Back in the day, I was a big 10,000 Maniacs fan.  Laura Werther and I went to see them at the University of Delaware when we were in high school.  Natalie Merchant *spoke to me* you guys.

I am incapable of mentioning the University of Delaware without giving a proper shout out to their mascot, the Fightin' Blue Hen, known locally as the Ass Kickin' Chicken.

These are days you'll remember.

*     *     *     *     * 

In some sort of frantic emotional preparation for Jack starting kindergarten in LIKE TWO WEEKS, he and I have had a few "Mommy and Jack Days."  

We had one on Friday.  It was pretty rad.

We took coffee and breakfast to Grammy and Pop.  Jack waited patiently while we discussed the previous evening's Republican primary debate.  (Ah, so much to talk about.)  He then regaled us with stories of the solar system, which were accurate, detailed, and articulate -- and promptly blew my parents' minds.

We went to the movies and reclined our posh seats and had yummy lunch.  We saw "Shaun the Sheep," which was funny and adorable.  Jack like the burping part the best.

Then, you guys.  We went back to school shopping.  In the grand Davies tradition, we went to the Gap.  OH, how I have memories of our annual pilgrimage to the retail bastion that is Christiana Mall.  (It is also in Delaware, home of tax-free shopping and aforementioned ass kickin' chickens.)  

I had a totally trippy parent moment as I indoctrinated Jack into his preppy legacy.  

 

Clearly, indoctrination suits him.

We rounded out the day with a treat.  I attempted to pitch to Jack his first hot fudge sundae, thinking that this would be a fitting milestone in a day of big moments.  He eyed me skeptically.

Jack:     What's a hot fudge sundae?

Me:       It's a big dish of ice cream, with hot chocolate sauce on top, and whipped cream, and nuts, and a cherry!

Jack:     I just want ice cream.

Me:       Well, do you want chocolate sauce on it?

Jack:     Yes!

Me:       Do you want a cherry on it?

Jack:     Yes!

Me:       So...you sort of do want a hot fudge sundae?

Jack:     No!

Me:       So...you don't want the whipped cream and the nuts?

Jack:     No way.

Me:       Right.  

Hope your day is free of nuts and has the appropriate amount of chickens.

Talk soon,

Heather

for the love of baseball

I can't pretend to like sports.  

Durel and I have been married almost ten years and my favorite part of football season is game day cooking courtesy of Pinterest.

So, I also can't pretend to feel a pang as Jack develops what I assume will be a life-long love of the Houston Astros.

Do I have several Baltimore Orioles t-shirts waiting in Jack's closet for him to grow into?  Yes.  That, I can do.  I can accessorize my feelings about my Maryland heritage.

*     *      *     *     *  

Durel, Uncle Dustin, and Jack went to Jack's first Astros game recently.  They had dude time and pizza.  They wore their shirts.  They took their pictures.  They bought their Legos(?).  

Quote from Jack the other day:  "I like to pull my shorts up, and they have to be above the knee."
Alllllrighty, then.

A good time was had by all.  Including the Lego company.

Hope you invest in a little kid's love of baseball today.

Talk soon,

Heather

ShortsGate

I went to college in Maine, at a lovely place called Bates.   

Maine is very cold.  Bates is very preppy.  Winter at Bates is very cold, and very long.

When preppy people are cold and bored at college, they have formals so that they can break the tedium of studying in fleece or flannel to drink alcohol in dressy clothes.

Far from casting aspersion on this practice, I fully embraced it and thought it was fantastic.

I think it is the annual Wilson House Formal at Bates that's held in January.  (Friends, correct me if I'm wrong.)  

My friends and I never took our coats to that particular formal, because we didn't want to lose them.

(Read that again.)

We walked across campus in our formal wear (not noted for warmth), without our coats, because we knew that they would be flung into a heap, have beer or punch splashed upon them, and then perhaps go home without their rightful owners.

We were cold.  We were young.  And tough.  And stupid?  (Yet really smart?)

We had our coats, though.  (Not with us.  Nevermind.  You got that part.)

*     *     *     *     *

Jack will probably not go to Bates.

He TRIES to insist on wearing shorts every day.

I know it's Texas, but it was 40 degrees this morning.  By Texas standards, that's time to break out the Uggs and watch out for ice.

We do not let Jack wear shorts when it's cold.  He is 4 1/2 and has zero body fat.  We love him and do not want him to get bronchitis, ear infections, pneumonia, the flu, or become one Star Wars enthused goose bump.

