Monday, May 26, 2008

Balancing act

Saturday, Eddie and Chas had friends over. (We watched them and next weekend their parents will watch Eddie and Chas. The kids love spending time together and the grown-ups actually get to go do grown up things. Like shop.)

Anyway, as part of the marathon of outdoor fun, we got all confident and took the training wheels off one of the bikes. Lo and behold, Eddie can ride with no training wheels. He can't really start on his own -- we've got to work on that. But he does great once he's rolling. His friend's parents were so impressed that I got a call from them today: Their son is now doing it.

Chas, ever the cautious child, is not so keen on trying this yet. I gotta say, I understand. I was a very aged 6 years old when I first learned to ride sans training wheels. I remember I felt so old and ashamed. And it took what seemed like an entire day of my dear old dad running along beside me. But in retrospect, I doubt it was more than an hour. We celebrated by getting dangly streamers and a horn for my bike. Oh, and I skinned more knees on my bike than I care to remember. Eddie, for his inaugural attempts, was fitted with elbow and knee pads (mostly because he was wearing shorts). Oh, and always a helmet -- something I never even heard of as a kid. Despite the fact that they will be the only kids on the street who wear 'em, the boys have known since they first got on a trike that helmets are required for people in this household. It's one of the few rules I know without a doubt I'm going to be a hard ass about. Too many years of covering crime and safety for me to do otherwise.

Friday, May 23, 2008

And now a break from my children to talk politics...

So CNN reports that Hillary and Barack campaigns are negotiating an end. good. As annoying as I find it that it's over for Hillary when she's so close (and that pundits have been calling it over for waaay too long, in essence creating a self-fulfilling prophecy) it is over. Apparently the Clinton camp wants to be able to publicly turn down the VP spot or have Barack retire her campaign debt.

Barack, I know you read my blog religiously. So listen up. You need to give Hillary what she wants. Show respect, not just lip service. Because the only thing that will motivate the mighty base of over 40 women who have felt some kinship with Hillary is to have her give a stirring and heartfelt endorsement. Otherwise, we're waiting to see what happens in 2012. Remember the old slogan "When women vote, Democrats win"? Please do.

Please also remember that the general election is going to be a lot different. For one thing, its rules are more closely aligned to the Republican primary than this proportional primary thing the Democrats did this year. And to remind you, if votes were counted in the primaries the way they will be in the general and the way they have been in every election until now -- winner-take-all -- Hillary would have been the presumptive nominee for weeks.

Oh yeah, one more thing. Don't call me "Sweetie."

Thursday, May 22, 2008

"Mommy, you're the best cook in the world!"

Don't get me wrong. I have no illusions about my culinary abilities. But I have, on more than a few occasions, worked hard to create a meal that would both nourish my family's bodies and their souls. I've cooked to present meals that would be a tangible expression of my love. Invariably, those efforts are greeted by "Eh" or "I don't YIKE it!"

But today, I got the payoff. Eddie said it first, and Chas quickly chimed in. My heart is full...with laughter. Here is the recipe that garnered such accolades:

Toast (with jam)

Ingredients:
2 slices of Multi-grain bread
1 pat of butter
Aprox. 1 tsp. Marionberry Jam

Take bread and insert in toaster -- one slice per slot. While bread toasts, soften butter in microwave (5 secs on high). When toast pops out, spread with butter, followed immediately by jam. Out of sheer laziness to avoid having to slice the pieces individually, put two slices together with jam and butter sides together to avoid mess while slicing (diagonally -- always diagonally!). Hand each boy a half "jamwich" without separating the pieces, again, out of sheer laziness. Repeat as necessary to quell the clamoring for more of this amazing dish.

Saturday, May 17, 2008

The. Greatest. Toy. Ever.

So Eddie's discovered something great. Something amazing. Something that can fill his days and nights with fun and excitement.

And it came from the Dollar Store.

What is this miracle? A calculator. More specifically, according to Eddie, a calculator that adds and subtracts. (For the record, it also multiplies and divides and I think even calculates square roots. That's of little interest to him. I, however, am amazed to see that he can pick up for a buck essentially the same machine my Dad bought in the early '70s for aout $70. Actually, it's better in many respects. Ahh, the ever-declining price of technology!)

Eddie views this thing as his own, personal miracle machine. It has given me some respite from constantly being asked to add increasingly large numbers for him. (Kid, I became a journalist for a reason and it wasn't because I was good at math.) However, now I'm getting peppered with questions like, "Wow! Mom, did you know that 1,100 plus 1,100 equals 2,200? You did? Wow. That's a really big number isn't it?" And on. And on. All of this because his preschool teacher started the 100 Club for kids who can count to 100 by 1s, 5s and 10s. Curses for actually getting my kid interested in math!

The good news is that if this trend continues, I'll not have to worry about him getting some girl pregnant in high school....

Saturday, May 03, 2008

A little too much Nascar Love

Eddie loves Nascar. Eddie, like many Nascar fans, really loves Dale Earnhardt Jr. Sadly, it's been 2 years since Junior's won a race. Last week, Eddie thought he'd do it. He didn't. Eddie cried.

This week things were looking good. With 15 or so laps to go, Junior was in 2nd and gaining on the leader. At about that point, I checked in with Eddie and his chin quivered. The cars went three wide and Junior moved into the lead in most exciting fashion. It was too much. Junior lead the field and Eddie sat crying in my lap, covering his eyes but peeking between his fingers every few seconds. "I don't want to hear who won if it's not Junior!" We were reassuring and muted the TV. At this point, even I was getting tense. With three laps to go, the dastardly Kyle Busch (who, until he won last week, was Eddie's second favorite driver) tried to pass. Somebody "got loose" and Busch hit Junior, pushing him sideways and spinning him around. Junior ended in 15th place.

Steph, meanwhile, had tried to reassure Eddie that even if Junior lost, he wouldn't cry because he'd tried his hardest and that was all that mattered. Then they interviewed Junior and by golly, the guy seemed on the verge of crying. Oy.

Anyway, we calmed Eddie but we now have a new rule. Eddie cannot watch another Sprint Cup race until Junior wins one. Until then, he's only going to watch Nationwide races, in which Junior does not compete. Oy.