Street names

Remember when I said I had been rereading the last name test? All of that was to confess that I have a weird thing about street names. It's sort of become a thing for me to look closely at a street name when considering a future residence. You might be surprised at some of the ridiculously named streets that exist out there.** As a result, I've been thinking about how I would value street names. I welcome any suggestions, but here is where I've started (again, each street starting with 100 points):

The pizza guy test: Can the pizza guy find your house?
I've just given up and get take out: -10 points
Yes, but with a little help when I place my order: -5 points
Yes, as long as I specify if I'm on the Avenue or Street: -3 points
Of course! There is only one street by this name in town: -0 points

The turning on utilities test: How many times do you have to spell the name of your street?
I've started filling out all my forms online to avoid speaking on the phone: -10 points
Often enough that I have the law enforcement phonetic alphabet memorized: -5 points
Only if the customer service representative is foreign: -0 points

The Christmas card test: Will your address fit on an envelope?
I have to write my return address on the back: -10 points
Yes, as long as I abbreviate a few things: -5 points
Of course, but it's so short that it looks a little wimpy: -3 points
I've never had a problem either sending or receiving mail: -0 points

The locals only test: Is your house named after some sort of local landmark or hero? Does the name of your street contain words that are not English?
Even people who live in my town have a hard time with the street name: -10 points
Yes, but I only have problems when giving my address to someone from somewhere else: -5 points
Yes, but almost everyone has heard of this person/place/word: -3 points
Out-of-towners have no problem pronouncing the name of my street: -0 points

The it-sounded-cool-at-the-time test: Are all the streets in your subdivision named after girls? Trees? Colleges?
Yes, and it's obvious when my subdivision was built because I live on Jessica/Jennifer/Ashley Lane: -5 points
Yes, but the names are fairly common: -3 points
No, my street name is not part of a theme: -0 points

(Similar) The what-were-they-thinking test: Do you live on a street named Meat Packing Plant Dr.? What about Chigger Circle?
The name of my street is unique, and not in a good way: -10 points
It's a little strange: -5 points
There are no jokes that can be made with the name of my street: -0 points

The Sirhan Sirhan test: We lived on N. North Valley Parkway once. It was more confusing than you'd think.
My street name has duplicated words: -5 points
Each word in my address is used only once: -0 points

The snooze test: Do you live on one of those streets that's just a number? Bo-ring!
Yes, and it's a ridiculous number like 957th: -5 points
Yes, but I think numbered streets make a lot of sense: -3 points and we can agree to disagree
No, my street has a name: -0 points
No way! My street name is awesome and beautiful (think Serenity Lane or Honeysuckle Drive): +3 points


**No, really. In the hour since I published this, I've done some quick searching based on some homes near schools Josh considered attending/applying to work for at some point in our marriage. In just that time I have found Mechanics Circle, Possum Corner Road, North Calle de la Solana, and The Trail Road.

everything has a name

When we read books to Caroline, she often likes to name the characters. With a few exceptions, she assigns each family member a character in the book. This sounds nice until we read a book that doesn't have the right number of characters. Sometimes, the "characters" are inanimate objects. While she does this with almost every book, here are a few that have remained consistent with every reading:

No matter how many times I show her the orange and white llama in the rest of the book, she insists that on this page it is a lion. Why the lion is hanging out with a bunch of llamas is anyone's guess. Also, when I asked her who is standing next to the moose and porcupine: "That's Harold." Oh, right.

name that legend

friends

They said I'd never keep in touch with my friends from high school, that the people I met in college and beyond would be my lifelong friends. In most cases, that has been true. There are some notable exceptions, however. This won't be about all the exceptions, though. This will be about two: these two.

I met Katie in Kindergarten. Erin and I became friends backstage at a play at the local community college the summer after 4th grade. When 5th grade rolled around, I was in a classroom with a teacher I wasn't thrilled about with none of my closest friends. (Remember when class lists were posted outside the office in the summer? Do they still do that?) My mom consoled me with the thought that Katie and Erin would both be in class with me. It took some of that year, but we finally became close friends. Sometime that year or the next, we would walk home with each other, talk on the phone for hours, plan projects together, make up games on the playground...all the things best friends do at 10 and 11.

We stayed close in Junior High and in High School. I don't have many memories that don't involve these two. We tried out for dance together, practicing for hours and calling each other when one or the other of us couldn't remember the routine. We ran cross country and track together. I think we started because my brother ran cross country. I think we continued because Katie and Erin were far more dedicated runners than I was. We sang in the show choir together.

It wasn't just the activities, though. There were classes and activities that we didn't do together. I was in band. They were in student council. They did cheer in junior high. I...didn't. It was more having a friend (in my case, two) that we could always count on to be kind, to be a confidante, to be a friendly face in a large high school.

Then we went to college, got jobs, moved around the world, and we didn't talk as often as I'd have liked. Some of that was my fault. I've never been great at picking up the phone and calling. We have all made other friends: college friends, work friends, the kind of friends "they" say will be your lifelong friends. And a lot of that is true. There are people they know that I don't and vice versa. There are experiences that we haven't shared, maybe even hurt feelings (though never intentional) and missed birthdays. I missed Katie's wedding because I was 38 weeks pregnant and 2400 miles away. But I'm so happy when we are together. I love these two. I love our friendship's past and its future.

