Vacation

Hi Readers. Leila and I had to get the hell out of dodge (San Francisco) so her Dad can focus on his big exam next week. We are in hot n' steamy Houton, Texas, staying with my parents. Given that there is basically no mass transit in Houston, there will be few posts in this week. I could write about the brutal heat, the insane traffic, or Leila screaming everytime I am not right next to her... but you probably don't want to read about that. So, check back later, yall.

Italy Invades!

71 Haight/ going to the de Young Museum to see Chiluly: As I mentioned earlier, this summer has been full of European tourists. Given that the US dollar is the equivalent of a piece of string, it's no surprise that San Francisco seeing an increase in summer travelers. In turn, the buses have become much more interesting. Today, a group of about 15 Italians hopped on the bus going to Golden Gate Park. I think it was one big family. A cute teenage boy plopped down next to us, and baby-talked to Leila in his native tongue. I picked up on "bella", and "bellisima" and "bambino", but that was about it. I tried desperately to remember any Italian, but it all came down to food; vino, pasta, ziti, mozzarella. I couldn't even remember how to say "thank you"! The moment I stepped off the bus, several helpful words came back. As I was walking away, the boy said sweetly, "ahhh.... bye... bye?!" "Ciao!' I replied.

Baby Earrings

22 Outbound/ going to baby music class: We were waiting at the bus stop forever today. I was next two old ladies who were doing their best to make Leila smile. She put on a little show for them, hiding her face and then talking back. They told me she was cold, yada yada yada. One old lady told me she looks like a boy. "Yeah," I said. "She will look more girly when she has hair." "You need to pierce her ears. Then people will know she's a girl," she said.

What I thought was, "I HATE baby earrings. I can barely allow my baby to have shots, why would I cause her pain for cosmetic reasons? Baby earrings are tacky and almost always get infected.If you can't tell she's a girl from her pink dress, metallic pink shoes, and gold bangle bracelets, then that's your problem!"

What I said was, "well, I had to wait till I was 13 to get earrings, so I will probably do the same for her." "Hmm," she looked at me hard. "She's gonna hate you for that when she's older."

At Least I Had on Pretty Underwear.

22 Outbound/ going to church: I have been feeling quite frumpy lately, and decided I should wear a skirt to church this morning. My pasty-white, moderately hairy legs didn't quite make me a knock out, but hey, at least I was trying. As soon as I got outside, I regretted my decision. It was chilly and windy. I wrapped my shawl around the little one, and headed one. Once again, I saw the bus coming and I had to run to make it. We got on, and I plopped down in an open seat. Something felt funny... I instantly realized that the back of my skirt was tucked into panties. Maybe that's why I felt so cold. I think I'll stick with pants for a while.

Hungover Mothering

71 outbound/ going to WIC: Last night I went out with the "Kaiser 5", a group of my mama buddies from my Baby & Me class at Kaiser. I had a blast, and realized that 2 (maybe 3?!) margaritas is way too much for me post-baby. Sweet Leila woke me up at 6:00 this morning to help me truly understand that I drank too much last night. I got up to change her diaper with a raging headache and slight nausea. Thank God I still had some of my anti-nausea miracle pills from when I was preggers with my babe. I really wanted to stay in bed all day, or at least lay around, but I had a morning appointment to pick up my food vouchers at WIC. So, I drug myself into the shower, threw on clothes, and sloppily applied my make up. I was running a little late, but I was struggling to make it up hill to the bus stop with Leila strapped in the carrier. I saw the bus approaching the stop, and I had to run 2 blocks to make it. I almost lost my oatmeal as Leila bounced up and down on my belly. I made it on, thanks to a kind driver, and made a big fat promise to myself that I will pace myself better next time.

Ballerinas Everywhere!

5 downtown/ going shopping: It's summertime in San Francisco, which means crazy hot and cold weather, tourists crowding up the buses, playgrounds full of kiddos, and ballerinas everywhere. Yes, real live super skinny, bun-sporting ballerinas. We live fairly close to the Civic Center; home of City Hall, the Symphony, and the SF Ballet. Every summer, teenage ballerinas come from all over the country to attend summer sessions at the ballet school. They must stay in our neighborhood, because they all ride our bus line to and from the school. They pirouette onto the bus (not really) and oh and ah over the baby. I recently saw a group of little girls in tutu milling around the front of the school, and I began to have fantasies of Leila as an adorable little ballerina. She's already long and skinny, so maybe I'm not too far off. I read on their website, in order to accepted to the school, "the child should have correctly arched feet". Should I start binding them?

Subway Stripper

Thankfully, this story has absolutely nothing to do with me or my baby. However, it's too weird not to share. Seems that Ms. Monserrat Morilles, of Chile, has been stripping on Santiago Metro subway poles to challenge the "prudish Chilean society". Iam all for both feminist rights, and guerrilla tactics but all I could think of was "Ewwwww! Those poles are disgusting." Do you think she used some Clorex wipes to clean the pole first? Maybe she has a little bottle of antibacterial gel in the pocket of her stylish black trench coat? God, I hope so. I hate to even touch those things with my hands. When I was living in NY, I saw a guy (ok, he was clearly mentally ill) stick his hand down the back of his pants, then wipe it along the poles. He quickly got kicked off the subway, but I have been traumatized ever since. 

So Monserrat, por favor, rethink your methods. 

Planes, Trains & Automobiles

Yup, Leila and I took all of the above forms of transportation as we left the hustle and bustle of San Fran for the tranquil mountains of Heber City, Utah. We had a 4th of July family reunion with my in-laws. For the record, my mother in-law is the Queen of monitoring my baby's body temperature. When she stayed with us after the Leila's birth, we took turns adding and removing blankets from tiny baby Leila as she slept.

To get to the locale of the reunion, I threw the baby in the Ergo Carrier, then pulled my roller bag, baby bag, and purse all the way to the BART, about a 30 minute walk. (I refuse to take Leila in a car without a car seat, so a cab or shuttle wasn't an option.) After the BART, we flew an easy 2 hour flight to Salt Lake City. A nice older gentleman was sitting next to us, and promptly fell asleep after take off. Now lately Leila has developed a funny little habit. She sleeps between her Dad and I, and in the morning, she tries to pull open his eyelids to wake him up. I think it's hilarious. So, when Leila noticed that the guy next to us was asleep, she pointed out her little finger and lurched for his eyes. I spent the next hour trying to redirect her to something else. She finally found the holes when you plug in your headphones, and poked at them for a good 30 minutes.

The last leg of our journey was an hour and half car ride. Leila rode between two Persian grandmas who kept her highly entertained with their goofy antics.

What a trooper!