Band Practice!

Nothing warms my soul, or gets my blood pumping, like music! Music, music, music! It's the best! Tonight, my Montecarlo Band-mates and I had rehearsal for a bat mitzvah we are playing for next weekend. We played some new tunes, including Katy Perry's "California Gurlz", Estelle's "American Boy", and Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'", current teen favorite thanks to the show Glee. 

They are all fun songs, although the prude side of me thinks that California Gurlz is a little risque for 13- year-olds, but pop lyrics brimming with sexual innuendo is nothing new. I remember "Like a Virgin" playing on the radio when I was a youngin'. I used to sing "Like A Vee-Jo", because I was too embarrassed to say the word virgin. I'm not sure why. I guess because I was aware it had something to do with sex.

We also rehearsed our 10 minute Hora extravaganza! I almost hyperventilated while I was doing it, but it was fun!






Outfit:

Dress: Goodwill. Forever 21.

Bodysuit: Goodwill. Star Cody.

Sweater: Friend hand me down. H & M.

 Shoes: Zoe & Zac.

Matricide!

My daughter is killing me. One late, horrible, not-going-to-bed, at a time. Take tonight for instance. I had the boys in bed by 8, I had HaHa bathed and dressed and sleepy. I nursed her, which she still demands,(another way she kills me), and I lay down with her, sang to her, and still, no dice. 9 o'clock, 9:45, HaHa awake. My work is not getting done. My patience is worn thin. So, tonight, I decided that I was putting my foot down; HaHa was going to fall asleep on her own, in her own bed, no matter what.

Well, the no-matter-what was pretty awful, and it lasted until 10:45. There was screaming, blood-curdling shrieks and thrashing about. There was jumping on the bed, and "Mama's!" so pitiful, it took everything in me not to cave and pick her up. Everything.

It's not her fault. It's ours. From the time she was born she was in somebody's arms. And getting dragged about town in her car seat. No regular sleep schedule. I thought daycare would work out her sleeping kinks, but it didn't really change much. She's still a sleep demon. Or maybe I should call her an avoiding sleep demon. Whatever the case, these are the parts of motherhood that I could do without, but that is the stuff of life, I suppose. You can't have the sweet without the bitter...

Oh, and by the way, HaHa goes right to bed when Richard puts her down. Guess our mother-daughter stuff is starting early! Also, if they made baby cages, I would have put her in one!

And, now that it's 11:39, I guess it's another late night Chez Espy! Richard's still out too!



Outfit:

Still rocking the summer outfits, unfortunately. I am dreaming of chilly fall days, but it was 90 degrees today!

Tank: Old Navy.

Green shirt: Goodwill. Lux.

Pants: Salvation Army. Mossimo.

Shoes: Zoe & Zac.

Pre-loween!

We had a lot of Halloween fun today at school. It started with an all-school parade that is one of the annual highlights. Richard brought HaHa, so she was able to experience the glory and the madness. It was a bit overwhelming for her, but she was a trooper, and she even played with some of my first graders. They were very sweet to her.

I thought of a Halloween costume the night before, and Richard was kind enough to make it for me! I never figured out what the numbers he printed on my contestant sign. If you have any ideas, please let me know!

Spending the day with children completely giddy from their costumes and the ritual of Halloween was a lot of fun. They get so excited. It's very sweet.

Outfit:

Floral shirt: Clothing swap.

Under shirt: Friend hand-me-down. Lux.

Jeans: Clothing swap: J. Crew.

Shoes: zoe & zac.

Math!

I had a fine day, but I really can't write about it right now because I have hundreds of math papers to correct and file. Literally. So, I will put up my pics and list my outfits, and tell you again that I have 297 days under my belt and 68 days left!!!

I can't believe it! I am almost there! So close, yet I still have 68 days to avoid repeated outfits. I gotta keep my game face on, and my eye on the prize!

It is raining! I love the sound!

Outfit:

Top: Old Navy. I think it's a little too maternity. I may have to ditch it in a few months!

Jeans: Big Sunday.

Shoes: Zoe & Zac.

