Open letter to a (particular) dog owner

There is a reason that the National Park Service has a posted rule:

ALL PETS MUST BE KEPT ON A LEASH

No matter how precious, friendly, darling, and good-with-kids your man's-best-friend is, keep him on a freaking leash when you're in a public area. You have no idea how your dog will react in every situation, or how long your "friendly" puppy that you let run ahead out of sight is going to keep another family with kids at bay growling, snapping-teeth, and lunging, while you are lollygagging behind, chatting with your girlfriend (long enough for a family to corral both kids on top of the stroller and make several attempts to scream "GO AWAY" to the idiot-freak dog who wouldn't leave).

The proper response when said family informs you of NPS policy, not to mention Fairfax County Law, is not,

"I'll raise my dog, you raise your kids!" and
"Mind your own damned business!"

People like you, with complete disregard for others' safety, shouldn't be allowed to raise dogs. Besides this, you were in a WATERFOWL PRESERVE! WTF were you thinking? With an unleashed dog! What if your dog killed an endangered waterfowl species? Moron!

LEASH YOUR DOG ALREADY!!! bitch. I'm bringing my mace next time.

BBQ-o-RAMA

AJS was on it this past Wednesday! The office picnic was a grand success! Rather than 150 or 170 people that were expected, the actual count was closer to 220, and to AJS's credit, there was just enough food for all. Between 11 a.m. and Noon anyway. Anyone who showed up after Noon was SOL.


Dash liked the watermelon best.






Here's what he documented that got him there:
Our three (3) smokers









1 of 4 briskets









25 pounds of chicken wings










1 of 6 racks o' ribs









2 of 8 pork shoulders

Is this a good thing?

At a daycare meeting yesterday, I learned, kind of offhand, that after the current class of Preschool children graduates (within the next two weeks) that Rosie will be the oldest child in her Center.

She has a November birthday and didn't make the Fairfax County cutoff for public school this year, so will have to wait until she's practically six before entering Kindergarten. I knew this, but was rather taken aback that the handful of kids with Sept through early Nov birthdays (who also didn't make the cutoff) were getting taken out of the Center. Not only this, but children younger than her by a month or two were entering other programs as well! There are only two other children from her current class that are continuing with her.

Does this seem odd? I really believe strongly that her Center is high quality and that their Kindergarten-prep program is top-notch. However, she has been in the K-prep program for the past year and will be taught by the same teachers in the same room for the next 12 months as well.

I did investigate moving her to a preschool program at a private school or a Montessori program, but I just couldn't swallow this issue: the programs were only 9 a.m. to Noon (or occassionally 9 a.m. to 3) and cost the same amount as our 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. childcare center.

The only benefit I could see was the variety in location and curriculum. Drawbacks include that I would be inconvenienced by the hours (which I know are typical of public school but I'd rather not deal with it if I don't have to) and potentially would have to pay MORE for before and aftercare. And, Dash is still in the same Center, so we'd have to make separate drop-offs.

Ouch.

One other issue, and I hope this is just a phase she's going through, is that in the past few weeks, Rosie has been telling us that "school is BORING." and, "do I have to go back to boring old school today?" We're trying to encourage her to go and find something else that's interesting to do if she's bored. (You know, you do make your own reality!)

Would she have benefitted from a change? I guess we'll never know. I made the decision, enrollment is over, and will be sticking with it until next September.

"I'm on the train, where are you?"

Since I've obviously been boring everyone to death with stuff that's only interesting to me, here's something that pisses off just about everybody: rude, dangerous bastards on their cell phones.

Hey, he's driving 20MPH under the speed limit, what's his problem?

Oh, he's on his cell phone.

Yikes, she just swerved out into oncoming traffic while looking the wrong direction!!

Oh, she was texting on her blackberry.

What's the problem?: Check out CNN's article, Where are your high-tech manners? Sheesh, I don't know, I'm supposed to be polite AND answer my call? Whoa, I can't multi-task like that.

A lot of the rudeness is laughable. Remember the guy at the movie theater who answered his phone during the film, "Hey dude!...Nothin', just watching a movie." ?!? Was he aware of what an idiot he sounded like? Apparently not, according to Lew Friedland, a communications professor at University of Wisconsin-Madison. These actions are the new norm.

"People act as if they're walking through life in a cone of silence in which only they and the other person on the end of the line can hear them," he says. "They can talk quite loudly, and they can talk about things that people around them don't really want to hear about."

On lifehacker.com, Adam Pash posts a link to InfoWorld's Ten Commandments of cell phone etiquette written by Dan Briody in 2000 (that's 7 years ago, and it's still as apropo as ever). I am seriously thinking about printing this out and surreptitiously sliding it into the bag/briefcase of offenders on the Metro. Not really. But I do wish people would read it and try not to be jerks.

I am totally for the "quiet cars" on trains and banning cell phone usage while you're purchasing at a register. The message that you're giving everyone around you is that the not-present, cyber-person on your device, is much, much more important than the living, breathing, actually there, annoyed, irritated human beings that are right next to you.

More on how odd the universe is...

We met our friends Tif and Nick through Kelly, but it was a few years before we put together the quirky connections. I caught right away that their wedding anniversary was within 2 months of ours (it'll be ten years for them this year, too!) but, it wasn't till much later that AJS and Nick realized that not only did they both go to University of Maryland at the same time, they had back-to-back shifts at the college radio station. AJS had even told me stories about the anonymous guy with the shift before his: he called the genre "grind-core" and recalled that the play list announcements went something like (in a low voice), "that was Faust, playing Faust, from his first album, Faust." And we were friends with that guy and didn't know it! It was like meeting the subject of a novel. Here's a photo of Don holding Nick and Tif's daughter Izzie:

More recently, another unexpected connection was with Susan and Don. Kelly had gone to grad school with Sue and they both worked together after college. I met them about 3 years ago, but it wasn't until about six months after that I realized that I knew Don. At a party (at Tif and Nick's, coincidentally), Sue was wistfully hoping out loud that she wanted their daughter Lila's hair to look like Don's. (Lila is on the far right in the photo with Thea and Emma.) My initial thought was, what's special about Don's hair? and in a flash, I remembered a Don I knew in art school who had fabulously beautiful, long, wavy, strawberry-blond hair. We both volunteered as monitors in the art school computer lab and I'd had a bit of a crush on him. After a couple pointed questions, "are you from the Midwest?" and "did you go to University of Michigan?" I discovered that he was the same person. Wierd, huh?

