Bits & Pieces

Just some things that don't warrant their own post:

I'm so happy that spring is trying to arrive early in Memphis! Yesterday afternoon I took the kids to the zoo,joined by the entirety of Team Zeno. ( We also ran into Team S.A.M- stop stalking me!) It was a perfect day for it- and it's still February! Maybe this global warming stuff isn't so bad after all! (I'm kidding, Stacey!)

The Oscars were great. Quick party recap: We had it catered, so preparation and clean-up were beyond easy! Di was in town and got to attend, so that was cool. I am personally offended that Cars didn't win any Oscars. This year I only saw four nominated films- Connor saw two! Man I'm lame. Tiff and I tied with 15 correct picks, so we will share the prize. (Movie passes.) I think we're planning to see Norbit.

We took Connor to his first hockey game over the weekend. He loved it! Worth the drive down south, I think, although the quality of play is a little lacking. C's reaction to the experience made up for that, though. We'll get him to some Redbirds games this year for sure. He's really been pushing to attend more sporting events lately. My boy!

Connor is still into all things scatalogical. At the zoo yesterday we noticed every animal's booty and compared the size of all their poop. He tries to work the word "butt" into conversation without getting into trouble. We try not to laugh. His pickiness has reached new heights, with a recent breakfast hunger strike. I took him to the grocery store and turned him loose on the breakfast aisle, telling him to pick something, anything, that he would eat. He settled on strawberry Pop Tarts (unfrosted), and ate half of one the next morning. Progress! Today he declared them "too crunchy" and rejected them as a breakfast option. Sigh.


Chloe is still eating everything in sight and refusing to walk on her own. She has some type of stomach bug that is keeping us home today, and no doubt she is depressed that it is interrupting her constant eating. For the record, Chloe thinks strawberry Pop Tarts are just fine.

Ode to S.A.M.

Of late, I feel I've really been on the same wavelength as S.A.M. It's time to quit ignoring it and just go ahead and write my love letter.

For awhile now, I've been fascinated by my internet friendships. I know people join dating services and meet people online, but this is different. I have developed real connections with people I've only met a handful of times, and all because we read each other's blogs. If I were still working on my sociology degree (I'm still just a paper away from that Master's!) I thinkI would delve into this topic. Sadly I'm not clever enough to write about it without academic prodding, but fortunately S.A.M. tackled the subject for me in the latest issue of Fertile Ground. I did much head-nodding while reading her essay, glad I wasn't the only one who thought this phenomenon was noteworthy.

Today S.A.M. has a blog post about why we stay in Memphis, even though we all know it is a cesspool. And it's the same thing I've always said. I'm a person who likes stability, likes to put down roots. When we were in our twenties, with no responsibilities and the whole world at our feet, I would shoot down the thought of leaving Memphis. My reasons were mainly that if I moved somewhere else, I'd live the same life- I'd find a few restaurants/bars/hangouts that I liked, and I'd frequent them. I'd get the same type of job, and go to it every day. The only thing that would be different is that I wouldn't have my friends and family with me, and what's the point in that to a person like me? Yes, sometimes Memphis seems to suck. But when it does, I imagine myself in a different city without the people I love, and I just work through it.

So I was already feeling the S.A.M. love when I received this email today: "Does anyone have any interest in joining Team S.A.M at the Riverkings game tonight?" She thought it was a longshot that any of her friends would want to go to a minor league hockey game. What she didn't know was that earlier this week, while watching hockey highlights on SportsCenter, Connor turned to me and said, "Can you take me to a hockey game?" I had already checked the Riverkings schedule to find a suitable night when we could take Connor down south. We had decided on March 10 (Hockey Mr. Potato Head giveaway night), but tonight suddenly seems like a much better option. I think we'll even listen to Sign O' The Times on the way to the rink, just to make the experience complete.

Then tomorrow we'll deal with the restraining order.

Faces of Chloe

Curly Diet Coke

Oh, and Steph wore her hair in its naturally-very-curly state for the first time in forever. The folks on Madison avenue took notice, and asked her to create a curly-haired-people-drink-Diet Coke advertisement.

Coke rejected my "pensive-black&white-looking-down-at-my-Diet Coke" idea.

Lots of pictures are all you care about anyway

Let's see, what has happened in the past week?

It snowed. A piddling little Memphis-sized snow. It's always so special to me when it snows, because I've always lived in a place where it rarely happens.

Connor and I played around in it, but weren't able to get a snowman going.


Chloe and Steph bundled up to join us briefly. Connor and I were blinded by the garish mishmash of colors they presented, and demanded that they return indoors.

How many times did Steph and I have sushi since the last post? Twice, I think.

(Madison Roll from Sakura, in case you're wondering.)

Father-Daughter QT

Steph took Connor to Nashville for a work conference (see Steph's post below), so Chloe and I are on our own for the next few days. Connor (3 and 1/2) is really such an attention hog that true one-on-one bonding time with my daughter is a precious commodity these days. Chloe and I are actually more alike in many ways than Connor and I are. Being the center of attention isn't all that important to us. Watching and listening are fun activities.



I can certainly handle all the day-to-day parenting by myself-- feeding, bathing, changing diapers, packing for school, etc. With no mommy around, we can go longer between diaper changes, and no one will know.


You smell something?

I plan teaching her all about the SuperBowl tonight. Of course, most of what I know about it comes from my wife...