MILP #175: In Her Own Words #6: The Curse of Michael Myers

The Weekly MILP (Moms In the Legal Profession) Roundup is hosted on a rotating basis between PT-LawMom, Butterflyfish, and Attorney Work Product blogs. We originally rounded up just the moms in law school, but then discovered that those women eventually graduate. Who knew? So now all the moms in the legal field (heh) are represented. We aim for Sunday posts.

I haven't done an In Her Own Words post since MILP #114.  I pull quotes from MILP blogs, hopefully out of context in a way that makes you want to click, and I call that a theme. Yep, shamefully lazy.  Its also Halloween today, and this is the sixth time I've used this theme.  Hence the title. 

• Only Three Years.  The dream...to fill the entire thing was unfortunately never achieved, but it was sure fun to try. 
• And you know what else.  Nothing but boys for the last 10 years. 
• Attorney at Large.  Oh, the ways we torture our children.   
• Lag Liv. Grownups are weird. 
• Nonsense and Frippery.  I'm really not ok. 
• Frequent Citations.  I am the most exciting person you know. 
• Jenny.  Someday, I will get more than five hours of sleep. 
• LEO.  Picking their nose. 
• Sammie B.  "whoah, that mini-person looks like a LOT of work."  
• LC.  There was no way in heck I was giving broad form indemnity... 
• Cowgirl in the City.  I didn't wreck a very expensive tractor.  
• PtLawmom.  Barely got my feet in the stirrups and, pop, half of him was out!  
• Reluctant Grownup.  I may also search for white cardboard in order to make a sign that says “I’m a parrot...” 
• Magic Cookie.  my posture sucks, my abs are weak, and I lead a sedentary lifestyle.
• In a minute.... I sat there, slightly squirmy, thinking about how I was educating my kids about tolerance. 

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If you’d like to have your blog added to the MILP blogroll for weekly review or would like us to consider a specific post, drop the hostess(es) an email or leave a comment at our sites. Expecting Moms in law school are welcome! Hat tip as always to the “original” Roundup — Beyond the Underground and the co-rounder-upper, Nobody!

Scat

Clownfish and I were doing our nightly chat and he was anxious about some upcoming things... so we decided to talk about funny things that would put him in a better mood so he could sleep with good dreams.

The hilarious topic of discussion?  Well, he is at that wonderful age of boyhood where bodily functions, especially poop, is a guaranteed laugh-getter.  (Aside, I am nearly sure that once he's reached this stage, he will never actually leave it.)

So I told him some stories about when he was a baby... like the time he was a few weeks old and I opened his diaper, held up his legs, and got covered in a stream of mustard-colored peanut buttery poop.  I couldn't close the diaper fast enough and ended up having to change my clothes, change his clothes, change the bedding in the bassinet, spray him down in the shower, take a shower myself (cuz eww), wipe up the floor.... He thought that was great.

I also told him this story from 2006. 

He's still in there giggling to himself.

Belly

Went for normal routine checkup today.
Measured larger than I am supposed to.
Weird, I thought... my weight hasn't changed since last check up.
Oh? That has nothing to do with it? 
Scary word, hydramnios.
Ended up getting an emergency ultrasound.
Happily, everything looks fine for now.
Those few hours in between, though ... yeah.

Car

We're thinking of buying a car.  We have a 2000 Hyundai Elantra with just shy of 200k miles and a 1994 Chrysler with over 100k miles.  Neither car is in great shape, but the thought of taking on a car payment right now is slightly less terrifying than the thought of (yet another) expensive trip to the mechanic. I swear we're putting his kids through college. 

I drive 60 miles round trip daily.  Bullshark drives 90, in the other direction.  My current commute is only as long as I have my current job, which is to say, til summer.  Still, reliable transportation is firmly in the "need" not "nice to have" column.  (Like my dream to redo my 1960s kitchen?  Firmly in the "maybe next lifetime" column.)

We visited a dealership this weekend and found an almost-new car that may be workable.  Of course, I had a complete hormone-induced-panic-attack-migraine-assault-crying-melt-down on the way home.

Yeah... so maybe the idea of taking on a car payment does freak me out a little.

Story from my dad

My dad grew up on a farm in Ireland. Apparently, there was governmental agricultural control to the extent that only a certain number of male cows could be owned in a given area.  (Bulls? I don't know from cows. I grew up in the suburbs. Its totally his fault. Anyway...)  His neighbor owned the area's only two bulls. So when it "was time," Dad would walk the cows down the road, they would "do their business" and he'd walk them back home.

Eventually, however, people got telephones.  And the guy who owned the bulls got a trailer which, although tight and uncomfortable-looking, fit both bulls in such a way that they couldn't move or buck eachother.  He hooked the trailer up to a Volkswagen and would wait for a call to drive his bulls over to whichever neighbor needed services.

