Wickedly Good Fun

Ever take your car in for an oil change, and get the dreaded “we’ve found some other things that need attention” line? Yep, it was our turn again, so that means you are safe for another week.

Truthfully, our “beloved” Pathfinder is going off of warranty in approximately 40 miles so thought we’d get it in for a good ole’ look under the hood. The good news is that they found some warranty type items, meaning that the Pathfinder will be at the dealership for the weekend and beyond. The bad news is that the Pathfinder needs some maintenance line items too (fairly typical stuff for 100,000 mile car).

What Dan and I love is the conversation that ensues with the dealer. The dealer earnestly tries to explain what this and that is, and what it does, etc., etc. Dan and I glaze over (we’re a mechanic's dream). If the mechanic says we need it, we say, “Sure! Cool!” Before I jump on board though, I always call Dan and ask his opinion. Today his answer was perfect: “Susan, does the rotary gerder need to be replaced? If they tune up the flux capacitor will it still generate 1.21 jigawatts of electricity if the Pathfinder goes 88 miles per hour?” This is why I love Dan. He’s so damn funny, and he’s nailed it right on. We don’t have a CLUE (moments like these make us really miss Joel. Joel, please come back to Longford Road!). Too, if you “got” these movie quote references than we’re friends for life. If not, go rent Tommy Boy and Back to the Future—two classics that everyone should be able to quote when the mechanic calls!

Aside from car woes, we’ve had a pretty great week. Of note, the doctor called and confirmed the tech’s positive read on our baby girl; I got to see Wicked for free with a good friend of mine; I quit my “sanity” job because it wasn’t providing me any sanity; and it’s Friday, and Ave and I are cruising around in the red car (as she lovingly calls it). It’s a tight squeeze for now, but we’ll get by.

Hope this finds you laughing up life’s not-so-funny moments. Can’t wait to see what passes our way next!

Our girls

We learned tonight that Avery is going to have a little sister. We saw a gorgeous girl bouncing around on the monitor, and she put on a good show. She was in a breech position, so was a little modest in showing us her parts. The technician was persistent, and got a good look, and told us…”it’s another girl!”

Along with her “parts,” the baby measured out beautifully, and the tech said that she looked great. We’ll hear the doctor’s opinion in a few days, but left the appointment feeling very reassured.

In the meantime, Dan’s in the market for a shotgun (only for intimidation purposes of course!)

Pink or Blue

July 23 is finally here. We’ve been anxiously anticipating this day for weeks. Today we find out if the baby is healthy, and if he or she is a.…well…….he or she. Gratefully we’ve been so caught up in our day-to-day that we haven’t been dwelling on the baby. So in some ways we feel as though we’ve been waiting for months for this day, and in another sense, it is almost as if the day has crept up on us.

This past week has been a whirlwind. Dan was in Nebraska Tuesday through Thursday, and then was pretty much “out of town” Friday and Saturday with work-related events. Dan’s even declared that “things have been so busy, I think I’m going to blog about it!” Ha! We’ll have to see if this nay-sayer jumps on board!

Avery has been a little more spicy than usual. I don’t know if she has had too much mommy time lately or what, but she’s been “throwing down” (tantrums) quite a bit. Maybe another pesky tooth? Maybe bored? Maybe hungry? It is those moments that I feel that so much is still lost in translation. I wish the kid could say: “Mom, my mouth is killing me—dose me up!” “Mom, we’ve gotta do something else—I’m bored!” “Mom, stop! I’ve gotta eat!” She’s come so far in vocalizing her needs, but still has a way to go. Gratefully, Grammie and Papa saved my tush again, and took the Avery reigns last Tuesday thru Thursday (we needed a little more Pleasantville). Avery scoped out Bloomington’s Children’s Museum, and played in the water at State Farm Park—even exhibiting more and more bravery with her water wings.

As for today, we’ll just idly wait, and wonder if we’ll be announcing, “it’s a girl, it’s a boy.” Our intuition says girl. In the meantime, Dan’s home today, and I can’t think of a better way to kick off the week.

Til pink or blue.

What We Do For Our Kids

Dan has been very busy with work lately, so I decided to take Avery to a Ralph’s World concert on Saturday. For those of you that aren’t familiar with Ralph, he does little mini-concerts/shows on the Disney Channel. He sings silly kid songs that Avery thinks are pretty cool. So, on Saturday, I figured, “hey, a couple of our playgroup friends will be at the concert and Avery loves Ralph’s World, so why not?”

