home, sort of

We were in San Francisco on a family visit and neighborhood vetting tour recently. You can't go home again, but, seeing the city from an expat's perspective, I understand now why people enjoy living there, despite the cost of living (though you can argue that London and Tokyo would be worse).

What I loved:
- Considerably less traffic than I expected. Now, we drove during non-commuting hours and stayed in a residential neighborhood, but not once did I get the blood boiling sensation I get in Chicago or L.A.
- Great food can be found in holes-in-the-wall for very reasonable prices
- California chill-out attitude
- The cool little playground the kids and I frequented almost every day while we were there
- Dogs everywhere
- All of the renovations going on in Golden Gate Park. The massive Children's Playground at the east end is getting some groovy stuff in. If they still had the equipment that I used to climb on 30 years ago, I would be concerned.


What I didn't love:
- The insularity of the natives (best place to live according to you)
- The pushing out of lower income residents
- Ugly residential architecture
- Goofy public school lottery system
- Overall lack of diversity from a socioeconomic standpoint

That being said, I'd still want to move back if given the chance.

my favorite new saying

"Stupid should hurt."

Go on, spread the love!

what lives in the grass

Yesterday’s commuting conversation between me and the three year old:

Zee: Mommy, do you know what lives in grass?

Me: Hmmmm…worms? Worms live in grass?

Zee: No. Flowers!

Me: Right, flowers. Flowers live in grass. You’re absolutely right.

[Pause]

Zee: Doggie poo poo lives in grass, too.

no words necessary, just click on the link.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Vp-is6S_b_g

i dig my new job

I started a new job last Monday. Without giving away too much, I am writing and coordinating proposals for an E/A firm. It's corporate, but it's good corporate, meaning that there's a genuine desire to maintain a work/life balance and people generally are well-intentioned.

Ten years ago, I would've thought this was too square of a place to work. Having worked for "cutting edge" firms, I can say that, yeah, I landed in a good place. The problem with being cutting edge is that there is constant, unrelenting pressure to be cutting edge all the damn time. You can't. You just can't. But a lot of people think you can, and therein lies the problem. I'll take less stress in a less glam industry, thank you. I'm treated well, am respected by co-workers, have access to free coffee and water, leave at 5 p.m. and have the option of bringing the laptop home if I need to...not a shabby trade-off at all.

In other news, we're gearing up for our weeklong trip to SF. We've already got a full schedule - brunch here, birthday party there, dinner over that way. I'm looking forward to exploring my hometown with the minis. Not that they'll remember too much, but in a way, I'm sharing my experience as a kid with them.

M to the c to the D

I'll admit we are McDonald's patrons, a little more frequently than I like. A franchise is literally around the corner from our house, next to the Dairy Queen. The fast food temptation is a daily battle.

Our default purchases are:

D-Money - Royale with Cheese meal with a Coke

Zee - Chicken McNugget Happy Meal with apple juice and apple dippers.

Mr. O - Filet o' Fish, with most of the tartar sauce wiped off. I kid you not. He'll also help himself to some of my fries, as does Zee.

me - Big Mac meal with a Coke. Love that special sauce!

the vocabulary of a 17 month old boy

Our Mr. O has been diligently expanding his vocabulary. Below is a current list of favorite words.

snuh = snow

snah = snack

nana = banana, also a code word for "give me something that's good 'n' tasty to eat because I will expire from hunger in three seconds if you don't"

baba = bottle, of course. Can also be code for "sippy cup"

meh = milk

da = downstairs, also "what's that?", also an all-purpose term for anything for which we don't know the word yet

Mah! = Max, the name of one of our cats

Mah! = Coco, the name of the other cat

Cah! = cat

mama = mama

dada = daddy

duhduh = Zee

Duh! = duck

Cuh! = cow

aaaaaaarrrrrrrr = growling sound, can be related to polar bears, lions, tigers or bears in general. Occasionally related to pirates.

Dun! = done, as in "I'm done with dinner. I'll throw it on the floor if you don't clear my placesetting fast enough...oops, you're too late."

boh = book

baf = bath

No! = No!

i'm now a kids' tv connoisseur

Zee and I are into a new show called "Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!". The animation is reminiscent of the Powerpuff Girls. The stories are silly and good-natured with a soundtrack of feel-good-about-yourself pop which reminds me of the music you find on the original Scooby Doo cartoons as well as The Monkees.

The minis are also fans of "Jack's Big Music Show". A lot of the music seems to be written and performed by alt-music peeps who had kids somewhere along the way, or have encountered kids in a big way. Mostly pop, again, though I saw one hip hop-ish video at some point. How can you not like a show where Jon Stewart makes a guest appearance playing a reporter who is trying to interview a groundhog in honor of Groundhog's Day?

Top 5 Kids' Shows at the House

• Wow! Wow! Wubbzy
  
• Jack's Big Music Show
  
• The Wonder Pets
  
• Pingu
  
• Thomas & Friends (because we all need a little Anglican instruction once in a while)
  

today's question

Pirates or ninjas?

