Play by play

I pretended I was away for Labor Day, blogging-wise. I only opened the laptop once during the long weekend, and that was legitimate, focused work-time on a freelance project. (I worked one whole hour. Woo.) Otherwise I spent my time laying on the couch or sitting on the carpet next to a blue train track, helplessly trying to save Thomas and Percy from being "crashed" by Skarloey and Bill (2 really useful engines). Skarloey and Bill spent an awful lot of their holiday weekend in Time Out, for pushing their engine friends. At AJ's direction, we replayed this scenario oh-i-don't-know-a-hundred times, me being the wise, omnipresent Voice who had to give the offenders A Talk after they committed their wrongs.

(Wonder if last week's Time Out discussion has given AJ this impression of me?? Heh.)

That plus a few loads of laundry, a few restaurant meals, and one movie night I actually stayed awake for, and we arrived at Tuesday. Holiday over. It was nice overall. Dear Husband suggested that I take it easy, since, in fact, I might be more tired this pregnancy than the last (y'think), so I tried my best to take him up on that. :) Oh, and we did go out for ice cream Sunday afternoon (swooooon).

We intended to get a closet cleaned out and that didn't happen. However, most of our 900 CDs have been installed in CD binders and their jewel cases disposed of. Even my Broadway musicals DH had never heard of, like Godspell (wha-a? never heard of?) and Sunday in the Park with George. We've been meaning to do this for ages. That's three CD bookshelves that will no longer take up space in the guest room/AJ's room.

That's what we parents DO for 'play' I guess -- reorganize. Or, let me rephrase, that's what my husband does. In the span of a week, he's single-handedly reorg'ed the master bath vanity, the CDs, and one of my kitchen cabinets, and I'm super-grateful for all of it. I would bumble around in completely organized Chaos (read: everything stuffed away, but godhelpya if you open a drawer!) if it were just up to me.

Man, is this the most boring thing you've ever read or what?!

Let me add a small funny that only my Mom and Sis will get: On Saturday, AJ called to me from across the room, "Mama? You're my poopy dommy mommy." (Hint: Awwwwww.)

Oh also! I went to try on the bridesmaid dress for DH's brother's upcoming wedding. Want to see how ridiculous it was? Here is the top:


and here is the skirt:


HAHAHAHA! I will be Eight. Months. Pregnant. She knew this when she picked it out (for her New Year's Eve wedding, Eyeroll.) I'm no bridesmaidzilla, but can assure you I will not be wearing a cropped strapless top. Or a poofy Gone with the Wind prom skirt. HA!

(Thankfully the bride and I worked it out.)

Discipline is fun

We've been having... oh, not trouble, really, but some adjustment... in AJ's new 3-year-old classroom. He's been sent to Time-Out at school 3 of the last 4 school days, something which he's NEVER experienced at daycare, to my knowledge. Not that they didn't have Time-Out until now, he's just always been The Good Kid in the class.

In fact, the assistant director's favorite thing to tell me these last 6 months or so has been, "I can go into his classroom at any time (to make an announcement, retrieve a child who's sick, etc), and AJ is ALWAYS doing the right thing." He has sat on his mat when the teacher asks. He's been first in line when she said, "Line up." He's cleaned up. That sort of thing.

[NOT that I'm trying to brag about my (adorable, well-behaved, natural genius) kid or anything. Because that would be a little too-too, wouldn't it?]

Anyway, it seems that he is being influenced by some of the other kids in his class -- and again, I only say that because his teacher tells it to me with confidence: that AJ is a good kid, but he's being a follower. Doing things like sassing back. Spitting. Or generally being a pain (not listening). So he has served some well-deserved Time-Outs.

I'm glad she's communicating with me, and of course glad she's disciplining him. I'm even glad he's testing that water a bit: How's he going to learn what the wrong behavior is, and what happens as a result, if he doesn't engage in it once or twice? What's hard is knowing how to deal with it ourselves, once he comes home. The first few times, of course, we just Talked about it, and tried to encourage him to Do the Right Thing. He'd nod his little head, "I unnerstand yoo, Mama." But on Monday when we learned of another schooltime transgression, we got stern. We told him any more Time-Outs this week, and no more TV. GRAVE CONSEQUENCE.

Well, Tuesday it seemed to work. I think we even reinforced the idea Wednesday morning (I'm sure we told him to be a good boy and listen to his teachers)... but Wednesday was another Time-Out day. When I put him in the car at 5:00, he said nonchalantly, "I want to watch Diego when we get home." And I calmly reminded him of our deal. Slowly, his mind processed that.... and he crumbled into the most pitiful, sad state of realization that, "Oh my goodness, *I* did this to myself..." (At least that's what it looked like, to me. Like he knew, and was saddened that the consequence was happening as promised.) It was equally heartbreaking for me and very satisfying. He cried most of the way home.

(He was fine, of course, when we got here. Did you know fun is possible, even without the TV? I know! It's pretty amazing. Hello, this whole thing might be worth that lesson right there.)

I'm not sure if we're doing the Right Thing with this -- if he were home and had a Time Out, I'd consider the crime paid for, and move on, so shouldn't his school Time Out count for something? -- but I feel like we need to inform him that bad behavior in school is not acceptable.

Seems like heavy stuff! And he's only 3.

brown & turquoise, and a new bag

The color combo of brown & turquoise is SO SMART. I mean 'smart' like the British say, "You look smart in that outfit." I was glad a few years ago when those two colors started being showcased in fashion, graphic design, everywhere.

So, Musings of a Housewife (Very Smart blog design) is giving away something that makes my heart SING because it is so Smart! This gorgeous Eliza Grace bag. I LUH-HU-HUV new bags.

Go, go quickly and sign yourself up. It's free! I'm smart! I'll be smarter when I win!

Oh, and thanks to 4andcounting for the generous tip!

Some things about this morning

I resisted the Thomas' English muffin aisle at Publix, even though I knew I only had one more in the fridge at home. I said, "Self, there are two loaves of bread at home (one in the freezer), you do NOT need English muffins, too, y'greedy spendthrift. You'll eat peanut butter toast and it'll be fine. Lovely, even." ...So this morning I was sad, sad, sad as I toasted the l a s t muffin and ate it with cream cheese.


My tomato plants, which I have tried mightily to kill dead with all this heat and forgetting to water them, are producing more fruit! So far of three plants, I've had two tomatoes, each about 1.5 inches in diameter. I was resigned to accept this as a moderate success and just concentrate on next year, and what I could do differently. This morning I went out to the porch and sat there looking pitifully at the plants, when what to my wondering eyes... two little green buds. I will love you and pet you call you George! And use plant food. Maybe there's hope for more fresh salsa, yet.


I turned down a job opportunity this morning via email. Not just from the freelance writing website that emails me every day ("HEY YOU! Write for Never-Heard-Of-It magazine and earn thousands!"), but from an actual person, a professional contact, someone I like and admire, for a job that I've said might be the perfect job for me, in the past. It was at a school, a private one, where I could have had a better commute and school-ish hours (it was a staff position, not faculty)... but I'm not sure I would have felt entirely comfortable there. I didn't even interview for the job, but I don't think right now is a good time to be starting a whole new career direction, with the baby coming and all. And I didn't want them to think I was interested, when I knew I wasn't. It was a career that would have required me to CARE, and GIVE 110%, and all that. And I don't really feel like that kind of a (new) career right now. (Of COURSE I give 110% at my CURRENT job. Of course! But I already KNOW that job.) I feel GOOD about the decision, but still kinda bad about shunning something that fell right into my lap. I'm waiting to hear back from my contact. Refresh, refresh, refresh goes my email window.


In the mornings I try really hard to read my work email first. There's usually nothing. Then I'll open up the feed reader and give myself 15 minutes. Then I spend about 30 minutes saying, "Just one more post. Okay. I'll just read this LAST one." It's possibly an addiction. (110% I said.)


On AJ-cam, all the kids are lined up sitting on their masking-tape names, listening to their teacher. The camera is at such an angle where I can see mostly carpet -- all clean, not a toy out of place. I think it's funny that in an hour, there will be Legos and animals all over the floor in different "centers," when they dump out the bins to play. I think it's funny because it isn't MY floor. :)

Don't know what to do

I just read this post by sandblower, and it is really beautifully written. I admire her for her persistence. But it gave me more anxiety than I care to admit, because it reminded me that I have a decision to make.

I was mostly ambivalent about breastfeeding vs. formula before AJ was born, but I figured I might as well try -- after all, women had nursed their babies for thousands of years, how hard could it be? If they can do it, I can do it. I couldn't have been more wrong. Oh, I feigned confidence during the hospital stay, faithfully attempting to nurse every 3 hours and meeting with the lactation consultants once or twice -- my doctor even called me "Mother Earth" when she came to discharge us and AJ was latched on, so easy I made it seem. But it was all an illusion.

I don't have any desire to re-live our first night home from the hospital but suffice to say: no milk. Thank goodness we had a can of formula in the pantry, that someone had given us. (And now I give one in my baby shower gifts, marked just in case.) Even 2 days later, after pumping with my hand-pump, draining that can of formula, seeing the pediatrician and being told AJ had lost more weight (OUNCES off his 6 lb, 7 ox birthweight! I was so nervous), meeting with yet another lactation consultant... who must have been having a bad day at the office, by the way...

It just didn't work for us. I did the very best I could, supplemented with that thing you tape to your shoulder, pumped with a rented pump on the bathroom floor in the middle of the night only to produce 2 ounces... I gave up after 2, maybe 3 weeks. And I was SO RELIEVED and actually started living again. I stopped dreading the third hour. I stopped crying so damn much.

