Our Beach Blanket

The last beach pit night of the summer. Could someone please tell me why kids don't understand the concept of the beach blanket? Could there BE any more sand on that thing??? Cripes. Notice that Samuel's face is dirty around the mouth/chin area - he'd been playing in the sand, drooling, wiping drool away, playing in the sand . . you get the picture. Here's another quandry - when your hands are crusted with sand, they are no good at getting sand out of your eyes. So why do kids always rub their eyes? "Don't rub your eyes! Come here! Stop rubbing your eyes!" Maybe the fact that it is the last beach pit of the summer isn't so bittersweet, just sweet.

Three Things About Me

(1) I recently killed a fly with my bare hands, the exact way my mother does.
(2) My favorite stretch of freeway is the 5/55 interchange in the carpool lane.
(3) The only thing better than watching my kids sleep is hearing them laugh.

To My Boyfriend

It's been eighteen years since we started dating, and now we're married, we have a house, we have two kids . . . it's been good and bad, fun times and hard times, but I'm glad I picked you and you picked me. You are still my best friend, my closest confidant, the person who knows almost all of my secrets. I still like talking to you on the phone. The smell of Juicy Fruit gum will always remind me of you. I love you. Happy Anniversary!

(OK, so the 'dating anniversary' may not be important in your relationship, but when you date for five years before you get married, it's darn important. Besides, it's my blog.)

August, 2005 (Photo taken by Sally)

Then & Now (1988; 2001)

Quote for the Day

"In mathematics you don't understand things. You just get used to them."
~ Johann von Neumann

(Thanks to Sherry and her Good Earth Green Tea for this fun quote)

Busy-ness

Posts have been sparse because we've had a lot of people around. My friend, Sherry, and her husband, Andy, are here for the Home& Garden Show, showcasing their beautiful custom made rocking chairs. We've been having fun, sharing memories and laughs. (Alison, maybe this will inspire a new post on the Green Fan. We know we've let you down recently.) The moms from my church came over for a last summer swim, as school is starting soon. We had a blast, like we always do. Chaos, food, and several naked children - this is what classifies a "Mom Swim Day" at my house. I'll usually forget to put enough sunscreen on, so I get a little burned, but we always have fun, and Samuel takes a huge nap that day. And I've been babysitting a friend's 10 month old daughter, so that keeps me busy, too.

Nevertheless, I have several posts running around in my head. They aren't ready to come out yet, which is good because I don't have the time to write them now. So don't despair, dear readers. Once school starts, you'll have lots of new reading material here.

(Wow - six links in the first part of this post. I think that is a personal best!)

File Under "Disturbing"

As I was watching the movie, "Home Alone 3", (what a sacrifice that was!) I realized that I had seen the mom in another movie but couldn't put my finger on it. DING! (lightbulb went on) She's the hot cheerleader chick in the 80's movie, Sixteen Candles! It's Haviland Morris! Disturbing.

WE ARE LEGAL!!!

And so ends the saga of our small war with city government! Our permits are all signed on the line that says "Job Complete". (!!!) I can't tell the whole tale here, because parts of it make me so mad, and I am too happy now to do anything that may ruin the mood. But rest assured, dear readers, that some day I will tell the whole tale, and you will see why my joy is so dear. HAVE A GREAT DAY!

Three Things About Me

(1) I have many pet peeves.
(2) I remember most of my dreams.
(3) I get my best ideas in the shower.

The gang at the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana, CA. It's fun - expensive, but fun. Not terribly crowded, but terribly noisy. Sponsered by Taco Bell/Pizza Hut, so there is food inside :)

Sally & Samuel's hands. 

The back side. 

Sally, Samuel, and Jared watch the dry ice crystals drop into water and turn from solid to gas. A very cool exhibit - Samuel was entranced for about 15 minutes! 

Sally helps Samuel look at one of the exhibits. (Discovery Science Center) 

Mysterious Moon Girl and Awesome Astronaut Boy! (Discovery Science Center, Santa Ana, CA) 

Tooth #5

Yesterday morning while eating a bowl of Rice Krispies, Sally lost her fifth tooth. She really is a cute little jack-o-lantern. I'll try and put up a pic soon. By the light of the full moon, the tooth fairy visited her and wisked away the teeny tooth and magically replaced it with two shiny coins. Wasn't it great being a kid?

Stuff Portrait Friday Returns!

Thanks to MrsFish, who has started her version of the SPF game again now that she is all settled in to her new house in Virginia! So, today's theme is:

"Something in your home, office, or car that makes you realize you are a grown up."

Want to play along? Here's the theme for next week:

"Your local library or favorite local bookstore."

The first thing I think of when I wake up is, "I need coffee . . . I need my Buzz-Worthy-highly-caffeniated coffee . . ." Yep, I'm a grown-up all right. 

The radio makes me realize that I'm a grown-up, because I only know all the songs on the Totally 80's Retro Weekend. And (confession coming up) I usually listen to the country stations now. (please still like me) 

Suddenly Stuart-and-Sally . . . . 

