Jennifer's 15th birthday

Today my daughter, Jennifer, turned 15 years old. I am still reeling over how fast the time flies! She is growing so fast. But I love the person she is growing up to be. She has been so responsible and has really taken charge of her life. She has done so well in school and has enjoyed so many different hobbies. I look forward to seeing what Year 15 will bring to her life!

Since Jennifer’s birthday is on a school day, we decided to have a family party on the day of her birthday and there will be another party with her friends this weekend. I let her pick what she wanted for dinner and she asked for her favorite dinner: Breakfast! Scrambled eggs, bacon, and cinnamon rolls. (Jesse also likes to have breakfast for dinner but we do not have this very often.) After dinner, we had the cake and ice cream. The cake pictured is the one I bought for the occasion. I bought it only because of the bowtie on it. I saw that and thought, Doctor Who! (If only there was a bakery that sold fandom cakes.) She thought the bowtie was pretty cool. (Well, of course! Bowties are cool.)

Before her birthday month came round, I spent some time deciding what gifts I would buy for her. My husband could decide on his own what to get her, but I wanted to buy her something, too. I eventually settled on two things from her wish list: A Hogwarts team jacket and a Steven Universe character dress. (She loves the show Steven Universe and she wants a Steven Universe cake for her other birthday party.) These things were pricey so I had to budget for them and buy them early. They were sitting in my closet, boxed and wrapped up, for a while there!

Jesse got her a Guns N Roses sweatshirt. He wanted to get her something else but he could not find it. The sweatshirt was another item on her wish list so that is what he got her.

And my husband bought her this electronic device she can connect to the computer and create art with it. She’s been asking for it for years. She was very excited to finally get this thing!

She had a nice family birthday celebration today. It was a good day and I’m so glad that Jennifer was happy on her birthday. Now we prepare for the big “friend party” coming up soon, and then it’s Jesse’s turn for birthday fun!

Texting while shopping

During the weekday mornings, I turn on the local news and leave it on that channel for Good Morning, America. This morning, as I was getting ready to leave to take Jesse to school, we happened to notice a “special report” on GMA about a rise in deaths or accidents among people who were texting and walking at the same time. It reminded me of this news story I read some time ago about a man who fell to his death because he was texting and walking and he walked right off of a mountain. Jesse and I watched the videos of several people who had accidents – they walked into walls, into traffic and even into a fountain – because they were texting and walking. I told Jesse this was why I never texted and walked at the same time. Of course, there was one time it was an emergency and I sort of had to text while walking/running but fortunately I made it out of that ok. But I usually never do it. Jesse agreed that it was a bad idea, especially after seeing the video. Later, I asked Jennifer if she does that, and she said sometimes but she’s able to watch where she’s going while texting.

Well, later today – this evening, actually – I got a good dose of just how much of a bad idea it was to text and walk, because I ended up texting while shopping!

After I got home from taking Jesse to gymnastics class, I was looking forward to getting dinner going, taking care of a couple of chores I had NOT gotten around to YET and being home for the day. But that didn’t happen! Right after I got home, Jennifer informed me that someone at her school had taken her fabric ribbon that she needed for a school project – and that project was due tomorrow! So of course she needed me to drive her to the craft store to get more fabric ribbon.

On any other occasion and if it was earlier in the day, I would have been happy to take her to the craft store. We go to Ben Franklin Crafts and it’s a pretty awesome craft store. But tonight, I was tired, had things to do and was NOT looking forward to more driving – especially to a store quite a distance from us. But, I was the only one to do it. It was up to me!

First, however, I texted my friend and asked her if she had any ribbon that Jen could use. She did, but not cloth ribbon. Which was what we needed. And instead of the conversation ending there, it actually continued on for a while! Not while I was driving, of course. No way would I ever text and drive! And while I was driving there, I was thinking, ‘I’m so glad I put gas in the van today!’ As well, as that old standby: ‘Why can’t there be two of me?’ 

After we arrived at the craft store, I resumed texting with my friend while the kids A: Got the ribbon and B: Checked out other craft projects in the store. (It’s a cool store!!)

But at one point, I got so caught up with texting, I finally looked up and noticed the kids WAITING for me to pay for the ribbon and the cashier trying not to laugh as she stared at me.

I was a 41-year-old woman doing what teenagers typically do: Text on my phone with one of my besties when I should be paying attention to my surroundings. I was texting while shopping! Oh nos!

I took care of that bidness. Then I was texting my friend again on the way out of the store and to the van. And after we got home, too. (It was a good conversation!)