I never did feel comfortable as a nursing mother anyway. Didn't know if the awkwardness of undressing in public, or even in front of my dad in my own home, would ever dissipate and feel 'normal.' And I never did get to find out.


SO. What do I do THIS time? My brain tells me, "Take a deep breath and try again. Maybe your body will know what to do this time. Maybe this child will latch more naturally." And, "Now you KNOW what to expect, you KNOW it's hard. Maybe this time you'll try harder (won't be so proud?) to find a consultant you can rely on, or a neighbor or friend."

But my heart begs, "Please, PLEASE let's not go through that sad, terrible time again."

Help me, Internet-wan. What's your advice? What do you do, the 2nd time around? Go with what you know, or be brave and hope for the best? Anyone have an experience like mine and then, another baby?

Yum.

Cracked Black Pepper & Olive Oil Triscuits (thank you, MB)

PLUS

Pimento Cheese.


I think this is becoming a snack blog.

A drop in the ocean

Sunday we woke up and served breakfast to our weekend guests right before they left to head home. I was a little bit glad they had an afternoon commitment because it left us some time to just be a family, which is what I need on the weekends -- time together. To recharge. To juice up on what's good. :)

In a rare chance, DH turned on the CD player and we got to listen to some of our music instead of silence, or Go, Diego, Go (flavor of the month), or the screaming fits of a toddler. The Toddler was happily engaged in Thomas the Tank Engine and his new friends Bill and Skarloey Engine. So when I heard the first few notes of "Yahweh" by U2, I wandered into the kitchen were DH was cleaning up breakfast. I love that song. (I usually don't enjoy when bloggers post song lyrics. It kind-of makes me cringe. So I apologize to anyone who feels the same, but this time it's for me.)

Take these shoes
Click clacking down some dead end street
Take these shoes
And make them fit
Take this shirt
Polyester white trash made in nowhere
Take this shirt
And make it clean, clean
Take this soul
Stranded in some skin and bones
Take this soul
And make it sing

I walked over for a hug, and it turned into a dance. We both needed a little moment together, I guess. We have always danced in the kitchen. This time, with my belly stretching in between us like a beach ball already. We laughed about that and DH adjusted his hips wayyy back in jest.

Yahweh, Yahweh
Always pain before a child is born
Yahweh, Yahweh
Still I'm waiting for the dawn

Take these hands
Teach them what to carry
Take these hands
Don't make a fist no
Take this mouth
So quick to criticize
Take this mouth
Give it a kiss

Next thing we knew, AJ followed the sound of the song and held his hands up baby-style, with a little pout saying he wanted to dance with us, too. I argued in my mind for one second about picking him up since he is over the recommended 30 pounds (barely over), but then of course, couldn't resist. We held him together. And there was a family hug and top-of-head-kissing all around. And Napoleon even danced 4-legg-ed behind us, wishing he could be held, too.

Yahweh, Yahweh
Always pain before a child is born
Yahweh, Yahweh
Still I'm waiting for the dawn

Still waiting for the dawn, the sun is coming up
The sun is coming up on the ocean
This love is like a drop in the ocean
This love is like a drop in the ocean...

It was all a little too much for this hormonal, weepy girl and I cried a little for the bliss of that sweet Sabbath moment. The magnitude of our crystal 'drop in the ocean' overwhelmed me.

Yahweh, Yahweh...
Take this heart
Take this heart
Take this heart
And let it break

Things I want - air quotes - for the baby

It's kind of a LOT more fun to be thinking about the baby registry this time around, because I'm not so freaked out about "what do we NEED OMG to care for an entire BABY?!?" I, of course, don't really need an excuse to be MORE selfish, but I do need an excuse to visit Babies R Us. Because once you're in that club, you're IN. YOu're Loyal. You WANT to go there. But I've felt silly going there with my three-year-old. Not a baby!

So anyway, there are a few things I didn't do right the first time around, and since I'm pretty sure this is my last chance, I want to be sure and have:

> A new diaper bag. I had two for AJ's babyhood and didn't really like either one. The first was black and felt like a suitcase (too big) and the 2nd felt like a really nerdy, ugly purse (navy, and too small). Neither had pizazz. This time, I want pizazz. And I want outside pocket options.

>A varsity serious baby-carrier or sling or something. Mine was el cheapo (a gift) and everyone hated it: Me, Daddy, and Baby AJ. I've read all the recommendations on the mommy blogs and I still can't decide what to get.

> Depending on the gender, new crib sheets. Even if it's another boy, I'm kinda sick of our crib sheets. How stupid, I know. I also never got the Ultimate Crib Sheet and I WILL, this time. It's supposed to work miracles. Of course when you start talking baby bedding (and girl-babies because seriously, if it's a boy I know deep in my heart there's nothing new coming in this house), you start looking at gorgeous things like this, and this, and OMG, this. None of which are within budget. PBKids?! What am I doing? :)

> I VOWED not to use our Avent bottles again, because they leaked so annoyingly when I twisted them closed too tightly. But I've since heard that practically all bottles do that. So maybe I want new bottles, and maybe not. Then I've also been receiving that annoying plastic-leaches-cancerous-chemicals email, and even though I checked it out and it's not really true, I have sorta worried about that because guess what: I ALWAYS microwaved AJ's plastic bottles. Lay-zee, that's my reason. Sue me.

>So this time I think I want a counter-top bottle warmer, however frivolous that seems.

>And I also want a wipes warmer. Again, completely unnecessary! But this baby's going to be born in the dead of winter, and his/her room is the coldest in the house, and I don't want anyone's precious widdle boddom to be shocked with the cold of a Huggies Natural Care in the middle of the night, for Heaven's sake.

>I can't decide about Diaper Champ. We've used just a plain diaper pail, scented trash bags (same ones we use in the kitchen, which is convenient), and Lysol. But it still sometimes gets stinky in the nursery. We of course received 2 Diaper Genies when AJ was born, but the first one broke during our attempt to set it up, and after that, the 2nd one was regifted. Hate.

>SDW: do you like your swaddling blanket? I know, *I* gave one to you, but no offense will be taken if it's not the greatest product (I mean, YOU registered for it after all): Is it any good?

So fun to shop!

I *must* vacuum today

(here comes your quintessential mommyblogger post...)

We are drowning in tufts of Napoleon hair. It's end of summer -- shedding season. Nap had a bath this past weekend and as much as I LOVE how soft he is after a bath, the week after is a bit miserable. It's one big Fur Festival. We figure he needs a day or two (at least) to roll around on every available surface and finish shedding, plus we're too busy to vacuum twice a day every day, which is what the place really needs, so we just put it off. Tuesday I made the grave mistake of picking up a pretzel I had dropped -- usually I leave every dropped food item on the floor for him, but I don't know, Tuesday I was hungry I guess -- popped it back into my maw and got a mouthful of hair. Pbbllt! Pbblt! Spit! Wipe tongue with napkin! That was gross.

I feel like we'll never be as "on top of" the housecleaning as we'd like to be. Before he married me, DH used to clean his apartment FAITHFULLY every week. Granted, it was only 1 bedroom, but still. I feel I've robbed him of that cleanliness in a way, especially after having AJ. We just can't keep up. I guess our pattern lately is that we clean either bathrooms or do the vacuuming/dusting every other week on odd weeks. Meaning, we don't do the two on the same week. Except it's not exactly true, and we don't ever "schedule" a good kitchen scouring or mopping the hardwoods. Sigh. I'm glad we can at least keep the clutter straightened up for the most part. I try, with clutter. I don't always succeed.

(And Hubby, if you're reading this, please don't come home and start cleaning top to bottom. I do not mean for this to be a cry for help, or a 'you dooo it" whine fest.)

Don't anybody suggest the FlyLady. I've seen her stuff; I tried it a little. Her catering to SAHMs turned me off a bit and then her goofballness turned me off the rest of the way. It's a nice idea but.

I don't think I could ever hire a housecleaning service. I mean, I COULD but the guilt of expense would probably get to me. I know that's one of the things that working-parent-advice-columnists always suggest to relieve stress, but I don't know. It would feel, to me, a little like we were trying to live an Uptown life with downtown money.

For me, as long as there isn't obvious filth or grime (which is why I scrubbed toilets last night at 9:00) we're doing okay. Right? Tell me that's right.

The hardest-won victories are sweetest

I MADE THE COOKIES!!

Here's the riveting play by play:

(Had to postpone baking over the weekend, due to a stupid cold.)

Almost panicked AGAIN at Publix today: Peppermint Extract was hidden behind Orange.

Was a maniacal fool (actually laughed out loud, all crazy-like) for the Mise en Place.

Baked during the work-from-home day, and don't feel bad about it.

(Okay, maybe a little bad.)

Laughed out loud again when I smelled the batter. Pitied myself because of being pregnant and unable to lick the beaters or the bowl.

Grimaced when cookies fell flat immediately upon removal from oven, but am not a baking expert, and decided if they taste good I likely won't care.

Grimaced again when first batch was halfway uncooked after 8 minutes in oven. Put 'em back in and hoped for the best.

Tasted a sample. Continued tasting 4 or 6 samples.

Sang the Hallelujah Chorus and wept, then fell over dead with JOY.


I will now cease hijacking Swistle's topic. It's just that I never really HAD a major craving with my first pregnancy and this is honest-to-Pete A. Craving. It's been very odd for me. I've been drinking Peppermint Hot Chocolate and nothing else on my Wednesday Starbuck's drive-thru, been making same at home despite the heat, just have lived for mint-chocolate. These cookies spoke to me when I first learned of their existence. Maybe the baby will be named Mint Chocolate, who knows.

