Thanks Bucky & More Jake Talk

Like most people, I return to stores that treat me well, and I recommend those places to my friends. That's one reason I'm anti-Walmart and Burger King. It's why I shop at Harris Teeter even when things are sometimes more expensive there. And it's why I'm now officially a NAPA Auto Parts customer.

Now I've never had bad service at Advance Auto Parts or any other auto parts store. I find that mechanics are usually very friendly (of course, my father-in-law was a mechanic at one time, so I may be biased toward them). But today at the NAPA Auto Parts store at the corner of Battleground and Cone, Bucky went out of his way to help me. Not only did he find the headlight bulb I needed, but he also installed it free of charge.

I appreciate it and I'll be writing a letter.

In other news, Jake has been talking again. :) Yesterday on the way to school, he told Ike, "I know my ancestors came here in that Flower Boat." (Yes, that would be the Mayflower that he's talking about.)

After Ike told him that a bird once pooped on my head (it's true. I was pregnant with Jake, and Ike & I were in Baltimore at the National Aquarium. So I got pooped on INSIDE a building.), Jake laughed and said, "That's the funniest thing ever." Ever? You know, he's only 4. He hasn't seen that much that would be funny yet.

And I just know there's more, but the bills are calling me. "Pay us, pay us." If I think of it, I'll write it later.

Carolina on My Sister's Mind...

Yay Caitlin! My brilliant little sister (pictured here at her 10th birthday...she'll be 18 in June) found out that she got into Carolina today! Of course, I've been pushing for this since she was 5...but she has yet to make up her mind as to where she should go.

I say, is there even a question here? If God's not a Tarheel...well, you know the rest. Caitlin, don't you want to go where God wants you to be??

(Don't stand too close. Lightning may strike.)

Burping Baby Dolls

Okay, I really don't consider myself a conservative person. But even the most free-spirited "everything goes" sprite (also not me) can show a little respect.

This morning while watching cartoons with Jake, I saw a Baby Bratz (don't get me started on how evil I think Bratz dolls are) commercial. These babies apparently blow bubbles from their mouths. Okay, whatever. But what got me is that one of the little girls in the commercial took a sip of soda and burped loudly, causing all the girls to giggle.

The fact that it's a girl is not my issue. Girls burp just like boys, of course. But what a low way for the advertiser to try to get kids on board with their product. Parents spend a good deal of time saying, "Say 'excuse me,'" "Don't burp in public, it's rude," etc. So now this company tries to make it look cool?

Thanks for all the help, Saturday morning cartoons.

Soccer Practice

Jake's first soccer practice was last night, and despite the disorganization of the Y, it was a good one. It was cut short because the Y scheduled practice to start at 6:45 on a field with no lights...(good planning), but Jake had a great time and his coach seems very nice.

Annie and I missed most of practice because it was too cold out for a baby. From what Ike tells me, though, Jake is now one of "those kids." While last year he spent the majority of his time pulling up grass and watching planes go by, this year he was one of the best players on the field. He answered two questions posed by the coach without hesitation. He played goalie and blocked every single ball that came near the goal. And he was the only kid to score a goal when another child was playing goalie.

Last year's team put no emphasis on "winning," which was fine. However, Jake seems more interested when there's a little competition. So I was glad to hear the coach say, "This is the goal. We want to kick the ball into the goal. And we want to do it more times than the other team."

This year Jake's team is the Sharks. When we first got to practice, he asked, "Mommy, do sharks eat penguins?" I told him that I suppose if they can catch one, they'll eat it. He said, "Good. I just heard a little boy say his team is the Penguins, so we're going to eat them."

It's beat them, kid. Not eat them.

Goin' To The Chapel

My friend Wendy, whom I've known since driver's ed/health class our freshman year in high school, is getting married!! Congratulations, Wendy and Andy! I'm so excited for you both!

Yay!

(Hey, Wendy, if you want me to take your picture off my blog, just let me know.) :)

Date Night

Tonight was our first "Daddy, Mommy, Jake Date" since Annie was born. Jake, who we all know is pretty easy-going and very loving toward his sister, has been showing signs of jealousy lately. Asking if we love him as much as we love Annie, saying he wishes he was a baby, etc. So we decided to take him out alone to remind him of how special he is. (Amazingly, we were able to do this without buying him another Transformer...which usually seems to be what he uses to measure love. Uncle Billy is winning apparently.)

My parents kept Annie for a few hours while we went out. We went to dinner at The Loop, where Jake said, "It's a good thing Annie isn't here, so she won't fuss while we eat." I quickly agreed, while Ike pointed out that we do like to have Annie around and that she won't always fuss like a baby...Can you tell which parent is more patient? We ate and colored and had a good time.

Our second stop was Borders. Jake got a new set of wooden instruments and a Transformers book (oh, I guess we did have to buy him something to do with Transformers...). We sat and talked while he ate a brownie in the cafe.

At the end of the date, Jake and I dropped Ike off at DNO (Dad's Night Out) with his "playgroup friends." Otherwise known as "Poker Night." Then we headed back to my parents' house to visit for awhile and to pick up Annie of course.

