It's That Time Again

Yes. It's true. It's time for those cute little girls to come knocking on your door selling the devil's food. Yep. Girl Scout cookies. Josh and I have both already succumbed. I did it under the guise of "supporting the neighborhood kids". Yeah right. More like supporting my sugar habit. I have already eaten two boxes all by my lonesome. They say food isn't love love, but sometimes it sure does feel like it.When I was little I used to eat in secret. My parents were always on me about eating too much (even though I was thin as a rail) so it was easier to just sneak food than to deal with their berating. One of the perks of being an adult has been that I don't have to do this. No matter how overweight I get or how much I eat, Josh (bless his heart) never says a word in derision. But now I have children. And Ben notices EVERYTHING I put in my mouth and then says "I want some". I want Ben to have an "everything in moderation" food philosophy, but I don't want him to eat 5 cookies like I do. I know that is hypocritical, but there it is. So when I ate three Girl Scout cookies with my coffee this morning I snuck them into my mouth in the kitchen while he watched tv. It's back to that. Back to stealing food. I have come full circle. Maybe I should just not eat cookies for breakfast. Nah. Life's too short.

Vote

This is perhaps my favorite image of 2007. It was taken by my flickr friend toyfoto. I just saw that she submitted it to JPG for their Noir issue and not only did I vote for it right away, but I am hopeful that some of you might vote for it too. Isn't it amazing? Siobahn very kindly let me buy a print of it and it is hanging in my studio where I stare at it daily and think "wow".

Dear Sam

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I got the idea to write letters to my children from dooce. But I soon realized that it was her "thing" and that I didn't do it nearly as well. I wrote one to Ben when he was two months and another at six months. So now I want to do at least one for Sam so he doesn't feel left out. In addition, I now KNOW that there is not a chance in hell that I will remember this time. Before I was optimistic about my memory. Now I am plain old realistic. So here goes. Dearest Sam: You are now four months old and a dream. You are quite simply the loveliest baby on the block. You smile more than any other creature I have ever seen. You giggle like a pro. After we had Ben I thought we could never have a baby as easy and charming as him. But you proved us wrong. I have a feeling that you will do a great deal of this in the future. It all began with your "scheduled" birth. It was more than disconcerting that we had an appointment for your delivery. It just felt wrong. I am sure that your future self will be none too happy that your mother picked your birthday. You did NOT want to come out of the warm womb and it took three adults pushing as hard as they could to get you to budge. But once you came out you were just about the happiest baby ever. It is hard in the present to think of all of the silly, sweet things you do, but I will try. I love how your eyes light up when I enter the room and how you giggle so much. And you do a half cry/half laugh every time you are about to get fed. As if you are so excited, but also nervous at the same time that you will be deprived. You put everything in your mouth and I mean EVERYTHING. Your fists and thumb are of course a favorite as well as your toy Sophie the Giraffe. You are an excellent sleeper which thrills me to no end and only cry when you have a need to be met. You love to watch your big brother Ben. Everything he does fascinates you. It is already clear that you aspire to be just like him. When you and I drop Ben off at school all the kids flock around you as if you were an exotic bird. And you take this all in stride like an old man who is wise beyond belief. You love to fall asleep on your daddy's knees in the evening after big brother Ben is already in bed. You seem delighted to be allowed the privilege of staying up late. You try to watch television every chance you get. Just like your daddy. I love you so much Sammy. Each day I grow to appreciate you more. I am excited to see who you become. Just know that no matter what I will always love you. Love, Mommy

Minutes Ago

ME: Are you hungry Ben?BEN: No. I don't have hungry. ME: Well I'm hungry. BEN: No. You don't have hungry. Daddy has hungry. ME: Thanks for letting me know I'm not hungry. Are you my new diet coach? BEN: I aaaamm. (drawn out and said with enthusiasm)

Torchy's

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Our friend Rob was in town from Cali and we wanted to take him to a funky Austin eaterie. So we decided to try Torchy's Tacos, which has an amazing fried avocado taco. It turned out to be a trailer with outdoor seating that was heated by a firepit. That's us. Class all the way. But we had a good, if a bit chilly and smokey, time. And the tacos and queso were to die for. I have a feeling I will be spending many nights there this summer. When it's a bit less smokey.

Another Good One

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I saw another good bumper sticker the other day. There is a big saying in Austin. It's "Keep Austin Weird". This bumper sticker said "Keep Round Rock Mildly Interesting". Round Rock is a suburb northeast of Austin. That's also my motto. I don't aspire to be weird. Just mildly interesting.

Memory

I used to have a really good memory. I mean REALLY good. It drove my friends crazy because I could remember conversations verbatim. I could remember what my friend Valerie wore on the first day of school when we were twelve. I could remember every phone number and birth date.Not anymore. Not only is my memory not as good. It sucks. I can't remember a thought I had in the bathroom ten feet later in the kitchen. I had a dream the other night that I forgot an appointment with my hair dresser. When I arrived an hour late I burst into tears about how I can't remember ANYTHING anymore and it is driving me MAD. Mad I tell you. My prized memory is gone and I miss it so.

Baby Fight Club

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Ben fell yesterday while jumping on the bed and has a shiner on his right eye. On the way home from Central Market today Josh said he wanted someone to ask him about it. I asked what his answer would be and he said, "The first rule of baby fight club is that you don't talk about baby fight club." I almost fell off my seat laughing.

What I Look Forward to ALL Year

Our friends the Uyeda/Hales do the BEST holiday cards. I swear that I wait ALL year to see what they will come up with next. So I thought I would share their fabulous 2007 card, which is most excellent. The subtitle was MODEL PARENTS.

The Flying IUD

I got a call the other day from my OB's office confirming my post partum appointment and the insertion of an IUD. There was only one problem with this. I was not getting an IUD inserted. So I called back and informed them that I don't want an IUD and never planned on having one. It's almost like someone called them and said "Put it in her chart that she requested an IUD. We don't want her reproducing anymore."I don't have anything against IUDs, but after many years of birth control it is now Josh's turn. Plus I got my first BA (yes I have two, because you can never have enough student loan debt) at UC Santa Cruz. At UCSC there was a statue that we affectionately called the "flying IUD" because it looked like, well you guessed it. So every time I think of an IUD I think of this big, red sculpture and it doesn't feel so sexy. Here I am with aforementioned "flying IUD" in a "I am 22 years old and my life is very serious" pose.

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