Memorial Day Weekend 2008

In spite of some almost winter like weather, our traditional Memorial Day celebration in Denver ended up being a great family trip.

Like all holiday weekends, time off was hard to come by and Jay had to work all day Friday. We decided to drive part way to Rock Springs that evening...stay in a hotel with a pool so the boys could swim and have less of a drive the next day which would leave plenty of time to get to Denver Saturday afternoon for the Rockies/Mets game. Unfortunately, like every time anything is planned on a Friday night, Jay got slammed at work and we couldn't leave until after 7:00 pm. Luckily, I never told the boys the pool at the hotel was open for 24 hours and we simply checked in...changed into pajamas and shushed Henry for the next hour until he finally gave up and went to sleep.

One of the things I put down on any "about me" lists is that I love to travel. While I wouldn't consider myself a liar, I have to admit that I only partially like to travel with children. It's so difficult to consider every need, every weather condition, every accessory that makes an outing less...hard. I swear I checked the weather forecast before I left, but there was nothing in the forecast that included 30 degree weather with snow showers. So, I foolishly packed for late May weather...shorts and t-shirts.

37 degrees!

Just some snow covered barrenness to look at on the way.

And what are my kids dressed in? Appropriate summer clothes, of course.

The drive down to Denver was windy and frigid. We had our heat on in the car! Thankfully, the weather warmed up considerably the further south we went and the baseball game was actually hot. Being fully prepared for hot, we slopped on the sunscreen and watched the Rockies get destroyed by the Mets in the first inning. Not the most exciting game to watch, but it's always fun to go to a Major League game, in my opinion. Henry was good for most of it, but needed a stretch long before the 7th inning so we headed over to the "kids area". Lamest thing I've ever seen. They make how many millions of dollars each game and they can't even install something with two slides? As Henry has never known how to share....or how to wait for his turn....or how not to push when someone is in your way...he was causing some bedlam of his own and we shortly left this nightmare.

Notice Henry's position in line.

Do you recognize any of the other kids from the previous position? Henry is fussing here because I scolded him for pushing so many people out of the way.

But what does getting scolded matter if you get your way in the end? All smiles and poor orange t-shirted boy still hasn't gone.

Even Henry felt the situation got a little hairy at times. But, there's always pushing to get where you need to go.


We had great seats for the game. Near first base!

Dad and older brothers got new Rockies hats for the game.

Henry thankfully fell asleep after the play structure fiasco. This was a self-portrait. I never intended to self-portrait my bosom, but to get the sleeping babe, there was just no way around...it.

We stopped to eat at our favorite Vietnamese restaurant on the way to Jay's brother, Rex's, house. So good. And they even understood what gluten free meant so Jay could eat too.

On Sunday, we went to Rex and Bekki's ward and I met another blogger, Kari. It's that crazy, small, blogging world that amazes and slightly terrifies me, but she was adorable and fun to meet. You can't do your best gabbing at church, so the conversation was short, but it was still fun to meet her. Their meeting was unbelievably sad and touching as a 12 year old girl from the ward had been killed in a car accident on Friday night. The temple president and matron were there to speak, not because of that but just due to incredible timing and tender mercies, and the music and talks had me, who didn't know this family at all, in tears.

Later that afternoon, our old friends from Medical/Dental school, came over for dinner. Seth and their eldest, were only two months apart so we had frequent play dates together. Now Jason serves on the High Council with Rex and circles of friendship continue to overlap and weave together. I was finally introduced to Dance Dance Revolution and my eyes were opened to the fun and joy of that game. We had a great time.

I'm so buying the game!

Seth and Dallin. If I was in the mood to create a mess, I'd find some older pictures of these two together when they were two and younger. Both have grown up to be cute boys.

Monday was race day. Jay, Rex and my nephews, Michael and Jacob, left early due to their early start times and I drove Bekki, Erin and Seth over as they didn't start for nearly two hours later. Unfortunately, I got lost on the way and Seth missed his start time so he began at the same time as Bekki and Erin. Jay ran his 10K in 45 minutes and then "jogged" back to the start line (about two miles) and then walked/jogged the 10K again with Seth. They did it together in 1 hour and 42 minutes and Jay was very sore that night and the next day. He's barely been training for the 10K and his body was not used to 14 miles.

Jay and Seth finishing the race!

