It's Anecdote Time. Hey, I Thought They Were Funny.

Every time I go to Little Caesar's to buy a pizza, I get overcharged. Now, it's true that it is really cheap pizza to begin with, cheaper than I can purchase any other place, and it's also true that I've only ever been overcharged there by a nickle, but still it rankles me.

Michael and I are doing the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace program this summer, and even though we don't plan to give up use of our credit cards as per Dave's instructions, we felt that for the duration of the class we really ought to use the envelope system as much as possible. Which is why I keep losing nickles. Because I've been paying cash. About which I have very mixed feelings.

But here's the sitch: Last week I was going to be smart about it. I couldn't quite remember whether the pizza was going to cost me $5.45 or $5. 55, and I didn't feel like looking it up or doing the math, which would have taken me two seconds, so I took what I had, which was a five dollar bill, two quarters and five pennies. The plan was to give her the change based on what she told me, and this time to be sure to ask for a receipt.

As I near the pick-up window I plan out exactly what is supposed to happen, but then I get to the window and all my plans fly out the window. The pizza costs $5.45. I give her all my money. She doesn't even look at it really, gives me no change. I ask for the receipt. "I should get some change," I tell her. "Didn't you give me $5.45," she asks. I tell her what I gave her and then I say...

Wait for it.

"I should get a nickle back." She complies and I say something to try to make sure she doesn't feel bad about it.

Crap, Crap, Crap.

"Mommy, what's wrong? What's wrong, mommy? What's wrong?" Isaac is in the back seat in the van with me. I'm so amused and frustrated with myself and Little Caesar's pizza that I have to call Michael about it. Which sparks even more questions of what's wrong from my two year old.

So this girl at the window isn't good at making change, but look, it's my money! And I used to work in retail. I know how to make change. It's my own damn fault! What outrages me and makes me laugh all at the same time is that I thought I was going to be all smart and not make a mistake. Epic Fail! Not only that, but the receipt doesn't even show what actually happened in the transaction.  I doubt it would matter to you, but it matters to me.

I meant for this story to be funny, so if I've failed to make it so, please gently let me know in the comments.

Two more anecdotes:

1. Parker is four years old. A couple of weeks ago we're at CHOM and I hear him say to the lady at the craft table, "I'm four years old, but some people think I look older."

2. We've had a daytime guest at our house over the last several weeks, a friend of ours who is using our computer to take an online class. He walks into the living room one afternoon and tells us that he's going to have to find a school-age child to interview, someone six or older, for a class. Parker sweetly offers his services as an interviewee, even though he's younger than the lower age limit: "I'm tall!"

Computers, video streaming, etc.

We bought a new laptop computer, and Michael and I have traded so that I am now using the new Dell laptop, while he has taken over the less new Acer.  This seems to work out well for the both of us as he needs the wider screen for web design, and I need the better speakers for what I do, watch a lot of tv.  Actually I have less time for tv lately, which is a good thing. 

I like the smaller screen, smaller keypad, and lighter weight of the Dell, which makes it ever the slightly more portable.  I might take this one with me to the coffee shop, if I ever decided it was worthwhile to write there. I like that it doesn't have any crud under the buttons yet.  And I like that it's cover is blue.  It helps too, since we now need an additional laptop, we already own this one.

Michael bought the Dell laptop almost by mistake.  We were trying to decide whether or not to send it back, when the window of opportunity for that possibility closed.  We thought about selling it on ebay. Now we have a reason to keep it. 

[Parker is momentarily standing in the hallway at 9:15 p.m. trying to convince Michael that he couldn't possibly sleep in his own room tonight.  It would be cuter if he hadn't already been in bed for over an hour and a half.]

As far as the television is concerned, I am practically run over now that the networks have picked up their Fall seasons.  The ability to time-shift viewing patterns is wonderful.  The way the interesting television shows begin to pile up in my Hulu queue is less wonderful.  Because I'm one of those people who actually like television.  Not everyone who watches it does, you know.  Not only do I like it, but I am also usually (if not always) an active viewer of television.  I like movies too.  My mom points out that I don't have to watch them, but don't I?  Is it enough to pretend that I won't pick up any new ones?  Who am I kidding?

