happy halloween!

t2 and i went to a halloween party this afternoon. i even made spooky treats, only midway through i realized spiders have 8 legs, so some are anatomically correct and some aren't. (tayloe, do they remind you of the blue-ribbon spider cupcake we peed our pants laughing over at the humboldt county fair three summers ago?)
you'd think i'd of known that for as many times as i've read 'the very busy spider.' i might also would have known it because we've been watching our own busy spider on the side of our house.
there just isn't much cuter than a toddler in a costume. i think i'm going to put this zebra suit on t2 everyday until he outgrows it. tomorrow we're going trick or treating with some neighborhood friends. i've never been so excited for halloween in my life. i just might break out my lemon costume. go ahead, dare me.

thanks grandjane and poppy

t2 got a halloween card in the mail today that had $5 in it! how fun is that?

dirtball

my mother in law reminds me every once in a while that when tayloe was a little boy, he really liked dirt. she found handfulls of mud or worms or rocks - most of the time all three - in his pockets, in his shoes, behind his ears. i think he pretty much lived in the creek behind their house.
i never really thought to ask if he was the only one of her four children who was so dirt-friendly, but knowing what i know now i'll guess yes.
i thought i was prepared for a kid who likes dirt. i mean, most children like playing outside and most children get dirty. it's part of being a kid.
i just didn't think it'd happen so soon and i didn't think my child would be so fond of it. so very, very fond of it.
i feel like every time we go outside, i should just strip him down because no matter what he's going to find a puddle or a hole or a dirt pile. and no matter what, a few hours later i'm going to be rubbing shout into this clothes.
even when there isn't any visable dirt trouble in site, he still manages to get really, really dirty. i have no idea how this happens.
today we went for a walk at the marina, where he found every puddle and what seemed like every speck of dirt (and every leaf, and every pine cone, and every rock) there was to be found. as long as he's safe, i usually let him go to town because .... well, because that's what my intuition tells me to do. i can always clean him up.
when it was time to go i loaded him into the car, dirt and all. don't you know he fell asleep.
shit.
do i wake him up and take the dirty clothes off? or do i just put him in bed and give everything a goop bath later?
wake him up? put him in bed dirty? wake him up? put him in bed dirty?
against all my natural instincts, i put him in bed. dirty.
girls don't go to bed dirty. we have immaculate, well-practiced bedtime washing rituals. we have 7 different kinds of shampoo. if it weren't for women, soap wouldn't sell.
he can't possibly sleep like that, i thought. for sure he'll wake up, totally uncomfortable and begging me to put him in something clean. (god, please let him wake up so i can put something clean on him.)
2 hours later i heard him. i went to peek and he was sitting happily in his crib playing peekaboo with his sleepy piece.
i wish i could have enjoyed what was a cute moment, but it was way more than i could handle.
once he was tidied up he ran to the back door, demanding to go outside. like an idiot i opened it and before i could catch him, he had a fist full of leaves and was heading for wolly's dog bowl.
i. am. tired.

i have a boyfriend

this is the im conversation i just had with my 10 year old niece

catherineemery75: hi eliza! it's aunt cat
ninjaartist5: wuz up. i have a boyfriend
catherineemery75: oh wow! that's exciting. what's his name?
ninjaartist5: payton
catherineemery75: is he cute?
ninjaartist5: way cute
catherineemery75: is he smart?
ninjaartist5: oh yeah!
catherineemery75: so do you sit together at lunch?
ninjaartist5: he is not in my second period
catherineemery75: i see. do you see him after school? and pass notes?
ninjaartist5: yes.
[5 minute pause. i consider asking what they write notes about, but decide that's too nosy. i wait for her to tell me more about peyton. she doesn't. i change the subject.]
catherineemery75: did you see the fires in los angeles on the news?
ninjaartist5: yes. we have had lots of rain. i have to go.

and there you have it.
there'll be a day when i'm typing away at my computer and t2 im's me from college (or juvi) to tell me he's met someone he wants to bring home. sweet lord, please let all of her tattoos be spelled correctly.

