Horn Tooting Time

I try not to be one of those braggy moms, but this is my own blog, and I can brag all I want here. Just had to share what a good week Nathan had. Yesterday I was invited to come to his class in the morning for an awards presentation. He and about four other classmates were given awards in different categories. Nathan's was for industriousness. Now, if you aren't 100% sure what that means, don't feel bad. It means "assiduous in work or study; diligent." In a nutshell, he's a hard worker. Here's a picture of him getting the award:


And today he received his first report card of the year, which was pretty impressive. He received almost all O's (for "outstanding") and he's demonstrating strengths in reading and verbal communication. The assistant principal put a little post-it note on his report card saying "Your grades are wonderful, Nathan!"

Needless to say, I really couldn't be happier. After school we had a very, very cold play date in the park with a bunch of his friends from class. I think they spent 90% of the time tackling each other. In a way, that makes me just as happy as the grades. Nathan once told me that he wants to stay at his elementary school forever, and he's already worried about having to leave in five years. It's weird to think that we just ended up in our current house by chance last year. Had our real estate agent not known the people who used to live in our home, we surely wouldn't have ended up in this neighborhood, and Nathan wouldn't have ended up at the school he so loves. It's funny how things work out.

A Tree Grows There

Hey, check it out!


I saw this decal on Amazon a few days ago, and I just had to have it. I've been wanting to do some sort of family picture collage on this wall for months, but I haven't gotten around to it. This funky tree was a whole lot cheaper and easier. And I suppose I could make it a "family tree" and put some small frames around it anyway! It was really easy to put up, especially with Nathan's help (wink, wink). Evan is still quite enthralled with it, too. Every time he walks into the family room, he turns to me and says "You made that!" And the last added bonus: many of the leaves cover the nail holes that were left in this wall by our home's prior occupants. Score!

Here's a wide view of the room:

A Book Review...Sorta

I published this as an article on Yahoo!'s Associated Content because, well, I just felt like it. It's about the first book I've read in a long time that really struck a chord with me. And, yes, as is my usual style, I'm trying to be funny and cutesy in it, but I did have fun reminiscing about a few things from my past...


In my senior year of college, I had saved up a few elective courses to take. I made sure I saved them for the end of my collegiate career, sort of an “eat your veggies before dessert” philosophy. In my case, the veggies were twentieth-century Irish poetry. The dessert happened to be science fiction. Now, I have to admit that I wasn’t necessarily a sci-fi fan before taking the class (though I had watched Star Trek: The Next Generation religiously, as any good early ‘90s kid did). I just figured it would be a nice break from things like Beowulf and Spanish verbs. But as was the case throughout much of college, the books I read sort of passed through my brain before they could really adhere to the…well, whatever cranny of the brain it is that remembers books long after the last page has been turned. The only one I truly recall had to do with androgynous seal people. No joke. So, I have to admit that I haven’t really read much sci-fi in the years since. I just didn’t know what to make of the genre…is it all aliens and androgyny? But I should have known there was more to it than that.

Enter the world of physics. I’ve got to be honest: the only—and I mean only—thing I remember from my high school physics class is f=ma. Well, that and the fact that my quirky British teacher had penchants for not wearing deodorant and for using dead infants in his explanations of the laws of physics (the latter habit being one that, rumor has it, was banned by the administration in subsequent years). With that said, I love the concepts that physics introduces into our consciousness. My DVR is filled with television shows about the universe, time travel, Einstein, quantum mechanics, the space program, string theory, even possible alien civilizations and ancient astronauts (you’ll have to cut me some slack on the last one). And one of my very favorite subjects is that of parallel universes. I’ll be honest: I don’t get it. Not at all. But it sure is a fascinating subject to try to wrap your brain around.

So that takes me back to sci-fi. Months ago I bought a book for my Kindle entitled Regarding Ducks and Universes by Neve Maslakovic because it was on sale and sounded interesting. I haven’t even finished the book, but I can already say that had this book been in the curriculum of my college sci-fi class (which would in and of itself have been science fiction, since the book was written in 2011), I would have leaped into the genre with both feet then and there. The briefest of synopses is that, back in 1986, the universe not only split, sending two momentarily-identical copies off on separate courses, but that individuals from both universes are able to travel back and forth between them as easily as taking a bus ride down the block (albeit an expensive bus ride). The story’s protagonist, Felix Sayers, discovers while in vacationing in Universe B to spy on his “alter” that he, in fact, may be the “prime mover,” the catalyst that caused the universes to split, back when he was a baby in 1986. It’s a quirky mystery to find out how and precisely when he did this. Yeah, the whole concept is way out-there, but there’s enough fun dialogue and down-to-earth theoretical physics to make this book simply delightful in every way. I really like books that are fantastic, featuring events and scenarios that would never happen in real life, because real life is, let’s face it, kind of mundane sometimes. This book is impressive: it makes those kinds of real-life mundane events amount to something simply extraordinary and near-magical. And I’m digging it.

Tarantula Hawk

Today Evan and I went to the little park up a couple of streets from where we live. Next to the play equipment there were scads and oodles of bees doing their thing on some shrubby bushes with tiny white flowers. As I walked by, something completely weird and alien caught my eye. This:


I'm certainly no bug expert, but I immediately knew this was unlike anything I'd ever seen. Ever. It had the body of a wasp, but it was enormous (a good two inches long) and blue, and its wings and antennae were bright orange. I saw several of them in the same vicinity, and I have to admit that my curiosity trumped my caution. I had to get closer...


And closer...


...to take pictures with my cell phone. While I don't want them crawling on me or getting inside my house, I find bugs to be pretty fascinating. Nathan's interest has probably piqued my own, and I've actually learned quite a lot in the last couple of years thanks to the library. And I don't necessarily find them all that scary, even when I really, really should (case in point: the three black widows we've found around our house in the last month). I sort of laugh at people who say their biggest fear in all the world is spiders. Really? Not death. Not public speaking. Not natural disasters or car crashes. Spiders?

But........back to the freak of nature from the park. It took me less than two minutes on Google (I love you, internet) to learn that this creature is called the Tarantula Hawk. Is that the best name for an insect you've ever heard? It is a wasp, and it hunts, as you may have guessed, tarantulas. The female paralyzes the tarantula and then lays an egg on the spider's belly. That egg hatches, the larva burrows into the tarantula's abdomen, it eats its internal organs, and (you might want to look away if you haven't already) it tears open the tarantula's abdomen to get out. Holy crap!

No, it doesn't kill people. Just tarantulas. But. BUT. Tarantula hawk stings are considered to be the most painful of any North American insect. THE MOST PAINFUL! And here I was, with my two-year-old nearby, taking pictures of these beasts. What's wrong with me?

Anyway. You have to admit they're beautiful and intriguing. And had I not witnessed these guys out in the wild today, I would have probably gone my whole life without knowing about how cool they are. But if you do happen to see one someday, I'd highly recommended admiring it from a distance rather than taking pictures of it. Up close. Like two inches away. As I did.

Listmaker

Nathan likes to make lists for fun. He is my kid, after all. Today he spontaneously made a list detailing what he was going to do with his day tomorrow, another day off school. It doesn't come through very well in the scan, so I'll type it up word for word:

1. Git up
2. Go to the bathrom
3. Have breckfist
4. Git rety
5. Play in the loft, Play in my room
6. Have luch
7. Play sumor
8. Have dinr
9. Do bath
10. put PJ's on
11. brush teeth
12. reed
13. Go to bed

Sounds like a perfect day all around. Don't forget to kiss your mother!

No Coke for You!

So, I'm trying something out. I've never made a conscious decision to completely nix anything from my diet, but I'm too weirded out by the studies out there right now about diet sodas. I've heard through the internet grapevine that diet sodas, at best, cause you to gain weight and, at worst, give you a greater chance of heart disease and stroke. Yippee! I can't say that I'm totally drinking the Kool-Aid...er, Diet Coke...about these claims, but it just got me thinking: Do I really need to drink diet soda? Almost every day??? I don't drink coffee--no moral reasons, I just think it tastes like soil. And I don't really drink alcohol, mainly because I don't like the taste of wine or beer (mango martinis are a different story). I can't really remember when I started drinking diet soda, but I figured it was a low-cal, non-sugary drink that I could indulge in without guilt. The funny thing is that I don't even drink caffeinated sodas because caffeine makes me crazier and more wound up than I already am naturally. I just like the taste of a bubbly sweet beverage. There are plenty of "bad" things that I consume on an occasional basis, but soda? Well, that has been an almost every day thing for me. Shame! So, the bottom line is that I'm going to try to not drink it anymore. If I'm out and I want a regular, full-sugar coke on occasion, I might do that (they say the sugar is better than aspartame). But I guess I'm going to try to develop a taste for boring old H2O. Better late than never!

Smile

It was Picture Day this week at Nathan's school, and I had to snap a couple of pictures of him as he went out the door. You know, just in case the professional photos didn't turn out. I kid. Anyway, I caught a rare posed picture of my kiddo showing his teeth, so I thought I'd share it:


Nathan never likes to show his teeth when he smiles in pictures; he says it makes him "feel funny." And his toothless smile is pretty great, so I don't make a big deal about it. But this picture has to be one of my favorite pictures of him in a long time. So if the school photographer somehow screwed everything up, I won't care a bit.

I know that Nathan won't have this smile for much longer. Geez, that sounds awful! What I mean is, he's six years old, and he'll start losing his baby teeth soon. He's kind of a late bloomer in that department; he has his very first loose tooth right now. And if he's his mom's kid, he'll hang onto those loose teeth for a ridiculous amount of time. And I'm OK with that, because smiles really don't get any better than this, do they?

A Decade Later

This weekend, we all, in one way or another, commemorated the tenth anniversary of the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks. Every year there is news coverage and documentaries devoted to that most awful of days, and while I will catch bits at pieces of them, I, quite frankly, tend to avoid soaking myself in the horrific images and details of that day. While the events of the morning of 9/11, over the past decade, have affected lives and nations in countless massive and small ways, that one day, was, and always will be for me, the absolute epitome of what humanity is capable of when spurred by monstrous hate fueled by insane religious and political fervor. It was mass murder on a horrific scale, and we all had a front row seat to nearly 3,000 deaths. And that will just never sit comfortably with me, or any of us. But it wasn't until seeing the coverage this year--the WTC memorial, plans for the future museum, the building's relics and artifacts being carefully preserved for displays around the world--that I began to see the desire of this country to put 9/11 in historical context and to make sure as many details as possible are protected for the ages.

On September 11, 2001, I was 24 years old. My "mommy days" were still far ahead of me, and I was a working girl with a skinny waist. Brendan and I were still, technically, newlyweds, and I was usually pretty much a self-absorbed basket-case. Ah, the good old days... We had just celebrated my mom's 50th birthday, and I had taken her to see "The Lion King" musical three days earlier in Hollywood. Sometime around 6:30 in the morning I flipped on the news while making our lunches in the kitchen of the condo we rented from my grandparents. If I remember correctly, I didn't usually turn on the TV in the morning, but this day I did. I was confronted with the same image that most of us West Coast early-risers saw that morning: one of the World Trade Center towers on fire. I stood confused for a couple of minutes and then ran into the bedroom to wake Brendan and show him what was happening. New York City was a place that had been on our mind a lot the previous year, as Brendan had made three business trips to the city at a job he held long ago. Over the course of the next hour or so, I saw the second plane hit and the towers collapse. The details are fuzzy because, in typical basket-case fashion, after I watched the second plane hit and the truth of the tragedy became instantly clear, I just lost it. I remember pacing and hyperventilating and even dry-heaving in the bathroom. I called two coworkers, leaving a frantic message for one at my job in Encino telling her I would be in when I could pull myself together enough to drive. Hell no, I should not have gone to work that day. And looking back, I really truly wish I had not gone into panic mode. In hindsight, I wish, as gut-wrenching as it was to witness, I had taken in every last moment of that day and completely digested the significance of what was unfolding on the other side of the country. But instead I threw on some clothes and headed down the 5-freeway while listening to the radio. I was struck by the fact that there was hardly any traffic heading south, as is the case on every other day. Cars were pouring north. Going home.

In the weeks following 9/11, it was, amazingly enough, my mom who reminded me that I had actually gone to the top of one of the World Trade Center towers. It was in April of 1994, and I had traveled with my high school band (and my parents and brother...the chaperones!) to the east coast for a concert band competition in Virginia. We started our trip in New York City, with plans of performing on the steps of Lincoln Center. But that week the weather was cold, wet and dreary, and our hopes of performing outside in New York were dashed. Not that anyone really cared because we took in as many famous sights as we possibly could in a few short days. It was amazing and exhilarating. But it was a trip that, seven years later, I had kind of put in a dusty corner of my mind. That was high school, "so long ago." (I want to tell my silly 24-year-old self that 17 years is "long ago.") But after 9/11, I pulled out the photo album I kept of that trip to check out the pictures I took with my cheapo, plastic, film-based camera. I was happy to see that I had taken several pictures of the World Trade Center. This one was the best, taken from the back of a ferry going to the Statue of Liberty. It gives me a little jolt every time I look at it:


Here's a faraway view of the Manhattan skyline:


Here are the towers up close:


And one of the towers at night:


I don't, sadly, remember much of our visit inside the WTC. I don't even know whether it was the north or the south tower. I seem to recall we were going to go to the top of the Empire State Building, but the observation deck was closed due to the bad weather and we changed plans last minute. I know we couldn't see anything from the World Trade Center, either, but I do remember taking a very, very long elevator ride to the top. I wish I had a picture from inside. After 9/11, I couldn't help but wonder if, when I took these pictures, some of the future victims were working there at this time, seven years and some months before the unthinkable would befall them. The answer is, most likely, yes.

There isn't anything great about these pictures. Thousands, probably millions, of pictures were taken of the World Trade Center in the nearly 30 years it existed. But the terribly sad fact is that these towers now only exist in our memories, and, in part, in the twisted pieces excised from the rubble for historical significance and preservation. They were there. They are gone. But I feel grateful that I got one chance to visit them, to photograph them, to look up at them in awe. People in New York City did it every single day. But I hope that someday I can go back with my family and pay my respects to those who so appallingly died at that site. I can guarantee I will remember that visit.

Rest in peace, lives lost.

Extreme Birthday Challenge

They say it's, like, 50,000 degrees F on the surface of the sun. Wait, let me Google that. Hold on. Oops, it's about 10,000 degrees. Me, exaggerate? Never. Anyway, as hot as that is, could that really feel any hotter than it was today? I can't imagine. It was the hottest day of the year, and as far as I'm concerned, the weather was categorically miserable.

But...we couldn't let that stop us from having a special celebration this morning. This week, my wonderful mom turns 60, and we took her and my dad and brother to The Odyssey to celebrate over a champagne brunch. The brunch was, most mercifully, inside and air-conditioned. We took a few quick pictures outside before heading inside to chow down.


The Odyssey is the restaurant where Brendan and I had our wedding reception twelve years ago. We've been back for dinner a couple of times since then, but never for their brunch. I don't think I've met a brunch I don't like, and this one was no exception. Where else can you get sausage, sushi and chocolate mousse...on one plate. I had two glasses of excellent champagne, which was, in hindsight, probably two glasses too many. Nathan declared his ham and cheese omelet to be "better than chocolate." And Evan got to do a face-plant in some cake. We enjoyed a lot of good food, a great view, and the chance to celebrate someone who is, herself, better than chocolate, too. Happy (almost) birthday, Mom. We love you!

First Day of First Grade

Despite all the talking and talking and talking we did about how long we had left in the summer and when the first day of school would be and what the new year was going to be like...I think it still took us by surprise when we had to show up and send Nathan off for another year of school this morning.

Here's the big kid and the little wannabe, wearing his backpack from last year:


Here we are in front of the house.


Here are the boys at school, in a blissfully shady spot.


Nathan and his sweet buddy, Abe. They were in kindergarten together and now they're in first grade together. Plus, he lives around the corner!

Another friend, Sarah, who was in kindergarten with Nathan and who's in his class this year, as well. He may or may not have said, at some brief point in the past, that he was going to marry her. You didn't hear it from me.

More friends from last year, although not in his class this time around.

His new teacher was nice enough to stay outside in the million-degree heat on the asphalt and take an individual picture with each kid. She may have done this to make us all so miserable that we were happy to leave our kids and go, but this shutterbug appreciated it. Even though we were...er...the absolute very last class to be out on the playground!

So, with the oppressive August heat comes the school routine once again! Now Nathan gets to be with all the "grades" for recess and lunch, and I no longer have to walk him to the kindergarten playground in the morning. Actually, that would be frowned upon since he's in first grade. I'll be dropping him off at the side gate. I might even slow down and even stop the car. We'll see.

Fingers crossed for a great year! So far, so good! And so hot. Phew.

Cousin Fun

Today my cousin Tina visited with her family. So glad we got to have another get-together before summer is over! Here's the cutest picture ever of the four kiddos:


And one of Vera flying at a terrifying height above my parents' community pool:


And one of precious squishy toddler bums.


I love toddler bums so much.

Top Down

Because Evan is a semi-typical two-year-old, he has semi-typical weird eating habits. One of these, however, we've come to describe as "uniquely Evan." He has a tendency to eat foods starting with whatever's on top. Now, I'm sure there's not a toddler around who doesn't eat cupcakes by doing a face-plant into the frosting at the first bite. Heck, even Nathan still does that. But Evan eats lots of foods this way: waffles, peanut butter toast, English muffins, pizza, and even tacos. It looks kind of funny and is not a particularly efficient or neat way of eating, but since when did toddlers care about efficiency or neatness? Their lives kind of revolve around putting objects in inappropriate orifices and throwing stuff. But when you think about it, the top-down thing isn't really a bad idea. It kind of goes along with the "eat-your-dessert-first" philosophy in life. Desserts, like tomorrows, aren't something to be taken for granted. So, I think there might be something to his top-down method. After all, the best stuff is usually on the top.

Oh. Before I forget. It still works best with fudgesicles.

The Loft Grand Opening

Playroom. Study room. Rec room. Media room. Family hang-out area. Reading lounge. Sanctuary. Kristin's NKOTB memorabilia display room. Our new loft may serve many purposes and accrue many names over the years (OK...maybe not the last one). Just like we grow and change as a family, it will transform with us. And now, as we await the very last details to complete our new area (a wood cap for the half-wall and mini-blinds), it's time to relax and realize that those "someday" and "wouldn't-it-be-nice" dreams in your life do, sometimes, actually materialize.

I present The Loft and our new downstairs living room, two separate areas that went from this...

















to this...

















and this...

















It still amazes us. Let the fun begin!

Letter to the Six-Year-Old

Dear Nathan,

It’s your last day of being a five-year-old, and as I sit here for a moment on the eve of “big number six,” I thought I’d jot down some observations, achievements, and memories from this past year…it’s been a big one!

A year ago, as you turned five, we were weeks away from moving into our new house. It’s hard to believe it’s been almost a year that we’ve lived here; although, in a way, it feels like so much longer. You’ve really enjoyed our new home, especially the backyard. You and Evan have spent many, many hours making it your own private playground. It’s been a great area for riding bikes, hitting baseballs, digging in the dirt, eating popsicles, running through the sprinklers, finding bugs, playing hopscotch, drawing with chalk, playing with play dough, and, on one very special day, catching snowflakes on your tongue.

You really enjoy your room, too, and playing with all your favorite toys. You especially enjoy making “set-ups” with various figures: dinosaurs, Iron Man, Hot Wheels, pirates, etc. And dressing up in Darth Vader attire is still a good way to pass the time. You often get out your radio/CD player and blast music from one of your CDs. The “Shrek 4” soundtrack has been your favorite for a while.

If I had to think of one word that will always remind me of your fifth year it is this: kindergarten. You began your kindergarten year on August 12, 2010. I’ll admit that I was concerned about you going from a couple of short days of preschool each week to (usually) five full days of kindergarten. But Daddy and I were so happy when you adapted so well to your new routine. I will be forever grateful that you almost always came from and went to school with a smile. You enjoyed doing centers and playing at recess and lunch with your friends. But you especially liked the special activities you got to do at school: computer lab (where you learned about the Starfall web site), music class, library time, art, and special school assemblies. I was amazed at how you went from not reading a word to now being able to read your own birthday cards and books. When we drive down the street, you often read storefront signs and street names, and your reading skills get better each day. Soon you’ll be able to read all sorts of books on your own, especially books about your favorite subject: dinosaurs!

You made lots of new friends in kindergarten, and it was always nice to see you say “bye” to everyone in the afternoon when I went to pick you up. You made sure you used everyone’s name and gave them an enthusiastic sendoff for the day. You were invited to no fewer than six birthday parties, and you really enjoyed being with your classmates, as well as eating pizza and cake.

I volunteered in your classroom every Thursday morning (and some other days, too), and I saw that you listened to your teacher Mrs. Head and did your best at the tasks you were given in centers. Sometimes you didn’t always like every assignment, but you tried your hardest. You were especially interested in the assignments that involved creative writing and drawing.

When you were out of school, Evan was your little shadow. You both made up silly games and enjoyed watching cartoons together. It’s been hard learning how to share with Evan, especially since he doesn’t yet know how to share himself. But you both are learning, and I think he’s becoming more like you every day. You’ve been letting him read your books, play with your Hot Wheels, and sleep with your stuffed animals for a while now, and I know he loves that. You’ve told me on many occasions, “I love him soooo much.” And I can tell it’s true. I know he loves you and looks up to you, too. You’re blessed with the love of so many family members—not just Mommy, Daddy, and Evan, but also Grandma T and Papa, Grandma and Grandpa C, Uncle Matt, Aunt Shelley, Nana, Tata, Grandma Sam, and Grandpa Carl.

