Introducing…Rice Daddies!
Here’s our last introduction of the weekend: Rice Daddies!
I have a crush on all those daddies out there who find time to blog! I adore hearing the voices of fathers – so under represented. The first father blog I found was Ohio Girl by Todd (which has since been renamed). If you of worthy daddy blogs, please put a link in the comments section so that I can check ‘em out.
But now back to the main event….
TOP 10 THINGS I LOVE ABOUT RICE DADDIES
10. They have great taste in notecards.
9. They have their own podcasts!
8. They like “chick flicks” and are raising their sons to say just the right things.
7. They are hearing the same things about their children…which we are hearing about our adopted children. [And their immediate response is about the same as our's: WTF!]
6. We share the same taste in blogs.
5. They are forward-thinkers !
4. I think that are huge influence on WaWa, E., Brent, and the rest of those daddies.
3. Stress over in-laws ? Got that covered. Plus they recommended a great book for Kuky and Alan!
2. A couple of the Rice Daddies apparently have some good “bed cred“….yum…*giggle*
1. Being the children’s book whore that I am…….I heart their reading list! Here. Here. and Here. It’s hot.
A new introduction… Meeting Schuyler’s Monster
Every once in a long while, I like to introduce a blog that I read on the side. Normally I find these blogs by pure accident – referrals are rare. Not all of the newbies make the cut. Some I read for a week or two and then discard like so much used cardboard. It’s difficult to describe what makes the winners…winners. For some it is clearly a sense of humor. I need a good laugh as much as the next person. For others it may be the writing style. A fluid grace and sophistication that compells and challenges. A must read. Most of the blogs I choose to revisit time and again are “day in the life” blogs – personal journals – mostly of parenthood and more frequantly of adoption. Today I would like to introduce you to a couple of parenthood blogs where the content is more than the run-of-the-mill childhood antics and parental exhaustion.
Let’s start with Schuyler’s Monster.
I am not sure when I began to read this blog. Possibly three or four months ago? Possibly.
This is a father’s journal of his young daughter’s challenges with a special condition.
Robert Rummel-Hudson is the father of Schuyler and Polymicrogyria is the monster.
I think what captured me most in reading this diary were actually the images. At least at first. Schuyler is LOVELY! She’s charming. She’s funny. She’s serious. She’s nothing short of a delight! Take a look at the images and tell me if you disagree. Don’t you see intelligence and humor in this girl? I sure do. So how is it that a child this amazing…can’t talk? Ok. She actually can say “no” and “momma” but little else. I can hear all of you mothers out there thinking “at least she got the two most important words down.” (sorry dads!)
Once I started to read the posts, I was hooked. It seems that no matter the challenge this family is just going to tackle it. It’s a good story. It’s not an easy one but it’s a worthwhile one. Dad doesn’t short the punches. He tells it like it is…and in doing so reminds us all that it is within many parents. It being the ability to parent under less than ideal circumstances.
This is a powerful message as I watch so many adoption friends turn to Special Needs matches to build their family. I know that each of those couples had to consider and face that kernal of doubt. Could they really meet this child’s needs? Would it be unfair to the child to become their parent? Am I strong enough to advocate for my child even against authority figures?
And each of these parents had to look someone in the eye – a family member, a friend, or a stranger – and defend their decision to voluntarily parent a child with a special condition. I think we can all learn something about ourselves and about others by reading this story. It’s well written to boot.
The book will be on sale soon. You can pre-order it. I will.
Not that anyone asked…
But my blogging has been limited to having received a MATCH! Yes, this is the third match we have accepted and the fourth offered. Hopefully we will have better results with this situation than with the last two.
I won’t rehash all the details here. You can easily read the story on my other blog.
But with 10 weeks or so until baby arrives, WaWa and I have been working pretty hard on a number of things. The first of which involves acquiring a TV cabinet for the Master. Yes… I know this project has been lingering — festering, really. So we bit the bullet the other day and went to the World’s Best Consignment Store. There we found the perfect piece for less than $200. It’s solid wood, the right size and with lots of drawers (not doors) for clothes in addition to a nice place to hide to the TV. Loved it. It’s now sitting in the garage pending a fresh coat of touch up paint and a slightly larger hole for the TV cord. If I wasn’t so lazy, I would post a photo!
Next up, we have an invisible being installed on Wednesday for our new dog. We will be meeting the breeder on August 4th to pick up the dog. Mama Dog is already getting excited about having a brother! Nino – well – he’s less excited. WaWa is suppose to schedule the painter for some time in July but I don’t think they have agreed on a date yet. I can’t wait to have the basement painted. There’s an area that I can see from my work spot which drives me nuts. It’s greyish and then white and then grey again. This is the type of detail that is driving me slowly insane. Soon it will be fixed. *sigh* It only took 2+ years.
