"Santa" cheated this year.
Don't just take my word for it - consider the evidence for yourself.
The kids got Guitar Hero World Tour (the one with the guitar, drum kit and microphone) and a charger station for Christmas. They never asked for either. And who has been playing it incessantly since we hooked it up last night? Who kept the kids up until after 11 last night to play "just one more song?"
You guessed it... that jolly old elf himself.
Tonight while I was making dinner, I heard my sweet baby girl screaming "NO... SLEEP... TIL BROOKLYN!!!" into the mic. Taz had lead guitar and Scouter was on drums as the Beastie Boys rocked the house.
So of course I had to join. Rainbow hit the "No sleep til Brooklyn" parts and I rapped out the rest.
So much fun...
In retrospect, I think Scouter should do the shopping every year!
.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Mommy of the Year - Christmas Style
Taz awoke at 3:00 this morning. And he never went back to sleep.
Merry fucking Christmas.
(I've been dying to say that.)
Just to torture him back, we told him he had to wait until 7 a.m., as we had informed him repeatedly the day before.
He upped the ante by waking Rainbow at 6:15.
We held firm. Just to be punitive.
Finally at 7 a.m., they bounded down the stairs to find their Santa bounty.
That guy must not have been paying attention this year. They have really not been all that good.
And I could really use a nap.
.
Merry fucking Christmas.
(I've been dying to say that.)
Just to torture him back, we told him he had to wait until 7 a.m., as we had informed him repeatedly the day before.
He upped the ante by waking Rainbow at 6:15.
We held firm. Just to be punitive.
Finally at 7 a.m., they bounded down the stairs to find their Santa bounty.
That guy must not have been paying attention this year. They have really not been all that good.
And I could really use a nap.
.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Kid Humor
The other day, Rainbow accompanied me to the grocery store. After the little young bagboy tucked our groceries in the trunk of the car and we were preparing to leave, she turned to me and said, “He was cute.” She paused for a beat and then speculated, “I wonder if he’s available?”
Let me just remind you that she’s only seven.
I smothered a laugh and replied, “Honey! I’m going to have to stop letting you watch iCarly and Zoey 101 if that’s what you’re learning.”
She thought for a minute and then asked for clarification. “So… you’re saying that whatever I’m learning this from has to go away?”
“Yes,” I replied emphatically, still chuckling to myself.
“Well, Mommy, it wasn’t Zoey or iCarly,” she stated confidently. “It was Taz!!!!”
Her brother.
At seven, she’s already way smarter than I’ll ever be.
.
Let me just remind you that she’s only seven.
I smothered a laugh and replied, “Honey! I’m going to have to stop letting you watch iCarly and Zoey 101 if that’s what you’re learning.”
She thought for a minute and then asked for clarification. “So… you’re saying that whatever I’m learning this from has to go away?”
“Yes,” I replied emphatically, still chuckling to myself.
“Well, Mommy, it wasn’t Zoey or iCarly,” she stated confidently. “It was Taz!!!!”
Her brother.
At seven, she’s already way smarter than I’ll ever be.
.
Riding with the Big Kids
Last Sunday, I had a rare opportunity to bike. I queried my posse and was pleased to learn that TG40 and Richard could ride too.
I also invited a new friend from work, Susan. This girl is a serious runner – I’m talking an 8 minute mile marathon pace – who cycles for cross training.
In the meantime, TG40 invited Bethany who brought her husband and another couple. Now TG40 is a serious triathlete who could kick my trash up and down any activity I could imagine. Fortunately she’s also very kind and tolerant of not only my antics but my gradual and continuing loss of fitness. I had never ridden with the others and didn’t know what their patience level would be.
I was a little nervous.
I had planned to ride 18 to 20 miles on Sunday. After all, I hadn’t been on my bike for three weeks nor had I done anything else in the interim. And I haven’t ridden more than about 22 miles in probably a year. But Bethany had other ideas and announced a 28 miles loop.
Now I was really nervous. Could I keep up? I suspected that I couldn’t. Plus I know how mileage counts work – 28 probably meant 30 or 32.
After running through my litany of excuses as to why I would be bringing up the rear, I saddled up and away we went.
For the first few miles, Susan rode beside me and we chatted. That translates to she chatted, I grunted out a few questions while trying to hide how hard I was huffing and puffing. About eight miles in, I turned to Richard and asked whether he was really up for 28 miles. “I’ll do what you do,” he replied.