Kelly and Todd, Sue and Don, Tif and Nick, and AJS and I all have an older girl and a younger boy (Tif and Nick are expecting a boy, imminently).

Coincidence? Um, yeah! What were you thinking?

Helvetica turns 50

Max Miedinger.

Eduard Hoffmann.

Rock stars they are not. Nevertheless, in 1957 these Swiss typeface designers created a sans-serif that shaped our world. In high school, I used press-on type sheets labeled "Helvetica" (and thought, WTF does that mean?) for random projects. In my Advanced Typography college courses, we were given multiple heirarchy-building projects that used every weight and nuance of Helvetica imaginable. Helvetica got me my first design job.

And now there's a movie about it!

Even so, it's not my favorite typeface. Most electronic versions of it, especially on PCs, have awful kerning and spacing issues, like the programmer just didn't feel the love. I am still all about giving the props to the designers! However we butcher Helvetica 50 years later is not their fault.

AJS' monkey-shirt update!

All I have left to work are the buttons!!!

My super-kind neighbor, Gretchen (who has given Rosie many a lovely girlie hand-me-down garment, most recently: rollerblades!) helped me after I asked her several ignorant questions in a row about what "interfacing" was. She insisted on coming back with me to my house, setting up the Singer (it was in the storage closet, same place it had been since we moved in 2003), and giving me the 101 on building a shirt.

This is going to be the most bad-ass chimpanzee-Aloha-shirt EVER!

You git out mah hous!

Since I wrangled AJS into barbecuing for a large picnic this Wednesday (170 people), he insisted that cooking would commence on Friday and continue through Sunday. I stayed out of his way. The kitchen and backyard were HIS DOMAIN. He smoked 8 pork shoulders, 4 briskets, 6 racks of ribs, and 25 lbs of chicken wings (that's hella lot o'food). So, the winkies and I took off at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday and didn't come home until bedtime!

Saturday morning, we were well met by the Os at a park in Greenbelt, had much fun throwing rocks into a streamlet (Yay! More ROCKS!) and stayed over for lunch. Thanx for cooking, Kelly! Mwah! The kids entertained themselves surprisingly well until we were leaving, on our way to the car and Dash somehow managed to turn a garden hose full blast while it was aimed at Thea's face. Yikes! He gave her a hug, but it looked like it would be a while before she was getting over that one. From there, the kids crashed out on the drive from College Park to Mount Vernon where I dropped them with my parents and Auntie M. I left and flew solo to the house to whirlwind-clean for a Sunday visitor (the boss). Three hours later, I buzzed back at my parents' with Indian carryout in tow! We had a fabulous meal and whiled away the time until 7:30 or so and then went home to bed.

Sunday, we rose early and left for a walk around Roosevelt Island with a mom's group I joined recently. I tried to enlist Auntie M. into the walk, but she bowed out about an hour before we were to meet. With 40 lbs of Rosie in the stroller and 29 lbs of Dash in our Maya Wrap on my back, the three of the Strings traversed the 1.6 miles of trail. Without a jogging stroller, we fought our way over errant tree roots, large rocks and erosion barriers. Rosie was riding in a standard stroller because I quickly discovered that this was an Exercise Walk, not a stroll, with other moms decked out in running shoes and workout clothes (I was wearing jeans and rubber-soled mary-janes); Rosie would have quickly been left behind. On our way home, anticipating my need to collapse, we stopped by the video store, picked up 4 movies (Mulan 2, some Thomas movie, a Barbie-Mattel placement feature, and Clifford) the Barbie one stank, but anyone could have told me that it would. We were all exhausted (read: me) and just skulked around the basement until our visitor arrived.

My boss, who was arranging the picnic (with 170 people) wanted to get a tasting of the food that AJS was cooking, so popped over (1 hour drive) to hang out for a bit and got to try some brisket. I brought Weegee out for entertainment value and he did a few bird tricks. He's gotta get out more often, poor little guy. He really enjoyed getting some one-on-one time with me. The boss-guy seemed more than satisfied with the tasting and after a while caught on to how tired we all were and was on his way.

Another highlight: I am getting much closer to finishing that monkey shirt for AJS! I hope to have it done by Wednesday so he can wear it to the picnic. If he wants to, of course.

I'm incredibly proud

On Tuesday, my mom, my sister and I were three of the many (200+?) people applauding at the ceremony where my dad received a lifetime acheivement award. Seriously! He was honored during an annual peer program review with international attendance for the Department of Energy's Superconductivity Program. It's just amazingly gratifying that his colleagues of so many years are acknowledging the wonderful advances that he's made for the program and are thanking him for his hard work along the way. There's more information about my dad and this award here.

Dad, I know you read my blog. Congratulations!!! You have done amazing things with your career and your life. I am glad that I was able to participate in many of them and learn from you. I love you and I am proud to be your daughter.

I hope you are enjoying your retirement!

Dash's first dentist visit!

Dash and I went to Dr. Reardon's office for his very first dental checkup ever. He's getting so big! And has 8 teeth! Dash spent the appointment serenely sitting in the dental exam chair, Buddha-like, but with complete disregard for the hygeinist's cajoling.

Hygeinist: "Dash, my name is Paige! Can we see how many teeth you have?" No reaction.

Me: "Check-mouth, sweetie! C'mon, we practiced this all last night. You know what to do!" No reaction, no anger, no worries, just staring past me.

At the construction crew working across the street, we learned. I asked, "Buddy, whatever are you looking at?" "Two men," Dash deadpanned.

Thinking ahead, I had brought props! I had Dora's and Michael's (little people) "visit to the dentist" books, I had a chopstick (our home-verision of the dental explorer), and I had his doll, Boo, from Monsters Inc.

When Boo arose with one hand outstreched and said (in my best approximation of Mary Gibbs' voice), "Dash, lemme see your teeth!" Dash opened right up! He let Boo count his teeth, but still, no cleaning allowed.

Dr. Reardon arrived with a pillow and we lowered Dash back onto it, so she could try to get better results in the exam. He did very well with this part and no cavities were discovered. Whew! His next appointment is scheduled for January.

On the way out, I played that Boo was thrilled for Dash. She said a line from Monsters Inc, "Dabba-da! Kitty!" and like the "Breakin' the Law" with AJS, I got the "More dabba-da, Mommee!" treatment.

You got it, cutie. "Dabba-da!"