One day, my dad stopped into Glenn's, the pub in town.  He saw the trailer with the bulls outside and his neighbor inside grabbing a pint.

He asked his neighbor:  How the hell do you get those two huge bulls to climb into that friggin' trailer?

His reply:  All I have to do is turn on the Volkswagen.

MILP #174

at Atty Work Product. Here next week.

Hawt!

I am at the fabulous stage of pregnancy where my belly has finally popped enough that I look pregnant, not just fat.  I have started wearing maternity tops occasionally to enhance the effect.  It is awesome.  I strut around like I'm Cindy Crawford at a rural Walmart.

Yes, folks I'm 5' 3" in heels, I've got pregnancy acne and freckles and a huge ass... but honestly?

Right now I'm totally hawt and rocking it.

MILP #173

Its up at Ptlawmom.  Rock on, ladies.

Schedule

My doc wants me to tell her by my next appointment if I want to go for VBAC or if I want to schedule a C.  Last time, the C was not planned.  Let's just say I don't tell my birth story for Clownfish to expectant moms because I don't want to freak them out.  I'm still weighing my options... I could aim to go naturally but schedule the C at least as a "this is the end, ready or not" date.  Its weird though -- the thought of choosing my daughter's birthday. 

If you could choose, would you pick 1/11/11?  I kind of think that would be an awesome birthday to have. 

Updates

We had a wonderful family vacation over the long weekend.  It was good to get out of town, even if it was only a few hours away, and explore a new little seaside town.  I came back relaxed and refreshed, which is the way its supposed to be after a vacation, but so rarely happens. 

26 weeks, 4 days pregnant.  Baby girl seems to be growing nicely.  She kicks and flips whenever I sit quietly, drink cold water, or eat something sweet.  I'm fully "out" at work now.  There were a few weeks where the people in charge knew, but I hadn't really told the support staff and my peers. This was largely because its awkward to bring it up -- "hey make way for the pregnant lady" doesn't really seem appropriate.  But a co-worker was talking about pregnancy and kids and timing generally, and I chimed in, and next thing you know, pretty much everyone was stopping by my cube to check out the belly.  The belly rocks.

Work itself is really good.  Challenging without (currently) being overly stressful.  The people I work directly for have been nothing but awesome so far.  I've gotten a lot of positive feedback on the work I've done so far from others.  Its amazing what a little kudos does to improve a whole day.  I have to remember that feeling because when I inevitably f**k up, it'll be nice to remember that I am not completely incompetent.

Clownfish kicks ass at soccer. The way the age groups break down in our area means he is one of the older kids on his team, which helps with the asskicking.  But there are other six year olds on the team, and many of them played last year, which Clownfish didn't, and he runs circles around them.  In a few games he scored the only goals his team had (goals plural -- four in one game!), even though the coach is good about making him play defense and goal for at more than half the game so the other kids can try to score too.

So, what does this mean?  I rock the mom jeans.  I want the minivan. I plan to yell at the coach "don't argue with me, I'm a lawyer" at least once a week.  In short, yeah, I'm a soccer mom now.  

Bullshark has found a new gym and he's really excited about it.  He's working out a lot less with much more to show for it. Plus he's cooking really healthy, which is great for all of us.  He was selected to move up a rank in his military reserve unit, so we're super proud of him.   He doesn't even make us salute him... too often.

Bullshark has taken on the lion share of the parenting since I started the new job because my commute means I get home much later. He picks up Clownfish every day and they play outdoors and do fun stuff together.  Then I come home and help Clownfish with homework/reading while Bullshark pulls dinner together.  I get to put Clownfish to bed every night, which is the best part of my day. We've got to make sure that still happens when little sister arrives.

Updated to add:  120,000 visitors. Woo.

MILP #172: Great Weekend Edition

The Weekly MILP (Moms In the Legal Profession) Roundup is hosted on a rotating basis between PT-LawMom, Butterflyfish, and Attorney Work Product blogs. We originally rounded up just the moms in law school, but then discovered that those women eventually graduate. Who knew? So now all the moms in the legal field (heh) are represented. We aim for Sunday posts.

A great long weekend happens when, during the last week, you managed to: 

• Get a paper off your back.  Izzie 
• Go home with your baby. Dinei.
• Get out of dodge. Cowgirl in the City. 
• Bust out the tweed. LC.
• Find out the baby's gender. Magic Cookie.
• Be a Biscuit. Lag Liv. 
• Stand up! Sammie B.
• Research tacos. Wild Northwest Litigator.
• Minimize drama.  PtLawmom.
• Confess. Proto Atty. 
• Manage a trial run.  LEO.
• Procrastinate... actually that means the weekend will probably suck. Jenny.