Oh, the horror . . .

We took Sally to see Little Shop of Horrors last night at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. Who knew that the word "horror" would be so difficult to pronounce? Sally walks around singing, "Little shop, little shop of whores, little shop, little shop of whores-ors, oh oh oh oh oh" and Samuel follows her singing, "Shop whores! Shop whores!" From the innocent mouths of babes . . .

A what?

While watching Home Alone 3, Sally runs to me and says, "MOM! You have to come and see this! The kid, he made a doodie trap for the bad guys, and it was so cool. HEY! Let's make a doodie trap for Daddy! We need some string . . ."

New Words

Yesterday, Sally says to me, "Mom, can I have some of your hanitizer?"

Hanitizer - noun - a product used to clean your hands without water (see also "Hand Sanitizer")

Arrrr!

My pirate name is:

Dread Pirate Rackham

Like the famous Dread Pirate Roberts, you have a keen head for how to make a profit. You have the good fortune of having a good name, since Rackham (pronounced RACKem, not rack-ham) is one of the coolest sounding surnames for a pirate. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from fidius.org.

To The Lady At The ATM

I saw you this morning at the ATM machine, carrying your sleeping infant in his carseat, casting disdainful looks my way as I left my three children in the car. (OK, one of them isn't mine, but you didn't know that.) I know exactly what you are thinking - how could I leave my kids in the car like that? Don't I know that is how babies die? Well, let me tell you how I can do that - it was 8:30 am and overcast, a nice cool morning. I left all four windows down for fresh air. I got a parking space directly in front of the ATM so that I could see the car, in fact all three children, at all times. Also, it took me all of five minutes to make my deposit. But you can't understand how awful errands are with a two year old boy. Your precious bundle was asleep and restrained the whole time you did your banking business. You don't know what it is like to have your child pull the dead-weight tantrum because he doesn't want you to hold his hand. You don't know what it is like to drag a two year old and a six year old from a store. So don't be so quick to judge me, because you will wear my shoes very soon. And, because I know what is in store for you, dear mother of one precious baby, I forgive you.

Quote for the Day

"The absolutely shortest, surest way to peace is to fall to your knees and ask God for help and surrender to whatever God decides."

~ Ben Stein

It's a girl!

I am really reluctant to post anything new because I love that picture of Samuel so much, but I am very excited to share that I am an auntie again! My sister-in-law and her husband had a baby girl on Thursday night - the first girl cousin for Sally, so she's very excited. I got a pic in my in-box today, and my only niece, Kailani Kristina, is a beautiful baby that I can't wait to hold. Congratulations to her parents! Auntie Sheila will always have Cheetos for you, sweet baby girl!

Now Entering Kitchen Stadium . . .

Introducing . . . Iron Chef Samuel! (Big thanks out to Julia, my son's official photographer :) )

Happy Birthday, Sally!

My girl is six years old today. We celebrated all day long, and into next week. She's already stuffed her new Hello Kitty wallet with money and has written in her SpongeBob Diary. She's played with both Polly Pockets and the Strawberry Shortcake thing. We'll put the puzzle together tomorrow (150 pieces - US Map) and then go diving for the jewels and coins in the treasure chest (from the pool store). A good day. I love this kid. She has a new way of smiling where she wrinkles up her nose - it melts me.

Sally with birthday roses from Daddy. 

Sally's favorite thing - swimming! 

Sally and me at SeaWorld. 

Good Things To Know

Some random things I've learned today:

~ A sun shade (for your windshield) makes a great mat for changing a two year old's diaper.

~ The trash in our minivan usually contains ziplock sandwich bags - with a few cheerios or cookie crisps in the bottom - which are helpful when changing a diaper using the sun shade.

~ Two year olds are no good at present wrapping. They do not know how to use scissors, and certainly cannot be trusted with tape. That leaves carrying the wrapping paper and watching, which is another thing a two year old doesn't do very well.

~ Two year olds are terrible secret keepers. Fortunately, the one that lives here doesn't know enough words to tell said secret in full, frustrating his 5 (almost 6) year old sister.

~ TiVo is supposed to save you time, but when you have two kids and your husband isn't home, watching a thirty minute show, minus the commercials, plus the pausing for breaking up fights, plus yelling at the children to stop yelling, plus changing a diaper, plus brushing a two year old's teeth, plus reading a bedtime story, takes over two hours. This seems like a strange and sad paradox.

Things I Like

I like muffins. They are like a donut-cupcake combo. I just made a batch of blueberry muffins, and the house smells like "good mom" smells. (BTW, "good mom" smells also include banana bread, pumpkin bread, and chocolate chip cookies.)

A Non-PC Post

This post will not be politically correct. It won't be nice, either. It may offend you greatly. You've been warned.

