Going to BlogHer this weekend means leaving my precious daughter behind for a few days, but I’m realizing there is a golden lining to this: it will be the first time I’ll be walking around this week NOT covered in baby snot.

Cordy has a cold right now. That means snot pouring out of her nose, which she always wants to graciously share with me.

What is it about kids and snot?

You could have the most anti-social child, who doesn’t even like to be touched and never hugs, but once you put on your good clothes to go to work? Suddenly that child turns into a loving, hugging snot monster who wants nothing more than to bury her mucus covered face into your freshly pressed white blouse. Oh, and rub her head back and forth on the blouse, too, to provide maximum coverage of the slime trail. People will think a slug crawled across you in your sleep. But she’s being affectionate, so how can you push your sticky, germ-ridden child away?

Even if you’re not wearing good clothes, you could have just stepped out of the shower, and this sick child will take time away from her coloring and TV watching to come over, grab your bare arm and wipe her nose on it. (And then go right back to watching TV and coloring, of course.)

And baby snot doesn’t come out without a full washing. Which means you’re left scurrying for another shirt and using baby wipes to clean off your arm. But the child will be sure to at least tag your pants before you get out the door. You know, a little something to remember her by. Is the beginning of marking her territory?

She doesn’t work alone, however. If you should have a cat or dog, you can bet that the child is working in conjunction with the pet. Pet hair is magnetically attracted to work clothes, and when combined with baby snot forms a glue-like substance that even Goo-Gone struggles with. As the child wipes her snot on you, she sends a signal to the pet to quickly come jump on you as well. Now you’re leaving the house covered in snot and pet hair.

Maybe it’s easier to keep all of the good clothes in the car and change when at work? Nah, then she’s just figure out some way to sneeze on my hair.

PS – Izzy asked to interview me for BlogMe and I couldn’t say no to a second interview. Click over to Izzy’s and check it out!

PPS – Last time I’m going to say anything about my hair, I promise. I feel better about it now, because I followed an old rule I remembered about hair: if the cut is bad, dye the hell out of it. Now I like it more.

Friday: We found the most awesome (and F-R-E-E-!) water play park. We’ll be coming back to this place. A lot.

Saturday: We went to a BBQ in the middle of nowhere Ohio. Good food, good friends, and lots of space for Cordy to run.

Today: The day after hair cut picture. This is not going to be wash ‘n wear hair. Ah well, it’ll grow out. In the meantime, you’ll find me in Kristen’s room at BlogHer getting my hair done. If we do each other’s makeup also, I’ll really feel like I’m back in college in the dorms.

Lady, I clearly didn’t inherit your hair. Mine looks good. Now go do some stylin’.

With less than a week before BlogHer, I knew I needed a haircut and an eyebrow wax. So today Aaron agreed to solo duty with Cordy while I went to the mall.

First, I’m cheap. I’m not quite so cheap as to go to Fantastic Sam’s for a haircut, but I didn’t feel like shelling out the money for a frou-frou salon. The mall salon is usually good enough for me. Second, changing my hair usually makes me nervous. I always worry that the stylist will screw it up, and a bad haircut will make me self-conscious until it grows out.

Today the mall salon was packed, but they were able to fit me in. I should have backed out when the first available stylist was ready. Her previous customer had a haircut that I thought looked awful. But I was armed with pictures and descriptive words of what I wanted. I explained that I wanted a little length off, and I wanted my long layers cut back in. I told her my hair is heavy, so I like layers to keep it from being flat. I said no bangs, and it has to be easy to care for. I’m a wash ‘n go kind of girl.

She started cutting, and I relaxed. She seemed to understand what I was saying, and I also had beautiful pictures of hair models showing off shaggy yet stylish cuts.

Soon I started to worry. She was taking hair up near the crown of my head and cutting it awfully short. I had asked for layers no shorter than my nose. But I assumed she knew what she was doing, so tried to relax again.

When she was done, I was slightly shocked. I had the same cut as the previous customer. I looked like an 80’s punk rock girl. I know the 80’s are back in fashion, but my hair looks like it could be on someone opening for Joan Jett.

Because I can never get up the nerve to say I don’t like my hair, I paid and left without a single criticism. After all, she spent so much time working on my hair! And she’s the one trained in hair fashion, so maybe she knows something I don’t? Maybe this is the haircut every woman is going for now? I simply can’t ever complain about a haircut. Besides, I really don’t want someone who controls scissors near my hair after I’ve complained about their talents.

I also had mentioned more than once that I am a mother to a toddler and have no time for upkeep on my hair. I told her I rarely did more than brush it after a shower. So why did she take 15 minutes putting no less than 5 different styling gels, sprays, and pomades in my hair?

So now I have bad hair for BlogHer, and I’m just depressed about it. The shape is all wrong, and I worry that it will require a larger upkeep than I’m willing to invest. I’m going to try washing it tonight to see how it looks without all the styling gunk in it. Maybe it won’t look too bad.

I’m going to be brave and show you now what it looks like. That way I’ll be easy to spot at BlogHer – I’ll be the one with the 80’s rocker hairdo. Please try not to laugh, at least while I’m in earshot.

Before:

After:

As part of the BlogMe mixer, I have the honor of interviewing the fabulous Izzy! I first “met” her many months ago when we were assigned to be partners as part of the first monthly Blog Exchange. I started reading her blog to get a feel for who my partner was, and I was hooked! She’s been a part of my daily reading list since then, and she’s one of the coolest bloggers I know. Not only does she blog, but she also does blog design as well. If you’re looking for a new blog design, check her out!

