Ok, I'll admit it. I dressed him like an Easter egg for picture day. But every preschooler needs a picture that screams, "Mommy Picked This Outfit." And yes, that outfit usually involves a sweater vest.
Hello, Handsome!
PREEster
We had some folks over on Saturday for a Pre-Easter celebration. 
There was candy, ham and an egg hunt. I took some video with the new camera, but I can't get the audio to play back. At 30-something years old, I really should start reading owner's manuals. That would be more efficient than my trial-and-error method to learning gadgets. Maybe next year.
Each time Cooper found a new egg he would let out a blood-curdling scream of, "I FOUND ANOTHER ONE!" There were 50 eggs.
Kate had a hilarious happening at the local Albertson's. I won't give you the deets. It's her story to tell. I'll only say that it involved indecent exposure and shattered glass. 
The egg hunt was halted for about 15-minutes so we could all admire this awesome lizard. Cooper kept looking at him and saying, "HI MR. LIZARD!" The lizard didn't want die, but he didn't want to move either. 
Alex and Edy were visiting from Colombia. It was good to have everyone around. Once PJ went off on a drunken rant about how the characters on Grey's Anatomy were all "childish idiots", it felt like a true family gathering.
Cooper played hide and seek with Carrie, made a magic soup with Edy and forced Alex to play, "Chef."
The following day, Cooper woke up to an Easter bucket. Apparently, the Easter Bunny thought my little boy would use a bucket much more than a basket. He's a clever bunny. 
Inside the bucket was a Toy Story flashlight, which Cooper used to find his hidden bunny gift.
(FYI--the Easter Bunny who visited me in the 1980's and part of the 90's never left gifts. He left candy and maybe some socks. This new bunny leaves gifts. I guess he's doing well despite these hard economic times.)
Coop finally found an Evil Emperor Zurg toy in mommy's speakeasy liquor cabinet. (Hey, Mr. Bunny! Did you help yourself to my hooch? I'm checking the levels in those bottles!)
The toy has a maniacal laugh and three evil sayings:
1. "DESTROY BUZZ LIGHTYEAR!"
2. "I AM YOUR FATHER!"
3. "COME TO ME MY PREY!"
Coop hasn't stopped pressing the button since Sunday morning.
I'm hearing "DESTROY BUZZ LIGHTYEAR" in my sleep.
Thank you, Easter Bunny.
Happy Afro Fools Day
I've been in this wig for an hour and Cooper keeps asking me to take it off.
"Mommy...you're hair is NOT your hair!!!"
I'm going to keep it on until Jakob gets home. After a long day at jury duty, he needs to witness my awesomeness. Or, at the very least, roll his eyes at me.
CALENDAR is finally done.
"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." --Douglas Adams
Illustrations were done last week.
Captions were done Valentines Day.
Then I ate too much and fell asleep.
Now the calendar is ready.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW & ORDER
My next project will be trying to get a gallery show in Downtown Los Angeles.
And, of course, giving birth. Hey, I'm so creative, I make people!
New Debacle Calendar...
Yes, it will be done by Valentine's Day.
Yes, those are tater tots on a fun face plate.
SPD
This is what they think Cooper is struggling with:
Sensory Processing Disorder
Do you squint at bright sunlight?
Do you dislike having messy hands and feel the need to wash them when they're dirty?
Are you bothered by itchy clothing?
Then you, too, could have sensory processing disorder!
Or, maybe, like most people, you are annoyed by annoying things.
I'm not sure what to make of this. One of the suggested therapies is wearing weighted clothes. The teachers say he responds better in social situations when he has a backpack on. They suggested I look into getting him a weighted vest and seeking occupational therapy.
There is nothing more important to me than Cooper. I want to do what's best for my child. But weigh him down? At 3 years old? I just think that the weight of the world ends up on your back soon enough in this life. Isn't childhood the one time when you should feel free?
Or maybe I'm in denial. He's crashing into others at school. It needs to end. I'm all ears, people. Any advice?
Photos from Team Powellstein Nuptial
Congrats to Karen and Jason on taking the plunge! 
Thank you for allowing us to take part in such a beautiful event. Much love and luck to both of you. 
I have the physique of a bloated whale moose thanks to the pregnancy, but I still tried to cute it up for the wedding. 
