ECFE Picnic 2009 from ehernandez on Vimeo.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
nice kids. nice music.
Apparently Ed doesn't have enough to do what with a presentation tomorrow and staying up until 5 a.m. to get things ready for that. He had time to sneak this lovely video in.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
papa and mini-papa
Why is it so cute when a dad and his son dress alike? But if I did it, it would just be plain weird. (Note matching converse high-tops compliments of Grandma Johnson since Ed insisted he and his father have the same pair of shoes when he was about the same age as Elian.)
You really have to see their routines when Ed plays Elian and Elian plays Ed. It's true performance art.
You really have to see their routines when Ed plays Elian and Elian plays Ed. It's true performance art.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Sunday, September 06, 2009
golthhh fever
The little man is super-crazy about golf, or "golth" as he calls it (because when he's feeling lazy, he still pronounces his final fs as "th"). To illustrate what I'm talking about, here is a snapshot of our day:
This morning: Played some putt-putt golf at the course next to our house. I figured it was the last weekend they'd be open, so I wanted to give him his last shot at a hole-in-one. No luck. But he'll get another chance because it turns out they're going to be open through September. Hooray! (I think).
This afternoon: A little PGA tour viewing on TV. The little dude has learned that Sunday means golf on TV. And thanks to Grandpa Schulz, Sunday also means Tiger Woods will be wearing his Sunday Red shirt. The other day, he told me he wanted a Tiger Woods shirt. When I asked him if that meant a shirt like Tiger wears when he plays golf, or a T-shirt with Tiger on it, he told me the latter. A quick google search was unsuccessful, but I did find this that left him mildly amused:
After about a half hour of TV golf viewing, he wanted to hit golf balls at the park. This has become almost a daily ritual for us lately. Either he hits a bucket of balls with his real golf club. Or he uses his "future champion" (toy-ish) set to hit practice foam balls to a hole that he sets across the field.
The other day he told me he wanted to be a professional golfer when he grew up. And given his dedication and ability to focus on the game for what seems like a long time for a four year-old, I wouldn't be surprised if he got pretty good. Then again, given his stubbornness and ability to take direction and "tips" that he seems to have inherited from his mother, maybe not. But he did say, that if he ever got to play golf on TV like Tiger Woods, I could be his caddy. So I've got that going for me.
So you wanna see his new hero?
Guess who wanted to drive a line of golf balls in the backyard?
This morning: Played some putt-putt golf at the course next to our house. I figured it was the last weekend they'd be open, so I wanted to give him his last shot at a hole-in-one. No luck. But he'll get another chance because it turns out they're going to be open through September. Hooray! (I think).
This afternoon: A little PGA tour viewing on TV. The little dude has learned that Sunday means golf on TV. And thanks to Grandpa Schulz, Sunday also means Tiger Woods will be wearing his Sunday Red shirt. The other day, he told me he wanted a Tiger Woods shirt. When I asked him if that meant a shirt like Tiger wears when he plays golf, or a T-shirt with Tiger on it, he told me the latter. A quick google search was unsuccessful, but I did find this that left him mildly amused:
After about a half hour of TV golf viewing, he wanted to hit golf balls at the park. This has become almost a daily ritual for us lately. Either he hits a bucket of balls with his real golf club. Or he uses his "future champion" (toy-ish) set to hit practice foam balls to a hole that he sets across the field.
The other day he told me he wanted to be a professional golfer when he grew up. And given his dedication and ability to focus on the game for what seems like a long time for a four year-old, I wouldn't be surprised if he got pretty good. Then again, given his stubbornness and ability to take direction and "tips" that he seems to have inherited from his mother, maybe not. But he did say, that if he ever got to play golf on TV like Tiger Woods, I could be his caddy. So I've got that going for me.
So you wanna see his new hero?
Guess who wanted to drive a line of golf balls in the backyard?
Saturday, September 05, 2009
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
*****
A lot of the online games Elian plays on the computer are rated on a scale from one to five stars. Because of this, he has recently become increasingly interested in the star rating system. So much so that he chooses to rate many elements of his life: his teachers, his friends, his cousins and yes, his Mama and Papa (we're SIXES, baby! Woohoo!). He is very scientific about the rating and will often explain why someone might get fewer than five stars. This explanation is often very humorous (probably not for the person who does not receive the five-star rating).
