a daddy

Dunwoody = Walmart?

2010-10-25T08:39:00.007-04:00

Coincidence?

The Alphabet According to Google

2010-09-08T14:03:00.002-04:00

With the launch of Google Instant today, we can create an alphabet book for the internet, according to Google that is, just by typing in one letter and seeing what this psychic version of Google search thinks we want.

I must say, most of these are pretty good guesses:

A is for Amazon
B is for Bank of America
C is for craigslist
D is for dictionary
E is for ebay
F is for Facebook
G is for gmail
H is for Hotmail
I is for IMDB
J is for, get this will you, Justin Bieber
K is for Kroger
L is for Lowes
M is for Mapquest (not Google Maps!?)
N is for Netflix
O is for Office Depot
P is for Publix
Q is for quotes
R is for REI
S is for Skype
T is for Target
U is for USPS
V is for Verizon
W is for Walmart
X is for Xbox
Y is for YouTube
Z is for Zappos

Sympathies to Wells Fargo, Home Depot, FedEx, and all the other brands that Google doesn't predict to be at top of mind...

Sex Discrimination in My Little Pony Land

2009-09-20T22:06:00.005-04:00

"Ponies are girls, Daddy."

-- 4 y.o. daughter (with disdain) in response to my asking where the boy ponies were in my daughters' voluminous My Little Pony collection

Who knew?

This was originally posted on my blog at:

http://adaddy.blogspot.com

A brief history of my 4th grade experience at Wilkes Academy

2009-09-11T15:47:00.007-04:00

After reconnecting with my fourth grade teacher on Facebook, I had a flood of memories from that special year that I just couldn't help but share. Unless you had something to do with Wilkes Academy or my class, then this is probably a post that is not worth your time.

The year was 1981. Ah, the early side of the crazy, crazy 80's.
We were the first fourth grade class that did not change classes. Mrs. Aycock was hired, and we got her all to our selves all day all year. All 15 or so of us... I need a yearbook to confirm just how many we were then.
Mrs. Aycock was young and full of fun. But she could be strict too. Mainly fun though.
I was amused, and still am, that on the first day of school my fellow students told Mrs. Aycock that we'd have a new student in our class who would be arriving in a few weeks from Taiwan. How they knew it and she didn't remains a mystery. Jennifer did eventually show up, fresh from Taiwan. Her dad was in the military. (Has anyone connected with her on Facebook? Surely she's out there somewhere. She was working for a bank in the D.C. metro area several years ago.)
Mrs. Aycock lived in Lincolnton. Since we had no one in our class from Lincolnton, I was, up until that point, unaware of this whole Lincoln County culture who seemingly lived in the middle of nowhere. I still don't quite understand that town. You go there, and then you realize that you're not anywhere. No offense, it's just somehow the incarnation of the seemingly paradoxical juxtaposition of suburban sprawl on top of a quaint rural town. The result? It's basically a place you go and you're still nowhere.
We had very ancient (red, at least originally?) carpet in the room that we, as a class, took up one day. The carpet was so rotten that we swept up huge piles of black dust, basically the disintegrated underside of the carpet. I swept, it seems, all day. It was hot, and I got blisters on my hands. Angela/Angie B. wanted the broom but I wouldn't give it up.
Mrs. Aycock got a roll of fake hardwood vinyl donated (by Alex perhaps?). We were the envy of the school once that was installed. And that was before hardwoods came back in style (and also before vinyl went out!).
A particularly memorable incident involved Jennifer (who has exceed her 15 seconds of fame in this post already) as the unfortunate victim of being caught up in the carpet as the rest of the class pulled up the carpet. I remember Mrs. Aycock yelling at everyone about the this carpet demolition riot. But Jennifer sure did roll quite well as the carpet knocked her down and begin to wrap around her body. She fully recovered.
At some point we formed "clubs" and Eric (who had by then fully recovered from his Midwestern pronunciation of "nice" and "rice") insisted on having a Dial "M" for Murder Club. The support for the quickly vanished when Mrs. Aycock kept pressing him with the question "but what would the club do?" Uhm. Good question. Let's keep this legal.
Fourth grade was the first year that everyone in the class accepted the fact that the jolly man with bowl full of jelly belly was basically a hoax. I don't really recall being devastated over this. I mean we still got toys, right?
Interestingly enough, everyone got an Atari 2600 that year for Christmas. Except for me. Well don't feel too bad because I did get the Sear's private label version called a "Video Arcade." It was basically the Atari version that had a faux wood panel glued on the front. What was Sears thinking and why couldn't they just sell stuff without their name on it? (I still ask that question today. Some things never change.) Anyway, my mom's love affair with that store only ended when our catalog sales center closed.
Pac-Man fever had seized the nation. Mrs. Aycock was a huge fan of Pac-Man. I'm not sure why. Was this the featured game at the hot club in Lincolnton? Somehow I was an avid fan as well even though I was too young to drive to the arcade, and even if I got there, I didn't have the quarters to play the game more than once or twice.
The arcade was located in a long skinny building that once housed a fabric shop. It had a War Lords game in the corner that you could sit down at on nice black vinyl. I went to Chris' birthday party there, but otherwise, the arcade was teenage territory.
I have the "original arcade version" of Pac-Man on my phone now. Freaky.
We wrote our own books as a special project that year. I wrote a book based on Pac-Man. Yes, it was a gripping work of fiction that featured Pacu as the main character. Plot development was not my strength in that fine work of literature, but somehow I did know that writing about a cultural trendy topic was the key to success rather than wasting my time developing gripping content. I even had one of the wiggly plastic eyes that I glued on the cover's picture of Pacu. This was obviously an early indicator that I have knack for marketing. The third grade class got wind of my book and asked that their teacher read it to them. I need to dig that book up. Perhaps I could market it as a e-book for the Kindle.
Since I'm evidently practicing full disclosure here, I also had a Pac Man 33 LP (If you don't know what a 33 LP is, please just keep that to yourself as it will make me feel a bit old). It featured the song Pac-Man Fever. It was the only good song. OK, that's not fair. Do the Donkey Kong was not that bad. When you got to Froggy's Lament, a remorseful song about Frogger's unfortunate contact with a speeding pixelated Ford Pinto, it started going downhill fast. Think you can find that one on iTunes?
Thinking about Sears reminded me of Sky City. I recall that Sky City was the most amazing store in the world. It was the only place you could buy a shirt, an aquarium fish, and a 45. If you don't know what a 45 is, see the note above on a 33 LP.
We studied volcanoes and I felt compelled to make one as a class project. Mine was fairly large, however I added too much dish soap to the vinegar solution (to make the lava more bubbly), and its red food color tinted eruption was just way too slow for my tastes. Angela/Angie (who kept changing her name) Blackburn had a smaller volcano that exploded really fast. Mrs. Aycock wanted my volcano but I wouldn't give it too her. I should have, because I had no room for it at my house.
Mrs. Aycock felt it was her duty to indoctrinate us in the concept of the pop quiz. She would give us multiple quizzes a day. In fact, I had more pop quizzes in 4th grade than I had combined the rest of my entire life. While that was rather torturous for fourth graders, I did appreciate learning how to deal with and properly manage the fear that accompanies the announcement of a pop quiz...that is for the whole 2 more times it happened ever, including college.
We learned about cells in the human body at a pretty basic level. Even though Mrs. Aycock told us repeatedly that individual cells were too small to be seen by the naked human eye, a lengthy queue formed at her desk of students asking if various things on the skin of their hands were actual individual cells. I thought that they should just take Mrs. Aycock at her word on that one. (Jennifer, this is a part I could write about you again, but I won't.)
I really have nothing against Jennifer. She just has occupied more than her fair share of my memories of 4th grade for some reason.
Each day we got the announcement (and absentee) list distributed to our room. Mrs. Aycock would put it in the top drawer of her desk. She had the entire year's worth of announcements in that drawer. I think my fondness for organization and archiving makes this particular unremarkable memory stand out.
I learned about the Ford Tough Quality of Mrs. Aycock's maroon Ford Escort Station Wagon. On our year end trip to Six Flags Over Georgia, I was sitting in the back seat. Sitting in the driver's seat, she could feel my knee sticking into her back through the seat. Very impressive, Detroit.
Also at year end, Mrs. Aycock invited us to her house to swim in the pool that she had told us stories about the entire year (e.g., she had to put ice in her pool one summer when the water temperature was consistently too hot to enjoy swimming in). I remember admiring all of her high tech equipment that had not made it to my household such as a VCR (the big kind with 2 channel knobs on the top) and a microwave.
I did actually have other classmates besides Jennifer, Eric, and Angie/Angela. But obviously, they just weren't that memorable until their antics in high school. I'm guessing they might not want me to write a post on that. :)
I'm sure we actually learned stuff in 4th grade. I just can't recall much specifically. I think we started learning long division, and then Mrs. Aycock realized we weren't grasping it at all. We revisited it later on and everyone got the hang of it.
All these thoughts about 4th grade make me recall my 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Baldwin, who totally freaked me out with her real life ghost stories and witches with 6 fingers, but I guess that's the topic for another post another day...
The 4th grade classroom was the same room I had Pre-K in with Mrs. Poss. And on graduation day, it was the room we met in with our robes on and walked to the gym for the graduation ceremony. Funny how my 14 years at Wilkes Academy came full circle, beginning and ending in that seemingly sacred room.
Hail to thee Wilkes Academy!

