Things not to write in your Jewish baby's baby book:
"My first word was Allah."
Anna has been babbling for quite some time now. She loves to say, "Aaaaaaah-LA!" Until recently it was her only "word" other than "Haaaaaaaa" said in a deep breathy voice after we say "Hiiiiiiiiiii" to her.
Her first barnyard animal noise is much more acceptable: "Babababababa"
We're still working on "Mommy, I do not wish to sleep through the night because it is so much more pleasurable to sleep snuggled up on your warm lap while enjoying a beverage of fresh warm milk straight from the tap."
Rachel wants me to add that her first word was "bleah", spoken in the correct tone of voice after rejecting her first bite of mango.
Ben would also like me to add that one of Anna's other first words was, "Eh" as befits a truly Canadian baby.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
You know you're not in Canada anymore when...
Ben was walking across campus this afternoon on his way back to class when he was stopped and asked if he wanted to join a bible study. "Thanks, but I'm Jewish," he replied and started to continue on his way.
"Oh, so am I," said one of the people, "but I'm born again."
Ben thinks: "Then you're not Jewish in the sense that I'm talking about, but whatever, I'll be polite."
Ben says: "I'm Jewish, I'm happy with my faith and how I am raising my family. Thanks anyway." (or something like that)
The person asked Ben if he was Reform or Orthodox. Ha! "Conservative," he answered. "You can still be born again," responded the pesky person.
I told Ben next time he should ask how on earth anyone could reasonably expect him to fit through his mother's birth canal a second time. ;) (No offense meant to any of my Christian friends!)
Oy gevalt. That's all I'm saying.
"Oh, so am I," said one of the people, "but I'm born again."
Ben thinks: "Then you're not Jewish in the sense that I'm talking about, but whatever, I'll be polite."
Ben says: "I'm Jewish, I'm happy with my faith and how I am raising my family. Thanks anyway." (or something like that)
The person asked Ben if he was Reform or Orthodox. Ha! "Conservative," he answered. "You can still be born again," responded the pesky person.
I told Ben next time he should ask how on earth anyone could reasonably expect him to fit through his mother's birth canal a second time. ;) (No offense meant to any of my Christian friends!)
Oy gevalt. That's all I'm saying.
Monday, August 25, 2008
If anyone is wondering
Anna was up every hour last night, and then some. It took from 6:45 until 9:15 to get her down to sleep tonight. She alternates between grinning and being chatty/social to crying hysterically. It's almost comical to watch. That said, tonight she was fed, clean, dry and tired but refusing to go to sleep.
I've concluded that she simply wants to be held all night long. At least there's nothing wrong with her...
I've concluded that she simply wants to be held all night long. At least there's nothing wrong with her...
*mumble mumble*
Today one kid fell asleep in Ben's 10 a.m. class. Apparently the professor needs to rev things up a little bit!
Wading pools are fun!
Rachel contemplates entering the 1.5 foot deep enclosed wading pool at the clubhouse I can see out of my living room window.
Anna prefers to lounge around in the sun.
Rachel is showing off her hand-walking skills in the pool. She also demonstrated how to blow bubbles, stick her face in the water, and drink the water. Oops.
Anna likes to "swim" with a little help.
Anna prefers to lounge around in the sun.
Rachel is showing off her hand-walking skills in the pool. She also demonstrated how to blow bubbles, stick her face in the water, and drink the water. Oops.
Anna likes to "swim" with a little help.
A trip to Penguin Park
On Sunday we ventured way up north in Kansas City to Penguin Park, home to a huge kangaroo slide, and a multitude of other oversized animal structures including a mommy elephant and her two babies, Rosie and Ella. Those are their names according to Rachel. She spent most of our time at the park "training" the elephants. She also sobbed hysterically when her "friends" (kids she met there) didn't want to play on the school bus with her anymore because then there was no-one for her to drive to the zoo.
As usual, Anna enjoyed watching everyone and everything.
As usual, Anna enjoyed watching everyone and everything.
Everyone else is doing it...
That is, everyone else seems to be blogging about the first day of Pre-K, so I'd better do it too so as not to be left out!
True to form, Rachel would not agree to pose for a nice, traditional back-to-school picture, so that's the best I've got! Rachel said that she liked the "quiet corner" (books and puppets) and drawing pictures, but she was afraid of the playground and the snack. She was a bit teary when I picked her up, but that's not surprising given how tired she was this morning. Hopefully she'll sleep in a bit tomorrow and thus be able to enjoy it all more.
