My sister-in-law refuses to play Trivial Pursuit with Durel and I.  She says it's too humiliating because we know so much stuff.  As much as we've tried to change her mind, she won't budge.  (As in, she doesn't even want to be on our team.)

Which is a bummer, because I love Trivial Pursuit.  But is also a compliment because she insists that Durel and I are, like, encyclopedias...

However, as a boy momma, I'm learning what it is that I don't know.  I have not the foggiest idea about football (not a newsflash).  But evidently, I know pretty much squat about dinosaurs, too.

Last night:

Jack:  Mommy, did the Ice Age kill the dinosaurs?

Me:   (Shit.  I don't know.  I've got a 50/50 chance.)  Yes.

Jack:  NO, IT DIDN'T!

[pause]

Jack:  Mommy, did the Ice Age kill the dinosaurs?

Me:    (Shit.  I still don't know.)  No.

Jack:  That's right!  Mommy, what did kill the dinosaurs?

Me:    (Shit.  This is like law school.)  I don't know.

[silence]

Me:    Jack, what killed the dinosaurs?

Jack:   THE VOLCANO!

Image credit

So, being the smart ass that I am, I decided to follow up on this so that I could feel a tiny bit less clueless.  Though I'm pretty sure Jack's done with me on this topic after my bungled answers last night.

Per National Geographic, I learned:  

New insights about the asteroid thought to have killed off the dinosaurs suggest it may have just been the final blow, and that the reptiles were already suffering from a finicky climate prompted by volcanic eruptions long before the meteorite struck. (Link above, under picture.)

And per Jack, I can now somewhat visualize said volcano:

You see, he and his buddies are doing a project.  They've built a volcano, and today is the day they MAKE IT BLOW UP.  

Ice Age.  Sheesh.  Can't believe I fell for that one.

Hope you learn something prehistoric today.

Talk to you soon,

Heather

partypartyparty

Jack had the pleasure of going to a buddy's pirate birthday party this weekend.  I wasn't there, but I heard that an amazing time was had by all.

Thanks to Emily for hosting yet another mAAARGHvelous party.  Thanks to Terra for capturing these moments of Jack enjoying the party.  And concentrating on enjoying the party.  He does have quite a bit of focus, doesn't he?

Hope your day includes thoughtful friends and high quality images.

Talk to you soon,
Heather

the song that must not be played

I don't have very much music on my iPhone.  Quite frankly, I am not that organized.  And my phone is so full of pictures of Jack that there's not a lot of room for music.  First world problems, right here.  I know.

I do have music that I've bought on my phone.  Most of that is purchased in a fit of afternoon rush hour pique when the radio stations suck and I need to keep my sanity.  Other purchases include running music.  Running music is the stuff that you won't cop to listening to in "regular life," but will get you through the last mile of a race or long run.  (Exhibit A:  Cypress Hill, Insane in the Brain.  It's on my phone.  Anyone who went to Bates with me and went to a Den Terrace party will understand.  The rest of you are totally allowed to laugh and think I'm nuts.)

I can't remember exactly when I bought the Ellie Goulding.  I have a vague understanding that people either love her or hate her.  I love her.  I love "Lights."  And she performed at Will and Kate's wedding reception.  And the song "Anything Can Happen" was the theme song for Season One of Girls, which I watched in one day on HBO demand.

So...the other day, I had my phone plugged into the USB port in my car, which automatically makes my super-smart car stereo start playing music from it.  I have no idea why it starts wherever it does, but this day, "Anything Can Happen" started up.  Jack and I had just gotten in the car after the pick-up from school.

And so it began.

Jack:  "MOMMA, I DON'T LIKE THAT GIRL SONG."

Me:    Uh.  OK.

Jack:  MOMMA, TURN IT OFF RIGHT NOW.

Me:    Well ... OK.  [I mean, what?]

Jack:  Don't play that girl song.  Ever again.  Right?

