Ill Advised

Mike, Donovan and I had a rather ill advised evening tonight. We went out to Waterfront as I had some last minute shopping to do for a baby shower I will be attending tomorrow. This is a family member babyshower and I am going to support another mother and to pull some daughter in law duty. I'm sure it will be lovely but its no one I really know.

ANYhow, we thought we'd stop at Wendy's for dinner as we were in a hurry and one thing Donny will always eat is french fries. First, you can't read books like Radical Homemaking and Lunch Lessons and expect to really enjoy Wendy's. Second, we got there right as this gaggle of guys in their 20s got there. I am so spoiled in that I'm surrounded by people similar to me that seeing these guys in action came as sort of a shock. It was almost like being surrounded by wolves--you just keep quiet and hope they arent hungry. I think they were friends but they were being really mean to one another. One of the guys started to get pissed off and it was like blood in the water--they all started picking on him and pushing his buttons in this we're-just-playin' kind of way.

Watching them made me wonder if, despite our best efforts, Donovan might grow up to be an asshole. It also made me wonder if raising him on Silver Pennies and Charles Ives is the equivalent of releasing a 3 legged gazelle back onto the Serengeti. To continue with a metaphor.

But now I need to ask: have you ever seen Woodstock? The part where Country Joe and the Fish do the No More Rain! chant? Well, when the guys left, Donny started chanting, a la Country Joe, "No More Dudes! No More Dudes!" Not sure where that came from as Mike and I were both keeping our mouths shut while the Dudes were there.

I could'nt find the No More Rain chant on YouTube but here's some Country Joe from the same performance: Rock n' Soul, baby...

Wherein We Test the Hypothesis

I just asked Mike to play some notes on the piano and ask Donny what they were. He got all three right--and he was across the room so he was'nt cheating and looking at the keys.

And to think, I view the piano as the poor man's Nickelodeon Network: put him on the bench and I get 20 minutes to put away the dishes and refill the dishwasher. Amazing what a little benign neglect can do...

The Corner of Too Smart and Vaguely Disturbing

Donny and I were having a snack this afternoon. I had just finished a little bottle of San Pelegrino that I'd taken home from the coffee shop. He likes it when I blow into bottles so I did a nice loud note for him. "That's a B," he told me.

I mentioned this to Mike tonight, who took the bottle into the living room and played it while playing a B on the piano. He came back into the kitchen with this look on his face and said, "It's a B."

Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit....

Vacation Toddler Style!

Donovan is off from Waldorf this week. Mike took off Monday and Tuesday to be with him and I took off Thursday and Friday. We were bad and both took off Wednesday so we could take him to Kennywood.

When Wednesday rolled around, I wasnt so sure we'd make it--and after seeing the ticket prices online, I was almost convinced that was alright. We had agreed to take him after his nap and while he was sleeping, Mike and I went over the pros and cons. I was finally convinced when Mike said, "Well, if we don't go, we have to do something with him that will blow his mind." That made me think, "Dammit, I took the day off for Kennywood. We are GOING to KENNYWOOD."

Blow his mind we did. And my mind to. Forgive the girlish squealing but Kiddieland is SO CUTE!!! Seriously--some of the older rides I just wanted to put in my pocket or solder onto a charmbracelet.




We finished the night by going to Lost Kennywood. I knew he'd love all the fountains and lights.


I'm very happy we went and I'm very happy that Kennywood is the birthright of my Pittsburgh born son. I would add that, as I am an Ohioan, his dual citizenship entitles him to full rights at Cedar Point as well.

The rest of his/my vacation has been wonderful. We went to Phipps today, took a ride on the Schenley Park Merry Go Round. Yesterday we made birdseed cakes for the Mama Bird, Baby Bird and Papa Bird that have a nest in our Mock Orange (Cardinals! How great is that!), and there's been alot of reading and roughhousing and piano playing.

