Way Overdue

In case you haven't heard, things have been a little crazy for us, what with my stupid work schedules, getting kicked out of 1414 Main Street, battling depression, trying to find a place to move into, Sundance deadlines, moving, settling in, getting Danny out of his questionably aggressive preschool, finding a new preschool near the new house (wherever that might be), heading back east, South by Southwest deadlines, more stupid work schedules, Christmas, more stupid work schedules.

Well, if you look back into May (wow), you will start to see some "new" posts that we simply could not manage the time to post. I will try to add a couple new ones per day.

Merry Christmas!

It's been a while - sorry about that!  

So this is Matty, our little man, these days.

And this is Danny, our slightly bigger man, these days, in a box we were using to move houses (which we did Dec 1!).

We will post more soon, we promise!

Tehachapi

We drove up with Pops to Tehachapi on Friday, and it was pretty awesome.  About 2 hours north, past Edwards Air Force Base, past Palmdale, through the desert and past lots of Joshua Trees, Tehachapi is a pretty charming little town in the middle of nowhere known for its apples and the Tehachapi Loop (one of the Seven Railroad Wonders of the World, according to Pops).

We stopped for lunch first, at Red House BBQ, and it was incredible.  Almost worth the trip alone.  Not only did they have Teepees in the back, which delighted the kids to no end...

But the BBQ really was as good as you'd get in Texas.  Pops and I got pulled pork sandwiches and mac and cheese, and Dave got one of every meat and basically stuffed his face.  The other picture is of him in mid-bite, which he asked me to delete.

















After that it was on to the Tehachapi Loop.  Frankly, I was expecting a big museum and picnic tables, but instead we found ourselves at a little pull-off of a windy road, with a cliff that overlooked this wonder of engineering. 





Trains can't climb hills at too steep a grade, so the Tehachapi Loop is a way for the train to gain altitude in less space.  It basically loops around on itself in order to get over the mountains.

Danny quickly decided we needed to get closer to the tracks, so down the hill we went, into the chaparral.  The environment was truly beautiful.

We parked ourselves in the front row just in time to see a huge, hundred-car train lumber up the hill. 

Time to go, but before we did, we did a little apple picking at the only place open.  It was run by an old vet-type dude who lived in a mobile home on the orchard.  He sold abandoned library books for a quarter and homemade apple muffins for a dollar.  We ran around, picking a bag full of red and golden delicious apples and were happy to give him the $3 for the 3 pounds.

 

And then we were on our way home.  Both guys conked out in the car.  Mom too. 

The Butler Boys (China version)

Chinese acrobats in training!

What Did You Do Today?

Aw, nothing.  Just went to the beach...

Wait, what's that...?  Far, far in the distance...?

IS THAT THE SPACE SHUTTLE??

SO BEYOND AWESOME!!

And then it flew by AGAIN!  At this point, I was tearing up and about to start screaming USA!  USA!  USA!

See ya later, Endeavor!

(And see ya later pants!)

Matty in a Circle

Matt's First Day

Well, not to downplay it at all, but Matt has been ready for this day for over a year.  "I want to go to school!" he'd say, every single day.  So, finally, yesterday, it was time to go to school.

Getting Ready...

(He had his first-day bear shirt all ready to go, and then when I went in to get the camera, he'd climbed into the front garden and it was black with dirt.  This doggie shirt was a last-minute save, but still pretty darn cute.)

Can't wait to get there...

Standing outside...

Booking down the ramp...

And he jumped right into the classroom.  Within 10 minutes they asked me if I was ready to leave.  I wasn't!  I asked if I could stay through circle time, and Matt hardly noticed I was there.

Here's Nancy giving him some snuggles.

Playing with Magnus.

Circle time (video to follow)!

Snack time!

Outside!

And then I said, "OK Matt, I'm taking off."

"See you later, Mommy," he said.  So I left!  And I kind of didn't know what to do with myself!

