Tara's Take

BOOM... IT'S BEYONCE

Sun, 03 Feb 2013 17:41:00 -0800

Oki Dog Misfits

Sun, 06 Jan 2013 11:14:00 -0800

Much has been written about the origins of punk rock music in Los Angeles, but perhaps lost in the...

Doing 'The Pacquiao'

Sat, 08 Dec 2012 21:46:00 -0800

“Let’s Get Ready to ……. “. Yes, I was completely distracted by the...

Rocker Courtney Love's New Clothing Line Comes Under Scrutiny

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 14:15:38 -0800

Creativity fuels the soul. When we’re creative, time stands still, the mind explodes with...

CONFUCIUS SAYS.... FLOW CHART IT!

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 08:32:00 -0800

Are you confused about the Petraeus Scandal? If so, you are not alone. But finally, someone made...

THE FORGOTTEN 216th: THE UNTOLD STORY OF AMERICA'S MOST NEGLECTED VETERANS

Sun, 11 Nov 2012 09:08:00 -0800

About four years ago I stumbled upon an incredible story involving a group of Veterans from...

THE FORGOTTEN 216th: THE UNTOLD STORY OF AMERICA’S MOST...

Sun, 11 Nov 2012 09:07:40 -0800

THE FORGOTTEN 216th: THE UNTOLD STORY OF AMERICA’S MOST NEGLECTED VETERANS

(SEXY) TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

Sat, 13 Oct 2012 08:13:00 -0700

So my 4 1/2 year old’s current obsession is “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”....

What To Expect From Toddler Tonsillectomy Recovery

Tue, 18 Sep 2012 08:37:00 -0700

My almost 3 year old recently had surgery to remove his adenoids and tonsils. If you are a...

WHAT IS GRACE? The official explanation from the...

Sun, 16 Sep 2012 17:41:47 -0700

WHAT IS GRACE?

The official explanation from the dictionary:

Noun: Simple elegance or refinement of movement.

Verb: Do honor or credit to (someone or something) by one’s presence

For others Grace is spiritual, completely intertwined with their God. But for me, at this very moment, Grace embodies two very special ladies in my life. Two women who are courageously battling cancer: One breast, the other lung. Both are equally challenging, both are equally frustrating and both are equally unfair.

I’m watching one fight from afar, mostly through dispatches from my mother. We have already watched her take on and seemingly beat breast cancer a few years ago. But this past week, the beast returned with a vengeance. She’s determined to fight again, currently summoning the will and strength to push the monster away, to quell the storm that is raging inside her. I’m praying from afar.

The other warrior I see often, or as often as I can. My last visit was just yesterday. She looked beautifully frail. We talked for hours, just she and I in her living room. I mostly spoke, she listened intently, asking questions about my family, my job and my happiness. I could tell the conversation was exhausting her, so I suggested she rest. But she pressed me to keep going and so I did. It was the least that I could do because she has done so much for me, so much for my family.

When I left her home to make the 40 minute drive back to mine, a song came on the radio. A song that I’ve heard a million times, a song that I know by heart. But this time, for the first time, I fully understood the lyrics. And it hit me so profoundly: I really don’t know life at all.

THE SURF RODEO

Wed, 12 Sep 2012 21:47:34 -0700

The scene: Ventura, California The Venue: The Beach The Event: ”Surf Rodeo” What’s a Surf Rodeo? ...

MY GARAGE SALE SCORE

Sun, 02 Sep 2012 14:26:01 -0700

About a month ago, I made a big score at a garage sale. A family was getting rid of this dining set...

NEIL DIAMOND: 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF "HOT AUGUST NIGHT"

Sun, 26 Aug 2012 09:08:00 -0700

An amazing and rare date night with my husband. We saw the one and only NEIL DIAMOND-at this...

WHEN YOUR CHILD WON’T OUTGROW SLEEP...

Thu, 19 Jul 2012 16:48:00 -0700

WHEN YOUR CHILD WON’T OUTGROW SLEEP PROBLEMS

I think about it all day long; I want it all day long and night; And I’d do just about anything to get more of it. Get your mind out of the gutter. I’m referring to my now insatiable obsession with sleep.

I know the day it started: rewind 2 years 8 months 7 days ago— the day my second son was born. Since then we’ve experienced nearly 2,000 joyful days, but also suffered through nearly 2,000 sleepless nights. No, I’m not exaggerating. Our boy hasn’t slept through the night his entire young life.

During each of his pediatric checkups, I’d bring it up with his doctor. No, more like I’d plead my case with the good doctor: something surely must be wrong with kid because our first born slept through the night at 8 weeks (yes, we were lucky with him). The usual response from his pediatrician, “no two babies are alike” and “he’ll out grow it”.

Shortly after he turned two, my gut told me that something was wrong with him medically. I knew my kid. And there had to be a reason why he was be waking (on average) three times a night. I didn’t act on that feeling then, but I should have.

My “mommy intuition” went into overdrive during a recent family vacation to San Diego. For the first time since he was an infant, we slept together. I wouldn’t call it sleep, but rather it turned into two nights of me watching my boy struggle to get some rest. He tossed and turned all night long. He snored loudly, as well as broke out into night sweats. But what concerned me the most was the fact that he appeared to have episodes of not breathing, followed by gasps for breath. This was not right.

After we returned home, I made another appointment with our pediatrician to demand that she take a closer look at him. She listened as I rehashed the vacation sleepover. She too agreed this didn’t appear right. Plus, she also said he appeared to be a classic “mouth breather”. We finally got our referral to a specialist.

