Yesterday was Valentine's Day. When you're married with kids, this means a very different thing than when you're dating. For me and Matt, it means watching a movie together after the kids go to bed while eating Rick's cupcakes. It also means school parties and Angry Birds valentines and drawing hearts on lunch napkins.
Until this year.
This year, we had a new experience that caught us thoroughly by surprise and gave us a glimpse of what the next 10 years hold in store for us.
Abby, Ethan and Matt have had sinus infections, so everyone was home from school and work. I was running some errands mid-afternoon when Matt sent me the following text:
Your daughter just got hand-delivered valentine candy from a boy.
And it begins.
Now, let me give you a little background. The boy is Sam, who has known Abby since they were 10 months old in day care together. Sam and Abby have always gone to school together and have always been devoted to each other. When they were in pre-school Sam was her "boyfriend". In Kindergarten, they confessed to kissing in PE, and we were quite relieved to find out it was on the cheek. Later that year, Sam proposed. They've worked out how many kids they want (4) and what they'll be named. As they've gotten older, they've cooled it with the relationship talk--at least in front of other people. They remain great friends and make a beeline for each other any time they're in the same room.
Matt and I have decided that Abby and Sam's, er, relationship is fine by us. Sam is a nice boy who is kind and generous with our daughter. Sam's parents, Heather and Richard, have become friends and seem to like Abby as well. (Heather knows I'm blogging about this) Plus, we figure as long as Sam, who is for the most part a known quantity, is around, this will keep other unknown (and possibly unfit) quantities at bay. (This is how you talk about your children when you're married to an engineer).
So if anyone's going to be bringing my daughter a present on Valentine's Day, I want it to be Sam. Still, as I watched Abby dance around the house all evening with her box of chocolates and then spend half an hour on a heart-shaped thank you note that HAS to be mailed, not hand delivered, because that's the proper way to send a thank you note according to Abby, I got a little panicked. I am not ready to watch boys woo my daughter. I'm not ready to watch her enjoy being wooed. But it's coming--in fact, it's apparently already here. A nine year old boy knocked on our door, and when it was answered by Abby's father he didn't run away. He stayed to see my daughter and give her a Valentine's Day present. Then he ran away. (Hey, he's 9. I'm sure he was equal parts proud and horrified about what he was doing).
Hey Heather, next time tell Sam that if he really wants to get in good he should bring chocolate for Abby's mom too...
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Friday, January 6, 2012
10 Cotton Bowl Observations
Completely random, and in no order whatsoever:
1. Jarius Wright kept pointing to a tattoo on his bicep. At first I just thought he wanted to show off his guns. Still no idea what the tattoo said, but I really hope it's "Mom".
2. I love Jake Bequette.
3. Some words should be banned in football announcer's booths. My first choice is "momentum." At the very least, they should use it correctly. Momentum is something that builds, and thus cannot change hands every 30 seconds like those schmucks kept insisting it was.
4. I love Tyler Wilson. Did you see him talking to the KState quarterback after the game? I could squeeze his cheeks. What a great guy and player.
5. When football players on the sidelines wear their helmets propped on top of their heads, they look like total goofballs.
6. I love love LOVE Bobby Petrino. He is, in equal parts, endearing and terrifying. He gave a small smile during the post-game interview and I think it's the most positive emotion I have ever seen him express. He's like a grumpy, highly intelligent, slightly scary but still lovable teddy bear. Who seriously knows how to coach football.
7. Speaking of goofballs, can the NCAA make a rule that players cannot have hair sticking out of the back of their helmets? I know they think they look cool. They are so, so wrong.
8. Ethan called KState "the bad guys" whenever he came in the room to ask what was going on. I like it.
9. Man those guys looked zonked walking off the field after the game. I can't even imagine how tired and sore they are.
10. We should be #3.
1. Jarius Wright kept pointing to a tattoo on his bicep. At first I just thought he wanted to show off his guns. Still no idea what the tattoo said, but I really hope it's "Mom".
2. I love Jake Bequette.
3. Some words should be banned in football announcer's booths. My first choice is "momentum." At the very least, they should use it correctly. Momentum is something that builds, and thus cannot change hands every 30 seconds like those schmucks kept insisting it was.
4. I love Tyler Wilson. Did you see him talking to the KState quarterback after the game? I could squeeze his cheeks. What a great guy and player.
5. When football players on the sidelines wear their helmets propped on top of their heads, they look like total goofballs.
6. I love love LOVE Bobby Petrino. He is, in equal parts, endearing and terrifying. He gave a small smile during the post-game interview and I think it's the most positive emotion I have ever seen him express. He's like a grumpy, highly intelligent, slightly scary but still lovable teddy bear. Who seriously knows how to coach football.
7. Speaking of goofballs, can the NCAA make a rule that players cannot have hair sticking out of the back of their helmets? I know they think they look cool. They are so, so wrong.
