I got Ellie a Magic 8 Ball. We were trying to find a little gift for her for Valentine's Day at Target, and it was in the right price range. We had been staring at toys for about an hour and she could not decide on anything, so I finally said, "I'm leaving. If you don't pick something now, you don't get anything." So I walked off and she chased me and when she saw that I was heading for the checkout line, she decided that she wanted the Magic 8 Ball.
Her first question when we got home was, "Magic 8 Ball, should I watch Harry Potter or Johnny Test?" I said, "You have to ask it yes or no questions." I showed her how to hold the ball so the 8 is facing up and ask it very solemnly, "Oh, Magic 8 Ball, when I grow up will I become a veterinarian?" Then you shake it and turn it upside down and look to see if it says, "It is decidedly so," or "Ask again later."
After awhile, I was at the dryer folding clothes, and I heard Ellie say from the other room, "I love you, Magic 8 Ball. Do you love me?"
At least it was a yes or no question.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Saturday, February 12, 2011
A post! Run and tell the children!
I missed the whole month of January. The whole month! Was that the biggest blog drought I've ever had? I think it is.
And we had some pretty severe weather in that month, so I guess there was stuff to talk about. We got two feet of snow dumped on us and then the temperature went down to negative stupid degrees. The last two weeks we've had the kind of weather that makes people from the Midwest the resilient, unflappable people they are. Unlike people from, say, California, who never have any weather at all, let alone weather that can kill them. (Earthquakes aren't weather. They are events. And they hardly ever kill anybody.) Since people in California don't even have to think about weather, let alone plan for it or worry about it, they end up doing things like spending $3000 for an organic mattress for their kid because they're worried about the pesticides in regular mattresses. By the way, that's the price for a TWIN. And I KNOW someone who did that.
After almost 10 years, I think I was starting to become a little California Crazy, so it's probably good that I came back to where I can walk out of my house and get flash-frozen in under 30 seconds. Give me a little perspective. The snow is pretty cool and it's intense to see so much of it. A friend of mine from SF is visiting, and when we drove around yesterday, she couldn't stop marveling at the snow and she kept commenting on how beautiful it is. That was nice that Illinois impressed her, given how much California has in the beauty department. At least we can drop a lovely blanket of white snow every once in awhile.
It'll all be done soon, we'll have a few floods when the snow melts and then it'll be back to regular winter again. The three snow days weren't great, but the blizzard was still fun. I have some great memories of the blizzard of '79, so now Ellie has her own blizzard memories.
And we had some pretty severe weather in that month, so I guess there was stuff to talk about. We got two feet of snow dumped on us and then the temperature went down to negative stupid degrees. The last two weeks we've had the kind of weather that makes people from the Midwest the resilient, unflappable people they are. Unlike people from, say, California, who never have any weather at all, let alone weather that can kill them. (Earthquakes aren't weather. They are events. And they hardly ever kill anybody.) Since people in California don't even have to think about weather, let alone plan for it or worry about it, they end up doing things like spending $3000 for an organic mattress for their kid because they're worried about the pesticides in regular mattresses. By the way, that's the price for a TWIN. And I KNOW someone who did that.
After almost 10 years, I think I was starting to become a little California Crazy, so it's probably good that I came back to where I can walk out of my house and get flash-frozen in under 30 seconds. Give me a little perspective. The snow is pretty cool and it's intense to see so much of it. A friend of mine from SF is visiting, and when we drove around yesterday, she couldn't stop marveling at the snow and she kept commenting on how beautiful it is. That was nice that Illinois impressed her, given how much California has in the beauty department. At least we can drop a lovely blanket of white snow every once in awhile.
It'll all be done soon, we'll have a few floods when the snow melts and then it'll be back to regular winter again. The three snow days weren't great, but the blizzard was still fun. I have some great memories of the blizzard of '79, so now Ellie has her own blizzard memories.
