Life Through the Lens

Picture of the Day

2010-02-24T09:05:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite photographs of a sunrise. I took this in Monterey, CA back in 2006.

Picture of the Day (Six Years Ago)

2009-12-07T06:28:00.001-08:00

Six years ago, today, I met Blythe Jian Jia for the very first time. We were at a hotel in Shanxi Province, China. Both of our lives have forever changed, and I am so happy she's a part of my world. (I love you, Jia Jia!)

Picture of the Day

2009-12-06T17:10:00.001-08:00

Picture of the Day

2009-11-27T14:44:00.000-08:00

Picture of the Day

2009-11-23T15:00:00.001-08:00

Blythe and her best pal on the farm, "Puppy Chow."

Picture of the Day

2009-11-20T18:16:00.001-08:00

There's No Place Like Home

2009-11-20T17:42:00.001-08:00

Blythe couldn't wait to be Dorothy this year for Halloween. She says, "I love Dorothy: The Movie!"

Picture of the Day

2009-11-07T18:39:00.001-08:00

I'm Back--After a Long Break

2009-11-07T18:35:00.000-08:00

I have no excuse for not blogging for the entire summer, other than I have been busy. The good news is, I am back and committed to sharing more tidbits from my average life.

The other day, I was driving Blythe to school (she's in first grade now), and the Beatles came on the radio. She immediately perked up and said, "Mom! It's the Beatles! It's going to be a GREAT day!"

Picture of the Day

2009-06-30T18:49:00.000-07:00

I Only Speak Mandarin

2009-06-30T18:42:00.000-07:00

My daughter has been taking Mandarin Chinese lessons since she was three. Now she's six, and is really starting to like the idea of she and I having our own "secret language." She also likes to learn silly things and then say them to me to get a reaction. The other day, she learned the word for monkey. It is 猴子, or hou zi. We're sitting in a restaurant and she points to me and says, "Mama, hou zi!" (As in, "Mom, you are a monkey.") So I lean in and say to her in English, "Blythe, that is not very nice. I am not a monkey." She looked at me, smiled and in her best Valley Girl voice said, "Um, yeah...I'm not very good at speaking English, so you're going to have to tell me that in Chinese."

Picture of the Day

2009-05-01T15:57:00.000-07:00

Big Production of "Dino Show" at the school, presented by grades K - 3. Their big number was "The Dinosaur Two-Step", thus the cowboy hats...

Picture of the Day

2009-04-27T06:42:00.000-07:00

Headin' to Knight School...

I Can Do Magic

2009-04-27T06:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Blythe said to me, "Mom! I can do magic. Watch me disappear my doll!" She put her doll on the table and covered it with her blanket. Then she waved her magic fairy wand over the pile and said, "Alakazee-alakazam!" Then she removed her blanket and her doll was still there. She looked over at me and confidently said, "This could take awhile."

Easter Bunny

2009-04-10T13:43:00.000-07:00

As Blythe and I were decorating Easter eggs last night, she gave me very specific instructions for the weekend.

1. Don't let Merlin the Cat eat any of my Easter candy.
2. Don't let Merlin the Cat get in a fight with the Easter Bunny.

Rules

2009-04-08T17:37:00.000-07:00

Blythe and I were in a store the other day and she was misbehaving. I said something very Mom-ish, like: "Blythe, why can't you just listen to me and follow the rules? Stand by me in line and wait quietly. You need to follow the rules."

We purchased our items and left the store. She looked up at me with a grumpy face, and sternly said, "I like to make up my own rules."

She just turned six. Junior high is going to be rough.

Picture of the Day

2009-04-08T17:35:00.000-07:00

Yea, she totally hates the camera...

Picture of the Day

2009-03-29T17:18:00.001-07:00

The Birthday Princess is still glowing.

Birthday Girl!

2009-03-28T05:55:00.000-07:00

Blythe turned 6 today! She was delighted to receive this princess doll in the mail from Grandma and Grandpa Grady.

Picture of the Day

2009-03-22T18:44:00.001-07:00

How karaoke stars are born...

Picture of the Day

2009-03-19T17:37:00.001-07:00

Blythe and the Snowkitty she made during our last snowfall. Hopefully, Spring is well on the way.

Loss

2009-03-06T08:37:00.000-08:00

My daughter's caregiver for the past two summers recently lost her battle with cancer. When I told Blythe (age 5), through tears, she said, "Don't cry, Mommy. Doreen loves God and now she can go see him...AND there are lots of kids in Heaven. Doreen will take really good care of them."

Picture of the Day

2009-03-03T13:41:00.001-08:00

Yay!

