I know my family up north in Maryland will be VERY jealous, but we had the most beautiful spring weather today.  Spring comes early in Florida.  Special thanks to my mother-in-law for taking this pretty picture of Annabel.  It captures the essence of my daughter, and the day, perfectly.

Angela Martin missed out on her THIRD, and FINAL, attempt to be a contestant on American Idol.  (She is now 28 and past the age limit.) The first year she auditioned she had to quit because her father was shot to death by her stepmother.  Awful. The second year she landed in jail with unpaid traffic tickets.  She could not afford (nor could anyone in her life afford, I assume) to bail her out.  She watched the auditions from inside a cell.  She also has a special needs daughter AND her mother disappeared two months ago.  She’s had a tough life.  A tragic life, really.  But she is an incredible singer who did not give up on her dream.  She is an inspiration. This year, she made it all the way to Hollywood Week and then… the judges CUT HER.  Um, What??  SHOCKER! I could not believe it.  I think it’s wonderful that Ellen had Angela on her talk show today to showcase her talent once again and Kara DioGuardi has now agreed to write Angela a song and help her find a record label. That’s all great news.  But WE needed the opportunity to see Angela on American Idol.  She deserved that.  WE deserved that.  Shame on you, American Idol.  You got it wrong this time.  PS:  Another reason to like her?  Her name is a character on The Office.  Just saying.

Annabel turned two years old yesterday and our house was filled with pink balloons, Hello Kitty cuteness, and a super adorable birthday princess. It was a blast.  Unlike her first birthday, Annabel totally GOT that it was her very special day.   After breakfast, we watched “Tinkerbell” on DVD and then went to the mall for a birthday train ride.  After naps, it was the official Annabel birthday party.  She SCREAMED as she drifted through her sea of pink balloons and ran directly to the mountain of pink presents. She got everything she wanted.   She was beyond excited.  And, of course,  Daddy made her the coolest Hello Kitty cake in the whole wide world.  She went to bed surrounded by all her new gifts.  She is the quintessential “girly” girl.  She loves tutus.  She loves necklaces.  She loves doll babies and stuffed animals.  She loves purses.  She loves everything pink.  She even screams when she can’t hold the pink corner of the parachute at Gymboree class. I can barely take her shopping at Target anymore unless I remember to avoid any aisle that might have a Hello Kitty item.  (And it’s HARD.  Hello Kitty toothbrushes, toasters, blankets, towels.  That cat is EVERYWHERE.) I don’t mind.  I love Hello Kitty too.  It’s adorable.  It’s awesome to experience all this fun little girl stuff again.  Annabel calls her “Hi-T.”  She is also saying a bazillion other words and it’s surprising sometimes because Daniel was not a talker at this age.  She knows most of her colors and can count to ten.  She sings her “ABC’s” and loves to ask questions, “Where Daddy go, Mama?”  “What Daniel do, Mama?”  She has the sweetest little high pitched voice and she loves to talk to her relatives on the phone. She’s a great eater and sleeper, just like her brother, but she still has her moody days.  She usually shuns citrus fruits, but sometimes eats a whole bowl of oranges.  One dinner she asked for THIRDS of broccoli and the next time she would not touch it.  She is very opinionated.  We usually have to wait for the calm after the storm if I accidentally try to help put a piece of meat on her fork.  She doesn’t WANT the help although she really NEEDS the help and that begins a tailspin of drama. But she’s cute when she pouts, so we always have to giggle. Her head of curls is growing longer and longer and it’s so wild to see her after bath time when her hair is wet and it falls down her back.  But after a few seconds it just springs back up into place.  She now loves barrettes and bows and the occasional headband.  She loves to dress up in “pretty” clothes ESPECIALLY anything pink. She wants to wear her tutu to the park.  She will sit on the floor in her room and play with dolls and read books.  She loves her play kitchen.  But she will still play trains and cars with her brother and she LOVES balls. She also loves to dance and has some very cute little wiggle moves.  She screams with glee and claps her hands when one of her favorite songs comes on (The classic “Hot Cross Buns” or Metro Station’s “Shake It.”  She has very eclectic taste.) She will also go crazy from time to time and fling her body on the floor if she can’t do something JUST RIGHT.  Or if her brother won’t let her set up a board game.  Or if she has to put on a coat. Or if she’s super hungry.  Or if it’s 11 o’clock.  With her all craziness comes her cuddliness.  She loves to give hugs and kisses and it’s so heartwarming to hear her say “Tank You, Mama” or “I Wuv you, Mama.”  I love you too, Annabel.  You are my beautiful two year old princess.

