Daddy Don't Need No Wii

The other day Weston forwarded me an email with the following phrase in the subject field:

"Why Daddy Needs a Wii" 

 

This video was attached.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_mBLWpdwnI

I responded:

"You don't need a wii for that."

We took the kids to the 

National Aquarium

in Baltimore today.

I hardly know where to begin in my attempt to describe how much I looked forward to this day.  It wasn’t so much for the Aquarium itself, although it is significant because in the six years we’ve lived here we’ve never been able to bring ourselves to pay the EXORBITANT entrance fee.  We chose this as our destination today because in 3 weeks, Adam will turn 3.  Old enough to add another head to the you-must-pay-to-enter count.

But the main reason I was anticipating it so much is because it was a scheduled date with dad.  Weston has so much on his plate these days that I often feel starved (and jealous) for time with him, and our quality time as a family.  He told me this was a day he could set aside for us and I put it in my calendar.  

In pen.

We had a great time touring the museum and examining all the marine life on display.   

Here the boys are investigating the anemones.  

They were also very impressed with the electric eel. 

 Well, we all were.  (Sorry, no good pictures of the eel.) 

My personal favorite was the dolphin show.  

It was so enjoyable to watch the dolphins play with each other and interact with their trainers.

I have a soft spot in my heart for dolphins.  They were always my favorite as a kid. 

After lunch we climbed a flight of stairs and were met by these three penny-squishing machines.  The big black cranks immediately drew the boys to them like the most powerful magnet in the world.  I took one look at Weston and couldn’t help but point out the genes he contributed to the pool.  Somehow he has always found these machines to be irresistible.  Well, the boys are definitely chips off the old block.  Fortunately to a four-year-old, a good turn of the crank is adequate entertainment and doesn’t necessitate actually going through the process of getting your entire dollar ripped off.

We bought tickets for the whole kit n’ caboodle, including the 4-D immersion show.  The thought never occurred to me that it might not be completely fascinating to the boys.  I thought they would absolutely love the 3-D element plus the special effects (rumbling seats, mist in your face, bubbles…)

There were a few startling moments.  In particular you feel a poke in your back when the animal makes a sudden motion on the screen.  We were trying to encourage Peter to keep is glasses on, so he could get the full effect.

We sat through the preview, a fast-paced offering of what was to come.  Then silence in the theater.  Just enough silence for EVERYONE to hear Peter exclaim, “This is NOT a good movie!”  

Annelise was a champ.  She sat cozily in the moby wrap for almost the entire day.  Occasionally emerging to nurse but never quite getting to sleep.  For how zealously I’ve been guarding her nap schedule, I’m surprised she didn’t completely freak out as the hours passed and she gradually accumulated a total of about 4.5 hours of lost sleep.  Well, she did freak out eventually.  Fortunately it wasn’t until we were almost home.

 It was a great day.

Keeping It Real

This is what the boys' room looked like this morning when I walked in.  

Just to set all of you straight who may be thinking that my life is always idyllic.

p.s. that was a joke.

I tried to get them to clean it up this morning but we all know that it's easier just to do it onesself.....so it's still not done.  Now I have two kids sleeping and the middle one will go down in a few  minutes after he's done with his episode of lunch eating intermittent with overtiredness tantrums. 

Three kids napping.  This hasn't happened in about forever.  Oh, wait.  I guess this has never happened.  

It's a miracle.  And not a moment too soon because last week was a bear and right now I feel like a  heifer and I need to get off my feet.  Hmmmm.....which one will win out?  Scripture study and a nap.....or blogging.  I guess you'll know soon enough.

Just A Little Rant -- My Current Top 3 Pet Peeves

For some reason I feel the need to blog about my top three current pet peeves.   Things I've noticed lately that I have about zero patience for.

#1 RUDE DRIVERS

I need to change lanes.  I turn my signal on, giving plenty of notice to the driver in my lane of choice.  What does he do?  Speed up.  No, not to get out of my way.  I don't mind it when there is a mutual understanding that the driver is trying to accommodate my request and his only option is to step on the gas.  No.  The rude driver speeds up for the express purpose of NOT LETTING ME IN.  Why?  So that he can wait at the same stop light I am going to wait at.  But he maneuvered his way into waiting in front of me instead of behind me.  Impressive, Mack.   Wow.  Not only did you save yourself so much time, but you just demonstrated that you don't know how to be polite.  Why is it acceptable in our culture to be rude on the road?  I just don't get it.  I could sit by that same guy on an airplane and the cultural understanding would be that we would make chit-chat and be buddies by the end of the flight.  But on the road?  No way.  Every man for himself.  

....and the other scenario.  The bird....or any other form of chastisement from the next car over.  Now, I'm a good driver and I'm not ashamed to admit it.  You can even ask my husband and he will eventually get around to saying I'm a decent driver if you pressure him with your eye contact long enough.  There are occassions, however, when I am driving in an unfamiliar place.  You know, that spot where everyone who lives there knows that from 4-7 pm it's one-way traffic but you've never been there before so of course you are going to have to quickly come up with an alternate plan?  Nothing wrong with that.  Then all of a sudden you get the bird.  Or a rude honk, or the driver in the next car over looking over at you and shaking his head in disgust.  We've all been there.  I don't need to go on.  But the point I want to make here is that this attitude is so full of HYPOCRISY!  We've all been there.  We've ALL made mistakes while driving.  Fortunately most of them are minor and there's no harm done.  But for other drivers to make people feel like idiots for the little mistakes that they make, I just want to say "who the bleep do you think you are?  God's gift to the road?"  You've made your own share of mistakes so don't go around shaking your head in disgust, trying to make other drivers feel lower than the dust under your feet.

#2 MISSING BABY WIPE

I'm changing a messy diaper.  In our house they come in various shapes and sizes.  I have an almost-three-year-old that I'm procrastinating potty training, and a 6-month-old baby who's just barely started on solid foods, if you know what I mean.  I don't mind the smell.  I don't even mind the process.  I'm used to it by now.  What DRIVES ME CRAZY is when I've got a pair of poopy legs in my left hand and I go to reach for the second wipe with my right hand.  It is not there.  Somehow the wipe I just used failed it's second-most-important duty....to invite it's successor up and out.  Now I'm under enormous pressure.  I only have one free hand and I'm about to have to do another load of laundry if I can't find the new wipe through that tiny little diamond-shaped hole.  No patience for this, I'm telling you.  It makes me want to scream....or swear.  And I'm not the swearing kind.

#3 "Someday you'll understand."

  One word: CON--DESCENDING. 

You're right.  I don't understand.  I can't comprehend a scenario that would justify saying this to another human being.  I think it's supposed to be some sort of fake sympathy?  That's the best I can make out.  But to me what it says is, "You are an imbecil."  Or at best, "My station in life is so far advanced in comparison to your primitive existence that you won't possibly be able to understand the logic of the statement I'm about to make."  Don't say this to people. Just don't.

Love Story

Meet my brother Dale.

(Don’t worry….that’s my baby he’s wearing. Not his.)

Dale is 2.5 years younger than me.
He lived in Yekaterinburg, Russia from 1999-2001 to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
A brilliant linguist, Dale is fluent in Russian and proficient/competent/dabbles in every other language known to man. He currently works as a Project Manager for Rosetta Stone, Inc. and lives in Harrisonburg, VA. Lucky for us, Harrisonburg is only 2.5 hours away so we get frequent, sometimes surprise visits from him.

Meet Dale’s friend Olesya.

Born in Russia, Olesya joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints at age 11.  She served as a missionary in Kiev, Ukraine from 2004-2006.

Olesya speaks Russian, German, and English.  She currently lives in Moscow and works as a secretary.

Dale met Olesya for the first time in November 2007 when he took a business trip to Moscow to give a presentation on Rosetta Stone Software at the Russian State University for the Humanities. 

