Monthly Archive for September, 2008

Page 3 of 3

Because my cell phone number is still a little too complicated…

Published on Wednesday, September 3, 2008 in Claire, Conversations and Milestones. 2 Comments

On Sunday, I was able to check out the local School of Massage Therapy.  I had procured the babysitter for 2pm, but I wanted to call them in the morning to see how all of this works.  Their coupon says ‘no appointments necessary,’ but does that mean there is a huge line?  What is the wait?  How do I do this?  Can I make an appointment if I want to?

So, I called.

A really nice woman answers all of my questions and tells me that they don’t take appointments, but they do start a waiting list.  I can come down now and pay for my massage, be put on the waiting list and then tell them when I’ll be back.  Um, isn’t that an appointment?  No, not technically.  Technically, it’s not an appointment; you’re just waiting in line…somewhere else.

So, Claire and I went down there at 10am, and sure enough, the wait at that point was over an hour and a half.  It didn’t matter to me, because I paid and my name was put on the list. I didn’t have to be there exactly at 2pm.  If 2pm came and went, they’d get to me when I walked in.  It was, in fact, better than having an appointment.

As I’m standing there getting my non-appointment set up, Claire is insisting on being picked up.  Sometimes this is annoying to me, but on the other hand, if I’m holding her, I know she’s not running around the waiting room.

The nice woman we’d talked to on the phone says, to me, “What’s your name?”

Claire, thinking that the woman is asking her, answers, “My name is Claire!”

The women in line behind us chuckle.

The nice woman’s face lights up, and says, “That’s a pretty name!”

I quickly say my name and spell it.

“Last name?”

Sure enough, Claire belts out our last name.

The women in line behind us chuckle a little harder this time.

I say, “Did you get that?” and I repeat it, and then spell it, too.

“Address?”

I turn to Claire.  “Claire…what is our address?”

And she proudly says it, and I add the zip code.

The woman behind the counter is amazed and I hear gasps from the women behind us.  Then, there are hushed whispers from them:

“How old is she?”
“I don’t know.  Three?”
“Four.  She’s got to be four.”

“She’s two…” I said.

“What??  No way.”

“…and a half.” I added.

“Still!  I’ve seen Kindergarteners that don’t know their address!” one of the women exclaimed.

The woman behind the counter then says, “Phone number?”

…to which Claire replies, “NINE ONE ONE!!”

I think they were all still laughing as we walked out to the car.  :)

Tuesday Randomonium

Published on Tuesday, September 2, 2008 in Birthdays, Claire, Fun, Moms' Group and Random Thoughts. 3 Comments

Today feels like a Monday, but it’s really a Tuesday.  When I worked a “real job,” that was always challenging.  Now that I work a “really cool job,” it’s just another day.  ;)

But, in honor of a Tuesday that feels like a Monday, here are some random thoughts that have been bouncing around in my head:

~*~

There is a School of Massage Therapy literally minutes from my home that offers full-on hour-long massages for dirt cheap on the weekends.  This type of thing has been going on for years, and I had no idea.  Why am I just finding this out now?  Since my hubby was on a boys only camping weekend, I was able to have the babysitter come play with Claire on Sunday, and I went to try it out.  With the special $10-off coupon my hubby found for me in the mail, my massage was a whopping $15.  (They are running this deal for three weekends in a row.)  Even a bad massage is worth $15.  I spend $15 walking across the parking lot at Target.  Needless to say, “Wayne” did an excellent job, and it was worth every penny.

I’m getting a massage next weekend too, and I’d like to see you stop me.

~*~

Speaking of pennies, we’ve started going to a different grocery store.  It’s one that is just a block or two  farther from our house than the one we normally go to, and it’s nothing to write home about on the store-maintenance side of things, but the groceries are significantly cheaper.  The last time I’d been in that store was before I was pregnant with Claire, so walking through the aisles was like a blast from the past.  It is, of course, set up completely differently than the one we have been going to.

I hate the way the newer store is designed.  The placement of items makes no sense to me.  But, I digress…

I forget why we stopped going to the older store, but I think it’s because the new fancy one opened up, and it was technically closer.

But, the best thing about this store?  Besides the lower prices, excellent fruit and vegetable selection, and having a layout that actually makes sense?

Penny Pony Rides.

Yes.  You can ride the automated pony at the front of the store for a PENNY.  I didn’t think you could do anything for a penny anymore.  For real.  It’s only a penny, and the ride actually lasts for a decent amount of time.

Claire loved it.
Momma loved finding an awesome “please be good in the store” bargaining tool.

In fact, Claire was having so much fun riding the pony that not one, but two elderly people stopped to give us pennies!  I let Claire take an extra ride and then we left a penny on top of the machine for the next lucky kid who’d been really good at the store.

I found out from another mom in the Mom’s Club that the bakery in this store also offers free cookies.  I must have zoomed through there too quickly to notice that when I was there.

Please don’t tell Claire the bakery offers free cookies.  I mean, cookies and a pony ride?  The poor thing may keel over in a joy-induced coma.  Then again, that may make it easier for me to put her in her car seat.  :)

~*~

Speaking of the Mom’s Club, I got the calendar of events for the month over the weekend.  I got all of them transferred into my calendar.  I love our Mom’s Club because there is something we can do every day of the week (the work week…the weekends are free), if we so choose.  I try to leave time to do non-Mom’s Club related things too, but it’s hard when everything looks so good.

