i took this picture the other day. it's a little blurry, but deal with it. i am not quite sure what BC was thinking when she did this, but BS and i laughed for about 5 minutes straight after seeing this wonderful work of hers.

well, not mine, really. but scally sent this.

not for the timid.

a few years ago, i wrote reviews for AOL Digital City as a freelancer. turns out, someone has lifted my stuff and is using it. do i have any recourse? i am not sure whether i actually own the rights or not.

my “exciting” work, lifted.

there are all sorts of aircraft and military thingies protecting our area today. there is a high-level terror alert going on. yesterday, BC and i went to get more water for our emergency stash, since we haven't updated it in about a year. the supermarkets were cleared out. i suppose in a dire emergency, we could somehow tap the water tank. BC walked into Eckerds and was able to get three bottles. i guess it is all in the timing.

before he left, i reminded BS that BC's safety was his job #1. i could give a shit about his work; this child is waay more important than anything he has to do. he of course knows this, so my saying it isn't a revelation to him. his office is by the stairwell that leads right to her school, he assured me. i know that if anything were to happen, he would be there in a new york second. but i am still so worried. i have to go downtown today, too, for BC's school board meeting. i am not overjoyed by this prospect, but i also know that we have to keep living our lives or else terrorists win. i will drive to union station, pick up some burritos, and, if the weather cooperates, i might walk over to the building. i just don't feel like hopping on the metro today, and Lord knows i need the exercise anyway.

all i keep hearing in my head, over and over, albeit in an out of context way, is tori amos singing: “i believe in peace, bitch. i believe in peace.” so many of us do. pity so many don't. i wonder how they sleep.

i have bitten the proverbial bullet: i am going through all of BC's baby stuff to figure out what will work for our little boy and what will not.

i mentioned to BC and BS that i would be doing this soon, and BC, in her cheeky little voice, piped up, “but mama, won't you need to save the little girl baby stuff for my little sister?”

i don't know whose jaw dropped further – mine or BS's. “honey,” i said, “i don't know that we will have another baby after your little brother.”

she still insists that we should save stuff. clearly, she inherited the worst of BS's and my packrat tendencies.

i have found a shitload of stuff that the little boy will be able to wear. we especially are pretty well stocked on 3-6 month old wear, but we aren't too shabby on 0-3 stuff, either. we can certainly make do. and i don't think i have opened all of the boxes yet. sheesh.

meanwhile, i am also moving BC's toys into her “new” toy room, AKA the sun room, probably the finest real estate in the entire house. this way, i am hoping that she will play more independently while i am not too far away in the kitchen or family room. i have taken every single KIRA doll i have collected (thanks to the efforts of my mother, my mother in law, and myself) and put them up to decorate the top shelf of the room. (the former inhabitants kept their fine pottery collection there. my, things change.) you see, for a year or so, Barbie had a friend (nearly identical, of course) named Kira. so we have the WNBA kira, the butterfly tattoo kira, the kira in the near-princess leia bikini, etc. (how often do you find a barbie with your kid's name?)

they don't make kira dolls anymore, to my knowledge anyway.

if you need a giggle…

here's “dave”

well, actually, disneyworld.

yes. it's true. in the not-too-distant-future, i will be waddling my portly, pregnant self around sugar-highed kids of all ages, purchasing over-priced goods and services all the while. the ultimate self-perpetuating merchandising mechanism. yep. and BC is over the moon about it.

this trip is clearly not at all about me 😉

and that, in a nutshell, is what being a mom is all about.

so all of you who still can, go hug your moms. or dads. or both. because besides wiping your butts for a few delightful years, besides putting up with your nastiness and bastardliness, they also did all sorts of things that exhausted, exasperated, annoyed them – for you. or simply that they would have preferred doing something else. i know i sound like a big old fucking guilt-spewing grump; i mean, boo-fucking-hoo, poor baby has to go to disney. i know, i know. it's not like i have to go into a dungeon and clean slop, right? it ain't hard labor. and i know it will be likely be a big pleasure to see the sheer delight on my daughter's face when she meets her little princess heroes, mickey mouse, and all the assorted other characters she loves. but lord, given the choice, i would rather someone ship my fat ass off to something like Canyon Ranch spa for a week. not that that will ever happen in my lifetime, you know, but a girl can dream.

so wah wah wah. poor little me. i am being such a spoiled, cranky lady today. holed up inside due to snow. overtired. facing a house that needs some serious cleaning. knowing i am the one who needs to do it. i should be dancing in the aisles that i'm going to disney. and i am thrilled because my child is thrilled, and that i guess is the joy for me.

i just don't know how i will feel about other people's children. with the exception of friends' kids, i generally loathe the poorly-behaved kids. actually, i really loathe their parents who blithely let their kids act poorly in public. i can tell you that my brothers and i never got away with that sort of crap. and at disney, kids will have less self-control. hopefully, their parents will be on watch.

if not, then i guess there's always the hotel pool…

with thanks to scally, who, btw, truly ought to have his homosexual license revoked for admitting he had not yet seen shirley valentine.

have your fortune told.

my livejournal subscription is actually done in a few weeks. my friend el karlo, aka , gave me the paid subscription last year for my birthday. it has actually been one of the best gifts i ever got.

guess i had better re-up, huh?