Me:    Uh.  OK, buddy.  [Thinking:  Not when you're in the car, clearly.]

As if that wasn't hilarious enough, evidently the song lingered in Jack's delicate psyche for a while.  The next day, over 24 hours later, while we were brushing our teeth at bedtime...

Jack:  Momma.  You never ever don't play that girl song again, RIGHT?

Me:  OK.  No, I won't.  [WHAT?]

One of the ways in which karma is apparently getting me now that I am a parent is by giving me an extremely opinionated child.

Hope karma is kind to you today.

Talk to you soon,
Heather

gigglefest 2013

The other night, this happened.

We were having Mexican.  I made a crazy face and demanded a kiss.  Hilarity ensued.  (Luckily, the intrepid videographer didn't capture my face.)

Hope your day involves some giggles and a kiss at the end.

Talk soon,
Heather

my cute mom

The other day, I had the pleasure of a luxe Sunday brunch with my parents and two dear friends.

They charmed, as they always do, that Jan and Morris.

In fact, my sisters and I have a running list of our friends who would like to be adopted by the Davies, should they suddenly start adopting extra, fully grown children.  That's a testament to their unique brand of cute and cool.

This picture was taken that day, and it's too damn cute not to share.

To know Jan is to love her.  And to help you know her just a smidge, here are a few things about her that I find notable/fascinating/funny/cool.

1.  Though she humors Dad and I in our tastes for fancy food, she would really always prefer a cheeseburger.

2.  She lurves her some John Denver.  

3.  She also lurves her some lavender.  It is her favorite color.  Big time.  (Note:  Her blouse in the picture above.)

4.  When I was in 7th grade, she had a benign brain tumor the size of a grapefruit adjacent to her occipital lobe (related to vision and short term memory).  After 13 hours of open-head brain surgery, she essentially did her own physical therapy by doing daily crossword puzzles and resuming her intricate sewing and embroidery.

5.  She never curses.  (And wishes I wouldn't, either.)  

6.  She LOVES Christmas.  And boy oh boy, so do I.  We decorate, play Christmas carols as early as possible; decorate huge trees -- the whole nine yards.

7.  She taught me to embroider.  She taught my sisters, too.  Admittedly, Cristy is doing the most with this knowledge.  

8.  At her linguistic peak, she was fluent in Spanish, Portugese, and conversational in French and Italian.  She is still fluent in Spanish.  It's awesome.

9.  She cares not one bit about cars.  She doesn't know a Gremlin from a Rolls.  My dad and I marvel over it, but it's endearing nonetheless.

10.  She does not "do the computer."  Therefore, to be fair, I will print this and show it to her.

Hope your day is all fun like a top ten list.

Talk soon,

Heather

the supers

Dinosaurs are cool.  Cars are cooler.  Trains are pretty cool.

Superheros are the coolest.

Many thanks to Uncle James and Aunt Jenny for keeping Jack in the age-appropriate superhero literature.

Jack and I both have these pretty much memorized.  It's awesome.

Also, Jack still insists that I am Wonder Woman.  I am in no hurry to disillusion him.

Hope you suspend some disbelief today.

Talk soon,
Heather

it's never too early to think about a career

Jack does The Coolest Stuff at school.

For example, this week, his class froze plastic dinosaurs into a big tub of ice.  Then, later in the week, they were paleontologists.  They dug their dinosaurs out of the ice and talked, appropriately, about the Ice Age.

Seriously.  And there were hats.

Last night, after story time, I asked Jack what he wants to be when he grows up.  He had just told me his own story, which sounded an awful lot like We're Going on a Bear Hunt (which we had just read), but with enough twists to make it "his own."  Clever.

I said, "Do you want to be someone who writes down stories?"  (Ever the writer, turned lawyer, though still a writer, but a lawyer, and since when did I have to decide what I wanted to be, anyway?)

Jack said, "Maybe.  And a doctor."

