some weekend highlights

-- learning that Coach J toasts marshmallows like I open wrapped gifts, only with my tastier results (I think...I didn't end up eating any marshmallows toasted by her)

-- watching Uncle A, Mr M and Cardo play hacky sack

-- watching Pic slyly stretch her arm around X as he drove the Power Wheels Jeep around

-- laughing hysterically as Cardo attempted to stay on his half of the air mattress while I changed into my pajama shorts

-- sharing a peach with Baby K

-- marvelling at how often the people from the group camp site drove down for showers

-- gathering around the grill burner for s'mores

-- seeing the moonglow light up the sky

-- spending time with dearest friends and family

quick psa

The next Savers sale is Labor Day, September 7th. Half-off used items. I'm planning on being there. Whether I'll actually buy anything remains to be seen. I don't know that I really need anything, I just like to go.

Also, Grassroots Books has moved to Grove Street, very near Costco. I like this location much better than the last -- it's larger and seems less chaotic. We went last weekend and Cardo said we could spend $10. He meant total, but we spend $24 or $22 or something, which comes out to less than $10-a-person, which is nice. We got nine new books: one for Cardo, five for me, three for Pic.

The next Booksale Bonanza for the Friends of the Washoe County Library is October 30-November 8 (the 7th is the half-off day and the 8th is the $6/bag day).

And, now, Cardo is probably cringing in his sleep, sensing that I'm even thinking about buying 'new' books.

pick your battles

Let me start by saying that I have a weird relationship with war metaphors and war references, but I'll stick with the title.

Last night, Pic went to bed angry with me. Our dearly beloved friends, Auntie C and Uncle A, had come over to hang out, eat and discuss weekend plans. Pic was so excited they were there, she was having a difficult time winding down for the evening. She had barely eaten dinner, but she had eaten a Dum-Dum lollipop. It was cotton candy flavored and a deep blue. We were trying to get her calmed down and ready for bed, so I told her it was time to brush her teeth. First, she flat-out refused. Then, she hid under the living room table. Then, she came with me to the bathroom but began dancing around on her chair, ignoring me telling her to brush her teeth. I told her a few times and still she insisted on wiggling her butt around and avoiding looking at me. Finally, I told her she could either brush her teeth and come sit with us for a few more minutes or she could go straight to bed. More ignoring, more butt-wiggling, more toothbrush-topped-with-toothpaste sitting unemployed on the edge of the sink. So...I walked her back through the living room, told everyone she was going to bed and deposited her in her room with a 'Buona notte, I love you.' The sentiment wasn't returned, big shocker. She knocked around in her room for a bit and then eventually got quiet. After Auntie C and Uncle A left, I went to check on Pic. She was tucked into her sleeping bag, still wearing the shirt and skirt she wore both yesterday and Tuesday, her sleep-mask pulled down over her eyes. I stroked her hair, kissed her goodnight, sighed and left her room. I had 'won' that 'battle.'

At three this morning, just after I had finally settled into bed to read, I heard her call out, 'Mamma, come here. Mamma?' I went to check on her. She wanted some water to drink and help finding her sleep-mask. I got my goodnight cuddle and she went back to sleep.

So, of course, all is still well with us. She brushed her stained-blue teeth and tongue this morning. She finally got out of her pink shirt and patterned skirt. Right now, she's having some 'quiet' time with the covert cat.

Sometimes, very often, I understand why it's so easy to just give in. But, whoever said bringing up a child is easy?

reading notes

If only my reading notes were this entertaining. Ah, well.

A small excerpt:

Polonius says Hamlet's crazy ... crazy in love!

Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and Hamlet are now friends.

Hamlet wonders if he should continue to exist. Or not.

Hamlet thinks Ophelia might be happier in a convent.

Ophelia removed "moody princes" from her interests.

Hamlet posted an event: A Play That's Totally Fictional and In No Way About My Family

The king commented on Hamlet's play: "What is wrong with you?"

Polonius thinks this curtain looks like a good thing to hide behind.

Polonius is no longer online.

you say it's your birthday?!

Okay, so it's not anyone's birthday here at La Casa B, except possibly the covert cat's*, but I did just watch one of the recent momversation (yes, I'm still taking issue with the name) episodes in which the moms discuss birthday parties.



I'm curious about you all. What were birthday parties, if you had them, like when you were kids? What about birthday parties for your own kids?

For us, I remember having a choice. On our birthdays, we could either choose to have a party with several people at home or invite one person and then we could go out. At home, the party decorations were always two colors of crepe paper twisted together and taped across the dining room ceiling. There were clusters of balloons taped in the corners. I think I mainly remember store-bought sheet cake, although I could be wrong there (my mom and grammie cooked a lot at home). Dinner was something simple. We'd play with water balloons in the front yard and then watch movies and play Nintendo (Super Mario Bros. 1,2, and 3, tennis or track and field) and giggle and run around the house all night long.

Some stand-outs: When I turned eight, we had a piñata**. Once, we made individual pizzas on Boboli shells. Another time, my mom made small cakes and the guests decorated them. A couple of 'surprise' parties (sorry, I knew) and going to Marriage Can Be Murder at The Egg and I.

