News: Holy crap, he's assisted-walking!

This just in, Henry is walking solo power (read: no hand holding of parents) with the assistance of a steady object, such as a coffee table or couch. Not only can he pull himself up, a trick he has mastered in the last few weeks, he can also sit down once he's standing. The landing is a bit rough at times, and he often seems a little shocked by the plop, but he can do it. Full steam ahead now, I guess.

Things to do before I start school

1. clean house
2. have party
3. complete required reading
4. send requested docs to school
   
5. spend time with Henry
6. have a massage
7. get a pedicure
8. finish addressing Christmas cards
9. write and print holiday newsletter
10. shop for Christmas and birthday presents
    
11. have an actual date sans kid with husband
12. donate old stuff to Goodwill
13. start constructing Henry's first year book
14. scrapbook Henry's first year pictures
15. go camping
16. set up study area at home
17. research transportation options and purchase bus pass if needed
18. go to Montana to visit folks
19. have second photo session with Henry
20. help Henry walk unassisted
21. catch movies at the theatre
22. have lunches with friends
23. vacation in Southern Utah with Ann
    
24. blog
25. start new law blog
26. hold contest to name new law blog
27. be envious of people who have kids and careers all figured out
28. exercise
29. go for bike rides pulling Henry
    
30. order prints of Henry for photo album
31. begin creating pages for Henry's second year scrapbook
    
32. learn how to create homework-related podcasts to listen to during commute
33. continue swimming lessons with Henry
34. stock freezer with homemade dinner options for Darr, Henry and I
35. create list of chores to be completed daily once in school
36. hire folks to put up trim in Henry's room and have it painted
37. hold garage sale
    
38. return borrowed baby items to respective owners
39. meet Darr for lunch
40. move Henry's crib to his room
41. train Beauty to sleep in Henry's room on new dog bed
42. host bridal shower for best friend
43. have windshield replaced in Mini
44. wash patio and get grill working

Monsieur Henry meets Cirque du Soleil

Future job prospect #274: Cirque du Soleil performer from Christie on Vimeo.

Still longing...

photo credit: Jim Bourg/Reuters

To see them on the same gosh darn ticket. Aren't they fabulous looking together?

Recurring conversation with moms

I have this conversation with moms over and over again - do you know if you have an ugly baby? - and about half think you absolutely know and the other half feel that you might suspect you have an ugly baby but you're so blinded by love you don't see the ugly. With this in mind I did a Google search for "ugly baby" and came up with this.

Baby signs

Darr's co-worker asked him about signing with your baby so I thought I'd post what we've been reading to learn how to do this with Henry. So far we haven't had any signs come back to us but we're currently practicing the following words:

• milk
• kitty
• more
• eat
• drink
• dog

My First Baby Signs
The good: It's a board book (there are a series of them from the same authors) so you and baby can read it together without having to keep the pages out of baby's reach. Also, babies love to look at the faces of other babies and this book is full of 'em, which helps keep baby interested. The book provides you with basic words and describes how to make each sign. Since it also shows baby making the signs, you can get an idea of what to look for from your own kid.
The bad: Each book only has a handful of words. And because it is created for babies, there isn't any information about how or why you might want to sign with babies.

BabyTalk
The good: There are a few chapters in the beginning that cover the basics (why, how, etc.) of signing with babies. It is littered with illustrations, which I like. It is easy to read and breaks signs into sections - starting, secondary, advanced. There is also a section on combining signs. If you're looking for a quick and painless entry into signing with your baby, this is the book. The bad: Darr called this one "Baby Signs for Dummies" because it is beyond easy to read and I think he hates the goofy illustrations.

Baby Signs (available at Powell's for under $10)
The good: The thinking person's book on baby signs, full of all sorts of information. (Noodle's mom lent us this book.) I like the Ten Steps to Success section. It also covers what progress you can expect and outlines how to recognize when your baby is ready to learn signs. The bad: It's a little more word-intensive so if you have been deprived of sleep lately, it might be too taxing on the brain. There are illustrations but they aren't nearly as cute as the ones in BabyTalk.

