Pass the Pesticides & Preservatives, Please!

Remember my post this morning when I wrote about going to the farmer's market with Annie? You know, my fat little boy baby Annie?

Well. It turns out that was just a bad trip altogether. (Leslie, since we were on the phone during part of this, you might be interested to know that the night only got worse after I hung up!) Today I bought 6 ears of corn, 2 zucchinis, 2 red bell peppers and 3 tomatoes.

Jake had one good ear of corn with his dinner. I had one good red pepper with my breakfast this morning. Then... I went through the other 5 ears of corn, trying to find some that didn't have rot or worms on them. The other bell pepper was...moldy. Very very very moldy on the inside (but beautiful from the outside). I burned the crap out of the zucchinis. I have yet to touch the tomatoes, but I suspect I should just go ahead and throw them away...

I have never had such an awful experience at the farmer's market! I always come away with produce that is yummy enough to make me want to grow my own garden. Every time I go to the farmer's market, I think I need to go more often.

Not so much tonight. So tonight for dinner, Ike and I had burnt zucchini with chicken over rice. Ike ate what he could of it, while I actually enjoyed it. Maybe because I covered it in soy sauce. And then more soy sauce.

Oh! And while burning the zucchini (I actually burned the olive oil first), I set off all of our smoke detectors and woke up the baby. AND the smoke was so thick that I could barely see my way to her room.

Forget organic, locally grown veggies. Somebody pass me the boxed dinners...

Err...Thanks...

For the past two days, Annie has been looking rather manly.

Apparently.

Because everywhere we go, I'm told what a "cute baby boy" she is. Now, I understand. All babies look androgenous, and we live in a society that assumes male before female. Really, I get it. She has short hair, no bow. Yesterday she was in yellow...and yellow can go either way. Although I kinda thought a yellow dress with flowers on it might be a hint, but anyway...

This morning, however, at the farmer's market, Annie was dressed in a cute pink shirt with butterflies on it. Pink and purple butterflies. And still I got, "Now that's a handsome little buddy," and "What a big boy!"

I don't bother to correct people. It doesn't bother Annie, of course. She just wants people to talk to her. But here's what got me. This one lady, on our way out of the market.

Her: 'Zat a girl baby o' a boy baby?

Me: [thank you for asking!!] She's a girl. [see the butterflies???]

Her: Huh.

Me: [smile, start to walk away.]

Her: Well, she sho' is a FAT baby.

Me: Huh. Heh. Umm...okay. [walk away]

Now what should I have said? "Why thanks, she gets that from me!" Or what?

And what was she planning to say if I said she was a boy? Probably something about being "strapping" and "strong."

Etiquette lesson for when you see a baby: Don't guess sex. "Cute baby" will do. And you know what else? Don't comment on weight. "Cute baby" will do.

While we're at it, if it's the ugliest-fattest-most-androgenous-looking-baby-wearing-green-and-yellow that you've ever seen...Just smile at the parent, nod, and say, "Cute baby."

That'll do.

Kenny Rogers was WRONG

Ok, maybe you don't count your money while you're sitting at the table (thanks, Kenny!), but you do need to count your money at the drive-thru.

I just drove to Wendy's to get their yummy turkey frescatta sandwich. They have a combo with Baked Lay's and bottled water that makes me forget I'm eating fast food... Anyway, my total was $5.34.

The drive-thru cashier handed me my change and said, "Your change is $13.66."

Now I don't usually think about these things. Usually I just pocket the change and feed my face. But today I thought that sounded wrong. I did the math in my head a few times, then checked myself with the calculator when I got home (my confidence in my math skills is not so high).

I was right. She short-changed me by a dollar. AND she didn't give me a receipt. I suppose she was planning to get a frosty with my money.

I called the manager and explained what happened, so they now have a dollar waiting for me in the manager's office (and, by the way, I heard her telling the cashier that this was the second time it'd happened today on her register). Yay, I get my dollar, but what really scares me is how many times that may have already happened.

First Fundraiser

I know, I know, it's the first day of school and already Jake brought home a fundraiser. But now that I'm on a committee for the PTA, I get it: it's a race to beat the rest of you (whose kids are in school) with this one.

