Melancholy

My Hair

Are you laughing at my hair?

I said, are you laughing at my hair?

Let me tell you something....

I'd laugh at it to!

But This was the First Draft....

Like a sculptor who looks at a block of marble only to chisel away the excess so what lies inside can emerge, so I gaze upon my medium: Red Velvet and I see a helicopter lying inside...

 

I cut and assemble and am pleased with the results....

Homemade buttercream frosting.

(Lesson learned: No matter how much red food coloring you add to white frosting, it will still look pink).

Though I recognize its flaws and imperfections, I'm generally pleased with the shape and have only to decorate and assemble the rotor blades. 

I prepare my tools (Pocky Sticks) only to turn around and find out this has happened:

At 1am, and a few attempts at recovery, I recognize a crashed helicopter when I see one. I clean up the mess and call it a night, giving thanks I had the foresight to buy a second box and a few cans of ready-made frosting.

So, I'm learning that I am NOT a professional, semi-professional or even good decorator.  I also realize I have neither the patience nor attention to detail necessary to ever become good at this sort of thing.

But, I strangley enjoy this process more than a professionally-made, more aesthetically pleasing cake.  I feel like it's one of those times when "it's the thought that counts" rather than the beauty of the finished product.  

I also don't mind so much when this kind of cake that took hours to fashion, goes on display for 1 minute during the birthday song only to be cut to pieces the next minute. 

And the more homely, less professional type lets me more at ease to do this:

A fun afternoon with Batman getting help decorating his cake while he goes on and on, "I REALLY like this cake, Mommy!"  

"Oh, Mommy! This is such a nice helicopter cake!"

"Congratulations on your cake, Mommy!"

That was definitely worth the effort!

"Robin, I love you!"

Says Michael spontaneously to Matthew before doing this:

Michael's Cake

After much deliberation, Michael requested a helicopter cake (runners-up included a Batman cake, a Number 5 cake --even though he is 4--a baseball cake).

I can't say that it was particularly great, but it IS in the shape of a helicopter.

And Michael really, really liked it.

And that's all that counts!

Mess.

So today was a pretty easy day at home. Michael had the car so we didn't really have much pressure to go anywhere and we have some friends coming to dinner tomorrow so I knew I wanted to putter around the house and get a little cleaning done.

After breakfast, the boys snuck into their room, quietly....a little too quietly. I had noticed before breakfast there was a handful of wayward toys on the ground which I mistakenly let slide by before I had them eat.

Apparently, seeing the opportunity to complete a project they had already begun (namely playing the game they call "Mess." Yes, it is just as sophisticated as it sounds).

I knew they were up to no good, and I knew it would involve a lot clean-up for me to do, but I was enjoying some nice quiet time playing with Molly and they were quite content.  So, after Molly went down for a nap, I came back to the front room, grabbed a few sips of tea and went to tackle the monumental task I knew awaited me in the boys room.

What I didn't expect was opening the door and seeing this:

I'm not sure how long they were each sitting on their respective thrones, but they got a big kick of being there.

(The crib gate Matthew was sitting on was from Michael's crib when we disassembled the crib a year ago into a toddler bed).

I think it must really go along with the stage of toys for kids these ages that there are so many little pieces. Alphabet. Numbers. Blocks. Jars of plastic bugs. This mess was broad and deep.

They also managed to get into Molly's box of baby toys (their old baby toys).  I wouldn't have thought baby toys would still have been that interesting to them, but anything to be the best at the game called Mess.

So after an hour of cleaning (and badgering them to help me), we finally pulled it together. I weeded out the various "miscellaneous" boxes, got rid of a few things, put groups of toys back together.

In the end, it turned out better than when the day had started.

And that, folks, is how you really win this game.

Hold My Hand

The boys (particularly Matthew) love to hold Molly's hand when we drive in the car. Since I can't take a picture while driving, I jumped at the opportunity when they grabbed her hands in the parking lot.

It's not entirely clear how Molly feels about it, but at least she knows she is loved.

Kids Learn What You Teach 'Em

They are receptive to anything and everything....so make it count!

A Rare Political Tangent

I know most of my posts are pretty light and kid-centric, but something has been on my mind today.

Recently, Chik-Fil-A's owner came out about his personal views supporting Biblical marriage.  He was not discriminatory, nor bigoted. He just gave his opinion. (An opinion, which, by the way, supports the legal definition of marriage in just about every state in the country).

He and his restaurant have been raked over the coals for this in particular this past week since his interview (by a Christian news source) is gaining attention.

None of the backlash surprised me in any way. None of the Facebook posts by friends who take the opposite view really bothered me (it's expected and they are entitled to their opinion).  And even the kerfuffle among celebrities didn't bother me (I don't care a bit about what folks in Hollywood think).

What put a pit in my stomach was this:
A news story with elected government officials vowing to prevent this restaurant from opening in their cities by denying zoning licenses and permits.


It is one thing for individuals to have their opinions or even to refuse to support a particular company because of their stances on issues.  I do it myself. I can choose to not let my dollars support a company who I suspect might make use of them to uphold a culture of death.

