9/29 - Wheel steers me in the right direction

Wheel found some “wheely” good stuff this morning:  coffee!!!!, granola bars for Lil' Gal, and moleskin padding for that poor ankle that rubs against the seam in my skate.

We met wheelie friends for Wheel at lunch break, but all those circles started to make me dizzy!!

My sad BART vs. derby practice story continues.  Today, just as I was leaving, a power outage in West Oakland caused major delays and caused me to miss the last practice before skill assessments this weekend.  I'm doomed.  (Also, there was a small earthquake in Oakland around that time, but I guess we can't blame BART for that.)

9/28 - Meena raises the roof

We had a sandwich for lunch up on my building’s rooftop garden.  Meena thought the flowers were big.

I held on to Meena tightly as we looked at the tiny cars in the street below.

Tonight after work, we all went over to the school playground down the street.  The twins rode their bikes around the basketball court while I practiced like mad for my upcoming roller derby skills assessment.  I think having kids suddenly careen into me while I try one-leg glides will only help my derby skills -- don't you agree?

9/27 - Toodles the Ball is an optimist

Toodles the Ball had a rainbow zebra ride.  Whee!

Yes, Virginia.  There are rainbow zebras.
They live the next block over from the unicorns.  Now go to sleep.

An optimist is someone that tries to find something good about everything and everyone. We saw a gloomy lion and Toodles the Ball thought maybe he just needed a friend.  Do you know what?  He was right.

How was picture day?  Did you guys have nice smiles for the photographer?

Picture Day Update:
It was a pleasant surprise when Lil' Gal let me get a cute shirt for her at the store.  Even more pleasant when she put it on this morning without complaint *and* let me put bows in her hair.  We were sure this was all going to be a lovely backdrop for a photo of her pouting or refusing to smile.  Typical Lil' Gal?  She loved picture day.  Go figure.

9/26 - Parasaurolophus and the bluest eye

Lil' Gal has been asking for granola bars, like the ones Grant has in his lunchbox.  (And apparently, like the ones have in my desk drawer at work.)  I liked how the blue wrapper brought out the blue in Parasaurolophus’s eyes.  Purty.  We’ll have to bring some granola bars home!

Here, Parasaurolophus nibbles on the tender leaves of a giant cauliflower. NOM!

9/23 - Mommy can't see the forest for the Trees

It’s been a really busy morning at work!  The Trees and I are putting down roots at my desk. What are you guys up to today?

Here, the Trees met a giant named Fern as we dashed out to grab lunch (a caprese sandwich from Specialty’s).  Now, we’re back to the grind.  (For my tech friends:  I am a human “diff” today.)

9/22 - Dad Pteranodon, if you'd like to make a call, please hang up and try again.

Dad Pteranodon tried to make a call, but couldn’t reach the 9 for an outside line, or the 0 to reach the operator because he was tangled up in the phone cord.  Whoopsie.

Mommy, what’s a phone cord? 

Is it only offices that still use phones with cords these days?

Dad Pteranodon wanted fish for lunch, but the well was dry. This fountain (if it worked) features water coming out of the bear’s mouth and draining on to an octopus.  Dad Pteranodon says, "What kind of zoo IS this?"

9/21 - Toodles gets tweedy

Poor Toodles couldn’t get a head (heh) in life.  We thought a smart suit might help. Doesn’t he look nice in tweed?

We had lunch with Ashley at the same Korean restaurant that we went to with David and Joanne. And I got that same meal in the super hot bowl.  Silly Mommy.  (Yum!)  Afterwards, Ashley said, "Toodles!" to Toodles and me.

9/20 - Robot Bird goes puddle jumping

Robot Bird consulted the map, but did not see an X marking a treasure spot.  Just some bus lines.

These kids are statues at the park with the redwood trees and the fountain with the froggies by my work.  They are called “Puddle Jumpers.”  Robot Bird wanted to jump, too!

Since when does packaging need to point out that it’s recloseable as a selling point? Am I that much of a mess that I can’t even open a box without proper instruction? (It even tells me to “Open Other End” on the opposite side!)

The continuing saga of me vs. transportation to derby practice continues.  At work, a big need-it-now project came up, and I had to leave work late.  Then BART had delays due to a fire near a track.  Oh, and the air conditioning in our train car didn't work.  Sigh.

9/19 - Three cheers for butterfly pirates!

Butterfly thought this pretty purple derby sticker might be a flower.  Last night, there was a huge dragonfly doing laps with us around the track!

Another Nature item of note from last night:  A huge flock of geese flew overhead, honking.  One of them left us a little present that we had to skate around for the rest of the night.  Every time people went by it, they’d yell out, “Poop on the track!” (We need an indoor venue.)

Butterfly reminded me that today be Talk Like a Pirate Day, so we set sail to find us a butterfly pirate on the interseas.  Ahoy, fair pirate!

How’s me wee crew today?  Cap’n Mommy misses you!

9/17 - Surprise! A birthday tea party!

