Pineapple Tree

Baby Girl was telling me she could see our pine tree out the window. But, she said, "Pineapple tree."

Does that come with accessories?

Looking at swing sets for the kid. Reminds me of buying accesories for my hamsters when I had 'em.

This is not my photo. Just a great example of the accesories for hamsters!


















This is the swing set we ordered.

Our very own Veruca Salt

K and I think we've got our very own Veruca Salt on our hands with Baby Girl. Hopefully it's just a case of the preschool gimmes, but there are times that she sounds exactly like Veruca from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

When that happens, K and I like to sing the lyrics:
I want the world
I want the whole world
I want to lock it all up in my pocket
It's my bar of chocolate
Give it to me
Now!

Don't care how
I want it now
Don't care how
I want it now

We Keep Playing (and plying)

K brought me a glass of red wine, which made me VERY suspicious. I asked, "Are you trying to ply me with wine?"

He said, "No, I'm just trying not to be rude."

I said, "Men just can't win, can they? You don't bring me wine and you're rude; you do, and you're trying to ply me."

He said, "Yeah, we can't win. But we keep on playing!"

That's the spririt!!!

Where in the world is Rudy?

Gee, I dunno.
This is one of his favorite tricks. Silly kitty!

Death Wish vs. Real Estate Problem

Just got home from a funeral for one of K's parishioners. A family member spoke about the deceased, who was an exemplary Christian, and I had to share it.


Pop-pop was not a man with a death wish. He was a man with a real estate problem. He wanted to be on the other side of the fence, where he knew the grass was greener.

This man was ready to die; and when people visited him in the hospital and told him they would pray for him he said, "Okay, as long as you're not praying for me to get well."

Oh, to be that secure in your faith and the afterlife.

Cool Walk

This picture says it all...

Engine Turtles

A boy at the sitter has been teaching Baby Girl all about Ninja Turtles. Funny thing is that Baby Girl SWORE they were called Engine Turtles. She isn't old enough to realize that I was a pre-teen when those buggers first became famous!

Today she conceded a bit when she said, "You WERE right, Mommy! Boy calls them Ninjen Turtles." She's getting closer anyway.

Hope she concedes as much when she's a teenager!

Lily Allen Pictures ***see videos below***

Lily Allen at Electric Factory

It was Awesome!

I will try to get pictures up ASAP. Here's a recount of the evening:

the concert was very good! i really liked the Electric Factory. we sat in the balcony (for 21 and over..they serve booze up there). there really isn't seating...just a few bar stools, so you can score those if you're early enough. the main floor is just open...so the younger people (under 21) stand down there.

we got there at about 7:15 for the 8:00 opener. we did get bar stools. and a DJ was spinning records until 8:00. then the opener was a band from LA called 'the bird and the bee' they were cute and a good opener for Lily.

Lily was VERY GOOD. we got pix and some video. she's so cute. she did stuff from her new album and covered a song by Keane and a Blondie song.

we left at 10:30ish...home by 11:30ish.

I would definitely go back to EF to hear other bands that i know.

i'll hopefully be able to put pix up on my blog tonight.

oh, and we found a place to eat supper before hand....Alessandro's.

drinks at EF were, like, $5.25.

And no smoking inside, which was REALLY nice. Lily lit up on stage maybe 3 or 4 times. it was funny.

Thin line between Saturday night and Sunday morning

Fruitcakes
By: jimmy buffett, amy lee
1994

religion! religion!
oh, there’s a thin line between Saturday night and Sunday morning. here we go now.
Alright, alter boys.

Mea culpa mea culpa mea maxima culpa
Mea culpa mea culpa mea maxima culpa
Where’s the church, who took the steeple
Religion is in the hands of some crazy-ass people
Television preachers with bad hair and dimples
The god’s honest truth is it’s not that simple
It’s the buddhist in you, it’s the pagan in me
It’s the muslim in him, she’s catholic ain’t she?
It’s the born again look it’s the wasp and the jew
Tell me what’s goin on, I ain’t gotta clue

Drunkards

In an email exchange with friends about the misery of parenting, I was quick to point out the things no one ever tells soon-to-be parents about parenting. Things like catching your kid's vomit so it doesn't get all over everything in site and cleaning up potty accidents--I know this list was longer, but I'm not recalling it all now.

One friend replied, "Hey! Sounds like a typical weekend out with my friends!" It was perfect!

And it reminded me of this quotation from Johnny Depp:
"[My son's] a hellcat, boy, he's something. The best training you can have for toddlers is having spent a number of years hanging out with drunks. Helping them walk, cleaning up their vomit, putting ice on their head when they fall and smack it on the table; the uncontrollable rage and tears and joy all in, like, ten seconds. He's just a cool little drunk. "(2003) http://www.deppimpact.com/quotes.html

Thank you, Johnny. Couldn't have said it better myself! It's so true!!!!