Every night the "good-nighter" (the person who does not do the bathing and the book reading but comes up after and says goodnight) gets to play a game with his dogs Friday and Romeo. This game could be baseball, it could be miniature golf, it could be "real" golf or it could be a game of huckle-buckle-beanstalk (don't tell me you don't know what that is!). I happen to be the good-nighter on my birthday. So I came up to his room, all ready to get Friday, my dog for the game. Elian always takes Romeo and Ed or I get Friday because, you see, Friday's a little rude (a blog entry in itself). But not this time. No, this time instead he hands me Romeo and says, "Here Mama, you can have the five-star dog because it's your birthday."
Every night the "good-nighter" (the person who does not do the bathing and the book reading but comes up after and says goodnight) gets to play a game with his dogs Friday and Romeo. This game could be baseball, it could be miniature golf, it could be "real" golf or it could be a game of huckle-buckle-beanstalk (don't tell me you don't know what that is!). I happen to be the good-nighter on my birthday. So I came up to his room, all ready to get Friday, my dog for the game. Elian always takes Romeo and Ed or I get Friday because, you see, Friday's a little rude (a blog entry in itself). But not this time. No, this time instead he hands me Romeo and says, "Here Mama, you can have the five-star dog because it's your birthday."
Friday, August 28, 2009
catty II
My sister-in-law Shannon is the queen of caterpillars. In the summertime, you can always count on them having a monarch caterpillar or two that they house until it becomes a beautiful butterfly. She's even raised some since the egg stage. I KNOW! She's like the Steve Irwin of caterpillars.
Now that Elian is at an age to appreciate the metamorphosis of creatures, I thought I'd try my hand at some caterpillar care. Our first caterpillar, "Catty" we called him, er, or her, I found crawling on my niece Chloe when we were at Minnehaha Falls. After some quick research, Ed found out that it ate oak leaves and that it would turn into not a beautiful butterfly, but a common moth (insert Debbie Downer sound effect). Still, we took care of that little guy like he was the family pet. It was very exciting when he started to make his cocoon (that looked more like a spider web to me). He stayed in that cocoon for months before I decided he wasn't coming out.
So a week or so ago, Elian and I were in the front garden when we spotted this little guy:
Do I dare try my hand at caterpillar care? I thought. But Elian was super excited. Maybe THIS one will turn into a beautiful butterfly. But after some quick research we learned, no, not this one. This one turns into another moth. A tiger moth (sounds fierce!) But Elian insisted we keep it. So I scraped Catty's crusty old cocoon out and we rinsed out the bug cage.
It's been about two weeks and I'm happy to report that Catty II is still alive and well. We had a close call about an hour ago when I was cleaning out his cage and giving him his daily dandelion and plantain salad (Do you know how much caterpillars poop? Who'da thought?) when Catty II fell out the hole and into the garbage. I fished around in the wet coffee grounds and god knows what else for a good five minutes before I found him. I almost gave up because the garbage was a little gross but I couldn't bring myself to have to tell Elian, "Mama accidentally dumped Catty II in the garbage..." The poor fuzzy little guy. I think he's okay, but he's probably got a pretty good caffeine buzz.
Now that Elian is at an age to appreciate the metamorphosis of creatures, I thought I'd try my hand at some caterpillar care. Our first caterpillar, "Catty" we called him, er, or her, I found crawling on my niece Chloe when we were at Minnehaha Falls. After some quick research, Ed found out that it ate oak leaves and that it would turn into not a beautiful butterfly, but a common moth (insert Debbie Downer sound effect). Still, we took care of that little guy like he was the family pet. It was very exciting when he started to make his cocoon (that looked more like a spider web to me). He stayed in that cocoon for months before I decided he wasn't coming out.
So a week or so ago, Elian and I were in the front garden when we spotted this little guy:
Do I dare try my hand at caterpillar care? I thought. But Elian was super excited. Maybe THIS one will turn into a beautiful butterfly. But after some quick research we learned, no, not this one. This one turns into another moth. A tiger moth (sounds fierce!) But Elian insisted we keep it. So I scraped Catty's crusty old cocoon out and we rinsed out the bug cage.
It's been about two weeks and I'm happy to report that Catty II is still alive and well. We had a close call about an hour ago when I was cleaning out his cage and giving him his daily dandelion and plantain salad (Do you know how much caterpillars poop? Who'da thought?) when Catty II fell out the hole and into the garbage. I fished around in the wet coffee grounds and god knows what else for a good five minutes before I found him. I almost gave up because the garbage was a little gross but I couldn't bring myself to have to tell Elian, "Mama accidentally dumped Catty II in the garbage..." The poor fuzzy little guy. I think he's okay, but he's probably got a pretty good caffeine buzz.
in which she gains not just another year but also 15 pounds
My friend Amy is the best. She sent me not one, but TWO dozen scrumptious and beautiful mini cupcakes for my birthday. Not only that, but when she was giving me the heads up about it over the phone. I mistakingly repeated back the word, "Delivery?" and the little dude heard it.
