He's my Pride and Joy

If you haven’t already noticed, I like old cars. Now I’ve always been able to appreciate a cool looking car but they never sent me over the moon or anything. But it seems my inner-Detroiter has finally bloomed and I am now all about the cars. Don’t worry; I will never be a gear-head. It’s the chrome, the lines, those cool tail-lights and dials on the dash that get my engine running. (Sorry. I had to do it. It’s an illness.)

Anyways, last Saturday there was a Hot Rod show at the local bowling alley. And apparently I am now the kind of person that goes to car shows. Hey! Come back here! You’re cashing those checks every month – you will be my friend even if I start going to cat shows!! As I was saying, there was a car show so I grabbed my camera and I grabbed Kyle and off we went for some mother/son/camera bonding.

3 hours later, our memory cards full, we stumbled back in the door tired, thirsty and on the verge of collapse. Ok, maybe that was just me. It was hot. We forgot hats. I was wearing jeans because I knew I would be kneeling on asphalt. But it was all worth it – wait til you see the pictures! And you’ll have to wait because I’m about 3 weeks behind. And Chris is about to put a limit on my computer time. Big and mean I tell ya.

And Kyle – that little brat – has some great shots as always. But he spent the rest of the weekend cursing me for getting him into photography. Oh yeah, I’m wicked bad. Meanest mom ever if you’re going to believe the rumors. I’m so awful that after much pestering by Kyle, I spent my Monday afternoon setting him up with his own Flickr account.

So, go check out Kyle’s photos! And leave him a comment or two – it will make his day.

Enjoy!

As the Bean Turns

Ok then. Someone mentioned that I might have gone a little overboard on my last post. Hmm. I didn’t think anyone was reading this. However, I will put my ‘It’s my blog and I’ll rant if I want to!’ attitude aside and give you a happy, upbeat, tirade-free entry. Which means you’ll just have to wait to hear about the book on the CIA that I am reading. But believe me – you’ll hear about it!

twitch

That also means I can’t mention Kyle.

twitch twitch

What does that leave? ERIN! Or Rolie Polie Olie as the case may be.
Yes, the rolling from back to front has been perfected. And that girl is fast. She’s over in the blink of an eye. In the beginning she would roll over onto her stomach and then quickly become frustrated at being on her stomach. So, we would put her back on her back. She would immediately roll onto her stomach again. And then be pissed off about it. Again. I’m pretty sure this would have gone on indefinitely if we hadn’t gotten tired and strapped her back into her bouncy chair.

"What are you looking at?"

But apparently the view from ankle-level is pretty darn good and she is now more than happy to stay on her stomach. I guess she finally has the strength to hold up that large melon-head. She can now hold a perfect cobra pose for 5 complete breathes effortlessly. Which is probably more than can be said about me. Sigh.

Speaking of my little yoga-savant, when Erin is forced to spend time on her back she is in Ardha Ananda Balasana – Half Happy Baby Pose. Her left foot is her new best friend. And she’s got a death grip on it! And I’m sure it’s only a half pose because the other hand must be in her mouth for complete baby bliss.

Wait until she manages to get a foot to her mouth –oh the unbridled toe chewing joy. I’m sure that’s what she’s thinking when we catch her staring intently at one of those chubby little piggys. “Mmm foot…must taste.” What I don’t know is how she'll squeeze a foot into her mouth when she’s already got her whole fist shoved in there! And I’ve caught her on several occasions sneaking a thumb in there right next to the nipple when I’m giving her a bottle. And hey baby – it’s a little difficult to feed you when you’re trying to roll over on my lap! Eyes forward soldier. Jeez.

Erin has also discovered that all that time spent pumping her leg in the air like she was kick-starting a motorcycle was great practice for splashing in the bath. And she has recently begun swinging her arm down in a knee-slapping motion (if she can manage to time the arm motion with the leg-pump into a proper knee-slap, I’m going to ship her off to Tennessee. Yeehaw!). The point being we are going to have to find a new location for bath-time or our carpet is never going to dry.

"Hi. My name is Erin. I'm 4 1/2 months old and an Aries. I like long walks in my stroller and being held high in the air by my daddy. My hobbies include drooling, puking on my mommy, and watching TV with my big brother. My dislikes are mean people and wet diapers."

The Bean’s life is good.

The Surreal Life

Kyle started 5th grade today. And for the first time I did not take him to school. Weird.

~

Our friend Jen watches Erin while I’m at work. And it seems to be working out just fine. Erin is getting loved on by Jen, her 15 month old granddaughter Isabella and a puppy. Not a bad way to spend the day.

I tend to hang out for awhile at Jen’s before taking Erin home. Why not eh? It’s a nice way to shift from work-mode to Mom and the couches are comfortable. And Jen is a hoot! The only kink in the happiness chain is the TV. When I get there, it’s usually around 2:15 and the Gilmore Girls are on. oh my god. Have you seen this show? I want to hurt those people! I’m not sure what it is – the writing? the actors? the small town lunacy? a bad combination of all of the above? but it makes me twitch. And not in a good way. I want to grab these people by the hair and knock their heads together! Ugh. Does this show affect others this way? Is that the point? I know there are people out there that loved this show. Please tell me why. It has actually caused me to have a very violent dream involving a potato peeler!

