The Web-Betty Blog » Zachary

Public school, here we come!

melissa — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:26:42 +0000

The main job of a parent is to make sure you prepare your kids to one day survive on their own (mostly), without completely screwing them up in the process¹. This means making a zillion little daily decisions on their behalf, as well as making some pretty big decisions for them, too. We made one of those “big” decisions this year, and decided to take The Goose out of private school and send him to public school. Meaning this morning Zachary started 2nd grade, in a new school.

Zachary gets to work

Chris and I went back and forth, and while money wasn’t the issue (we had a generous benefactor the past two years), we decided we wanted Zachary to attend the school that was just down the street and has earned a great reputation over the past few years, instead of shuttling him 30-40 minutes each way, every day. We also want The Goose to start creating the kind of friendships that span elementary school, middle school, high school, and beyond. He would not be able to do that if we kept him at FLEC–once he hit high school we would either have to move to keep him in a high school with his friends, or we would have to pull him away from all of the friends he’d made over the years. We’d rather pull him away now.

Of course, that’s not to say that we won’t move before he’s out of school–in fact it would be really odd if we were still on Lake Alden for the next 10 years, but you never know. I like my home. We also have to consider Jonah. There’s no way to afford FLEC for both of them, when Jonah starts kindergarten in a few years, so he will likely start Apopka, where Zachary is now.

There are a few other, personal reasons, for the switch, but this post isn’t about me.

As for totally screwing Zachary up before he moves out on his own some day, only time will tell. I have plenty of other opportunities to mess him up major decisions to make on his behalf between now and then.

Brotherly Love

melissa — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 22:58:18 +0000

And so it begins, the start of the bumps, bruises, scrapes, and other various physical evidence of “brotherly love”.

The afternoon’s love fest started with Zachary trying to watch the cartoon that Jonah was watching and Jonah blocking Zachary’s view. After a few renditions of “get out of my way!” followed by grunting and heavy breathing, I was not surprised when the high-pitched shrieking reached my ears.

When I got to the living room I found Zachary looking contrite and trying to console a wailing Jonah. Okay, he was really trying to talk him into not squealing on him. Which of course, Jonah promptly did. It seems that Jonah had been standing on the couch, and when he wouldn’t get out of Zachary’s way, Zachary pushed him. Off the couch.

From these pics it’s hard to see how big and dark the bruise was (the little bugger won’t stand sill!), but it’s several days later and he still has his “trophy”.

I’m sure this is just the first of many brother-inflicted wounds to come. I think it’s time to invest in a first aid kit. Or a stand-by EMT.

We’ve lost a tooth!

melissa — Tue, 04 May 2010 22:19:45 +0000

It looks like the tooth fairy will be visiting the Johnson’s house for the first time tonight–Zachary lost his first tooth! It’s been loose for about a week now and just as human nature intended he’s been wiggling and jiggling it all that time. I decided that before it walked out of his mouth on its own I’d better yank it out of there–it came out with one little pull.

Sigh. Another rite of passage over. Next thing I know he’ll be asking for the car keys.

Open yer wallets and give me some coin!

melissa — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 12:24:45 +0000

I’m excited at the prospect of lacing up my sneakers (once I find them) and walking 3 miles this Saturday for a great cause: the March for Babies. Hopefully I’ll actually make it the full three miles.

This is such an important and worthwhile cause that I’m having Zachary walk with me. I’m so looking forward to Zachary meeting my friend’s son, Will, who was born premature (at 25 weeks) and has his own share of challenges. From what Janey has said, Will is a funny, precocious, lively and dear kid and I think he and The Goose will get along famously. I hope The Goose can keep up with him!

I need some help, though.
As you can see if you look over there ————————————>
I’m a little short of my goal. Every little bit helps. $10, $15, $25, etc. Please open your hearts and your wallets and donate a little coin to this wonderful organization. Help me and Zachary help babies in need. Just click on the badge.

If you’re interested in learning more about Will, Janey is always too happy to talk about her wonderful son. Check out Confessions of a Middle-Aged Suburban Diva.

Where did March go?

melissa — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 01:50:11 +0000

I can’t believe it’s April Fool’s day. Seriously, where in the hell did March go? Life does seem to move faster the older I get. Meh. We definitely had a busy March between cruising, baseball, Rock Band, and life in general, and everything in between. Here’s a little rundown of our month.

