Reading the Funny People

 

I find myself reading (and re-reading) a lot of funny-people autobiographies. Something about hearing other people tell their stories is always inspiring to me, someone who dabbles in storytelling myself.

Amy Poehler's book had a slightly more serious tone, I thought. She's a really smart lady. Most comedians I like tend to have very nerdy, intelligent backgrounds. You have to be, in improv. Part of me kept wishing she would spill the dirt on her divorce to Will Arnett (aka The Day Love Died) but a bigger part of me was glad she didn't. There was a lovely chapter on her two kids, however. She gave quite a bit of valuable advice in her book. My biggest take-away was her motto: "good for you, not for me". If someone does things differently than you do, has a different parenting philosophy, birthing plan, whatever, the correct response should always be "Good for you! Not for me." So true. And helpful!


 
I have no schema for Dr. Doogie. Everything I know about NPH comes from watching HIMYM and the awards shows he has hosted since. That being said, I love NPH! And the format for his autobiography meant I was going to read it, even if I didn't like him. How clever! I totally cheated - I read straight through the book, disregarding every "If you want to become a Broadway star turn to page 146, if you want to get into a fistfight on Sunset Boulevard turn to page 93" crossroads. I was too worried about missing a page to skip around! This book was fun, informative, and comes with bonus magic tricks! For real, the back cover, instead of being a blurb previewing the contents of the book, is instead a magic trick of the "pick a card, any card" variety. The correct answer (that crazy Neil, gets it right every time!) is in the inside jacket flap.

Reading these two books made me want to go back and reread one from a couple years ago. Mindy Kaling's voice in this book is spot on. If you watched The Office or The Mindy Project, you'll be able to hear her narrating this book in your head as you read. Mindy's is probably my favorite of all the books on this page, simply because she is the most likeable and relatable of the bunch. I'm sure everyone who has starting reading has imagined bumping into Mindy at a nail salon or Great American Cookie mall stand and becoming instant friends. Her book is broken into bite sized bits ranging from how she got started in Hollywood to why she doesn't eat cupcakes anymore (an actual chapter), several sweet paragraphs about how much she loves her parents and wants to get married someday, and even "Why Do Men Put on Their Shoes So Slowly?" Yes, Mindy, why is that? If I was going to write an autobiography (assuming anyone would be interested in ever reading it), this is the tone I would go for.


And of course, having read the above, I had to go back and pick up Tina Fey's book again. Her cover confuses me the most. But like the others, another well written book from a very smart person. Like Mindy's book, there are several random chapters and lists, and she touches on all the topics you would expect from a Hollywood star: being too thin, being too fat, how she was the victim of a random knife attack in grade school... okay, that last one isn't one you'd find in everyone's autobiography. However, excellent all around. Like Poehler's, it delves a bit more into the idea of "comedy" and specifically being a woman in comedy. There is good SNL gossip and shout-outs to other famous names you'll recognize. It's been fun rereading it, especially on the heels of all the others.

So that's what I'm reading these days. Apparently I needed a little funny to kick off this year. But hey, it's working! These first seven days of 2015 have been great! Now, anyone have any recommendations to get me through the remaining 358?

New Year

We ended 2014 right, by turning our oldest child into a Starbucks addict. Her first red cup!

New Year's Eve selfie before heading over to our PJ Poker Party!

Except instead of playing poker, I snuggled with this love bug until she finally went to sleep.

Teaching Violet how to "clink".

Welcome 2015!

Dance Party!

"Happy" and Such

Clearly I'm trying to make up for my lack of posting this year by cramming as many updates into the last week of 2014 as possible.

Here are some things to know about Annie right now...

At her 15-month well-check, girlfriend clocked in at an impressive 26 pounds. That's the 98th percentile, folks. She's been in 18-month clothes for a while now. She's working on feeding herself with a spoon and clearly enough is getting into her mouth. She has also mastered drinking through a straw, which is always a game-changer.

The move to the young toddler classroom at school has been the best. I feel like she's learned so much in just the short time she's been there. Most days, Annie takes a solid two-hour nap (hopefully I'm not jinxing myself today). For the most part, we can take her upstairs and put her in bed and she doesn't protest too much (knock on wood again). She also learned how to have a dance party in this class. She claps, waves, gives hugs and kisses too. So sweet. They have outdoor time every day, and now Annie brings me her jacket as her signal that she wants to go out, rain or shine.

Annie is also talking up a storm these days. Words she can say include: mommy, daddy, up, more, ball (I'm pretty sure this was her first word), happy, night-night, bye-bye, doggy and woof-woof, ah dah (all done), ah-bee (open), uh-uh, no-no and the always popular and hilarious uh-oh, uttered at every juncture from dropping snacks on the floor to seeing the cat.

So far she still thinks it is cool to follow directions. When I tell her it's time for a diaper, she goes and lays down on the changing pad. She can carry things to people, goes and sits in her chair when it is time to eat, even handing me the bib. She can throw things in the trash can on request and get her own cup when she is thirsty. The only time she intentionally disobeys is when I catch her climbing the stairs. She gives me an evil cackle over her shoulder and starts climbing doubletime before I can grab her. She also has a bad habit of trying to unroll all the toilet paper and likes to play in the cat food when we're not watching. She definitely requires more supervision than Violet did at this age! But she is so sweet. Love my girl!

