boo hoo, Left Behind!

Tonight Kenny rushed home to accompany Henry to his First Communion rehearsal. Rhys was in a tizzy since he considers it a personal afront if he is left behind not allowed to hang out with the boys. Oftentimes the three guys would leave together on some crazy adventure instigated by Daddy and as they head out the door giving me hugs and kisses Rhys always says, "You stay here Mommy, we'll be right back!"

Well since he wasn't allowed tonight I had to physically restrain him from running after them. He started bawling big fat juicy tears streaming from his eyes as we sat on the sofa. Eventually he moved away from me to grab a picture of Kenny from the bookshelf, sat back down clutching the picture to him as he willed himself into another torrent of tears and wailing.

An hour or so later when Kenny and Henry emerged through the door he jumped up excitedly running to greet them. He ran towards Henry spanking him on his backside as if reprimanding him for leaving without him, and then just as quickly resumed his seat in front of the computer to watch "Scooby Doo: Pirates Ahoy" (streaming from netflix) for the 20th time.

One Hot Festival of Books

A highlight of the weekend was our trek to the Festival of Books at UCLA. If it wasn't for the hot heat nightmare it would have been a joy to romp around my alma mater. Nothing puts me in a worse mood than excessive heat. It's not an easy stroll walking around like a zombie in an oven with two curious and overactive boys and a husband hell bent on checking in at every booth, but I survived. Honestly I should have stayed home, but I wanted to take some photos, or so I thought.


Trudging down Comic alley we bumped into Lela Lee creator of Angry Little Girls. Kenny even got a picture of me with her! She was so nice and accommodating, unfortunately or rather fortunately her booth was very busy and I didn't have much time to chat with her, or pause to really check out the cool books and merchandise she had available. Oh well... you can still do it online!


When we got to this booth Rhys was so intrigued. His eyes grew big as he wandered up to the booth, it didn't take much to persuade him to take a photo in costume along with the character!


Kenny scoped out every inch of the festival collecting names and numbers for marketing his BOOK! The book which is done, will arrive in a few weeks. All 1000 so copies! We're all extremely excited about it and have plans to place it for sale via the net as well as various shops around town. Will post the info as this work progresses.

We were soo happy to get home! I dunked Rhys immediately in the shower to cool him off. I made a batch of smoothies and we all just plopped ourselves in the garden under the pomello trees with a huge sigh. The heat was so stifling that Kenny devised another use for the garden cart. Rhys was in heaven, but it took some cajoling to get Henry to join in the fun.


If you've noticed that their hair looks a little tamer it's because, they both had haircuts this weekend courtesy of Grammie. After our eye exam on Saturday Angele dropped by to take the kids for haircuts and then lunch at IHOP. They were so happy to go on an adventure with Grammie.

hobos in the backyard

With summer fast approaching and the weather warming up Kenny thought it would be nice to have a weenie roast in the backyard with marshmallows for dessert. At the mention of marshmallows and hot dogs Henry and Rhys became very excited, but Rhys was super duper excited! He was the first to put on a jacket and went in search of his hat. I heard him rummaging in his room and finally a call for help, "Mommy, help me. I can't reach a hat. Power Rangers hat." After it was retrieved I put it on him and he quickly skipped outside, not wanting to miss a second.

Minutes later he came running back inside mumbling something about matches and Daddy. "I getta matches a Daddy." So we looked for the matches and he took them outside. Unbeknownst to me, getting the matches was something he had the forethought to come up with himself. Once we were outside Kenny who was working on gathering all the necessary equipment said he was going to get the matches, only to be presented with them by Rhys.

I was happy to test out some setting on the camera. Look what I captured? A group of hobos in the backyard.

coffee break

I was really excited to finally have coffee with my friend Ben from my old days at MTV! He's now the DIRECTOR(!) of TVG AdSales, and I'm embarrassed to admit that he's just passed his second anniversary there, and this is the first time we've had a chance to grab a cup of coffee. This is doubly embarrassing because just like Dena, Ben's office is no more than F-I-V-E minutes away! Every time I'm on the 405 I pass by the huge TVG logo right next to Howard Hughes, and I think to myself 'I wonder if Ben's working?'

We filled each other in on the latest dish. I'm astounded that we have so many friends in the area now. There's Dena, and now Elaine has moved in. Jana lives in the beach cities and she's now on maternity! Ben himself has just purchased a triplex! Ben and I briefly touched on the possibility of organizing a photo shoot, with me as Annie Liebowitz and Nellie playing Bobbi Brown. I can't wait.

We were so engrossed in conversation that despite me taking out my phone to keep an eye on the time I was 10 minutes late picking Rhys up from school. Fortunately his school is just 12 blocks away! I was mortified when I got a call from his teacher just as I was rounding the corner to his school. Yikes.

over the weekend...