March started on the water, with Chris and I still out on our cruise which you should have read all about by now. The first few weeks of the month were pretty normal. Then came the week of 3/21. Aunt Carol and Uncle Dick came to FL to visit. We didn’t get to see nearly as much of them as we would have liked but they did see Zachary and all the cousins participate in the Mirriam Kitrell 5K run for FLEC. Bless his heart, he ran the entire thing (not the whole 5K, the first graders run half that).

The cousins ran the race

Carol and Dick even went to one of the Goose’s baseball games, and then treated us to a fun day at Joker Marchant stadium, home of the Detroit Tigers spring training. It was a glorious day and everyone had a lot of fun. That was also the weekend our refrigerator decided to go kaputz. I’d be lying if I said I was sad about that, because I had a sweet little number delivered the Saturday we were at the baseball game. It’s awesome with a capital awesome, and only cost us $560 of our own cash.

My new best friend

The rest of March was spent working, cleaning up crap (literally–Jonah just can’t seem to get his shit together, so to speak ), going to baseball practice and games, and in general living the dream.

It doesn’t look to be letting up, either. April is already shaping up to be as busy as March. Oy Vey!

View the insanity below.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

A Flurry of Activity

melissa — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 05:28:15 +0000

Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

I would like to say that I took Ferris’s advice, and looked around once in a while over the holiday season. That, however, would be a big, FAT lie. There was simply too much to do. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy the holidays—I enjoyed them very much. I was just very busy which is really ironic, since I had 12 days off.¹ Let’s see where all the time went.

First stop, Thanksgiving

We had a really nice Thanksgiving, even if Chris did try to add his thumb to the stuffing. If you don’t take anything away from this post, take this away: iPod, cleaver, onions, 80s dance moves—they do not go together! Injury aside, it was a blessed day with FL family, and we all ate way too much (sans Johnson thumb).

Zachary and Jonah ham it up for the camera

Once November came to a close we rushed right in to December, and the arrival of mom. Things just weren’t working out in Denver. Mom’s friend passed away earlier in the year forcing her to move, and putting her out of a job at the same time. In this economy it’s tough to look for work and mom ran out of options. So we asked her to come back to FL, either for an extended visit or for the long haul, if we can manage not to kill each other.

Work was as busy as always with fun projects and interesting clients, both with eCollege and freelance. While December is usually a slower work month, since I had to take all of my vacation and personal time or lose it, I only worked 14 days. That would explain my workload, lol! Add to that a Christmas program, Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Year’s and Jonah’s birthday, and you’ve got “Wham! Bam! Thank you, Ma’am!” I can tell you this, it’s not easy playing mommy, Santa, Web Goddess, wife, daughter, and dominatrix, uh, wife.²

Christmas did seem to come and go, but it wasn’t a total blur. We enjoyed a wonderful Christmas Eve at Nana’s house. It was nice having so much family, mom included. Christmas morning brought another flurry of gifts, including a full-size telescope for Zachary and a plethora of Star Wars ships, figures, and clothing for Jonah. The gift that stole the show, however, was Rock Band 2. In a word, it ROCKS!! ³ I don’t know who loves it more, Chris and I, or Zachary. We have had so much fun playing it. I even received the The Beatles version as a gift and it is awesome! Now that vacation has passed it’s been tough putting Rock Band on the back burner. I think we’re bummed out more than The Goose.

After Christmas we had Jonah’s birthday. I thought the stores had run out of Star Wars items, but if they did it’s because we bought everything. He won’t run out of Star Wars things until he’s an adult and by then he can sell them for a profit. It was awesome watching Jonah run around the house playing with the Millenium Falcon and Yoda. At 3 he actually flies them around and plays with them. Is that odd? Of course not!

Jonah blows out his candles

And there you have it. A flurry of activity in six short weeks. Or six long weeks, depending on how you look at it.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year’s. I hope that 2010 is happy, prosperous, fulfilling and fun. I hope that all my family and friends get everything they deserve in this new year, and in many new years to come.

More on the subject...
That doesn’t include the other 3+ days I had off earlier in the month
Wait, I said wife already, didn’t I?
Is that why it’s called ROCK Band?

FLEC Christmas Program, 2009

melissa — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 23:37:04 +0000

Is there anything more agonizing exciting than a Christmas program performed by grades kindergarten through 3rd? I thought not. This year’s FLEC Christmas Program was held at the church instead of the school, which made for a very nice atmosphere. All of the kids looked great in their white shirts and ties, the live student orchestra was wonderful, and everyone sounded so nice.

In his usual, exuberant manner, Zachary sang with all of his voice, heart and body. I am very proud of him and his performance, and I hope that he always finds such joy in song and dance.

Is it really that time again?

melissa — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 05:06:24 +0000

I swear I just did this. Ah well, as they say, Carpe Flies, no. Seize the fish. No, Time Flies—That’s the one! Speaking of Carpe Diem I have to give a great big SHOUT OUT to sweet Citizen Janey! She completed this: The Women’s Half Marathon. And let me tell you, the time she completed it in, well it would have taken me a hell of a lot longer. Who am I kidding? I wouldn’t have lasted 10 minutes! YOU ARE AN INSPIRATION JANEY!

But enough about her. Let’s talk about my week.

I think I broke my toe a few weeks ago. Here’s a tip: don’t leave a case of 32-count diet soda sitting in an unexpected place in your kitchen, and then go wandering around for a snack after a few pints after the kids have gone to bed. I also don’t recommend re-banging it on the bunk beds a week later. Damn boys need to start changing their own sheets!

I don’t actually know for certain if it’s broken, but since the family has been to see Aunt Ivonne three times in as many weeks, I figure I’d give her a break. I do know for certain that being off the weight loss drugs has really sucked. Yes, I’ve gained a little weight back. I’m not up to where I was at my ‘peak’ but I’m up enough to be uncomfortable in my clothes. Could someone out there please tell me how to fit in 50 hours of work, domestic slavery duties, making sure two boys are fed, clothed, bathed and put to bed AND fit in an hour a day of Wii Fit??? I know the Miller Lite’s not helping (my waistline anyway, but I have two boys who are still breathing), but I’m sure if I could counteract it with some exercise I’d be ahead of the game (or at least able to keep up). If there is anyone out there who knows the secret, I beg of you, tell me what it it!!

Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put a tomato in fruit salad.

I do know that stress is contributing to it a little bit. I’m a stress-dinner-eater. By the time dinner rolls around I’m so ready for my day to be almost over and I’m ready to relax that I shovel my dinner in. I know I should monitor my portions, not take seconds, put my fork down between bites, yadda yadda yadda. Unfortunately, there is a difference between knowledge and wisdom.¹

As I’m coming back to this, I just finished dinner. Yep, there was some stress eating involved. *sigh* Maybe tomorrow. For tonight I’m going to put the boys to bed and get myself a glass of wine. Zachary is on vacation, so by extension, so am I. It’s just easier to take the week off when he’s home for five days. We went to a wrap place for lunch while waiting for my car² and the girl behind the counter, while looking pointedly at me, asked Zachary if he was on a break. No, silly girl. I keep him home to do the domestic chores. Who else would do all of our laundry? But thanks for asking. Really, it is your business.³

Oh yes, I was talking about wine. The boys are now in bed so it’s time. I bought my bottle of wine at Winn-Dixie tonight and they actually had me remove my ID from its holder and they scanned it. WTF!? I don’t like the idea of the grocery store scanning my ID every time I buy a bottle of wine or some Miller Lite. And don’t give me that BS about it reading my age. If the cashier can’t READ my age, they shouldn’t be in a position to determine if I’m old enough to purchase a bottle of wine. Big Brother is watching, from Winn Dixie.

I have no segue here, but I have to say I’m trying to learn more and get the most out of my MacBook Pro. Since I’ve started reading Mac|Life and Macworld, I’ve realized I have not even scratched the surface with all the cool shit this computer can do. I’ve installed some great apps (most of ‘em free), I’ve made changes to make the most of my doc, spaces and exposé, and I’m seriously enjoying my upgrade to Snow Leopard. Of course Snow Leopard would totally rock if my company’s exchange server was up-to-date so I could take advantage of SL’s newly integrated exchange support, but I guess a girl can’t have it all.

So that’s the past week of randomness. Would you like some more? Be sure to check out The UnMom. She’s as cool as me, lol!

More on the subject...
Sometimes I know the difference between knowledge and wisdom and sometimes I ignore it!
My car is another blog: if you really want to read about it check out at The Saab Blaag.
Okay, Zachary only has to do all of the domestic chores when he’s home on break, like this week for Thanksgiving.

Wednesday’s Words: The Moon is a Cookie

melissa — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 12:28:10 +0000

I know, there are a lot of bloggers out there who do a “Wordless Wednesday” post. Call me a rebel. I’m reversing the trend and going with “Wednesday’s Words.”

