Walking Backwards

If I am this tired, why isn't the baby? We went to the zoo this morning and spent a good deal of time running around there. We fed the animals and rode the train and did a lot of uphill walking, but does Nicholas want to nap? Of course not. He is currently destroying his playroom and laughing hysterically. I think that this is some sort of punishment for my misdeeds in a previous life. The no-nap days (every day this week) are the worst. I need that two hour break in the middle of the day, its how I retain my meager hold on sanity. I especially need it today because tomorrow I have to go work three hours at Nico's preschool carnival. I don't know why I didn't lie and say that I was going to be out of town, that is how half of the class got out of volunteer work. I should have taken notes from them, they have had kids in the school before.

*Yawn* Not . . . much . . . longer. . . Finals are next week and then I am going to be free until the last week of May. Oh, the plans I do have. First, I am going to read a book just for pleasure. Then, I am going to take a bath instead of a shower for the first time in eons. Hmmmmm, I also want to do a bunch of stuff around the house, but that just sounds like more work right now and I want to live in the blissful "life of ease" fantasy for awhile longer. Ah yes, I am going to go to Star*bucks (all the local chains in my area have closed under the pressure of this mega-giant, corporate, delicious, wonderful chain-store) and enjoy my coffee over a crossword puzzle instead of studying. During Nicholas' naptime, I am going to watch movies and eat junk food to my hearts content. I know I should be getting ready for my summer session class, but I really need a break or else I'm going in the bell jar, baby.

For some reason this entry was in draft form. I meant to publish it on Sunday:

The weekend is now almost over and, looking back, it seems like I should have more to show for all of the work that I feel like I've been doing. For me, the weekend starts on Friday because neither Nicholas or I have school nor do we usually have any scheduled activities and I think I have been working straight through. Friday I spent most of the day cleaning the house and playing with Mr. Nicholas (which is what he now prefers to be called) and doing the twelve tons of laundry I had piled up. We did make a side trip to the grocery store a little too close to naptime and that took about twice as long as it should have and was followed by a side-side trip to the ice cream parlor across the street. I bribe my child to behave. Friday night was uneventful. Saturday morning I woke up early and worked in the garden. When the boys got up and fed themselves we went to the super-behmoth home-improvement warehouse and picked up 48 feet of metal flowerbed border. We then proceeded home and I spent the better part of the day installing said flowerbed border under one of our trees. This was accompanied by much swearing. I asked Joe why I do all the yard-work to which he relplied "well, you actually care what it looks like". That evening we went to have dinner with friends and Nicholas was terrorized by their son who, while slightly younger than Nicholas, is twice Nico's size and has just entered into a wrestling phase. I'm hoping that it is just a phase because Nico normally loves going over their to play. We did find out later that the other child had foregone his nap for the day and was feeling especially contentious, so maybe that was it. Sunday, we cleaned out some of the stuff in the garage and went to yet another garden center to pick up a lime tree. Joe worked on his motorcycle and I studied. Not very exciting, I know, but an example of how our weekends at home typically go. There were some cute moments care of Nicholas that I should mention. When we were picking up oil from the mototrcycle shop, Nicholas walked around and declared to the showroom employee that he wanted a motocycle. It was kind of disheartening to the small one when the showroom guy laughed, I think. When we went to the garden center he would hide in the bushes and suprise people (unintentionally, of course) who were walking by. He has also taken to talking incessantly about anything. He will keep up a continuous stream of chatter all day even if it means that he has to start with just unintelligable babbble with random words interjected. Really, every waking moment. Everyone we encounter finds this fascinating and so adorable. Yeah, adorable.

*&^*&^&^%^%$^$*)^$#@$@)(**Y^^%$#@#@$#@%$EW! Melville, why in the hell did you leave your uncompleted manuscript where people could find it, make it even crappier and then publish it? I know why you decided not to publish it; it is written so poorly and in such a dated manner that you spent those six years you held onto it trying to save it from the horrible fate it now suffers. Really, this should not be in the annals of literature. It is so heavy-handed with the vernacular and minor events of the time that my search engine and dictionary are getting a serious workout. My teacher should have never assigned this. I hope that it gets better, because if not, I'm finding where your buried Melville, and I'm yelling at your gravestone.

