Funny Friday! Freaky Form

In honor of Halloween I share with you a clip from my favorite show:





If you want to see the whole episode you can go to here. Funny tales about our Halloween and trick or treating expeditions along with pictures will be up soon!

Funny Friday!

Seriousness for a Minute

Why Are The Funny Ones Gay and Living in Paris and Too Old For Me?

“I look at these people and can't quite believe that they exist. Are they professional actors? I wonder. Or are they simply laymen who want a lot of attention? To put them in perspective, I think of being on an airplane. The flight attendant comes down the aisle with her food cart and, eventually, parks it beside my seat. "Can I interest you in the chicken?" she asks. "Or would you prefer the platter of shit with bits of broken glass in it? To be undecided in this election is to pause for a moment and then ask how the chicken is cooked."

- Author David Sedaris, on undecided voters

Man, I've loved Mr. Sedaris for a long time. Thanks to my brother, I give credit where it's due, who introduced me to Sedaris via Naked and I've read all of his books since. I'm currently making Tim listen to Dress Your Family in Denim and Corduroy via Audio Book the last few weekends while he works on Ben's costume and I attempt making more pants for Nate. Sedaris is damned funny, it's that simple. I could write pages but I'd just be repeating myself over and over and over. If you've never read his stuff go get something, anything of his now. If you can, get a copy of "Dress" or "Live at Carnegie Hall" and listen to the "Six to Eight Black Men" story. Kills me everytime and has forever changed our yuletide celebrations. Or watch this

WTF Wednesday

I learned this week, thanks to being up in the middle of the night and myspace and facebook that a couple (not that there are many) of my exes have recently gotten married. I think this is great, let me just say that upfront. I don't wish to be back with either of them and never have, honest. Tim never reads my blog so for those thinking I'm just covering my ass I don't need to. Consider yourself mooned. Anyway, I'm happy for them and yet there's a strangeness to it. I think it's simply the fact that now years (we're talking 11 years in one case, high school) later I'm seeing these images of the biggest day of someone's life and this someone is a guy that I used to kiss in the hall of my high school and hope to get notes from and haven't talked to since graduation. weird.

Anyway, this spring would be our ten year high school reunion. Our school, for some unknown reason doesn't do alumni relations. Though they should since they are semi-private. So we have to organize our own reunion if we want one and I just don't think that's going to happen. I don't know that I would go or not and I don't have to decide so it's not a big deal but there's a weird head trip that happens when you see wedding pics of your highschool boyfriend, or learn that you're childhood friend who walked home with you everday just had her second baby, that one friend is writing screenplays in LA, etc. It's hard to pull these faces out of these old memories and fit them into what you know to be actual now.

Again, I'm really happy for these people, as I'm happy that my life is what it is now. As much as I had some great memories in high school and was blessed with incredible friends I have no desire to relive it. I thoroughly believe that the best times are now and in the future and I refuse to let my kids limit themselves to thinking that high school is as good as it gets. With any luck they'll still think high school at home is awesome but I want them to realize how much more there is to life. I think that's why these wedding pics surprised me so much, not that I never realized we'd all grow up and have famlies and spouses and careers but that at 17 it was a relatively abstract thought and today it's our reality.

Natural Parenting Toolbox

It's 3:45am and I'm up with Nate watching Dora and running the humidifier and hoping that his Zyrtec kicks in he's able to breathe better soon which will lead to being able to nurse which I hope to Gaia will lead to sleeping. In an attempt to prevent myself from being super cranky, not fun, mean, loud, crabby mama tomorrow I found this list via Mothering and am posting it here as a reminder to myself to be patient with the world and most especially my children when Ben wakes me up for the day in about 3 hours.

Alternatives to Punishment

• Use positive reinforcement.
  
• Create a positive environment.
  
• Say yes as much as possible.
  
• Save no for the important things.
  
• Use natural consequences.
  
• Use logical consequences.
  
• Use restitution.
  
• Leave it up to your child.
  
• Compromise.
  
• State your expectations, and get out of the way.
  
• Give specific instructions.
  
• Give a reason.
  
• Offer help.
  
• Give a choice.
  
• Redirect your child.
  
• Remove your child.
  
• Make positive statements.
  
• Give in occasionally.
  
• Give your child time to agree.
  
• Simply insist.
  
• Make rules.
  
• Ignore some behavior.
  
