Went to Costco after work with the kids. Needed gas. Bella had had no nap and was falling apart as we parked the car. She wanted me to hold her. I did not want to hold her. Neither one of us was going to budge on this. The difference is I was not crying and screaming about it. But I refused to give in, so I did the dreaded deed that so many parents have done at times. You know the deed. You've no doubt witnessed it (or heard it) if you haven't done it yourself.
I dragged my screaming kid through the store while I shopped.
Yes, everyone looked. Some people even looked a little annoyed. At least it was Costco, nice and roomy. A screaming fit in Trader Joe's is hard to hide, but a screaming fit in Costco is manageable, although still a little embarrassing.
To clarify, I didn't exactly drag her. I held her hand firmly and walked. I continually (and calmly, I'm proud to say) gave her the option: she could ride in the cart or she could walk. I had had a hard day. I was tired. She's heavy. I was not going to carry her. Period.
After getting through half the store, I finally gave her the option of riding on my shoulders, which she took, much to the relief of all the other shoppers, I'm sure. I kind of gave in, I suppose, but it's easier to carry her on my shoulders than in my arms. So I can justify it that way. Neither of us got exactly what we wanted, but we came to an agreeable solution. Yes, you can compromise with a 3-year-old.
Anyway, the whole experience made me think of the times when I've seen a parent with a screaming kid in a store. I always make a bit of a silent judgment. It's only human. Man, that kid is spoiled. Or that kid's a brat. Or that parent has no control. But sometimes it's just been a long day. Sometimes, circumstances prevent the normal nap from occurring. Sometimes, when you've driven 30 minutes to get to a store, you can't just turn around and go home because your kid is throwing a fit. Sometimes you refuse to give in because you know it will make it worse next time. Sometimes it's not a loss of control, but a carefully orchestrated, noisy control.
I know. I just lived it a few hours ago.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Single-parenting for 4 days...ice cream for dinner
Cristina is in Seattle for her cousin's wedding, so I'm a single parent for four days. Last night, we needed to go grocery shopping. I'm having a potluck at work on Friday, and I offered to make Costa Rican-style arroz con pollo (rice with chicken). It's kind of time consuming to make, and if everyone hadn't gotten so excited about it, I probably would have changed to something easy (i.e. store-bought) at the last minute, but it was too late for that. Knowing I had to make arroz con pollo on top of grocery shopping and getting the kids to bed meant I did not have the energy or time to cook a real meal for the family. So on the way home, I picked up Panda Express (just for the kids). That way I could get them to bed, make my arroz con pollo, and eat a little of that for my dinner before hitting the sack.
Well, I didn't finish the arroz con pollo until 11 pm. While I was fixing it, I ate a bowl of ice cream. That turned out to be my dinner. Nice.
Usually Bella wakes me up at 5:30 (half an hour before my alarm goes off), but for some reason, she slept snuggled up to me through several rounds of me hitting snooze on my alarm clock. So I got going a little late and barely got Sofia and Lindsay to school on time, and didn't have time to feed Alex and Bella breakfast! So I bought them a breakfast burrito from Sonic. Man, I've done a pretty lame job of single-parenting! Cristina often runs late, but she's never had to resort to buying fast food.
I got to work a mere 5 minutes before my first class, but at least I have the arroz con pollo for the potluck, all the kids are fed and at school, and we now have at least a few groceries.
The fuel light came on in the van. Hope I don't run out of gas!
Tomorrow: service project with some Baha'is (we're painting a mural on an elementary school), then Horton Hears a Who with Peter and his kids. I'll grill hot dogs for dinner Saturday night. I'll just keep the junk food theme going!
I don't think there's anything planned for Sunday, except for picking Cristina up Sunday evening. Then we have 5 days to get ready for my mom, who is coming for 3 weeks.
Man, life is fast and packed chock full. When I have times like this I sometimes think of an old James Taylor song: "The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time. Any fool can do it. There ain't nothing to it. Nobody knows how we got to the top of the hill, but since we're on our way down, we might as well enjoy the ride. Isn't it a lovely ride?"