We went on Friday for visiting day. Anna kindly slept through it all, so I was able to participate in the various activities with Rachel.
Here she is on Visiting Day enjoying a book in the quiet corner.
True to form, Rachel would not agree to pose for a nice, traditional back-to-school picture, so that's the best I've got! Rachel said that she liked the "quiet corner" (books and puppets) and drawing pictures, but she was afraid of the playground and the snack. She was a bit teary when I picked her up, but that's not surprising given how tired she was this morning. Hopefully she'll sleep in a bit tomorrow and thus be able to enjoy it all more.
We went on Friday for visiting day. Anna kindly slept through it all, so I was able to participate in the various activities with Rachel.
Here she is on Visiting Day enjoying a book in the quiet corner.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
I think I've reached the end of my proverbial rope
It's either desperation or sheer genius that just led me to squirt breastmilk all over Anna's ducky blanket in hopes of it fooling her into thinking I'm nearby all night.
Stay tuned for further updates.
*For those who don't know, Anna has started nursing less during the day but has started getting up practically every hour at night. She doesn't seem to want to eat per se, but she certainly wants a lot of latched-on snuggles.
Stay tuned for further updates.
*For those who don't know, Anna has started nursing less during the day but has started getting up practically every hour at night. She doesn't seem to want to eat per se, but she certainly wants a lot of latched-on snuggles.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Our little mercenary
When we had our garage sale, Rachel ran a lemonade stand. Whenever a potential customer arrived, she got very excited. We had to keep reminding her that it was not okay to accost every single person who came to the garage sale. At any rate, here's a sequence of pictures showing how Rachel's little operation worked. She made a whopping $2.25, of which the majority was contributed by relatives, namely Mom, Dad, and Grandma Karen.
Purse Elephant turns 4!
A few weeks ago, Purse Elephant turned four. Mind you, all of Rachel's elephants tend to have birthdays on a semi-regular basis, but she claims that this was definitely Purse Elephant's special day. We made a cake and used "icing writers" to decorate it. Rachel wanted to wear a party hat and the gift bag you see contains Purse Elephant's birthday present, a special drawing (if I remember correctly!).
Enjoying a family lunch in Hannibal, MO
Shoeless Joe didn't show for our lunch in Hannibal, MO, but a good time was had nonetheless.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Shopping carts
On one of my favourite internet forums, we have had lengthy discussions about shopping carts. Do you put them back in the store when you're done? In the cart corral? In the middle of the road? In the parking lot? Pushed against the curb? What do YOU do with YOUR shopping cart?
I pretty much always return mine to where I got it from. If I'm with the kids, I aim to park near (but not necessarily next to) a cart corral. That way I can load the car and easily return the cart. Or better yet, when I arrive, I can grab a cart to put Anna in, and not have to lug her ridiculously heavy infant seat to the store.
This morning I took the girls grocery shopping at Hen House, a local grocery store that has amazing muffins and a good selection of kosher products. There's a local bread company that makes awesome challah, and I wanted to get one. Anyway, we got there and I went to get a cart from a nearby corral. Anna's seat didn't fit the first way I tried it, so I tried a different way. (To be fair, her car seat is slightly wider than many models out there. It never really fit on an upside down restaurant highchair either.) Every way I tried, it didn't fit. I ended up using her cart/highchair seat cover and buckled her in. She only flopped over a few times during our shopping trip!
Partway through the store, I realized why the seat wouldn't fit in the cart. The front compartment was much narrower than most carts. Why? Because in Yuppy County, USA, apparently the shopping carts need to come with built-in drink holders!!! So of course I had to stop at the in-store Starbucks on the way out. Personally, I don't think that the drink holder was that great an idea. Anna tried to grab my drink no less than 5 times during the walk from the entrance of the store to the car.
Later in the morning we were at Target. No cup holders there, and the seat fit in just fine but there were no carts in the lot so I had to lug the seat into the store anyway. Go figure.
I pretty much always return mine to where I got it from. If I'm with the kids, I aim to park near (but not necessarily next to) a cart corral. That way I can load the car and easily return the cart. Or better yet, when I arrive, I can grab a cart to put Anna in, and not have to lug her ridiculously heavy infant seat to the store.
