Fashion Accessory

Sunday at the pool club, Jessica was splashing around near the middle of the pool when I noticed she was still wearing her pink watch, which she wears 24/7. "Jess, do you want me to take that watch so it doesn't get wet?" I asked. "No thanks," she replied. "I don't know how to tell time anyway."

Tupperware

When I walked in the door last night Jessica was there to greet me with an empty Tupperware container. I asked her what it was and she said, "It's for you - it's full of kisses." I opened up the Tupperware and she added, "And the good thing is it never runs out." I gave her a kiss and thanked her for making my day.

The Concert

Last night Jesse enjoyed her first concert - the Jonas Brothers at the Izod Center. This was Stef's second Jonas Brothers concert, although this time we had much better seats (section 110). Stef had warned Jesse that the opening act "plays for like two hours, even though you don't want them to." It didn't stop Jess from constantly asking, "When are the Jonas Brothers going on?"

The first act was a band called Honor Society (another boy band - debut album Sept. 15!), followed by one song by someone named Jesse James (?), followed by yet another non-Jonas Brothers act, Jordin Sparks, whose songs I knew because the girls listen to her music all the time in the car (a little trivia - her dad played for the Giants).

All this non-Jonas brothers activity was followed by Jess asking, "Aren't we supposed to get popcorn?" So one trip to the concession stand later, the lights dimmed, the crowd went crazy, and finally the Jonas Brothers hit the stage! This was instantly followed by the mom in front of Jessica standing up, blocking her view. But then I switched seats with Jess and she could see the Jonas Brothers on stage! I could say they played all their hits, but in the eyes of Stef and Jess every song is a hit. The girls sang along, danced, and when the boys waved their arms in the air, the girls did too. Stef and Jess also had an ongoing conversation all concert long, which I assume was over which brother is the cutest, Joe or Nick (sorry Kevin).

We got back to the car around 11:00 pm, at which point Jess was excited about trying to stay up until midnight (she almost made it). Everyone had a great time, and with all the cameras filming the show, I'm sure we will all get to relive it again in the future (maybe Christmas?)

The Jonas Onus

If you look up the phrase "managing expectations" on Wikipedia, you will see a picture of me sitting with the girls at the dining room table explaining how bad our Jonas Brothers tickets are (you will see it because I put it there myself earlier today).

The concert came up again tonight and in my typical "managing expectations" fashion I threw out the "you guys remember that our seats aren't that great" spiel. It's mostly because I've lucked out in the past with concert tickets for Stef that I wanted her to know that you don't always get good seats; Jess thinks she's sitting in the front row so I've tried everything from etch a sketch renderings to IZOD center replicas made from Lincoln Logs to show her the distance from our seats to the stage. They asked to see the seats tonight so I went on the IZOD Web site and showed them the seats - way up there in section 228, where I've seen the likes of U2, Bruce Springsteen, Peter Gabriel, AC/DC, John Mellencamp (I think he was still using Cougar back then) and countless others. The site happened to say "tickets available" and just for the heck of it, I put in for 3 tickets. And lo and behold I saw 3 lower level seats just to the left of the stage. Of course, just to throw a wrinkle into things, these new seats were three times what I paid for the first set of tickets.

I had 3 minutes to decide, according to the Ticketmaster countdown clock on the lower right hand corner of the screen. And then the questions started in my head. Jess is only 6; does she really need good seats? Stef is 9 and already saw them last year, does she really need to be that close? Can I unload my existing tickets? Are they even going to remember this a year from now? Then I thought back to all my bad seat experiences from my concert history and pulled the trigger. I think I'd rather sit in the good seats myself than sit in the boonies once again. Plus, I skipped the last Bruce tour and the Police reunion tour the year before so I haven't overspent on concerts. And maybe, just maybe, the Jonas Brothers will do a cover of Backstreets.

Up

Last night was an "Up"-themed night. Stef was having a sleepover with some friends, and rather than have Jess feel left out, I wanted to take her out to dinner and a movie. There were three "Up" moments over the course of the night:

1. Grown "Up": Unlike with Steff, Jess and I rarely do things that involve just the two of us; I think it's because she always wants Stef around. So during dinner I got a chance to spend time with Jess just focusing on her. I asked her about her friends, about school, her teachers, what she wanted to do this summer, and the boy at Fridays she thought was cute. I had my first "Up" moment of the night; for a split second, I could see myself having this exact same conversation with her 20 years from now (perhaps in the same Fridays).

2. Put "Up": On our way to the movie, Jess let me in on the secret that she and Stef had made earlier that day (the one each swore not to tell anyone). Stef had promised to pay Jess 25 cents if Jess would leave any room Stef and her friends were in. Jess was so excited at the thought of getting money that I didn't have the heart to tell her that Stef was using bribery to put up with her sister.

3. Movie "Up": Jess and I saw the movie Up. It was a great movie, although Jess was a little scared at some of the scenes. As we walked to the car, she was telling me the parts that she thought was scary. As we got in the car she said, "Maybe we can see the movie with Steffi later this summer" (please refer back to bullet 1, sentence 1).

Game Face

Steffi is really into softball. She can hit, she has an arm, and on occasion, she can field a ball hit to her. In all fairness, she is brand new to the game. Her first practice she took off for third instead of first, and the other night she was the catcher but told me later that she really wanted to stand next to the pitcher in the field but forgot what the position was called. I'm trying to help her out, while also realizing that she's playing because she likes to try new things, not necessarily to try and be the next Jenny Finch. The other night I was driving her home from practice and giving her tips...which base to throw to in different situations, when to charge a ball, which way to hold the glove...I frankly could have circled the block ten times and kept talking. I looked back and she was slumped in her seat staring out the window. I asked her if everything was okay. She said, "Yeah. I just hope Jesse likes what I got her for her birthday." I think that perfectly summed up the phrase, "it's just a game."

The Allowance

This conversation took place between Stef and I in the car:

Stef: Could you pay me $20 if I don't whine for a week?

Me: What if instead you helped mom around the house?

Stef: What about $10?

Me: I'm sure if I stood by the TV when it's time for bed, I'd win the bet. I'd rather you help mom out around the house; I'll give you an allowance.

Stef: Yeah, but I'll get like 25 cents a day just to set the table; it'll take me 4 days just to get one dollar.

Me: Maybe, but when I was a kid I didn't get an allowance at all.

Stef: Yeah, I don't get one either.

Me: (silence)