I have no idea when the last time was that I saw Mrs. Aycock, but it sure was great to discover her on Facebook.

What are your memories? I look forward to your comments.

If you're reading this post on Facebook, the original version can be found on my blog at http://adaddy.blogspot.com.

Lip Synch-ing on the Subway

2009-08-18T10:09:00.002-04:00

I'm not always sure why some things strike me as funny. This video shot on an Atlanta MARTA train does! Worth a watch to the end to see the I-don't-miss-a-beat interruption.

DeKalb County Efficiency at Work Once Again

2009-08-05T16:05:00.003-04:00

Evidently someone at the library is trying to justify their position and prove relevancy. I received a "bill" from the Patron Services Department at the Dekalb Library Processing Center (who knew libraries were so complex?) stating that I owned $6 in overdue fines. Keep in mind that all books had been returned.

Just so you'll know, Mooncake got hidden under the couch and it took a while to uncover it.

The postage for this library bill cost $0.335. Adding printing, paper, and who knows what kind of salary/administrative overhead probably took the cost of generating and mailing this bill close to the amount I actually owe them.

Funny thing is, I can walk into a library and check out a book without paying this, yet they're spending money to try to collect it.

You'd think that I had checked out the Rosetta Stone and failed to return it or something.

If you're reading this elsewhere, this posting originated on my blog at http://adaddy.blogspot.com.

The missing piece

2009-06-27T07:10:00.000-04:00

- is inevitably in the center of the puzzle.
- has an increased probablity of occurence with the presence of a two
year old.
- somehow decreases the accomplishment of assembling just 999 pieces.

Clear to Cease Operations

2009-06-24T11:18:00.000-04:00

This stinks. Another victim of the credit market meltdown.

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Clear Customer Service" <clearsupport@flyclear.com>
Date: June 23, 2009 12:20:09 AM EDT
Subject: Clear to Cease Operations

Clear to Cease Operations

At 11:00 p.m. PST today, Clear will cease operations. Clear's parent company, Verified Identity Pass, Inc. has been unable to negotiate an agreement with its senior creditor to continue operations.

After today, Clear lanes will be unavailable.

Sincerely,
Clear Customer Support

Verified Identity Pass
600 Third Avenue
10th Floor
New York, NY 10016

What was McDonald's thinking?

2009-06-20T12:49:00.000-04:00

Fresh black rubber in the sun. Hmmm. About 150 degrees plus on a
normal summer day in South Georgia.

State Farm + H.E.R.O = Smart Ad!

2009-06-12T11:39:00.001-04:00

Both are winners in this advertising deal. Kudos.

Be the most spiritual and win a cruise

2009-06-12T00:15:00.002-04:00

During a recent gasoline price spike, a church made the news for giving away gas cards. Now it seems that Life Point Church in Smyrna, Georgia has upped the ante with its Biggest Looser contest:

"Family and friends will be able to nominate those who have and continue to
demonstrate a spiritually transformed life from May 10th to June 14th. The
nominating person will record a 60-second video testimony of how God has changed
their nominee’s life. The nominating person needs to provide specific
descriptions as to what ways their nominee has displayed godly characteristics
as well as how it has affected the lives around that person."

Even though the web site states that "the winners will be selected...based upon spiritual transformation, not on popularity," it goes on to say that the "prizes will be awarded to the nominee’s [sic] who received the most total votes."

It appears that the church, although perhaps with only good intentions, is using voting and judgment to assess spirituality. Scary.

