Happy 2012 everyone! Enjoy each day as if it were your last, because the Mayans were right about chocolate, so they just might be right about the apocalypse, too.
Cooper and Ruby are magnificent. They are my favorite humans. Jakob's in that category, too, but I met him when he was already 21 and I've know these two little cherubs their whole lives!
I took Cooper to his first art show--Mr. Brainwash's ARTSHOW 2011 exhibit on La Brea Ave in Hollywood. He had a blast running around several floors of the humongous warehouse.
There was a floor covered in old stuffed animals. Despite the fact that I said that we were not allowed to touch the art, the guard told Coop he could jump on in. Well, nobody has to tell Cooper twice to launch himself into objects, so he jumped in! Other mothers were freaked out about germs. They wouldn't let their children frolic. I feel bad for those kids. Their lives are healthier and more boring.
Cooper saw several images he recognized, such as this Snoopy dog made out of tires. Coop was really into the fact that Snoopy was banging the wall apart.
There were lots of animals covered in paint.
I really like this picture. Coop told me at the show that he was going to be an artist and make even more art than all the stuff we were looking at. Something inside me is sure that he will. And I knew the artist inside him was really impressed by one piece in particular:
He ran up and screamed, "It's Mr. Potato Head! He's GIANT!" There were a few giant items...
Cooper said he wished he could paint with this brush.
There was also a giant Polaroid camera and a giant boom box that took up a whole wall.
Coop rocked out.
Cooper really liked this chair and wanted to take a picture of me sitting in it.
Since the guards were being so lax, I had Cooper jump into the driver's seat of one of the art cars. He was so excited to a.) be touching the art that I originally said we couldn't touch and b.) sit in the front seat of a car! and touch the wheel!
It was a spectacular, spectacular day and the end was the best part. We saw Mr. Brainwash as we were leaving the show. There were some guys ushering him past the people in line and I should have snagged a pic, but it all happened so quick. I told Cooper that Mr. Brainwash was the artist and he went up to him and said, "Thanks for the art!" and MBW shook his hand and said, "Thanks for coming!" and then went inside.
So...when Cooper Kingsley White prints start selling at $2K a pop, let's hope he remembers this day and thanks his mom with lots of original pieces :)
Ushering in the New Year with Mr. Brainwash
It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Even if you only know me a little, you know that I love October.
I miss the brilliant foliage show that the trees back in New England throw every autumn, but I like fall here in California, too.
And Halloween is the craziest holiday which makes it the best. We spent some of this weekend making the front yard a bit more spooktacular. 
Someone placed the bat on this skull like a hair piece. It's the new, all natural Rabies Toupee...now for bone heads!
It's Memere's last weekend here in Tujunga. For the past to Octobers, my mother has flown 3,000 miles to help me juggle it all. This year she came out to save my sanity whilst hubby was in India. I can't even begin to thank her enough. I'm going to miss her so much.
She's the grandmother anyone would want. She's always in the mood to play or color or do puzzles or cook or read a book. That's what a grandma should be; someone who treasure you non-stop. And she fosters Coop's creative side. We all put together this twisted scarecrow for the front yard using Daddy's old clothes and a burlap mask and some paint. 
We noticed that our frightening monster scarecrow lost a lot of his evil swagger when we put a hat on him. Now he looked more,"festive." More like Truman Capote. 
Put a smaller, more cutesy scarecrow next to him and now he's a ventriloquist!
"Hey folks, it's great to be here. I wasn't sure if I was going to perform tonight but then I thought, 'What the hay?' Get it? What the hay! HAY-ohhhhh."
Three weeks ago, Cooper wanted to dress up as The Joke for Halloween. Two weeks ago, he changed his mind and wanted to be Darth Vader. Last week he switched it up again and said he wanted to be a pirate. This morning, he says he has made his final decision...he'll be Batman.
Remember when the hardest decision you had to make was what you were going to be for Halloween?
Ruby's Dance!
I don't need to buy another light bulb again, because this lil' lady lights up a room!
Ruby's been a little under the weather with a yucky cold. Never in my whole life did I imagine that I'd have so much snot to deal with. I thought maybe she might be mutating into one of the X-Men and her power was massive booger production.
