fact that something really really major happened at one of my girls' schools that I'm itching to talk about, but in protecting their privacy, I just can't. Despite all that, I've got a better handle on my Reader, blogging fairly regularly, and still spending quality time with my girls, getting my work done, and all in all, moving along quite nicely.

So I'd accepted that this will not be the year I go to BlogHer, and then I get an email that they're adding a special event: The White House Special Project at BlogHer. OMG, how I would love to go to that!!

Still, I am very excited about one event I'll be attending. Thanks to LA Story, I won tickets for Sylvia and I to attend Girl World Tour! I think it's fair to say that my 12-year-old and I are certainly enjoying what could best be described as a hot and cold relationship right now. I know, not surprising to any mother that has raised a daughter, but I still hope for better. The best part is, we'll both get a book (one aimed at parents, and a young adult novel for the daughters) to help us take the experience home. I had just been thinking how Sylvia and I were in need of a Date Night, and this sounds perfect for us.

I wanted to bust up laughing when I overheard Riley telling her older sister, "what part of 'deal with it' do you not understand?" I held my breath, waiting for Sylvia to implode, but I guess Sylvia decided she'd deal with it!

Continuing the "funny things our kids say" theme, I had Red Carpet coverage on before the Oscars, and Sylvia had asked me if Johnny Depp would be there. I told her, probably not, he generally doesn't come when he's not nominated so she went into the kitchen to look for a snack. Usually, she'll then come out and ask for what snack she's decided she wants (they can go in the kitchen without permission, but they can't take anything without permission). So she comes out of the kitchen and asks, "Can I have Johnny Depp?" Freudian slip! She meant to say, "Can I have a bagel?" We both completely cracked up! (Oh, and, btw, sweetie, no. Johnny Depp is ALL MINE.) And we've decided that in our home, bagels are now Johnny Depps.

Ok, to try and find a way to talk about it without talking about it, I'm just going to say that another adult in Sylvia's life that she trusted and adored has disappointed her. Disappointed all of us, really. And I hate that both my girls have to constantly be reminded that even people that seem great and have some really great qualities can hurt people.

Speaking of disappointments, their father will be let out of jail later this month. We'll see how that goes.

I'm reading Eat Cake, and the lead character has a father that, while not a drug addict, was also absent for most of his daughter's life (she's now grown, raising a teenaged daughter, which is why I wanted to read it). Her father ends up back in her life, and to describe her relationship with him, she says, "he's not terrible, just terribly disappointing." That just hit me as such an apt description of the girls' own father. (Although Riley's in an "I hate him" phase about her dad, I know that just means she's angry with him right now.)

And so I don't end on a complete down note, before all the Leno/Conan drama, I saw Jay driving one of his classic cars and everyone was waving and he was being nice enough, but like the rest of us, just trying to get home. Yesterday, I saw him driving down that same street (around the same time), but this time, he was in a more regular car. It was still obviously him, but I was just amused that he really was trying to go unnoticed!