Samson patiently waiting for my OK to eat the chocolate chip on the floor in front of him (hard to see the chip but it’s on the far right of the pic). I love how his forehead gets all wrinkled up in concentration. He looks like a Shar Pei or something. He waited for a full 2 minutes or so because I was taking this picture. What a good boy!
Way back in November, as the weather was starting to show signs of the coming winter months, I bought Munchkin a winter coat and snow pants. I hesitated on the snow pants because I was being cheap and they cost an extra $9. But, my practical mind won out and told me that she would need those some day and probably on a day when the streets were too crappy to drive out and buy some.
I was right!
Yesterday was just such a day. I was home working and kept promising myself that when I was done, I would take Munchkin outside for her first adventure playing in the snow. I was really looking forward to it.
At precisely 4:19 p.m., I logged off my computer and marched upstairs, determined to start having fun, dammit! Munchkin was napping so I stuffed my face with popcorn and watched Jenny McCarthy tell Oprah about her first Playboy shoot. It was fascinating (insert Star Trek Spock voice here). Eventually Munch woke up and I immediately changed her diaper (after she looked at me and said, “Diapa, poo poos.” I think she might be ready for potty training sooner than we thought). Then we started suiting her up in her snow gear.
First the snow pants, then the boots, the gloves and hat.
That look on her face kills me! It’s like, “Oh my God what is going on? Is the end of the world near? Is this my HAZMAT suit?”
Then we put on the coat and were ready to go!
I started out slowly because I wasn’t sure what her reaction would be. The first few times she was exposed to grass she freaked out and cried, refusing to put her feet on the ground…figured snow would be similar. But she actually took right to it!
I set her down on the deck and let her get used to it. She just sat there and looked at me. Gee mom, this is great fun. I showed her that you can kick it and run your hands through it and stuff. She eventually started getting brave and trying things.
After a few minutes, I took her down in to the yard. This time she stayed standing and tried to walk in it. However, the snow was up to her knees so she was unable to go anywhere. I suppose it would be hard for anyone to walk in that. I showed her how to lay back and make snow angels and she did! Sort of.
I love that she is laughing and enjoying herself. I remember being a kid and playing in the snow with my sister. We would pile it up along the side of the driveway and climb up, pretending it was Everest or something. And of course building forts and throwing snowballs. She’s too young for that yet but we got her started!
We went back in after about 10 minutes. I didn’t want her getting too cold since her gloves were wet and her face was exposed. Ok, fine, I was getting cold. Anyway, we headed in to get out of our wet clothes, take a nice hot bath and bundle up in warm jammies.
I’m so glad I took her out to play. Sometimes I hesitate to do that stuff because it feels like too much work. Or I’m afraid she’ll hate it and be fussy. But I do it anyway and am always surprised at how well she does and how much fun we have!
Happy snow days to everyone!
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It still feels like it’s the weekend since I worked from home today. Even though I actually did work, since I’m wearing comfie clothes and sitting in the basement, it doesn’t feel like work. Here’s what went down with the Traders this weekend.
Saturday was fun because CJ and I went to a movie! Yeah, like an actual date! We were giddy with excitement. First we took Munchkin over to play with her boyfriend Owen. They were born 5 days apart (though they shared a due date) and naturally will grow up as best friends and eventually marry. What?
Since I’m trying to be all frugal and stuff, we went to an early movie because those are much cheaper. Or at least, that was the plan. I thought the movie was at 11:10 am but when we got there, the only 11 am movie was the 3D one, which was expensive even for an early show. So we got tickets for the noon show, which was regular matinée price. We were slightly bummed but what do you do? We headed in and upon seeing the concessions I was immediately starved. One of everything thank you very much! But, that would have cost us 1 gazillion dollars. Instead, we headed back out to McDonald’s since we had about 40 minutes before the movie started and got lunch for both of us for the same cost as one order of hot dogs would have cost in the theatre. Take that AMC!
We did buy some popcorn and a pop (which we shared) and then headed in to get our seats. We saw Tron: Legacy and it was really good. Here we are at the theatre. Yes, we’re geeks. No, we don’t have matching glasses.
We headed back to pick up Munchkin and found that she had learned to play the piano!
Well, sort of. Anyway, she had a great time and we headed home to settle in for the night. That was about it for Saturday.
Sunday the snow started. And it pretty much hasn’t stopped. Because of the weather, we decided to hunker down and spend the day at home. CJ slept in (I wish I knew what that was like) so Munchkin, Samson and I ate breakfast and then started playing.