This morning I took the girls grocery shopping at Hen House, a local grocery store that has amazing muffins and a good selection of kosher products. There's a local bread company that makes awesome challah, and I wanted to get one. Anyway, we got there and I went to get a cart from a nearby corral. Anna's seat didn't fit the first way I tried it, so I tried a different way. (To be fair, her car seat is slightly wider than many models out there. It never really fit on an upside down restaurant highchair either.) Every way I tried, it didn't fit. I ended up using her cart/highchair seat cover and buckled her in. She only flopped over a few times during our shopping trip!
Partway through the store, I realized why the seat wouldn't fit in the cart. The front compartment was much narrower than most carts. Why? Because in Yuppy County, USA, apparently the shopping carts need to come with built-in drink holders!!! So of course I had to stop at the in-store Starbucks on the way out. Personally, I don't think that the drink holder was that great an idea. Anna tried to grab my drink no less than 5 times during the walk from the entrance of the store to the car.
Later in the morning we were at Target. No cup holders there, and the seat fit in just fine but there were no carts in the lot so I had to lug the seat into the store anyway. Go figure.
Ted Rogers is a very corrupt man.
Since we got our phone service yesterday, Ben called Rogers last night to find out why they didn't put the message on to let people know the change of number. Unbelievably, they will not put the message on until September 5th which marks the end of 30 days past the date we cancelled. Then the message will go on for a month.
Customer disservice rep #1 was rude to Ben and wouldn't let him speak to a manager. He told Ben the call was being recorded and Ben quite enjoyed pointing out that the guy was going on record saying he was refusing to help us out. This rep stated that although we cancelled on August 7th and therefore the 30 days will be up Sept.5th, we still have to pay through Sept.18th because our billing period runs until then. Apparently it's not a 30 day cancellation period, it's the rest of your current billing period PLUS the next one. To add to that, he told Ben to pay the full bill that we received, and any credit would be eventually refunded. Um, no. Let's not even get started on the fact that we were not credited back the 15 days we were promised by the previous phone call to Rogers. Actually, we were charged for another full month of phone service but not cable and internet, however that works out.
Customer disservice rep #2 thought that Customer disservice rep #1 was stupid but was unable to really do anything for us. Just as she went to transfer Ben to someone else in billing, I accidentally unplugged the phone.
The third rep was actually somewhat useful. He confirmed that indeed the automated message won't start until September 5th even though he also confirmed that our lines have already been disconnected. He gave us an additional $40 credit on our account and was able to give us our final balance owing. I went ahead and paid it today. Now we have to wait until September 18th to see what they send us on our supposedly final bill. This should be fun.
Customer disservice rep #1 was rude to Ben and wouldn't let him speak to a manager. He told Ben the call was being recorded and Ben quite enjoyed pointing out that the guy was going on record saying he was refusing to help us out. This rep stated that although we cancelled on August 7th and therefore the 30 days will be up Sept.5th, we still have to pay through Sept.18th because our billing period runs until then. Apparently it's not a 30 day cancellation period, it's the rest of your current billing period PLUS the next one. To add to that, he told Ben to pay the full bill that we received, and any credit would be eventually refunded. Um, no. Let's not even get started on the fact that we were not credited back the 15 days we were promised by the previous phone call to Rogers. Actually, we were charged for another full month of phone service but not cable and internet, however that works out.
Customer disservice rep #2 thought that Customer disservice rep #1 was stupid but was unable to really do anything for us. Just as she went to transfer Ben to someone else in billing, I accidentally unplugged the phone.
The third rep was actually somewhat useful. He confirmed that indeed the automated message won't start until September 5th even though he also confirmed that our lines have already been disconnected. He gave us an additional $40 credit on our account and was able to give us our final balance owing. I went ahead and paid it today. Now we have to wait until September 18th to see what they send us on our supposedly final bill. This should be fun.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Does.not.compute
On Monday, Ben called to set up an appointment with Time Warner for phone, cable and internet. The lady offered him a great deal. She explained that we're in a competitive area, and they really want our business. She then apologized that this Thursday was the earliest date they could have someone come out to install it. Three days seemed like nothing compared to thirty-three days, so of course we cheerfully accepted an installation appointment for 8-11 a.m. today.
Imagine my surprise when at 10:20 a.m. a man showed up to install everything! Imagine my even greater surprise when he left and I had working phone, internet and cable.
Of course, as a final kick in the teeth I just got an email with our "final" Rogers bill. Now that we have a phone, we can call and ask them why they think that we're going to pay it when they promised they would have our old numbers say "This number has been changed to [insert cell phone number here]" and instead they simply say, "The number you have dialled is not in service." [Insert comment of choice about previous service non-provider here.]
For those of you who need to know, the number is 913-232-9024. I'll come back and edit this in a day or so for all the freaks out there who randomly stalk my blog.
Imagine my surprise when at 10:20 a.m. a man showed up to install everything! Imagine my even greater surprise when he left and I had working phone, internet and cable.
Of course, as a final kick in the teeth I just got an email with our "final" Rogers bill. Now that we have a phone, we can call and ask them why they think that we're going to pay it when they promised they would have our old numbers say "This number has been changed to [insert cell phone number here]" and instead they simply say, "The number you have dialled is not in service." [Insert comment of choice about previous service non-provider here.]
For those of you who need to know, the number is 913-232-9024. I'll come back and edit this in a day or so for all the freaks out there who randomly stalk my blog.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Ben's summary of his first day of teaching
"No-one fell asleep, no-one left, one kid got a bloody nose."
Monday, August 18, 2008
Preschooler logic again
On the way home from dinner the other night, Ben's cousin Aviva noticed that Rachel was eating her menu. We all told her to stop, but she had already swallowed a piece. When asked why she would do that, she responded:
"Some parts of it I didn't need anymore."
Can't argue with that logic.
"Some parts of it I didn't need anymore."
Can't argue with that logic.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
We're here
For anyone who was hoping for an extensive play by play of all the amusing things that happened on the way down here, I don't plan to disappoint.
We left London yesterday (Wednesday) and got to Overland Park tonight. Since we had pre-booked our hotel rooms, it was a given that we'd meet up eventually. Too bad Ben's friend J was pulled over on the I-55 and given a citation for "improper lane usage" because apparently the U-Haul was weaving on the road. That made them rather late in their arrival time at the hotel, but luckily they still managed to get there!
No-one had any trouble at the border. It was slow going, but we got across smoothly. Guess we should have started that smuggling ring after all, hahaha.
Today was a funny travel day. We all left the hotel at the same time, but due to the slower driving pace of the U-Haul, and the unpredictable nature of the nursaholic baby and volatile 4 year old, we didn't necessarily expect to meet up on the road.
Not too long after we had gotten on the road, Rachel announced that she needed to go potty. Too bad we were nowhere near an exit with any sign of civilization! I asked her to hold it in and we headed off at the next exit towards Griggsville. Griggsville's claim to fame is a tourist information centre that we never made it to, and a Casey's General Store that was hiring an assistant manager. For the record, Rachel held it all the way there which was about 4 miles. (That's 6.4 kilometres for those of us who need to know that.)
As we drove down the main highway after our detour in Griggsville, we spotted a U-Haul on top of an overpass. It was the guys! Vindication! Validation! Oh, glorious feeling - I had spotted a U-Haul with my husband in it while driving to Kansas City! We slowed down like crazy to wait for them to get back on and catch up to us since we figured that they might not have had lunch yet.
We all had lunch in Hannibal, MO, at the Mark Twain Family Restaurant on the shore of the Mississippi where you can get catfish strips and chicken livers among other culinary oddities. Since we were playing "clones eat alike" (we'd all ordered the exact same thing for breakfast at the hotel), we all opted for the grilled cheese minus the bacon, lettuce, tomato and mayo. Our waitress seemed surprised that we didn't want even the mayo, but offered to bring us out big waters since apparently our small waters weren't going to cut it. I noticed that the big waters included the upgrade of a straw. I also noticed that I had to ask for a water for Rachel.
After lunch, we parted ways again and figured we'd meet up at the hotel in Overland Park later. We made many stops - nursing, potty, ice cream (oh wait, the McDonalds ice cream machine was broken so we had to settle for milkshakes), more potty, more nursing, dinner, gas, etc, etc. At one point, we decided to go a different route. We attempted to send a message to the guys but were unable to successfully do so.
We eventually arrived at the Doubletree Hotel in Overland Park. I was all set to give it a good recommendation (and yay to Priceline for giving me the lowball price I asked for!) but then the front desk incident took place. The Doubletree is known for giving out free chocolate chip cookies on arrival. Too bad the Doubletree staff neglected to mention the fine print on the BACK of the bag that tells you that their cookies contain WALNUTS. Idiots. I had eaten most of a cookie before realizing that there was something odd about it. As I sit here typing, I'm coming up with all kinds of imaginary symptoms. Luckily for them, I only have a strong intolerance to nuts, including hotel staff.
