No Need to Keep Saving It

A while back I posted that I had seen a hairstyle I liked in an Eddie Bauer catalog and had decided to let my hair grow out.  Several months later, my hair is now long enough to nicely go into a pony tail; however, it's also getting long enough to take quite a while to wash, dry, and style.  Plus, as is usually the case with me when I'm letting my hair grow out, I have started missing my shorter hair.  I am growing tired of hair being on my neck when not in a pony tail.  Unless I change my mind between now and tomorrow, I'm planning to make an appointment to get my hair cut short again.  I guess I should throw away the picture that I have been saving from the Eddie Bauer catalog.  I won't need to show it to my hair stylist again.

Cheering Me On

Since the weather forecast indicated that showers were likely later today, I knew that I couldn't put off exercising until this evening.  Thus, I went for a jog this morning at 10:20 even though I wasn't really in the mood to do so. I often spend my jogging time productively in thought or enjoying singing songs silently; however, I found myself not really doing much of anything mentally speaking as I completed the first third of my normal route.  During the last third, my mood improved quite a bit.  There was a nice breeze that seemed to be pushing me along.  In addition, the tweeting of the birds and rustling of leaves in the trees was much louder than usual.  It was almost as if the breeze, the birds, and the leaves were cheering me on as I finished my course for the day.

Week Two of The Summer of Lunch

This past week we visited two new restaurants for lunch.  We had been wanting to give the first place a try for several weeks, and we went on Tuesday.  It recently opened in Birkdale Village and is called Bad Daddy's Burger Bar.  Since it's known for its burgers, that's what Jay and I both ordered.  I reviewed the online menu before going and noticed that A.1. Steaksauce was not listed among the many options for condiments.  Given that A.1. really is a must for me when eating a burger, I must admit that I took a small container with me and added the A.1. to my burger after our server left the table.  Although the prices were a bit high for burgers and fries, the food was really good.  Bad Daddy's serves breakfast on Saturdays and Sundays, so we'll likely visit again on a Saturday morning (and this time I won't have to "brown bag" any items).

For our second lunch spot, we had planned to eat at The Flying Biscuit Cafe in Charlotte because we were going to be in the Queen City on Thursday; however, we changed our plans at the last minute.  My copy of Southern Living arrived in the mail, and Jay decided to peruse it while I was doing something on the computer.  This month's copy includes a page about "Charlotte's Best Cheap Eats," and one of the places listed is The Diamond Restaurant.  After looking at the menu online, we decided to go there and save The Flying Biscuit Cafe for some other time (especially since this would not have been Jay's first visit to The Flying Biscuit).  We were not disappointed by our change of plans.  Jay loved the squash soup at The Diamond, and I thought the fried chicken was really tasty.  It's somewhat of a dive atmosphere, which brings me to my second reason for being happy that we chose to eat there last week.  It turns out that The Diamond is just down the street from two restaurants that have been featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives: The Penguin and The Dish.  When we saw them, we realized that we needed to add them to our list of places to try this summer.  I'm especially looking forward to going to The Dish.

It's The Summer of Lunch!

Well, it's official.  Jay and I have declared this to be The Summer of Lunch for The Wills Household.  Even though summer does not officially begin until June 20, we kicked off The Summer of Lunch earlier this week at Bobbee O's Barbecue in Charlotte and then visited The Egg Cafe in Davidson earlier today.  There are many restaurants in Charlotte, Huntersville, Cornelius, and Davidson that we have not yet tried, and we decided that this is the summer to do so.  In addition, we figured that an early lunch might be our best option for a couple of reasons: (1) lunch prices are usually much better than dinner prices and (2) early lunch fits better into Henley's routine than dinner.  Our goal is to do lunch at two (or more) new places a week (eventually revisiting our favorites).  We'll see how it goes.  So far, we know that Bobbee O's Barbecue will not get a second visit.  The food was just okay.  We'll probably eat at The Egg Cafe in Davidson again.  The food was pretty good, and we have a card to get 15% off there each time we dine with them for the rest of the year.  I should mention that I added Just Baked Cupcakes in Cornelius to today's outing.  Although the stop technically wasn't part of our lunch, I have been wanting to try their cupcakes for a while.  Thus, in the spirit of The Summer of Lunch, I asked Jay to stop at the bakery on our way home from Davidson.  We shared a chocolate cupcake and an Oreo cookie cupcake, and both were very tasty.  The actual cupcakes were plenty moist, and the icing was light.