Jacket: Goodwill. Allegory.

Antidisestablishmentarianism!

The political party went on without a hitch. That is, Richard got acquainted with some alcoholic beverages, told people his ideas about the ballot measures, and proceeded to provide what I hope was insightful entertainment and discourse. I am not sure if he did because I had to drop Jordan off at a party, and I was hanging out with the kids for most of the party. I make myself scarce at these things because I tend to get prickly when Richard starts getting tipsy...

Politics aside, the highlight of the day was seeing our long lost friends! Now that we're older and busier and married-er, we don't see each other as often. A couple of our friends brought a bottle of homemade organic wine! And my brilliant cousin made these delicious lemon-coconut shortbread cookies. Yum!

There were babies and newlyweds, parents-to-be, and grandparents, new friends and old couples, and two crazy little boys! There was a mass exodus at 6 o' clock, but a few people stayed to discuss ALL of the ballot measures and candidates. The most disheartening thing is that the candidates are so disappointing. Maybe one day we'll have more options than the two-party disaster we have now.

And, Charlie successfully spelled "Antidisestablishmentarianism"! I owe him a dollar.


Outfit:




Tank: Clothing swap. Express.

Pants: Hand me down from cousin. Gap. Same as yesterday.


Sweater: Clothing swap. Plenty.


Shoes: zoe & zac.
 

81 Days Left!

After I got home today, and was thinking about a variety of things, it occurred to me that I have just over two months left of this thing. Two and a half months to be exact. I can't believe it! It seems to have gone by fairly fast. Amazingly, I haven't really missed shopping that much. Occasionally I have wanted a "Goodwill fix", but not being allowed to have one hasn't really been an issue.

I window shop and I find new ways of wearing clothes I've had for years. Fun, fun!

Newsflash! I just found out friends of ours (Richard and mine, that is) are expecting a baby!!! I am ecstatic! I cannot think of any better news! Yay, yay, yaaaaaayyyy!!!! Awesome!

Okay. Back to blahgging. People have been asking me what I will do after I'm done, and I say nothing. I will not be starting another blog unless somebody pays me to do it! This was a project, an idea, and I have been sticking it out, and sticking to my goal. One closet. One year.

Outfit:

Shirt: Old Navy Maternity. I bought this when I was pregnant with HaHa. I didn't buy many maternity things, but the ones I did, I made sure I could wear them after the babies came!

Pants: Thrift store. This was a jumpsuit I cut for some dumb reason! I have worn these pants a lot this year!

Shoes: zoe & zac.

Belt: Believe it or not, this belt did NOT come with this shirt, but they match perfectly!

Post-poning!

Well, I've been sitting in front of this computer for about an hour, and I got nothing. Oh sure, I could write about my work day, my very hectic arrival home, my thrown-together in a flash dinner, or my mid-evening meltdown where I lay down on my bed and thought, "Why, why, why?", but I will not. Instead I will tell you, patient reader, that the outfit I walked out of the house with, was not the one I ended up with. That is, I re-arranged my garments as they were not working out.

My skirt, which I had pulled up, kept slipping down as went about my business, so I had to re-adjust. I actually like the second styling better, and I think it's a lot more flattering. It also proves that if you play with your clothes long enough, you might be pleasantly surprised!

 On the right is my original look.  On the left is my quick fix for my failing garments! It was much more comfortable!






Outfit:

Shirt: This was a gift. I am wearing it backwards. Loupilou.

Skirt: I got this in Texas at Marshall's in 1989! It's a keeper!!! 

Shoes: zoe & zac.

270 Days!

It's been a looooong weekend and I am spent! Today I went from wedding brunch, to band rehearsal, to the annual party my school throws! Wow! What a day.

And it was fun.

That's about all I have in me right now. Tomorrow is another day.

If you want to read a thoughtful and well written post, check out my Fresh Friends' PSA, "In Defense of Children".

Outfit:

Shirt: Goodwill. Old Navy. It's a maternity shirt.

Dress: Hand me down from friend. Ella moss.

Shoes: zoe & zac.

Shaughn!

