On the way to church on Sunday morning, Lucas told us about a dream he had had. He said the Radio Star girls came into his bedroom while he was sleeping and started singing and dancing and they woke him up.

Later that day, we went to Theomos and Pirategirl’s house to have dinner with them. We barbecued and Lucas remembered seeing T and MrPlanet4 play the Super Nintendo the previous Sunday. He clearly remembered the name of the game too, because he announced “I have a video game. It’s called Lucas Brothers 3”

We are all recovering from a party weekend. We went to Ambrosia’s second birthday party on Saturday and got to meet Kelly’s parents, brother and sister-in-law, and some of her friends. I really hit it off with her friend Michelle, and I hope I get to see her again sometime. The kids had a wonderful time digging in the dirt at Howe Avenue Park. (The party favors for the children were toy shovels and buckets. Thankfully Lucas did not pitch a fit when he was given the green bucket instead of the blue one!)

Mom and I met up after the party to go shopping. I think she feels sorry for our being poor, so she bought me two pairs of sandles and a top, skirt, and crop-pants. We had fun. I like seeing her spend cash on herself—I know that it’s always been hard on her. I think she bought herself four pairs of shoes and two outfits. We had a lot of fun.

Ian and I partied all of Saturday night with friends. We had a lovely time being irresponsible while Lucas was tucked safely away with my parents for the night. He really seems to enjoy the occasional overnight at the grandparents’ houses. He gets completely spoiled and gets to play—in this case—with Papa’s trains. Did I mention my father owns more toy train track pieces than we do?

Lucas also gets to use his very own mini-toilet that Papa installed for him in my old bedroom. It’s so totally cute and ridiculous a the same time—it’s only about 10 inches off the ground and is a perfect miniature, working, flushing toilet. My dad is smug as can be about getting it for Lucas. Old people can be weird.

Anyway, we all had a nice weekend. After we picked L up from mom and dad’s we went back to Tom’s and barbequed and hung out for the rest of the day. After a little struggle, I even managed to convince Lucas to take a nap in Tom’s spare bedroom.

We just had a nice weekend together. The weather was gorgeous both days, and we went to Fair Oaks park on Saturday for a picnic. Cheap, easy, satisfying family fun. It is nice just spending time together as a family.

On Sunday Lucas got to go to the zoo with Cindy and Kimberlee Dawn. We fuddy-duddy parents stayed home and worked—I worked to make money, Ian studied and did some of his online coursework for the first of four classes that he needs for a BCBA certification (it’s for behavior analysts). The beautiful day—perhaps the most beautiful day so far this year, marched on while we stared at computer screens in a stuffy office bedroom.

I don’t really know how the zoo trip went because my dad actually picked Lucas up from Cindy. Ian and I went to a memorial service for Kimkimkaree’s stepmother Monica. I know that Lucas commented to Papa that there are no elephants at the zoo. He did admit to seeing monkeys and flamingoes when I grilled him later. I hope Cindy had fun—she seemed a little nervous about taking care of a three-year-old, but it was all her idea in the first place.

When we picked Lucas up at my parents’ house at around 5 pm, I conned the folks into taking us to Cattleman’s for dinner. It was a nice visit and a yummy, free meal. Gotta love parents for that type of thing!

Today, Lucas was in his first fender-bender. He was with DeeDee and VoVo and a 17-year-old on a motorcycle swiped David’s driver-side mirror off the car. No biggy. They were stopped at a light and the motorcycle was driving up the white line between lanes. The funny part is that the kid has no license, no insurance, and no permission to be driving his dad’s Harley-Davidson. Tough luck for him. They had to call the police, who had to get his father to come and get him because they wouldn’t let him drive away on the bike. Apparently the kid was freaking out—he cried and sobbed and shook and blubblered and hyperventilated because he was certain his father was gonna kill him.

I wonder if Lucas will ever do something really dumb like that. It’s hard to imagine him as a 17-year-old.
Wednesday, April 13, 2005

The notorious question, “Why?” is now part of my darling son’s vocabulary.

We are working really hard to get a handle on our money and spending—and it kinda sucks. It means we haven’t been able to buy much this month or eat out, but I’ve thrown up my hands because the task of managing our cash flow and paying the bills has just become too much for me to handle on my own. All these years, Ian has stayed out of it because I’ve done it and too many cooks in the kitchen can be a real pain in the ass. Now Ian created a wonderful exel tool that is helping us balance our checking account for the first time ever. I’m too damned math-phobic! Anyway, this tool should help us avoid pissing away our money on bank fees. I’ll be glad when the SMUD bill returns to normal again. Right now we are atoning for being far too-liberal with our power usage because of the hot tub. Yikes.

“I like some food everyday!”

“Daddy, do fish have eyebrows?”