Cinco de Mayo with Kids

As I write this, many 20 somethings are out drinking it up at various establishments with words like "El" and "Casa" and "Burro" in their names. Not us. The illustrious life of parents with young children, we sit here watching NBC's Thursday night line-up, sipping Skinnygirl Margaritas. 

Earlier today Zoe and I met Christina and boys B & B for lunch at Rubio's - a locally-based fish taco chain. Three kids + lunch-time rush + Mexican food + Mexican Holiday = Insanity. After my third trip to get more napkins/take someone to the potty/get a new fork, Christina and I are desperately trying to piece together a conversation tainted by too many "Where was I?'s". The slurping noise to my left grabs my attention. Waiting for the impending "Mommy, I want mooooore lemonade..." I glance over at my sweet angel from heaven to notice that she has pulled the straw from her drink and is actually sipping the juice out of the bottom of the cup of her side-dish of black beans. 

Shrieking "ZOE! THAT'S Disgusting!" I grab the straw away from her and throw it on the table. Be it the heat, exhaustion, kids or lack of tequila on this 5th day of May, Christina and I break down in laughter. Meanwhile, said Angel picks back up the straw and puts it back in her lemonade. Enlisting more laughter from the adults, Zoe looks at us, smiles and says:

"Yes! I am adorable!"

Follow your nose, it always knows!

I'm sitting here watching Glee, in which Rachel, faced with the confirmation of a deviated septum, is offered the option of getting a nose job. And I'm here to tell you that given the opportunity in high school, I would have gotten a nose job.

People take one look at me and immediately assume that I'm Jewish, or have Jewish roots. My maiden name is Pesacov, and yes, for 36 years I have rocked the "Pesacov Schnoz." One time, during my junior year of high school swim season, during a particularly rowdy co-ed game of Marco Polo that involved picking up bathing suit clad (and possibly half drunk on Zima - sorry, Mom and Dad) girls, my face was smashed against a fellow (male) teammate's shoulder. Despite the shooting pain and the tears that always appear when your nose has been planted against a hard object, my first thought was "OH HELL YEAH. I finally REALLY broke my nose and insurance will pay for a nose-job."

Before this incident I had already been to my doctor at least three times, insisting I had breathing and snoring problems and declaring I just MUST have a deviated septum. MUST. Alas, I apparently didn't. And even after banging it straight into Scott Harris' shoulder in 11th grade, I never managed to break it. To this day, I HATE people saying "But your nose is so YOU - you wouldn't be YOU without it!" I know in some way they are trying to be nice... but deep inside I hope that if I had the bump a little filed down or the "hook" turned up a bit, I would still be ME. The same snarky/anxiety ridden/lovable Beth. Just with a better nose.

"This nose is a sign of our people" - Puck

Yes, half of my ancestry is is Jewish. I wear my nose on a daily basis as a reminder of this. People look at my Dad and say "Oh, yeah, that's your daughter." And at my Grandma's 90th birthday 4 years ago, my cousins, with whom I have little to no relationship due to living on opposite coasts, could look across the table and say "Yup - we're related." Interestingly, none of us had had our noses fixed. As the conversation lead to our mutual attribute, we all realized we've accepted it. Whatever stopped us from really going through with it at some point in our lives, we have all lived 30+ years with this feature. My prom pictures, my college graduation, my WEDDING pictures; They all featured MY nose.

When my cousin turned to me and asked if it was still something I thought about changing, my response was honest. At this age, I would much rather spend the money getting my entire torso (boobs through c/s scars) done.

But as I look at my kids, I wonder what their noses will be like. Will they be lucky enough to have some strange 3rd generation gene that graces them with a perfect facial appendage? Or will they inherit the Pesacov Schnoz and come to me crying at 16, cursing their Jewish heritage and begging me to do something about it? I got through it, why can't they? Then again my mom walked uphill in the snow to school, and moving to California ensured that her children would never endure that particular hell. Will I let my children change something about them that they hate, or encourage them to be them regardless...knowing that this thought is slightly hypocritical?

Spa La Costa and the SDMOMfia's Spa Social

Friday night was the event we SDMOMfia Mamas have been planning for months...200 women lounging in robes and bathing suits, enjoying drinks, food and a beautiful spring night at Spa La Costa at the La Costa Resort. 

I kept an eye on the weather all week. Two weeks before it was raining. The week before it was chilly. But by Wednesday of event week the sun was shining, the sky was blue and temps were climbing. And by Friday? Pure. Weather. Perfection. 

Now there is La Costa Resort and then there is the Spa La Costa. The resort, which is finishing up a major renovation, is one of my favorite recommendations for people to stay when they come to visit us - especially with kids. The grounds are stunning, the newly remodeled rooms are fantastic and the pools are beautiful. Honestly, when I need to mentally go to my happy place, it's poolside at La Costa on an 80 degree day with a fruity drink in my hand. 

But the Spa...the spa is on a different level. It's in a different area of the property than the main pools, making it secluded and quiet...unless you have about 200 of your closest blogging/twittering/facebook ladies sipping champagne, and munching on sliders and lobster sandwiches... 

Regardless, my obsession with Spa La Costa is known. So when the Spa La Costa team came to the SDMOMfia a few months back and said they wanted to host us for a fabulous event, it was hard to contain our excitement. Remember going on a first date, being so excited about it that you're worried that you look desperate? Yeah. We honestly were so excited about this event that we had to check ourselves a few times. And just like a good first date, the more we met with them, the more we talked to them, the more we LOVED them. After 12 years of marketing, PR and events, I have to say that I have NEVER had a more enjoyable work experience than dealing with the people at La Costa. 

At first, the Spa Social event was going to be an intimate event with about 50 people. When that "sold out" in a day, we went back and asked about making the event a little bigger. La Costa was thrilled and we upped the number to 100. When those tickets were gone the next week, we sat down and re-evaluated once again.... next thing we knew we had 200 ladies RSVP'ed and even a few more on a waiting list. 

The event itself went off amazingly. A bunch of people won prizes ranging from a weekend at Rancho Las Palmas (a sister resort in Palm Desert) to Starbucks gift cards to passes to Legoland. We even raised money for a local non-profit, Home Start, with their Quarters Count initiative, helping them get a little closer to reaching their goal of raising $1million to help prevent child abuse in San Diego. And while the intention was just a wonderful relaxing evening that introduced all the fabulous new spa treatments and the remodeled spa area, the night turned into so much more.... 

Theresa, Stefanie and I have been working our booties off to make the SDMOMfia something different, something fabulous and new. A network of women that blog, that tweet, that facebook or that are just amazing MOMS...and Friday night was a perfect example of how our hard work and dedication is coming together...and creating something wonderful. 

And yes, now it's time for a group hug and a round of Kum-ba-ya.