My fun experience -- aka I hope I didn't say anything stupid

At Mom's Club yesterday, Ina Jaffe from NPR (in the back on the left) was there to interview stay at home moms about their thoughts on the election. She chose the Lee's Summit group because McCain and Palin were in town last week. The person she called to set it up had never even heard of NPR, leading me to worry that I might be the only liberal there. Well, the first group she spoke to consisted of voters who had committed to a candidate. 6 of us volunteered for that group, and fortunately 3 were for Obama/Biden and 3 for McCain/Palin. It was interesting how polarizing Palin is for our group -- the 3 who support the McCain ticket were swayed to that side by her. Two of the 3 for Obama had already decided on him, and the third decided on him for sure after the Palin pick.

The interview was interesting. It was just her, a microphone (actually 2 because the first stopped working), recorder, and headset. There were plenty of background noises, as we were in a gym and there were kids running and yelling everywhere. She said this was a first for her.

I don't know when/if it will air, but I'll keep looking for it.

(I'll post about the birthday party later, but that one will take a little more time!)

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94748578

Gotta Catch Up Quick!

Because we have some fun going on this weekend! James' 3rd birthday is tomorrow, and his party is this evening. We are all pretty excited for it. After about 6 months of James saying he is 3 whenever asked, he finally will be. Except that he has finally learned to say that he is 2.

Look who's turning 3!

Last weekend, we went to a Green Fair down the street. It was very small, but hopefully will grow. At least we got a CFL bulb and some information about a new recycling center opening, that I am happy about. And, the highlight was the performance of EcoElvis. All of his songs were about the environment. And, if you were under the age of 5, the music was pretty fun to dance to.

See those tents behind me? That's the Green Fair. All of it. Cost us $10 to get in!

Movin' to the sounds of Eco Elvis.

Then we went to the Greek Food Festival, which we really enjoyed. There was a bounce house for James, and fun Greek music and food for all of us. We loved the food, except for the dolmas. So now we know.

As the sticker says, we were all Greek For A Day!

The week has been pretty lousy. James has had a stomach bug, and between that and the almost constant rain (and nearby tornadoes last night), we haven't done much. As a result, it was great excitement when Blake locked his keys in the car the other day, so James and I went to rescue him and then eat out. And this morning all going to the store to pick up the birthday cake and balloons. The little things have been our entertainment!

Labor Day Weekend

We "worked" hard all weekend to have lots of fun (I know, it's corny). I'm not sure at this point I even remember all that we did.

On Saturday, we went to the KC Irish Fest at Crown Center. The first thing we noticed was that the fountains (except for the one the kids play in) were dyed green. They also had a couple of kids' areas. James made a bracelet and a crown. Later he really had fun in the bounce area. We listened to part of a talk about how James Joyce changed the English language. We were on our way to some fun music, but they stopped for a break as we got there. I ran into someone from MOMS Club with her family. We also ran into David and Theresa, friends of mine (David was my first OT boss!) from Columbia and had a nice time talking to them. It's always fun to see people you know at a crowded place, and I don't have that experience as much as I used to (believe it or not, Lori). The festival was fun, but considering how expensive everything was, and that you had to pay to get in, we expected maybe a little more. However, once we got a stout to drink, we miraculously started having a great time. It must be noted that it was a Boulevard Stout, as there was NO GUINNESS anywhere at the Irish festival. Apparently Boulevard and Miller had the beer contracts. We ended with James playing in the (non-green) fountain.

Nice action shot!

Should the woman running the kids' bounce house be smoking?

Not Guinness, but good enough

On Sunday, we went to SantaCaliGon Days in Independence. It is to celebrate the Santa Fe, etc. Trails. It was so different from the Irish Fest. One day we drive a short way and are at a big crowded festival in the middle of the city, and the next day we drive a short way and are at a festival that has a small town feel to it (in a good way!). We liked the carnival there, but decided that James would probably not respond well to the rides once they started moving. So we walked around a lot, ate carnival food (and felt lousy later), and just relaxed.