(Now if the prize were a trip to Fantasy Island...)

I wish them smooth sailing.

Churches and Orchestras: Strikingly Similar

2009-06-10T13:58:00.004-04:00

Marketing guru Seth Godin captivated my attention in this blog post which is in one of his books. It struck me that one could substitute the name of any church for the Bowling Green orchestra and worship style/content/format for "music" and the story could turn out the same.

A few of Seth's quotes to emphasize:

It starts by understanding worldview.
The challenge is now to make it easy for people to tell the story to their friends.
If your target audience isn't listening, it's not their fault, it's yours. If one story isn't working, change what you do, not how loudly you yell (or whine).

The orchestra's director is, according to their web site, "known for his unorthodox method of combining classical and popular music on the same program." On his blog he recently wrote about a performance called Beethoven, Barns and Brats:

"Last Saturday night was a first for me. Orchestra Kentucky performed Beethoven's Fifth Symphony in a thoroughbred horse barn. The experience made me wonder whether it was a first for that piece. On a deeper level, however, it begs the question of whether orchestras should bring music to the masses or whether they should wait for the general public to come to them."

Wow, the similarities are quite overwhelming. I could write for days.

However, back to the original article, the orchestra's director fails to address how they keep the traditionalists happy in the process.

Evidently they did.

Thoughts?

2 y.o. Bliss

2009-06-10T08:58:00.001-04:00

Although not readily apparent, her parents are more blissful than she
during these moments of absence of terrible-two terror and world
domination.

I just minded my own business

2009-06-09T15:38:00.004-04:00

A wake up call for us all comes out of this murder reported in yesterday's AJC.

A watermelon may have triggered the deadly shooting of a 6-year-old boy by his grandfather Sunday afternoon, according to police. ...
Neighbor Rita Whitman indicated there were signs of verbal abuse.

“It breaks my heart,” said Whitman, the mother of three teenagers. “I hate to say this because I feel like we should have said or done more, but there were times we heard him yelling at those kids. The one that he killed, he did yell at him a lot. You did see the occasional explosion of anger. He would just use terrible language, cussing so bad at that one boy.

“I only witnessed that two or three times but I just minded my own business. But I never, ever dreamed it was dysfunctional to the point that there would be violence.”

Are we all minding our own business?

Perhaps we shouldn't be.

An interesting marriage

2009-03-19T09:45:00.000-04:00

As seen in Dekalb County, Georgia. Perhaps this is their attempt at
offering a combo deal? Or perhaps they've discovered that if you have
one, you need the other. Government brings us a one-stop shop!

Footnote to All Prayers

2009-02-09T09:49:00.002-05:00

Written by Christian apologist C. S. Lewis who was certainly not known for his poems, this one does an amazing job of describing how we overlay what we know onto God, thus effectively attempting to box the unboxable in.

He whom I bow to only knows to whom I bow
When I attempt the ineffable Name, murmuring Thou,
And dream of Pheidian fancies and embrace in heart
Symbols (I know) which cannot be the thing Thou art.
Thus always, taken at their word, all prayers blaspheme
Worshiping with frail images a folk-lore dream,
And all men in their praying, self-deceived, address
The coinage of their own unquiet thoughts, unless
Thou in magnetic mercy to Thyself divert
Our arrows, aimed unskillfully, beyond desert;
And all men are idolators, crying unheard
To a deaf idol, if Thou take them at their word.

Take not, O Lord, our literal sense. Lord, in thy great
Unbroken speech our limping metaphor translate.

I'm watching you Dad -- Video

2009-02-02T10:19:00.001-05:00

(Just don't let your kid run around when you're mowing.)

Good Advent Read: Derek Maul's In My Heart I Carry a Star

2008-12-19T23:49:00.003-05:00

Rarely have I stuck to reading through something consistently for the entire Advent season. Let's just say, so far so good! Hopefully this post won't jinx my efforts.

I am working with Tampa Tribune columnist, Derek Maul, on a retreat to be held in April. In November he came out with In My Heart I Carry a Star: Stories for Advent. And stories they are.

Derek has a wonderful story telling ability and is not afraid to reveal his emotions and thoughts in a way that only an authentic style of communication can do. It's not too late to order this book for a read after Advent or even to hold for next year.

Evidence of Bad Parenting

2008-12-07T12:09:00.000-05:00

You know those rental stroller carts at the mall? With the prominent
instructions on the back, evidently someone tried this more than once!

Not a good day for Dora

2008-11-25T17:56:00.000-05:00

It is not known if this was accident related injury or a form of
capital punishment

Infinite Imagination

2008-11-23T16:21:00.001-05:00

The things my children can entertain themselves with for hours upon
hours continually amaze me. This pictured playtime shows 2 families of
foam puzzle pieces enjoying dinner (evidently in a duplex). I will
endeavor to enjoy it while it lasts!

Seen while driving

2008-08-11T11:54:00.002-04:00

Peachtree Road. Brookhaven. 8 a.m. Today.

Car in motion. Driver brushing teeth.

I must ask: Why? Were they that late to work? Could it not wait?

And then further curiosity makes me think: Were they using toothpaste? Do they have a mobile spittoon? Surely they didn't swallow their toothpaste.

Talk about multi-tasking while driving...

Things grown ups can do

2008-08-11T11:14:00.004-04:00

Heard at the dinner table:

E.: I don't want to grow up.

A.: Yes you do, E.! Then you can cut your food better with knives and drink things that grown ups drink--like Coke.

[whew, she just implicated Mommy and not me!]

A.: ...and things like Daddy is drinking!! (pointing to my beer bottle on the table)

[didn't escape did I?]

This is one of those times when the increased awareness of my children is a bit shocking.

Poke vs. Poop: An Inaugural Blog Appearance by Mommy

2008-06-06T10:33:00.005-04:00

Mommy makes her first appearance on this blog with today's post:

"Here's the conversation I overheard at the breakfast table this morning...

A: Mommy, I just poked my eye out.

E: [inaudible response since I was in the other room]

A: No E! [with frustration] I didn't POOP my eye out, I POKED my eye out.

Mommy: [laughing in the other room, assuming that A. really hadn't poked or pooped her eye out]"

OK, thanks Mommy for sharing! Now back to Daddy:

Speaking of poop, the kids have been talking for several weeks about Pooper, a creature that they interact with on one of their play websites and on TV. Several times I tried to confirm with them (for some reason deferring to the authority of 3 and 4 year olds) that they were talking about a real character and not just some imaginary play friend they made up. Yes, the character's name was Pooper they told me. I thought, "what is this world coming to that the media-powers-that-be give a kid's character the name Pooper??!"

