May 27, 2009

• MOVING TOMORROW!

  I promise, after this week I'll be much less of a stranger on Xanga. I just wanted to check in really quickly before disappearing for a couple of days.

  We are moving tomorrow! Right now, the apartment is a mess of boxes and half-packed closets and toddler toys. Woo-hoo. I am so excited to be moving into our house. I really couldn't do this alone, though. I can't even tell you how much my mom has helped us. Since Johnny works during the week, and Jack's two-hour mid-day nap really cuts into what I can do during the day, my mom has run so many errands for us and taken a lot off my hands. For example, I had a work conference call at 11 a.m. today (and that's the start of Jack's nap), so my mom went to let in the person who's doing the heavy-duty cleaning (getting rid of the construction grime and wiping down all surfaces and closet interiors, and washing out the garage floor) this morning. While in the neighborhood, she also stopped by Lowe's to talk to the manager about our new stove, which was delivered yesterday but has a faulty gas control valve, so I didn't have to worry about setting up a repair appointment. They're coming tomorrow (along with the Internet people and the garage door opener people). Plus, we're leaving Jack with my mom tonight -- Johnny will take him to her house after work -- and she's bringing him back tomorrow evening, so that we have a toddler-free moving day to deal with the movers and all the service technicians who will be coming by. I am so grateful! I know moms with young kids move by themselves all the time, even while expecting, and I just don't know how they do it.

  I actually have much to report, but I've had little time to do it, so I'll just make a quick bulleted list of what's been on my mind:

  • Belated Memorial Day musings. This past Memorial Day marked the 10-year anniversary of when I first met my parents-in-law and brother-in-law. Of course, when I met them, they were not yet my in-laws. Memorial Day weekend of 1999, I went with Johnny to the Michigan cottage. People often ask me when it was that I realized Johnny was "The One," and the truth is that there never really was a moment; it was just that I always envisioned Johnny in my future. But, that Memorial Day weekend 10 years ago was a significant milestone in our relationship. I vividly remember, in the spring of 1999, Johnny telling me about the Michigan cottage and surrounding community with great enthusiasm as we sat talking in the common suite outside my dorm room. He talked about what an ideal place it was to spend summers growing up, and how he really wanted me to go with him for Memorial Day weekend and meet his family. I thought it was so refreshing that a guy loved his family so much, and was still attached to the place where he spent his childhood summers. I realized, "I like this guy a lot," so I made the effort (and gathered up the courage) to ask my mom if I could go with Johnny over the long weekend. Yes, I realize my mom was about 2,000 miles away, but we talked every day on the phone, and I felt I needed her permission to take my first trip to meet my new boyfriend's family. Plus, something told me that Johnny was one guy I didn't want to lie about. This is probably a good thing, but I was too young to be nervous about meeting Johnny's family. I wanted to make a good impression, but I was mostly thinking, "If I'm not the kind of girl parents like, then I'm not sure such a girl exists." (This isn't some sort of egotistical statement -- it says more about what a goody-two-shoes I was!) I was more worried about making a good impression Dave, whom I also met for the first time that weekend. I think (I hope) I succeeded in that quest, if not initially, then eventually. If I were meeting a guy's family today, I think I'd be a nervous wreck. So, there is something to be said about being young when you meet your soul mate! Anyway, I thought from the beginning that Johnny's family was wonderful, and I continue to be blessed with probably the world's best in-laws. And here Johnny and I are, 10 years later, expecting our second son and moving into our first home together. Life is good.
  • Jack. My gosh, the child has a good sense of direction. I sure am glad, because Johnny and I practically need signs to find our way out of our apartment. It continues to amaze me that he knows the route to practically anywhere he's been once. Today we went to Target, and he looked off to the left as I turned into the parking lot and said, "Pah? Siiiiide?" (That's "Park? Slide?") Folks, three weeks ago, I took Jack to a park that required us to turn left at the Target. That was the one and only time we were there. He just has such an interest in all things related to driving and roads. The other day, when Johnny and I exited the freeway, Jack waved and said, "Bye-bye, fway." I can probably rely on Jack to navigate me to all nearby parks, freeways and ice cream shops. It's insane. Jack's also doing super-cute things like telling us that he loves us in English and Mandarin. Also, when you ask him a question in Mandarin, he'll say, "Hao" (yes), but if you ask him in English, he'll say "Okie." He can also "count" to three. I put that in quotes because I'm pretty sure he's just reciting the numbers from memory, and has no idea what they mean. Oh, and another favorite Jack saying is "Oh, gah!" That's "Oh, God!" picked up from Mommy. He says it as a frequent substitute for "Oh, no!" when he drops things or when something surprising happens. It's hilarious to watch him bend over a pile of dropped cars and exclaim, "Oh gah! Oh gah! Oh gah!" Much better than the one time he said, "Oh, fuh!" or the few times he said, "Oh, shi!" Yeah, after those incidents, Johnny and I made sure to stop dropping even the rare f-bomb and eliminated "sh*t" from our language.
  • Jon and Kate Plus Eight hoopla. Does anyone else find it difficult to be at all sympathetic to them? I watched the season premiere, and both of them kept being like, "We never signed up for the paparazzi"; "We don't know why they're obsessed with us"; "Can't you go follow some other family"; blah blah blah. To that (and to all celebrities), I say, "Hello! You signed up for that when you signed up for this reality show and stayed with it for five years! You get millions of dollars, a fancy home, nice cars and five-star resort stays ... the paparazzi are also part of the package." Why not follow some other family? Because some other family and their eight children are not on a national hit TV show, and because the parents in some other family are not seen out at 2 a.m. with young blonds or their muscley bodyguards, that's why. If your marriage is suffering, it's time to stop doing the show. If you can't stop doing the show because you've gotten too accustomed to your new lifestyle, then stop complaining about how the show is butting into your personal life. Gah! Kate has gotten really obnoxious, and Jon just looks like he's really apathetic. Plus, what was up with his sunglasses tan? Also, seriously, what is TLC's love of promoting huge families? Someone tell me, please, what the difference is among Jon and Kate Plus Eight, Table for 12 and Eighteen and Counting. I'm sure some couple out there is like, "Hey, let's have a huge number of kids so we can get our own show!" Repeat after me: It is not a good idea to invite a camera crew into your life.

  OK, with that, I end my random entry. Wish us luck on our move!
  Jack. My gosh, the child has a good sense of direction. I sure am glad, because Johnny and I

  • 4:36 pm
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