Daddy started working from home full-time a few months ago, and you’ve had the good fortune of being able to see him as soon as you come through the door from school each day. Daddy has helped you with your catching and hitting for t-ball. Your birthday tomorrow happens to be the day of your last game with the Pirates. It was your second season playing with the Chesebrough Park league, this time in Division Two. You made it to every practice and every game, and you always did it with a smile and a great “ready stance.” You’ve shown interest in starting basketball this year, too.

You’ve been looking forward to your sixth birthday for weeks, if not months, and now…it’s almost finally here! After your game tomorrow (to be topped off with pirate-themed cupcakes), you’ll be having a party with your friends at Sky City Bounce House, something you’ve wanted to do for a couple of years. Next weekend, we’ll have a little family pool party at Grandma and Grandpa C’s house. Because the best birthday celebrations are those that are stretched out.

I’m sure most moms have mixed feelings as another birthday passes. It’s fun to celebrate, see your child get older, and look ahead to new adventures. But in a way, it really does seem like almost yesterday that you were a drooling baby who didn’t like to eat his mashed yams and couldn’t seem to master the ability to put one foot in front of the other. As I put Evan in all your old toddler clothes, I can remember how you looked in each little outfit. Many still have stains on them from your meals (don’t tell Evan!). Sometimes I still see my “baby Nathan” when I look at you. But at the same time, Daddy and I are really proud of the boy you’ve become, a boy who is friendly, inquisitive, caring, enthusiastic, intelligent, opinionated yet cooperative, sensitive yet strong, and goofy yet thoughtful. You are our perfect Nathan, and we love you so much.

Happy sixth birthday, kiddo! Let the celebration begin…

Love,

Mommy

This is What Happens When...

...you leave your two-year-old unattended in the backyard for five minutes:














Oh, well. It only took three months for them to grow this big.

Fried green tomatoes, anyone?

Stinker.

In Other News...

We, like, totally have a loft in our house! So exciting!

There's still a long way to go, but today the front room of our house went from this...














to this!














Amazing!

Bedtime Conversation

Tonight Nathan and I read a Lady and the Tramp story in one of his Disney books. At the end of the story, there was a picture of Lady and Tramp with their four puppies (see left). The gist of the conversation went something like this:

Nathan: "It's weird that they show a puppy next to the Daddy dog because boys can't have babies."

Me: "Well, Lady had all the puppies, but they put the one that looks like the Daddy next to him and the ones that look like Lady next to her. In real life, it doesn't work that way. If two different-looking dogs have puppies, all the puppies look like a mixture of the two dogs."

Nathan: "So, one dog can have a puppy that looks like it."

Me: "No, it always takes two dogs to have puppies. Just like it takes two people to have kids."

Nathan: "Yeah, you wouldn't be able to take care of us by yourself."

Me: "That's right."

Nathan: "Because you don't know how to use the grill (barbecue)."

You got that right, Nathan!

Farewell to Kindergarten

Amazing how time flies! Wasn't this just yesterday?




Nathan, may you always have the wide-eyed innocence of your first day of school...




The excitement of performing with a group...




The joy of learning...




The companionship of friends...




A spring in your step...




And the pride of accomplishment...




You've come a long way, baby! Let's have an amazing summer!

Royal Wedding Fun

Last weekend, Brendan and I spend the better part of the day (a "day date," as we called it) at the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens in San Marino. We visited the Huntington when we were first married, but not since we had the boys. We had a great time indulging in one of our favorite hobbies: photography. This week Brendan discovered that the Huntington is not as old-fashioned and stuffy as you might think a historical library, art gallery and garden would be. They're active on Flickr, Facebook, and Twitter. We quickly submitted some of our favorite photos to their Flickr group.

This week we each had a photo chosen as "Photo of the Day" on back-to-back days. We were both pretty tickled by that, but not nearly as tickled as I was when this morning I got on Facebook and discovered the second photo I submitted to their group was chosen as photo of the day today. Here it is:



They described my photo with this quote: "If you love roses, say 'I do!' With a nod to this morning's newlywed newsmakers, today's photo is a bouquet of blooms fit for a royal wedding."

