NOT a Creature in a Sci-Fi Movie

Galactagogue: an agent that promotes the secretion of milk.

So, NOT this:

but THIS:

And with that, I hereby establish the new "Learn Something New Every Day" category.

One Inch Shy

Arlo recently went to the doctor for his three-year-old check-up, and all were suitably impressed with his vigor and development. At 41 inches tall and weighing in at 36.8 pounds, he officially qualifies as a Big Kid. To be precise, he exceeds the 97th percentile in height, and the 90th percentile in weight. (I know, you can just see my chest swelling with pride, right?)

Anyway, this got me to thinking. Arlo is only one inch shy of the height requirement for just about any run-of-the-mill roller coaster.

I KNOW! IT'S CRAZY! But here it is, from the Adventureland web site: "Guests must be at least 42" tall to ride the G-Force, the Tornado, the Dragon, the Outlaw, Himalaya, or Falling Star, and 36" tall to ride the Raging River and the Frog Hopper."

Is a kid too young to handle a roller coaster at 3-and-a-half of 4 years old? Every time the Adventurelan commercial comes on the T.V. (honest to God, EVERY time), Arlo says, "THAT looks like fun!" and then also proceeds to make a "splassssssh" sound when they show the footage of the raft ride hitting the big splash at the bottom of a drop. He does, however, concede, "I need to get a little bigger first."

What do you think? Should we be including this in our plans for next summer?

Navel Gazing

I've missed you! I hope you haven't missed me too much. I can't believe it has been nearly a month since I have posted, but mostly it's because I can't seem to focus on one thought long enough to develop it into a meaningful post. So, instead, I'm just going to give you a smattering of the things I've thought about lately that have made me say to myself, "Hey, I should blog about that" and then I don't follow through because I often don't have much of a point.

1. Most people think they are good drivers, when in fact a great number of people are really very bad drivers. Or, at least, they're mediocre, inattentive, and inconsiderate in their driving efforts. I am actually a good driver, and I believe I can credit that to the fact that, when I was fifteen, my high school offered Drivers' Ed as a course of study, at a reasonable price, and I actually learned the rules of the road in a real class--and in a real car--with a real teacher. (Dick Claypool, former shop teacher, a.k.a. "Tricky Dicky" for reasons which completely escape me now. Sweet man. He let me and my friend, Karen, borrow his tandem bicycle to ride around town one summer.)

2. Also on the topic of driving... just last week, I was walking from my car to my office when a minivan passed by, and in the front passenger seat was a woman holding a sleeping toddler. Okay, I know that it wasn't that long ago (when I was a kid, even) that people did that all the time. But it just shocked me to see a small child riding in a car but not in a car seat. And not riding in the back. Similarly, I occasionally will spot some tiny little head, just barely visible over the door frame of someone's front seat window in their car, and it takes my breath away. It seems so reckless, and so wrong! Don't even get me started about the jerks who smoke cigarettes with their kids in the car. Just because you cracked your window open does not mean that your kid's lungs are not being polluted. Some people don't even bother to do that!

3. Pregnancy news. I am thrilled to report that I am now able to feel the baby moving occasionally--not big kicks at this point, but lovely little goldfish flutters that let me know s/he's there. Oh, and I finally admitted to Ted that I hope we're having a girl. Of course we will be thrilled either way--I've always thought I'd be a great Mom of Men--but I've been gazing wistfully at little girls lately, and wishing for one of my own.

4. Thank GOD the weather is warmer this week.

5. Thanks for listening. More coherent thoughts to come. Some day.

Who knew?

I just read an interview with Chris Rock on the LIFE magazine website, led there by the account on some celebrity blog (*blush* Yes, I read trashy blogs--but only on Fridays! Honest!) of this exchange:

LIFE: In the first movie you directed, Head of State, you were president of the United States. Is this country ready for an African American president?

ROCK: It's ready for a retarded president, why wouldn't it be ready for an African American president?

Upon reading this, I:

a) burst out laughing
b) instantly became a fan of Chris Rock, when up to this point I was somewhere between neutral and mildly positive on the subject
and
c) had to read the rest of the interview.

I just have to say, for whatever personae Rock has projected on the stage and screen over the years, I really like him as (presumably) himself. In this interview, he's funny (of course) but also sweet, wise, and has his head in the right place when he talks about marriage, kids, career, etc.

Check it out. It might just make you feel good. Oh, and the photos are pretty cute, too. Way to go, Chris Rock!