Sometimes, when kids say something cute, we try to corner them into saying those things again. And again. And again.
So it is with Jet's version of "I like you, varmint!".
He's onto us, though. He won't say it. Instead, he hollers, "I'm not a vomit, I'm [Jet]!", and makes you say it using his name instead. Again. And again. And again.
Hmmm... who's being cornered?
Friday, February 23, 2007
I'm not a vomit!
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Happy Birthday!
So... Blogger publishes posts with the time that they were started. I started this on the morning of the 22nd, and kept coming back to it all day long. It is now the evening of the 23rd. I thought I would be able to throw this together and publish it and honor my dad nicely for his birthday. It was harder to do than I thought it would be, though much of that could be attributed to my perfectionistic tendencies.
Anyway, I finally finished it. Happy (belated) Birthday, Daddy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today is my Dad's birthday. I shopped a couple of different places for a birthday card for him, but was feeling kinda tired of the store-bought, canned birthday wishes. I did finally settle on one that said he's a wonderful dad, in spite of how he may not get all the recognition he deserves, which is very, very true, and I agree with every word it said. Knight and I both signed it and I helped Jet sign it... but I thought I'd do something a little more personal.
Hilarious
Admirable
Prosperous (in more ways than one)
Praying man
Youthful
Best PaPa ever
Inspirational
Real doctor
Thoughtful
Honorable
Debonair
Advice-giving (good advice, and with good timing, too!)
Yummy steak-griller
Thank you for being such a wonderful Daddy and PaPa. Sometimes when I watch you playing with Jet, or reading to him, or watching videos on your phone with him, I get all teary-eyed. I finally understand what you really mean when you tell me that you love me. Thank you for loving me and thank you for saying it so often.
Thank you for partnering with Mom to guide me through life, for being an incredible role model, and for having a sense of humor throughout it all.
I love you (MOAF).
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
New words
Jet continuously amazes me with how fast he's learning so many different things. His language development is my current fascination.
He moved up into the Twos and Threes class at his playschool about two months ago, and his sentence structure and vocabulary are much more complex. We noticed the difference in about two weeks.
I love, love, LOVE that he can communicate so well with us. He really can tell me anything he needs/wants to tell me. I think it has a lot to do with us (and his playschool teachers) teaching him a few signs at an early age. He could sign "more" and "please" consistently at nine months old, and we added a few more along the way. I think it eliminated much of the grunting, random gesturing and fit-pitching that is common with some toddlers as they learn how to talk... or I could just be blessed with a very even-tempered kid (which he is, as well).
Back to the topic... He has said two new words in the last couple of days that really threw me for a loop; what really gets me is that he used them both correctly. Yesterday, he said, "Actually, we turned left," when we were in the car. This evening, he used the word "exactly".
What TWO year old does that? At first I was proud of him, like I am with almost all of his new accomplishments (the good ones, anyway). Then it got me to thinking... is he growing up too fast? He really is a smart kid, in an I-can't-trick-him-into-getting-him-to-do-what-I-want-him-to-do sort of way. He almost can't be bribed anymore, either. What if I'm turning him into some kind of geek? Do I expect too much of him and force him to grow up too fast?
I know I have really, really high standards for my high school students; I treat most of them almost as if they're college students. Maybe now I have a bit of understanding when parents ask me, "Do you really think they're capable of handling this/that/the other like you're asking them to do?" or "Don't you think we're pressuring them too much?".
Maybe I'm just rambling a bit, here... (upchucking words, as it were)... I just know that a big part of me wants Jet to enjoy his childhood as much as possible. There are many, many years down the road for him to be all responsible and stuff.
Another big part of me, though, wants to be sure he understands what that responsibility is all about, and I'm a firm believer that some of those skills are learned at a very young age.
Sometimes I feel like I grew up too fast, like I don't know how to stop being responsible and let loose and have fun, even for a short period of time... because that's all I've ever been: The Responsible One, The Oldest. (If you haven't read it, check out The Birth Order Book. To quote my Granny, "You'll find yourself in it." It really is interesting... but then, I'm a nerd.) I don't want Jet to be that way.
Fortunately, though, Knight is a balancing factor in all of this. He is most definitely a Youngest Child -- much more spontaneous and fun than I am.
Hopefully, God answers our prayers and grants wisdom as we need it... and Jet grows up to be a well-balanced man with the best of both worlds.
Whaaaa...t?
It is February 21st, at almost 8:00 at night, and we have the air conditioner on. I'm afraid I might have missed Spring, because it was 86 degrees here today.
Oh, wait! That WAS Spring! Tomorrow it will be 106, and Summer, and I will yet again be paying the high price for enjoying our mild winters.
(Just kidding. It won't be 106 tomorrow. I hope. We usually hit that temperature somewhere in mid-May.)
