And Figure Things Out!

Oh, yeah. I am officially mother of the year over here.

Becca’s 2nd (OMG) birthday is October 27th. And I had no real idea of what to get her. Then, I was sitting around one day, watching Disney with Becca, and an announcement came on.

Imagination Movers. Live. Coming To A City Near You!!!

Okay, that’s the shortened version. Anyhow, I hopped online, right that very instant, and went to the Imagination Movers web site. Sure enough, they were coming to Syracuse, November 5th. Just over one week after Becca’s birthday. Tickets were supposed to go on sale two weeks later. I told Mark all about it, and we agreed– This had the potential to be the BEST GIFT EVER.

The day of the ticket sale came, and… No Tickets. It had been pushed back, indefinitely. A few days later, the Imagination Movers site was saying that it was going to be this coming weekend. The tickets would be  on sale Friday.  But it wasn’t until yesterday that the concert venue or Ticket Master sites were saying anything about the new date. Presale tickets (supposedly only for a select group of people? I thought?) were supposed to be available this morning at 10. I had a couple guesses for the presale password, so I logged on a bit early (right before 9:30) to check it out.

And tickets were already available.

But I would need a password. Right? So I punched in the number of tickets and section we wanted, and clicked the submit button. After a few moments, they came back with these seats:

Row B. Seats 106-108. Orc. In English, second row from the stage. Front and center. Where’s the catch? Where’s the little pop-up asking for my password?

So I hit submit. Yes, TicketMaster, I will accept these seats. Gladly. Thankyouverymuch.

I am asked for my credit card information, my billing address. And then, next thing I know, the payment is processing, and I am getting a confirmation message.

Presale password?? Not for this lucky mama.

So, yeah.. Second row. Front and center. Did I mention that already? I did? Can I mention it again??

It’s going to look like this.

|Scott|              |Dave|          |Rich|           |Smitty|          |Warehouse Mouse|

=================Edge of Stage==================

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX–Row One–XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXX—Other People–XXXXXXX–Me-Becca-Mark–XXX-Other People–XXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXX–Children with less-cool parents, and not as good of a view—XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Multiply last row by about 5 dozen, including the balcony.

I am awesome. And very much bragging. (Sorry).

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

See? See?

I am allowed to be a little excited, right?

Thought so.

Three posts in one day. Are you sick of me yet?

I just went to go see The Time Traveler’s Wife with one of my sisters. I’ve read the book, she hasn’t, so we both entered into the theater with different expectations. And we were both pleasantly surprised.

I don’t want to ruin anything for anyone who hasn’t read the book or watched the movie yet, but I want to encourage you to do one. Or both. The book is amazing. And the movie was definitely not a let-down. They changed some stuff around, but it was still amazing. I am hoping to drag Mark to go see it before too much longer. And I will be buying the movie the day it comes to DVD.

I am now home alone, because Mark took Becca to his Mom’s for the afternoon. I could get some work done (what I should be doing) or I could curl up in bed, and re-read The Time Traveler’s Wife, before I hand it off to Shannon (the sister that saw the movie with me today) on Wednesday.

Anyone want to take a guess about which one I will choose?

Friday night, I had a bit of an upset stomach. I was hanging out in the bathroom (TMI? Sorry..), and realized that Becca was being unusually quiet. Those of you with toddlers (or who have had toddlers) know that silence is always a really bad sign. Either (A) they have finally managed to kill themselves, or (B) they are getting into something that they shouldn’t be. And (luckily) it is probably option B.

I washed my hands real quick, and headed out to the rest of the apartment. She wasn’t in her bedroom, and the living room was empty. Then I heard a giggle in the kitchen. I took a deep breath to ready myself for whatever I was about to find, and looked in.

Becca was sitting in the middle of floor, happy as a clam. The large container of coffee was sitting in front of her. She was scooping it out, then playing with it on the floor. She had a nice little pile by the time I intervened.  I took the container away, dusted her off, and put her into her chair, and swept up, while she screamed. The most fun she has ever had (I’m sure) and I was taking it away.

Here’s the funny part. The coffee was in the cupboard, way above her reach. The chairs were all upside down on our storage bench (we learn quickly around here). But the cupboard door was open. I had forgotten to close it when I was looking for the peptobismol. She had taken the mop, and used the handle to knock the coffee out. And then managed to get the top off.

We are either raising a genius, or a criminal mastermind. We have no idea which one she’s going to be. But with her tendency towards this kind of stunt, I’m willing to take a guess…

It’s a kid’s show. I get that. But does anyone else think that there’s something going on behind the scenes with those two?

It seems like every episode, there are little compliments, steamy looks.. And judging by the number of search results along those lines, I am not the only one who thinks so. One mom even compared it to a cartoon soap opera.