There was a booth selling subscriptions to the KC Star, with a very high pressure salesperson. He acted like he had the best deal you would find anywhere, tried to write down our names immediately, and then acted offended that we'd seen a better price elsewhere. His best price was $7.95/month for Sunday delivery. Considering that the paper is only $1.25, I'm failing to see the bargain there. But, he did give us a reprinting of the very first issue of the Star from 120 years ago. Yikes. Two big things I noticed about this paper. They were pretty graphic in those days. There was a VERY descriptive story about a woman who died and her alcoholic husband, as well as one about 5 children trampled by a team of horses (which also trampled a dog "deader than a doornail"). The other thing I noticed was that the print was very small. I have the benefit of yearly eye exams and good contacts, and I found myself squinting. How did people read this 120 years ago?

That evening, we went to the coffee shop for a cheese plate (yummy!), a beer for Blake, and wine for me. It was really, really good, and then we walked around the area to the fountain. It was a beautiful night.

Monday, Blake went golfing, James went out with Larry and Debbie, and I ran a couple of errands. Then Blake met me at Starbucks for a bit. I then went to Archiver's and have now started on our Save the Date cards. I love them and can't wait to get them sent out! That evening, Blake and James went swimming and I relaxed at home.



Since then, it has been raining, so we are staying in, and I am back to being a tv junkie, watching the Republican Convention. It is a much different experience than the Democratic one. I'm not going to start discussing all of my opinions on everything here, because once I start, I just may not be able to stop, and this post is already long enough!

Just when I thought it was safe to move away from the tv

I was so relieved to have the Olympics over, since they were taking up too much of my time. But, of course, they were followed by the Democratic National Convention. I particularly like watching MSNBC's coverage, because when Keith Olbermann finds something amusing, he doesn't hide it. I watched part of the roll call yesterday, which was pretty funny. They were trying to orchestrate it for Hillary to make the motion for Obama to be the nominee, apparently trying to do it in time to be the lead story on the evening news, BUT all of the people doing the intros for the states were taking FOREVER. I was seriously laughing out loud when (I think it was) Montana was speaking. That person ran on and on and on. It did not end up as the lead story, but was breaking news.

After watching that drama, I got ready for MNO. It was fun to go out and talk with the other moms without having to chase down James. It allowed for actual conversations. I even tried to be good by ordering off of Applebee's Weight Watcher's menu, but probably blew it by getting a pomegranate martini. And, when I got home, Blake told me he had recorded Bill Clinton's speech (actually the whole evening's convention) for me, since I had forgotten. How thoughtful is that? (By the way, I loved Hillary's speech, think Joe Biden is a great choice, and am looking forward to Obama's acceptance speech tonight!)

We went to the zoo with Mom's Club on Tuesday. James liked the animals, but really enjoyed running around by the wrecked airplane with the other boys.

I was attempting to add more pictures from the zoo and July (!) , but am tired of waiting for them to upload. It just doesn't seem to want to work right now!

Gotta get better at this

Muscle boy


In Daddy's Chair

I have been neglectful of the blog lately. And since it partly helps ME keep track of what we've been doing, I need to update it better. So, this week, I'm going to try to add more pictures of what we've been doing the last few months. And, here is a list of some of what we've done since my last post:

• Blake's family all came over to swim, play and watch the Olympics


• We took James to Chuck E Cheese


• We went to Music with Mar, where James had a blast dancing and singing and getting in everyone's face


• We went to Insect-A-Rama, where James (and Blake) competed in an insect Olympics and James and I made a lightning bug and a bandanna


• We tried to eat at Fritz' railroad restaurant, but the service was lousy. So we just looked around for a bit and then


• we ate at the Crayola restaurant
  
• James and Blake ran through the fountains at Crown Center
• I got my scrapbook space organized and finally did a little on it.
• Blake went golfing
• We went on several walks around the neighborhood
• We watched too much of the Olympics
• We got caught up on Mad Men
• and despite the many many calls I get from the Barack Obama campaign wanting me to volunteer for them, I did not receive a 2am text message about Joe Biden. Which is a good thing.

