Sunday, June 29, 2008

Theron is home and life goes back to what passes for normal for all of us. Grandma and Grandpa got to know him a little better.
Theron: Can I take my shirt off?
Grandma: Why?
Theron: Because I'm going to turn into the Hulk and I don't want to ruin my shirt.
Grandma: Okay.

Grandma told him he could come back - after having him sign a contract for expected behavior. Theron's signed these kind of contracts before, he'll sign anything you put in front of him. Unfortunately I don't think he considers them legally binding. You might have to sue him.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

One Less Bell to Answer...

One less egg to fry. I should get to work on time ... but no. I thought all this extra time in the morning would result in all this extra work getting done. Yesterday I was disoriented. Today I spent 45 minutes looking for my keys. But more than anything we're happy Theron's doing okay at Grandma's. Today in art class he drew the Hulk and the Abomination. We miss him but he's doing fine.
Of course now that school is out there's plenty of non-pet road kill out there, fresh and of a managable size.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Day One - The Eerie Silence

The first full day of Theron at Grandma's. No one telling us he's bored. No one debating whether something is a treat or a snack. A snack or a healthy snack. It's so quiet...

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Graduation Celebration

Well, our little guy did it - he tackled first and second grade in one year. I still don't know what we're going to do with him this summer but at least grandma is taking him next week while we figure it out. In the meantime we somehow completely missed the fact that the last day of school was TODAY not TOMORROW like we expected it to be. Not only that, the afterschool program was closed (thanks for telling us!) and at 4 o'clock I got a call from grandma, in Bakersfield, who had Theron on the phone asking who was going to pick him up. Mom was so confused about why someone would be calling her to come pick up her grandson that when he got on the phone and said it was Theron she said, "What's your last name?" She had more questions lined up but she recognized that indignant little helium voice.

When I got there he was in the office with the assistant principal and they were researching what jobs he could do to make a million dollars. He told her when he grows up he wants to make a lot of money and I said, thank goodness because Daddy and I obviously never aspired to that. I'm glad, too, because Theron's money is either in a ziplock bag or stuck together in little stacks around his room and I thought maybe he didn't fully realize what it is for.

Rebecca talked me into getting a Facebook page. I did it and it set off all kinds of new anxieties: will I have any Friends? Will people be disappointed in my page? Will they feel inhibited about me (old) seeing the pictures of them and their (young) friends having fun? But now I'm only a little anxious because I got a bunch of friends right away (it is like a real live network, wow) and there are other people not much younger than me that will be my friends. Hmm. Well, we'll see.

We heard a thing on the radio today saying that the power company will give people a $200 rebate if you give them permission to turn off your air conditioner at critical times. We wonder if we can sign up for this or if they check to see if you actually have an air conditioner. How about if we say they can turn it off ANYTIME? How much if we promise to NEVER use an air conditioner. And if we can get it retroactive to 2004?

Saturday, June 14, 2008

The Stay-cation

Ash needed some time alone today so Theron and I took a little trip right here at home, to Hollywood. We saw Speed Racer. The verdict: we liked the part where he fought the ninja and pulled his pants off. But the mom says it was toooo long. Whose idea was it to make a kid's movie over 2 hours long? Then we walked around the Chinese Theater looking at the footprints and getting pictures taken with various superheros and characters. Of course you tip them.

Darth Vadar said to give the money to Leia
. I hope Spiderman uses his dollar to buy some Shout.

The bird gave Theron a kiss, too.


We liked how this Batman looked Adam West-y.


Optimus Prime and Ironman gave us the most value for our money. We saw Spongebob, too, but I told Theron we were out of dollars.

Then we went to the Ripley's Believe it or Not Odditorium. I guess I knew what to expect but it still made me a little uncomfortable. I'm just glad Theron didn't hang around to read all the labels. They had one of those things that looks like a big funnel and you're supposed to race a dime, nickle and quarter to see which is faster. We did a dime and a nickle. The dime won. I said, "I wonder why" and he says "It won because it's worth more". We saw video of the tallest man ever born and a stuffed two headed goat. Theron kind of looked around and said, "The question about everything is 'how did this happen?'"


Thursday, June 12, 2008

Quotes from work

"You can't drink beer out of a regular straw. You need a boba straw".

"The Indiana Jones movie made me sad".
"I was disturbed by the aliens".

"I applied for the job because it's better to have a full time job than...to be happy".

Friday, June 06, 2008

Secret Agent Man

Theron's latest kid's meal prize is an Indiana Jones invisible ink pen with a light that reveals the secret message. He took it to the afterschool program today and wrote secret messages on everything.
"What did you write?"
"Oh... Just things I felt like writing".
"Like what?"
He hesitates. "Well on the paper taped to the chair I wrote 'Sexy'". He says 'sexy' with a little naughty emphasis on the 'x'.
Ash and I look and each other and we all kind of laugh but not really (I was trying not to).
Ash says, "Do you know what that means?"
Sober face.
"No."

Thursday, June 05, 2008




Molly and Ozge examine the swatch books

Here are some pictures from the graduation last night. I'm really proud of the gift packs I made and they went over really big. They contained things like Acryloid B-72, PVA AYAA, Methyl Cellulose, little dropper bottles of acetone and ethanol, etc.


I cut the holes in the foam using a hole saw attachment (in the words of a fellow conservator) 'in a way you don't supposed to use it' because I couldn't figure out how you really use the things, but Ashley cleared it up for me. The real way involves a drill bit - my way involved heat and poisoning my coworkers. I wish I had known because it would have been a) faster and b) cleaner. I think I'll have to throw those bits out now. Ashley gave each of the students a materials swatch book that he has been working on which are very beautiful and the perfect thing for the newly graduated conservator. Even though my third year intern has graduated I get to keep her for a while longer and we're both very happy about it because she has started all kinds of important new projects and she becomes more valuable by the day. And I would be so lonely without her.





Tonight we went to see our friend Sage perform. Theron got out on the dance floor and gave his best kung fu/Spiderman web throwing moves. Daddy and I danced together for the first time in ages and I fell in love with him all over again.

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

So many things happen in June. We're just counting the days now till the end of the school year. We don't know how on earth we're going to be ready for this kid to be a 3rd grader in what, 3 or 4 months. He's doing multiplication now and he's doing it really well - how did this happen?

June is the month we have our Volunteer Recognition Luncheon at work and we have the greatest volunteers. Dennis, who is everywhere helping everyone drove my intern and me to look at our offsite records storage the other day and he has a beautiful Lexus. We just ooohed and ahhhed about it. I said, "I hope someday I can have a nice car like this, Dennis, instead of the Consumer Reports economy car Best Buy!" and he pulled over and offered to let us drive. Of course we said NOOO! No way. What if something happened? Then he wouldn't love us anymore. Or he would but we would be unworthy.

June is also graduation and the local conservation students had their thesis presentations today at UCLA. 4 out of the 6 have been interns with me over these last 3 years so I went to give my support. Tomorrow is their graduation and I made them all little kits of adhesives and solvents in cute little bottles in plastic flip-top boxes. I like to add a little touch of Martha to everything I do.

There's a lot of excitement here for all the movies coming out this month, too. Theron is COMPLETELY Hulk crazy. He even found the old Hulk tv series on Netflix "view instantly" and I found him in there watching it this weekend. Though he told me, that's not the REAL Hulk, he looks like a human. "And his hair is wrong!" He wasn't diggin' the Bill Bixby shag. He spent the afternoon today with Mike who was able to convince him that the tv Hulk is "Classic" Hulk. And we like him now. Anyway, he's taken to running around the house with no shirt on saying things like, "HULK TAKE BATH NOW!"