Axl Rose & Elmo

I am feeling uncharacteristically restless today. I believe I am having a gargantuan hormonal surge, as I found myself ransacking our cupboards desperately looking for something in this house that is naughty to eat (we never have ANY junk food in this house). I ended up licking the salt off of Costco rice crackers and having an extra glass of wine because I couldn't think of anything else that sounded better without an extra trip to the store or to Dairy Queen (I am NOT pregnant, by the way). As I get older, I find that the hormonal roller coaster is becoming a bit much for me when it didn't used to phase me whatsoever. I will probably end up asking some sort of medical professional about this eventually. I sometimes feel like eating something as large as a roasted water buffalo or going on a tri-state shooting spree for no good reason. It is really no fun at all. Luckily, today this feeling only resulted in deciding to cut a couple extra inches off my hair. I am sick of dealing with it. It hasn't been this short since I was pregnant. I suppose I like it. It certainly feels better. I wasn't really even in the mood for the salon today, which is normally a big treat for me. It is quite a feat to find time to pamper myself outside the house during the week, so anything I choose to do is something I normally find quite enjoyable, but today felt like a huge waste of my time. I'm not really in a bad mood. I just feel kind of blah.

Hopefully Blogger will allow me to attach a photo or two of Erik at the park this weekend. This evening, Erik came out into the living room lugging his mammoth-sized stuffed dog and muttering "ruff ruff" before he slammed it into the ground and rolled around with it, growling and showcasing his wrestling skills for me and his dad. He has hit another developmental plateau and isn't doing anything hugely new but is doing great and is especially fun these days. Every day after breakfast I get out the Windex bottle to spritz the counters, and when he sees it, he exhales out his nose to make the same noise the bottle makes when I spray it (hifff hifff hifff hifff). So cute! Today I crawled into the playhouse in his room, where we have his electronic play table and Scooby Doo chair set up. There is a smiling rubber banana on the console of the table with a little red heart on it to push. Because his fine motor skills are shaky and he normally doesn't think to do it, he has not been using his index finger to point or push things as well as most kids, but today I reviewed the process with him, and he accomplished this feat repeatedly with a huge grin on his face. It obviously made him feel very proud of himself. I got to listen to "Banana!" and "Squishy banana!" and "Yellow banana!" four thousand times, and I laughed every flipping time. I couldn't help myself. I remember when I brought that little table home to get him to pull himself up to standing, and he was terrified of the sounds it made. I felt like I was torturing him. He has come a long way in just a few months, and I can't believe he will be two in just a few weeks. I plan on setting up his yearly photo studio visit sometime next month and will share photos with all of you.

I was up at the crack of dawn because of my furry friend Gracie Kitty this morning. I was thankful it was after 5 a.m., though, and not 3 a.m. I went on line and ordered some piano CDs for Erik. Brian and I went to a cowboy dinner show with our families when we were engaged five million years ago, and I really enjoyed the cheesy country piano music, so I ordered a CD of that variety, some ragtime (Joplin), and a piano tribute to Rascal Flatts. I spent an hour shopping on Amazon picking out just the right CDs for him. What led to this was that I was in Hallmark after book club Monday night and really liked the country piano music they had on while I was shopping. It reminded me a bit of old people but was completely soothing. The ladies at the counter didn't know what it was, but I figured it out by listening on line. I'll update you on his reaction to the music. So far, his preference is Sesame Street. He gets that from me. Sadly, the Sesame Street CDs and DVD I have were both purchased long before I even thought of having kids. I grew up on that show, and certain songs really make me misty, especially now that they are a link to my childhood and now have new meaning to me (see below). In contrast, I remember days during my college years running in the rain listening to AC/DC, Skid Row, Tesla, Dokken, and Slaughter on my brick-sized Walkman. For those of you who know me well, never fear -- my leather miniskirt and Aqua Net-scented hair may have disappeared, but those songs are appearing on my iPod again. However, I am MUCH more well-rounded in my old age, having been exposed to everything over the years. I simply love it all. I am hoping that my mother will still be in the symphony for a while yet so Erik can watch her perform. That is actually a moment I have been dreaming of. I am also really curious to see what Erik prefers musically as he grows older and if he loves it as much as I do. I have a feeling we will be swapping sound files on our computers someday. I am suspecting it will be part of the secret language we seem to have with each other.

That's all for now. I am hoping I perk up a little bit tomorrow. The cooler weather is supposed to roll in this week, and I am pumped about that.

It's Not Easy Bein' Green
Kermit the Frog

It's not that easy bein' green
Having to spend each day the color of the leaves
When I think it could be nicer being red,
Or yellow or gold-
Or something much more colorful like that.

It's not easy bein' green
It seems you blend in with so many other ordinary things.
And people tend to pass you over
'Cause you're not standing out
Like flashy sparkles in the water or stars in the sky.

But green's the color of Spring.
And green can be cool and friendly-like.
And green can be big like an ocean,
Or important like a mountain,
Or tall like a tree.

When green is all there is to be
It could make you wonder why,
But why wonder, why wonder?
I am green and it'll do fine,
It's beautiful!
And I think it's what I want to be.