Today was a particularly rough morning in what I'll call ShortsGate.  I had the distinct thought as I dropped him off at school that if there was a pair of shorts in his cubby, he would have them on by the time I picked him up.  I prematurely accepted defeat, even.

His Most Excellent Teachers then sent this about mid-day.

That is not the shirt he wore to school. 

Those ARE the pants he wore to school.

ShortsGate has been averted for another day.  Hats off to Mr. Scott and Miss Hayley.

Hope you keep your pants on today.

Talk soon,

Heather

chippy the christmas elf

Well, I did it.  It's the last day of 2014, and we STILL don't have an Elf on the Shelf.  

Jack requested one this year.  He was pretty cute about it (as he is), but I stayed strong.

Jack:  "Mom.  We need an elf on the shelf, to watch us!"

Me:    "No, we don't.  Santa is watching.  We're covered."

Jack:   "But, Mom!  I've already named him!  His name is Chippy!"

I'm sorry for you, Chippy.  I hope you find a nice home somewhere.  I hope you entertain other kids with G-rated holiday antics involving candy canes and powdered sugar and whatever else you get into.  

Editor's Note:  I specify "G-rated" antics not because I have a devious mind (at least, not in this context), but because I can't not think of the Inappropriate Elf contest held by Baby Rabies in years past, which is full of gems such as:

(Image credit)
Because if I can't do this, I'm not doing it at all.

As luck would have it, Jack has decided that the Christmas pajamas I got him (Sawyer has a matching set, natch) are his "elf suit."

And so I ask you, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, if I have a real life elf, why do I need a fake one named Chippy?

My elf is much cooler, anyway.

Elf Jack accompanied Uncle James and Durel to Central Market for some holiday fixings.
En route, they enjoyed a leisurely holiday lunch at Red's Porch.
These pjs are street style.

Elf Jack listened to some block rockin' beats on Eli's iPad.
These pjs mix.

Elf Jack posed on his new skateboard from Santa,
right next to Durel's new skateboard from Santa.
These pjs don't bail.

Elf Jack likes taun tauns, Green Lantern Legos, and skateboards.
These pjs are ALL BOY.

Hope your street style dazzles someone today.

Talk soon.  Like next year.  

Heather

Enter the Lederhosen

Somewhere, there is a picture of me at an Easter bonfire in Hannover, Germany.  I think the year was like...1998.

I am moderately intoxicated and cheesing it up for the camera with several friends.  We all have little white things on our noses.  Those little white things are the caps of our little mini bottles of schnapps, which we were drinking by gripping the neck of the (tiny; like vanilla extract size) bottles between our teeth and tipping our heads back.

They told me, my friends, that you have to take a picture with the cap on your nose.

So, we did.

In the fifteen years that have passed since then, I have matured considerably.  (She said, convincingly.)  I am 100% sure that I would definitely still drink schnapps that way at an Easter bonfire in Germany.   No doubt.  

But in contrast, I will also take Jack to a Hill Country Oktoberfest to make sure he's adequately exposed to his roots.  And their sartorial history.

Enter the Lederhosen.

This is Jack at the recent Oktoberfest in Fredericksburg, Texas.

He is wearing a vintage pair of grey suede Lederhosen that, I believe, were purchased by my dear departed grandparents in Germany in the 1950's as a gift for my brother, who was then a wee bairn.  (We're Scottish, too.) (Yes, we're spaced out quite a bit.)

Let's just say that the fans were a little gaga over that sweet guy in his Lederhosen.  We bought the hat at the festival, and it definitely added some snap to his outfit.  The little bear is also in Lederhosen.  We named him Freiderich von Lederhosen, but Jack has taken to calling him "Freeder" for short.

Hope your outfit really reflects who you are today.

Talk soon,
Heather

orange you glad he wore a different shirt?

Knock knock

(Who's there?)

Orange

(Orange who?)

Jack has like five shirts that he likes to wear.  This is NOT one of them, but he wore it the other day.

Orange you glad he wore a different shirt?

We sure were.

Kudos to Mr. R for getting Jack to wear something other than the Cubs shirt, the Saints shirt, the LSU shirt, or the Superhero shirt.  (Related:  I need to get Jack some Bates, Orioles, American University, and Chesapeake Bay stuff, STAT.  This kid's gotta represent.)

Hope you do something outside of the box today.

Talk soon,
Heather