one plus one plus one

Whoops, forgot to take a picture!

I had so much fun with Karrie today. And I'm stuffed to the gills with yummy Afghani food. And my feet hurt. We walked a good part of Boston this afternoon and evening, that is, once we found each other! I felt like I was waiting for a blind date in the Boston Common (acually, the Public Garden, part of the confusion).

It's always so funny "meeting" someone from the internet in person. Especially someone like Karrie who I've already "known" for what, a year and a half now? It's this crazy mix of instant comfort and constant remembering that even though you know pretty intimate details about each other, you don't know a lot of the day to day stuff. But before long we were trading stories of how long we pushed before our boys were born, how messy our husbands and houses are, and how much fun our boys are. (And we decided that Henry is just an impossible prodigy with his counting and his happy birthday meatballs.)

I just hope that kid of hers can pour his own cereal some time soon so that she can get some sleep!

When you need to laugh

Sometimes, like after your surrogate mother dies and your birth mother makes you feel about two inches tall, times like those, you just need to laugh. And it takes a good friend to recognize that there's nothing like the site of some hapless skydiver's manhood flapping in the breeze to do the job. Thanks to my friend d for passing this along to me last week.

The elephant at the end gets me every time.

Worlds collide!

MD and Jamie and I had the good fortune of having lunch/dinner with whylime and her sweets this weekend. Columbus happened to be smack dab in the middle (or third) of their route between New Haven and Santa Fe, and so I was able to meet one of my favorite bloggers and online friends in person. Actually, whylime was the very first person to comment here at one plus one plus one, so I have a definite soft spot in my heart for her.

This wasn't the first time I've met an online buddy IRL. Back when the best ever-girl-kicks-vampires'-asses show was still on, I met regularly to watch with a group of other Buffy fans met online at TWoP. Kelly and I have met as well, although we have yet to get the boys together (gotta do that before the summer is over!). But whylime is the first person I've met in real life that I got to know through this blog, so it was a little different. Of course the potential for extreme awkwardness is always present in these types of situations, but by the time we were sitting around eating our food MD and I felt like we were hanging out with old friends. My only regret is that Columbus ended up being a pitstop rather than an overnight stay, because we were having such a good time we didn't really want them to leave! But of course Santa Fe was the actual destination of this trip and I'm happy to know that they have finally landed and are beginning this new phase of their lives.

Oh wait, the other regret is that they didn't have the lentil on this trip. For his sake, it was for the best, but oh boy the fun he and Jamie would have had!

A job well done

I don't talk a lot about my friends here because when I started this blog I wasn't sure how many people IRL I wanted to know about it. I told a couple of people early on, and as I seem to fixate mostly on a) myself, b) the Boy, and c) the husband, I've since told a couple more.

My last post I talked a bit about how Mad Dog was so supportive in the early days of breastfeeding. My other main line of support was my friend D. She has two kids and due to mostly misinformation was not able to breastfeed the first. She then went on to successfully breastfeed her second child for a year, albeit with some formula supplementation due to pumping issues.

D is in many ways my hero. We met when I applied for a job at the store she managed, and honestly, she's still the best boss I've ever had. I've always been amazed at how hard she works, how she's always managed to juggle so many balls in the air. I've thought at times, "D can do this, so I can too," whether it be working two jobs, breastfeeding, working full-time and parenting...the list goes on.

Today, D retires from the working mom world, and takes up the mantle of stay at home mom. I'm so, so happy for her. It's a huge transition, and while I'm sure she'll have her moments when she'll wonder just what the hell it is she's gotten herself into, I'm certain she'll handle it with her usual aplomb and grace.

Love ya girlfriend. Have a great time with those kids of yours.