Well, I didn't finish the arroz con pollo until 11 pm. While I was fixing it, I ate a bowl of ice cream. That turned out to be my dinner. Nice.
Usually Bella wakes me up at 5:30 (half an hour before my alarm goes off), but for some reason, she slept snuggled up to me through several rounds of me hitting snooze on my alarm clock. So I got going a little late and barely got Sofia and Lindsay to school on time, and didn't have time to feed Alex and Bella breakfast! So I bought them a breakfast burrito from Sonic. Man, I've done a pretty lame job of single-parenting! Cristina often runs late, but she's never had to resort to buying fast food.
I got to work a mere 5 minutes before my first class, but at least I have the arroz con pollo for the potluck, all the kids are fed and at school, and we now have at least a few groceries.
The fuel light came on in the van. Hope I don't run out of gas!
Tomorrow: service project with some Baha'is (we're painting a mural on an elementary school), then Horton Hears a Who with Peter and his kids. I'll grill hot dogs for dinner Saturday night. I'll just keep the junk food theme going!
I don't think there's anything planned for Sunday, except for picking Cristina up Sunday evening. Then we have 5 days to get ready for my mom, who is coming for 3 weeks.
Man, life is fast and packed chock full. When I have times like this I sometimes think of an old James Taylor song: "The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time. Any fool can do it. There ain't nothing to it. Nobody knows how we got to the top of the hill, but since we're on our way down, we might as well enjoy the ride. Isn't it a lovely ride?"
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Friday, April 4, 2008
Funny Flight Attendants
This will be quick and completely random.
I'm in the process of tidying up a pile of old paperwork. I found a note that I had scribbled on the plane when I took Alex to Florida last November. I remember I was still relatively new to blogging then, and when the flight attendant kept saying funny things over the PA system, I jotted them down, thinking they'd make good blog-material.
So instead of just chucking the paper, I'm honoring my original intentions.
Here are some snippets of pure comedic joy from a nameless Delta flight attendant, most of which went completely unnoticed by the tired/jaded travelers. You have to imagine the lines being said in that sweet, borderline-sappy voice that all flight attendants use:
"We will be coming around with a complimentary beverage...or you may pay for it if you prefer."
"We will also be offering delicious peanuts with complimentary cocktail napkin. If peanuts don't tickle your fancy, we suggest you try our second option...the knuckle sandwich."
"We're making our initial descent into Orlando...home of Carrot Top."
"We hope you enjoy your stay in Orlando. If Orlando is not your intended destination, we still hope you enjoy your time there."
Oh well. Maybe she just nailed my sense of humor that night, but I thought she was hilarious. I'm not going to wrap this up with some lame disclaimer like "I guess you had to be there."
But maybe you did have to be there.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Quickies
Been a while since I've blogged, so I'll slap a few random quickies on here.
Cristina's dad is expected to briefly visit here soon, probably this week. Cristina's mom will have a quick stay with us before heading out to Seattle for Trip's wedding. And my mom will be flying to Phoenix in April for a 3 week stay. So the next 2 months will be delightfully full of family. The grill will get a good workout!
Tonight, the Gator basketball team plays Arizona State in the NIT tournament...right here in Tempe. It's not too often that the Gators (football or basketball) play in Arizona, so I'm seizing the opportunity. Luckily, tickets for tonight's game aren't anywhere near the prices for the football team's last game here. I got my ticket for $17.
Sofia and Alex just finished their Spring Break. Mine was the week before theirs. During my spring break, my Uncle Doug and Aunt Lynn came to Phoenix for a funeral and spent a couple of nights with us. Great to visit with them. And Sofia had her huge presentation at school, which was about Hatshepsut, the female Pharaoh of Egypt. The presentation is a major focus of their spring semester and a large part of their grade. She practiced a lot and worked hard and it came out really well. We're very proud of her.