Eek! I love it! Click here for the Flickr link, if you're interested. It's not like I had millions of photos to "compete" with. They only have 175 members of the group. But this photo, already a favorite from the moment I took it, will now have special meaning since it was given recognition on a very unique historical day.

Onto another royal wedding tidbit. And it's all about The Dress. I don't care if some people thought it was boring or unflattering or old-fashioned. I loved Kate's dress. Loved. Loved. Loved it. It was perfection. Come ON, people!



And maybe...just maybe part of the reason I loved it is that it bore a slight similarity to my own wedding dress from the dark ages of the last millennium.



No, I'm not being nauseating enough to suggest we were twins, or anything remotely close. There's no comparison: she's the most beautiful bride I think I've ever seen. But as you can see, the dresses have somewhat similar overall shapes, types of trains, bodices and long lacy sleeves. Of course, I laughed when I received an email from my mom this morning declaring that "other than the V-neck and a little extra train, Kate wore your dress." Ah, moms! It's those kinds of hyperbolic, ego-boosting statements that they're so good at.

Anyway. I just wanted to share a couple of personal stories about the royal wedding. And if you can't use your own blog to compare yourself to a princess, then what fun is having a blog?

Happy Easter

It's somewhere between the hours of 8 and 9 a.m. on Easter morning, and Nathan and Brendan just left for church. If Evan were older and capable of sitting for longer than 76 seconds, we would have gone, too. No, really..we would have. It's not just a convenient excuse to stay in my pajamas for another couple of hours (although I sure do appreciate having that excuse).

Anyway, the boys have had their Easter egg hunt (the Easter Bunny filled most of their plastic eggs with Legos and small eraser toys, but some chocolate, too). We've had yummy Goldstein's bagels that we picked up in La Canada yesterday (yay, a date to the Huntington!). They forgot about their baskets, so they'll have another surprise awaiting them later this morning. But Evan's getting into mischief now (and he needs a diaper change--whew!), so I'll keep this short. I did, however, have to share this little Nathan gem. As he and Brendan were getting ready to leave for church, he had one complaint:

"I usually can't see the magicians, so maybe since we're getting there early we'll be able to see them better."

Ah...from the mouths of babes. That's a slight paraphrase, but he did use the word "magicians" to describe the clergy. I love it. And I love my little Easter kids.

Favorite Foods

At dinner, we somehow got on the topic of "what would you rather eat" lists with Nathan. What started as "choose strawberries or grapes" quickly degenerated into things like "fish with wood in it" and "grapes filled with mirrors." We nipped our little game in the bud before it really ended up in the gutter. But for some odd reason, it made me think about the ten foods I would choose to eat, if I could only eat those ten foods forever (choosing one or five was way too stressful and depressing). So, without putting too much thought into it, my ten would be:

1. peanut butter
2. Cookies and Cream ice cream
3. ripe strawberries
4. guacamole and chips (one thing, in my book)
5. bananas
6. Carpinteria's "The Spot" cheeseburgers without the special sauce (or In-and-Out...or the Habit)
7. fresh pineapple
8. that portobello pomodoro meal I made once but dream about all the time
9. French fries
10. Shredded Wheat and vanilla soy milk

I'm having a "hungry week." What can I say?

Spring School Photo

Even with the impressive bruise above his right eye (pesky brick walls...they come out of nowhere), you have to admit that this is one dreamy-looking kid.

My First Cake

I don't make cakes. I make cookies and banana bread and pumpkin bread and muffins and the occasional pancake. I do love me some carbs. But I've just never attempted a cake, especially a birthday cake. But since we all know of Evan's obsession with Hot Wheels, I came up with the idea to make a Hot Wheels themed birthday cake. The cake came from a box, and the frosting came from a tub, but I'm still going to call it "home made." I copied this idea from another mom who posted a similar cake on the internet. This was the final product:


The "track" was crushed up chocolate Teddy Grahams, and the frosting was supposed to represent grass. Well...I think that's the color of grass in the world where the Care Bears live, but that's as green as I could get it. The little cars were candles, along with the sign above Evan's name. I'm just happy it conveyed the message I wanted it to convey: wishing my little go-getter the perfect second birthday...Hot Wheels style.

He liked it.

In fact, the last word he said before drifting off to sleep the night of his birthday was "cake..." It was fun to pay homage to his "passion" this year. And maybe I won't wait another 34 years before making another cake.