A Couple of Firsts

As we first mentioned here, Daniel has had a loose tooth for a couple of weeks now. On Saturday, in the middle of the afternoon with no prompting, he decided that he'd just bite down really hard on it to see what would happen, and sure enough, out it came. He didn't get the least bit upset by this - he was uncharacteristically calm, in fact - but he was clearly thrilled and very proud of himself.










Exhilarating stuff, to be sure, but there was also some excitement involved with the first that we had on Sunday when we went to a playground near our house. Towards the end of our time there, Maggie made the announcement, "Look, there's a Black Widow Spider just like in my Bug's Life game!" And, sure enough, there was the thing in the flesh, crawling along the sand, looking for children to poison, no doubt. Unfortunately, we didn't have the good camera with us, and the pictures that I took from my phone didn't do the thing justice, so I'll just have to do my best to describe it for you here.

It was really black. Also, it had a huge abdomen with a bright red hourglass on it. I've read that the red hourglass should be on the underside for the Black Widow, and that the hourglass on the top may actually be indicative of a False Widow, but as it didn't live long enough to bother correcting us for what was, perhaps, a case of mistaken identity, the truth must be forever buried with it. Whether true or false, the kids were sufficiently convinced of its black widow-ness that they ran screaming from the playground equipment, although I will say they didn't seem particularly scared. I think they may have just wanted to run around screaming. Which, come to think of it, is why we took them to the park in the first place.

Adequate Sleep

I think getting enough sleep is essential to having the brainpower and creative energy to blog on a regular basis. Just sayin'. G'night.

First Dentist Visit

This morning Daniel and Maggie had their very first visit to the dentist. Daniel is six and about to lose his first tooth so he was bit overdue, but without dental insurance you have to have the cash to pay for the services. Thanks to our economic stimulus check I decided that the entire Hipps clan should go to the dentist. Both Daniel and Maggie have 20 teeth (although Daniel may only have 19 in a few days) and no cavities. Maggie got her teeth cleaned first. She is our adventurous child. She did a fantastic job. The hygienist, Miss Dannie, said that her teeth don't have many gaps, which is desirable in young children, so she will probably need braces when she is older. It is also more important for us to floss her teeth on a regular basis. Daniel very hesitantly climbed into the chair even after watching his sister bravely undergo her painless cleaning. He did fine, but he still wanted me close by. Then Dannie was going to take two x-rays so that we might be able to see where his 6 year molars are in terms of breaking through, but Daniel gagged and that was the end of it. He started to tear up and get scared. Dannie was very encouraging and didn't force it since she wanted his first visit to be a positive one. Daniel and Maggie both got prizes from the treasure cabinet. Maggie chose two balloons, and Daniel chose a rubber ball and a plastic snake. Both left happy with cleaner teeth and fresher breath. Let's hope Daniel's X-rays go better in January.

The Element of Surprise

I have never been big on surprises. I can enjoy an occasional surprise, like my favorite meal for dinner, or an unexpected on-the-money birthday present, but in general, I prefer to know what I'm getting into. My son, however, takes this character trait to new and heretofore undiscovered heights of craziness. We thought we'd surprise the kids yesterday with an outing to a movie that Daniel, especially, has expressed interest in. The movie was Kung Fu Panda, and it was nearly a kung-tastrophe. The moment we arrived at the theater, he burst into tears, and twice during the movie he broke down and announced he wanted to go home. He was pretty tired, but I think a lot of it had to do with being surprised. I've noticed other unfortunate traits that I've passed on (video-game-related stubbornness, allergies, wheezing), but this one is clearly the most heinous. Or not. He may just be the kind of guy who likes to know what's going on. And, in the end, he said he liked the movie, so it's not like the surprise completely ruined the experience for him. Still, it's pretty rough knowing that, whether I like it or not, I've passed on some of my lameness to my son. Best to keep some parts of the chip firmly on the block.

With a Little Help From My, Um, Neighbors

I just wanted to give a quick shout-out to my peeps here in the 'hood. Specifically, I wanted to shout out, "THANK YOU FOR YOUR LAWN SERVICES!!!" Our across-the-street neighbor has, for over a year now, graciously allowed us the use of his riding lawn mower to plow the front 40. This has been a great blessing to us, as we only have a push-mower of our own. The rider takes about an hour and a half to get the job done, whereas the push-mower has taken over 5 hours on its worst day (averages about 3). So, it bears repeating, this has been a great blessing to us. Recent events have prevented us from mowing as frequently as we might like, however, and yesterday our next-door neighbor generously offered his mowing services for an extremely reasonable fee, in my opinion. When I came home and found that the lawn - whose impending maintenance had filled my work-weary heart with a nameless dread - had, in fact, already been maintained, I was overjoyed to say the least. So to my neighbors, once again, a heart-felt "thank you." Your generosity is greatly appreciated.