Yesterday, Joe and I went to a parent-teacher conference at Nico's school. They have three such conferences every school year and this is the last one for this class. Nicholas' teacher wanted to meet with everyone to discuss what needs to be done to get them ready for the next year. This is the first one we have had since Nicholas became acclimated to the class and it was quite different. The previous two were all about what we could do to make Nicholas more comfortable with me leaving him there; this conference was about Nicholas' personality and behavior. *Sigh* It really didn't go that badly at all, but it seems as if the same problems we are having with Nicholas at home, he is showing at school. My son is the most stubborn child in existence. His teacher was at first concerned that whenever she tried to re-direct him, he didn't seem to hear her or understand. I had to explain to her that no, its just that he doesn't want to be told what to do. With Nicholas, whenever he is doing something you don't want him to do, if you tell him to stop and do something else, he will run off and find something else on his own. He wants you to know that he is in control of what he does. Neither of us could figure out the best way to manage this situation so we figured that it would be best to leave it for now and see where it goes. She did say that he was a very "outside-of-the-box" thinker, that he was continually trying to find new ways to do things or look at things. That was cool. The main things we are supposed to work on during the summer are giving him more structure and involving him in some sort of group activity where he is supposed follow instruction and required to sit and participate.

The first thing his teacher had to know about, though, was Nicholas' progress reading. She was so shocked the first time he attempted to sound out words to her. You see, Nicholas is extremely analytical and wants to know the mechanics of why things are and he has always been obsessed with letters and numbers and shapes. So, a little less than a year ago we started working on reading with him, teaching him how to sound out word phonetically and how to take picture and context clues. Now, he is trying to do a little of the working out himself. We had to explain to his teacher that we really aren't the overbearing that it might seem, but that Nicholas was really interested in doing this. That is the area he is interested in, so that's what we've been working with him on. Every article I read about psychopathic parents who have flash-cards for their one year-old make me cringe because of the negative light that they are all portrayed in. That's us. Really, though, he wants to do it. He's the only child I know who carries around a box of flashcards like a toy. I have to wonder what his teacher thinks our home life is like.

Well, today is Earth Day and Nico's movie for today, the Lorax, is over. Now were going to the garden center to get some things to plant and are going on a nature walk. It seems I'm turning my little boy into a crunchy environmentalist. Yay! I hope this will be one thing my son picks up from me. Mentioning crunchy things - next week is TV turnoff week, be prepared. That is going to be one long week for me.

I went to bed last night thinking I had completed about half of the Melville readings. I woke up this morning and checked the syllabus to see where I stood and realized that I wasn't half-way through the Melville readings, I was zero-percent of the way through Thoreau's Walden and Civil Disobedience. Son of a . . . .

Accomplished today (so far):

- Baked 3 loaves of banana bread
- Loads of laundry: 3
- Made Nico's dr. appt., Lily's vet appt., car service appt.
- Packed video I sold this morning on half.com and shipped it
- Picked-up front room
- Unpacked from the weekend
- Cleaned kitchen and started dishwasher
- Trip to Target for training pants, duct tape, and prizes for May Fair at Nico's school
- Made breakfast, lunch and two snacks (Travis brought home Chinese for dinner)
- Read four books to the monster
- Did two art projects with him
- Started research for Etruscan article
- Started reading Melville stories for class tomorrow

Need to do:

- Work on essay for class tomorrow night
- Finish Melville readings
- Pay bills
- Clean bathtub (Nicholas decided to try and hide in it with dirty shoes)
- Another three or four loads of laundry
- Figure out what needs to be done for mother's day for my extensive family
- Get everything ready for preschool tomorrow
- Bath, bedtime, and book

Just a quick note about our weekend in San Antonio because I have a ton to catch up on here. Its also raining, so the plan to spend most of the day outside so I can catch up on reading is foiled. Hopefully, Nico will be okay with me just setting him up and watching him go while I clean and do homework. Anyway, the weekend:

Saturday, we started the morning by participating in the SafePlace walk. We got there about 11:30 and met up with my team, the AustinMamas. The walk itself was two miles and took us about 45 minutes. It really wouldn't have taken so long, but there were so many people there that it was very difficult to move quickly. We met up with our team again for a team picture and then Joe and I left because we wanted to get to San Antonio at a reasonable hour. The drive was uneventful and we arrived in San Antonio at Maria's around 2:30 or 3. Shortly after, we left for the San Antonio zoo because they have a new area designed for small children. Nicholas wants to live there now, I think. It has a sand beach with a pond at the bottom. That was his favorite. There was also a floating deck, a large area with a bunch of small hills to run up and down, and a fake camping area with a zip-up tent. I took several pictures, but haven't uploaded them yet. Maybe later today.