So finally last Saturday, E. was begging to go to PBSKids.org to play with Pooper. A little guinea pig popped up and was saying his name was Pooper in a pre-pubescent voice-- I was like ohmygosh, I can't believe PBS did this to me. I mean I could understand if Disney stooped to such, but not PBS-home-of-Mr.Rogers-and-The-Electric-Co.! This creature was obviously designed by someone without kids.

But then Mommy heard it and informed us all that it was Hooper, not Pooper. E. was thoroughly upset and continued to insist that his name was Pooper.

Still, I think the PBS people should have considered another name because he'll always be Pooper to me.

Heard in the house

2008-06-05T11:01:00.002-04:00

E., who was intent upon finishing a picture she was coloring, was told that it was time to go to bed.

She replied in her complaining almost whining tone,

"Daddy, I don't want to go to bed every day!"

I felt I was pretty safe in sharing an absolute with her, in this case, letting her know that everybody did every day. (She can wait until at least college to discover otherwise.)

Mother's Day Art

2008-05-10T22:36:00.000-04:00

Pre-K Mother's Day Tea

2008-05-09T16:27:00.000-04:00

My Wish

I hope the days come easy and the moments pass slow,
and each road leads you where you want to go,
and if you're faced with a choice, and you have to choose,
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.
and if one door opens to another door closed,
I hope you keep on walkin' 'til you find the window,
if it's cold outside,show the world the warmth of your smile,
more than anything, more than anything,

My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
your dreams stay big, your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
and while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yes, this, is my wish.

C's First hair cut

2008-04-27T22:06:00.000-04:00

Fun at the Fair

2008-04-20T22:30:00.001-04:00

Playground Fun

2008-03-22T22:20:00.002-04:00

Princess Sofa Pose

2008-03-20T22:02:00.001-04:00

Mommy knows best

2007-11-05T19:57:00.000-05:00

Heard at the house:

I don't think it's a good idea for the children to fly around the house unsupervised on a broom.

Dad didn't think it that bad of an idea.

4 hands are better than 2

2006-10-06T08:22:00.000-04:00

A.: Last night you and Daddy put me to bed.
Mommy: That’s right.
A.: Four hands tucking me in.

Little things mean a lot. ~~Even~~ Especially at 3.

Nineveh and Some Guy

2006-10-02T09:40:00.000-04:00

Mommy: What did you learn at Sunday School?
A.: A whale swallowed a person.
Mommy: Oh, and what was his name?
A.: I don’t know.
Mommy: You don’t?
A.: No.
[Pause]
But God told him to go to Nineveh.

Evidently in a 3-year old’s mind, Nineveh is much higher on the retention scale, or just more fascinating, than Jonah. Toy marketers, pay attention.

Baby Cher

2006-09-26T23:55:00.000-04:00

I got you, Babe. Yeah...

E. loved wearing this wig. In fact, she loves putting on anything: shoes, costumes, hats, helmets.

E's First Haircut

2006-09-26T23:44:00.000-04:00

No smiles were captured, but it wasn't as painful as it looked.

Shoes, Glorious Shoes: Our Imelda Marcos Protoge

2006-09-26T23:42:00.000-04:00

Little E. loves two things in the world. First and foremost, she loves milk. Rude is her mood at meal time until she gets that sippy cup at meal time. But following that, shoes are the next best thing. Now at almost 20 months, we attribute her mastery of the words "off" and "on" because she uses those as her commands to you when she brings you a pair of shoes. And she’ll do it for hours.

You just sit there, and she’ll scavage her room, A.’s room, and our room and bring you one pair of shoes at a time. You take off her shoes, put on the new ones, and she runs around with them on like it’s the first pair she’s ever worn. Now it doesn’t matter if these shoes are 2 sizes too small or if they are daddy’s big old shoes. She is happy as long as her feet are in them. And then repeat this process over and over until she gets hungry.

Want to see this child throw a fit? Try taking her, strapped in a stroller, into a shoe store and just buy shoes for her sister. No amount of stickers will appease her. She’ll feel slighted for life and repeatedly cuss you out in her babble, that is, until she gets milk.

I pity her poor husband. He’ll have to make sure she’s got an Imelda Marcos-sized closet or else they’ll have a pretty high monthly rental bill from the self-storage place.

And the gender is

2006-08-29T10:07:00.000-04:00

Every non-revenue producing blog seems to take a hiatus now and then. And after a great start, in the spring, I did that while in daddy-needs-a-new-job-cause-he-ain't-got-one mode. So, now that I'm happily employed once again, I thought it'd be a great time to kick start my blog with a gender announcement. Number 3, we're told, is going to be a girl. We're well-outfitted with clothes of all sizes for all seasons from A. and E. No. 3 will be a superb hand-me-down dresser.

This news, less than 24 hours old, is told with 98% accuracy! Everything else looks healthy and happy. Mommy is still in a bit of shock and experiencing guilt because she'd been "thinking of this one as a boy." I don't think there'll be any long lasting psychological repercussions affecting the child, just Daddy's checkbook.

"I can't believe we're having three girls," Mommy says.

"Well, the decision tree didn't take that long to create. 50/50 makes it pretty easy to predict and prepare for the possible outcomes," I said.

Hmmm. I guess guys just think of these things a little more factually. Meanwhile, the rest of the women population in our family, extended family, and friends are already speculating on the hair color ("Will this one be a brunette??!"). And of course after birth this rampant speculation will continue ("It's going to all fall out and come back in darker." "No I think it will come back lighter." "It's going to stay this color. Look at her eyebrows." "That's just like your fill-in-the-blank-with-a-relative's-name's fill-in-the-blank-with-a-body-part-that-hopefully-typically-has-hair.")

I'm glad we can produce children that provide such joyous conversations, hypotheses, and betting on the side.