I watched in the stands but was miserable because it....was....freezing! I would have much preferred walking the whole thing but as strollers are not allowed, I knew it would be too hard for Sam and knew I couldn't emotionally coax him into finishing while packing Henry (who for certain would have spent most of the time trying to work his way out of the backpack). Normally we stay for the Memorial Day tributes, which is my favorite part, but after a couple of hours of being cold, me and the little kids had had enough and we left. The rest of the evening was spent relaxing and playing games.

Rex and Bekki's family after the race

Jay and Seth with their goody bags.

A goofy picture with Sam, who kept himself warm with Jay's jacket.

I'm cold. But Henry sure look cute peeking out of his cover.

Tuesday we had planned on spending the entire day at Elitch Gardens, an amusement park, but it was cold and rainy again so we stayed at Rex and Bekki's all day and tie-dyed shirts and played games. Tie-dye has never been my favorite look, but it was so much fun to choose the colors and design that I love all of our shirts. Jay thinks he looks like a Ronald McDonald on crack, which he kind of does, but at least we could always find him should he get lost:)

Rex bought several bags of donuts the morning we left. Guess who was in sugar heaven?

Just a few more for the road.

We decided to wear our new shirts home. Hey...the family that tie-dyes together stays together!:)

The drive home on Wednesday was long. Interstate 80 is jam packed with truckers so it feels like you're traveling on a two lane highway. They always feel the need to start passing another semi on some hill, but then, of course, can't actually pass them and I end up following a truck at 40 mph up a hill. Despite the frustration, we made it home just in time for Salt Lake's rush hour and to our house where my mom had a hot ham dinner waiting for us.

We were the only family members to make it to Denver this year and hope more manage to make it next year. It's a great tradition and one we hope survives for years and years.

Blogging Begets Blogging

...and not blogging begets some pretty serious writer's block.

I just got back from our Memorial Weekend trip to Denver and have pictures to post and updates to tell but can't do it today. I think I'm aging or something because I've become an unmotivated slob for at least a day (usually two....sometimes three) after a trip. Today has been my, "I'm not going to do much because in theory I can get away with it" day (which all stay-at-home mothers know is a big, fat myth) so I have done...not much.

I have talked to about seventeen million different moving companies after I erroneously entered my pertinent data on two...yes, two...online forms. Now, I have appointments for strange men to come and walk through my house to see how much I should pay them to move all this stuff for me. I think we'll end up doing it ourselves, like we always have, but after the trip, I thought, "Maybe it'd be nice not to lug this mattress down the stairs."

I digress.

I think part of my writer's block comes from the fact that I'm dreading writing a certain book review. Yes, THAT book review. D-r-e-a-d-i-n-g it.

Hopefully this nonsense will pull the plug separating my brain from my fingers.

In the meantime, I have some hamburger to thaw.

Holy Cow!

Eeeeks! I was just personally asked to review someone's book. It's an LDS author for her work Don't You Marry The Mormon Boys. I'm not sure how she found me (did anyone here give her my email???) but she's going to send me her book and asked me to review it and post my review on deseretbook.com, amazon.com, goodreads and my blog.

I'm beyond excited. Honestly, for about forever, my dream job has been to be the headliner act in a smoky dinner club sitting a top a piano belting out torch songs with a boa around my neck, but book reviewer might be a sweet gig too!

I know I just jumped forward about 10,000 steps, but...well...it's kind of cool.

Of course, now my stomach is in knots. I love to review books. But, I know I'ma bit of a tough sell. I'm a staunch opponent of grade inflation and if I think a book is so-so, I certainly say it's so-so. No four or five stars for something that isn't really good (in my totally unqualified opinion).

The problem is, I'm also nice. I hate to hurt feelings. And this is someone's baby. Her project. Of course she loves it more than I will. Am I supposed to be honest here or help her publicize her book?

I'm looking forward to it. Everyone starts somewhere. I've sort of accepted the fact that my black sequined spaghetti strap dress with a crimson feathered boa on stage is not going to happen, but reclusive and snobby book reviewer???? That just might fit!

SPT - Something Borrowed

I am in some serious need of lightening up. I'm feeling a lot less stressed today (apparently, I needed a day to recuperate from my trip) and wanted to project a more positive vibe on the ol' blog.

Because I can't come up with anything on my own, I'm going to indulge in SPT today but "borrow" a meme...because they can be easy and fun.

5 things you do every morning.

