quick clicks

dads today articles

dads today q&a

message boards

research baby names

prepare a birth plan

content channels

ip channel rss feeds

read birth stories

read parenting stories

recommended books

e-newsletters

safety recalls

ip diaries

ip store

mom of the month

dad of the month

editor's letter

letters to the editor

Michael's Diary Entries Diary Navigation: Choose A Diary Entry -------------------- Latest Entry: 8/28/00 -------------------- 8/21/00 8/14/00 8/7/00 8/1/00 7/24/00 7/17/00 7/10/00 7/3/00 6/26/00 6/19/00 6/12/00 6/5/00 5/29/00 5/22/00 5/14/00 -------------------- Michael's Introduction

August 21, 2000

Dear Readers,

Last week we engaged in some good old summer fun before Lisa had to start work this week. Two things just about all kids love -- cars and ice cream -- were on the agenda.

Cruiser Night: Many of the suburbs around our house now have Cruiser Nights in which classic car, power car, and novelty car enthusiasts, fanatics and lovers put their machines on display. My wife’s parents’ (Brandon and Allie’s Nana and Papa) town has one almost every Saturday night in the summer.

Hundreds of cars in mint condition line the streets and fill parking lots in the downtown area, some with their hoods up, showing off their power, beauty and uniqueness to all onlookers. Brandon was in heaven. But heaven got even better: One parking lot was filled with old police cars from around the country, some with their lights flashing and sirens screeching. The lot even had the town’s newest super surveillance police van on display and open for a walk-through. We, of course, walked through this mini-house on wheels, with at least 20+ storage compartments, rest benches and computer command center. Brandon also got a police badge sticker, but he didn’t care about that.

Brandon, however, did have a complaint: Not all the police cars had their lights and sirens on. He wasn’t happy about this. And he exclaimed, "Daddy, more lights on, more sirens on. Put more lights on."

Prop Endowment: The Cruiser Night also provided some entertainment of the lowbrow, cheesy sort. A "Blewz Brothers" novelty act that didn’t look, sound or act like the Blues Brothers. They didn’t perform many Blues Brothers songs either. But they had a car that shook and rattled to the music, and they lip-synced a number of songs and encouraged audience participation, complete with props. It was a scene out of wedding reception with an overly eager, excessively prop-endowed DJ, especially when they did the YMCA bit. Yuck.

Allie, unfortunately -- I mean, however -- liked this shtick, for it gave her, her mother and her Nana an opportunity to dance -- just what Brandon, Papa and I wanted to do. Really. We did. Actually, Brandon, like his father (and probably Papa, too) thought it was lame. We preferred to eat popcorn and sit on the bench while the ladies had their fun. Brandon couldn’t wait to look at the cars again. After the "Blewz Brothers" did a Michael Jackson impersonation lip-sync, complete with white glove on one hand, I couldn’t either. And I’m not even a car lover.

Triple Cone Lick: The next night after enjoying a delicious Homerun Inn pizza with the family, I decided to stop on the way home and treat the kids to an ice cream cone. I say "I decided" because Lisa whispered to me at the restaurant after I broached the subject with her:

"We have ice cream at home. They don’t need to go out for it. They’re just as happy with a bowl at home."

"But they’re kids and this is fun. Plus, we hardly ever take them out for ice cream," I said.

She looked at me and repeated her stance: "But they don’t need it."

So off we went to the ice cream shop. Brandon ordered Firecracker Crunch -- a red, white and blue fruit-flavored concoction; Allie chose the orange sherbert; and I picked the Pecan Swirl. Lisa got nothing. I couldn’t believe it: The Queen of Sweets rejects a sweet treat. I’m still stunned. On second thought, maybe she was more upset about this stop than I thought.

So the three of us have our cones and we’re happily licking away when ... Brandon tells Lisa he has to go to the bathroom. Ugh. We were not happy. Lisa reminded him, "I asked you before we left the restaurant and you said you didn’t have to go." Brandon looked at her sheepishly.

What’s a parent to do? Borrow a bucket. The little ice cream shop did not have a public restroom. Fortunately, the owner let us use the employee restroom, which was cramped with a ladder pressed between the toilet and wall, cleaners, buckets and a hot water heater. But we got the job done.

While Brandon and I were taking care of business, Lisa had to hold all the cones and watch Allie. I clearly had the easier job. Allie sensed that Lisa could not detain or contain her, and she immediately started running around and trying to climb on everything. Up on the booth. Over toward the door. Nah-nah, mama can’t catch me with her hands full of ice cream, Allie probably thought to herself.

In addition to watching Allie, Lisa periodically had to lick all three cones so they wouldn’t melt all over her hands. She also had to avoid licking too much and getting accused of "stealing" our ice cream. Lisa somehow pulled off the Triple Lick and Watch Rambunctious Kid move without Allie getting hurt or lost and without excessive licking. What a mom, what a woman, what a tongue.

Cruising, licking and loving every bit of it,

Michael