But it looks like she's on the mend and Cooper has been such a big help. He looks out for his little sister all the time.
He makes her laugh. They play. They get silly and THEY DANCE!
You think you can dance? Not like my toddler. Take it away Ruby Girl!
Ruby's Birthday!
Ruby is a year old. Yup...ain't that a kick in the head. 
The theme for the party was WONDER WOMAN! We encouraged everyone to wear super hero apparel. Ruby was outfitted in a Wonder Woman onesie. 
She ate cake for the first time. That's the prize for surviving 12 months...you get to ingest cake!
She was more cautious about it than Cooper was. She took a little taste on the tip of her finger. Then she chomped on some crumbs. After about ten minutes, she started digging her hand in and going for it.
It just goes to show you, girls = careful. Boys = dive right in.
Ruby is now walking everywhere. You can't stop her. She's a powerhouse forged in steel! My baby gal is heard as nails. Ruby Zu don't take no mess.
Happy Birthday, Ruby. You are my wonder woman.
Now THAT's Sadness...
Hey Mom...
Yeah, I'm crying! Why you ask...well, let's see...
Cooper's major milestones appear to be typed out for all the blogosphere to read and relish.
What about me, Ma? I turned one year old back in May. Where's my post?
I also have gas from the garden vegetable puree.
Love,
Ruby
Dear Ruby,
Life is full of waiting for others to hurray up and do! I'll try my best not to make you wait, but I'll tell you right now, it's gonna happen. I'm a super busy lady with way too much on my plate. It runs in the family. I'm sure you'll be a super busy lady with no time one day, too. With a purse. And a phone.
I'll get a birthday post up soon with video. Will that dry those tears?
No? Well, that must be some strong gas. Fart it out, sister. Better out than in.
Please forgive your procrastinating parental figure.
I love you,
-Mom
Winter for the Westerners
The second we stepped off the plane in Boston, both kiddies looked different. They were excited, but shocked at the temperature. Yes, children, this is the east coast and things here are a wee bit more freezing. 
Cooper got to experience snow for the very first time. He wasn't sure about the sled contraption. He watched Grampy do it and then simply said, "No thanks."
He did LOVE building a snowman. It was all he could talk about and as luck would have it, Mother Nature kept some snow on the ground for us in New Hampshire so snowman building could commence. 
The snow was very dry...not the best for construction. But they managed. Cooper named him Frosty, naturally. 
We spent three days in New Hampshire and four on Cape Cod. 
Ruby had some stomach issues (hey, we all get "travel tummy" from time to time) but she was a bundle of joy. 
Both grandfathers got to meet Miss Ruby Zuzu for the very first time. She was immediately smitten with both of them. 
Coop convinced Memere that he had to build a snowman at her place, too. 
But this snow was also hard to manage, so they built a mini snowman on a picnic table. 
And Mr. Potato Head's parts added the perfect finishing touches. VOILA!
We even took Cooper to a clown show at a local theater. At first, he tried to play all "too cool for school." I guess that's what happens when you put your kid in a punk skull beanie hat. 
By the end he was laughing and clapping. He enjoyed the juggling and pie-throwing. 
It was a lovely vacation. It was hard to leave. Part of our hearts remain back in New England.
But our cold butts were happy to return to the land of sun and fun :)
Going to Bed with a Good Book
I don't eat enough vegetables. I don't exercise enough. And worst of all...I don't blog enough.
It's 12:19am. Believe me when I say that it is the first free moment I've had in 11 and a half weeks. True story.
I should sleep. But before I pass out, I'll leave you with a promise to post more and this photo of Cooper:
Jakob found him asleep like this and called me in.
The open book...the little flashlight...the delightfully sleepy expression...the glowing purple hippo with goofy eyes. Perfect moment of childlike whimsy.
I'll post again. You'll hear all about our trip and Ruby and Cooper and Jakob and a little bit about how I'm doing.
But first things first. Snores galore. Good night.
Who Wants a Silent Night? I Wanna Rock.
I did make it to Cooper's recital on Friday. 
I was thirty-one minutes late thanks to traffic caused by the rain.
Hear me, people of Los Angeles...consider staying in when the big, bad water falls from the sky. Driving here is Hades.
