"OH MY GOODNESS SAKES!"

I'm not sure where she got it, but Vanessa often exclaims, "Oh my goodness sakes!" with great gravity and concern. Today I post it in reference to how long it's taken me to publish a blog entry. Let's just say I am not lacking in the news or photography departments. (The above photo is of Van and her freshly-applied lip gloss.)

Let's review our weeks chronologically, shall we?

After big cousins Corey, Megan and Sarah left, Vanners approached every trio of happy young women saying, "Cousins!" only to be sorely disappointed. But soon after the cousins left their parents arrived. Yes, Uncle Mark and the Magic Aunt (Debbie) came a week later.


We picked up Uncle Mark at the aeropuerto and I said, "What twenty year olds go visit a toddler on their spring breaks on purpose? Your daughters, that's who. Not only did they not complain, they acted like they really, really enjoyed having a 2 year old around." We laughed about that, then Uncle Mark began his own version of Spring Break '09 with VH1, reminding us that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Uncle Mark arrived a couple days before the Magic Aunt. He wasted no time in bonding with his newest niece. She reciprocated in kind, perhaps a bit more enthusiastically, really, as we see her here, serving a proper tea.

We, VanNannerkins, Uncle Mark and I, went on a couple hikes. Vanny led. Uncle Mark spotted her on the dangerous bits. I stayed clear away and filmed.

Later, when the Magic Aunt (Debbie) arrived, Van could care less about the rest of us. We others took Van and the Magic Aunt to the Farmers' Market, then Big Sur, where we soaked up the sun and solitude, built some natural towers, and made a new friend, "Steven" the Darkling Beetle. Vanessa let Steven crawl all over her like a kitten, and has not stopped talking about him. He was very friendly.

Daddio was busy working, since his season is in full tilt, you might say. Somewhere in there V-dog got a call to audition for a GAP ad, so she and I roadtripped to L.A. and back. She was very cute (says the biased mama) but did not get the job.

Whilst we were gone, Uncle Mark and the Magic Aunt treated Daddio to a home made steak meal and a bottle of local vino. They sat at the kitchen table for hours, dining and discussing the meaning of life. When Nanners and I arrived home late that night, Daddio had a wide grin on his face and commented that it was pleasant to get to spend more than ten minutes eating a meal with no toddler around. Ah, yes, I dimly recall those types of meals. I don't know when Mark and Debbie have had Jack all to their selves, but I was greatly pleased it happened.

Nobody wanted to say goodbye at the aeropuerto. We look forward to seeing each other again in Rhode Island in September, at cousin Sarah and her fiance Katsu's wedding.

Somewhere in the middle of all this, I developed a remarkable breast infection that was not behaving like mastitis. It took a few weeks to progress and resolve, and it involved a few doctor's visits, some red streaks, many lumps, and considerable bruising, but no fever. The upshot is that I need it biopsied next week, although the lingering lump has pretty much disappeared.

Also, we nearly moved across town for a super cool house with a bigger kitchen, a play room off the living room, a giant jungle of a yard, and a 180 degree view of the Pacific Ocean from almost every room. In the end, we didn't move, and we feel great about staying in our beloved house with the kiddie back yard, but it was some excitement. Moving during track season would have been, um, crazy.

Let's see, what else? Well, Milo had his cast on for his broken toe this whole month, which made all of us crazy. You see, our athletic dog couldn't exercise for a month which meant he couldn't burn off his extra energy - it seemed to all come out of his mouth in incessant barking. He even tore up the carpet in the hallway, trying to dig under the bedroom doors. He absolutely lost his mind without exercise. Oy vey.

Then what?

Well, this month I got a few creepy calls from a guy who knew my first name. Our phone number is unlisted, so I filed a police report. The police patrol our street now in unmarked cars. That makes me feel so much better, especially since there is a precocious toddler in da house.

One night when Daddio was off on a track trip, I was getting Van ready for bed when I (ahem) sat down for a moment in the ladies room. One minute later, I hear her voice in the backyard! All the doors and windows were locked, so how could that be? She had wandered out to the kitchen to watch Max eat his cat food. Well, Max didn't want to be watched, so he flipped up his tail and ducked out the cat door. Van picked up his dish and ducked out the cat door after him, saying, "Here you go, Max. Here's your food, kitty." She followed him to the back gate in the pitch dark in her jammies. Again, we're talking two minutes here.

Then cousin Sarah's fiance, Katsu, came to visit for an afternoon. Katsu and Sarah live in Cleveland, but Katsu's best man lives about 40 minutes away. Unfortunately he and Daddio didn't get to meet over an evening surf - "next time" - but Nanners and I got to hang out with him for a whole afternoon. What fun! Let's just say Banana-kins fell in love with Katsu right away, and Katsu proved to be no stranger to rascal-wrangling.

We had Easter! Daddio and I put together a few Easter eggs and the Easter bunny hid them all over the yard. Vanners was totally into it. She also decorated all our eggs. They were gorgeous. We ate a lot of egg salad after that. Pass the lipitor, please.




In other news, Vanessa started going to daycare ("preschool") and it couldn't be more perfect. WOO HOO! Praise the Lord! Vanners just started going this week, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons. She's in with kids aged 3 to 5 and believes she's in charge.

Then on Saturday, friend Rob breezed through to purchase a new surf board and christen it in our little surf spot with Daddio's help.

That same afternoon Daddio, Vanners and I hopped in the car and headed off to see Granny in San Francisco. We went to San Francisco to retrieve cousin Abby from Connecticut. It was her 17th birthday and she is visiting us this week for her Spring Break '09. Wow. You'll have to wait to see all the pics we've been taking of cousin Abby. "Oh my goodness sakes!"