The Truth Value of Statements

One of the topics I love to discuss in mathematics classes is the truth value of a statement.  Lately, it seems that people have been creating lots of power point slides to post to Facebook that include statements that are accompanied by some picture.  It is evident that the slides have been created to provide comfort to the one creating them or to someone else.  It's interesting to see the same slides show up in my News Feed multiple times.  The problem, of course, is that the statements on the slides often are fundamentally false.  A statement should not automatically be considered true simply because someone else (possibly famous) made the statement.  In addition, including the statement with a pretty picture or typing it with a creative font does not affect its truth value.  Further, we should not be tempted to accept a statement as true simply because it makes us feel better about something going on in our lives.  There have been occasions when I have wanted to include a comment below a posted slide to let my Facebook friend know that the statement on the slide is false.  So far, I haven't felt comfortable enough to actually go through with typing the comment and then pressing enter.  This post will have to do for now.

Holding Hands and "Good Night" Routine

Henley, Jay, and I made a trip to the mall yesterday afternoon.  While I was busy shopping for a new swimsuit, Jay strolled Henley around to keep her entertained.  I also spent several minutes away from them while trying to decide on which soaps to purchase from Bath & Body Works.  By the time I was finished doing both of these things, Henley was quite ready to spend some time with me again.  As we walked through the mall with Jay pushing Henley's stroller, she held her hand up and indicated that she wanted me to hold it.  So, of course, I did.  Since she didn't want me to let go, we continued walking through the mall with me holding Henley's hand while she was sitting in the stroller.  It was a rather sweet couple of minutes.

For many months, Henley has enjoyed patting other people's heads and saying, "Pat, pat," while doing so.  She even does it to herself.  I think she must have picked it up from reading Mommy Hugs because the mommy monkey hugs her baby with a pat (and I always do a "Pat, pat, pat" while reading the book to Henley).  A few weeks ago, I was getting ready to read Henley a few bedtime stories while rocking her, and Jay was leaving her room for the evening.  We always make a big deal about Daddy leaving and make sure we tell him Good Night.  Well, that night, Henley held out her hand with her fingers balled up into a fist and indicated that she wanted Jay to kiss her hand.  He did, so she kept holding out her fist for him to kiss it over and over until he left her room.  It now is part of her "Good Night" routine with Daddy.  Like the "Pat, pat," I think Henley must have picked this up from Daddy Kisses because there's a part where the daddy squirrel gives his pup a kiss on the paw.  Henley also usually asks about Daddy after he leaves the room, so I'll ask her what he's doing, and she'll reply, "Chores."  During the day when she asks about Jay, I ask her where Daddy is, and she says, "Work."

It's really true that children change so quickly and learn so much during their second year of life.  It's so much fun to watch Henley grow.  I love to hear her talk and to watch her take pride in her accomplishments as she learns new things.  I know that years from now I won't be able to remember everything she does at this point in her life.  I hope that by writing about a few of the things, I'll be able to capture those memories for a lifetime.

I Love Bubbles!

A couple of months ago, Henley saw one of our neighbors blowing bubbles and loved them.  We had a small container of bubbles at home, but the bubble wand was really tiny and only produced a couple of bubbles at a time, which really wasn't very exciting.  Thus, we went to our local dollar store and purchased two different containers of bubbles.  One container is about a foot long and an inch or so wide, and it definitely produces the best bubbles.  Just about every time we go outside to play, Henley asks me to get the bubbles.  She watches for a minute or so as I blow bubbles through the wand; however, my fascination with the bubbles always outlasts hers.  I love to see how many bubbles I can produce with each dip.  Sometimes, I get several dozen, which I think is amazing.  I also love to see the different colors and how the colors change when the sunlight hits the bubbles.  In addition, there's something really calming about watching the bubbles get caught in the breeze and float towards the sky.  Some of the bubbles last quite a while before they pop. 