Letters from the edge

Dear Sinuses:

We have never really gotten along and today I just want to say: I hate you.

Love,
el-e-e

- - - - - - - - - -

Dear 85-Degree Overnight Outdoor Temperature:

We need to talk. You are out of bounds and I'm starting to have a real problem with you. I especially hate that you make my AC run ALL NIGHT LONG, so that I can HEAR money being sucked right out of my wallet. These nights, it never stops for a little QUIET time while I'm trying to sleep. One other thing: You're compounding my current problem with the Sinuses, which is an actual head-cold and isn't helped by having dry mouth and lips and a foggy head, due to the aforementioned AC.

Piss on ya,
el-e-e

- - - - - - - - - -

Dear 25-year-old AC Unit:

You blow (but I'm in no mood for jokes). Also, your friend the metal Vent cover? The one who clicked all night with your constant blowing? click click click click click... Not happy with that either. You can pass that on.

Later.

p.s. Don't die, by the way. I still need you.

- - - - - - - - - -

Dear Baby:

Now, sweetie, you are entirely too young to be giving Mama this much trouble. I know you're growing and everything, and you need me to sleep on the left side for optimal circulation, but here's the deal: Mama needs her rest. So get comfortable and quit making me flop over and over. Like I said, you're much, MUCH too young for this. This next three months of gestation is supposed to be the blissful part. So work on that for me, okay? I'll give you cookies if you do.

Seriously.
Love,
Mama

- - - - - - - - - -

Dear Boss:

Not feelin' it today. A little tired. Sorry.

Best,
el-e-e

Unrelated topics: obsession and God

*Edited: I suppose it's a shame, my title. The two really are unrelated in this post, though.

DUDES. The fates are working against me. There are no mint chocolate chips anywhere in this city or even online. "Those are a seasonal item, Ma'am," said the customer service man at Kroger. (Yeah. I called.) "Hahahahahahaha, surely you jest?" said the baking aisle at Publix. I looked here, there, and everywhere that seemed half-logical from a big ol' Google search. Even Cost Plus World Market had Green MINT Chips, but no Mint-Chocolate Chips.

I just don't think it's very funny, you retailers, messing with a pregnant woman like this. Not very funny A-TALL. I'm kind-of obsessed with the idea of mint-chocolate-brownie goodness in a cookie, now. Last night we went to Applebee's and I had their brownie-ice-cream sundae thing. It helped a little. (The plate was the size of my kitchen sink, by the way. ggggggggggggggwarmchocolate....)


Last night: "Who's God, Mommy?"

Hooooo, boy. Well. When we had him baptised, I guess we promised we'd be his first teachers of all things spiritual, so we can't deflect this one ("Hey, let's read DORA!"), we really have to try. So I said, "Well, when we say our prayers and go to church we're talking to God. God lives up in the sky... (??!?) I mean, in Heaven. And he made EVERYTHING. He made you, and Mommy, and Daddy..."

"And Grandmommy too?"

DH jumped in: "Yes, Grandmommy and (insert long list of all our relatives here), and even the trees and grass and the sky."

"Oh."

Somehow I forgot the part about "...and He loves you," but maybe we'll save that for the next lesson. :)

Buddha!

I am sitting here on teh couch, under my favorite blanket, avec laptop and proofreading assignment, and DAMN. There is an actual, round belly in between me and teh Mac! I can RUB it and everything!

Hello, Baby.


(teh teh teh the thete thet the the e teh cannot. type.)

Reunion

I think all of my conference calls for this week -- which, no matter how many I do, no matter how chummy I feel with a particular client, always make me stress out just a little bit -- and I feel like I can finally relax a bit. [today's work rant:] I'm grateful for getting to use my mind at my job, and grateful that I'm not at home with AJ right now because we'd be playing Cariboo, I just know it, and I am not sure I can swallow ONE MORE GAME of that game... but sheesh. Other times I really WISH I was doing mindless data entry somewhere, or wiping someone else's kid's behind at a daycare job, instead of figuring percentages of success rates of direct mail campaigns (kill me) or wondering if this client's .asp registration form is going to hook up correctly with to our blah-de-tech-speak server config. [end. rant.]

So, the Hubby's high school reunion, surprisingly, was fun even for me. I don't know if I was just looking forward to a date night, or if being "on his arm," in a new outfit, in downtown beautiful Savannah made me feel loved and happy, but he was proud of me and I was proud of him, and all his classmates seemed to be super-decent people. I felt sorry for the one guy who was clearly the "uncool" kid during high school. He and he wife sort-of stood out from everyone else, a little bit ungainly and odd, and for a while Hubby and I both felt protective of them, like we wanted to make sure people were talking with them. We did for a good long while, and for the most part, other people did too. I worried when they were the first couple to leave, although I remember now they said their 12-year-old daughter was alone at home for the first time; it probably had nothing to do with feeling ignored. They had their own thing going on.

That's really the thing, twenty years after you've graduated -- not that I know, since I still have 5 years until that milestone myself, but my observation was that almost everyone had married and had babies, or else gone on with healthy careers and other friends. Their own lives. Their own stories. Absolutely no need for validation from the 88 folks also occupying the party room. There was less competition and more just... reconnecting on this new, mortgage-carrying, gray-hair-displaying level. I sensed that most people were at peace with who they were then, and who they are now, and who cares about all the other stupid water under the bridge.

DH says he was not "popular" in his class, although he certainly had friends. It was fun to meet someone and immediately ask him, "Okay, who was she in high school? Cheerleader? Nice? Snotty?" Several people, he said, never gave him the time of day back then, but were pretty normal now.

We visited the school, too, which was a trip down memory lane for both of us. Marybeth: Picture a school gym, darkened, bleachers pushed back, dust mop propped over to the side with remnants of spring's last janitorial cleaning -- corner doors ajar because LORDY, it's HOT in the gym when the central AC's not on.... What do you think of?

Summer cheerleading practice, right? Crazy. I walked right into my own life, albeit 2 states and 17 years away. The gym was empty when we arrived but I could almost smell the hairspray we used to wear (Aussie) and hear our coach shouting commands. I guess high school's much the same everywhere.

GratiTude-sday

1. Yesterday at Publix I said, "TO HECK with fat-free creamer," and bought regular, flavored, Cinnamon Hazelnut. I am grateful this morning for that moment of genius. Why fat-free? I am getting fatter right now, as we speak!

2. While at Publix, I became very dismayed that they did not, in fact, carry, mint chocolate chips, so I could not try this incredible-sounding recipe. But my arteries, I think, are quite grateful. And you better believe I will be takin' it to Kroger as soon as possible. I am on a HUNT now.

3. So far, a wee cough in AJ's throat has not blown into something larger, nor gotten him sent home from daycare. I am thankful for that because if he got sent home, I'm not sure what I would DO with him all day; it is too fricking hot to play outside for longer than 45 seconds and you can only take so many Go Fish games before you lose your sanity. I am also thankful that my mother-in-law bought him some Robitussin while we were busy at the reunion picnic last Saturday.

4. Fish tacos for lunch today. As we do every Tuesday. And yet I don't get sick of them.

5. Okay, I know this seems like a REALLY shallow list of things to be grateful for, but I didn't want to bowl y'all over with sappiness, and be 5-bullets thankful for mah growing baby, the size of a lime, and mah perfect husband who's so understanding and patient with my tired and useless self all the time lately, and mah perfect son who this morning, on the way into school, let me carry him and said "Y'know what? ....Ah wuv you, mama." Because that would just be TOO much.

It's fuzzy, but it's still an award!

I am so honored that my friend at 4andcounting passed this lovely award to ME! Li'l ol' me! Thanks so much. (She said I was funny! Hee!) I'm anxious to go visit her other 4 nominees, as well. I like reflecting. In fact, I wish my blog included more of that but it seems the daily stuff is easier to write when you're in a dash, like I usually am.

Like any good blog award, the rules state I am to bestow this gift on 5 more bloggers who are reflective. Or, who make me reflect. Something like that. Happy to! Here they are, in no particular order.

Indigo Girl is a longtime read of mine, and I still love her style. Now SHE can take the "daily stuff" and really make it shine, somehow. I wish I were as good as that, but I think what makes hers good is that it's so perfectly clear and honest. There's nothing fabricated, it doesn't even read like it's "composed;" she just writes what's on her mind. Her third baby is due soon now and I can't wait! She's going to have 2 wonderful little assistants to get her through it. :)

Et-tu, Jen, is becoming one of my daily reads because her perspective as a very new Christian (and former atheist) is quite interesting. Also, I like that she's a regular person who admits her imperfections and laughs about her struggles. If you want a good theology post, read through Jen's archives. She's awesome.

I've always liked poetry, and Sunday School Rebel writes prose the way I like to read poetry. Oh, she writes actual poetry, too, if you're into that. I could read her all day. These days she's reflecting on mothering baby Thomas, who's most assuredly a Keeper.

I'm liking Mighty Maggie lately, too. I found her through Arwen, who deserves a spot on this list, too. Maggie's a new-ish mommy to the adorable Jack, and her Catholic sensibilities are much like mine, I think. I loved the other day, she was talking about indulgences, and quoted her mom as saying the Church takes away all the "funny stuff." Hee. Healthy respect for Tradition, plus a sense of humor: those are the keys to understanding one's own cradle-Catholicism, I think.