danger zone

this is maverick requesting a flyby.

california burnin'

some photos from saturday. more are on flickr
it's blazes hot here and there are these dreadful fires, of course, all around us. it's pretty depressing, thinking about people's homes being charred and thousands of animals running for their lives.
there's this very eerie haze outside. it's sepia-toned air. at sunset tonight our neighborhood looked orange, like it'd been spray tanned.
i'll tell you what - mother nature is piiiiiissssssed off at southern california. i blame the governator.
i needed a break from the news (FOX: CA Inferno!). charlie gibson is wearing a coat, for god's sake, and everytime i see a blaze i have to go get a glass of water.
hold, please while i switch over to 'dancing with the stars.'
relief?
hell no. it's jlo. she's prancing around in 10 inch heels singing about gettin loud. gggrrrrlll, you're pregnant. whatchoo tryin to prove, crazy bitch.
all i want is jenny garth in a yellow tu-tu telling me how hard everyone's working and what a family they all are. or see marie osmond faint and then apologize for it.

pumpkins

we were going to go away for the weekend, but the colds of last week altered our plans some. instead, we took a day trip saturday to ventura county and ventured upon a pumpkin farm. who can resist?
my friend reid blogged recently about toddlerdom - it's all so true.
it's inspiring to have a little boy who is excited every single day for what's in store. he does some crazy cute things right now, but my favorite is the way he nods yes. it's a whole-head, whole-neck experience, touching his chin all the way to his chest and then looking up at me and saying yesssss with a smile. i also love how cooperative he is when it's time to pick things up and that he knows where things go.
and as annoying as the not so fun stuff is, i'm getting better at remembering that he's counting on us to teach him. that makes plopping him down in a bare, lonely playpen for timeout seem a lot less mean.
i have a few more pumpkin farm pictures, coming asap.

maataa

if i could draw and if i could sew, i would design a line of clothing for mothers. i'd call it maataa - mother in hindi. people think when they buy something with a far eastern name they automatically become enlightened and exotic.
buy these clothes and changing diapers will suddenly become exciting! changing sheets and washing dishes and doing laundry will seem worldly! mac and cheese with hot dogs will taste like gulab jamun! you'll instantly speak 5 languages and have time to meditate on things like inner peace and personal balance!
i digress.
it'd be clothing that is comfortable, fashionable, bendable, travels well, washes well (but not too well), roomy and gorgeous.
i want to be able to go for my morning walk, take t2 to music class, have a lunch meeting with a client, take a nap, meet a friend for an afternoon at the park, make dinner, roll around on the floor with my family and lounge on the couch all in the same thing. i'm willing to add the accrutrements - a scarf, a necklace, different shoes.
i just don't have much that i actually want to wear in public that accommodates all of the activity and hides coffee stains and snot. add to that the year-round warmth of LA and i'm so screwed.
my closet and drawers are full of things i used to wear - dress shirts, pencil skirts, heels, a down jacket. i guess i'm still holding on to that life a little because i try to wear some of those things with clothes that better suit my life now. sadly, it's just not working. i'm so uncomfortable most of the time you'd think i'd been constipated for weeks.
when i do find something i feel good in, i usually wear it for a few days straight.
so basically i need a bit of a makeover. my goal in the next month or so is to find a new sense of style that works for my lifestyle. (i also still need to ditch the remaining baby weight, so that's a goal, too. ugh).
got any bright ideas?

sniffle

t2 and i have both had a cold this week. sniff. sniff. after one hellish night of him waking up every 15 minutes, i decided last night to prop the head-end of his bed up with books so he wasn't so flat (and prone to stuffiness). it seems to be working, though i just peeked in on his nap and he was all stuffed in the bottom corner of his bed with his blanket rolled around him like a tortilla.
i'm feeling a lot better, thanks in part to being able to sleep in some. tayloe has taken to getting up with t2 while i get an extra bit of shut eye. they watch sesame street and eat cheerios while i hunker down under the comforter and thank god i don't have to pretend to like elmo & mr. noodle at 7 in the morning. next to the dyson, it's the sweetest gift ever.