The stupid thing is that when I went to call them out on it, they simply pulled out another bag, showed it to me and said, "It's on the bag, ma'am." You can ma'am me all you want, but it's on the BACK in teeny tiny print. I grr at the whole situation. Plus I asked them for water and/or the restroom and was told curtly where to find the restroom. I'm sure that they have bottled water behind the desk and could have given me some.
That said, I should probably leave the business centre and go brush my teeth a gazillion times so that the nut residue is all gone. Oh wait. I'm in Kansas. I think the nut residue is here to stay. (No offense to any Kansans who happen to be reading my blog!)
We left London yesterday (Wednesday) and got to Overland Park tonight. Since we had pre-booked our hotel rooms, it was a given that we'd meet up eventually. Too bad Ben's friend J was pulled over on the I-55 and given a citation for "improper lane usage" because apparently the U-Haul was weaving on the road. That made them rather late in their arrival time at the hotel, but luckily they still managed to get there!
No-one had any trouble at the border. It was slow going, but we got across smoothly. Guess we should have started that smuggling ring after all, hahaha.
Today was a funny travel day. We all left the hotel at the same time, but due to the slower driving pace of the U-Haul, and the unpredictable nature of the nursaholic baby and volatile 4 year old, we didn't necessarily expect to meet up on the road.
Not too long after we had gotten on the road, Rachel announced that she needed to go potty. Too bad we were nowhere near an exit with any sign of civilization! I asked her to hold it in and we headed off at the next exit towards Griggsville. Griggsville's claim to fame is a tourist information centre that we never made it to, and a Casey's General Store that was hiring an assistant manager. For the record, Rachel held it all the way there which was about 4 miles. (That's 6.4 kilometres for those of us who need to know that.)
As we drove down the main highway after our detour in Griggsville, we spotted a U-Haul on top of an overpass. It was the guys! Vindication! Validation! Oh, glorious feeling - I had spotted a U-Haul with my husband in it while driving to Kansas City! We slowed down like crazy to wait for them to get back on and catch up to us since we figured that they might not have had lunch yet.
We all had lunch in Hannibal, MO, at the Mark Twain Family Restaurant on the shore of the Mississippi where you can get catfish strips and chicken livers among other culinary oddities. Since we were playing "clones eat alike" (we'd all ordered the exact same thing for breakfast at the hotel), we all opted for the grilled cheese minus the bacon, lettuce, tomato and mayo. Our waitress seemed surprised that we didn't want even the mayo, but offered to bring us out big waters since apparently our small waters weren't going to cut it. I noticed that the big waters included the upgrade of a straw. I also noticed that I had to ask for a water for Rachel.
After lunch, we parted ways again and figured we'd meet up at the hotel in Overland Park later. We made many stops - nursing, potty, ice cream (oh wait, the McDonalds ice cream machine was broken so we had to settle for milkshakes), more potty, more nursing, dinner, gas, etc, etc. At one point, we decided to go a different route. We attempted to send a message to the guys but were unable to successfully do so.
We eventually arrived at the Doubletree Hotel in Overland Park. I was all set to give it a good recommendation (and yay to Priceline for giving me the lowball price I asked for!) but then the front desk incident took place. The Doubletree is known for giving out free chocolate chip cookies on arrival. Too bad the Doubletree staff neglected to mention the fine print on the BACK of the bag that tells you that their cookies contain WALNUTS. Idiots. I had eaten most of a cookie before realizing that there was something odd about it. As I sit here typing, I'm coming up with all kinds of imaginary symptoms. Luckily for them, I only have a strong intolerance to nuts, including hotel staff.
The stupid thing is that when I went to call them out on it, they simply pulled out another bag, showed it to me and said, "It's on the bag, ma'am." You can ma'am me all you want, but it's on the BACK in teeny tiny print. I grr at the whole situation. Plus I asked them for water and/or the restroom and was told curtly where to find the restroom. I'm sure that they have bottled water behind the desk and could have given me some.
That said, I should probably leave the business centre and go brush my teeth a gazillion times so that the nut residue is all gone. Oh wait. I'm in Kansas. I think the nut residue is here to stay. (No offense to any Kansans who happen to be reading my blog!)
Sunday, August 10, 2008
To add insult to injury
Ben sold our VCR to a nice couple with 2 young kids. He sold it to them for $5. That was our agreed-upon price since we suspected that the VCR worked but we've been unable to successfully hook it up to our TV. Too bad he sold them our VCR along with our wedding video that was still IN the VCR! Thankfully they brought it back over tonight, and confirmed that the VCR does indeed work.
