Year: 2008

Recently, I’ve become a coupon cutter. I’ve always enjoyed a bargain, the hunt for a deal, the satisfied feeling of paying little for something nice (barring homemade goods, of course). This is a story about my best deal yet—

—pearl earrings. Andy and I have bought a couple things from Rogers Jewelers—our wedding rings, a ruby necklace and a gold ring for my mom. Apparently this was enough for the company to send us a $50 gift certificate in October, the month of our anniversary. I read the certificate numerous times. It didn’t say a minimum purchase was required. So, on a rainy day, I loaded Sophie into the car determined to take advantage of some missing fine print.

I had my wedding ring cleaned while I looked around the store. I’d been wanting a pair of simple, everyday pearl earrings. I found some, but they looked big (and expensive). So I asked the clerk if she had some smaller ones. She did—4mm with 14K-gold posts. I noticed the price tag said $65.

I hesitated, wondering if they would really let me use a $50 gift certificate for a $65 item. The clerk must have thought my hesitation was debate, so she lowered the price to $54.

I showed her the gift certificate. She read it. Her boss read it. Her boss’s boss read it. No one could find a reason not to let me use it. Total price? $4 and some change.

I love coupons.

“A man in love is like a clipped coupon—it’s time to cash in.” —Mae West

Mom and Dad bought me a bigger bathtub to use in the big-girl tub. At first I was a little unsure about it. I sort of liked taking baths in the kitchen sink.

But then Dad used the shower to rinse me off. At first I cried. But then I laughed. (I do this a lot.)

And then came my favorite part—drying off and tickle time, followed by warm pjs.

“Cells let us walk, talk, think, make love and realize the bath water is cold.” —Lorraine Lee Cudmore

Sophie loves getting packages. And on Monday she received two!

The first was from my Great Auntie Bear and Mel, who live in Seattle. In it was a vintage baby sweater and a little bird that sounds just like a real bird when you shake it.

The second was from my aunt Janeil—a pumpkin hat knitted by one of her good friends.

“Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things.” —Oscar Hammerstein II

Several days ago, while wandering around a store with Andy and Sophie, I caught a glimpse of myself in a mirror. There was wet drool on my shoulder, dried spit-up on the front of my shirt and remnants of Sophie’s lunch—either carrots or sweet potatoes, I couldn’t remember which—on my jeans.

Just recently I did the classic use-my-spit-on-my-fingertip-to-wipe-her-messy-face maneuver I once told myself I’d never, ever do.

And on more than one occasion, when Sophie has had a runny nose, I’ve wiped her nose with my finger and then—not finding a tissue nearby—wiped my finger on my jeans.

I do these things and then think, What’s wrong with me? And then as a cry or a bark or a cell phone ringing or something else fights for my attention I quickly forget what I’ve just done and continue on my day, without caring, without regret, without changing shirts. Oh, how I’ve changed.

“Life can make you do many things, even kiss a man with a runny nose.” —Mikhail Kalashnikov

Today we celebrated my dad’s 54th birthday. I can hardly believe he’s in his 50s, but then again, he can hardly believe he has a daughter who is almost 30. Mom made a delicious meal, both of my grandmas joined us, Dad got a tripod and a really nice lens for his camera, and Sophie showed us her new tongue trick and continued to please her Dad (and everyone else) by saying “da-da-da-da-da” over and over again.

“Fatherhood is pretending the present you love most is soap-on-a-rope.” —Bill Cosby

This weekend we drove to Akron, Ohio to attend George and Eleni’s wedding at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church.

Sophie did really well at the reception, which was at Quaker Square Inn. After she ate she slept through our dinner so both Andy and I were able to eat without bouncing her and keeping our food away from her curious hands.

We dined and caught up with many good high school friends.

And when the music got a little too loud, we walked around the lobby with Sophie.

“The two most important qualities in life are kindness and loyalty, unlike love which is instinctive and you can’t help—kindness and loyalty are matters of willful choice.” —Niki Goulandris

Today Sophie met the students in my mom’s kindergarten class. I answered lots of questions about how much she weighs, how old she is and what she eats. Sophie got lots of kisses. And she loved being surrounded by so many children—she smiled the entire time.

Once the children boarded their buses, Mom, Sophie and I met my dad for lunch at Aladdin’s Eatery in West Chester. Sophie loves the mirrors there.

“You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives.” —Clay P. Bedford

Tuesday Angel and Marty hosted a fabulous election party.

We ate Meatballs of Mass Destruction, Condoleezza’s Rice, “You’re doing a heck of a job” Brownies and drank Rum(sfeld) and Cokes.

We also ate Obama cookies from Buskin Bakery.

Chuck, who knows more about politics than anyone I know, was there with his wife, Bri.

Marty wore this awesome shirt he picked up at an Obama rally.

While America was electing its first black president Sophie was getting her first tooth!

Adorable Ella was there amazing me with her walking and talking abilities.

Much anticipation …

Andy drinking a Rum(sfeld) and Coke.

Angel, host of this awesome party.

Obama wins!

Our cheering woke up Sophie, who was sleeping in Marty and Angel’s bedroom. But it was fun to celebrate with her.

What good news to wake up to.

“This is our moment. This is our time – to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth – that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we cant, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes We Can.” —Barack Obama

Here I am playing with one of my favorite toys—wooden blocks from Aunt Katy.

And by playing I mean eating.

Tucker likes to sit with me while I play with the blocks.

But he gets bored when all I do is chew.

Hey, Aunt Katy! Come visit me so you can help me build things with my blocks!

We’ll have so much fun.

“Love is missing someone whenever you’re apart, but somehow feeling warm inside because you’re close in heart.” —Kay Knudsen

Sophie typically goes to bed at 8:30pm. But Daylight Saving Time has messed with her internal clock. Here she is happy to be up “past” her bedtime, but shortly after we dealt with a meltdown. This morning she was up bright and early. I tried to reason with her, telling her she “gets” to sleep in an hour later. She looked at me like I was crazy, demanded to nurse and then insisted on playing with her toys. William Willett clearly wasn’t thinking of infants when he proposed DST.

“An extra yawn one morning in the springtime, an extra snooze one night in the autumn is all that we ask in return for dazzling gifts. We borrow an hour one night in April; we pay it back with golden interest five months later.” —Winston Churchill