Six Dining Rooms and a Raincheck

Apparently my entire life I have had the wrong idea of what a rain-check was. I thought a rain-check meant that you could go back and get an item for a sale price after the sale since they were not available. K-Mart, however, has a very different idea. For K-Mart, apparently a rain-check means calling me repeatedly to tell me the item is now available and then trying to give me the wrong item.

My experience: A few weeks ago, the doll furniture for the doll house my mom is getting Jo was buy one, get one free at K-Mart. When I went to buy the pieces during the sale, they only had the dining room set on the shelf. I explained to the man at the service desk that I would like a rain-check since only one set was available and Jo didn't really need two dining room sets. He gave me a handwritten rain-check on receipt paper (not even a form). A few days later, a woman called to confirm my rain-check though, so I wasn't too worried. Fast forward to yesterday, when a woman called me and left a message that my rain-check was in and was being held for me. I thought this was a bit odd since they couldn't possibly know the pieces I wanted, but I went to K-Mart to see what they had. When I got there, I gave them the hand-written rain-check and was told they would call back to see where it was. After a few minutes, I was told they couldn't find it. After repeating this procedure a couple of times, a new manager came on duty and said he would go back and look himself. A few minutes later, a woman came up and presented me with a box of Lincoln Logs. Now I have nothing against Lincoln Logs, but I don't think they would have done Jo much good in her doll house. I explained that I didn't have a rain-check for the Lincoln Logs, to which she responded "But it has your phone number on it." (It did, but I don't know why.) Just in case, I called Ryan and asked if he had ordered them. Since he didn't, I again explained that I didn't have a rain-check for them, I had a rain-check for the doll furniture. They said there must have been a mistake and said they would call when the doll furniture came in.

I assume this was the end of the story, except for the little kid who won't get Lincoln Logs because some one put down the wrong phone number, until today. Today I had another message about the rain-check, so I thought I'd call and see what they had before I made the trip to K-Mart. Once again, she wanted to give me the Lincoln Logs, so, once again, I explained that I didn't want Lincoln Logs, I wanted doll furniture. She confirmed that I did have a rain-check for the furniture and said she would delete the rain-check for the Lincoln Logs. End of story, right? No. About ten minutes later, she called again to tell me that they had some furniture on the shelf. I asked what it was, and she said it was just the dining room furniture. I said I would rather wait until they had more sets in, so I could use the buy one, get one free on the rain-check. After much silence, but apparently not much thought, she asked if I would like her to hold six of the dining room sets for me so I could pick them up later. After a stunned silence by me, she asked again "Well? Would you?" I responded that my daughter's dolls didn't eat enough for six dining room tables, especially since they wouldn't have a kitchen to cook them in. Her response? "I was just trying to help."

So, here I am with a rain-check that may never get used and a paranoia of going to K-Mart for fear of Lincoln Log wielding associates. I hope the rest of you have better luck with your Christmas shopping!

Frog and Toad

Today marked the occasion of the first Mitchell Girls' Day Out. Grammy, Aunt Chelle, Joie and I traveled to Sullivan to shop and go to the Little Theater's production of Frog and Toad. The show was a children's performance. It was very cute, and the costumes were very silly and creative. The snails' shells were rolled up sleeping bags, and the turtles' shells were green laundry baskets. Joie really enjoyed the show and spent a lot of the afternoon singing "South for the Winter" and "Toad Looks Funny in a Bathing Suit". I think she's definitely turning into a little theater bug. She's already decided that we are going back to watch Beauty and the Beast in April!

Family Read Night or He Scared the @#$% Out of Her

Tonight we went to Family Read Night at the library. Joie has been looking forward to it all week because they were doing an Alice in Wonderland theme. When we got there we decided to go to the "Nitro Joe" science show. He was very good, explaining to the kids that what he did might look like magic but it was all science. His first experiment was all about chemical reactions when things were burned like paper and flash (the stuff a magician uses for the poof). Then he pulled out some dry ice and made a quarter sing by sticking its edge in the ice. The last experiment also involved the ice. After showing the kids what happened when dry ice was put in water, he put it in a beaker with baby shampoo. The result? Bubbles full of carbon dioxide gas. He collected some of the bubbles in his hand, walked to Jo, and, with a "Bam!" plopped them on her head. This caused Jo to scream, jump, and pee down my leg. In case you aren't an experienced mom, I'll tell you. Almost all moms carry extra clothes for their children. They do not, however, carry extra pants for themselves. So, I changed Jo and we went back in, damp leg and all. Fortunately it wasn't too bad.

During the course of the night, we also talked to Alice and the white rabbit, watched a magic show, played croquet with hedgehogs and flamingos, made "zelsinscorn" (pretzels, raisins and popcorn), and made Humpty Dumpty. Aside from the minor accident, we had a good night.

Wednesday we went to Carbondale to see baby Carder. While he is still being treated for jaundice, he is doing much better and is growing fast. This was Jo's first time to actually hold and play with him, so she had a good time. She has always talked about feeding him and helping change his diapers. While we were there, she did just that. We thought we would give Aunt B a break and sent her to take a shower while we fed and changed him. She definitely loves him.

Ummmmmmmm etc.

Haven't had a chance to post much lately. Carder was born on Nov 12th and has been in NICU due to jaundice. We finally made it down to see him on Sunday after fighting with colds and coughs for a week or so. Since he was in NICU, Joie wasn't able to see him except through the window, but I got to go in and hold him for a while. Joie thinks he is very cute and can't wait to hold him, although she still thinks he should be able to walk and talk already. They finally got to go home on Monday, so I think we will try to visit him again this week if I don't have to work one day.

On Friday, Aunt Chelle pick Joie up from the sitter. Since she didn't know what jacket was Jo's, she just trusted her to get the right one. Naturally, she got the wrong jacket. When I asked her about it, she said she liked the other one better. Today we returned the jacket, and she insisted on wearing her jacket the rest of the evening.

How Joanna Became an Omnivore

Today we met Patty, Charlotte and Tommy at the library for a playdate, which was awesome. Joie and Charlotte got along splendidly, Tommy is adorable even though he's teething (poor baby!), and the mommies got to talk about grown up things, even, gasp!, books! We definitely need to play again soon.

After they left, we decided to pick out a few books, and Joie wanted a dinosaur book. You see, her current favorite toon in Dinosaur Train on PBS, so she's gotten very attached to learning about them. After picking out a book about Tyrannosaurus and other meat-eaters (which she informed me are carnivores), we left for the grocery store to pick up lunch meat for daddy. For us, that is never a short trip; you see, Joie already has one of the guys who works at the deli counter trained, so if he sees us coming, he has a piece of yellow circle cheese (Colby for those keeping track) ready for her. Today, however, he was not there and Joie was very disappointed that there was no cheese waiting for her. She asked the lady at the counter for a piece of cheese, and the lady asked me if she liked cheese. Those of you who have been around Joanna know that you don't get to talk around her and pretend like she isn't there. Deli counter lady obviously was unaware of this and was promptly put on notice by Joie. The conversation basically amounted to Joie: "Excuse me, I like cheese. You see, I'm an omnivore, and omnivores eat lots of different things like fruit, vegetables, meat, doughnut holes and cheese. Carnivores just eat meat, and herbivores just eat plants, but I eat everything. Can I please have my yellow circle cheese?" Deli counter lady (who has obviously never had a three year old explain life to her): "Um, of course, dear. (To me) My, does she understand what she's talking about? She uses awfully big words." Now, I realize that I take for granted the fact that Joie has pretty much always talked like a grown up, but this cracked me up. I'm going to guess that next time she just gives Joie the cheese.

Accomplishing.... Nothing

Yesterday, we went to Carbondale to help Beth and Chet get things ready for Carder's big arrival. The boys put up the crib and arranged the room, taking every possible opportunity to use power tools whether they were necessary or not. Mimi cleaned, I folded laundry and put the bedding on the crib, and Joie entertained and supervised everyone. When the boys were putting up the crib, she informed us that she needed to go look at the crib to make sure it didn't fall over. Apparently she has less confidence in the boys' construction skills than the rest of us. It was a long day, but I think we've gotten things to a point that a baby can live there.

Today, Ryan went to Greenville to an auction, so Joie and I were on our own. She decided to sleep in to all of 7:10 this morning, but actually got out of bed on her own and came to wake me up. We didn't really accomplish much, a few loads of laundry and dishes, but not much else. We went to Wal-Mart to check out the Halloween leftovers, and ended up buying Lana's little brother a Spiderman costume. Lana is one of my brother Gregory's friends and is from Russia. She is planning to go home for a while over Christmas and wanted to take her brother a Spiderman costume from here. Nothing like $5 clearance aisle Christmas presents!

Tomorrow Joie and I are going to the library in the morning so she can meet Charlotte. Hopefully they'll get along well and we can have a regular playdate (fingers crossed!).

Lack of Brain Function

Today wasn't exactly exciting. I subbed for a resource teacher, which basically means I fluttered around the school and never dealt with the same kids for very long. The day started with 3rd and 5th graders for reading, which is odd because they are doing the same thing. Then it was on to 5th grade math while simultaneously reading a grammar test for a 2nd grader. After lunch, I helped with a 1st grade math test, taught kindergarten math, had a junior high study hall where I was told off by a grouchy 8th grader, and gave state and capital tests to a group of 7th graders. All in all, the day wasn't bad, but I ended up with a huge headache and was thrilled to go get Joie after school.

Speaking of Joie, she is very excited about going to help with Carder's room tomorrow. She is, however, still convinced that he is really coming to live with us and has repeatedly asked me when her daddy is going to put up the crib for baby Carder. Listening to her make plans for Carder is quite entertaining. On the ride home, she told me that she was going to rock him in her rocking chair and make him take a nap. She then gave me an example of the snoring noises he would make which sounded oddly like a small pig.

She seems to be feeling better today, but has quite the runny nose. Last night we had to get out the nebulizer and give her a treatment, which she hated and cried through. Lucky daddy was still at his meeting, so mommy had to do it by herself. Tonight she told me she didn't need a treatment because she was just having trouble breathing. Apparently to her, if she isn't coughing, I should be content. I do sleep a little easier though.

Tomorrow, we're going to Carbondale with Mimi to see Uncle Chet and Aunt B and help finish up Carder's room. Uncle Chet, I hear, is very excited that daddy is bringing power tools along. They are in charge of putting up the crib and installing some shelves. Joie is in charge of painting Aunt B's toenails again and making sure they watch lots of movies. I'm not sure what Mimi and I are doing, but somehow I'm sure it will end up involving laundry...

Joie's First Show

The first thing Joie asked me when she got up this morning was "Is it Charlotte's Web day?" She was very ready to go to the play tonight, and she definitely had fun while we were there. The kids did a great job and were more than happy to have their pictures taken with Joie after the show. More than one person commented about hearing her laughing during the performance. Before she went to bed, she told me that next time she wants to be a spider. Charlotte and Fern were perfect, and Joie thought Wilbur was hilarious. Templeton was her favorite, especially when he ate too much and passed out. She loved getting her pictures taken with everyone and really wanted to know how Charlotte could fly. I'm so glad this was her first show. It was the perfect length and really held her attention. I can't wait to take her to another one!

Creativity Is Not My Strong Point

So, today I'm not working so Joie and I decided it would be a great day to be creative. Since we've already made cookies this week, we decided we would try the crafty avenue instead of mom's preferred epicurean path. Our brilliant plan for the day was to make fall tree cards to send to a few relatives. Mommy made a stencil out of construction paper and we used cosmetic sponges and finger paints. This was definitely a spur of the moment adventure. She ended up painting five trees and her forehead before we were finished. I have to admit they don't look too bad, but I don't think she's going to be the next Monet either. What can I say? She takes after her mother.

Tonight Ryan has a meeting, so Joie and I have a date to see Charlotte's Web at the high school. It will be her first play, and she is completely excited about it. She's been to a few puppet shows and things of that sort, but nothing quite to this extreme. 

Until then, we're just going to finish our trees and maybe go outside. Later!

Starting Out

I don't remember being a mom as something I thought about when I was growing up. I thought about colleges, careers, destinations and dreams, but I don't ever remember children being in those pictures. Now, however, my daughter is three (and a half, she reminds me), and I can't remember life without her. After eight years of teaching and having lost my job, I finally have the fortune/opportunity/dumb luck to get to stay home with her while subbing and job hunting. She is my inspiration in writing this log because some day I hope she'll want to know what was going on in her life way back, well, now. I could bore you with details about how beautiful, smart and vibrant she is, but you'll just have to keep up and learn for yourself.