A tale of two lines.

Thursday morning, 11:35am. I dash into Food Lion just to grab some cheese. Of course, I find a couple of other things I NEED among the rubble of the current renovations. (As an aside-the renovations are killing me-no signs, everything is moved around, the aisles are half the size-BUT it might look nice when its done, perhaps they can lure me back from the 'Krops-we'll see.) I'm trying to get across the street to pick Wyatt up before naptime. I hurry to the front to see that only 2 lines are open. I quickly scan them to see which one looks better.

You know where this is going. You've been there.

On the left there are just two ladies in line. The first one is at the end of the checking out process. The one behind her is propped up against the conveyor belt sullenly munching on some saltines that she has opened before buying. Hm. Not a good sign.

On the right there are about 4 people in line, but all with one or two items and the line seems to be moving briskly along.

I feel myself break out in a cold sweat. Which one? I tried the noncommittal route-standing in the middle, frantically glancing side to side-waiting to make that crucial decision as long as possible. But I knew any second someone would walk up behind me and force my hand, which just made the pressure worse.

Finally, I just made a snap decision-to the left. The lady in front was paying, and the saltine woman only had 3 items. It had to move quickly, right? RIGHT? Once I committed I started to have doubts. Then I looked more closely at the lady in the front. Oh no...she was like 80 years old.....and, oh no-the kiss of death, she was paying with a CHECK!!! I felt my shoulders slump as she started digging through a giant purse muttering something about coupons. Saltine lady looked at me, brushed the crumbs off of her ample bossom, raised one eybrow and said "You might want to go to the other line." Crap.

I glance over to the right...and oh miracle of miracles, no one else has moved into that line! And there is only one couple with 4 items in the process of checking out!! Saved!! I snatch up my cheese, hummus and other sundries and as Grandma says "I just know they're in here somewhere!" I triumphantly deposit my goods on the next line and breathe a sigh of relief. I actually beat the line gods at their own game.

But the line gods are cruel and devilish, with minds especially designed for torture. The couple has broken their purchase into two separate transactions. What? Well, still-it will be quick. He pays for his things, and then it is her turn. She just has one item, a box of graham crackers. The cashier rings them up. And then I hear the dreaded words. "These are supposed to be on sale." Sweet Jesus, no. She rings them up again. $3.99. The girl starts to get an attitude. "Oh no, I specifically looked at the sign. These are on sale, 2 for $5." The cashier looks around as if she has no idea where she is. The bagger boy offers to go look for the price and disappears. Minutes go by. He comes back, shrugging his shoulders, no graham crackers in sight. The girl is pissed now. "You can't find them? I'll show you where they are then!" And she leaves, boyfriend in tow. Which leaves me, standing forlornly in the line by myself with the vapid cashier who is twiddling her hair and looking at her nails.

Saltine lady is through. She avoids eye contact with me as she exits. Four more people have mysteriously appeared, and all in that line. They are whizzing through, one after the other and I watch them head merrily out the door into the sunshine. I hate them all.

Finally the whole crew comes back, and guess what? They ring the crackers up again. $3.99. At this point I start clawing out my own eyeballs. Then the line gods decide they've had their fun with me and it is time to move on to someone else. The cashier from my original line has to leave her station to come fix the error and closes her line, and all those people move to mine.

At least there are others sharing in my misery now. I don't feel singled out anymore. The line gods giveth, and they taketh away. And the lesson for the day? Never, EVER switch lines. That's just asking for it.

Where's your hiney?

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I mean, I'm patting on it all the time, so I guess he was going to learn at some point.

Note the new shoes. He actually picked those out at Target (despite never having seen the movie) and put them on in the store. They've pretty much been on his feet since then. Even napped with him today.

Tuesday Toot

Wyatt started daycare in August. Its been slightly scary, but he's done well. Except now there is a kid apparently biting him on a daily basis. But that's another story.

Anyway, I took him this morning-even though I wasn't working-and I had the morning to myself. I don't remember the last time that has happened. I drank coffee, watched The Today Show, did laundry, read my book and played on the computer. It was awesome. I picked him up after he ate lunch and then had the rest of the day with him, and I didn't even feel guilty. I could get used to this.

Oh-and I kept GiGi at home since he wouldn't need it for naptime, and he didn't freak out!

Donna Martin Graduates!!!

The new 90210 on CW: A review in delightfulness

* A new twist on the old opening song. It's updated, it's hip, it's now!

* Kelly has a 4 1/2 year old! Is it Dylan's? Who was she talking to on the phone?

* A guest appearance by Linda Gray-otherwise known as Sue Ellen Ewing?? My joy knows no bounds!

* The mother from Arrested Development as the drunk grandma? Priceless!!

* Kelly and Brenda reunite at the Pit!!

* Andrea Zuckerman's daughter had a brief appearance! Loved the crack "What is she, 30?"

* The PIT lives! And Nat has even learned to use an espresso machine!

* A BJ in one of the opening scenes? This is not your mama's 90210.

* Erin Silver, the high school bad girl with a blog-fabulous!

* Next week promises drama with Kelly & Erin's coke head, drunk, drama ridden Mom!

* The possibilites for appearances by all the old cast are endless!!

Thank goodness. With Charmed, Buffy, Angel and The OC all gone, I was in desperate need of a new guilty pleasure show. This is it. It pulled me out of the deep depression I have felt since the finale of "So You Think You Can Dance." Sunny days ahead.