At one point I had to, ehem, use the bathroom. I made sure all the rooms were closed off so that Munchkin couldn’t wander away and then went in to the bathroom, leaving the door open so I could see and hear stuff (all I could see was the hallway right outside the door). Right after I sat down, I see Samson walk by the door toward the end of the hallway and I hear him lay down (he usally does that with a big sigh or grunt). Pretty soon Isabella goes streaking by, headed in the same direction as the dog. I hear some noises including evil laughter and shrieks, then I see a lone woobie go rolling by the door. Reminded me of a western or something when you hear a scuffle off camera and then all you see is a cowboy hat rolling in front of the screen. Then, here comes Samson running back the other way, followed by Isabella chasing after him. I hear more scuffles in the living room and then Samson comes to the door carrying a deflated volleyball. I was hoping I wouldn’t find my child in an equally deflated state in the living room and alas, everything was fine but it was touch and go there for a minute.
Munchkin was pretty crabby all day. I think she was teething. She was also very clingy. I couldn’t go anywhere without her running after me and grabbing onto my leg, wanting to be picked up. I’m sometimes torn because I don’t want her to need holding all the time, but I also believe you can’t give them too much love. So, I did just that.
We played in the basement for a while (where CJ was working on volleyball stuff most of the day), and she had fun running around.
I love that she only has one Elmo slipper on. She’s gangsta like that, yo. That’s how this toddler rolls!
Samson was less than thrilled.
After spending the whole day inside with a crabby, clingy toddler, I needed a break so CJ was gracious enough to let me shovel the driveway and sidewalks. He’s sweet isn’t he? Actually, I asked to do it. I wanted something a little physical and get outside for a bit. It was very peaceful and quiet.
Here is what it looked like when I went out to shovel, around 4pm.
I felt better when I came in and made some dinner. Then Isabella and I played with some hats, as well as a game of pick-a-boo.
By the time she went to bed, I was pooped. Normally when I’ve been home with her all day by myself it’s been great. This was my first taste of a less than stellar day and now I can be more sympathetic when CJ has those days. I used to think he was just being whiny. Now I get it. It was nice to snuggle up on the couch, under my Steelers blanket, and hang with my friends on Wisteria Lane.
Like I said earlier, today was a snow day. Here is how it looked around 7:30am:
It has been nonstop all day so the accumulation right now is about double what you see in these pictures. Crazy, yet cozy. We’re planning to take Isabella out in her snow suit for playtime. I’ll definitely be taking pictures if we do!!
Stay warm and safe!
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If you’re looking for a funny or silly post today, you’ve come to the wrong place. My usual cheer and humor has been replaced with sadness as a result of yesterday’s high school shooting. See, I found out last night that the assistant principal, who was shot and killed, is married to my uncle’s cousin. So, while I didn’t know her personally, I do know her family and am filled with sorrow for their loss and this senseless act of violence. Even if she wasn’t someone in the family, the whole situation is really horrible.
Omaha is a relatively small community. While we are a thriving, bustling, growing city of about 800,000 people, it still feels like a small town for those of us who grew up here. People say all the time that “we never thought it would happen to us.” Sounds cliché but it really is true.
Then it does happen, as it did back in 2007, and the community feels it. There is a feeling of fear and sadness in the air across the city. You see prayer vigils on the news. You see flowers on the sidewalks outside the mall. But eventually, while you will never forget, you move on. You think, ok, we’ve had our turn; we’ve experienced our tragedy; our time is done. It won’t happen here again.
But it does, only 3 years later. And this time it involves people you know, or that your family knows. And the air fills with sorrow once again.
As I said, I didn’t know Dr. Kaspar but I’ve heard a lot about her and I did meet her once. Way back in 1991, when I was trying to decide on a high school to attend, I visited with her at Millard South. I grew up in Millard and that was the high school I was supposed to attend. But my family is Catholic and my parents were encouraging me to look at the Catholic schools too. So I visited them all. I won’t lie – Millard South intimidated the hell out of me. It was huge and scary for the shy girl that I was. But Dr. Kaspar was nice and friendly. Ultimately, I chose Marian, a Catholic school, so I don’t have a history with Millard South like my friends do. They’ve all said what an amazing teacher, leader and person she was.
My parents know her too, of course, being that she was married to my uncle’s cousin. My mom told me this morning what a compassionate person Vicki was and that she probably tried to talk to the young man who shot her. But he either didn’t give her that chance or wouldn’t listen. Instead, he shot her multiple times at point-blank range.