So, things are good here. I continue to have my usual difficulties getting blogger to understand how I want my paragraphs and bullet points, but there are certainly bigger problems in the world.

Being a bee at Insect-A-Rama

Not sure about those fountains yet

Sliding at Chuck E Cheese

Don't Cross Me US Cellular!

First, James and I had fun with our new playgroup this morning at Tunnel Voyage. It's our new Hippo Place, I think. He had fun running around, climbing, sliding and playing in the ball pit. And I actually got to talk to some of the other moms. This group does about 3 things a week, so we should be able to keep busy. And, of course, there is a monthly Mom's Night Out, which is always a highlight!

Now, here is a copy of the letter I have sent to the FTC and FCC. You don't have to read it. The basic idea is that US Cellular "done me wrong" and I am NOT happy about it. I'm sure nothing will come of my complaint letters, but it makes me feel better. I may submit it to Good Housekeeping, too. Don't cross a SAHM -- I'd so much rather bash US Cellular all over the internet than do laundry and clean the bathrooms during James' nap.

"We have had phone service with US Cellular for a few years. We liked their service and told others so, and got new phones and contracts when our old ones ended. We signed up for the nationwide calling plan, after looking at the coverage maps and seeing that they have coverage listed in both the Kansas City and Dallas areas, where we had family that we visit. (Of course we knew there was coverage in our home in the St. Louis area where we lived at the time.) We have since moved to the Kansas City area, and are finding that we do not get good coverage here -- we are frequently cut off, our reception is very poor, and (unrelated to reception) my phone turns itself off without warning or reason and without me realizing it. (On this last point, my fiance almost called the police one night to check on me, because he couldn't reach me, I didn't realize my phone had shut itself off, and I was home alone with a 2-year-old.)

I looked at US Cellular's web site to find a local store to try to change our phones to local numbers, to stop the roaming, only to find that the nearest was 64 miles from my zip code. When I called US Cellular, they confirmed that there are no stores or towers here and that I would continue to have poor reception. However, unless I knew someone who wanted to take over our contracts (do you know anyone who doesn't already have a cell phone plan who would like to take over one that doesn't work?) we would have to pay a $285 early termination fee.

I understand that I signed a contract. However, I feel that US Cellular misrepresented their services by including Kansas City in their coverage map, when they knew they did not have adequate coverage in this area. I would not have signed a 2 year contract if I had this information. I spoke with 3 people at the company about this, one of whom was a manager. I was not getting anywhere in resolving this, and in the middle of the call my phone cut out. Again, I have a 2-year-old (and I am in a wheelchair), we do not have a land line, and I now feel trapped with a phone that doesn't reliably work for the next 19 months. I feel that this is wrong on their part for misrepresenting their coverage area and is unsafe for me and my family.

Thank you. (I'm sorry this was so long. I am very upset.)"

Catching Up

We really have been busy since moving here. Not really doing anything monumental, but busy all the same. James and I did join a Mom's Club today, which was fun for both of us. Lots of people commented on how friendly he is. Which means that he gets in your face and doesn't stop talking. True.

Blake's new job is good. He is starting to be more busy, which he enjoys, but also leaves on time each day, which gives him more time at home.

We are having fun watching the Olympics, which I tend to get a little obsessive about. We need a globe, though. There were a lot of countries in the opening ceremony that I have never even heard of.

Well, I know that's not much of an exciting update, but it is at least an update. I intend to get better about posting and including pictures soon, but first there are emails to catch up on! And a wedding to plan. I realized with a bit of a panic yesterday that I REALLY need to get going on some of the planning. Otherwise I'll be wearing a dress from Target and our parents will be doing the photography.