From a marketing perspective...

Hi!
Sooooo...I just FINALLY got on the bandwagon with the lady who sold the contraband Pokeman cards on Ebay. Here's the deal...she wrote a little ditty like the ones all us blog-keeping moms write every day but she did it on EBay with an item that is very popular and shows up in a lot of searches I guess, and her little ditty was appreciated SO much by the moms at large that she is now being interviewed by national radio shows and is going to write a book AND is working on using her fame to fund St. Jude's Hospital AND is even famous enough to have someone plagiarizing her ebay listing for evil intentions. She also was so powerful that EBay put her listing BACK UP even after the sale was completed so that we would all continue to read it and give EBay great advertising audiences! Another wierd thought...when all of us are considering the safety of having a blog where all of our personal info exists including photos, this mom is actually INVITING the publicity in a way that helps her become a successful breadwinner and a money-maker for a charity. All I have to say on this matter is that whomever is marketing to moms currently is going to make a KILLING if we moms are so in need of these real life mom-stories that make us feel that we are not alone that we have the power to make another mom INSTANTLY famous! BEHOLD the marketing power of MOMS! ESPECIALLY moms ON THE WEB! I need to think of some way to use this knowledge...but because I have mommy brain (i.e. braindead and exhausted) I cannot at this moment think of how to use this realization. If you have a product that is mom-friendly and need me to market it...I'm your gal ;) Otherwise, I think I'll just write a book and become famous when all you "millions" of readers out there buy it! Enough blabbing on this matter...it's just that this kind of thing facinates me! It's true that word of mouth advertising is the wave of the future! Think of all the free publicity that came from this one clever, unintentional happening! Anyways...if you want to read her story or her blog (you think it's tough having one kid, read her blog about having six and feel instantly better!) By the way...I just figured out how to check how many people read this blog...I looked back and it turns out I got 90 hits the day after I created it when I sent the link to my whole email list and now I get an average of 10 people reading a day, although that number got up to 65 with the video of Odin walking when I sent out an email to everyone. So...I really do have some marketing power after all :) Anyways, here's her info:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130144061675Eb
mom2my6pack.blogspot.com

Fall is in the air...

Here's a quick photo of Odin in his Fall mood outfit :)

So...Odin is the MASTER of sign language! I have barely made any effort to teach him the signs and he just soaks them up like he was just dying to have a way to communicate beyond whining. Here is a list of the signs that he knows and uses to date:
Dog
Cat
Tree
Airplane
Fish
Milk
More
All Done
Bye Bye
Hello
Truck/Car
Bird/Duck
Hat
Diaper
Change
Alligator
Eat

Next ones we are going to work on:
Hurt
Happy
Help
Where
Dirty

Here's a website if you want to learn these signs :) They're SO logical and easy!
http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/browser.htm

Tune in tomorrow for movies and photos from our trip on the Roaring Camp Railroad through the redwoods!

Just a side note:

Here's a bit of wisdom for today...
You really know that you should have gotten rid of clothing items a LONG time ago when you put them out on the curb with a free sign and they get picked over by a ton of people and they still don't want those clothes even if they're free!

I've been watching out my window now since yesterday morning at the people perusing my free pile. They pull up in cars, they ride by on bikes, they walk over and check the stuff out. Many many items have been taken. Now, I look at the pile of stuff that is left and wonder what is wrong with my taste radar. I pondered about throwing that stuff out for months, thinking, it's not out of style, it just doesn't fit me right anymore and I need more room in my little closet. Well, needless to say, the clothes are SO bad that people won't take them even when they're free and the people are obviously desperate because the FREE sign stops them dead in their tracks and they pick through the pile with a fine tooth comb for hours while Honey (my dog) growls from the window. So, it really makes me wonder how I could be SO out of touch. I actually thought those items were worth keeping and if they had fit better, would have continued to wear them. Has motherhood changed me SO much that I can't even be objective anymore? The other thing I ponder...obviously the items taken first are the things I shouldn't have given away because they were still in style and got snatched right up. The problem with that is I can't put the stuff on the curb and then run out and snatch back the first ten items taken after they have been deemed still good by the public at large. Oh well. I guess I'll just have to cut myself some slack and focus on the fact that Odin is ALWAYS in style and looks smokin' cool at all moments. :)