Breaking the law!

AJS was trying to drive around some gridlockers on the way home and punched it up to about 35 MPH over the speed limit. Rosie said "That was fun! I like to go fast!" I replied, "Fast IS fun, but unfortunately, it's against the LAW." Not to mention all the awful civil penalties that Virgina citizens are facing.

AJS couldn't resist barking "Breakin' the Law! Breakin' the law!" beavis-and-butthead style, which made both kids giggle like crazy. AJS repeated it, and they giggled even more.

Then we hear, "More ba-kin-laa, Dadee! More ba-kin-laa!" all the way home. Repeat until insane. Good parenting? Um, no comment here.

"Breakin' the Law!"

Sewing

Before Rosie was born, I indulged in some nesting instincts and bought sewing patterns for baby clothes, along with pretty fabrics, notions, ribbons, pastel colored thread, the works. I don't know what I was thinking, because, while the idea of sewing is attractive to me, I don't sew. Ultimately, the only thing I managed to create for Rosie was a rectangle of fleece where I "sewed" on a satin edging using the zig-zag stitch on my machine. Woo! I rock! I am seriously so proud of that blanket. It was made by me! Heirloom-quality stuff. ;-D

Anyway, on that same shopping trip, I saw some fabric unlike any other (even storekeepers in Hawaii thought I was nuts when I asked for shirts with monkeys): here it was, a Hawaiian shirt pattern with CHIMPANZEES. Perfect for AJS! He loves monkeys (he's monkeyrotica, duh), and he be wearin him some Hawaiian shirts all weekendz long, so putting the two together would be a treasure! But, like I said, I don't sew. I got as far as pinning on the patterns and cutting out the fabric, but then got stumped when confronted with step 1, building the left breast pocket. The ironing, the inscrutable Singer, all of it just resulted in me backing away slowly.

This evening, after repairing a strap on one of Rosie's dresses, I decided to go looking for the monkey-shirt-scraps and found them! 5 years later, I have sewn on a pocket. By hand, no ironing, because that's the kind of gal I am. Why bring out large electrical equipment requiring outlets and surfaces, when I can collapse into the couch and listen to TV while stitching? And when it is done, I have no doubt that AJS will wear this shirt with pride, F'ed-up wobbly, hand-stiched seams and all.

I might drag out the Singer if I want to finish it within the next 5 years, but I really need somebody to show me how to use it. I lost the manual, to make things worse. Any takers?

BTW, I never did a thing with the baby clothes patterns. They were cherished and adored in concept only. That was enough.

Grrrrr.

I'm having one of those mornings when everything makes me angry. My coworkers must sense this, so they're steering clear of me. I am seething with anger that they haven't greeted me with a "hello" or have made attempts to chat with me.

But I'm the one with the headphones on, ignoring them.

My headphones are on because someone was using their speakerphone early this morning and this enraged me.

Nobody's winning here. Hopefully I'll break out of this after lunch or at least by tomorrow.

Past weirdnesses

Andrea commented on my weirdness blog entry from a few days ago and reminded me of the odd way in which we met. It was maybe 1996 or 1997, soon after AJS and I had moved from Capitol Hill to Mount Pleasant, when our friend Mel told us we should really meet the fabulous person who'd moved into our old apartment! She was so interesting and had the cutest dog, named Zeke!

We met at Polly's Cafe on U Street and had a great conversation, when I found out that she worked for the Smithsonian. Which part, I asked? NMAI, she answered. Oh, I said, NMAI just moved into the office space that I used to work in. Where's your office?

In the spirit of weirdness, if you haven't guessed already, of course she was working in my old office as well as living in my old apartment. A year or two later, we bought a house a few blocks from Polly's. At the housewarming, the delightful and always entertaining Andrea looked around a bit, then quipped, "I think I'll like it here!"

At that same party, I'd invited a few of some new friends that I'd made recently, including Kelly and her sister Heather. Kelly discovered that she and Andrea had both gone to the same University in Phoenix, and the connections continued...

Summer viruses

Dash was fevered all weekend, into Monday. I stayed with him and took him to the doctor Monday afternoon when he was diagnosed with coxsackie virus. The doctor assured me that Rosie would have antibodies for coxsackie (she's had it a couple of times), and so wouldn't catch it. AJS stayed home with Dash Tuesday and everybody was okay Wednesday.

When I got Rosie up this morning, she was very warm: 101.8 degrees. But, I had committed to baking muffins for a bake sale at work, so I brought them both in to my office. She's here with me right now, eating bake sale cookies! Anyway, she probably has a different, related virus, but not coxsackie.

Happy, yummy!

A fun & fuzzy foto of me, about to extinguish my birthday candle with a puff of air! Yay!

The candle was placed atop some lovely chocolate concoction, but the mint chocolate chip ice cream was my accompanying dessert of choice.

Mmmm. Thanks for the memory!

Weirdness abounds

I took Rosie to our neighbor's birthday party a couple weekends ago. Maggie was turning four, and we had seen her a couple of times around the neighborhood; which is not much at all, considering that she lives down the street from us and we have gone out for walks, bike rides and local parks pretty often over the past 3.5 years.

I'd met Maggie's mom before and I'd encountered her posts on DC urban moms. One from over a year ago had irked me, so I didn't go out of my way to befriend her: she was starting a fiction writer's group, but for only "serious writers" no romantic fiction or science fiction writers need apply. Now, I'm not a writer, but I almost made an attempt to get a sci-fi story going (my fave genre!) so I could go to the meeting and start a fight.

Anyway, that's where my head was, but Maggie was a cutie (coincidentally, with the same birthday as mine!) and Rosie really wanted to go to her party. We went and here's where it started to get wierd. Heather's husband, Jose, is Phillipino, which gives them a very similar racial makeup to AJS and me; that kind of thing intrigues me, usually. I started chatting with Heather and mentioned that AJS was a writer (knowing that she had started a "serious writer's" group, heh) and she jumped all over it, telling me that Jose was a writer, too. This led to a rambling conversation with Jose where he latched on to our last name. "String? Is your husband from DC?" "I knew some Strings, but they went to Gonzaga & Notre Dame HS in DC."

Wierdness: Jose went to high school with AJS's brother and sister. I just did a websearch for Jose and his writing and found this blog profile:

http://www.blogger.com/profile/09735288367103253311

Check out the photo: it is taken at Black Cat's Red Room Bar and he looks very strangely like AJS...

