High Five for Spankings and Baseball

Sorry I have been MIA in blogland. Here are a few updates. First, John bought me a remote. I don't know if it is because I was threatening that was what his Father's day gift was going to be or what, but it doesn't matter... I can now flip though my three channels while in bed. :)

Could my son get any cuter? He is now saying "Mama," and says it all the time. I'm loving it!

He is starting to stand and take steps on his own and I swear he is everywhere! Here is a little footage of his first steps. Funny how he would only do it for a while in his crib (my kid's no fool, softer landing).

Besides that, we are working on teaching him what he can and cannot touch around the house. The other day he was pushing buttons and turning knobs on the stereo (a big no-no which started as a result of him turning up the volume to a deafening level without us knowing). Anytime he would go to touch it, I would simply hold up my hand next to his and spank his hand whenever he would reach for and touch the buttons (call me old-school, but that is what works for us so far so spare me your Love and Logic discipline suggestions). Now, my trouble with this way of discipline coincides with teaching him to "give five." So here is how it usually plays out several times a week:
Braden- Reaches for the buttons on the stereo.
Me- Hold my hand up ready to spank if he touches the buttons.
Braden- Sees Mommy's hand, stops his finger 1 cm away from the stereo, turns Mommy's hand over and gives her five with a big smile.

The other day I also caught him pulling books off the book shelf and when I called out his name he quickly threw the one in his hand down and sat there looking at me like, "Listen Lady, it wasn't me and I don't know why you keep leaving books on the floor." This looks to be an uphill battle... the hill being Mt. Everest.

Last week John turned the big 3-0. We had a great weekend going out to dinner and a movie and then a Ranger game. The game was so fun, but what was even better is that we not only got to be on the Fox Sports Station, but John was on the jumbo-tron for his birthday (made possible by yours truly!)! I had it recorded, but because of the bright lights, you can't really tell what it is. You can however see his beard and the fact that he is holding Braden. Oh well, thanks Jami for the footage! We had such a good time with our friends the Hamricks and the Browns.

Oh, and just when I thought the night couldn't get any more exciting, a fly ball came soaring up a few feet above our heads. I was holding Braden so I quickly covered him up. The ball landed on some old lady sitting directly behind us. She was okay, so I am glad Braden didn't have to witness some sprawled out unconscious old lady at his first baseball game.

Stingy or Frugal?

Now since I have cut back to only working part time, there are several luxuries that we simply cannot afford (actually, when we could afford them we still didn’t have them). For years luxuries like cable television, internet, home phone line, and Tivo/DVR were not found at the Shuttlesworth Shack. We were the proud Urban Amish family (as John’s co-workers fondly referred to us as).

Luckily (and only because it is at the firm’s expense), we have upgraded our status within the past year and got the internet (which included a home phone line) so that I could work from home. Our phone line ringer gets turned on and off since my co-workers and telemarketers are the only ones that have the number. During the hours that I am working, I have it on for such events as meetings, training, or conference calls. Every now and then a telemarketer gets through in which case I simply give them my usual response:
“Yes, this is Mrs. Shuttlesworth, but I am currently working at the moment. So unless you have a charge code that I can bill this call to, I am afraid that you will have to call back another time.”
They are usually a little taken back by what I have said, and therefore agree confusingly to call back later.

So last night my television watching hit an all time low. We still do not have cable, so I am confined to the only 5 channels (3 of which are Spanish) our little rabbit ears can tune in. I am standing at the television- let me stop right here to stress the fact that I am STANDING at the television only because my klutz of a husband accidentally dropped the television remote in a cup of Dr. Pepper (don’t ask how… I simply do not know) and it no longer works.
As I was saying, I was standing at the television flipping channels and there was NOTHING on. But because Braden was already in bed, I felt I had to have the TV on for background noise as I was getting ready for bed. Out of my 5 TV channels, I stopped on one of the Spanish stations that was showing the movie “The Bride of Chucky.”
Yes, that’s right…for 20 minutes I found myself watching these two little demon possessed dolls go around killing people. Now mind you, I can’t understand a word they are saying… IT’S IN SPANISH!

When I got bored of making up my own dialog to what I thought was being said (which mostly consisted of the repeated line, “I’m the doll Chucky and I’m going to kill you!”), I recalled a time when I saw my first Chucky movie.

I was in junior high spending the night at a friend’s house and she turned the original movie on. The little part that we watched back then (which was only about 15-20 minutes) scared the heck out of me so badly that for the next 5 months I would only get in bed by running and jumping onto it so that nothing underneath would grab me! Don’t even get me started on the nightmares! Another thing that came to mind was the fact that these dolls are only about a foot tall- WHY ARE THESE PEOPLE NOT JUST KICKING THEM IN THE HEAD?!?!? Ahh, the greatness of the early 1990’s movies.

After last night, I am seriously thinking I am going to have to break down and invest in some cable (and a remote).