First fundraiser: The Dining & Attractions Guide. If anyone's interested in buying one, let me know. I know we're getting one, we use last year's all the time. Jake has to turn in money by September 18th.

Jake had a great first day! He's tired and zoning out in front of the tv, but all seemed to go well. He was excited to see his classmates from last year, including those who have moved on to first grade. He said they didn't do work cycles today, they just colored. Not that he was complaining...

Now a weekend at home so he can pretend it's still summer...

Jake's First Day Of Kindergarten!

And now we are in Kindergarten. Jake's first day is today! This morning Ike got home from the shoot just in time to go with us to school, so Jake got a big send-off. When we got to the class, he said, "This is a lot cooler than Pre-K!" Because they stagger the start dates of the pre-k'ers, there will only be kindergarteners in his class today and Monday. I think he loved walking in knowing everyone.

Annie and I have had a quiet drowsy morning, so we're off now to run a few errands before we get in the car line. Here we go again, the car line...

Here are a few pictures from this morning.

Jake ready for kindergarten with his new bookbag. You can't see it, but it has his name on it, which he LOVES.
 

On the other side of the door...He had his own camera to take pictures of us, too.
 

With Annie and Mommy...
 

In the classroom. The woman in the background is his new teacher.
  

Mommy's A Liar & Other Discoveries at the Doctor's Office

Jake had his five-year-old check up this afternoon. Next time I complain about him, can someone please slap me? He's just the easiest kid in the world, and I don't give him credit. He was so good with the nurse and the doctor today, chatting with them and making them laugh. I don't know why he was in such a good mood, but I suspect it was because they weren't the dentist...

Well, at any rate, he was in a good mood until he found out his mommy is a big bad liar.

To be fair to me, I had no idea he'd be getting a shot today. Last year after he endured 4 shots, I told him that he'd be done for awhile and wouldn't have to get any shots when he turned 5. Well, between last year's appointment and this year's, they changed the rules. The new Hepatitis A vaccine is now a requirement apparently. So he had to get the first of two of those shots. (Yeah, did you catch that? There's another one coming...)

So, when Jake told the nurse, "Mommy told me I don't have to get any shots today," she winced and left the room. I broke the news to him gently, with lots and lots of "I'm so sorry's" thrown in.

As it turned out, with the shot he made a quick "ouch" face, then said, "That was it? That was cool, it didn't hurt at all!"

However, the finger-prick to test his cholesterol was a totally different story. He cried and cried with that, as if he was dying. I have to admit, I got a little annoyed. It was just a stick to the finger. But then a friend pointed out that she hated the finger-prick, and I realized I hate it too. It's definitely worse than shots. So I'll let him keep the band-aid on that finger just a little longer...

Jake is 40.5 inches tall and 35.75 pounds. That puts him in the 50th percentile for weight and the 10th percentile for height. I'm a little surprised that the percentiles are so different now that I've written that out. He looks small in every way to me, and I thought the average 5-year-old was at least 40 pounds. But anyway, it's not something to worry about. When the doctor asked if he eats a variety of foods, I said yes. Because really he does. He'll eat McDonalds nuggets, Wendy's nuggets, Chick-Fil-A nuggets...isn't that a variety?? :)

I also had to fill out one of those bubble sheet things with developmental questions. To prove that he could skip and hop on one foot, Jake shot around the room 20 or 30 times, varying his method of movement. He most definitely has energy... Anyway, on that form, there were several fill-in-the-blank sentences for me to read and Jake to complete. Those included things like, "Ice is cold, but fire is ______." Or "The moon is out at night, the sun is out in the ________." One sentence read, "I throw the ball up, then it comes ________."

Jake said, "...down. Because of gravity." Teehee. I was proud of my little show-off, giving the doctor a science lesson. Like I said, I don't give the kid enough credit.