Here’s the thing. I don’t get out much anymore.  I used to go to bars and parties and movie premieres and concerts.  I used to go to A LOT of concerts.  But since I became a Mom, I’ve definitely fallen into the cliché (that’s actually NOT a cliché) of staying home and enjoying a Netflix movie and a bottle of wine with my hubbie on a Saturday night.  This is my NEW fun.  And it really is fun.  But I went to the John Mayer concert last night. I was really excited because I’ve always liked John Mayer’s music.  Plus, he’s really good looking.  Yeah, I know he’s been a tabloid fixture lately with his personal life dating sagas. Jessica Simpson and Jennifer Aniston and MAYBE Taylor Swift, although I sincerely doubt that last one.  I just appreciate an artist who is a TRUE artist.  He writes all his songs.  He plays the guitar.  Man, he REALLY plays that guitar.  I really prepared for this concert too.  I wanted to make sure I knew ALL the John Mayer songs and not just the John Mayer songs I’ve heard on the radio.  Santa gave me the Continuum and Battle Studies CDs in my Christmas stocking this year.  I’ve been listening to both CDs since Christmas morning.  I truly fell in love with all the music. I started to forget about all that other John Mayer “stuff” and really listen to the songs he wrote.  “Gravity” is so beautiful.   “Edge of Desire” is sexy and sad.  “Do You Know Me” is haunting.  And “Half of my Heart” constantly thumps around in my head.  Half of my heart is a shot gun wedding To a bride with a paper ring And half of my heart is the part of a man  Who’s never truly loved anything. I really like this line because I want to believe that is the real John Mayer.  The guy who SEEMS misunderstood when it comes to love, but really, he gets who he is.  And he is such a talented performer.  The concert was so much fun.  I was really inspired.  He played tons of songs from Battle Studies and I loved that he kicked it off with “Crossroads.”  He also had great favorites mixed in like “Say” and “Waiting on the World To Change” and, of course, “Why, Georgia,” an amazing live song.  He sounded great and he looked great and he wailed on the guitar like he was having the time of his life.  And he said “Thank You.”  A LOT.  No, THANK YOU, John.  It was an awesome night.  And thank you for being SO COOL in person.  Even though our meeting was short and sweet, I’ll never forget it.  You’ve got another life long fan.  (O.M.G.  I met John Mayer!!)

The past THREE days have consisted of THREE things that I’ve been SO wanting to write about: A. Our big MOVE B. The 2010 GRAMMY’s and C. My BIRTHDAY Because of THE MOVE, I have not been able to FIND my laptop amdist the sea of boxes and dirty laundry and Sesame Street paper plates.  But now I’m back to a semi-normal state in our brand new digs, so here’s a QUICK update.  (The final season premiere of LOST is tonight, okay?) THE MOVE: Our landlady kicked us out so we had to find a new place to live and FAST.  This all happened right after our Christmas vacation (Happy New Year! Yeah, right).  But it’s actually been a great blessing in disguise.  I personally don’t really mind moving because I’ve done it A LOT and it also gets me a chance to dig into my inner Hoarders fantasy of tossing out all this random stuff.  I get such a sweet satisfaction when I throw out bags of old junk and garage pilings.   Not that my house looked like an episode of Hoarders, mind you.  Quite the opposite.  It’s the OCD side of me.  Just ask my husband. We found a bigger, nicer, and CHEAPER place to live that is close to Bean’s preschool and the mall.  What more could I want?  It was a little sad to move out of the house where Bean grew up and Annabel was born, but we’re excited for our brand new “home sweet home.” THE 2010 GRAMMY’S: The 2010 Grammy Awards were really great this year.  Lady Gaga opening the show with Elton John.  Pink continuing to swing around in the air and SING at the SAME TIME.  Taylor Swift looking cute while winning a bunch of gold awards.  But I really want to point out Beyoncé.  She is super talented and classy. I love that she is amazingly successful and married to the also amazingly successful Jay-Z. Yet they have no DRAMA .  No paparazzi scandal photos.  No stories in the entertainment gossip magazines.  They are just a  talented couple.  And Beyoncé had a really strong performance Sunday night.  You go, girl. MY BIRTHDAY: I hate surprises and I was totally surprised, BIG TIME, on my birthday.  In a GOOD way.  My hubbie took the day off work and did not tell me.  I woke up at 5:30 AM SCREAMING at him to “Wake UP!  You are SO LATE!  AHHHHHH!” and he just rolled over and said “SURPRISE!”  That was GOOD.  He made an awesome French Toast with Berries breakfast. He took care of the kiddies ALL DAY LONG. He sent me to the spa for a massage and facial. Oh, and he gave me THIS! Yes, it’s a RECORD PLAYER.  AWESOME.  I have saved all of my albums and 45’s since the 1980’s and it’s been so much fun to unpack all day long while listening to these great songs on a RECORD PLAYER.  Maybe it’s just me, but I love it so.  Oh, and the grand finale to my birthday?  I’m seeing John Mayer in concert Saturday night.  Yep, it was a pretty darn good birthday this year.