I'm still tutoring after school a couple of days a week, attending an after-school (paid) teacher training 4 times a month, and taking classes at South Mountain Community College. I interviewed my mom yesterday for a storytelling class and one of the questions was "what's the hardest you've ever worked." Sometimes I think this is the hardest I've worked!
Cristina's dad is expected to briefly visit here soon, probably this week. Cristina's mom will have a quick stay with us before heading out to Seattle for Trip's wedding. And my mom will be flying to Phoenix in April for a 3 week stay. So the next 2 months will be delightfully full of family. The grill will get a good workout!
Tonight, the Gator basketball team plays Arizona State in the NIT tournament...right here in Tempe. It's not too often that the Gators (football or basketball) play in Arizona, so I'm seizing the opportunity. Luckily, tickets for tonight's game aren't anywhere near the prices for the football team's last game here. I got my ticket for $17.
Sofia and Alex just finished their Spring Break. Mine was the week before theirs. During my spring break, my Uncle Doug and Aunt Lynn came to Phoenix for a funeral and spent a couple of nights with us. Great to visit with them. And Sofia had her huge presentation at school, which was about Hatshepsut, the female Pharaoh of Egypt. The presentation is a major focus of their spring semester and a large part of their grade. She practiced a lot and worked hard and it came out really well. We're very proud of her.
I'm still tutoring after school a couple of days a week, attending an after-school (paid) teacher training 4 times a month, and taking classes at South Mountain Community College. I interviewed my mom yesterday for a storytelling class and one of the questions was "what's the hardest you've ever worked." Sometimes I think this is the hardest I've worked!
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
A Man With a Plan
Cristina's cousin Trip (John Rogers III) is a captain in the Army. Even though he's a Florida State fan (always gotta give him a hard time about that) he's always been a great guy. He served in Iraq and recently came home. He's in the crazy home stretch of planning his wedding in Seattle, but somehow found the time to write this article for the Washington Post. There are several people on both sides of our family serving in the armed forces, so I feel it's appropriate to share one family member's feelings and conclusions about a war that is, to say the least, controversial.
Trip's Article
Trip's Article
Thursday, March 13, 2008
My First Grill
When we bought our house 2 and a half years ago, I always imagined having a gas grill on the back porch. I've never owned a grill, not even a cheap little charcoal grill. My parents had a gas grill when I was in high school, but that doesn't count. Now that I had my own house, I wanted to complete the package by grilling food for the family and friends in my own back yard.
Yet, two and a half years after moving into our house, we still had no grill. It was just too extravagant of a purchase. There was always something else we needed more, needs that were more pressing (for example, if Sofia is going to take piano lessons, we need to get her a keyboard).
With our new focus on debt reduction, it seemed even less likely that a grill would be in our immediate future. But then I got an idea.
In May, the government will be mailing out checks. The Economic Stimulus Package. The injection of cash intended to jump start our sagging economy. When I first heard about it, I thought we'd just put it towards our debt. But then I realized that it was my patriotic duty to spend at least some of it! After all, saving it or paying a credit card with it will not help the economy. So I decided (with Cristina's okay) to spend a quarter of the "free money" on a grill.
After extensive research, I made my choice. Monday, I picked up my Blue Ember.
I know what you're thinking. They don't mail those checks till May. Why did you get the grill now? Well, by May, it's starting to get pretty hot here. Right now is prime outdoor time. Highs in the upper 70's/low 80's. It would be a shame to wait until May and miss out on these 2 months of beautiful backyard grilling weather. It just so happened that the grill I chose is sold at Home Depot. I have a Home Depot credit card. If you make a purchase over $300, you get 6 months of no payments and no interest. Bingo! I can charge it now and when the check comes in May, I pay off the card.
I chose the Blue Ember by Fiesta for a few reasons. For one thing, it had all the features I could possibly want plus some bonus stuff that was just icing on the cake. I mean, it even has a bottle opener mounted on it. But more impressively, it's made with 304 quality stainless steel, which is better than you get in most grills of this relatively low price.