Not the answer I was hoping for.
Without the contrived excuse of having to turn back because Richard didn’t want to do 28, I had to keep going. Soon after, I wasn’t exactly sure where I was and then really had to stick with the group.
TG40 and two of the guys were pretty far out in front, but they would stop periodically to wait for us. At one point, TG40 warned me of the hills towards the end of the route.
Great.
Shortly thereafter, we hit the hills. I ended up in a no-mans-land all alone. I had tried drafting Susan earlier and frankly she’s so darn tiny that it didn’t offer much. I needed Richard’s tire in front of me. But somehow I muddled through.
We stopped and regrouped for the last push. I was happy to be with part of the group again. I knew the rest of the route and it didn’t seem that we would even hit 28 miles. But we did.
I wasn’t fast and I certainly didn’t look good, but I definitely enjoyed the ride. It was nice to push a little beyond my current comfort zone in terms of distance.
I really need to figure out how to get out there more often.
.
I also invited a new friend from work, Susan. This girl is a serious runner – I’m talking an 8 minute mile marathon pace – who cycles for cross training.
In the meantime, TG40 invited Bethany who brought her husband and another couple. Now TG40 is a serious triathlete who could kick my trash up and down any activity I could imagine. Fortunately she’s also very kind and tolerant of not only my antics but my gradual and continuing loss of fitness. I had never ridden with the others and didn’t know what their patience level would be.
I was a little nervous.
I had planned to ride 18 to 20 miles on Sunday. After all, I hadn’t been on my bike for three weeks nor had I done anything else in the interim. And I haven’t ridden more than about 22 miles in probably a year. But Bethany had other ideas and announced a 28 miles loop.
Now I was really nervous. Could I keep up? I suspected that I couldn’t. Plus I know how mileage counts work – 28 probably meant 30 or 32.
After running through my litany of excuses as to why I would be bringing up the rear, I saddled up and away we went.
For the first few miles, Susan rode beside me and we chatted. That translates to she chatted, I grunted out a few questions while trying to hide how hard I was huffing and puffing. About eight miles in, I turned to Richard and asked whether he was really up for 28 miles. “I’ll do what you do,” he replied.
Not the answer I was hoping for.
Without the contrived excuse of having to turn back because Richard didn’t want to do 28, I had to keep going. Soon after, I wasn’t exactly sure where I was and then really had to stick with the group.
TG40 and two of the guys were pretty far out in front, but they would stop periodically to wait for us. At one point, TG40 warned me of the hills towards the end of the route.
Great.
Shortly thereafter, we hit the hills. I ended up in a no-mans-land all alone. I had tried drafting Susan earlier and frankly she’s so darn tiny that it didn’t offer much. I needed Richard’s tire in front of me. But somehow I muddled through.
We stopped and regrouped for the last push. I was happy to be with part of the group again. I knew the rest of the route and it didn’t seem that we would even hit 28 miles. But we did.
I wasn’t fast and I certainly didn’t look good, but I definitely enjoyed the ride. It was nice to push a little beyond my current comfort zone in terms of distance.
I really need to figure out how to get out there more often.
.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Mommy of the Year
Picture this quaint scene: The beautiful live Christmas tree is ensconced in the family room, lights twinkling, while a merry family sips hot chocolate, hums along to classical holiday music playing in the background, and carefully extracts each cherished ornament from its wrapping to hang gently on the tree as they smile fondly at each other.
Then picture my family.
SNAP! "Oops," says Rainbow as the arm cracks off of a nutcracker ornament dated 1992.
CRASH! "Uh oh," says Taz as he spazzes into an entire box of crystal Waterford ornaments carefully collected over the last 15 years.
"DAMMIT!" chimes in Scouter as the tree tips precariously for the fourth time.
Yeh. It was a stressful evening.
And the fucking tree still isn't done.
.
Then picture my family.
SNAP! "Oops," says Rainbow as the arm cracks off of a nutcracker ornament dated 1992.
CRASH! "Uh oh," says Taz as he spazzes into an entire box of crystal Waterford ornaments carefully collected over the last 15 years.
"DAMMIT!" chimes in Scouter as the tree tips precariously for the fourth time.
Yeh. It was a stressful evening.
And the fucking tree still isn't done.
