Random bits

Freezing rain in PJs & cool boots

Showing off his Christmas decorations

 Thanksgiving day

(Not our tree - no way we're that organized)

 This is going to be her formal cousins' shot... way to show off

 Cuteness!

Last Weekend

Also, last weekend of decent weather.

Looks like it finally got serious about staying cold (20s).

I got him to put the tent away (and not set up in our living room, as requested) because I'd said we could get it back out this weekend but the freezing rain successfully deterred him.

 Turns out auto focus doesn't really care for mosquito netting.

Happy Thanksgiving

Seconds

Second fire of the season.

Tried to make the first for the boy a few weeks ago but we didn't have a fire starter so after burning

 all our recycling, I gave up, eventually put the kids to bed, then poked at the ashes and... *poof*

Big roaring fire.

Right when I wanted to go to sleep (natch).

So will actually claim a first on that one - first banked fire.

(All those historical novels as a kid really DID pay off)

Was also certain this was the girl's first mixing beater -

Except I just found this photo from last Christmas.

Did someone give her Cheez Puffs?

Little monkey.

Review.

Last night after Boardwalk (awesomeness!) was over I wasn’t quite ready to give up my Sunday so flipped a bit and ended up halfway thru Eighth Day.  I only watched about 30 minutes of it so this is a limited review but it was horrifying.  Man with DS meets depressed business type and Saves Him.  Rainman, except with a more visible disability. (Also in French, with subtitles, so More Artistic).  It’s also over 10 yrs old so I’m coming a little late to the party but I spent more time than I should have today clicking links to old reviews.  The weepy emotional sort raved about how uplifting it was.  Ebert grudgingly decided to roll with it.  The highlights:

First off, they meet when the biz guy hit and killed the guy with DS’s dog.  Too bad I missed this part or I would’ve immediately stopped watching and spared you all my ranting.  Killing the dogs off in movies (I Am Legend?) is just cheap.  Five dollar end of the alley cheap.  Almost as bad as the oft abused “I can’t find my child” gut twister.

Second, the guy was apparently recently institutionalized as an adult after his mother passed away. His cohorts… appear to have been institutionalized at birth.  I neither know nor care if they were hamming it up for the camera – the only (disturbing) reality is what ended up on tape.  At one point they crowd around the biz guy babbling and grabbing at him like chatty zombies.  Like every 1950s psych ward scene filmed, ever. He freaks out and bolts.  Nice.  They later run away from their minder, act up in a dealership, and steal a van.  Necessary cinematic drama?  Maybe.  I could only wonder why they a/had to sneak off and b/why they didn't know how to use public transportation.  Our hero was the only one who could speak in complete sentences and who didn’t have a plethora of random tics and unfathomable social awkwardness.  Let’s see how deep we can bury that bar in the sand.

Third, the (adult) girlfriend’s parents pulled her out of the institution – again some of this is pieced together from other sources – because she fell in love with our hero.  This… just breaks my heart.

Then there is a fantasy scene where the hero and his girlfriend imagine they are – I can barely type this – Mongol warriors.  Fine.  Put an innocent spin on it.  I still tasted vomit.

In theory I applaud the effort. I stopped to watch because I was willing to be sold. I made it through Memory Keeper’s Daughter without throwing anything at the TV.  But a SF writer nailed it: “Something about the deification of illness and disability smacks of condescension, regardless of the good intentions behind it.”  Exactly – insofar as it relates to the hero.  The portrayal of his fellow residents was every nightmarish “this will be your child” vision that populated the damn institutions in the first place. 

Next week we'll be deconstructing Bambi.

This is how some of my days go too, buddy

I think we need a bigger tree

 Anticipation:

Merriment, even:

 Helping:

 Crushing plan deviation:

 Shock:

 Bad case of the heebie-jeebies:

Not even Snoopy was that mean.

Two Years Ago

They fixed our little girl's ticker.

 She kicked butt.

Nothing wrong with her heart.

Happy Birthday Tima!

Only a couple days late this time.  At least I called on the day of!

Photo from last year.  Still sorry about... whatever it was I tried to stick a candle in here.

 This is from a year ago too & the photo I used on the

thank you cards from our first (and, tragically, only so far) buddy walk.

 She wasn't walking yet a year ago. We have photos of her standing in various places &

there was a lot of this going on. When did the walking start in earnest? 

Will have to go back thru the pix. I'm a HORRIFIC chronicler.



Mom of the Year

Sunday got by us a bit so I was easily won over when the boy (very politely!) requested McD's. 
Brilliantly, I threw 'em in the bath first so that I wouldn't be too tired & lazy to after dinner.
And then I dragged them outside in the cold, with wet hair, for our trans-fats-run. 
In their PJs. 
Did the boy have shoes?  No, he did not. 
Did I?  Ha!
At least he had a jacket on.
I did remember my cell phone though

 Playing Superman.

As in, the where's the up up and AWAY part mom?
I'm hungry.

 Wet hair

 Cute Jammies!

 Polka dot butt

(Couldn't resist)

Flashback

Again with the wild hair!

Because she will never post one of herself

                                      Who posted this? Somebody has some explaining to do!

Last of the LA Pix

 Rocket Ship Park! 

 Check out the view

If you look close, you can see the little jagged teeth coming in.

She has 8 (EIGHT!) teeth arriving right now -

all five bottom front, two bottom molars and one upper incisor

Though brutal, at least the Great Plague of 2010 was over quickly.

She pouted every time I mentioned "Daddy". 

Lucky clover worked - we had an easy trip back home.

More LA photos

 Picnic in the Park:

By way of comparison. 
Same park, three years ago:

Now:

 Then:

And now: