It is NO secret that Scout loves all things Micah. He gets Micah’s shoes five times a day to walk around in them. He insists that his towel is wrapped around his waist after a shower just like his dad. I can always get him to eat his dinner if his dad will take a bite first. He is always bringing me the phone and saying “Da…Da” to call his dad at work. The list goes on and on. But today, two instances make me wonder if the adoration/odsession/addiction has gone too far for my own son’s safety. After his bath, and as I was finishing getting ready, Scout found a shaver, and was shaving his face like his dad. Talk about sketchy, and give me a heart attack! Then later this afternoon as we were swimming he was cautious as usual. He was hanging on the step by the edge in our jacuzzi and staying safe. We found some of Micah’s swim goggles (he uses them to swim laps in our pool) and Scout wanted me to put them on him. The second….and I mean the second he got them on, he jumped in and started “swimming”. It was the most amazing thing! I swam with him for about 2 1/2 hours, and he stayed on the edge the whole time unless I held my hands out to him. But the second he got his dad’s goggles on, I literally think he thought he turned into his dad….or that the goggles are what makes Micah swim. Skylar and I tested it about four times. We would take them off, and he didn’t even attempt to swim, then about five minutes later I would put the goggles on him….and in he was.
I was watching MSNBC when an old mentor Mike Viqueira showed up on the screen, and it reminded me of a great lesson he once taught me. I received an internship opportunity after my last year of college to work for NBC (CNBC and MSNBC included) in Washington D.C. I was really excited to spend a few months back in D.C., and prolong getting a “real” job. When I arrived on the scene, I spent a week getting affiliated at the corporate headquarters, and then was off to the White House, Pentagon or Capitol Hill - depending on that day’s duty. My first and very exciting call was to Capitol Hill. I was going to work alongside on-air talent Joe Johns and producer Mike Viqueira. I reported to Mike, and the second I saw him, he said, “walk with me”. (I felt like I was on a TV drama when he said this!) He was on a brisk-paced errand, and while we walked/jogged he pointed out a few things like where the Senate met, the rail system that went under the buildings, etc. About three minutes into our conversation he then started quizzing me. He asked how many congressmen there were? Holy Cow….who in the world knew that off the cuff? I gave him some cutesy answer, to which he was not humored. Then he asked, “who is the current Speaker of the House”? I had heard Newt Gingrich’s name tossed around, and hesitantly answered with his name. Mike asked, “do you KNOW that?” Again, a coy smile that I hoped would soften him — to no avail! He asked a few more questions - none of which I knew the answer to. I literally thought that if I looked really cute, and was very anxious to help that I would fly through this internship with flying colors. He stopped right then and there and looked at me to say, “Why you are here makes no sense to me. Don’t come back until you have some basic knowledge of congress.” Talk about humble pie! I have been able to sweet talk myself through my whole life, and I was finally being called on it.
I went home that night and studied until morning. I was not going to miss another day of my internship. But more importantly, I was going to prove to Mike that I was not just a jokester. I was smart and very capable of being an asset to his team. I went back the next day, and he never quizzed me again, but he knew I had gotten up to speed. I always knew that I had to be in tip top form for Mike, and I really appreciated the lesson he taught me. After that, he allowed me to conduct interviews with congressmen/women, head out to the Pentagon for briefings on my own, and go to the White House for press events. It was a great learning experience and opportunity.
I did not name Scout after the Boy Scouts of America…..however I don’t mind the affiliation one bit. But when it comes down to their motto -Be Prepared- I think that is one of the most important things I can instill in “my” Scout. Whether it is in an economy like the one ahead of us, or in unfamiliar situations, or even in a college internship…..I hope my family and I will always….. “be prepared”.
I know you can’t believe we are now both 32 years old….but welcome to the club. I was going to put up 32 things I love about you, but how can a girl narrow it down? Happy birthday big boy. XOXO…..
An Email I received from Micah this morning…..
“Hey, If you leave today can you please pick up some simple Thank You cards for me? I need three. And one more if you want me to send you a thank you for doing it.”
I recently heard a statistic that the typical married couple talks an average of 12 minutes a day. I told my husband that statistic as he came home from a late night at work, stuffed his stomach in a nanosecond, changed into jeans and kissed me goodbye on his way to “man night”. I am not very good at carrying my cell phone….or for that matter, getting messages. So when I listened to my messages today, I was surprised and humored to hear, “Hi babe. Sorry I was so quick to leave. I am bummed you didn’t answer your phone because I am trying to get a few more minutes in. I guess when I get home (sometimes about midnight, or even later) I will have to wake you up to fill my minutes. Love you.” I don’t know if he really understood that 12 minutes was a bad thing…..I think he thinks that 12 minutes is where the bar is set, and if he hits the bar every day, he is good to go. I did notice this morning that he was talking to me before work and frequently looking down at his watch. If he is lucky…..he will only have to fulfill 3 minutes tonight!
he other day, Tristen was over and happened to have her camera, so she worked her magic to document Scout’s almost being 17 months. She is really good at getting good reactions from him because she is pretty shameless, and makes him laugh. Here are a few of my favorites…..
And my favorite…….Scout “folding his arms and closing his eyes” to say his prayers
I had a fabulous weekend, but it was jam packed of events. I am so happy that Scout decided to sleep through the night all three days so that I could get what rest I was allotted. It is even past 9 this morning -Monday-, and sleeping beauty is still going strong.
Friday night I headed up to the Hollywood bowl, with the ladies in my family and a group of people in a huge bus, and attended a Sound of Music Sing-a-long. They displayed the movie on a massive screen and had the words to all of the songs, along with props to interact. I didn’t know if it was totally my cup of tea, but we ended up having a blast. Tons of people were dressed up and they had a contest for the winner. I sat beside Tristen, who is tone deaf, which made it all the more fun. I was so impressed to see when I arrived that there were some men on the bus. When everyone asked where Micah was, I said, “I didn’t even ask him. But had I known there was going to be some masculine representation, I would have asked him.” When I got home, I told him that he could have gone, and he said, “Lindsey, I don’t care who was there…..I would have never, and WILL never be at any sort of sing-a-long.” I figured. (Probably because he is tone deaf too, because I know he loves that movie!)
We got home around 1am, and at 5:30 I had to get up and head down to Micah’s Beacon Hill Triathlon. Scout loves a party, so I went to get him up when I saw him laying in his bed with only a t-shirt on. He had goosebumped legs, and the window was open…..and for the first time in a week….was sleeping like the baby he is! I have always known he is like his mom and Nonnie, because he loves to be cool when he sleeps. At first I was rolling my eyes at how Micah had put him down, but then I think he discovered the trick - he is too hot in his sleepcoats. I finally got him up, and we headed down to the beach, and Micah had a great race. He came in third behind some serious giants…Brett Brian and Paul Meyer.
When I got home, I was on to cooking. It is Micah’s birthday this coming week, and I wanted to throw him a dinner party. I had already prepared a ton on Friday, but I still needed most of Saturday to cook, arrange flowers, set the table, etc. We had Micah’s favorite dishes, and I made a “trio of desserts” in honor of my triathlete. We had a great time. The food turned out almost perfectly, the company was great, and the game was a total hit. We played pictionary, but I had Tristen and my mom make up all of the clues to be about Micah. Jim, Mark and John were CLASSIC, and had me laughing all game long. And a shout out goes to Jessica who is a total gamer. I honestly laughed as hard as I can remember for a long time. More props to Micah for letting some of his dirty little secrets now be out in the open. And finally John, Micah “made” me choose that night as we were going to bed….and I say you look much more like David Beckham.
Sunday morning, I was up bright and early preparing my lesson for church….then church…..then came home and had some food…..then a relaxing and fun day with my boy and my husband.
