This morning while at a traffic light, Sanjay says to me, "Look Mom, American Idol on that car". After just having watched the finale, it must be fresh on his mind. I'm looking around at the cars, and I don't see it. So, I ask him to clarify... "Which car, Sanjay?". Then, suddenly I realize that he's talking about the Ford Explorer in the next lane over. Sanjay, my 3 year old that doesn't read, equates the Ford logo with American Idol. This was probably the intention of Ford marketing when they partnered with American Idol back in 2002 when it all started.
Ironically tonight I had a similar experience with Priya where a commercial she'd seen affected the way she thought about a particular product. Here's the conversation the kids and I had while getting ready for bed:
Sanjay: What is this?
Mommy: That's Mommy and Daddy's toothpaste. Wanna try some?
Sanjay: No.
Priya: Ooooh. I want to try some. I need it for my teeth because Colgate Total cleans your teeth really good.
Mommy: Really? How do you know that?
Priya: I saw it on a commercial. (proceeds to point out that her kid toothpaste is just Colgate, not Colgate Total)
This last tidbit is not about branding, but it is about a commercial and it's just too cute to be left out of this post. Sanjay on seeing a commercial for the movie E.T. says to me... "The alien is looking for a home and the boy is looking for a friend." How perceptive you are, my little Sanjay, to glean that from a 2 minute blurb about this classic movie.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Flashback to the 80's
In less than an hour we're heading out to see one of my favorite bands from the high school days... The Cure. Bartee just got turned on to them a little while back when he heard "Fascination Street" for the first time and now he's a big fan, too. We're headed to see a great band with some great friends at a great venue... Red Rocks Amphitheatre. What a night!
Looks like although The Cure hasn't been churning out much new music, they sure have been putting on a lot of shows. I haven't seen them since 1987 at the MCI Center in Washington DC. We were just teenagers and our seats weren't great, but we knew some folks who had tickets in the 9th row, so we snuck past the security guys and squeezed in that row for a few songs... it was awesome. Soon the security guards started checking tickets with flashlights, so we scampered back to our assigned seats. Tonight, I'll be content with our general admission seating while I sit there filled with nostalgia.
Robert Smith, we're on our way...
Looks like although The Cure hasn't been churning out much new music, they sure have been putting on a lot of shows. I haven't seen them since 1987 at the MCI Center in Washington DC. We were just teenagers and our seats weren't great, but we knew some folks who had tickets in the 9th row, so we snuck past the security guys and squeezed in that row for a few songs... it was awesome. Soon the security guards started checking tickets with flashlights, so we scampered back to our assigned seats. Tonight, I'll be content with our general admission seating while I sit there filled with nostalgia.
Robert Smith, we're on our way...
Friday, May 16, 2008
Preschool Skill Assessment
Sanjay brought home his first "report card" recently. I could hardly wait to tear it open to see what his teachers think of him... to see if he acts differently at school than at home. He received very good marks. His lowest rated skill was "Shows compassion/understands other children's feelings", which tends to match his at-home behavior. According to the report, he still has not mastered "I can line up and follow the leader"... I can just imagine the amount of fidgeting he must do when having to obey this kind of structure. My favorite part of the report is the personal note from the teachers... I always love this section. They wrote about Sanjay:
"It has been a pleasure to have Sanjay in the Honeybee class. He is a sweet, bright little boy who just lights up the room. He is doing well in all areas and is constantly learning. We will miss him! Stop and see us in the fall. Have a great summer!"
Out of curiousity I grabbed Priya's skill assessment from the same class and same teacher when she was Sanjay's age (+3 months). Her lowest marks were in the following skills: "I can line up and follow the leader", "Helps with clean up time", "I can play cooperatively/take turns and share", and "I can use scissors with control". It's funny because I remember specifically her teachers talking to me about her ability to effectively cut anything. But, those memories only surfaced when I pulled out this report. Luckily she's crossed that hurdle since her preschool days and now is a regular pro at creating artwork, and even slippers, out of construction paper. Here is what the same teacher said about Priya three years ago:
"Priya is a very sweet girl. She is a great Honeybee and is well rounded in all areas. She is a joy to have in class. We are working on our 'cutting skills'. Thank you for sharing her with us this year."
"It has been a pleasure to have Sanjay in the Honeybee class. He is a sweet, bright little boy who just lights up the room. He is doing well in all areas and is constantly learning. We will miss him! Stop and see us in the fall. Have a great summer!"
Out of curiousity I grabbed Priya's skill assessment from the same class and same teacher when she was Sanjay's age (+3 months). Her lowest marks were in the following skills: "I can line up and follow the leader", "Helps with clean up time", "I can play cooperatively/take turns and share", and "I can use scissors with control". It's funny because I remember specifically her teachers talking to me about her ability to effectively cut anything. But, those memories only surfaced when I pulled out this report. Luckily she's crossed that hurdle since her preschool days and now is a regular pro at creating artwork, and even slippers, out of construction paper. Here is what the same teacher said about Priya three years ago:
"Priya is a very sweet girl. She is a great Honeybee and is well rounded in all areas. She is a joy to have in class. We are working on our 'cutting skills'. Thank you for sharing her with us this year."
