Paj-EYE-na

A quick note...i've just drawn rough diagrams of the male and female anatomy to illustrate how humans reproduce. This i did to educate BedHeadSid (BHS) about how babies are conceived and subsequently born. Although it was last winter when the "sex" question was instigated by his friend (a girl) divulging her knowledge of how sex occurs ("the man sticks his thingie in the woman's thing") and a non-intercourse but nevertheless sexual experience of hers ("he pounded me down there"), the last two weeks have been a crash course on sex education for BHS.

Having chastized the girl and BHS for discussing a subject better left to parents, I've taken the responsibility to educate him in hopes of dispelling any misconceptions -- mistakes, vaguaries and the like -- from the "street."

Amid giggles and with shocked wide eyes, BHS is understanding what it is to be human, and i hope that at the very least, he learns that sex and sexual nature is as natural and myriad as the hills and as profound as the birth of one's child.

With humor and honesty, i'm teaching him that humans are what they are -- that society often defines what is deviant as well as acceptable but that these definitions change over time and with each culture.

Most importantly, I hope he learns to respect his future partner, his body and himself and to never feel ashamed of the emotions coursing through his body or his partner's.

So with these guidelines, I get to answer questions from him like "Mom, what's a pa-gina?" And "why do women have boobs?"

I love this part about being a parent!

Happy Birthday BedHeadSid

Happy Birthday dear son.

I don't know what our life would be like without you, but I know I'd never want to know. You are the best thing that ever happened to me. You brought focus and meaning to my life. You made me want to get better, be healthy, and love myself. Most of all, you remind us how to be kind. thank you for bringing your love so effortlessly to everyone you meet.

life update

The house garden is looking great! we've added some vines, plants and cocoa shell mulch. at the very least, it smells chocolatey after we water the yard. it's looking so much better that we love spending mornings and evenings outside now that it's cooler. once the vines have covered the fence panels, it'll be an entirely different world. i love it!

Sir BedHeadSid's (BHS's) special day is coming up, and we're being low key this year. hopefully, we'll be able to do something cool for the big guy and still budget for a winter family vacation. what to do? more on that later!

peace and hugs!

monterey bay day

we had a great time in monterey bay.

BHS at monterey aquarium

BHS and SHMT at the otter exhibit -- where we met our first other person with SHMT's name! I was calling out for SHMT to come over and take a picture when another little boy's mother asked how I knew her son's name. we got to talking and come to find out she named her boy from the same source! what a small world!

at the barely there retail outlet next to the aquarium. there's a lot of remodelling going on in the area. too bad they weren't done when we were there! ah, next year!

at the tidepools by our hotel. i highly recommend this little place at the end of the street called lighthouse avenue? next time we're gonna stay at the asilomar conservation grounds. that place was very cool looking, in a hippie commune kind of way.

Pooks totally looks like he wished he was back at the Bull Dog!
This little touristy stop at Lover's Point was the best place to scour the tide pools safely with the little guy. ankle to knee high water, but never scared the ocean would swallow him up. very neat whole shells of abalone too!