Sleeping and groceries and budgets, oh my
Jet is making progress on The Plan. He's falling asleep in his own bed; most nights we don't really have to argue with him.
However, he's become quite stealthy during Operation Climb into Mommy and Daddy's Bed in the Middle of the Night. I don't even know he's there until my alarm goes off at 4:45. This realization makes me wonder if it's worth fighting the battle. Originally, the problem was that he was keeping me awake. If I don't know he's there, then...???
But I really would like for him to sleep in his own bed all night, because it's what he's Supposed To Do. Also, when we do have another baby, I'll need to be able to get up with him/her and not worry about Jet waking up. So, it would be nice if he was in that habit before the baby comes. Plus, I don't really know if the three of us and my pregnant belly will all fit in that bed. (No, we're not expecting. Yet.)
I've started looking at Fredericksburg for a get-away spot. Their city website has a neat link that helps you plan your visit. I've never been to Fredericksburg for any length of time, but others have said that it's a nice place to visit.
Updated: Mir replied on WantNot! Go read about her pretty, brilliant ideas!
I've discovered something this week: If I take a few minutes to sketch a plan of what we're having for dinner each night during the week, then I have a better idea of what to buy when I go to the grocery store, instead of kind of assumming I'll have everything on hand. If I actually get the things necessary to cook those meals, there's an increased chance that I'll actually cook them, thus lessening the odds that we'll go out to eat and blow our budget.
You can stop laughing now.
I've been struggling to get a budget together because Knight got a new job in December wherein he gets paid weekly. All of our married life, we've been paid monthly. So, for five years, whenever I decided to do a budget, I just looked at one payday (or possibly two), subtracted the bills and groceries and gas, and divvyed up the rest for debt reduction and fun money. This weekly-paycheck-plus-one-monthly-paycheck has really thrown a wrench in things for me. I spent about 10 hours over a couple of weeks putting together a new budget. I have a new determination to stick to the budget because I've poured so much sweat into it (okay, not really, because the computer would not like it) and because I'm proud of my brain for not exploding during the process.
Monday, February 19, 2007
What do zebras taste like?
Everyday Jet and I have pretty much the same conversation on the way home after I pick him up from his playschool. I ask him which friends and toys he plays with, whether or not he colored/ painted/ played play-doh, and what he had for lunch. Today had a twist because he was being silly.
Me: What did you have for lunch today?
Jet: Uhhh... Zebra!
Me: Zebra?
Jet: Yeah, zebra!
Me: Well, what does zebra taste like?
Jet: Uhhh.. Trees!
Me: Zebra tastes like trees?
Jet: Yeah!
Me: Well, what do trees taste like?
Jet: Zebra!
So there you have it, folks. In case you ever wondered.
Champagne taste on a beer budget...
... this is my problem.
Knight and I are toying with the idea of taking a weekend vacation. We'd like someplace within driving distance, an affordable (but nice) hotel room, and one nice place to eat. I'd like to stay two nights. We are considering San Antonio.
So, today being President's Day and all, I thought I'd look online to see about hotel rates. (Again, please email me if you see a connection.) Well! According to hotels.com, one is not allowed to stay near the Riverwalk unless one can shell out $200 a night for a room. Now, I don't really know what I expected, but I can tell you that wasn't it.
This would be really nice, but I think I'd die a slow death while I was there, thinking about how much it cost for each second that we slept there.
How does one create a Deluxe Standard Room? Is it Deluxe or is it Standard?
I'm also a firm believer that you get what you pay for, (unless you have a really, really great coupon or something) so we won't be staying here.
Things aren't any brighter at expedia.com.
I think I'll email the Lovely Mir at WantNot. She always has fabulous ideas, and she's pretty.
10 Weird Things About Me
I picked up the tag from Heather to list 10 weird things about me... So, here goes.
1. I have an unhealthy obsession with organization. I like everything to be in its place, all the time, and I heap undue amounts of guilt on myself when it isn't. I'm working on that, though. Having a two year old helps, I think.
2. When I was 15 and the Dallas Cowboys were at the beginning of their reign as Super Bowl Champs, I told my dad that I wanted to grow up and marry Troy Aikman. He said that if I could talk Troy Aikman into it, he'd sign all the papers so I wouldn't have to grow up first. Never happened.
3. I pray for my family every morning. That's probably fairly normal, but what may be weird is that I also pray for any and all of Jet's future girlfriends and his future wife. I pray that God will bless my son with wisdom and discernment, because all girls have cooties. Seriously, though, I fervently pray for male friends that will sharpen Jet, and wisdom on Jet's part to choose friends and girlfriends that would please God. I pray for his future wife, wherever she is, that God will bring friends into her life that will sharpen her and for wisdom and discernment for her parents to raise her in a Godly manner. My grandparents have prayed for me (and my siblings and family) daily for years, and I know that their efforts on my behalf have been worthwhile. It's very comforting to know that they have done that, and continue to do so. Hopefully, someday, the same thought will comfort Jet.