I know some people who worry about and pray for their children's future spouses. I guess I can't imagine my kids grown and married yet, because I'm not thinking about any hypothetical spouses yet. I do sometimes wish and hope and pray that my children will find their own Erins and Katies. Someone to call from around the world when a parent dies. Someone who will show up to babysit when there is no one else. Someone who will love and appreciate aging parents because of the impact those parents had on all our lives. That is a future not too far away and a lifelong peace and joy I hope they will find.

concentration

Riding a bike takes tons.

what baby wants baby gets

Some days, I am reminded that I do still have a nursing infant. Some days, she makes it clear that she wants to do nothing else but cuddle and eat. Some days, I'm happy to comply. 

Other things (like those clothes waiting to be ironed) can wait. Other things have to wait. For such a pleasant child she is quite insistent.

Dear Dad,

Remember how it's orange season and I'm wishing we could share some? Well yesterday, Caroline insisted that she could peel her own orange. She then proceeded to do what she's seen me do and raised the orange to her lips to get it started. Except she must not know what it is I do, because instead of biting into the skin to start the orange peel, she licked it. Imagine her surprise when the orange peel was still intact! I had a good laugh. I think you would have too.

That same crazy granddaughter of yours told me this the other day: "Grandpa Hunt died. He is with Jesus in heaven. I would like to go to heaven. Let's go see him!" Me too, Caroline. I imagine it's a great place to be.

Miriam (and how she fares in the name game)

A long time ago, back when I was more creative (if not true, it certainly feels that way) and had more time to write on the blog (definitely true), I made up a point system for last names. It was in response to a point system for first names. The original post, with a link to the first name point system, can be found here. After looking up the post (for reasons to be explained shortly), I decided to see how the girls' names score. Holy cow, Miriam is winning by a landslide!

Josh = 78
Jonah = 73
Kimberly = 68
Caroline = 75
Miriam = 84

In fact, she really only lags on the front porch test (which makes me laugh because my dad cited a very similar test when trying to help us decide on her name...he called it the 'you're-really-in-trouble-now-kid' test or something).

Little Mim is asserting herself in other ways, too. She's crawling all over the place these days, much earlier than it feels like she should be. She is also almost always happy. She's still not too sure about the solid food thing, but anything papery she will happily ingest. She is, according to Jonah, "the cutest person in our family." 

 

a modern-day miracle

Last night, I made borscht. I don't really know what came over me, other than I had some borscht a few years ago and it was yummy. I made a combination of this recipe and this recipe, picking and choosing based on what I had and what sounded good (note to future self: less vinegar next time).

The miracle occurred when Jonah (yes, the same one of won't-eat-sandwiches-and-until-recently-required-a-separate-fork-for-each-item-on-his-plate fame) tried to convince Caroline to try it. "It's yummy," he said. "Look! Watch me eat it!" Sure, he didn't finish his bowl. And yes, I think he was just trying to be older and wiser, but still. My child voluntarily ate some bites of borscht. Someone remind me of this later when I'm crying because he won't eat cheese.

Etch-A-Sketch

Jonah regularly asks for tips and ideas of what he should do next on the Etch-A-Sketch. What I want to say, but do not, is that I've never cared for them. I don't really understand how they work (I mean, I do, but I've never cared to play around with one long enough to make anything fancier than a staircase), and I am constantly shocked when Josh can produce words and recognizable pictures.

I don't say those things, of course, because I want to encourage his exploration rather than stifle it. But seriously, kid, I don't have any ideas for your robot. Maybe more lines?

I need this thing.

I did not realize until now, but I need to swim on the moon.

http://what-if.xkcd.com/124/

P.S. The book "What If?" is also very awesome. We've been devouring it since Christmas.

in the eyes of the three-year-old child

When Caroline has the camera, it's anyone's guess what pictures I'll find. Today she was quite prolific. She was also pretty good at capturing actual people and things (as opposed to blurry shots of her fingers or the tile floor). Care to see what she finds fascinating?

Miriam

Miriam spends ridiculous amounts of time lounging on her side. Photographic evidence is difficult to procure, however. If she sees someone heading her way, she will flip on to her stomach and scoot over to say hello. Sometimes, she lounges with her legs crossed. This is especially hilarious when she's wearing those socks that look like Mary Janes. 

Sometimes, she just lays on her hip. This looks even less comfortable to us, but she doesn't seem to mind. It gets some funny looks at the park, but we are so used to it that we barely notice anymore. Maybe she has a future in some sort of balance competition?

overheard from the other room

"Go get it now. You do want to learn how to do this, don't you? You want to learn how to knock my balloon away? Well you have to fight strong!" -Jonah to Caroline

"That was a big spill. But Dolly can just lick it up." -Caroline, while wiping her doll all over the table.

"Wow, you are so noisy Mim." -Josh to Miriam

"That's a great name. Noisy Mim. We should call her Noisy Mim for the rest of her life. Then when she's a grown up, people will say, 'Look, there's Noisy Mim' when she goes to parties." -Jonah