What else can I possibly bore you with? Oh. hum. The garage door opener went Kaboom. WaWa is calling to see if it’s covered by the home warranty. We have nursed it along for about as long as possible. But the funeral dirage is sounding. Did I mention that we are replacing the french doors but that we haven’t followed with Home Depot and actually picked the replacement door? Yeah. For once HD comes out ASAP to do a measure and then we take more than a week to actually pick the door. I know. It’s payback. But still…
Definitely on another topic, I am thinking about getting a gentle curl put into my hair. The last few days I have been wearing it natural and the curl is really there. I mean more than ever before. With a little curl solution and then letting it air dry, I get a nice CURL not a wave. Could my naturally wavy hair be changing as I age? Anyway I was wondering if I should help it along a bit. Short, curly hair. How damn cute! I had this look about 10 years ago and loved it. Just an idea. But it would be so easy to manage. Don’t think “granny perm”….think “loose, gentle curls.” I am open to feedback but still want to talk it over with my stylist. She will probably hate the idea! But the thing is that I don’t like having damp hair most of the day. So I want to help it out a bit, ya’ know?
A cheat…
The rules: You go to Wikipedia and type in your birthday (day and month only). Then post three events, two births and one holiday that occurred on your birthday. Thanks Itgirl for the idea!
July 24th
Three Events
- 1567 – Mary Queen of Scots is deposed and replaced by her 1 year old son, James VI.
- 1847 – After 17 months of travel, Brigham Young leads 148 Mormon pioneers into Salt Lake Valley, resulting in the establishment of Salt Lake City.
- 1969 – Apollo program: Apollo 11 splashes down safely in Pacific Ocean.
Two Births
- 1897 – Amelia Earhart, American aviator (disappeared in 1937)
- 1969 - Jennifer Lopez, American actress and singer
One Holiday
- Pioneer Day (1847) Utah
If you insist…
I’m not much of a writer but I will attempt to distill the experience of 5 bands in two days into something that somewhat accurately conveys the humor, hardship, and delight of it all.
First up is the Chastain Park concert series, where we listened to 3 bands while seated on fairly uncomfortable wire mesh seats. Being as excited as we were and equally as unfamiliar with this experience, WaWa and I separately did some recon online but no one mentioned the hard seats. Or the fact that the gate didn’t actually open at the time posted on the event site. We ended up eating our lovely romantic sushi dinner while sitting in the car waiting on the gates to open!
Once inside we noticed that the place hadn’t sold out. But oddly enough the entire right side of the amphitheater was packed. So we sat on top of people while half the place was empty. Fortunately by the main act, everyone had gotten a clue and spread out. Overall it was a very unusual experience.
Our experience as Floridians with outdoor concerts is that you usually have too many beers, stand on the sidewalk and watch the music while being nudged by street vendors, bikers, and old people with walkers. The concerts are always on the hottest days when even sundown is 100 degrees and then the sky opens up and you are soaked. Think Sunfest. When in DC, we would attend Wolftrap which is much classier in the sense that you eat before the music starts not while someone is performing!
So to being sitting there watching people shovel in their food and booze hound to and from the bar because they didn’t bring a cooler while your favorite band is playing was quite surreal. It was hard to concentrate on the performers with such a show going on around us. People were continually up and about. Talking. Laughing. Singing once in a while. Even the singer was a bit put out by the lack of attention. I really felt bad for her! My mother would say that it was nothing short of rude…but then this is the Chastain experience!
Who was there? Everyone. No one. Let’s just talk about the row behind us, our row, and the two rows in front of us. A total of 4 rows out of 100s. But the sample was very accurate when you looked at the crowd as a whole.
1. Parents with children under the age of 10. Check!
Apparently paying full price for all children (no one is free -not even a newborn) was no issue. The kids were all well behaved but generally looked bored. They loved having a picnic. We saw people carrying in large pizzas still in their boxes, fast food straight from the drive-in, and lush gourmet meals requiring ten trips to the car. The kids seemed to love drinking coke from a fancy plastic wine glass. They loved buying tshirts, glow-in-the-dark-widgets, and sharing Starbucks frozen coffee drinks at 8PM. I guess Mom and Dad had to do something to keep the kids awake! Most of the families left before it was over…either due to the rain or their kids limited attention spans.
2. The Ladies from the 80s
Both kinds were present and accounted for…the slender, well-coiffed divorcees with their diamond tennis bracelets who were so bombed that they decided to flaunt the “no open flame” rules by burning candles at their tables…and then acted confused when security asked them to extinguish the flames…and relit the candles seconds later…only to be told that they needed to stop or they would be escorted out…. who looked like they were having fun but only at the expense of others…AND…the probaby married, probably mothers, definitely not slender or well-heeled women who were equally bombed but having so much fun that you could tell it was a very very very rare thing!
