Works for Me Wednesday-Cupcake Sandwiches

I just love this Work for Me Wednesday thing. I love a tip of any kind (and don't any of you smart alecks say, "Use an umbrella in the rain" because I'm not in the mood!). So, instead of just being moochy and stealing tips, I'm going to share another one. Don't forget to head over to We Are That Family for more Works for Me Wednesday fabulousness.

If you know me, and most of you do, you know I have the biggest sweet tooth east of the Mississippi. Some might call it a problem. I love sugar. And I especially love cake. Lately, cupcakes have become all the rage. Whoever thought a cupcake would become trendy?? But they have. In general, I like cupcakes, but I have one small problem with them. The ratio of icing to cake is all wrong. Some people (mostly of the young child variety) love icing. Some people eat only the icing and not the cake. But, I'm just not that into it. I like icing ok, but I don't want my icing overpowering my cupcake. This is important stuff, people!

One day, it dawned on me and I pulled the "stump" of the cupcake off and smooshed it on top of my icing. I had unwittingly invented the cupcake sandwich. Now, when I make cupcakes, I take the extra step to put some icing between the stump and the top (just enough) and a little more on the top. It is the perfect cupcake. Everything in equal proportion. If only I could make the rest of my life work out like that!

Ps. Drew and I made cupcakes last night and I had planned to take some cupcake sandwich pictures. I'll spare you the gory details, but suffice it to say, they did not turn out. At all. Well, I mean, they ARE edible, and I'll be eating them, but they're nothing anyone wants to see!

Sandbox Zen

One of our projects this week was rehabbing the sandbox. We have a cute little table that looks like a picnic table, but opens up to be a sand and water table. I think combining sand and water on purpose is a terrible idea, so we just put sand in ours. Over the course of the summer, the sand table has turned into more of a swamp table. