Spelling Bee

The other night, Jim was flipping through channels and somehow we got stuck on the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Yeah, we actually stopped here. Make fun if you want. Whatever.


We watched long enough to pick out favorites and become irritated at the tediousness of the thing. But still we watched. I have questions. Why doesn't the emcee just GIVE the speller the language of origin, the alternate pronunciations, the definition, and the alternate definitions? Good grief. Every single kid up there asks for this stuff. Why must they do this, Mister Microphone Man? Just give it to them already so that we can shave a few hours off of this thing, designate a winner, and finally let ourselves change the dad gum channel.


Well, in all honesty, I love words, and I love spelling them too. I remember in fourth grade the exact word that was to burst my own spelling bee glory bubble. It was "citizen." So I spelled it "sitisen" -- gimme a break, I was ten. As soon as they said the word to me, I remember feeling all of the blood drain out of my face and the actual sensation of becoming the color gray. I knew I was toast as I finished with the last letter. There was a sad shake of the head, a slinking walk back to my mom's lap, and quiet little tears. Ahh... spelling bees.... good times. Every kid needs a little torture.


Anyway, we watched the last 20, or so, spellers dwindle one by one. I loved Tia Thomas. She had such a cute little smile every time she walked up to the microphone. I also loved her little nervous tick when she first heard the word she was to spell. It was a little lean to the left so that she could flip her hair behind her shoulder. What a cutie. Ahh... but she didn't win. Ugh.



My next favorite became Sidharth. He was easy to love because... well... who doesn't find a special place in their heart for a 12 year old with facial hair? He was so sweet to watch. His little tick was to finger spell the word on his hand as he said the letters. Oh Sidharth... we are kindred spelling spirits. I used to do that too. (I also had a little OCD habit for a short time in my life where I actually felt compelled to visualize my hands typing specific words over and over in my head too. This wasn't the result of spelling bee misfortune, but rather, a consequence of taking a keyboarding class in high school. I got an A, but I think I took it a little too far.) So what was I saying? Ahh, but no... good ol' Sidharth didn't win either.

Congrats to Sameer. Yeah, okay, Sameer. I'll give this one to you. But only because I have recently watched the movie "Office Space" and am still fresh with an appreciation for a character who shares your first name. It's a different spelling though -- Samir. Sameer, Samir... who really cares about the spelling, right? ...... crickets chirping.



An aside to my work friends who teach fourth grade social studies: Most of these words I'd NEVER heard of before, but girls, we would've known one! Parfleche! Imagine me all puffed up and throwing a little trash talk to the girl who missed that one. Oh yeah, baby!

T-Ball Time!

So I think I mentioned it earlier, but Jack has officially started t-ball. What fun! Five and six year olds are a sight at this. There are two types of boys on Jack's team. Group A consists of boys who have watched baseball and/or who have witnessed older siblings at play. These boys are aware of basic rules and goals of the game. Group B consists of boys like Jack. Just between you and me, the latter are the most fun to watch.

The first practice was roughly two weeks ago. Batting for the first time was fun. Jack carried his bat all the way to first base, and come to think of it, needed some strong guidance on what and where "first" was. Upon arrival at the base, he made a righthand turn instead of the more traditional lefthand turn to second base. And during that initial rounding of the bases, he also learned that sliding into home plate (for no particular reason at all) gets a real rise out of a crowd of hovering, sideline parents. Sometimes one even gets applause. I have resigned myself to scrubbing grass stained knees on his jeans EVERY week.

One week ago, he took his turn at playing as an outfielder. As a first time outfielder he spent a large portion of his time there inspecting the ground for those little white clover blossoms and then throwing them into the air as high as he could. Upon receiving the occasional encouragements to "watch the ball" instead, he would then collapse onto his knees and wear his glove as a hat.

The rules of t-ball are a little shady still. Jack's first REAL game was this evening. Progress has been made... slowly. Enjoy the photos below!

Jack seems willing to perform the outfielding duties. Cloverrrr.

A second baseman now, but still longing for the outfield.

"Okay, I'm more firmly committed to second base now. Stomping on my territory signals my dominance. This is my spot. So, umm... kid, why are you here?"

"Yeahhh, that's right. Run away, little boy. Run away."

Jack's up!

And again! (Incidentally, number 27 there? You see him? Yeahhh... he's in Group A.)

Happy Mother's Day!

When asked why Jack loves __________, he said...

Great Grandma: "She lives in a great big, tall tower."

Grammie: "She is soooooo nice about me."

Grandma: "She makes good angelfood cake."

Mimi: "She has a big, big, huge, HUGE bathtub."

When Emma was asked the same questions, she just began spitting. It's her new thing.

And now to play catch up a bit. Congratulations to Josh and Angela Hill on the arrival of their new baby boy, Link Maddox. (And I hope you don't mind that I am unashamed to have stolen these pictures.) Enjoy that baby, you two!

Storytime, everyone! Jack asked me one day recently (yes, from the backseat... it's where we talk, ok?) if I knew what "suck" meant. I immediately started chuckling. I teach school. I know exactly where he heard it and in what context he heard it, but I ask anyway. "Well, how did someone say it to you, Jack?"

"Paige, at school, says that Girls Rock and Boys Suck. What does suck mean?"

So I begin to explain the details of the meaning in what boils down to... "It's not a nice thing to say, so don't say it, ok?" He agrees but then clarifies that he CAN say "rock" cause that's a nice thing to say. Yes, Jack, you can say that. So a few minutes later I hear, "You rock, Mom."

Happy Mom's Day to me...

A Little Bit of Rain, A Whole Lotta Fun

Yeah, I know. But I'm telling you that the ergonomical design of the camera is INCORRECT for movie making! Shush and twist your head, will ya?

Little Doll

Mom said just the other day, "You never were a doll kind of little girl." In the context of the conversation, she and I were commenting on how Emma's little personality is developing more and more everyday. For fun, we were imagining what kind of little girl Emma will turn out to be. Will she be an overall wearing, ponytailed tomboy like I once was? Or will she be a girly girl - the kind who play with dolls and wear lace trimmed ankle socks. Who knows really?

Hmm... as I sit and think about it, I wonder if maybe some girls' doll playing time comes later in life. Reflecting about myself, I realize that perhaps I should've paid much more attention to my Barbies. The dressing up is particularly fun. Sometimes I make Emma pretty. And sometimes I scrounge desperately for clothing that is anything but pink. There are even the times when I blatantly use her wardrobe for a good laugh.

"But Moooooom, I don't waaaant to promenade my partner."

Entry with a Disclaimer

Jim and Jack recently went to a Nascar event in Kansas City for a boys' weekend. Some of the highlights included sleeping in Papa's camper, and sleeping in Papa's camper. Nevermind the racing cars part. I'm posting some of the photos. I know nothing about the events that I'm showing you, so there's my disclaimer. I can only postulate. Let's enjoy, shall we?

Jack stands atop a tank that was used in the filming of the popular 1998 movie, Saving Private Ryan.

There was a huge mob surrounding this tank as Tom Hanks was there signing autographs. Matt Damon had just left. This photo was taken by Steven Spielberg as Jack was selected to star in his next hit movie. We are currently working out the kinks of his contract.

Jim stands somewhere holding Jack. Jack is heavy.

Jack sings the National Anthem fortissimo.

(Postulating is fun. Postulating is also a fun word to say.)