Farts are shit without the mess

You will be missed, George.

Three years ago today

We got married.

Yes, I am a very white person. Almost blindingly white, no?

eek!

Lifted from xkcd

Taking the thought out of posting

I am still working to complete daily posts for the entire year since I signed up to be a part of Blog 365. Occasionally, I run into writer's block and can't think of anything else I need or want to write about. That's why I like memes. I was tagged by (self-proclaimed "occasionally brilliant", although I think she's always brilliant) VDog to complete this meme. And so, to help fill my quota and play along, I shall do so now. Here are six random things about me. Enjoy.

1. Whenever I leave the house, I lock the door and then, to ensure the door is REALLY locked, I will sort of push the door with my shoulder - Yep, it's locked - and then go on my way.
2. I got my dad's Mustang GT up to 105mph when I was a teenager. I also bent one of his fancy rims (and spent my first paycheck at my new job to order a replacement), and kept it a secret from my dad at my mom's urging.
3. I don't like to sleep without socks on. I'll do it, but I don't like it.
4. If I had more of an entrepreneurial spirit, I'd open up my own pie shop and call it CupPies. (They'd be small, individual pies. Like cupcakes but pies, get it?)
5. I used to eat tuna fish sandwiches when I was younger but I'm so anti-condiments now, I can't bring myself to ever eat one again. Ever.
6. When I see an open drawer or cabinet door in a room I must close it. I believe this stems from the "Were you born in a barn?" mantra I heard quite frequently when growing up.

And now, it's your turn! I am tagging the following folks to participate. Here are the rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.
6. Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

Amber @ The Wagners Five
Leah @ Herzing Luv
Svetla @ The Princess Bloggeries
Ms. A @ McMiller PDX
Megan @ Casa de TiVo
Sara @ Noodle's Adventures

Via Delizia revisited

I met fellow mom Amber (of The Wagners Five fame) for dessert and wine at Via Delizia in the Pearl. It was just as good as the first time Henry and I visited it with Ms. A and Ms. E.B. shortly after the babies were born. In some respects better as I got to leave Huck in his father's care for the evening. While we did spend an inordinate amount of time talking about the kids and our various family happenings, we were also able to chat about non-child related stuff. It is always a pleasure to have those types of discussions. Talks that remind you that you are a being outside of your child with interests that extend beyond the latest parenting trend or what is the best <insert child item here> to buy for your kid. I can't say it was a pledge per se, but I do believe we will try to get together more often. At least until I start school and life as I know it will cease to exist and what free time I can rustle up will be spent with Henry who will undoubtedly be wondering who the heck I am.

That mom

I'm that mom who forgets to turn off her cell phone when at storytime.
I'm that mom who shows up late.
I'm that mom who lets her baby bonk his head.
I'm that mom who doesn't have treats readily available.
I'm that mom who can't remember things.

Grandparents

Too soon

I swear it seems this kid will be walking any day now. We've transitioned from the firm hand hold to walking with Henry just grasping our fingers. He's a little wobblier since we aren't offering as much assistance but the movement is all coming from him. Watching babies grow is truly amazing.

Garfield minus Garfield

Who would have guessed that when you remove Garfield from the Garfield comic strips, the result is an even better comic about schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and the empty desperation of modern life? Friends, meet Jon Arbuckle. Let's laugh and learn with him on a journey deep into the tortured mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against loneliness in a quiet American suburb.

Click here for more.

Recipe Corner: Fruit Salad

Brother Nick: "What's that?"
Me: "A grape."
Brother Nick: "Oh. It tastes funny."
Mom: "It's the blueberries."

Wrong. It's the cardamom. This salad is perfect for visiting relatives. I would recommend, if you don't know what to look for, that you ask the produce person to help you select nectarines that are ripe for eating.

Ingredients:
4 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon grated zest from 1 orange
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
3 medium nectarines, pitted and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 3 cups)
9 ounces large green grapes, halved pole to pole (about 2 cups)
1 pint blueberries
1-2 tablespoons juice from 1 lime

Directions:
Combine sugar, zest, and cardamom in large bowl. Using rubber spatula, press mixture into side of bowl until sugar becomes damp, about 30 seconds. Gently toss fruit with sugar mixture until combined. Let stand at room temperature, stirring occasionally, until fruit releases its juices, 15 to 30 minutes. Stir in lime juice to taste and serve.

Amazing Brain Experience

Hat tip Concurring Opinions

An OMG moment

The United States Department of Agriculture won’t allow American beef producers to test their cattle for mad cow disease. The Agriculture Department argued that the tests should be prohibited because if one company started using them, consumer demand would drive all companies to use them, and that would add to the price of beef.

Uh.

Hmmm.

That's a puzzler.

The agency in charge of food safety says that you can't test the food for bad stuff.

We're the government, and you can't do this because -- wait for it -- the people want you to.

That's ... insane.

This is from The New York Times

Common errors in English

My new favorite website: Common Errors in English. I knew there was a reason I always wanted to write "towards" instead of "toward". It's because I studied English Literature and those darn Brits write it with an "s". I could spend 100 hours or better reading through all of these.

Finally

Monsieur Henry met his grandma and grandpa Glynn this evening. They are currently staying at Miss Amelia's house but everyone will be joining us tomorrow for dinner. Our weekend is going to be pretty grandparent-centric. I'll post pics later.

Month Eight

Dear Henry,

You're eight months, kiddo! There are so many noteworthy moments to write about - your first road trip to Canada, eh?, learning to crawl, closely followed by figuring out how to pull yourself up to stand, your baby babbling that leads me to believe you will be very social in the future, sleeping consistently in your crib at night (although truth be told we are having an issue with naps, as in you don't take them), and, perhaps best of all, hugging. You hug now. I originally thought the sound of your laughter was the absolute cutest thing in the entire universe but getting a hug from you is even better. I am fairly certain combining the hugging with the laughter would cause our heads to explode from adorableness overload.You are still a rather skinny fellow. Probably we won't ever see you sporting the chubby baby cheeks many of your friends have, and that's okay. On the food front you disliked broccoli until we combined it with sweet potatoes. Just this morning you voraciously consumed an entire mango for breakfast. It's a close second to your absolute favorite of mashed bananas and blueberries. So far you willingly try everything once. But if your initial reaction is less than favorable it's a bit of a challenge to get you to try something twice at the same sitting. Case in point, peas. You were not as enamored with peas as we thought you'd be. We are still working to get you signing. When I attempt to practice signs with you while eating I receive the "Stop signing and feed me, woman!" look from you. It's very clear the message you are conveying. Perhaps we won't need signs after all. Or maybe you are just using the Jedi mind trick. Hard to say...You move frighteningly fast and it is somewhat scary as we have yet to baby proof the house to protect you from all of the stuff lurking in the cabinets and drawers. The first night you stood up on your own you were in your crib being a bit of a pill (to borrow an adjective from your great grandma Glynn) and not sleeping when I heard you rustling about - we knew you could pull yourself up on your knees. I went in to check on you and there you were triumphantly standing, hanging on the bars of your sleep prison, smiling at me. I had to call your pops in to see that you were, indeed, standing on your own two feet. We promptly dropped the bottom of the crib to keep you from using your head weight to fling yourself over the side. You have a penchant for bonking your head and don't require any assistance in acquiring further head traumas. Crawling is nearly mastered. You can convert from a sitting position into a crawl and head out on your own. So, unless we decide to use straps, there's really no stopping you now. Two of the three animals in the house are less than excited about this new development.Yesterday, we had our first pool experience. The initial toe dip was not appreciated but you performed well once the other moms and babies showed up. It was touch and go the few times I handed you over to the swimming instructor so he could show me the proper holds for various entries into the water but you quieted down quickly once you were returned to me. By the end of our first class you had gone under water three times. While hanging in the pool with the other classmates, you chatted. A lot. I'm hoping this is a sign you'll have the kind of charismatic nature that helped Bill Clinton get elected to the White House. It'd be pretty cool to have a president for a son but no pressure, kid.You have spent two days in daycare, trial runs to see how you'd do and what we can expect from you as parents. In another month you'll start full time. (I have recommended summer reading to begin and finish before school starts in August.) You were so absorbed in meeting your peers when I dropped you off in the morning you hardly noticed when I left or when I peeked in at you one last time before heading out. While I enjoyed having a few hours to myself I missed you terribly. I imagine I'll be the clingy one once fall is here and I have fewer hours to spend with you each day.We're currently working on establishing a daily routine. We had one when you were a wee bit younger but somehow we've strayed away from that schedule. As a result, you are sometimes crankier than we'd expect given your usual pleasant demeanor. The cool thing is, though, sometimes you are so exhausted when we return from doing chores or running errands, that I can twist and bend and pull and heave you out of the back of the Mini and you'll stay asleep through all of it. And you'll continue to sleep as we trek indoors and keep sleeping all the way until I lie you down in your crib. That's when you choose to wake up. If I'm speedy with the soothing and binky application, you will oft fall back asleep. You need your sleep, son. I promise to wake you if something truly amazing happens so you don't miss it.
Life with you is so much better than life before you. I can't wait to see what happens next.

Love,
Mom

It's fun to make fun of fox "news"

Protect our children!

Where'd we be without Wikipedia

This is how nerdy Darr and I are. We're watching Weeds Season Three and U-Turn just delivered a case of black tar heroin to Nancy's house. And I'm all like "but why is it black?" and Darr's like "I don't know." So we google "black tar heroin" and right at the top is Wikipedia's answer. Wikipedia rocks.

Water boy

Henry had his first swim lesson today. It went something like this:

9:45am - Mandatory shower before pool exposure is clearly disliked by baby
9:50am - Sit by side of pool and allow baby to absorb the atmosphere
9:57am - Dip baby's toes in pool then apologize to baby for dipping toes in pool
10:00am - Get in pool and bring baby along for the ride
10:03am - Listen to baby babble to other babies in pool - he is one social creature, this kid
10:07am - Sing London Bridge is Falling Down as walk through water holding baby
10:10am - Learn proper hold for 1-2-3 Swim! game
10:13am - Skim baby over water keeping head above water
10:16am - Hand baby to swim instructor
10:17am - Watch baby's first underwater experience
10:18am - Soothe baby when he is returned to me
10:20am - Cross pool with wiggly baby on his back
10:22am - Sit baby on side of pool for the Humpty Dumpty game
10:25am - Sing Hokey Pokey song and place various baby parts in floating hoop
10:28am - Practice putting baby underwater
10:30am - Hand baby to stranger to get out of pool then apologize to baby for handing him to a stranger
10:31am - Recommended shower after pool exposure is clearly disliked by baby

A Cousin Birthday Story

Yesterday I got to attend my second birthday party this year. It was for Gavin. He's my cousin. He got a lot of gifts. Dad thinks gifts are nuts but I like 'em.I got to meet a new friend. He's my cousin's cousin. Mom was wondering if that made him my cousin-in-law or second cousin or something. He's pretty cool.
My dad got to show off some of my tricks. My parents tell me I have good core muscles but I'll be darned if I know what those are.I wasn't the only baby being manhandled. Delano's dad put him upside down and shook him for spare change, which my dad says is a good idea.Gavin wasn't too excited 'bout opening up all of those gifts. Probably he figured he'd be too tired to play once he was done and found that terribly upsetting.I didn't much mind it, though, 'cuz I got to eat a teething biscuit.

Operation Father's Day Present

Spoiler Alert: If your name is Darren and you sired a child with Christie and that child's name is Henry Finn, do not read any further. You promised you wouldn't read the blog until tomorrow morning after a night's rest. Weasel.

So, Darr hates gifts. Don't ask me how someone comes to be this way. We've been together for (Jesus!) nearly fifteen years and I still don't understand. Suffice it to say, this is a continuous argument because I LOVE gifts. I love, love, love gifts. Particularly giving gifts. At every opportunity, I'm shopping for one gift for somebody we know. I can't help myself. But for Darr's first Father's Day gift I wanted to find something to give that Henry could be involved with. This requirement is rather limiting considering Huck Finn is not even eight months old yet. And then, after a moment of My Kid Could Paint That inspiration, I figured out what to do. A Huck Finn original painting. The very first one.

To begin, it is necessary to prepare the workspace. This can be accomplished by taping down large sheets of scrapbook paper to the floor and stacking the supplies within reach.
Next, strip the artist baby to his skivvies. Make sure the room is the appropriate temperature to accommodate the nearly-naked baby.
Finally, let baby loose with paints. An adult must be present to ensure artist baby does not 1. consume any paint and b. crawl away from designated painting area.
Once the painting is dry, take it to a local frame shop and buy an appropriately sized frame for hanging.

Today's Food: Mac n' cheese, broccoli, blueberry and banana mash, and saltine cracker

mac n' cheese (actually eaten on 8 June 2008)

broccoli (actually eaten 9 June 2008)
(for another glimpse of his reaction to broccoli, click here)

blueberry banana mash - a new favorite (actually eaten on 12 June 2008)

saltine cracker

Decency and Privacy

So you might have heard about this judge in LA that was hosting a porn website or whatever.  Totally wrong.  Well, apparently that's totally wrong -- this was the forth or fifth story about this in my blog roll this evening, and the only one which takes a good clear look at what's going on.

Of course we know we can't always (or often) trust what we read.

VIVA LA LIBERTÉ!

Another Supreme Court decision goes against Bush! Language from the latest:

Within the Constitution’s separation-of-powers structure, few exercises of judicial power are as legitimate or as necessary as the responsibility to hear challenges to the authority of the Executive to imprison a person ... The laws and Constitution are designed to survive, and remain in force, in extraordinary times. Liberty and security can be reconciled; and in our system they are reconciled within the framework of the law.

This is Justice Kennedy writing for the majority in Boumediene v. Bush

fightthesmears.com

"What you won't hear from this campaign or this party is the kind of politics that uses religion as a wedge, and patriotism as a bludgeon -- that sees our opponents not as competitors to challenge, but enemies to demonize. Because we may call ourselves Democrats and Republicans, but we are Americans first. We are always Americans first."
--Barack Obama, June 3, 2008


We at Life at the condo are now 100% behind Mr. Obama. Because of this, we are tossing around the idea of hosting a fundraiser. Does anyone have any interest in attending?

It never fails

No matter how little sleep Monsieur Henry got the night before...

No matter how quickly Darr prepares for work in the morning...

No matter how quietly I sneak out of bed to grab some breakfast...

Henry inevitably wakes up fifteen to twenty minutes after the front door closes and it's just the two of us and I've got as close to zero me-time as you can get. This makes for one VERY crabby wife. Just ask my husband. Poor guy had to listen as I imploded last night when, nearing eleven o'clock, our guy was no closer to bed than he was three hours earlier. THREE HOURS EARLIER. My response was to drive with baby to Tigard to return the bottles and cans that have been stacking up in our parking spot downstairs. While this journey did little to bring Henry closer to sleep, he did earn $2.65 for his piggy bank. And he learned it is literally never too late to recycle.

The many faces of Monsieur Henry

The Upside down pose

The Sideways yawn glance

The Forward and confident face shot

The Dubious glimpse

The "Pick me, teach! I know the answer" gaze with accompanying hand raise

The "I'll show you my teeth if you show me yours" smile

Another trip to the greatest bookstore on Earth

Henry and I went to Powell's today and found many books to buy.

For me:
The Audacity of Hope

For Henry:
Feelings to Share
Eloise Takes a Bath
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
How Do Dinosaurs Clean Their Rooms?
Rufus M.
Beyond the Deepwoods
Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late!

Action Jackson turns one

Happy birthday, little man.

This post is a wee bit early as Jackson doesn't actually turn one until June 10 but seeing as we attended his birthday party yesterday and there was cake eating involved, it seemed appropriate to upload the picture with his cake-covered face and wish him a happy birthday.

Dengan bayi!

Guess what language "dengan bayi" is from this month's banner and win a prize! The first person to answer correctly wins.

What McCain has been up to

Ok, this guy is some weird sort of robotic-creepy. And check out that thing he's doing with his teeth. Is that a smile?

Deliver bottled hot water to dehydrated babies

Sexism Might Sell, But I'm Not Buying It!

Nifty Thing

Here's a nifty thing, this guy took a brief snippet of a speech from each candidate, and .... well, check it out. Christie got all three right.

This day in history

Before Rosa Parks, there was Homère Patris Plessy, who, 115 years ago today, was thrown off a train in Louisiana in 1892 for Sitting While Black. He took this case to the Supreme Court, who sadly upheld segregation by race. [Hat tip: IntLawGrrls]

Let's have a quick timeline:

• 1796 - George Washington leaves office (212 years ago)
  
• 1865 - Slavery formally abolished (143 years ago)
  
• 1892 - Supreme court upholds doctrine of separate but equal (112 years ago today)
  
• 1954 - A very famous case which reversed this decision (54 years ago)
  
• 2008 - Now we have a black president. (a tiny little bit in the future)
  

And things seem to move so slowly.

I've never been comfortable with how we define race. Plessy was "of mixed descent, in the proportion of seven eighths Caucasian and one eighth African blood" (Plessy v Ferguson pg 538) -- why was this considered significant enough to be remarked on in a US Supreme Court decision? -- and yet legally (albeit mostly past now), administratively (the infamous race checkbox), and culturally we insist on only two options: White OR Black.

And it is still today as it was then, any "black blood" (painful to even write that), and you're Black. This was memorably bemoaned by Public Enemy in "Fear of a Black Planet":

Black man, black woman, black baby
White man, white woman, white baby
White man, black woman, black baby
Black man, white woman, black baby

Barack Obama brings this into some focus, doesn't he.

You can see how confused I am. I just don't get it. I suppose we'll survive, but in the mean time, you know, we do whatever we do to survive.

Hells no, I ain't flyin'

As if it wasn't bad enough that I get a pat down for wearing a wire bra every time I go through airport screening. And by pat down, I mean some security female comes over to actually feel the wire. (As in, <insert touch of the bottom of the bra/boob here> Yep. It's a wire bra.) Now, I might get to suffer this indignity.

I swear, if I hear laughter from these people, I'm gonna go apeshit. YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME.

Click here to read more. And here.

Since you may be too tired to click through

Here is another quote from the piece Darr mentions in the previous post:

"Clearly, in an age when the dangers and indignities of Driving While Black are well-acknowledged, and properly condemned, Striving While Female – if it goes too far and looks too real — is still held to be a crime."

More press silliness

Another good post-Clinton recap here at the New York Times. It includes a link to this montage of talking heads which will just make you cry.

A nice quote:

If similarly hateful racial remarks had been made about Obama, our nation would have turned itself inside out in a paroxysm of soul-searching and shame. Had mainstream commentators in 2000 speculated, say, that Joe Lieberman had a nose for dough, or made funny Shylock references, heads would have rolled – and rightfully so.

Makes me sad.

The press took sides

First, don't you love how Fineman announced he was just a reporter, not an editorial writer, so he was going to keep his personal opinion out of his completely objective analysis that Clinton was just like the conniving Richard Nixon?

Read This -- They should be ashamed of themselves.

Saturday Night Live had it right

The Strangers

A few nights ago, after helping put Henry down for the night, I escaped the condo and caught The Strangers. If you haven't seen this movie and don't want to read anything about it that could possibly clue you in to what happens, stop reading now. If not, read on for...

The Strangers Lessons Learned

1. If your beloved asks you to marry him at the wedding of a friend and you say "no," don't then go with him to an isolated house to hang out for the night to talk. It is likely there are three strangers in masks who are in the area just looking for folks to terrorize and you'll be so upset about the dissolution of your relationship, you won't be thinking clear enough to escape them.

2. Masked strangers are exceptionally quiet and lurk in shadows. If you think there are masked strangers about, lock all the doors, turn on all the lights, stop playing the old vinyl records, and find whatever weapons you can. Also, never, ever set your cellphone down.

3. If a strange girl shows up at four in the morning and asks about her friend, Tamara, get the heck outta there. That's code for: "Hello. Me and my two masked friends are about to get killing-freaky up in here."

4. When killer masked strangers are afoot, put on your damn shoes. And it'll be best if they have ankle support. Lord knows with masked strangers nearby, it's likely you'll be instructed to run and if your feet aren't wearing proper gear, you're going to twist an ankle or step on broken glass. This will make escaping the clutches of the strangers with masks nearly impossible.

5. You best believe your girlfriend when she tells you she's seen people. Dismiss her and you'll likely be the first one the masked strangers start stabbing, which doesn't end well for you.

6. A mask sewn together with strips of cloth is infinitely more scary than painted masks that have a Betty Boop-esque quality. But I say try to avoid all of the above if you hope to survive the night.

7. When there are two of you and three crazy masked strangers intending to kill you, do not. I repeat, DO NOT, separate. Your chances of survival decrease significantly when you are alone.

8. Know how to shoot a gun if you go to an isolated house in the middle of the night when three masked strangers are in the neighborhood. Just be sure to know who you are shooting before pulling the trigger. Otherwise, you might be less one friend by morning. And that's no way to repay a friend for driving his ass out there to pick up your behind.

An e-mail from Clinton

Clinton Ready to End Bid and Endorse Obama

That's the headline in today's paper. It sure would've been nice if people could have been a little charitable and given her a few days to come to terms with the fact that her dream of being the first female president was over before lashing out at her for not immediately conceding defeat. The NY Times has a video clip about Clinton that is linked to this article. I recommend taking ten minutes to watch it.

And Slate had an article that outlines the good fortune Mr. Obama had during the campaign for the nomination.

Disappointed

I am becoming a hardened Clinton supporter, one who might refuse to vote for Obama in November. Here's hoping my husband can pull me back from the ledge.

Sad times

Someday, the country will recognize the true cost of its war on illegal immigration. We don’t mean dollars, though those are being squandered by the billions. The true cost is to the national identity: the sense of who we are and what we value. It will hit us once the enforcement fever breaks, when we look at what has been done and no longer recognize the country that did it.

More...

Stuff on my baby

And now from people who did not create Stuff on my Cat, I give ye Stuff on my Baby, the perfect driving home pastime.

Day two, also known as 'Apparently there are no naps in Canada'

If I was to describe our second day using one word, it would be "shopping". After a very tasty breakfast at our local favorite crêperie, La Bretagne, we hit Robson Street. This is a street that is not to be missed if you ever visit Vancouver B.C. We stopped by Roots (for kids) and found a pair of super cute overalls, Henry's first pair (see photo at right), among many other things. Since Henry had not had his usual morning nap, we left our gracious hostess to go back to the room to allow him time to sleep. On the way back to the apartment, because we are parents that believe in setting a good example for our child, we totally disregarded a private property sign on a gate of a playground near Jess's building. In the midst of having Henry take his first jaunt down the slide, we were booted out. The lesson I learned that I will someday teach Henry, in the event you are ever questioned about which building you are staying in, lie. Tell them you are visiting the Smiths on the seventh floor. By the time the lady figures out you are lying it won't matter because you will have been able to fulfill your wish of sliding down the slide.

What we didn't know before heading up to our northern neighbors is that there are no naps in Vancouver so even though Henry was visibly exhausted, sleep eluded him. When hanging out in the room was no longer exciting and fun for anyone, we met back up with Jess and drove over to 4th Street to peruse the baby stores in that area. (The two I remember are Crocodile, where I found a cool booster seat for when Henry gets a lot older (called Clek) and HipBaby, which had those hilariously inappropriate onesies I'm fond of.) We walked down to the beach and Henry got to consume his first grains of sand. The poor kid fell asleep with his head on my shoulder. Lucky for him, he woke three minutes later in time to try the yogurt gelato his dad bought from a gelato place we found on the way back to the car.

June Banner

here we go! and, er, yes we can!