Oh my goodness! In my race for power and glory (Weird Science, anyone?), I forgot to do a birthday shout out for one of my greatest and most gracious friends! I actually sent her a Facebook message in the wee hours of her birthday morning, so I forgot to call her later in the day, and, as I said before, I totally spaced when I was posting last night. It was a long day...

Okay. My friend.

Shaughn is sweet. Shaughn is kind. Shaughn is funny as the day is long. She is a beauty with the most amazing eyes that she uses to great effect when she's chatting with you, and her wit is sharp and quick! She is classy. She is fun. She cooks like nobody's business.

Play-dates at her house were always a highlight in my parenting life because she was my first friend to have a baby, and thus, we were having girl-time whilst dishing the dirt on diapers (among other things).  Before she had her own kids, she used to cuddle and care for my Charlie as if he were her own and I knew she would be the greatest mom. She is also a wonderful writer, a beloved teacher, and everyone who knew her in Cali misses her like crazy-cakes!

Happy Birthday Shaughn!!!!!


Outfit:

We ended the first week of school with a special presentation by the teachers. I decided to dress up a little.

Shirt: Thrift store. I've had this since high school. The print is just the greatest, if you ask me!

Skirt: Hand me down from friend.

Sweater: Salvation Army in my mom's Massachusetts town. Express.

Belt: Clothing swap.

Shoes: zoe & zac.

Arizona Bound!

Okay. In preparation for next week, I am going to try to write a super-short post. I am also going to write a short post because it is 11:44 p.m. and I have to drive to Arizona in the morning. Cool and breezy Arizona!

Today, the kids and I spent the morning with my lovely friend Allison and her adorable kids. I also got to spend some time with her parents, who are equally lovely and adorable. Her father and I talked fashion, which was a welcome occurrence. While I dabble in style, he is a true fashionista, it seems. He wears works of art by designers such as Comme des Garçons and Yohji Yamamoto, and, his fashion philosophy is very in harmony with how I want to proceed with my style life in the future: "Wear what you love, and what makes you feel good!"


He also has many clothes in his closet that are 25 years old and he still rocks them! A man after my own heart!

Outfit:

Shirt: Goodwill. Old Navy. This is a maternity shirt and I bought it when I was preggers with HaHa. I fell in love with the flowers. I tie it in the back now to keep it appropriate.

Skirt: Also Old Navy. This was a friend hand-me-down.


Shoes: zoe & zac.


The pictures I took this afternoon were awful, so I had to do an impromptu photo shoot. I did manage to get some good photos of the kids playing in the back room. We had fun today!

Technology 4, Shelayna 0!

It happened again. 10:00 p.m. I was all set to upload my pictures from the day, including our trip to the Jelly Belly factory, and, just as I was about to click "import all", my computer screen went black and the computer shut off. It did this maneuver just as my camera was about to run out of power. When I got my computer running again, the camera died before I could upload the photos. I left the charger at home like a fool. I knew I had limited battery power, but I had enough of a charge for a few days, and had my computer not died at that exact moment, they would have imported.

According to Richard, the surge when I went to import the pictures caused my computer to shut down. It happened twice. So, just when I was about to post and write about our lovely day, which included a public display of marital disharmony over the subject of red meat, I had to go into another room and try to take pictures of myself with a much more complicated camera. I took at least a dozen pictures. Not one of them included an in focus shot of my whole body.

By the way, as I was in mid-sentence my computer died once again. This is why I gave it an extra point. After many attempts and another disharmonious moment with Richard, I had to go out to the car at 1 a.m. to look for another charger for my computer. So now I have a crappy post with crappy pictures!

At the end of the day, this is why I believe I am at odds with technology; You can't really rely on it fully. At it's best it is life enhancing,  at it's worst it's total sabotage! Technology, I curse you! However, I thank Blogger for it's back up system which automatically backed up my work so that I still had some writing here when I got my computer back up!

Outfit:

Shirt: Hand me down from cousin! Old Navy.

Skirt: You've seen it an awful lot in the last ten days! Thrift store.

