Obama!

i know i'm editing this weeks later than the event, but i posted this photo (of a button magneted to our fridge) as a placeholder for the post i wanted to write about the inauguration.  thrilling world history, right?!  i have been interested in the workings of government since middle school when i first attended KYA, Kentucky Youth Assembly, which creates a mock-government situation where students act as senators, reps, lobbyists, g0vernor, etc., to pass bills and elect officials (i loved it).  i have voted in every major election since i was legal.  but, as most other progressives and ~ really ~ just people who use their minds around the world, i have become jaded and sarcastic about the nation's leaders and their "leadership".   

when the votes were coming in in november and it was determined that Obama had won, i was ~ holding my brand-new infant and watching via internet ~ one of the many who cried.  with hope and happiness and: shock, almost, that our system actually might still work, people might actually stand up and let their voices be heard, and our country might possibly stand for an inkling of the freedom and ideals the forefathers and mothers envisioned.  

we watched the inauguration in the center of UC Berkeley's campus ~ historic in its own right ~ and i felt electrified all over again.  this time i thrilled in knowing that my baby daughter would grow up having this precedent not just a worthwhile goal, but historic reality ~ that someone other than an old white guy can hold an elected office of great importance.  and that the country might still have a few of those freedom- and choice-minded ideals intact.  

i realized i had been holding my breath and finally released it fully when the Obamas' helicopter chopped into the distance.  whew.  i don't think all problems are solved, but right now i have some hope.  for the first time in a long while.

kinda teary-eyed.

the event, projected in the center of campus.

this girl ~ will grow up never questioning whether someone other than an old corrupt closed-minded white guy can be an American president.  

living in the moment, seeing with new eyes, and making sure your blog entry *is*, indeed, saved

oh my god!!!!  i had just spent an hour on a contemplative, thoughtful blog, clicked a button, and now my entry is GONE!!!!!  

well, let me assure you ~ it was some damn good writing.  ;-)  

no time to duplicate it now.  

i'll just entertain you with a photo of my wonderful daughter.  that's her favorite piece of tissue paper she's hiding under. 

[insert thought-provoking blog entry here.]  

mud-covered mischief

Do you ever wonder what your cats do while you sleep at night?  I'm pretty sure this one does pretty much what she does during the daytime:  

But Rodolfo, on the other hand ~ Rodolfo has some mischief in him. Lots of times when I go to sleep at night (mainly on nights when Sealion works nights), and I'm in that dozing, but not-quite-asleep stage, I'll hear Rodolfo roaming around the house meow-meow-meowing. I think he has secret imaginative adventures. I have walked into rooms where he has been meow-meow-meowing all by himself, and asked him what was up. He looks around at me, like, "What?!" Oh, excuse me.

The other night we finally got some rain.  Around here (as far as I have been able to tell), instead of four seasons, we kind of have two.. and a half.  In the "winter and spring" months, it's supposed to be cool with rain, and in the " summer, and fall", it is warmer and dry with no rain at all (the "half" I'm calling is late summer-early fall when it is hot instead of mildly warm.  And nights are always cool no matter the season.)  So after we parental- and baby-folk turned in for our long winter's nap (the bedtime is quite early these days. .), it finally did some raining.  We didn't really notice.  But Dolfo did ~ as he apparently made trip after trip through the cat-door* out into it, and back again to roam his nighttime "beat."  Rain actually gets him worked up ("riled up", as my Kentucky self calls it) and energized.   

When we woke up the next morning, we discovered just how much our boy roams the night ~ in muddy trails that extended surprisingly far and thoroughly along every wall, and around every corner of the house.  Too, I was surprised at how far the mud would last ~ as if he had a little mud palate to dip his paws in when it would run out.    

dining room table.

path where the bedroom doors were closed, and he walked through the small opening

Well, we got a great laugh out of it, but the cat-door was closed immediately to be re-opened when the ground dried.
A day went by, and I could feel the restless cabin-fever of our feline family rise.  The next day, Sealion left for work.  As the day progressed, I could hear Rodolfo trying to open any random door ~ cabinets and closets ~ by scratching and pawing, and then meowing longingly. Kitty was working out some major frustration on her toy mice.  So I gave in, opened the cat-door, and created an entryway of many towels to wipe the feet as the cats came in.  Perfect, I thought!  And went upstairs with Anjali to get crafty. 

