Saturday, June 25, 2011

I LOVE NY



Today, June 24th, 2011, New York became the 6th state to legalize gay marriage. My hope is by the time June Apple is ready to be married, more celebrations like the one happening right now in New York will be a part of history, and she will be free to mary whomever she wants, where ever she wants.

Summer Lovin'







My 85 year-old Grandma Marianne came to Louisville recently to meet Ms. June Apple. Grandma Marianne is an awesome lady. She taught me about the important things in life, like fondue and seeting charts. i definitely gleaned my love of entertaining from her. I mean she makes homemade fortune cookies with personalized fortunes in each one, for God's sake!



It was so awesome to have both my mom and my grandma here, 4 generations under one roof. Of course, June Apple was her normal charming self. We had a great weekend, making zuchinni bread, going to the Douglass Loop farmer's market, and eating breakfast at North End Cafe and, even more deliciously, 732 Social. If any of you in Louisville, RUN, don't walk to 732 Social. The best meal I've had in a long, long, time. I first went there for my 30th birthday at the end of May. Holy Smokes. The cocktails. The locally sourced, seasonally based menu. The friendly chef/owner who comes out and thanks me for bringing June Apple. For him, he encourages children at the restuarant as part of his sustainability mission. Okay, I'll support that, especially in a town where some of the restaurants which cater to the local foodie culture seem to take themselves too seriously and I think June Apple might just cramp their style. Some of my favorite dishes include macaroni and cheese and roasted brussel sprouts with candied walnuts. Mmmmm....I'm salivating just thinking about it. If you ever want to go and need someone to go with, you know who to call!




The Douglass Loop farmer's market is hands down the best market that I have been to here in Louisville. There's plenty of great vendors with room to hang out, live music, several yummy food trucks and Lucy Anne. Lucy Anne is 7 years old. She is one of June's biggest fans. She and her sister Martha Rose come with their family to sell fresh beef, eggs and buffalo skulls. Lucy Anne gets up at 3 in the morning on Saturdays so she has time to do her chores before they leave for Louisville at 5am. Her mother braids her hair in two pigtails in the night before. She loves June Apple and makes goo goo eyes at her and scrunches up her nose to try and make her laugh. She reminds me of myself when I was little. Babies were like magnets for me. Lucy Anne really wanted to hold June and I was more than willing to encoruage a baby obsession. Of course, my grandma almost dieD of a heart attack when Lucy Anne began throwing June Apple up in the air (much to June's delight). I was cool as a cucumber about it all, when she was jostling her, while standing on the grass. I mean, the girl is only 4 feet tall, how far would June really fall? Grandma was gripping my arm and freaking out, while I said to her under my breath, "Its okay, she's okay, she's not going to drop her." I'm trying, you see, not to be one of those over-reactive parents that doesn't let their kid come within 500 yards of a potential choking hazard. But then Lucy Anne took her jostling to the concrete. Okay, Lucy Anne, every parent, even one as cool and laid back as me has her breaking point. I rescued June and mumbled some excuse to a bewildered Lucy Anne, that it was time for June's lunch. Hours later, while I lay with June for our afternoon snooze, I thought about what a terrible mother I was, risking June's life like that. How could I have been so careless?! I let Lucy Anne's cute little scrunched up nose and darling braids lead me down the path of negligent parent temptation. NEVER again, I said. Until next time.









Wednesday, June 15, 2011

5 months!



Another month older, already?! Can it be?! You just delight us more and more every day. You favorite activities include singing with Papa, playing on the floor, taking baths and squealing and screeching. You can roll from your tummy to your back and from your back to your tummy, but you don't do it very often. Sometimes when you are on your tummy, its like you forget that you know how to roll over and you just put your head on your arm in frustration. You can do it! You already know how! You'll figure it out. If I was learning and figuring out as much as you are every day, I'd have my PhD by now! Your brain amazes me! It must be tiring learning that much. No wonder you sleep as much as you do.

When I took you to the doctor's office to get a shot (yuck), all the nurses were arguing over which one you liked the best. You have charmed them all, for sure. One of the nurses told me that her boyfriend, who happened to be at the office the last time we were there still talks about how you smiled at him. You better harness those powers and use them for good. Trust me. Even though this wasn't a normal check up, we did weigh you, albeit with your clothes on, and you weighed 13 pounds 1 ounce! Holy Moly! Thats nearly 3 pounds in a month! Which means that you have TRIPLED your birth weight! Most babies haven't doubled their birth weights by your age. I knew you'd catch up!

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Tina says it best...


A Mother's Prayer for Its Daughter by Tina Fey from "Bossypants" (2011)


"First Lord: No tattoos.
May neither Chinese symbol for truth nor Winnie-the-Pooh holding the FSU logo stain her tender haunches.

May she be Beautiful but not Damaged
, for it’s the Damage that draws the creepy soccer coach’s eye, not the Beauty.
When the Crystal Meth is offered, may she remember the parents who cut her grapes in half And stick with Beer.
Guide her, protect her when crossing the street, stepping onto boats, swimming in the ocean, swimming in pools, walking near pools, standing on the subway platform, crossing 86th Street, stepping off of boats, using mall restrooms, getting on and off escalators, driving on country roads while arguing, leaning on large windows, walking in parking lots, riding Ferris wheels, roller-coasters, log flumes, or anything called “Hell Drop,” “Tower of Torture,” or “The Death Spiral Rock ‘N Zero G Roll featuring Aerosmith,” and standing on any kind of balcony ever, anywhere, at any age.
Lead her away from Acting but not all the way to Finance. Something where she can make her own hours but still feel intellectually fulfilled and get outside sometimes And not have to wear high heels. What would that be, Lord? Architecture? Midwifery? Golf course design? I’m asking You, because if I knew, I’d be doing it, Youdammit.
May she play the Drums to the fiery rhythm of her Own Heart with the sinewy strength of her Own Arms, so she need Not Lie With Drummers.
Grant her a Rough Patch from twelve to seventeen.Let her draw horses and be interested in Barbies for much too long, For childhood is short – a Tiger Flower blooming Magenta for one day – And adulthood is long and dry-humping in cars will wait.
O Lord, break the Internet forever, that she may be spared the misspelled invective of her peers And the online marketing campaign for Rape Hostel V: Girls Just Wanna Get Stabbed.
And when she one day turns on me and calls me a Bitch in front of Hollister, Give me the strength, Lord, to yank her directly into a cab in front of her friends, For I will not have that Shit. I will not have it.
And should she choose to be a Mother one day, be my eyes, Lord, that I may see her, lying on a blanket on the floor at 4:50 A.M., all-at-once exhausted, bored, and in love with the little creature whose poop is leaking up its back. “My mother did this for me once,”she will realize as she cleans feces off her baby’s neck. “My mother did this for me.” And the delayed gratitude will wash over her as it does each generation and she will make a Mental Note to call me. And she will forget. But I’ll know, because I peeped it with Your God eyes.
Amen.”
-Tina Fey