You know, it would probably look quite strange for an adult to spend an afternoon blowing bubbles without children around.  Isn't it nice that having children (or being around children) gives adults the opportunity to enjoy simple childhood activities?

Those Cute Little Feet

Whenever we're in the car for more than 5 or 10 minutes, Henley loves to take off her shoes and socks to let her feet breathe.  I think it's so cute when she crosses her feet.  We went to Winston-Salem yesterday afternoon to celebrate my birthday and my younger brother's birthday with my family, and I took the camera with me.  Since I had the camera in the car, I decided to take a picture of Henley's feet on the way home.  Below are two pictures of her feet.  The first one was taken January 18, 2011 when Henley was just over one month old.  The second one was taken yesterday.  It's amazing how much those teeny feet have grown in 15 months.  Henley's current shoe size is 6.

Patio Swing

That's right... I'm posting twice in one day!

Jay and I recently decided to purchase new patio furniture.  We only had a bistro set, and we decided that we needed something more substantial now that Henley likes to be outdoors.  For several days during Henley's naps, I searched patio furniture options on various websites.  I couldn't decide whether to purchase a dining set that accommodated at least four people or a conversation set.  I didn't want to spend a large sum of money, and Walmart seemed to have several nice things in our price range.  Thus, we decided to visit the Walmart in Concord to see what the furniture looked like in person.  At the time, I wasn't even considering patio swings because I didn't think one would look right in our back yard.  Also, to be honest, I never really considered myself to be a "patio swing" person.  Growing up, it seemed like older couples were the only ones who owned patio or porch swings.

As we started looking at the options at Walmart, Henley spotted one of the patio swings and wanted to give it a try.  She loved it!  In fact, our very active daughter who usually keeps one of us busy chasing after her while we're shopping was perfectly content to swing for quite a while.  When we returned to the Garden Center after shopping for other items in the store, she and I passed several happy minutes in the swing once again.  That night, Jay and I decided that we would purchase one of the inexpensive dining sets so that we also could buy the patio swing.

After Jay spent several hours putting our swing together, we all gave it a try.  Henley loves it; however, I actually think I love it even more than she does.  Although our patio receives the morning sun, it is shaded in the afternoon and evening.  Thus, it's a great hang-out spot after Henley's afternoon nap during snack time.

Since Jay and I both turned 35 this year, we're probably one of those "older couples" that I remember from my childhood.  Perhaps that's why I'm now the proud owner of a patio swing with a canopy top.

Henley enjoying our new patio swing

Children's Medication Warnings

For the past week, I have been dealing with a runny nose, itchy eyes, and occasional sneezing.  Earlier this week, Henley started having the same symptoms.  Her nose has been like a water faucet, and she has grown very tired of me chasing her around the house to clean it.  I'm definitely going to need to wash her stuffed animals in a day or two.  I'm not sure whether our problems are allergy related or the result of a cold.  Since Jay is starting to feel badly, too, I'm thinking we likely have a cold. 

Anyway... the other night, I was trying to decide whether or not to give Henley some children's allergy medication (the CVS version of Benadryl) that Jay had recently purchased, so I decided to review the warnings on the package.  Although I'm aware that adults take children's medication at times, I still find it funny that the warnings for children's medication include the following:

1. Ask a doctor before use if you have trouble urinating due to an enlarged prostate gland.
2. When using this product,
• Avoid alcoholic drinks,
• Alcohol, sedatives, and tranquilizers may increase drowsiness,
• Be careful when driving a motor vehicle or operating machinery.
3. If pregnant or breast-feeding, ask a health professional before use.