After the zoo, we drove back to Maria's and had dinner and then Maria and I left for a night-out without the kids or the husbands. We stopped first at the mall to grab dessert at the Cheesecake Factory and look at all of the stores that we are usually unable to even walk in with toddlers. We both lamented our current dilemma of getting to wear what we want versus what is appropriate for one who has a toddler. We saw lots of lovely items for people who do not have to dodge peanut-butter and jelly hands. Dry-cleaning is no longer acceptable. We did buy some lovely chocolate at Godiva, though. It was so strange to actually go into a mall. I try to avoid them usually, but it was kind of nice just to have a place to wander while we waited for our table.

When we finally got seated, cheesecake was ordered. I had a chocolate raspberry truffle cheesecake. I could only eat about half of it, it had to be the richest cheesecake I have ever had. Maria got the Boston cream cheesecake and said that it wasn't as heavy. If I ever do go again, I think I'll not order a cheesecake styled after such a rich chocolate candy. The mall was closed by the time we finished and we went on a quest for alternate and exciting entertainment. We ended up at Clicks billiards. I was a little alarmed at how much my game had gone down. Before I got married I used to play a few times a week and had gotten pretty good. I suppose that is the kind of game that you have to play regularly to maintain any semblance of skill. I did get to drink, so that was a high point. I had a dos equis and four lone stars, both of which are not what you would consider high-quality drinks, but they were on special and seemed situation-appropriate. I was very drunk by the time we got back to the house.

Nicholas was kind enough to wake me up about four hours after I had gone to sleep. I didn't sleep that well either because Nico is not used to sleeping in strange place and would sit up regularly and ask me for something. Horrible, dizzy hangover ensued. It didn't last that long, but the early morning hours were spent lounging on the couch. Worse than the hangover was the stomach cramps from eating so much dairy in cheesecake form. After both had subsided a bit, Joe and I packed up and I called my dad to make plans to meet up for an early lunch. Maria, Mark, and her two year-old, Fiona, went with us. We went to Earl Abel's, a San Antonio institution that I have been going to since before I remember. The children were amazingly well behaved and the food was great.

Our trip ended there and we drove back to Austin, saying goodbye to my dad and Maria in the parking lot. I fell asleep as soon as I got home and woke up to my husband getting ready to leave for work. Nico and I spent the evening lounging on the couch and reading. After a very simple dinner to protect my ill-treated insides, we shared a very long bath and I put the little guy to bed. I stayed up until Joe got home around midnight and then fell asleep about five minutes after he walked in the door. That was my weekend. I guess this entry didn't end up being brief after all. Now that Nicholas' movie is about to end, I think its about time to be productive, darn it.

Wow, the nap did wonders (I'm sure the caffeine helped, too). I feel a million times better. Sadly, I now have a house to clean and tend to. Joe and I had planned to spend most of my spring break deep-cleaning the house and getting rid of most of our excess crap, but by the time spring break rolled around, I was so sick of the pace we've been keeping that I just didn't do it. I did a lot with the boy and spent time outside and just in general relaxed. Now, while I am not regretting how I spent my time, I am kind of behind schedule. At the end of May all of the in-laws are coming to visit for Nico's birthday and Joe's mother is staying here. Yikes. I don't want them to see the half-finished chaos of everything around here. I'm not aiming for Martha Stewart here, I just think it would be nice for them not to have to step over the pile of old computers by the front door or trip in the hallway over the box of Nico's old clothes that are supposed to be going into the attic. Also, since getting one of those "simplify your life" books, I'm realizing that having this much unnecessary stuff is just driving me closer to insanity. We just have Too Much Stuff! The worst part is that I bought it all. I say that I am totally against the current spend-all-you-have consumer culture, but it seems like, lately, I have been totally absorbed into it. I hate knowing that there are things in my life that I never use and don't need that I spent money on and feel guilty getting rid of because it seems like I would be wasting the expense. I need to get it into my head that just by purchasing these frivolous items I have wasted the money already.