Open House & Pretty Annie

Tonight was Open House at Jake's school. We met his new teacher, who was born 4 or 5 years before my little sister... I don't think the teachers are getting younger, I think I'm just getting older. Anyway, she seems very enthusiastic about the school year, so I'm looking forward to having Jake in her classroom. Plus, the teaching assistant he liked so much from last year is now FULL TIME in his room! See, the school system isn't all bad...

Incidentally, there's a little girl in Jake's class this year whose name is Anabel. Her last name is Gigly.

Meaning that her name rhymes with our Annabelle's. Weird coincidence...

I'll have more to report on the first day of school Friday. In the meantime, here is a picture of Annie that Dad sent me. What a beautiful baby girl...

Beautiful!

I love this picture my dad e-mailed me. Not only are my sister and my daughter two of my favorite people, but Caitlin is wearing (and Annie is grabbing) a necklace that belonged to my grandmother, also one of the most influential women in my life.

Throwing People Off Buildings & Back in Chapel Hill

For those of you wanting to keep up with Ike and the movie shoot, here's a link to the director's blog.

I got to visit Ike on set last night while the kids were at my parents' house. Last night was a fun night to visit because it was a stunt night. I missed the big stunt apparently, where a guy fell from the roof of a building to the ground, but I did get to see the stunt doubles jump from a shorter height. And I got to stand on top of the building watching all the people. Wow, movie people are very, very busy. And all so self-sufficient. Of course, I don't know heads or tails about what they were doing, but they all seemed to know. And they all seemed so awake and active at midnight, while I finally had to leave out of fear that I'd fall asleep and fall off the roof. And I'm no stunt double...

Oh! Something else from last night to note. I met Robert Morgan, the author of Gap Creek and other books. He was in town as part of a series of Daniel Boone events my dad organized. Apparently he heard that my dad wrote a book about Daniel Boone and decided to try one himself. At any rate, my parents had dinner with Mr. Morgan a couple of nights ago before his book signing at Old Salem, then he came to Mocksville's celebration of Daniel and Rebecca Boone's wedding anniversary (250 years). Mom introduced me to him, which was cool...except I've never finished his book. How embarrassing. I just stood there and shuffled my feet and thought, "Wow, he's been on Oprah!" I felt all cool when I realized that I'm now only 2 degrees of separation from Oprah...until Ike reminded me that he's now worked with Steadman twice. I mean, Steadman is much closer to Oprah than Robert Morgan...

In other news...today Jake and Annie went to Granny and Papa's house while Mom and I went to Chapel Hill to visit Caitlin. She called 20 or 30 times (okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little) with MORE stuff for us to bring that she'd forgotten... So after we unloaded those few things and hung out in her dorm for awhile, we went to lunch. We stopped by a grocery store to get dorm-friendly food, then bought her ridiculously expensive (even used) books for the semester. Then Caitlin practically pushed us out of the room (exaggerating again because I'm betting she'll read this and be mad) so she could go hang out with some new friends.

I'm just saying, Caitlin--you're going to need a bigger fly swatter. (Inside humor, how tacky.)

I LOVED being in Chapel Hill with Caitlin! It's so cool to know that she's starting a new phase in her life. The people she'll meet, the things she'll learn, the time she'll have to herself... It's going to go faster than she'll realize, though right now it probably feels like she's got all the time in the world.

Enjoy it, Caitlin. I'm so proud of you!

Safety Town Pictures

Thanks to Tracy and her great digital camera for these pictures from Safety Town's graduation yesterday!


Here are Annie and me waiting for big brother to walk across the stage (gym floor).
 

Here he comes...He was the second child to walk in the room.
 

And here Lexi and Jake are trying to find their moms.
  

Children's Museum Pictures

These pictures were taken in June by the mother of Jake's best friend from his class last year. She gave me copies of them when we got together last week, so I thought I'd share my favorites.

First, boys will be boys...
 

Jake holding Annie while she sticks out her tongue. That was one of her favorite things to do in June... I promise that wasn't a midriff shirt, she just wouldn't pull it down. :)
 

Best buds. I'm looking forward to Jake meeting a new best friend in class this year, since this friend is now at a different school.
  

