Dear Pickle

One of the hardest things about having pets and really loving them is the realization that they, just like people, can get sick and not stay around forever. And so it goes with Pickle. She has been my very first cat.

Sure, I've always had cats growing up, so it does seem odd for me to say that. There was Ming, Tyler, Chuck, Caesar, and then even Miss Kitty. But when I really stop and think about it, these animals ended up being more of my "sibling figures" than my pets. I was the older sister who mostly loved them but occasionally pestered the tar out of them when the mood struck her. (One day I'll have to ask Mom for the photo of one Siamese Tyler adorned with an embarrassing amount of hair scrunchies on his ears and paws. This would've been what I've always imagined to be an annoying older sister moment.)

One day I grew up, got married, and inherited a black cat named Cookie. I loved her (and love her still) but she was, again, not really mine. A few winters later, Jim brought home a little, orange, and wild ball of nerves in a cardboard box. She was scared, starving, and frostbitten at that time and still very much in survival mode. Back in college I'd decided that one day I'd have a son named Jack and a cat named Pickle... so you can imagine, her name was easily bestowed. Welcome home, little cat. And again, I'll stick to that earlier statement: Pickle has been my first cat-- mine, and mine alone.

She can't be more than eight years old, and although it's been a rather short "cat life," I'm glad she's spent her time with me. Thank you, Pickle J, for loving me the most and letting me love you too. In the coming days, when you see a little white dog named Millie, bite her on the bottom. It'll be a fun game, I bet.

Days at Disney

This weekend brings us safely back from Orlando, FL where the Hoodenpyles experienced bigtime fun at Disney World. While visiting, we stayed at the Disney All-Star Movies resort and overdosed heavily on all things 101 Dalmatians -- the theme of our building. Riding the buses and/or monorail was great fun for Jack and, in hindsight, could've almost been passed off as yet another "ride" during our stay. The trip all-around was so much fun.

During our 4 and a half day stay at Disney World, we were able to experience three parks: the Magic Kingdom (two days), Animal Kingdom, and MGM studios. The natural favorite was the Magic Kingdom where Jim emerged as a master of the FastPass feature. Purely for our own entertainment, Jim and I would make frequent points to stop and ask Jack, "What have you liked the best?" at various times of the day(s). He was always consistently dependable with his answer in that he would list whatever attraction we had just visited in the last five minutes. He did them all, even the ones that required him to be "super brave," as he put it. Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, and even MGM's Tower of Terror were big hits with Daddy alongside him. I think he would have enjoyed Space Mountain had he only been two inches taller to meet the 44 inch height requirement. Oh well. He says he'll do that one "when he's five."

Jim and I both think it's funny that the biggest hit for Jack was the Tomorrowland Transit Authority (or what Jim and I have always known to be the "People Mover") in the Magic Kingdom. Why are we surprised? I have no idea. We must've ridden it a dozen times as the escalator leading up to/down from and the moving platform that one had to negotiate while boarding a car (and preferably the front car) only sustained Jack's fun.

Jack is pictured here on the People Mover... again.

We were lucky enough to be pulled out of It's a Small World's line as "special guests" of the attraction. Here are Jack and I up in the control booth.

Above, Jim and Jack are displayed onscreen at the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor attraction. This was an interactive "show" where a few of the audience members are selected to participate in the jokes. It was a great surprise for Jack to see himself on "tv."

This is how each day of fun ended... a satiated Jack... passing out.

No Longer an "It"

It's a big milestone you've reached when you can stop calling your baby "it" and more comfortably fall into the habits of "he, she, him, or her" following a sneak preview with an ultrasound machine. Our milestone was reached yesterday! Disclaimer: If you do not want to know what the baby's sex is, do not read further because I'm about to blab. The very nice woman who ran the baby show yesterday displayed all the parts of our little baby, saying all looked good. I'm now posting my very favorite of the pictures we were given. Here you'll see the partial profile of a bashful little baby, hiding behind her little hands. So sweet.

How Was Your Summer?

The summer has been good to us here at the Hoodenpyle house. Lots of activity and lots of naps have made the time fly by. And while summer is not yet officially over, it's beginning to feel like it. I've been back at work for two days straight trying to get my head back in work mode, and August is looming. Once August hits, it's just over, people. The arrival of August 1st gives the exact same feeling that Sunday yields prior to a work week.

