The Musician's Musings

When Pookie first got the short haircut, she and her mom were... outside, I think, and both were wearing bandanas. We *had* to see if she'd pose for us this way, (which, is not of Rosie the Riveter, but in fact Geraldine Doyle) and OMG did this come out great!!

(this came about after finally uploading pics from the camera since December!)

I finally uploaded pictures from August, when lordandrei, shimmeringjemmy, aiden_freeman, and elocinnuala came for a visit. Please for the clicky go --here--. I am afraid that sideways pictures are still sideways, and I can't fix that. Hmmpf.

"Fireworks are great!!"

-----after seeing Hampton Township's display, her very first 4th of July fireworks show. Lots of fun, especially with a baronalejandro around to share it with. :-)

This evening, in a moment when lstrobel was not acting like an insane monkey on acid, she proclaimed the following while 1) in the bathroom, 2) "Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow" is playing on the radio, and 3) I am having her stuffed hippo dancing in the doorway to the music:

L- No! It's a sad song!!
Me (as hippo)- But it sounds happy to me...
L- It's a sad song called, "Sad, Jesus, Sad" because Mary forgot to marry him.
Me/hippo- ...*snerk*..Really?? I thought Mary was Jesus' mother. And mothers don't marry their children.
L- But Jesus was all grown up, and Mary forgot!
Me/hippo- *bites lip*

Not gonna be one to get in the way of her theology...

Things that are making me happy this morning:

-My daughter's fascination and excitement over Mary Poppins. She's watching right now, and got so enthused when Mary Poppins first appeared on screen that she had to proclaim, "DaddyDaddy! It's Mary Poppins!! Can you see??!"

-My wife. She helped make my birthday very special when I wasn't feeling special at all. It's just not cool to turn 36 on a Thursday. But with the cake and celebration on Tuesday, to the yummy dinner on Thursday, and the evening out at Red Robin while looking for a birthday gift at Pittsburgh Mills, I feel like I've gotten to celebrate. Thank you, sweetie!

-My niece, Kelly. She lives in Austin, TX, and is 40. But I got a birthday card from her, which hasn't happened in probably over 20 years, so I (with the gentle*cough!*nudging of my wife) called her up and we chatted for a good hour. We haven't spoken since Thanksgiving 2004. It was really nice. Kelly, fair or not, has always been my favorite of my 4 nieces. She sounds and looks the same as she did when she was 12. She's kind of a hippy, touchy-feely gal, quick with a smile and a kind or empathetic word (or 13), but that's her charm. She's sending all of us t-shirts that she's made and selling in Austin, which will be cool. I'm hoping to keep in touch with her more regularly.

-My brother Dave's condition. I am scared for him, and just want him to be well. But there is hope, which is wonderful for him, his wife, Mom, and the rest of his family.

-NPR. Scott Simon was interviewing Sister Julie, who keeps a blog on being a nun, on Morning Edition. When asked by Scott how often Sister Julie is in prayer or prayerful activities, her response was, "Oh, for about an hour or hour and a half, straight up no ice." Nuns like that are *cool*.

Happy Spring, and have a great weekend, y'all

To my li'l punkin: Happy birthday!! You are 4 years old today, and you act every bit of it. You did magnificently at your birthday party yesterday, being so grown up and sharing your toys with seven or eight other kids over! I'm glad that you progressed beyond your "I wanna be three some more" phase, which lasted up until around December or so. This last year has seemed like the longest so far, but that's probably because you're doing so much. This year holds even more promise, more opportunities, and more growing. You're reading, you're dancing, and who knows what else you'll be doing by the time you turn five. I'm constantly amazed, confused, proud, and excited with all that you do. Love you, sweetie!

-Dad

It's cute. I like it.



In other news, had yummy dinner at Jimmy Tsang's with my sister/brother-in-law and their friends, who had a 2 1/2-yr old named Taegen. She and Pookie did swimmingly together- dear lord, they were adorable. I swear my daughter ate more tonight than the last day combined. The two girls were getting along so well that when it was time to go, lstrobel got all teary and said, "I want Taegen to come live with us!"

lstrobel, in the cart as we were leaving our from our first trip to Trader Joe's:
"Bob - the - Builder! Can we fix it? No we can't!"
...followed by...
"Bob - the - Builder! Can we fix it? Yes we can! [mopey voice]But I don't wan-na fix it![/mopey]"

Later that evening:
"Honey, you're going to have to put the football down to put your tiara back on."

You see, while watching the Steelers lose, I was playing catch with lstrobel using our mini-football. She was doing a fantastic job catching the ball and throwing it- overhand. She was also trying out the cloak fiannaharpar was making her for Halloween, to go with her Cinderella dress, and she was wearing the tiara while playing catch with me. Only our kid. :-)

For what seems like months, lstrobel has been wanting to, and pretending to be, Cinderella. I've read her a generic Cinderella book she's had for a few weeks, maybe three or four times.

As I type, she's watching Disney's Cinderella for the very first time with her mother, and I will be joining shortly. The obsession continues... :-)

1) According to our daughter, she is Cinderella, Jenn is Belle and I am Jazmine. Hmm, pooky gets to be frilly and dance, my wife reads a lot and I get to wear pants. More insightful than first glance.

2) Kosher Coke rocks my world.