In his own words:

I went to Church and she spoke in Sacrament meeting.

I sat next to her during the third hour and managed to ask her a few questions to get to know her.

I wish that one of them had been, "Do you want to be my girlfriend?"

But I didn't have the guts.

Dale and Olesya kept in touch through the miracle of the internet.  Over the course of the next year and a half, their long-distance interactions increased drastically in frequency and longevity.

In February 2009, 

Dale flew to Moscow and asked Olesya to be his wife.

I’m so happy, I can’t stop smiling.  I already love her to pieces.  I’ve met her briefly twice on skype and can tell she is just a sweetheart.  I hope it won’t be too long before they can get all the visa details worked out so I can meet her in person.

The road of single-hood is quick and easy for some (ahem…Mom and Dad) and long and treacherous for others.  Some of us had a long row to hoe and Dale is certainly no exception.  I’m just so glad that when they finally posted pictures of them together the first thing I saw was a big smile on his face. 

I better stop writing, lest I should need to pull out the box of tissues. 

I love you, Dale.

The Smile Has Been Captured....

...at long last.

I Love You, Valentine!

This is how my husband feels about Valentine’s day.

And This is how I feel about Valentine's Day.

You are going to have to pretend that this is a video clip of Shirley Jones singing “Being in Love” instead of the footbridge scene.  I could not find the right clip anywhere on the internet.  Just pretend.  Okay? Humor me.

At least, this is how I felt about Valentine’s day for YEARS.  During my lonely, single, married-to-my-violin* days, I would pass one solitary V-day after another, just waiting for the stars to align so that I would have someone to celebrate with.  Actually, they almost did align once.  Back in 1997 when I actually WAS dating someone when February 14^th  rolled around.  Unfortunately our puppy love was interrupted by a menacing orchestra tour to the Pacific Northwestern states over Valentine’s weekend.  He stayed home and I went on tour….even though he was a violist.  Go figure.  

*I actually did hear word once that I had been described this way by a guy.  It’s true.

After so many years of yearning to celebrate romantic love I now maintain that if I have love in my life, and have occasion to celebrate it, it should be celebrated.  

Despite the commercialism of it all. 

I must admit I do agree with the basic premise of the above-linked article Weston sent me. 

Yes.  He sent it to me.  

I agree that if we can’t show affection 364 other days out of the year, roses, chocolates, and jewelry aren’t going to compensate for much.  However, I think my view of Valentine’s Day is fundamentally different than the scenario described here.  I think V-Day serves as yet another special reason to tell your sweetheart you love them in a sincere way.  It certainly doesn’t have to involve spending money.  I guess some people just don’t understand that.  Let’s assess these points one at a time, shall we?  And I quote:

As for this silly flower thing, it's even got to the point that any flowers can't do. Some years ago I planned on sending a woman some flowers that weren't roses, and the (female) co-workers were aghast. They felt that nothing mattered except roses.

I disagree.  V-day is not about roses.  It’s not even about receiving the token bouquet.  As I’ve said before, my hubby wins the grand prize for surprising me with flowers often.  Sometimes for special occasions, sometimes for no reason whatsoever.  And as for chocolate, well….we all know I’ve already had plenty of that.

And Valentine's Day really isn't even a two-way street. Men are utterly irrelevant except to serve as pawns in this commercial game, emptying their wallets in order to satisfy their lovers or those around them. Oh yea, retailers know the con game.     

Strongly Disagree.  Who is he kidding?  He’s exaggerating just to make a point.  I think women also put thought and effort into making V-day special for their men.  The women are the ones who actually CARE about it, after all.

Fortunately, Weston has one saving grace.  On February 13, 2003 he put an engagement ring on my finger.  This makes it possible for him to participate in celebrating the love that we share in the general proximity of V-day every year, while still sticking it to the commercializing man.  I’m cool with that.  Whatever floats your boat, sweetheart.  We can celebrate “Engagement Day.”  

But don’t be mad.  I’m still going to give you a pink, frilly Valentine.

I love you!!!