Saturday, August 09, 2008
Garage Sale Grudges
Today we had a garage sale and made $274.75. While this is all well and good, I would really prefer to have made $272.75. Why, you ask? Well, it seems that my husband decided that it would be a good idea to sell my very useful stepstool for a toonie! He didn't think it was a big deal since said stepstool had been in the basement all year anyway.
Um, I didn't realize that the stepstool was in the basement! Here I've been climbing on kitchen chairs all year long in order to reach anything in our top cupboards... Grr!! I would definitely have made use of the stepstool.
To be fair, I had asked Ben to make sure that he had brought up everything from the basement before our garage sale started so that I could put out anything we didn't need or want. Too bad he left several things down there that I would have sold, and he sold our good stepstool to a nice man for a toonie! We do have a stepladder but it is HUGE in comparison to my beloved stepstool. Plus the stepstool had a cushy second step that was more like a seat. Yes, that's important to me. ;) Deal with it!
Poor Ben. He should have realized what he was in for once he realized that I had wanted the stepstool. After all, in 1993 when I was home from university for Thanksgiving, my mother walked into the house partway through her garage sale and handed me a $5 bill. I asked her what it was for, and she informed me that she had just sold my bike. To this day, I remember my shock and dismay upon discovering that all that was left of my bike was a flat blue piece of paper that wouldn't get me very far...
And before you all start feeling sorry for Ben, he was silly enough to point out to me that I shouldn't hold a grudge for 15 years because he only sold the stepstool for $2, not the $5 that my bike went for. Anyone else spot the problem with this "logic"? As a last ditch attempt to dodge the blame, he has informed me that he did not make the sale; it was my evil husband, Ryan.
No bike. No stepstool. Maybe I'll wake up in the morning and our bed will be gone. After all, people do have a habit of selling things out from under my nose.
Um, I didn't realize that the stepstool was in the basement! Here I've been climbing on kitchen chairs all year long in order to reach anything in our top cupboards... Grr!! I would definitely have made use of the stepstool.
To be fair, I had asked Ben to make sure that he had brought up everything from the basement before our garage sale started so that I could put out anything we didn't need or want. Too bad he left several things down there that I would have sold, and he sold our good stepstool to a nice man for a toonie! We do have a stepladder but it is HUGE in comparison to my beloved stepstool. Plus the stepstool had a cushy second step that was more like a seat. Yes, that's important to me. ;) Deal with it!
Poor Ben. He should have realized what he was in for once he realized that I had wanted the stepstool. After all, in 1993 when I was home from university for Thanksgiving, my mother walked into the house partway through her garage sale and handed me a $5 bill. I asked her what it was for, and she informed me that she had just sold my bike. To this day, I remember my shock and dismay upon discovering that all that was left of my bike was a flat blue piece of paper that wouldn't get me very far...
And before you all start feeling sorry for Ben, he was silly enough to point out to me that I shouldn't hold a grudge for 15 years because he only sold the stepstool for $2, not the $5 that my bike went for. Anyone else spot the problem with this "logic"? As a last ditch attempt to dodge the blame, he has informed me that he did not make the sale; it was my evil husband, Ryan.
No bike. No stepstool. Maybe I'll wake up in the morning and our bed will be gone. After all, people do have a habit of selling things out from under my nose.
Literacy is overrated.
Last week we were out to dinner with my inlaws. I suggested to Rachel that perhaps she should have the grilled chicken instead of the chicken fingers since I know that she doesn't care for the breading on the chicken fingers at that particular restaurant.
I got a rather petulant look that was accompanied by this response:
"But the grilled chicken says that it's served with a house salad and I WANT FRIES!"
We did explain to her that she could substitute a different side order. No go. She ended up having a burger and fries instead.
I got a rather petulant look that was accompanied by this response:
"But the grilled chicken says that it's served with a house salad and I WANT FRIES!"
We did explain to her that she could substitute a different side order. No go. She ended up having a burger and fries instead.
He's not my husband!
Remember the adventures on our trip home from Kansas last year where I took great pleasure in informing a hotel clerk that my friend T was not my husband? (He recently pulled the same stunt on us at a restaurant when the waitress asked him if we needed a highchair and he said, "Oh, I don't know. I'm not the father!")
Well, unless I'm mistaken, I married a man named Benjamin. There's a miniscule chance that our ketubah (Jewish marriage document) says something else, but that's pretty doubtful.