I have sleeping pill hangover today and I have it bad. When I got home from school last night I had a headache that was on the verge of being debilitating. It wasn't a migrane, just a really bad sinus headache, but sitting-up was difficult and lights and sounds were really bothering me. I also noticed while driving home that it was difficult to turn my head because my neck had gotten so stiff. So, as soon as I got home, I took a couple nighttime allergy pills. I figured that they would be like taking a couple of benedryl, but I am beginning to think that I was wrong. I still am bleary-eyed and dazed. Its been that way since about fifteen minutes after I took the pills. The crummy part is that today is my day off, my one chance during the week to get stuff done without the little one around. I think that when Nico goes to sleep, I'm going to lay down with him. I've already done my hours worth of yard-work that I was hoping to get done and I went out and ran a few errands. I wanted to get some cleaning and decluttering done before naptime today, but I can barely get out of my chair. I know that the mountain of stuff we're trying to get rid of is going to wait for me. I do have gnome gnight tonight to look forward to, though. Keeping my fingers crossed that this nap will snap me out of my funk.

Don't you hate it when you run into something in your daily life that makes you think, "Wow, I'm a hypocrite". It doesn't happen to me as often anymore, because I have taken the safe position of being apathetic about generally everything right now, but today it did. I was driving across town to pick up soup from one of our local food delivery people (they don't drive out into the suburbs where I live) and a commercial for a local pool hall came on the radio. At the end of the commercial they gave a little speech about their position on an upcoming election. One of the propositions on the ballot next month is a regulation that would call for smoke-free workplaces. Essentially, anywhere anyone works would have to be smoke-free. Now, I don't really smoke anymore, I have a small child, and I have asthma. I don't like it when people smoke near the playscape when I take my son to the park and I can't even be around smoke when I'm eating. I am the worst ex-smoker because I can't stand to be around it most of the time. That being said, I think that this proposition is a load of crap. Smoking regulations have gotten crazy around here. I agree that it is a good idea to ban smoking in most places, but bars and pool halls, seriously? There are a great number of places people can go to drink that don't involve smoking here, all restaurants and several clubs don't allow it. If this passes, where am I going to go to light one of my Nat Shermans (hidden far enough away from my husband so that he will NEVER know) and pretend I'm in some film-noir movie where the heroine clad in some chic and slinky dress gets to listen to jazz music and make eyes at all the too-cool-for-words musicians all while trying not to cough up her lungs? Going out into the backyard for one of my maybe two cigarettes a year just doesn't seem dramatic enough.

Joe's aunt just called to tell us that they are in town and want to meet us for dinner. Tonight. In two hours. Could they perhaps have called a little earlier than two-hours before they want to meet at a restaurant that will take me an hour to get to? I think I would be slightly less irritated if Nicholas had a nap. Yay for meeting relatives with a grumpy child who will be crammed into a high chair for over an hour!

Grrrr, Monday, grumble . . . Back to our normal routine I suppose. I am super far behind on schoolwork and my house is an unmopped, laundry-piled, toy-strewn disaster area. The first load of laundry is in the washer and I am about to set up Nico's art table so he can play while I pick the place up a bit. I really want to know the secret to peacefully maintaining a house. I was up until after midnight last night reading and then got up about seven this morning. My bleary-eyed self then brushed teeth and washed up and picked up as much as I could, but alas(!), not all was done. The small one then awoke and proceeded to remove all of his small parts toys from their boxes to examine them and place them in hidden areas which he forgot about five minutes later and begged me to help him find. He has been enjoying cleaning up his playroom before naptime lately, though. Strange one. Well, I better get back to the job or else it might overrun me. I should catch-up by tonight, so maybe an entry later about the weekend? Who knows, I have four weeks left in this semester and my teachers are trying to get a lot into a little.

It has been such a long time since I posted pictures of my favorite child that I felt the need today. Sadly, now that Nicholas is past the exploding changes of babydom I've gotten to be a little negligent in my picture taking. Well, being that it was a lovely day outside, Nico and I headed out to the Wildflower center (only a few miles down the street - yay!) with a picnic lunch and my camera. It is a tradition in Texas to take pictures of your children in the bluebonnets every year and I wasn't going to shirk that obligation. Driving up to the wildflower center it looked like everyone else in existence had the same idea, but that wasn't the case. Today was the annual, member's only plant sale. People drive in from all over the state for this sale. It was crazy. The craziest part was that it was packed and we arrived an hour before the sale even started. The good news for me, who rarely can get dressed and ready before three, was that the sale was outside of the normal preserve area and my efforts were not wasted. Picture taking was still on. We did have to dodge an abnormal amount of people, but we got to look a lot of cool plants and run around on the trails. They have made several additions since the last time we were there including a really cool children's learning center with all kinds of projects and play areas. Nicholas was in a running mood though so I took home some ladybug coloring sheets and a booklet for tomorrow. Next time I'll try to get there with enough time for him to run around and THEN go to the children's house. Now, here are the pictures:



These are the strangest metal ladybugs that I have ever seen. They were apparently made without heads. Nicholas seemed to like them and recognized them as ladybugs even in their decapitated state.