If I were a teacher (perish the thought), I would want to be just like Some Pig. She is charming and funny, and uber-smart. And naturally she doesn't take any crap from students. Her song-title posts have been brilliant lately! How does one keep coming up with such cleverness? Me likey. You win.

happy reading! (More on our trip to the Hubby's high school reunion later!) *Dash*

Telling

Something about this 2nd pregnancy has me all juiced up to tell perfect strangers The News. I was in Talbot's the other day, buying what was left useful to me there -- one very wide-bottomed linen tank and one long summer sweater with cap sleeves that I adore -- and upon checkout I just HAD to say that I really loved their pretty fall dresses, and was so sad I couldn't buy one... *low tone:* Since I'm about 12 weeks pregnant...*pretty smile* Of course, you know the ladies who work at Talbot's. She was very congratulatory in a non-emotional, It's A Classic kind of way.

Then when I got my haircut Monday at Great Clips -- desperate as I was, with DH's 20-year high school reunion this weekend and all, and not wanting to look shaggy -- I told the perfect stranger of a "stylist." Because that's just the kind of thing you discuss with your stylist. Juicy, interesting personal news, you know?

So it bugs me that I'm stymied every time I think it's time to tell my manager. Who I talk to every day. Ridiculous.

Fine, then

Bought more itty-boy underwear (SO. CUTE. ON HIS WIDDLE. BODDOM). Target had Diego, which made someone I know VERY happy. They sadly did not have Sponge Bob in his size, however. Also, a decision has been made by me: we will wear underwear in school (and continue doing GREAT! keeping it dry all day). When we get home, we will put on a PullUp, because someone I know still can't fathom pooping in the potty, even though he did it once last week with great success. And someone gets really upset when he has accidents. Small steps are fine with me.

(Part of the reason I'm anxious is SCHOOL, obviously. In the 3-year-old class, they're supposed to be trained, see. It's not just me, hurrying him for the sake of hurrying. But whatever. If he's doing fine AT school, that's all they need to know.)

And that concludes my talking about the potty. I swear.

Let's talk about the POWER of PRETEND. Last night, ohmyheavenlyDAYS we were having an off night about the bath! AJ was not pleased about having to take one. He was fine right up until time to get undressed, then all of a sudden, not pleased. I hate forcing him into the bath, or to do anything, really, when he's having a fit. SO! I took a little lesson from this book*, and probably countless others, and PRETENDED that Miss Green Dolphin, one of our bathtime friends, was hoping AJ would get in the tub and play with her. She whispered to me, about AJ, and I responded to her that "Yes, AJ was kinda sad tonight." When she cooed in her (my) high-pitched little coo-y voice, someone couldn't help but quiet down to see what she was saying about him. Ahhh, I gotcha, kiddo! Miss Dolphin then offered AJ a little kiss on the cheek. He fell all over her! Why, AJ would be HAPPY to bathe you, Miss Green Dolphin! And den we will go wimming, would dat be fun?

And the heavens opened and angels sang, and bathtime was delightful.

*Let me just say for the record that I think the majority of the ideas in this particular book are kiiiinda wacky. However! I bought it during a week of hellish daily tantrums, and if this one gem of an idea has worked one time? Probably worth the $9.99.

Book Seven

Only a few books have made me choke back tears. I mean 4-Kleenex, snuffling and gasping with the weight of sadness and the beauty of great literature. Those have been, in order:

A Wrinkle in Time, when I was 12.

The Sparrow, in 1999.

and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, July 31, 2007.

(I have ONE more chapter to read this evening -- I'm counting on Caillou to babysit for me while I devour it.) THEN you may comment. :)

Plain vanilla

I cherish our weekends so much, especially the plain-vanilla ones, where we don't have anything too specific planned, and can just wake and enjoy our weekend routine, maybe read every moment we find spare, such as while browning ground beef or when AJ's content to play for FIVE SECONDS by himself, umm... I mean, read a little bit (still Harry Potter), and live this simple family life.

I love the time spent with AJ, too. He is so cute wanting to PLAY --with me-- all the time. He bounces from one thing to another. I don't always WANT to play, but remind myself that playing is his JOB, his only responsibility in the world right now, to learn and explore through imagination and Legos and board games and laughter. (He's fun to play board games with at this stage, because he's not competitive. Whoever wins, he screams with glee, "You WIIIIINNNN!") I sit on the floor with him and TRY to think of plausible dinosaur adventures for Triceratops and T-Rex. I used to think I had a good imagination. (Where does that go when you turn grown-up??) I try not to fall asleep, too.

Oh, AJ does have ONE other responsibility, and that is the potty training. We had an underwear weekend, with I think 2 or 3 accidents, and finally on Sunday evening I admitted defeat and put him in a Pull Up. I'm sure that was A Grave Error and broke the rules of the potty training but I was just tired of it. And I needed some time to wash underwear so he could wear/take it to school today. Krissy Poopyhands saw her boy's 2 accidents as a stunning victory... I must be a glass half-empty kind of girl because each time it frustrates me. He can keep a Pull Up dry ALL DAY: Why is it the moment I put underwear on him, he has an Oops? And WHY, when I ask him nicely or plain tell him, "It's time to potty," does he get so defensive and flat refuse? I know he doesn't do that at school. I guess it's one of those "He loves you/trusts you the most, so he acts out for you" moments. Le Sigh. I know we'll get there. It's just a mental challenge.

Oh, also: Big-boy bed! Still the crib, but the railings are off and he now has sheets and a real pillow and COVERS, which made him jump up and down (on the bed) like he'd won the lottery. I'm pretty excited by the sheets, too, actually. They're a washed denim and really handsome and I NEVER buy new sheets! Fun, fun stuff.

I did some shopping yesterday and it was awesome. Can't beat spending money when you HAVE NO CHOICE... nothing fits anymore. It's officially the awkward, in-between stage where my regular clothes hate me and maternity are still too baggy. So I went to Lane Bryant and to Talbot's where I had a gift card, and was SAD SAD SAD, because they have gorgeous brown madras petite dresses there right now for Fall. GORGEOUS. And I couldn't buy one. But still, I scored with 2 pairs of comfortable shorts and three new tops. Should get me through Hubby's high school reunion next weekend, anyway.

I feel bad for the lack of inspired posts lately (and for all the potty talk). I feel like we're just plodding through the dog-days, though... y'know? It's hot, work's busy, we're all fine, but just... Auto-pilot.

Work things, breakfast, etc.

It has been the busiest week at work so I'm feeling like SURELY I need to be doing one of a thousand work-things right now, but there is a curious lull, and a lack of email this morning, making me think I can stray for just a few minutes to write here. And make myself an egg and some toast.

This pregnancy (I guess) has made me return to breakfast, and decide that it's really the most versatile meal of the day. I've never been one to ADORE eggs and toast, but lately they just SOUND GOOD. As does cereal (Cinnamon Life! Raisin Bran! Honey Bunches of Oats! Rice Krispies!). I thought I had eaten enough cereal as a child to never, ever want it again -- and I haven't eaten it, regularly, in years. But lately it's just another one of so many great options. I'm Mrs. Mary Sunshine about breakfast, and part of it is that I have the ingredients for everything on this list, nearly every day:

• I could have coffee and an english muffin or a bagel. Usually with cream cheese. Tomato if I have it.
• I could have milk and cereal, and orange juice. (no coffee when I eat cereal, though, because I put milk in my coffee and that'd just be an overload)
  
• I could have an egg. Toast. Butter. Apricot jam.
• I could get crazy and have a banana with peanut butter.
• A single-serve cottage cheese. (Love)
• A yogurt smoothie with frozen strawberrries.
• Toast and peanut butter, Sis's favorite.
• Feeling savory? How 'bout an egg burrito? (I always have tortillas and salsa in the fridge.)
• Or I could snag some of AJ's beloved Cinnamon Bun oatmeal.
• Don't forget PANCAKES.
• Blueberry muffins. (there's a ready-made package in the pantry)
• Ooh, what if I made banana bread?? Score.

It lately just blows my mind that there are so many good things! And then I laugh at myself for being such a goof. But anyway, what's your favorite? Indulge me. (Of course I didn't say Eggs Benedict which is the ultimate favorite.... but I don't make that. I want someone else to make that for me.)

Yesterday at work we had to explain our division, and what we actually DO, to someone in the corporate chain of command. As I was sitting there I was thinking, "It's really pretty damn cool, what we do." And I think it was a little gift to me from God, that tiny thought. So I'm grateful for it, even though it has now fleeted away and today just feels like normal drudgery. ;)

AJ's teacher has said she thinks he's READY, absolutely ready to be wearing underwear to school. So we start tomorrow. (Eeee!) I'm nervous for him because he definitely doesn't have the #2 thing down. Normally he waits until the 6:00pm hour to do that business -- he's nothing if not regular! -- (so it's only ME who'd have to deal with it, which is good only because I think accidents will upset him in a major way), but what if...? I guess we'll just have to see.

I'm reading Harry Potter 7 and just dying that we haven't yet seen #5 in the theater. If we don't, it'll be the first in the series that we have missed on the big screen. And that would be tragedy.

All the ideas

...that might be good blog posts, if I could spend enough time to flesh them out.

• Some friends came over for dinner on Saturday, and brought flowers for the table. They're perfect little lavender roses, and exactly match the tablecloth I had picked out. They have made me REALLY happy. Just flowers. I'm sitting next to them now.
  
• My coworker is back after her maternity leave. I'm alternately giddy because I've missed her, and sad because I know how she must feel today. I want to promise her that it gets easier, and it does.... I know that she's got a good setup of wonderful family taking care of her baby girl. And readjusting? Well, that's just part of it from now 'til eternity. I think we readjust a tiny bit every day.
  