Looking at this post and the one before it, our lives look like all funnelcake and bumpercars. I should mention we are also trying to fast track the potty training. So far, not so hot. I'll leave out the details since I can't buy you a drink to dull the pain. Also today, Donny and I visited a lady who gives Suzuki method piano lessons. He may be a little young for that but he's going back next week to see. Either way, she said he "has gifts." Now if you'll excuse me, I have to sew some more sequins on his costume and set up some professional head shot appointments....

Busy weekend and busy day or so ahead of that!

I was so proud of myself on Thursday--I got some cash money together, grabbed some bags and was all set to go to the Bloomfield Farmer's Market. Too bad there was a church carnival there instead. Mike and I took Donny to ride on some rides there. The cars were a very big hit.

The spinny thing, despite these charming photos, was the opposite of a big hit.
There was much crying during the spinny thing.

On Friday, Jenn and I took the boys to the carnival after daycare. The guy they had working that ride was fantastic. I feel really bad that we did'nt tip him. Donny and Brendan basically made themselves at home on the ride and they pretty much owned it for the first half hour or so.


When a bunch of other kids showed up, I forcibly extracted my child and that's when the heartaches began. On our way off the midway, I dragged Cryer McCriesalot over to one of the many Wheel of Fortune games. This one was for kids and featured cartoon characters. Donny put fifty cents down on Elmo, I put the same on Charlie Brown and, by one tic, Charlie Brown came in! The prizes were a little desultory but the lady who worked the booth was very nice. She gave Donny a huge light up magic wand. He was fully prepared not to like it.

But then, when we missed the bus and had to get dinner at Grinders, he discovered that it lights up.
I have to admit, as far as a carnival geegaw goes, this thing is amazing! Hours of cheap, plastic fun.

The End.

Recently Overheard

* Mike to Donovan: "Which is it you want? Sun Ra or Echo and the Bunnymen?"
* Donovan singing Brahms Lullaby at the top of his lungs over the monitor while making the house shake by jumping up and down on his bed.
* "TACKATACKATACKATACKA!" which is Donny's version of "Tickletickletickle."
* "Hello? Yeahyeahyeah. Nonono. Byebye." This is Donovan's take on a cellphone call. Best example yet was him saying this into one quarter of his peanutbutter and jelly sandwich.
* "I want PIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE!!!" The boy has never had pie in his life--no idea where this came from.

We're Here!/We're Queer!/Oh My God, Its POURING!

Today was one of those days that turned into an endurance test. I gave my first cemetery tour of the season, trusting the rain that came down between 5am and 9am had dried up all the reserves in the sky. Turns out I was wrong so the tour got short real quick. While I was out in the cemetery, Donny had a date with Kirsten at the Squirrel Hill Library and they both had a very good time.

After lunch with Kirsten, Donny and I caught a 54C but it wasnt the one that goes to Polish Hill. My thought was we would get off in Bloomfield, get cookies at Patty Cake and hang out till our bus came. When we got there, tho, there were police cars and barricades everywhere. Turns out that bus was the last one through before they closed off the streets for a Dykes on Bikes parade. It was supposed to start at 2--and it started at 4. In the meantime, Donny was a very good boy. For a kid who was trapped at a busstop for over 2 hours he was funny--he kept pretending to kiss my elbow and saying (inexplicably) "Mama, have a tortilla!"

He actually fell asleep in my arms at one point and, of course, that's when the parade got underway. Turns out it was'nt Dykes on Bikes--I think it was more a young transsexual/transgender pride parade. My guess it there were almost 100 people in it--it was very short but it was great to see. I woke Donny up but he did'nt want to look and he wouldnt clap.
Note the, "Wha? Is it morning?" look on his face.




Of course, once the car at the end drove by us, Donny perked up and said, "I want parade again!" Don't we all, kid, don't we all...

At that point we started to wait for the bus again and the heavens opened. The rain was so hard that you could see sheets of it whipping around.
These photos in no way indicate how intense the weather got. A bus finally came and we got home at 5:00. We had left Squirrel Hill at 1:00.

Once we got home I changed into dry clothes and Donny went straight for the piano. When I came in the front room and laid on the floor, he decided to lay down with his piano.

He played like this for about half an hour.