He has been quite obsessed with the UPS truck lately. Whenever we see it around town, he traces it with his eyes, following its next turn to see if it's headed toward our house with a possible delivery for him. After which I explain that it's not his birthday or Christmas so probably he won't be receiving anything via UPS anytime soon.
Well, Amy overheard his pathetic over-anticipation of this mysterious delivery (and how he thought it might be for him). So she felt she couldn't disappoint. So yesterday, not only did we receive the two dozen amazing cupcakes (plus four French macaroon cookies), but Elian got a perfect little waterfally sand toy for his new sand box (to be featured in a later post once the resident Hernan-dos photographer completes his photo series of our backyard project). The little man was beside himself when the UPS truck pulled up in front of our house. He nervously paced back and forth and ran to the door to peek through the window. If only I had captured it on video.
So before the arrival of the cupcakes, Ed promised Elian that they would make a cake together for my birthday. Do you think that two dozen cupcakes are going to deter the boy from baking me a cake (well, not one of the boys)? I explained to him this morning that with all the cupcakes, maybe he and Papa don't need to make me a cake. Shame on me. "Mama, you NEED a cake" (thankfully, he got Grandma Schulz's birthday-cake genes). We then decided that you could never have too much cake, so they plan to make it this afternoon. And I plan to eat it.
He has been quite obsessed with the UPS truck lately. Whenever we see it around town, he traces it with his eyes, following its next turn to see if it's headed toward our house with a possible delivery for him. After which I explain that it's not his birthday or Christmas so probably he won't be receiving anything via UPS anytime soon.
Well, Amy overheard his pathetic over-anticipation of this mysterious delivery (and how he thought it might be for him). So she felt she couldn't disappoint. So yesterday, not only did we receive the two dozen amazing cupcakes (plus four French macaroon cookies), but Elian got a perfect little waterfally sand toy for his new sand box (to be featured in a later post once the resident Hernan-dos photographer completes his photo series of our backyard project). The little man was beside himself when the UPS truck pulled up in front of our house. He nervously paced back and forth and ran to the door to peek through the window. If only I had captured it on video.
So before the arrival of the cupcakes, Ed promised Elian that they would make a cake together for my birthday. Do you think that two dozen cupcakes are going to deter the boy from baking me a cake (well, not one of the boys)? I explained to him this morning that with all the cupcakes, maybe he and Papa don't need to make me a cake. Shame on me. "Mama, you NEED a cake" (thankfully, he got Grandma Schulz's birthday-cake genes). We then decided that you could never have too much cake, so they plan to make it this afternoon. And I plan to eat it.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
quote of the day
The other night the little man was having trouble falling asleep. I had been up there a few times. On one of the occasions there was this exchange:
MAMA: (Leaning over bed) Just close your eyes and think about things that make you happy...
ELIAN: (Reaches up and grabs one of my breasts) Like Mama's boobies...
Jeeeeesh, like father like son.
MAMA: (Leaning over bed) Just close your eyes and think about things that make you happy...
ELIAN: (Reaches up and grabs one of my breasts) Like Mama's boobies...
Jeeeeesh, like father like son.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
dear norman
Is it not enough that you've pee-killed three of our brand new plants in the backyard? Now you have to claim the boy's new sandbox as your bed?
And don't think I didn't see you when you lifted your head from Papa's brand-new pillow. We know it's comfortable, that's why we purchased THREE of them from the hotel. None of which was intended for you. BUT DON'T LET THAT STOP YOU.
It's too bad your life is so hard.
Love,
Mama
And don't think I didn't see you when you lifted your head from Papa's brand-new pillow. We know it's comfortable, that's why we purchased THREE of them from the hotel. None of which was intended for you. BUT DON'T LET THAT STOP YOU.
It's too bad your life is so hard.
Love,
Mama
get up, stand up
Last night, when Elian and I were heading downtown to pick up Papa, Bob Marley's "Get Up, Stand Up" was on the radio. I don't think the little man had ever heard that song before but judging by his unusual silence, I knew he was listening. When the song was over he made a request, "Mama, can you put my CD on?"
Later that night, when I was putting him to bed entirely too late because of our picnic festivities, he didn't want to get out of bed to brush his teeth. "I'm tooooooo TYYYYYYYYYYYYRED," he said. I said, "Get up, buddy, we have to brush your teeth." I could see the lightbulb go on in his curly-locked head as he replied in perfect Bob Marley rhythm, "Get up, stand up..."
