cosmic blunder

Is 9 too early for adolescence to start? Because I swear I have a teenage girl on my hands. SHE WANTS TO SHAVE HER LEGS, PEOPLE. She has ATTITUDE. More so than usual. I swear she rolled her eyes at me this morning as we both faught for mirror space in the bathroom.

Thanks to the great "cosmic blunder" brought about by my waiting until the age of 36 to give birth, I figure Anna's puberty and my menopause will converge with all the spectacular spark-throwing, sulfer-stench of two planets colliding.

Poor, poor David. Dude is going to be in the midst of a shit-storm of hormones here in about 3 years, and it's not going to be pretty.

::LaBoata::

Last weekend, as Christina and the girls and I sat on the front porch, this...this....BOAT drove by. We all had the exact same reaction "There goes a a boat". And then "WTF??!!" And Christina and I literally shrieked with laughter. I so badly wanted him to come back by and give us all a ride. And of course I'd wished I'd had my camera, although it happened so fast we all wondered if we'd hallucinated it. Then today I saw this picture on our local news website:

Here's the story of the boat called "LaBoata". The creater/skipper is the father of 6 kids. He wants to use his boat to ferry (har har) them to the prom. And I thought it was embarrassing when my dad wore slippers in public...

::dumb ass of the year award::

goes to: the couple who decided to ignore evacuation orders issued to escape the out-of-control wildfire raging toward their home north of Los Angeles. They thought they could "ride it out" IN THEIR HOT TUB.

I wonder if they remembered to throw in some diced potatoes and herbs.

::first day of school 3rd grade::

Ok, so I didn't die running 20 miles, BUT I WANTED TO.

Anna started school last Thursday, but because I am lame I forgot to take a picture of her on her first day. So this is actually the 3rd day of school. Whatever. Here she is, in all her almost-9-year-old glory. I decided that our new tradition will be to take her first-day photo standing next to our baby crab-apple tree. That way we can see how she and the tree both change and grow. Right now both are kind of puny.

Please ignore our lack of landscaping. By this time next year, it will be a different story.

Our daughter has big feet, have I mentioned this? Actually, those are David's "bunny boots". I don't know why they are called that but apparently if you live in Alaska you need these or your feet will fall off. Anna thinks they are awesome. Next year they will fit her, I am certain of it. Right now she is wearing a women's size seven and a half shoe.

Anna, Skylar and Piper. My three favorite girls in the world.

In other news, my husband is finally home after being in Boston for a week. He brought me a box of pastries, carrying them across the country. I think he likes me. And I know I like him. Cannoli or no cannoli.

I just want you all to know that I love you

I am so going to get my ass kicked this weekend. I have to run 20 miles. TWENTY MILES people. That's like, from one town to another. And I am not prepared. My week-day runs have been nearly non-existant because, well, in the morning it's too dark....at noon it's too hot...after work I'm too tired/hungry/lazy. You see where I'm going with this...I'm going to DIIIIEEEEE!!

::how I know I'm getting old::

* I make my child go to bed at 8:00 so that I can too. Yes, even in summer.

* I recently stepped into an Abercrombie & Fitch store while looking for school clothes for Anna; I didn't make it 20 feet into the store before I had to turn around and leave due to the overwhelming stench of perfume (WTF, A & F??) that they are pumping into their store. Also? Even I am sort of appalled by the near-naked men wallpapering that entire store. And it's almost impossible to embarrass me.

And the big one? When did trying on jeans become as mortifying and ego-deflating as trying on swimming suits? Really...when did that happen?? I feel like every pair of jeans I try on make me look like I'm trying to pass for an 18 year old, or they look hopelessly like mom-jeans. Aren't there jeans that look age-appropriate and yet still hip for women in their 40s and up? Perhaps my problem is that I refuse to pay $180 for jeans. Hell, even Levis make a $238 jean. For $238, those pants better lift my butt 5 inches, make my legs look 10 miles long and disguise any evidence that I ever carried a 9 pound child. And maybe that's exactly what $238 Levis do. Hmmmm.....

::anna::

I don't know if I've mentioned it lately, but my kid is adorable. I was going through some of the old pictures on my computer, and thought I'd share some of my favorite Anna photos.

The summer she was 2 1/2, one of our favorite books was called "Pete's a Pizza", about a little boy is is bored because it's raining and he can't go outside to play. So his dad pretends to make him into a pizza, elaborately spreading on the sauce, sprinkling on the cheese (lots of sound effects are required), adding toppings and finally, scooping him up to put him in the "oven" (the couch) to cook. Anna loooved to recreate that book; here she is a "tomato and banana" pizza.

This was shortly after we moved to Spokane, so she was 3 or 4. She'd finally (after waiting her WHOLE LIFE) gotten her own kitty. This was Maple's "sleeping bag". I love that she has a tattoo on her little arm. Look at that face, would you??

She and her dad were having a water fight. I love the light and shadow on this one. Also, it's probably the only time in my adult life I've actually had lovely green grass. It didn't last long.

Swinging. Pure joy...

A couple of summers ago my sister got married on the Oregon coast and someone had a kite. I just think this one is so pretty.

I have a whole series of these, somewhere. We'd found this old horse outside a grocery store; it doesn't even accept a quarter, you just push the button and it goes. And goes. She started doing all these hilarious "riding tricks", turning around in the saddle, riding backwards, sideways, on the tail....I was laughing so hard. I wish I had a video of it. Some sweet old man stopped to watch and said to me "That just made my day."

I just don't even know what to say about this, other than it makes me laugh every time I see it.

I love this series; it so shows her personality. She was showing off her new "cowgirl pants" and cowboy boots. This was right before she entered first grade, the summer of "Lice-a-Palooza", of which we shall not speak. However, it did result in the cutest haircut she's ever had, which I did myself one evening after a couple of glasses of wine and approximately 38 hours with the nit-comb. Anyway, cute, huh??

This was taken on the first day of school last year, 2nd grade. The look on her face is her "I want something and you're going to give it to me" look. What?! Could YOU say no to this face?

And this, my favorite picture ever. Look at those eyes....and that little smirk/half smile? Straight from her daddy.

I hope you've enjoyed my stroll down memory lane. I sure can't imagine my life without this kiddo.