Keepin' It Real

My beloved husband is off hooking various parts of his body with his fly rod (sounds dirty, huh?) and giving some white water rapids a good spanking in Wyoming this week. He took the same trip last year with his siblings and I have yet to go (or be invited, come to think of it). That’s okay, I’m keeping tally and some day real soon, I’m heading to an all-expenses-paid spa excursion somewhere for a week where all of the guys look like Benicio Del Toro and are mind readers. All of my needs will be attended to by just a mere batting of my eyes. With Daddy's absence, the kiddo and I get into our routine known as “D.I.D.I.T.S.O.L.O.” or “Doing It Daddiless In The Sanctuary Of (our) Little Oasis.” We share dinner together in front of the TV on the floor, we swim in his kiddie pool, we go on long walks, we turn up his goofy sing-a-long Cds and add to the noise with the banging of pots, pans, spoons and whatever else happens to be in the way. This morning we got an early start and were camped out in front of the grocery store waiting for it to open. I blasted through the empty isles like a suburban mom on the hike and bike trail. W sucked all of the color out of a dried apricot while I picked out strange ice cream flavors and cookies (for me!). It’s wonderful being there with only a handful of other warm bodies milling about.

We didn’t do much this weekend. I bargained for two naps on Saturday and slept soundly each time only to awake and feel like I had been on a bender. I think the heat plays a role in this unsatisfying result. It just leeches energy and hydration.

W has become more adventurous in the walking department and slinked along the walls of the house for hours. I’d have to go looking for him after a brief turn of the back. He’d see me, let go and lurch forward with a huge grin like he hadn’t seen me in ages, all giddy and goofy with his effort to embrace me (swoon). He had the “Look Mom, no hands!” expression whenever he tottled my way. Right now the issue is momentum which he recently learned to control with his push toy but now needs to apply to his freestyle walking. In the meantime, I’m throwing myself in the way of danger to protect his tiny frame and giant noggin’.

Saw a frustrating but good movie this weekend called Caché (Hidden). It’s one of them thar movies you gotta read unless you speak French. I love subtitled films because when I have to read while viewing, that’s one less sense out of the five that I have available to the distractions whirling in my living room. I do have some sort of peripheral “hubby’s falling asleep during the movie” sense that makes me terrorize him when he dozes off. I despise it when my date drifts off and then wakes to ask “What just happened?” or “How much did I miss?” THAT makes me crazy! Usually my response is pure fabrication. Anyway, back to the movie…evidently this particular director loves the theme of unfinished business in his films and often doesn’t tie up any loose ends or seek out closure for his characters or viewers for that matter. It is the “whodunit” platform without any answers. I wasn’t aware of his style, this being the first film by him (Michael Haneke) that I’ve seen. I consider myself to be an excellent watcher of films and I don’t usually miss a beat. This movie had my marching band of comprehension all over the field. It was frustrating yet satisfying in a psychological f*#k you sort of way. There is no ending, simple as that and to make things more confusing, you’re never really sure which point of view you’re observing. Confusing? Yes. Satisfying? Not really. Fun? I think so. Check it out. Let me know what you think.

Oh geez! I forgot to mention that earth mama nanny has been gone for over a week now. She’s off to get married and spend some time with family and then she will return to Austin to move into an apartment not so close to the house anymore. I fear she may ultimately be on her way out. Just a hunch. In the meantime, we’ve hired the most wonderful stand-in with a website for her babysitting scheduling that totally sold me! Meet her at www.missjohanna.com. Willem loves her and she’s very hands on, caring, creative, and smart with de’ bebe. I’m lucky to have found her and I’m willing to share her, I think.

This is Willem working on his siphoning technique.

































Here he is coming out of the loo. It's one of his favorite rooms. Just like dad.


















This is one of his nursing faces. I can tell you right now that letting go of this moment is going to be dang hard when it's time to wean.