Without studying

Honestly, though, if they call an A- "excellent," what do they call an A+? They might just be trying to make me feel good but I know better.

Le Tour. (with a period, not an exclamation point)

Yes, Folks, the riders of Le Tour de France are less than 2 weeks from lining up for the Grand Depart in London, England. England? Yup, the Tour makes its debut in London and we avid race fans are wondering, "Will car traffic be held off while the cyclists race through the tunnel?" Just kidding.

Anyway, you haven't heard much from me this year about the Tour because, frankly, there's too much drama. Unfortunately, it's not racing tactics drama so it's not exciting. Well, I guess it actually is racing tactics but it reads more like a gritty tale of drugs, drugs and more drugs. Doping is the word in cycling, yet again (still?) and the stories make my head spin. I wish I could provide a nice, clean summary to catch you all up but I can't. It's too crazy with someone like me being completely unable to know what's true and what's not. I sure hope someone comes up with a way to figure that out sooner rather than later because I'm not sure the professionals know all that much more surely than I do.

Yes, I will keep an eye on the race. Yes, I will get excited about the race. But there will be a piece of me holding back because I have that awful, nagging feeling that nothing is what it seems.

Thoughts from my first day driving our new car

Today I drove our new car to work. It was my first chance to drive it in place of my truck. I had some thoughts along the way.

1. It's hard to drive the speed limit in a new car
2. I'm no longer a cool chick in a truck
3. I'm no longer a weird and/or possibly lesbian chick in a truck
4. Feeling safer (real or contrived) feels good
5. I'm interchangeable with most other people on the road
6. I will miss my truck
7. Sitting lower than other drivers provides a new perspective
8. It takes longer to change the temperature of the air in a wagon than a truck cab
9. I should more closely consider where I park
10. Accidentally turning on the heated seats switch makes a 100-degree day feel even hotter
11. I look forward to testing the limits of the all-wheel-drive-ity of the new car
12. A shorter wheelbase allows one to drive faster over speed humps

Too many issues to tackle at one time

Me: (looking behind my nightstand) Huh - I have 2 hair ties back here.
Kevin: I hid them from you to punish you.
Me: For what?
Kevin: Because I didn't want to go to the Meaghers' house.
Me: Ohh, I see. But now you're glad that I forced you go to, right? You said you had lots of fun.
Kevin: Right. Did you look around? Is something else missing?
Me: I don't see anything missing. Why, should I?
Kevin: Yes.
Me: What else did you hide?
Kevin: Papi's blanket.
Me: You hid Papa's blanket to punish me?
Kevin: Yes.
Me: That doesn't punish me very much, actually. I do hope that you'll return it to him before he needs it tonight.
[half an hour later, we're still discussing the missing blanket in the midst of taking care of other things - I refuse to search for it and he refuses to tell me or Andy where it is - he finally says something to Andy while I'm out of the room and then I get called back in...]
Kevin: Mami?
Me: Yes?
Kevin: Here's the blanket. But it's not Papi's; it's yours; I was trying to trick you!
Me: Oh, I see. Are you actually just trying to keep me from getting mad at you for punishing me too much?
Kevin: Yes.

Suba-what?

Lady at key counter: What kind of car is this for?
Andy: A Subaru
Lady at key counter: What is the other name for it?
Andy: Outback
Lady at key counter: No, I mean what kind of car - Toyota, Honda, Chevrolet...?
Andy: It's a Subaru
Lady at key counter: I've never heard of that. *looks at catalog for the key blank it matches* Huh - Soo...buh...roo. Oh, Subaru. Sorry, we don't have that in stock.

Now it's time for a game called Props

If you live anywhere near here and are looking to buy a used car from someone who acts like a normal human being and who treats you like a normal human being, then go to Shoreline Motorcars in Glen Burnie.

Buying our car was so pleasant it felt more like buying a cherry pie from someone's grandma at the farmer's market than what I've ever known buying a car to be like.

My freedom is but a positive side effect

Kevin moved up to a new class in preschool/daycare for the summer. This new class has a summer camp format through August and the kids are over 4 years old so there is no nap requirement.

His second day in the new class, Kevin asked me if he could stay there all day every day. I made sure he understood what he was asking for and then talked to Andy about it. We agreed that as long as he didn't have to nap, we were ok with it. [When Kevin has to participate in nap/rest time, he falls asleep and then doesn't go to bed that night until 10pm - we try to minimize such behavior.]