Jake was so excited about this night. He kept repeating, "This was a great date night," and "It was my idea, and it was a good idea." For the record, it was my idea...but it was a good one. We're going to try to do this more often, in addition to individual dates with just Ike and Jake or just me and Jake. I think our next date for the three of us will involve a trip to the zoo.

It's good to have a child who wants to be with us. If only that could last forever...

Rollin'

Annie just rolled over from her tummy to her back! And of course she did it as soon as I looked away... I put her on her stomach to "play" on a blanket, and while I grabbed one of her toys, she rolled over. She seems very proud of herself. :)

Yay Annie!

To Whom It May Concern

Dear Alex Spears YMCA,

The lack of organization and forethought put into your facility's youth soccer program should embarrass and shame your board of directors. Because of the lack of planning, we will not play any sport associated with your facility again.

This morning my son, my 3-month-old daughter, and I attended the "Meet & Greet" soccer session. From what we were led to believe, I expected to a) meet the coach (in our case the assistant coach, which was fine) and b) receive the schedule for the season, including game dates and times. I also expected to find out when team pictures would be taken and to sign up for a day to bring snack.

We arrived at the fields in 40 degree weather. I considered leaving, as my baby is sick already, but I thought this surely wouldn't take long. I should have known better...

We were first directed, by one clueless person in an orange vest ("STAFF"), to Field 1 and 2 where a supposedly knowledgeable person in an orange vest would direct us to our team. We crossed the busy parking lot (where no one was directing traffic; instead they were watching cars go by while they chatted with one another) to get to the field to which we were sent.

At this field, we waited (in the cold and wind) in line to talk to the man in the orange vest. We were eventually told that our team would be on Field 2. We wandered from team cluster to team cluster...to find out that no, our team was not on this field.

After 10 minutes of moving from field to field, I got back into another line to talk to a different man in an orange vest. This man was complaining that, "We told the coaches to check in with us first so we could tell them where to go, but they're just going wherever they want." After he finished complaining and wasting more of my time while we were out in the cold, he told me, "Your team is on Field 2." I explained that I'd been to every team on Field 2, and my son's team was not there. "Oh, not that Field 2. The one on the other side of the parking lot."

Two Field 2s. Excellent planning.

When we crossed the parking lot again, we did indeed get to our team. The assistant coach was handing out practice schedules only. No game schedule, no picture date, and as far as I could tell, no signing up for snack. You know what? Our coach had already graciously called the parents to tell us the team name AND the practice schedule.

Which means I took both of my children out on a Saturday morning in the cold for absolutely no reason. We knew our practice schedule and we were misled to think this "Meet & Greet" would be useful.

This will be the last time my child plays soccer at Alex Spears YMCA. We are sticking with the YMCA this season, rather than pulling him out and demanding our money back, only because it is too late to sign up for soccer anywhere else for the spring season. However, in the fall, I know of at least three places that are less expensive and more organized.

Perhaps if the Alex Spears YMCA concentrated less on having a large number of members and more on the individual, we would stay. By not planning ahead and not giving your coaches proper instruction, you send a clear message to parents: we don't care.

Sincerely,

Becky Quigley
A frustrated parent

Would You Trust Your Child With This Woman??

Thanks for entertaining Annie, Jaimie! And for entertaining the rest of us as well... :)

Annie's Cough

I took Annie to the doctor this morning because she's had a yucky cough since Sunday. Fortunately it is not croup (or pneumonia, or any of the other terrible things I convinced myself it was throughout the night). It's just a cold. He said to use saline nose drops (which absolutely offended her when I used them...how dare I stick something in her nose??) and her humidifier, and she should get better in a week or two. Two weeks?? Poor kid...

Dr. Sumner was amazed at her weight gain. Since her 2-month visit just over two weeks ago, she has gained one whole pound! She's now 12 lbs, 3 ozs. No wonder the size 1 diapers are suddenly too snug...

A Good Word To Know

uxorious \uk-SOR-ee-us; ug-ZOR-\, adjective:
Excessively fond of or submissive to a wife.

I like it.

Best Best Best Friends & Family History

Today was an early release day for Jake. He got out of school two hours early, so we went to the Children's Museum with a friend. This is the same friend with whom we spent Monday afternoon at the Science Center, so they've been together quite a bit recently.

However, Jake informed me, this is not his best friend. "Carter is my best, best, best, best, best, best friend. Nicholas is just my best friend." Here we go. The ranking of friends has begun.

On our way to the Children's Museum, I told Jake that Granddaddy is coming for dinner tonight. He's planning to tell us Irish stories in honor of St. Patrick's Day. I told Jake that he has Irish ancestors. He said, "I know my ancestors are dead."

Me: "Yes, that's true. All ancestors lived before us, so now they're not living."

Jake: "Are your ancestors dead?"

Me: "Yes, mine are dead too."

Jake: "But I thought Caitlin was your ansister."

Hardy har har. Yes, Caitlin is my sister, Jake. Good thing she's not old, or he might think she's a monkey...

Excuse me while I go call my best best friend. Not my best best best friend.

Hurry! You Can Still Make It!