Greedy Nan

One of my favorite poems in a book of nursery rhymes that I read to Henley before naps and bedtime is:

"Come, let's to bed," says Sleepy Head.

"Wait a while," says Slow.

"Put on the pan," says Greedy Nan.  "We'll eat before we go."

I've seen a few other versions online, but I like this version best.  I wonder whether I like it best because it's the version I read every day or because the wording really is superior to that of the other versions.

Those Three Little Words

From the moment Henley was born, Jay and I have said, "I love you," to her many, many times a day.  Last week, she started saying it back.  She's even said it to grandma and grandpa a few times.  Although I know she doesn't really understand the meaning of what she is saying, it still warms my heart to hear her say it.  Of course, when Jay and I first heard Henley say, "I love you," back to us, we responded with a heartfelt, "Awwwww."  Now, she often says, "I love you," and then immediately says, "Awwwww."

Sweet Sixteen

No.  This post is not about how excited I am that the NC State men's basketball team made it to the Sweet Sixteen, but I am really excited.  It's about my family.  I was looking at a family photo taken at the wedding of my brother Jonathan to my sister-in-law Amanda, and I noticed for the first time that there are now sixteen of us.  The last time we took a family picture there were twelve of us, so we've grown quite a bit since then.  It was so nice to spend time with my family during the wedding celebrations especially since it had been over a year since I had seen my older brother's family.  The older I get the more I appreciate and love my family members.

Here's the picture:

Taken by Pat Spry on March 11, 2012

Steaming Cup of Coffee

One morning earlier this month, I was working in the kitchen while Jay and Henley were rolling a ball on the floor in the family room space.  Jay had placed his cup of coffee on the counter in front of me, and the morning sun was shining right on it.  As I looked into the family room to see what Henley and Jay were doing, I noticed steam rising from Jay's coffee cup and thought it was so lovely that I should try to capture it on camera.  After taking the first picture below and telling Jay about it, he took the second picture.

 

We missed Dadda!

Jay attended a conference in Savannah, Georgia on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  It was the first time he's been gone all night since Henley was born, and we were so glad to pick him up Saturday afternoon. 

When the weather is nice, Henley and I will take walks outside around the time Jay comes home in the afternoons, so she has become accustomed to looking for Dadda's car.  While outside with her Thursday afternoon, she pointed to every vehicle that drove by and shouted, "Dadda!"  Even though she often does this, I'm usually able to tell her that the vehicle is not Dadda's but that his car will be coming soon.  On Thursday, I kept telling her that Dadda had to work all night and wouldn't be home.  When we walked back to the front side of the house, she saw Jay's car (we had driven him to work Thursday) and, of course, shouted once again, "Dadda!"

Although I managed to get everything done while Jay was gone, I definitely missed him.  Things seem to run much more smoothly when he's around to provide assistance.

My parents spent Friday night and Saturday with us, which was really nice.  Henley loves her Mama, but she understandably grows tired of just being with me.  She was so excited to spend some time with Grandpa and Grandma, and I enjoyed watching her play with them.  This was their first overnight visit with us since Henley was very little.  Just having them here to watch Henley while I went to the restroom, took a shower, etc., made everything a bit more relaxed for me.

We drove to Queens to pick up Jay Saturday afternoon, and I kept telling Henley that we were going to get Dadda.  She was so excited when we pulled into the parking lot at Queens and when she saw Jay walk up to the car.  I was excited, too. 

Henley's Playlist

So far, Henley doesn't like to watch cartoons on TV; however, about three weeks ago, she started wanting to watch videos on the computer.  I can't recall what we were doing at the time that we came across our first Sesame Street music video, but I do recall that she LOVED watching it and wanted to view it again and again.  Jay and I grew tired of watching just one video, so we started selecting other suggested videos for her to watch.  She seems to know right away whether or not she's going to like a video and very clearly lets us know when she doesn't like one.  At this point, we have eleven Sesame Street videos that she really likes and all but two of them are music videos.  Today, I finally took the time to create a personal YouTube channel so that I could start a Playlist for Henley's videos.  Now, we'll be able to just select the Playlist and won't have to click on links to each video.

