I finally voted for a winner!

**POLITICAL COMMENTARY BELOW**

I can't tell you how good it feels to know that I don't pick losers all the time. Ever since I've started voting, anyone and anything I've voted for has lost. I was starting to get a complex. But now that Barack Obama has secured enough delegates to get the Democratic nomination, I can officially say I've voted for a winner, even if it is a preliminary race.


I'm looking forward to the election in November. I feel like it's going to be a good race, and both candidates have their strengths and weaknesses. In past elections, I've actually been a McCain supporter. He's a straight shooter, has a lot of experience, and is respected on both sides of the aisle. That's important in a President...someone who can work with others to get things done. My biggest concern with McCain is his age. Not because it means he's out of touch, although that is a legitimate concern. It's more that I'm worried he won't make it through in good health.


With all that being said, I'm still leaning toward Obama. I know he doesn't have McCain's experience, but that means he's not jaded and skeptical and tied into "how things are done" in Washington. I do wish he had waited another four or eight years to run to get more experience, but I realize that a lot of things can happen in that amount of time that could potentially jeopardize the opportunity.

I mostly hope that this will be a clean race without a lot of mudslinging. Happy campaigning!

Just a quickie...

Not much going on, but Lauren and Tenzin had fun playing together over the weekend (until Tenzin fell off the slide).

Lauren found the scale in the bathroom, and now thinks it's really fun to weigh herself. Little does she know that in about 15 years her new toy may be one of her least favorite things. At this point, it's more about standing on top of something, not understanding what that "something" is for. Anyways, since we're down to annual doctor's appointments, we haven't really kept track of her weight or height. I looked at the scale when she was on it yesterday and it said somewhere between 34 and 35 lbs. Not horrible, even if it is still completely off the charts, until you realize that the super-cool tricycle we bought her a week ago has a weight limit of 37 lbs. Two more pounds and we're going to have to buy a new bike. I was really ticked off at Radio Flyer until I looked at the growth charts. A 3 year old weighing 37 lbs. is in the 95th percentile. Yep, the kid is big.

If I can get her to stand still long enough, it might be time to start the pencil marks on the door jamb to measure height over the years. I remember my Grandma Turnipseed had one of these door frames, and it had pencil marks for all of her grandkids. Every year at Christmas we had to get measured and see how much we had grown. Sure, there are probably much more high-tech ways to keep track of this stuff. I could start a MySpace page or Facebook profile for Lauren and put it out there for all the world to see. Oh wait, that's kind of what this is, isn't it? Still, I like the idea of doing some things the old-fashioned way. Maybe if I duct tape her to the frame she'll stay put...I think she's probably 3 feet tall now.

No big weekend plans...the weather's supposed to be crappy, so I'll probably spend most of my time listening to Lauren whine and keeping her from getting into things she's not supposed to.

A bunch of unconnected commentary

Lauren is 19 months old and wears a size 4 bathing suit. Seriously. The size 3 was too small. My kid is a freak. A freak who likes to swim, apparently. From what Chris says, she's taking to it like a fish to water. She's not scared at all, even when he dunks her, and she really likes the big slide. No pictures of the swimming adventures since the lessons are during the day, during the week. Eventually I'll actually get to see her in the water and take some pics.

I'm still recovering from my trip to San Diego. It was a great conference and I met some wonderful people, but I'm still too wiped out to figure out what to do next. The Red Bull Air Race was also ramping up right next door to the hotel. It was so cool to see the planes practicing, even if it was a little loud. And the crew likes to party.

Spring has officially arrived. Usually this isn't all that exciting, but with Lauren around, it is. I thought we were over all the "firsts": tooth, word, step, etc. We are over all the major ones, except hair cut and using the potty, but here are some other recent firsts:

1. First popsicle. Orange, all fruit. Lauren says "orange," too, only it sounds more like "oween."


2. First tricycle. Yep, we bought her a trike. She picked it out, after trying out about 4 different models. Despite our best efforts to keep her from being a girly-girl, you can see what she landed on.


3. First ear of corn. She was a little confused about the corn at first, but her first reaction was "Mmm. Num num." Then I didn't have an ear of corn anymore. Next time, she gets her own.