2009-03-02T11:27:00.000-08:00

The other night, I was rushing around the house, trying to get Blythe and myself ready to go to her Kindergarten Music Concert at the school. She came up to me and asked, "Mommy, do I have time to play with my castle? I reaalllly want to play." To which I responded, "Blythe, we have to get going. We only have 5 minutes before we have to be out the door." And what did Blythe have to say? "Yay! I LOVE 5 minutes!"

Picture of the Day

2009-01-23T15:30:00.001-08:00

Tooth Fairy Arrived

2009-01-19T08:37:00.001-08:00

Blythe lost her very first tooth on Friday, at school. The photo looks kind of disgusting, but she wanted to make sure everyone could see where the tooth fell out.

Picture of the Day

2008-12-31T15:02:00.001-08:00

Week of Cute Remarks

2008-12-29T12:41:00.000-08:00

A few nights ago, Blythe was eating some mac and cheese. She paused while she was eating, sat back in her chair, closed her eyes, smiled and said, "I just LOVE this mac and cheese...I can't get it out of my mind!"

Then last night, she looked at me and started grinning. She devilishly asked, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" I said, "I don't know. What are you thinking?" She leaned over and whispered in my ear, "I love you sooo much!" I looked at her and said, "Yes Sweetie, that WAS exactly what I was thinking too."

Hermey the Elf

2008-12-05T19:29:00.000-08:00

Tonight, Blythe and I were on our way to go see one of our friends play for a Christmas show. Our friend plays guitar in a rockabilly band, and always wears a cowboy hat. (Well, I'm sure he takes it off sometimes, but we have always seen him wearing one.)

Out of the blue, she says to me, (from the back seat, as I'm driving) "Mom, do you think our friend wants to be a cowboy instead of a rock star? You know--like Hermey the Elf wanted to be a dentist, and not an elf."

Maybe, just maybe...

Picture of the Day

2008-11-20T13:52:00.001-08:00

Picture of the Day

2008-11-14T10:56:00.000-08:00

Picture of the Day

2008-11-03T09:37:00.000-08:00

Acadia National Park: Bar Harbor, Maine

Happy Halloween from Ariel the Diva!

2008-10-31T13:53:00.001-07:00

Picture of the Day

2008-10-31T13:33:00.001-07:00

The Witch's House in Saint John, N.B.- trick or treat?

Picture of the Day

2008-10-30T08:34:00.000-07:00

A rainy, haunting day at the Loyalist Burial Grounds in Saint John, N.B.

Picture of the Day

2008-10-28T08:16:00.000-07:00

Picture of the Day

2008-10-23T09:49:00.001-07:00

Picture of the Day

2008-10-22T07:55:00.001-07:00

St. Mary's Church in Newport, RI: This is where JFK & Jackie were married Sept. 12, 1953.

Picture of the Day

2008-10-07T09:24:00.000-07:00

Blythe was fighting off a nap this weekend. I told her she could play quietly if she didn't feel like napping. Twenty minutes later I walked in and saw this.

Picture of the Day

2008-09-26T10:06:00.001-07:00

Today was "Dress Like a Cowgirl/Cowboy" Day at school. Yee haw!

Picture of the Day

2008-09-18T21:19:00.000-07:00

Picture of the Day

2008-09-16T06:20:00.001-07:00

Picture of the Day

2008-09-15T15:08:00.001-07:00

I took quite a few pictures yesterday, so I will spread them out over the next few days. Get ready for "Blythe Overload".

Chip & Dale

2008-09-14T17:08:00.000-07:00

Blythe and I were sitting on the couch, and Chip & Dale appeared on the Disney Channel. She said, "It's Chip & Dale! They are brothers, Mom."

I asked, "How do you know? They might be friends."

She looked at me in utter dismay. "Mom, they live together and have beds in the SAME room together."

I said, "Well, they might just be room mates."

She rolled her eyes and said, "They fight too much to be room mates."

I'll be sure to remind her of this during her freshman year at college...

Grand Old Flag

2008-09-09T18:01:00.001-07:00

Last week, my daughter's kindergarten class started saying the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by singing "You're A Grand Old Flag", every morning. Now that she's 6 days into the routine, I thought I would ask her to sing the song to me, just to see which how well she could remember it.

(By the way, I'm so glad I asked--it was the high point of my day.)

Here is what gleefully spewed out of her tiny mouth :

You're a grand old flag
You're a high flyin flag
Forever you are a flaggggg
You're the emblem of
The land I love
Home of the fee and the brave
Every day beats true
For the red white and blue
'Never a poke or a brag
We all seek to see a flagggg
Keep your eye on the grand old flag
Salute!