Anyway, every year when I go back to work and see the people I haven't seen in a couple of months, I'm asked, "How was your summer? What did you do?" I'll practice my answer on you people before I am officially asked next month. Here are a few of the highlights:

1. Jim, Jack, and I traveled to Des Moines, IA to see a World Cup triathlon. Jim was thrilled to spectate and see how the pros do it. Just a couple of days ago, they aired this triathlon on television, and the Hoodenpyle boys made it onto tv. Jack liked seeing himself up on Daddy's shoulders via our livingroom screen.

2. We went to two, count 'em two, consecutive John Mayer concerts. They were each a unique and FUN experience, but John was equally dreamy during the two events. I can say that I have stood seven feet away from him!!! (You know that satisfied sound that Homer Simpson makes when he's thinking of a donut?)

3. I successfully navigated the truck, by myself, through downtown KC without having a "major" meltdown... Thanks for your extraordinary patience, Husband.

4. Jim has competed in two triathlons, himself, this summer. He makes us all so proud... that is, after we get through contemplating why ANYONE would WANT to do this sport. Most recently, he was the top finisher in his age group at the Lake Freebird triathlon in Mountain Grove. He has an apparent knack for the "sprint" length triathlons but wishes to be more competitive in the longer triathlons that are the "Olympic" length. I don't know if I'm saying that correctly.

At left, Jim keeps his sense of humor through a long, hilly run.

5. I hosted a garage sale at my house. Other contributors were Jim's parents and my two friends from work, Terri and Danavee. We made bigtime bucks and had fun, fun, fun. Garage sale tidbits: Neon orange posterboard is the only acceptable media for signage. Also, artificial ficus trees will go for $5.... just wait it out.

6. Jack is becoming braver and braver at the neighborhood pool. He has been much like his mother when it comes to swimming as a child. Here is what I imagine his water policy to be: "Floaties are really a must. But when you do find yourself without a floatie, monkey grip the neck of whatever adult is nearest to you, totally disregarding if you repeatedly kick them in the gut while flailing."

During this summer we have visited the pool several times per week, and he's getting more and more comfortable. Just last week, he went under the water, voluntarily, several times in a row. He was very proud and happy!

7. Jim and Jack have enjoyed a new tandem bike purchase. It's quite a contraption! Jack sits on half a bike that clamps onto Jim's, and they're off! I can barely keep up, really.

Upcoming events: Baby ultrasound tomorrow. If stubborn legs aren't crossed, maybe I'll have some boy/girl news for you readers. (I think we've actually AGREED upon a girl name. For those of you that don't know... that's huge. Jim has mastered the vetoing of baby names. haha)

Jim will be competing in two more triathlons. And also, we go to Walt Disney World during the first week of August. Woo-hoo! Jack is excited to once again travel by airplane. It should be fun.

Ebay! What fun!

I've really only had one experience with Ebay in my life, and it wasn't a good one. I bought some tickets as a surprise to Jim for our anniversary one year. I was tickled to be the "winner" of the auction. I won in the final seconds with quick bidding fingers, and it felt great. But then, the high was completely ruined when the seller ended up giving me the runaround, and in order to actually receive the tickets that I had purchased, I had threaten the guy just short of his life. He finally responded after receiving my sternly written letter (which "appeared" to have been copied to one local lawyer... thaaaat I'd plunked out of the phone book) via certified mail. I slung him some bad feedback and began the process of reporting him to whatever Ebay authorities existed at the time.

But finally just a couple of days before the event, tickets arrived in my mailbox. I don't say "my tickets" arrived... just tickets. These were evidently replacements for the ones he said I was buying. (Different seats. Different section. But at least the same venue.) I called off the dogs, and Jim and I attended the event. A fun time was had although I'd pretty much sworn off any further use of Ebay. Well, that is... until now.

This time, I was the seller. And I must say that being a seller is MUCH more fun than being a buyer. We, ironically, have some extra tickets to see a concert. Jim purchased these in an auction format, and in doing his best to get me as close to the stage as possible, he purchased extra. Good guy, and very sweet, but an expensive venture, of course. So now, we had extra tickets. None of our acquaintances wanted them, so with a sinking feeling, we knew we'd have to return to Ebay. Argh.

