Friendly Skies

We got E a fisher-price airplane for Christmas. It's one of those Little People planes with various people going on vacation and a little pilot to fly the big plastic jet. He's really enjoyed it, putting all the people in and sending them to parties. He loves the parties.

He'll say the various phrases the plane cheerily spouts like "Ready for take-off!" and "Welcome aboard!" Well, one day he was walking around spouting something unusual. I asked him, "where did you get that?" He says "from the airplane."

I hunt down the plane and cycle through... listening carefully. Finally, I hear the culprit. "E, it says enjoy your flight, not enjoy your butt."

Not so sunny

Shocking story out of Miami as a mother falls ill and a Florida hospital refuses visitation for her partner and her children:

OLYMPIA — Four months ago, Lacey resident Janice Langbehn, her partner Lisa Pond and their children Katie, David and Danielle, ages 10 to 13, were set for a relaxing cruise from Miami to the Bahamas.

But Pond, Langbehn’s partner for nearly 18 years, was stricken in Miami with a brain aneurysm and died. The family says the way they were treated by hospital staff compounded their shock and grief.

Langbehn, a social worker, said officials at the University of Miami, Jackson Memorial Hospital did not recognize her or their jointly adopted children as part of Pond’s family. They were not allowed to be with her in the emergency room, and Langbehn’s authority to make decisions for Pond was not recognized.

“We never set out to change the world or change how others accept gay families,” Langbehn told the crowd at the Capital City Pride on Sunday. “We just wanted to be allowed to live equally and raise our children by giving them all the same opportunities their peers have.”




Read the full story below: I don't know that I'll be taking any trips to Florida any time soon. Lacey woman shares tale of denial at bedside of her dying partner

rawr

When the package says temporary tattoo... that means 2 or 3 days.

/ walking around with large orange tyrannosaurus rex on my hand

V-day

Had a really lovely Valentine's Day... well actually I feel like the celebration started weeks ago. E has started just randomly telling me "I love you, Daddy." It just melts me. He'll be playing along and just look up and say "I love you, Daddy." out of the blue. Wow. Valentine's was just a Thursday when you have that going on.

Also he's starting to sing songs while he's playing. You wonder how much your kids are paying attention when you play music or sing or whatnot and I'll catch him singing entire verses to songs. I've always been a big music fan, looking out for new stuff so I'm thrilled that he's catching the musical bug.

No news on the paperwork front. I'm waiting, waiting for the I-171 approval. While the wait is going on, I'm fearing that some of my older documents are getting past their prime.

Ay-yay-yay

I'm still waiting for my I-171 approval. Grrr it's frustrating. It's the last, very last piece that I need. Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up.

I can't seem to focus on much else. I know it would still be early but I'm so anxious to get in line for our little one and I know there'll be a good long wait once we get the dossier in. Still, I'll be able to relax a little and focus on a couple other things that we need to take care of.

We're taking E to his first little concert this weekend. It should be interesting. He loves music and it's a kid-oriented show so I think we'll all have a smashing time.


It's really beautiful out and I'm stuck in this hermetically sealed office building. Oy.

More later, I'm off to obsessively read about Vietnam. It's very healthy!

One day in Iraq

I don't really like doing 2 youtubeish posts in a row but this vid is too powerful to let go. I've thought about this question many times:

Swan Dive Serenade

We could do with some levity around here so I want to introduce you to one of the best kept musical secrets. I don't recall how I stumbled across Swan Dive but this song "Circle" really helped pull me out of a difficult funk (long story best told later). It's full of joy and bounce and I keep coming back to this song year after year. It's definitely a throwback to a Bacharach kind of vibe and I dare you to stand still while this is playing. Better yet get up and dance with me. You'll find E and me dancing around the kitchen in our socks, better to get your glide on.

Happy Weekend my friends!