So, I hang out with Jen until those crazy Gilmore Girls drive me out the door. And after half a dozen weeks of being back at work, I find myself knowing far too much about the Gilmore’s world. I want to ignore it but it’s like a car crash – I’m fascinated and repulsed at the same time.

But what’s really disconcerting is that when I drop Erin off in the morning – the same Gilmore Girls episode I saw the previous afternoon is on the TV!!! Invariably at the point in the show that sent my on my agitated way the day before! It's some sort of weird Gilmore time warp from hell! And that’s no way to start your day.

I’m worried about Jen in her 24/7 Gilmore world. She might need to get out more.

Heart Shrine Relic Tour and a BBQ

Well, after 2 weekends of far too much driving and not enough fun (especially for Chris) we decide to stay home this past weekend. Actually, I told Chris we weren't going out of town again until Labor Day weekend. He whimpered a bit but I put my foot down, spoke my peace and counted to three.* And surprisingly enough we survived - although it was touch and go for me on Saturday night when a migraine swooped down and tried to kill me in my sleep. It was big, it was bad, it was ugly. But I don't blame Sharon one bit. Even though we had gone to a BBQ at her house earlier in the day. (Hi Sharon - great party!) I really don't think she was trying to off me so she could have my job again. No. She would never do such a thing. I'm pretty sure she wouldn't. Would she?! Hmm. Maybe she has also been reading about overthrowing governments and other covert actions. Good thing I didn't drink the kool-aid.

Fortunately by noon on Sunday I was feeling semi-human again so Chris, Erin and I took a drive up to Auburn to see the Heart Shrine Relic Tour.

"A precious collection of sacred relics of the Buddha and many other Buddhist masters is currently touring the world.

This is a rare opportunity to view these relics, which were found among the cremation ashes of Buddhist masters. They resemble beautiful, pearl-like crystals. Buddhists believe relics embody the master’s spiritual qualities of compassion and wisdom and are deliberately produced by the master at his death.

The relics are clearly visible inside display cases that encircle a life-size, golden statue of the Maitreya Buddha. Visitors may participate in a Blessing Ceremony where the relics of the Buddha are gently placed on the crown of the visitor’s head as a personal blessing."

There were gorgeous Thangkas hanging all around the hall.


I know it's out of focus - I was trying to not use the flash.




We circumambulated. We got blessed. And my head felt better. That is until I had to coordinate the Kyle transfer with the ex. He was harshin' my blessing buzz hard man.

For more information visit the Maitreya Project.

It's all about the loving-kindness baby!
Om Mani Padme Hum



*Bonus blessings if you know what movie that is from.
Here's another clue: "My hair!"
swoon...

4 months of pure immeasurable…

…spit up.

Erin is 4 months old today. She’s weighing in at 15 lbs 3 oz and is 24” long. And to my surprise her head is not off the charts big but only in the 75 percentile on the growth chart. How could that be? I think the doctor would have re-measured had he seen this picture -


Damn. That’s a big head. You should see what it looks like printed as an 8x10 glossy. Click on the photo to see for yourself!

I mentioned below somewhere that Erin started rolling over a couple weeks ago. Well, this morning on the exam table we noticed that she has begun to pull herself forward by little smidges. Now I’ve seen how fast smidges can grow and I’ve got to tell you - we are scared. The Dr says she looks and behaves like a 6 month old. At her 2 month visit he said she looked and acted like a 4 month old so we are obviously in trouble here.

And speaking of big kids in trouble – Kyle starts school next week. And he is looking forward to it! I give those positive school feelings a week at best. (remember - he was bored with summer vacation by day 3) But this year he’ll be in 5 grade. Top dog at the elementary school since 6th grade is at the middle school. And 9th will be in High School. Does that seem wrong to anyone else? Are all school systems like this now?

But what he’s really looking forward to is that this year he’ll get to ride his bike to school. Except on band days when he’ll have a big ol’ case to lug around. Oh yeah, he no longer wants to play the saxophone. He wants to play the bass. Not the stand up bass - the electric bass. I know, WTF? How is that they have no string instruments in the band but offer the electric bass? Another thing I just don’t get. And can you rent a bass? Of course not. We have to buy a bass and a small amplifier. And I do want Kyle to play in the band but this is edging it into uncomfortable territory for me. He is already telling me about his friend who plays the guitar and wants Kyle to join his band! I’ve been there and seen that. And I want to scream NoNoNo forget it. No music for you! Of any kind. Danger Danger Will Robinson. But stopping him from playing an instrument in school is not going to stop him from playing in a rock band later is that’s what he really wants to do.

So what can I do? Buy him a bass and hope for the best? Amplify my acoustic and ask to sit in with his band? Hmm...not a bad idea. That should burst his rock-n-roll dreams-

"...and on rhythm guitar - my mom"

The UTATAN

Well, if I didn't have 16 chairs to put together I could work on a proper post. Tell you about our speed run up to Fort Bragg and that the baby is rolling over now. But all that will have to wait. Hey now, don't look so disappointed - I have something special for you to do while you wait. Check out this year's big project from Utata:




There are so many great photographs - enjoy! But don't blame me if you get in trouble because you suppose to be working - I'm innocently unpacking boxes in the back room and will deny everything.