I think it was silly I was texting while shopping because obvi I got distracted by it. Usually, if I text while I shop, it’s to ask about a brand or if we need something while I’m there at the store. Or it’s the kids asking me to get something for them! But usually not when it comes to checking out. I’m a little embarrassed that happened but it was funny too. At least nobody got hurt. And at least it’s not as bad as texting while driving!

Rory on Broadchurch!

If there is one channel we leave the TV on in our home a lot, it’s definitely BBC. Sure, my kids like to watch shows on the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon, but it’s the BBC channel we often have the TV turned to for as long as a whole day. There are certainly a lot of shows on there we all like. Doctor Who, Kitchen Nightmares, Sherlock, Star Trek: The Next Generation and Top Gear. We also watched Torchwood, when it was on there. The BBC has definitely got some good ones!

Lately, I have noticed how they’ve really been pushing the forthcoming new episode of their show Broadchurch. I have never seen this one but now I’m going to get in on this and try to catch up on what I’ve missed of it so far! The new episode will air in March, but there has been A LOT of publicity about it on the BBC. Enough to make me take notice.

I certainly took notice when I saw that David Tennant is in this show!

David Tennant was once the Tenth Doctor on Doctor Who. We’ve definitely enjoyed watching Doctor Who episodes with Ten (he’s Jen’s favorite doctor; mine is Eleven) so he’s definitely someone I recognized in another TV show! In fact, when they were showing the previews, when it showed the clip with David Tennant, it aired the review quote “Ten out of ten!” I could only smile and say, “I see what they did there.”

When I told Jen about it, she nodded and said, “I saw Rory, too.”

I was, like, What? Rory? Where did I miss that??

I quickly Googled the show to bring up the cast but didn’t see him there. So I checked Wikipedia and it said that the actor Arthur Darvill (who played Rory Williams in Doctor Who) was added to the new shows.

Cool!

Last night, I DID finally see the preview that included Rory. When that happened, I told Jen, “I saw Rory!” She smiled that said/signed, “First Rory was with Eleven and now he’s with Ten.”

That is so cool! I wonder if Amy (Karen Gillan) will be joining them next. That would be EXTRA cool!!

The funny thing is, I have often wondered whatever happened to Rory and Amy when they were sent back in time, making them “dead” in the present day during the episode “The Angels Take Manhattan.” This was the OFFICIAL death of Rory Williams (after he’d already “died” all those other times!) and, Amy, being the devoted wife and because she loves Rory so much (and we can’t have Rory WITHOUT having Amy, too!) went back to be with him. (She was lucky she went back to the same time he was sent to!) I have always been curious about the lives they lived then. Who they were, how different their lives were during that period of time – and without their Doctor. And, in a sense, Rory being in Broadchurch gives me some kind of glimpse of that. A possibility of what his “past life” must have been like. Now all we need is Amy.

Jennifer's twelfth birthday

Today my daughter turned 12 years old. I can't believe it's been twelve years since I gave birth to this little girl. She has definitely surprised and amazed us all with her talents, her zest for life and her can-do attitude! She has been inspiring and I feel so blessed this wonder kid is my daughter. She's definitely made her mark in art and writing, and now she's moving towards making videos and performing music! And now she is 12. This is her last year of her childhood. The last year she will be a kid. Next year, she becomes a teenager. Wow. How swiftly the years have gone by!

Because Jen's birthday landed on a school day this year, we went with our usual plan: A private, family party on her special day, then a party with her friends on the weekend. Unfortunately, her dad and I are both sick with a cold, so we are trying to figure out how the party with friends is going to turn out. Even so, I gave today my best effort, still going out to buy her gifts and get her cake even though I felt lousy.

Because Jen likes My Little Pony, and because this is her last year of childhood and may think My Little Pony is "too babyish" when she's a teen, I decided to make My Little Pony her party theme this year. Got her a My Little Pony cake and card, and Jesse bought her a My Little Pony movie. But she also got a Hilfiger hoodie, two books, and a gift card to Barnes & Noble. The books were one of the new Warrior Cats books she's been wanting, as well as a new Doctor Who book that is a character encyclopedia. She was sooo excited about the books when she saw them. She said they were "two of my favorite kinds of books." She was very happy with her presents. I'm glad she was happy with her presents. 

It was a nice little private party. I can't wait to see what Year 12 will bring us in the life of this young supergirl who isn't afraid to go after her dreams!

American Idolatry

Yesterday, I bought an issue of People Magazine for my daughter. I bought it for her because it was a special iCarly issue, and she LOVES iCarly.

While Jen was happy to get the magazine, my husband was not. When I asked him why, he explained he didn't want her to idolize people or things or...well, whatever else you can idolize!