Christmas - the rest of it

Cousins!

Wow, the picture taking apparently just went downhill as the season went on. There are hardly any from our time at the Loughman home, but rest assured, much fun was had. Both girls had fun playing with their cousin Brooke, Violet especially. There were moments I didn't know exactly where my children were or what they were doing, but I wasn't particularly worried about it, which is a pleasant place to be. I'm going to have to hire Brooke to come hang out with us for a week this summer so my children can be entertained.

Christmas at the Loughman's involved more presents, lots of good eating, playtime for the girls, some couch-lounging, the start of a new book (Amy Poehler's "Yes Please" - so far excellent, although my reading time has dramatically decreased with the departure of cousin Brooke... come back Brooke!), the bowling alley, the movies ("Into the Woods" - excellent! Fun fact: I played Rapunzel in our high school's version.), and a wine tasting game (I correctly identified four out of six wines - not terrible). It's always a lovely, relaxing time at the Loughman's for Christmas. After doing my own share of hosting, I was just happy to be in someone else's house where I didn't feel the same compulsion to load the dishwasher every three seconds. With a 15-month-old, we kept it fairly low-key. No fancy dinners out, nights didn't stretch too late, we're just in that season. But laid-back seemed to suit everyone else just fine. Until next year!

Burning off some energy at the park.

This guy. That beard.

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning, we received the gift all parents dream about. Our children slept in. Matt and I enjoyed a cup of coffee and cinnamon rolls in bed, in silence. Oh holy night indeed! For a fleeting moment we wondered if we should wake them, but then common sense kicked in, and we quickly ate more cinnamon rolls before they could wake up and discover them. Ha! We win!

Of course, the kids did eventually wake up (and by eventually, I mean 7:30, which is totally sleeping in for these two). Our Christmas was a quiet affair. Stockings were opened. Each girl got three gifts from Santa. Violet got exactly what she asked for: a candy cane filled with M&Ms, a framed picture of Hello Kitty to put by her bed, and a bracelet making bead set. The big man also gave her a bonus gift, the DVD of Sleeping Beauty, because somehow he knew she would want to add it to the list last minute. Smart man, that Santa. Very forward thinking. Clearly he gets a lot of help from his wife. Annie got mostly clothes. Next year, my friend, next year! There were a few presents from us, we ate breakfast, then cleaned up and packed for Christmas 3.0 in Peachtree City. Ah, Christmas, the season that never ends!

Nailed it!

Christmas Eve - Fortunato Style

Ready to get some presents on!

Traditionally, the Fortunatos have always claimed Christmas Eve. We would all gather at my parents' house for a meal and presents after whatever candlelight service we had attended. Often we would finish the evening with a ride around to see Christmas lights. It has always been lovely in its simplicity.

Last year, however, Matt and I finally pulled the trigger on our own family Christmas morning. Meaning we needed to be in our house Christmas Eve so Santa would know where to bring the presents. We would wake up just a family of four to have our own under the tree moments. So we hosted the Fortunato family for Christmas Eve. Which was actually the day before Christmas Eve (due to the logistics of having multiple family members who play music for Christmas Eve services across town). Well, the new tradition was awesome enough to repeat this year, and hopefully for many years to come.

The family all arrived mid-day on the 23rd (just after I arrived home from Annie's 15-month well-check, which turned up her first ear infection. Poor thing. But she's busting out in the 98th percetile for both height and weight, so clearly we're feeding her enough. 26 pounds!) Presents were opened. Dinner was had. Home Alone was watched. Everyone spent the night. It was truly awesome and I didn't take nearly enough pictures.

Happy despite her ear infection.

A favorite new toy.

Striking a pose before heading to band practice.

Brothers. Dapper, these two!

On Christmas Eve, everyone headed out mid-afternoon. My parents back home so Dad could head up his church service, the boys to our church for band practice. I cleaned house (hosting is no joke, ya'll. Thank God for a working dishwasher!), Annie napped, Violet watch "How the Grinch Stole Christmas". I was grateful for a quiet afternoon after all the company. Then I bustled everyone into the car for the drive to Buckhead for church. The service was lovely, as always. It's different when you have an active toddler and a tired and slightly overwhelmed preschooler with you alone in the pew. The candlelight service is my absolute most favorite church moment of the year. But my attention was being pulled in roughly 47 different places each minute. I had to keep reminding myself that this is a season, only a season. No candles for us this year, but these things too shall pass. Then, with the band playing "Oh Holy Night" and Violet standing beside me, I picked up my squirming baby and lo, it came to pass that she was silent, mesmerized by the glow of a hundred candles around us. And for just a moment, it was a holy night.

We decided to push our luck by going out to dinner after the service. Last year it was a complete nightmare, the opposite of that silent, holy night. Although come to think of it, there hadn't been room in the inn that night, so perhaps the hour and a half wait for our table was fitting. But never again, I decreed. So after our pastor dropped the hint that he was going to Longhorn and there had been no wait for a table last year, we decided to stalk him and follow suit. Winners! I was worried that both girls would completely lose it, but considering the long day and late hour, they were quite pleasant and all of us enjoyed ourselves. Christmas Eve success!