Birthday Celebrations

The Saturday before his birthday, Garion celebrated with some of his friends from school. This was the first time that I've actually thrown a party for him with just friends. I am a complete slacker mom, but you knew that already. Embracing my slacker-ness, I opted for a party in the park, which conveniently meant I didn't have to plan activities or games because the park thoughtfully provides playground equipment. This was a bit of a gamble, considering it had snowed the week before, but I thought the payoff of possibly not having to plan activities for kindergartners was worth taking the chance of freezing our buns off in the snow at the park. The weather turned out to be beautiful and we had a great time. Unfortunately, I did not capture of any of the great time on film (I guess film doesn't really apply to digital cameras, but I don't know what the digital synonym of "film" is). I brought my camera. I just forgot to use it. Maybe next year. I also forgot to have everyone sing "happy birthday." Next year for that too! In my defense, the cupcakes were pretty much devoured before I even finished passing them out, so it's not like there was a lot of time to remember candles and singing. I did manage to capture the party aftermath though (above left)--visual evidence of another good reason to have a party at the park!
I think I mentioned in an earlier post that in my family, we have four November birthdays within one week of each other (my brother, grandpa, Garion, and me). We frequently have one big family party to celebrate all of the birthdays, and now that we live in Flagstaff this became a lot easier to do this year. On November 16th. (Still catching-up; good thing I don't write a current events blog.) Each of the birthday people get to pick something that they want for the birthday meal: my brother and Garion picked fried chicken; my grandpa chose jello salad; and I chose apple pie for dessert. We also had mashed potatoes and corn. Being the slacker that I am, I neglected to take photos during the traditional birthday moments, such as opening presents, but managed a few later in the afternoon. Up to the right is Garion on his new scooter about to run me over. After he opened it he said, "thank you for the scooter! Next year will you buy me a skateboard?" At least he remembered to say "thank you."
My Mom's birthday was in October, and as I understand it, my brother's present to her was fixing her mail box and moving it to a more convenient location. Moses, not relishing sitting around and visiting any more than my brother does, helped out. My mom, apparently seeking entertainment, set herself up to watch the show:

The show was so good that soon the audience quadrupled from one to five.
Or is that quintupled? I think that at one point they were literally watching paint dry.
We had a really nice afternoon and scrumptious meal. Especially the apple pie. Mmmmmm.

Squirrel

I took this picture on November 15th with thoughts of blogging about it. Look! I'm almost caught up.
Assuming some physiological similarities between squirrels and humans, it would appear that if I were so inclined to eat the mysterious orange berries growing in my yard--now identified as firethorn berries (thanks, Shannon)-- I would not die. Good to know.

First Snow of the Season

In keeping with my "better late than never" theory of blogging this month, I thought I'd share some photos of our first snow. Which happened on November 9th. But it's supposed to snow again this week, so in some ways, I'm really just letting you know what it's going to look like around here a few days from now. I am so far behind, I'm actually ahead.
Needless to say, Garion was beside himself with excitement to see white stuff falling from the sky. He put on his heavy coat and gloves and essentially wandered around the back yard for half an hour marveling at the miracle of snow. I wish that I could be more like that. Because I, on the other hand, was wishing for a warm cave within which to hibernate until spring.
I do have to admit, it is pretty. Maybe if I really bundle up and hang around Garion enough, I'll re-discover how much fun I used to think snow was. Maybe what we really need is a sled. And a parka. And lots of hot chocolate.

Halloween

"But, Kerry," you say, "it's November. Thanksgiving is in five days. Halloween was three weeks ago."
I know. I am aware. I am a total slacker mom. But here's the thing: my laziness in posting does not diminish Garion's cuteness in a Superman suit and so I must share. Even if I share late. Although Garion managed to create his own super-suit over the summer, he was still adamant that he wanted the "real" thing for Halloween. So here he is in all of his official glory. If you look closely, you can see that he still has a sticker on his forehead from school that day. I think it gives him extra powers or something. I also think that maybe when I take photos of Garion in our front yard, I should orient him differently. That house in the background actually belongs to our neighbor. Maybe I should not be putting pictures of other people's houses all over the internet? It is for sale though. So if you think it looks nice and would like to have us for neighbors, let me know and I'll go get the number from the "for sale" sign.