Dash's 2-Year Checkup

Dash just saw our favorite doctor today, Dr. Arnold! She has an almost preternatural ability to remember details about Dash and Rosie (even when the other isn't present), like, "of course he would have to be incredibly verbal, to keep up with his big sister!" She checked him out and we both agreed that he is doing fabulously! His weight is 28.5 lbs, height is 35 in, and head circ is 19.25 cm (percentiles respectfully: 52, 60, & 52). His verbal & physical skills are right on target and his fine motor skills are above average. She was very impressed with the birthday gift he gave me! (See 7/18 post.) He's eating a variety of different foods and plays very well with Rosie. The ear tubes still looked fine, too.

I was running late for the appointment, so when it came time for me to ask any questions, I was frazzled and completely blank. We'll see if anything comes up. Hopefully there wasn't anything important that I missed; it was such a Dash-love-fest. I love you, little boy!

Happy Birfday, Mommee!

Dashiell surprised me this a.m. by making his very first BM in the potty! What a good little guy!

Not a particularly auspicious way to start the day, but I'll take what I can get. I have heard across the board that potty training with boys is much harder than girls (and Rosie wasn't a walk in the park), so I'm trying to give much positive, encouraging reinforcement! Keep at it Dash!

New Glasses Frames!

I've had the same glasses frames since 1997, maybe earlier. This picture is of me and Rosalie (at 6mos), taken in 2003 (and, yes, she is watching TV with me). I bought the frames back when I was coloring my hair red, and they looked great with red hair! They look fine with my natural brown, but after 10 years, it's time for a change. Most definitely.

At my eye appointment yesterday with my fabulous eye doctor, Saba Ayalew, I picked some beautiful new frames! I have been having my eyes checked by Dr. Ayalew for about 12 years (but missed the past 2 year's appts), and had a big shock recently when I saw her at my kids' daycare center with a six-month-old!

Anyway, here is a advertising image of the frames I chose. I should have them in a few weeks:

I've been planning to design my next tattoo with dragonflies (or damselflies, need to do research), so these are perfect!

my first meme tag! fave local food spots...

Kelly at O for Obsessive tagged me with this meme. Rosie eats almost nothing but starch and Dash eats lots of different foods, but gets a little itchy sitting in one place for too long, so that limits our dining-out abilities. If we do have a chance to have a dinner out or if a favorite place is good with kids, I'm listing it here.

I currently live in Alexandria, VA, but prior to having offspring (only 4 years ago) we were solid DC residents. My favorite places are moving south to Northern Virginia.

Here are the rules:

• Link to the person who tagged you.
• Include the state and country you live in.
• List top five favorite local restaurants.
• Tag five other people and let them know they've been tagged.

My top five:

1. Restaurant Eve. In Old Town Alexandria, this dining experience rises high above all other Old Town fare. We don't bring the kids here, but whenever there is a special event (anniversary, night to ourselves, etc.) this is where we know we will get excellent service, fabulous food prepared surprisingly and with care, and really enjoy ourselves.

2. Dishes of India. In Belle View, a hood in Alexandria south of the beltway. We have mostly ordered for take-out, but have brought the kids here with no problems. I think this is the best Indian around, prepared by seasoned chefs from Northern India. I love, love the tasty spices! The lamb dishes are great, Dash adores the Murg Tikka, and I occasionally order the veg dishes for variety. All around good.

3. Sushi Taro. This one's in DC; although we haven't been in a while, it remains my very favorite sushi place in my heart. The food is excruciatingly authentic and popular with Japanese tourists. A couple favorite moments: Japanese tourists taking photos of themselves in the restaurant (WTF? They could be in Japan, the decor is so authentic!); and making reservations for us under Mr. Suzuki, and AJS had to play Japanese when he arrived (he looks the part, but knows about as much Nihon-go as the average sushi-restaurant-menu reader).

4. Via Veneto Italian Restaurant. In Hollin Hall, another hood in Alexandria, south of the beltway. This a very small, family-run restaurant is one of our favorites for carry-out, but occasionally we dine-in. It gets busy and crowded, so when we do go to eat-in, we have an early dinner. The food is delightful and I always get a kick out of the smoke-seasoned voices of the two sisters who run the place. One of our stand-bys: large pizza with sausage, black olives, and spinach! Bella!

5. Burma (Washington DC) or Mandalay (Silver Spring, MD). These two restaurants are tied for their tastiness, but also the similarity in their exotic menus. They serve Burmese cuisine, with standouts of ginger salad and mango pork; I however, always go for the noodle dishes! We went to Mandalay for my birthday last year (look at little Dash, one-year old!), which is the larger of the two and could handle a party with several children. We would have had to close Burma down for a private party that day!

Oh, and tag, you're it: Radical Mama, Been There Seen That, Remember Sammy Jankis (because he seems to forget that he has a blog), and that's about all whom I can come up that might respond to a meme.

Rosie bowls! (slapstick)

Two milestones

This past weekend, we celebrated Dash's birthday with many friends (70!) at our home. The weather was fabulous, and AJS's barbecue supremely tasty. At large gatherings like this where I am the hostess and have two children in my care, I feel like I really am unable to engage with everyone. There are always a few people who were there and left and I was hardly there to do more than hail them as they came and went. I can only hope that they found other friends to speak with and enjoyed themselves.

Dash did pretty well at the party for not napping earlier in the day (he had a few cranky moments and seemed zoned out, here and there). Thank goodness Auntie M showed up and kept Rosie entertained! Prior to her arrival, Rosie spent most of her time indoors. She seemed happier and more engaged with Auntie to boss around.

Sheryl baked us two fabulous cakes that everyone enjoyed. Thanks, Sheryl! And Dash could hardly wait to play with all of his new toys and read the books. However, he was so tired that he wanted to go straight to bed and forego my favorite ritual of being held while I sing songs. *snf* Actually, he's only been interested in songs one day this week and seems to prefer that I read books to him while he's in his crib now. I guess that's why we have birthday parties — to mark a milestone with a ritual, bringing attention to change and growth.

On Sunday, I took the kids to see the Os after lunch and they played so well together! before we all went for a walk around Lake Artemesia. On the walk, we brought Tina (the coon hound) along, because of course dogs like walkies! But, Rosie was very wary of Tina and refused to walk. Kelly saved the day by letting Rosie ride in her double stroller with Thea. YAY! Dash was in my stroller, so that left the youngest of our four kids, Liam, as the only one walking. You're tops in my book, Liam. And thanks for shlepping Rosie, Kelly (and Todd). You guys are great friends.

