Let's hear it for digital cameras

With a digital camera on hand, there's no need to stifle the children's creativity just because of the high price of film and developing.

I remember my mom being a little annoyed when my brother and I used up a roll of 12 taking pictures of ourselves pretending to have a birthday party. We blew out candles on some leftover cake, wrapped up household items in newspaper and took photos of each other opening them. And this was when I was in college. I'm sure I was not allowed to so much as touch the camera during my elementary years.

My kids, on the other hand, can take 147 pictures of their play-doh creations and I never have to develop a single one:


My oldest son likes to take pictures of everything he builds with Legos, which makes it not so traumatizing when his creation gets crushed by a younger sibling:


I think I am going to open a gallery with the kids' photos. Think of the discussion that could be stirred by a piece like "Overturned Teapot":


This artsy shot I like to call, "The Floor." (I have several similar photos, so it apparently took many, many tries to get it just right):

This piece, entitled "Percy Goes Around the Corner" is one of dozens of pictures detailing the adventures of Thomas and his friends:

My kids also like to take photographs of images on the television or computer screen, undeterred by the fact that these never, ever turn out. This is why I have a blurry shot of every nation marching in the Olympics opening ceremony:

Until my computer's memory is full or I have a large block of free time (retirement?) I can just leave these images in my collection alongside the family pictures and all the goofy photos I take for my blog.

Ah, it's the perfect melding of technology and art.

Such a suite deal

***This is not a paid endorsement ( I wish!) and I take no responsibility if you visit my favorite hotel and have a crappy experience. I'm just sharing something that works for our family.***

For the past couple of years, our favorite hotel for trips longer than one night is The Embassy Suites. There are several reasons why it's at the top of our list.

• First and most importantly, my husband and I can put the kids to bed, close the bedroom door and have our evening grownup time out in the other room, doing grownup stuff, which in our case mostly consists of watching TV and eating snacks and staying up later than we had planned.

• Secondly there is the kitchenette in every room, with a mini fridge, microwave, and paper towels. This means we don't have to run out somewhere every time somebody needs a cup of milk. Which is often.

• Then you have the free breakfast every morning. My kids might be picky eaters but they will always devour breakfast foods. Rather than driving to a restaurant and buying five meals, we just take the elevator downstairs and everybody eats as much of whatever they want. It's really a beautiful thing.

And people wonder why I don't want my husband to go into politics

Perhaps you've heard the tale of South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, just the latest in a never ending stream of male politicians to publicly admit to an extramarital affair (that is, after they got caught). But can you believe the nerve of this guy? Thanks to my own procrastination and the frequently updated information on Yahoo! News, I've been following this story pretty closely, and it just keeps getting better and better. Here's the latest: [Bonus: in brackets, the conversations I imagine him having with his wife]

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford declared his Argentine mistress his soul mate Tuesday but said he is committed to reconciling with his wife in hopes of saving his family and what is left of his political career.
[Mark: "It's just, well, she's my soul mate. But, I'd really like to reconcile with you and save our marriage."
Jenny: "That's nifty, dear. Yeah, let's definitely stay married while you pine for your soul mate in another country and I never even come close to trusting you again. That sounds fun."]

Sanford, who also admitted meeting his lover more times than he had previously claimed, told The Associated Press in emotional interviews that he "crossed lines" with a handful of other women during 20 years of marriage.
[Jenny: "You 'crossed lines'? With a 'handful of women'? You keep changing your story as more facts come to light. Yet you still keep speaking as if what you have to say is credible."
Mark: "Hey, I'm a politician. It's what I do."]

But he said he never went as far as he did with Maria Belen Chapur, the woman at the center of the scandal that has derailed his once-promising political future.
Even with the latest revelations, Sanford maintains he is fit to govern and has no plans to resign. And he insisted his relationship with Chapur, whom he met at an open air dance spot in Uruguay eight years ago, was more than just sex.
"This was a whole lot more than a simple affair, this was a love story," Sanford said. "A forbidden one, a tragic one, but a love story at the end of the day."
[Jenny: "Oooh, a tragic, forbidden, love story! How romantic. After your political career crashes and burns, you can write a steamy autobiography. I can't wait to read it."]

