“Meet the Parents” Incarnate

So, it’s been pretty crazy ’round these parts with the folks in town. Saturday afforded me my first morning off I’ve had in a long time while Jamie took my parents and Haddie on an adventure. Well, if you’d consider “off” to mean hauling a screaming newborn out on a walk and then passing the rest of the morning screaming at pharmacists who lose and then chose to not fill prescriptions. All this while I could have been out playing in the mountains.

Truth be told, I actually chose to stay behind while Jamie drove them to the summit of Mount Evans. At 14,000-feet, it’s the highest road in America with some of the most stellar views of the Rocky Mountains. But if you’ve ever hiked around at that elevation, altitude sickness abounds. Call me crazy but I’ve invested too much in Bode the past 10 months of my life to have his head explode at the top of the mountain. Just call me a good mommy.

Jamie, on the other hand, ain’t exactly in the running for The Son-in-Law of the Year Award. When showing me a picture he took of my parents at the summit with a mountain goat in the background, Jamie commented, “Don’t you think this is a great shot of three old goats?”

But my folks have been definitely dishing it out from the beginning. If you knew my crazy family, you would know why I was a little more than nervous when I first brought Jamie home for our own version of Meet the Parents. My mother, in particular, was given specific instructions to, well, behave (i.e. not be herself). It took only one day for her to break down and announce that she was no longer going to be on her best behavior. It was good while it lasted.

So Jamie shouldn’t have been surprised when he called my parents to ask for permission to marry me and my mom interjected his touching declaration of love by shrilling announcing, “Oh, you can have her.”

Suffice it to say, those Fockers don’t have nothin’ on myfamily….

I heart Haddie J.

Hadley has been rather delightful lately. It is like the fog of the 3s has lifted to reveal a child we not only love but actually like.

How many mini muffins would you like? One or two?

Five!

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Hadley, after already consuming her quota of three cookies, preyed upon her baby brother and yet managed to come out as the selfless one.

“Mommy, look!

“What is it, Hadley?”

“I broke Bode’s cookie in half. And look at us now. We are sharing!”

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As we drove by Colorado University recently, I explained to Hadley about college life. Well, not that side of college life. After I felt that she had a firm grasp of what would be expected of her academic future, I queried:

“What do you want to be when you grow up, Hadley?”

“A princess!”

Interesting. Do you have a back-up plan if the princess gig doesn’t pan out?”

“Umm, a queen?”

Christmas Card Contest Winners

Welp, the polls are in and the winners of the First Annual Christmas Card/Newsletter Contest have been tabulated. Didn’t know you were entered? C’mon, we all know we scrutinize each other’s cards, especially those with pictures. I thought it was only women who were critical i.e. “Hmmmm, has she finally gotten fatter this year?” I was encouraged when Jamie received a card from his best friend and made a comment about how thick his hair used to be. I then made the conclusion that as we age, men look at hairline; women look at waistline.

Anyhew, we received muchos entries from friends and family, making those 2005 updates downright entertaining.

Third Place: Dave, Val & Family. This made the list primarily because even though they’re very sweet, this family of six is not known for their stand-up comedy routine. But I had a great laugh when they mentioned baby Nathan and how “he is making a strong case to remain the youngest in the family.” Allow me to translate this in Hurricane terms: he is a HELL child. Hadley has been making this case since she was BORN. We’re just too numb (or delirious?) to give in. Good thing she’s so cute.

Second Place: Heidi, Chris & Family. This was a last-minute entry from an editorial match made in Seinfeld heaven (they both have their Master’s in English). “My LASIK eye surgery in February has resulted in X-ray vision, which upsets the neighbors and generally makes people fidgety around me. As my waistline grows, I tell myself that my metabolism has slowed. However, after contemplating it for a while, it suspect it’s all those candy bars I eat.”

First Place: Uncle Lawrence. As the only colorful member of my dad’s quiet family, Uncle Lawrence = Politically Incorrect.

“For months, we engineers had looked forward to burning the head frame at the Discovery Mine site. Shortly after midnight late in May, the fire was lit, and what a fire it was! But as the fire was burning down, the garage close by caught fire, and it was an inferno! So hot that the house across the street caught fire…then the post office and by morning another house. Not bad for a night’s work, but four buildings burned by accident? The engineering term for this is “S___ Happens.”

He then went on to remark that the scene resembled Kosovo and all that was missing was the rape and pillage, when the person next to him commented, “There are no women at the site!”

So, hats off to ever-entertaining Uncle Lawrence. After all, it’s not every holiday newsletter that talks about S___, rape and pillage…..