Emergency Repair

Wyatt has a blankie-A psuedo "taggie" blankie. By psuedo I mean that it is not an official taggie product. My good friend Janelle bought it for Wyatt at the Eastern Market in D.C. and it was handmade. This is a key point because it means I can't get another one just like it.

I think I've referred to the GiGi before. That's what he calls it. He goes through varying phases of attachment to it. He always has to sleep with GiGi and Night Night (his other, bigger, less mobile blankie that just stays in the crib) and some days it just lays on the couch or the floor and then other days it stays in his little hand all day long. It ALWAYS goes to daycare. According to his teacher, he does everything with it in one hand. They can't get it away from him.

I love that he has a special blankie. He's so cute carrying it around, like a little Linus. There are several drawbacks, however. For one, it's freakin' hard to get that thing in the washing machine. It can't be done while he's sleeping of course, and the washer and dryer are in the dreaded BASEMENT which means I would have to leave him upstairs to go down there and wash it-a highly unadvisable activity. Of course it needs frequent launderings as it is covered in a mixture of snot, spit, milk, food and whatever else he drags it through on a daily basis.

The other big issue is durability. The little blankie is tough, but it's pretty worn out at only 20 months old. How is it going to make it 5 or 6 years? There have been multiple repairs already. Mainly the seams come apart around one of the ribbons, causing the ribbon to fall out and a hole to appear. Several of the ribbons have bit the dust-no idea where they are. This morning though, the unthinkable happened! He was yelling "GIGI!" when I went in to get him, but it was in his hand. Then I noticed he was pointing to the floor where the special pink ribbon lay. Oh crap. He holds it by that particular ribbon all the time. Its a wonder that sucker has lasted as long as it has to date.

So I quickly whipped out the needle and thread and reattached it while he clung to my leg and screamed. Not a great sewing job, but should last him through the morning, I hope. Because if we lose that ribbon we're in some serious doo doo my friends. Then I sat down to study and take my first Pathophysiology quiz and lost the quiz only a couple of minutes into taking it. Great. What a fantastic start to the day. Now I'm waiting for the professor to email me back and see if she will give me another chance to take it. The subject of the email was "Mercy!" In the past she has been pretty understanding...but that was undergraduate and now I'm in GRAD SCHOOL (said in sarcastic ooh la la voice) and I guess I'm not supposed to let these kind of things happen.

And I have two hours to shower, go to the grocery store, get this quiz resolved and straighten up before I need to go get him from daycare so that I can spend the afternoon with him and not feel guilty for sending him away.

I only hope that the encore presentation of 90210 tonight makes up for all of this. I have a lot riding on that show. I am in desperate need of a new fluffy show obsession.

8 month portraits with GiGi below when GiGi had seen better times...in the second one you can see THE ribbon. Its the wider, pink one kind of folded up underneath him.





Any suggestions on what to do? My mom is attempting to make another one, but it won't be the same. We're thinking we might start just laying the new one around and washing it with his clothes. I am certain he will reject it. Ideas? Thoughts? HELP!

The power of three will set you free....

When I was pregnant with Wyatt, we had many loooong name discussions. We didn't find out whether he was a boy or girl, so there were double discussions. Actually the girl name came easily, but we bickered and picked over the boy name for a while. I liked a family name on his side, he didn't like it-the other family name on his side I liked his sister had always wanted...blah blah blah. Round and round.

Then one day we were on a long car trip and out of the blue he says "What about Wyatt?" I got ready to turn my nose up and then realized....I like that! Now, Chris liked Wyatt because it sounds tough. It reminds him of Wyatt Earp and Tombstone and Deadwood and whiskey and guns and horses and all that crap. I liked Wyatt for a different reason. I spent about 2 years of my life completely obsessed with Charmed reruns. I came home every day and watched it at 5pm. I recorded them (pre DVR) on our dilapidated VCR. Chris wasn't allowed to talk or walk through the room during Charmed time. For those of you who, sadly, aren't knowledgable about the best show ever-Wyatt is the name of Piper and Leo's baby. He's the first child of a white lighter and witch and is the most powerful magical being of all times!!! How cool is that? Very. I know.

You know how fun it is to torture your spouse in those ways that only you know how to do? People will say, "Oh Wyatt, like Wyatt Earp, a cowboy!" And I reply with "AND like Wyatt from Charmed! A powerful magical being!" Meanwhile, Chris is beside me twitching as his lips thin to nothing. Yes!

Last night we were at the Friday wine tasting at Once Upon a Vine-South and a lady heard Chris call his name and said "Oh I like that name! Wyatt, right? Like the Charmed Ones!" I nodded vigorously and said "Exactly!" Oh happy day! I could feel the annoyance rolling off of Chris in waves. Hee hee!

Of course, I got mine. I was in line with a pretzel chip in my mouth and turned around to do an evil laugh in Chris' face and ended up laughing in the face of some random guy. Pretzel chip all up in my teeth. Nice. It was worth it though!

Is it true? Do blondes have more fun?

There has been a hair evolution in our household.

Witness:

I gave birth to a dark haired, furry little munchkin baby. (The fur eventually fell off, but we memorialized it for his teenage years)





At 6 months, he was a rotund redhead



At one, we were heading towards a beautiful strawberry blonde...



Now, it appears he's going to go platinum for a while. Seriously, this is the weirdest looking thing. His roots are coming in absolutely white blonde. The ends are still reddish, so its almost like he has reverse roots. Its not the summer/sun/pool thing because its growing in this light. And the ends-that should be the lightest-are the darkest.



I can't wait to see what happens next! Stripes? Neon? Who knows? Right now I guess he'll be my little blondie bear.