Exhaustion

Ok, so maybe my exhaustion doesn't compare with that of the parents of a certain six month old, who have recently been woken up every two to three hours throughout the night. But I have a demanding baby of my own named Lupe.

The Rascal.

Lupe seems to think that I don't need to sleep past 4:30, 5:00 in the morning, weekend or not. She sits on top of me and digs at my body till I wake up. If that doesn't work she jumps up on the bookshelf to pull on my earring display so that it crashes (repeatedly) into the wall, "clank, clank, clank, clank."

You would think we'd get mad at her and throw her out of the bed, or even shut her out of the bedroom, but ahhh.... then you don't understand the love of a true cat lover. Usually if it's a weekday I just get up since I have to get up really early anyway. But if it's a weekend we just open our eyes and look at each other and laugh, and see if she'll let us go back to sleep.

Imagine my joy when I found this drawing on a blogger's website. "Speck" has two blogs, one to just chat about what's going on, and the other more oriented to her artwork. I wrote her that she has captured a bit of my life in this sketch: Layli sleeping on my left side, and Lupe digging at my head. It looks so cute, so picturesque, so... comfy. Is there a way to sketch exhaustion? Yaaaawwwwnnnnn... ...hhhhmmm ... ...I'm going to have to start going to bed at 7:30.

Sparkly Surprise

The other day our mail carrier left a big box on our front steps. Hmmm... what could that be? Upon closer inspection it was from Martha, but it seemed too early for a Christmas present and the box was so light I wasn't sure there was anything in it! As you can see she made a beautiful decorative Christmas basket full of shiny miniature gifts, pine cones and lights.

These are not just any pine cones though. The larger cones are from the campgrounds where she and Ken stayed when they came to visit two springs ago. The smaller ones are from the sweet gum tree in our back yard. She called them "space ship pods" which very accurately describes their appearance! They are decorated with a sparkly paint that makes it look like they have snow on them. How neat that she made this with cones/pods from the local flora.

Oooh! And how pretty! This picture doesn't do it justice.

Thanks Martha!

So Many Books, So Little Time

This is me at my happiest. I love to read books more than just about anything. A good book, a cup of tea or coffee, some warm fuzzy slippers and a kitty on my lap and I'm in heaven. Fortunately Saeed also shares my passion for reading. Our favorite "dates" are at coffee shops or Earth Fare's cafeteria where we can read till they kick us out. Even better is our own living room where we are soon snuggled in with five cats (or in the piano room with three cats.) I'm also lucky that Shirin loves to read (I'm working my way through {and enjoying} the Harry Potter series at her behest), that Gabriel loves to read (I read {and loved} "Time Traveler's Wife" at his suggestion), that Anahita likes to read (I sent her my copy of "A Long Way Gone" and "For The Love Of A Dog") and my sister as well. Martha sends me her books when she's done with them, and there's no better present than a box full of books from my sis!

Martha recently sent me "Better" which I enjoyed so much. I think anyone would get a lot out of it, but since I work with doctors it was especially meaningful.











She also sent me (which I'm reading now) "The Glass Castle", the amazing true life story of Jeannette Walls, currently an MSNBC gossip columnist. Here's a great description, taken from
www.thereadinggroupguides:
The Glass Castle is a remarkable memoir of resilience and redemption, and a revelatory look into a family at once deeply dysfunctional and uniquely vibrant. When sober, Jeannette's brilliant and charismatic father captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and how to embrace life fearlessly. But when he drank, he was dishonest and destructive. Her mother was a free spirit who abhorred the idea of domesticity and didn't want the responsibility of raising a family. The Walls children learned to take care of themselves. They fed, clothed, and protected one another, and eventually found their way to New York. Their parents followed them, choosing to be homeless even as their children prospered. The Glass Castle is truly astonishing -- a memoir permeated by the intense love of a peculiar, but loyal, family. Jeannette Walls has a story to tell, and tells it brilliantly, without an ounce of self-pity.

So many books, so little time.

Catnip Coma

Sometimes before I begin cleaning house I initiate an activity that is great fun for the kitties who will soon be running and hiding from the vacuum cleaner. I sprinkle catnip on the carpet and on their toys. It takes all of 20 seconds for them to begin rolling around in pure ecstasy. It really is somewhat chaotic, since it seems to cause irrational behavior and alternating states of consciousness! It was hard to get good pics. Maybe next time I can capture it on video.

Tippy is hugging the lime-green doggie while Obi, Frosty Paws, and Calvin have licked up the catnip and are in various stages of stupor.

They look like two stoned hippies.

Enjoy it while you can Obi, before the vacuum cleaner makes its appearance.

Ok, time to quit posting and start cleaning the house. Aargh.

Final Cyrus Pics And Videos

These are the last of my pictures and videos from last weekend's visit. I'm not sure I ever explained why Cyrus is now in a cage like a wild animal, but I guess it's fairly self-explanatory!

When I was a small child my European parents took me everywhere they went. To keep me safe they put me in a harness that attached to a leash; this allowed me to walk wherever I wanted within leash's limits. I remember people looking at the situation with some disapproval, as if my parents were treating me like a dog, but those Europeans knew what they were doing! Now you can find similar contraptions in American stores.

Where The Wild Things Are

The new thing: sucking the lower lip.

Preparing the pigskin for a pass:
spitting and sucking on the end so it spirals just right.