1. Wish Seth and Henry could sleep in.
2. Ask Seth if he needs more breakfast (his usual reply is, "yes")
3. check my email.
   
4. go to the bathroom (that probably should have gone first...but I'm just going with the flow!)
5. change Henry's diaper.
   

5 things you look forward to each year.

1. My birthday
2. Fall
3. Travel - wherever it is.
4. visitors
5. Christmas music

5 things you’ve recently watched on TV.

1. The Office
2. PBS Masterpiece Theater
3. Law & Order
4. La Femme Nikita (Season 2)
5. One of the Jazz playoff games

5 things you’ve read recently, (they can be online or off.)

1. Hope Was Here
2. News About Myanmar
   
3. God Wants A Powerful People
4. Politifact about the presidential candidates
   
5. Blogs
   

5 of your favorite restaurants.

1. Chipotle
2. Cafe Rio
3. Staggering Ox
4. Twigs in Spokane
5. Claimjumpers
   

Turmoil

I feel sad today.

We didn't have a very successful weekend. Before I left, I told Amy M., "I'm not coming home without an address!"

I came home without an address.

We've made a decision (probably, perhaps, maybe, we'll see) and both Jay and I are trying out the feeling to see if it's a good one, or if the stomach ache we've had for the last two days will persist.

Here's the situation:

Almost every home we looked at, that could even be considered a possibility (and there were some we walked through that don't fit that criteria) is located within a different elementary school's boundary. There are only seven elementary schools. We don't really want to move our kids to another school in a year. So, even though we are fully, and thankfully aware, that none of these home choices is permanent, we are hoping the school Seth and Sam start this fall will be.

The second gut wrenching dilemma is the ward situation. There are two wards in D-town. Jay grew up in the second ward. His brother's family is in Second Ward. His parents are in Second Ward. The house we are choosing (probably, possibly, maybe, we'll see) is in First Ward.

In theory, this is not even a tiny problem. Bloom where you are planted, I always say, and would never, ever think of living somewhere solely on ward boundaries. But, Jay didn't like the ward. I simply felt ambivalent upon leaving. They really weren't that friendly. Not mean. Several people came up and introduced themselves. But, Second Ward is falling all over themselves trying to get us to live within their boundaries and part of me, part of us, want to be where we are already loved. Except that the three houses that we could rent are not possibilities. They just aren't. Believe me.

In addition, there are only four Young Men in the ward. Total. Two deacons, one teacher and one priest. Not exactly a selling point.

The last thing, that apparently I just need to get over, is that the idea of a "yard" does not exist in any traditional sense. The main problem I have with the house we are choosing (probably, possibly, maybe, we'll see), is that there is no back door to the back.....er.....area. Our kids would have to go out the front door, down the stone steps, up the stone rocks to get to the non-fenced, non-grass, non-flat "backyard".

From the ad. Either side of the house is filled with rocks and the backyard, while fun with pine trees and rocks and dirt and nature, is unaccessible and hard to have Henry play in without me right by his side. Which isn't, at all, the point of a back yard.

I hate it. We've spent the last year without a real yard and it was something I was looking forward to. But, as un-ideal as my description sounds, it's still the best choice. It's better than the non-yard onto the golf course (although that home was beautiful...but the owners are family members of someone in the radiology department who haven't been able to sell it since October but want to re-list it next summer. Which means we'd have all sorts of pressure to keep the house in its current pristine condition. Which means, of course, that we'd have to sell Henry).

Taken from the golf course. Pretty, but don't people feel uncomfortable with a bunch of strangers in their back yard all day? I certainly wouldn't want any of my children out there alone.

It's better than the A-frame house whose back yard has a creek running through it (swiftly moving and no fence either).

It had TWO bathrooms with steps up to the toilet and tub. Very stately.

The living room. The creek runs behind the deck. Beautiful. But very remote. We'd be alone most of the time.

It's even better than the trashed house by the college that has a patio but then a mountain behind it (nice for privacy...but not for play!)

Did I mention that the house we are choosing (probably, possibly, maybe, we'll see) is also the most expensive one? ( of course.) And that it's available now which means we'll have to pay that expensive rent for an entire month without living there? (exactly what I said I wasn't going to do.) Grrrrr!

Oh...I'm making no sense and I'm tired of typing. I'm so grouchy today! But, I want to post so grouchy it is. Sorry.

The totem pole doesn't seem so bad now. It's modest, as far as totem poles go.