When Henley wants to see her videos, she points to the computer and says, "Vibeo!"  Of course, she doesn't get to watch them every time she makes this request; however, she gets really excited when we say okay, which is probably 3 times a day.

As a result of watching the Sesame Street videos, Henley now loves Elmo, which sounds something like "Belmo" when she says it.  We went to Target the day before Valentine's, and I was trying to find a small toy to purchase for her.  As soon as she saw a tiny stuffed Elmo, she became very excited.  Thus, the stuffed Elmo and an Elmo book were her Valentine's gifts from Jay and me.

Last Night's Dream

I haven't dreamed about teaching in quite a while, but I did last night.  The dream seemed very real, too.  One of my classes had a test scheduled for the day about which I dreamed.  Although I had prepared the test and placed a copy of it in my bag, I didn't realize that I had overlooked making copies of the test until I checked my bag just before class began.  Knowing that the clock was ticking for my students to take the test, I rushed out of the room to the nearest room with a copier (and it seems like someone from NCSU was there to help me).  Unfortunately, the copies were printing way too darkly for students to be able to read the problems, so I quickly left that room and headed for another one with a bigger and better copier (and I think that someone from Queens was there to help me).  This time, the copies came out of the printer all messed up.  I knew that minutes were passing and students were barely going to have time to complete the test.  I also knew that most would be unhappy if I had to postpone taking the test for a class period since they already had studied.  As I tried to figure out what I should do, I woke up.

It's true that the dream is not particularly interesting.  Nothing completely crazy happened.  It's just surprising to me that the topic of last night's dream was making copies of a test for students to take.  What brought that on?

Such Variety

While eating my Pacific Rose apple earlier today, I was thinking about how many apple options are available at the grocery store nowadays.  When I was a child, we primarily shopped at Winn Dixie, and I seem to recall a very limited selection of apples: Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, and Granny Smith.  There might have been a few more, but I don't remember them.  I never was a fan of the Red Delicious apples because they always seemed a bit chalky in texture and tasted bland.  My favorites today include the Jazz, Pink Lady or Cripps Pink, and Honeycrisp.  I recently tried the Opal apple for the first time (simply because I thought the vibrant yellow color was interesting), and the apple was okay but definitely not a new favorite and certainly not worth the high price per pound. 

With such variety now available at the local grocery store, it's easy to now enjoy an apple a day!

New Blog Title: Think and Wonder

I decided to change the title of my blog homepage.  The new title is a sentence in Dr. Seuss's Oh, the Thinks You Can Think, and it seems to more accurately reflect the type of blogs I post than the old title did (even though the old title perhaps is a bit catchier).  I like having a place to jot down some of the things about which I spend time thinking and wondering.

Finding Value in Cleaning House

A few weeks ago, I saw for the first time the following quote, "A clean house is a sign of a wasted life."  A picture of a woman scrubbing her tub had the statement written above her.  To my surprise, there are t-shirts, bags, buttons, aprons, etc. available for purchase that have this statement prominently featured on them.  Thus, I must conclude that many people agree with the statement, and I'm guessing that some of those people look to the statement with satisfaction when their homes are not clean.

I disagree with the statement for many reasons.  Many individuals earn their livings by cleaning homes, and their work is valuable.  I happily clean my own home and do not believe that I'm wasting my life by doing so.  On the contrary, I find the act of cleaning to be very beneficial.  While cleaning, I have time to think about problems and solutions to those problems.  I have the opportunity to get some exercise when mopping floors, for example.  I also have the great satisfaction of starting and completing a task, and I can really see the results of my labor when I'm finished.  After cleaning, I get to enjoy a clutter-free house for a period of time, which always improves my mood.  In addition, the more I clean, the easier it is to keep a clean house.

I'm sure I'll never have a spotless house, but I hope I'll always find value in cleaning my home.  Instead of thinking of a clean house as a sign of a wasted life, perhaps we should simply think of it as a clean house.

