Randomness:

• I really like soundtracks.  All kinds.  Favorites include The Little Mermaid, My Fair Lady, Mary Poppins, the Last Kiss, Garden State, Romeo + Juliet, Slumdog Millionaire.  I’m not sure why I like soundtracks soo much.  Probably because it’s a variety.  I’ve been listening to the Slumdog soundtrack a lot lately.  I don’t really think it’s the best “road trip” music but it’s great music.  Track #3 makes me feel like I’m in a Bourne movie, in a trademark Bourne chase scene.  I wonder if that excuse would work if I were to get pulled over for speeding.  “officer – it was the music!”
• 3^rd week of spelling words with Stewart.  He is very enthusiastic about practicing and he tries very hard to sound out the words and spell them on his own.  I made him a spelling practice notebook.  I think having a “special” notebook for practice makes it a little more exciting and reiterates the importance of spelling for him.  He is doing great.  Since this is the third week – I know he can spell at least 30 different words!
• Parker is an onery little booger.  I realized last night that he shuns his toddler spoons and forks.  He almost refuses to eat with them.  Last night he was refusing it and he kept grunting and pointing at a regular spoon.  So I gave it to him.  He hate a lot of macaroni and cheese.  Just another little Parker-ism on his track to independence and being a big boy.  It shouldn’t surprise me – and I guess it doesn’t.  He wants to do everything that we do.  If we get home and take our shoes off, he wants to take off his shoes.  If Bill and Stewart are upstairs watching TV with no shirts on – Parker doesn’t want to be wearing a shirt.  I wonder if it is just imitation or his desire to be grown up and he thinks that is what big kids do?
• Stewart is enrolled in an after school enrichment program that is offered by his elementary school.  I think it sounds great.  It is staffed by the teachers at his school, and he stays at his school.  They have a snack and a recreation period and they spend at least 30 min working on homework (with a focus on math and spelling.)  I will admit, Bill and I didn’t spend a lot of extra time helping him with school work outside of his homework last year.  This year, we are dedicating more time to homework and we do spelling words every day.  I can tell a difference.  I have learned in my classes (look at me busting out the knowledge!) that any parental involvement reinforces the importance of the subject in the mind of the child.  It increases their interest in the subject as well as encourages them to do well.  So we’ll see.  The project is funded by the US Department of education, so it’s free!  I do wonder if the school’s motive is to increase the standardized test scores – which I don’t necessarily agree with (more stuff I’ve leared in my classes about standardized testing being an unfair way to assess children) but I think the benefit of Stewart having extra one on one time will be really good for him.
• I guess we aren’t going to the U2 concert.  Bill’s trip to India is causing him to miss several nights of class – and he doesn’t have another absence he can use for the concert.  So I’ve been thinking about trying to sell them – which is kindeve a hassle.  And then I’ve realized that I really want to go, still.  U2 is very much a Bill and I thing (we quoted a song lyric on our wedding announcement and it seems like the only music that we both like) but I am over the disappointment of not going WITH him – but I still want to go.  It’s like a thing – Men wished they could have seen Jordan play basketball live.  U2 is a concert that I would like to go to.  I have been to a grand total of 3 concerts my whole entire life and this is just one that I really want to go to.  The last time U2 was in the area I kicked myself for not getting tickets and going – and now I have tickets.  I have them.  Sitting in our office on the desk.  I periodicly go on there to make sure the tickets are still there.  I’m conflicted.  Should I go with a friend or just not go because Bill can’t go?
• Bank of America and Direct TV are on my shit list.  Permanently.  If it wouldn’t be such a hassle, I would ditch Bank of America yesterday.  Back in JUNE DirectTV hit up my checking account for $800 for the equipment they said I hadn’t returned yet.  I was waiting for them to send me the boxes to return the equipment.  Coincidentally, the day they charged my checking out was the day the boxes showed up.  I disputed the charge with Bank of America and had to call up mom and dad to loan me some money.  So now – it’s the middle of September and it is still in dispute.  Initially BofA did issued a temporary credit while they investigated the charge but they have since reversed it (which I feared they would do) and I escalated the dispute and now BofA has I guess finished researching it, said they can’t find any error in my part so now they pushed it over to Direct TV’s bank.  KEEP IN MIND, Direct TV has the equipment.  It has been received.  Can’t they just cancel this out?  So now I’m waiting for Direct TV’s bank to make a judgement (I guess?)  It’s irritating.  We quit direct TV in MAY – May 21^st to be exact.  It’s September 18^th – and I’m still trying to argue over this charge – that will be credited because they have the equipment.  Ridiculous.
• Bill hit a deer last night on the way home.  He should really post the blog about this – he was driving.  I wasn’t even in the car.  It was inevitable.  One of us was going to hit a deer.  At one point, I asked him what I was supposed to do if I ever hit one – just because I knew it was going to happen.  Last night – less than a mile from our house – going 40mph a deer jumped out in front of him.  Bill said he didn’t even have a chance to break.  Slammed into the deer and Bambi died.  Surprisingly Bill and the truck are fine.  There doesn’t appear to be any damage on the truck – the bumper is a little furry and his vanity plate was bent in – but that’s it.  Lucky.  Lucky he wasn’t driving my car.  Lucky we haven’t traded in my car for a Prius, or a TDI Jetta, or the TDI A3.  Lucky he was in his big behmoth of a truck that sits so high, the deer hit the bumper.  And the bumper popped back out once he took off the bent vanity plate.  Too bad we don’t eat venison.  (KIDDING, I refuse to eat ROADKILL!)