Heather's baby shower was that afternoon; very nice and fun for the kids. Emma was in the wading pool and Rosie actually joined her! I'm very surprised, since she's usually not interested in water. Emma is such a sweetie and is going to love being a big sister. I have photos of the shower and will post soon.

I [heart] industrial design

This table/chair set, designed by a Turkish industrial design student collective is just fabulously cool. The nesting shapes that are both biomorphic and ergonomic yet practical are making me boggle with excitement. Core 77 blogged about it and made me look!

Of course, I covet anything this awesome for my home; I'm thinking, what a space-saver, the chairs tuck into the table and it holds its own extending leaf inside the main table! However, would it work to seat more than two?

Such a work of art, just as it is.

The Strings of Springfield (ala Kellygo)

Hey, this was totally Kelly's idea, but it looked so fun, I couldn't resist!

Woot!

(AJS told me this morning that he just hit a low weight goal, so I've made him more buff-looking. Way to go, honey!)

Helio "Customer Care" SUX!!

One of the most gawdawful experiences that I've ever had with "customer service" was over this past weekend, with Helio, a mobile phone company that I signed up with last month. For Mother's Day, AJS offered to buy me this new phone that Helio offers, the Ocean. It looked pretty damn cool, so I signed up on May 17. They claimed to have a 30-day total happiness guarantee, so I tried it out, figuring it would take a little while to get used to it. The bottom line is that I cancelled by phone within 30 days and during the cancellation call, I asked for information about sending my phone back; they said they'd mail it to me. When I didn't receive anything in the mail, I phoned them again and found that my cancellation hadn't been "recorded" and I was stuck with all my purchases, charges, early cancellation fees, totalling over $700. Part of this amount is due to monthly fees that are charged in advance, plus a pro-ration because the billing cycle starts on the 19th, and I initiated the account on the 17th.

Despite being a decidedly tech-friendly person, when I first received the Ocean, after several days and 2-3 hours on the phone with Helio's techies I still couldn't figure out how to do simple things like make a phone call (I couldn't make a call unless the number was loaded into the contacts) or send phone pics to my email. I ignored the defects for a while longer before AJS and I collectively decided that my phone was defective. Helio was notified, and I received my new phone on June 14, just a few days before the "happiness guarantee" was to run out.

The new Ocean's functions still weren't working properly and after a marathon 75-minute call on June 16 to technical support, that ended without resolving much, I phoned back the same day to let them know that I was still not "happy" and wanted to cancel the service. According to Helio managers, the 75-minute call was "recorded", but my later call to cancel was NOT. Therefore, I did not fulfill the requirements for the "happiness guarantee." I sound calm and collected now, but I'll have you know that I screamed and swore at the managers enought that they threatened to end my call twice until I calmed down. I FOLLOWED DIRECTIONS! THEY SCREWED UP BY NOT RECORDING MY CALL! WHAT ELSE WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO? "We're sorry, ma'am, that you were misinformed by our staff. Thank-you-very-much and we-hope-you-have-a-GREAT-weekend!"

It's several days later and I've filed a dispute with my credit card company. Caveat Emptor.

Parenting, AJS Style

A quote from AJS:

"Children should be taught to treasure their nightmares, to keep them in a soft quiet place and warm their hands by the glowing embers. We tell Rosie that, if she has monsters in her dreams, she needs to tell the monster's mommy that baby monster is being mean. Baby monster won't get cookies if it's mean.

And I think Samuel L. Jackson made the best parenthood speech ever in Pulp Fiction: 'The truth is, you are the Weak, and I am the Tyrrany of Evil Men. But I'm trying, I'm trying REAL HARD to be the shepherd.'"

Keeping him small

Dash is two (say it LOUD with index and middle fingers held up). And, I have to admit, he no longer looks the baby part. My soft, pudgy, neckless baby's morphosis into a leaner, taller toddler who can almost run faster than me (in heels) and carry on limited conversations with people is happening now and there's nothing I can do to to slow it down.

Knowing that my world with this little person, this toddler (soon to be preschooler) is set on high speed, I have a nightly ritual with him that I want to record here. Each evening I try to stop time, if just for a few minutes, during our before-bed routine. After we read a few books, I turn out his light, pick him up and hold him tightly; he drops his sweet little head on my shoulder, and I sway with him while singing him four or five lullabies before releasing him to his crib.

During this time, with only the nightlight shining in his darkened room, he is my baby, my little boy. The back of his neck still smells like baby, with lavender scent from his bath. I try not to notice that his feet are dangling close to my knees or that his arms are long enough to wrap around mine and hug me back.

Dash, I know we gave you an action verb for a name, but please don't grow up too fast.

If June 22 is your birthday

"The coincidences that mark the next six weeks aren't coincidences at all—the universe conspires for your sweet success. You'll be pursued by those who want to be in your inner circle. Past good deeds catch up to you and bring new luck (mostly financial) in August. Expand your empire in September. Taurus, Aquarius people adore you."

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY, DASH!!

Dash, you're two years old today and such a delight to be around! I don't know if it's just because we understand baby-talk better, having been immersion-trained with Rosie, but you have been communicating so well! We get what you're trying to say and are able to act on it, which causes fewer frustrated moments, thank goodness. You ask for "wan BIG boc-boc, peesh!" and I know not to snap your graham cracker in two. You're learning from Rosie and want to do what ever she's doing, say what she's saying, sit where she's sitting and play with her all the time; most of the time, she lets you!

You are so coordinated, it's amazing to watch you dance, run, or just sit and figure out how to make something work (or take it apart). You love drawing, cutting paper with scissors, going "ou-siye" to help me water the flowers, running around with Rosie, throwing "bak-e-balls", rocks, sticks, and reading books with me. I love how you are so enthusiastic and cheerful, willing to try new things.

Of course, when we don't let you do something you want (even if you already said please!) you do get upset and have meltdowns, but you're pretty easy to redirect. We went to the pool yesterday and you wanted desperately to play in the park nearby, but as soon as you saw the water, the playground was forgotten!

It makes me wistful for the baby that you were, to see you getting so big, but I can hardly wait to see what you'll do and say next. I love you Dashie! I'm happy that you're two.

