Tag Archives: Family

My Tigers, My Weekend

As I mentioned on Friday, we were off to the mountains this weekend. I was just going to post a few pictures of our time together and call it a day, but then I realized you might wonder why the heck we’re petting tigers and so close to a panther.

Here’s the scoop: Some of my relatives own a small zoo in the middle of the mountains, right next to our cabin. It’s totally weird and doesn’t make a lot of sense. I still don’t understand how it survives, this tiny zoo in the middle of nowhere.

Anyways, my sister and I grew up playing with baby tigers, baby bears, and bottle feeding a baby leopard whenever we visited. It was pretty incredible.

This is the last year of the zoo’s existence, just in time for Waylon Tiger to pet his very own tiger. It made my heart swell.

Lest you think I’m bragging about my amazing life petting wildlife and skipping around the mountainside, let me paint you a picture of the rest of the weekend when not petting a tiger:

Waylon was a mess. A hot, buggy, sweaty, end-of-August mess. He whined, he cried, he clung, he skipped naps and refused to eat anything besides animal crackers. If anyone touched him who wasn’t Austin or I, he let out a bobcat scream.

Note to self: do not travel with your barely sleep trained one year old if you have to sleep in the same room. We were all sleep deprived. Every time we let out a tiny sneeze or turned over in bed, he was up and wanting out. Lightest sleeper ever.

It wasn’t all bad. I was able to visit with some of my cousins I only ever see at holidays and get my hair cut. I’m excited to return when the leaves are changing and when Waylon can have his own room.

Here are a few pictures, including Waylon in his true form.

We’re ready for fall.

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Into The Wild

Our little family is joining my big family in the wild of West Virginia for a long weekend. My family has owned a cabin there since my dad was young and my grandparents retired there a few years ago. There is also a significant part of my extended family who lives and grew up within the same 10 mile stretch. Essentially it’s a valley full of my relatives, nestled between two great mountains, in the middle of nowhere.

It’s been awhile since we’ve seen those mountains or breathed that fresh country air. The last time we were there, Waylon was just a tiny baby, too young to appreciate camp fires, wildlife, and his parents being truly unplugged (there is no cell phone service).

I don’t talk a lot about the part of my roots planted in the south. I suppose it’s a means to protect it. The south is weird; full of back-woods, back-stories, and ideas about the world that I don’t understand. But there is also a lot of good there; good people, good food, and a landscape that inspires the very startling reality that this is real life. This forest, this stream, this mountain peak–this is the center of the world. Not my cell phone, not Facebook, not even my sleepy suburban town.

There is a reason why authors, artists, poets, and dreamers retreat to the woods. Nature has always provided hope of something more. Hope of life beyond this life, a universe beyond our own. It is refreshing.

See you next week.

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In wilderness I sense the miracle of life, and behind it our scientific accomplishments fade to trivia.  -Charles A. Lindbergh

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The Cameraman Saw My Spanx: Our Weird Day In NYC

My sister and I went to New York City for the day on Tuesday. It all started a few weeks ago when tickets to the daytime talk show The View randomly came in the mail. I’d signed up for them two years ago and assumed I’d been rejected, but apparently a two year waiting list is normal for tickets to live shows. Now you know.

I was excited, Kelly was excited. Partly it was the show and being part of live tv, but it was also a great excuse to visit one of the greatest cities on earth.

But first we had to drop off Waylon…which also happened to be the scene of the epic tweet between me and my BFF Whoopi.

It was the night before and we were headed to my parent’s house outside of Philadelphia, rocking out to old CDs and trying to keep a one year old happy in the car. Halfway there I wrote a little tweet to Ms. Goldberg about being excited to finally see the ladies of The View tomorrow and trying suppress my “It’s Whoopi Goldberg” screams. A few seconds later she direct messaged me back and I just about peed my pants.

Obviously we freaked out, which is why we stayed up too late making signs that said I HEART WHOOPI with pictures of her face plastered on it.

In retrospect, it’s a little embarrassing.

Later, after less than 4 hours of sleep, we left the house in the wee hours of the morning to arrive in time to get great seats and guarantee our entrance to the show. Fact: Even if you have tickets that you signed up for two years ago, admission is not guaranteed. You also don’t get to pick which show you attend. Now you know.

The line was long but we made it into the first group (#20 and 21) and were granted entrance fairly quickly. We were excited, but sad for those who arrived, with tickets, a little too late. I thought about how they probably got up early too; did their hair, picked out an outfit, told all their relatives to look for them on TV, drove hours (or even flew!) to be there and then didn’t get in because of traffic or poor planning. Sorry guys. Now you know.

Once we entered the building, we were signed in, checked for bombs, and then let into a holding area to stand for an hour and a half. It was hot and smelly and not glamorous. We were allowed to pee but not sit down. An old lady tried to sit on a broken down radiator but was shooed off almost immediately. We waited quietly for her to pass out.

Finally a few low level employees came to quiet our growing mob mentality with promises of seats and juice and celebrities. They probably said TURN OFF YOUR CELL PHONES 100 times. I listened but others didn’t. We judged them.

Eventually we were shown to our seats at 10:30am (the show tapes at 11), nearly 3 hours after we arrived. The set was different than I imagined. When you’re watching on TV, the room looks glitzy and large. In reality the set is small and shabby. We were underwhelmed but still excited. They sat us literally feet from the stage. I tried not to feel bad for the suckers behind us (pictured below).

