We joke often about Will Ferrell’s line in Old School about the big Saturday he and his wife have planned: a trip to Home Depot and maybe Bed, Bath, & Beyond. I found another outstanding addition to that lineup over the weekend. Friday evening, we attended an open house for a relative who’s graduating from high school. After the open house, we decided to swing by Super Target to pick up some food for the weekend and get some important things like socks and Lime Away. My 24 year old sister-in-law was along for the ride and as we pulled into the Super Target parking lot, her roommate called. “Where are you?” “Super Target!” “Why???” OK, Super Target on Friday nights isn’t aimed at the mid 20s demographic.
While we were placing our items on the check out conveyor, the people in front of us noticed a noise making gift we got for a friend’s son. “Wow, that’s really cool. It makes noise!” I told them it was a gift for a six year old. “That’s awesome, our five year old would love that!” When they were checking out, they asked for change in fives and tens so they could “pay the babysitter”. “Big night out at Target?” I asked. Taking no offense at all, they happily agreed. So if you and your loved one are looking for a nice addition to your weekend lineups, I heartily recommend your local Target.
What was concerning about Target on Friday night, though, was the packs of roving kids. Apparently if you live too far from the mall and can’t drive, you find a way to get to Target. We ran into at least three groups of pre-teen packs numbering 6-10 kids.
Baby development update, S is off to the doctor this morning for her 28 week (actually 29 week) check-up and her gestational diabetes test. As I type this Sunday night, I can see her stomach twitching and pitching as the Little Girlfriend kicks away. S did a quick ultrasound last week and the baby was still positioned across her stomach rather than vertically. Since then, though, it seems like she’s probably moved into a more vertical position, hopefully head down like she’s supposed to be. The kicking/standing tends to cause more discomfort to S, since they tend to find targets that are relatively important organs rather than just being into empty space. But all in all, things are continuing to progress normally and without incident, although S is obviously dreaded the accelerated weight gain that generally accompanies the third trimester.
Last weekend, I gained an ally in my plan to make sure our girl is a little sportster. One of my sisters-in-law said, very matter of factly, “You’re not going to have a prissy girl. I’m going to make sure she’s a soccer player.” OK, excellent. For the record, I’m comfortable with soccer and basketball. Gymnastics are definitely out. Swimming would be cool. Softball, no offense to other softball players, but I think we’ll not steer her that direction. And she, along with all future children in this house, will not play in the leagues that force them to practice three times a week and play two times a week. Over the course of a six month season. At the age of five. I remember my Little Leagues starting practice the last week of April, starting games in late May, and being done by Fourth of July. Sure, we wanted more games, but we never got burnt out on the sport. I want my kids to enjoy sports, and if they happen to turn into something they’re good at and can play into high school and perhaps beyond, that’s great. But I’m not turning my kids into little freaks who hate the things that are supposed to make them happy.
I’ve probably mentioned that so far S’s only real craving has been sweets. I’ve been trying to get back on a regular running schedule and make my gym workouts really count to offset the added desserts we’ve consumed over the last month. But the surest sign of how pregnancy can alter a woman’s appetite came Sunday. We were at a birthday party for a six year old that included a cook out for adults. I looked at S’s plate and saw a half eaten hot dog. “Are you eating a hot dog?” “Yes, and it’s not bad.” She’s long been on the record as declaring hot dogs the single most disgusting food know to man. She thinks the last time she ate a hot dog was when she was five. We’ll see if she comes home with a huge package of Ball Park franks this afternoon.
Saturday was Pole Day at the Speedway. No, not a stripper convention, but the day when the pole position was determined for the Indy 500. It ended up being a bit of a dud, with cold and rainy weather, so I didn’t watch much of the coverage. Missing that, I was able to take another step into solidifying my Indy resident status. We took a trip to Watson’s. Sadly, we missed an appearance by the Watson’s girl, who was helping to promote the grand opening of their new store. We’ve been looking for some wicker furniture for our sun room and decided it was at least worth the trip to check out their selection. First set we see when we walk in the door was an $8000 set of hand made furniture from the Philippines. We later learned the laborers, who no doubt earn something like a penny a day, hand harvest the wood, drag it through swamps to a village, and let the wood hang and cure for five days before it is hand fashioned into furniture. I was ready to turn around and walk out but was overruled. Pretty much everything was insanely expensive, even with the grand opening discounts, so we did our best to avoid the sales sharks who were circling frantically and escaped without buying anything. But now I’ve been to Watson’s!
Good song choice: ABC using Jeff Buckley’s “Last Goodbye” in their promotions for the final episode of The Practice. I didn’t watch it, but I dug the promos.
I can’t believe the Spurs choked away the series to the LA Cockroaches. I can’t see the Kings beating the Lakers. The Timberwolves are capable, but it won’t happen. And we all know no body from the East can beat the Lakers in a seven game series. Yep, Hollywood ending. Tears in their eyes. Emotional rally in downtown LA next month. And then Kobe will resign with them after flirting with every other team in the league for the past 12 months… He’s just used his “dalliances” with other teams to build the drama. He’s not going anywhere. Maybe Shaq will retire so the rest of the league has a chance next year.