Book a Month Challenge: October

Ha! You thought I forgot didn't you? Just because November is 2/3s gone, doesn't mean I intend to shirk my Book a Month obligations. October's theme was "haunt." I didn't so much choose a book to fit the theme last month, but I did manage to read three novels (3! You can tell that I ran out of Dr. Who DVD's). So here's the plan: I'll tell you what I read and you can decide which one best fits the theme.

First up: Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris. This is the novel that seems the most likely candidate for the "haunt" theme but the fact of the matter is, it was also the dullest. It's about a young woman who works as a waitress in a small town in Louisiana shortly after vampires have "come out of the closet" to live among humans with the help of synthetic blood. I've never read a vampire book before, no Ann Rice when she was all the rage, never read Dracula, so I don't really have a reference point for vampire books, but this one struck me as a little lame. It sucked. (Sorry, but who can resist that pun when talking about a bad vampire book?) The main character falls in love with a vampire while also trying to solve a series of murders in her town. That was about it. And not once during the whole novel did I understand why anyone would want to date a vampire. However, I listened to Kenneth Turan review "Twilight" this morning on NPR, and I understand that if you're a teenage female, dating vampires is now the thing to do. Perhaps I'm just in the wrong demographic.

Second: Midwives by Chris Boujalin. This was my favorite of the three. Midwives tells the story of a Vermont midwife who performs an emergency cesarean section to save a baby who's mother the midwife believes has died. The baby's father and midwife's apprentice later claim that the mother was not yet dead when the midwife performed the emergency surgery and the midwife is tried for involuntary manslaughter. The novel, told from the perspective the midwife's daughter, thoughtfully examines the life of the midwife's family during the trial, the trial itself, and the practice of midwifery. Boujalin does a fantastic job of describing the intricacies and process of a criminal trial. He avoids the trap of the overly dramatic cross-examination or the stunning bit of evidence that completely exonerates or condemns the defendant and accurately describes the long and complex process of constructing a criminal defense. I was also drawn in by the larger issues at the center of the novel and the trial described therein: namely whether we ought to view pregnancy and birth as a medical condition to be treated by doctors in the controlled environment of a hospital or whether it ought to be viewed as a fundamentally natural process that the human race has managed for thousands of years, and that occasionally and rarely requires medical intervention. My own experience with pregnancy and birth straddles this divide, and I found the novel's discussion particularly compelling. (While pregnant, I received prenatal care from a midwife and had planned to have Garion outside of the hospital, at a birth center. Garion turned out to be breech, and was born by cesarean-section in a hospital.) I'm not exactly sure how this novel fits with the "haunt" theme, but I'm sure it's in there somewhere.

Third: The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory. This is a work of historical fiction told from the perspective of Mary Boleyn, the sister of Anne Boleyn who was the second wife of Henry VIII. Mary is, as a young girl, mistress of the King. The King later sets her aside and her sister Anne moves in to not only become the King's mistress, but to play a significant role in orchestrating the King's divorce from his first wife so that she can become the second wife. Which, as everybody knows, didn't end so well. The book is well written and Gregory is truly talented at bringing the reader into the world of 16th century England and its monarchy. How does it fit the "haunt" theme? Well, there are a lot of beheadings, so I'd surmise there are few ghosts too. I mean, if you were beheaded, don't you think you'd hang around as ghost for awhile to make the King's life a little miserable?

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Also, if you're looking at the time of this post and thinking, "wow, Kerry is really slacking off of work today!" , I am not. Garion came down with a mysterious vomiting disease last night so we're home sick. Well, he's home sick and I'm home blogging.

An Open Letter to Hollywood

Dear Hollywood,

It has been my tradition each year on my birthday to take the day off from work and attend a cinematic matinee. Understand that I work full time and am the mother of a young child, so going to a movie of my choosing is a rare and delectable treat. This is a long held and sacred tradition for me and not just any movie will do. I rely on the talents of your industry to release a movie sometime in mid-November with the following criteria: not too stupid, not too depressing, not too vulgar, something funny or maybe something with some action, or maybe something with some novel ideas. If nothing else, something with nice special effects or a grouping of unusually good-looking actors will do. Let me give you an example of previous year's movies that I found perfectly acceptable for birthday-viewing: The Incredibles (interesting story, some funny bits, some action, stunning animation), The Harry Potter movies (nice visuals); Stranger Than Fiction (interesting story and starring Emma Thompson). I do not go to the movies on my birthday to suffer, to cry, to be enlightened, or to be grossed out. I go to be entertained and to indulge in the consumption of butter-enriched popcorn.