Reading Children's Books

While reading books to Henley each day, I find myself evaluating how well the books are written.  Nearly all of the Dr. Seuss books that we have are of high quality (even though I think that The Foot Book: Dr. Seuss's Wacky Book of Opposites could be a bit wackier and does not always stick to the "opposites" theme).  I also think that the author of the Gerald and Piggie books does a great job.  There are some books, however, that would have benefited from additional editing.  For example, Pooh's Party is one of the books in Disney's Classic Pooh category.  Overall, I like the book, but the last page always bothers me.  Here's what is written, "At last it is undone.  Inside is a Special Pencil Case with pencils inside.  'Thank you,' says Pooh happily.  What a Lucky Bear!"  Why did the author use "inside" twice in the same sentence?  The author could have said something like, "At last it is undone.  Pooh's gift is a Special Case with pencils inside."  We also have a book about Christmas that uses the word "okay" twice on the same page, which seems unnecessary.  Given that children's books are not very long and often are read more than once a day by caregivers to children, it seems like the authors would carefully select each word.  Of course, I'm sure that children do not evaluate the quality of books in the same way that adults do, and the books are written for the children not the adults.

Is It Better Not to Know?

It's inevitable in life that we are not going to be liked by everyone.  It's just not possible, and that's okay.  There are, however, individuals in all of our lives with whom we would like to find favor.  But, what if we don't?  What if these individuals don't like us for reasons that are beyond our control?  If circumstances require that we have some type of relationship with these individuals and if we aren't going to be able to change their opinion of us anyway, is it really useful to know that they don't like us?  Or, is it preferable to be kept in the dark about it and to go through life thinking that they like us?  The older I get the more I think that I would prefer not to know.  After all, if we aren't going to be able to change their opinions of us, knowing that they don't like us just makes us miserable when we are around them and/or think about them.

Having It All

About two weeks ago, I read the following blog: What if Some Women Don’t “Want It All”?, and it has crossed my mind several times since then.  The idea that a woman (or man) must have a successful career, spouse, and child(ren) in order to "have it all" is the author's focus.  I found this blog interesting for many reasons, but I also found many of the comments to the post useful.  It's been helpful for me to recognize the following: (1) there is no single definition of "having it all" that applies to all women (or men), (2) it's okay if we don't achieve whatever our idea of "having it all" is, (3) we might be able to "have it all" just not all at the same time, and (4) our definition of "having it all" likely will change over time.

With regard to (1), I know that many people have no desire to marry and/or have children; however, these individuals might very well be able to achieve their life goals and, in doing so, satisfy their definitions of "having it all."  What I'm trying to say is that "having it all" need not be limited to those with a certain marital status and/or parental status.

I could spend a lot of time writing about this topic, but I'm out of time for today. 

More Than Last Year

I noticed that I only posted six blogs last year.  Thanks to my goal of writing more quickly, I already have posted six this year, and we're not even halfway through the month of January.

New Perspective

Some people are able to make choices and never look back or question whether the choices made were the best choices.  Unfortunately, I am not one of those people.  Although I carefully consider options when making decisions regarding both significant and insignificant matters with the hope of making the "right" choice, I still catch myself thinking about the other options after the choice has been made.  (Of course, I should emphasize that this is not the case for every decision I make.)  I have noticed, however, that I do not spend as much time questioning significant choices from the past now that I am Henley's mother.  It occurred to me sometime after giving birth to Henley that every (significant) choice I made prior to becoming pregnant made it possible for Henley to be my daughter.  Had I selected other options when making important decisions, it's highly likely that I would have either become pregnant at some other moment in my life or I would not have become pregnant at all.  If I had become pregnant at some other moment, I would have a child but that child would almost certainly not be Henley.  I find that really amazing, but it's true.  Now that Henley is a part of my life, I cannot imagine it without her.  As a result, I'm much more comfortable looking back on decisions made years ago without needing to ask "What if?".