Later that night, when I was putting him to bed entirely too late because of our picnic festivities, he didn't want to get out of bed to brush his teeth. "I'm tooooooo TYYYYYYYYYYYYRED," he said. I said, "Get up, buddy, we have to brush your teeth." I could see the lightbulb go on in his curly-locked head as he replied in perfect Bob Marley rhythm, "Get up, stand up..."
Monday, August 24, 2009
enter the can-can phase
(This one goes out to Monkey who insisted he reads Hernan-dos and wants me to get off my lazy ass and resume the account of our boy.)
So a while back Ed's parents brought our nephew Thurston for a visit. I can't remember how old Thurston is, but he is a few years older than Elian. Maybe 8?
Anyway, we were all sitting around the house chatting. All except Thurston who had tons of energy that needed releasing. As a result he was jumping around the house doing the can-can and singing the music. Ed and I looked on in horror. Thank God, OUR son doesn't have that kind of energy we thought.
Well, recently Elian has proven us wrong. He DOES have that kind of energy. And then some. One day he was exerting the energy doing some sort of crazy song. Maybe he was singing one of the songs from the Songs of Music but in mock-Chinese. Ed looked over to me and said, "I think we've officially entered the Can-Can stage."
I'm not sure why I've been in such a blog rut. Maybe I can blame it on the summer fun and not wanting to sit down in front of the computer. Or maybe it's because Elian has been doing just too many funny things lately that I can no longer keep up with them. But after hearing from my reader, I'm going to try to make more of an effort to get this started again.
So a while back Ed's parents brought our nephew Thurston for a visit. I can't remember how old Thurston is, but he is a few years older than Elian. Maybe 8?
Anyway, we were all sitting around the house chatting. All except Thurston who had tons of energy that needed releasing. As a result he was jumping around the house doing the can-can and singing the music. Ed and I looked on in horror. Thank God, OUR son doesn't have that kind of energy we thought.
Well, recently Elian has proven us wrong. He DOES have that kind of energy. And then some. One day he was exerting the energy doing some sort of crazy song. Maybe he was singing one of the songs from the Songs of Music but in mock-Chinese. Ed looked over to me and said, "I think we've officially entered the Can-Can stage."
I'm not sure why I've been in such a blog rut. Maybe I can blame it on the summer fun and not wanting to sit down in front of the computer. Or maybe it's because Elian has been doing just too many funny things lately that I can no longer keep up with them. But after hearing from my reader, I'm going to try to make more of an effort to get this started again.
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
too bad he's so shy
Given my shy and/or anti-social nature, sometimes I'm amazed at how social the little man can be. I can almost always count on him to strike up a conversation with the cashier when we're shopping. He usually opens with, "Hi, my name's Elian!"
Yesterday we were at the park. He was climbing on this structure with a little girl. The little girl's mother was nearby and Elian said, "Mama, can I tell her something?" Not sure if he was talking about the little girl or the mother, and not sure what exactly he wanted to tell her, I hesitated and answered, "Sure." Here's what happened next:
ELIAN: (talking to the mom) Hey, I want to tell you something!
ME: (Getting a wee bit nervous about what's to come.)
THE MOM: Okay.
ELIAN: One time when I got THREE rubber balls when I put a quarter in a rubber-ball machine.
THE MOM: Wow, that sounds like it was a lucky day.
ELIAN: Yeah, and I even got some ICE CREAM!
ME: (Wiping my brow on the inside.)
The miracle of the three rubber balls happened about a month or so ago when Elian and I took the car to get an oil change. The place had given us a coupon for a free ice cream across the street. So we went and got one while we waited. I'm not sure if he had been thinking about that while he was climbing on the structure and just had to tell someone. Or, if he just had to tell this woman something and that's the first thing he thought of. Whatever. It was funny.
Yesterday we were at the park. He was climbing on this structure with a little girl. The little girl's mother was nearby and Elian said, "Mama, can I tell her something?" Not sure if he was talking about the little girl or the mother, and not sure what exactly he wanted to tell her, I hesitated and answered, "Sure." Here's what happened next:
ELIAN: (talking to the mom) Hey, I want to tell you something!
ME: (Getting a wee bit nervous about what's to come.)
THE MOM: Okay.
ELIAN: One time when I got THREE rubber balls when I put a quarter in a rubber-ball machine.
THE MOM: Wow, that sounds like it was a lucky day.
ELIAN: Yeah, and I even got some ICE CREAM!