This year you have utterly failed me. Here were the options available at my local theater:
(1) Quantum of Solace. Yes, I know James Bond would seem to fit the birthday bill and I did not regret the last time I spent two hours staring at Daniel Craig. However, I have heard that this movie is even darker than Casino Royal (which I found to be disturbingly violent in some parts) and I've heard it's about revenge. Please take note: I am not into revenge on my birthday. I think revenge is a generally nasty, ugly emotion and I don't like to think about it too much on a day that's supposed to be happy. I am also not down with overwhelming gratuitous violence. A little gratuitous violence goes a long way. I will see this movie, but not on my birthday.
(2) Madagascar. As the mother of a young child I've seen gazillion trailers for this movie and I'm fairly certain it fits into the "too stupid" category. Also, I will probably have to watch it at some point in my life, so why waste the money and the day off now?
(3) Zack and Miri Make a Porno. While I have liked, and yes even loved, some of Kevin Smith's previous movies, I find that they have generally tested the limits of my tolerance for vulgarity. I have a feeling--just a hunch mind you, that this one might push me over the edge.
(4) The Changeling. I have no desire to spend my birthday thinking about children being abducted and then the police not believing the mother when she tells them that the child they return to her isn't hers.
(5) High School Musical 3. No.
(6) Saw V. Again, no.
(7) Max Payne. This is apparently a dark police detective flick starring Marky Mark as a dude of some sort who loses family in an unspeakably violent incident. I am not down with the murder plots on my birthday.
(8) W. Too stupid, too gross, too depressing, and not funny. At least not funny in a good way. I have no idea if this assessment applies to the movie, but I've no doubt it applies to the movie's subject and I have moved on.

Hollywood, I understand that occasionally everyone has a bad year. In light of your previously adequate mid-November movie releases, I will overlook this year's dubious offerings and forgive you for your failings. I look forward with hope and optimism to next November. Thank you.

Yours truly (unless you let me down again next year),
Kerry

Happy Birthday Garion

Today is Garion's 6th birthday. 6! Who let that happen? Do you remember how exciting your birthday was when you were 6? Garion has been beside himself with excitement pretty much since last Friday and it's pretty funny to watch. He had a birthday party at the park with his friends on Saturday and on Sunday we had the big family birthday celebration (in my family, we have 4 November birthdays within one week of each other). He barely knows what to do with himself trying to decide whether he wants to play with his new legos, play his new Uno game, or read his new books. I know this will all wear off in a few days, but in the meantime I'm relishing his complete joy in his special day and the magic of turning 6.

Yes!

For the first time in a long time, tonight I can say that I am proud of my country.

Excuse Me, What?!!

Moses and I are listening to the election results on NPR. They are defining "young" voters as under 30. "Middle-Age" voters are 30 to 49. Apparently it's time to start shopping for my mid-life crisis.

Early Returns

You heard it here first: Garion came home today and reported that his kindergarten class pretended to vote and turned in a decisive victory for Barack Obama.

Oh-Mama, I Love Election Day!

This was a comment that I just left on a friend's blog and then it occurred to me that it was a good post-title. This particular friend has the best election day post I've read yet, so I'll just point you to it here. We must have had at least a dozen conversations like that at our house over the past two years. TWO YEARS--it's almost over!
I love election day, I love voting, I love waiting for poll returns. I am such a political science dork: I get all sentimental about democracy and the peaceful transfer of power and about how even the big dudes at the center of it all only get one vote, just like the rest of us. The cockles of my heart are warming just contemplating it. Here's to hoping that by tomorrow they'll be glowing.
On a side note, the below clip was sent to me by my sister-in-law as a get-out-the-vote reminder. It is simultaneously hilarious and terrifying. Just for the record, I had already submitted my early ballot before she sent this to me. Because I am a model citizen who gets all mushy at the thought of democracy in action and actually wants to be picked for jury duty (but never does--which is too bad because I would be an awesome juror--but that's another story). If tomorrow ends in disaster I am not responsible.