Laura in 3's

Me and my big sis' Cyndi

I was tagged by Christie to share about myself and I am finally getting around to it. Here goes.

3 names I go by:
1. Mommy

2. La La

3. La La Babe

3 jobs I have had:

1. Order Management Supervisor

2. Server and bartender at Outback

3. Basketball referee

3 places I have lived:

1. San Francisco

2. Azusa

3. Castro Valley

3 fave drinks:
1. Cabernet Sauvignon

2. Water
3. Caramel Macchiato, extra shot of espresso, "but make it just barely sweet, only half a pump of caramel"

3 t.v. shows I watch:
1. So You Think You Can Dance

2. United States of Tara

3. Mad Men

3 places I have been:

1. Spain

2. Sweden

3. Germany

3 places I would like to visit:
1. Grand Canyon

2. Portugal

3. Hawaii (again)

3 fave retro TV shows:
1. Scooby Doo

2. Charlie's Angels

3. Brady Bunch

3 fave dishes:

1. Filet with wine reduction sauce

2. Blackened Salmon

3. The pasta dish with truffle sauce at Cafe Zack. I can't stop thinking about it.

3 things I am looking forward to:
1. Summer beach trips
2. Camping

3. Taking my girls to Hawaii, hopefully next summer

3 people I am tagging:

1. Will

2. Loren

3. Geoff

Words of Wisdom

I was at Macy's the other day doing a little shopping for my girls in the childrens department. At checkout, my girls were trying to climb up the counter to see what I was doing. Then they'd run over to the clothing rack and climb inside the clothes so that I couldn't see them. As I was finishing up and folding the receipt into my wallet, a woman behind me, about my mom's age, who had been observing us said to me,

"I remember those days of having young children. I felt like I had no time for myself and I always looked forward to a time when they were older so I could start having time for me again. But now when I look back on my life, those were truly the happiest times of my life. I just wanted to share that with you."

This was one of the first times I've received unsolicited advice/comments from strangers that I actually appreciated. And her comment was actually very helpful to me. Although I find myself regularly frustrated when I can't seem to get anything done because the girls always need something from me, it is so true that I am the happiest I've ever been in my life. I guess I've had this mental construct that true happiness doesn't include daily fits of frustration. But I'm letting go of that now.

Here are some other unsolicited comments I received from strangers that I did NOT appreciate:

• While traveling to Fargo by plane when Georgia was 5 weeks old , at the security checkpoint I lied and said my bottled water was for formula (this was the only way I could get my water onto the plane and I needed it desperately. I didn't trust the flight attendant could provide me the volume of water a nursing mother needs to drink). The woman who handed me back my bag said, "Breast milk is best" with a snotty look on her face.
  
• On that same trip, I decided to take a trip to the bathroom. I peeled Georgia's sweaty little body away from mine and headed to the toilet. Another passenger saw that she wasn't in a blanket and said,"Oh...she must be so cold!"

Project Camp Out – El Capitan April 30, 2010

It was Laura’s idea earlier this year for us to plan our first family camping trip. The Dahl family's tattered yet formidable 1976 Coleman Yorktown Tent Trailer was up for the task. The poor thing hadn't been awakened (opened up) since the early 90's.

This monumental occasion was not covered by any of the big networks or any element of the nefarious liberal mainstream media but “The Powers That Be” web log was there like a fly on the wall of a dirty shower stall to record the event in detail.

Most of the unpacking and setting up went quite smoothly.

The beach was only a five minute walk from camp.

The Georgia Transporter 2000

Parker in deep contemplation about the existential meaning behind the Scooby Doo episode she watched the day prior.

The Parker Powers Princess Power Trio played an impromptu camprground concert for the little gopher that kept sticking his head out of a hole. An encore was not requested by the audience.

Gerogia's melodramatic sobbing sessions are becoming legendary. She didn't get what she wanted so she walked away from us and cried/whined by herself. Usually she walks away and falls to the floor and buries her head and cries. Life just isn't fair.

The unveiling of the potty chair for Georgia. Although she is very excited about it, the mission proved to be unsuccessful.

Concerned look.

The little hippy.

In summary the trip was enjoyable for all of us except for the major allergic reaction I have to nature. Hopefully modern medicine will cure my ills. The one thing we all learned is that the next trip has to be longer.

Berkeley...where retro-cool happens

The Spoken Word (Part 2) and other musings

While sitting at the table last night with Parker I had another moment that inspired me to relish the stage of development Georgia is currently in. While looking at her profile and listening to Parker tell me about her exciting experience at the library; she was very excited about getting her first library card and checking out five books by herself, “I even wrote my name by myself on the paper!” she exclaimed, by the way thanks for not getting photos of this Laura, that $700 SLR camera is safe at home where it should be as opposed to capturing our children’s important milestones that I don’t get to experience because I have to work all day mired in responsibilities of providence and……but I digress. Anyhoo, while investigating her profile as she assiduously pieces together the 60- piece ballerina puzzle with very little assistance, I see a profile of a young mature person and I’m reminded of a famous phrase from Faulkner – “times is a thief of which we have no justice against”. Further analysis determined it wasn’t Faulkner but rather Patrick Swayze in “Road House”.

