The result when your wife is in the shower and you are busy eating breakfast and not realizing that your two-year-old son has discovered a fascinating interaction between a small ruler and a laptop:
In an effort to get Jet to eat his dinner the other night, Knight was telling Jet about his food.
K: "Carrots are good for your eyes! They help you see!"
J: "Yeah!"
K: "And cucumbers are good for your ears!" (yes, this is a little, um, misleading... )
J: "And cornbread is good for my BELLY!!"
Yep... that's about all it's good for, too. Except maybe your tastebuds.
We had a blast in Dallas on Saturday, even though I had three flake out on me. So, it was just me, the Bible teacher (who is one hilarious guy, and hereafter referred to as TBT), and four kids.
The Dallas World Aquarium was great, even though the manatee is no longer there, or at least refused to show himself. They've added tons of stuff since I was there a few years ago, including a forty-foot tunnel that you can walk through with a bull shark and rays swimming overhead. They had some awesome leafy sea dragons, jellyfish, a black jaguar, howler monkeys, a huge and very ugly goliath grouper, and some really pretty lionfish.
The four students we took are great students, and they were really into the aquarium. Somehow we entered from the wrong way and walked against the flow the whole time; we joked about that quite a bit. Pretty sure that'll be brought up and used against me at some point in class. :)
We ate lunch at TGIFriday's in West End, where we ended up in the bar because it was so crowded. While we were waiting, I snapped a couple of pictures, and afterwards I realized that there were rows of liquor bottles behind the kids in the photos. Nice. One of them commented that those definitely needed to be in the yearbook. I think not. (I can see the caption now: Science Club Sponsor Takes Students to Bar for Field Trip.)
Rather than waiting for a table, we stayed in the bar to eat. TBT and I sat AT the bar, while the kids sat in tables behind us. Interestingly, we ran into a guy that TBT knew from Austin - he had helped develop the curriculum that TBT is using this year. Small world.
I was pretty tired by this point, and it was a bit difficult to resist the Shiner Bock on tap that was ten feet to my right. That would have been so yummy and relaxing. TBT suggested a margarita. Ultimately, though, we decided to set good examples for the young'uns, and stuck to our Diet Coke and water.
We also had a great time at The Palace of Wax and Ripley's Believe it or Not. In the Ripley's part, where you first walk in, there's a mirror and a cool display about how some people can roll their tongue and others can't. It talks a bit about the genetics of it (yes, it's genetic) and encourages you to try to roll your tongue. The most hilarious part is that, after you've gone all the way through the thing, you get to the end and the mirror is TWO-WAY. You can stand there and watch other idiots try to roll their tongues and make stupid faces, while feeling first a little embarrassed for yourself and gradually progressing to feeling embarrassed for them. I had to practically drag the kids out the door -- I think they would have stayed there laughing at people for hours.
While we were in Dallas, I figured out that there is a Body Worlds exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Nature and Science. Because I don't have enough to do, I'm toying with taking some of my anatomy students to see it. I took last year's anatomy class to a different exhibit in Houston last year, and it was just incredible. It's graphic, but extremely educational and definitely leaves an impression. I'd love to see it myself. We nearly ditched the Palace of Wax to go this past weekend, but there's a substantial price difference between the two.
A good time was had by all, especially since TBT drove back to Austin. I don't do well in the afternoons -- I get tired and a bit cranky. He and I are alike in many ways, as he pointed out early that morning when I offered to drive up to Dallas if he would drive back. This is true - there's a mini contest to see who gets to the school earliest in the morning (or maybe that's in my head). The math teacher has us both beat. I think he gets there around 5:30 or some ridiculous hour like that. TBT and I are usually there around 6:45 or 7:00.
So, if you're going to be near Dallas anytime soon, check out the aquarium. It's amazing, especially if you have a TBT of your own to drive you home. :P
... the wonderful Manatee of Dallas.
How can I be up at the same stinkin' time I'm always up, but it seem soooooooooooo much earlier because it's a Saturday? I think my brain is playing tricks on me.
I'm taking some of my Science Club members to Dallas today. They've been selling snacks before school and doing other fundraisers all year, and this trip has been the major goal. So, after I juggled the school calendar and finally found a date that might not conflict with the zillion other clubs/athletic teams/etc (I even politely asked the theater teacher to move her cast party -- she was wonderfully gracious and said it really wasn't a big deal to push it to next week)... we are going to the Dallas World Aquarium and the Palace of Wax/Ripley's Believe it or Not.