Shoes: Ditto on the shoes. zoe &zac.

More of Jordan's Handiwork:

The Loud Family!

We drove up the coast today to the beautiful and placid Paso Robles, where my beautiful and placid mother-in-law lives. Placid, that is, until we showed up with our rowdy bunch of extremely loud people.

I am loud by nature, I think. In fact, when I was a young girl enjoying Christmases with my mom's side of the family, the decibels would reach such magnitudes as to practically shatter one's inner ear. The working title of my mom's clan was "The Loud Family". And we were. We would play games and erupt in such a cacophony of excitement that the walls would literally vibrate. Literally.

Now, my father is also loud. Extremely loud. Loud like he shouts when he is excited and he is talking to you loud. I  have a loud voice and the ability to project my voice on a very grand scale. However, one thing I believe I have that other people in my household don't have, is the ability to tell when being loud is not appropriate. And it is not appropriate in Paso Robles. At least not in many of the places we spend time.

Now, lest I get into trouble,  I would like to state that Richard is pretty good about reading social cues. However, there are times when he gets so caught up in an idea or moment, that he forgets to turn down the volume. Very much like my father. Hmm...

The boys are so loud that we've had their hearing tested. They shout instead of talk. It can be quite embarrassing. Especially when we are around mild mannered children who use inside voices when they are inside. What a concept. This concept however has not made an impression on the Espy kids.

As I write this I wonder if Richard thinks about these things, or is it something only a woman would do?...Analyze and pick apart their offspring's behavior. Do guys do this? I need to know. Maybe it's time for another poll...

Outfit:

Shirt: Under layer. Forever 21. This was a pregnancy purchase a few years beck.

Shirt: Top layer. My mom gave e this shirt a very, very long time ago. I believe she got it at a thrift store. The thread is faded, and I dyed the shirt long ago because it had some paint stains. I love it even though it is very worn.

Belt: I made this by pulling off a bow on a skirt that I didn't think worked. It's two pieces tied together.

Skirt: Thrift store. I washed some of my New York clothes yesterday, and I pulled out my trusty skirt that I wore twice while there!

Shoes: zoe & zac.

With my red, blue, and gold I felt like I was channeling wonder woman's color palette!

Below I have included a photo my stepson Jordan made for me. He just took a photography class at SMC , and he got an A! He took some lovely portraits of the kids and he shows some promise as a photographer! You can see him in the photo if you look closely! Thank you, J-Dawg!

Promises, Promises!

While I deal with my almost-two-year-old wild child NOT going to bed, I am also thinking about my "Bittersweet Melancholy" post. However, just when I think I am going to dive into some deep reflection about my trip to New York, HaHa gets right in my face and screams "Ha!". It is 11:30 p.m., mind you. She is also doing upside down bridges on the couch, and now, right this instant, she is drooling on my arm. I'm not kidding. The girl is out of her mind. And very cute...

My mom flew back east today. I got up at 5:20 to drive her to the airport, was home by 6:25, and crawled back into bed where I dozed until noon! After staying up until 3 in the morning and running all over NYC the past few days, I was pooped! Richard gave me a hard time, but I tried to explain that I hadn't slept very much in the past week, or at least not very well. At any rate, I feel like I'm babbling and HaHa is still wide awake as the midnight hour approaches. However, I do see some small signs of her fading. Fingers crossed!






Outfit:

I had to throw something on quickly because I needed to drop something off. I threw on some jeans and focused on putting together a shirt combo that I knew I hadn't worn before!

Green shirt: Clothing swap. Old Navy.

Striped Shirt: Hand me down from friend. Forever 21.

Lace top: Isaac Mizrahi for Target.

Jeans: Hand me down from cousin.

Shoes: Zoe & Zac.

Grandma and the kids at her good bye dinner. We had Peruvian food at Mario's. Yum!

Throwin' In The Towel!

The last couple of times I've come to New York, I've had the same feeling: Bittersweet melancholy. And I don't mean melancholy as in "depressed", but rather melancholy as in "soberly thoughtful and pensive". Two of the people I was going to see had to cancel, so I decided it would be nice to go to Brooklyn to see my old stomping grounds. I don't know if nice is the right word. More like thought provoking...

