Day 14 of 365

This new strategy is working like a charm. :-)

A couple of side notes:

1 -- Ethan is hilarious. He often just kind of calls people whatever he wants their names to be... but this morning, I was looking through the faculty list at his school, searching for an email contact. I happened to notice that there are two PE coaches. This surprised me because I've only heard him talk about one -- Coach Rissom (or Rizzom or something like that). He LOVES Coach Rissom, and every Monday and Thursday, he reminds me RELIGIOUSLY that he has to wear tennis shoes because they have gym that day, and if he doesn't wear tennis shoes, he can't play, and he doesn't want to disappoint Coach Rissom. I mean, I get that entire speech every Monday and Thursday. So. Anyway. I'm looking through the list, and I notice the two PE teachers. Then I notice that neither of them is named Coach Rissom.

I'm shocked.

And then, I'm concerned. Who is this person Ethan talks about non-stop?

And then I notice that one of them is named Coach Whittam... which I could see how, if Ethan thought that the name was too hard to say, he might just transform it into something a little easier... like Rissom.

I laughed out loud. I imagine that this man has given up trying to get Ethan to say his name correctly, but I also imagine that he is keenly aware that Ethan calls him by the wrong name because Ethan is 1) slightly obsessed with Coach Rissom, which means he probably talks the poor man's ear off and 2) Ethan (like me) is a name caller... as in, he calls people by their names all the time during conversation.

Personally, I prefer to call people by their first and last names... as in Bob Jones or Sally Singleton. I don't know why, but I just do. It makes me feel better.

Anyway, tonight's mission is going to be to teach Ethan how to say Coach Whittam/Rissom's name correctly.

2 -- Laney is just about too big for her britches. She totally called me out the other day for making a mess.
Laney: "Oooooooooh. Mommmy. Come 'ere." (She, for some reason, always says this in a very monotone voice with a very serious face. This is ALWAYS her preface for showing me something that is going to get someone in trouble.)
Me: "What is it, honey?"
Laney: "Oooooooooh. Mommy. Wook at dis..." (Part 2 of her "I'm about to get somebody in trouble" speech. Also said in monotone with straight face.)
Me: "What is it?!"
Laney: "Wook at dis mess!" (Pointing at a pile of stuff on the floor that I had just put down.)
Me: "What mess?"
Laney: "Dis mess!"
Me: "That's not a mess. I'm putting that stuff away."
Laney: "Mommy. You better cwean up dis mess! Wight now, missy!"

I won't continue the conversation, but let me just tell you -- there commenced to being a whole lot of finger-wagging and head-bobbing in my house at that point. I learn something new every day, and on that day, I learned that I do not take directions well from a two-year old.

Now, onto happier thoughts...

1. American Idol! It is my guilty pleasure, but I so love it and will tell anyone who will listen. I secretly have a little crush on Simon, although I think it's because he has a British accent and a lovely smile more so than his looks.
2. Pearls. Now, don't get me wrong... I haven't met many gemstones that I don't like... but I am especially fond of pearls. Maybe because I have a grandmother named Pearle. Maybe because my mom always wore pearls when I was little. I don't know. I just like them.
3. Loading new music to my i-pod. Love it when I'm running and a new song shuffles into my running playlist. On Saturday morning, I was running along when "Poison" by BelBivDevoe popped into my earbuds. All of a sudden, mile 2 was a little more fun...
4. Talking to Sam. He laughs at all my jokes and comments in all the right places, even though I can't understand his baby gibberish. I'm trying to teach him to say "I love you" because I think that his first tries will sound like "Wy wuff rou" -- like that dog on the old Little Caesar's commercials -- but so far, we haven't had much luck. I kind of think he's like the babies on "Baby Geniuses," so I imagine that he has great conversation with his nursery buddies about his crazy mama. "You shoulda seen her yesterday! She's still trying to get me to say 'I love you!'" I half expect him to just bust out with "I love you" in a Barry White voice to freak me out.
5. Word Girl. ETV has come a long way since I was a kid watching funky independent cartoons. Not only does Word Girl rock, but she also has a pet monkey, fights vocabulary ignorance, and gets to wear a relatively cute superhero costume. Not bad for a day's work...