During more than three hours of interviews over two days at his Statehouse office, Sanford said he is trying to fall back in love with his wife even as he grapples with his deep feelings for Chapur.
[Mark: "I'm trying to fall back in love with you, but of course there's that 'soul mate' thing complicating matters."
Jenny: "Gee, how charitable of you. Although, I noticed you didn't ask if there was the tiniest speck of a chance I would fall back in love with you."]

Sanford detailed more encounters with his mistress than he had disclosed during a rambling, emotional press conference last week. The new revelations Tuesday led the state attorney general to launch an investigation of his travels, and some are calling for him to step down.
Among the encounters was what he described as a farewell meeting in New York this past winter.
But he saw Chapur again, this time over Father's Day weekend and after his wife expressly told him not to, leaving the country without telling his staff and instead leading them to believe he was hiking the Appalachian Trail.
[Jenny: "You're going hiking? Aren't you forgetting some special occasion this weekend?"
Mark: "Ummmmmm... Anniversary? Birthday? Valentines Day? Help me out here."
Jenny: "No, no, no, it's Father's Day. Remember those four boys who are always hanging around here eating all the food? They might want to spend a little time with you on Sunday."
Mark: "Oh, shoot. Well, why don't we just celebrate next weekend. We don't have anything going on then. Should be pretty quiet around here, we'll just have a nice private, peaceful time together."]

By the time he returned to a puzzled public, staff and family, his public image and emotional state had unraveled. He admitted the affair at a press conference televised nationally.
Sanford told the AP he saw Chapur five times over the past year, including two romantic, multi-night stays with her in New York — one in Manhattan, one in the Hamptons, both paid for in cash so no one would know — before they met there again intending to break up.
He said he saw her two other times before that, including their first meeting.

He has said he will reimburse the state an undetermined amount of the more-than $8,000 in taxpayer money spent on him on the trip, and he insists no public money was used for any other meetings with her.
He and wife Jenny, parents of four sons, say they are trying to reconcile their marriage but have not been sharing the same house for several weeks. Jenny Sanford found out about the relationship in January when she discovered a letter the governor had written to his mistress. She did not immediately return a message seeking comment Tuesday.
In early 2009, after Jenny Sanford discovered the affair, the couple went into counseling. She has told AP that he asked her for permission several times to visit the mistress and she refused.
[Mark: "Please?"
Jenny: "No."
Mark: "Please oh please?"
Jenny: "Absolutely not."
Mark: "But she's my soul mate."
Jenny: "I'm your wife!"
Mark: "You never let me have any fun."]

But the governor claims he wanted to end the affair in person and, with his wife's permission, went to New York with a "trusted spiritual adviser" serving as chaperone. The three went to church and dinner together and parted ways the same night.
[Mark: "Can I go see her if I promise it is absolutely, positively the VERY LAST TIME?"
Jenny: "NO."
Mark: "Not even if I go to church and take a trusted spiritual adviser along as a chaperone?"
Jenny: "Oh, okay, if there is going to be a chaperone. But be home by ten."]

But he visited Chapur again in Argentina on June 18, the trip that brought the affair to light.
He acknowledged that he had casual encounters with other women while he was married but before he met Chapur, on trips outside the country to "blow off steam" with male friends.
"What I would say is that I've never had sex with another woman. Have I done stupid? I have. You know you meet someone. You dance with them. You go to a place where you probably shouldn't have gone," Sanford said, declining to discuss details. But he said those encounters were nothing like his relationship with Chapur.
"If you're a married guy at the end of the day you shouldn't be dancing with somebody else. So anyway, without wandering into that field we'll just say that I let my guard down in all senses of the word without ever crossing the line that I crossed with this situation."
[Jenny: "Oh hey Mark, Bill Clinton called to wish you luck with your vague doublespeak."]

