Hard at work

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Originally uploaded by js_hale

Give him a garden hose, and he's good for up to 20 minutes straight. Besides aiming the stream just right to fill up the bottles (family-size Kikkoman soy sauce container), he loves to water flowers, plants and the creeping mint between the flagstones. Other cool stuff - he is regularly saying "please" in sign language when he wants things - his version looks like he's scratching an itchy, hairy chest. Also, he does not say "yes," ever, but shakes his head "no" and says "Na...Na" on a regular basis. It's all too adorable and going by way too fast.

CARLESS DAY

It was no easy task with temperatures in the 90's today, but I did it. I loaded Jacob into the BOB stroller and took off from 9:30am - 2:00pm. Play date, Farmer's Market, swung by a friend's house, then home. We live on top of a ridiculous hill, so coming back home was a b*tch. But during my commute, I saw a house for sale in a neighborhood that I like, and I got a bit of a tan. As I was pushing Jacob and my booty of farmer's market produce down busy streets to get home, I could not help but wonder if the people sitting in their cars did not experience a bit of guilt - like when you pass people on their exercise runs, and you think to yourself, "I should be doing that..."

With the stroller, I am pretty limited on how far I can go from our house. There is no cutesy downtown area for miles. Right below us is the mall, and though they do have Sees Candies and Peets coffee, it's not all that pleasant to walk around. Down the street is a strip mall with Walgreen's and Safeway. Blech. I have not tried grocery shopping yet with the stroller. I am afraid that it will be arduous and therefore very discouraging. So I plan to wait until I acquire a bike, and then we'll tackle grocery shopping. But then I still have that damn hill when I come home...

*Big Sidebar* When I'm driving to the city, I constantly fantasize about a railroad track running straight down the middle of Highway 101, with pedestrian overpasses linking to the platforms. I think about how AMAZING it would be to walk down the hill from our house, past the mall, crossing Freitas Parkway to a walkway that goes into "Terra Linda Station." I even know which stops would be local and which would be express. Terra Linda would naturally be a big express hub. Next express stop is Central San Rafael, then Larkspur, Corte Madera, Mill Valley, Sausalito, then under the bay and pop out to the first San Francisco stop, which I guess would have to be the Embarcadero. It may never happen in Marin, but I can dream.

My birthday is coming up - maybe my big present to myself will be a bike. Which means that Jacob's 18-month birthday present will have to be the iBert. And a toddler-sized helmet. Screw the hill, it will be good for both of us.

Mom's iced tea

Mom's iced tea

Time for a rant

The BP oil spill has been looming in my mind - like the horrible 20-page paper in college that you put off until the last minute to write - and still haunts you in your dreams. I say that because my conscience is nagging at me to do something - anything - about the suffering that my kind is inflicting. Oil-slicked birds, dolphins and whales dying, sea turtles being burned alive! I hear these things, and I feel like the world would be a lot better off if we had never evolved beyond the Australopithecine stage. I might not feel this way if I still lived in Japan - except, wait, yes I would - because in THAT country, dolphins living in captivity in Okinawa are throwing themselves out of their tanks in an effort to end their suffering!!!!! The reports are horrifying and heart-wrenching, I am sitting here in tears and I just cannot take any more.

So I am making a promise - at LEAST one day a week, I will not drive my car. At all. Which sounds ridiculous. I should be able to do better than that, right?? Agreed - how about a series of steps to choke off petroleum use:

1. One day a week, no car.

2. Save enough in gas to get a new bike.

3. Get the iBert baby seat for said bike - see if I can't increase to more days w/o the car.

4. Replace our old 2nd car with the Nissan Leaf as soon as possible.

5. Switch from PG&E to Marin Clean Energy.

6. Buy more of our food from the farmers markets.

7. Re-use petroleum-based products (plastic bottles, bags) with a vengeance.

It pisses me off that so many would-be pedestrians are forced to compromise because of car-centric infrastructure - you don't have a chance in hell of riding a bike and/or using public transit somewhere like Houston, for example. Or Jacksonville, Florida. I can remember getting so incredibly pissed off walking along busy roads - no sidewalk, nothing - and cars whizzing by at 50 mph. You can bet your ass that this design was intentional. It's insidious, it's killing our environment, which in turn eventually kills us. Why should it be so? Can we not save ourselves, or will history go on repeating itself until we've gone extinct? What's the verdict, People?

What I want to see is people giving a shit. I want to see Critical Mass slowing traffic to a crawl on a major highway in Houston, Texas. I want to see the feedlots where cows and pigs spend the majority of their lives mired in their own shit, force fed antibiotics and god knows what, cited for cruelty and shut down for good. Next time you go to a supermarket for a steak or pork chops, think about what the real cost was. Action. Making a difference. For those of you who are wondering about the apparent disconnect between petroleum use and meat-eating in America, I urge you to read "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan.

If only it were so simple as to promise to eat tofu and home-grown veggies for a year straight in order to prevent an environmental disaster. Like a magic spell. I swear I would do it in a heartbeat.

Home projects

Home projects
Originally uploaded by js_hale

Out with the old (brass), in with the new!
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Watermelon

Watermelon
Originally uploaded by js_hale

Big Boy likes his fresh fruit. He doesn't eat the flesh, though (mom did a good job on this piece) - he likes to just suck on it. I think I might need to post a video.