First McDonald's with Me

Sashi and I ate at McDonald's together for the FIRST time last night! She has eaten McDonald's once or twice before with the babysitter, but this is the first time I have taken her; and we sat inside and ate! I also got pix on my cell phone of the occasion!

This blog entry from Mothers on the Verge describes my husband's (and his family's) disdain for the "sweet mana from heaven" that I like to call McDonald's. ENJOY!!!!

p.s. I DID see the film Supersize Me and it ruined my life..... :-)

******the following post is from Mothers on the Verge*****
Saturday, August 26, 2006

Call social services! My wife took our child to McDonalds
I am furious. No, that's an understatement. I am f*cking livid. YLM took Firstborn to the temple of corporate and dietary evil. But that's not the bad bit. I mean we did get take-outs once in the 4 years since her birth but only because there was no other available alternative at the time and I only let them eat chips. No, the mortal sin was that she let Firstborn eat a hamburger. My poor, innocent child that I try to keep nutritionally pure has been polluted. And I know that the only reason YLM went there was to satisfy her own weak and depraved appetite. She sacrificed our child's safety (nutritionaly speaking) to satisfy her own selfish desires. Surely that's child abuse. Firstborn got a happy meal that inluded a cheap, brightly coloured toy. Perfectly innocent you might say. But no, that's what they want you to think. The problem now is that firstborn will begin to associate McDonalds with pleasure, with reward. We are now on the slipery slope to chilhood obesity, poor educational performance, low moral fibre and all the other evils imposed on society by fast-food culture. Before we know it Firstborn will be a chav single mum living off benefits on a council estate in Slough or living in a crack den in Peckam. See link below for Firstborn's future boyfriends/fathers of my grandchildren:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLoXYFv5oHg
Helpppppppp!

******** the previous post was from Mothers on the Verge *******

More Thoughts on Motherhood

These excerpts actually come from an article by Karen Spruill entitled Help Stop Mother Abuse-Coping with the Psychological Hardships of Motherhood. WOW! The link is here for the entire article.
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0826/is_n4_v6/ai_9197885

I guess I was a strange candidate for motherhood. I dislike loud noises, gooey messes, a cluttered home, and interruptions. And for years I had prayed for patience....

...my transition into motherhood was not an easy one. In fact, being a mother has been the most difficult, trying, lonely, confusing experience I hope to encounter. I love my children intensely. They have taught me immeasurable amounts about my own character and the laws of God's universe. But I've spent the past several years reexamining everything I've always taken for granted about myself....

...I was doing the world's most important job, but I wouldn't see the results for many years. There was so little lasting gratification in the duties I repeated day after day....The children didn't respect my work, privacy, or quiet....

Dislike of Motherhood

It's no surprise to those close to me that I struggle daily with motherhood. It's not that I don't want Baby Girl; on the contrary, I couldn't imagine life without her now. It just seems that there are so many changes (without immediate results/rewards) as a result of motherhood, that it sometimes doesn't all seem worth it.

When I googled 'dislike of motherhood' I discovered that I'm not the only one. Check out the link to Mothers on the Verge (in my links) for some fun validation!

Also, here're some excerpts from an essay I found by a woman named Catherine DeVine. You may read the entire essay at http://www.carrboro.com/ohmommy.html.

She called us Darling and Pumpkin in her early attempts to mask her dislike of motherhood. She wanted friends, not kids. We made her wait a long time before we befriended her....

....toward the end of her life, she would sit with a glass of sherry and sigh, "I feel like a new bride. A little sore, but satisfied." She called me into her room one afternoon when I was maybe sixteen. I can still picture the sunlight on her face. "Cathy. Why is the Mona Lisa smiling?" A trick question. "I dunno, Mother, tell me." "Because she's not pregnant." And she laghed and laughed and laughed.

Self Discovery or Pre-Midlife Crisis?

Been doing a lot of searching since the start of the new year. Not even sure what the search is for, but I think it has a lot to do with turning a "milestone" birthday this year AND having been married a whopping *gasp* 7(!) years already! Is my life turning out the way I envisioned? What haven't I done that I wish I had?

As a result of this 'life review' of sorts, I have found some interesting reading.

Stay tuned as I post tidbits that I find universally appealing :-)

Wedding Day

Yesterday, Sashi informed us that it was her wedding. She required Daddy to dance with her.
We're imagining the she'll require a "fairytale" wedding when the time comes. Forget the college savings...we're preparing for her wedding now :-)