So what's the problem? Ben has started getting emails from the University of Central Missouri addressed to "Ryan" - he received one from the guy who hired him. Then he got another one welcoming "Ryan" on board and asking what instrument he plays since this set of emails was related to a faculty concert at which "Ryan" is apparently performing.
I sure hope they meant to hire Ben... ;) This is reminding me of my acceptance letter to the University of Toronto back in 1993 that started out, "Dear Hector"...
Well, unless I'm mistaken, I married a man named Benjamin. There's a miniscule chance that our ketubah (Jewish marriage document) says something else, but that's pretty doubtful.
So what's the problem? Ben has started getting emails from the University of Central Missouri addressed to "Ryan" - he received one from the guy who hired him. Then he got another one welcoming "Ryan" on board and asking what instrument he plays since this set of emails was related to a faculty concert at which "Ryan" is apparently performing.
I sure hope they meant to hire Ben... ;) This is reminding me of my acceptance letter to the University of Toronto back in 1993 that started out, "Dear Hector"...
And the winner is...
...my good friend, H, who suggested that perhaps the blog needed a title change!
And, truthfully, Rachel rambles quite a lot these days. Mostly about elephants, but occasionally she'll discuss other topics. My Little Pony is always popular, and sometimes she even plays with dolls! Arts & crafts are a big hit around here. The mother of one of Ben's former students just gave us several "I can make" craft books. There's one for crafts, gifts, nature crafts and something else that I can't remember right now. Rachel loves these books so much that she has started taking them to bed with her. Mind you, she has also started staying up late reading in bed. Last night I told her that she could not read in bed and she was sad but slept almost 12 hours straight! Tonight I let her keep her lamp on and she is still reading in there at 8:15 p.m. after going to bed shortly after 7:30 p.m.
Anna's antics are usually amusing. Anyone who has eaten a meal with us recently can attest to that. She attacks straws, glasses, food, and anything else she can reach by dive-bombing it in a rather vulture-like way. Last night we gave her sweet potato fries (I know, bad mom!)because we were out and I'd completely forgotten to bring something for her. She loved them! I still plan to make her baby food rather than buying the jars, but I'm hoping to let her self-feed whenever possible. She doesn't mind being fed (in fact, I think she quite enjoys it!) but her hand-eye co-ordination is surprisingly good for a not-quite-6-month-old!
And, truthfully, Rachel rambles quite a lot these days. Mostly about elephants, but occasionally she'll discuss other topics. My Little Pony is always popular, and sometimes she even plays with dolls! Arts & crafts are a big hit around here. The mother of one of Ben's former students just gave us several "I can make" craft books. There's one for crafts, gifts, nature crafts and something else that I can't remember right now. Rachel loves these books so much that she has started taking them to bed with her. Mind you, she has also started staying up late reading in bed. Last night I told her that she could not read in bed and she was sad but slept almost 12 hours straight! Tonight I let her keep her lamp on and she is still reading in there at 8:15 p.m. after going to bed shortly after 7:30 p.m.
Anna's antics are usually amusing. Anyone who has eaten a meal with us recently can attest to that. She attacks straws, glasses, food, and anything else she can reach by dive-bombing it in a rather vulture-like way. Last night we gave her sweet potato fries (I know, bad mom!)because we were out and I'd completely forgotten to bring something for her. She loved them! I still plan to make her baby food rather than buying the jars, but I'm hoping to let her self-feed whenever possible. She doesn't mind being fed (in fact, I think she quite enjoys it!) but her hand-eye co-ordination is surprisingly good for a not-quite-6-month-old!
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Ain't that a kick in the teeth...
Apparently Rogers requires 30 days notice in order to cancel services. 30 days. Never mind that we didn't *know* our move date until just a few days ago. What a great way for an evil corporation to make more money.
Time to spread the word again about how Bell Canada might be bad, but Rogers is infinitely worse.
I'm really feeling rather Orff-like again as I type this and the wheel of fate spins on. Ben is on hold right now with Rogers, waiting to speak with a manager. *sigh*
Ooh, ooh. I've edited to add an update! The supervisor is apparently smoking crack. They agreed to meet us halfway and only charge for half of the extra they were going to bill us. How lovely.
After finding that out, I requested that Ben immediately cancel our cable. After all, that's just a service adjustment. Guess what: he can't cancel our cable because they had just put in a cancellation request and we'd have to pay for it until August 18th anyway because that's when their billing period is. I don't think so. He was also told that he could not downgrade to basic cable because our account has been closed and the manager would have had to take the time to re-open our account in order to do so.
Ben hung up.