Vicki’s son Ronnie also worked at the school, as a Chemistry teacher. She had talked to him that morning and told him that she had to suspend a student and was nervous about it. I’m sure that was an unpleasant part of her job, regardless of who the student was or why. As an educator, you never want to tell a kid they are suspended from school. But it was her job and she did it. And got killed for it. As her son was taking care of his classroom, locking it down and making sure his students were ok, Ronnie got a call to come to the office immediately. He knew why. He got there too late though. His mom had already been transported to the hospital. Her heart stopped several times on the way and on the operating table but all times she fought back, except for the last one. She was tough but no one can survive what her body was put through. She is now gone and can now join her mother and daughter, who are already in heaven.
Driving to work this morning, I was listening to the radio and the show was dedicated to the shooting. They basically opened up the phone lines to allow anyone to call in and talk about their feelings, view-point, etc. Hearing the callers talk really brought up a lot of emotions. I can’t imagine being a parent with a child at that school and not knowing if they are alive or dead. Or being one of the students, who are told there is a Code Red, but have no idea why or what’s going on. I shudder at the thought.
As with the Westroads shooting, life will go on and the events of yesterday will become a distant memory for most. I’m sure we will all wonder when the next time will be. Seems like more and more these days, people are resorting to violence to solve their problems so stories like this are bound to pop up more often. But we can’t live in fear. That gives power to those who don’t deserve power. We have to live our lives fully, as a way of honoring those who no longer can.
My thoughts and prayers are with my family, Dr. Kaspar’s, Dr. Case’s, the shooters and all the others affected by yesterday’s tragedy. May God be with all of you.
Rest in Peace Vicki. You were loved by many and will never be forgotten.
Note: the details on the shooting itself are based on heresay and news stories and may not reflect actual events.
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Happy Hump Day!
Not much going on today so I thought I’d give updates on a few things and share other random thoughts I have.
For those of you who were wondering (all 2 of you), Samson and Willow are back together. He was at Doggie Day Camp yesterday and the report is that he and Willow played together all day. I guess he forgave her for two-timing him. That or it was a nasty rumor started by Karen just so she could get her poop-eating paws on him. Either way, all seems to be right in the dog world again.
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If anyone has been dying to know how I fared in Fantasy Football, I finished in 3rd place. [gulp] It pained me to lose in the semi’s, but I did. Ironically enough, the first and second place teams going in to the playoffs finished 4th and 3rd, respectively, and the 3rd and 4th place teams finished 1st and 2nd! I’m kind of glad it’s over. It was getting to be too stressful for me. And hey, all that matters is that the Steelers won their division and are headed into the real playoffs.
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On, a more somber note, there was a shooting at Millard South High School today. Apparently the shooter was a student who had been suspended. He shot the principal and assistant principal. Scary stuff. Millard South is where I’d have gone to high school had I not chosen to go the private route and head to an all girl’s catholic school (that’s a whole other post). But all my junior high and grade school friends went there. My parents still live in the neighborhood.
3 years ago, there was another shooting in Omaha, at the Westroads Mall. That was the first really major incident like that we’d had here and I was in Pittsburgh working at Del Monte. One of my friends sent me an instant message telling me about it. It was very surreal to be in another city and see your local mall on the National news.
Makes me so sad that violence seems to be the first thought these days when one is angry or upset or lonely or whatever. Columbine…Westroads…school board meeting in Florida…Virginia Tech. Can’t people talk things out anymore? It seems cliché to say it but, can’t we all just get along? I mean, I’ve been angry at bosses or co-workers but I would never think to get a gun and start shooting! Makes me sad at the world that I’m raising my daughter in. Prayers go out to both victims and all the families.
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Ended the day having drinks out with some girls from work. It was what I needed – a good old-fashioned bitch session fueled by Mexican food and alcohol. Can’t beat that! Seriously though, I enjoy socializing with co-workers, whether it be a lunch, happy hour or whatever. We spend more time with them than with our families it seems so why not get to know them better? I hope for more of those outings soon!
Came home to spend some time, though not enough, with Isabella before she was off to bed. She started to fuss and I had flashbacks to Sunday night. Fortunately, she calmed herself down after a few minutes so it was all good. Going to sit down and pay bills now, then head to bed, and dream of spreadsheets and budgets.
Happy Hump Day!
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Team Trader Mom 