Monday, August 13, 2007

Baby Tuesday

I hate being a clockwatcher. I was a chronic clockwatcher at every job I ever had. And I'm pretty good about not doing it with the babies. But on Friday the forecast was hot with a chance of no-nappies, and I started watchin' the clock about 11AM. So I loaded us in the car and we went to Happy Hollow. Baby R and I sweated, and Baby C frolicked. After we saw all the animals, she got a carousel ride, ice cream and a puppet show. Not a bad haul for a toddler on a weekday.


The safari hat Aurora gave me couldn't have been more appropriate for Baby R at a zoo.


She's leering at another little girl, watching where she was going.


Hither and thither through the brush.


I started to feel bad for the farm animals, and then I realized that if they were on an real farm, they'd be "used up" by now. Not a bad gig after all.


How many times can I express how cute I think he is?


Whadya know? She can say "lemurs." She liked Lemur Land.




I think many of you will remember this flashback scene from last Halloween:



Well lookie what she found in her closet and insisted she wear!?
I had to pull Baby R's bee suit for him to wear too.

If my job required an ID badge, I would suggest this photo of me be used.


I'm kinda scary here, I admit it. The kids look worried as usual.


10 more days and then those teeth will never look the same!


Lift off from the Vietnamese pig habitat! Onward to the guinea pigs!



Why do I film sideway? I don't know.
And I tried to film Baby R in the 2nd film, towards the end, but it was too shady.

What about sea stars? Can I eat them?

I have two fish lists here, one environmental, the other physiological.




Fish can be so complicated!

And I think we can all agree on one thing:

Don't eat sharks.

Sunday, August 12, 2007

get a receipt, or your next knick-knack's on us!

If garage sales gave receipts, today's purchases would read as follows:

Illustrated map of San Francisco Bay Area, cheaply framed
Ansel Adams poster, also cheaply framed
monkey, rhinoceros and Elmo beanie babies
plush Piglet
Navy/White Adidas badminton bag
The Good Earth by Pearl Buck
roll of vintage 1960's emerald green gift wrap
bag of salon rollers
10 mid-century floral linen napkins
1976 Prentice Hall Cosmetology textbook
Heat, Electricity and Energy & Fuels, all 3 children's books
The Everything Book
A strange print from 1969 of children flying a kite, good frame
Sassafras
And more children's books

good day at sea

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

a 26 yr old junior high'er

About 15 years ago, my dentist told me I would need braces. And when I didn't get them, I was grateful, I thought I dodged the social stigma bullet.

But then I really started to dislike my teeth a few years ago. I even went so far as to buy Teef to cover them up for photos. (But they didn't look right, they looked like I was about to step into the ring with George Foreman). I tell the dental hygienist that I don't floss because I don't like them. I'm embarrassed to smile around family members that are dentists.

I realize they could be alot worse, alot worse. And many people, including my mom, says that they're fine.

But they are messed up, my current dentist even said so.

So in two weeks, I'm taking the plunge! Two year commitment to straight, gap-free teeth.

I hereby swear, I will replace my bands when they break! I will wear my retainer! And I will floss!


Tuesday, August 07, 2007

3 years, 2 kids


3 years of marriage. This is the first one in which I haven't been pregnant.
(here's my hair, hair fans.)

Baby Tuesday...after dark

My apologies for this being extremely late. It was a busy day, we went to the beach today. Lots of sand-water fun followed by sand-water clean-up services for everyone and everything involved. And then it's also our 3 yr anniversary today, so we went out to din din. (Thanks Grandparents Thayer for tending our flock while we dined!)



This outfit felt very Ellie Mae anyway, and then that pose by the weedy yard and the pumpkin patch, all the more appropriate.


Grandpa Phil and Baby R. Clearly, the same head.


I love "set up" shots.


Auntie Sandi, Grandpa Phil and los Babies. Baby C looks ready to make a run for the swing.


"Sunshine happy days, and rainbows..."


"Wait, so are you gonna pick me up off this bed, 'cause that's why I was so happy to see you before."



This is Baby R's bathtub, courtsey of Auntie Dianne. But she thinks it's her personal reading duck.


Yep, shoeless, carrying a silk scarf and a napkin ring and wearing a pink feathery tiara, running through the backyard.


I couldn't remember if I had posted this photo before. If so, have an extra helpin.'


I love this shirt, it's like vintage golfy-leisurey shirt.

And she's matchy-matchy poo poo with her shoes and socks.


Get a load of that little mug, will ya? Man, he's cute!

One news flash:
Baby C climbed up her dresser and it fell over on her. 'Could'a been really bad, but I'm so thankful that after her emergency clinic visit[fiasco] that she's totally fine except for a scrape/bump over her eyebrow. When Kevin got home that night, he strapped it to the wall.

On a lighter note, Baby C loves photos and videos of herself now. She refers to herself as "ticka." So cute. In the past couple of days I've gone to Flickr and searched for "cute bunnies" or "cute puppies" and set it up to run a slideshow of the search results. She LOVES it. If you have a toddler, you gotta do it, parents, it's a hit.

Saturday, August 04, 2007

we adopted a guinea pig


I think I'll call him Harry.

I found him in my sink after I cut my hair tonight.

He's soft and furry, and he obviously loves my new 'do.

Thursday, August 02, 2007

hawaii trip illuminated

Man, it's late, but I gotta post about Hawaii before I forget about everything.

