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Dear Photograph

Tom Hussey reflections series

Parenting, in words I didn't have

This is the most accurate, insightful essay on parenting I've ever seen....

Don't Carpe Diem by Glennon Melton

Christmas 2011 is in the books

...and it was a fine, lovely, enchanting Christmas it was.  There's something about watching a toddler at Christmas that brings some of the wonder back into the season for adults.  I don't think C really understood that he'd be receiving gifts today.  Everything is wonderful and fascinating and exciting to him these days that the gifts were no more or less exciting than looking at lights or dancing to Christmas songs or helping to bake cookies, and that awesome little boy was so delighted by it all. As for the gifts, he loved the first one - a wooden truck full of boxes of produce - so much that I thought we'd never convince him to look in his stocking or open his other gifts.  He did eventually get around to the others, and was nearly equally pleased with the other things, even a plate, bowl, and cup set that I thought he'd toss aside was exciting to him.  I hope I can always remember his beautiful, honest reaction...especially when he grows into a harder to please teen. 

Happy holidays!

To all of us, everywhere, a merry Christmas!

Fall To-Do List

- visit a pumpkin patch
- drain the water heater
- get the air conditioner serviced (or should we do this in the spring?)
- bake something for the nice neighbor and some of B's co-workers
- go on a nature hike, collecting pretty leaves, pine cones, and acorns if there are any
- host a football/poker/dart night and serve chili and focaccia
- donate winter clothes to area charities
- annual donation to the NSPCA in H's honor
- start Christmas shopping
- can homemade applesauce
- bake apples
- plant some cool weather loving flowers
- C's first viewing of "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown"
- hike somewhere leaves are changing
- can homemade pasta sauce while I still have fresh summer tomatoes
- take a picture for holiday cards
- attend a local high school football game
- bake bread with C

Praying for Norway, praying for guidance

In the days since the horrific bombing and mass shooting in Norway, I've been thinking a lot about how all of the baby gates, car seats, Internet monitoring, curfews, lectures, etc. in the world can't protect our children completely.  Of course we have to do these things, but really is the peace of mind it brings just a smoke screen?  The truth is that no one can anticipate and/or prevent all dangers posed to our kids.  Those teenagers were at a well-run, organized camp.  They weren't walking the streets late at night, they weren't engaging in risky behaviors, they weren't involved in anything illegal.  And yet, 68 people on that island are dead.  We've seen it before in school shootings, in repeated natural disasters, and in car accidents, etc, but it never fails to hit home.  Today I read the following text message exchange between a mother and her daughter who was attending the camp (excerpt from MSNBC)

"Mummy, tell the police to come quick. People are dying here,” her 16-year-old daughter Julie wrote in a text message from Norway’s Utoya island on Friday.


Like many of the young people attending a Labor Party camp on the island, Julie Bremnes was carrying a cell phone, enabling her to reach her mom while Anders Berhing Breivik was on a 90-minute shooting rampage, killing dozens of people. Her exchange with her mother, released on Wednesday, gives a glimpse into the long, terrifying wait for help.


“The police know,” Marianne Bremnes, 46, texted her daughter. “They’ve had many calls. Give a sign of life every five minutes.”


Julie, was hiding under a rock with three friends while Breivik roamed the island, shooting people as they cowered, ran, or tried to swim for safety.


“We are in fear of our lives,” Julie texted.

Mother: “I understand. Stay hidden.”
As the wait for rescue dragged on, the text conversation seemed a preparation for the worst.


Julie: “I love you even if I still misbehave from time to time."


Mother: “I know that my darling. We love you very much.”

The exchange went on for about 90 minutes.
...Julie and her three friends were rescued, physically unharmed.



Can you imagine how time would stop, knowing your child was hiding from a murderer under a rock with no
defense? 

My grandmother was a proud "Norwegie," as she would say, and I'm her proud granddaughter.  I'm praying for the people in that normally peaceful country and I'm praying for all of us to identify and treat mental illness, and to stem the tide of extremist acts and violence. 

Books of the paper variety

Obviously it's great that people read - no matter how they read or what they read.  Newspapers, magazines, books, ebooks.  Whatever.  Yay for reading.  But.  It makes me so sad to see the remaining brick and mortar Borders stores closing.  My husband and I met for our first date in a Borders, and often go to bookstores just to browse.  That said, I take partial blame for the demise of the book store, as I prefer to use the library over buying books and often order books online.  But my question is this - is this the beginning of the end of print material?  I suppose we're in the midst of the downfall of printed newspapers and magazines already, and with the rise in popularity of ebooks, I have to wonder.  I like the feel of a book in my hands.  I like the smell of a book.  I like the physical aspect of turning the pages and bookmarking.  It's so unappealing to think of reading to my child from a screen or monitor rather than from a dogeared, colored on book. 

What do you say?  Are books the relics of the future?

Joplin Recovery

My sister and my dad spent last weekend volunteering in tornado-ravaged Joplin, MO, and we're so proud of them.  They helped clean up yards, separated materials at destroyed properties, helped with demolition, and assisted at an aid station. 

Often tragedies make headlines only until the next one hits.  There's no shortage of tragedies, and it's impossible to donate money/time/services in the face of each one, but please remember that the real work continues long after it's faded from public consciousness.  My sister said they expect it to take three years to clean up Joplin.  The tornado killed 153 people and destroyed roughly 6,000 homes. 

See how you can help and monitor progress in Joplin here.  Then help if you can.  Volunteer, send supplies, or send money.  If you can't help with time or money, pray for them.

Favorite Books for Toddlers

We've amassed quite a library in C's 15 months.  Here are our favorites:

This is My Tractor - a touchy-feely book with an audio button.  Cute illustrations, too.

That's Not My Lion - another touchy-feely.  C loved it when he was very small and now "reads" it to himself.

Goodnight Moon - Who doesn't love it?  C especially loves finding the mouse in every picture and likes to point out the balloon.

Sleepyhead, Sleepyhead - we got this for free in a Cheerios box, but I love the story.  The illustrations are less than captivating, but the story is pretty true to life, about a child delaying the inevitable bedtime. 

and the all-time, number one favorite...
Little Blue Truck - Our whole family love this book.  It has it all - a story with a moral, cute illustrations, nice phrasing (rhyming), and a lot of animal sounds.  We also have Little Blue Truck Leads the Way, but it's not as good. 

C has a really good attention span and loves to read.  Lately he's been more interested in longer books, like Curious George books and some of the classic Little Golden Books, like The Poky Little Puppy and The Shy Little Kitten.  We read them often when he was tiny, and put them aside when he started to want to turn the pages himself in favor of board books.  I'm so excited to have the longer books out again, and am so hopeful that C will love books his whole life.  What are the best books for boys through the years?  I loved the original Boxcar Children series and think a boy would, too, and I want to get The Dangerous Book for Boys one day, but what are a boy's must-reads?

When you say it couldn't get worse...it gets worse

In the past couple of weeks...
...I got the dreaded blue screen of death on my work computer, where I had foolishly saved a large project with a looming deadline on the desktop. 
...I spent $100 to overnight the computer to my home office.
...my kid came down with the flu (we're on day 3 now).
...I came down with the flu.
...my computer came back, repaired, then promptly died via virus.
...I spent another $100 to overnight the computer back to the office.
...I neglected to get Father's Day gifts.
...yet another warning light appeared in my newish car (that makes two, plus a malfunctioning horn).
...I snapped at my poor sick kid. 
...I snapped at my husband.
...I received a rejection email, which is sort of worse than a letter.
It's not been a banner month, June.    It's time to say the Serenity Prayer. 

Begin Each Day with a Wish

This is old, but I'm sort of in love with it.


from Fifty People, One Question on Vimeo via this life i lead

My heart breaks for the guy with cancer.  I wonder where these people are today.

1st Birthday Extravaganza

Way back in February we had some family out to celebrate C's first birthday.  We did a basic blue and white theme.

blue and white packaged treats for our guests, all from Rocket Fizz

the cake and sodas for the grown-ups

Sodas from Rocket Fizz, Straws from Garnish (I think)

Recipe/instructions from i am baker.  Clearly I should've done a test run first, but it's sort of a heart, right?

The cake in the pictures was topped with white icing, blue and white M & Ms, and white sixlets.  I should've taken more time when adding the candy, but it was late at night and I just wanted some sleep before the next day's party.  C's cake was from Jessica Seinfeld's Angel Food Cupcakes (which are low-sugar and include some pureed yellow squash) in her book Deceptively Delicious, and topped with homemade whipped cream I flavored slightly with vanilla.  I made it in a 6-inch(ish) baking dish.  He didn't do much smashing or tasting on his birthday, but liked it the next day with a fork.  He doesn't like to have messy hands.  I love my clean little guy. 