Any good internet addict must at least "check in" for a few minutes before getting started on a project.  *As soon as* I logged on ~ sociably, and very excitedly, Rodolfo jumped up on the desk, ran across the keyboard, leaving a sloppy-sandy-muddy trail with every step, and plopped down *totally* mud-covered from head to toe *smack-dab* on Papi Sealion's stack of Important Papers.  oops.    

So we're keeping the cat-door closed at the first drops of rain these days, and, after mopping up several paw trails since that first one, I am no longer the pushover.  Cats, do some hibernating.

You gotta agree, though ~ aren't the paw tracks cute?!  

Rodolfo, looking very satisfied after his mud romp.

* Papi Sealion very handily created steps that lead from the bedroom window "cat-door" down the side of the house to the path beside the house, which is fenced off for cat use.

a hymn from the choir

although i must admit to being highly tolerant of nudity in all regards, not just when you have a baby attached (the human is a lovely animal), 

this is a loveletter response to my spicy sister-momma, Randi, all the way over there in Brooklyn, New York. if you have a problem with it, "feel free to put a blanket over your head," and take a gander at Randi's badass rant at Brooklyn Baby Momma.

my favorite photo of my passionate newborn ~ "with gusto!"

wow.

oh, the learning curve ~ she is so steep! i try always, as in the rest of my life, to focus on the positives ~ of all the ways i am learning and growing, but ~ glory hallelujah ("jeezle weezle!", as Mr.Sealion says)(i don't know who says "glory hallelujah" but it felt good)! so many of the cliches manage to hold true sometimes. ("you can't clock-out when you're a parent!""parenting is a full-time job!")  when Anjali is having a crying-rough time, Papi sings a magical song that almost always calms her, mesmerizes her, and even sometimes puts her to sleep sans boobie(!). the song is called, "Hard Bein' a Baby", and the verse lyrics are different (and often hilarious) everytime. well, sometimes i wish i could climb onto someone's lap and have them make it all better by singing to me. i promise i would fall asleep.

Hard Bein' a Baby

by Papi Sealion

(holding baby under arms and

lifting up baby slightly in time with the beat)

hard. hard. hard bein' a baby.

it's hard-hard-hard hard bein' a baby!

hard. hard. hard bein' a baby!

it's hard bein' a baby, man!

and did i forget to mention gratitude??!  thank you so much for reminding me, Benjamin H./Alyssum!  i am so fortunate.  in every way.   i don't cry that often (really!), but the thing i consider crying about most often is what an incredibly wonderful husband i have.  thank you, Papi Sealion!!  i can't imagine attempting this ride without you!!!!!!

the goods

might i direct your attention, so there will be no questioning that i am, indeed, a parent.
------------------------------------------------------------------->

birthday seduction

whew!

our 2008 closed with Christmas in a cabin in the middle of nowhere, North Carolina, with all of Sealion's family (who are very easy to be around), both of my parents plus their spouses (my parents haven't talked in years, let alone been at the same dinner table)(this was not my idea), and to top off the ironic week, a visit from my ex-husband's wife and their baby (with whom we are great friends, but on the surface, with all this put together ~ can you say Valium?)! it actually turned out beautifully. it amazes me how having my own child takes the parental pressure 100% off of my shoulders. i am merely the lap on which my baby sits (or rather, the breast on which my baby suckles). as much as i stressed over this familial visit for months beforehand, i actually am hugely grateful to my husband, who wanted so bad for it to happen. i had a great time (sans Valium. or even secretly spiking my cider). and so did Anjali. (and Sealion always has a great time.)

this group looks pretty harmless, i must admit. 

(don't know why this is blue and underlined)

the meeting of the cosmic cousins.

the future.

and now for 2009.

(might i add, i had an extremely frustrating time with Blogger on this post.)

Happy New Year!