Translating from Georgia-nese to English.

Unfortunately, babelfish.com cannot help me in this matter, I have to rely on the two people that interact with her on a daily basis much more than myself. With that said, I am thankful for Parker and Laura and their effort to educate me on just what the heck Georgia is uttering. I hate it when I kneel down to Georgia’s level when she’s talking to me and I helplessly respond with a “Ohhh” or “really Georgia?” and nod my head and just smile like the president when he is at a staged photo-op with some foreign dignitary from Who-cares-istan without a translator in sight.

Such a helpless feeling.

I must say that it’s quite adorable to hear her talk. I know I’m going to miss it when she becomes fluent in English. Whenever I am in the position of listening to her speak I try to remind myself that this moment is fleeting.

Favorite Words or Phrases in Georgia-nese that I do Understand and Adore

1) When Parker and I were making chocolate shakes a couple nights ago, Georgia pushed one of the chairs from the dining table into the kitchen to “help”. While trying to make room for her to “help” she emphatically repeated “eschoo sme, eschoo sme”.
2) When she wants Parker’s attention she emphatically repeats “Parta, Parta”
3) When she says words like 'milk', 'chip' or 'help' she replaces the first and last consonant with the letter ‘P’ so the words sound like ‘pilp’, 'pip', and ‘pelp’.
4) Whenever the tv is on, she enthusiastically states in the format of a question "Bi-dett?!?", which translates in Georgia-nese as "do you know where my blanket is?"
5) When I give her something she wants she politely states “deece” which means ‘thanks’ in Georgia-nese.
6) When I'm doing something that deems interesting she'll say "a-shy" which means "I'd like to try".
7) When the tv is on something she doesn't want to watch she'll say "A doo doo?" which means "I'd like to watch Scooby Doo".

It's all in the delivery.

The Spoken Word

Slowly but quite surely, Georgia is really communicating with us. This weekend I noticed her vociferously stating “Parta, Parta” as she tries to get Parker’s attention from across the room.

Georgia has very good manners. Whenever we give her something (usually it’s something she wants) she immediately replies with a kind and hearty “deece”. The word “deece” dates back to the fifth century in ancient India. The term is ancient third or maybe fourth generation Sanskrit and carries the meaning “thanks doofus, now am I gonna get a lollipop or what?”

Or maybe she’s just trying to say “thanks”. I’m not sure.

I do have one general observation of children-if you put several children in a room with the t.v. off and they are loud and playing games and jumping off the furniture and bouncing off the walls, all it takes to get them to stop is to turn on Noggin. It’s quite scary to see how their behavior can take an immediate and complete 180 degree turn from being a pack of spastic hyenas, to a group of slow-termed lobotomized television viewers. Now that is the power of television.

Also, below are a few actual books we will not be reading to Georgia…

This one was definitely form a different era.

And last but not least...the title of Parker's autobiography when she gets a little older...(that's me in the slippers).

This and That

Crying on daddy's shoulder.

The girls love my baby shower cake.

Georgia wants to ride a bike so badly.Parker helps Ella ride a bike.

Georgia's first pony tails.

Scenes From The Desert

For weeks Parker has been very excited about Indio. When Parker is told that we are going on a vacation she gets tremendously excited even though she has no idea where we are going. After the Lake Arrowhead trip Laura and I were “in negotiations” on a trip to Lake Tahoe. Parker overheard some of that conversation and asked some questions and we left it at that. A few days later Parker was trying to recall the place where we were talking about going and started calling it “Lake Tahoe-head”.

She eagerly inquired about it for several days after continually referring to “Lake Tahoe-head”.

Feeding the duck.
The Lazy Riverdance.
The first picture in a long time where Grandma Powers did not blink.

Georgia at the pool waiting for the waitress to fetch her a fresh vodka martini.

Spelling and Counting

Parker is at this stage where she likes to count things. She proudly states the she can count to 101 however, she needs a little help getting there. Whenever Laura and I read to her she seizes the opportunity to show off her counting skills, "Mom, let me count all the cars on the page 1,2,3,4,5,6, etc..." or "Dad, watch me count the number of letters on that sign".

Spelling out her name is another act Parker like to partake in. Sometimes writing it is just not good enough so...why not Play-doh??

I'm afraid her love of counting took a turn for the worse(in my opinion) though. Yesterday I was laying on the couch and she was sitting next to me when she started investigating my head. "Daddy, I think I can count all the hairs on the top of your head because I can count all the way to 101 and I don't think there's 101 hairs on the top of your head Daddy. I'll start counting there's one, two, three, four..."

"Alright Parker I get your point - now go play in traffic or something."

She'll get hers someday.