Shocking discovery made at bedtime

I can't believe it, but our boy has a loose tooth! I feel like I should have been a little more prepared for it considering that our good friends' son, who is just a few months younger than Daniel, lost his first tooth a couple months ago. But it is just not the same when it is your own flesh and blood. I was going over his teeth when he was getting ready for bed and I thought his tooth looked a bit crooked, then it moved! I was shocked and excited. Our sweet little boy is getting so big. He, of course, thought is was awesome since his best friend has already lost a tooth. Life sure is an adventure with growing children.

Question for the Board of Health OR Random Foreign Language Thought for the Day

In Spanish, a "perro" is a dog, and a "perrito" is a little dog. If a "burro" is a donkey, then shouldn't someone in authority be looking a little deeper into these so-called "burritos?"

How to Enjoy Sonic - America's Drive-In

I really enjoy going to Sonic. I think they have the best fast-food burgers, excellent onion rings, and a great variety of drinks (good shakes, too)! However, at times a family outing to Sonic can be a bit of a chore, so I thought I might offer up some tips to getting the most out of your dining experience.

1. If possible, don't go with children. Children are a gift from the Lord, but the best way to enjoy Sonic is to go with your spouse, order your food, and just sit in the car and talk to each other while the '50s music plays over the speakers.
2. If it's baking hot outside, eat in the car, especially if you've ignored number 1. There's no way you'll enjoy the experience if you've had to unload cranky children out into the heat.
3. Go with what you know. I am one who is more than willing to try new things when I'm at a restaurant, but at Sonic, I stick with the burgers. I don't see any need to try the chicken, and I'm certainly not interested in a Sonic burrito. I have to be in the mood for a chili dog, but I will occasionally go with that. If I want to be sure I'm satisfied, though, it's a cheeseburger, onion rings, and a Diet Coke®.
4. Don't stress about tipping. My rule for tipping at Sonic is that the waiters or waitresses on roller skates get a tip. They're putting in extra effort, and they're providing entertainment as part of the experience. Walking out with the food is part of the job, as I see it. Rolling out with the food is cah-ray-zy!

So, that's it. If you stick with these simple rules, you should have no problem enjoying your meal. If you follow these rules and still don't have a good time, you can comment here and I'll give you a full refund of the price of this advice.

Reminds Me of a Song

I don't particularly want to get too political on this our family blog, but I have noticed something in the course of the presidential campaigning season. I don't think anyone anywhere on the political spectrum would argue with the assertion that Senator McCain is not the best public speaker, whereas Senator Obama is eloquent and charismatic. Having observed a few of their speeches recently, however, I'm reminded of the song "XTC vs. Adam Ant" by They Might Be Giants, the lyrics to which speak to the battle between substance vs. style, "content vs. form." If I can get this music player to show up, enjoy! If not, the title of the song is linked to the lyrics for the song, and you can hear a snippet on the Amazon.com page for the Factory Showroom album.

(p.s. if you're deweb, I totally stole this music player from you. literally. if you look at the source code of this page, the player is running off of your website. if you're not cool with that, let me know how i can get the player on my own site and i'll fix it. sorry i didn't ask first. thanks.)

Joie de Vivre

Yesterday we got to visit our friends, Ren and Angela Buckland, and to see their new baby, Abigail! What a cutie! We are blessed to be friends with two other infanticipating couples whose due dates are upon us, and another who is due in October! All the expectancy and newness of life in the air just makes me happy. I can't wait to meet all the new little people who are blessed to have parents cool enough and smart enough to have friends like us!

Everything Except What I Should be Praying About

I have, for a LONG time now, struggled to get up in the morning and spend time praying and reading the Bible. I've gotten to the point where I can get up successfully and have at least a little time to do this more days than I don't. Now, though, my problem is with distractions. I get to thinking about tasks that I'm puzzling over at work, things I need to do around the house, things I want to do with my family, stuff like that. And that's when I go the "paper-Bible and prayer journal" route. Firing up the laptop for a Bible Gateway and YouVersion journaling day magnifies this, as I now have email and the web to add to my distractions. Surely I'm not the only Christian for whom this is an issue, right? How does one learn to focus? Suggestions welcome.

Laptops are for Lovers

Before we got laptops, my wife and I would have to check blogs and email from the PC in the other room, separated sometimes for hours as we siphoned through the reams of correspondence, personal and public, that had come in throughout the day. Now, we get to sit together on the couch, sift through the day's information and point out interesting stuff to each other. I know it's kind of lame, but it's a way to catch up without having to be separated, and I like that a lot.