Repair Bear, We Hope

A few days ago I posted on facebook that Isaac had thrown his bear into the toilet.  This morning, from a seated position on the floor, in my husband's lap, Isaac lobbed his brother's bear across the room and into the toilet.  Yes, it's true that the bear now smells of pee, but I can't just throw it in the washing machine and here's the reason why.

A few days ago Parker's bear began hemmoraging filling beads from a hole in it's lower back.  This bear is so loved that he has been stitched up numerous times already, and there are runs like you'd get in panty hose all over his back.  His fur is long gone, as is the brown neck ribbon that Parker used to pull at with is teeth.  My husband is now attempting to restuff the bear with filling beads using a drinking straw, which works much better than the paper funnel he originally fashioned.

My son cannot sleep all night without his bear.  He's done it exactly once.  The second time we tried it he woke up in the night looking for his bear.  We are not ready to try the experiment again so soon.  When he finishes the refilling, we'll sew up the hole using travel sewing kit thread.  Then I'll stick him in a lingerie bag and throw him in the washing machine using Tide with Bleach (because that is what I have) and cold water.  I plan to repair the bear with a scrap of fabric held on with semi-permenant fabric glue.  I'm not exactly the patch and mend type, which is why Michael is doing the sewing, and I'll be using whatever fabric I can scavenge.  I'll have to figure out a way to cut the fabric in whatever odd shape is required for fit, keep the fabric from unravelling, and convince Parker not to pull the fabric away with his fingers.  My genius idea for repairing the bear on Thursday was with masking tape.  We really seem to know what we're doing here, don't we?

Parker loves to jump on the bed

Yesterday Parker held Isaac for the very first time. Maybe now that he's six months old it's a little less scary for Parker. Isaac has also been practicing rolling over as you will see below.




Monday morning, as we were driving to the church to deliver something, we came to our turn onto Hargrove Road. Parker pointed to the left and said, "That way to the church." Then he pointed to the right and said, "That way to Granna's house, and to the Gleasons." Parker has such a great memory. We haven't even been to the Gleason's house in months and months.

I wish he didn't love jumping on the bed quite so much though.

Timing-Provision/God has been Very Good

Isaac, gentleman that he is, waited to arrive until after Michael's immediate obligations as special events deacon at Grace had been fulfilled. He chose to come before my Dad had to commit to whether or not he would travel to New Orleans to lecture for the Marine Corp. He waited until after Michael and I had the opportunity to go to lunch alone together just that afternoon.

I have often been disappointed in thinking about the neat ways God hasn't provided for us and for our needs. He's never given me an automobile out of the blue (something I have always dreamed would happen). He's never given us a specific amount of money immediately before or after we have needed.

But here's what He has done.

We needed a baby bed and mattress for Isaac to sleep on. John and Linda are loaning us a bed. Cori has provided a mattress. We needed a place for Isaac to sleep until he's old enough to make it through the night without nursing, when he'll join Parker. Shelly bought us a bassinet for a dollar at a yard sale. We needed a cover for the bassinet. Elizabeth had that would fit.

The automatic breast pump I need to establish nursing has been provided without cost beyond it's use of electricity. Heather and Anna Grace were available without question to spend parts of the night with Parker the night Isaac arrived.

Isaac has diapers because Michael's office gave us a diaper shower the Friday before Isaac was born. Linda watched Parker while I got my driver's license renewed only the weekend before.

Anna gave me clothes to wear the last couple of months of my pregnancy. Isaac has clothes to wear because Laura and Tina and Elizabeth and others gave us their old ones. Isaac has his own new blankets thanks to Pam and others. My parents live close by so there was never any question of where Parker would stay while Michael and I were at the hospital with Isaac.

Our kitchen range was dying, and so Michael's parents helped us to purchase a new one over Thanksgiving. My parents have bought us groceries since Isaac has been here, as well as various household needs. My mom often buys me clothes when I need them and she's available to help me with the boys until I adjust to nursing with a two year-0ld in the house. Daniel and Shannon were able to be here the day Isaac arrived.

Our mortgage is low, which as been a tremendous help in coping with the rising costs of living. We get the dependant tax exemption for 2008 even though we had no expectation. God didn't exactly GIVE us a car, but in reality He did, because we were able to buy a mini-van this year from someone we know and trust, who provided a complete maintenance history and even had the oil changed and the tires rotated after the sales agreement had been made. Best of all, two car seats fit in it easily, which they never could have in our other car.