I picked them both up at 5, and since I'd promised them ice cream in celebration (which Danny remembered and reminded me about forty-two times), we took the stroller to Abbot Kinney and had some gelato.  Chocolate chip and chocolate, split for each of them.

And that was that. 

A Great Party Indeed

It is hot, hot, hot here in LA.  Our house always has a tough time dealing with the heat due to just terrible insulation or lack thereof.  But we are really in the worst of it here.  Three fans going full-time, a window-opening campaign that starts in the morning, avoids the direct sun as it moves across the house, and ends every day with every single possible opening and fans pushing air (and flies) out.

The kids took a long bath tonight.  It was a very busy day.  We had a visit from Matty's Bear teacher, Geovanna, today, and we had a great time.  We love Geovanna.  She was Danny's Bear teacher, and we miss her a lot.  She is very kind and very, very sweet.  When Danny was having a tough time at dropoff, seeing Geovanna and her warm embrace always helped a lot. 

But today was Matty's day with Geovanna, and they played Magna Tiles, and read a book or two, and we shared a big bowl of popcorn.  Danny was a little jealous, and wanted in on the playtime, so I took him out to the hammock and we talked about when he was just starting as a Bear and Geovanna came to visit him, when he was small.  ("I'm still small!!" he said in response.)

Tomorrow is Matty's first day of school.  Obviously I was such a wreck with Danny, but with Matty I am basically 99% excited.  I know he's going to be cuddling up a storm with both Geovanna and Nancy - he's still a little guy.  But he can't wait to stay, and they can't wait to have him, and well, it's all good.

So busy day plus hot and sticky means looooooong bath.  And as few clothes as possible.  I gave Danny a pair of pj shorts only, and Matty a pj shirt and a diaper only, and said "Guys, it's hot.  Let's keep the clothing to a minimum."

Danny's response, as he splayed himself out on the couch with arms flung overhead:  "I have only pj shorts, and Matty has only a pj top.  This is going to be a great party."

FIN

Welcome Back!

A:  I re-did the train tracks yesterday, which has led to Matty climbing up onto the train table, to really take advantage of the configuration.

B:  We're back to potty training Matty, which means diaper-free livin' for a while.

A+B=

David:  "Oh Matty, did you do what I think you just did?"
Matty:  "Sorry, Daddy."
Danny (from the bedroom):  "What happened?"
Me:  "Matty [REDACTED] on the train table."
Danny (running out at full speed)"  "Oh man, I gotta see this!!!"

Well, I Guess He Can Write

So Matty invited me up to the top bunk (Danny's bunk) to cuddle this morning.  There we were, snuggling away, when up crawled Dan with this sign and a roll of tape.

















You might have to click on it to really see the word "STOP."  The "T" is upside down, and the "P" has a short tail and is backwards, but, well, my mind is a little blown.

Officially, there is a new rule up top.  "Only kids, and girls.  No babies."  - Sez Danny.

Update:

Caught on Tape!

Hey Danny, What's Your Favorite Color?

Here our young director was selecting the cars worthy of being eaten by the Magnatile robot.

Fourth of July

We spent the day with our friends the Piro/Jarvis family, and it was awesome.  Their daughter Carmen is a Penguin with Danny, and they have a 2-year old Francesca who is Matty's first real friend.  All four kids play together so well.  We're entering the (dreaded, let's be honest) stage where certain boy energy from other certain unnamed kids can whip both Danny and Matt into a frenzy - making playdates with them (him) actually more stressful than anything.  But with these girls, we actually really have time to have a meal and a conversation.  It's delightful. 

They live in a really sweet neighborhood in Culver City called Lindberg Park.  There is a parade and a big block party after, and then the city (an independent city within LA County) shoots off fireworks that you can see from their backyard.

Here are Matty and the Piro girls in the bounce house.



Awesome!