4. I think all feet (even my own) are yucky, except for Jet's. I love his cute toes, and love to kiss them (after he gets out of the bath). I even requested that my bridesmaids wear closed-toed shoes at my July wedding because I didn't want people to have to look at toes on the stage. (I know, that one is ridiculous, and I really wasn't Bridezilla, I promise.)
5. If I knew we could provide for all of them, financially and emotionally, I'd have half a dozen kids. Or more.
6. To follow up with #1, I also have an unhealthy obsession with The Container Store. Fortunately, the closest one is a 45-minute drive. I dream of winning the lottery, walking into the store and saying, "Yes, I'll have one of everything, and please come set it ALL up in my NEW house that has eleventy thousand closets in it."
7. I have to change the channel when I see one of those adopt-a-starving-kid commercials. They really get to me. I actually cried at the news stories of all the orphans after the hurricanes. I don't want to think about them because it raises all of the "Why, God?!?" questions. I know God is in control, but I don't want to dwell on the things that hurt.
8. I'm always thinking about my teaching. It runs in the background of my mind. Everything I see gets evaluated for possible integration into my lesson plans.
9. Most of my life, I have not liked chocolate. I liked it in small amounts, like in a Snickers bar, for example. Mostly, though, I haven't liked chocolate. Until recently. Suddenly, I really like it, and it ticks me off. I've always smugly reasoned that I was better than the chocoholics out there because that was one battle I didn't have to fight. No more. *sigh* Pride goeth before fall, or weight gain, or something like that.
10. Last, but not least, I can't stand loose hairs. I've never cleaned out a hairbrush or a comb. Once, Beezneez cleaned mine out for me but left the clump of hair on the brush as a prank. I didn't notice, and when I picked it up, the hair tumbled over my hand and down my arm to my elbow. I actually threw up. Honestly. Knight is wonderful because he cleans out my hairbrushes.
Psycho-babble
Hello, everybodeeeeee!
No, I haven't posted in almost a week. Yes, I feel bad about that.
Here is the problem: I sit down in the evening and check email, read other blogs, etc., and then visit my own blog. As I think back through my day, I don't really think much is blog-worthy (there may be some very deep psychological meaning to that, but I don't really think we have time to dig into it here).
There are many things that I intended to do with this blog; the primary reason I started it was to write cute things about Jet so that my family who lives far, far away could keep up with him. The problem with this is that, while there are many things he does on a daily basis that melt my heart and these are the things I would like to share, many of them do not translate well in this medium. I've decided not to post pictures of my family for various reasons, and most of the things that Jet does involve facial expressions or body movements that are downright, knee-slapping hilarious... but I'm not going to post them here.
Another problem I'm having can be illustrated by the reason why I don't use my major much. You see, I majored in Spanish in college. I was going to teach it, but then realized that my true love (academically speaking) is science, so I minored in biology, which is why I teach science instead of Spanish. During the course of my studies, I learned that there are two different methods of operation used by people who learn a second language.
I forget the names for each, but one type of person will just start upchucking words in an effort to get their point across. They aren't concerned about correct grammar, verb conjugation, etc. They just want to communicate. This is my husband. He is Hispanic, but did not learn Spanish as a child. This is another story, which I will post about later -- it has its funny parts. He picked up bits and pieces as a kid (mostly curse words), and then took a few hours in college (mostly not curse words).
The second type of person is very concerned about being correct. This one is me. I like to have the entire sentence put together correctly in my head before I open my mouth. Now, there's a lot that goes into this sentence-building thing, for those of you who don't speak another language. I would rather keep my mouth shut than come across as a fool stumbling through a sentence. (I'm not saying that people actually perceive me this way, but it's how I feel. I'm also not saying that that other type of person is a fool...) Again, there may be deep psyhcological meaning to this, but...
The good news is that I can pick up the language very quickly when I need to. If I'm in a situation where I need to translate for someone else, at the grocery store or the pharmacy or something, I can do that. If we go across the border to Mexico to do some shopping, I can communicate well. There's a lot of body language and gesturing and circumlocution (which is a very handy skill in playing Taboo, right, Beezneez?) involved, but I do well.
Are you still with me? Good. Here's the connection: I spend too much time worrying about how my writing will come across to other people. Will they think this is funny? boring? too detailed? not witty enough? useless drivel? I need to just do it.
So, today, being President's day and all, is a new day. (You figure out the connection. Please email me if there is one.) I'm just going to write because I like it and because I like to look back and see what I've written.
Onward!
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