8. Ethan called KState "the bad guys" whenever he came in the room to ask what was going on. I like it.
9. Man those guys looked zonked walking off the field after the game. I can't even imagine how tired and sore they are.
10. We should be #3.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
The blog fights back
I think I have a lazy blog. I took that long, ah, hiatus, and as soon as I came back it started acting up. It's probably trying to get me to go away so it can relax a little longer.
I've been having this thing for years, and for that entire time I've had this nice little sidebar that had pictures of my family, a little About Me paragraph, and links to the blog archives. Suddenly all that has disappeared. Well, it hasn't actually disappeared--it just moved to the verrrrry bottom of the page, as though the most recent blog entry felt crowded and gave the sidebar an angry shove downwards. This very problem has its own link in the "Help" section--however, it doesn't offer any solution. It would seem that the link should instead be listed in the "Problems people have that we acknowledge but make no attempt to fix" section.
Hopefully my computer-genius husband will be able to fix it this weekend, but until then I guess it's stuck like this.
Side note: 50 years ago, people always said they wanted their kids to marry doctors or lawyers because it would be so handy to have one of those in the family. I'm here to tell you that while doctors and lawyers are great, the 21st century is all about having a computer genius in the family. He's saved my hide about a thousand times, and that of most of our friends and family too. That, and his willingness to clean the bathrooms, are just a couple of the million reasons I'm hanging on to him.
I've been having this thing for years, and for that entire time I've had this nice little sidebar that had pictures of my family, a little About Me paragraph, and links to the blog archives. Suddenly all that has disappeared. Well, it hasn't actually disappeared--it just moved to the verrrrry bottom of the page, as though the most recent blog entry felt crowded and gave the sidebar an angry shove downwards. This very problem has its own link in the "Help" section--however, it doesn't offer any solution. It would seem that the link should instead be listed in the "Problems people have that we acknowledge but make no attempt to fix" section.
Hopefully my computer-genius husband will be able to fix it this weekend, but until then I guess it's stuck like this.
Side note: 50 years ago, people always said they wanted their kids to marry doctors or lawyers because it would be so handy to have one of those in the family. I'm here to tell you that while doctors and lawyers are great, the 21st century is all about having a computer genius in the family. He's saved my hide about a thousand times, and that of most of our friends and family too. That, and his willingness to clean the bathrooms, are just a couple of the million reasons I'm hanging on to him.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Back by popular(ish) demand
As you no doubt noticed if you're one of the many* people who read my blog regularly, I've taken a little hiatus the last few months.
(A side note: don't you love the word hiatus? It's one of those words that lets what you're doing sound way better than what it really is. I wasn't being lazy, I was taking a hiatus. It's like when professors and preachers take "sabbatical".)
I really didn't mean for it to happen, but the longer the time stretched since my last post, the harder it got to figure out how to jump back in. Family pictures? Witty commentary? Apologetic excuses? It was easier to just post some one-liners and iPhone photos to Facebook and move on with my day. As time went on, I received multiple** messages from readers asking me when I planned to return. I decided to make a clean break with 2011 and start fresh in 2012.
I've been compiling a list of post ideas. Now it's just a matter of having the discipline to sit down at the computer and write the posts, which really means having the discipline to use Aaron's nap time to blog instead of passively surf the Internet, catch up on DVR'd episodes of Anderson Cooper's new talk show, or dig through the pantry to see if somehow, somewhere we still have some Snickers fun-size bars left over from Halloween. We don't. I know this. WHY do I still look?
I will not promise that I'll post every day, because there are days when I don't have time to do much of anything except act as chauffeur and laundry lady. But I'll do my very best to appear at least a couple of times a week. If you're reading this, thanks for not giving up on me. I won't let you down!
*Many=7-8
**Multiple=2
(A side note: don't you love the word hiatus? It's one of those words that lets what you're doing sound way better than what it really is. I wasn't being lazy, I was taking a hiatus. It's like when professors and preachers take "sabbatical".)
I really didn't mean for it to happen, but the longer the time stretched since my last post, the harder it got to figure out how to jump back in. Family pictures? Witty commentary? Apologetic excuses? It was easier to just post some one-liners and iPhone photos to Facebook and move on with my day. As time went on, I received multiple** messages from readers asking me when I planned to return. I decided to make a clean break with 2011 and start fresh in 2012.
I've been compiling a list of post ideas. Now it's just a matter of having the discipline to sit down at the computer and write the posts, which really means having the discipline to use Aaron's nap time to blog instead of passively surf the Internet, catch up on DVR'd episodes of Anderson Cooper's new talk show, or dig through the pantry to see if somehow, somewhere we still have some Snickers fun-size bars left over from Halloween. We don't. I know this. WHY do I still look?
I will not promise that I'll post every day, because there are days when I don't have time to do much of anything except act as chauffeur and laundry lady. But I'll do my very best to appear at least a couple of times a week. If you're reading this, thanks for not giving up on me. I won't let you down!
*Many=7-8
**Multiple=2
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