Picture of the Day

2008-08-24T18:42:00.001-07:00

First Day of Kindergarten!

2008-08-15T08:09:00.001-07:00

We made it to Kindergarten with no tears or fears!

Talk the Talk

2008-08-14T14:18:00.000-07:00

It is not uncommon for my daughter to have entire pretend conversations in the back seat, as I drive her around town for groceries, shopping, errands, etc.

Last night, as I was driving, I heard her chatting away. She started using a really deep voice and saying things like, "Well, hello there, little lady." She started giggling, and excitedly chirped, "Mom! Did you hear that? I know another new language. I can speak BOY!"

Picture of the Day

2008-08-13T10:58:00.000-07:00

Another shot from our day at the amusement park. We would have loved to have gone again, but the line was even longer than before.

Who Wants Some of This?

2008-08-11T07:59:00.000-07:00

Last week, I took my daughter (5) to a local pizza place for supper. As we were waiting at the table, she was getting bored, so she decided to start pretending. (Not an unusual past time for her.) She lifted up the salt shaker and asked if I wanted some on my plate. I said "Sure.", and as she was lifting the salt shaker she reassured me that she wouldn't actually fill my plate with salt, by saying, "I'm just pretending, Mom- it's not for reels."

So, this went on for awhile, with her moving her way through everything that was on the table. "Who wants pepper?...Who wants cheese?..."

But the last container of dried red peppers was, by far, the best:
"Who wants fish food?"

Picture of the Day

2008-08-05T14:11:00.001-07:00

We took a short vacation to a regional amusement park. A full day of fun, sun & memory making!

Picture of the Day

2008-07-29T08:33:00.001-07:00

My daughter was thrilled to see that the flower seeds we planted in the Spring, have started producing some blooms. She was even happier that the great majority of them are her favorite color- PINK.

Picture of the Day

2008-07-28T08:42:00.001-07:00

Picture of the Day

2008-07-25T09:19:00.001-07:00

Silly girl in a tent. I've been away from the computer for a few days, so more Mommy Blog entries should be on their way.

Picture of the Day

2008-07-10T07:44:00.000-07:00

Are You Tired?

2008-07-09T19:03:00.000-07:00

When I went to pick Blythe up from daycare after work, she looked especially tired. I asked her if she was tired, and she replied, "Yea, my friend bossed me out." I said, "What do you mean by that?" She answered, "You know...like when someone is so bossy it wears you out."

Ahhh...bossed out. Good one.

Picture of the Day

2008-07-09T05:11:00.001-07:00

A good look for my daughter, when she was 4.

Picture of the Day

2008-07-07T17:36:00.001-07:00

CEL: Chief Executive Lounger

Picture of the Day

2008-07-03T14:47:00.001-07:00

Fun With Napkins

2008-07-03T14:32:00.000-07:00

My electricity went off for a few hours last night. I had planned on making pizza at home, but right around 5:00, a small squall blew through and cut power to my house. My daughter was with me, and the complaints about being hungry started to flow from her precious 5 year old mouth. So, I decided we should go out and try to find a restaurant that had electricity.

We ended up at a local Mexican Restaurant. My daughter ordered her favorite, a plain cheese quesadilla. (Not too much of a stretch from a grilled cheese sandwich...) As we were sitting there eating and talking, she started talking about manners, and of course, she was pointing out all the good things she was doing, like not talking with her mouth full, keeping her elbows off the table, etc. I had pointed out to her that it was very polite that she had placed her napkin on her lap.

Suddenly, she picked up her napkin and tucked it into the front collar of her shirt. She said, "Look Mommy! I'm eating lobster!"

OK...I have no idea where that came from.

Picture of the Day

2008-07-02T10:55:00.000-07:00

This was taken a few hours after the storm passed through. The marble-sized hail was piled up on the grass like snow drifts.

Picture of the Day

2008-07-01T08:11:00.000-07:00

Picture of the Day

2008-06-30T14:31:00.000-07:00

That's life in the Midwest -- marble-sized hail with winds up to 80 mph. Thankfully, the electricity is back on.

Picture of the Day

2008-06-25T06:28:00.001-07:00

Picture of the Day

2008-06-24T06:01:00.000-07:00

Picture of the Day

2008-06-23T06:28:00.001-07:00

The view out my window.

Picture of the Day

2008-06-20T07:33:00.001-07:00

Office Life

2008-06-20T07:23:00.000-07:00

When Blythe was 3, she had already visited her Dad's office, and my office. She enjoyed walking around and generally getting a lot of attention from adults. I was surprised to learn that she had picked up some of the intricacies of office life.