ME: (Wiping my brow on the inside.)
The miracle of the three rubber balls happened about a month or so ago when Elian and I took the car to get an oil change. The place had given us a coupon for a free ice cream across the street. So we went and got one while we waited. I'm not sure if he had been thinking about that while he was climbing on the structure and just had to tell someone. Or, if he just had to tell this woman something and that's the first thing he thought of. Whatever. It was funny.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
quote of the day
MAMA: Buddy, what do you want for breakfast this morning.
ELIAN: (Long pause with devilish grin on face) I know... APPLE PIE!
ELIAN: (Long pause with devilish grin on face) I know... APPLE PIE!
Monday, June 01, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
how i spent my memorial day weekend
(The latest addition to the recent prolific film work by the husband.)
Lilah's 9th Birthday from ehernandez on Vimeo.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Sunday, May 17, 2009
how can something wrong feel so right
Ed and Elian have been out of town since Thursday, while Norman and I have been holding down the fort.
As guilty as I feel for saying this, it's been awesome. As much as I love my boys, I love my alone time. And their time away has let me get a lot of things done that I've been putting off for a long time. Stupid things like putting bags of hand-me-down clothes away that I keep tripping over every time I go into the little man's closet; getting rid of stupid little toys that I know he won't miss (crossing fingers) -- actually they're in a "holding pattern" just in case; and finally washing the covers for our comfy-room chair and giving the chair a good vacuum. I know that doesn't seem very exciting but it is a huge load off my shoulders to get crap like that done.
Don't get me wrong, I've been having some nice rest and relaxation too. Friday night I rented Mama Mia which while it was a happy, nice movie, it was a little too much singing and forced-in Abba songs for my taste. It was fun seeing Meryl Streep in that kind of role though. Looked like she was having a blast. I paused Mama Mia to watch the Farrah Story. Nothing like pausing a happy movie to ball your eyes out and then restarting the happy movie again. Hello? Emotional roller-coaster?!?
Saturday morning I cashed in one of the two gift certificates I got from my boys for a hot stone massage. Wow. I have to say it was one of the most painful massages I've ever received, but in a good way. The massage therapist was so busy working out my knots that I think he forgot about the relaxing hot-stone part. But it was awesome. Last night I had some friends over for drinks and snacks. Then, this morning I took Norman for a long walk. It is a beautiful sunny day, all the trees are in bloom and my iPod on shuffle seemed to be playing all the perfect songs.
The boys come home in about an hour and I can't wait to see them. My only regret is that I haven't hit any of the Art-a-Whirl events happening in our neighborhood. I searched a good half hour for the trolley route online and couldn't find it. Maybe I can convince the boys to visit a studio or two when they get home. Yeah, I'm sure that's what they'll want to do after being in the car for five hours.
As guilty as I feel for saying this, it's been awesome. As much as I love my boys, I love my alone time. And their time away has let me get a lot of things done that I've been putting off for a long time. Stupid things like putting bags of hand-me-down clothes away that I keep tripping over every time I go into the little man's closet; getting rid of stupid little toys that I know he won't miss (crossing fingers) -- actually they're in a "holding pattern" just in case; and finally washing the covers for our comfy-room chair and giving the chair a good vacuum. I know that doesn't seem very exciting but it is a huge load off my shoulders to get crap like that done.
Don't get me wrong, I've been having some nice rest and relaxation too. Friday night I rented Mama Mia which while it was a happy, nice movie, it was a little too much singing and forced-in Abba songs for my taste. It was fun seeing Meryl Streep in that kind of role though. Looked like she was having a blast. I paused Mama Mia to watch the Farrah Story. Nothing like pausing a happy movie to ball your eyes out and then restarting the happy movie again. Hello? Emotional roller-coaster?!?
Saturday morning I cashed in one of the two gift certificates I got from my boys for a hot stone massage. Wow. I have to say it was one of the most painful massages I've ever received, but in a good way. The massage therapist was so busy working out my knots that I think he forgot about the relaxing hot-stone part. But it was awesome. Last night I had some friends over for drinks and snacks. Then, this morning I took Norman for a long walk. It is a beautiful sunny day, all the trees are in bloom and my iPod on shuffle seemed to be playing all the perfect songs.
The boys come home in about an hour and I can't wait to see them. My only regret is that I haven't hit any of the Art-a-Whirl events happening in our neighborhood. I searched a good half hour for the trolley route online and couldn't find it. Maybe I can convince the boys to visit a studio or two when they get home. Yeah, I'm sure that's what they'll want to do after being in the car for five hours.
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