I love short animated films...

Yes, I love cartoons. They are goofy and silly and often have a good moral lesson. But I love animated films that say something deeper about the human condition. When I saw this one, I thought of Sadie. She's energetic, creative, she never sits still, and she is constantly exploring. When people ask me how she's doing, I have to explain that she is either going non-stop or she's asleep. There's never any mellow time. With that in mind, enjoy this little 8 minute film called Ex-ET. I'll admit, I'm a little worried that when Sadie starts school her spirit might be a little tarnished. This movie really celebrates those little kids that burst with energy and excitement. Sadie may be the most exhausting kid I've ever met, but she's the most perfect kid to me.

There are things that you forget from your own childhood...

... and somehow you stumble on them again. I've been "stumbling" with StumbleUpon a lot lately. Tonight, I came across one of my favorite childhood games. Merlin.

This guy listed all of his favorite toys that he's kept over the years and put them up on this site.



I was scrolling through (and found the Candy Cigarette Machine Bank amusing since I used to LOVE those little candies.) Then I noticed "Merlin" and I thought, "Well, that sounds familiar... but what game was that?" Then when I clicked it and saw it's red plastic and little black buttons with blinky lights, I thought, "Oh MY GOD, I loved this game." I used to sit with it for hours playing Tic Tac Toe. Now, it's considered a 1978 vintage piece. And I feel awfully old.

Amazon has a new and updated version... but it's not the same.

I'm 5'8"...

...but my kid is quickly catching up on me. Sadie has been in the 95% for height since her first growth spurt. Usually, this isn't a big deal. Yeah, she's tall and we buy her bigger clothes. But she is about to turn two on March 27th and she's wearing at least a 3T. Again, no biggie. Our problem lies with the fact that she can reach practically anything in the house. We try to put things out of her reach on the kitchen counter, but then she goes on her tippy toes and snatches it. We'll put things on the bookshelf, but she can reach it when we aren't looking. She's the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of toddlers. We'll think our stuff is safe, until we notice she is holding the exact thing we thought we hid away.

She can move furniture, turn on the computer, and she even figured out how the the portable DVD player works... which is amazing since we just got it for Christmas and monitor her time with it very closely. We used to try to contain her in the pack n' play, but then she would bounce from side to side like a professional wrestler and we thought she was going to tip it over. She was also reaching the point where she could swing one leg over and almost leverage herself outta there. And to think... our problems were only starting when she figured out how to do this:

Even I know not to mess with a Queen....

Joke of the Day:

(And this is Lady Chablis, of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil fame. She's fabulous --and also goes by the name Frank.)

Don't Argue With The Gay Flight Attendant
My flight was being served by an obviously gay flight attendant, who seemed to put everyone in a good mood as he served us food and drinks.

As the plane prepared to descend, he came swishing down the aisle and told us "Captain Marvey has asked me to announce that he'll be landing the big scary plane shortly, so lovely people, if you could just put your trays up, that would be super."

On his trip back up the aisle, he noticed an extremely well-dressed and exotic young woman hadn't moved a muscle. "Perhaps you didn't hear me over those big brute engines but I asked you to raise your trazy-poo, so the main man can pitty-pat us on the ground."

She calmly turned her head and said, "In my country, I am called a Princess and I take orders from no one."

To which the flight attendant replied, without missing a beat, "Well, sweet-cheeks, in my country I'm called a Queen, so I outrank you. Tray up, Bitch."

It was bound to happen someday...

Usually when I ask Sadie if she wants to sing the Alphabet Song, she eagerly begins, "A, B, C, D...." And usually, she's smiling.

This morning I asked her if she wanted to sing the Alphabet Song, and she looked me straight in the eye and said,

"No."

Then I asked her if she was ready for the day.

"No."

Then she walked away from me in a huff.

I understand. She wasn't feeling well and had a bit of a tummy ache the past two days. But it was the first verbal "Mom, shut it and bugger off" from my adorable daughter. I'm sure it is the first of many.

Two of my many favorite things in life are...

Books and cartoons. This one puts the two together.

I've been summoned to the Castle again...

... and I always feel honored to go peeking into the places only employees can go. Here's your educational moment of the day... You can also buy Richard Kurin's book Hope Diamond: The Legendary History of a Cursed Gem




He interviewed me for my job. And he gave me a nice piece of chocolate. He's cool like that.