Blythe was drinking juice on her way to daycare in her Dad's car. They arrived, and she had not yet finished it. Her Dad told her it was time to go into "school", and Blythe replied,"But I'm not done with my juice yet!" Her Dad assured her that he would take it into work with him, and put it in the break room refrigerator. With a furrowed brow, she reminded her Dad, "Make sure and put my name on it! I don't want anyone else to drink it."

Soon she'll be ready to huddle around the water cooler and talk about last night's reality show episode...

Picture of the Day

2008-06-19T06:55:00.000-07:00

Picture of the Day

2008-06-18T08:59:00.001-07:00

Where the Cars Live

2008-06-18T08:56:00.000-07:00

Blythe and I were driving past a Merry Maids franchise office, and there were about 9 yellow Merry Maid fleet cars parked out front. Blythe got all excited and said, "Mom! Look! Coooolllll! That's where all the yellow cars live!"

Picture of the Day

2008-06-17T20:22:00.000-07:00

Movie Picks

2008-06-17T07:08:00.000-07:00

At age 5, my daughter's top 2 favorite movies are the 1944 version of National Velvet, with Liz Taylor and Mickey Rooney, and the 1964 version of My Fair Lady with Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison. During My Fair Lady, she will frequently ask, "When is she going to turn into a princess?"

When she was 4, her favorite was Yellow Submarine. She still likes the music, but will always choose Velvet Brown over Paul and Ringo these days.

Picture of the Day

2008-06-16T08:37:00.000-07:00

Picture of the Day

2008-06-15T18:33:00.001-07:00

These flowers remind me of those trippy kaleidoscopes I had as a kid. Ahhh, life on the farm.

Picture of the Day

2008-06-14T16:43:00.000-07:00

Picture of the Day

2008-06-13T13:40:00.000-07:00

How Big is God's Head?

2008-06-13T13:31:00.000-07:00

Last night, Blythe was excited because she got a new pink plastic headband to replace the one she broke about a month ago. She was sitting in the back seat of the car, admiring it, while I was driving. I could see her moving the headband around, and warned her not to stretch it because it would break, just like the last one. She said, "Yes, Mommy. I'm just looking at it." Then, she paused and said, "No one else should try this on because they might stretch it--Not even God, Mommy." She took another breath, and then inquired, "How big do you think God's head is?"

I told her that I didn't know, but imagined that it was probably pretty big. She paused again and declared,"I bet it's bigger than a shark's mouth. God made sharks, and He would make sure that his head would NOT fit in their mouth."

So, I guess that's final. God's head is definitely bigger than a shark's mouth. Who knew?

Picture of the Day

2008-06-12T07:59:00.000-07:00

Bringing the Rock!

Wake-Up Time

2008-06-12T07:55:00.000-07:00

Last night, my daughter was asking me what time we would wake up. I told her she could wake me up at 7 AM. She smiled and nodded excitedly, and said,"OK Mommy! I'll wake you up at 7-Amen!"

I couldn't help but wonder if this would help off-set the whole mall swearing incident...see earlier post.

Picture of the Day

2008-06-11T08:38:00.001-07:00

Close-up of a glass sculpture: art for art's sake.

Picture of the Day

2008-06-10T10:22:00.001-07:00

Do You Know Where Your TV Is?

2008-06-10T10:13:00.000-07:00

My daughter has two homes. She lives with her Dad every other week, and then comes to live with me on the weeks in between. One week when she was living with her Dad, I got a call from her. She didn't sound quite like herself- a little distressed. She said, "Mommy, is your TV still at your house?" A bit confused, I answered, "Yes...why do you ask?" She answered, "Because ours isn't."

Unfortunately, her Dad's house had been broken into and the only thing they took was the TV and a blanket. She was under the impression that the crooks might have gone around and taken EVERYBODY's TV set.

Picture of the Day

2008-06-09T08:09:00.000-07:00

Malls Make Me Cuss, Mommy

2008-06-09T07:10:00.000-07:00

Since I’m catching up on stories about Blythe, I’ll share another one from when she was four. It was right around Halloween, and we were walking along the mall’s main corridor, (right in front of the store “Children’s Place”), and not uncommonly, Blythe tripped and fell. She picked herself up, and as she was dusting herself off, she said in a disgusted voice, “god damn it.”

I freaked a bit—after all, that was MY precious 4 year old, cussing like a sailor! On top of that, she was attending a Catholic Preschool, and I had a flash of her saying that in front of teachers, nuns, a priest, you fill in the blank, go ahead- have some fun! It’s not YOUR kid! (And I will admit, it caught me so off guard that if it were someone else’s child, I would have laughed.)

