Sunday, November 30, 2008

Waahhhh!

The end of the holiday weekend - boo!
We spent the day with Grandpa Flip and Grandma Rita and gave thanks for family and Boston Market and really good pies from Ralph's. It was a very easy dinner that satisfied in the traditional way. Theron and Grandpa got in several pillow fights and even after a bloody nose Theron decided it was worth the risk to keep going, but no more blood was shed.
The drive up was so very beautiful. It rained the day before but Thursday was sunny and clear and all along the coast we saw flock after flock of magnificent pelicans in formation and when we were finally in the hills we saw the happy cows. Theron adapted the Richard Shindell song were were listening to (Are You Happy Now) to Are You a Happy Cow? and we sang it loud making the 'You' a moo.


Some of you are probably wondering who fed the ants while we were gone? Well, before Friday I would have said How sweet of you to worry, but our ants are full, thank you very much. They'll be fine for a day. Then we come back and find the greedy little bastards eating stuff they don't even like, such as sugar. Since when??!! Oh, well, Grandpa Flip told us about lemon-scented Raid and Ash says he would spray it even if we didn't have ants because it smells so good. So take that.

Monday, November 24, 2008

The Season Ends

Saturday was Theron's last soccer game of the season. Somehow this time it seemed sadder. It was such a great group of boys and they really played well. Last year was a little chaotic but fun. This year we could see they were learning real skills and making friends.
The night before at practice the coach surprised them with the announcement that they would be playing against the parents. They thought that was GREAT. Unfortunately in the first round Ash and Theron took a tumble, and Theron cut his lip. But he got back in. Then he was shouting things like WATCH OUT FOR MY DAD! HE DOES TRICKS! I had the ball and he came at me. I said, "Oh, no!" and he said, "we're against you, Mom!"
When we first got out there I just had two hopes: that I wouldn't slip in the mud and that I wouldn't get kicked in the shins. After about five minutes my only hope was that my lungs wouldn't pop.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Multi-tasking Crash

This was a VERY busy week.

Let's see, Monday Sophie helped me get on the road to making one hundred bean bags to give away at a workshop on art and artifact handling on Friday. I was going to do them on my own time, at home, but the whole thing spiraled out of control and by Thursday nearly everyone around me was put to work. But Monday was the craziest day. Sophie downed an eggnog latte before work that gave her a headache, then we stuffed ourselves at India Sweet and Spice for lunch. We had our own little sweat shop going, I didn't let her stop for a minute: cut that, fill those, iron those, go to my car, etc. By the end of the day I could barely lift my arms. "I'm so tired, are you tired?", I asked her.
"Yeah, and I think I'm gonna barf".

Polypropylene pellet bean bag ready to have the tag sewn in.



Labels we made using twill tape and iron-on transfer paper. My helpers and I cut and ironed down 100 sets, and they came out so nice. It was totally worth it.

We had researchers in to photograph petroglyphs, that was interesting.

Ozge greets the researchers.

Anyway, the workshop Friday went very well and both Ash and I were relieved it was over. He was having sympathy stress so we were both ready to skip away. Everyone loved the beanbags and oh, yes, the presentation was fine, too.


We filled the weekend with soccer, a trip to the Observatory, and the yearly shopping trip at Felt Club where we saw the Gem Sweater lady, Leslie Hall, in person, selling spandex pants and cds. I went up with the plan to touch her but then I decided not to act like a weirdo. I guess I'm a little sad about it now.



Theron with the Hollywood sign in the background



On the Observatory stairs

We're also sad because Theron and Alan were supposed to meet for a movie this weekend but the fires closed the roads between us. Safety first. Madagascar 2 will still be there another day.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

He cracks himself up

Theron to Daddy: "How can I love a man who pinched my butt?

Sunday, November 09, 2008

Mental Health Day

The ingredients for a successful mental health day include:

Good food
One of our favorite slow cooker recipes comes from Martha Stewart. Basically you just pour a can of Campbell's tomato soup over a roast and veggies with a dash of thyme. The hardest part is braising the meat first and keeping the ants off of everything.
Grooming

A bubble bath and a thermal pedicure from Olay. It REALLY works but they're not kidding about the thermal part - it gets HOT.
The boob tube
Roger Moore was on The View making all the ladies swoon. He was talking about how he learned to kiss and they went crazy. Then he leaned in close to Barbara and she pushed him away - very cute.

A celebrity sighting

At the Grove I saw Leslie Jordan from Will and Grace who played Karen's nemesis, Beverly Leslie.

No homework - for Theron (or us!) because it was Friday.


And I really do feel much better.

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Afterglow

Of all the lessons to teach a little boy, one of the best is trying to explain why people cry when they're happy.

Sunday, November 02, 2008

Halloween!


Here's our little pirate. Earlier in the day he had a beard and moustache. I carved five pumpkins. I really tried to make sure that black widow had eight legs, but it's still scary, eh? To the left is our little Obama-lantern.I hate that this is hard to see, I just couldn't get a good picture with the bats in the air.




Theron designed the cyclops.
We went out trick or treating right at dark, saw some amazing displays, but in the end we only probably hit about 10 houses. This is what I don't understand about this kid. In our day you got as much free candy as possible! After about 6 houses Theron wanted to look in the bag to see if he had enough. Enough? Can you still carry that bag with one hand? Then, no, you don't have enough. In our day we filled that bag and there was good stuff that parents would never allow now - pomegranates, home-made candy apples and popcorn balls. You had to get as much as possible because it faciliates a successful sort: there's the GOOD stuff, the stuff to trade, and then the pile for Dad, because just like earthworms on the forest floor, Dads are the mulchers of Candyland. They eat the boring candy, the black candy, and anything else disgusting, and they like it because they know, like everyone else except my son, that nothing tastes better than free candy. After the sort you ate candy everyday at a rationed rate so that you were still eating it when the Christmas tree went up. Ashley just thinks Theron's never been candy-deprived so he can't appreciate it. Another parenting failure.


Ashley went to the school costume parade. Theron appears at about 16 or 17 seconds into it.