what's in a name....

during two fun-filled years in college, i was lucky enough to live with a group of girls in a big, beautiful, fabulous house (the likes of which none of us would be able to afford to rent, let alone buy, today). we were fortunate enough to pay insanely low rent in exchange for keeping the house nice for the owners until they decided to sell it. we were called "the willow street girls" and we *loved* to come up with names for people. nicknames were our speciality. instead of the classic, normal names we were given by our parents, we called one another by our nicknames: kizzy, furnt, boris, chach and nellie. (yep. truth.)

when nellie and i first talked about the idea of starting this blog there were two rules that our hubbies insisted on: 1. we will not show photos of our kids faces to protect them from potential scary people out there and 2. we wanted to use nicknames.

naturally, we quickly settled on our regularly used nicknames for each other (chach and nellie) and didn't think twice. heck, i wasn't sure that anyone but *maybe* our own families or close friends would even be interested in what we had to say.......we never dreamed that we would be going to conferences, meeting anyone in person or having anyone recognize us. 

nellie has it easy. let's face it: nellie is a normal name. even someone on the wholesome "little house on the prairie" series was named nellie. there is nothing too odd or strange in that name......but chach?! what was i thinking? it takes a lot of confidence for me to walk up to people and introduce myself as "chach". i'll admit that part of it is because it is a fairly masculine name.  a few weeks ago, i learned that "chach" is another word for vagina. yep. hoo-ha, beaver, toppy...whatever you want to call it. chach is a term that some people use for a va-jay-jay!! seriously?! now, not only do i have to be confident being chach, the manly woman.....but i am basically saying, "hi. my name is vagina. nice to meet you." yep. try that one on for size. anyone want to trade places?!

coming out of the closet

we spent the past weekend surrounded by an amazing group of women (and one lone man) at bloggy boot camp in atlanta. aside from having a fabulous time, we learned a lot. no, really. a ton. (if you are a blogger, don't hesitate and go!) one of the things we learned is that our readers probably would love to see who we are. for various reasons, we have chosen to go through this blogging journey with anonymity......but here it goes; we are coming out of the closet and showing our faces to the big, scary world. we are chach and nellie. nice to meet you. 

chach (left) and nellie (right)

chach:
i'm heather (aka chach). i am a 30-something old southern california mommy to two little boys (one and three) and a crazy, sweet and spunky weimaraner.

what you should know about me: i exercise so i can eat. i love to eat.
i think peanut butter and chocolate is the most perfect duo. i think a
girl should eat dessert, and never order a salad on a date. i like a
family-friendly decor with fun surprises found in pops of color or
something re-purposed in a new way. i don't like to cook, but i do
love the feeling that putting a meal on the table for my family gives
me. i am perfectly imperfect and am learning to embrace my flaws and imperfections for what makes me who i am. i strive to be happy and content every day and try to be the best mom, friend, daughter and person that i can be.

i believe in pedicures. i believe in green, the color not the lifestyle (although, more power to the people living the lifestyle. i admire you. truly. it's just not for me. don't judge.) i believe in slurpees, a great glass of red wine shared with a good friend and true, honest conversation. i believe in resolving conflict whenever possible and in keeping the peace. i believe in miracles, in a really good cheeseburger, giving back more than i take and in the quality of
a good education. i love travel and long to see every little corner of this big, amazing world & to give my children the gift of perspective. i try to look for the good in every situation. i believe that taking time for me makes me a better daughter, friend and mommy....and i whole-heatedly believe in saying "i love you" enough that the people i cherish will not have any doubts that i do.

nellie:

i'm nellie, a 30-something woman with four amazing kids and the coolest husband ever. my four kids and one on the way (boy-8, girl-5, boy-4, boy-2, and boy-in utero) keep me insanely busy and test my patience daily and i wouldn't have it any other way.

what you should know about me: i sing...all the time, everywhere, i sing. i'm one of those annoying shoppers that sings through Target, can't seem to help myself. i love good food. i love to cook it and love to eat it. cooking has become my creative outlet and like it or hate it, my kids eat it. i'm not a short order cook. i actually enjoy going to the gym, partially because there is free childcare and partially because it means i can purchase a chai tea latte from Starbucks on my way home guilt-free. i have a kid friendly, child-proofed home that still manages to be grown-up enough for me to enjoy. i have come to accept that at this stage in my life, i will never have all the rooms completely clean at one time. i'm okay with that.

i love learning new things. i love to garden and i'm trying to love eating the vegetables i'm growing. i love projects. i think pedicures and hair cuts are necessities. i love to travel and live in new places. i can't wait to open the world up to my kids. i believe in laughing really loud. i believe in consistent discipline. i believe that everyone should learn a foreign language. i believe in big hugs and kisses. i believe i was made just they way that i am for a reason. i love long phone conversations with great friends, tomato-basil soup, good books and seeing how much i saved at the end of each shopping transaction. i try to remember that in this season with small kids, the days are long but the years are short. i believe in enjoying my kids and my husband. i believe these years are going to fly by and i don't want to miss a minute of it.