Graduating Magna Cum Laude from Safety Town

Jake graduated from Safety Town this morning. You know, this was only a two-week camp. For two hours a day. No big, as Kim Possible might say. He dressed for his graduation day in an old hand-me-down shark t-shirt and his "Bum" shorts (which he calls "Boom"). Classy.

So, why is it that I teared up when they started playing "Pomp & Circumstance" as my child walked in??

I'll tell you why. Because someday that'll be my son graduating from high school. That little boy (the littlest in his group, actually) will someday be 17, walking across a stage to get his diploma. He'll be in a cap and gown, and most likely he'll have the same goofy "I'm-an-introvert-who-doesn't-want-to-be-up-here" expression. Hopefully, like this morning, he'll search the crowd looking for his mom. And just like today, hopefully I'll be able to keep back tears at least while he looks at me.

Of course, I'm hoping that when he graduates from high school, he's standing next to a pretty girl who wants to hold his hand (just like this morning with Lexi). :)

I'm reading too much into a Safety Town graduation, of course. I think a lot of moms did, though. I mean, really. "Pomp & Circumstance" is like Pavlov's bell for me. Play it, I cry.

A plug for Safety Town now. Jake LOVED this camp more than anything else he's done all summer. He's had a great time at all of his camps, but something about Safety Town really made him feel good. Maybe it was befriending police officers. Or the middle and high school instructors. Whatever made it special really made it work. He knows the Safety Town song about crossing the street and the chant about guns (Stop! Don't touch! Leave the area! Tell an adult!). He likes to point out strangers in stores (okay, I'm hoping that will stop). He talks about traffic lights and seatbelts every time we get in the car.

It's a wonderful program that he will definitely repeat next year. I highly recommend it to anyone with 5 and 6-year-old children. There are Safety Towns nationwide, although I can't find a link to any central group that organizes all of them. The best thing to do (I'm talking to you, Brandee) is to google "Safety Town" with your city name and state to see if there's something local.

One graduation down. Next I'll have to make it through Kindergarten graduation next spring...

Mini-Ike

I'm too exhausted tonight to write about all the emotion I feel when I think about my baby sister going to college tomorrow. It really hit me tonight when I hugged her good-bye after eating dinner with my parents and Caitlin. It's not like she's going very far away...but it will be a new world for her. College was such a growing experience for me. I can't wait to see who Caitlin becomes. Of course, she's perfect as is.

So this is a short blog to write about something Jake did while we were at Nana and Granddaddy's house. Apparently, the "director gene" is hereditary. Tonight while the rest of us ate dinner, Annie played on the floor. At one point, she took Jake's wand (it was a wooden spoon; he'd been watching Harry Potter), and he took it back from her.

Annie frowned and whined a little. Jake took his bread from his plate, which apparently was doubling as both a slate board and a camera.

He pointed at Annie with the bread, said, "Okay, action! Now, cry," and started "filming" (by putting his bread up to his eye).

And she did.

So we've got a director AND an actress for offspring. What in the world did they inherit from me??

Bono dances with George Bush & The Pope

Came across this video while on my way to an equal waste of time (Yahoo games). Very fun to watch, Annie and I sat through this one, Gwen Stefani singing Mulberry Bush, Green Day singing Skinnamarink, and Dave Matthews singing Frere Jacques.

The Mother Goose Rocks webpage also has a place to make your own video with their clips. Jake didn't care for watching the cartoons, but I think he'll like making his own.

Movie Article

My dad pointed me in the direction of an article in the Winston-Salem Journal about the movie for which Ike is script supervisor. If you're interested, the article is here.

You have to register to read it on the website, so I've posted it here (I hope that's not breaking some big law or something...) That oh-so-appetizing picture is from the shoot...yuck.




Sunday, August 13, 2006
Little Suspense: Downtown Winston-Salem chosen as right place for a horror thriller

By Mark Burger
JOURNAL ARTS REPORTER



On some nights, it's dead in downtown Winston-Salem. That's the perfect atmosphere for a horror thriller, which is precisely what the makers of Fall Down Dead are doing in town.