I glowed with pride.  Even if he's not a doctor.  Doesn't every mom love hearing that?

Jack continued, "And a cat-petter."

I laughed.  A real laugh.  Because I am not particularly fond of cats, which has a lot to do with me being allergic to them and a lot to do with me totally preferring dogs.  But the thought of Jack sitting contemplatively in an office and petting a cat, well, that's funny.

Enough discussion of careers for one day, right?  He's clearly on the right track.

Hope your career aspirations are realized today.

Talk soon,

Heather

initiation, with hazelnut

Jenny studied in London during her junior year of college.  

Much to my middle school delight, Mom and Dad and I went to visit her.  It was pretty much the coolest thing that had ever happened to me, that LEAVING THE COUNTRY thing.  Galena Middle School did not boast many international travelers.  I daresay it still does not.

Anyway, one of my little sister privileges was to spend the night with Jenny and her flatmates at their flat.  (It's not an apartment!  It's a flat!  England is SO cool. -- I thought.)  

Now, being a college student saving her pennies (and pence) for important things like Doc Martens and pints at the pub, breakfast at Jenny's flat was, shall we say, minimal.  Tea and toast.  Toast and tea.  That's what we had.

Granted, I didn't want to give up the cool factor of staying overnight in a flat, but the spoiled 12 year old me might have teleported herself back to the cool hotel where she was otherwise staying for the cozy and posh breakfast they were serving.  But, not an option, so tea and toast it was.

At some point, Jenny brought out this Nutella stuff.  You put it on your toast, she said.  YOU'LL LIKE IT, she said, with what I remember imperfectly to be growing impatience because suddenly, breakfast at the hotel didn't sound all that bad to her, either.  A full English breakfast, mind you, is awesome.

OK.  Give me some Nutella.

And then, the rest was history.  We ate our Nutella toast in a haze of choco-nutty happiness and our concerns about breakfast were a thing of the past.    

*     *     *

I didn't want Jack to wait as long as I did to discover the magic of Nutella.  I mean, why wait?

So, the other evening, he and I decadently had Nutella toast for dinner.  (My ears are closed to any judgment.  I just don't hear it.)

I hadn't had it in a long time.  Damn, it's good.

Oh, and Jack agreed.

So, you know.  That's a win.

Hope your day involves a nice cuppa.

Talk soon,
Heather

Jack-isms

Jack is smart, talkative, opinionated, and observant.  

(Apple.  Tree.  His parents.  No comment.)

Some funnies of late:

Upon waking the other morning:  "Momma, let's talk about Sesame Street.  What is the word of the day?"

While resisting bedtime with all his might:  "Momma, I need water.  I need to go potty.  I need ... SOMEFING."

While telling me what he would like for dinner:  "I want chicken strips.  No, not chicken.  Just FRUIT.  No, just GRAPES."

To the server who had just approached our table:  "Do you have LEMNADE?"

To me, when I implied that Pablo had said something:  "No, Momma.  Doggies don't talk.  They talk to us with their eyes.  And their kisses."

Hope your word of the day is LEMNADE.

Talk soon,
Heather

what we've been up to

I got a text from one of my besties the other day, requesting that I send her some new pictures of Jack.  In that way that only besties can, she told me frankly that I'd been far too quiet on the blog for her liking.

a) Besties are awesome.  b) I totally did flake out for a while.  Sorry!  c)  Work has been kicking my ass lately.  But I've been kicking back, so it's fine.

Anyway, Jack's New Big Thing is building tents.  

There was some cardboard, you see.

And then there was a great idea.  

Add some tools, some creative juices, and BAM!  A tent like you've never seen graced our dining room.

It was a cozy place to share stories from our respective busy days as LawDog and Dolphin.

We were both quite tickled with it, as you can see.

So, you know.  Tents rule.

Hope you've been building fun things lately, too.

Talk soon,
Heather