I just looked at my post and realized I started as sad. Amazing what blogging can do for my mood. Sad to grouchy. Huh.

Totem Pole Free Living

I wanted to buy. I really, really wanted to buy. I haven't enjoyed the psychology of renting (although the physical perks of having Henry ruin this place and not our permanent place is nice) and I want to feel settled after our ten year medical training voyage. But, I don't want a totem pole in front of my house.

D-town is a quirky place. It's very tourist-y, like Park City or Aspen, but less....well....ummmmm....refined. Translation: house prices are sky high but the houses we can afford (actually, it turns out we can't really. Darn mortgage crisis) are still kind of ugly.

I can't say I know exactly what I want in a house but I think I'll know it when I see it, and I haven't seen it yet. For example, last month, a house came up for sale that looked promising. It was on three acres, in the country, had been recently remodeled so that even though it only had a one-car garage, I was still considering it a definite possibility. So much so, that I had my mother-in-law go and look at it for us.

I didn't get the kind of information I was looking for. Mainly, was it a nice looking home? Pictures can be deceiving and I wanted a feel for the area. Was there a trailer park next door? Lots of rusty cars? You see, I like the idea of country living....if it's clean, but I have zero desire to live among the eyesores. That's not my idea of "getting away from it all".

While her report was mostly benign (looks fine, slightly older, plenty of room for the kids to play) she did give me one key piece of information when she was explaining the location of the home to Jay's dad.

"Which house is this?" Jay's dad asked.

"The house over on county road 307." she replied. "the one with the totem pole."

Whaaaaaat?

She further explained that the totem pole was really old and faded. I have no idea if that was supposed to make things better.

I know we could have knocked it down (or does that bring out the bad spirits?). I know we could have built on and added another garage. I know that even though the master bath had been remodeled, I could do it again but this time put a bathtub in it (this fact should have brought me to my senses much earlier, but I was really trying to make this work). But you know what they say about three strikes.

You want to know the price of the house with the totem pole? $500,000. And we were excited because it seemed like a bargain. I've seen homes with 1,000 less sq. feet ask for 100K more than that. Check out these great deals.

2 bedroom 2 bath house, 1351 sq ft - $349,000

3 bed 1 bath downtown gem, 1081 sq ft. - $429,000

Here's an example of some of the houses with land. Just the right size at 4 bed 2 1/2 bath, but.....not for $485,000. No remodel can help this mess.

This is the kitchen in a house that is for sale for $495,000. It's in a good school district but it's on a main thoroughfare.

What's a girl left to do?

Rent.

I'm off for the weekend to find a place to live. One, preferably, without any sort of wooden ornamentation in front. Wish me luck.

The Last Few Days

I have some funny pictures on my camera that need getting off, so here goes a travelogue of the past few days.

Friday:

Not a good day. There was no motivation to do anything good for me and mothering seemed above and beyond anything I was capable of doing. As a result, when I came downstairs after letting my kids just "be" for well over an hour, this was what I found.

Henry found the Ovaltine. And he dumped it.

I think my kids are programmed to get upset when they do something naughty, independing of me getting upset or not. I actually found this mess amusing...didn't scream...didn't yell. Just got out my camera and then cleaned up the mess. But, you could never tell that from Henry's reaction upon being caught.

Saturday:

We spent our early morning bustling about because the whole fam-damily was going to Race For The Cure. I've been wanting to sign up for one of these races ever since my sister-in-law, Patty, was diagnosed and treated for breast cancer. I watched her humbly and serenely recover from a mastectomy and bone-marrow transplant in her 30s and always wanted to participate in this cause. Every city we've lived in, however, has scheduled the race on Sunday, and I follow Jay's lead (he being the professional and all) who has always chosen to abstain from racing on that day. Utah provided the opportunity for a Saturday race and we took it.

They really should change the name to Mosey For The Cure, because mosey is all that's possible if you are anywhere but the front of the pack. I had my semi-truck double stroller to maneuver, which was close to impossible (at least without scuffing up several people's calves with my honkin' front tire as I tried to get around them) so we gave up trying to actually move quickly and enjoyed our stroll. Jay ran the race quickly, as he got there early and was on the starting line, but once he passed the finish line just kept going and caught up to us and walked the 5K again with us. I'm glad we did it, because it's nice to get going on a Saturday and do something productive, but I doubt we'd do it again. Unless they do some major reorganization. It's just not good crowd control.