Director Jon Keeyes and a cast headed by Dominique Swain, Udo Kier and David Carradine have descended upon Winston-Salem to make the sort of Christmas film that is more likely to spread dread than holiday cheer.

The story takes place on Christmas Eve, with an American city rocked by a series of ritualistic murders committed by "the Picasso Killer." This fiend (played by Kier) specifically stalks his targets with the express purpose of turning them into works of art ... the sort that one doesn't see hanging in a gallery.

"We're not treating Fall Down Dead as a campy B-movie," Keeyes said. "We're definitely trying to make a studio-level suspense thriller in the Hitchcock mold and mix it with a touch of the more visceral - like Saw or Seven."

When Picasso targets and pursues a single mother (Swain), she looks for help from two police detectives (Turkish-actor Mehmet Gunsur and R. Keith Harris of Greensboro) and an eccentric security guard (Carradine) - but that endangers their lives, too.

Budgeted at less than$1 million, Fall Down Dead is the first of Keeyes' films not to be shot in Texas. He said the decision to film in North Carolina was made more attractive by the state's incentives for filmmakers.

The production is scheduled to continue at locations around town over the next two weeks. A release date for the film has yet to be set.

"Winston-Salem has been an absolute blast," Keeyes said. "I've been telling people just how friendly the people are. That has been the best experience of the shoot so far - that, and how professional the crew is. They've brought great enthusiasm and experience to the table.

"We've got a nice mixture of talent from out of town and local talent," said Keeyes, whose credits include American Nightmare (2002), Suburban Nightmare (2004) and the forthcoming hostage thriller Living & Dying. "The actors are so talented and professional that it makes your job so much easier."

Carradine is best known for TV's Kung Fu but he is also a veteran of more than 120 feature films. He said, with a wry smile, that he had turned down this role more than once.

"Finally, to get them off my back more than anything else, I said yes."

Now the patriarch of one of the most esteemed acting clans in America, Carradine is looking forward to the release of his book The Kill Bill Diary, a journal of his experiences working with Quentin Tarantino on the two Kill Bill films, in which Carradine played Bill.

Gunsur, Fall Down Dead's leading man, is from Turkey and is one of Europe's hottest young actors. He said he's a fan of horror films and is glad to be starring in one. His character is very much a flawed hero - a hard-driving detective whose intensity has cost him his marriage.

"He chose to be a good cop instead of a good husband," Gunsur said, "and he still feels remorse about it."

Also in the cast are several actors based in the Piedmont Triad, among them Harris, who played a good-natured small-town minister in last year's Junebug. In Fall Down Dead, he plays a cop on the edge.

"He's got a lot of emotional swings and a lot of rage," Harris said, "and his anger ultimately gets the best of him."

Harris, who lives in Winston-Salem, makes no secret of his pleasure that more films are being made here and throughout the state. "It's now become an economically viable entity in North Carolina, and there's a great infrastructure for film production."

The film crew includes a number of students and faculty members from NCSA's School of Filmmaking, including cinematographer Richard Clabaugh.

"There is a thriving arts school in the community, where there are talented people who have promise and who want to work," said producer Ron Gell, a veteran of independent films whose credits include the critically acclaimed To Sleep With Anger (1992).

"They've brought a lot of good will to the project, and in the indie world, good will goes a long way."

• Mark Burger can be reached at 727-7370 or at mburger@wsjournal.com.

Thanks, Dad!

They're called BOO-BOOS

Most days seem action-packed these days. I don't know exactly what transpired inside Jake's brain the day he turned 5, but he seems to be full of energy now. He wakes up talking and playing, he plays hard all day, then at the end of the day, he sleeps hard. No more naps in the afternoons, but an early bedtime that I've come to appreciate (especially since I'm not 5...I don't have that energy).

Yesterday was no exception. He spent the morning bored with me at home, until a friend called to take me up on an offer to keep her little boy for a few hours. She e-mailed me to thank me last night, but really I should be thanking her. She saved Jake from an afternoon of boredom and me from having to transform another Transformer...