Late Father's Day post

AJS wasn't interested in going out for Father's Day, but he was absolutely fine with me taking the kids out, so the three of us celebrated Father's Day with my family. Rosie, Dash, and I met Grandaddy Jim, Grandma Sheila and Auntie M. at Overwood for their Father's Day brunch buffet, which was quite tasty and had a large selection of breakfast-y items. The kids were delighted to see their grandparents! Dash showed off his new "skill" that he must have learned from the other little boys at school (or for all I know, he taught it to all of them), which goes like this: he announces "spit! hand!" holds up his hand with palm facing in, then blows a raspberry at it. Genius! Rosie entertained us all by first insisting that I peel her grapes (not happening), then attempting to peel them herself.

After Rosie and Dash ate their weight in purple grapes and canteloupe, Granddaddy and Auntie gave them puppets that they'd brought back from their Italy trip. The kids loved them!! Thank you! We went for a walk over to the Torpedo Factory, where each of the kids got a balloon animal from a street vendor (Rosie: pink swan, Dash: blue doggie). Auntie M. wanted to go for a walk along the Potomac, but I was a bit foot- and shoulder-sore from carrying Dash in the sling (didn't want to walk or ride a stroller). It was also awfully bright out for my dad, who forgot his sunglasses (I know who I got my photo-phobia from!), so we headed back to my parents' house.

We met up with AJS later that evening, around 5 or so. He occupied himself by grilling elaborate foods all day; delightful, with no-one around to bother him! I hope all Dads out there had a great day.

An early Father's Day post

I just wanted to put a few plugs in for the main Dad in my life, AJS, father of Rosie and Dash. He is one of the cleverest, snarkiest, and sweetest guys I know, and I'm so glad to have him around to make me and the kids laugh every day. He is adept at long-distance tickling (just a wiggle of a finger from several feet away will get Rosie or Dash tied up in giggles), cooks us up the tastiest dinners every night, and for those of us that he loves, lets us know regularly.

If you're loved by AJS, he will tease you, share jokes with you, drive you to the airport (if you're in a pinch), and cook you food that you know is made with careful attention and love. He's not exactly transparent, but he tells it how he sees it; if he thinks you're being an idiot, he will let you know exactly that, and at the same time show you the humor in the situation. As a father, he draws the lines, creates the rules, and disciplines thoughtfully, yet entertainingly. Rosie and Dash adore him and he adores them right back! He is the goofy guy I dated, the wonderful man I married, and the silly daddy who loves to play the clown with our kids.

AJS, thank you for being so generous with your time, your love and affection with your family. You are raising two beautiful, laughter-filled, happy children who love to be around you, so we all know you are doing it well. I love you, and wish you a happy Father's Day!

Our mini dictator

AJS and I sat down to dinner with the kids this evening, and shortly after he began to tell me about his day, this interference started (and continued throughout the meal, whenever we disregarded orders):

Dash: NO TALK DADDA!

NO TALK MOMMA!!

EAT!!! EAT!!!

We think he's channeling his grandmother Ikiko...

Gaaack?!?

And, whaaaa? After staring at the graphic for several minutes and trying to glean a deeper meaning from the British 2012 Olympics' new logo, I have come to a conclusion. There is none. The hot pink disaster is a jaggy, "extreme," stacked-and-teetering version of the numerals 2,0,1, and 2.

No epilepsy here, but the ick-factor is hurts mi brain.

CUTIES!

AJS caught Rosie and Dash sharing a chair at the dinner table.

They love each other, the cuties! I hope they keep it up forever.



As a side note, my orchid (on the kitchen windowsill) is about to bloom! This is not my orchid, but it is pretty close to what mine looked like last year:

A couple of movie reviews

This weekend, (TMI) we were all sick with various odd symptoms. Rosie had pinkeye, fluid in her ears and wheezing; AJS had nasty coughs that make him gag; Dash had a cough and sore throat; and I lost my voice with deep chest coughs and nasal congestion [update: I have a sinus infection]. SO, all that said, we stayed in a lot and watched movies.

AJS bought the winner of the weekend, Mulan. Rosie loved that it was about CHINA!, the father-daughter connection, all the action sequences, and that Mulan was probably going to marry Chang at the end. She said that she especially liked the "fat soldier" because he could lift a horse with people on it! Tien-Po was a mountain of a man, full of sweetness and strength. AJS thought it was hilarious that the voice of Yao, the fiercest, manliest warrior was performed by Harvey Fierstein (hee, hee). Dash would rather watch Thomas the Tank Engine, but not this one...

The bust of the weekend was my purchase (c'mon, how can you resist $8 at CVS?) of Thomas and the Magic Railroad. It had a cast of interesting characters, most notably Peter Fonda and Alec Baldwin and I recall it getting some press, I just couldn't remember whether it was good or bad. My rationalization was that Dash liked Thomas' TV shows, he was only two, so how could they screw it up? Here's how: it just dragged on and on with a pointless story that had no end in sight. I couldn't bear to sit through the whole 84 minutes. There were subtexts about lost childhood and magic draining away, and Peter Fonda just sulked through his part with no expression. Alec Baldwin was not loveable and why everyone was so excited to see him whenever he arrived on the scene was beyond me. Sigh. Dash wandered off after the first fifteen minutes. I'm surprised he lasted that long.

Blogging for LGBT family equality

I met Chris and John while collaborating on a project with the company Chris and I work for about 12 years ago. Their son, Kendall, is adopted and has various serious health issues, like severe asthma; also, Kendall is a different race than his adopted parents. They are all the same gender. It tickles me that Kendall calls Chris "Daddy" and John "Pop-Pop".

They are a happy, supportive family and the first that I'd met with same-sex parents. While I was delighted for them that they had adopted, there was a bit of a dark cloud over the adoption process that they went through back in 1995. Because they weren't a "traditional" family, their priority was shunted to lowest. In order to receive a child, they were left to choose from children that had been passed over by everone else. With expensive health issues and being born of a drug-addicted mother, Kendall was not a easy choice. Chris and John wanted to be a family and looked past all the negatives with Kendall and just saw his beautiful smile. They chose him, and despite the hardships, are a family to look up to, full of love.

I haven't done the research, but I certainly hope that adopting a child is easier for LGBT families these days. With all the other inequalities that are associated with same-sex couples, my hopes aren't high, but my heart goes out to all of the couples out there trying to adopt or start a non-traditional family. You deserve it!

Brotherly love!