• Avoid nagging and threats.
  
• Distract your child.
  
• Use humor.
  
• Make it a game.
  
• Be willing to admit your mistakes.
  
• Stop and think before you act.
  
• Don't make a big fuss over little things.
  
• Stick to routines.
  
• Don't hurry your children too much.
  
• Get to the root of the problem.
  
• Correct one behavior at a time.
  
• Give yourselves time.
  
• Use the golden rule.
  
• Model appropriate behavior.
  
• Think of your child as an equal.
  
• Always keep your love for your child in mind.

WTF Wednesday

Ok, I know it's Thursday but I meant to post this yesterday and then Roco's departure trumped any other posts. So, there's been lots of "talk" (I call it bullshit) about the new cover of W which features Angelina Jolie "apparently" breastfeeding one of her infants. I saw "apparently" because this is how I see it phrased whenever I've read about it. There's a baby with his/her head close to her breast and her shirt is opened but we can't be sure she's breastfeeding. Anyone else think apparently sounds like "allegedly" in this case? It's like they want to sound like they're giving her the benefit of the doubt - as if she's doing something else entirely like rocking the baby and her shirt just fell open that way. The hilarious and irritating thing about this is that you can hardly tell she is breastfeeding she really just looks like a happy mama enjoying a cuddle with her babe who happens to be nursing (although you can't see it in the pic) so IF you're one of those people who is saying how disgusting it is - get a reality check! I've seen more of countless other celeb's breasts selling magazines by featuring their breasts as accessories not showcasing their real purpose in the beautiful, natural way that Jolie does. Although, I realize we're not all lucky enough to have it be NATURAL for Brad Pitt to be taking the pic of us nursing.

I'm not going to rant and rave about this too much tonight - breath a sigh of relief or groan of disappointment here. I've got a lot to do for our local LLL conference (Please join us!!!) and the best way to be a Lactivist is to educate and empower and actually do something about improving the public image of breastfeeding in this culture, not just by blogging. So I'm off to be constructive. In the meantime here's the cover for you all. Comment away please! I will revisit this topic, I promise!

Bummed

We just found a new home for Roco Meowazaki. We're all bummed. It's that simple. Nate is seriously allergic. I had my suspicions about it last week but yesterday when Ben rubbed Roco on Nate's face and his eyes swelled up within 5 minutes and we had to go to our doctor, I knew it was true. The doc gave Nate Zyrtec and it certainly helped but he still doesn't look good and I had no doubt that it was because of the kitty. So...I posted to all of the playgroups we go to and got two great responses. My friend C came and adopted the kitty just 30 minutes ago. She surprised her son with him, who had been saving his money to buy a kitten. He was sooo happy and thankful to have Roco as his own and as grateful as I am that Roco is going to a good home all of two miles away from us, I'm also heartbroken at having to watch my son's reaction to losing his first real pet.

I know it had to be done. There was no way that I'd medicate Nate indefinetely just to keep a cat but it still sucks. hard. I think in a few days Ben will be totally all right about it and not really care too much but tonight, watching him cry and now seeing him curled up on the couch with Tim just reminds me of how fragile we are all. How easily bruised our hearts can be no matter what our age is.

Blue Job-Picture Post

Family foliage shot


Nate slept 2/3rds of the way up the mountain. So I carried him on my back, that's why he looks kind of mumified in the pic.


From the top of Blue Job.


Another top shot.


Benny on the way back down. I love the light in this shot.

Nate stayed awake on the way down. He also kept patting my back....guess I'm part horse.


Ben on the rocks. I love this picture. It almost doesn't look real.

Leggies! We Have Leggies!

Voila! My first pair of baby legs! I knitted these cute little baby legs for my dear friend A's new baby. Now, when I knit them baby wasn't here yet and gender was unknown so I made them in an oatmeal color. They photographed kind of beige here but they really are a sweet oatmeal color in person. This was the first pair of baby legs I've ever knit and I have to tell you I'm now hooked. They are really easy to make and sooo cute. My next pair will be for my nephew who is due at the end of this week, but may come whenever he is ready. I'm planning on a green or brown for him too, just because blue isn't the only color for boys and it gets old after a while. Anyway, I'm really proud of myself for making them and having them turn out all right. Now, we'll have to wait and see how they hold up in use and give a full review then, but for now I'm rather impressed with them! (plus it proves to me that I'm getting better at knitting not worse)


for some reason the one on the left looks longer but I swear they're the same length and width. I think using Tim's desk chair as a back drop was not a good idea.