Last night we went to our neighbor's ice cream party, which she won from Edy's Ice Cream. This was the second year our neighborhood won, so I'm thinking this is a great tradition. Our local firemen** joined us, which the kids loved. They got a call during dinner, which was a big thrill for us, since they set off with sirens going from our street. I'm sure neighbors were out on their front porches all through the neighborhood, trying to figure out which house was on fire... At any rate, it's too bad for the people who had the emergency, but wow, cool. We got to see firemen in action***.

We were all exhausted by the time we got home from the party. I got Annie bathed and ready for bed, then fell asleep while nursing her. Meanwhile, Ike got Jake showered and ready for bed too.

So (and here's where the title of this post finally comes in), imagine my confusion when I woke up in Annie's room to hear my son say, "My boobs are all better now."

I heard Ike choke back a laugh and say, "They're called boo-boos, Jake."

All better now.


**Note: These were not the firemen that showed up. But I can't find a picture of them in a calendar, and isn't this more fun?
***Note: These firemen aren't actually in action, they're just standing around. But I think that's okay...

Life with a 5-year-old

Tonight while Ike was getting ice for his tea at dinner, he said to me, "You know what? We have a five-year-old..."

I said that yes, we do.

And he said, "So I won't even ask why there's a skeleton key in our freezer."

Yep, just a day in the life.

Stranger Danger!

So today in Safety Town, the kids learned about Stranger Safety. Jake told me in the car that he should yell and run away from strangers if they approach him, and if they try to give him something, he should not take it, then he should run away.

I asked him what to do if the stranger tried to give him candy.

He said he wouldn't take it, then he would run away.

I asked him what to do if a stranger tried to give him a Transformer...

He got quiet. Then he said, "I'd take the Transformer. And then I would run away."

Aha. Now we know at what price my child can be bought.

In other news...we met a friend for lunch and at the science center after Safety Town. The science center now has Goliath Beetles...one of the largest insects in the world.



Yuck.

Definitely has a big brother

While many 7-month-olds probably spend their time playing with rattles and stuffed animals, Annie seems to prefer the swords and Transformers. Right now she's chewing on a plastic sword, ignoring the rattle I put beside her.

This girl is completely in love with her big brother. :)

Eat Your *@$%ing Breakfast...Or "Mommy In The Morning"

Okay, so I'm not a morning person. I admit it freely, so I don't need any comments from anyone I've ever lived with (that includes Anonymous and Ike). I'm not a morning person, coffee only slightly helps, and I honestly believe it's all your fault (meaning anyone and everyone) that mornings are so bad. Or at any rate, I believe that until about 10am, then for two hours I feel guilty for being so mean.

But tell me this. Does it make sense to you that a kid can have breakfast in front of him for an hour or more and NOT eat it? Does it make sense to you that after his mother tells him to eat for an hour, he then starts crying about being hungry when she says it's time to go? Does that make sense? If it does make sense to you, remind me not to speak to you before noon.

An hour. One biscuit and a banana. Should be plenty of time.

Anyway, in other news...This morning I dropped Jake off for day 4 of the two week camp, Safety Town. Jake loves this camp. The first morning he came home saying that he wants to be a policeman when he grows up. The second day he told me all the important reasons to wear seatbelts (ironically, that was the one day I started to drive off without buckling him in. I swear I never do that...). Yesterday he demonstrated how to cross a street.

And not only is he learning, but apparently he's meeting...friends. This morning as I was leaving (after complaining to Jessica and Tracy about the breakfast issue), I saw him playing some sort of tag game with his group. He stood in one place while all the girls rushed over, grabbed him and hugged him.

Huh. I think I know men who dream about playing that game (with older girls, of course)...

Vineyard Spam Salad

I love that gmail puts ads and article teasers on my email page. They pull out words from my emails and match them. Like when I get a message from my Mom's Group, the sidebar will say something like, "Are you a Normal Mom? Take this Quiz and Find Out." My favorite is when I go in to clear out my Spam. I get a new Spam recipe each time. The Vineyard Spam Salad starts with "Combine grapes, spam, peapods and onions in large bowl..."

Yummy.

This post isn't really about Spam. It's about my son's bad teeth, my bad motherness, and the evils of Sprite.