I've been to both of those places when we were living in Dallas, and they're both cool. I actually took huge groups of students to the aquarium on field trips for three years running (like 200 students at a time). I look back on those field trips and just shake my head like What was I thinking!?!? Today's trip should be much more fun -- less stress. Because ask me how many kids I'm taking. Go ahead.
SIX. Out of 22 kids in my science club, only six decided to go. So, it's me, six kids, the Bible teacher, and one parent. I think it'll be a BLAST. Fewer kids = easier time deciding what to do for lunch, etc.
Knight and Jet have the whole day to themselves; the testosterone should be oozing from the cracks in the house by the time I get back at 9:00 tonight. I say that with glee for them -- Jet needs this kind of time with his daddy. I know they'll have a great day together.
Jet was in the bath this evening. I had my back turned, and he said, "It has balls in it!"
I was only half-listening to his chatter, but this caught my attention. I quickly recalled that he doesn't have any ball-shaped bath toys.
"What?" I asked as I turned around.
Yep, you guessed it. He was ... um... exploring. He repeated what he had said, and I immediately wondered who had taught him that word for his parts - a friend at daycare, maybe? Knight was in Jet's room across the hall, and joined the conversation.
K: "What did he say?"
D: "You heard him."
Meanwhile, Jet continues to describe his new discovery by repeating himself over and over. I could tell that Knight had been thinking the same thing I was.
I'm big on Jet knowing the proper words for things. I'm kinda worried that someday he'll have to describe where he's hurting to an emergency room doctor who wouldn't be able to interpret nicknames if somehow I wasn't standing right there. It's also important to us that he learn to not say offensive things if he overhears them.
Clearly, though, this was an innocent discovery because, well, um, they ARE just as he described them, and I could tell by the way he was saying it. I turned to Jet and told him that those words weren't the ones to use; he should call it his "scrotum".
J: "Scroto?"
D: "Scrot-UM."
J: (matter-of-factly) "Scroto."
From the other room, K: "Scroto Baggins?"
J: "Yeah! Scroto Baggins!"
All I could do was giggle... and sigh about the things they don't teach you when they say "It's a BOY!" in the delivery room.
... but don't want to think. I stumbled on this on another blog (that I also stumbled on), and thought it was rather insightful, except for the "truly adventuresome" part.
| You Are a Warrior Soul |
 You are picky about details and rigorous in your methods.You also value honesty and fairness a great deal.You can be outspoken, intimidating, headstrong, and demanding.You're a hardliner who demands the best from themselves and others. Souls you are most compatible with: Old Soul and Peacemaker Soul |
I know I should be working, but I stumbled on a post on another site listing funny baby videos. I had to share a couple of them!!
This baby is cracking up at his daddy playing golf on his Wii. This one laughs like an old man, and makes me laugh out loud every time. If you haven't seen this one with the powder toot, you're just behind the times (pun intended)!
Just in case you needed to laugh on this Monday-after-a-three-day-weekend, too. :-P
Today was a great Easter. It was the first Easter wherein Jet actually "got" the whole Easter-egg thing. We're working on the spiritual aspect, too, but I think he's a little young for the nuts and bolts of the Resurrection.
I went a tiny bit overboard on getting things for his Easter basket, and decided to put some things away for later, namely, the three coloring books, four canisters of play-doh, five of the six bottles of bubbles (What? They come in packages of six, okay!?!), and a couple of other things that I can't remember right now.
I picked out some Easter eggs for Jet that were sports-themed, patterned like soccer balls, baseballs, footballs and basketballs. I had gotten the same ones for him last year, and he played with them for months. I finally cleared them all out after we moved into our new house. In October.
I bought some Smarties candies to put in the eggs, because he really likes those. I also bought some Miniature Reese's Peanut Butter Cups to put in the eggs because I really like those. :D Also, did you know that you can buy bags of just black jellybeans?!? Eww. I bought some for Knight because he really likes them, but... just... eww.
I felt like an eejit, though, when I got ready to put the candy in the eggs because... guess what? Full-size Smarties rolls are approximately 1/4" longer than your average Easter egg. Doesn't seem to matter how you squoosh the roll, it just. doesn't. fit... unless you pulverize the candy in your frustration to jam the dumb roll into the blasted egg, reveling briefly in your triumph before realizing what poor kid wants to crack open an Easter egg to find a crumpled Smartie wrapper and Smartie-candy powder? What? You didn't need this advice?
Anyway, he had a good time finding all the eggs this morning. Knight had to be at church early for worship team rehearsal (he runs the sound board), so he missed out. I kinda feel bad about that, but I also wasn't interested in rousing the youngster at 6:30 this morning to do it before he left.
