All posts by Nichole

A nice thing that happened this weekend

Last summer, one of the Fancy Hotels in our town was doing a little social marketing by offering a free brunch through Twitter. I took them up on the offer, and a few weeks later they mailed me a certificate good for one free, fancy brunch. It wasn’t an entirely fancy-free brunch, though, because it was only good for one person. I did mention that this was for a Fancy Hotel, didn’t I? Their brunch is fancy to the tune of nearly $40 a person. (Little kids do, however, eat free. So there was that.)

Quite awhile after the certificate arrived, I told my neighbor about it. Not in a braggy sort of way, though. He works at Fancy Hotel’s Brunching Restaurant, and he found it pretty amusing that I had one of their Twitter promo things. Anyway, he said something along the lines of, “Let me know when you make your reservation, and I’ll get Rockford’s brunch for you half-price.”

So here we were, with the opportunity to have a Fancy Hotel Brunch for four for $20. And still! We waited until the very last possible day to use it.

I had intended to make a reservation sometime last week, but I forgot all about it until Sunday morning. Which was, of course, that very last day we could use it. Rockford called in the morning and secured our seats, and we headed over there around lunchtime.

This is getting too long for a post about brunch, so:

  • Poppy was “vacationing” with Rockford’s parents, so she missed out. (Although she wouldn’t have eaten anything other than crackers and cheese anyway, so I didn’t feel too bad about that.)
  • There was a grand piano and a pianist, who let Pete “help” her play “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.”
  • The people at the table next to us were exchanging pointers for traveling in foreign lands, and they sounded like bit characters in “The Sheltering Sky.”
  • An astonishing amount of food. Including chilled shrimp and crab legs. And cheesecake. And bacon. And eclairs.
  • At the end of our Festival of Food, our server told Rockford that our neighbor had “taken care of” the rest of the check. (Our neighbor is awesome, and I am going to make some cookies for him. Maybe a pie, too.)

    And that was a nice thing that happened this weekend.

    Disappointment reigns

    Remember that time when we were trying to potty train Poppy? It was horrible. Pete isn’t nearly as stubborn as his sister, so this morning hasn’t been quite so bad. But it’s left me with the same conclusion: I do not have what it takes to do the one-day training thing.

    I know. I can’t believe I tried it again either. But I did, and there were lots of accidents, no successes and lots of tears (again). We’re cuddling and watching “Sesame Street” now, and neither of us is hysterical. Re-diapered Pete is much happier than he was half an hour ago, and I’m disappointed in myself and rather discouraged. But — silver lining! — at least I’m not cleaning up urine and crying.

    We can dance if we want to

    Dance!“Mommy, what if something goes wrong?” she asked last night as I tucked her into bed.

    “Nothing will go wrong, sweetie,” I told her. “You’ll be great.”

    “What if I’m late?” she asked. “Will they wait for me?”

    “We won’t be late. We’ll get you there on time. I promise.”

    “What if Riley forgets her scissor step?”

    “Everything will be fine, honey,” I tried to reassure her. “Just relax, close your eyes and sleep.”

    “But Mommy, I just can’t.”

    She did, though, and everything was just fine. Great, even. It was my girl’s first dance recital, and she got up on that stage and nailed it. She looked so determined and focused marching around to “Yankee Doodle Dandy,” and at the end she bowed and soaked up the applause. And then she bowed again. And again. Her little dance class pals left the stage. She stayed. She bowed once more — deeply, dramatically — and left the stage.

    I’m not sure if it was from laughter or relief or pride or just crazy, all-out love for that kid, but I was definitely crying.

    I am a sap, apparently, and Poppy is most certainly a little ham.