But for a public official to make promises and attempts to shut down a group not because they did something he disagrees with, but because they think something he disagrees with is about as Orwellian as you can get.


Does Chik-Fil-A refuse service to people simply because they are homosexual? Do they spit in their food because they wear a rainbow bracelet or have a certain walk or talk? Taking a stance on an issue is not the same as not showing dignity to every person who comes in.  Of course homosexuals deserve to be treated with love and dignity and anything otherwise would be wrong and should be admonished.

But is that what is happening here? No, a person is disagreeing with a behavior and advocates for a different type of behavior. And for that they should be bullied out?

Now, certain groups are staging protests most likely designed to antagonize the restaurant managers into something that could be called discriminatory undoubtedly in an effort to justify legal action coming down against the restaurant.

But aren't all people expected to follow some behavior code in public spaces and isn't it a right of store owners to ask anyone who doesn't comply to ask them to leave for the common good?

If I went to a family restaurant and put on inappropriate displays of affection, it wouldn't be because of discrimination of my lifestyle that got me booted out. It's because of my actions at the moment. That right is given to any business owner.

So, yes. This thought-policing by public officials is frightening because on that premise alone: unless you agree in your personal opinions with the governing authority, you cannot operate in this city is scary.  Can you imagine if a Christian mayor publicly promised to frustrate the normal process for opening a business in the city because the owner of the corporation of that business (not even necessarily that branch) disagreed with him?  Outright pandamonium and you know the charge of not separating church from state would be the one most loudly shouted.

So because these public leaders either don't practice a religion (or don't practice it well) or because their interpretation of whatever their religious beliefs are is different from Dan Cathy's means that they can stonewall people who have different beliefs? Unbelievable.

A Final Thought
So what about Planned Parenthood, you might ask. I suppose you (all 10 of my readers) want to know if I were in charge of granting business licenses or zoning and I had the ability to stop them from opening up their abortion mills if I wouldn't take that opportunity to do so?

Two Thoughts:

1).  Planned Parenthood doesn't just believe in abortion. It performs abortions. It refers for abortions, it hands out abortive medicines like candy. Chick-Fil-A makes chicken sandwiches.  So its private thoughts about gay marriage are not essential to their business.  You can have Chik-Fil-A without the opinions of their owner, but you can't have Planned Parenthood without abortion.

2).  In the business of legalizing abortion, no one has ever stopped to answer the question: When does a human being come into existence.  Barack Obama sloughed off that answer before he became president as many have done before him. But the problem is that this isn't one answer to many difficult questions in dealing with unwanted pregnancy: it is the answer to the only question that really matters. If it's not a human being, there should be no more need to legislate its destiny any more than legislating a woman's monthly cycle.  If it is a human being, then it deserves the fullest protection of the law.  No one is bothering to answer that question. They just tuck it away inside some clause about a right to privacy as if the woman's desire for it to be a child alone somehow confers upon it its humanity. If she wants it, it is a baby, if she doesn't, it's not. What's at stake there, then, in being on the wrong side of the abortion issue as opposed to gay marriage is not just a matter of tax breaks or hospital visits, it's a matter of killing a human being.

Writing on the Wall
If supporting gay marriage is a criteria for getting a business license or permit in the future, we've seen the goal of the aggressive gay marriage agenda come to fruition: not just that I want you to not hinder my lifestyle, but I want you to like my lifestyle and if you don't I want you gone.  It's bullying and strong-arming and that's where we are. The most vocal of this ilk are not about equal rights, it's about their rights alone by the suppression of the opposing view.  They want to pummel the opposing view into the ground.

So today, I bought a chicken sandwich, sweet tea and waffle fries in support of someone with the courage to speak his mind, even if that makes one unpopular or causes him to lose money. Thank you, Dan Cathy, and you can count on me to Eat More Chikin.

Pillows

Remember this:

So I decided to try the same thing with Molly.

(Also, I don't always dress my daughter. Hey, it's hot and when she sleeps she gets wrapped up in a blanket.  No, this is NOT a hint that she needs more clothes).

Back to Molly.

Any guess what she's smiling at?

Here they come.....

Molly: [groan] "Why did I acknowledge them?"

Molly: [groan]

Matthew: [boing] [boing] [boing] [boing]

Michael: "Here Molly, you're falling over. I'll help."

Michael: "Steady...Steady...."

Molly to Michael: [in a gruff Italian mobster voice]

"Listen, kid, I'll give you 20 bucks if you get me outta here."

Matthew: [boing] [boing] [boing] [boing]

"Seriously. Mom. We're done!"

"That's a wrap, right? We're done here, right?"

Sheesh!

New Favorite Thing

Molly loves sticking her two fingers in her mouth. We've even caught her breaking out of her nighttime swaddle to do this in her sleep. Love it.

Matthew

Matthew has really never changed. He looks the same as he did when he was born.

Exhibit A: The Brow Furrow

Family Resemblance

Maybe the Cutest Baby. Ever.

(sorry Michael and Matthew)