We have our own washer and dryer this time around to cope with the tremendous amounts of laundry a new baby generates.

Michael has been able to take time off work to be with me and Parker and Isaac with very little difficulty, and he's off again tomorrow for New Years.

How has God not provided for us?

He is good anyway, by the way, apart from anything He may or may not do for us. I have to tempt disaster and thank Him because this is His due.

Making Room

I think it is funny that while my mom is always telling me I should do something with my interior design degree, both she and Michael are better space planners than I am.

Michael is responsible for the only living room arrangement that has ever worked for us in our living room space. Yesterday my mom came over to help me get ready for Isaac. I had already done some rearranging of Parker's room, but she suggested a couple of additional changes. When Michael came home at the end of the day and saw what had been done in Parker's room he said, "Wow, this is a more efficient use of space."

It isn't perfect. My rocking chair is no longer next to the bookshelf, so choosing books at bedtime will be a little more tricky. And we still have to put some of Parker's toys into an organized rotation, but with the work my mom did yesterday, decisions about rotating toys are going to be a whole lot easier. Also, she found a way that we can keep the chest of drawers in Parker's room so I'll have some of the storage space I'll need with an even smaller child in the house.

I'm feeling better about fitting Isaac into our home.

It's Been a Busy Day

You've noticed by now that I can barely add anything to my blog these days. There are many reasons for this, many of which I have probably already covered, either here or in conversation. Even if my blogging days aren't over, it will probably still be many months before I get into the swing of things again.

According to the calendar I am officially thirty-one weeks pregnant today. This means that Isaac (his first name) will be arriving soon whether I am ready or not. In the meantime I will be helping out a friend (whose fifth child is due tomorrow) with various things that are going on around her house. My expectation is that in helping her, I'll be helping myself as well as I attempt to develop some routines that will make my home run more smoothly with a little boy holding each hand.

Over the weekend I washed lots and lots of baby clothes. Monday morning I rearranged Parker's bedroom to make space for a second bed. Today-- today turned out to be a really long day. Isn't it funny how the course of approximately 45 minutes can turn an entire day into a difficult one?

We had a good day today. We spent the morning at my friends house getting oriented to what life will be like for the next month or so. Parker missed his nap because Michael and I got together to vote, each at separate locations, so afterwards Parker and I went to the church playground to play instead of going home. It was next that the unfortunate series of decisions was put into action.

I recently attempted to replace a part on my bathroom sink, among other things, and the part I acquired didn't quite fit, so I decided to pay a visit to Lowe's since Parker and I were already out and about. I needed gasoline too, and it was still an hour before Michael would be home. In my mind this seemed simple enough. Well when I told Parker that we were going to Lowe's I think he got the idea that we were either going somewhere to get something to eat, or that we were going to play and someone's house, because he said that he wanted to go, but was clearly disappointed once we got there. He told me he was hungry, but I did not heed his warnings.

Parker was, understandably, whiney and disobedient inside Lowe's. I returned the part that needed returning, but the replacement part was nowhere to be found. Since I was there already I thought I might as well look at their selection of freestanding ranges as Michael and I are considering replacing our dying one over the weekend. Here's where it goes bad.

The nice salesman at Lowe's is showing me a selection of ranges that may meet our needs, and he is showing me the differences in oven capacity. Parker is very curious himself and opens the oven door to one of the units even though he knows never to touch our oven at home. He opens the oven door, is propelled toward the floor by said door and cracks the back of his head against the concrete. Ouch. Poor, poor baby. The salesman is quite alarmed. We leave the store as quickly as possible.

Since Parker is hungry I give him an apple to eat on the ride home. Parker chokes on apple peal as we enter the turn lane onto McFarland. Thankfully the light stays red long enough for me to put the car in park, reach back, and let him spit the apple peal out into my hand. These events blew out my energy reserves for the remainder of the day. Thankfully Parker was fine on both counts. I wish that my emotional state were as good.

