Little Roller Girl

So we have now learned that Camille's love for shoes extends to roller skates. Roller skating is tricky for those of us who have been walking for 30+ years, you can only imagine how it must be for someone who has only had her legs under her for just over a year. Neverthless, this minor obstacle did not stop her from wanting to roller skate with the big kids on a recent outing to the roller rink. This kid kills me.

PS. Is it really possible that roller rink decor has remained unchanged since my fourth grade year? Gotta love it!

Get Back To Where You Once Belonged

It is a trip having a kid...just plain and simple. It makes you try with all your might to remember back when you were their age and what it felt like. Before this hostile world started chipping away at the soft parts of your being and before those chips made you go to the flea market and pick up some right nice armour to protect yourself. Oh I know that sounds dramatic but lets face it, having a two year old makes you realize that you have somehow become a dried up, jaded ol' crone without even noticing. And more than that, it makes you strive to get back to where you once belonged so they can stay like this forever.

All of this reflecting lately has made me so glad my hi-tech mom found Dropbox and has been scanning photos from my childhood. It is so cool to walk down memory lane at the same time you are helping your own kid create memories of her own. It turns out that even 38 years doesn't change much in the way of family.


Dad in Viet Nam before he met mom

Mom in Berkeley before me



Carl and Augs, SF 2007



Me and Augs, LA 2008

Mom and me, Rocky Point, OR 1973



Camille and me, LA 2009



Me, Palm Springs 1974

Camille and me, Palm Springs 2010

Wendy and me on my 2nd birthday 1975

Camille, Carl and me on her 2nd birthday 2011



The Doggy Days Of Summer

 

At last we have found a dog beach that doesn't reek of stinky poo and have you clutching your baby tight to keep her out of the galloping labradors' line of fire. It is called Arroyo Burro County Beach, aka Hendry's Beach and it is the beach that dogs and dog mamas and obbis dream of.

As usual, Camille set to work spreading her sand dreams all over my obsessively anti-sand world but I am starting to learn to live with the gritty reality that beach = sand = lovely family time. I have a bit of the OCD, what can I say?! I have recently found a beach blanket that has a one-way ticket for sand and I intend to get one as soon as our ship comes in.

All in all, the day was delightful except for the pair of couples that planted themselves between us and the beach and decided to have a big suck-face session. I mean come on people, is that necessary?? I guess no matter how Zen I strive to become, there will always be a part of me that remains the jaded San Francisco gal. It is endearing, right?

Finding Wonderland

My beloved Camille is two. How on earth has this happened? It really does seem like yesterday that I was uncomfortably hot and enormously pregnant wishing like mad that I could meet our little gem. Now she is out and disturbing the peace like nobody's business!

So, to commemorate the terrible-two occasion, Carley and I set out to create a Wonderland vision that would make Alice green with envy. It all started with colored tissue paper and a little OCD and turned into a party that we will never forget.

Of course there were hitches in our giddyup like the dislocated elbow sustained by our little angel and a San Francisco-esque fog that set in the morning of the party but in the end, all turned out remarkably beautiful and the guests made the fete even more amazing!

Now that I have had two years of birthday parties that fulfill my childhood dreams, I will be able to relent a bit easier if next year she wants a jumpy house and hot dogs.

Red Rover send Rango right over!

Yes, it true...having a child gives you the excuse to watch cartoons and animated movies exclusively without seeming like a complete weirdo. I have always loved a good Tom and Jerry or Scooby Doo marathon and now I get to watch them long after Camille has drifted off to dreamland. So having qualified myself as quite the connoisseur, let me just tell you that you should strap up those sneakers and make tracks to your nearest Blockbuster (oh wait, this isn't 1998!)...umm, okay...drag yourself over to your computer and put Rango into your Netflix queue. You will thank me for it, I guarantee.



Picture this, a motley crew of lizards and rodents as the cast for Deadwood, sans profanity, of course. I am telling you, clever, clever, clever! Loved every minute of it after my narcolepsy wore off (it's true, I think it has to do with finally allowing your body to stop moving for a moment...goes into complete coma, shut down mode for a few minutes). And the music, don't even get me started. Thank you Mr. Hans Zimmer and all of the Misters that make up Los Lobos. Camille couldn't help but climb off the bed and do a twirl or two when the owl mariachi band came on the screen. That's right, OWL mariachi. Not to be confused with EL Mariachi which also happens to be one of my faves...the original, not remake. Timothy Olyphant, who played Seth Bullock in Deadwood, does a mean Clint Eastwood impression for his part as the Spirit of the West. So much so, that I had to watch the credits to confirm it was not the Dirty Harry himself.



I'm not a movie critic so I will stop right here but my personal opinion is that Rango can sit on the shelf right next to my copies of Magnificent Seven, 3:10 to Yuma and box set of Deadwood and  hold its own.

Dinosaurs and Butterflies

I don't really have to tell you that two of the greatest things in a toddler's life are the massive mystery of dinosaurs (and the obligatory growling and roars, of course) and the gentle beauty of the elusive butterfly. Recently, we were able to bask in the glory of both at the Natural History Museum.

I will say this, though, do yourself a favor and buy your tickets online prior to your visit (as I suggested but was discouraged from doing so). It will help you avoid bickering "when will you start listening to me?" texts between you and your spouse as you sit and fry in the brutal sunshine while she hangs out in the shade with the baby...I'm just saying.

It doesn't get much better than this.