Further evidence that kids don't need all those expensive toys

The kids and I were tagging along on one of my husband's overnight business trips just a couple of hours from home. After we checked out of the hotel, we headed outside to play until Mr. Busy's appointments were over. We found a nearby cafe for lunch, then plopped down in a nice shady spot in a grassy area next to the hotel parking lot.

This was the view as I lay in the grass with my head resting on my backpack:


Of course, it's not like I had time to write poetry or anything. I think I got to lie there like that for at least seven seconds before I had to get up and help the kids with something. But I'm not complaining. After all, they were completely content. We fed grass to their plastic dinosaurs, picked tiny flowers that were really weeds, pretended small pieces of gravel were dinosaur eggs, and after I finished my latte, the trash got put to good use as well.

The cup was a tower on which my daughter piled the tiny rocks (I think she referred to them as "babies"):


And this stegosaurus was delighted to use a nest made of 100 percent post consumer recycled cardboard:

All in all, a very enjoyable way to pass a Friday afternoon. Now, as for the drive home, which lasted nearly four hours due to miles and miles of creeping along on I-80 in horrendous traffic with three tired kids who suddenly decided life was not worth living if they were not tormenting at least one of their siblings--well, that was another, much less enjoyable, experience altogether.

She didn't learn it from me

Let's just say that if my daughter was a mother, and her dolls were real babies, she would be dealing with Child and Family Services on a regular basis.

Unless their clothes are stitched onto their bodies, her babies never wear anything, even in winter.


They sleep in a big heap in a single crib, with blankets and pillows thrown on top.


With a bottle of milk in the bed--a big dental no-no.


This unfortunate girl, stripped of her authentic Native American garb, has had her head shattered twice, broke an ankle, and recently lost an arm. Still, look at that big smile. What an inspiration!


And check out this poor baby, who has been heavily tattooed, and is obviously in shock.


Luckily, my little girl is only 2, so she has a few years to go before her first babysitting gig.

Over the hills and far away...

On a recent visit to the California Academy of Sciences, I took this picture of the "living roof":


Which reminded me an awful lot of Teletubbyland:

Coincidence? You decide.

Cheese Head

Not so long ago, my most productive time of day came after the sun went down. Over the years I have spent the evening and late night hours finishing term papers, cleaning the house, organizing closets, baking cookies, and most recently, writing blog posts.

I'm not sure when my late-night productivity disappeared, but it does not seem to be coming back. Finally, after several months of deluding myself, I am beginning to recognize and accept that after the kids are in bed, I'm lucky if I even remember to move the clothes from the washer to the dryer.

Usually I don't bother trying to be productive at night anymore, but for some reason when my husband goes out of town I become delusional again and start making big plans for the evening. I will even write these plans on my calendar. With exclamation marks, as if that would convince me that I REALLY MEAN IT THIS TIME!

"Organize!"
"Write!"
"File papers!"
"Sort through box in closet!"

He was gone for a couple of nights recently, and, as usual, I had written my grandiose plans in the calendar with the full intention of getting right down to work as soon as the kids were tucked into bed.

As usual, I did not even glance in the general direction of the papers that needed to be filed or the box of odds and ends in the closet.

Instead, I ate cheese.

I hardly ever eat cheese anymore, but apparently my husband's absence had such a profound effect on me that I needed to fill the gaping hole with dairy products.

The first night it was a Margherita pizza I found in the freezer. It went perfectly with a glass (okay, two) of red wine. Obviously nothing productive took place after that.

The second night, I dove into some Trader Joe's frozen spinach and artichoke dip. I promise it is as good as any you'd have in a restaurant. I'd recommend sharing it with a friend since I easily polished off the entire thing, which technically is 8 servings. (Whatever!)

I watched reruns. I flipped through magazines. I stayed up late. I was not even mildly productive.

So from now on, whenever my husband is going to be out of town, I think I will write more manageable goals in my calendar:

"Sit on couch!"
"Watch TV!"
"Eat cheese!"