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If you’d like to have your blog added to the MILP blogroll for weekly review or would like us to consider a specific post, drop the hostess(es) an email or leave a comment at our sites. Expecting Moms in law school are welcome! Hat tip as always to the “original” Roundup — Beyond the Underground and the co-rounder-upper, Nobody!

Kudzu

Thinking about kudzu and the law today, which made the right of publicity come to mind.

White v. Samsung Electronics, 989 F.2d 1512 (1993) (Alex Kozinski, Dissenting)

"This is an intolerable result, as it gives each state far too much control over artists in other states. No California statute, no California court has actually tried to reach this far. It is ironic that it is we who plant this kudzu in the fertile soil of our federal system."

Wendt v. Host International, 197 F.3d 1284 (1999) (Alex Kozinski, Dissenting)

"As I noted in White, 'No California statute, no California court has actually tried to reach this far. It is ironic that it is we who plant this kudzu in the fertile soil of our federal system.' . . . We pass up yet another opportunity to root out this weed. Instead, we feed it Miracle-Gro. I dissent." (Citation omitted.)

Happy thoughts

Before bed, I sometimes ask Clownfish what happy thought he's going to have before he goes to sleep. This usually keeps him from coming out ten times announcing he's had 'bad dreams' before he's even fallen asleep

He said tonight:  "I'm gonna think of a big scary monster, in a tutu, on roller skates... and he's singing If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands..."

Love this kid.

Anne Rice, Susan Sarandon, Alicia Silverstone & I all got a year older today

And a year closer to joining our fellow 10/4 buddy, Rutherford B. Hayes.

Volunteer?

Need someone to volunteer to guest host the MILP Roundup this Sunday. PtLawmom is getting hitched.

Email ilovebutterflyfish at yahoo dot com if you're interested.

My inner law review geek just *sqeed*

Journal Editors Chosen Through Cite-Checking Battles at Laws for Attorneys.


h/t Above The Law

MILP #171: Brittany S. Pierce Edition

The Weekly MILP (Moms In the Legal Profession) Roundup is hosted on a rotating basis between PT-LawMom, Butterflyfish, and Attorney Work Product blogs. We originally rounded up just the moms in law school, but then discovered that those women eventually graduate. Who knew? So now all the moms in the legal field (heh) are represented. We aim for Sunday posts.

Glee Season 2:  Brittany episode. 

• This room looks like that room on that spaceship when I got probed.
• Please don't pull out all my teeth. I'll look like an adult baby, but with boobs.  
• I'm more talented than all of you. I see that clearly now.
• I don't brush my teeth. I rinse my mouth out with soda after I eat. I was pretty sure Dr. Pepper was a dentist.

Yes, its a Britney Spears edition.  I don't own a single album -- I am only vaguely familiar with her hits. So lets assume that I am working off the titles without knowing the songs, because I am, and that I don't intend to offend anyone by pairing their post with a tune that has lyrics that don't match the sentiment of the post at all.  Mmmk? (album name in parentheses)

So here we go:

• Toxic (from In The Zone) (feel better). LEO 
• Gimme More (from Blackout).  LC 
• Born to Make You Happy (from Baby One More Time).  SammieB 
• Before the Goodbye (from Britney) Dakota.
• Satisfaction (from Oops I did it Again). Lag Liv.
• (Hit me) Baby One More Time.  Shan.
• Soda Pop (from Baby One More Time) (maybe Belly Pop?) Magic Cookie.
• Lucky. (from Oops I did it Again) Dinei.
• Outrageous. (from In the Zone).  Jenny.
• I'm a Slave 4 (a law school long paper) (from Britney).  Izzie.

Or you could just watch the Glee version of Me Against the Music. Let me see you dance!

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If you’d like to have your blog added to the MILP blogroll for weekly review or would like us to consider a specific post, drop the hostess(es) an email or leave a comment at our sites. Expecting Moms in law school are welcome! Hat tip as always to the “original” Roundup — Beyond the Underground and the co-rounder-upper, Nobody!

Job market

This evening, I saw a guy I graduated law school with.  He was working as a manager in a fast food restaurant.

Now I don't know this guy well.  Maybe he managed a fast food restaurant all through law school, and its how he paid his tuition bills, and he keeps doing the job a few nights a week even though he's got a law gig during the day.  Maybe he's joined the management team recently as a training thing before he gets to work at some corporate headquarters in-house.  Maybe he's hung out a shingle, but needs to work in fast food to pay the bills. Maybe his family owns a bunch of fast food restaurants and he just went to law school for the fun of it. 

But maybe, and this is what I suspect is true, maybe he looked and looked and looked for a legal job and couldn't find one, and his law school education didn't provide him with enough skills to hang out a shingle with any confidence.

I didn't get to ask.  He briefly made eye contact and then walked to the back of the store.