Thursday, February 21, 2008

Random Question of the Week

Being a parent means making a few sacrifices, some more painful than others. That's why "they" always say "You know you're a parent when . . ."

You know you're a parent when you give up the last week of Chocolate Month at Copia in Napa Valley for a birthday party at Chucky Cheese. If it's not done willingly does that make you less of a parent, even if there was only the slightest chance you'd be able to go to Copia anyway?

Just for fun, a bonus question! Chucky Cheese is the promised land for kids, the place where a kid can be a kid. So why are the bathrooms sized for adults? No short sinks, no small potties, and the bathroom doors are heavy enough that some adults have trouble opening them.


Well, this is titled "Random!"

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

More Hannah-isms

(After Charlotte's birthday party)
Mommy, what was the name of that man that was here?

Me:
Do you mean Ayla's Daddy?

Hannah:
Yes! I really, really like him! He is the best Daddy ever . . . " (sees Thomas) "Oh! except you Daddy. YOU'RE the smartest, strongest Dad ever!"

Nice save, Hannah.

* * * *
Hannah:
"I just shaved my nuts!"

Me:
"Er, um? What? You just did what?

Hannah:
"I scraped the chocolate off the peanuts!"

* * * *

I think I'm going to be an actress. I don't think it's very hard to do. I'll just work on my skills, you know, my singing and dancing and then I can be an actress when I'm six. I'll still be pretty young then, right Mom?

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

A Rose by Any Other Name

Since I'm bipolar (ii) and a Gemini, is it OK that I find Valentines Day to be simultaneously sweet and annoying? I know I can't be the only one who finds it odd that we're supposed to have a one day, nationwide love-in. Wouldn't it be better if we tried to stretch that out a little, say over the entire year?

But then, I do like giving presents and, ok, if we're being honest, I like getting them, too. But all of the anxiety-inducing marketing hype makes it seem as though your relationship is doomed if you don't find THE gift. And then there are the flowers and the chocolate and the food. (Chocolate is of course welcome at anytime of the year, though I am a bit snooty about brand and quality.) But let's stick with the flowers for now.

Bloom in New York is offering some stunning floral arrangements--to the tune of 275$ for 20-25 flowers. The Flower Shop in San Francisco has a somewhat uninspired looking arrangement with a dozen long stem roses for a mere 85$. Red of course. But an article published in Ireland's Independent shows that the madness isn't just in the U.S.: There the price for a dozen roses has doubled, to about 100€, which translates to about 150$US.

Rose and Radish in San Francisco offers a much more romantic option: Flower Subscriptions. My favorite is the Spontaneous Flower Subscription. It'll still set you back, but they'll send stunning arrangements at random intervals--no pressure to have them on THE DAY. Better still? When the flowers (Gerbera daisies) or chocolate (a West Coast version of Gearhart's) or CDs or books are brought home on random occasions. And it's not a one-way street so every once in a while I'll bring Thomas a nice chocolate stout.

And just one last fun note: The jeweler where we got my engagement ring had this bumper sticker on the inside of the vault door: "If she's not going to live forever, why give her a diamond?"

Monday, February 11, 2008

Addition to the Blog Roll

I've just added a site called DIY Father to my blog roll. I found them because one of the founders found me. They have a lot of great info on raising kids (in New Zealand, but I think it translates!), all from the father's perspective. It's nice to see it from that angle and to see, too, how so much of what we tend to think of as "mothering" truly is the more universal "parenting."

So, go. Visit. Show them some love! Feel free to tell them I sent you, since I know that my readers are the kindest, most polite people in existence. Yes, all nine of you.

Music to His Ears

Singer will.i.am on why he turned Barack Obama's speech Yes, We Can into song:


i was captivated...

Inspired...

I reflected on my life...
and the blessings I have...
and the people who fought for me to have these rights and blessings...

and I'm not talking about a "black thing"
I'm talking about a "human thing" me as a "person"
an American...

That speech made me think of Martin Luther King...
Kennedy...
and Lincoln...
and all the others that have fought for what we have today...

what America is "supposed" to be...

freedom...
equality...
and truth...

and thats not what we have today...
we think we are free...
but in reality terror and fear controls our decisions...

this is not the America that our pioneers and leaders fought and
died for...


Here's the video:

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Edwards Kingmaker?

A couple of posts over at MOMocrats reminded me of something I'd made a mental note of and then brushed aside. On January 30, John Edwards said that he was "suspending" his campaign and that he was "stepping aside." Not that he was "ending" his campaign or that he was "bowing out." He's an attorney and, by all accounts, a brilliant one. The word choice couldn't have been arbitrary.

A lot of people still voted for him yesterday, and there are a lot of absentee ballots yet to be counted. I know the math doesn't work for him to get the nomination, but in a race this tight he could end up as kingmaker.

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Ah, I Love the Smell of a Primary in the Morning

I will freely admit that I am addicted to national politics. I try but can't get away from it--not that anyone has been able to for the past few months. How bad is it? Let's just say that election season is the only time I don't mind as much the random phone calls from those eager to sell their product, aka: candidate. Sick, no?

Thus far, with the exception of a letter writing event for Mark Warner's run for governor of Virginia, I've managed to confine my enthusiasm to a small anti-W bumper sticker, minor rants to (at) friends and family, and the occasional letter to the editor. Because I'm not as lucid in person as I sometimes am on paper, and tend to be a bit, ok a lot, anxious when speaking to people I don't know, I've only watched the game from afar. But this year has been electric--even people who don't normally care at all have found themselves glued to their TVs to watch the debates and even signing up to volunteer with campaigns.

Although this particular campaign seems to have been going on since W's last inauguration, it took me a long time to decide on a candidate. I have enormous respect for Hillary Clinton's intellect and work ethic. I don't, however, like the fact that she is the one thing that can reunite the disparate wings of the Republican Party. Nor do I like the feeling that she and her supporters would throw under the bus anyone and anything who tried to get in her way. We've had way too much of that over the past couple of decades. I like Barack Obama, but feared that he needed more experience and more substance. John Edwards, for reasons mentioned before, was my favorite, even though he'd already tried and failed. But with him gone, and my absentee ballot blessedly missing, what to do?

I woke up this morning feeling like I was spending a first date at Christmas on a roller coaster.
Up until I actually filled in the ballot, I wavered between Clinton and Obama. But in the end I chose Obama's because he is such a wonderful blast of fresh air that it seems possible to blow away the cobwebs of the Bush II nightmare, scrub off the grime and find a new day. Of course it didn't hurt that he has some great ideas, too.