Back-seat driver

Jackson is a brilliant boy. He has mastered the concept of "red means stop, green means go." As a result, my 3-year-old has become a back-seat driver, SCREAMING "stop!" from his car seat when he sees a red light. Unfortunately, he hasn't quite figured out which stoplight goes with which lane of traffic. For example, if we're driving through a green light but he sees a red turn arrow, he truly FREAKS OUT and screams for me to stop, certain that we're running the light. After I recover from his significant volume and the shrill of his voice, I laugh out loud at my poor little boy's plight. In addition to not understanding which light goes with which lane, he has limited visibility in his car seat. It's freaking hilarious.

Mine eyes ne’er beheld such beauty

My newest work of art. Sure, I've produced two beautiful children (and this fabulous blog), but the creation of which I'm currently most proud is my pantry. Newly organized and freshly scoured, this particular project consumed four hours of my time. As you can see from the photos below, the time was well spent. That, or the toxic fumes I inhaled have altered my thought processes to such an extent that I *think* four hours - elbow-deep in bleach - was a good use of my time.

My mom told me last night that I need to get a life. Clearly,  she's right...

Front view

Right view

Left view

The latest...

It's been a busy couple of weeks! This stay-at-home-mom thing is pretty unbelievable, first because it's such a treat to have so much time with my kids, and second because I'm unbelievably busy and exhausted! In addition to indulging my children, I'm also consulting with several public relations and marketing firms and picking up the slack at Scott's ad agency. More on that later. For now, I'm just happy to report that this (almost) full-time mom-thing is working out well!

In the time since I quit my job, we have have made the rounds of all of the local kid spots:

• Bay Area Discovery Museum (three times)
• Children's Fairyland
• Exploratorium
• Urban Recess (at least a half-dozen times)
• My Gym (same - at least once or twice a week)
• Alta Plaza park (FABULOUS park at Steiner & Jackson)
• Walter Haas park
• Potrero Hill park
• California Pizza Kitchen (twice - it's my fave)
• Boston Market
• Kids Cuts (awesome - though not cheap - kids hair salon with a gigantic play area attached to the salon - great tool for bribing your child to sit still!)

Tomorrow promises to be an equally fun day for the kids, as we are heading to the lab for a lead-level blood test. I will have the fun task of restraining both children while the phlebotomist draws their blood. Anyone who knows my kids knows they have a little extra chub, thus rendering it nearly impossible to find a vein with the first poke. I'm dreading this... I'm packing a bag of M&Ms to feed Jackson during his ordeal (much like sugar cubes for a sick horse). Abby will get over it in five seconds. She doesn't yet have a negative association with needles. Yuck.

Jack and his girlfriend, Stella, at the Exploratorium

Scott & Abby at Children's Fairyland - she was laughing hysterically, but I couldn't manage to capture her giggles on film. At least Scott's hand looks super-cool.

Jackson at the Discovery Museum

Abby at the Discovery Museum - what's that look on her face?!

Jackson at Alta Plaza park

Abby at Alta Plaza

Jackson at Kids Cuts

Abby - finally enough hair for pigtails - kind of!