Peter Lik, Tomas Mangelsen, Bobby Wheat

Yesterday we went to the new Tivoli Village shopping center in LV, which has a limited number of businesses open right now.  It's such a promising sign for Las Vegas to have something new opening for a change (as one of my favorite stores, EQ3 prepares to close).  I didn't have my camera, but they have some cool artificial flowering trees there and a nice little playground that C enjoyed.  I'm looking forward to the opening of Kidville (does anyone know how much the classes cost?).  Hopefully it'll be a better alternative for us than Gymboree. 

Tivoli Village is also home to Bobby Wheat Photography, which is reminiscent of Peter Lik and Thomas Mangelsen (a Nebraskan, by the way).   LOVE.

Bobby Wheat

Peter Lik

Thomas Mangelsen

effing effity eff eff eff

This morning I got a flat tire.  I've never changed a tire, but hey, I'm a grown woman.  I can do it.  Except that I can't.  Stupid blankety-blank lug nuts are on so tight that they won't budge.  So much for the sense of accomplishment I was looking forward to.  I hate that I'm going to have to rely on BB to change my effing tire for me.  Makes me crying mad, almost to the point where I'd ride my bike to a store to buy a breaker bar. 

The price of babysitting

This morning I took C back to the doctor (for a lingering ear infection).  As we sat in the sick child waiting area, a little girl came over and asked if she could play with C.  Her mom and grandma were in the well-child waiting area, and didn't seem to mind (!), so I said yes.  Then I basically babysat her for an hour.  She was very sweet and well-meaning, but she kept wanting to pick C up even after I asked her not to.  C was getting visibly upset.  The cost of an hour of babysitting?  Apparently no more than a co-pay.

Earth Day 2011

In honor of Earth Day, here are my favorite Earth-friendly products.
 
A Slice of Organic Life by Shererazade Goldsmith.  I love this book as much for its idealistic projects (raising pigs an chickens) as for its more realistic projects, like container gardening and homemade butter. Maybe you could be extra Earth-friendly and get the ebook or check it out at the library.

The Bamboo Bottle, $25.  The next time I need to replace my water bottle, this will be mine....assuming I can figure out where to find it.  It's not currently offered online.  Constructed of bamboo and glass, the bottle is free of chemicals, easy to clean, and easy on the Earth. 

Method Wood for Good, around $5.  It's safe for my family, it works, and it smells fantastic, too.

Mrs. Meyer's Countertop Spray, $3.99.  I make a lot of my own cleaning products, but this is a good alternatvie.  Natural, earth friendly, cruelty-free, and effective.  Nice fragrances, too.

 Whole Foods reusable shopping bags, $.99-about $2.00.  These are the best I've found in terms of durability and volume.  I love how I can easily fit them over my shoulder, they hold bigger items like cereal boxes, and that they're made of recycled materials.  Plus, if one does give out, WF will replace it for free.  There is one drawback.  It's my understanding that these bags are made and shipped from China.  That's a pretty serious drawback, but I think that a bag that I'll actually use, and use for years, is better than a locally-sourced but inferior bag that I won't use.  It's your call.

Sedaris on Easter

Lost Photos

Okay, remember this? 

Here's the conclusion:



I wonder if some part of him is sad for his adventure to have come to a close.

Another ending...my strange neighbors have finally silenced their smoke detectors.  It took more than five weeks. 

Free Dollar

No, really.  Yesterday at Target my sister spied a dollar bill wadded up in a bush near the parking lot.  I think our reactions said a lot about each of us as we determined whether it was worth it to dig into the bush to retrieve it (after I told her that there was probably a whole family of scorpions living in there):

She - "Do you think it's real or one of those fake bills?" (like the ones that say something religious on them)
Me - "What if it has drug residue on it?"

Such cynics. 

Flash Mobs

I know, I know, flashmobs aren't exactly novel.  Still, I love 'em.  I love how the mobsters are having a good time and how the unsuspecting witnesses are so surprised and thrilled.  I love that they make me feel like crying to see all the warm fuzzies in the onlookers and the participants.  This one is extra good, since it's for a good cause.  A group of elementary and middle schoolers in Canada created this anti-bullying flashmob to Bruno Mars' "Just the Way You Ares" at a mall to promote acceptance.  Good kids, good cause, good song.  (Sidenote:  Really, Bruno Mars??  Cocaine?  You're better than that.)  Found via Poppytalk.



Here is my other favorite:

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