Here is a lovely photo circa 1942 of my dad at age 20 months or so with his big brother, Bob, who was probably 9 years. I just am touched by the way Jimmy is holding Bob's wrist and how Bob is snuggled up to his little bro.

To this day, despite troubles within the Daley clan, my dad and Uncle Bob are still in touch and phone regularly.

I'll be sure to scan pics of their twin younger brothers (Uncles Bill and Tom) soon.

Morning ritual with Dash

Scene: 7:45 a.m., the four of us, all packed in the car, pulling away from the house.

Dash: Bye-bye house! Hi, Dad-da! Hi, Mam-ma! Hi, Dju-Dju! (we all answer, Hi, Dash!)

Driving through the neighborhood:

Dash: Woof, woof, dog-ga! Hi, squirrel! Hi, car! Hi tree! (and so on. But, not to be forgotten:) Bye-bye creek! (which is a favorite place to throw rocks and make big splashes.)

Just sharing the sweetness. He is so full of joy!

Playset design for beyond preschool

Our kids love our playset right now, as all the research and development for its particular design and function is for ages 3 to 10 years. We had friends over for a Memorial Day barbecue yesterday, and our friends brought their children. With the exception of Daniel (6 months), all the kids that were over were in the optimal age range for enjoyment of our swingset/slide playset, although at 8-almost 9-years, the entertainment factor is pushing it for Kira. In fact, at 18 months (and not officially in the bracket) Liam was arguably having the most fun of all! Dash just marched around and claimed ownership of everything ("mine swing!"), kind of spoiling his own enjoyment, but that's part of being two years old, right? Lila figured out how to flip around on the trapeeze, which Rosie has been happy to just dangle from; kudos, you coordinated little flower!

So, what is there when your 8 to 12 year-old is bored with your playset that was designed to keep a 4 year-old entertained? Some architects and conceptual artists envision "new spaces to stimulate the imagination (and the metabolism) by encouraging exploration and free play."

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/29/opinion/29arieff.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

The writer mentions that she has asked other designers for input. I'll keep my eyes peeled.

Asleep

Dash is 23 months today

Here's a photo from my new phone of my sweet little Dash in his carseat, eating his favorite treat, chocolate. He's 23 months today, which means that we need to start sending invites out for his birthday party!

At 23 months, Dash is cheerful, very active, and is right on track with his verbal skills. He is putting together multi-word sentences, like "car, go, Mama, store!" when he wants to take a trip (probably to a store with chocolate for sale). He's quite the artist, using paints, crayons and tape, on all sorts of media (like the walls AND carpeting).

He loves his sister, Dju-Dju, and follows her around everywhere. Their favorite game is "hide" where they find a hiding place (especially Rosie's closet) giggle until AJS or I come to find them. In daycare when he's upset, his teachers know that a visit to Dju-Dju will cheer him up—I think he's over in Preschool visiting daily.

He's very empathetic when he hears a baby crying, letting me know, "sad baby, Mama." His favorite things right now are going outside, visiting our neighbor, James (5 years), stacking tall block-towers, trying out his potty, throwing balls, running, dancing, and counting (two, four, six, nine). He loves hot-doggas for dinner with tay-tos, noodles, chicken nuggets (nugga!), peas, and all kinds of beans.

When he does have tantrums, he's pretty easy to redirect. I managed to curtail diaper-changing meltdowns by pretending that his toes are my most treasured things in the world. :-D He now will offer his toes up for kisses with a huge smile instead of fighting for his life.

What will his birthday party theme be? His most loved toys are still ducks and Elmo, but Thomas the Tank Engine is rising in the ranks...

Pushing my buttons (a rant)

Why do bedtime and waking up have to be such a struggle? I am mostly talking about Rosie here. Dash has, so far, been a pretty easy guy to get down and wake. Rosie though, requires many pre-sleep steps before we are released from her domain.

First, there's the "just one TV show".

Second, AJS usually reads her books until I'm finished with Dash.

Third, when I get to her room, we read three books; last night she had the same books from the night before. I suggested we get fresh books, but no (weeping ensued); whatever. She was tired, so she wanted to flop on me and then demanded that I hold the books at strange angles where I couldn't even read the words, so I made her cry by holding them so I could actually read. Then she claimed I was reading them wrong and insisted that I re-read several pages. This went horribly awry with me running out of the room several times to get tissues for her tears and runny nose (note to self: bring tissue box in Rosie's room). Somehow, I read the books, managed to get her in bed and left, but it was well after 9:30. [As an aside, someone was outside playing basketball until 9 p.m., which in the state I was in with Rosie, was like someone slamming the ball into the side of my head everytime it hit the pavement.]

Last, when I leave, she asks for me to send AJS in one more time for a kiss. Then Igive her kisses, hugs, wish her peaceful sleep and tell her I love her. Despite all the struggles, she is a beautiful girl and can be very sweet.

And, ugh, it's not even worth it to really get into what I went through this morning. Suffice to say that setting up her clothes the night before and getting her buy-in is time very, very well spent. I will be doing my super-best to keep that ritual going. Whew.

I'll try to come back later and write about the nicer parts of the weekend. That's just not what I'm focusing on at the moment.

Dash Potty!

Last night, for the first time, Dash tried out his potty! Before now, he has only identified it as "potty" and pointed, but when we asked if he wanted to sit, we heard a big "NO!" Yesterday, however, he sat for a while, said, "Dash poop," and got up a few times (however, the potty remained unsoiled). He received plenty of positive reinforcement from AJS and me!

The part I thought was hilarious was that he wanted to be completely naked before he sat down. Will he be one of *those* people?

Now we know who did it!

Me (feeling sandpapery grains on scalp): "Dash, did you throw sand in your hair?"

Dash: "Djeah!"

AJS: "Oh, he'll say yes to anything. Dash, did you shoot McKinley?

Dash: "Djeah!"

And here's a video of our little man, for your viewing pleasure:

Top ten music challenge

Kelly O set a music query out to her readers: "Here are ten of my all-time favs. What are yours?"

