For family night last week, Micah caught a huge spider and put it in Tupperware. I taught Scout about spiders….(they have eight legs, kill them when you see them) for our little activity. Micah thought it was really funny to keep trying to scare everyone with it, including my mom who is too fragile to be scared in my opinion. (Granted, I did lead the way on this one, but the last time I scared her, it was JOKE GONE WRONG! So I have now quit!) Skilly and the ladies were over, and as they left, Micah obviously had to pull one last scare. He got rid of the spider, and put a flower in the same Tupperware. When Skilly had her back turned, Micah unloaded the “spider” onto her head. And let me remind you how huge it was….HUGE! Skylar freaked out to the tune of screaming, tears and running all around. Another one of those “joke gone wrongs”. When the commotion died down, I just stealthily walked by Skylar and said, “don’t worry, we will get him back.”
The next day after school, Skylar did her homework faster than ever and we were on to “the plan”. She had a lot of creative ideas, but I knew Micah would be on to us. I told her we had to think of something that would be totally unexpected….something in his daily routine that would take him by surprise. We finally came up with putting a nasty concoction all over the handle of the trash cans he takes out every Tuesday. We set it up, and were just hoping to see him take out the trashes while we were all around.
Micah returned home from work. To our excitement, he put a dirty diaper in the trash, and decided to take the trashes out to the street then and there. Skylar, Calin and I were all high-fiving. Next thing you know, the gross trashcan was being wheeled out, and he didn’t even blink twice about it. Did our plan fail? We saw his hand right on it. What was going on?
Luckily Calin happened to be back by the trashes when it happened and got the real scoop. When he grabbed the trashcan, he pulled back his hand really fast, looked at it, realized he had been “gotten”, and mumbled, “little turds”! When Calin came out and told us the story, we were cracking up. Then Micah came and told us that he knew he needed to be careful, because we were on the rebound….so ever since he had been home from work he would “slowly” open his closet door, and “slowly” open the lid to the toilet, etc. He said he was being 100% careful, until he just grabbed the trashcan.
Skylar…..we did good! But I don’t need to tell her that. When she looked over at Micah cleaning up the mess on the handle, she looked back at me with the complete look of accomplishment. Nice job Skilly!
This weekend consisted of watching conference (my favorite!), hanging out as a family all day Saturday and Sunday, eating delicious food (our traditional coffee cake in between sessions, and my mom’s famous roast for dinner) and capping it all off with one of the greatest love stories ever - The Notebook.
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.
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