• I feel like I want to CALENDAR the prep-for-baby to do list. Like, okay, we need to get AJ moved into his new big-boy room, and he'll need some time to get used to that before the baby arrives, so... calculate back a few months... aaaaand, okay, mid-November needs to be the goal.
  
• So, before then, I've got to get the closet in that room cleaned out. And the dresser moved out. And buy some fun things (maybe wallies, maybe Ikea) for decor. And a new queen-sized comforter for him. Make it as Pottery-Barn-Kids as possible, on a shoestring budget! But I want to wait 'til we know if Baby is a boy or girl, because if it's a girl, I can recycle some of AJ's baby stuff into big-boy stuff... and this is where my head explodes with all the thinking.
  
• I had a good talk with my friend Martina on Saturday night, who said she is so much better for her kids when she's working. For her, it means she comes home eager to see them, and not overtired from their whining and fussing. And she is willing to spend time with them, and is more patient, because she's been away from them. I decided that I feel that way, too in many ways. It made me question wanting to switch to part-time work, but I'm not about to deviate from that plan just yet. It merits much more thinking, though. I can tell you after a long day like Sunday, with AJ having no nap and not eating well, that *I* was most definitely over it, and tired (as evidenced by my SLAMMING his unfinished dinner plate into the sink after he'd been defying me, and raising my voice)
  
• Yesterday we played outside with the neighbors in cool, low-80-degree, no humidity weather. Unfortunately, the mosquitoes were still out in full force. AJ is NOT a big fan of bugs. He's pretty scared of them, actually. They told me at daycare one day last week, he cried all through naptime. When I asked him why he said "I had a ant on my knee." :( I can relate. My first nightmare was about giant bugs. I was really young -- 3 or 4 -- but I remember scenes from it pretty vividly. A dream. Weird.
  

Deep breathing for today

Best thing I've read all week is located here.

I like the part that says,

Life does not come to us all at one time; it comes only a day at a time. Even tomorrow is never ours until it becomes today, and we have nothing whatever to do with it but to pass down to it a fair and good inheritance in today's work well done, and today's life well lived.

I am hungry and I have a due date

Whee! I couldn't resist some baby-swag. I know, it totally cheapens the place but too bad. :) Baby #2 is on his or her way Feb 16, 2008, and the doctor said so! We tried to find heart tones today during my first, painfully paperwork-laden prenatal visit, but no luck. Not worried, just bummed because it would have been neat to know that the little kumquat-sized fishie is really for-true in there with audio evidence. Since I still have a hard time believing it.

I love when they asked (twice) How's your diet? Do you eat fruits and vegetables? I kind-of don't know what to respond to that. "Doesn't everyone?" or "Not 5 times a day, but yes." or "Does guacamole count?" Hee hee. It's a different OB practice for me -- much closer to home than my last doctors, as is the hospital where I'll deliver this little bundle. With AJ, we were thankful that labor started in the middle of the night because that guaranteed no traffic problems down I-75. This time, I don't want to commute to the birth of my child. The hospital is right down the street (well okay, ten minutes away) from home. And as a special bonus, it's across the street (literally) from our church, so during the down-time, hubby can run over there to light a candle for us. :)

Wait. Did somebody say guacamole...?

82 wpm

Some days I sit in my cube and just listen to all the ridiculous typing going on around me, and it makes my heart ache. There will be no other sound except various ones of us pushing the letter-buttons. It makes me wonder WHAT in the hell is so important that 5 people need to be sitting here, brows furrowed, fingers clacking, for 8 hours. Even the sound of my own typing is giving me the heebies right now because it's just so obnoxious. I think it's also because we all type so damn FAST, like it's a life or death race and we have to PUSH, PUSH, PUSH all these stupid useless words out into the world, before we can hit "Send" or "Print" with a big flourish, and get up from our desks to go pick up the hot-off IMPORTANT.DOCUMENT. I'm mostly talking about work, and the business of the world (not blogging -- blog typing, of course, is critical). It just strikes me some days how stupid we all might look if the proverbial aliens came to watch from above.

I guess if the gears in our brains made noise as they turned round and round, that would annoy me even further. So thank goodness for that.

Phoning it in

Sorry guys, all I've got is the 1st-trimester blahs (TI-RED), and the past rainy weekend where I did nothing but lay around. Seriously. So, I've probably done this one before but TOO BAD.

Were you named after anyone? My first name was my Grandfather's first name, which is pretty cool. Not many girls can say that.

When was the last time you cried? Thursday I got a little teared up, but the last good cry was a while ago.

Do you like your handwriting? I have never liked my handwriting. It's very sharp and inconsistent -- sometimes slanty, sometimes not.

What is your favorite lunch meat? Ham. But I prefer "real" ham over cold cuts. With mayo & pickle.

Do you have kids? Kid-S! Plural! That is a scary thought but yes, 1 out- and 1 in-utero.

If you were another person, would you be friends with yourself? I think so. We would be so close I would tell myself to have a backbone once in a while.

Do you use sarcasm a lot? NAWWWWWW.

Do you still have your tonsils? Yep. And my wisdom teeth.

Would you bungee jump? No way.

What is your favorite cereal? Oooh, I just bought some Cinnamon Life and I think it is my very favorite in the entire world. I wonder if the fact that I wait so long between buying it makes it that much more appealing to me?

Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? Not if I can help it.

What is your favorite ice cream? Coffee ice cream (although I had some Rocky Road, of all things, the other night and it was mighty delicious)

What do you notice first about people? I guess overall neatness (or lack thereof) is the first thing that really jumps out at me.

Red or pink? Red. I have said since I was about 4 years old that red is my favorite color. However, I don't wear a ton of red, and my house isn't crammed full of it.

What is your least favorite thing about yourself? I can be pretty lazy.

What is the last thing you ate? (when I started this post:) Thai Peanut Bowl with chicken... (just now:) Cinnamon Life!

What color pant and shoes are you wearing? khaki jeans, brown sandals

What are you listening to right now? my coworker gripe about his server connection and a client request

What are your favorite smells? onions simmering in butter (is this question on every meme?), fresh peaches, hazelnut coffee, lavender, clean laundry

Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? Emily, a programmer I work with

What are your favorite sports to watch? football, gymnastics

What is your hair color? the most boring brown

What is your eye color? hazel

Do you wear contacts? No, and no glasses either.

Scary movie or happy ending? Happy ending.

What is your favorite food? pizza or Mexican, although I had both this weekend, and neither one appealed to me that much pre-eating, or after dinner! Odd pregnancy thing?

What was the last movie you saw? Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer (DH's choice!)

What color shirt are you wearing? khaki with pink stripes

Summer or winter? Fall.

Hugs or kisses? Really, hugs.

What is your favorite dessert? chocolate pie, I think.

What are you reading? I started The Time Traveler's Wife but not really into it yet.

What is on your mouse pad? don't own one

What did you watch on TV last night? some of the E-3 coverage with hubby, then a few minutes of that movie "Picture Perfect" with Jennifer Anniston and Kevin Bacon

Rolling Stones or The Beatles? The Beatles

What is the farthest you've been from home? Japan, although it didn't feel so far away since my family was with me and we were on a military base. Poland felt farther.

Where were you born? Hereford, Tx

Over the weekend I had thought of some additional questions to add to this, but now they've escaped me. Anyone who wants to play, feel free to play.

Also! Go congratulate Sam! Baby Kicky Feet was born, hooray!

Inflection

My little boy is SUCH a grown-up talker.

Yesterday I asked him, "Will you go to Walgreen's with me?" And he said,

"Suwah. Dat will be a good idea."

After our errand, I said, "Thanks, man. I really appreciated your help in there."

And he said, with exactly the inflection you would use,

"Oh, no pwobbwem. Nooo pwobbwem."

Toys for 3 year old boys

(I say boys, but our neighbor came over, a girl, and she was every bit as interested in AJ's new toys as he was.) Rounding up birthday things that were most successful:

• One of those books with the buttons down the side, that play music for every character. Ours is a Shrek variety book, which may have more to do with it than the buttons, but for the first 2 days, AJ didn't even want me to take the plastic wrap off. He was perfectly happy to push the buttons through the plastic: "Story? Pages? Who cares. It beeps!"

• Cariboo, by the makers of Cranium. Now when I was just out of college, my roommate planned Game Nights every few weeks, to where I got pretty sick of games. But this one is really very cool for a 3-year-old. I don't get bored until at least 2 rounds in. ;) It's a treasure hunt. There's a magic key for unlocking the treasure, there's educational letter- and number-matching.... it's just great. A total success -- we've played it nine-leventy million times since Sunday.

• Chutes & Ladders, the classic I never played until this week. I personally think the update of the board's design went a little too far -- I find it hard to tell where the ladders and slides begin, and the squares on the path are difficult to distinguish under all the other fat graphics -- but AJ lurvhs this game, too. He likes to spin the spinner, and he likes to BANG his piece as he moves it around the board randomly. (We really have to help him follow the correct path, number by number, but that's understandable since he only counts to 14 and the numbers go to 100!) When he hits a ladder, it's WHEEEEEEEEE! and ALL RIIIIGHTTTT! and loads of fun for everyone. Or at least for him, heh.

• No surprise, a Thomas wooden Gold Mine Mountain track and train set. Do I even need to explain this? He loves it from tunnel to bridge and around the bend. He loves to make the trains go, and make them crash. It is a masterpiece of boyhood happiness. :)

• You know, Mr. Potato Head and all the "costumes" are entertaining him, too. He's at a stage where he'll "talk" for his toys, which makes me hide around corners so I can listen without making him self-conscious. The big, deep voices and the teensy, high-pitched voices are so funny! I love it.
  