As it turns out, the joke was on us. Because we were sitting so close to the ladies, we were not on camera. Still, nothing could curb our enthusiasm. We were going to see Whoopi, Sherri, Joy, and Elizabeth in person and that was exciting enough.

When the ladies finally came out, we were pretty pumped. I wanted to whip out my sign but we were only allowed to on the commercial breaks (she never did see them). I also wanted to stand up and jump around, but we were not allowed to do that either because we were right in front of a cameraman.

Surprisingly we were allowed to take pictures during a few designated times, though I didn’t end up taking many because as one of the tech crew servants screamed during a set change, “This is the most stressful show we’ve ever done!” Meaning there were a lot of set changes and it was chaotic during the commercial breaks. A few times we were even ushered out of our seats to sit elsewhere while they set up special staging for the singers. It was during this shuffle that my dress caught on a piece of camera equipment and a unsuspecting cameraman saw my flesh colored spanx. Sorry dude.

Anyways, I was distracted.

One of my favorite moments during the show was when the set photographer put her things under my sister’s chair and Kelly leaned over and whispered, “Look! I’m part of it!” I don’t know why, but this struck me as very funny.

I also really enjoyed seeing the women up close. Most of them were shorter than I imagined and less good looking. I was most surprised by Elizabeth who always looks perfect on screen. Up close she looked more like a regular human being and was much more likable. I actually kind of loved her. Sherri was pretty great too, she came into the crowd and smiled and waved to us. Actually everyone except Joy (predictably stand offish) was very friendly and engaged. I tried not to look like a goober when they smiled at me, but I couldn’t help it. I was star struck.

All in all, it was a pretty weird show. Instead of its usual format it was The View: Gospel Brunch Edition, so there was a lot of music and then a random cooking session in which we were instructed to make a lot of “oooh” and “ahh” sounds.

I would like to go back for a normal show. I would also like to see Babs.

After the taping was over, my sister and I met my blogging friend Molly for lunch.

I’d never met Molly before, so there was all that what if it’s awkward and what if I accidentally talk about hemorrhoids anxiety.

We met at Cafe Lalo, the restaurant where Shopgirl and NY152 were supposed to meet in You’ve Got Mail, quite appropriate for our particular situation (Molly’s choice). We arrived late, lost, and sweating. Luckily Molly was everything I imagined and more; sweet, likable, and a great conversationalist. We could have talked for hours.

Consequently, I did end up talking about anal fissures, but it was fine, and after promises to see each other again soon (and a little metro help), we parted ways and my sister and I did a little exploring downtown before heading home.

Mostly I just wanted to be in the same place Tina Fey/Liz Lemon is on a daily basis. My sister took an awkward picture of me there. You can view it below.

After that we just walked around and breathed in the city air.

I wanted to stay forever but my rock hard boobs reminded me that I needed to head home soon.

It was a great day. I love New York. It’s a city of real people with real dreams and a whole lot of tourists trying to blend in.

Speaking of… I will leave you with a picture of me trying to look New York glamorous and failing so badly that it was too funny not to share.

I <3 NY

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For My Nephew

Dear Bennet,

The day your sister was born, I was new to the family, meeting Grandma and Grandpa for the first time, wondering why on earth I was standing in this hospital room with people I didn’t know. I almost passed out thinking about your mom giving birth, the whole thing seemed totally gross. But when I held Jada in my arms, I felt my heart shift and make room for her. I loved her the second I laid eyes on her. I loved her big eyes and sweet skin and perfect baby smell. I knew I would love her forever.

The day your brother was born, your uncle Austin and I were newlyweds. We rushed to see him the moment we got the call. When I held Tage in my arms, I felt my heart shift again, making room. I unwrapped his carefully swaddled blanket to inspect his every limb and my eyes filled with tears. I pretended it was allergies. When I looked at his face, I thought I’d never seen anything so beautiful. I knew I would love him forever.

The day you were born, I was a new mother. I was holding my baby when your mom called. I couldn’t believe how quickly you came, how easy you made it for your mom to bring you into this world. I squealed and rushed around the house like I was getting ready for something. I couldn’t believe our good fortune, another beautiful, healthy, baby boy. I wanted to come see you right away, but I had to wait, which is hard for me because I’m very impatient. I wanted to hold you, kiss you, tell you how special you are.

When I finally laid eyes on you the next day, my heart shifted again, making room. Except this time I was looking with a mother’s eyes. I knew what your mom knew. I knew the indescribable pain of having a child. Not the physical pain, but the shooting pain in the center of your heart loving someone so much.

Welcome to the world, baby boy.

I will love you forever,

Aunt Kate

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Christmas In Pictures

Let’s be real, when people ask how your holiday was, they don’t really want to know.

Well, they do–but only sort of. Mostly they just want to hear if you ate as much as they did and if anyone’s tree caught on fire.

No one caught on fire at our house this year, but if you really want to know what we did–we went to my parents for a few days, ate more than I thought was humanly possible, opened presents, laughed at our own inappropriateness, and then spent Christmas day with Austin’s family where it was slightly more appropriate but with just as much food.

Proof of BABY’S FIRST CHRISTMAS is seen below.

We had a great time, but oh how happy he was to come home.

The End.

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If you’re my mom, you probably want to click here for all the extras.

Linking up with E Tells Tales

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