I, on the other hand, sum it up a little more concretely:

Yes, it's a girl. I love girls in fact.
No, our insurance premiums won't go up; they're already maxed out at "family." It's nice to have those economies of scale. (And I hear auto insurance premiums are a bit more favorable for the ladies!)
Yes, there'll be (hopefully) 3 weddings to pay for unless Kelda secretly passes on her elopement advice.
Yes, people should, from time to time, feel sorry for me being the only male in the house.
Yay, we don't have to buy all new clothes, bedding, etc. that are simply a different color.
Now we can get bunk beds and put them all in the same room. ("I get an office!") We wouldn't want one to feel left out of all of the roomie fun now would we?
January 21 (or probably sooner) is D-Day! (They'll be about 2 years between No. 3 and E., and A. will be 3 1/2 years old.)
A. will always be the Queen Bee. E. is the middle child, sandwich meat, Oreo filling, whatever you want to call it. Let's just get it out in the open once for all. Don't worry. She'll be fine. Daddy will see to that! She's quite the "pistol" these days (and that comes unprompted from unaffiliated sources). She'll make herself known on her own.

Until then, I've got a backlog of posts while A. and E. still get all of the attention. Stay tuned!

Safety Queen

2006-04-17T19:47:00.000-04:00

Out of the blue last week, daughter A. says, "Daddy, I want a helmet."

"What? A helmet for what?" I say.

"I need a helmet for my tricycle."

I have no clue where she gets these ideas as I have not felt compelled to lecture her on bicycle safety quite yet.

A. is truly the Safety Queen in the family always being the cautious one. Her younger sister, just the opposite, throws caution to the wind and has more bumps and bruises at 1 than A. has had in her entire life.

Fortunately, the Easter Bunny's order hadn't been placed yet, and we were able to get it in on a rush. When she saw her Easter Basket, she simply exclaimed, "MY helmet."

I have never seen her so excited over something she received. She's pictured on the right wearing it before the packaging had even been removed (still in her PJs and holding Baby, of course).

I'm sure that she'll continue to keep the family in line when it comes to safety. In fact, she just asked if I'd tested our smoke detectors within the past 6 months.

Please say "please"

2006-04-05T09:10:00.000-04:00

It is an understatement to say that manners are challenging to teach a 2-year-old. At times, it is like trying to convince a cat to jump into a pool. I believe and hope that consistency is the key in the journey to instill manners in children (but not really useful in cat training).

Sometimes manners are there, but other times they’re out the window.

At the dinner table.
Me: Would you like some more chicken?
Daughter A.: Uh huh.
Me: [feigning deafness] I'm sorry. I didn’t hear you. What was that you said?
Daughter A.: [Loudly] UH HUH!
Mommy and Me: [Trying rather unsuccessfully not to laugh out loud]

I am not alone

2006-03-31T07:36:00.000-05:00

OK, sorry to harp on Dora the Explorer, but it is just so easy to do. Daddy Zine shares some of my feelings in one of his recent posts with a few added links of my own (just in case your vocabulary is equally as deficient as mine):

You haven't seen my glasses anywhere, have you?

There's some chance they spontaneously combusted when daughter L. asked me to read her new Dora the Explorer book for the fifth time. Were I to express my opinion fully on the matter of the Dora book there is some chance the Third Commandment [link mine, but you can probably guess which one] might come in for a little rough usage.
(As an aside, you'll note in the Amazon.com blurb for this moderately compendious [link mine] volume, "Dora and her best friend, Boots, go on more adventures than you can count." Which is sort of sad, because I just glanced at the book and it appears they go on seven adventures. Unless the publishers were not satisfied with having sapped my will to live and have also chosen to afflict me with dyscalculia [link mine].)

Daughter A. throughout a normal day emulates some trait of each of the characters found in Dora's stories (as previously described). Swiper, when he gets a chance to actually steal, will often throw the loot off a ways and say, "You'll never find it now!!"

A. loves to take her toys when about to be grabbed by younger daughter E. and throw them across the room.

"You'll never find them now," she exclaims to E.

"What's up with this chick," E. thinks to herself with a bewildered
expression.

I have a feeling that we're going to need to work on our choice of role models. Thanks, TiVO.

However, it's quite amusing to have a "bilingual" two-year-old with no effort on my own part.

"Let's go, Daddy. ¡Vamonos!"

Thank goodness I had that Spanish in high school or I'd be wondering what's going on.

Adios.

The throw-up throw down

2006-03-30T15:41:00.000-05:00

One major drawback to kids, as I have discovered from personal experience, is the fact that parents have to come in contact, from time to time, with a wide spectrum of fluids that originate from bodies other than their own. This is a story of such contact.

Let me start by saying I’m so glad that I was not present when this happened. Dear Wife was not so fortunate.

A. had a stomach virus. It didn’t seem all that severe. She had thrown up early in the morning and had been fine for several hours. DW thought, “Oh, that must be all that’s going to happen. Let’s go out in public.”

By now, surely, you have already recognized the err of her ways.

Dear Wife chose to meet another mom, who I shall label Poor Friend for the purpose of this story, at Mellow Mushroom, a local pizza joint. PF had an 11-month old, one of E.’s good buddies, with her. A. wasn’t in the best of spirits, but she was functioning fine throughout the entire meal.

The quality of life quickly plummeted as A. announced, “My stomach hurts” and then proceeded to throw up all over DW’s shoulder, her booster seat, and the booth. And it wasn’t just once but was described by first-hand witnesses as seemingly endless, continuous flows, not unlike Niagara Falls.

The diners in the adjacent booth escaped a soaking by a mere fraction of a millimeter and amazingly never even noticed their imperilment. PF sat in stunned silence, I’m sure calculating how best to protect herself and her innocent babe from infection of this obviously deadly disease. DW was frozen in shock as well with thoughts running through her head such as, “What was I thinking taking this child out in public!? Surely this isn’t happening” while her shoulder continue to be soaked by the ongoing flow.

(Did I mention I was so glad not to be there?)

As soon as the well had run dry and clothing was shed, DW escorted A. out of the restaurant, holding her hand. A.’s pants having been removed, she was walking out wearing only a shirt, a diaper, and her shoes. I’m sure the observers who missed the main act wondered why this poor little girl was being paraded in public with no pants in the dead of winter.

I’ve always heard that the first child is experimental. I guess it’s confirmed.

Awwwww Man: Dora strikes again!

2006-03-29T07:49:00.000-05:00

In every episode of Dora the Explorer, there's a battle with Swiper, a swifty fox who loves to steal. By shouting, "Swiper, no swiping" three times, his ability to steal is squelched and he replies, "Awwww mannnnn" in a whiney little fox voice as he runs off the screen.

One day A. was, as usual, attempting to guard her coveted toys from her sister, E., who is deterred by nothing unless she spots an opportunity to eat. Allie stood in front of her toys and yelled, "Swiper, no swiping! Swiper, no swiping! Swiper, no swiping!" with the sincere belief that this would prevent E. from getting her toys. How funny is that?

I'm sure E. was momentarily delayed and confused by this quick outburst, but I'm positive that she didn't reply, "Awwwww man!"

Baby Substitute exposed

2006-03-28T07:47:00.000-05:00

Almost every child has a toy, usually a stuffed animal or doll, that becomes the chosen one, the favorite, the must-have-all-the-time item. Parents live in mortal fear that this coveted toy will be lost, left, forgotten, dropped in the river, accidentally thrown away, mistakenly shipped to Brazil, or shredded by a pack of stray dogs. When something is taken everywhere your child goes, it's not a matter of if but when a crisis will occur due to the premature termination of your child's loving bond with the object.

A.'s favorite toy is a Gund baby doll that she has affectionately named Baby. It is a mystery as to why exactly Baby was ordained to carry out this role, but up to this point, A. has not felt compelled to offer an explanation.

Mommy and I shudder to think what might happen if Baby were to ever meet her Maker before her time. A. won't go to sleep at night unless she is holding Baby in her arms. A. prefers not to leave the house unless Baby comes along. Baby gets to sit out the dinner table, attend numerous tea parties, be read to, rock, swing, and say her bedtime prayers. In fact, A.'s childhood fantasies are literally lived vicariously through Baby. Neither one of us ever wanted to be the bearer of bad news that Baby was forever lost. Enter the clever back up plan...

When Mommy discovered that Baby was discontinued by Gund and not readily available for purchase, she quickly sent out an All Points Bulletin to the relatives, friends, and extended family to be on the lookout for a replacement Baby: the just-in-case-the-unthinkable-should-happen Baby Substitute. Evidently, the only things you can't buy on eBay are human body parts, people, and A.'s Baby Gund doll.

Fortunately, one of our out-of-state relatives spotted a genuine Baby Substitute in a local store and purchased it for us. We were now prepared for the worst. If Baby should croak, we would quickly and slyly pull out the new one, and life would be grand. And wouldn't we look so smart? Parenting Magazine would be calling us for interviews. Katie Couric and Today would be set up in our front yard.

One day when Baby needed a bath in the washing machine to remove the grime acquired from 24/7 living with a two-year-old, Mommy offered up Baby Substitute to A. in the dark when she was in her bed. A. immediately said, "That's not Baby!" In the dark she knew, I tell you. She felt the doll and could tell that it's travels were only extensive as to the top of our closet where she had been hidden away until needed. Clean and shiny Baby Substitute was quickly labeled a fraud. This was not Baby!! Where is Baby!?

Couldn't we just say, "Baby went to the spa and got that deep cleansing treatment to make her skin silky smooth. Face masks have come a long way in technology to remove those pesky fuzz balls. And yes, she stopped by the Baby boutique and got another Onesie since the other one had a few worn spots"? Evidently A. wouldn't buy that.

So far, Baby has survived (knock on wood) as a fully functioning member of the family although she's a bit tattered. With each new sign of wear, A.'s love for her has only grown. Baby Substitute, now fully exposed and out of the closet, has been given to E. A., to protect her copyrighted name, has refused to allow us to call it E.'s Baby but has instead renamed Baby Substitute to Baby Sister, appropriately enough. E. doesn't quite have the same affinity for Baby Sister. Her biggest thrill is to chew on Baby Sister's night cap, tackle her in the crib, and then fall asleep on her. I think E., taking the practical approach, views her more as a pillow.

We just thought we were going to outsmart our two-year-old daughter, but she could instantly see through our plan. And I hear that parenting only gets harder. My gosh.

Don't throw the baby out...

2006-03-23T08:28:00.000-05:00

For some reason, 2 kids just don't make our lives crazy enough. This conversation occurred several months ago when E. was around 10 months old. A. is 19 months older.

A. easily grasped the concept of old and new when she was quite young. "Old milk" (e.g., a cup left sitting out too long) was something we didn't drink. We emphasized "new milk" to help her to learn not to drink spoiled milk.

Us: One day, A., we're hopefully going to have a new baby. You'll have a new little brother or sister!
A.: [Pointing to E.] That's the old baby. We're going to get a new one!
Us: Uhm, yes, A., but that doesn't mean E. is going away. We're going to have another baby. E. will still be here!
A.: [Secretly disappointed and silent.]

Her first word was backpack: The Dora Conspiracy

2006-03-20T07:56:00.000-05:00

If you have kids and Dora the Explorer has not invaded your household, please let me know your secret. A.'s first exposure to Dora was through a simple book. She had never even seen the cartoon and she was captivated. Evidently the child psychologist designed character with big brown eyes charmed my daughter to love and idolize it instantly. Actually I used to only jokingly say that psychology was used to design these characters. Then I started believing it. Then I researched it and confirmed it. Meet Daniel Anderson, professor and consultant, who is changing the world our children live in. (He's only one of many people that helped created Dora among other popular characters.)

Now I'm not saying this is bad, but at a minimum, it is pretty scary and worth a moment of thought. Indeed Dr. Anderson's Senate Committee testimony states that kids who have watched certain shows such as Sesame Street have gone on to do better in school than those who didn't. Surely the end goal of the producers of today's new shows is typically not to make our children smarter but to please Wall Street and ultimately their own pocketbooks. We are fooling ourselves if we think otherwise.

If creators of TV shows can influence our children to do good things and become smarter, why can't they also be using their psychology tricks to make our children ask to buy their licensed products? Parents are the ones that have the money and are ultimately the ones responsible, but sometimes the influences are difficult to detect or deter. What seems harmless and happy on the surface may in fact be quite harmful. Subliminal influences are a hidden enemy. Consider it food for thought.

In our household, we've had the following Dora products: videos, books, a doll, a talking Dora swimming pool, yogurt, potty seat, disposable placemats, and Dora's Backpack. I'm probably leaving out another half dozen things. But my word, A.'s just 2 1/2! There's still time for more. Dora has generated over $3.5 billion in retail sales since 2002, and yes, we've helped out!

In fact, the very first thing that A. pointed at and asked me to buy her in the store was Dora yogurt. She had eaten it before, so she was recognizing not only Dora, but a familiar product. (As a plug for the product, it has a child friendly consistency that makes it clump together and not be runny and messy like the standard yogurt. I'm sure the sugar content is distressing, but hey, it's a dairy product so I can't complain too much.)

