Superheroes and villains
Just when I start to worry that video games have rotted their brains, they dig into the costume drawer and set my mind at ease.
#LoveWins! LGBTQ Bloggers Make Their Voices Heard
You might have noticed the rainbow banner across the top of WordPress.com over the weekend — our way of marking Pride month, celebrated by cities across the globe in June, as well as the US Supreme Court’s ruling legalizing same-sex marriage across all states. (The United States now joins 20 other countries, including my own, Portugal, in fully recognizing same-sex marriage nationwide.)
Here at WordPress.com we strive to democratize publishing and empower freedom of speech. It’s amazing to see the thoughtful analyses of the Supreme Court’s decision already being published, like this excellent piece from Tropics of Meta putting the decision into long-term historical context. We’re also proud to provide a platform for all the incredibly talented LGBTQ writers who are advocating for change…
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New Orleans, Louisiana
How awesome is it that I can be at a birthday party with Linus, but not miss out on work? (Since I love my job, this is a *good* thing.)
Puppies and kittens
We went to a birthday party at the SPCA yesterday. I was not optimistic about how the boys would do, considering they’re generally pretty terrified of dogs. But I was super happy about how they did. They got to give treats to dogs, they played with a kitten, and petted a couple of puppies. Not a tear in sight!
Automattic Celebrates Double Digits
Automattic turned ten!
I remember as a kid, the biggest deal was turning ten. We made a big fuss out of turning double digits. I remember being a little alarmed that while I would definitely eventually turn 10, I would not necessarily make it to triple digits (no one I knew had).
Automattic has turned 10, and it’s sort of an amazing thing. Matt writes a really lovely post here about it. Donncha, employee #1!, posted briefly here about his leap into the unknown (keep an eye on Donncha’s blog for gorgeous photos, by the way).
I have only been with Automattic for two and a half years, and it feels like a blink of an eye. WordPress has a mission to democratize publishing, and that is truly a powerful thing. It can sound sort of like a nickel slogan, but you have to realize: we mean it. We want to make it…
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Painting Skylanders
The boys are all into Skylanders, and also, strangely, YouTube videos where people paint the figurines.
I made a deal with Linus – for every two chapters of a book he read, I’d buy him a jar of paint so he could paint some of the duplicate figurines they had.
Yesterday, he earned three tiny jars of Testors paint, which he used to recolor Food Fight, an artichoke-shaped fella.
Just reminded me of the jars of Testors that my brother used to have. I don’t remember what he used them for. Rockets? Tiny movie sets? Hmm.
Can you tell which is the before and which is the after? Ha ha ha!
Laaaazy river
Last weekend, the boys and I met his friend Diego and his mom and baby sister at the Cool Zoo at the Audubon Zoo. I was reluctant to go because of the cost, but it ended up being a ton of fun and I’d say we got our money’s worth.
There were bridges going over the river, water features, and it went right by this exhibit. Hey peacock!
Floating selfie!
Best buds.
Love those smiles!
The problems with New Orleans
First it was mom problems…
Next, it was the kids…
and finally, Dad got his turn.
Have to thank Ann Frances, Gaven, Amie, and Ann Riess for modeling for my posts. Couldn’t have done it without you guys!
Happy father’s day!
Happy father’s day to all of the dads in my life. George, of course. My dad. Larry. George’s dad. My brother and brother-in-law. Hope you all have a great day!
And even though George is the furthest thing from a typical “NOLA Dad”, I wrote this for the New Orleans Moms Blog today:
Friday five
1. I got the boys new water bottles, and boy, are they excited about them.
You can get some too, from JLD Designs2. Super reasonable price.
2. Shhh, don’t tell, but I’m taking the boys to see Inside Out after camp today. They’re kinda obsessed with it. I like to think because it looks like an intelligent film, but really it’s because they want the Disney Infinity 3.0 game and the characters are in that set. Or something like that.
3. I’m going to BlogHer in NYC next month! I’m so excited. I’ll be working at the WordPress.com booth, so if you’re going, be sure to stop by!
Dangit, why did I start this post with a title? I don’t have two more interesting things to say. Let’s see.
Oh yeah, this is cute:
4. There was a display for the new Peanuts movie. Linus was happy.
5. Got a meal box from Blue Apron yesterday, cooked the first meal for George and I. While I appreciated that the mashed potatoes included a little bottle of heavy cream, I still think I prefer Hello Fresh. We’ll see how the next two meals go. (PS Use the code R7KT4K with HelloFresh and get $40 off your first box. Full disclosure, that would give me $20 off a box for me as well.)
Meanwhile, back in the USA
While George and I were off gallivanting across Merry Olde England, the boys were spending plenty of Quality Time with their maternal grandparents.
I don’t know everything they did, but here’s what I do know:
They took a yo-yo class:
They went to the beach, where they swam in a pool:
They visited a naval museum:
And ate the kinds of food only a grandparent can guiltlessly provide:
I know they went fishing and walked on the beach but I don’t have photos for those. I know they had a great time.
I also know, poor things, didn’t have enough clothes and were apparently dressed like orphans because their terrible mama doesn’t know how to pack a suitcase. Apparently. I don’t know how they all survived. I really need to up my organization game.
I also assume an Oreo commercial is in the pipeline. Nabisco! Gimme a call!
London (the rest)
I think it’s time to wrap up my trip recap, so I’ll just put the rest of the London bit in this post.
Tuesday was our second day in London. George wanted hats, but I’ve already blogged about that. We also did some other shopping and browsing, which was fun.
After we got George a jacket and me some tea at Marks & Spencer, we went our separate ways. I ended up eating a sandwich in Soho Square, where Kristina and Anne and I used to meet for lunch almost every day, 18 summers ago.
The next day, George and I poked around Camden Market (it was pretty dead, being a Wednesday) before meeting a friend for a pub crawl.
Pub crawl!
Yes, this is Pimm’s on tap.
Cool pic of a bridge we were near. Can’t be more specific.
The best meal we had all week, if you ask me: Toad in a Hole!
Thursday was our last full day, so I crammed as much in as I could. Museums, (okay, mostly the gift shops), walking around my old haunts, etc. It was a pretty warm day, and people were covering every inch of grass everywhere. I love London for that.
Friday, we flew home. The end.
pyjammy dot blog 