Our Weekend

Another amazing weekend...I hate to sound all sappy but I don't think I can hide it. Every tiem I'm starting to feel frustrated with something in life, or just feeling down or maybe in a rut we have these great, simple fun days that snap me right out of it and remind me of how lucky I am, how lucky my family is. We have to pay attention to the good stuff all around us, and that includes just each other and our own company. This weekend we've been blessed with some bigger fortunes, like a great visit with family and a special treat at the Music Hall. These are wonderful gifts and I'm so thankful for them and I'm really happy that I'm being more aware of enjoying the more hidden gifts as well. Each other's company, sunny and warm October days, quiet fall evenings.... Anyway, the point of this post is not to hear me ramble about how I'm enjoying our simple life but to share some of the highlights of it. At the moment we're enjoying a really wonderful weekend and have the pics to prove it.

First up, a visit with Adventure Uncle and Awesome Auntie at their home (which we love) and a visit with their awesome animals too! The boys (and parents) had a great time! Nate slept through a bit of the festivities but woke up just in time to see the goats trying to beat his uncle and big brother to the ground for access to the fresh leaves in their hands. They really are sweet as far as goats go, and believe me I know, I've spent more than my fair share of time around goats. You just can't put yummy food in front of a goat and expect them to be calm or rational about it, that's all. It's common sense.




Benny near the river in the backyard.



Notice how the goats are all heading towards Ben?
Give us the leaves boy and no one gets hurt.


So, weekends always have two days. That was Saturday. Sunday we went to see Dan Zanes in concert!!! If you haven't heard of him you probably don't have kiddos in your house. He's a wonderful song writer who is from NH (Shout out to the home crowd baby! I'm a maine transplant) and he was in a band called the Del Fuegos in the 80s. He started writing kids songs for his daughter and he's now made a pretty remarkable carreer out of it. His songs are really fun for kids and grown ups and he has a great folksy feel but with some funk and reggae and bluegrass and hip hop and any other genre depending on what he's feeling like. We bought the tickets months ago as Nate's bday present and I honestly had forgotten about the show until last week. We had an incredible time!!! We were three rows from the front which was just amazing! Granted, it was at the Music Hall which is a small little theater, but still it was really nice to feel and be so close to the music and the action. They opened up the whole front area and welcomed kids to come up and dance. Obviously, you expect good things from a kids' concert but I try not to get my hopes up because you never can tell. Different venue, different rules. We were able to take pictures but not with flash so they're pretty blury but hey, we know we were there and we had fun so that's all that counts. Ben watch the whole show from his seat (except the last three songs) he was having a blast and kept saying how awesome it was but he didn't want to dance, he wanted to study Dan Zanes & Friends and was happy to do so. Nate took about three songs to fully wake up from his nap and realize what was going on. Once they started Jump Up he really woke up and was sooo happy and started dancing. So, enough of the rambling review. Here are some pics.


From our seat, it was close, really!



Dan Zanes plays a mean Mandolin - and he has awesome hair!


Nate - Post-Concert walk to get Ice Cream. btw, I made those pants for him from scratch today in an hour. It was a major accomplishment in my crafty world! I also fully realize and accept that it may never happen again.


B skipping along home.

Now, this weekend is a long weekend thanks to Columbus' affair so we may be adding to this post tomorrow night. We plan to hike Blue Jobe (local mini-mountain) with some friends tomorrow and so if I can get some good pics I'll happily share them. Hope you're all enjoying the beautiful autumn weekend!!!

Introducing...

Roco Meowazaki! aka RocoTat, Baby Meow and Cat! The first two coined by Nate the last one by me in fear and panic as Roco is pulling my yarn out of their cubbies and dragging them across the floor. This is our new kitten Roco who is 8 weeks old now and is really quite amazing. He's got a great personality and is sooooooo incredibly tolerant of the boys. He was born into a family that had three young kids so he's only ever known living around kiddos and we're certainly reaping the benefits. The pic of him in the basket on the back of N's tricycle is not a freak occurance. He thoroughly enjoys riding in it. This evening he was sleeping in it and Ben tried to pick him up, he half heartedly protested with a weak swat, I told Ben to try riding the bike which he did and I kid you not, Roco curled back up in the basket and started to purr. I don't care what anyone says, that's a cool frigging cat!