Okay, if you read this before noon, get yourself over to any Starbucks for a FREE TALL COFFEE! Not that one free coffee makes up for all the money I've spent at Starbucks since college, but I'll take what I can get from The Man.

Now go get yours.

New Pictures

Jake's Theory Of Evolution

Tonight while I tried to explain to Jake why he can't have a pet pterodactyl, he interrupted with his own explanation.

"I know...old people used to be monkeys... with the dinosaurs."

Giggle Box!

Annie just giggled for the first time!!! This is absolutely my favorite thing about babies. I remember Jake's first giggle, too...

I try not to be pushy about the stay-at-home-mom thing, but I tell you. This is why I love it: never missing these moments.

My baby can giggle. Now it's just a matter of time before she's telling dumb jokes.

:)

Other Things That Happened Today

Well, if I hadn't been born today, apparently nothing good would've happened on March 5.

On this day in 1770, the Boston Massacre occurred (actually, only 5 people died, so it wasn't much of a massacre). In 1933, the Nazi Party won the majority of seats in the German Parliament, putting them in control of the country. On the same day in 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered a four day bank holiday to try to curtail the bank runs of the Great Depression.

Hey, but on a positive note, in 1953, Josef Stalin, the evil Communist dictator died...

Happy Birthday Me!

Once again, Ike has made my birthday perfect. Friday night we went to dinner at my favorite restaurant while both kids stayed with Granny and Papa. In fact, both kids stayed overnight, which Jake is used to, but this was Annie's first night away from Mommy. It was also Mommy's first night away from Annie...and it was much harder for me than for her. She slept well, took the bottle well, and visited with her grandparents well. She's just such an easygoing baby. If we'd had her first, we might have four kids by now.

(That's a joke, of course. Even four easy children are still four children.)

We spent Saturday at Granny and Papa's celebrating Aunt Jane's birthday and mine. Then today Ike brought me the baby rather than me getting up to feed her (of course, she was very considerate of my birthday and slept til 7:30 this morning). He brought me breakfast in bed, including three refills of (decaf) coffee. I got to read in bed, then visit with Jake (who is the cuddliest kid in the world), all while Ike cleaned the house. And now Ike is out hunting down our lunch, while Jake watches the Disney Channel and Annie sits in her bouncy seat. That seat is amazing, by the way. A friend gave it to us, and Annie sits in it forever, entertained by the red, black and white objects on it.

So, I'm 31 now. I have two beautiful children, a perfect husband, and a job I love (my job being the aforementioned children). Life is good.

4-Year-Old Fashion Police

I believe that the only people who have boys older than Jake and who read this blog are my in-laws. So, Mary Lou and Richard, if you could please tell me if this is normal behavior... :)

Jake has suddenly become very concerned with what he wears to school. Yesterday he vetoed a shirt I had picked out in favor of his own choice. This morning, our outfit-picking took a good ten minutes.

"Good shirt, Mommy. It looks cool on me (yes, he said that). Except...I think it's too big." (The shirt this morning was a little big. But the shirt he picked to wear yesterday fell to his knees...) So we went through a series of shirts.

The white shirt with blue and black stripes. "Hmm...No, I don't think animals are cool, and that shirt reminds me of a zebra."

A blue polo shirt. "No, that shirt is not cool."

The white shirt with square designs. "No, that shirt reminds me of a dog." (Yeah, I don't get that.)

Finally, we agreed on a "cool" shirt. Then he looked at his pants. "Mommy, aren't these yesterday's jeans?"

I thought at first he meant, "These jeans are sooo yesterday," but apparently he thought he'd worn them yesterday. But no, I assured him, these jeans are clean.

So he went off to school, in today's jeans and a cool shirt.

I thought boys didn't care what they wore??

Little Louie

Jake did a wonderful job on his presentation this morning! He remembered everything he'd learned, even correcting his teacher twice. She said, "Jake, tell us about Louis Armstrong." Jake replied, "Actually, it's Louie. And his nickname is Satchmo." Okay, so she wasn't wrong, but she graciously said, "Yes, Louie, thank you." He also corrected her when she called the trumpet keys, "buttons." "They're keys, not buttons." Again graciously, she said, "Well, I've learned something new today."

When he pulled out the trumpet (Thanks Dad!), the kids went crazy. When he played the trumpet, it was too much. They were all laughing and falling off their circles (in grouptime). He was asked to play it again at least three times. Mrs. Ventura told the children not to touch the trumpet because it was an "expensive instrument," which I think made Jake feel special. He "sang" an example of "scat singing," which the kids also loved.

What can I say? He's a natural.

Oh, yesterday he had his first session with the school guidance counselor. She's going to work with him on standing up for himself in class. He loved going to her office and spending time with her, and he brought home the picture he colored while they were together. They both colored pictures of their families. His picture had "Annie, Jake, Daddy, and you, Mommy. Sorry I made your hair blue."

I wasn't as concerned about the blue hair as I was about the fact that I was the fat round family member...

Above his family, he drew an airplane and a jet with a line between them. His explanation: "See, the jet shot the airplane and now he's dead."

Great...looks like we've made a good first impression on the counselor...