Well, it seems that 4,000 others had the same idea, and as we got closer to the concert site, I saw the lines and lines of SUV’s and minivans, many of which were jamming out to Ralph tunes. Although we were there well in advance of the concert starting, we parked a good mile out from the concert site (well, it felt like a mile—the rough terrain, and Avery in tow made it feel like a mile plus!)

So, we left the minivan lot and headed toward the concert area. I couldn’t help but notice all the strollers and wagons—WOW. I thought, “Okay Avery, you better love this!”

The concert started and Avery sort of liked the first song. Then she sat in my lap, and started grabbing my face and saying “bye-bye?” Perhaps it was the heat? Maybe the loud music, or the 4,000 other attendees?

You know what’s funny about a kid’s rock concert? When you look around many of the kids are just kind of hanging out. You know who’s jamming? You’re right: the parents. It was then (six songs later, towing Avery back to the car), it came to me: “Gosh, what we do for our kids!” We often look like dummies, and go to a kid’s rock concert. But isn’t that part of what this is all about, loving our kids, and, at times, looking foolish in the process? At least this is self-realization foolishness. Many years from now Avery will likely be telling me how foolish or dumb she thinks I am. And I’ll likely say, “You’re right.”

On a much more serious and somber note, Dan’s grandfather passed away on Friday evening. Although he had been ill for sometime now, the reality and permanency of death can still be difficult to fully embrace and acknowledge.

So, while Dan’s gone Avery and I will do our best to stay busy. One thing’s for sure: no more concerts.

Kitty Conundrum

Tick, tock, tick, tock……..that’s all I hear lately. Of course, the clock is ticking until the baby arrives, and the ticks (and tocks) are getting louder and louder each day. Louder than the baby ticks are the kitty ticks. Yes, we’re doing it---our cats are leaving us next Monday evening. The good news is that they are going back to the Buddy Foundation (the foundation that we originally got the cats through). The cats will live in a foundation home until they are adopted out. I spoke with the foster home lady a few nights ago, and she sounds super, which helps the 5% of me that feels badly about all of this.

We’ve had the cats for five years, and they are great animals. So why are we shirking our responsibility? Numerous reasons----mainly, the cats have been acting out lately and haven’t been using their litter box reliably (likely because they’ve felt a shift in their “place” in the house). To make matters worse, Avery has come across many of these incidents before I have, and well, use your imagination (and, and yes, we’ve had to call poison control (AGAIN)). All of that aside, we’re adopting them out because we feel that there is a better home out there for them than we can provide, and we believe that the Buddy Foundation is just the place to get the job done. Our hope is that this will be a win-win for all of us.

Until then, Avery will continue to “love” Edy. We’re still surprised that Edy lets Avery pick up her up. Does this prove how desperate Edy is for attention? Cheers to you kitties----it’s been a great run.

Two Mondays, Two Fridays, and a fourth

Don’t you love a “Saturday” in the middle of the week? In many ways it feels as though this week is made up of two Mondays, two Fridays, and a Saturday in between. We love weeks like this.

We started today (the 4th) with a breakfast gathering at our friend’s home in Wheaton, followed by the Wheaton parade (yes, we’re Wheaton wannabes—maybe someday!). This was Avery’s first parade, so we weren’t sure how it would go. And, we were pleasantly surprised—she loved it! Her favorites were the police cars, fire trucks, the animals (including an elephant), and anything music-related. She does her little music jig, which looks sort of like the 80’s robot dance.

Avery’s two-year doctor’s appointment was on July 3, and all checked out well. She performed well for the doctor, and all looks to be on track. She shot up another four inches since her 18-month appointment. Many who see her agree: Avery just looks taller, and more grown up. It’s happening right before our very eyes, and we often pause, and think, “WOW. When?” and “Where were we?”

Enjoy the rest of the fourth! I think Dan and I will be enjoying the fireworks from our backyard—Avery’s zapped!

Pleasantly Pleasant

We were Bloomington-bound this past weekend, and had a terrific time. The weekend included bike rides (with Avery in tow), golfing, pool, good food and water park fun. I was even able to knock out a few pesky errands without Avery (which is always a bonus!).

We often refer to Bloomington as Pleasantville (because Bloomington seems quieter, cleaner, and less congested). Too, my parents often pick up the tab so not only do we have fun, we have free fun. There’s a funny family joke, that in Bloomington, “Everything is free!”

And how’s Avery’s hair? After some serious hair washing, Avery’s hair is back to normal. And, in case you’re wondering, Avery’s hair washing regimen included baking soda, cornstarch, dish soap, and clarifying shampoo. Petroleum jelly is very, very difficult to remove, but we’ve managed.

Enjoy your week, and Happy 4th of July!