When I go to public parks, especially Disneyland and SeaWorld, two things really bug me. And these two things bug me more than people who dress inappropriately for family theme parks and more than rude people, although the first thing really is rude people. (1) I hate those people who are walking along, in the current of people, and then stop in the middle and have a chat. MOVE TO THE SIDE, FOLKS!!! Really, there is a current of people, a steady stream of bodies, and there is a nice empty space over there by that tree. Go, stand by the side! CRIPES! We almost ran over this woman who stopped very suddenly. (Also, Stuart almost slammed this woman in the face who decided to speed-walk through our group, while we were standing TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. To his credit, he was gesturing and she came up behind him, and he even said he was sorry, which I felt was totally unneccessary, since he didn't make contact. I think he scared her, though.) (2) I can't stand it when I can't tell if someone is a boy or a girl. It drives me nutty! Yesterday, I saw this very pretty face, with a full head of curly hair, and I had no idea if it was a thin girl or a pretty boy. No idea. I saw another person, who was a larger individual with short hair and baggy clothes, and again, no idea if this was a man or a woman. Is there an advantage to being gender-neutral? Because I don't understand what that could be. I'd like to know so that I can say to my kids, if the need arises, "We have to wait our turn. The nice lady in front of us is first." How awful would I feel if that nice lady turned out to be a man? Or worse, if I thought the polite gentleman was actually a lady, who would be very offended to be thought of as a man? I don't think this is too much to ask, is it?

OK, so there it is. You've read the depraved mean rantings of my mind. Can we still be friends?

The Search Continues . . .

At SeaWorld yesterday, I saw no less than THREE PEOPLE with incredibles t-shirts like I want! Red, big logo in the middle. They are out there. I was so tempted to go up to this couple and say, "Excuse me, but where did you get those shirts?" But I couldn't do it.

The Soak Zone

Some mistakes are worth repeating. When Sally was younger - about 2 1/2, I think - we took her to SeaWorld for the first time and sat right in the soak zone. We all got soaked, and Sally cried. Today, we sat Samuel in the soak zone for the first time. We got soaked - several times, in fact. He was stunned. He said nothing for a long time. "Are you ok? Did you like it? Samuel?" He finally said one word. "Awesome."

Mummies

We went to the Bowers Museum today and looked at the mummy exhibit. Lucky as we are, we ran into a friend in the parking lot and chatted as our paths crossed inside. She had been to the King Tut exhibit at the LACMA - both this year and back in 1978 - and she actually liked the exhibit at the Bowers better. There were few people there, so you could get really close to the displays, and there were several mummies, not just one or two. There weren't very many huge pieces, like the LACMA gets, but there were several really neat examples of hieroglyphics - one carved in stone that was magnificent. Although Samuel is not really old enough to appreciate museums - his favorite thing was a statue of a ship, with several statues on the ship, which he pointed to and yelled, "Look Mom, a pirate ship!" - and we had to leave earlier than I had hoped, Sally enjoyed it. Too bad my camera batteries ran out - the courtyard was very pretty, and I wanted to get a pic of the kids and Stuart, because they all looked so cute today.

Close up of the lizard. Cute little guy, huh? 

My friend Julia (pretty red toes on the right) caught this little lizard crawling up our fence. Sally worked up her courage to hold the little guy. Samuel looks on proudly. 

The Incredibles

I had the greatest idea that our family will be The Incredibles for halloween this year. Halloween isn't the most favorite of our holidays, and this year we will be traveling on Oct. 31. So that Sally won't miss out on any of the dress-up fun, and so that I won't have to lose suitcase space to a big costume, I thought it would be fun to have Incredibles t-shirts, you know, just red with the logo in the middle, and all wear them. Sally even has long dark hair just like Violet, and Samuel is stealthy like Dash. I've got the red hair, and Stuart IS Mr. Incredible (anyone who's met him knows that!).

So last night I decide to look for the t-shirts. HOW HARD CAN THIS BE??? I cannot find red t-shirts with the Incredibles logo on the front. I can find the full bodysuit costume, but you KNOW I will never get my husband to wear a bodysuit. Just won't happen. So I need to find a t-shirt, and I decided to post this here and ask for your help. Any ideas? I've searched the Disney sites, and no luck there. I want four red t-shirts with the logo on the middle. And I don't really want to make them myself, but it looks like it's heading that way. Any ideas out there?

The tadpole and the fish. August 1, 2005. 

Wrong Number

We had three phone calls in a row last night around 11:00 pm. The first one, Stuart answered, "Wrong number", and hung up. The second one, we let the machine answer, thinking this guy would get a clue. No luck. The third call I answered.
Me: "WHAT DO YOU WANT?" (phone calls after 10:00 pm get no courtesy from me)
DrunkGuy: "Let me talk to Elaina."
Me: "You have the wrong number - she's not here."
DrunkGuy: "I want to talk to Elaina! Put her on the phone!"
Me: "You have the wrong number! She doesn't live here!"
DrunkGuy: "What nationality are you?"
HUH? What the . . . . why would this matter at all?
Me: "None of your business." Click.