Warm and cozy in her new knit cap,
with funky braids like the one
Ron wore in Harry Potter movie #3

For Christmas, Ana would like a play kitchen, the two remaining items in the Littlest Pet Shop collection that we haven’t already bought her, and a pair of fur trimmed boots.

That’s right, our 4 year old wants CLOTHES for Christmas. I don’t think this request comes from feeling deprived about the state of her closet or feeling bad about her appearance. She has plenty of clothes, many that are quite fashionable, and she’s always happy with what she’s wearing when we send her off to school in the mornings because it’s usually something she picked out herself. She’s been choosing her own clothes since age 3.

I can’t relate. Growing up, I was maybe a 3 on the fashionista scale of 1 to 10. In other words, I didn’t look like I just fell out of bed, but that’s not saying much, and I didn’t start choosing my own clothes until junior high. Now I’d say I’m about a 5; I’ve come a long way, baby.

But I still consider clothes in the same category as computers and household appliances; they’re necessities, not gift ideas. I’ve only made two exceptions to this rule in the past decade: the black leather jacket I requested for Christmas a few years ago and the dutch oven I requested for my birthday. But then that was no ordinary jacket; when I put it on, I was Trinity. And this wasn’t just a pot; it’s a cauldron for cooking up MAGIC.

I will gladly buy my daughter a pair of boots if that’s what she wants, but the thought of wrapping it up and putting it under the tree feels antithetical to some basic tenet I live by.

“But that’s what she asked for,” Kevin says.

“She’s 4, she doesn’t know what she’s talking about,” I retort reflexively.

Except… I love boots. The first time I put on a pair of boots, they were reddish brown cowboy boots. Putting them on, I walked differently, I stood differently, I became a whole other person. Over the years I’ve owned probably a dozen pair of boots - black suede, tan leather, ankle booties, etc. held up with zippers, buckles or leather laces - and each time I try on a new pair, it transports me. Boots are MAGIC.

Maybe my little fashion maven and I have more in common than I thought. Maybe I’ll wrap those boots up and put them under the tree after all.

Categories: kids and parenting, memes, movies
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Kevin told me about the great service the LA Times has been providing in blogging about the fires and updating this Google Map with evacuation information. According to the map Angie’s babysitter’s house is only one street away from the mandatory evacuation area. When we called her last night to see if she was okay, she and her neighbors were all packing their cars.

Today I’m staying home with the kids. Alex’s entire school district is closed due to the fires; one of the high schools is being used as an evacuation center. We didn’t get a call from Ana’s preschool, but I preemptively left a message saying I’m keeping her home. Aside from the babysitter situation, Angie is recovering from a cold, and I’m going through tissue after tissue mopping up her runny nose.

Meanwhile, I’ve rescheduled my meetings for the day, and our Internet access seems to have been restored, so I’m checking my work email from home.

Categories: kids and parenting, memes, news, work-life balance
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Little Miss Angelina is super mobile. We can’t leave her on her blanket for a second without her crawling off and away. The Legos have been quarantined, and I keep a constant lookout for other too-small objects that she’s likely to find and put in her mouth. My living room floor has never been so clean.

In dietary news, she’s as picky as ever. She still shudders visibly when I try to feed her sweet potatoes, and on our 8th try she blew a huge raspberry so that they landed all over me. I officially give up on sweet potatoes, and I’m considering making my own baby food like I did when Ana was a baby. The fresh stuff has got to taste better.

She’s been sick with a cold almost a week now. I’m keeping her home tomorrow partly because of her runny nose and partly because her baby sitter’s neighborhood is being evacuated due to the crazy wildfires burning through Diamond Bar.

Categories: angie, memes
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Here’s a conversation from last week.

Kevin: Who were those three boys that wanted to say bye bye to you when Daddy came to pick you up today?

Ana: I don’t remember.

Kevin: Was one of them Dwayne*?

Ana: Yes.

Kevin: Who were the other ones?

Me: (being super helpful) John? Peter? Harry?

Kevin: (gives me a look) …

Ana: Well, I think one of them was Andy*.

Kevin: And the last one?

Ana: Maybe Nick*.

Kevin: Dwayne. Andy. Nick. Got it.

*Names have been changed to protect the innocent (until proven guilty).

Categories: kids and parenting, memes
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Today I opened Google Reader and saw a new entry from a blogger who hasn’t updated in a while. Her husband cheated on her, and she’s dealing with the aftermath as well as she can. She sometimes reads this blog, so here’s a message for her.

E, if you’re reading this, I just want to say I’m sorry.

I haven’t seen much of the Internet in over a week because of flaky access. Verizon says they’re working on it. Strangely, aside from the inconvenience of not being able to pay my bills whenever I feel like it, I haven’t missed it all that much. There has been much less reflexive checking and rechecking of work email / Google Reader / Facebook and much more of… well, everything else. I cooked, cleaned, read books for work, did some cross stitch (more on this later), and watched Kung Fu Panda with the kids a bajillion times.

My life is fine. I have nothing to complain about.

Categories: memes
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