I told him she already "idolizes" things. Like the TV show Avatar. Even though Avatar is over, she still loves that show and often plays Avatar with friends at school.

And it's not just Avatar she's crazy about. She also likes Scooby-Doo (she's got a Scooby-Doo plate and a Scooby-Doo lunch box!) and she's nuts over the Pet Shop toys. (Heh, I almost typed Pet Shop Boys!)

As to music, she does like Hannah Montana.

She already "idolizes" people and things. But I have made sure she doesn't get fanatical about them. And I don't see how buying her the iCarly magazine encourages her to idolize people!

If you want to talk about idolizing celebrities...well, I know a certain little girl in Eugene who is OBSESSED with Hannah Montana. Of course, I won't say her name. But I did notice how she has EVERYTHING Hannah Montana. Clothes, pillows, DVDs, accessories. Even a Hannah Montana peg board! As I noticed all of this, I could only shake my head and inwardly grumble over girls idolizing celebrities. And that was my husband's complaint, too. The way he put it, he doesn't want Jennifer to get all starry-eyed and weak in the knees and screaming "OH MY GOD! IT'S CARLY!!" every time she sees anything...with iCarly on it.

I'll admit, that kind of infatuation with celebrities and musicians was in my past, but as a tween and teen. Not as a child. I had a HUGE crush on Ricky Shroder and went nuts over bands like The Police and Heart, and singers like Michael Jackson and Cyndi Lauper. I was TOTALLY crazy about them and my parents pretty much just put up with my infatuation. They realized it was just a phase all girls go through. My dad would roll his eyes and mutter jokes whenever I bought those Teen Beat and Sweet 16 magazines. But he didn't freak out over it and start worrying over me idolizing people or things.

I really don't think Jennifer is at risk of idolizing iCarly, or any other TV show or celebrities. She's just a normal 7-year-old kid (almost 8!!) who just likes to watch iCarly and listen to Hannah Montana sing. Heck, sometimes she'll even dress up in her Hannah Montana costume and sing! But she's not obsessed with them. Her room is not covered with iCarly stuff or Hannah Montana stuff. She likes a variety of people, a variety of shows and a variety of things.

And as long as she has that variety, I think we'll be okay.

When a reality show becomes my reality

Even though I enjoy watching reality shows like How Clean Is Your House? and Trading Spouses, I know that these reality shows are NOT reality. They are just shows for entertainment. ALL TV shows are meant for entertainment, and not to document actual reality. I am well aware that the people participating in these shows are coached by the producers to say things and act a certain way. (C'mon, people. Reality is not REALLY all that interesting enough for TV!) I still like to watch them, because, with shows like Nanny 911, there is still some takeaway value to be had. There is still some THING about these shows that make me think or get me motivated.

That said, I need to back up a little bit. Last night, while my hubby and I were chatting, he noted how I was not being very communicative and not responding to a text he sent and asked me what was wrong. If I was mad at him and if something was bothering me.

At first, I just shrugged it all off, like I normally do. I said I was just grouchy from the heat (which is true!!) and also busy with housework. But then, I just let it all out. I decided to just speak my mind and tell him what has been nagging at me lately: The fact that he spends all day watching TV or playing computer games while I'm doing the housework. How he promises to help out with the housework before he leaves for work or after he gets home, but he never does. How I felt unappreciated by him because he complains about the housework or how it was never "good enough." And how I felt like the MAID....and I didn't like that feeling.

I told him this is why I hardly do anything on the weekends when he's home all day. I pretty much relegate everything to HIM on weekends, but even then, he does nothing. No dishes, laundry, vacuuming, dusting. He will bathe the children and put them to bed (he doesn't get to do that M-F because he works at night), but not much else. Then on Monday, when it's my "shift" again, I have a whole crapload of mess to clean up from the weekend.

I also wanted to tell him that I don't even feel like his wife anymore, because of things going on between us, but decided to save THAT argument for another time.

He told me he refuses to do any work in this heat (yet I have to???) and that he is just tired.

Well, despite his excuses, I was glad to get that off my chest. I wanted to tell him that for some time but just never said anything. I AM sick and tired of being the maid in this family. And being taken for granted. That probably adds to my grouchiness these days.

Well, today, I was watching Wife Swap. Hubby decided he wanted to watch TV, too, then whined about why I was watching this show. I gave him "the look" and told him, "I want to watch this show." (I normally only get to watch ONE TV program a day!) Then he just sat there and watched it, too.

And something weird happened. On the show, one of the wives in the swap was named Dawn...and she is in the same boat I am in! (Or was, actually.) Doing all the housework while her husband didn't lift a finger. Granted, her husband worked a full-time job, but he could still at least clear the dinner table or do the dishes after dinner. The thing blocking him from helping?? The tired idea that the housework is "women's work." Even the wife was saying it's the woman's job to do the housework while the man works outside of the home.