3. Couples where the Man Looked Surprised that Rick Springfield was an actual Musician
I will count my husband in this bunch. Actually there was only two groups where I saw men that were more into the concert than their female companions. The first man was obviously on wife #2 or actively searching for her. His buddy was the same age and they both had young sweet things on their arms. Sweetie didn’t have a clue who Eddie Money is nor did she see much use for Rick Springfield. But this man – despite whatever faults he might have – was really getting into the groove! I loved watching him. It was like seeing the real person inside him and not whatever made-up-reality that I was playing around with in my head. The other man who was really throwing down with the show was most likely not playing for my team but was very generous in his regards. He was smashed and feeling good. Dancing! Dancing like a fool! He would turn his back to the stage and give us all a show (and damn if his abs weren’t amazing!) and we like good slaves were whistle and dance right along with him. The gals behind us all went down to his row and danced with him! It was foolish, innocent, riotous fun!
Of course for each of these men, there was a female companion who was lusting for Rick. She was most likely drunk, hot, and wet from the rain. But she knew all the words. I was not drunk. Tipsy is a stretch. Hot? Not really. I was decidedly underdressed for the venue but that seems to have worked in my favor. Wet? I had a poncho. My hair was wet but the rest of me was fairly dry. Unlike the Dunwoody Madams, I was wearing paper napkins on my head to hold back the rain.
4. Young Things Whose Mothers Listen to Rick or Eddie
Seated directly next to WaWa were 4 of the youngest, ripest little Southern jewels. Their accent would typecast them in movies. They were dolled up and were all upset when they were carded. Their mothers raised them on Neil Diamond. So I adored them automatically. But apparently the same mother introduced them to Rick and they had been to every show since 1990 when they were like 6 or something. They knew all his tricks. They predicted the entire show before it ever happened. These gals were the kind of concert groupies that make us radio groupies look like geeks. Of course they were far to young to know the classic 1977 songs of Eddie Money or his later 1980s works. Before they would recognize a song, they’d lean over to WaWa and ask him “What song is this? Would we know it?” One in particular took to quizzing WaWa on every subject regarding Eddie Money: How old is? Why does he look so old? Aren’t his jokes awful? When asked about his little harem, WaWa just looked embarassed and said that they were NOT hitting on him. HA. He was the “safe older man” and quite a cute one at that….of course they were flirting! But that just made my night – if not his – after all he came home with me!
Did you notice that I haven’t mentioned any drunken red necks yet? They weren’t at this concert. Everyone who was there was basically a fan of either Scandal (with Patti Smyth), Eddie Money or Rick Springfield. All the groups sounded wonderful. The quality of the sound was awesome. They were very personable with the crowd. Patti talked about how glad she was to leave her 6 kids at home with John MacEnroe and hit the tour. Eddie had his teenage daughter with him singing backups. She wrecked her car and needed to pay off the new one. So she sang for free and he saved on union dues and whatnot. She even had to sing one song on her own to really earn her keep. Good strong vocals. Rick was wonderful. I don’t care what other people think – - he did a great job warming up the crowd and was really quite a wonderful musician. WaWa was impressed with Rick’s guitar licks.
If I had to pick one good thing about the venue…or two…I would say:
1. HUGE LADIES RESTROOMS
2. NICE WIDE AISLES FOR DANCING
I missed you guys!
Two weeks! Two weeks of non-stop craziness in the Trixie household. We survived – barely.
It all seemed like a piece of cake. I would run up North to get some work done, slip back into town to spend the weekend with my BFF (Ms. Overwhelmed) and then jaunt back to the North for the summit. Two weeks of travel would conclude with a series of 5 concerts in 2 days.
No worries. I’m young, happy-go-lucky…and childless…
HA.
DOUBLE HA.
I am old. Old. OLD. I am completely wiped out. Totally and absolutely exhausted. And damn if there isn’t two huge baskets of laundry to be cleaned.
I left the house in GREAT shape. I can back to a husband who had finished up the last few odds and ends, gone grocery shopping, and washed the car. COOL. But as if by magic, the departure of Ms. Overwhelmed signaled the rapid decline in the household condition. No sooner was I on the plane, than dishes started to stack up. By the time I landed in Maryland, I am certain the lawn had grown by 2 inches. After a week away and one obscenely long flight back to Atlanta, I was shocked by the state of the kitchen.the master bath.the basement.
At least the bed had clean sheets!
Tomorrow hubbie is home on vacation and promises to make up for lost time. He swears he will complete the following tasks while I earn my paycheck:
1. Clean out 2 litter boxes
2. Do all the laundry from start to finish
3. Clean out fridge
4. Do dishes
5. Take out trash
Sounds simple enough I know…but we are talking bags and bags of trash, nasty litter boxes, and a mountain of laundry. Then on Wednesday while I succumb to a craft-orgy, WaWa will golf. Yes. Golf. All.Day.Long! He is thrilled. He’s been polishing those clubs all weekend long.
So who wants to know about the concerts? Do you want me to tell you all the gory redneck, drunken loser stories? Or do you want an insightful review of the music and venue? Or do you want me to Pollyanna-the-hell-out-of-it?
Pick your poison.
Of the original 3…only Trixie lives!
Just for the record, I didn’t get my name from her … she most likely took it from me.
Crap. It followed us here.
Look what has followed us to Atlanta from Florida.
Enough is enough folks.