4. First boy kiss on the lips. I thought I had a lot longer to worry about this one, but Tenzin and Lauren had different ideas. Tenzin was over playing this week, and one of us said, "Give Lauren a kiss." Usually that only halfway works. This time, they both went for it. It was cute, but now I'm having nightmares about her teenage years.

Lauren is talking up a storm. I was shocked when I got back from my conference and I was met with a steady stream of words I could mostly understand. I was only gone 4 days! A brief Lauren glossary:
Cat=Meow
Dog=Woof woof
Juice=Ju...she uses this for anything in a cup, so milk and water are also Ju
Yogurt=Yo yo
Crackers=Crack
House=how
Backpack=Ba pa
Shoulder=sho hee
Elbow=Bo bo
Flower=Pow (she's working on this one...she's just figured out how to make an "F" sound, but she hasn't put it with anything else yet)
Pretty=Pee
Car=Cah (think Boston accent)
Shoe=Shoe
Slide=Wee
Ow=Ow
Yes=Yah (she almost whispers it when she's really excited and wants something)
No=No...with a Minnesota accent
Mom=Mama (it almost has a British accent to it...more accent on the second syllable than the first)
Dad=Da
Nap/Sleep=Nigh nigh
More=Mo

I'm sure there are more, and probably lots that we haven't picked up on yet. It's so much fun to actually interact with her. She's at the point where she learns words so quickly. We were working on body parts in the bath one night, and the next morning she had learned all the new words, like shoulder, neck, etc. I think she also knows her colors. A park 2 blocks away has a mini-climbing wall as part of its playground apparatus, and it has different colored hand holds. Lauren pointed to all the blue ones, saying "Boo. Boo."

Grandma Darke says she's learning letters from watching Sesame Street, too. She's always loved books, like her mom and Grandma, so that doesn't come as too much of a surprise. I actually taught myself to read when I was 3. My parents pretty much freaked out when I picked up one of my sister's books one day and started reading on my own. They think I learned it from watching Sesame Street and Electric Company. Who says TV is all bad? I have a feeling Lauren might take this route, too.

One last item. This weekend was Mother's Day, and we went to Cameron's for their Mother's Day brunch. Chris, Lauren and Grandma Darke surprised me with a beautiful pair of diamond earrings. Nothing says, "Thanks, Mom!" like something sparkly :)



Thanks to our moms for all they do! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

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Quick update

My life is officially a roller coaster. I haven't decided yet if it's a good one or not, only time will tell. The last two weeks have been a little bit insane, mostly because of work. My boss took a new position at Nationwide, leaving her responsibilities open. Those responsibilities included managing 3 people (including myself). Due to some really boring "state of the insurance market" stuff, Nationwide is being extremely judicious in hiring and staffing open positions. So what happened? I got all my boss' old responsibilities. So, now I manage 2 people, do all my old work, plus the additional work that my boss used to do. I didn't officially get her old job title, but I did get a little bit of a promotion and the opportunity to prove myself in a managerial capacity. Frightening, I know.

I also signed myself up to attend a Women's Leadership Conference in San Diego. One of the great things about Nationwide (or at least the people I've worked for here) is that they really care about personal development. Since having Lauren, I've really struggled with being a full-time working mom. Nobody else makes me feel guilty, but every once in awhile I feel like I'm letting her down. But at the same time, I know I couldn't be a stay at home mom. It's hard work and it's rewarding in its own way, but I need other kinds of challenges and rewards. So, I'm hoping this conference will help me network with other women from across the country and learn some strategies for really being successful as a woman in the business world. That, and it's on Coronado Island in San Diego Bay.

One last tidbit: we signed Lauren up for swim lessons. Chris is taking her on Thursday mornings for the next 6 weeks. I'll post more tomorrow, since today is her first class.

2 down, 48 to go.

Congratulations to my sister, Dorie, on passing the state bar exam in Oklahoma. That means she's now licensed to practice law in Ohio and Oklahoma. I know, the Os are a weird place to start, but our family is funny that way.

Way to go, sis!