We had a very mellow weekend. It was so mellow in fact that I didn't even leave the house. We played a variety of board games including Blokus and Uno with the boys and spring cleaned. Kenny laughingly said to me, "Watch out, they're going to get into a lot of trouble." When I asked what he meant by that he replied, "They are learning to work together as a team and that'll only lead to getting into bigger trouble together."

Fruitty & Nutty

Please keep these away. About a month ago I was out shopping and not having such a great day, when for some reason I found myself standing near the chocolate aisle and for some unknown reason the thought popped into my head that I should look for Cadbury's Fruit & Nut bar. This bar and I go way back to my childhood. Then, it was an occasional treat, and now it is a dangerous indulgence. At about a dollar and a half you can induce yourself into a pleasurable coma and feel all thoughts melt from your brain.

For those of you who just don't know, you've got to try it to understand. I related this to Hilary a couple of weeks ago, and when we were up in Napa for Katey's shower we just happened to be in the candy aisle at the local Safeway when I spotted said bar. Well of course I just had to get one! I shared it with her and made her a believer!

Friendly Frog Makes Another Visit

Henry was so excited to bring Friendly Frog home for another sleep over! Since his last visit Henry has adopted Pickles the little frog to the right. The first thing he did when he came home was introduce Friendly Frog to Pickles. They must be somehow distantly related!

roses from the garden

These pink roses were picked from our front garden Sunday afternoon.


Here they are again today with all the petals open. They're pretty awesome.

Earlier tonight I decided to experiment with ice cream. I had bought some frozen fruit in preparation for tons of smoothies in light of this mini heat wave. This morning I thought, why not see if I could combine vanilla ice cream with some fruit as an easy way to add flavor? I don't have a food processor, but decided to give it a try in my mini prep. Okay, bad idea. Obviously not the same thing despite the fact that it's also made by Cuisinart. For my first try I have Double Rainbow's vanilla ice cream and a bag of frozen mangoes. Half way through the little guy was struggling, giving off a slight burnt motor odor. So I gave up, leaving moderate chunks of mango in the mix, and tasted the concoction. Not bad. Next time I will definitely use the super crazy blender machine my parents got us last Christmas. But best of all it brought back faded memories of eating mango ice cream in Hong Kong as a child.

genetically modified, oh NO

It's a beautiful and slightly warm day for spring in Los Angeles. In fact it actually feels much more like summer. And the thought might occur in many that this warming trend could possibly be a result of global warming? Is it just me, or has the news lately seem even more ominous? Besides the ever bombardment of global warming warnings, and the deterioration of our enviornment along with our morals, there is also the ever present increase in gas price along now with the skyrocketing price of food.

This spiral up in the cost of living is now quickly turning into a dire crisis in many third world countries, who are now paying up to three to four times more for basic staples than they had just a few months ago. A violent and deadly example of this occured in Myanmar last fall when monks led non-violent protests against the soaring cost of fuel. And now there are reports that over the weekend there have been riots across Haiti, Egypt and Bangledesh over the steep increase in price of grains which have translated into as much as 120% rise in the cost of bread and rice. I bring this up because I've just finished a frightening but very interesting online article I found on vanityfair.com looking into the company Monsanto entitled 'Monsanto's Harvest of Fear'. Prepare to be scared.

Weekend Heat Wave

It was incredibly warm this weekend. On Saturday Kenny and I split up for a couple of hours each taking one of the kiddies. While Kenny chauffeured Rhys to lunch and around town doing errands, I tagged along as Henry was treated to a mini shopping spree by Grammie. Angele very generously offered to outfit the wee one for First Communion. Our first (and turns out our only stop) was at Nordstroms where the perfect suit and shoes were found!




And boy didn't Henry look like a mini James Bond? Afterwards we had a bite to eat and some dessert before heading home.


Our spring break visit to the Salton Sea only whetted our appetite for this fascinating place. Our curiosity prompted Kenny to netflix a documentary on the history and background of this sea located in the middle of California's desert. This documentary is made more enticing by the fact that it's narrated by John Waters.

Friday Dental Trip

Kenny came home last night and immediately after dinner got started on Henry's banner for his first communion ceremony. This banner was due this morning and I fell asleep before it was completed, so was unable to take a picture of it before it was turned in. Rhys and I actually walked Henry into school and got a quick glimpse of Henry's classmates' banners as their parents walked past on their way to dropping them off at the front office. They were all very interesting, intricate and gorgeous! It's going to be incredible to see them all hung up.


The boys both had a dental cleaning scheduled one after another this afternoon. We got there a couple of minutes late, so they did not have much time playing with the video screens scattered around the dentists office. Rhys went first and he gave a great impression that things were going to go smoothly, but he eventually got a little squeamish and began to twist around in his seat. Henry ever the imp flitted around the room trying to be helpful and chatting endlessly throughout Rhys' procedure.