There was a package waiting for Parker when we got home. Michael's grandparents sent him some books, and a really neat collection of Alphabet Animal cards. The cards are lovely, and the books make music, which Parker loves. He sang to himself this evening--To Market, To Market. When they prayed before lunch this morning, Parker folded his hands and said his own prayer, the one that Michael taught him.

I love that little boy so much.

Update

Yay! I passed my test no problem. I do not have gestational diabetes and I am quite hungry. Parker had fun playing with Granna at the park while I had my finger pricked four times in just over three hours.

Parker's amazing strength

I failed my one hour blood glucose test this morning, but only by three points. This means I get to go back to the office one day next week for the three hour test. No surprise. The exact same thing happened when I was pregnant with Parker. Dr. Edward's thinks I'll probably pass the second test, which requires that I pass two out of three blood sugar measurements.

Tuesday morning Parker and I were working in the church library. At one point Parker got away from me (I was trying to reshelve books, after all), and guess where I found him. Inside the darkened ladies bathroom. With the door closed. The surprise was that he was heavy enough to open it on his own in the first place. Later I learned that Parker is able to open the front door to the church all on his own, because he made it out the door and halfway across the parking lot before I caught him. That was scary, but now I know.

I only have to be up as early as any other morning tomorrow, but here are some pictures of Parker.

Right now I'm simply trying to figure out how some of Google's new features work. This is the face we call smiling at the sun, which recently has become the expression he gives whenever I ask him to smile at all.

Photos

Michael took these photos last Saturday, when Parker went outside in the morning thinking he would play in the pool. Actually the temperature outside was so comfortable that no pool was needed. I found them yesterday. These are irresistible to a mom, especially the one in the middle.

Parker Being Cute

Parker got a hold of the camera again this morning and he took a few more pictures. The cute things he's done today are 1) rubbing oatmeal into his eyelashes, and 2) dragging the old infant tub out from under his bed and pretending it was a boat. He sang "Row, row, row, row" and ate cookies all while sitting in that blue infant tub. Too bad I didn't get any pictures of that.

Parker Smiles at the Sun

This is a modified version of the way that Parker smiles at the sun. We say to him, "Parker, Parker, smile at the sun, Parker." Then he scrunches up his eyes and nose, sticks out his lower jaw and gives us what Michael calls a "big cheesy grin," all teeth. Very cute.

...and I haven't even gotten to the sprinklers yet.

In honor of my parents' trip to China, these are a few family pictures taken at the beginning of the summer, somewhere close to Parker's eighteen month mark. My hair has changed since then, along with everything else. I haven't checked my calendar, but these may have been taken before we found out about the new baby in our future.

Parker Playing in the Rental House Backyard

Robert and Carol have been renting a small house in Madison while their new home is being built. Several months ago we paid a visit, and Parker had a great time playing in the back yard with Michael, the sprinklers, and Pam's dog.

Pictures of Parker from the only time he ever spent any time playing in his baby pool.

He enjoyed it for approximately half an hour, and hasn't shown much interest in it since. It's strange to me because this is the same boy who will play in any other standing water he can find in the back yard. These days he prefers the sprinklers.

Pictures of Parker

I've become sidetracked. I'm supposed to be loading pictures of Parker onto the blog. Instead I've been cleaning out my post list. These are the latest. The first shot is Parker's self portrait. The second is just Parker being cute.

An Old Post, Never Before Published

The reason why I haven't been blogging recently (This is how it goes):

I'm pregnant, and when I am pregnant I have trouble stringing words together. Maybe I'll get together a paragraph in my head while I'm supposed to be working on something else, but then I'll start to write it, and... There's an interruption of some sort, or I can't get it to work the way I want it to. It happens over and over again until I finally decide that I'm not going to do this for a while.

In graduate school just before Parker was born my inability to write proved disastrous. Three papers due at the end of the semester--the one I turned in to my Black Women's Metaphysical Fiction professor was total crap. I couldn't come up with anything interesting to write about, and what I finally did write about was incoherent and possibly offensive without any sort of redeeming usefulness. Seriously. I've tended to feel like an outsider a lot of times in the past and tried to write about being disappointingly marginalized by Ntozake Shange's expressed intent concerning the play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf.

