Fridays With Kimball!

Ashley and Jordan previously told me that Kimball really liked the book, "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" but I had no idea how much he liked it until I read it to him the other day. Kimball was literally shaking like a quaking aspen with excitement as I read every page to him. Can I tell you how much that thrills me? Me, the lover of books? Me, the adorer of reading? Me, the mommy who tried so hard (with great success) to instill a love of reading into her own kids? Yeah. That's the me I mean. And that's my grandbaby following suit! I love that baby.

Grrrr . . . It's a Manly Man!

In the wake of Father's Day, I was reminded of a tiny little article I recently read in my local newspaper. (I swear, the two newspapers I take are literally shrinking every single day, yet they still have space for Brenda Starr and Judge Parker? Gotta wonder about those ink men.)

Where was I? Oh yeah. The article. It was entitled, "SLC ranks 16th on the 'Manliest Cities' list." Oh boy. I knew this would be good. According to the article, a study ranked cities on criteria such as the number of professional major league sports teams, popularity of tools and hardware (popularity of tools and hardware? could they mean, popularity of tools and hardware stores perhaps?), and . . . wait for it . . . frequency of monster truck rallies. My, my, my. A manly man's paradise if I ever saw one.

I'm just positive you are as eager as a beaver to see the entire list so here ya go:

1. Nashville, TN

2. Charlotte, NC

3. Oklahoma City, OK

4. Cincinnati, OH

5. Denver, CO

6. St. Louis, MO

7. Columbus, OH

8. Kansas City, MO

9. Indianapolis, IN

10. Toledo, OH

11. Memphis, TN

12. Richmond, VA

13. Columbia, SC

14. Orlando, FL

15. Dayton, OH

16. Salt Lake City, UT

Ohio wins hands down with four of the top 16 cities. I've got to be honest here, folks. In my book there is more to being a manly man than just needing a step stool to climb into his vehicle, as alluring as that may be. In my book a manly man:

*walks the floor with a crying baby at 3:00 a.m.

*works at a job he doesn't necessarily love but does so anyway to provide for his family

*speaks with care and doesn't take the tempting route of criticizing

*expresses pride in his boy even after his son makes the game-losing play

*plays dress-ups with his young daughter even as she insists he play the part of grandma

*does the dishes

*folds the laundry

*cleans the toilets(!)

*goes to a chick flick without noticeably wincing or groaning throughout

*tenderly reads that same princess story over and over, complete with voice inflections

*weeds the irises with great care

*fails to point out flaws of others, but rather, notices strengths and growth

*quietly leads with an example of complete integrity and honesty

Now that, my friends, is my kind of a "manly man." And I am so happy to say that I have more manly men in my life than I surely deserve.

So, now. I know this list is incomplete. What makes a man manly to you? I would love to read what your ideas of manly men are. Please share, k? And don't be shy about it, even if the first image that pops into your head is a man holding a plumber's helper. That's cool too.

Fridays With Kimball!

Christian, Kimball and I decided to go for a walk in a nearby park that has a small little pond at its center. By the by, have you ever noticed that fishermen are a truly dedicated bunch? I swear, that pond couldn't have been more than one hundred yards across and about six inches deep, but there were anglers a go-go trying to catch who knows what. And not little kids--these guys had their big muscle trucks and big muscle shirts and big muscle bobbers. Funny. Anywho! Kimball wasn't quite up to making the trek on his own two feet this time around, and since Christian (see pic below) has outgrown his old stroller (ya think?), he graciously offered Kimball the use of his throne-on-wheels where Kimball was able to wave to all of his minions who hold him in very high esteem indeed.

She Might As Well Take Advantage of the Family Discount Perk!

After Ashley saw Kimball in all of his glory where he was "Puttin' on the Ritz," she decided it was time to revisit her own piano skills and take a refresher course. (Ashley took lessons for almost ten years before she declared, "enough!" without my say-so, btw.) As you witnessed in the video from my previous post, Ashley obviously passed on her talent to her offspring. She is now the student once again.

In the photos below, we see Kimball teaching Ashley the finer points of being a concert pianist, chief among them: possessing nerves of steel, exhibiting a flamboyant personality and sporting a dry diaper. Kimball even demonstrated a technique not usually seen on the stages of the world's premier concert halls, a technique Kimball calls, "toeing."

I think Ashley got her money's worth out of her session; you should have seen her "toeing" by the end of her $150/half-hour lesson! Aw, what a shame that my camera batteries konked out at that exact moment. Wouldn't you just know it? :[

Fridays With Kimball!

Due to Kimball's early exposure to the fine arts, he has emerged as the world's latest child prodigy. Please turn off all cell phones, curtail the noise of cellophane candy wrappers, and enjoy the show!

Coming soon: The complete Kimball Kollection, Director's Cut Edition, containing never-before-seen footage! Place your order now--this offer is for a limited time only and is not available in stores.

Ick

I heard some disturbing news the other day: A live-action feature-length movie based on "The Jetsons" cartoon is due to start filming in November. For the love of Pete, leave George Jetson and Jane-his-wife as they are, k? We don't need another cartoon-to-live-action disaster like that trainwreck, "Speed Racer." Wish I had that bubble that encloses Jane and vamps her up in about one one-hundredth of a second. That would leave me so much more time for important chores like Internet shopping and stuff . . .

I'm Not a Traitor, But . . .

Thanks to Kat, Christian and I were weeping with laughter the other day while watching this video. I don't mean to

betray my own kind but, holy wrecks, this is funny!

Having a Wonderful Time . . .

I've got to hand it to Christian--he sure indulges me at the peril of enduring great embarrassment to himself. A big boatload of brownie points for Christian!

So Christian was messing around with the stop-action feature on our computer, and I persuaded cough,forced,cough him to make a kooky little featurette starring the two of us. Make sure you have the volume turned up as you play this, because that knocking sound that you hear at the 00.02 mark? That's the hollowness in my head, indisputable evidence that I should never, under any circumstances, be asked to balance a checkbook. Are you listening, Dave?

Thanks Christian! You are such a sport!

Fridays With Kimball!

"Little Sprite"

Check out this sleeping little "sprite."  (Ashley calls Kimball her little sprite on the days when this wee laddie be wearin' o' the green.) So Ash and I spied these adorable shorts at the store the other day, and, of course, I couldn't conquer my inner demon aka my shopping compulsion, and I had those shorts purchased before you could blink a shining Irish eye.  I love how the shorts are actually more like kicky little capri pants since Kimball isn't so long in the limbs quite yet :) 

Before Ashley left Kimball to head out for her day at the salt mines (thesis torture), she helped Kimball jot down a little birthday wish for Uncle Seanie on a big poster that I'm making for him.  Now I ask you, isn't my grandbaby a perfect candidate for Mensa?  Uh, yeah.

FTD Delivers Again!

FTD (From The Darndestgreenthumbever) comes this beautiful bouquet.  I stopped by Mom's house and offered a Krispy Kreme or two, and I came home with something that smells as good almost as good as Original Glazed, although not quite as tasty going down.   Thanks again, Mom!

Live Long and Prosper

The group, Without Arrogance & Categorically Kooky Every Day, has given the movie, "Star Trek," three and one-half  Roddenberrys for its excellence in casting, wit, special effects and retention of just enough campiness to satisfy the old-school trekkies everywhere.  Great summer flick.   Warp speed.