Dr. Jackyll and Mr. Hyde...
Toddlers are just the most fun you can have shy of spending an afternoon waiting in line to get into Hell in 135 degree heat with no ice water. I haven't rolled my eyes this far back into my head over half of the things that Jack does since Deanna was this age. I get migranes from holding in all of my agida sometimes.
Toddlers, the next logical step in the evolution of human kind, are like little chimps without a doubt, but it's the fits that Jack throws that make me realize he's a person with more than half a brain. Jack knows how to communicate his wants and needs, and he's also a cave man when he's not getting what he wants from me. His behavior with his father is different, but for me it's like spending an afternoon in "Quest for Fire". I have delivered the alpha-male.
Are the terrible-two's fast approaching? Of course they are. Jack now has a mouthful of teeth where he's only had seven or eight in the last few months. He climbs on things like the couch or the computer chair. He chews on one specific corner of the coffee table. He can run the 40 in under six seconds probably; he's gotten that quick! His middle name has become "be careful" instead of Dillon, and "no" has become a natural part of every sentence.
These are the days of wine and roses with our son. What the heck happened to the little baby I brought home a few years back, and where did this toddler come from? I realize they say that time flies, but this is almost ridiculous. I remember it only getting worse.
Is this when I ask the doctor for Valium?
New Home Decor...
Furniture that is Jack-friendly...there's one for the books. When you have a toddler, you don't have kid-friendly furniture necessarily. We had a second-hand sofa that was sort of try-color, as in trying to keep it clean, and it also served as Smokey's scratching post. We have a humungous Mission-style coffee table, and a 32" television that sits on a black stand. It's a mish-mash college dorm room living style, and I was getting tired of it. I sold some really nice furniture back in LA when we were moving in order to start over again from brand-new everything...I have this terrific space to furnish, ya know?
Well, I finally broke down and spent my vacation "mad money" on reliable, responsible things. I had new tires put on Ken's truck, I had my brakes done and a new fuel pump installed, I paid some bills, bought a new sectional sofa and some curtains and some art work, and some random pieces for the sofa and the walls, moved all of Jack's toys to the sun room, and decided to make my house a home. I still have a few more things that I want to get for the living room, but in time I'll find them, and then my home will feel complete and lived-in. Well, we still have to finish the kitchen wall paper and paint the living room and dining room main walls...but for the most part the place has already taken on a different look and feel.
Did I really want to go home to California and see my family, sure I did, but I really needed to take care of these things here at home too. I made a decision that I can't be upset about, but my family won't be too thrilled...oh well. There's always summer vacation...
Anyways, I really like the new stuff in the house. It is Jack-friendly because of the deep green color we picked for the couch. It's also nice to have a grown-up space for a living room instead of a play room...it's cool!
Happy Birthday Daughter...
Dearest Deanna,
Where do I even begin except by saying Happy Birthday to you. God, 15 years of stuff, of growth, of change, of experiencing,
of living, and of watching you become someone; your own person. I like the young lady that you are, and I miss the time that we should be spending together, but we've both made our choices and decisions...without regrets I hope. I love you my child, and I carry you in my heart from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep, and all of the moments in between.
Your kid brother is growing like a weed. He weighs over 30 pounds now...I was stunned to find this out, but he's still in the top 80th percentile for height and weight...he's just exploding all over the place basically! He's a mess of new teeth, with more teeth coming in behind these ones; he's chewing on everything including the coffee table! It's really strange how you look so much like your father, and actually you also resemble my mother as well, and yet Jackson is the one who wound up looking like me the most! We have the same eyes and smile, and everything else is Ken. He's a gorgeous child, not as blonde as you were; you were like a baby chickling where Jack is more like a baby rooster. I need to get some new pictures out to you so you can see for yourself.
I hope you had a nice day with your father and family and friends. Perhaps some dinner and a movie and cruising down Ventura Boulevard? I remember that's what my Dad did for me on my 15th birthday. I had dinner at Benihana's on the Boulevard, we went and cruised Van Nuys and Sepulveda, and then he took us to a midnight showing of Rocky Horror Picture Show...he even brought toilet paper and umbrellas...I never forgot that birthday because my father made it a special one for me; one of my best memories of him. I hope that your father does something wonderful and special for you and some of your friends too. You deserve it, you're a terrific kid!
