Monday, November 20, 2006

Roary Rules

Jack and I had a very nice Mommy-Son Saturday this week. We had swimming class, and before that, we went to Burger King together for breakfast. In Jack's kids' meal was a little stuffed tiger. Major score! I named him Stripey, and Jack spent a lot of time excitedly pointing at Stripey and Roary and saying, "Tiger!" Stripey and Roary also roared at each other for a while, but it seemed to be in a friendly way. Even though Jack insisted on taking both tigers with us to Target, Roary seemed secure. After all, he is and always will be the #1 tiger in Jack's heart.

After swimming, Stripey stayed in the car, again showing Roary's superior status. Then on Sunday, when we got home from the mall, I handed Stripey to Jack, saying we should bring him inside.

Jack yelled, "NO MORE!" and threw Stripey across the car. He then pulled Roary over and gave him a big kiss. Triumphant, Jack yelled to Stripey, "BUH-BYE!"

Clearly, Jack is a one tiger man.

Friday, November 17, 2006

What Happened?

I can't believe it's been over a month since my last entry. I'd call myself a slacker, but the fact of the matter is, the only part of my life that I've slacked off in has been the blog. Here's a quick update:

• Steve and I went for a romantic weekend away in Charlottesville. Romantic, in particular, because of course, it was just the two of us. We stayed at a bed and breakfast in, as Steve put it, "God's pantry," a million miles away from just about everything. Before we had Jack, we would have packed in all kinds of activities -- sightseeing, restaurants, bars, maybe a concert or play. But this time, we were thrilled to be able to just laze around and read, take naps, and take our sweet time getting ready in the morning. We returned totally recharged -- and totally ready to see our Cub again.
• Jack's surgery has been rescheduled. It was supposed to happen on November 9, but the surgeon advised we change the date because he had a cold. It was really frustrating, because although I haven't exactly been looking forward to it, I was ready. I had everything lined up at work for me to be away for a while, and I was as mentally prepared as possible for it to happen. And Jack's a toddler in day care. It's November. When is he not going to have a cold? Anyway, the new date is November 30, and Steve and I are going to do everything short of putting him in a plastic bubble to try to keep him healthy so we don't have to reschedule again.
• Jack continues to be a funny, enthusiastic, and energetic little kid. Why walk when you can run, and why stand when you can hop? I've been worried about how he'll do as the weather gets colder and we can play outside less, because he tends to get cabin fever. To that end, I've enrolled us in some Toddler and Me swimming lessons every Saturday morning. And by "swimming," I mean, "standing in the swimming pool and singing songs." Jack absolutely loves it. At our first lesson, he beamed the entire time. At the beginning of the class, the instructor handed each kid a rubber duck and had us wait at the side of the pool while she gave instructions. The other kids sat placidly and held their ducks, while my kid repeatedly threw his in the water and laughed when I retrieved it. I don't think this means I've got the naughty kid in the class. Actually, I think it's weird that none of the other kids threw their ducks in the pool. Anyway, we are making Mommy-Son Saturday mornings routine, and it's great fun.
• I've been insanely busy at work. It's been a good kind of busy, but busy nonetheless. My company has a big party every year called Hingeing Day, each year with a different theme. This year, it was The Lost Temple of Hinge, kind of a Mayan-Aztec-Incan civilization-meets Indiana Jones. I love it when my job requires me to do things like find a giant rubber anaconda on the internet or build a large step pyramid in the office.
• I've got huge changes on the horizon, changes I'm too superstitious to talk about it quite yet. No, I am not pregnant.

And finally, here is a picture of me and the boys as superheroes. Jack refused to let Roary wear his Supertiger cape, but he was more than happy to wear his own Flash mask. He loved trick or treating, and also loved giving all of his candy to the other kids who came to our house.