Is not liking Peeps genetic? Does anybody actually eat them or do they just go stale on pantry shelves in every house in America? I've never liked them. Jet doesn't either, apparently. He bit the ear off one bunny and promptly opened his mouth, letting the offending fluffiness fall directly on the carpet. For the record, I actually tasted them this year, for the first time since I was about 10. I'm almost 30 now, and I still think they're gross. Only, I actually swallowed my ear, because, you know, tactful people do that.
I think the sure sign that the boy had too much candy was when he ran no less than twenty laps around our living room after church. Not even kidding. Then he refused to take a nap (which really isn't anything new). Instead, he ran ten more laps. He ran a few more after dinner, then passed out in his PaPa's lap at 7:30.
I've hardly known what to do with myself since then. It's been so long since I've had an evening without wrestling him to bed... Suffice it to say that The Plan hasn't been going so well. We keep telling ourselves that it's because he's been sleeping in until the crack of 7:30. (Before, when he was going to bed so well, we were having to get him up at 6:00.) Lately, we've been lucky to get him to sleep by 9:00! I think PaPa should come over every night!
Jet telling me about the Easter Egg Hunt at his school yesterday:
D: Where did all these eggs come from?
J: The Easter Bunny came and hid all the eggs outside!
D: Really?!
J: Yeah, I cleaned them up for him.
We're supposed to have an egg hunt at our church tomorrow, but I'm pretty sure it's been canceled. The high tomorrow is 48, and it's supposed to rain. Last year, there was a picture of Knight and Jet in the local paper. It was so cute!
Things may have been quiet here on the blog, but definitely not in "real life". I think that's the reason why the blog has been quiet.
Down:
My great aunt passed away on Tuesday; she was 83 and ready to go home to Jesus after a lengthy illness. It's definitely a time of mourning for those still here, instead of for her. I wasn't close to her, but I went to the service Wednesday evening to be with my family. It was a nice service; lots of unfamiliar faces, but most of them knew who I was from pictures my aunt had. She loved her pictures!
Up:
I also bought this car for Jet's birthday! It was on super sale, marked down from $120 to $45 with free shipping. Thank you, Mir, for sharing the sweet deal! I had it shipped to my parents' house because it's a long time until June 21st, and storage is at a premium. My best whiny kid impersonation: Do I HAFTA wait until June to give it to him? He's gonna love it, and I can't wait to give it to him. I just hope I don't ratchet up the expectation of his reaction too high between now and then! I'm pretty sure it'll be the best present at the party, though. It's definitely his one and only gift from us.
I'm thinking I should buy a replica Hot Wheels car a couple of weeks before his birthday for us to play with. He loves cars (do you know a two year old boy that doesn't?)... Then I think it'll be awesome when he gets one big enough to ride in!!!
Down:
Knight was let go from his job yesterday morning. He worked for a small franchise computer-repair company as their small business specialist, setting up clients with networks, etc. He had already started looking for a new one, because it didn't seem like his boss was taking Knight's side of the business seriously (they also do residential computer repair and things). There was no money for advertising, his boss never "got around to" getting Knight's health insurance package put together... the list kind of goes on. He had been there four months.
I believe that this is a test of our faith; God wants to see if we're really walking the walk or just talking the talk about truly trusting Him to care for us. Are we truly seeking His plan for our lives? Are we going to wait on Him for guidance or panic and jump into the first money-making opportunity that comes along? We are determined to stay the course, praying for an overcoming of our unbelief. I love the story in Mark 9 about the father who brings his son to Jesus. Jesus tells him that "everything is possible for those who believe". The man's immediate response is "I believe! Help me overcome my unbelief!". We believe, but there are times when unbelief seems like it's winning the battle. So, we are praying for full faith in God and in His timing, because that is what is rewarded and "credited as righteousness".
Up:
Knight came home yesterday and did mounds of laundry, straightened up the house, vacuumed, and mowed the lawn! Yay, honey! Thanks for lifting that burden from me, even when you're going through the stress of having been let go. Isn't he amazing, folks? Let's give him a hand. No, really. I'll wait.
Did you applaud? Good. Because he deserves it!
Down:
Murphy was all over me yesterday at work; practically everything that could go wrong, did. So, I'm waaaaaaaaaaay behind on grading and other stuff. We have today off, but I'm going in for a little while this morning to get caught up and a few things ready for Monday. It's amazing what all I can get done when students aren't there and I don't have to actually teach! :-P
Up:
We have plans to get together with Deanna and Knight's side of the family this weekend; it will be a blast! We've really been trying to spend more time together; they live on the other side of Austin from us. It's not terribly far, but definitely too far just for dinner during the week, especially with the notorious traffic. So, we tend to get together for a whole Saturday.
That's the update for now!
