Haunted Tunnel / Man Behind the Curtain

Kerry . Tara

Kerry: Haunted Tunnel - There's never traffic on the H3. The reason why is simple: this tunnel is supposedly haunted. It was delved through a cliff that King Kamehameha had people who opposed him pushed off of. Or something like that. At any rate, it's a beautiful drive overlooking Kaneohe Bay, and I enjoy not having to deal with the kind of traffic that occurs elsewhere on the island.

Tara: Man Behind the Curtain - The reason I liked the idea of doing this site was because it would force me to take interesting pictures of things other than my kid. I can't help it though. So far half of my pictures for this site have been of my son. What can I say? He's my muse.

This is my baby boy standing on the couch looking through the curtain.

On the Needles/ Post Nap

Kerry . Tara

Kerry: On the Needles - Brandon and I have developed a good afternoon routine. After lunch, we go out in the backyard. He plays in the dirt, and I sit on the wicker couch and knit. Right now I'm working on my first attempt at eyelet "lace". The yarn is 100% bamboo. It is super soft and silky, and has a nice sheen to it - this color actually looks almost pearlescent. I had wanted this project to be white, but this yarn is so gorgeous that I compromised on the color a little bit.

Tara: Post Nap - My son waking up from his afternoon nap. That's his stuffed frog in the forefront. I'm almost positive he loves that damn frog more than me. Notice how he is keeping his eyes on his frog in case I do anything to hurt it.

Artistic Expression / Sunbathing Buddha

Kerry . Tara

Kerry: Artistic Expression - Lately we've been finding things around the house that defy any explanation other than Brandon's budding artistic temperament: artfully stacked toys, unexpected juxtapositions of household objects, and this little installation that we found next to the front door today: Kix lined up at regular intervals (note how they curve around the corner). It was so impressive that I almost didn't want to clean it up. (Please disregard the fact that the rug is badly in need of a vacuuming. It's essentially a doormat.)

Tara: Sunbathing Buddha - This is a Buddha we keep under the lamp on the top shelf of our bookshelf. We're not Buddhists but we appreciate the religion and we just like the Buddha. My husband bought him for two dollars at a Chinese restaurant.

Rings / Foam Letters

Kerry . Tara

Kerry: Rings - Brandon has finally started using the ring stacking toy in the way it's intended to be used. Up until this point, he'd been more interested in taking the rings off of the pole than in putting them back on - not that he lacked the fine motor skills to do it, he just couldn't be bothered to use them. He hasn't quite grasped the concept of putting the rings on in the right order, though. I was trying to get a good picture of the rings stacked up in reverse order, when he walked by and knocked them over. That's the kind of thing he does. The next 17 years should be fun.

Tara: Foam Letters - My son must have all 26 letters and numbers 0 - 9 in the tub with him every night. He apparently likes to bathe in knowledge.

That's Just Wrong / POV of a Gear

Kerry . Tara

Kerry: That's Just Wrong - We found this today on the back of a box of Pop Secret popcorn. I think it speaks for itself. It reminds me of the one episode of the Sarah Silverman Show that I saw (due to some time-zone weirdness, it was on at the same time here as 30 Rock) - the one with "Black God". But I mean, Sarah Silverman was trying to be wrong. I don't think the folks at Pop Secret were going for the same effect.

Tara: POV of a Gear - My son loves these gears. He loves to bang them together, chew on them and pretty much just hold them. He had piled them up on the coffee table when I took this shot.

Trifecta of Deliciousness / Below the Below

Kerry . Tara

Kerry: Trifecta of Deliciousness - I spent a lot of time wondering what would be a suitable subject for this, our innaugural installment. I mean, first impressions, start off on the right foot, and whatnot. I guess that what I ended up choosing isn't all that spectacular - but it pretty well encapsulates my Sundays. After yoga class, I stop at Jamba Juice and get smoothies for myself, my husband and my son. Much of the rest of the day is spent trying (unsuccessfully) to get my son to drink his smoothie from a sippy straw cup, and cleaning up the spills that result when he insists on drinking it from the Jamba Juice cup instead. At any rate, I thought that the colors were pretty. (Red = Pomegranate Paradise; purple = Acai Supercharger; yellow = Tahiti Green Tea.)

Tara: Below the Below - My husband is a musician so my son and I went to see him play at Africa in April in Memphis. While my husband's band set up on stage, they had these people talk about how important it was to pull your pants up. One woman kept repeating, "We don't want to see your below the below so pull your pants up."

Then a rapper came out and busted out the oldest school beat on his Casio keyboard and rapped about how you need to pull your pants up. "Be a man, take a stand and pull your pants up. No one wants to see your boxer shooortsss." I MUST find this on iTunes.

Editor's Note: You can go here to listen to the most awesome rap ever. The guy who runs the Pull Your Pants Up Missions also runs a few other organizations. One of them is about helping kids and I find it ironic that the mascot for that one is a guy who clearly hasn't pulled his pants up.