My opinion? Bullcrap!

I am TIRED of these couples with these REALLY outdated ideas that a woman's place is in the home. Marriage is a PARTNERSHIP and it's not the man doing this or the woman doing that. EVERYONE in the family should help out. EVERYONE participates. It's not "you do this and I do that." EVERYBODY DOES EVERYTHING! If somebody sees trash on the floor, pick it up! If there's a dirty cup on the counter, put it in the sink! Don't wait around for a "woman" to do it.

That's just....my opinion, anyway.

And I was sitting there, stewing over that. I was also stewing over how this poor woman had to work TWO full-time jobs (one as a mom and one as a medical transcriptionist) and STILL be expected to do all of the housework AND survive on 4 hours of sleep each night???

Um....no!

That picture was ALL wrong and I thought the wife was nuts to put ALL of that weight on herself. I think that sometimes, women are just too hard on themselves.

First of all, if she's a full-time mom, she should NOT be expected to also work a full-time job. That is just craziness. Even though she works from home, it's chaotic trying to balance the two. You're either a stay-at-home mom with traditional ideas or a work-at-home mom with MODERN ideas that include a bit of help and childcare! (Oh, but it's a double-edged sword. If you are JUST a stay-at-home mom who does not work at all and relies on the husband to support the family, then society decides to call that wife "lazy" and a "moocher." Gotta love all of those negative stereotypes traditionalists like to pile onto women.)

Anyway, while I was sitting on the couch, stewing over ALL of that, I noticed that huibby was not so disinterested in the show anymore. In fact, he seemed to be paying a bit of attention to how that life mirrored our life (though I do not work a full-time job). It was strange how Dawn said she felt like a maid...and how I said those same words just last night. And how she said she didn't feel appreciated as a wife. And how I said that I didn't feel appreciated, either. (I kinda left out that whole "wife" part.)

Needless to say, during the show, he got up to help me get lunch on the table. I was surprised by this sudden interest in helping me in the kitchen, but glad for it. I can only hope that show left a lasting impression on him. That he will SEE just where I'm coming from, and how I really feel about the way that things are.

And wouldn't you know it, today even my daughter decided to help out around the house, too. She ACTUALLY vacuumed! Hey, maybe these reality shows aren't all that bad after all.

It took an episode of "Brisco County, Jr."

Watch out, world: Jesse James will ride again! And you can thank the TV show, "Brisco County, Jr."

The REAL Jesse James, famous outlaw, is not who I am talking about here. We have been watching the ENTIRE series of "Brisco County, Jr." on DVD lately. (Hubby is a HUGE Bruce Campbell fan.) The other night, as we watched the episode "And Baby Makes Three," the part where Whip Morgan (played by Jeff Phillips) names a Chinese baby "Jesse" is what prompted hubby to turn to me with a look on his face and say/sign, "Jesse."

I studied him at first, then it hit me. That was a name he liked for the baby. (Somebody call Guinness!! I couldn't believe it!! He FINALLY found a name he liked! I swear I almost fainted.) I scowled and said/signed, "That's one of the names I suggested before and you said no!"

He shrugged and said/signed, "I can't even remember half the names you've suggested."

Hard to believe, given I've been throwing names at him since I found out we were expecting in March.

So to refresh his memory, I made up a list of ALL the boy names I really liked and printed it out for him to go over. As amazed as I am about his new attitude in picking a name for the baby, I'm relieved, too. I'm almost 7 months along and think it would be NICE to just choose a name and get that over with. I've constantly been dreading giving birth to the baby and not having any name to give him! So from that list, hubby crossed off almost every name on there, except two. "Jesse" and "James."

How ironic. The very mention of the name "Jesse" had me thinking of Jesse James.

I can't name the baby "Jesse James," though. We already have a middle name picked out for him. It's a middle name hubby has, as does his father and grandfather. And I'm not crazy about giving the baby TWO middle names....though the "James" name was once seriously considered, since it's the name of hubby's father.

Still, it's a funny thought that our son would have the name similar to a famous cowboy. I had to chuckle over this whole thing, even with the character Whip saying, "It's a good cowboy name." Indeed it is, though I doubt that is a factor with hubby. He's a guy who hates horses (my daughter and I adore them). I guess he just likes the name itself, though, despite who it reminds me of. At least it's a "J" name, something both of us wanted. All the same, would be nice if he'd picked a name from one of the characters in my novel, November's Child. At least in this case, the reason behind selecting the baby's name would be more closer to home.