.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Swoosh!
We spent the weekend snow skiing!
We first took Taz and Rainbow skiing two years ago, when they were five and six, and they hadn’t been since. Somehow, in their little minds, they are experts so they were PISSED when I suggested lessons. Being the evil Mom that I am, I booked them anyway.
And it worked out great! I was cheap and booked group lessons, but skiing is so light this early in the season that it ended up being my two kids with two instructors. They got a great lesson and came out with some good basic skills.
Now they KNOW they’re experts!
Their lesson time gave Scouter and I a chance to remember how to ski since we haven’t been in two years either. We both learned in high school/college, have not skied much, and neither of us is particularly strong. Fortunately we got a lot of runs in and felt comfortable by the end of their lesson.
Not surprisingly, when they rejoined us, Taz went dive-bombing down the mountain and had some spectacular wipe-outs. Rainbow was pretty cautious and snow plowed her way down, along with some big sweeping turns. After one particularly bad fall, Taz was pretty shaken. I calmed him down and convinced him to ski slowly down the mountain with me, making big turns to slow down when he started feeling out of control, with a goal of getting all the way down without falling. I told him that if he concentrated on proper form, speed would come. He did it and was very proud of no falls! And he found it especially funny that Mommy fell once.
By Saturday afternoon, we were cold and tired – or at least I was. When we got home, I collapsed. Scouter started putting up Christmas lights and the kids went running around outside playing in the dusting of snow. You see where they get it from I imagine…
Sunday morning was sunny and clear and very very cold. We lollygagged a bit in the morning then hit the slopes again. My little “experts” couldn’t wait! This time surprisingly Taz took his time, determined not to fall, while Rainbow went flying down the mountain. She too experienced a spectacular fall. My theory is that everyone needs at least one good fall to instill some caution. Rainbow settled down and started thinking about control and turning too.
They did unbelievable well on the slopes and on the lifts. We got a ton of runs in again since the crowd was fairly light. When Scouter said it was time for our last run, they begged for two more. Then another… and another. We finally bribed them with cookies and hot chocolate.
At the end of the day, Taz looked and me and said, “You were right, Mommy! Speed did come!”
All of us can’t wait to do it again!
.
We first took Taz and Rainbow skiing two years ago, when they were five and six, and they hadn’t been since. Somehow, in their little minds, they are experts so they were PISSED when I suggested lessons. Being the evil Mom that I am, I booked them anyway.
And it worked out great! I was cheap and booked group lessons, but skiing is so light this early in the season that it ended up being my two kids with two instructors. They got a great lesson and came out with some good basic skills.
Now they KNOW they’re experts!
Their lesson time gave Scouter and I a chance to remember how to ski since we haven’t been in two years either. We both learned in high school/college, have not skied much, and neither of us is particularly strong. Fortunately we got a lot of runs in and felt comfortable by the end of their lesson.
Not surprisingly, when they rejoined us, Taz went dive-bombing down the mountain and had some spectacular wipe-outs. Rainbow was pretty cautious and snow plowed her way down, along with some big sweeping turns. After one particularly bad fall, Taz was pretty shaken. I calmed him down and convinced him to ski slowly down the mountain with me, making big turns to slow down when he started feeling out of control, with a goal of getting all the way down without falling. I told him that if he concentrated on proper form, speed would come. He did it and was very proud of no falls! And he found it especially funny that Mommy fell once.
By Saturday afternoon, we were cold and tired – or at least I was. When we got home, I collapsed. Scouter started putting up Christmas lights and the kids went running around outside playing in the dusting of snow. You see where they get it from I imagine…
Sunday morning was sunny and clear and very very cold. We lollygagged a bit in the morning then hit the slopes again. My little “experts” couldn’t wait! This time surprisingly Taz took his time, determined not to fall, while Rainbow went flying down the mountain. She too experienced a spectacular fall. My theory is that everyone needs at least one good fall to instill some caution. Rainbow settled down and started thinking about control and turning too.
They did unbelievable well on the slopes and on the lifts. We got a ton of runs in again since the crowd was fairly light. When Scouter said it was time for our last run, they begged for two more. Then another… and another. We finally bribed them with cookies and hot chocolate.
At the end of the day, Taz looked and me and said, “You were right, Mommy! Speed did come!”
All of us can’t wait to do it again!
.
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