During the office visit one (of the two!) hygienists working on them commented to Rhys that "You're so cute!" to which he mumbled this barely audible reply: "Yea-es, I know I cute." Lately he's taken to saying, "Mommy, you cute. Mommy, you goil." To which I always reply, "Rhys you're cute! and you're a boy!"

The good news is neither have cavities! Yay. (Though there's a spot or two in Rhys' mouth that we need to keep an eye on.) I'm hoping that this is a direct result of my nagging them to constantly brush their teeth and the fact that there is only water, milk, chocolate milk and kefir in the house. Oh and tea and coffee for the adults.

Bad News! Henry's spacer needs to be replaced. Seems like the back portion has mysteriously fallen apart and the little boy whose mouth houses said spacer failed to make any mention of it. They made an impression and the replacement should be ready in a week or so. Unfortunately it is questionable whether insurance will pick it up again. ouch

We left with a tube of Dr. Holden's new 'Cha Cha Chocolate' ice cream flavored tooth paste. I kid you not. This 'naturally delicious' paste is an anti cavity, fluoride toothpaste with xylitol and does not contain saccharin nor sodium lauryl sulfate. I will have to take extra precaution with this tube to make sure that it doesn't get consumed like the real thing.

Curiosity Killed the Cat

and injures Henry. Just as I was finishing up my last entry, Henry ran out of the shower. I thought he was coming out in search of his pjs and absentmindedly missed the fresh set I laid out in the bath for him. Wrong. He was in fact buck naked waving his left hand around. I didn't notice his hand until I stepped into the bathroom to show him where I left his clothes and glanced around the room thinking "did I just enter the Psycho bathroom?". There were tiny blood splatter ALL over the walls, curtain and fixtures!

He apparently became curious about Kenny's razors, which are placed high, high up at the top of the cabinet. After I cleaned the squeamish one up I took a razor down to show him how to handle it properly and to never move it from side to side! Yikes.

This actually reminds me of a major incident which happened about 3 years ago when Henry was 3 or 4. It was a warm day and I had just finished making a batch of smoothies for Henry and I. Shortly afterwards I went to nurse Rhys in the bedroom when I heard the whirl of the blender and an agonizing scream from Henry. Seconds passed before I heard his little feet pitter pattering into the room. I remember he ran into the room with his hand held in front of him with blood dripping down his arm in splotches onto the floor. My mouth went dry. My eyes grew wide and I felt all color drain from me. I put Rhys down and took Henry to the bathroom to try to clean him up. In a panic I noticed that he had caused quite a deep gash on his middle finger and nearly fainted seeing how deep it was... so I took a deep breath and called my dad. He instructed me to put this medicinal oil he keeps me supplied with onto the wound and that he would be up directly to help me drive the munchkins to the ER. Once there they super glued his little finger back together again! the end.

I wonder what a blood pattern expert would make of these walls? Would they immediately infer that a little guy gave himself a small cut at the tip of his finger and in an effort to stem the pain began to furiously wave his hand around the room not realizing the tremendous amount of eye rolling his mom would do while she meticulously tried to locate every drop of blood?

bridal showers bring lilac flowers

I'm fresh back from the Napa Valley, and the shower was a fantastic success! It was a joy collaborating with two of my favorite ladies. Katey was absolutely adorable, which you can see for yourself here. This was a fun working holiday.


Lilacs. What can I say? I am in love with lilacs. There is a lilac tree in front of the house and it's the first time I've seen it in bloom. In fact this is the first time I've ever beheld lilac and it was a mind altering experience. This amazing tree produces a brilliant violet flower much more intense than the variety we've noticed at stores. And the fragrance is sublime. I wonder if they grow well in So. Ca?


We were thrilled to bump into Ben working hard at his new job.


And finally got to meet Amy's three legged dog Bettie.

We arrived back home Sunday afternoon. The ride was not too shabby, as we cruised up and down California in Angele's beautiful new and spacious car. After dropping Angele off and picking Hilary's car up, Hilary drove me home. When reached the house we couldn't believe that the boys were actually home. They're usually gallivanting about town. Rhys peeked through the window by the front door and had the cutest expression on his face when he saw us! He then looked through the mail opening before unlocking the door.


Henry held up well in my absence, but apparently the same couldn't be said about Rhys. Kenny showed me some pictures he took, explaining to me that in the evenings he missed me so much he grabbed and held onto a framed photo of me.


And here's my little Picasso at work. Awww.

Besides missing all my boys (...well most of the time) I missed the internet and catching up with some of my favorite blogs (see Essential Viewing Sites). If you haven't I urge you to check out Sheye Rosemeyer's site. Her most recent posting entitled 'Tea at Kate's' includes a stunning collection of photographs of Kate Austin, a fellow photographer with a business and a blog of her own. I L-O-V-E the colors! Sigh.

Picture Day

How could I resist?