Nico gives me this grin every time I tell him to smile for the camera. His face gets all scrunched up and his lips draw tightly across his teeth. You can never see his eyes. I think the fact that it was damn sunny outside also aided this expression.



Nico getting pissed-off at me after posing for ten pictures while sitting on a rock in the sun. You can almost sense the exasperation.

I just signed up for something that sounds really cool for my night out this week, Gnome Gnight! Read the blub below for the shops description of the revelries.

Not Your Grandmother's Yard Art - Gnome Gnight!

Garden Gnomes. Before they were shills for a travel Website they were a great piece of kitschy yard art. We've also learned, through extensive research, that they are actually "the most important of the elemental spirits." Now we feel embarrassed for underestimating the importance of these little guys. To help spread the word about the importance of gnomes, The WorkShop, in conjunction with the Austin Glitterati, are hosting Gnome Gnight - your chance to make your very own custom Garden Gnome to brighten your corner of the world. We really don't want to end up with homeless gnomes, so please visit our Website to pre-select your gnome. We have an assortment of your standard garden-variety gnomes (arr, arr) in various cute and cuddly positions.


It sounds like it is going to be fun. I picked out a gnome pushing a wheelbarrow and need to start thinking up some snazzy idea for what to do.

I should be reading The Scarlet Letter or finishing my paper or finishing my readings on Hume or starting Kant, but I'd rather write while I eat my dinner (yummy, yet unappealing sounding veggie loaf). I also got a couple of new books in the mail today that I could be perusing, but some mindless rambling seems more appealing to me. We got back our exams in my American Lit. class and I got a perfect score, so two for two. I'm now under tremendous pressure for the third and final test.

Tomorrow, I am going to start looking into volunteer opportunities for the summer. I was seriously considering a position (unpaid, of course) working at a local history center, but I may hold off on that until the fall. Several charities in town always need help over the summer, so I need to get on the phone and see what I can do with my son at hand. This brings me to the topic that I alluded to in my former post, how on Earth am I going to continue activism and community/national/global efforts for the causes I believe in? I can't even watch the news anymore. The greatest guilt in all this lies in the fact that I am kind of okay with not being as involved with the world outside of my little shell right now. Before Nicholas came along I was a letter writer, I did work with numerous charities, made it my mission to educate people and register voters, kept abreast of the issues, attended demonstrations, knew the names, addresses, and phone numbers of all my elected officials, but not so much any more. With Nicholas, I want a safe haven from the hypocrisy and evil and ill-will in the world. This is as much for me as it is for him. I don't want to have to think about what kind of world Nico is going to have to face when he walks out the front door. I want to keep him safe from all that. I know that of all things I should be more of an activist now, because I have both of our futures to think of, but I would rather remain sheltered for just a little while longer. I am already starting to involve us in community projects. Soon enough, the world is going to creep in and I want to teach Nicholas that he is capable of effecting it. Just for a bit, though, I want him to think the best of the world and of humanity.

Now off to bed to put off the world a little longer. Maybe tomorrow I'll change my views, who knows?

Sorry, but all I have time for today is a quiz. I have got to write a paper about the ideas of free-will and determinism. I really wanted to do an entry today about political activism after having kids because I have been thinking about that a lot lately. Maybe tomorrow . . .


You are Ferris Bueller (from Ferris Bueller's Day
Off)! You're a smooth talker and a
resourceful, quick thinker, and you play by
your own rules. Fortunately, you use such
things for fun and not to hurt anyone else.
God only knows what would happen if you crossed
paths with Lisa from Weird Science.


Which John Hughes Character Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Joe is going out tonight with his friends so it is just me and the little guy this evening. Right now I am waiting for him to finish his snack so we can clean up and get ready to go to his Little Gym class. I normally don't like going to this class in the evenings, but its nice for when Joe goes out. With the class there is less tearing apart of the house and running around like maniacs. We also are going to go to the car wash afterwards because I have to drive Nicholas and Megan to school tomorrow and I don't want Megan's mommy knowing just how slovenly I really am.

