3rd Time's The Charm

I finally remembered to take my camera with me to the DuPage Children's Museum today! Andrina and I have been there twice before, each time meeting up with Anne and Auntie April. Today Andrina and I went by ourselves but we met Auntie Doreen there who was eager to spend time with us and we enjoyed seeing her! Andrina especially loved playing with Auntie Doreen as you can see in some of the pictures.

Andrina loves going to the children's museum. Actually, being such a happy baby (oops, I mean toddler) overall, I'm not at all surprised how much she enjoys it there. Before we went, I was skeptical that it was worthwhile for her being that she is so young, but she just loves it. After the first time we went there, I decided that I would buy a family membership and take her there at least once a week. And so far, it is working out. The only thing that is not working out is going in the mornings. Andrina wakes up between 7 and 8 am, then takes a 2 hour long nap starting between 9 and 10 am, depending on when she woke up, I put her down for her morning nap 2 hours after she wakes up because that is all she can handle. Well, when we go in the mornings, she misses her 2-hour long morning nap that I, as a full-time presently stay-at-home mommy, really need. I love being able to take a shower, read, or go on my computer during that time. But when we go to the children's museum in the morning, Andrina misses her morning nap and then falls asleep immediately in the car on the way home (because she completely wears herself out there). And then she does not nap for the rest of the day after coming home from the children's museum. So, until she gives up her morning nap around 18 months or so, we are going to have to go to the children's museum after she wakes up from her first nap of the day and after her lunch. But we will still go, and this time frame will be better for her because she can also handle a longer period of being awake in the afternoons as opposed to the mornings. And she will also have had her morning nap, making it also less stressful on me so I'm not getting up an hour before she does so I'm all ready to go when she gets up and eats, hurrying to get out of the house. And I will have less mommy-guilt because she won't ruin her morning nap because of the outing!

"New X Files Movie" or "I Am A Nerd"

Yep, you call tell by the title that I am a nerd! I am a big X Files fan! So is Tom. So are my father and sister Doreen. Tom and I happen to have the entire series, all 9 seasons, on DVD and a few years ago we actually watched every episode in order. It took us several months to do this.

We were very excited to hear that a new X Files movie was coming out. So was my dad. He was very, very excited. So excited, that he said he had to see it opening weekend. This is from the guy who does nothing but work and occasionally watches a football game while folding his socks. For my dad to actually want to see a movie, then make plans to go see it is a HUGE deal for him. This is completely out of the norm for him. Trust me, he never goes to see a movie!

So today, Doreen, me, and our dad went to go see it (Tom is in LA at some charity party). My mom babysat Andrina while we went to the movie. I was really excited to see it too. So excited that I played music from the series on my iPod while us three drove to the theatre together. I'm a big fan and a nerd (but hey I did get an education so it all works out). I loved the series, I loved the romance between Mulder and Scully and my big question before seeing the movie today was: Did Mulder and Scully finally get together? Ok, so on the series, after years and years of working together and unrequited romance, they finally spent the night together and they had a baby. Which the baby had telekinetic powers and was in danger because the government wanted the poor baby for his powers. So the emotionally drained Scully had to put the baby up for adoption to save him. All the while Mulder was missing. So as a fan of the show, with all the conspiracy story lines wrapped up, I wanted to know, do Mulder and Scully finally get to be together? Are they still together? They have both been through hell and they deserve some happiness. And I want to experience their romance vicariously too. And I was hoping for some news on William, their son. Could they ever have the simple happiness of a life together or have Mulder and Scully lost their child for good? The mom in me feels such anguish for them. I could not go on with my life if I ever lost Andrina. Can poor Scully ever be a mom to her son again? She must live with such pain and emptiness...
Anyways, to pick up the mood--the three of us saw the movie and we all really enjoyed it!

SPOILER ALERT!!!!!! Stop reading if you don't want to know what happens!

Scully and Mulder have given up the FBI. Scually is a practicing physician and it is not clear what Mulder is doing with his time aside from following x-file type cases in the news. But they are living together! Yea! I am so happy that they finally got to have their happiness and be together as it was so obvious they loved each other. As for the stoyline, they get pulled into a new case involving a missing FBI agent. No conspiracies. The movie was more like one of the self-contained "monster" episodes. Asst. Director Skinner comes back for a very brief time in the movie, we three cheered when he came on screen! He is summoned by Scully to save Mulder, again, and the always caring good-guy Skinner is at his paternal best, working to save Mulder and provide comfort too. William is mentioned, but he is not there with his parents. He is with his adoptive family and neither Scully nor Mulder knows where he is to protect his safety. And at the end of the movie, Scully and Mulder are together, someplace warm and tropical. I'm so happy with how it ended. Perhaps there will be another movie that will focus on William........

Oh, and a side note, I also enjoyed the new remix of the theme song that played during the end credits. I will have to get the soundtrack too.

Big and Little

My sister April recently blogged "Big and Little" about Anne and Andrina playing together at the children's museum. Well, the big and little in this blog refers to the big and little toys that I am using trying to teach Andrina the concept of size. I though these toys were great to do this with. The larger toy telephone and cornpopper in this picture were both birthday presents for Andrina while the smaller ones were happy meal toddler toys from 1996 that I have previously blogged about. I gave them to her when I realized that she now has the full-size version of them and of course she loves them, especially the bigger ones!

Fun On My Baby Slide!

Here's some step-by-step pictures of Andrina enjoying her new slide on the swing set she got from Auntie/Godmom Becca for her birthday. Thanks Becca! Can you tell how much Andrina is enjoying your gift?

Don't' worry, I'm not about to slide down like this...

I'm trying to get myself ready to slide!
Gotta get closer to the slide

Getting really close now!

(Notice how dirty my socks are? That's from the children's museum this morning)

Wheee!

That was fun! I did it all by myself and I want to do it again!

Thanks Auntie Becca!

No Pictures Yet!

I've been trying to post pictures for about an hour now but blogger must be having problems. I'll try again tomorrow!

Worst Hair Metal Band Ever???

Today I did something very rare for me-I left the house without my iPod. And I actually listened to the radio while driving. And while listening to the Loop, I heard something very distrubing. Apparantly, Yahoo decided that the 80s hair metal band-Poison-is the "#1 worst hair metal band ever". Wow. I think the people at Yahoo have too much time on their hands. As a now 30something, I spent my fun and fleeting teen years during the late 80s and early 90s. The time when hair metal was all the rage and then it started to die out for Grunge in about 91. Now, before you start criticizing hair metal in general, let me list some reasons why it is a valid form of music:

1) People critize it for "not being serious". It's not supposed to be serious. It's supposed to be nothing but fun. It was spawned by guys in their teens and 20s with too much time on their hands, too much sex drive, too much energy (and perhaps they were bipolar too?) too many drugs and alcohol and without any serious goals in life to pursue. So OF COURSE IT IS NOT SERIOUS!

2) That being said, it is music to just cut loose to and feel good about and have some fun. Enjoying the forbidden, such as partying and sex without any emotional connections. Like you can do to an extent when you're young and still move on with a real life after that. Did I mention this music was invented by GUYS in their teens and 20s?

3) People also criticize it for being "posers" to real heavy metal music (such as Metallica, Megadeath, Iron Maiden, etc.). Real "heavy metal" music is purely anger driven. And I can understand that. It is a valid form of expression. If you look at the personal histories of heavy metal musicians, there is nothing but anger in their pasts that they could not cope with. Almost all of them grew up in poverty, had abusive or neglectful parents, had no supervision and basically began drinking, drugging, and everything else that you're not supposed to do. So of course, real heavy metal music is very angry. And that's ok. When you experience all that is wrong with the world and nothing that is good about it when you're growing up, how do you think your outlook on others and the world is going to be? Hair metal, on the other hand, was created by guys who were influenced by heavy metal but wen't so pissed off at the world, hence, why it is young, energetic, and FUN!

4) Hair Metal was by guys secure enough with themselves that they could be heterosexual and have long hair, without being hippies (hence the term "hair" metal). And as a heterosexual woman, there is something so raw and primal about long hair on a guy that is so attractive (unless he has a bald spot, is over 50, or has really fine or thinning hair, then it should be short in my opinion).

Now for the meat of my rant: How could they have said Poison is the worst hair metal band ever??? They had, according to Wikipedia, 3 multi-platinum albums. I have heard almost all hair metal bands and there are many that were 1 hit wonders (like Kix or Faster Pussycat as some examples of forgettable bands) that could have easily been the "worst hair metal band ever". How can they say Poison was the worst? Poison was the quintessential hair metal band! They made it big when all of the original members were in their mid-20s. They were sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll. And they were YOUNG and ENERGETIC and OVERSEXED! That's what hair metal is! Oh yeah, they had to have had some talent to sell as many millions as they did! And their music still sells now, 20 years later! Yahoo, I think your vote was cast by those who don't like hair metal in the first place! That's like having 50 cent critique County music.

Down The Slide!

Andrina went down her baby slide by herself today! But I didn't have my camera :( sniff, sniff. I helped her climb up to the top, then she got herself sitting down with her legs on the slide, and I held out my arms to her and she scooted her little baby butt down towards the slide till she slid down it! All by herself! And she loved it! She loved the motion and she appeared to be very pleased with her new accomplishment. We repeated this several times until she got tired. Next time I'll have to take the camera outside and capture some of this!