The paper I turned in for my Shakespeare class that semester, I don't even want to think about, and to this day I turn over and over in my mind possibilities for completing that incomplete earned in Theory of the Novel because I simply couldn't do anything with it. The incomplete haunts me because as long as it exists I damage my chances of ever being able to go back to Graduate School, even though by now I don't know whether or not I really want to go.

At this point I've said way more than I meant to say when I'm supposed to be posting pictures. Anyway here's a post I started at the beginning of May, and so instead of throwing it away, I'm posting it here, almost eight months late:

Parker slept late this morning, which turned out to be a good way to start the day. Especially since I wasn't in the mood to put anything away last night; so there were toys to redistribute, dishes to add to the dishwasher, and others needing personal attention. He atypically slept through one and a half showers, giving me the opportunity to do some devotional reading. I'm slowly and inconsistently working my way through Devotional Classics edited by Richard Foster and James Bryan Smith. Today's selection was from Jonathan Edwards, and I confess that it did not get the attention it deserved. Maybe I'll have better success with comprehension tomorrow.

Parker has lately become a hugger and a cuddler and a climber and a talker. He doesn't blab, blab, blab away all day, but he is saying more and more words.

I've emailed two different people blog worthy material this morning, so I'll lay aside the guilt I feel at not revisiting those subjects afresh, and reproduce what I have already written here.

The first item I considered blog-worthy on May 2, 2008 was a story about how pregnancy hormones affect the mental faculty:

Two coffee cups. One has residue from yesterday's coffee because I found it this morning under my bed. The other has been freshly used then rinsed because I've decided to make a cup of tea. Which cup do you think I chose to put the tea bag and hot water in?

My used-to-be perfectly-good brain says, make sure you use the right cup. My perfectly-good brain does not say, put the old cup in the dishwasher before you do this. Thankfully the tea tastes okay anyway, and Parker is temporarily placated. Unfortunately I just realized that I forgot to put a bib on him, so he has oatmeal down his shirt.

Honestly, I no longer remember what the other blog-worthy post was meant to be.

Animals

GG got Parker the cutest little stuffed monkey (with bellybutton and long weighted tail). Parker hasn't shown any interest in it just yet, but I'm in love with the thing.

I was never really the stuffed animal type myself. I had a teddy bear named Bear Bear that I slept with every night, but little else. I tickled that bear so often that he had bare patches all over his back and stomach, much as Parker's black bear has bare patches where his tag used to be. I would get upset when my mother tried to trim my fingernails because, I said, "I can't tickle Bear Bear anymore."

When I was pregnant with Parker, Carol (that's GG) bought a green and purple dinosaur stuffed animal that I also loved. There's something about being pregnant that makes me care more about stuffed animals. I slept with Parker's monkey tucked up in my arms most of Saturday night.

GG and Grandpa, I want you to know that Parker played with his lion, tiger, elephant and giraffe this morning. He came into our bedroom where I was dozing, with plastic lion in hand saying, "Roar, Roar, Roar." I roared back at him and he laughed back at me.

Also for the sake of the record, Parker has begun practicing the word "No." He said no to everything today whether he meant it or not. My sister asked him "Parker, do you love me?" and he said no every time. And we know that's not true.

He was so tired before his nap this afternoon that he tried to hold every piece of sidewalk chalk in his tiny little hands, and he cried as though his heart were breaking every time he dropped a piece. Michael said it was as though he thought the chalk were being taken from him if he couldn't hold them all in his hands. Eventually we convinced him to return the pieces to the plastic zip-lock bag in which they are stored and hold the bag while drawing with one piece of chalk at a time. He likes to draw on himself, the cement slab in our backyard, and on the Spalding basketball that rolls away every time he lets go of it.

I got some good pictures over the weekend (some of him playing with a water sprinkler in GG and Grandpa's backyard). I'll try to post some of these sometime in the next few days, but we've got a busy week ahead, so I make no promises.

Pictures of Parker From Before Our Yard Was Destroyed

It's kind of funny, tonight we saw the episode of Little House on the Prairie where Laura and Almanzo lose everything but the baby. Almonzo get dyptheria, their crops are destroyed, their house is destroyed in a tornado, and Almonzo loses the use of one side of his body. It's the first episode I saw last year, which is what got me interested in seeing the entire series. This episode makes me feel better about the damage to our back yard. At least we don't have any debts against it.