Seth and Sam taking a turn pushing. This didn't last long after they ran into several people in a row.

If you can believe it, it felt even more than crowded than it looks.

The finish line was insane. People everywhere. I wanted proof that we were there, and then we we quickly left. Notice, my bangs are still dry. I'm a head sweater, so this 5K didn't really give me a good workout, but after three hours of my morning dedicated to it, it was going to have to count.

Jay was on call the rest of the weekend and that left me on my own both evenings. Saturday night, Maureen and I took the boys to Training Table for dinner and then went back to my house to watch T.V. and a little La Femme Nikita. I love having people that are willing to watch it with me.

Sunday:

Mother's Day. I thought about writing a post for my mother but with choir practice, church and then Jay being gone at the hospital, the mood never struck. Sorry mom. I do think you are the wind beneath my wings. And I'll make sure and dedicate my next time singing it during karaoke for you. I made taco soup for dinner and Maureen came over to hang out with me and the boys. I did receive a few blessed gifts, thanks to a thoughtful elementary school teacher, a primary teacher who probably needed some time to kill, and a thoughtful husband who gets stressed about gifts, but did just fine this time.

Sammy gave this to me after church. The tall person in the middle is me. The short person is him. I have a flower and he is giving me another one. The scribbled blog on the side apparently started out as me, but when he messed up, he changed the interpretation into, "President Hinckley dying. See? He's melting". I know it's not really the most respectful drawing, and maybe I should have just kept Sammy's picture to myself, but it shows how a 5 year old mind thinks. At least at church.

Seth made me this clay bowl at school. It's awesome. Jagged and lumpy and all eight year-old created.

Jay got me a shuffle (because I like random order of songs, but get frustrated using his because there are so many songs I don't like to work out with)

A poem from Seth. I have a hunch there was a list of words on the board for them to use. I don't think he'd think of butterfly on his own.

Seth made me these adorable bookmarks at computer lab. Aren't they perfect? Look at the piano one. I think it's so sweet. And the baby was because we all still think of Henry as a baby. As for the squirrel, I'm thinking maybe he meant for it to be a raccoon??

That night, as I walked into my bedroom for the evening, I got sick of tripping over the four loads of clean laundry I kept dumping onto the floor with a promise to fold "tomorrow". I really normally avoid folding laundry on the Sabbath, especially on Mother's Day, but sometimes the only way to rest is to take care of a mess. Luckily, I had a whole other disc of La Femme Nikita, so the night was enjoyable.

It gets kind of spread out when you're looking for one particular thing.

But wait? What's that I spy?

Bring on the laundry!

The enjoyable night came to a crashing halt when the torrential wind started shortly after midnight. I thought my windows were going to blow out with all the noise they were making. I got up to look out the window and saw trees straining against the gale forces and my heart started racing. I really, really hate wind. It affects me. I ended up sleeping in henry's room, where there is a guest bed, because the noise wasn't as intense in there. I was glad the weather had calmed by the morning.

Monday:

Jay had the day off so we got a lot done. New library books, uninterrupted work-outs and a clean house are all a testament to the joys of Jay being home. Our friend, Rochelle, came over at 6:30 and we headed downtown with my sisters, Maureen and Sarah, to the opera Don Giovanni. I haven't been to an opera in ages, but used to go to all the ones that came to Bozeman when I was in high school. The lyric soprano singing the part of Donna Anna was exquisite. The rest were talented enough, but her voice had me rethinking my review of the book Bel Canto. Maybe a good lyric soprano really is all we need for world peace.

Jay leaned over to me and said, "I wonder if I'm the only guy here who has watched NASCAR and an opera during the same week?" Probably, Jay. Definitely the only one who checked his fantasy NASCAR team before going.

Before the opera started, I wanted to get a self portrait of Jay and me. I'll just tell the story as I go.

This was the first one. Actually, I think Sarah, who was sitting beside me, took it. Of course, not wanting to have a picture with three chins and a stump of a neck, I requested a redo from the other side.

Jay took this one. Clearly a novice at the whole SP thing, we were left with a clear shot up the nose.

Listening to tips from me about making sure the chin was down and then Sarah's last second admonition to "look like you're having fun!" we got this unusual-for-Jay face that had me in fits.

I can't even type anything right now without laughing. Oh my goodness. Wow. Atta boy! Thank you, Jay, for letting me post these. I'll treasure them forever.