Now in his second week of the new class, Kevin is thriving. He LOVES the activities, field trips and new friends. He prefers to be there over just about anywhere else. I couldn't be happier to see him so happy.

Yes, I now have even more time at home (or running errands or weeding the garden or what-have-you) with nobody else here but, honestly, I think my thrill from that is overshadowed by my glee at Kevin's thrill of being at school with his classmates and teachers doing fun things and learning and going on field trips and swimming and just experiencing all sorts of life.

Go for it, Little Dude.

Our New Ride

 

Some facts about Andy

These may help you interpret Kevin's interview responses.

Andy is 5'5" tall.
He has brown eyes and black hair.
He likes to eat salmon but loves to eat watermelon, potato chips and steak.
He likes to drink Coke.
His favorite color is red but he is not a fan of the Redskins.
He works at the government printing office warehouse (nowhere near the harbor.)
He is wild and crazy when it comes to making people, kids especially, laugh.
He is not a teenager. He is 40 years old.
He sings and dances.
He loves Kevin immensely.
Kevin loves him to pieces.

Father's Day Interview

Click here to read the 2005 interview.
Click here to read the 2006 interview.

June 2007

What is Papá’s name? Papá. No! Andy. Aguilera.
Is Papá tall or short? Tall
What color are Papá’s eyes? I don’t know. Brown?
What color is Papá’s hair? Black

What does Papá like to eat? Salmon. And should I add anymore stuff?
[Sure.] Lettuce, tomatoes.
What does Papá love to eat? I don’t know. Uh... fish?
What does Papá like to drink? Coke
What is Papá’s favorite color? Red, like the Redskins.

What does Papá do at work? Works in the harbor and people send him books

What do you like to do with Papá? Play with him.
How do you like to play with him? Because he’s such a fun, playful guy

Where do you like to go with Papá? To the birdseed store
What do you like to help Papá do at home? Fill the bird feeders and work in the garage

What does Papá do that makes you laugh? Do funny things
What kinds of funny things? Dances funny dances, he sticks out his tongue to make a funny face

How old is Papá? Fourteen. Oh, no, he’s not a teenager!
So how old is he? Twenty four

Is Papá a good singer? Yes!
Is Papá a good dancer? Yes.

Does Papá love you? Yes!
Do you love Papá? Yes!

Lollipop of Death

+

=

Death to the little suckers tormenting us for the past 4 months.

We tried everything we were supposed to - multiple types of baits w/ poison, peanut butter and jelly with boric acid, washing every dish and wiping every counter at the sight of the smallest speck of spill or crumb, etc. Nothing worked until the night I came home to find the ants parading across the kitchen floor creating a veritable superhighway between their nest (in the wall) and Kevin's bucket o' candy. The ants were mostly on the lollipops - not the dum-dums style pops but the flat kind with the clear wrappers. The ants squeezed through the space between the paper stick and where the wrapper is glued shut.

"Ok," I thought. "If you love those lollipops so much, you can have 'em!" I cleaned up the bucket o' candy and sprayed "deterrent" along their pathway back to their point of emergence where I placed a lollipop dipped in yummy but deadly boric acid powder. The ants were all over it! I placed another one at the back of the countertop where they often emerge.

This week I tempted fate - I put dirty dishes in the dishwasher. Lo and behold there was no ant superhighway across the counter culminating in a thousand-strong party of ants in the dishwasher. Woohoo!

Be careful what you ask for

Taylor: I know! Let's play a game where we pretend to fight.
Kevin: Ok. *smacks Taylor in the face*
Taylor: [crying] Ow, Kevin, stop it!
Kevin: Sorry, Taylor, but that's what you said!

Brother (4) and Sister (3) and Friend (5)

Taylor (brother): Mom! Alyssa pretended to cut her arms off!
Alyssa (sister): I was just PLAYING. I didn't really do it.

Taylor: Stop it, Alyssa. It's not funny.
Alyssa: *pause* Hahahahahaha!!!

Mom: What was your favorite part of today?
Taylor: Mine was having Kevin come over.
Kevin (friend): Mine was watching TV.
Alyssa: Mine was taking a bath with Kevin.