Write these gift ideas down, people. My advice to you.

Slow down, y'move too fast

I read a couple of bloggers who are paid for it, and it's funny, they're just about as pregnant as me -- which is to say, barely -- but all of a sudden have something to SAY about it. Like, pregnancy and baby TOPICS. Me, I'm still just starting to register it. And I'm lucky, because I am so far having another EASY pregnancy without nauseaKNOCK WOOD KNOCK WOOD and without weird major cravings -- except yesterday I did want to eat a large meal about every hour and a half -- so aside from a little crampiness and none of my underpants fitting (gawd!), not much has changed for me yet.

I think about it all the time, I'm just not talking about it out loud. I guess because of all the other excitement going on. AJ's birthday bash was every bit as tiring as I thought it would probably be, with all the relatives here to celebrate. It was wonderful, just tiring. My brother in law DID become newly-engaged, while they were here! So, Wheeee! A wedding! We think they've chosen December 31 as their date, however, and all we can say to that is Ugggggggggh. Could there be a worse time of year?? I don't think so. (Of course I've also pictured myself as the 6-months-pregnant bridesmaid, Sigh. I'm thankful the bride's talking about letting us wear black at least.) Thank goodness we already have December 31 off work but one Blessed Event adds to-do list fodder in triplicate, including getting AJ fitted for a ring-bearer tux, probably, and showers and being the helpful older sister-in-law. (I did get excited thinking about bridal registries. Squee!)

Seems like there's a lot more on our plate for the rest of the year, too. Oh, I know: Hubby's 20th high school reunion in a few weeks (read: trip to Savannah). And my parents want to take us to DisneyWorld with their new Vacation Club points (COOL!), but it has to be before November 30th. And some dinner plans with various groups of friends that we've been meaning to make forever. And inviting the neighbors over (because on 4th of July their 3-year-old CALLED ME OUT, saying, "We NEVER go to AJ's house!" I was mortified because it's true). I'm starting to get a little freaked out and just imagine what kind of freak-out I'll be having when the baby actually ARRIVES. Heaven HALP me.

I will say this. At one point during our carazy weekend of festivities, when AJ was running around playing "Rock Star" by Smashmouth via his Shrek audio birthday card, and the garage door was being opened and shut about a thousand times an hour, and I didn't have any creamer for coffee, and some NASCAR race must've been on TV to entertain... I don't know who... my Dear Husband took me aside into our room and hugged me, and patted my tummy very gently, and it was the first time he'd done that this go-round. It was just what I needed: a quiet reminder that this time is about US, him and me, and this new little person that we haven't met yet, and it's a good, new, sweet single thing. I love him for doing that.

Audience participation

Bah. There's nothing new to read. I'm having one of those days where I click "Refresh All" every ten minutes in my feed reader. That can't be good, can it? I guess I'll just have to entertain myself.

I made the CUTEST cupcakes for AJ's birthday party at daycare today. They're white cake, with white frosting and red sprinkles, and they're delish (every good chef tries the dish, don'tcha know). The teacher said to me on Wednesday, "Sure, bring 'em in. I'd do something if the parents don’t, but it's HIS day on Friday." (His birthday is Sunday.) It, of course, made me a little sad to think that some parents WOULDN'T do something for their kid's birthday… but to say so would be judgmental, since I don't know what circumstances other people are dealing with. I’m just glad that the daycare employs sweet, loving people like Miss Ashley who love the kids when they need loving, and celebrate each one on his or her special day.

So, for the birthday I think we have an official extravaganza locked and loaded, even as I tried not to. (At least there will only be ONE screaming kid running around, and he's mine.) The grandparents on both sides are headed this way as I type, as well as AJ's uncle, who's intending to propose to his girlfriend TONIGHT! We have to recommend a restaurant for the actual scene of the romance! And afterwards, they'll come back home to MY house! So exciting! I have the champagne chilling in the fridge right now. Ooh, maybe I should go out at lunch to get a bottle of sparkling juice for me and little fetus (now the size of half a pea!) to enjoy.

Although AJ's birthday is on Sunday, we'll likely celebrate Saturday with a lunch trip to the brand-new pizza buffet place, a Dora cake, and some presents:

• Spiderman sleeping bag
• "I Spy" card game
• "Cadoo" board game, which I hope is somehow "Memory" related
• possibly a plastic slide for the backyard
• a new Mr. Potato Head "outfit"
• a big plastic dinosaur playset, and
• 2 new battery-operated Thomas trains for our train set.

I'm very excited because it appears we are giving him NO MOVIES, for once. Just all good, imagination-spurring, smart-enhancing playthings. I think the birthday boy's going to be over the moon about all these gifts, but it brings up a good question:

What are good gifts for a 3-year-old boy?

My mom and I have been trying to keep a running list as AJ grows, so we'll know, next time we have a birthday party to attend (or next baby, perhaps!), which things get good reactions at which ages. Please share your favorites!

Do over

I'm really embarrassed about my post yesterday with all the whining bratty nonsense.

I'd like to start over and try again: We're expecting! And so are a lot of other folks, including my work friend, J! Isn't that awesome? It's going to be a(nother) banner year. :)

It is, indeed, awesome, and I'm starting to be able to tell there's something happening in my belly; yesterday I felt all crampy, all day. Things are adjusting to accommodate a squatter I guess! Hee hee. I also HAD to eat ice cream, twice, yesterday. FEED ME calcium (in a tasty frozen confection). Finally, my bladder, which has never been the same since AJ was born, is definitely taking notice. I'm back to ye olde familiar morning potty break -- I totally remember this. Every day about 40 minutes before my alarm goes off, I'm waking up and having no choice but to go, just like last time. This is a feature of pregnancy I grew to hate, especially when it started be accompanied with fourteen other bathroom trips per night, but mostly because in the remaining 37 minutes before the alarm, you just can't get back into an excellent sleep cycle. (Silver lining: It becomes prime time for testing out baby names.)

* * * * * * * * * * *

Along with the enormous gift of a baby-to-come, I've been given another little gift.

A few months back, I asked my Mom to look for the white paperbacks I remember carrying to Mass on Sundays as a child: "The Old Testament for Children," "The New Testament for Children," "The Life of Jesus," titles like that. They were just pocket-sized, and perfect for a little girl to play housekeeper with, dusting the pews baaaack and foooorth noisily read quietly during church.

Mom found 'em, and she tossed in an old black missal with gold lettering and red-edged pages, called "Mother Love." I have a sneaking suspicion that maybe HER Mom gave it to her (though I'm not sure), and I'm just giggly over it. Its heft -- for a small book, it's chock-full of those parchment-thin pages -- and its quaint little 1950s tips are somehow a comfort to me. Like this:

On Going Steady: Are your teenage sons and daughters "going steady" to Confession, Communion, and Holy Mass, or are they "going steady" on dates and becoming spiritually unsteady?

Hee! Having such a 'vestige' of the pre-Vat II Church tradition makes me want to pass its lessons on more conscientiously to my own children. I.E., I ought to read it, and pray, more daily.

Some of the prayers I like best:

Lord, please help me today to be a good wife, mother, and neighbor. (um... yes.)

* * *

How often I ask You to listen to me, O Lord. Give me the grace to listen to my children and especially to my teenagers. (Or toddlers!)

* * *

The day is about over. I worked and I am tired. (Amen!) Please give me the gift of a good night's sleep.

* * *

I just love it. I've put it beside my bed. I don't promise to read it every night, and I'll never be as pious as the Confraternity of Christian Mothers who put the thing together. But I think it's good practice to rely on Grace in motherhood, and maybe this will remind me to try. :)

Me, Me, Maternity

I was packing for our trip eleven days ago and noticed, "Hey, Self, it's been 43 days... You are going to need to either pack Tampax and Tequila, or possibly saltine crackers and peppermints, so which is it?"

And it was... saltines. (Hoo-ray for not needing Tampax on a beach vacation.)

So there you have it, my news. I'm about 4 weeks in, I guess, and perfectly thrilled and grateful. I told my parents, sister, and best friend last week and had fun "hiding" it from our other family ("Just a Sprite for me, thanks"). It -- the news, not the Sprite -- certainly added to the joy of having a week off.

I'm being slightly grumpy about it today however, because I came home from vacation (painful enough in itself) hoping to share the news with a few close coworkers. And then got scooped: another of our colleagues announced while I was out that she's expecting... Twins. (Hey look over there, it's the air going SWOOOOSH, right out of my tires.) There's also another work-friend who helps out part-time in the summer, and she's due in 5 months or so. The two of them standing together today, talking about due dates, just made me feel childish. Like, "It's no fair" and "But that's MY news," and probably a dose of "I guess no one will care about me now, I'll just go eat worms."

I AM Extremely Immature. And I realize that every woman, especially someone I think of as a friend, deserves to be a mother and deserves congratulations and excitement, and not petty selfish scowls from me. And that some people can't get pregnant, or can't right now, and I have nothing to whine about. NOTHING. It's a bigger forehead-slap than the day I realized, after a particularly bad vocal audition, that there are a LOT of talented singers in this world. Really A LOT. I'm not the only one. And I'm happy for everyone, really. I don't know why I can't just say, Hey! this will be fun! We'll all start comparing our heartburn and looking cute in our shared maternity clothes. (Can I borrow your red blouse?)

