The Official Site for the Lackluster Goings-On of Michael Kaiser
Posts tagged grandparents
It’s Uh It’s Uh It’s Uh
Sep 9th
Well, we figured out the sex of the baby. But more on that later!
Had another nice visit with the in-laws. They came down to witness the conjoined birthday party event for The Girl’s nieces. Big pool party at the sister-in-law’s mother-in-law’s house (say that five times fast). Good food, good company, lots of swimming and a weird clown (but then maybe all clowns are weird). Everyone had a good time. This family sure goes all out for their birthday parties, man. When I was a kid, we had some friends over, we had cake, we had presents, and then we were done. I also walked both ways up hill in the snow to school with no shoes, so I guess times are better now.
The Kid started kindergarten. She was initially excited but now I think she realizes it’s a daily learning thing and seems to be dragging her butt a bit more when it comes to getting ready in the morning. At least she’s a fast learner! She’s also kind of evil now, but it’s probably a stage. Not sure what a stage it exactly, but that’s what everybody says when their kids turn evil, so I’ll say it too. I think it means “my kid has realized how dumb I really am and has decided to no longer respect or listen to me and rightly so,” but maybe I should look it up. At any rate, my jokes are rarely funny anymore, my questions must always be answered with an “UGH!” followed by an eye roll, and I catch her plotting on me at fairly regular intervals. Luckily I’m about three times her size, so I’m still sleeping okay at night.
But speaking of kids, the brand new one, that won’t know how dumb I am for years yet, is going to be a boy! At least that’s what the machine operator lady said after pointing to a white speck on the monitor that only she could interpret as testicles. It’s kind of a trip, as I think I was expecting the opposite. I feel like we got away with something, like this was too easy. Everyone wanted a boy and that’s what we got. Is it supposed to work that well? I guess the odds were 50/50, so I suppose it’s not that difficult to accomplish. But still, considering none of my siblings and siblings-in-law have had a boy yet, it’s kind of cool that it’s finally going to happen. At least I don’t have to hear from grandpa anymore about how my brother or I need to produce an heir to his empire!
I just realized there’s no designation for the guy yet. Not sure what to do about that. Can’t call him The Baby forever, because eventually that won’t apply. I should have called The Kid The Girl so that I could call him The Boy, but I used it on my wife instead and there’s no going back now. Or is there? Hmmm…
At Long Last
Dec 19th
In which the author updates his blog with personal stuff for the last time as a single person.
The Kid had a birthday party at my parents house on the 6th. It had a bounce house, face painting and a pony to ride. Boy things are sure different then when I was a kid. Whoops, that sentence made me officially old. Oh well. It’s like the standard now to have all that stuff at a birthday party. Back in my day, we had cake and presents and um…yep that’s it. We also walked to school uphill both ways, so I guess it’s better to live in the now rather than the then. The party went off pretty well, though it was a bit chaotic and I had to run a few errands. (My new job position, I guess.) The Girl got stressed out for a little bit, but in the end, I think everyone had fun. The kids did especially, and that’s the important part. I took advantage of the bounce house a few times, and I have to say, kids must be in amazing shape! I bounced about three times and was ready to die. Maybe rebound training isn’t a horrible idea!
The next weekend, we went to see The Nutcracker at the San Francisco Ballet. The Girl and I did this last year, when we first started dating and it was great, so we decided to try it again this year, but up the ante and bring The Kid too. (She could use some culture.) It kinda worked, kinda didn’t. We went on a work day, so the rushing to get read sucked. The drive bored The Kid to tears, so there were lots of “are-we-there-yets. We went to a kid specific show because it was supposed to be less formal and because the dancers were supposed to be in the lobby at the beginning of the show and we thought The Kid would enjoy seeing ballet dancers. But they weren’t there, and “less formal” actually meant “super obnoxious kids everywhere,” so it was hard to concentrate on the performance. The Kid liked the show at first, but after intermission was pretty much done, so we ended up leaving early. So, it ended up being okay, but I think next year we’ll go back to an adults only trip. Also driving up and back in the same day was dumb, so if we can’t afford a hotel next year, we just won’t go!
The Girl and I have been tight on cash because of the wedding, so we waited until the last minute to Christmas shop, and then busted it out in one day. That’s how I prefer to roll come Christmas time anyway, so that was fine with me. Despite being a bit frugal, I think everyone is still going to make out. I sold more geek stuff on eBay to help pay us back a bit, which has worked out pretty well. Course I’m running out of stuff to sell, so that trick won’t work much longer. Next year we’ll have to be tighter about finances if we want to recover from this year’s fun.
Grandma was checked into the hospital for lack of insulin. She’s since been checked out and moved in temporarily with my parents. They watched her take her medicine last night and she tried injecting herself with air because she couldn’t see that her syringe didn’t have medication in it, so that explains the lack of insulin! She really can’t live alone anymore, but is fighting the idea of moving, which I find odd since she’s been telling me her whole life how, when she gets old enough, she’s going to check herself into a home so her kids don’t have to worry. I guess it’s different when it’s theoretical.
The wedding is one week and one day away. I’ll steal a label from stage people and dub the next seven days “hell week,” not because it will be horrible, but definitely quick and busy. All the last minute details have to be remembered and ironed out, and we have to fit in family visiting, Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas day somehow. Should be fun! Everyone keep asking me if I’m ready and if I have cold feet, (one person even asked me if I had wet feet, but I don’t think that’s right), like they’re dying to catch me scared out of my mind. I’m a bit nervous, but not about the commitment. Just about the ceremony itself going off without a hitch, (well except the one hitch but…never mind).
Mash Your Cymbals, Chimpy!
Oct 2nd
The Girl and I are taking our engagement pictures today. It’s overcast outside, so I’m glad I’m not the photographer. We were shooting for Autumn though, so I guess the weather is what we wanted. I’m kind of nervous about mucking it up somehow. Again, I guess that’s the photographer’s problem, but I can’t say I’m a fan of pictures with me in it as a general rule, much less pictures that are all professional and important, that are designed to “preserve our love forever” and all. No pressure. I suppose out of the 8,000 pictures he’s bound to take, 5-10 should come out good, even if just by accident. The odds are with me and my face. That and BlogNoir posted a bit of thoughtfulness recently that I shall try to take to heart. I will say I am looking forward to seeing a return on this expensive investment we call our wedding. Not just a name on a list or date in a calendar, we actually get product! Very cool.
The Girl’s mother is coming to town tonight and she’s bringing nieces. Should be interesting. We’re also going to celebrate The Girl’s upcoming birthday on Monday, so I’ve been working on getting the Usual Suspects to show at a certain place and time. I think that’s all set, so hopefully it all goes off without a hitch.
I’ve been taking care of The Kid in the mornings, getting her scrubbed, dressed and off to school. It started out somewhat harrowing but it’s been getting easier. She’s been pretty good now that we’ve got into a routine. (Lesson Learned #1 – Give her a shower every morning. Puts her in a good mood and the conditioner kills any tangles in her locks she would otherwise cry about later.)
It’s funny, the last couple weeks, when people learn I’ve been getting her ready in the mornings, they laugh and look at me and start some sentence with, “Wait ’till you have your own kids!” Two things with that:
A) I can’t see how a kid possessing my DNA is going to make my life harder. I guess maybe they’re talking about babies, but you know what? Babies don’t talk back and think they know everything, four-year-old’s do. So if anything, starting out Parenting 101 on a full blown Attitude is much harder, one could argue. (A GIRL attitude to boot – yes I said it!)
B) I get her ready every morning, I taught her how to spell her name, I throw her in corners or on monkey bars, depending on her disposition, my schedule, my food, my sex life, even what freakin’ show we’re watching on TV, revolves around her schedule. HOW is she NOT my kid? I’m not saying I’m her dad, but if I’ve wiped a kid’s butt more than three times, I stake claim. I’m just saying.
Speaking of parents, my grandma is all sad and lonely now that my grandpa is gone. Understandable, and I keep telling myself I need to make a point of visiting her more often, like maybe setup a once-a-week visit or something. My mom meanwhile, has not been responding well to chemo treatments as of late, and sounds all tired and depressed again. Also understandable, though I wonder how much of it is mental and how much physical. She sounds like she’s giving up, which isn’t good. I see her today as we’re taking the engagement photos at her house.
I feel busy.