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Preschool End Of Year Program
The preschool puts together a lovely program for the parents at the end of the year. It was Sanjay's first time on stage and he did great. He was fully focused on performing and knew the lyrics to nearly every song. However, at home when I ask him to sing these tunes he can't seem to find the words. On the drive home, he let me in on his secret... he said, "Mom, when the teachers lips moved, I sing'd their lips". I put together a scrapbook page of the event...
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Happy Mother's Day
Happy Mother's Day to all my Mom-friends who are reading. Hope your day is really special!
For me, this week has been filled with celebration. When I walk downstairs this morning I am completely surprised by what I find on the kitchen table. Bartee had set it up nicely last night when we got home after I disappeared upstairs to sleep. There were cards, gifts from the kids that they made in school, a balloon and a 12-pack of Diet Pepsi! If you've been following along here on the blog, you know that I went back to Weight Watchers at the end of February. Since then I have been trying, really trying, to like diet sodas. I have tried them all; Diet Coke, Diet Rite, Fresca, Jazz, Diet Dr. Pepper, Tab... you name it. Nothing compares to a good sugar-loaded Coke. Even while in India, I had to escape to the Royal Shoppe for a cold Coke on several occasions. Anyway, a friend said to me... “Diet Pepsi is the best” so I bought a 6-pack of the small cans. Any other time I tried buying diet soda I ended up giving a bunch of them away and/or throwing ½ a can out because I don't really like the stuff. But this time, I nearly finished the whole 6-pack... it's not too bad, this Diet Pepsi. Bartee noticed this and went ahead and satisfied my addiction. Thanks honey... very good timing as I only have 1 can left.
Later we had a great family brunch at Golden Corral... where we ate the all-American home-cooked breakfast. And, this afternoon I went hiking with a great friend while Bartee stayed home with the kids. Two hours of solid adult conversation, covering topics like health care, gas prices, electric cars, teacher gifts, movies and books, in the foothills and trees of Pikes Peak. It was beautiful.
For me, this week has been filled with celebration. When I walk downstairs this morning I am completely surprised by what I find on the kitchen table. Bartee had set it up nicely last night when we got home after I disappeared upstairs to sleep. There were cards, gifts from the kids that they made in school, a balloon and a 12-pack of Diet Pepsi! If you've been following along here on the blog, you know that I went back to Weight Watchers at the end of February. Since then I have been trying, really trying, to like diet sodas. I have tried them all; Diet Coke, Diet Rite, Fresca, Jazz, Diet Dr. Pepper, Tab... you name it. Nothing compares to a good sugar-loaded Coke. Even while in India, I had to escape to the Royal Shoppe for a cold Coke on several occasions. Anyway, a friend said to me... “Diet Pepsi is the best” so I bought a 6-pack of the small cans. Any other time I tried buying diet soda I ended up giving a bunch of them away and/or throwing ½ a can out because I don't really like the stuff. But this time, I nearly finished the whole 6-pack... it's not too bad, this Diet Pepsi. Bartee noticed this and went ahead and satisfied my addiction. Thanks honey... very good timing as I only have 1 can left.
Later we had a great family brunch at Golden Corral... where we ate the all-American home-cooked breakfast. And, this afternoon I went hiking with a great friend while Bartee stayed home with the kids. Two hours of solid adult conversation, covering topics like health care, gas prices, electric cars, teacher gifts, movies and books, in the foothills and trees of Pikes Peak. It was beautiful.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Out On The Town
Tonight we're headed out with somewhat of a plan and lots of time to kill. The kids are settled down the street with some friends and we don't have to retrieve them until the morning. We'll go to Denver to see Iron Man and then out for dinner afterwards. After extensive research on yelp.com we have narrowed the field down to three restaurants and from that we'll likely go to the Mexican joint. This is supposedly where all the Mexicans take their families when they come to town and the menu is mostly written in untranslated Spanish. Sounds authentic!
Update: Since I've been so lame about posting and this is actually being written after the date, I can tell you that we didn't get to taste the food at the Mexican restaurant. We were there around 8:45pm and the line was out the door, and initially we decided to wait it out. However, after an hour of waiting for a table of 2 and crowds of people still swarming in... we changed our minds and ended up at La Hacienda. Nice alternative, but some day we'll have to try the other place... it was filled with people and I believe I saw only one other Caucasian there besides me. This is the real deal. Thanks Firepit Family for making this happen for us!!
Update: Since I've been so lame about posting and this is actually being written after the date, I can tell you that we didn't get to taste the food at the Mexican restaurant. We were there around 8:45pm and the line was out the door, and initially we decided to wait it out. However, after an hour of waiting for a table of 2 and crowds of people still swarming in... we changed our minds and ended up at La Hacienda. Nice alternative, but some day we'll have to try the other place... it was filled with people and I believe I saw only one other Caucasian there besides me. This is the real deal. Thanks Firepit Family for making this happen for us!!
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Happy Anniversary
This is our 9th wedding anniversary. With a bag of chocolates and a cake decorated with roses we celebrated our sweet marriage. This weekend is the big celebration though... our neighbors have graciously agreed to keep both kids for a sleepover on Saturday night. We won't know what to do with the house all to ourselves and the silence that will no doubt abound. Should we just stay in and watch a movie (one that's not rated PG or animated) and eat popcorn and drink soda? For sure, we should sleep in on Sunday morning. How about dinner and a movie out? How about dinner and a movie out in Denver? So many options... we need to start the planning.
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