OK, so it's a week and a half late, but, what the hell? 

Special thanks to my sister for clarifying below that Maggie actually said that we may have had SEX on the exact same day rather than we CONCEIVED on the same day.  You can see how I could have gotten those confused, seeing as it was the second sentence out of her mouth after meeting her.  Don't get me wrong.  I am a big proponent of talking about "the somethin' somethin" with strangers.  I just didn't see it coming from Maggie.

I got a glorious (and personally blessed) an original Andrea Scher creation which I find myself wearing all the time, even to bed.  Andrea is kind and speaks to your soul.  And she gave me the best line of the weekend as we were discussing something--"Ah, Kristen, is it OK for Ethan to be in the lily pond?"  No, Andrea, it is NOT OK for Ethan to be in the lily pond and hopefully you will learn what NOT to do from me when raising children.  But it is nice that while being in the lily pond, he is not bothering us.

Cooper and Emily, who so graciously approached me as I was chasing The Boy around at the cocktail hour, are trying to put grass back in the parks in New Orleans so the kids will have a nice place to play again and somehow "home" will be "home" again.  This after they created an amazing network that has helped former New Orleans residents make new homes all over the country.  You inspired me to be a contributor to my world.

Eliza of Mom Ready gave me a great t-shirt and also offered me the sage advice that I should put pull-ups on The Boy because he won't be able to get them off the way he obsessively takes off his diapers now.  I'm not sure if that advice was on Mom Ready too, but I'm sold.

While standing in line to comment at the mommyblogger session, I met Beth, who told me quite forcefully that if I was proud to be a mommyblogger, I had better say it into the microphone.  And if you have ever met Beth, you realize that you had better do whatever the hell she says.  And she just says what she thinks.  I love her for her honesty and commitment to herself. 

I got a chance to meet Lori, who actually finally caught up with me in the lobby bar.  Because that's where ALL the pregnant women at Blogher were.  I wore my Stay at Home Blogger t-shirt for 2 days (one was black and one was brown so don't be thinking I was dirty and all) so she could find me.  And she found me eating dinner at 10:00 at night.  Oops.  She was so nice, as all people from Portland are, and I was so glad to get a chance to meet her.

It was after dinner that we realized that it was Rachel's birthday in just a couple of hours and that she was TURNING 30!!!!  Rachel was at Blogher from Perth and she is Minti.  Not just minty fresh, but Minti.  That fantastic website for parents, by parents.   In the spirit of her 30th birthday, I demanded that she and Tracey have hots.  We tried to explain this time honored American tradition to her, but finally it just took shoving a drink into her hand.  "God....bless....America....Land....That....I....Love."  Twenty minutes later, we somehow found ourselves in a conversation about restrooms, toilets, lavs, ect. 

R:  Why do you call them "REESSSTTTTROOOMMMSSS" if you don't actually RRRRREEEESTTT in them? (insert Heath Ledger's accent, but a girl version)
K:  You have a two year old.  If that bad boy's got a lock on it, it's a rest room, alright....

Tracey and I proceeded to make Rachel talk like Crocodile Dundee for the next 2 hours and we answered lots of questions about the 80's.  As best we could explain the 80's.  But then the clock struck midnight.  WE HAD MADE IT TO RACHEL'S 30th!!!!  We are so pathetic.

We walked back to the hotel so that I could give the girls  "Stay at Home Blogger" t-shirts.  My sister answered the door and asked if I was drunk.  I was happy. 

J:  Are you happy because you were drinking?

No, I wasn't drinking.  But I did realize that the only size large I had was the one I was wearing.  With that, I took it off and handed it to Tracey.  Rachel looked at me with that "we don't do things like this in Perth" look.  But Tracey is so amazing and such an inspiration to me that I absolutely, positively HAD TO GIVE HER A SHIRT RIGHT THEN.  She asked if she should wash it before wearing it.  As if Rob Thomas had worn it at a concert and thrown it into the crowd at the end of the night.  I LOVE HER.  Like, stick her in your pocket and take her with you everywhere you go, kind of love. 

To my new best friend Jen, you are brilliant.  Not only were you smart enough to bring your husband/nanny to Blogher, you were excessively kind and allowed my child to steal your child's Nemo roller bag and push it around during the cocktail hour.  Baby, you had me at Nemo.  You gave me one of your business cards with a Hugh drawing on it, and I knew then that we would exchange Christmas cards forever (or every other year because who are we kidding, my card sending is sporatic at best).   But then, in a move that made me LOVE you forever, you made an actual comment, into a microphone, on a podcast travelling across the world, about sex in the Susie Bright panel discussion.  You got a set, sista'.

Special thanks again to Heather, Jessica and Lori who were so sweet to us when we were all alone.

And to my sister, who schlepped my child around and tried to keep me sane--you are the best.  Any woman who will climb across three chairs and push over an old woman to meet Dave Winer is a girl I want to be when I grow up.  Thanks for buying $40 worth of toys to keep my child quiet for the 12 hour ride home.  May we never have to do it again.