Our resort was totally plush, the interesting taxi driver said it's where the Pro Bowl'ers stay when they're in Hawaii. The area of the island was kinda strange, big oil refinery, radio towers and electric plant. But the way the resort was laid out, you couldn't see any of that stuff unless you left the "set."


View from our lanai, to the left.


I decorated the fine marble bathroom with tacky birthday decorations as a surprise Friday morning. In hindsight, I don't know why I chose the bathroom instead of the bedroom. Can you see the little paper hula girls?


Speaking of hula, here's a little hula dance goin' on by the pool.


This was all Kevin wanted to do for his birthday, sit on the beach and read. So by golly, that's what he did. I bought that book for him about a double agent in the CIA, true story, and that guy had issues.


This is his flaming pineapple birthday tart. That's a bundle of 24 candles and then 6 more festive candle for a total of 30. The old folks at the table next to us were concerned for their safety.
And no, I didn't have the waitstaff do the cake, I followed the Golden Rule, because I hate when the waiter sings to me. I just busted out my prepacked candles and some matches I appropriated from the hotel bar.

Here's a view of our hotel from the catamaran we sailed on. It made me laugh that the brochure said "dolphins or whales guaranteed or your money back."
And lo, we saw dolphins.
They must get a cut of the profits.


Here's what our captain referred to as "the pirate ship."
It was a replica 18th century trade ship, complete with cannon, that they fired at us as we passed. Yar.


Look, there it is again, sneaky up on my booty.


And again, sailing into the sunset like One Eyed Willie.


Do you like my leisurely repose?


We often opted not to take the automatic rotating door. It was like trying to jump in on a game of double dutch.

We went snorkeling at Kahe point, which according to this guy on the internet, it's the best place to snorkel in all of Hawaii.
It just happen to be .2 miles from our hotel! Kismet!
We heard it was called "Electric Beach" because it's next to the power plant (which is why the sea life hangs out there, because it's warm and cozy.)



On our walk there we saw some scenes in which Dog the Bounty Hunter might have come looking for ice heads.
Just keep walking.
Pay no attention to the men living under the tarps.
Then later, we learned that the real locals call it "Tricks Beach."
Yeah...I can see that.


H-O-T! Haven't looked this cool since 10th grade chemistry class.

Normally, I really really hate swimming in natural bodies of water. I'm like the Woody Allen of water sports. I have bad dreams about getting stuck in the ocean, etc, I fear aquatic snakes, etc-- you get the picture.
But the water was clear and warm and the marine life book I checked out assured me there were no human-eating animals or sea snakes. So swam way way out to where the fish hung out. I was so proud of myself.




Fish fish and more fish. They don't like to be petted, such a shame.
I spotted a sea turtle, but we didn't capture him on film.
Imagine a big turtle swimming, and that's what it looked like.


See that guy in the background? No, it isn't Kevin. It was this little hawaiian kid's dad. And shortly after I took these, he jumped.
He jumped into the not-that-deep water with big rocks. He didn't die, do I guess those natives know what they're doing.
How cute is that boy, c'mon! He brought his cat to the beach too.

Did I mention I got an hour long massage at the Spa? Yeah I did, and it was worth every penny.

I still love toys

Sometimes I think I should have worked on an industrial design degree so I could make toys, because I love toys.
I'm not one of those adults that buys toys for myself, like action figures and Barbies or dolls.
But I really love having an excuse to shop for Baby C. I like going to the toy store to find the right toys that she'll really like

Like Aurora, I am realizing my toy-dreams through my own child-- except for the portable hand held TV, Mom you were right about that, that's a bad idea.

So when I bought Baby C some My Little Ponies last year, I thought to myself

Were Ponies always this "sexy" looking?



This is the kind of My Little Pony I remember. Like Eeyore gets a makeover.

Anyway, somewhere along the line, test groups wanted a more glossy, foxy, Bratz-y pony, and that's what Baby C has now.
(Man, I hate Bratz.)

And I remembered today how much I loved these "Growing Up" figurines when I was little.
I don't know why I liked them so much, but I did, so I'm bidding on a few for Baby C, especially for her birthday coming up. By doing so, I learned that they are exclusively an 80's thing. Who knew? And they are made by the same company that produced Precious Moments** figurines and they don't make boy versions.


I went to Hallmark this morning to see if they had something comparable, but nope they didn't.
I hadn't been to a Hallmark in years, and they've really modernized the place. It's not yo' granny's card store anymore. Not a doe-eyed Precious Moment** in sight.

**Creepy Note about Precious Moments' creator, Sam Butcher:
Currently, Sam Butcher resides in The Philippines while his son, Jon, controls PMI and most of his artistic assets.

He resides in a resort in Kalibo, Aklan, called Sampaguita Gardens Resort, which, other than its Christmas-all-year-round theme, is also themed with Precious Moments. There is a chapel there as well full of Precious Moments children on the murals. His mansion in the resort is a popular tourist attraction, and he regularly goes to Jojo's Christmas Cottage, a store that sells all kinds of Precious Moments merchandise, to autograph purchased products by customers.

Sam is known to make appearances at the Precious Moments Chapel in Carthage during the summer for the Precious Moments Family Reunion event. Unfortunately, because of his unstable health, fans are not able to verify his attendance prior to joining the event.

with all the terrible news in the world

let's instead learn about a happy hippo: