Friday, July 25, 2008

because you can never have enough Colbert

Damn. MoveOn and ColorofChange really know how to do a petition delivery! Over 600,000 petition signatures in protest of Fox News' ridiculously racist coverage. Nas got so much coverage for this, it's amazing. And to top it off with a Billboard #1 AND an appearance on Colbert... Weds was a good night! Colbert was in top form here. And I have to say Nas' line that was approximately "I watch CBS and I see BS. Makes a brother wanna invest in PBS" was pretty great.

the comedy continues

The McCain campaign continues to be better than the Onion. Yesterday I could not stop laughing-- as Obama gave a speech before 200,000 in Berlin, McCain was also paying tribute to Germany. At the Fudge Haus in Ohio. The FUDGE HAUS.

This morning, he looked quite presidential posing at the sausage factory under the sign "Best of the Wurst." I'm telling you, The Onion staff might as well close up shop because reality is running circles around satire right now.

Giraffe Potty Magic

So, I told you below how Minkie has this fascination with giraffes pooping and I thought I'd leverage that into some potty action.

Um, it worked.

So, I put the giraffe by the potty and then showed her the giraffe pretend-pooping into the potty a couple times. This morning, we were playing the giraffe-potty game and cheering like mad for the giraffe. And also swinging her back and forth (which she ADORES-- she says, "Mama whee? Mama whee?" to ask if I'll swing her. (We don't swing her too hard or around in circles to avoid pulling out her shoulder.)

So I got inspired and said, "You sit on the potty JUST LIKE THE GIRAFFE and Dada and I will "whee" you!" So she runs over and sits on the potty (wearing her diaper). Then runs over for a swing. Then makes her giraffe do it, and asks for the giraffe to get a swing.

We do this a couple times, cheering like CRAZY every time she sits on the potty. Then I ask her if she'd take off her diaper and sit. She reluctantly agreed. But she agreed! AND SHE SAT!!! Then cheered like you have never seen two adults cheer before, and we swung her. And we did it oh ten more times.

This is a breakthrough! Here is the same girl who only yesterday Absolutely Refused to get near the thing without a diaper. She barely would sit on it fully clothed and not if the lid was open.

I heart that giraffe.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

three thoughts for the day

Mr. Giraffe...

1. My Plantronics Bluetooth wireless headset is COMPLETELY HORRIBLY FRUSTRATING because the thing WILL NOT STAY ON MY HEAD. My ears are apparently too small for it to hang properly and snugly fit. I do not have freakishly small ears. I Hate This Headset.

2. Minkie loves giraffes. Specifically, she is fascinated by pooping giraffes ever since she saw one at the Oakland Zoo. I'll admit that seeing a giraffe pooping, seeing all that poop fall from so high, is unforgettable even for an adult. For a 20 month old-- well, "poop" and "giraffe" are now inextricably linked.

So I got this for her from a fabulous Etsy seller.

I think it should be quite the motivator sitting next to her potty.

3. David Sedaris' Barrel Fever is good in print but even better on CD. The library is your friend for audiobooks.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Finally- peaceful mothering!

It has happened. My mom is off on her five week trip to India. For all the hand-wringing about how-will-we-cover-childcare, it has turned out GREAT. Know why? Because I can put a dress on in the morning and not be told I look a lot less fat in this one than yesterday's. Because I can feed my child - and myself- whatever the hell I think is good and not be second-guessed or criticized. Because I can walk around without a fight being picked every ten seconds.

HALLELUJAH!!! My mom is out of the country, y'all!!

Yes, it is that bad. I'm slowly realizing how much utter crap I've been putting up with for years now, but especially the last months when we've been living here in the 'burbs with my parents to save. Financially, this is going to be worth it. We're planning to buy a home in beautiful Berkeley, which is still ridiculously expensive and utterly worth it to us. Not everyone loves Berkeley, but I'd venture to say that many people also don't really know it.

For those who don't know Berkeley, or only know of the Free Speech Movement or the campus area-- it is beautiful, and kid-friendly, free of tacky-ass McMansions but with homes built by real architects, and easy access to SF, fantastic bookstores and truly fabulous clothing and shoe boutiques (I don't want Nordstrom or other big boxes when I can get one of a kind quality goods at boutiques like Riki, Lava 9 and Earthly Goods. One of a kind artisan quality is also why I'm a huge window shopper at etsy.com).

I could go on but suffice it to say this is where we want home base to be. Yeah, there's crime, self-important asses, fog, and parking hassles. Yet, here in the 'burbs is where my car got broken into, not in Berkeley. (!) There are way too many self-important asses everywhere. The heat can be HORRID (and gives my mom the excuse she always wants to keep the every single window SHUT, every shade pulled, and to sit depressedly in the dark- yeah, it sucks). And it's nice to live where there are too many fun places to eat and shop and not enough places to park, than where there's too much parking for a few crappy strip mall stores.

Ok, SO! Four more weeks of freedom. Then dear readers, who knows what will happen. Perhaps she'll return from India transformed. Perhaps not. All I know is, at least I'll have this sweet sweet memory.

Monday, July 21, 2008

Omega!

ACK- it has been a busy month! I traveled to the Omega Institute last weekend for a MomsRising.org workshop. It was great- we have such smart, talented members. In between our sessions, we could take free yoga classes, or meditate, or walk the grounds, or eat local organic ice cream in the cafe, or enjoy fab vegetarian meals...

Everyone was genuinely friendly, and when I say genuine, it's a good thing because there's a way in which these hippie enclaves can sometimes feel, well, fake, exclusive (especially if you're not white), and way too woo-woo. But this seemed like a grounded place with nice people.

And whatever woo there was, was grounded in thousands of years of yogic and other teaching, so it wasn't just pulled out of someone's karmic butt. I appreciate that.

I even made some signficant strides of my own, reading (yet again) Pema Chodron's Wisdom of No Escape (which I can't recommend highly enough to people who are about to give birth and/or become a parent- even if all you remember is the title, it will help!).

Here are some pictures of the lovely weekend.


Welcome! The lovely dining hall is just behind this field.


My shared cabin.


Pond next to the stairway leading to the sanctuary.