I will confess something I'm a tad ashamed of -- back when I got pregnant with AJ, I was desperate to be first at my office. We are a group of around 25 people, and at the time, about 6 of us were married-a-few-years-ready to be thinking about it. I WAS first, and was really relieved. So I guess this is come-uppance for that smug (and stupid) "win." Maybe next week I won't cringe when I see all the other pregnant women. I guess I can't help my natural feelings, so for now I think I'm going to stamp my little feet for a teensy minute. Mine! (Whaa.)

And then, I'm going to get over it and be excited. :)

I really thought I'd be liveblogging the beach.

I guess I disappeared there, for my vacation week, lost to the blogosphere and to work and email. I fully intended to use my laptop while we were in Florida but I just never could bring myself to pull it out of my briefcase. In fact, even looking sideways at my briefcase last week made me shiver and involuntarily turn the other way, so I couldn't have kept up with the blogs even if I'd had anything to say.

The week was nice; it was beach week. There was some of the usual drama (hey, you take 30 of your nearest and dearest relatives to one resort complex and see what happens), not to mention AJ's own drama -- the kid wouldn't go NEAR the sand or the big, bad ocean, and whined about just nearly everything else -- and I'll tell you: mentally? Not so much a vacation.

Then I come back to a disshelved workplace -- some extra drama there, too, while I was gone -- and it pretty much shoots my mood right to hell. Far, far away from here isn't far enough. :( Boo.

I should be grateful that I had a vacation at all, and I am. But the first day back? Ouch. Sorry if I'm not much for chatting. And I'd really like to spend all day catching up on your blog, but instead I have a buttload of work to do.

I'm going to go Sigh several times now.

Whammo.

This is why your Mom always told you, "No horseplay:" Last night while "snuggling" with AJ (read: tickle fights and him jumping on the bed, his latest discovery), he leaned back and his big, heavy toddler head came flying down toward the pillow... right where my nose happened to be. (Cue Lipnicky: "Did you know the human head weighs eight pounds?") I had my eyes closed, and didn't know it was coming.

I heard something crackle, and then saw actual stars. OWWWW.

We NEED to lay off the nonsense in this house, because until that painful moment last night I tried to forget that we are uninsured until July 1. Of course we have the COBRA option, which I probably should have done the minute DH left his old job, but I didn't get the paperwork until about 4 weeks later (Rrrrr), and then we were busy signing up for the New Insurance so .... we called the COBRA number the other night and you know they cover you retroactive to the last day you worked... meaning, you have to PAY for all of that. Which added up to $780 or so. And since we only have 2 more weeks 'til the New Insurance kicks in... I'm willing to risk it to save the cash. I mean seriously. SEVEN HUNDRED DOLLARS would pay for a LOT of daycare or pedicures.

So no more horseplay. Of course, we are driving (car wreck) to the beach (jellyfish sting) in two days. Guess that means no daredevil activities (parasailing) and no crazy antics (jet-skiing) while we're there (shark-infested ocean). And we'd better skip the waterslide too... insert sarcasm: Oh, DARN... But just THINK of all the things that could happen (pinkeye) that might require medical attention! Then picture me shouting, "Don't move! You'll POKE YOUR EYE OUT!" to AJ, while lounging carefully under my (sunburn) umbrella, watching him sit quietly (broken ankle), doodling in the sand.

A little something for everyone

• If you were between the ages of 8 and 15 during the mid-80s, you might get a KICK (ha ha) out of this: Reebok's 'Freestyle' is back! Note that I took their quiz and earned the CLASSIC, the very style I owned and loved. Someone tipped me off to this but I can't think who.
  
• This is for my dad and the men of his generation -- and heck, for me, too: Cajun town outlaws those no-good baggy pants! HA! I'm not sure they need to be outlawed, but for the love of God, does anyone really think this style is sexy? and HOW can it be comfortable? I truly don't get it.
• For you Lost fanatics, this will make you laugh: A Season 3 Recap
• Getting serious, this is a new little venture of some fellow working mamas, and I think it's a great resource: WorkIt, Mom!. I even submitted an article, just because I can. I figure it's some additional exposure; a "clip," if you will. (You regular readers may recognize it.)

Weekend balance

A few accomplishments:

I GREW A TOMATO!! A real-live wee green gumball of a tomato, which I'm hoping will grow to be red and juicy and delicious between 2 giant slices of white bread with mayo. I am super proud of myself. Yesterday I moved the tomato plants to an area that I think will give them more full sun than they've been getting. I don't know how long it takes for a tomato to ripen, but if it's during my vacation next week, and the thing has been mauled by rabbits or just plain rotted by the time we return, I'm going to be M-A-D. Super mad.

Do you know, I didn't even TRY, but now my saying, "AJ, I'm going to count to THREE... One, Two...." TOTALLY works? I'm not sure how this happened but I'm quite happy about it. He will drop everything if I say, "ONE..." Rock on.

We set up our (plastic, thank goodness) Thomas train set again this Saturday morning. Well, I say "we" but I mean ME. :) Thankyouverymuch. It is 8 feet wide and involves a lot of instructions-reading. Whew! AJ loves that thing. He will scoot Percy around on the road, and Catherine the road-truck on the train tracks, which is all backwards and drives Hubby crazy, but it is so fun to watch him play by himself and "talk for" the little engines: "Wait for me, Percy!" says Thomas. "Wheeeeeeeeeee!" says Percy as he goes down a hill.

Less than accomplished:

Still not done potty training, for those of you keeping score. We're definitely taking swim diapers to the beach, and the only progress is that now AJ love-love-loves going to public restrooms. We went out to lunch on Saturday and he went three times. Public toilet seats, my favorite. I did buy him some Spiderman Underwear, AND for attempting to poop the other day, he got to play Daddy's Spiderman game on the Xbox, which seems to be a BIG enticement. Now I'm not one to offer video games at this young age, but at this point, if it motivates him, I'm going to try it. He will not get to play it again UNTIL I see evidence of a bowel movement in the toilet. ("TOE-let," as AJ calls it, which cracks me up. It's exactly the same south-Georgia accent as his daddy. Cute!)

My Father's Day ideas, which I was so proud about, mostly flopped. :( I had hired a neighborhood kid, who'd sent around a flier a few weeks ago saying he was starting a lawn-mowing business, to come mow ours this week and again after our vacation. Now, our lawn barely needs mowing, since we haven't had rain in, Oh, I don't know, 2 MONTHS MAYBE. But the idea was that Hubby would get a break from it for the whole month of June, and even while we were away, our house would appear to be kept up. So thoughtful! So unique! Right? I mean, if someone hired you a cleaning service you'd jump for joy, yes?

Well. First of all, it was a fiasco. 12-year-old Matt brought over a lawnmower with its gas tank on Empty, and couldn't figure out why it kept quitting. He asked for 2 glasses of water and came in the house while the mower "cooled off" a couple times, which was fine but he chose to do the work at 6pm, when I was trying to get dinner and is typically AJ's potty-time so I was fighting with him about that... it was a Calgon moment when Matt asked me if I thought he should check the spark plugs on his mower, and did I have something he could use... blah blah. (KID, I DON'T KNOW OR CARE ABOUT SPARK PLUGS! MOW THE DAMN LAWN AND GO AWAY.) He made it a point of telling me he really needed to do this tonight, because he needed the money to go to the movies because there'd be GIRLS there. *eyeroll*

Second of all, Hubby's reaction to receiving this gift was not satisfactory. When I told him this was his gift, he said, "Okay." Not "Wow, thanks!" but, "Okay." And God bless his perfectionist self, but I could see he was just willing Matt to do it all wrong or run over something with his blade, or screw up somehow. I didn't want him to HELP Matt when it seemed the mower was kaput, so that meant *I* had to take on the hassle... &tc. and grumble grumble and that's quite enough about that.

So DH could actually "open" a gift, I also got him some Nautica dress shirts, both with stripes. He was appropriately thankful for those but mentioned that "When we get to Destin, to the outlets, remember to look for some SOLIDS and then my wardrobe will be all set." So I apparently did wrong there, too, by getting stripes. (I don't care, they're PRETTY stripes.) Sigh.

Best Buy gift cards is all he's getting from now on. And maybe tomatoes.

The Deal Is

Apologies to my friends and family who already know this and have heard it ad nauseum.

Remember how I said I was going to lay it all out, how I feel about my job, what I want to do, and when? Well, a conversation was already in progress over at All & Sundry, so I jumped in. She did the hard work for me, and our situations are similar. She likes her company a whole heck of a lot, and they're kind and easy to work for. Me too. She doesn't feel exactly fulfilled in her career. Me either. My own thoughts/plans, cut-n-pasted below, are number 90 in her comments.

I'm in a job I can stand, but never would have imagined for myself. I'd rather work part-time for the same company or just write full-time (I'd probably get most of my writing gigs from... the same company). But I just *cannot* decide. Or make the leap of faith.

We're trying for a 2nd curtain-climber, so I'm just praying that works out, and then I do plan pick one.

As for career aspirations? They pretty much went out the window when my son was born. Why would I want to be a "success" corporately when I can aim to be a success at parenthood? If I make enough to help us pay the mortgage (and the Internet bill), AND have time with my hubby & kid(s), that is going to be enough success for me.

Ideally I want to be a secretary at my son's school (read: summers off), and write/edit on the side. I think that'll work just fine. :)

So there it is. For some reason I need that second baby to justify cutting back; which isn't exactly fair to AJ, but maybe has to do with SAVING as much money as we can before the 2nd baby comes. And AJ's done just fine at his daycare, full-time.

(BTW, we just got internet "AJ-cam" installed at our daycare. Right now at the very instant in time, he's playing outside. :) I am going to be addicted to this.)