They had temp tattoos of their "Team Powellstein" logo available on all the tables, so I slapped mine on with pride. 
Flying Powellstein.
Holiday Cookies 2009
I know I'm a bit late to post this Christmas photo, but I wanted to share.
I rarely use the word, "charming," but it is.
Perhaps Cooper will pull this photo up on his computer/phone machine someday to show someone and he'll say, "Here I am making cookies with my mom." And that someone will say, "Holy Soap! Look how young your mom was!"
(In the future, "Holy Soap," is something the kids say.)
She drinks tea now instead.
Mrs. Debacle missed whiskey as if it were a dear friend who left town and never spoke to her again.
New 2010 calendar is in the works. Sorry for the delay.
To Infinity and Beyond!
Just three months ago, my kid wanted to be in The Electric Mayhem.
Today, he wants to join Star Command.
The helmet was his idea. And a good idea at that! It both adds to the costume and protects the noggin when "falling with style."
I like that he couldn't even wait for the paint to dry to strap on those wings. 
Well, honestly, how could he? The Evil Emperor Zurg was threatening the galaxy! There was no time!
Hello There
My second trimester ultrasound was today. The baby is healthy. She has a strong spine and excellent kidneys. It runs in the family. It has to. 
And yes...she is a she. We watched our daughter wave at us today.
At least, I hope that was a wave. Look closely at the scan and you'll see her hand at the top. It could very well have been a dramatic hand to the forehead. Is she already a drama queen? Is she reciting the 'Sir, spare your threats,' monologue from 'Winter's Tale'? Uh oh. She's her mother's daughter.
Merry Christmas, little lady. I can't wait to meet you face to face in May.
Cooper Christmas Concert
You know what's a great movie...'Parenthood.'
There's a scene where they go to the school play and their rambunctious toddler runs up on stage and disrupts everything. Uptight moms and dads in the audience start yelling at Steve Martin, "Your son is ruining the whole play!" He hears the ominous roar of a roller coaster in his mind and begins to feel the sensation of a wild ride take over his whole body. He looks to his wife and she's smiling. 
Here we are at Coop's first holiday concert. 
They put a golden halo on him. Looks like an angel, don't he?
He sang a lovely version of 'Away in a Manger," complete with choreography. And folks laughed out loud when during their rendition of 'Jingle Bells,' my child yelled out, "HEY DADDY! LOOK AT ME!!!" After that, he kept running over to play the piano. The teachers had to redirect him back onto the stage about 19 times. I was fine with that. Hey, the kid just wanted to rock out on the ivories.
It was after the singing was done that this roller coaster of an evening picked up speed. He must have been all hopped up on sugar cookies or something.Cooper was running around like a maniac. He wasn't listening. He was knocking things over. He grabbed a present from under the tree on the stage and stepped on it. He turned the dials on the microphone amp and caused a feedback sounds that made the whole room gasp.
"Thank you, TUJUNGA! Good night!" 
Despite his not listening and openly defying me when I said, "Stop! Don't touch that! Quite please! Sit please!" I still stuck around and let him sit on Santa's lap.
When Santa asked, "Have you been a good little boy?" Cooper had nothing to say. Pleading the 5th, huh?
But I suppose the holidays make us all act a little crazy.
When I looked over at Jakob he was smiling. That made me happy. Jakob's always been a guy that hated roller coasters, but he's grown fond of this one.
Animal For Lollipops
I recently got a job and so you know what that means...blog neglect! But better late than never! Am I right? Right? Please say I'm right...
Ok, here's some pix from Halloween night. 
Our pumpkin. Oogie Boogie, to go along with the whole 'Nightmare Before Christmas' theme. A women took pictures of my front yard paper mache display. I felt honored. 
Cooper went to about ten houses. Everyone thought he was Elmo. 
I stayed at home while the boys went out. There were not a ton of trick-or-treaters, but 3 princesses, 2 Batmen, 2 zombies, 1 wizard, 1 Mexican wrestler and an alien all came begging for candy at my door.
I told Cooper he could have one candy before bed. He started digging out all the lollipops and unwrapping them and trying to eat several at a time. I had to clarify that I did not mean one TYPE of candy--I meant one, SINGLE piece. 