Some months are more interesting than others, and September’s events line-up looks to be pretty exciting.  It was hard to find a free day here and there!  I found myself feeling very overwhelmed with our full schedule and then had to remind myself that there is something surreal about nearly having a panic attack caused by the thought of playing outside in a park or socializing with humans every day of the week.  Luckily, my momentary lapse in rationality only lasted a split second (okay, maybe three seconds), and it ended just as quickly as it came.

And to think I was worried I wouldn’t find anything productive and fun to do with Claire when I quit my job.

~*~

Speaking of fun, I think we’ve figured out a theme for Claire’s birthday party this year.  (And by we, I mean me and the people in my head…you can imagine how much my husband enjoys planning birthday parties.  For small children.  Three months in advance.  If ever.)

Claire is really into the Disney Princesses™, and there are oodles and gobs of party packs surrounding that theme.  But, then I pictured her poor little boy-friends sitting under pink streamers with little sparkly tiaras on their heads, clutching their little party-favor pink princess purses.  (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.)

So, I shifted the plan a little and will focus on The Little Mermaid.  We’ll have plenty of time in the future to have an all-girls party.  Claire is totally smitten with Ariel, and the last time I checked Flounder and Sebastian weren’t too girly.  ;)

Planning to Plan*

Published on Monday, September 1, 2008 in Photos and Random Thoughts. 0 Comments

I used to have a major obsession for daily planners. I was always on the lookout for the perfect one. In the past, I used all different kinds. One of my favorite kinds was the planner sold by my college in the book store, of all places. It was perfect.

When I graduated, I was forced to move out into the real world, and my search for an alternative began. I’m not even going to admit how much money I’ve paid to Mr. Covey (or Frankie-Boy, as he’s known to his friends and family)…

Eventually, I got a Palm Pilot and fell in love. Everything was where I wanted it, and I could sync’ it with my work computer and my home computer. It was awesome. It was tiny. It fit in my purse. My whole world was on that thing, its small stature belying how large my world really was. I don’t remember what happened to my first Palm Pilot, but it must have been dreadful, because I’ve blocked its demise from my mind. I went back to a paper system for a while and then came to my senses again and got a new Palm Pilot.

Well, despite my loving care and constant affection over the last few years**, it has broken. A sad little piece has fallen off on the base of it where it sits in the cradle. Really important-looking things are exposed, and I’m afraid to carry it in my purse now. And, really, what’s the point if I can’t do that? My hubby says he can try to fix that piece, but I think the writing is on the wall.

It’s time to say good-bye.
:(

When I quit my job to be a full-time Toddler Wrangler, I actually wondered out loud if I would even need a calendar anymore. In addition to the other stuff Claire and I do, we joined a Mom’s Club that has activities available every day of the week (if we so desire), so my answer was quickly answered: Yes. Yes, having a calendar is still necessary.

Who knew that the social calendars of toddlers and their handlers were so exciting?

Growing up, my mom had a calendar over by the kitchen sink. Everything was on that. She also carried a pocket calendar in her purse. We don’t have that here. I’m the Gatekeeper, and the master calendar is on my computer, which is backed up on my Palm. It’s a system that has always worked for us.

Well, now that my trusty Palm has exposed innards, I needed a Plan B, until we could figure out where to go from here. So, Claire and I went to Target, and I found a very inexpensive pocket calendar with a notebook/spiral-like binding (a must for me, if I have to go with a paper-form again). It has both month-at-a-glance and the weekly view (again, this also fits my long-tested criteria). It was also a July to July version, which was perfectly coincidental (or coincidentally perfect?).

I do start to get jittery when I realize that I don’t have immediate access to my 200+ contacts, but then I remember that it’s really not that big of deal. I’m not in the sales field anymore. Whatever “emergency” would arise today can be handled when I get home to my office and can get that info in a matter of seconds.

What’s important is the calendar and the directions on how to get wherever I’m going…and that’s all in the new pocket calendar. Any important phone number is in my phone, which is by my side anyway.

Speaking of which, my hubby has suggested I get a new phone that is also a Palm Pilot (or equivalent)…and the techie part of me gets all excited about the prospect of a new toy, but the realistic part of me doesn’t want to spend the money. Plus, now that I’ve been writing things down in a planner, a tiny part of my obsession is starting to resurface. I actually love writing things down. I love crossing things off. I think I’ll be fine.

Life goes on. I’m dealing with the grief of losing an old friend. Changing my ways is never easy, but it’s almost always exciting.

And, speaking of excitement: Imagine my surprise when I was flipping through my calendar and happened to see that the whole month of December is practically booked solid.

Click to enlarge.
Clicking a second time will show more detail.

Hmmm…someone has taken the liberty of adding appointments to my calendar.

Here’s a closer look…

Do you recognize the hand-writing? No, not my hand-writing…the scribbles that belong to a little certain someone who wasn’t as innocent as I thought she was when I was on the phone. I won’t say her name, but her first initial starts with a Claire. ;)

Apparently December 2008 is going to be pretty busy around here. I mean, Decembers usually are, but I had no idea it would fill up this quickly. :)

*This is one of my favorite quotes from Office Space. In one scene, you can see that it’s written on a whiteboard in one of the conference rooms, and it pretty much sums up every corporate job I’ve ever had. :)

**No way! I just did the math in my head and then checked to be sure…my little Palm is over five years old! And, in some circles, it would be eligible for the Senior Discount and prefers the Early-Bird Dinner Special. Where has the time gone??