daredlane

finally some walking video! it's not exciting, but as i say when it's my turn to cook - you get what you get. don't throw a fit.
if you listen close you can hear the squeak squeak of his shoes. they make noise when he walks (thanks grandjane!). the noise seems to delight store keepers and grandmother types and really annoy other moms. one snippy mother looked at me today and said in a frowny tone, "is that his shoes making that noise?" nope. it's his butt.
the santa monica airport is really close to our house so we went this afternoon because someone is very fascinated by airplanes and it isn't me. turns out it's super kid friendly with a little viewing deck right by the runway and a park and swings and everything. in fact, there's a decent sushi restaurant there, too, overlooking the runway. i really do love this city.
here are a few photos.

they land every couple minutes.












on the slide
















showing me what airplanes do (they go up, up, up!)

imaginary friends

every night when we put t2 to bed, we read him a story or seven. and every night when we're done with the story, just before the light goes out, he points to the same place in his bedroom and talks in the language that only he understands.
he's saying something like mmshways hyhyewyayay mmmmmmmmaaaawahnman? there's beautiful inflection and variation in his voice, like he's asking a question that i should understand. and then he looks at me and looks at the 'thing' and shakes his little pointy hand.
i have no idea what he's pointing to. i've picked up everything i can imagine that he wants and tried to ask if that's it, but he just shakes his head no and points, points, points. i've put him down and asked him to show me what he wants. he just walks over to his books, looks around and then comes back and sits on my lap. the whole thing starts over, only the second time i don't let him get down. eventually he gets tired, sighs and puts his head on my chest. like, "oh mommy. some day you'll get it."
after much discussion, tayloe and i decided he must have an imaginary friend he wants us to say goodnight to. so that's what we do. goodnight books, goodnight light, goodnight mommy, goodnight dada, goodnight imaginary friend who only t2 can see but must be really special because we're ordered speak to you on a regular basis.
oddly, this seems to satisfy him, which is both a relief and a little curious. what (who?) in gods name has his little mind created and what is its purpose?
i can only imagine.

six years

our six year anniversary is today. isn't that somethin'? six years.
last night i cleaned my wedding rings and i got to thinking about how someday i'll give them to a child of ours to give to his wife and they'll give it to their child and so on and so forth.
as i was scrubbing it and thinking about how our son's wife better be pretty damn sweet because this is a really special ring, i noticed how thin and pale my ring finger is without it on. i hardly ever take it off, so i hadn't realized how much a part of me it is.
the metaphor is bonk-over-the-head obvious, but i hadn't thought about the rings as an outward symbol of our marriage in a long time. maybe not even since our wedding day. this made me feel even more strongly that our son's future wife better be, like, queen of england or something.
so here's to us - despite a few nicks and dings and scratches, we still shine like diamonds and stand strong, maybe even stronger, as platnium.
clink.
i love you, tayloe.
lick the salt, throw back the tequila, squeeze the lime.
that's what i'm talkin about.

brusha brusha

please tell me you watched dolly sing 'coat of many colors' on the last blog post. it's too good to miss.
i got t2 a toothbrush a few months ago when the vet told me i needed to brush wolly's teeth and i told her i didn't even brush my kid's teeth. and wouldn't you know, the he loves the thing! no trip into the bathroom is complete until all 9 of his pearlies are polished with super silly strawberry paste. it makes a very nice bribe.
help mom pick up these blocks and we can ... GO BRUSH YOUR TEETH! sit still while i put your shoes on and we can ... GO BRUSH YOUR TEETH! it almost feels mean. on the plus side, he has the cleanest mouth in santa monica.
my friend lisa and her son sean came over yesterday and she brought sean's brand new miniature broom, which the two boys took turns whisking around my house like a couple of molly maids. brilliant, right?
eat all of your peas and you can go SWEEP THE FLOOR! hahahahahahahahaha.
this should work out just fine until he starts asking friends if they want to come over and mop our kitchen.