My niece….the one who was having problems going to school for about a week…..came home happy as a lark yesterday. Everyone was amazed by the immediate and sudden change. When asked what the difference was, she responded with, “every time I was worried about anything, I just kept thinking about Dr. Laura getting mad at Lindsey, and it made me laugh”. Glad somebody got something out of it.
I am a total Dr. Laura fan. I admit she can be harsh at times, but I love the candor and everyone knows what she is like before they call in. And to be honest, I think she has excellent advice. To set the scene…..my little niece has been a little nervous about starting up school this year. She is plenty popular, and does well in school, but I think the change of teachers and people in her class just hasn’t settled with her yet. No biggie, but when I picked her up from school yesterday, I got the best idea. I told her it was my dream to call in and get on the air with Dr. Laura, and this might be the perfect opportunity. We called in, and on about the seventh try, we got through to the screener. I thought I would be the one on air, but unfortunately they informed me my niece would be the one to talk to Dr. Laura. We called her “Allison”, and about 15 minutes later we heard Dr. Laura say, “Allison…..how can I help you?”
My little niece is also some what of a fan, but she was totally nervous that Dr. Laura would yell at her and get mad. I told her she only does that to adults….not kids. Dr. Laura started out by asking her what the problem was. “Allison” said that when she got to school, she sometimes was a little scared and nervous. Dr. Laura continued on with more questions, to which “Allison” responded with the same answer over and over. My niece kept looking at me and whispering, “I don’t know what to say”, so about the fourth time, I whispered back, “just tell her what you think.” Dr. Laura asked another question, and my niece looked at me confused and at a loss for words, so I whispered, “tell her about the time when you…..”. This is when Dr. Laura interupted and asked “Allison” to pass the phone along to her mother (me). I got on….SO EXCITED…..and said hi to Dr. Laura. To which I got this response. “With all of the coaching you are doing in the background, it seems to me you are the real problem here.” Then my phone went dead…..Dr. Laura hung up on me! I was SO surprised and mad, that my two nieces with me were in hysterics laughing. I tried to turn the radion on to catch anything else she might say, and all I caught was, “Maybe you should take her to the doctor and wait in the waiting room. How is a kid supposed to get along in life with a mother who is always coaching….blah, blah, blah.”
The rest of the night, anytime I would say anything, everyone in my family would respond, “Well, you know what Dr. Laura would say”, or something obnoxious to that effect. I even had two Dr. Laura books brought to me throughout the night. Hilarious.
I am still a fan, but as far as yesterday goes…..Dr. Laura can jump in a lake!
I am nice…..so of course, the UCLA shirt made it. BUT….I also headed to the BYU bookstore to get Scout a BYU jersey, and made a deal with Micah. I said that Scout would wear the shirt of whatever team was in the lead. Scout showed up sporting a UCLA T shirt, but soon after had a BYU jersey over it. On top of the “interesting” game, the most “interesting” parts were:
1. When Gabe started to taunt Micah with how bad UCLA was playing, and Seth (the taunter of all taunts) told him it wasn’t nice to be rude to people.
2. When Micah conveniently left behind his UCLA sweatshirt in the car because it was “too hot”.
3. Finally when Micah said at half time, “we’re out of here…I knew it wasn’t going to be a good game, and I want to catch the USC game at the cabin”. But on the way home when I wanted to see if UCLA managed to even get one point on the scoreboard, he wouldn’t let me change the dial to that station?!!
42-0 at half time was pretty bad, but when we heard the final score, Micah was disgusted. In his defense, he had said all along that UCLA should expect to win two games total this season because they are injured and don’t have the depth they need. I guess the beauty of it all is that he spent his business school days at USC, so time to to leave UCLA behind and jump on the bandwagon.
Besides the UCAL/BYU game, the weekend was great. We stayed at a cabin in Park City with Seth’s family and some other friends. The theatre with football games was a highlight, but my favorite day of the weekend was when we went over to a little lake and canoed and fished. Everyone loved it!
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