Camouflage Pants

So Matty is potty training, as you all know, so he wears a oversized t-shirt around. That way, he can run outside and not flash his unmentionables at the neighbors.

This morning Danny was extremely intent making something, which I eventually realized was this - some "Camouflage Pants" that would let him disappear into anything he wanted.  This makes sense if you really think about it, since the tape is invisible.

So as he was putting the final touches on his Camouflage Pants (meaning using up the entire roll of tape), Matty asked to put these boots on.

Oh, Where Did My Baby Go?

This morning I was awoken by not just Danny, per usual, but by two little ones.

"I DIIIIIIIID IT!!!"  yelled Matty.  The "it" clearly being climbed out of bed on his own.  Danny then explained, "He climbed into my bed, then down the ladder!!!"

Everything in our house is seriously the most exciting thing ever.

Today after Matt went down for his nap, Danny and I were playing hide and seek a little too loudly.  I start hearing the strangest sound.  Is it a mouse?  A squirrel in their room?  Did Possy get up in there?

I open the door to find Matt standing there, trying to work the doorknob.

"I DIIIIIIID IT!!!!  I'm BIG!"

Yes you are, little man.  Yes you are.

Diaper-Free!

Look at this proud big boy.  It's the first steps, not through nap or sleeping yet, but we had a diaper-free day, including trip to drop Danny off at school!

Garden Bounty

Today's harvest, and the lunch we made after!

The View From Up Front

Danny is now officially a Penguin; he graduated from Bearhood on Wednesday.  Still am not sure how and why they chose these two animals, but whatevs.  We gave tearful hugs to Nancy and Geovanna, who have been quite wonderful to our young Daniel and taught him lots, but mostly how to be a good citizen.  But it's time to move on to a new classroom, new teachers, and most importantly, a new fort with two sides (according to Danny)!!!  There's also a fish there named Nemo.

Matty starts in September, and Danny is particularly excited to have "my baby Matty" being a Bear.  Having "his baby" at school has given Danny a bit of cache among the preschoolers.  I expect to hear many stories of the two of them checking in on each other, probably all day long.  It's going to be pretty sweet.

Also, in this week's episode of As Our House Turns, the "multiple interested parties" have turned into zero offers, so we are spared a little longer.  It's the illusion of being spared, perhaps, but all I really ever wanted was to get through next April - when David's pension is secured and we are nearly through the financial hit of two kids in preschool at the same time.  We never planned on staying in our house past then, but it would be nice to stay as long as possible until then.

We've looked at a few houses, both to buy and to rent.  Nothing good so far, but now we can take our time a little bit and wait for the frenzy of the summer season to die down.

And let's be honest - my tomatoes.  I would have chained myself to the bulldozer if they tried to tear down our garden before those tomatoes were ripe.

Westchester, where the livin' is easy

Dan and I spent the day down in Westchester trying to sell some our old junk valuable belongings that we felt we no longer needed in something that they call in Westchster, a "yard sale". We took a huge car load of stuff down to the Fergusons (Shane's family), who were participating in a 5 household yard sale. Clearly, after spending the day trying to reclaim items that we were trying to sell, Dan needed to take a break by lounging in the pool in the front yard. We sold somewhere in the vicinity of $150-$200 (thanks to two old photos of The Beatles that inherited from an old roommate and we unloaded a lot of stuff (buyers were waiting on the street before 7am even though the sale did not start until 8am).

Dan ended up get his first real sunburn, due mostly on my negligence in not applying sunscreen, oh, about 4 hours earlier. But it's a fair exchange considering he got his first real lesson in capitalism.

Garden 2012

(Ignore the broccoli, which has now become sacrificed to whatever bugs are eating it.)

The organic tomatoes we planted are flourishing like nothing I've ever seen.  We ate a handful of the cherry tomatoes today and they were insane. 

We've had a few batches of string beans already, and they keep coming.

We also planted two strawberry plants, and get one or two every day.  Yum!