Feedback

It seems remcat might have been a bit miffed by my post on Information. She has linked to the post and asked for feedback from her readers. No one is commenting though. So if you have a comment, please feel free to jump over to her blog and discuss.

Sorry if I offended, remcat. It was just information. :-)

Thanks for the link remcat and thanks for reading my posts.

What makes a good blog

If you are not already a dooce reader, check her out. While I usually laugh uproariously at her wacky descriptions of her daughter's behavior or her bathroom humor, it's really the writer that brings me and thousands of readers to her page.

Well today she has done it again and proven she can write on a very serious note. Dooce, you have expressed my feelings so well. While I do have some faith in a higher power, mine was never as strong as my mothers. And this post hits the nail right on the head. Thanks for saying what I hadn't the words to say.

Speaking of High Finance...

I had to share this one.

Tonight DH came home to explain to me why my ATM card had been rejected by two bank machines the previous week. And no, he did not empty out the bank account to get a condo for his mistress. Far less exciting than that, but wait till you hear this...

Apparently, the bank has decided that having every customer carry a check card, an ATM card and a credit card might be a bit of overkill and let's get with the new millennium and make one card do it all! What a concept! So now, they will only let me use my check card to get money from the ATM machines.

How will I cope. My ATM card clearly said ATM on it! I needed this clue to know which of the multitude of cards, all sporting the same emaciated looking soldier (known to the locals as a minute man) to use. Now I will be lost. Is it the blue one or the Burgundy one?

Anyway, they decided to make this change without telling their customers. I wonder how much interest they were able to make on my money that week. Hmmm.

So, to make my check card a fully functioning ATM card, they will be sending out our passwords this week. We have separate passwords you know. Same account, different passwords.

I let DH know in no uncertain terms that I will not be sharing my password with him. No sir! He will not be getting access to my money. I will carry that secret to my grave.

High Finance

On my way to Karate class today, a little voice from the back seat says:
"I'm controlling you so you don't go back to work."
I responded, "You don't want me to go back to work? Why? We would have so much more money if I go back to work." This being reasoning that would work wonders on money obsessed Firstborn.
"Well, you could just go to the bank and get money."
"No I can't. We have to have money in the bank before I can go to the bank and get money."
"Oh. Well then you can go to work for McDonald's." (I'm sure he thinks that would mean that we could eat there every day)
"McDonald's doesn't pay very well though. It wouldn't make us much money."
"Well then work at Burger King!"

Yeah. That'll work.

I'm a chump

Yesterday, after school, I drove the kids past my new place of business. I wanted them to see how close it was to their school as I will be picking them up every day instead of having them take the bus and I want them to realize that this is a logical move not just some arbitrary mean mommy thing.

After we drove past, this conversation ensued:
Mommy: That's where I will be working next month. Isn't it close to school?
Lastborn: You're going to work?
Mommy: Ya. Won't that be fun?
Lastborn: Work is for chumps!

OK. I knew immediately that this must be from a Spongebob episode though I don't remember offhand which one. But still, there was a shock factor having it come from Lastborn's mouth. And somehow, it seems fitting that Lastborn would remember and repeat this phrase. Let's hope this isn't some foreshadowing of his life.

Giving away the ending

So, at this point it is time to admit that I let the kids watch way too much TV to earn me a place in the mommy hall-of-fame. Here's my reasoning:

• Everyone else does it...
• It's DHs fault!
• DH has always watched hours and hours of TV and he's a Genius, I tell you!
• If you ever heard my children talking you would understand why a few hours of silence in this household while they rot their brains away is worth the resultant loss of IQ.
• Only the little on is pudgy. The older one is skinny. So statistically, TV doesn't cause obesity. I know, small sample size, but I'm trying to justify here, not give real data.

So all this is background to the story. Yesterday, I had much to do. So did DH. Children are not too conducive to getting things done. Luckily, Firstborn was off playing with next-door-neighbor-boy. So we just had to account for Lastborn.

Perfect! DH had rented Mega Blocks Dragons Fire & Ice, the movie from Blockbuster. A perfect day all around. We heard not a word from him as he watched the movie over and over again.

Later that evening, we enticed Firstborn through his dinner and bath with a promise of watching the movie. The plan was that Lastborn would be able to take a bath and then join the rest of us for the remainder of the movie, since Lastborn had already watched it a few times.

As soon as Lastborn entered the room, he started talking about what would happen next in the movie. A very annoying habit both boys have. They tend to watch just about everything multiple times. And they want to let the world know how much they know about each show they have watched. We are constantly on Firstborn's case about not doing this and now Lastborn finally had a chance to participate in spoiling the ending.

Firstborn: Stop telling me what's going to happen!

Lastborn: I'm just giving you some information!

Ah! They are both born engineers. Information. That rules all. If you're giving information, it does not matter how annoying you are. It's information!

I understand that in the deep south, as long as you bless someone or invoke the name of Jesus, you can get away with some of the most horrible insults. For example:

"She is an ugly little girl, bless her soul."

"Why bless you, you don't think you will actually find a husband do you?"

"In Jesus' name, I hope she dies an ugly death."

These are all considered quite mannerly in the deep south. Well up here in MIT country, information will save. If you have just insulted someone and need to save face, just claim information. As in:

My, You're looking fat today.

When the person responds with a look of shock and revulsion, simply reply:

Hey, It's just information. Do with it what you will.

He is Redeemed!

Lastborn announced that he has been invited to lunch with the principal at school. This, not for the expected Lastborn behavior, but for reading more books than most of the kids in his K class this summer (Which I find hard to believe as we lost steam halfway through).

So, if we can get good behavior from him through the entire lunch, maybe the principal will forget the previous introduction to Lastborn and somehow begin to think that this precious blue-eyed boy is pure goodness and light.

It's tough work being a marked man in Kindergarten.

Flattery will get you everywhere II

Lastborn: Daddy! Your wife is a great cook!
Daddy: Lastborn! Your Mommy is a great cook!
Lastborn: Daddy! Your wife *is* my Mommy.

What an illuminating bit of information.

And all this was over a couple of pieces of toast. Too bad my more intricate cooking efforts are always greeted with a long drawn out YUUUUK!

First Impressions

Lastborn had a Kindergarten open house today at school. They marched all the kids and parents into the cafeteria to welcome us. The principal stood up first to talk and began her speech.

Sitting in the front of the room, Lastborn decides to shout, "Who are *you*?" as if to say "why are you wasting my time?"

It's not that he is terribly disrespectful or that he meant to be a smart alec, he just has a tendency to put the emPHAsis on the wrong sylLAble.

The principal smiled and responded well to his comment, but I know he's a marked man.

A great first day.