And who eats many lollipops at once? Yick! Yeek! Yuck! What's appealing about a lime, coconut, cotton candy, root beer lollipop flavor combo? According to Cooper, I'm missing out on a flavor explosion. That's just fine by me.
He won't touch any of the other candy. He says he hates chocolate. Um...that's fine by me, too. (Insert sound of a fun sized Milky Way wrapper being ripped open here.)
Happy Halloween 09' - OOGIE BOOGIE!
We've never had much money, but this year we were a whole new LOW level of broke, so I had to show restraint when it came to decorating for Halloween. But it was also our first year with a yard so I HAD to do something...
These are gravestone I made out of cardboard and paint. 
But the real decorations are my paper mache Lock, Shock, Barrel and Oogie Boogie. 
Yes, Ooogie is covered in paper towels. I couldn't afford the burlap. (Yup. Burlap's a luxury, peoples. I need that money for Coop's lunch.) 
But perhaps it adds to the whole 'Eco-Etsy' look that's oh-so-chic right now.
Cooper likes to hug these creepy creatures. He says he loves Oogie Boogie. He sings the songs from The Nightmare Before Christmas to them. 
Daddy's taking Cooper (or should I say, 'Animal') out for trick or treating. I'm on candy duty at home where I'll be watching every Simpson's Treehouse of Horror.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!
WILD THING
If you know my kid at all, you know that he has a sick obsession with The Muppet Show. It's my own fault. I always loved it when I was young and so I introduced it to him. Now he's addicted. He watches it every night before bedtime.
For Halloween this year, he wanted to be "Animal." Big surprise. He IS Animal. I didn't have a lot to spend, but give me some feathers, faux fur and Styrofoam and I can conquer the world!
It came out pretty good. Not perfect, mind you, but pretty darn good. What did Cooper think? Well, take a look...
He REFUSED to take the costume off once he put it on. I told him he had to save it for Saturday. He was outraged. To him, this outfit is perfect for any occasion, any day, any time, from now on and forever...I've created a monster.
It Came, It Saw, It Made Me Old...and Joyous, Too
Birthday week began with our annual trip to the pumpkin patch. We didn't venture to the super deluxe primo patch in Sherman Oaks that we usually patron. We stayed in our Tujunga neighborhood. We've been keepin' trips close to home...evil car woes. Don't get me started on car repair. I mean it. DON'T!
When traveling to a lot full of stinky hay...always wear your enormous sunglasses and pearls. You won't look out of place at all!
This pumpkin patch did not have the bells and whistles of our previous patch. There was no hot cider, no fun wagons to pull around, no face painting. But they did have a Spiderman Bounce House WITH A SLIDE...
To Cooper the place was Dave & Buster's. 
We picked out a small pumpkin for him to take to school for an art project and a big fattie 20-pounder to carve on Halloween. Cooper already said, "Mommy, don't cut it!" Hate to break your heart kid, but pumpkins are here to be gutted and turned into ghoulish gourd art. And we're going to eat the seeds. Welcome to your new annual barbaric holiday ritual. 
On my actual birthday, I made myself some cupcakes. My boy sang to me. 
My husband gave me a Snuggie. EXUBERANT YEAH! Make all the fun you want. I've used it EVERY DARN DAY since I got it. I can relax on the couch and read, knit, talk on the phone, and catch objects that are being thrown at my face, all while staying comfortably warm. Why? Because my blanket has sleeves and yours doesn't.
I had to end birthday week with a bang. On Saturday I kicked the boys out of the house (they had a sleep-over at Uncle Sean's) and invited my gal pals over for a slumber party. I hear your thoughts. "Oh? Did you turn 32 or 14?" Answer...I'm forever 14. Not Forever 21. Their clothes are too small for me.
My friend Jess Trimble (and yes, I WILL always refer to her that way) flew in from New York. Sichi, Turnip, Carrie, Chantal, Kayla and Kenny (the only male aloud to attend) all came to party down. We made our own pizzas, did our nails, talked about stupid boys, played games, won prizes, ate candy, chips, and ice cream. I wish I had some pictures, but I was too busy laughing. I don't know if anyone else took photos. They were all really drunk! I wasn't drinking, for obvious reasons. More on that story as it expands, grows, bloats and takes over my body. Happy birthday to moi :)
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