Lucky

Jack and I were on our way to the batting cages today, when Jack out of the blue said, "I feel really lucky right now."

Why is that, I asked. "Well, today I got to go to Game Stop to use my gift cards on some new Skylanders. And NOW, we're going to the batting cages to hit some balls. And then we're having pizza for dinner."

"Tomorrow, we're going to watch the Broncos-Patriots game together, and I'm going to get to have a Coke or Pepsi" -- he has recently developed a taste for it -- "and eat mini hotdogs. And THEN, I get to sleep over at my cousins tomorrow night."

"And Monday is a day off from school!"

After the batting cages, I was looking at Jack's Nessie binder. I am not sure I have yet written about his current Loch Ness monster club he has formed with all his school friends, I will have to do that soon. Anyway, in the midst of all the names of club members he had written on the binder, I noticed, "My Dad." After which he had added "Home finder analyst." Basically, he explained, I help him research Nessie at home.

So really, I'm the lucky one.

Funny Kate

At Jack's swim practice today, Kate and I played Go Fish, as we often do. I won my second straight game. At bedtime I said, Kate, I had a fun playing Go Fish with you. She looked at me funny and said, "Me too, Daddy. Although, I don't think I've won in a long time!"

She had dry lips and I sent her down the hall for a drink of water. As she walked, no ran, no, skipped down the hall, she sang. "I am going... To get.... A drink... Of... WATER!!!!!" She skipped back, then skipped off again, still singing. "Getting...more...water!"

She has notes written on her bedroom door. One reads, "Do not come in." The second reads, "Do not come in unless you want to play with me. From: Kate."

I took her to the grocery store with me yesterday. Shopping with the kids can be difficult -- they generally want to buy things I don't want to buy, usually sugary cereals -- but I actually think I enjoy shopping more with Kate than alone. Because she usually has some amusing observations ("There sure are a lot of people buying fruit today"), questions ("Can I go say Hi to the lobsters?") or general remarks ("I like raspberry yogurt best. Is it time to get yogurt yet? Oh, no, we get that near the end. Can we get the scanner? Can I hold the cereal? I want to carry it. Here, I'll put it on the scanner...."). She's pretty entertaining.

I put Kate to bed last night. When she's sleepy she's very peaceful. We read her Magic Kitten book (this crazy book where a lion has changed into a kitty or somesuch but can do magic!). Sometimes she reads, and then she gets tired and asks me to read. But every minute or two she interrupts, because she's trying to follow along on the page but has lost her way. "Where are you? Oh, I see. OK." With Jack, sometimes we read together, but mostly he reads to himself. I'll miss it when Kate does the same.

Jack's teeth

Jack's dental issues have long been a concern, from the infected tooth he had to have pulled at a young age, to the ludicrous number of fillings he had to have when he was, I dunno, 6 years old. There were tears and wailing and discomfort. And Jack didn't have much fun, either.

So now we've moved on to a palette expander, not terribly unlike one I had myself way back when. For the last couple of weeks I've been using a little hook thingy to turn a wheel in it, with the result being it's moving his front teeth apart to make room for ones behind them. So he is looking kind of toothy these days. Also thin, since eating is difficult, especially certain foods (spaghetti...whoops), and he is not a kid who can afford to lose much weight.

But he has been a trooper about it. He lies down, opens wide, I turn the wheel, and sometimes it hurts. And he's sore. And I say, sorry, and he says it's OK. And a few minutes later he is playing like it's no big deal; I am the one shaken by the whole thing.

Anyway, it isn't a lot of fun, but I am proud that he's managed as well as he has.

Sleepy Kate

Put Kate to bed tonight. She had stayed over at Grammy's last night and maybe stayed up a little late, so she was tired. I asked her what she did over there, and she answered in a sleepy, almost sing-song voice, with a little smile.

"We made cinnamon rolls with the milk on them," she said. The icing? "Yes. And my hands got all sticky."

What else did you do? "We played Life. But I didn't want to play for long. So then Stacey and I played with the baby--" (a doll) "--for about two minutes. And then we watched TV. And then we went to bed. And then Lyndsay came in, and her hair was so long! And it was so messy! But now it's fine!"

And then I kissed her goodnight.