There were no spots left anywhere near the school. I parked several blocks away and ran as fast as a gal my size can run in heels. Rain spat all over my hair, my dress and my camera. I came into the kids' school swearing. Then I saw my Ruby and I had to smile.
And there was my Cooper performing in his elfin garb.
When they told us via school memo that the kids would be dressing up as elves for the holiday concert, I thought, "This is a racket orchestrated by The Oriental Trading Co. to get me to buy a costume." But it was $12 well spent. The goofy pictures of my one and only boy in that get up are well worth the twelve-hundred cents.
He didn't see me at first. I was dancing with Ruby in my arms and beaming at him with unabashed holiday cheer. All the tension from the drizzly, accident strewn freeway disappeared and I enjoyed watching my kid.
WHAM's immortal 'Wake Me Up Before Yo9u Go Go." No holiday celebration is complete with it.
Check out the way Coop plays that bass. Oh, did you think that was a guitar? Well, you would be wrong.
After the show, I told Cooper that I liked his guitar playing. He gave an exasperated sigh and said, "No, that's not a guitar. That's a bass!" Oh, a thousand apologies, Mr. Entwistle.
The evening concluded with this festive folk dance. I wanted to ask the meaning behind the dance, but I didn't want to seem ignorant and my entire family is still sick with a cold that's been clingy on for the past eleven days. I thought it best that we do quick waves goodbye and head home for rest. But if anyone knows what this dance signifies besides, "Behold the young gents dancing with napkins and the lovely lady with a parasol," I'd love any info.
Cooper and I ran to the car in the rain. We talked all about the show. I told him I was so proud of him. He told me Christmas was his favorite holiday. I took him home the long way so we could see all the houses decorated with Christmas lights. And each time I heard him say with excitement from the backseat, "Oooo! There's more Christmas lights, Mommy!" I felt true Christmas magic.
Halloween is done and done!
Ruby was a little bat this year. 
She was really using her upper register this evening, too, so it was like she was perfecting her bat screech!
She and I stayed behind in case we got any trick-or-treaters and daddy took Coop out through the neighborhood. 
Cooper was Wall-E the robot. The whole family pitched in to make his costume. Well, Ruby didn't help much. She was more of a supervisor.
Daddy brought him to the UPS store to be fitted for a box.
When Cooper gets real mad at me, he screams, "I want my other mother!' So, I dressed up as The Other Mother from the film Coraline. Buttons for eyes. 
Cooper got the candy he wanted (lollipops and fruit chews) and he gave me the chocolate candy rejects (Almond Joy and Butterfingers.) It was a happy, happy Halloween. Now I'm going to wash this black spray out of my hair and call it a night.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!
I've been working so hard at the new job that I nearly missed the month of October. I blinked and it was my birthday. I coughed and it was Halloween.
The pumpkin patch game has changed. Used to be just pumpkins and some places offered cider. Maybe some face painting.
The place we went to had Hover Tee Ball, a bounce house, a petting zoo and ponies!
I asked Cooper what his pony's name was. He say, "Boinkers. Boinkers the pony."
The crazy number of activities! The crazy number of kids! The crazy number of dollars these people were charging for pumpkins! It was all a bit much. 
Ruby was less than impressed. It was damp and there was a chill in the air. 
My girl prefers sunshine.
But no matter how gray a day, her daddy always makes her smile. 
Ruby, Cooper and I decorated the front yard.
We added a cheesy Wolf Dude to our pumpkin display. 
Look at Wolf Dude's tense expression. Must have been driving on the 405.
We also hung ghosts and put up spider webs.
Cooper really wanted me to cut holes in a sheet so her could be a ghost. He saw It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown on tv and it stuck in his mind. 
I quickly cut the hole without any real measuring. He played in the costume for a good long while, but he couldn't see. Watching him try to navigate the backyard in fitted sheet was pretty hilarious. I caught some video.
Tonight is Trick-Or-Treating. I know Cooper will come back and hold up each piece of candy and ask, "Is this chocolate?" He hates chocolate. He only wants fruity candy. And then we'll watch Scooby Doo. And then we'll read the book Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich. And then another October will be over, done with and gone.