P.S. Here's a bit of sociological fact for ya...the people that pull over and go through free clothes the most are men in their 20s-30s and the fact is, there are ONLY women's clothing in the pile because anything that Ryan owns is SO ruined by the time he lets it go that I couldn't even give it away free. It's a conundrum, the people most wanting free clothes are the least likely to find any :)

My body is my own!!!!

Well...it's two days and one night official. Odin is weaned. Official age: 13 months. Perfectly timed just like his day after due date birth. I think he takes after his type A mommy! I guess that happens when you're the first child. We'll see how tonight goes...Daddy's going to get up with him and get him back to sleep so in addition to having a fully weaned child, they'll also get some good snuggle time! Last night, Odin not only slept through the entire night, he also woke up at NINE AM this morning (2 hours after his regular time) and played HAPPILY and INDEPENDENTLY in his crib for a half hour so I got to get up and have my coffee in peace! Anyways...yesterday, Odin, Auntie Mary, Cousin Francesca, and I all went to Bonfante Gardens for the first time. It was SO much fun! I'm including some cute videos of Odin riding some rides with his usual panache ;) Here's a shot of what happened with his first ice cream cone too (we just gave him a tiny bit in a cone and look what he managed to do with it!)

Latest and Greatest

Hi all!
The latest and greatest thing lately is that we got Odin a wee-ride bike seat...it attaches to the cross bar in front so the little guy sits right between my outstretched arms and knees. He LOVES it and actually wears his helmet without complaint! We've been going on a daily bicycle ride as a family around the neighborhood and it's SO much fun! I'll try to get a photo...it's tough because Odin goes on my bike with me, so I'll get Ryan to take one tomorrow :) Other than that, we've just been going to our usual playdates, trips to the library and bookshop, visits to the playground, beach, etc. Today, while we were in the bookshop waiting in line, Odin turned to me and gave me the biggest longest hug and let me tell you...that is THE BEST feeling! Voluntary love from my little guy! Like he just thought about it and just had to give me a hug right then and there :) Anyways, hope everything's good with all of you!

Father Odin

Does Odin have a future in the seminary?

He found my exercise band and this is what he did with it. He then wore it this way for about a half hour and felt very special. Who knows...maybe this is some inkling into his future?

Cute stories...

Well...here's a completely unrelated photo that I just thought was cute. It's a photo of the motley crew at cousin Jimmy's 3rd birthday and cousin Jasmine's 1st birthday party.


Here's some video of Odin and I visiting the sea lions at the pier.




Here's what Odin did two days ago:
I stopped for gas and noticed that in the ten minutes since we left the house, Odin has discovered a chocolate truffle in a paper bag next to his car seat somewhere that I bought yesterday that I forgot about and had smeared his ENTIRE body and car seat with his first taste of chocolate. Needless to say, he had a HUGE smile on his face. Sorry for the lack of photos...I have one on my phone...it was so funny that even the guy pumping gas next to me had to laugh!

Yesterday...
We were headed to the beach...Odin had a fever from his immunization shots that he got yesterday at his 1 yr appt. 18lbs 29 3/4 inches tall...the doctor told me that she thought Odin would grow up to be an orthopedic surgeon...?!?!?!?! Anyways, we're headed to the beach so that he can cool off...and I threw on his Johnny Cash onesie that Ryan's friend Kevin gave us...it is black with white writing and says CASH across the front with a picture of a guitar. So...I see some live music at an outdoor bar on the beach so I stopped to let Odin check it out. He got right up front and stood really serious and still while everyone in the bar checked him out. Then, ever so slightly, his right knee started bopping...then, it bopped harder, then he started bouncing to the music and waving his arms and dancing around...there were HUGE cheers from the crowd...then, he just stopped...dead still...and started bopping his knee again. It was TOO funny! The band got a big kick out of it...sorry I didn't have my camera!

Today...
Odin ate a bowl of cereal with a spoon ALL BY HIMSELF! Here's a video of it!

Our latest field trip...

Hi all!
I tried my darndest to get a video of Odin on our latest field trip to IKEA but he would stop whatever he was doing the minute I took out the camera :( I will, however, tell you that Odin LOVED the music selection at IKEA and DANCED the entire way through the store. He got everyone he met to wave back to him and to dance with him and he just charmed his way down the aisles. I whipped out my camera just as the song changed to a Prince song and Odin immediately stopped dancing. I guess he does NOT like Prince. When the other songs were on that he did like, if I put him in the seat part of the shopping cart, he would hold onto the handle and head bang swinging back and forth to the music and really rocking out. I wish I had a video because it was just TOO FUNNY! I think dancing down the aisles is an inherited trait (wink, wink, nudge, nudge!) My mom has many memories of me doing the same exact thing! We're a musical bunch. Anyways, if they ever sell an IKEA mix cd, it would be a big hit with the little ones. Hope the rest of you are having days filled with a joy equivalent to dancing your way through IKEA!!!! It doesn't get any better than that ;)
Love, Star & Odin

Can you hear me now?

Well, so much for the new "sim card" technology. My old phone died, due to excessive saliva corrosion from Odin, and then finally by drowning in the toilet due to putting it in my back pocket. Sooooo.... I get a new phone and try to switch the sim card over to the new phone, and low and behold, it doesn't fit. Sooooo.... I bring it to the AT&T store and ask them to pull the numbers off of my old phone sim card and put them on my new phone. After 20 minutes, they tell me that there are NO NUMBERS on the old sim card?!?!?!! Turns out, there was a setting somewhere on the old phone that made the numbers save to the sim card instead of the phone, who knew? So now, I can't turn on the old phone and get the numbers so I don't have anyone's number. This should be a great reason for you all to give me a call :) Then, I'll get to talk to you all AND be able to re-program your number into my phone :) Another annoying thing is that all the numbers that I have managed to get since I got my new phone got erased when AT&T did whatever they did to NOT HELP. So, please call me or email me with your phone numbers! Thanks!!!!

Back in California!

We're back and we're so happy to be home! Being away really makes me appreciate how much I love my little house and our town! It's crazy though, it feels like we're already having Fall! We have cold, foggy mornings and crisp clear sunny afternoons. It seems like Northern California has REALLY long Fall and Spring and a VERY short Summer and Winter. We will get another summer in October though so that is always a nice little surprise!

We had a GREAT time back East. The weather was PERFECT and everything was SO green!!! We got to go to Nantucket and Vermont during the best time of year there and it was just so beautiful! Here are some photos...

My friend Susan and her husband brought their two little boys over to meet Odin on Nantucket. Susan and I used to surf together and get into trouble together back during my early twenties!

Alana, Bob, and my two nieces, Ashley, and Shayna, and Shay's friend came to visit right after that!


For some reason, I didn't get a photo, but I will add a photo of my friend Cathy who came for a brief visit to Nantucket as soon as she sends me one from her camera!


My friend Jenny, whom I went to college with, also came out to visit!

Grammie, Odin, and tall skinny statue at The Wauwinet.

Odin's first ride in Grandpa's fishing boat.

My friends, Christian and Nicole's little girl, Makayla, came over for a playdate while we were in Nantucket!

Ryan and his Dad at his sister, Rachel's wedding.

Ryan's Mom in her finery :) Mother of the bride!

Rachel & Rick Brown!

Odin and the ladies! (Including cousin Alexandra)

Odin LOVES hit Aunt Becky!


Odin's cousin, Nicholas, looking quite dashing!

Ryan and his sister, Robin, giving Odin a boat ride!

Enjoying the warm lake water of Vermont!