BONUS - Personalized MainelyMama shout out to the reader who can figure out why he is named Roco Meowazaki. The name itself is a big hint...but I can be bribed to give out more.

Funny Friday

Cause I've now declared every Friday to be Funny Friday. This is particularly hilarious, I may find more to post as I continue searching but it's Nader and I love me some Nader. Oh, by the by, there's a little shout out for my SIL Mrs. Redpants about 42 seconds in, that I think will slay her. I hope it will anyway, I consider it a true accomplishment if i can make her laugh. (Granted, it's not me making her laugh but Mr. Nader but hey, I still get points for finding it right?)


Here's another one...they'd be better if Obama girl wouldn't start laughing at the end of every shot and hunch over like she's puking up her Tasti-D-Lite, but it beats watching a McCain ad right?

Friday Night Movie Night - Star Wars Clone Wars TV Series

The title should sum it up for you. B has been waiting for this to come on air since the adds started the end of August. I didn't watch much of this, to no one's surprise. I busied myself with making Banana Bread and Organic Rice Krispie treats for the hour that his was one. (BTW, using Organic brown puffed rice cereal really doesn't offset the 1/2 cup of margarine and marshmallows - next time I'm going to do it the 'right' way aka fully processed and refined crispies) Anyway, Ben and Tim seemed to enjoy it. Nate and I enjoyed our time in the kitchen, mixing ingredients and waiting for things to finish.

I think we're going to try to have movie night tomorrow since tonight was really a bust. We tend to watch our movie when we're ready, after we've all eaten, settled into comfy spots in the living room. Tonight, it was a constant chorus of Ben asking "Is it 9 yet?" And he was the only one really looking forward to what we were watching. Generally speaking we try to have something that we're all at least mildly interested in.

So, tomorrow we will begin the first of the Halloween Movie Nights! Halloween is huge for us. It's easily our favorite holiday and we are determined to make it the boys' favorite too. Tomorrow night we'll have a complete review for you of either Pooh's Heffalump Halloween or Clifford's Big Halloween. Tune in to find out which one we pick!

Register!!!

Terrifying......

Ok, I'm not trying to be a liberal bitch here, but I don't think I can help it. The more I read about Palin and her views and the more I watch her interviewed the more I realize that she is dumb as all get out. I'm not a scholar by any means; in case you weren't sure. You're reading blog by a stay at home mom who dropped out of college twice ok? But you know what? I'm not running for the second highest office in the land! It'd be one thing if they were just interviewing this lady and she couldn't answer the questions, but come on! She's in line to be the VP to a man who would be the oldest president in our history. So, you'd think she'd be reading up on some stuff before sitting down with Katie Couric right? Evidently not.

If the goal is to get voters she certainly has an odd approach. I'm not talking about the die-hard Republicans, they will vote with their party no matter what. I'm talking about the undecideds, the female undecideds who may seriously be considering McCain and Palin. Then the thought crosses my mind that she's not working very hard to seduce them with her intellect and that it really might not matter too much anyway - they may still go to her because she has that "every woman" appeal. Ahhhhhh!!!!! Nightmares ensue or worse yet, I can't sleep because I'm up fuming about her latest answer to "What are some other Supreme Court decisions you disagree with?" That's tonight's problem.

Make no mistake, there is no chance in the world that I was ever going to vote for McCain. But there are a lot of undecided voters out there, and a lot of female voters. For McCain to assume that "all we women" would be so mad at Obama for not adding Hillary to the ticket that we'd jump ship and run to him because he selected the pitbull in lipstick is just disgusting, insulting, and infuriating. We are a country of PEOPLE, not sexes. I will not vote for Palin because we both have vaginas and breasts. (Not to mention that she doesn't use her breasts for their intended purpose for her special needs, four month old baby- but that's another post.) I also wouldn't have voted for Hillary just because she has the same anatomy either. I want to vote for MY representative. The person who best embodies my beliefs of how this country should be. McCain and Palin are doing all women a great disservice by treating us like a homogeneous group. You don't have to do a lot of studying to realize that America is an enormous blend of people and an even larger variety of values, faiths, and ideals. To attempt to fit us all into a few simple categories is a mistake and a clear sign that McCain is truly out of touch with real Americans. Even a two time college drop out knows that.