So were my wife and I surprised when E. chose to say backpack as her first word? Well, I'm stretching it just a bit. It was not her first word, but it was definitely in the first 10, and I'm betting even the first 5. Dora wears a purple backpack (affectionately known as Backpack) who holds Map, who helps them find their in every episode. Backpack has its (her? his? Ambiguous I guess like BackPat?) little song that gets E. excited and exclaiming, "Backpack, backpack" in her scratchy little voice.

Yes, I know that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends babies under age 2 should not watch any TV. Well, when her older sister insists on watching Dora on a daily basis, it is hard to keep E., who is one year old, away. Now E. doesn't sit and stare at the TV. She's normally playing and doing other things while A. watches. But when a snazzy song comes on or she hears Backpack, it definitely gets her attention.

Let's see, why don't we analyze E.'s vocabulary and see if we can detect any influences from Dora and TV? She can say bye bye, dah dah, ma ma, milk, book, baby, banana, and backpack.

Hmmmm. One of these things is not like the others. One of these things just doesn't belong. Can you tell which thing is not like the others by the time I finish my song?

Did you guess which thing was not like the others? Did you guess which thing just doesn't belong? If you guessed this one is not like the others then you're absolutely...right!

(How appropriate to end with a Sesame Street song. Her father must have grown up watching that! I don't know how smart he is, but he sure does have a nice collection of Sesame Street toys.)

The BorderCollies: fine Celtic music

2006-03-17T08:04:00.000-05:00

Being that it's St. Paddy's Day, it's a perfect time to introduce one of my favorite groups, The BorderCollies, "a contemporary Celtic band, featuring a unique blend of traditional Celtic and folk influences in their music." They feature original works and the classics, with many great jigs and reel, that often tempt you to break out in your own Riverdance moves until come to your senses and realize how embarrassing that would be. In concert, they showcase their musical abilities with many injections of humor.

Based in Duluth, Georgia, (metro-Atlanta) you can catch them in action around town and the South. A fairly family friendly smoke-free setting where I've seen them twice is Fiddler's Green, a "coffeehouse" folk music venue usually held at the Garden Hills neighborhood community center in Buckhead. (More precisely, it's family friendly if you're OK with BYOB and your children are > toddlers. Noisy and squirmy really won't work.)

The coffeehouse happens once a month and is sponsored by the Atlanta Area Friends of Folk Music. If your children are a little older, this is a great way to expose them to a variety of musical styles in a rather sterile setting. The atmosphere is great. An exposed timber lodge-style building nestled in the trees provides a very intimate setting for this type of music. Many of these performances sell out, so be sure to reserve your place in advance.

Not so child-friendly

2006-03-16T10:45:00.000-05:00

Don't you just love taking your toddlers over to people's houses that aren't child-proofed? There are just innumerable items such as this designer trashcan that lurk in the shadows of the living room of your hosts ready to impale your child and maim him or her for life. (It can be yours for only $142! Perhaps at that price it is more properly referred to as an artistic basket?)

It always seems that no matter how hard I try to avoid such situations occurring, my kids tend to accelerate the depreciation of the interiors of the homes I visit. It's kind of hard to relax when your oldest is drinking red Kool Aid in the middle of the very-white living room carpet (What possessed you to offer such indelible libations to my child in an open container?!) and your younger one is drooling all over the couch. And when the laps around the house start, it is time to call it quits.

Of course, if the homeowner has kids too, then most likely the couch is already saturated with drool, the carpet is no longer white, and the hardwoods already have scratches showing where the laps are run. It goes without saying that the artistic trashcan would have long gone by the wayside.

Sorry for destroying your house, dear host. Are you busy, say in 20 years, when we're empty nesters?

Until then, please, let me know before you invite me over that you've gotten extravagant with your trash can.

A tale of 2 kids: voluntary and involuntary eating

2006-03-15T08:18:00.000-05:00

My little brother had not eaten voluntarily in over three years.

This is one of my more memorable quotes by Ralphie from the movie classic A Christmas Story.

Now that I have kids of my own, it is interesting how things like this from the past are brought to mind with a whole new perspective. Ralphie says in the same scene something like, "Every family has one kid that won't eat" which in his case was his brother.

We always struggled with A. to get her to take formula (she had problems with acid reflux), and once she started table food, she never had a big appetite. Her appetite is now improved to the point of sustaining her bird legs, but eating has just always seemed to be an optional activity for her. On windy days we just fill her pockets with heavy objects to make sure we don't lose her in a sudden gust.

We have learned a variety of tricks and techniques to get A. to eat, but they don't work consistently. Quite often the best thing to do is to just let her be, and she'll eat when she wants. She's the daintiest little eater. She'll sit down and just nibble as if she were required to be all prim and proper. She'll wipe her mouth, get down from the table, and no one can tell that she just ate. Messy is not her style.

Enter E., her younger sister by 19 months, who has just turned 1. E. does not hide her love affair with food even though she too battled acid reflux. If she sees you even moving toward the refrigerator, she wants milk. If she has a pile of food in front of her, she wants what's on your plate too. She gets food on her, on the floor, and everywhere in between. She's happiest when she can shovel it in non-stop. There's no having to convince her that she's "Mommy's little piggy" as Ralphie's mom attempted with his little brother, the non-eater. While A. has always been rather oblivious to food prep in the kitchen, E. can spot something on the counter from a mile away. She'll point and grunt and reach for it as if it's the last morsel of food on earth. Quite amusing.

It's amazing how two little people can be so similar, yet so different, at such a young age. I'm sure this is just the beginning of endless comparisons and contrasts.

Fun.

Say please, or Refund Please, rather

2006-03-14T15:54:00.000-05:00

I learned about this seemingly too-easy-to-be-true tip from I Will Teach You to Be Rich, an often amusing blog on financial matters. If Amazon lowers the price of something you bought within 30 days of the purchase, it'll refund the difference at your request. Now of course you say, "Gil, who has time to keep checking for price changes when there are diapers to be changed and bottles to be washed?" (A brief piece of advice concerning washing those bottles: if you happen to discover a bottle of formula left sitting around that appears to be full of cottage cheese, I would advise you just to toss it in the trash.)

Well that's exactly the service that you can get for free at http://refundplease.com (Note: the url has changed from the original posting above. Amazon must have complained about the use of their name in the domain name.). I have tried this service, and it actually saved me money.

Our recent purchase of a vacuum cleaner at Christmas was the Eureka Smart Boss from Amazon. With the $25 off special for home & garden purchases, it was a deal not to be beat. And by the way, if you're in the market for a great sucker without feeling like a sucker yourself, don't splurge on those $400 English vacuums. This Smart Boss is the way to go. Great sucking at a great price--even a HEPA filter.

Anyway, I felt so good about this purchase. I knew I had gotten the best deal around. However, I ran across this refund site and thought I'd give it a try. I simply entered the Amazon stock number, the price I paid, the date of purchase, and my email address. I didn't think anything would come of it. I knew I had already gotten a rock bottom price.

Or so I thought. A couple of weeks went by and I got an email from RefundPlease.com that said Amazon had lowered the price by around $15 or so. I emailed Amazon's customer service, politely requested the refund of the difference, and I got a nice email back saying they had just credited my card. Of course this works for books and most anything that Amazon sells.

Wow. If only changing diapers could be this easy.

Pizza Hut Salad Bar Under Siege

2006-03-13T16:44:00.000-05:00

Attention single income families! Consider this Pizza Hut salad bar technique demonstrated step-by-step by some students as a way to stretch your dining dollars. Evidently they have a one-visit rule to the bar which inspired these students to maximize their bounty.

OK, please, really. Don't do this. It is amusing to imagine this taking place, but soon I'll be sharing some practical tips on ways to enjoy dining out by spending less. One of my goals with this blog is to disseminate my penny pinching tips for enhancing the probability of survival with that challenging combination of kids and one income.

Tuna Helper Full Circle

2006-03-13T08:31:00.000-05:00

Growing up I was occasionally subjected to Hamburger Helper. It wasn't a staple in our house, but evidently Mom felt compelled to feed it to us every now and then to make us appreciate the from-scratch meals that she usually prepared. By my sophomore year in college, I began to actually learn to cook myself and be somewhat self-sufficient in the kitchen. Sometimes that "cooking" meant preparing Tuna Helper. (I could no longer bear the hamburger version since it involved battling the torment inducing memories of my childhood. Somehow the tuna version was a little more palatable. Don't ask me why.)

Tuna Helper was one of my standard meals. Easy to have on hand. Quick to fix. Not really fulfilling but filling enough, and that's what's important to a college student. Maybe my wife and I had it a few times when we were dating, but eventually we tossed our indulgences of corporate nourishment out the window when we became a little more enlightened in the ways of cuisine.

We fell into the trap (albeit a tasty one) of fine dining on a regular basis, cooking from genuine Italian cookbooks, pairing wines with our food, and seeking out new cheeses. Tuna Helper was officially off the list. And our financial statements had big line items for dining and fancy groceries. Yes, we were young and foolish, at least with food.

Unfortunately, with the advent of kids, Tuna Helper has found its way back on the shelf of our pantry. Two kids often put the brakes on your plans to go grocery shopping or find a brief moment of sanity to make out that grocery list during rudimentary meal planning. Even more depressing than its resurgence is the fact that in our household Tuna Helper has now been replaced with "Tuna Magic," the tempting Kroger brand. (Do you know how much that marketing hoopla adds to the price tag of your Tuna Helper? Mr. Helping Hand evidently has lots of leverage when it comes to renegotiating his contract. I can't taste the difference, but just don't look at the box too long or you'll get queasy. This is an excellent example of the phenomenon that living on one salary really makes you do things you'd never even pondered.)

For all the same reasons it was good for a college student, Tuna Helper/Magic is that perfect oops-we-don't-have-anything-else-in-the-house meal and also that we-can't-go-out-again-because-we-just-bought-a-new-(used)-minivan culinary delight. So it struck me that we have completed what I am calling the Tuna Helper Full Circle. Or at least we've made the first lap around.

The moment of self-realization was quite shocking when I realized that instead of a straight line path, I'm trapped on this circle where Tuna Helper's going to keep popping up throughout my life. I'm not really complaining, just lamenting. But hey, it's worth it. Kids are fun. And they can pick up Tuna Helper noodles with their fingers. It's a sacrifice worth making.

Plus, we're taking advantage of all of the benefits of Tuna Helper as touted by its web site (who actually goes to this web site? "Yes honey, let's see what the latest flavor from Tuna Helper is."):

Tuna Helper is a great-tasting dinner your whole family will love!

Maybe that tagline is a little optimistic. E. loves it, but then she will literally eat anything.

Since circles are innately continuous, I'm hoping that someday, maybe before death, we'll keep going 'round and we'll make it once again to that stage of life where Tuna Helper is a distant memory. Until then, bon appetit kids, and may your sippy cups never run dry.

(Today's stock pick: General Mills, Inc. (GIS), proud owner of the Betty Crocker brand, the home ec queen mastermind behind Tuna Helper. Face it, we're all trapped on the circle. Here's your chance for some ownership of the pie...uh...pile of pasta.)

It's a good morning day!

2006-03-09T09:09:00.000-05:00

Being the one of the household that works outside of the home, I usually don't have the privilege of being at home when my daughters are waking up in the morning. Recently, I was lucky to be at home when A., 2 1/2, was waking up. Down the hall I heard this sing-song voice repeating something over and over.

I walk into A.'s room and she's looking from her bed out the window where the shade, usually pulled down at night, had been left up. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and light was streaming into the room.

"A., what are you saying?"

"It's a good morning day, Daddy! The sun is shining," she replied with a big smile and so matter-of-fact-ly.

Ah, so that's what she had been repeating. It's a good morning day.

Adulthood often seems to cause us to lose the abilities of discovering such joys in the simplicity of just plain old living. But A. is helping me to reclaim some of that which has slipped away.

Yes, A., it is a good morning day. And you are the sun that's shining.

The crash heard around the subdivision

2006-03-08T10:13:00.000-05:00

Crash. Right at the entrance to our subdivision. There goes Honda #1. Yep, it was totalled. Fortunately, very fortunately, no one was hurt. My wife and A., our oldest (2 1/2), were able to walk away completely unscathed. But cars these days... It doesn't take much, does it?

The adjuster didn't even finish calculating damages. He just stopped when he got so close to the value!

We were planning to get a new van this fall, but the accelerated schedule doesn't jive with the finances. So we're in the used market for a mini van. Probably pretty used. If you have any wisdom on what to consider and what definitely not to get, please share your comments. Or even share you satisfactions and disgruntled feelings for your own minivan.

With a little luck, we'll be able to get rid of that rental car payment soon and apply it to a more permanent solution!