I posted two sets of tickets to our event on Ebay just days ago. Since then, I have been logging on and evaluating my competition, checking to see how many hits my posts are receiving, and getting excited to see the number of "watchers" of my items grow. This is a fun game. Although no bidding is going on, you can "see" people taking interest in your item. They want it, but they pretend not to. It's somewhat like playing with a cat. Your cat sits on the floor at the edge of the couch with only her big eyes peeking over. You wiggle your fingertip at the edge of the couch, but not too much... just enough to make her pupils get bigger, her head lower, and her ears flatten. Then, you don't move.... If you wait, the pounce will come. If you get anxious, the cat will lose interest and perhaps give you a yawn, at best.

Anyway, I celebrated my official "pounce" today. One set of tickets sold. Hooray! What fun!
Now.... to see who's looking at the other pair. I've wiggled my finger. We'll see.

New Sweatbands

I saw a funny sight out of the corner of my eye last week when I picked up Jack from great grandma's house. Grandpa had lowered the old basketball goal down as far as it could go, and there was Jack, shootin' hoops. He was shooting in a way that my own father, once upon a time, referred to as "granny style". Just like Jack, as a little, little kid, I also found that bending over and shooting from in between spread eagle legs produced a much more frequent rate of accuracy. My father also called this the "sissy panties" way... but whatever, Dad. It worked. It didn't really matter anyway as I grew older and became officially short, and therefore, not cut out for basketball.

I've gotten sidetracked. On with the story. As I pulled up to the drive, I did notice his preference for granny style shooting and even saw him make a basket. Good job, Jack! But what was really funny was that he was all decked out on the court with sweatbands. They were white ones, emblazoned with orange embroidered NBA insignia. This was obviously a serious basketball practice. I got out of the car with my hand across my mouth, hiding my laughter at his Globetrotter-like appearance. He immediately began to inform me of the advantages of wearing such gear. "I can't feel my sweat, Mom! I'm wearing my sweatbands." He modeled the one on each wrist, and then finished with a swirling hand motion across his forehead to draw my attention there. Of course he had to wear these on the ride home. I wouldn't have even thought of asking him to remove them. He was proud.

Later in the evening, he was still wearing them. He wore them to ride on his battery powered John Deere tractor for quite some time. Neighbors who walked by commented and complimented his new look. "Oh, look at his sweatbands!" they exclaimed. (You can tell people don't wear these things anymore by the reactions they provoke. "Sweatbands! Look, he's wearing sweatbands." I imagine it would be the equivalent of me wearing leg warmers around the mall one day. Purple ones, maybe.)

And then, we cooked dinner. Jack has never been one to help cook dinner. The stove gets turned on, the pot begins to steam, and he's out of there! He's not a fan of "hot." But, remember TODAY he had on his NBA sweatbands. He stirred the noodles quite helpfully and said, "Mom, I don't even feel the hot on my head today." He did one more swirling motion across the forehead with his hand and flashed me a grin. I sure do love this kid.

Spring School Picture

At Jack's school there is the standard yearbook photograph that is taken in the fall. I was pretty pleased with his first set. A good natural smile and a confirmation that blue looks great on the kid. When spring comes around, a weird thing happens though... yet another picture package is sent home with folks. It caught me off guard the first year that I taught in the district. And now that I have a school aged child, myself, it caught me off guard in a whole new kind of way. (As did the placement of his mug in the very same yearbook that my always-crappy-teacher-photo appears every year... weird.)

Anyway, I'm still not entirely used to this idea of a "spring picture." I never had such a thing as a child. You said "cheese" once a year... period. To top it off, this particular round of photographing comes with a pseudo background, full body poses, and yes.... props. One year, I remember the boys snickering in line as the girls held a terrible bouquet of fake flowers next to their thoughtfully tilted chins. I took pity on their mothers and ripped the flowers out of their hands when it was their turn to pose and take advantage of a bad joke. Secretly, I appreciated their senses of humor, but really.... come on, boys.

Jack's spring picture arrived at home about a week ago. I'll let you take a look. My judgement? I think I'll avoid the plaid next time, but thank goodness there are no fake flowers in sight. Phew.