Etymology of Potamus

Little did we know that our silly pet name for Griffin actually means something rather magestic. We've been calling him Potamus since we used to wrap him in a Kiddopotamus swaddle blanket and Jake casually referred to Griffin as a "Swaddlepotamus." It's his number one nickname and our blog address. Griffin answers to it. Well, as much as he answers to anything. I just know we'll be screaming "Gooooooo Potamus!!" like dipshits at his high school graduation. Anyway, Jake did some research and now wikipedia has validated our little Potamus.

Potamus is an anglicization of the Ancient Greek potamos (ποταμός) meaning river. Hippopotamus means river horse. Griffinpotamus means river mythical winged monster with an eagle's head and a lion's body. Isn't that pleasant?

"River" was one of the names on Griffin's "Official Baby Name List" that we both liked but it never made it to the finals. How nice to (sort of) reclaim it accidentally.

Porkapalooza 2009

We trekked it out to Laytonville this weekend and partied with all the little ones of the krewe. Believe it or not, a hog had been slaughtered and there was a pork-filled weekend planned that piqued a curious excitement among the menfolk. Sam and Ave headed up with Lilah, Ivy and Nick flew in from NOLA, and Brent broke out of jail and brought his adorable son Elliott up for the weekend. We descended on the Laytonville farmhouse (and Mat, Erin, Ryder, Clay and Sarah,) and had a wonderful time despite the weather.

Griffin was finally old enough to play with the big boys. Ryder will be two in April and Elliott is nearing three, but Griffin was doing a good job of keeping up. I also noticed (much to my elation) that the "two-kitten" theory of parenting becomes functional at about 14 months- two toddlers can actually occupy each other and you get to relax a little. I may indeed have another child. As long as one or two trusted adults were watching the little troupe of boys, the rest of us could chit chat or eat pork unmolested. We passed cute l'il Lilah around and the boys all played with toys near each other or splashed in the yard.


The pig in question (appropriately named "Carnitas") had been put down with a bullet between the eyes (after enjoying a whisky-filled melon and some fresh hay) before we'd arrived (thankfully.) While the guys began furiously making sausage, we went the femme route and Ivy bought six (count them, six) trashy celebrity magazines and we watched the collector's edition of Twilight while reading about Brangelina and OctoMom.

It was a genuine Pork-a-palooza with a new pork product being debuted from the kitchen every two hours. We ate sausage, boudin, pate, pork tacos, chorizo and (some folks even ate) blood sausage and head cheese. The feasting and community part was lovely, but encountering a flaming pig's head and later finding the decapitated head in the sink awaiting whatever foul things you do to make head cheese caught me a little off-guard. Luckily I like zombie movies so the pig head was less traumatizing once I put it in context.

Please do not watch this next video if you are squeamish or vegan. It has no babies in it, only Mat torching a pig's head (apparently necessary for head cheese.) I chose not to upload the video that describes giving the pig whisky while Clay does a dramatization of the incident and I turn around just in time to see Griffin unloading beer bottles from the recycling bin. Look for that one on Facebook. If it's your cup of tea.


Apparently it's soooo gross, you have to click on the play button to get the visuals.

Turtle Potamus

Griffin likes to watch his feet fly over the sand at the playground. He looks like such a little turtle!

Irish Eyes

Since both of my favorite Irishmen are keeping it real at the Casa de O'Rear (aka O'Rear's Irish Pub,) I will have to regale you with a few photos of Finn McCoolio from his 2008 St. Patrick's Day photo shoot. What a cute little bun he was! Now we can't take photos anymore because he's always on the go.
What a sweet little leprechaun! I see how you can get nostalgic over babies, they change all the time. What is it they say? The days take forever but the years go by in a flash.


Look at little Potamus and his sweet, girlish Mom, who was a mere thirty when this picture was taken. I have now moved on to thirty-something, which requires some coping.

I hope you have enjoyed this trip down memory lane. Today, while I was chilling in Chinatown at a park with Ave and Lilah, I remarked, "I wish I'd started blogging earlier," as though Griffin will forever be altered because his first six months aren't on the internet. Speaking of the lovely Miss Lilah, she is reprising Griffin's "Kiss Me I'm Irish" onesie and I daresay she fills it out well! As if you aren't already reading Ave's blog, here's the link! Lilah Rose's 1st St. Paddy's Day

Boys Don't Cry

My Silly Baby

This has got to be one of the silliest babies I have ever met. Not only does he roam the house sucking lemons, he puts them on his head.


What did humans do in the days before duckytubs? We've been conserving water and keeping G Dawg from climbing the walls with our trusty duck for quite a while. Actually, this is Ducky Deuce since our first duckytub was accidentally slashed in Baton Rouge. It quacks when you squeeze the bill.


I think Griffin is a Viking. He makes the fiercest faces sometimes. He has a natural comb-over.


I love this silly child.

Indoor Fun

It has been raining for forty days and forty nights around here. Arks are being built and yet every time I turn on the news, I hear we're in a drought. It makes the rain even more depressing to know we'll still be rationing our plants this summer.

Griffin is coping with the weather by abusing the cat and catching up on his reading. Sometimes he moves magnets around the kitchen and sticks them to things. His personality is really starting to come out and he has a goofy sense of humor. He likes to stick fruit to his forehead and flash his belly button at people.

Jake was wounded on the job and took a bungee cord to the eyeball with some unpleasant results. There has been much rest and many trips to the eye doctor in Laytonville, Willits, Ukiah and Oakland. Hopefully there will not be much damage to his overall eye function. I told him that if he has to wear and eye patch, we'll tell Griffin's friends he's a pirate. Between my gimp leg and Jake's mangled eye, all we need is a parrot.