Or...it's about our trip to the dentist today.

Jake's 6-month-cleaning was this afternoon at his dentist. He was so good, but a little mouthy. (haha, mouthy at the dentist...) Not in a bratty way, but he was very open in a way I didn't expect. He told the dental assistant all about himself, including (okay, limited to) a list of every Transformer he owns and every one he wants. When he got a prize from the prize box, he told her how each toy related to a toy he already had. She asked if he wanted the fake money from the prize box, and he said, "I'm rich. I have lots of monies already." I just want to know where this money is that he insists he has???

When the dentist came out, she said that Jake has two small cavities in teeth that are close together in the back. I pointed out all the silver in Jake's teeth already and asked if perhaps this could be hereditary...given that his dad has had so much tooth trouble. She thinks that perhaps Jake is lacking a certain enzyme in his saliva that is supposed to kill plaque-causing bacteria...

Ewww.

At any rate, "they" (you know, the people who make things) are in the process of making a vaccine for people without this enzyme. She said a kid like Jake would be first on the list for that.

Yep. What my child needs is another shot. In his mouth. Great.

Now you know, of course, what Ike said when I got home, right? Well, you know if you're a mother or if you're friends with a mother who tells you what fathers say. He said, "You do brush his teeth, don't you?"

No, actually, I never do. They're just baby teeth. They'll fall out anyway.**

And finally, Sprite is evil. Today when Dr. Dentist asked me what Jake likes to drink, Jake answered that he likes Crystal Light. Smart kid--he knows it's sugar-free. And he does like it, but I pointed out that he likes Sprite even more. Dr. Dentist said a recent study shows that Sprite is worse for teeth than Coke because of the citric acid it contains. She said Diet Sprite is just as bad for the same reason. Not that kids should be drinking Coke either, but now we know: no more Sprite for Jake.

So that's the dental visit in a nutshell. We'll be going back in a couple of weeks to fill those cavities. Do you set off metal detectors if you have enough of those??






**This is a joke. Of course I brush Jake's teeth. I was already feeling like a crappy mom because of my son's holey teeth, so this comment didn't make me feel better. But I'm not saying this to complain about Ike. Ike is doing this movie shoot right now and is gone every night and I miss him like crazy. He and I both help Jake brush his teeth, so I chalk this comment up to tiredness and frustration from a man who 1)is working 7pm-7am every night and 2)has had a lifetime of bad teeth and doesn't want to see his son deal with that too.

A New Look!

Thanks to Brandee's new look on her blog, I couldn't stop myself from changing mine. It was time for something new. See, that girl is me doing a little copywriting at a coffee shop. Just pretend the dog isn't there, and in its place there's a baby in a stroller. And pretend my hair isn't purple. And see? It looks just like me...

Thanks for the inspiration, Brandee.

Annie's on the move and Jake's in the shower!

Ike and I spent last night and most of today in Raleigh for a friend's wedding. We had a great time, but wow, what a whirlwind trip. Thanks for letting us be a part of it, Wendy. The service was beautiful, the reception was fun, and our hotel room was kid-free. :)

While we were gone, Annie started driving.









Well, that's not entirely true, but she DID start crawling. Papa was the first to see it happen, then when we picked the kids up tonight, she was crawling quite a bit. She seems to drag one foot along behind the other most of the time, but the girl is crawling for sure. Jake was 10 months old before he crawled (quite possibly because I never put him down...), so I wasn't ready for this yet.

Jake has had his own new first this week. First, second, and third, actually. Jake is now showering. He tried a shower instead of a bath for the first time Thursday night. When I asked him if he enjoyed the shower, he said, "I LOVED my shower! I want to shower every day for the rest of my life!" Good sign...he'll be clean.

Ike got a new job yesterday, too. He'll be script supervising (I think I can make that a verb...) a movie in Winston-Salem for a few weeks, then he'll be working for the City of Greensboro at their tv station. These both are very good things, so we're excited about the future.

Between Ike's new job(s), Jake's cleanliness, Annie's mobility, my new business...How in the world will I fit just this one month in the Christmas letter this year??