So, I snapped to, and said, “Blythe (I used her full name including middle name, for effect) –What did you just say?” She looked up at me sheepishly and said in a whisper, “goddamnit”. I explained to her that those were very naughty words and that she was not to say them all in a row EVER again. I think I scared her a bit, but she did get the message that it was not OK to say that.

Flash forward, the same year at another mall….this time it was right before Christmas. We were walking out of a large sporting goods store, and she was trying to open the door. She was struggling because it was an especially heavy door. She was grunting and pushing on the door, and she said in the same disgusted voice “God…” –I interrupted her with a pre-emptive warning of, “BLYTHE.” She looked up with those same sheepish eyes, and finished her sentence with, “is in my heart.” “Nice save,” I told her, “but we are still going home.”

Picture of the Day

2008-06-07T18:25:00.001-07:00

Mmmm...flowers. It's always so nice when winter finally goes away.

Picture of the Day

2008-06-06T15:31:00.000-07:00

My daughter's older brother. He's too relaxed to have any sibling rivalry.

What Time is It?

2008-06-06T15:25:00.000-07:00

I try to wedge little lessons into my daughter's day. The other morning, we were in the kitchen, standing by the digital clock and I asked her if she could tell me what time it was. She said, "I don't know." So, of course, I wasn't about to let it go. I said, "What's the first number?", pointing to the digital display. She said, "Seven." "Good!", I replied. Then I asked, "What's the next number?" She answered, "Dot dot."

Sign of the Day

2008-06-05T09:02:00.000-07:00

I enjoy traveling, and take pleasure in capturing everyday objects in new ways.

Picture of the Day

2008-06-04T16:23:00.001-07:00

Say hello to my life on the patio.

Months of the Year

2008-06-04T08:47:00.000-07:00

I'm catching up on writing about all the funny/naughty things my daughter, Blythe, does & says, so for today's entry, I'll go back to when she was 4.

Blythe was learning about the months of the year and the days of the week at pre-school. The teachers taught the kids catchy songs that helped them remember. Granted, not as catchy as a "They Might Be Giants" melody, but catchy none the less. So, by this time, Blythe was really into inventing new ways that she could use the months of the year.

On one particularly trying evening, she was being stubborn and generally uncooperative. I had just given her "The Mom Speech- Volume 63" about how when a parent or teacher asks you to do something, you DO NOT respond with "No". She was headed up the staircase, and I asked her to take some toys back upstairs to her room. She looked through the banister and said in a near shout, (because she also knows from "The Mom Speech-Volume 34" that we don't yell in the house) "NO-vember!"

As I bit the inside of my cheek so I wouldn't crack a smile, I gave her my best Mommy Scowl, and made her come down and get the toys.

On a side note, I am feeling a little bad that the ads that Google is choosing for this site mostly have something to do with providing better discipline to your child...hmmmm...technology.

Picture of the Day

2008-06-03T07:07:00.000-07:00

The trees are flowering at my house. When my daughter saw that they bloomed she simply said, "Cool".

I've Got Something Really Important to Tell You

2008-06-03T06:50:00.000-07:00

Last night, while my daughter was taking her shower, I was working on my blog in the next room. She toweled off, got into her PJs and came in to see what I was doing. She stood by my side for about a minute, then put her hand on my hand as I was typing.

"Mommy, I have something REALLY important to tell you." She looked deeply into my eyes with her dark eyes, and her most serious facial expression. I said, "What's that dear?", and took a drink of my Diet Coke.

"Mommy, I just pooped a poop that was bigger than this WHOLE HOUSE!"-- Diet Coke sprayed out of my mouth & onto the monitor.

A snapshot of my life...I wouldn't change a thing!

There's No Avoiding the Mommy Blog- Divert Your Eyes!

2008-06-02T18:17:00.000-07:00

With an adorable 5 year old, it has been all I can do to avoid going on and on about how (insert your most annoying word here--smart, witty, bright...) my kid is via the Web. But alas, I can no longer hold off the urge.

Maybe it's because she will be starting kindergarten in the Fall, and I realize she won't always be so charming. I know she will become more annoying, but I also know I'll always love her more than humanly possible.

Additionally, I am terrible at scrap booking and keeping journals, and want a way to record the funny things she says and does. So, bear with me, I will blog about the mundane details of my life as well, but the inspiration for this blog is my sweet daughter whom I met in China when she was 8 months old.

Sign of the Day, 6-2-08

2008-06-02T18:08:00.000-07:00