What I think about lately (besides having summers off), is whether to structure a part-time schedule like this?

M off
T work 8-4
W work 8-4
T work 8-4
F off
(total 21 hrs)

or like this?
M-F 8-12
(total 20 hrs)

For daycare purposes (for baby #2, mostly), the first option makes better sense, because if I got off at 12 that's right in the middle of naptime for all their classrooms. But once AJ's in real school, he'd have to have some sort of after-care because I couldn't pick him up until 4:30 or 5. So in that case, the 2nd scenario is better.

And, GEES, I thought I was really anxious to be pregnant the first time around! This time I think I want it even MORE. :)

Relative to my job, sort-of

Hee hee. The college admissions game is so much fun.

A high school teacher in San Francisco gives his students "rejection therapy."

And so goes my fretful mind

What makes me wince (and sometimes cry) when I allow myself to think about it, is being a working mom during the summers when AJ reaches school age. Right now it's fine I guess; he's in daycare every day of his life and he doesn't know, yet, that summers are Free Time. But once he gets into school, where will we be then? When the kids countdown that last week of class 'til the final bell rings, and they all run out the door flinging papers and books and singing, "No More Teachers...?" The next Monday, AJ will be headed to the daycare for what they so craftily call "camp." With Teachers. And probably books.

And no matter how hard I try to salve it in my heart, I just don't want that for him.

I want him to have lazy days without so many rules and schedules. Time to just wander the backyard. TO GET BORED. Days-in-succession at the pool. Books galore. Corn dogs and popsicles.

I suppose he CAN have all that for a time... I can send him to Florida to my parents' for a week or three, then we'll have our usual end-of-June vacation week, then he can go to Savannah to his other grandparents' for a while... maybe a week of Vacation Bible School because that never felt like "real" school to me...? And to round out the 3 months, the "camp" program at our daycare actually IS field-trip filled; I mean, I know they do fun things like go to the water park and the pool. But it's just not the same in my mind.

Puzzled

Oh, Melissa & Doug. I really want to be friends with you guys. You seem like people I would like.

But I think I might have to stop talking to you. What were you thinking with the United States puzzle?

Seriously, Melissa, why would you do this to me? Each state carefully jigged around its border, and they all fit FLAT on the flat flat board of the puzzle base (read: no 1/4 inch-deep "cradle" for the piece. You have to slide it up to its neighbor pieces. Hhhhate.) And Doug, what about New Jersey? I hate this New Jersey, all bunched up with DC and I think Rhode Island, but not making any sense as a shape. I almost always try to put it in (on?) upside-down. Did you guys chug a big beer before you cut Michigan? Come on, you can tell me, we're friends. Because I would love to love Michigan -- if it looked like everyone's favorite mitten. But nooooo, Melissa & Doug felt the need to include the same-named Lake, all in one piece -- so when all the little buggers are turned over like this:
I can't FIND Michigan! And that wastes precious seconds of my time. There is no way to do this puzzle quickly. I have a half-hour geography lesson every day after AJ dumps the thing, fruit-basket-turnover style. And yeah, you'll suggest I should be spending the time doing the puzzle WITH him, but lemme tell ya a little secret: after he's dumped it, he moves on to something else! And I am stuck with the Disheveled Union of itty bitty pieces of States.

I should note, AJ can recognize Texas, and "Camifohneeya," and "Loozee-nana," and probably a few others. So maybe I can thank you, my two friends, for when he skips first grade in a few years. (So Smart!) And I can thank you for not including the Virgin Islands. But still. With this and the dying-battery Animal Pet Sounds audio puzzle, which now bleats a few sad "Reeechebts, Reechebts!" when I turn off the light in the room (such sensitive sensors)... I just .... it's just over between us, guys. I'm sorry. I loved you.

Friday Thanks

My sister has taken up this project in my forgetfulness, and reminded me to do it. It's so good to be grateful.

• For music. This week I have rediscovered my iPod and listened to something other than Cookie Monster: Bruce Hornsby, Keane, Coldplay, Angie Aparo... the world is too full of depressing, complicated news and listening to that all day, every day (well, all-commute anyway) is NOT necessarily good for the soul. Rocking out, on the other hand, IS. :)
• For birthday cashola. I now have the means and the motivation to go out and buy some new, fun clothes that I've been wanting since forever. All for me.
• For an IDEA for Father's Day! Part of husband's surprise has already been put in place, and the other part will be executed shortly. Wheeee! (I never seem to have good gift ideas so I'm extra excited about this. Can't tell you now, though: Hubby reads the blog!)
• For long waiting times. Sometimes it's very good to have to wait, and I feel like I've been in a 'holding pattern' for change in my daily round, for a very long time. I rarely talk about it in explicit terms here, but I hint at it obsessively. I am working on a post that gets it all out on paper. There's no absolute conclusion in sight, but it's coming into focus I think, and to quote something I read yesterday, "I see a refining that God is working in me and until He is finished I am not going to see the end result." I really like that thought.
• For weekends. Sometimes DH and I lament that at age 2.5, AJ is already conscious of the fact that Friday is cooler than Monday. He counts down the days 'til the weekend, just like we do. I guess it's something that's always been part of our family, though: when DH and I were dating, we definitely counted down 'til Fridays-at-5, when we could be together again to relax and play and just feel the rotation of the Earth around its axis.

My brother-in-law and his girlfriend are coming to visit for the weekend, so I'm trying to think of interesting places to take them. I've proposed Pizza on the square downtown, and some time at the kiddie park there, too, if it isn't too hot. What're you doing this weekend?

Surprise

Can't blog... Playing with fonts and colors! I eventually want to add a pretty picture at the top, because Blogger lets you do that now. :)

In the spirit of clean-up, go look at Playgroup Dropout and see what Small Change we're all challenged to do this month.

Writing prompt for today

I just read a book about high school, and they played this game called "Assassin," much like my senior class played "Senior Tag" with water guns, back in the day. (I wonder if they still do that?) Kind-of fun remembering it -- I know I went out at least one Friday night with a group of friends, and drove to some kids' houses that I'd never have gone to, otherwise. Everyone had a "target," and once you "killed" that person, you got THEIR target, and it went on and on until there's only one person left - the winner.

Similarly, I've been tagged by Julie, with this! And it will go on and on until no one's left who hasn't done it. The rules are:

* Each player starts with eight random facts/habits.
* People who are tagged need to write posts on their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
* At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.

1. Well, this is somewhat random (i.e., different) but not fun: Just as I was getting all comfortable and pleased about parenting, something comes up. The last 2 days AJ has given us nothing but trouble about going to daycare. We get full mornings of "I don't wanna go to schoooooool" whining, which is miserable. I thought it was because his schedule'd gotten jostled, with my parents visiting and all. But then last night in the middle of playing with puzzles, he told me, "Max bites me all the time." And I asked him "Where?" and he showed me his arm. It had two tiny little puncture scabs -- they didn't necessarily look like teeth marks, but maybe. And then I started thinking that he tells me he and Max play a lot -- he seems to love Max! -- but one of the games they play is "Ouchie, Max! Ouchie!" He says it that same way every time, "Ouchie, Max, ouchie." So now I'm all concerned and have to call up there in five minutes when the daytime teacher arrives, and say to her, What The Hell.

2. For my birthday yesterday, I received yet ANOTHER something sparkly from my husband! I think he is finally trained. ;)

3. There is some leftover "tater tot casserole" in my freezer that I doubt we will ever eat.

4. I spent my childhood summers wearing SPF 6 because people used to tell me my skin had "that olive complexion." I have since learned that I am anything but olive, and now I wear SPF 30 or more.

5. I had forgotten this, but since Dad brought me a sackful-a grapefruits this weekend, I remembered that a half grapefruit is one of my very favorite breakfast items. Too bad they are such a pain in the neck -- cutting around each slice, you know.

6. Our waitress last night botched my birthday surprise -- she never brought the sopapillas-with-candle that Husband ordered while I was with AJ in the restroom -- so he docked two dollars from her tip. I am very relieved that I didn't gorge myself with sopapillas, too, on top of cheese dip and chips and fajitas... but was feeling kinda sad last night that I didn't get to blow out a candle. Isn't that stupid?

7. I just called the school and feel better... in reality, if my kid is getting hurt, he's going to cry about it to the teachers. He is definitely A Crier. So I'm going to go on about my day satisfied that I've alerted them and hopeful that it's nothing. What's a little friendly biting between friends?

8. My Mom bought me some new red Crocs flip-flops on Saturday. I am excited because it's been four years since I've had new flip-flops. I've always avoided the ones with a thong between the toes, because I HATED that feeling! But not this year. I think I have finally grown up and can tolerate it. And a whole new world has opened up to me!


Tagsies: not 8 people, but MB, Beansy, Nicole, Melessa...? Do something fun today. :) On the house.

Weekend with the family

My parents visited this weekend, and I think the best part for me was having ample opportunities to be SO PROUD of AJ. Where did we get this well-behaved, actually-listens-to-his-parents, 2.5 year-old?

I have to say, when we asked him to sit still in Church, I truly didn't expect him to. But he DID. And earned -- really deserved -- the ice cream he had coming.

When he fell asleep on the couch right before dinner, thus creating somewhat of a meltdown when it finally was time to eat, all that we needed was for him to be taken out of the room, talked to a bit, and he actually COMPOSED himself and came back to the table, feeling all better. Even ATE dinner.

Maybe it was the addition of two extra adults -- ones he loves and wants to please -- that made it all go so well. I will certainly Take It. :) Sometimes, it's a pleasure to be a parent.