Well, that's about it for now my sweet baby girl. Have a wonderful Birthday, be safe, make the best decisions for you, not for anyone else, don't regret anything you do or don't do, don't be afraid to let people down...you're human and FOREVER learning, and remember that no matter who you become or where you go, I will love and cherish you forever...
ALL My Love To You On This Special Day...
Mom
Happy Valentine's Day!
From our house to yours...we wish you all a wonderful and Happy Valentine's Day.
To Nana and Papa in North Carolina~ we love you and miss you, and Jack sends lots of love and hugs and kisses to you both, especially to you Nana!
To Grandma Shocky and Diana~ lots of big love from "Bruiser" and his Mommy and Daddy! We'll see you in a couple of weeks!
To Grandpa Bob and Kitty~ The Boy sends big hugs to you both. We can't wait to see you next month! Stay safe and warm until then!
To Aunt Julie and Uncle Tom~ Big wet smooches from Jackson, who by the way DOES wear his USC shirt with pride! We love you both.
To Uncle David~ Have a terrific Day, even if you're just going to work out and then have some fruit and crash out. A big hug to you from all of us along with lots of love. (get a girlfirend already, will ya!)
To all of our friends and the rest of our extended family~ we don't need a reason to celebrate a day of love. You are always in our hearts and thoughts, and we hope your Valentine's Day is as wonderful as we think you all are.
Everyone be safe, stay warm (if your in the East Coast like us!) and enjoy the day...and try not to gorge on all of the candy you may get from your loved one!
"Waiting"....
Ken and I just watched the movie to top all movies. If you're in the restaurant industry you MUST, and I mean MUST see "Waiting"!!!
Whoever wrote the script for this movie is a goddamn genius! I know one person for every character in this film, and I must say I haven't laughed this hard in a long time. Ryan Reynolds (Van Wilder), Alanna Urbach (Legally Blonde 1&2), and Juan Guzman (Boogie Nights, Traffic) were fantastic! If I hadn't been a server and bartender I still would have probably liked this movie, but given what I do for a living, this movie was the shit!
I can only say this: If you go into a restaurant with a bad attitude, think twice. These people handle your food!!!
"Waiting" rocked! Pick up the DVD if you can and get ready to piss your pants because you laughed so hard! Corey Dawkins I owe you big time...you were right about this movie. I will forever be in your debt for turning me on to it!
I'm an Idiot...
For those of you who have been kind enough not to snicker at what a moron I am, I just want to make a correction from a previous post. SAMUEL Alito, not ROBERT Alito is now our new Supreme Court Justice. Hey, at least I put the question mark there!
Now I feel better.
Half the Man He Used to be...
Well, after many months of deliberation on our parts, we finally dropped Smokey off at Catsnip Monday morning at 7:30 am. For the incredibly low price of $65.00, Smokey received his distemper and rabies vaccines (included was the free city registration tag!) and has now joined the ranks of animals that "never had it and never will." Smokey got his nuts lopped off, with a little extra surgery for a non-decended testicle. (and who said orchiechtomies were fun???)
When I picked Smokey up at 4:30 pm , I expected him to be completely out of it. As it was, upon getting him into the house, I opened his carrier up to give him a chance to re-acclimate himself, and pretty much left him alone. There's some trauma associated there for the cat, so I just let him do his own thing so as to not attack anyone in the house during an anaesthesia flashback. Smokey appeared in the kitchen looking like death warmed over and wobbling about ten minutes later. Cats on dope are so sad...Smokey was no exception. I laid down some food and water, and sat down on the kitchen floor to give him some love...poor baby just meowed pathetically, rubbed up against my leg, and finally ate and drank a little bit.
Fifteen minutes later, I'm putting the baby gate up on the front door to step outside for a cigarette, and Smokey goes hurtling over the gate to get outside and look around. I'm pretty impressed with this secretly...the last thing I was to do after surgery is "anything" at all, and here's our cat sprawling over a gate. Gutsy animal. We now believe that Smokey has free reign to do whatever it is he wants to do now that he's been fixed. I don't have to worry about my neighbor pounding on the door screaming at me to pay for half of the litter of kittens her cat's having because my cat knocked her up!
So now Smokey has gained a little more freedom, a lot more respect, (hey, we've got to give the cat his props for taking this "like a man") and he now walks around with a new sense of purpose...what that may be we have no idea. All I have to say is this, "Smokey, lift that leg all you want.....nothing's going to happen that I can't handle now!
Smokey, for you a moment of silence to remember your dear departed testicles...Thank Christ that's over!
