Just chillin...

Harold and the Purple Crayon

Emma and I have been reading Harold and the Purple Crayon this week. This series of books has been around for more than 50 years and I don't know how I missed reading them when I was a child, but I did. They are delightful stories about a little boy named Harold who uses his beloved purple crayon to draw all kinds of adventures. I think (or at least I hope) it inspires creativity and imagination in children. What I hope it doesn't inspire is Emma taking her purple crayon and drawing all over the walls and furniture!

Eddie R.I.P.

I was so sad to read the following story this morning:

NEW YORK - The dog that drove Frasier crazy has died. Eddie was played on the TV series by a Jack Russell terrier named Moose. His trainer tells People magazine that Moose was 16 1/2 years old when he died at her home in Los Angeles. He’d been retired for the last 6 1/2 years of his life. Moose also starred in the movie “My Dog Skip” as the older Skip.

I think most of my favorite episodes of Frasier prominently featured Eddie...he was such a great foil for Frasier. One of Emma's favorite toys is a stuffed Eddie dog that I borrowed (okay, stole) from my sister Jody. We'll all miss Eddie...

Summertime

I'm not the world's biggest country music fan, although I like some of it. But I have to say, my very favorite song right now is "Summertime" by Kenny Chesney. I stumbled upon it while scanning channels on XM Radio. I don't think I'd ever heard a Kenny Chesney song before...all I knew about him was his blink-and-you-missed-it marriage to Renee Zellweger. But I totally love this song...I think it will become my "summer of 2006" anthem!

Weekend fun

Well, this was one of those weekends where the weather forecasters totally blew it. The prediction was for sunny skies on Saturday and rain on Sunday. So, of course, it rained nearly all day Saturday and was sunny on Sunday. We saw a group setting up for an outdoor wedding on Saturday just as the storm clouds started rolling in...hope it turned out okay.

Anyway, on Saturday we went to our friend Kathryn's house for one of our monthly play groups. The plan was for the girls to splash around in Allison's pool, but the weather wasn't cooperating. So instead, the girls put on a "princess fashion show" for us. It was pretty cute, I have to admit.


The rain stopped for a little while so the girls put on their suits and jumped in the pool. It was still overcast and windy, and I was shivering just watching them. But they had a great time, especially Emma and Allison.


The only downer was that afterwards, we headed out to a new Chinese restaurant near Kathryn's house. I paid nearly $20 for some of the WORST Chinese food I've ever had! I don't know how you can mess up shrimp lo mein, but they managed. But other than that, we had a good time.

Saturday night I watched this sensational movie on DVD...The Constant Gardner. I remember all the great reviews when it came out late last year. But I was still surprised at how much I loved it. It's an intriguing thriller wrapped around a very unusual love story. One of the best films I've seen in a long time...

Sunday we took advantage of the sunshine and spent the afternoon at the pool...

All in all, not the worst weekend we've ever had!

The Backyardigans vs. Strawberry Shortcake

It's a mystery to me how kids decide which tv programs they like and which they don't. I've found that the children's programs Emma likes rarely coincide with the ones I do.

For example, I love The Backyardigans, but Emma has shown absolutely no interest in them. Everytime they come on, she wanders off or asks if we can watch something else. It pains me to admit that I've sat through a number of episodes of The Backyardigans while my daugher was napping or otherwise occupied. But, hey, it's not like I'm TAPING it or anything!

She, on the other hand, worships at the alter of Strawberry Shortcake, which drives me to the edge of insanity. The animation is horrible, the voice work is an abomination, the plots idiotic...none of this seems to phase Emma. She would watch Strawberry Shortcake's Adventures on Ice Cream Island (clearly the worst of the SS movies, and therefore her favorite) every night if I let her.

Other programs I liked but she never took a shine to include Bear in the Big Blue House, Veggie Tales and Madeline. Shows she likes that I could live without - BooBah, Frankin and Bob the Builder.

However, there are a few shows for which we share a common love...Calliou, Sagwa, Little Einsteins, come to mind. So I guess I shouldn't complain. But why can't she give The Backyardigans a chance? I know she could grow to love Unique, Tasha, Tyrone, Austin and Pablo as much as I do!

Digging "Digging to America"

I was up late last night reading Anne Tyler's new book "Digging to America." I've always been a big fan of Tyler's, but this book really has special meaning for me. The story centers around two very different families who meet each other at the airport in Baltimore when they are picking up the infant girls they have adopted from Korea. There are a lot of interesting insights about international adoption, with one parent kind of going overboard in making sure her daughter is seeped in her Korean heritage. But the book is really more about what it's like to be an American when you come from somewhere else. I read about half the book last night and may finish it tonight if I can get HRH Emma to bed at a decent hour. Anyway...highly recommended!

Emma at the pool

Okay, I thought I'd try posting some pictures of our dear girl having fun...I took these on Sunday when we went to the pool.



We were the only ones there for like 30 minutes, which was bizarre...we each had our own lifeguard! But eventually people starting showing up and we hung out with Emma's friends Mia and Ella and their mommies. So a fun day, as you can see from the photos. I'm sure everyone is wondering "hey, where's a picture of Donna in her bikini?" Don't worry, I'll NEVER subject anyone to that!