Today, however, if someone peeked in through my windows, they would discover that I actually did work after all. I have my fourth load of laundry in the dryer and the vacuum was actually turned on today. I finally packed up my snowglobes after weeks of them being my toddler's favorite playthings (he only broke three). I also have done half of the work it takes to clean my bathroom and bedroom and plan on finishing tonight after the baby goes to bed. I've read most of my American Lit. assignments and will finish them up this evening so that I can complete the Hume readings tomorrow. Joe and I also talked last night about getting rid of some of our overwhelming clutter and decided that its probably a good idea (even though neither of us wants to do it or thinks that it will be much fun) and I worked on the playroom a little today (still have much more to do). During the day I also painted with the baby, did several puzzles including a huge floor puzzle, worked with alphabet flashcards, played cars, and read stories. It was a productive day.

On a more general note, I've decided to enroll in school this summer. I also am trying to set up an interview with the admissions department at UT and with the head of their classics department. Everyone around me grudgingly admits that going to school this summer is the best idea, even though we all want me not to go. Things just run better around here with me out of school. I'm going to have the fall off, though. Yay for that!

I'm back on caffine again. Let's see how much I can accomplish today. The first day back on caffine is the best. Of course, I'm going to crash hard at 8pm. Hmmm, what to do for the next 6 or 7 hours . . .

There you have it.

Nicholas just went to sleep about twenty minutes ago and I think I kept him up too long. He was not in a great mood when we put him in bed and spent the better part of the twenty minutes before he fell asleep screaming. He didn't have a very long nap today and Seanna, Ray, and Aiden came over for dinner and boardgames. Aiden and Nicholas had fun, fought over toys, pushed, and ran around the house. I had a very tired munchkin on my hands.

While the two boys played, I had a good conversation with Seanna about putting school on hold for the summer. She has decided that she is taking the summer off and it sounds good. She stopped waiting tables a couple of months ago and says that she wants to spend some time enjoying life with her son. She also wants to develop some social and creative interests apart from engineering (because you know what a barrel of fun engineering programs are like). I asked what her plans were and she said she was going sans plan. Lots of time by the pool, trips to the library, reading for pleasure. *Sigh* It sounds nice. I still have to talk to the advisors for my next school to determine my course of action.

I did get to exercise some personal interests today. I went by the Quilt Store and picked up fabric for my next quilt. I'm doing a dios de los muertos themed quilt. All of the fabric is patterned with skulls or lotteria cards, you get the idea. It should be cool if I ever get to finish it. It is only going to be 48"x48" with a border, so it shouldn't be that difficult. It is just carving out the time that I don't know about. I'll post a picture in a bit, but it is now almost one (thank you SO much daylight savings time *please note sarcasm*).

I know all of you crazy kids out there want to support me supporting SafePlace. SafePlace is a local domestic violence shelter that has had to close many of its doors lately due to state budget cuts. So on April 16th, Nico is going in the stroller and I'm hitting the pavement to drum up support. Here is my personal walk page:

sponsor me baby!

If anyone I know has sent in a donation after the e-mail I sent out, THANK YOU! The site wasn't set up for them yet, so they didn't go under my name or I would know who you were and would have thanked you personally.

I'm just throwing this out there because I think it is a really good cause and these people really need funding. You will hear of no more of it from me (until I write about the walk itself, that is).

Happy April Fools everyone! This morning began with our annual April Fools day tradition, visiting the ThinkGeek website. We are so sad. This year they had another free t-shirt offer, woohoo! Since we had to order something to get the free t-shirt, I got Nicholas and Joe the v.1 and v.2 t-shirts. They'll look so cute, and super nerdy :). My family members are my dress-up dolls right now. Mentioning dressing the boys up, I also just received this shirt for my son. I know he has no idea who the Cure is, but he does need something to wear to all of the summer concerts. I know about the current debate about projecting your interests and tastes onto your child, but at two, I don't think that Nicholas minds. I'm not preventing him from wearing what he wants, he gets to pick that out every morning. He likes his concert t-shirts. I also cannot let him wear his yellow t-shirt EVERY DAY. When he is older and is able to tell me he thinks my music is lame or that the only thing that he will wear is some over-priced pair of jeans that you can only buy by waiting outside of the store for hours before they open and that only last two cycles in the machine because they were made so poorly, then I'll stop picking stuff out for him. I'm really ready for Nicholas' version of Cavaricci pants and Hypercolor t-shirts. Right now, he could care less. I might as well enjoy picking his clothes while he lets me and make it a fun exercise before it becomes a source of contention between us. I know its going to happen because I did it to my mom when I was in middle school, it is only fair that it is going to come back around.