Now he's on the phone trying to get through to another rep to see where he can get this time. Because, you know, we have the time for this crap.
Time to spread the word again about how Bell Canada might be bad, but Rogers is infinitely worse.
I'm really feeling rather Orff-like again as I type this and the wheel of fate spins on. Ben is on hold right now with Rogers, waiting to speak with a manager. *sigh*
Ooh, ooh. I've edited to add an update! The supervisor is apparently smoking crack. They agreed to meet us halfway and only charge for half of the extra they were going to bill us. How lovely.
After finding that out, I requested that Ben immediately cancel our cable. After all, that's just a service adjustment. Guess what: he can't cancel our cable because they had just put in a cancellation request and we'd have to pay for it until August 18th anyway because that's when their billing period is. I don't think so. He was also told that he could not downgrade to basic cable because our account has been closed and the manager would have had to take the time to re-open our account in order to do so.
Ben hung up.
Now he's on the phone trying to get through to another rep to see where he can get this time. Because, you know, we have the time for this crap.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Introducing Professor Gitter!
Doesn't Ben look rather contemplative and deep in this picture? He's clearly thinking about many things as he drinks his water. I'd say that those are good qualities for the newest adjunct professor in music theory at the University of Central Missouri!
It's a very part-time position. Ben will be teaching two sections of "Music for Dummies", oops, I mean "Music Theory Fundamentals". Right now it's just a one-semester contract, but there is the possibility of work during the next semester as well. Ben will still be enrolled in the M.Mus. program in music theory, but he won't be taking quite as many courses.
We leave next Wednesday...
Monday, August 04, 2008
It's been awhile...
...since I've been able to post about things like car trouble.
Back at the end of May, the tire pressure warning light came on in the van when I was driving it out to St. Thomas for a rehearsal. (St. Thomas is about half an hour from our place, south of London) Luckily we had time in between the rehearsal and concert to drive it back to our place and switch vehicles since we were borrowing my mother's car at the time. It turned out that we had a nail in the tire. No big surprise since we live in a new construction area.
Fast forward to this morning. At the ridiculous hour of approxiately 5 a.m., we (Ben, Anna & myself) piled into the van to drive to Toronto. We had breakfast plans with friends, following which I was going to drop Ben off at his parents' house (where Rachel already was!) and continue on another 45 minutes north to meet a friend for the day. I pulled into the parking lot at Chapters because I had a bit of a Starbucks craving. No, wait. That's only half the reason I pulled in there. I was supposed to keep driving up to the Costco to meet my friend, but the tire pressure warning light came on again. GRR.
I called Ben at his parents' house, and he drove one of their cars up to meet me. Thankfully Costco's tire centre was open AND they had the correct tires in stock. Since today was the civic holiday, it's a darn good thing that Costco had the tires we needed! Ben reminded me that when we bought the van in May 2007, we were told that the tires would likely need replacing in about a year. I'm a bit irritated that there were nails in two of the tires again though. We're going to have to keep a close eye on the tires for the next week or so.
Still, I'd rather the tires die on me in Toronto instead of halfway to Kansas or something!
Back at the end of May, the tire pressure warning light came on in the van when I was driving it out to St. Thomas for a rehearsal. (St. Thomas is about half an hour from our place, south of London) Luckily we had time in between the rehearsal and concert to drive it back to our place and switch vehicles since we were borrowing my mother's car at the time. It turned out that we had a nail in the tire. No big surprise since we live in a new construction area.
Fast forward to this morning. At the ridiculous hour of approxiately 5 a.m., we (Ben, Anna & myself) piled into the van to drive to Toronto. We had breakfast plans with friends, following which I was going to drop Ben off at his parents' house (where Rachel already was!) and continue on another 45 minutes north to meet a friend for the day. I pulled into the parking lot at Chapters because I had a bit of a Starbucks craving. No, wait. That's only half the reason I pulled in there. I was supposed to keep driving up to the Costco to meet my friend, but the tire pressure warning light came on again. GRR.
I called Ben at his parents' house, and he drove one of their cars up to meet me. Thankfully Costco's tire centre was open AND they had the correct tires in stock. Since today was the civic holiday, it's a darn good thing that Costco had the tires we needed! Ben reminded me that when we bought the van in May 2007, we were told that the tires would likely need replacing in about a year. I'm a bit irritated that there were nails in two of the tires again though. We're going to have to keep a close eye on the tires for the next week or so.
Still, I'd rather the tires die on me in Toronto instead of halfway to Kansas or something!
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