If we chose to invite only one guest, we'd go to the Orleans to eat lunch at the buffet and then we'd see a matinee movie at the cinema in the Orleans. (Yes, I did most of my childhood-years' growing up in Vegas.) Then, that guest could spend the night. I'm pretty sure I'm remembering this right.

As for Pic...well, she hasn't at all been a part of the party planning yet. I can't imagine that, at four, she might have already been. Maybe when she's six? I don't know.

For one, two and three, I made cakes. The first was a box mix with frosting from a platic container, but the second two were from-scratch. I don't bake very often, so it's fun to once in a while go all out, although my cakes do end up pretty wrecky. They're made with love (like Subarus, apparently). I didn't make a cake this past year. I might never get over the guilt (I'm serious).

Pic shares her birthday with an (un)holyday, so for two, three and four, the parties at school were enough to cover the 'friend party.' We might one day allow her to invite other kids over, but the thought of having to basically babysit a bunch of other people's kids appeals to neither Cardo nor myself. (Expect an invite that stipulates 'Adults must stay to supervise their wards.') We're nice and social like that.

Here's how this past birthday went for Pic. Cardo and I asked her what she wanted to do and she told us she wanted to eat at the buffet at the Grand Sierra Resort (don't even ask***). So, the morning of her birthday, we got her up to open her gifts. Cardo and I got her a sleeping bag. (I have this one gift thing. Sure, it makes it a bit more difficult to find the 'perfect' gift, but I just don't find it necessary to buy her a ton of gifts for each birthday -- she receives plenty all year long. Okay, this parenthetical note is becoming its own post, I know. I just feel Weird and Different when it comes to this.) She also had gifts from a few other family members. Then, we took her to ice skate at the rink downtown. This was successful for about one trip around, but it was great. Finally, we lunched at the good ol' GSR buffet. The day was more about being with her and celebrating her and our relationship with her than worrying over party details and gifts and all the things that make big parties so unfun for me.

That was it. It was fantastic...but I still wish I had made a cake. Although, come to think of it, Pic would only have eaten the frosting anyhow, so perhaps I should have just mixed up some buttercream frosting, tinted it pink and stuck a spoon in it. Well, there's always next year.

As she gets older, we might have to take on the more traditional party. I'm not talking hired performers and bouncy castles here, I'm talking pizzas and squealing elementary/middle school/high school kids. We'll deal with that when we get to it.


She has slept in this sleeping bag every night we've spent at home since her birthday, excepting the days I wash it. I have to wash it in the bathtub and hang it on the shower curtain rod to dry.


Nana made the outfit, the booties and a bib for this little Cabbage Patch Doll. The doll was also a gift. She also made the swaddling blanket (or the 'baby burrito' blanket as I refer to it) in Pic's hands in this picture. And, she made Pic a bedspread with her name embroidered on each corner on the front. I don't have a good picture of that, though. Yes, Nana is awe-inspiring.

So, as I asked above, what does 'birthday party' mean to you?

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* We adopted him in March 2004 and they thought he was about six months old then, so...September 2003.

** I have no idea how to insert the tilde without opening a Word file, going to Insert Symbol, clicking on the tilde-d n there, copying it and pasting it here. Any help?

*** Okay, so two, maybe three times, we had eaten at the Hilton (now, the GSR) at the buffet for the two-for-one locals night. Pic was free because she was a wee bairn. That was months and months before her birthday this year. She's strange and we're still getting to know this strangeness every day.

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P.S. (Oh. my. god. Could this post be any longer?) I only read part of the first comment for that momversation, but the commenter talked about doing a craft project instead of goodie bags. I didn't plan on doing goodie bags, but I love the idea of a crafty project or putting on a skit or making a wacky music video. (I can hear the future Pic screaming in embarrassment.)

amazon anonymous

I was listening to this today on NPR. It's a segment pondering what reviews the 'classics' (ah, the classics, ah the canon) would have gotten when they first came out. It's an interesting notion, but it gives me an entirely large procrastination project. Now, I want to go look up some of these 'classics' and find out what people have to say about them.

Anyhow, here's one of Queenan's 'reviews' for Deuteronomy:

"Deuteronomy," for example. Average reader's rating: three stars. I don't get it, Queenan's fanciful reviewer posts. I've read most of the books in this series and they totally kick butt, but this one leaves me scratching my head. Is there a story here? Am I missing something? Why so much talk about clean and unclean beasts? The author really got on a roll with "Genesis" and "Exodus," and I was on the edge of my seat when I read "The Book of Numbers." But this one runs out of gas early. Now, I'm glad I skipped "Leviticus."

Now, I'm off to explore the depths of amazon (huh).

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P.S. Here's the Wall Street Journal article. The comments, so far, are...interesting.

nablo

Okay, so the NaBloPoMo theme for the month is 'beautiful' and, suddenly, I'm thinking that I may take it on again. I know, I know, and I probably won't anyhow, but I really like the theme and the focus on something so positive. I like the thought of seeking out beauty every day for a month, especially to offset some of the gloom. Also, I'm great at finding what I consider to be beautiful in almost everything and everyone, excepting myself (and I'm working on that).

Anyone else taking this on, or are you thinking about waiting until November (or wondering about how much time I must have to be able to post every day)?