Today:

It's been a good day. I worked out. I went to the mall without kids to get them some summer clothes (because yesterday, I swapped out the winter clothes for summer clothes and realized that Henry has one short sleeved shirt and Seth has about eight pairs of shorts but two shirts) and then to Harmons, the friendly grocers, to get food for the week. I'm used to expensive grocery trips, because ever since we've gone gluten free for the house, our food simply costs more. But even our expensive grocery bills are getting more expensive. It's really not fun to spend $200 at the grocery store...for a week!

I had Kelly's kids this afternoon and Sarah is on her way over with Cafe Rio because Jay is working again tonight. The sun is shining. My house is still clean. I found time to blog.

Life is good.

Icky Words

I would say that I am an above average lover of words. Nothing extreme. I still prefer overall comprehension to lines and paragraphs full of grandiloquent, orotund or fustian language (and, yes....I used a thesaurus for all those words. Can you imagine? A collective eye-roll, please). But, if a better, yet still accessible, word applies - why not use it?

There's been a word floating around my house this week that has me desperately seeking a thesaurus. The word is...cocky. That word is much, much easier to type than to say. When I try, it almost gets stuck in my throat as I giggle. It's a completely ridiculous word. My boys, on the other hand, seem to be in love with it.

First up...Seth and the Space Rocket Derby.

Seth's pack opted for the Space Derby over the more traditional and popular Pinewood Derby this year. The materials were distributed last month and Jay and Seth have been working together creating Seth's rocket for the last several weeks. It was difficult to motivate Seth to work on it, mostly due to his youth and lack of experience, but also because he can be kind of flighty at times. Jay, a determined former cubmaster, refused to take over and made the sanding, painting, decorating and engineering a joint project. That's not to say that same determined former cubmaster didn't tinker on the side to ensure the rocket's competitiveness. He downloaded the inside tips on making the best rocket possible and worked his perfectionist magic into creating a sleek, gold rocket.

The derby was on Tuesday and let's just say...the tips worked. Almost embarrassingly so. Seth's rocket was overtly superior. As he took his four turns and consistently scored in the 200s, Jay and I sheepishly sat in the back row hoping we didn't seem like those overzealous cub scout parents who ruin derbies. Seth was a champ and enjoyed his win, but high-fived his fellow cubs as they improved their own rockets each turn. We were proud of him and talked to him on the way home about how impressed we were with his good sportsmanship.

His reply: "I think I won because I didn't get cocky. I didn't think our rocket would go at all! I just didn't want to be embarrassed by it. So, I think my rocket did so good because I wasn't cocky about it." Between Jay realizing his son had so little faith in their rocket and me being jarred by all the "cocky"s, we're glad his first experienced turned out so well, but are also very glad it's over.

co-craftsman of rocket extraordinaire.

Let's see that cub scout sign! Too cute.

Some of the boys winding up their rockets for the first test run.

Dad helping son keep track of the number of rotations. 120 turns was the magic number.

Stay on target....stay on target.

His 250 point run. (That was the max. It was an accuracy competition. If the rockets went too far, then the points started to get smaller)

Lining them up.

The champion!

Tired and bored brother by the end of the 2 1/2 hour event. I'm feeling ya buddy!

Next up...Sam and who he likes.

Yesterday, when Sammy was being particularly cute and helpful, I gathered him up for a big hug and told him, "You are my buddy!"

He hugged me back an said, "You're my girlfriend."

Chuckling, I asked him if he liked girls. He replied that he liked some but not the mean ones.

Trying to gauge his statement against a known, I asked him if he liked boys. He quickly responded, "Yes" and I further clarified by asking, "Even mean ones?"

"No. Not the ones that stand around going, 'Uhhhhh...I'm so cool. Uhhhhhhh' They're too cocky. I don't like cocky boys."

Hearing my five year old imitate a.....confident....peer made me laugh but I wonder where they picked up this word. I don't want to label it a bad word, like I erroneously did with the word "stupid" that now can't be used in any setting without some major tattling, but I hope they'll discover the thesaurus soon and choose words like arrogant. Or conceited. Or self-assured. But, of course, none of those are quite as fun for little boys to say.

What words are like fingernails on a chalkboard for you? I know someone at bookgroup said she hated the word, "moist". I've never been troubled by that word. I'm sure there are plenty of words that have the same effect on me, but for now, I'm putting cocky at the top of the list.