Don't vote for Ryan!

You know that little window to the right that shows you glimpses of different parts of the world? No? Well, look to the right. A little further...there. You see it? Well I put it there because I thought it would make me happy, and allow me a few blissful minutes of peace as I watched a tree blowing in the (smoke free) breeze in France, or a boat rocking in the (non-trash-filled) harbor in Syndey. I wanted to share this blissful peace with you, dear reader. Instead, it makes me MAD! Why are those lazy Frenchies eating at a quaint little bistro when I am stuck at work??? Why is it ALWAYS dark in Japan? (oh, right - time difference. Moving on.)

On a separate note, I am beginning to think that the radio staiton I listen to at work is a little, shall we say, inappropriate? I was digging through some files this morning (yes, WORKING) when I noticed a beep-beep-beeping coming from my office. When I went it to investigate, I realized that the DJ's were repeated hitting the cesonor button because some chum was wigging out about the Julie/Julia movie. This made me realize that my favorite station (KROQ, for those of you who might not know!) might be a little less than office friendly! Between the screaming music, the censored discussions, and generally un-office-y topics, I'm wondering if I shouldn't dial things down a bit. But, I'm still contemplating. I haven't done anything drastic yet! I mean, when I am here at 6:30 every morning, I NEED my Kevin and Bean fix to keep me going! What would I do without those guys?!? Speaking of which, anyone reading this needs to go to the KTLA website and vote for Kevin and Bean. If you vote for Ryan Seacrest, I'll cry big tears of sadness and never speak to you again. NEVER! Ryan is a pathetic looser with a lame sense of humor, and I don't like him. But, I also don't like Americal Idol or scrambled eggs, so I take it I'm not in the majority on most things.

That is all for now, dear friends. Carry on!

My Cup Runneth Over (onto my new shoes)

I have decided to take on sewing. Why, you ask? Well, my friend who lives in my desktop, let me tell you. I have mastered the art of cooking (those who have eaten at Chez Formerly Known As can attest to this fact), I have graciously accepted the "Mom of the Year" award 3 years in a row (quite a feat, as my only child is 6 months old), am an excellent housekeeper, my penmanship is superb, and my dogs are perfectly trained. It's true, I tell you! All true! So, as I have conquered every other aspect of proper wiffey-ness, I've decided that sewing will be my next challenge. Because, as we all know, I have an infinite well of patience from which to draw, and, as with all my other endeavors, things will turn out swimmingly. Just you wait, you naysayer, you! I will have you pounding down my inbox door, begging me to sell you one of my crafty creations in no time flat!

I am feeling quite adventurous these days. While at Costco the other day, contemplating between a 14 gallon jug of shampoo and a 56 pound bag of peanuts, I proudly announced to the Huz that I want to go skydiving for my 30th birthday. He laughed and told me no one we knew would be willing to go with me. "Ha!" I said. "I don't need a mere mortal to accompany me on my quest for all things exciting! I will soar with the eagles, be one with the clouds, and ponder the wonders of life on my own as a fling my body towards Earth, trusting in the parachute strapped to my back, hastily packed by a minimum-wage earner on a Friday afternoon at 4:59pm...uh, hang on a second here." As you can imagine, my arguement as to why this was a good idea quickly lost steam after that. What if my chute didn't open? What if I forgot which cord to pull? What if I CHICKENED OUT? No way. I'll celebrate my 30th birthday (which is 8 months away, I'll have you know) tucked safely behind my (as yet to be purchased) sewing machine, making crafty things to sell to the masses on Etsy. Maybe I'll bake a cake, too. I am a good cook, after all.

Aaaaand we're back! As most of you know, Lyla's surgery was a success, and they sent us home only 4 days after she had open heart surgery! It's been a crazy whirlwind of activity, but all is well in the Formerly Known As Laurel household. Messy, and totally disorganized, but at least we're all present and accounted for.

In other news....Lyla has discovered she has a taste for hair. Namely, MINE! She developed a fantastic new skill in the 9 hours I was gone yesterday, and has decided that a handful of hair not only makes a great handle, but is also a tasty snack! Blech! Guess I'll have to shave my head. It will make for some unfortunate family pictures, but worse things have happened. At least I'll save money on shampoo for a while.

The Huz is staying home with Little Miss this week, and has been planning on working from home while taking care of her. Ha! The fool! I came home yesterday to a totally wiped out husband holding a cubby-cheeked energizer bunny. NOW he understands what we moms have known for thousands of years- you can either go to the bathroom or eat, but not both.

Is it time for this already?

Hello to all my friends who live inside the computer. How are things in there today? Hopefully everything is computing the way it should. Things out here are a little overwhelming at the moment - think you could move over and make room for one more?
Lyla's surgery has been scheduled for THIS Thursday. Yep, you read that right. Originally we thought that it wold take place sometime in September. But, when we took Little Miss in for her surgical consult yesterday, we were told that her case required more immediate attention. Apparently she isn't as "pink" as we had thought she was. So, things on the Formerly Known As Laurel front are going to be quiet for a while.
If you've got a second on Thursday morning, maybe you could send Lyla some good luck vibes. She'll take anything she can get!

