Eastertime in the LBC

Easter in Long Beach. There were eggs...


And adorable babies to hunt the eggs...


And Easter brunch at Parker's Lighthouse...


And merry-go-round rides in Shoreline Village.







Thank you Easter Bunny!

Matilda, Version 1.5

Today M. turned one and a half. I'm not one of those parents who throws a party or gives presents for my child's half-birthday--I hope a friend would beat me senseless if I was--but in many ways this day seemed like more of a milestone than her one-year birthday. She is more a toddler now than a baby, more of a little person than a little beastie I have to care for. We celebrated by throwing away all of her pacifiers and getting shots at the doctor--woo-hoo! She has not yet decided to speak English, although she is very fluent and expressive in Matilda-ese. She read aloud to the pediatrician from Dr. Seuss while he examined her. I couldn't resist the great light in the doctor's office, so I took the opportunity to shoot some half-birthday portraits.

Happy half-birthday, Matilda!

Bestiality and the Toy Industry

A while back, my friend Tammy sent me a photo she saw in the paper of a new toy from the New York Toy Fair. She thought it would make me laugh...

And I did laugh...after I got up off the floor from the apoplectic fit that the sight of this monstrosity threw me into.

I laughed because all I could think was, "It's a Whorse."

I guess they've gone through every permutation of Bratz and now they have to start sexualizing animals since all the little girl dolls are good and slutted up.

Lord help us.

A Very Belated Birth Story

Here is a prize for all of you loyal readers. I have, only 18 months late, completed Matilda's birth story. You can read it here. I started the post on her first birthday and only completed it today. So, if you are so inclined, you can read it. I know a lot of you have heard this story before, but it's a good one and worth reading. I will warn you, though, that it is very, very long and not for the queasy.

The Long, Dark Winter of My Blog is Over

So here's the thing. I HATE this time of year. From New Year's Day to Easter just, well, sucks. The weather is horrible. TV is horrible. No decent movies are playing. Valentine's Day happens. There is NOTHING to do but sit in the house and pray for Spring. During these horrible few months, my creativity is sapped. I don't want to scrapbook, I don't want to write, and I certainly don't want to blog. But my fans, all seven of you, demand that I come back to the keyboard. OK fine. After Daylight Savings Time, my spirits are a lifting a bit, and I feel my need to create slowly coming back. Plus, we've had a long spurt of Global-Warming-Is-Really-Happening weather. So I'm gonna get warmed up by posting some pictures of the world's cutest baby, and then I'll go think about what I'm going to post tomorrow.

I LOVE the swings! Love 'em, love 'em, LOVE 'EM!

I LOVE my brother! Love 'im, love 'im, love 'im!

I LOVE my sunglasses! Love 'em, love 'em, love 'em!

This post is dedicated to those people who ride my ass about not updating my blog: Lorna, Mom, Micaela, Doug, Meredith, Kat, and Tammy.