The specialist was amazing. By the end of our visit, he diagnosed our child with possible “Obstructive Sleep Apnea”. Yes, my boy apparently suffers from what I wrongly assumed only plagues older, overweight people.

According to the experts, obstructive apnea affects roughly 2 percent of kids under the age of 6. I also learned that sleep disorders have serious consequences. My kid could be at a greater risk of obesity and diabetes, as well as attention deficit disorders. The most common culprit of childhood apnea is enlarged adenoids and tonsils. The most common cure is surgery.

Part of the diagnosis includes an overnight sleep study. To my surprise this also includes toddlers. A few weeks ago, my son had his sleep study performed at a clinic in Glendale. It started off promising, my child actually allowed the sleep tech to attach all the sensors to his body. But, after a few hours, my boy decided that the sensors interfered with his tossing and turning, so he pulled most of them off his body. The tech tried replying them once. He pulled them off again. Game over.

As for our journey, we are now waiting to see what’s next in the diagnosis to treatment phase. Depending on the study results, the doctor will either remove just his adenoids, or perhaps both the adenoids and tonsils.

Bottom line, I can only hope it leads to a better night sleep for us all, especially for my son, who really doesn’t know what he’s missing.

CONVERSATION WITH MY 4 YEAR OLD...

Mon, 02 Jul 2012 16:11:00 -0700

CONVERSATION WITH MY 4 YEAR OLD BOY

Me: You’ve been such a good boy, you can get a new toy when we go to Target.
4Yo Son: A new toy!?
Me: Yes, how about a new puzzle.
4YO Son: I don’t want a puzzle, I want “Doggy Doo”.
Me: “Doggy Doo” ?
4YO Son: Yes, I saw it on Cartoon Network.
Me: What is “Doggy Doo”?
4YO Son: It’s a doggy like Weiner that goes poo, poo.
Me: I’m not getting you a doggy that poo-poos. You got two doggies that poo-poo all day long.
4YO Son: But I want “Doggy Doo”! I want to play with “Doggy Doo”.
Me: Let’s take a walk outside in the backyard, there’s plenty of “Doggy Doos” to play with.

The TAKE AWAY: He didn’t think the trip to the backyard was funny. I didn’t think the toy “Doggy Doo” was real. And for the record, he got a puzzle.

Driving into work this morning, I heard a “Kings of Leon” song...

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 09:22:00 -0700

Driving into work this morning, I heard a “Kings of Leon” song on the radio. Nothing earth shattering about that, but what happened next was so oddly liberating. The song triggered a memory of a dream I had last night involving, you guessed it, the “Kings of Leon”.

In the dream, I initially had thought I was dating one of the brothers—not the lead singer, but the other one. Yes, I know there are 3 brothers in the band and a cousin, but I can’t remember which brother. But if I had to guess it was the drummer just because I dig drummers (if you read this blog you know this).

Anyway, it’s not about which Followill brother I was dating. It’s about what happened next. You see, during the dream, I remember being so nervous watching them sing on stage and wondering, anticipating what was going to happen backstage after the show.

Would the drummer talk to me? Was I really his girl? You know.. stupid shit that matters to you during a crush.

While I contemplated the after party, I remember that all of them were smiling at me lovingly during their set. And it wasn’t just the drummer who I think I thought I was dating. The band was so lovely, and yet it was all so strange. I was the center of their attention… they all loved me.

Fast forward to the after party. I remember it being filled with beautiful young hipsters—both male and female and strangely, they all looked the same- kind of like when you walk into a cafe in Silver Lake/Echo Park.

Anyway-when I walked through the door to the after party, the boys of the Kings of Leon came right up to me and gave me a warm embrace. One after the other, they all wanted to hug me. I remember thinking, “ What the fuck was happening?”. Was I a band whore? Was I “doing” the entire Followill family? Side note—some might say that was plausible in my early days…however, I maintain that shit would NEVER of happened.

Anyway… back to the dream. During one of the KOL hugs, something so shocking happened: one of the band members called me “Mom” (I think I gasped in my dream because I gasped remembering the moment in the car this morning).

The dream ended shortly after that.. the moment I came to the realization that I was the Queen of the Kings of Leon. I was their mother. There would be no need for special favors after the show. I was their fucking mother. And people, that is the best “all access” pass a girl could ever have.

"MESSAGE OF THE DAY" FROM OJ SIMPSON

Fri, 11 May 2012 21:06:48 -0700

I had dinner with a friend last night who shared with me what I like to call a “only in LA”...

TIME MAGAZINE #FAIL

Thu, 10 May 2012 13:22:29 -0700

This cover is wrong and it’s not because a 3 year old boy is breastfeeding. I have NO problem...

Chicken Pox or Flea Bites?

Wed, 09 May 2012 21:17:03 -0700

+++Conversation last night with my 4 year old son in our front yard+++ 4YO: Mommy look! (He had...

Click on this video, you will laugh and revel in the joy of a...

Wed, 09 May 2012 14:40:00 -0700

Click on this video, you will laugh and revel in the joy of a life long Los Angeles Kings fan moments after the Kings swept St. Louis Sunday… advancing to the National Hockey League’s conference finals for just the second time in the clubs history.

This man is the husband of my friend Kris, who quietly shot the joyous moment with her Iphone— unbeknownst to her hubby.

Go KINGS!!