So, what would a date between them be like? Would the tools chaperone? Where would they go? Sheetrock hills has a movie theater, but I’ve never noticed a romantic restaurant. They could always pick up chocolates at Mr. Lopart’s Candy Store, I suppose.

I think it would be great if they officially got together. Can you do that on a kid’s show? I would love to see a wedding episode. Can’t you just imagine Kelly in the dress, and the tools watching, and Manny walking down the aisle?

So, by now you know that I watch maye just a little too much kid’s tv. I don’t even know what it is about this show. Maybe it is because I would have watched Handy Manny as a kid, myself? Or maybe it is because Becca is so cute when she bounces around, singing along with the theme songs?

Whatever the reason, I think it is time for me to watch more adult shows. Stuff with plot lines deeper than a too-short ladder or melting ice cream.

I’m still holding out for a wedding episode, though.

Saturday was the last day of this year’s Fireman Field Days. I have been looking forward to this for the past two years, when I went to the fair while still pregnant with Becca. Mark and I talked and laughed about how exciting it would be to be able to bring our child to the fair when she (or he.. we didn’t know yet) was old enough.

We got to the field days around 12:30 (managing to score an awesome parking place), lathered on the sunscreen, snapped on Becca’s monkey leash, and off we went. The whole way down, Mark and I discussed how we were going to pay for the rides– Buy individual tickets? (Good if Becca hated going on the rides) Or buy the all-day bracelet? (Much cheaper if Becca really liked the rides.)

We wandered around for a while, looking at the rides (there weren’t many), and discussing our options. While we were wandering, we ran into my sisters. After talking with them for a bit (and after Becca tried her first sno-cone.) we decided to buy enough tickets for one ride. Then we’d go from there.

Her first ride involved cars that went around a little track. We had been watching it while talking to my sisters, and she seemed pretty interested in it. So I explained to her that the cars would go in circles, and that Mommy and Daddy would be watching her, but she would have to ride by herself. Then I strapped her in.

She laughed and giggled the whole time. The only time she cried was when we took her out of the car. So then we tried the bounce house. Which she really loved, even if she didn’t go very far in.

Next, we tried the carousel. Mom’s ride for free. She loved the idea of riding a pony, but quickly got bored.

And then it was on to the flying marshmallows. Or something.

After all of this excitement, we headed across the road to the Bluegrass Festival. Where she danced.

And then tried to escape. Dad thwarted her plans, though.

After running into Mark’s Aunt (on his father’s side. Whom I have never met. But that is another post.), we went for a drive to help Becca fall asleep. And then, we went back to the fair for a while. She rode in her first sports car…

And then she rode a few other rides, ending with a trip on the carousel with Mark.

Not enough pictures for you? I didn’t think so. There are approximately 3 million more in the photo gallery.

I finished up work early last night, ate supper a little early, and curled up into one of the new chairs with the intent of finally being able to watch The Last King of Scotland. I recorded it last week, but things keep coming up, and Becca kept turning the TV off whenever I did finally get the chance.

So there I am, all curled up, remote in hand, flicking over to our DVR list… Hmm. Where is it??

I know for a fact that it was set to “Keep until I delete.” I never use the shorter time period. As it was right between some of Mark’s recordings, I’m thinking he deleted it. On accident, I would hope. He knows better than to mess with my James McAvoy collection. I’ll have to ask him when he wakes up. I’m really hoping that Walmart has a copy, because the little I watched of it was really good. I could rent it, but I’ll probably watch it more than a few times. I think even Mark would like this one, if he could get past his dislike of McAvoy. I put up with a lot of Jessica Alba movies for his sake. I don’t even tease him (like he does me. grrr) because I realize that celebrity crushes are normal, and don’t last long (at least not with me. I pick them like ice cream- new flavor every few weeks).

Anyhow, thought to share my frustration. Because it is only 6:30 in the morning, and I don’t want to start work yet. (YAWN)

Elizabeth, over at Type A Mommy, has sent an award my way. My very first one! And it even matches my color scheme. Isn’t that cool?

The rules state that I am supposed to pass this along to 15 other bloggers. But I’m going to cheat a little. I’m going to pass this along to one blogger, who I only just discovered. But I have read some of her back posts, and she is a very insightful writer, with a wicked sense of humor. Want to see what I mean?  Check out her post Dancer Mangles Winkie.

Mrs. Chattypants, you are my choice for the One Lovely Blog award.

Think you deserve the One Lovely Blog Award, too? Leave me a comment, with a link to your best post, and then help yourself to the award. I’ll keep updating this post for every comment I get, up to 15 recipients. I don’t want to bend the rules too much.