Today’s words were penned by none other than The Goose (aka, Zachary). We were all sitting at dinner some time back, talking about stories and the writing he was doing in school when out of the blue, he makes up this poem, The Moon is a Cookie.

Enjoy!

The Moon is a Cookie

The moon is a cookie;
The moon is a flower;
The moon is a rose, that blossoms at night.
The moon is a sliver that slips through the treetops,
and crosses the ribbons of slivers of light.

Poem by Zachary. Punctuation by me.

This post was generously brought to you by some jewelry. Remember what Madonna Marilyn Monroe taught us, “…diamonds are a girl’s best friend…”

Want an honest answer? Ask a 5-year old.

melissa — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 00:56:21 +0000

All the way to the store tonight (and back) I’ve been trying to dream up a new post. Sometimes inspiration comes in floods, and sometimes it doesn’t come at all. That’s how I was feeling tonight. I couldn’t think of anything even remotely interesting to put on paper, let alone on the perma-web.

Fast forward to that peaceful place when Jonah is in bed and daddy is in the office working. No TV, no distractions. Just me and the Goose. I was enjoying some quiet time with Zachary when a random thought occurred to me. “I wonder what Zachary knows/thinks about his mommy.” So while he was beating his Zune at checkers, I thought up 20 questions to pose to my beyond-his-years 5-year old. Here are the results:

Obviously I’m asking the questions (Q), and he’s responding (A).

Q. What is mommy’s favorite color?
A. Red. Just like me.

Q. What is mommy’s favorite animal:?
A. The muskox. Ha ha! i’m just being sarcastic.¹ You really love polar bears.

Okay. The kid’s 2 for 2.

Q. What is mommy’s middle name?
A. Jean. Because of Great-Grandma Jean.

Honestly, I had no idea he knew what my middle name was.

Q. What’s daddy’s middle name?
A. I have no idea.

Q. What’s mommy’s favorite food.
A. My guess would be spaghetti since we have it so much.

Q. What’s mommy’s favorite team.
A. The Vikings, d’uh!

Q. What does mommy do?
A. You work on the computer all day.

Q. What does daddy do?
A. He sells snacks and sodas to people.

Q. What’s mommy’s favorite music?
A. U2.²

Q. What’s mommy’s favorite thing to do?
A. I’m guessing work on the computer since you do it so much.

Ouch.

Q. How old is mommy?
A. You’re 37.
My response: how do you know that?!
His answer: because daddy’s 38 and you’re 1 year younger.

Damn, was I that smart at 5??

Q. Who does mommy like better, Iron Man or Spiderman?
A. Iron Man. I know you don’t like Spiderman.³

Trick Q. Who’s a better driver? Mommy or Daddy?
Correct A. You are, because you have a sports car and they’re harder to drive.

That’s my boy!

Q. How does mommy usually feel?
A. Kind of mad. Well, kind of mad when Jonah is running around. When he’s in his chair you’re usually happy.

Hmm, note to self: keep Jonah strapped in chair all day.

Q. Who do you think mommy would rather be: Princess Leia, or Darth Vader?
A. I know you like Darth Vader cuz he’s cool, but I think you’d want to be Princess Leia cuz she’s good and Darth Vader’s bad. You’re good.

I love that my kid still thinks I’m good. Give it a few years, he’ll think I’m Vader.

Q. What color eyes does mommy have?
A. Blue.
Follow-up: What color eyes do you have?
A. Blue.
Follow-follow-up: What color eyes does daddy have?
A. Blue
Follow-follow-follow-up: What color eyes does Jonah have?
A. Mom, this is stupid. his eyes are blue too.

Q. Did my kid just call me stupid?

Q. What do you like best about mommy?
A. You love me.

Q. What do you like least about mommy?
A. You work on the computer all the time.

Q. How would you describe mommy?
A. You’re the awesomest mommy I’ve had in my life.

As opposed to the mommy he sent back. Okay, seriously, you just can’t buy better positive affirmation than that!

And finally,

Q. Who’s the boss in our house?
A. Mommy. Oh, and daddy. I’d better say daddy too.

That’s right–he knows what’s what!

And there you have it. 20 things my kid thinks and/or knows about me. Now That’s a meme!

More on the subject...
Sarcastic is his new favorite word. Isn’t that cute? Did you notice the sarcasm?
Okay, while U2 isn’t a music, it’s still a good answer.
I know this fact breaks his heart, because he loves Spiderman.