I decided to buy one in the box instead of one that was already assembled. Something about putting it together myself was more appealing. You get intimate with your stuff when you assemble it yourself. You know how it works, how it's built. I like that.
The only problem I had in assembly was in taking off the big stickers that they put on it for demo-ing all the features. They didn't come off cleanly and I had to use my fingernails and Goo-Gone. It was very anticlimactic to the whole assembly process.
I inaugurated it Tuesday night with some boneless chicken breasts and a big thick ribeye. It worked great and I didn't do too bad considering my lack of experience with grilling. I even got the cross-hatch grill marks down pat. Today I tried out the rotisserie and cooked a whole chicken. It also came out very nice. I grilled some zucchini and squash, as well as some garlic bread. Sofia made a comment about how I almost cooked the entire meal on the grill. Aww yeah.
My aunt and uncle arrived tonight for a short visit. Tomorrow I will grill some brined boneless pork chops. I can't wait!
I intended on taking lots of pictures of me building the grill, grilling my first meat, etc. But I couldn't find the camera for a few days (Cristina finally found it in my jacket pocket. Oops!). So for now, I'll just stick on some stock photos so you can at least see the style of it.
And if you want to come over to my house, I'll grill you up something to eat.
Yet, two and a half years after moving into our house, we still had no grill. It was just too extravagant of a purchase. There was always something else we needed more, needs that were more pressing (for example, if Sofia is going to take piano lessons, we need to get her a keyboard).
With our new focus on debt reduction, it seemed even less likely that a grill would be in our immediate future. But then I got an idea.
In May, the government will be mailing out checks. The Economic Stimulus Package. The injection of cash intended to jump start our sagging economy. When I first heard about it, I thought we'd just put it towards our debt. But then I realized that it was my patriotic duty to spend at least some of it! After all, saving it or paying a credit card with it will not help the economy. So I decided (with Cristina's okay) to spend a quarter of the "free money" on a grill.
After extensive research, I made my choice. Monday, I picked up my Blue Ember.
I know what you're thinking. They don't mail those checks till May. Why did you get the grill now? Well, by May, it's starting to get pretty hot here. Right now is prime outdoor time. Highs in the upper 70's/low 80's. It would be a shame to wait until May and miss out on these 2 months of beautiful backyard grilling weather. It just so happened that the grill I chose is sold at Home Depot. I have a Home Depot credit card. If you make a purchase over $300, you get 6 months of no payments and no interest. Bingo! I can charge it now and when the check comes in May, I pay off the card.
I chose the Blue Ember by Fiesta for a few reasons. For one thing, it had all the features I could possibly want plus some bonus stuff that was just icing on the cake. I mean, it even has a bottle opener mounted on it. But more impressively, it's made with 304 quality stainless steel, which is better than you get in most grills of this relatively low price.
I decided to buy one in the box instead of one that was already assembled. Something about putting it together myself was more appealing. You get intimate with your stuff when you assemble it yourself. You know how it works, how it's built. I like that.
The only problem I had in assembly was in taking off the big stickers that they put on it for demo-ing all the features. They didn't come off cleanly and I had to use my fingernails and Goo-Gone. It was very anticlimactic to the whole assembly process.
I inaugurated it Tuesday night with some boneless chicken breasts and a big thick ribeye. It worked great and I didn't do too bad considering my lack of experience with grilling. I even got the cross-hatch grill marks down pat. Today I tried out the rotisserie and cooked a whole chicken. It also came out very nice. I grilled some zucchini and squash, as well as some garlic bread. Sofia made a comment about how I almost cooked the entire meal on the grill. Aww yeah.
My aunt and uncle arrived tonight for a short visit. Tomorrow I will grill some brined boneless pork chops. I can't wait!
I intended on taking lots of pictures of me building the grill, grilling my first meat, etc. But I couldn't find the camera for a few days (Cristina finally found it in my jacket pocket. Oops!). So for now, I'll just stick on some stock photos so you can at least see the style of it.
And if you want to come over to my house, I'll grill you up something to eat.
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