Elizabeth (Type A Mommy) pointed me over to an exciting new Friday meme; Fiction Fridays at the Write Anything blog. I love creative writing (I’ve even begun work on a novel) but I haven’t ever posted anything online. Until this week. I think I’m going to try keeping current on the Friday Fiction challenges. This was my first week, and it was a lot of fun.

I realized that, after I posted the Friday Fiction story, that I didn’t provide any background about what it was, or why it was suddenly on my blog. So.. now you know. If you decide to do the challenge, please let me know. I’d love to read what you wrote!

Happy Cinco de Mayo (the fifth of May, for those who don’t know), everyone!

Cinco de Mayo is a Mexican holiday, celebrating the Mexican army’s defeat of the French army on May 5th, 1862. Although it is not considered a national holiday, it is a day of celebrating the Mexican heritage. Among the college student generation (especially those we live next door to) it is a day to get wildly drunk while eating tacos.

We are not doing anything here to celebrate. Or, at least, I haven’t thought of anything yet. If I had thought ahead, I could have picked up some stuff for making mexican food while we were shopping yesterday. Maybe we’ll just make something this weekend, instead. In fact, it might be a perfect time to try out a recipe I thought up a while back.

Taco Lasagna.

Makes your mouth water just thinking about it, right? Here’s the basic idea. Instead of mozzarella and ricotta, you use cheddar. Cook your hamburg in taco seasoning. Between the layers, add in corn, beans, peppers, onions, and anything else that sounds good. I would recommend making your own tomato sauce (I like Mario Batoli’s recipe, myself) because you’re really going to want a lot of chunkiness. Especially with the tomatoes.

If I actually make it (I probably will) I’ll post an actual recipe. But if you want to jump ahead and make it early, that should give you a general idea of what you’re doing. Serve it up with some baked corn chips, and enjoy!

Elizabeth, over at Type A Mommy, has tagged me in a meme. Here are the rules:

1. Mention who tagged you.

2. List six unimportant things that make you happy.

3. Tag six more blogs, then go and comment on their blogs. Let them know that they have been challenged, and invite them to play along.

My six favorite things… Hmm. Let’s see:

1. Pajama pants. I am one of those moms that could just live in my pajamas. And, if no one is coming over, and I don’t have to go anywhere, I usually do. Especially in the winter. They never get tight, even if I do pack on a couple extra holiday pounds. And I could wear them the entire time that I was pregnant. And for the few awkward clothing weeks after that.
2. My books. All of them. I have a few hundred, at I am always looking to get more. There is never a time that I am not half way through at least two books. It used to drive my husband nuts. I have read up to ten books all at the same time before. I pick one up, read some of it, then get interested in something else. And then I pick up the third book. Then I am back to the first again…
3. My bread machine. We got it for Christmas, from my father and step-mom, and we haven’t bought more than a few loaves of bread since then. We bake almost all of our bread fresh. I love the smell of fresh bread, and it makes sandwiches so much better. It’s also a lot healthier than the store bought stuff. No preservatives, controlled amounts of sugar.
4. Going for walks. Until last August, we didn’t even have a car. We walked everywhere, or took cabs or the bus, if we really needed to. I would easily walk 10-15 miles a week, going around town to get groceries, visit family, and go to the park. Although we usually just drive now, I still try to get out as often as I can to go for a walk. I pop Becca into the stroller, and off we go! I’m so glad that it is finally nice out again outside so that we can get out more often.
5. Really great haircuts. I don’t go to get my hair cut very often. Okay, almost never. Last Saturday was the first time I went out to get my hair cut in a salon, by a person I didn’t know, since I was 19. That was six years ago. I was lucky, because my ex-boyfriend’s mom cuts hair professionally. She is the best in the area, and I used to go to her. After I got together with Mark, I let my hair grow out again (it used to be down to my butt). Other than one haircut from a friend, and the one time I did it myself, I haven’t had my hair cut in three years. I’ve decided that I need to change this habit. $25 every other month or so for an amazing haircut is totally worth it.
6. Homemade ice cream. Especially with summer coming, especially as we are coming up on summer. I have an ice cream mixer that goes with my Kitchen Aid mixer, and I don’t get to use it very often, because it takes up so much space in the freezer. We’ll be using it more this summer, though. And I have a really yummy-looking recipe for peanut butter and jelly ice cream that I am just dying to try out.

Okay, there are my six favorite unimportant things. I am going to ask the following blogs to list their own favorite things.

Tales of the Tornado Chaser

Adventures of Mr. Busypants

Semantically Driven

Reading is Sexy

How to Survive Life in the Suburbs

Cutest Kid Ever

If I’ve tagged you, please come back and comment when your post is up so we can all see it. Thanks for playing!