No, I'm not telling you the answer.

the sort of e-mail that

makes you feel like you're missing something. From a good friend who's going to grad school right now:

"I went to Iceland last week for four days with my studio, and had a
wonderful time there exploring the place and generating ideas for our
theoretical music venue."

Shouldn't I be the one who's writing that e-mail to everyone? Where did I go wrong?

when did I become such a sap?

Two of the most beautiful people I know - I'm talking full-package, all-around, inside and outside beautiful - just welcomed the birth of their second son and sent a Quicktime movie to all of us. I sat, watching and trying not to weep loudly, as the tiny one kicked, stretched and made newborn mouth movements. He has an older brother who's a couple weeks shy of 16 months old and who's also a beautiful, sweet little man.

This movie nearly sealed the deal for me having a third kid. Almost.

more clothing I will never wear, no matter how trendy it is

1. Neither skinny jeans nor leggings.
2. Any kind of tiered skirt, short or long.
3. Camisoles as outerwear.
4. Satin baseball style jackets.
5. Giant furry hats.

My Generation X has been searching for ways to differentiate itself in the parenting arena. You have your hipsters, queen bees and wannabees, the new radical stay-at-home movement for both dads and moms, the "why can't we be it all" post punk/goth baby disco contingent and a whole host of ways to differentiate oneself from the "typical" parent of the boomer and previous generations. We fight against overscheduling kids, jockeying for the one spot at the coveted school while pitching in to make the urban public school system work and eschew crass commercialism.

I've seen posts on not allowing kids to listen to crap pop music and banning branded merchandise. There are onesies emblazoned with snide witticisms and political stances. Any trendy piece of adult clothing can be had in mini. I am guilty in putting Zee in the Gap's "skinny jeans". Well, folks, they were on sale, and she's skinny - part of the 10th percentile club, dontcha know.

At the end of the day, are we any different? Does our dogmatic hipster, or what have you, attitude make us any better than the far right or overambitious parents who were molded in the '80s?

Even more so than the boomers, we want to maintain our individuality. In the end, we're all the same - hopessly in love with our spawn and wanting nothing but the best experience for them.

lofty goals

Even though I know better, I like checking my horoscope to see how often coincidence comes into play. This list contains my personal sign's resolutions for the year:

1) Allow true intimacy into your romantic relationships.

2) Open up your friendships to deeper trust.

3) Let new, fiery acquaintances enter your life in time to motivate you.

4) In September, your creativity will reach its peak, in time for you to resolve to accept any opportunity to make your hobby your work.

5) Allow yourself to believe in yourself - as much as others do.

I am completely fascinated by #4, namely because I don't have any hobbies per se.

sad = not happy

From a recent conver with Zee:

"Mommy?" [said in a small, dramatically quiet and emotion-laden voice]

"Yes, baby."

"I'm sad."

"Why are you sad?"

"Because I'm not happy anymore." [said in a matter-of-fact, yet mildly petulant and accusing manner]

There is a philosophical school of thought for this, though I can't think of it right now.

Mr. O's no longer the big cheese.

Mr. O has graduated from the infant to toddler room at daycare. Shocking news for him - he's no longer the big dude, and there are GIRLS in his room. His infant room was a bastion of testosterone for a year. Yet he learned how to blow kisses. He was a little put out by the transistion at first, but perks such as getting his own little chair and eating Cheerios with a spoon have won him over.

In related news, Zee was holding hands with one of the young men in her classroom, and they were running around and laughing maniacally when I went to pick her up. They were partners in a Go Fish tournament, and they must've done well. Her father is not pleased.

God-frickin'-dangit

Mr. O has some malady whereby his symptoms include not eating and general crabbiness. I have even asked him, rhetorically, "What. Do. You. Want?!" No response but wailing. There is nothing so frustrating in the world as a screaming child who can't quite communicate in complete sentences what the problem is. Hugs were no good. Offerings of graham crackers and bananas were met with an emphatic "no" via head shaking.

We'll ride it out, but this is one of those times where a magic cure-all elixir would be very helpful.

one of the better stories I've told my kids

We took the Christmas tree down last Saturday and took it over to the park for recycling. Everyone should do this. If you can get a tree in the house, you can take it to a recycling center.

D-Money was able to sneak it out without arousing suspicion. But keen-eyed Zee immediately noticed something was amiss when she walked into the living room.

"Mommy, where's the tree?"

"Daddy took it back to the forest."

"Why?"

"Because the tree lives in the forest and wants to go back to see its friends."

"Oh."

"We'll see the tree again next Christmas."

"Okay."

A bit of a lie but I don't think I can adequately explain recycling to a three year old. The fault is with me.

song in my head today

Morrissey's "Everyday is Like Sunday". Not a bad thing.

I forgot how much I like Spandau Ballet.

I am now obsessed with '80s music circa 1983. I'm listening to Spandau Ballet's "True", and yep, I still like the album. And who could forget the sample of the song proper in P.M. Dawn's "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss"?