random smattering

my thoughts don't connect lately. come to think of it, they haven't connected properly since harlan was born. i know i'm not the only mom who has (or has ever had) this problem...but damn, it's annoying.

*halloween. harlan is afraid of his halloween costume. it was bound to happen, that i would birth a child who just didn't really 'care' for halloween.

to my chagrin, he picked out a goofy little dragon costume at kmart (that's what you get for taking him to kmart, loser). he loved it, he roared with it, he cuddled on his little thomas couch with it. then, when it came time to put it on him, he lost his tiny little toddler mind. it didn't help that the more he screamed, the more i laughed. i couldn't fathom someone being afraid of a goofy green dragon with a metalic green lamme tail. this is my thought; he loved this dragon, he put it in his stuffie house (tent) with all of his other stuffed animals, there it lived, happily among the stuffies, until one awful and tragic day, mama and papa came to take dragon away, disembowel the dragon and make harlan wear his skin. i can see how that would be disconcerting, if not traumatic. we may be a sheet ghost this year.
last night we carved pumpkins with friends. hubby and i were so excited to let harlan get all goopy with the pumpkin guts...kids love goop, right? no, harlan took one look at what we were doing, went "ew", and walked out of the room. he was not impressed with our carving prowess. we had cut up his pumpkin, and that was not cool. harlan's next offense will be hating candy. if that happens, i'm done. i'm buying him some khaki pants and a mccain/palin cap and calling it a day.


*boobs and playdates. this morning was a playdate at a lovely new yoga studio in somerville called 'moving celebrations'. the kids just ran amok, and laughed and danced, while harlan decided that things were too loud and chaotic, said 'let's go', and headed for the door. he then wanted to nurse, which is highly out of the ordinary, but i figured he was overwhelmed (and later learned he was getting a cold), so nurse him i did.
don't get me wrong, i've never been ashamed to nurse in public, even at harlan's ripe old age of 19 mos, especially in front of other moms...but i'm always surprised by some of the mom's reactions to it. it's not as if they're offended, but they act more awkward than anything. it's so ingrained in us, the repression of our bodies.
here's a tip for some moms; you can speak to me when i nurse my child, you don't have to look away, i know you're not checking out my boobs (and if you are, that's fine too, they're pretty nice). if you aren't nursing your child, that's ok, i'm not judging you, i promise. i assume that you made the best decision for you and your child, and that's fine. i breastfed my child, and will probably continue until he's well passed the age of two, it works for us, it's ok if you don't. i do wish more women were more knowledgeable about breastfeeding (and extended breastfeeding), but i'm not here to make you feel guilty about not breastfeeding your child (i'll leave that task to la leche league).


* hulahooping. a few years ago i bought a couple of miles worth of pvc tubing and made a friend a 'real' hulahoop (not one of those tiny little kiddie ones you buy at toysrus that NO ONE can use). i neglected, somehow, to make myself one. i'm putting it on my to do list (again).

* tennessee. in one week, we'll be driving the 22 hours down south to tennessee to see my family. i imagine road tripping with a 20 mos old will be just about as much fun as having a hot steel poker in your ear, but i'm full of optimism.

* on nov.4 i'm voting for obama and closing my eyes and hoping for the best. don't let me down america, you know what to do.

off to some planning. packing. to do list making and rummaging.

cheers.