Watermelon

Watermelon
Originally uploaded by js_hale

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Get the toy for the kid!

Get the toy for the kid!
Originally uploaded by js_hale

Marin County Fair happens every 4th of July weekend. Today is the last day, and since the markets are closed today, we were able to take a family trip to the fair. Super fun. Peter really wanted to test his strength on this iconic fairground attraction - his excuse is that he wanted to get Jacob a toy. And he did!

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IMG00041-20100702-1021.jpg
Originally uploaded by js_hale

Home depot
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Little Jedi

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Originally uploaded by js_hale

He's got a light saber hidden under there somewhere...

Honkin' hybrid

Does anyone besides me find this bizarre??

It's like they were posing!

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Originally uploaded by js_hale

I got about 8 pictures of Jacob and Teddy playing together like this. One thing is for sure - Jacob will not grow up with a fear of big dogs. :)

Today was the first day that he shook his head "no," although I'm not sure he knows what it means. He was on the changing table getting his diaper changed - how appropriate - considering that he engages in poo olympics every time he has to get changed. This time, he just calmly shook his head no. I gave him a diaper to play with, and that bought me some time. We got through it just fine, then went for a hike with Aunt Sophie and Uncle Lou next door. The morning has been as smooth as it gets.

Jacob's favorite toy

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Originally uploaded by js_hale

Jacob loves holding Teddy's leash - wherever, whenever. This park is one of very few safe places where I can let him do it unassisted. We usually have the whole space to ourselves in the afternoons. His favorite thing to say is "all done," and he says it in all sorts of situations. He'll say it when he wakes up, and when he doesn't want to eat something. Or do something. It's his universal phrase of objection. When he says it, it sounds like "Ah-danna," like he's saying "husband" in Japanese which is a little strange. But entertaining!

Power Nap

power nap
Originally uploaded by js_hale

Today, he blew a kiss for the first time! He was watching his dad leave the nursery at bedtime, and when we asked him to blow a kiss, he did! He also has more teeth - it's tough to get him to sit still & open his mouth long enough to count them. He is sniffling and drooling like a fiend, but fortunately not complaining too much.

It was a busy day - he needed this nap. Church at 8:30AM (nursery for him), then playing fetch w/ dogs in Nob Hill park; quick nap in the car, then story time with singer/guitarist/storyteller Christopher Smith at Book Passage. Lunch at the cafe, then home, then back to another park for kite-flying and bubble-blowing with other babies & moms.

Weaning, weaning, weaning - I nursed once today and once 2 days ago. One side is no longer producing milk, and the other side has dwindled. But I remember my friend in Osaka nursing her daughter long after she quit producing milk - it's still comforting and soothing. J. is definitely not ready to give it up entirely, and I feel like it's selfish and unnecessary to make him do without. Nearly every day at 5:00PM, he asks for "num-nums" with a distinct cry, and he'll grab my shirt and put his head into the crook of my arm. I would have to be pretty heartless to turn him down!

15 months

nervous driver?
Originally uploaded by js_hale

So there are 2 amazingly cute behaviors that I want to report. The first: Jacob imitates me checking my watch. He sees me lifting my wrist to check the time, lifts his own wrist and smiles at me. The second: he actually applauds when I sing. Not all the time, but like tonight, we were finishing up "Good Night Moon" - he was still a little wound up (I'm not nursing anymore - still) and so I started singing a night-night song that I made up. After I was finished, he gazed up into my face and clapped his hands. Who says that parenthood is a thankless job?!

Bay to Breakers - I won! ;)

I won! ;)
Originally uploaded by js_hale

Yes, I "won" in the sense that I motivated myself to train, run and finish the race! So much fun to be a part of it - the flying tortillas, the salmon on Hayes St. hill, and this year I saw my old samba group performing along the route. Lots of families out too (though I don't know how they put up with the smell of pot along the way).

Weaning

So today I didn't nurse - at all. I feel sad, but liberated and relieved that it's going so smoothly. I feel like it's time for him - he doesn't seem to need it as much. More on this subject later.

Happy Mother's Day!

Had a fabulous day - got dropped off for a blissful yoga class, then walked to the farmers market, then home. I ate all the fresh strawberries I wanted on the way and they were SOOOOO good - I'm never buying strawberries at the supermarket.ever.again. Met up with hubby & the Kid, went to Fairfax for lunch at Iron Springs, then went on a short hike with the pooch. Came home & cooked up the salmon that I bought @ farmers mkt and made Peter do all the dirty work. Not one dirty diaper. Sheer bliss. :)
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Originally uploaded by js_hale

friday at the mall

friday at the mall
Originally uploaded by js_hale

Burrito... on the brink of disaster

Burrito... on the brink of disaster
Originally uploaded by js_hale

We've reached another great plateau - we can order kid food at restaurants that he can actually eat. So great. Someday soon, we won't have to puree veggies and schlep them in tiny containers anymore. This is a black bean & cheese baby burrito, about to take a tumble over the top of my hand. I'm trying to figure out how to save it so he can keep eating.