The Escalating Cost of Entertainment

What the….it’s Monday AGAIN? Curses upon whoever invented the calendar. Can’t we skip Monday every once in a while, and just repeat Saturday? I wouldn’t mind another Saturday, although I’m a little Harry Pottered out after seeing HP6 TWICE in a 2 day stretch. There are very few movies I am willing to pay $10.00 to see in a theater where my shoes stick to the floor, and Harry Potter is one of them*. But, I will admit that the movie was a little boring the second time around(gasp!). Seeing as HP earned $10 Zillion dollars over the weekend, I kinda want my $10.00 back, or at least a discount on next years’ ticket. Harry can keep the $13.50 I paid to see it on Friday night – that was TOTALLY worth it. (long live the Arclight, where you can reserve your seats ahead of time, thus skipping over the “is that seat saved?” routine – totally worth the extra $3.50)

Lyla is back in quarantine again, which means the Huz and I are as well. We gave ourselves a little “break” (not sure we were really supposed to, but it was HARRY!) over the weekend, but now we’re down to the wire, so back into our hole we go! We meet with Dr. Starns (her surgeon) next Monday(located at the beginning of the week AGAIN), and will be able to schedule her surgery that day, as well. Craaaaaaap. I really do think the calendar is jacked up (and not just because each week starts with Monday). There must be a month or two missing somewhere – how is it possible that Lyla is already 5 months old? When they told us that she’d have her surgery at 6 months old, it sounded like an eternity away. Why is it here already? WHY? Next thing I know she’ll be asking me for $10.00 to go see a movie. Yeah right – we all know we’re going to have to apply for a small loan every time we want to go see a movie in another few years. Soon people are going to check and see if a $10 bill is heads up before picking one up on the street.

I’ve recently become a fan of the Food section in the LA Times. Especially the SOS column, where people can write in and get recipes for famous dishes from restaurants all over the country – brilliant! This has inspired me to try taking a culinary tour of LA one of these years. The Huz and I are tired of the same old restaurants, but aren’t brave enough to try new places on our own. Someday soon you’ll be dazzled by my totally amazing, off-the-beaten path restaurant recommendations. But, in the meantime, I’ll be borrowing recipe ideas from someone else’s kitchen, courtesy of the LA Times.

*The fact that Laura Parker and I saw Speed EVERY WEEKEND while it was in theaters is beside the point. We were in 9th grade, and movie tickets were only $8.00!!! A completely different situation. And besides, Keanu was lookin mighty fine in those days. Especially to a 14 year old.

Well, it’s Monday, dear friends. And here I am at work. Lyla is with my mom, taking leisurely stroller naps and NOT MISSING ME AT ALL. Why is that, I wonder? I miss her. It’s odd to think that I alone fed and carried her for 9 months, and then spent the next 4 ½ months changing, feeding, comforting, and playing with her, and now she is doing just fine with out me. What the hell? She lights up when Curt walks in the door, instantly morphing into Lyla, the Miraculous 13 Pound Jumping Bean, eager to show him all the new tricks she learned while he was away. When I walk in the door, she just looks behind me to see if I let the dogs in for her to play with. Am I really so insignificant? Oh well. At least I can admire her little Yoda ears from all angles while she is trying to look at anything but me.

We’ve started the “quarantine countdown” with the understanding that her surgery will be sometime in the next month. When we realized that last night was our last night out, we immediately looked at each other with panic in our eyes. “What will we do while stuck at home all night? Who will entertain us?” Lyla laid all our fears to rest like the good baby she is, letting out the loudest, most ladylike fart you’ve ever heard. “Well done, daughter” I said with pride. It then occurred to me that she had probably blown out yet another diaper, thus ruining yet another outfit. This girl can POOP. I think she stores it up, letting it loose at only the most opportune moments. Like when I had just finished painting my nails for the first time in, um, forever. Or when I had just finished drying her off and combing her hair into a cute little Mohawk. My favorite was when I had just showered for the first time in days, and was promptly sprayed with a fine mist of digested, compacted formula. An amazing elixir for the skin!

A Brief History of My Universe

Hello friends. Welcome to my blog - may the vast wealth of knowledge and experience I posses become an oasis in the desert of your life.

As most of you know, my life (well, OUR life when you include the huz) is crazy, to say the least. But it's always been that way. I think it's part of "growing up Kopanski". We should change our family motto to "Trial By Fire, 7 days a week". That is, if we even have a family motto. If not, I would like to make a motion to establish one.

A quick bit of background information:
Curt and I were married in November 2007, and had our first baby (Lyla Elizabeth) in February 2009. Lyla was born with a Congenital Heart Defect (CHD) known as Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) and will be having surgery to repair her heart in August 2009. (see the "What is Tetralogy of Fallot" section for more information) We didn't know about her heart condition before she was born, and, thinking back on things now, I'm glad we didn't. We were able to enjoy planning for the arrival of our new baby without worrying about things we couldn't control. As is customary in our house, we were thrown a wicked curve ball when we least expected it, and have handled things with flying colors, if I do say so myself. And I do say so - often.

We have 2 dogs, affectionately referred to as The Devil and Her Accomplice (also known as Poppy and Harley). Which one is "The Devil" and which is "Her Accomplice" changes daily. In my opinion, pets are trouble. Unless you have Computer Fish. Then you're good. But dogs POOP, and CHEW, and KILL SQUIRRELS. No one told me this. Who knew a tiny puppy could ruin an entire house full of furniture in just days? Those teeth may be tiny, but they are SHARP. And all those promises of "she'll grow out of it after the first 2 years" are lies told to trick people into buying puppies. Trust me when I say they do NOT grow out of it - their teeth just get bigger and stronger, and the furniture they ruin is just more expensive.

Well, I think that is all the introduction I have time for today. I look forward to being a part of your daily regimen of useless websites that you visit while at work in an effort to look busy.