Bliss

Dear Aaron,
You are far far away right now. Across the Atlantic Ocean to be exact. We miss you terribly. I wanted to tell you how much we love you. The fact that on the eve of your departure you took the time to build us a bed speaks volumes about your patience. The three of us were huddled around the 50 slats of wood that would eventually become a futon frame, Nico mimicking you with his toy hammer. You called it bliss. My heart melted. I have it so good.

Yet another day at LA Zoo

What would I do without my zoo membership? The zoo comes in handy for those hum drum days with nothing to do. It's a 5 minute drive from my house. Last Friday Nico and I arrived fashionably late to the zoo, strolling in at around 3:30. Mind you they put all the animals away at 4. Yet, we always say Hi to the gorillas right before they are put away.Nico doesn't seem to mind. I also don't mind that the park is practically empty, all the school field trips and kiddies have long gone. It's nice having a huge public park all to yourself. Lately we don't even try to see any animals. We just enjoy walking the tree lined pathways. Nico loves running the curvy stone paths. Nico thinks he is about to jump off of a very high wall. Enjoying the pathways. We are here.

Around the House: Nico's Room

Nico's room is perhaps the one room that truly looks moved in. We spend more time in there adjusting artwork, changing beds (were on bed #3 right now) and all around "Jujjing" than any other room in our house. I wanted to share my favorite project in there so far.I was inspired by this site to take our ugly Ikea dresser, (one we had to buy out of necessity during our temporary move) and easily transform it into something interesting. I had very little budget. At Micheal's I purchased orange felt tiles with self adhesive on the back. Each tile was .99 cents, and I used 3 per drawer.I cut them to size with scissors, peeled the back and stuck it over the ugly corrugated frosted plastic. For under $10, I really love the look of the dresser now. Before the drawers looked messy all the time, because the plastic facing showed all its contents. Now the felt and the white wood are so interesting. What do you think? Before. After.

Rainy Day

The song is wrong. It does rain here in Southern California. The fact that it is mostly gorgeous all of the time makes the rain stand out even more. It can either be cozy or crummy. When I had the luxury of a movie or a book, it was cozy. With a rambunctious toddler, it can lead to all out cabin fever. On this day I attempted to make homemade vegetable patties. A recipe that I won't bother sharing because it was so much prep work for not too much bang. Because I had so much chopping to do I had to keep Nico occupied. I filled up the kitchen sink and added some toys and he was a happy camper. I was able to keep an eye on him while I chopped away and it was a great indoor activity for him. While the recipe wasn't that great, I was really happy with my creative solution to keeping all my ingredients in order. Perhaps this is already an old trick you all know about, but I just did it out of necessity for space and not wanting to do too many dishes. I will definitely be employing my muffin pan in future recipes! Meanwhile Nico's calm and cool sink play turned into part cleanup, part debacle. As you can see he ended up inside the sink, totally drenched. Water spilled everywhere. I gave him a colander and he scrubbed it dutifully. Later I found a small peice of leek in his diaper. Messy? Yes. Easy to clean up? Yes. Unforgettable, definitely.

Messy Art Class

We checked out the Messy Art class at Play. Nico was a rebel and refused the plastic smock, butonce I was assured the Tempra paint would wash out, we let him go nuts. At first he was drawn to red and wild thrashings of the brush ( a junior Pollock for sure) but he ended in a somber blue period (we were getting close to his naptime). Play is really nice. They have a large room for snacking and playing in. Nico played trains for a bit before we headed out into the foggy West Hollywood morning. Low point of the day: I cracked the glass on my iphone chasing Nico. It still works, so I can't justify a new one, it's purely cosmetic. But I do live in L.A...Oh the shame! Here is Nico after class, basking in his artist glory, war paint and all.

Los Monstruos

Nico likes to read in the buff. It's a nighttime routine of sorts. I let him enjoy his nakedness, I can tell he loves it so. We recently got Where The Wild Things Are in Spanish , and it is a hands down favorite. The story seems so wordy and complicated to me for a toddler. I secretly ordered it for myself. Yet when I read it, Nico follows right along, mouth agape, in serious concern for Max. Tonight he grabbed the book and took it and his naked behind straight to his father for a bedtime story. My husband recently shared this amazing site with me. It is tied to the upcoming release of the movie. I have been checking it often for inspiration and vicarious living.

Nature Walk

This Sunday the family took an early morning nature hike in Griffith Park. There is a beautiful woodsy creek and path, and the air was crisp. We encountered a couple with a parrot, lots of dogs on walk, and an impromptu soccer game on a dirt field. After seeing this book and reading how our youngest generations have lives almost devoid of nature, and the serious implications of having lived a life indoors... Aaron and I decided to take bubba right into the forest. I have to catch myself from saying, "Oh gross, don't touch that!" and make sure Nico touches wet mossy things, old cobwebs and muddy leaves. Not just because he is a boy, but because he is a human.