Home for 32 Hours and Nap Drama Ensues!

The last couple weeks have been so interesting and exciting and exhausting and... well, enough ands. I can't say too much at this point, but I just shot a pilot for a new talk show. In the best of all possible worlds, the show will get picked up and I'll have a regular national tv gig. Don't jinx me though. I'm just going to sit back, relax and enjoy the waiting process. HA!

I interviewed for the pilot job less than two weeks ago. Booked it the day after the interview. Shot some segments here in L.A. two days after that. Flew to NYC on Friday, shot the in-studio pilot show on Sat (I was in NYC approximately 22 hours), flew home Sat night and now I'm home spending the day with my daughter before I have to leave again for a gig in Ohio. I'll have to leave for LAX at 4:30am tomorrow morning. AHHHHH!!!

After the Ohio overnight, I'll have the rest of this coming week at home with my little family and after that a little vacation before going back to work. I have a gig on Oct 3 in San Antonio with the Hot Tamales Live and Eva Longoria! It should be a good one.

Anyhoo, Aubrey was really excited to see me today, as was I, her. We did some painting, watched a Baby Einstein video with a snack and got snuggled in for nap time. She hasn't fought a nap time for me in weeks. Maybe even a couple months now, but today was the day. I think she was just so excited to be back at my house with our dog, Bob Barker and me, that she decided to go a little kee-ray-zee.

This is a normal part of being a two year old. Tantrums come and go and she really doesn't have all that many. I have to admit, I have a hard time not laughing at the things she says when she goes nuts. She fancies herself a real master manipulator and will say clever little things in an attempt to get me to cave in and forgo the nap. Today, when she was crying her little face off, trying to get me to come in her room and rescue her from the big bad nap time, here are some of the doozies she yelled out:

- I hungry! (she hasn't quite gotten down "I am" or "I'm" yet)

- I need to paint!

- I see Daddy!

- I see Lee! (my boyfriend)

- I see Bob Barker! (our dog)

- I need go swimming!

- I take a bath!

- It's ok it's ok it's ok!

- I see out the window!

- Read another book!

- I need Curious George!

- I want Time Out Chair! (that's REALLY desperate)

I love that she thinks I'll really fall for one of these. As if suddenly, I'll think, "Oh my God! Aubrey DOES need a bath! I had better get her out of bed!" HILARIOUS!

My favorite of all time was the other night before she went to bed she exclaimed, "I need nuts!" She's really into cashews right now.

I hope you're all having a fun weekend!

Red Eyes, Pizzas and Gigs

Post Show at U Mass-Amherst!

I took a red eye to Boston and drove to Amherst, MA on Friday night. Had pizza with a Westminster Choir College (my alma mater)alum who is teaching at an interim position there and then did a show. Ate more pizza. Slept 3.5 hours and headed back to the Boston airport.

As for the show, I had the pleasure of performing at U Mass-Amherst and when I got there I met this young guy named Bo Burnham. I forgot that I was sharing the bill with another comic and apparently, it was him. He was introduced to me and I asked if he was a student. "No, he's the headliner"!! Hahaha! Wow, that made me feel old. Then I was told he just turned 19 and is one of these YouTube phenoms.

I had never heard of him before. He sings silly little songs with titles like "My Whole Family Thinks I'm Gay". I believe this is his biggest hit. He posted 2 songs on YouTube.com 2 years ago and now he's filling theaters and clubs with 18-22 year olds all over the country and is the youngest person to be given a Comedy Central Presents special. Wow.

I don't find him to be particularly funny (I think it's easier to enjoy his stuff if you're not an adult) good on him for capitalizing on his viral fame and it's nice that he has super supportive parents who act as roadies and sell merchandise for him after shows. I met them and they are charming people. We are in a closer age bracket than I am with Bo. They are younger than my boyfriend. Man, life just FLYS by, huh? Anyway, it will be interesting to see what happens to this guy. Will he become the next Chocolate Rain guy? Or will he sustain a career? This is a nutty business and I wish him all the best. He has 20 months of experience and I have 12 years. Seriously, all of those approximately 1600 college kids didn't turn out to see me. They came to see Bo and it was a humbling experience.

Anyway, why did I even mention all of this... just random thoughts as I kill time in Logan International Airport, waiting for a flight to Vegas.

I'm at the Pearl Theater in The Palms Hotel and Casino TONIGHT, performing with the Hot Tamales Live show. I hope to see you there! Better pack up the Macbook and get ready to board.

Oh POOP!

As if I haven't embarrassed myself enough already, here is a true tale from the trenches of motherhood...

So I have a tendency to post things that many people would never admit to (pinching my child, having to leave a restaurant because my kid wouldn't stop screaming, crapping my pants on Obama's inauguration day) so why stop now?

My girl is 27 months old tomorrow. She has been going pee in the toilet for several weeks now and I couldn't be prouder. She's still wearing diapers and pull-ups but she recently starting telling me when she has to go! This is a GIANT leap for toddlerkind, yes?! I was excited when this started happening. So after a week or so of her announcing, "I have to potty!" and making it to the toilet successfully, I thought it would be a good time to start a little more poop talk as she was still happy to wallow in her own #2 for hours on end if I'd let her. My nanny told me that she was starting to talk more about pooping in her diaper though, so I decided to continue on.

When I started potty training, I asked for any and all advice and I read tons of websites and parenting boards. Many people and experts suggested letting a child of the same gender as you watch you sit on the toilet and go. I was raised in a super conservative family and like many fine Evangelical Christians, we were fairly ashamed of our bodies. This type of potty training wouldn't have happened in our house. I'm no hippie, but I do want my daughter to feel comfortable and confident about her body and part of that is showing her my confidence and comfort with my body, teaching her the proper names for body parts and at this point in life, making potty training fun and no big whoop!

The "let your child watch you go to the potty" technique had worked like a charm for peeing. Aubrey loves to come into the bathroom with me and watch me pee. She even squats down in front of me and takes a good look at everything going on: "It's Mommy's gina! It's go pee-pee! I see it!" I'm not trying to brag, but yesterday she even announced, "It's CLEAN!" So there.

Anyway, this morning I thought she might like to watch the poo-poo in action too. She had pooped in her diaper a little earlier and I thought it would be a good opportunity to show her how Mommy does it and what big girls do with their poo-poo. You know, while it was still fresh in her mind. Well, I guess I was wrong.

Aubrey got into her regular front row seat to watch the action. She made her regular exclamation of, "It's Mommy's gina!" and when she saw the kids dropping into the pool...

well, the reaction was not positive. First she made a horrible face. I thought, well, she doesn't like the smell - who can blame her? But then she ran out of the room and said something like, "I don't want it! I get out." I had successfully managed to terrify my child with my poop. Great.

This all happened this morning, about 6 hours ago from now. Since then, she has peed in her diaper throughout the day, not going on the potty once. When I ask her if she'd like to sit on the potty and try for a sticker (the photo is actually her with her sticker "chart" - we let it turn into more of a freestyle expression of sticker placement rather than a chart) she says, "No thanks".

So a giant leap forward and, hopefully, just a small step back. I know with this, like everything else in motherhood, I need to have patience and just give it some time. Pushing (sorry, no pun intended) is not going to help anything and finding that fine line between pushing and encouraging will always be a delicate balancing act. Oh well. At least I have a clean vagina.