Within a Few Moments of Landing in NY...

Rick, Ty, and I went to NY for a week to visit Rick's family. I have interesting experiences when I go to NY but this most recent visit provided an extra interesting one within just a few moments after getting off the plane! Rick's dad met us at La Guardia Airport. He greeted us, took Ty's car seat to install in his car, and was going to pick us up right outside of baggage claim. But he set the car seat in the car but didn't install it. You know how it is at the curb, you're supposed to move quickly. I can appreciate this and thought "Oh crap, this should have already been installed." Rick worked fevereshly to install it when I hear this rent-a-cop chick YELL at us like we were totally stupid, "What are you doing? You should have already done that!" For those of you who do not know me well, it's not what you say to me, it's how you say it. She was 100% correct in what she said but her tone was unnecessary.

I looked directly at her and said, "Ma'am, you are right, we should have installed this before we got to the curb. We made a mistake and we're sorry BUT you don't have to be so snotty about it." Here is where things get interesting....

I don't even know exactly what was said but she and I exchanged words back and forth but no swearing. She made it a point to tell me over and over how stupid we were. I kept telling her that she didn't need to be so rude about it. She told me she was going to give us a ticket. I said, "Okay, what are you going to give me a ticket for? For standing up for myself? Let me help you write that ticket" I WAS SO ANGRY! There were dozens of people there waiting at the curb so this all must have been entertaining for them. Oh, my goodness!

Finally the car seat was installed and we all got into the car. Rick said, "Jen, I thought you were going to punch that lady!" I said, "I wouldn't have done that, but I do not allow people to treat me that way." Rick said, "Jen, she doesn't even realize she did anything. That is just how people talk to each other here. But good for you for standing up for yourself. She looked shocked that you said anything to her."

It is good to be home in Charlotte!

Small World

Ty and I were out this morning running an errand and I had to do a double-take. For about a second I thought I was back in Phoenix. We were in a parking lot when I saw a Honda Element SUV with an Arizona license plate with a plate cover frame that said "Midway" (the car dealership) and "I-17 and Bell Rd.". Phoenix is a LARGE place but that dealership is only 6 miles away from the house that we sold before we moved to Charlotte!

I pulled into the parking space next to this SUV in hopes that the driver would soon return. I just had to say "hi"! (Doesn't this sound like something I'd do?) After all, the vehicle looked friendly because it 3 decals of sea turtles on the back windshield and everyone knows that sea turtles are a symbol of friendliness. I figured that the driver might be, too. Well, the driver didn't come back after 5 minutes and I had a lot of stuff to do so we left. What a small world.

Out to Prove Me Wrong

This is a tad ironic. I called Tyler's case coordinator yesterday to express my concerns about his verbal development. (She wasn't there so I left a message.) I also e.mailed Kat to seek her opinion about it since her son is just 5 weeks younger than Tyler. As if he was out to prove me wrong, these are the things that came out of Tyler's mouth yesterday afternoon at his Physical Therapy session at Plaza Fiesta:
"It's steep. I need help."
"It's so orange!"
"It's high. I need help."
"Let's slide."

Hmmmm.

Baby Shower - Mission Accomplished

I hosted Karen's shower today. I think it went pretty well. I owe my husband a huge thank you for taking care of Tyler practically the whole weekend so I could prepare for it. THANK YOU, RICK!! It seemed like people had a nice time and I think Karen got some nice gifts. Thank you to everyone for coming and thank you, Nicola, for all of your help. :-) The photo is of Tyler playing with the balloons left from the baby shower later that day. He had a blast with those balloons!

Throw it Away

Do any of your kids throw their toys away, toys they love? Or is my kiddo unique in this respect? He will get mad at me or Rick (or both of us) and he'll put one of his toys in the trash. Then he gets upset with us because he can't reach it. It's an odd yet funny trait he has. I have told him several times, "Tyler, it doesn't hurt Mommy when you throw your things away. You only hurt yourself." Of course, this logic does not register in the mind of a two year old but I try.

Tyler & Lauren and First Time at Monkey Joe's

Here is Tyler with his future wife, Lauren. They are playing inside of her box house. See, they already have a place to live!


I can't believe it took us a year and 8 months of living in Charlotte before going to Monkey Joe's! Tyler had a blast! I had a huge smile on my face as I watched him.

A Cart of His Own

We went to the Big Lots in Rock Hill yesterday. I love Big Lots. Tyler was sitting in the shopping cart, or as y'all say in the South, the buggy, and I could tell he was getting bored. I saw child-sized plastic shopping carts with play food boxes in them. I thought that Tyler could push one of those carts while I pushed mine; we could shop together. In theory, this was a good idea. Does anyone know where I'm going with this? I put him down, showed him the cart, and said, "You can push your cart while Mommy pushes hers." He started to push his cart and then began to run down the aisles while squeeling with delight. I chased after him with my cart. It was actually really funny and I was laughing in between saying, "pardon us," to the other shoppers as cut them off! Every shopper was understanding and smiled except for one old man. Sometimes he ran with his shopping cart behind him dragging on it's side. (I imagined how it would look if I did the same thing but opted to keep my cart in the traditionad position.) Oh, I wish there had been a video camera on us. Oh wait, I suppose the security camera was on. Should I call to get a copy of the tape?!(j/k) Let's just say that I didn't get much shopping done but we had a ball! Guess I should go back to Big Lots alone. hee hee.