The Mute Button

A few days ago, Justin lost his voice for about 24 hours. This quick bout with laryngitis was probably a side effect of the cold symptoms that he has been battling, in conjunction with some underlying asthmatic conditions. And like any good parent, we wanted him to make a speedy recovery... well... a good part of us did, anyway. The other part just couldn't help but to sit back... grin... and bask in this beautiful moment. Justin Alexander.... silenced. Even if only momentarily. Nothing short of a miracle. And certainly our guilty pleasure of the month. Because, good Lord, every other day of the year the boy is just... NONSTOP. Show me another kid that talks as much as he does, and I'll show you another set of parents in need of medication a vacation.

Granted, with all of his chatter comes a lot of laughs and cherishable moments for our family. Yet and still, one thing is for sure: In Justin's personal book of friends and foes, silence is clearly the enemy.

Training Wheels

So I go to Toys R Us to pick up Justin's new bike... I lug it to the cash register, lift it for the cashier to scan... and proceed to give him the evil eye once he rings it up and tells me a price that I know has to be too high (thank God for mental math).

Me: What?! That can't be right.

Cashier: Oh yeah, it's $10 extra for assembly.

Me: But it was already assembled.

Cashier: Exactly. We charge $10 for all of our bikes. Once we get them, we assemble them so that you can ride right out the store with them.

Me: ... Well, then find me one still in the box.

To me, that's a scam. If you charge it on every bike, then put it on the price tag. Besides... Call me cheap. Call me a penny pincher. But there's no way I'm paying $10 for someone to snap 4 pieces of metal together and tighten 3 screws when I've got 2 little elves at home that'll do the job for a handful of cookies and half a banana.

Off to the races.

BabyWatch3 | 13 wks

Mommy sez:

I have had very mixed feelings during this pregnancy. When I am feeling the symptoms in full effect (nausea, headaches, extreme fatigue, yuckiness) I feel like I never want to be pregnant again! I keep telling Jerome to get ready to adopt the rest of our children and I really do mean that. However, women at work keep telling me to hang in there. They say that the second trimester is better (energy comes back, nausea goes away) and that once the baby is born, the pure joy will make me want another... We'll see. I am taking it one day at a time, but this has to be the longest 3 months of my life!

____

Daddy sez:

Even though she is feeling the same way today, lucky for us, mommy wrote that journal entry while she was pregnant... with Justin. Hang in there mommy. The light at the end of that tunnel may not be a train after all.