Will you look at that hold!! Are there any recruiters out there?

Cyrus with his mommy....

... and Cyrus with his daddy.

OK, now some videos for Cyrus' Khaleh Anahita.

This first video showcases Cyrus' talent for blowing a raspberry and then practicing his "man" sounds so he can sound like his Grandpa:


Stange woman with a silly cow rattle makes Cyrus giggle:


Cyrus doesn't seem to be aware that I'm looking at him through a hole in the barrier but once I get up above it and say "hello" he's all grins:


This one is kind of long. We realized that Cyrus crawls around so much easier when he's naked! Those long pants just get in the way, so Shirin first stole his clothes, and then stole all his toys so he would have to go get them (mean mommy!) My favorite part about this video is how he now "talks" to his toys:

Happy Thanksgiving!

I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and pray that anyone traveling "over the hills to grandma's house" has a safe trip.

My intention was to keep the "be kind to animals - don't eat turkey" rant off this post and just put up funny cartoons related to Thanksgiving. As I uploaded each one I became more and more bothered by the humor that sanitizes what we are actually doing to these poor birds. It just doesn't tickle my funny bone when I know what's really going on (think about the video shown on the evening news a few nights ago of Palin standing in front of the turkey slaughterer with the gruesome part of the video fuzzed out.)

Imagine what that means. Someone has killed a bird and cut off his leg so you could eat it.

Now there's a sharp pointed object stabbed into its belly and the cartoon is made to look like these turkeys are willing participants.

Actually this one's OK. I don't imagine the scarecrow feels pain!

This one I like. The smart turkeys outwitted the killer. :-)

This one is frightening. It's like those horror movies, where there's someone coming after you with an ax, and you're desperately trying to get away from him.

Again... I think this turkey needs his chest muscles more than you do.

This one is very clever. It shows that one type of bird is for raising under cruel conditions, brutally killing, and then eating, while another type of bird is so revered that it shows up on our buildings, flags, and money. Do you see any logic in that? Any logic at all? It's like us not eating a dog because it's a dog but eating a cow because it's a cow. Huh?

So, I guess I've been a wet rag again. Sorry. It's just that we need to look at the reality of things.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Peas, Peas, Peas, Peas, Eatin' Goober Peas

We are continually surprised at how difficult the simplest things are when you're six months old. How hard can it be to swallow a pea? Very! Actually Cyrus did very well with his peas as you are about to see.

"Hello, I'm about to eat a pea."

"Waddya mean open my mouth?"

How many hands does it take to cram one pea into a baby's mouth?

"Eeeeew"
Actually, despite this pitiful face he really likes peas.
Check the video at the end of this post.

In order to get something other than peas we went out to The Grit, a famous vegetarian restaurant in Athens. At first Cyrus had to eat the sweet potatoes brought from home...

... but after a few mouthfuls he demanded to see a menu.
"Hmm, do I feel like the tofu reuben or the teriyaki tofu wrap?"

"Mmmmm.. this teriyaki tofu is great!"

The famous "Eatin' Goober Peas" video:


More pics soon....

A Boy And His Grandpa

We spent the weekend with the Little Bubbsie and his parents. It's so much fun to greet him at the door and watch his face register recognition... "I know these people!"

It's not long before he's grabbing for his Grandpa's beard and Saeed is kissing him through the pain!

Holding onto that beard for dear life! Saeed actually was going to trim his beard before coming but decided it would be more fun for Cyrus if he trimmed it once he got back home.

Here's a video of Cyrus crawling over to his toys, while Saeed tells Shirin she needs more toys for him. Ok Santa Claus... you said more toys... you'd better get your elves in gear.


And here's a video of Cyrus standing (with a little help) at the barrier for a conversation with his Grandpa.



More to come...

Academic Advising

In September Neda returned to the U.S. after two years in Mauritania with the Peace Corps. She knows what she'd like to do but wanted some advise from the professor regarding academic options. Recently she and Saeed sat at the table discussing possible next steps as I buzzed around doing bits of housework here and there, but also sitting and listening sometimes.
It struck me, not for the first time, that the youth of today have the whole world open to them. As wonderful as that is it also makes it difficult to pin down one plan or one path. In my life, for every path I chose I turned away 100 others. For every path Neda (and others like her) chooses she turns away 100,000,000 others! It's like deciding between vanilla and chocolate ice cream or between Baskin & Robbins' 31 flavors - much more difficult.

Mulling this over I went into the laundry room to start another load when what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a miniature basket with a sleeping kitty inside. (Ok, so I couldn't keep up the rhyme.) He loves to snoozle in the laundry baskets, especially when the dryer is running and the basket is warm and toasty.
Sorry Obis Obis, I'll leave you alone and go back to listen to Neda and Saeed.

One Last Day With Khaleh Tita

You can never be too young to have household chores. Here is Cyrus after Shirin told him that if he did a good job of folding the laundry she would read him a book.

The reward for a job well done.

Tita enjoyed all the little things with her nephew...

...and some of the big things. Big? Yes, because when Cyrus decides that it's your turn to be his jumperoo (which is his jumper-apparatus back home) you get to do it for a loooong time!

Khaleh Tita, AKA the jumperoo:


And again:

Everytime Tita comes home she leaves a few doodle papers around the house. On Saturday night we played Speed Scrabble, but somehow she found the time to doodle this picture. It's up on our refrigerator to remind us of her nice visit.