While most of these tunes never made it on the radio, my criteria are: that the song sends those lovely chills up the spine, I loved the tune enough to buy it and play it over and over, I actually know the words and occasionally sing along at the highest volume allowed, and —if appropriate— sends me running out on the dance floor without any prodding. So here goes (I added some lyrics and oddly, found that many of my favorite songs have birds mentioned; funny.):

Dead Can Dance: "As the Bell Rings, the Maypole Spins"

David Sylvian: "September"
The sun shines high above / The sounds of laughter / The birds swoop down upon / The crosses of old grey churches

Depeche Mode: "Dream On"

Sinead O'Connor: "Troy"
Oh, I love you / God, I love you / I'd kill a dragon for you / I’ll die / But I will rise / And I will return / The Phoenix from the flame

Violent Femmes: "Blister in the Sun"
When I'm out walkin' I strut my stuff / Man, I'm so strung out / I'm high as a kite and I just might stop to check you out

Ministry: "We Believe"
In the east where the bear is dancing / In the west where the eagle flies / In the middle we stand our ground / The forces pull us down, down, down / We believe

Peter Murphy: "Cuts You Up"
I find you in the morning / After dreams of distant signs / You pour yourself over me / Like the sun through the blinds / You lift me up

Tones on Tail: "Lions"

Love and Rockets: "Rain Bird"
Rain bird flies to the edge of a gilded cage / Hiding in the spotlights / Of a famous stage / He tries to become invisible / Whilst stealing the front page

Yann Tiersen: "Les Jours Tristes"

If you clean your plate...

Dash is learning the rules. Rosie knows, if she wants to have a treat after dinner, she has to eat everything on her plate; it's usually not a large amount, it's just different foods that she's too picky to try. It's her choice to make the effort or not. Dash has been learning from Rosie. He likes treats too (especially chocolate: boc-boc!) and asks for them well before he's eaten much dinner.

Until yesterday, he seemed to think that we'd be fooled if he just pushed his extra food off the plate onto the table, or gave it away to us. (Ha! Not quite, Dash.) But last night, he finally got it. He heard Rosie was talking about chocolate, then grabbed all his food in two fists and shoved it all into his mouth at once, moistly yelling, "BOC-BOC!!"

His plate was clean (he held it up for us to examine), so he got one Hershey's kiss.

"Was it good, Dash?" "Gud."

(P.S. tonight's dinner: all he wanted/ate was oranges and didn't ask for any treats.)

More storage, courtesy IKEA

We went on our IKEA trip on Saturday exactly when it opened, with both kids in tow. Since there are 2 IKEAs about equidistant from our house, we opted to alternate and went to Woodbridge. I had carefully measured the two spaces where we wanted to add shelving, and so felt prepared: we would buy 2 or 3 shelving units, no more.

Of course, that place is like a beehive with winding paths, incredible amounts of distractingly fun stuff, so while wandering, we found about 4 or 5 small odds and ends, mostly for the kids. When we found the storage area, none of the shelving on display was the exact size I wanted, but I identified 2 units that would be close enough.

When we got to the warehouse area, we were all ready to leave and the kids were getting antsy. AJS couldn't understand why I was staring frantically at stacks and stacks of what looked like the same thing, but each had different measurements, and so I was not immediately reaching for any one item. After some indecision, I grabbed a few things that looked right (they weren't) and loaded them on the pallet. We located the second item and after a glance, decided it wouldn't fit in the wagon. Sigh.

A small victory: we did build one unit of the shelves we bought (not the best size, but will do) and loaded it with some goods. We also donated three boxes of books to the local AmVets donation site. I know there are book drives all over, but these were all very odd books about Celtic mythology, wedding/fertility/pregnancy planning, outdated software & travel guides, and other fiction miscelleny.

Back into mildly freaking out about bird flu

About a year and a half ago, I was totally obsessed with avian influenza. I checked the World Health Organization updates regularly, read online disaster scenarios (that predict an 8-week recovery period, best-case), and researched what I could do to be prepared. And more importantly, I wanted to know what my community, my County, and the state of Virginia was doing. I contacted regional health officials, got them on the calendar, and they gave a moving presentation at my neighborhood association's monthly meeting.

I purchased some books and some large water/food storage containers. I went to Costco and started buying some instutional-size quantities of odds and ends. I considered becoming trained by the Medical Reserve Corps and volunteer during an emergency (the incentive here is, as a volunteer, you and your family get first dips at vaccinations).

But, after a few months of this at some point, I just couldn't sustain the sense of urgency. The information about the outbreaks started fading from the headlines and buying the extra supplies was hurting my wallet. And, a major hurdle to creating a workable storage system was to actually be able to store supplies. We have a perfect place in our basement, but it's full of other stuff; finding time to clear it out (which would involve many trash bags, recycling, donations to charity, giving stuff to friends, eBay sales, and/or a yard sale) hasn't been a priority with the kiddies taking up all our time and energy during waking hours.

All this to say, my Mother's Day wish is to have the storage area ready. I have AJS on board to help clear the junk out this weekend. We will make those donations, give stuff away, and move the remaining items chosen for future disposal to the attic. The next step is to go to IKEA (or similar place) and buy some cheap-ish but usable shelving.

Then I can move onto the next stage: stocking the space with supplies.

Proofs are here!

Picture Day at daycare was three weeks ago and we just got the proofs back. I grabbed the copyrighted images from www.images4kids.com and wish to let them know that I don't intend to alter or print these images (nor should you). I fully intend to buy packages.

Here are my picks; tell me what you think:

Dash and Rosie like duckpins!

We went to a duckpin bowling alley in Baltimore on Sunday for Alan's birthday party. Dash loves duckpins!
Rosie made a friend named Cori. I think her father works as a mechanic there, so Cori knew all the bowling rules and kept my kids out of trouble. She was very happy to have other kids around (and the good snacks that accompany them).





Dash was almost, but not entirely, conked out on the way home.

Our little circus

On Saturday morning, our yelling kids and shrieking bird were sending AJS up the bricks, so I suggested I take them all for a walk. Bird included. Out came the radio flyer wagon from the shed, insert pillow and blanket, Rosie in the back, Dash between her legs, and Weegee in his carrier between Dash's legs. Off we rolled, down the street (cue circus music).

Dash loves Weegee; he helps feed him and gives him hearty pats while I keep the pointy beak away from his tender mitts. Weegee is a Senegal parrot and is nine years old; in good health, his breed will live to be 35 years or more. AJS and Weegee didn't get off to the best start (discipline issues), so Weegee thinks he's the Alpha male and succeeds in dominating AJS with shrieks and bites. I get preened and kissed. Rosie mirrors AJS with Weegee: she'll make chatter-noises with him, but doesn't want him out of his cage. Dash wants Weegee "out" and "up"!

Before kids, Weegee was the baby. I'm most certain that he dearly misses all the attention and playtime he used to get.