Babies and Birthdays, oh my!

Shifting gears from one side of the world (SE Asia) to a whole new world...Babies!

We just returned from a whirlwind trip to Seattle where we helped our best friends celebrate some siginificant milestones. JJ's 30th birthday, we hosted a couples cocktail/baby shower for JJ and Piper and I helped with a shower for my dear friend Jenelle (she and Piper's due-dates are only 5 days apart). I know, it was a lot to experience in three short days but it was a blast!

It seems that everywhere we went, there were babies or babies-to-be-born! In fact, our good friend Niki (and Mike) welcomed their newest member of their family, baby Rocco, this past Saturday (Congratulations!!!). Russ and I counted, and between our family members and all of our friends, we know at least a dozen people who are getting ready to experience the joy of all things baby or, who are adding to their brood.

I debriefed the weekend with my mom and recounted the couples cocktail shower with my good friend, Jackie, and apparently, "people are beginning to wonder when Ang and Russ will have kids". It even progressed to, "do they want to have kids?" territory. So, for the record, YES, we want to have kids, but now is not the right time for us. We are over-the-moon-thrilled to be able to support and encourage our friends and family members as they enter/re-enter this new chapter of their lives but this is one area we aren't ready to venture into just yet.
I was reading through one of my favorite websites, http://www.thenest.com/ and it explicitly stated, "even if ten of your friends are having babies, it does not necessarily mean that the time is right for you to have a child". Thank you The Nest!

While the idea of having a baby of our own is very exciting, we have our own set of twins that we are attempting to birth down here in Los Angeles. The names of our babies are "Acting Career and Adventure." I don't mean to say that one can't have these things and have a baby, but I think it would be exceedingly difficult for me to pursue acting full-heartedly and be a good mom. I'll be honest, I am hoping and praying that I book a series regular role on a network television show so that I'll have some sense of order and predictability. This would also create a more stable environment in which to have a child but, only God knows if and when this may happen.

Actors are notoriously self-centered and moms are not (or should not be). I'm a little self-centered...there, I said it. More importantly though, I don't want to be focusing on myself when I should be focusing on my child. I do plan on having some sort of career when we have a child and I'd love this to be in acting but who knows...I don't know what I'm doing next weekend let alone in a couple of years.

Also, I should note that there are always exceptions to every rule. I don't want any of you actresses, who are great moms and who can balance it all, raking me over the coals on this point. My fabulous sister, Heather, manages to be an administrator of a school, have three adorable boys AND she is pregnant with a fourth baby (a girl!!! yeah!!!) and she is a GREAT mom. So, I think it is possible to have a career and kids but I think an acting career is very different than a traditional career. Moreover, L.A. is an expensive city and acting is unpredictable and unstable. I think we need just a little more time to find our stride in both acting and in adventure before taking on yet, another endeavor.

So, cheers to all our "peeps" who are busy making, growing and birthing babies. Russ and I can't wait to join in on the fun for "round two" of the baby adventure. For now, we will relish the role of godparents and auntie/uncle to our nieces and nephews. xoxo

Lots of love!
Ang n Russ