And now, on to the interview:

When did you first start blogging and why?
I started in November 2005. I had a cursory knowledge of blogging and didn’t have much interest in it. It was my husband who kept bugging me to start one. Once I looked into them and saw that you could customize them and really put your stamp on them, I became more intrigued. A personal place on the web to call your own and write your thoughts began to to seem very appealing so I started one on Blogger and here I am!

Who do you read everyday, rain or shine?
There are so many great blogs that I read all the time but I try to mix it up a little or else I get behind on my blogroll and though it’s ridiculous, it kind of stresses me out.

Why did you choose to share that piece of yourself in a photograph?
Well, the request was to take a picture of a part of myself but it’s not like there are a plethora of interesting things on my body if you’re not into scars or freckles so this is a tattoo right above my hipbone. I got it on my honeymoon, when I was young and wild and thought I’d be that way forever. Notice that it’s all blurry now. That’s what happens after 12 years and two babies. Our 12th anniversary is Sunday : )

How would you describe your writing style?
It’s a lot like how I’d talk if I took the time to weigh my words more carefully and could edit myself endlessly. So maybe I’d describe it as real-ish?

What don’t you write about? Anything considered a no-no in your book?
Though I sometimes want to, I try not to write anything bad about my spouse. I may get over it but the reading public will always remember him as the jerk that did this or that. I just don’t want to portray him as an ass even if he can be one sometimes. I’m very protective of my loved ones.

How do you feel about meeting bloggers in real life?
I like it!

Are you nervous?
Oh, hell yeah! I’m afraid of turning into a mute idiot dunce in the presence of such collective greatness.

Will you have great expectations?
I try not to. For better or for worse, real life never lives up to my very active imagination.

What do you hope to take away from the BlogHer experience?
Well, I’d like to glean some knowledge or wisdom if at all possible but beyond that, friends and good memories would make me happy.

So soon we’re going to meet each other at BlogHer. Important question: how do you party?
I used to be a Jack and Coke kind of girl way back. Then I mellowed into a Guinness drinker. But for this event, I think my strategy for not getting too wasted (it doesn’t take much) is to buy the worst tasting drinks I can come up with and nurse them. Something really gross like scotch and water…lol

What is your favorite thing that you wrote? What got a strong reaction from your readers?
I have lots of favorites (is that bad?) but “Don’t Take the Pot” tops the list because it recounts something that absolutely happened and it was just so damn funny. Not many of my posts get strong reactions but this one and this one seemed to tap into something with a few people. I’m not very controversial so I don’t have any good examples of those real hot-button kinds of posts.

Are you and your blogging persona the same person?
I think so although I’m probably a lot less articulate in real life and I’m pretty sure I say things like “Dude” and “I know, right?” just as much, if not more than I do in my blog.

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
The ability to time-travel!

Thanks for the interview, Izzy! I can’t wait to meet you in person at BlogHer!

I swear I’m not writing this to brag. Aaron told me it was too amazing not to blog about, and well, he usually doesn’t get a say in what I write, so I’ll give him this one. But if I become the new mommyblogger pariah, it’s all your fault, dear.

Yesterday around 1pm, Cordelia was being a cranky monster. You know, a typical toddler. We were an hour away from her normal nap time. It was going to be a long hour.

I changed her diaper, and she was making it as difficult as possible for me. As soon as the changing of the diaper was completed, she stood up and huffed at me with a scowl on her face. I was tired of the attitude.

“Do you need to go take a nap?”

Pause. “Yes.”

Stunned look from me. “OK, go get your froggie and Blue and you can take a nap.” I figured she had no idea what she was agreeing to, and it would go no further than that.

But Cordy walked around the downstairs, gathering her Blue and her froggie, and went to the base of the stairs. I offered to carry her up, like I normally do, but she pushed me aside. Still holding her toys, which took up both arms and made it harder for her, she climbed the stairs.

Once at the top of the stairs, I expected her to run off into the guest room, which is where she likes to try to hide from me. But instead she walked right over to her bedroom door and waited for me to open it. I opened the door, and she walked in.

She waited at the CD player for me to put her sleep music on (yes, she still has a CD I play for her at nap and bedtime). Once the music was playing, she walked over to her crib, still holding her toys, and waited for me to lift her into the crib.

I put her in her crib, and she laid down. I left the room, shutting the door behind me, and walked down the stairs. At the base of the stairs, I stopped and listened to the monitor: not a peep from her. And standing there, I asked out loud:
“What just happened here?”

She slept for nearly 2 hours.

My 22 month old daughter put herself down for a nap.

I’d like to say I’ll soon be publishing my book of sleep training tricks for all of you, but she did this herself. I have no secrets to share, really. She used to be a horrible sleeper, who woke 2-3 times a night, refused naps, and screamed like a banshee at bedtime.

I guess I do have one secret to share: bedtime is non-negotiable, and always has been. Once she’s down for the night, she’s not coming out of that bedroom. When she would cry when put to bed, we’d let her cry for 10 min., then go in to check on her, but not take her out of the room. Once it’s bedtime, she’s there for the night. Repeat 10 minutes later, and another 10 min, later if needed. Usually she was asleep before the end of the first 10 minutes. I know many feel crying it out is cruel, and I can say it wasn’t easy and isn’t the only way to do things. But she knew we were right there, and if she really needed us, we’d be in within 10 minutes. It worked for us.

Now she doesn’t even cry – she seems happy to go to bed. I don’t know if she just accepts bedtime now, or if she’s finally developed her mother’s love of sleeping. Either way, she blew my mind yesterday when she put herself to bed for her nap.