Here they are, all of your best friends, ready to throw you a surprise tea party.  How fun is that?  Watch out for Warthog, though.  His manners aren't so good.

Lil' Gal took this picture of the puzzle she did by herself (within a train track).

Lil' Guy took this picture of his tiny friends.

I took this picture of the goblin (gnome) that Lil' Guy is happy to see every day on his walk to school.

9/16 - Loose Cannon says, "Now THAT is a kaboom!"

I wore cowboy boots today to kick this Week of Mondays to the curb.  POW!

Jenifer was my manager #5 and #8 at my last work (or something like that).  Her new job is right by my new job, so we had lunch today to catch up.  On the way, we found this piece of art. It looks like it was done by one of Cannon’s friends!  KABOOM!!

The kids' school hosted an outdoor Movie Night tonight, featuring the movie "Rio."  It started right at their bedtime, so we weren't sure how it would go, but it was a success!  Both kids were mostly awake for most of the movie!  What big kids I have.  :)

9/15 - Loose Cannon finds a football pirate

Loose Cannon said “Kaboom!” to the football pirate.  The football pirate yelled, “Yarrrrr!” And everyone in the train station thought we were silly. The end.

Loose Cannon thinks this sculpture looks like a Kaboom!  Everyone’s entitled to their own interpretation of what Art is and how it makes them feel.  That is what Art is all about. (Don’t ask me “Who’s Art?”!)

9/14 - The BART roadrunner says "Beep Beep!" to Pink Jack

This was a new sticker on the train today.  Usually the maintenance shops have a train car for their logo.  I like the roadrunner!

Here, Pink Jack makes friends with a rainbow asterisk.  Plus!  A letter!  Who knows what letter is in the picture?

9/13 - Tigger finds the car of his dreams

This car is a “Hop Rod” instead of a hot rod.  What a great car for someone who loves to bounce!

We found this fabric version of San Francisco at the bank.  Tigger made himself blurry to fit in! I bet Mama can point out some of the famous city spots to you:  Pier 39, the painted ladies, Transamerica building, etc.

In other news, I don't know if it's the full moon or what, but there was such an element of FUBAR today.  I had to call the help desk 3 times to get my long-awaited software installed, my boss found a green screen of death on her laptop (yes, green!), and BART broke down on the way home, causing me to miss derby practice.  At least I got to spend some extra time with the kiddos.  Now, let me post this before something else goes wacky.  Was your day funky too?

9/12 - Kangaroo(s) and Dalmatian Dog meet a spork

I am in my second week of stalking gourmet food trucks.  Today’s find was Curry Up Now, featuring Indian street food (and sporks!).  This is a “deconstructed samosa,” which was delicious.  It came with 4 mini samosas!  How very cute.  And delicious!

Now.  Hop along, my little ones.  I’ve got work to do. I’ll see you tonight.

This light switch in the bathroom looks like a face. (With bonus light-up nose!)

9/09 - Howler Monkey is wild for curry

Howler Monkey is swinging from the branches.  He’s happy that the sun is out.  (Me too.)

I am all about the gourmet food trucks this week.  Today, we found a Japanese curry truck. The veggie option was a pumpkin/potato croquette with veggies and curry sauce. NOM!

In other news, there was quite an interesting thunder/lightning/wind show tonight which seems to have died down.

9/08 - Don't let Squawkie hear you say "stupid."

Squawkie was reading the pirate comics Wanda gave me, and was laughing up a storm until we got to this one…

We found the Toasty Melts food truck down the street and couldn’t resist. My grilled cheese sandwich has apple butter on it, and it’s stunningly good.  Say "cheese," Squawkie!  NOM!

9/07 - Pooh Bear and Pirate Duck are on target

Bulls eye!

In which Pirate Duck and Pooh Bear await a Very Important Litir...  We found a cute Irish mailbox at lunchtime, and were hoping the leprechauns would ship us some gold.  Or a litir.

After work, we had drinks with Linda, Ashley, and Wanda from my old job.  It was so good to see them!  Linda loved the birthday paintings from the twins.  :)

9/06 - Black Bear likes it salty

We got Chinese food for lunch, and Black Bear was hitting the sauce.  No, not like that!  Look at him in the the soy sauce and spicy mustard bowl.

Black Bear likes a reverse commute.  He says, “Hey!  Why’s everyone running THAT way?”

9/04 - Roller Derby Boot Camp, Day 2

No froggies in this pic. Just derby girls...  Sonia and Jax are in the center of the photo.

Pink Frog and Blue Frog took Sonia's skate for a little ride. Whee!

Here we are with Bonnie D. Stroir, our derby coach for the weekend.  (Swoon!)

9/03 - Roller Derby Boot Camp, Day 1

It was 100+ degrees when we started skating at 9am.  We were glad for a lunch break and the chance to take off all our sweaty gear.

Can you see Pink Frog and Blue Frog on one of the kneepads? They skated around all day with me in my pocket. :)

Here we are waiting for Mexican food to take back to the hotel.