Tag Archives: happy birthday

Happy Birthday, Dean


Dean is fourteen today.

And I’m not really sure how we got here. His feet outgrew mine years ago. There is no heel height I can wear that brings me even close to his now-towering presence. He can pick me up effortlessly. No one would ever mistake his voice on the phone for mine or his sister’s anymore. He is becoming a man. Right in front of my eyes.

It’s challenging to write about him here so I typically don’t. Unlike my daughter, who would gladly grab the keyboard from me to type her own guest post, he’s more of a private person. And I intend always to respect that about him. So I’ll just share a couple of old videos I found of him at age three talking up a storm alongside his still-very-silent sidekick-and-little-sister, Vivien. I get teary every time I watch them. He was such a little chatter monkey.

A year ago today, I wrote about Dean’s birth story. It’s not all the nitty-gritty details. Just the important stuff like what I was watching on TV when I went into labor and what I yelled at the nurse at the moment of truth. And I’m sharing it here again today. Maybe I’ll do that every October 16th. After all, it was a life-changing day.

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Happy Birthday, Dean.

Bummer that you have exams all week, buddy. But I just know you’re gonna knock ’em out of the park. Love you.

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That Suburban Momma

The Three Amigos, Oversized Cheese Platters and Other Foolishness


Today’s Video:

Once upon a time, there was a girl with a dream. A dream to write without boundaries, to write without deadlines and (dramatic pause) to write without fear. Could such a place exist? Possibly. Would she look like an ass? Probably. And, most importantly, would anyone (besides her mom) ever even listen? She would, after all, never be speaking of politics, religion, history or anything traditionally considered “important” in this world. Instead, there would be cats-who-sit-like-humans, cow nipple cream, hamsters-covered-in-pizza-sauce and, of course, Alec Baldwin. So, she wrote her first post, gathered up all of her courage and pressed “Publish.”

Then everything went quiet. She sat alone, waiting and hoping. And from the darkness, she saw one tiny light flickering in the distance.

“Hello? Is anyone home?” said the unfamiliar but friendly voice at the door. Awakened from her stupor, the woman shoved the family-sized cheese tray she was eating alone into the dishwasher and threw an old blanket over the sofa that was covered in orange cat hair. “Welcome, welcome!” she cried, thrilled to pieces to have just one listener. She vowed always to revere this special guest as though he were royalty. He was, after all, her very first follower.

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Need proof? Here’s a screen capture of her first five followers in reverse chronological order.

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How did she repay his blind loyalty? By corrupting his name, an innocent homage to a classic 80s film, and creating many humiliating variants over the course of the past year. Among her favorites were The Great Guaptini, Guap ‘Til You Drop, Guaperella, Count Guapula, Guap ‘n’ Roll High School, Guapzie Guaperelli and, of course, Guap Tarts. And so, in this beloved tradition of name-sullying, she wants to celebrate her first reader’s birthday with a special vote created in his honor. Why? Because El Guapo needs a Christmas moniker and it wouldn’t be a Guap-inspired post without a good poll. That’s where you come in.

Happy Birthday, El Guapo … Jolly Old St. Guapolas … or whatever we wind up naming you this holiday season. 

Thanks for taking “the road less traveled by” when I was just starting out.

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Click here to see (read) everyone who brought a dish  (duh, wrote a post) to the party given in honor of O Guapo, My Guapo.

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Happy Birthday, MTV! Just for today, you can call me Martha Quinn.


I’m linking this post up with Mama Kat’s weekly writer’s workshop. She offers five different prompts. And I chose this one: How has music changed since you were a child? When I scanned the entries, I didn’t see too many responses to this question. Which surprised me. And I was immediately reminded of this little homage I wrote almost a year ago on the 31st anniversary of my old friend, MTV. When that channel first came out and I was a kid … well, let’s just call it Camelot. Weird, gender-bending, do-I-like-him-or-do-I-just-admire-his-eye-makeup Camelot. Enjoy.


I’m hurrying to pack for my trip to NYC so today’s post is a short one. Short only on words, but long on undying love and eternal gratitude. I just wanted to wish a very special happy birthday to one of my oldest and dearest friends, MTV. You’re 31 today so it’s probably time to start thinking about settling down and maybe adding a few little MTV Jrs. to your household. Oh, and you might want to join a gym for that spare tire, old friend.

Anyway, thanks for helping me cultivate the “good” fashion sense I have today, distracting me from my homework and just generally rocking my youth. Here on this blog I’d like to share a few (dozen) of my favorite MTV videos from my tween/teen years. I’m guessing some of them haven’t been shown in decades.

In no particular order, here are my Top 25. Or at least the top 25 I could actually find online. Let’s begin with this one … since it’s where it all started for you guys. It’s still on my iPod, by the way.

 

Yep. This stuff passed for cool, it passed for fashion and, most of all, it passed for entertainment back in my day. And, since I actually heard my (poor, corrupted by his parents) boy singing Sixty-Eight Guns in his room yesterday, I’m going to label it all … timeless. I feel less old that way. Thanks for the memories!

Oh, and I’m just curious to all reading … which one’s your favorite?

Which one’s your LEAST favorite?

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Happy Birthday to ODNT Jr.


Happy Birthday to the girl who brought more color, dimension and excitement … than I would have ever thought possible … to my life. I love you SOOOOOO much.

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Dubbed ODNT Jr. by Mel, my writer pal at According to Mags, my girl has been featured and even guest posted many times on the blog.

Let’s take a look back now at the Best of ODNT, Jr., shall we?

So, in addition to a hula hoop, little girl jewelry and a Spooner, is it any wonder that I also got her this book?

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She is going to LOVE it … but Milo (a.k.a. the medium) doesn’t look into it at all. Baby.

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