Now, I had gone to bed at 4 a.m., so naturally, I rose at noon. It took awhile for me to get out of the house, and as I was walking to the train, it dawned on me that my top priority should be getting HaHa to some place with water. That was in the plan yesterday, but she feel asleep in the stroller before it could happen. I knew that Prospect Park would have water, and it was just blocks away from my old apartment, so it was perfect.

I got off at Union Street and headed to the park. Along the way I passed familiar and unfamiliar things and I was both happy and sad when I saw my ex-boyfriend's schizophrenic brother on a stoop. He looked the same, and he behaved the same, and this was all at once comforting and upsetting. Nearly ten years had passed since I'd left, and here he still was, smoking cigarettes on a stoop, and asking for food. At the same time, he helps neighbors out and everyone knows him, and he is a sweet guy. He let me and HaHa in the house to see "Grandma". It was extremely emotional and sweet. She is 97, and she is amazing! I am in awe of her generous spirit and sharp mind. She said that she feels well except for her knee, which started to bother her after my ex's dog, which she helped take care of, died. She makes 97 look very appealing, and I hope that I can age like her. She even cooks for the family still. Amazing! She had made escarole and beans and squash for dinner. She's Italian to the core!

Lest I write a small novel here, I will have to save part two of my bittersweet melancholy story for tomorrow. HaHa just put herself to sleep at 1:00 a.m. Heaven help me! The girl appears to be a night owl like her parents! Tonight, I will do everything I can to be in bed by 2:15 a.m.!

Outfit:

Shirt: Hand me down from cousin. Torrid.

Skirt: Thrift store. This skirt is definitely old, and I love it so! The color can't be beat!

Shoes: zoe & zac. I only brought these and my fit flops.

On Union street we passed this stroller which must have been a memorial to a child who died. A reminder to appreciate all my blessings.

HaHa enjoyed playing with other children for the first time in days. She really made a lot of friends. Young and old. She waled around the park saying "Hi!" to everyone. She's been doing that on the Subway too!

Palpable!

Well, it's two a.m. over here in the NYC, and guess who's boppin' all over Josh and Brady's apartment like a cray-cray bay-bay? Yeah, you guessed it. The number-one-stay-up-late-California-baby-girl: HaHa! I mean, in her defense, it's only 11:00 p.m in California. Why would any baby go to sleep so early?  Clearly, these other babies don't know what HaHa knows: All the fun stuff happens after bedtime!

HaHa and I had a lovely New York day. We walked around, got on the subway, and happened upon the Irish Hunger Memorial. I had never seen it before, nor heard of it, but all of sudden as I was walking to my friend's apartment, it appeared. Lush and green, and almost otherworldly. Apparently it is modeled after an Irish landscape and I thought it lovely. At first, I thought it was a monument to slavery, or the first nation, because it had some quotes that speak to those experiences. However, a flyer at the entrance set me straight...

Stumbling upon this installation perfectly exemplifies all that I love about New York.  There is always something to be discovered, and you will often be surprised. Another thing I love about New York is the close contact with all types of humans.

As I was waiting for the subway I saw a well-dressed woman crying as her mate was trying to console her. Three seconds later an apparent homeless person walked by cursing and asking for help. The humanity is palpable. Very, very, palpable. And with that, I shall head to bed!

Outfit:

Very early on in this project I wore this skirt with a black shirt. But it was NOT the black shirt I'm wearing today, so HA! Take that, wardrobe police!

Shirt: Gift from proprietors of The New York International Children's Film Festival. I used to be their nanny! They show some fine films and they make some fine shirts!!! 

Skirt: I got this the summer before I started 10th grade in Dallas, Texas! That was over 20 years ago! This skirt is perfect for travel because it doesn't wrinkle! I got it at Marshall's.

Shoes: zoe & zac.


A few pictures from the memorial.

Okay, its three a.m. I thought that being in New York would make me post early! HaHa finally put herself to sleep, and I'm about to do the same!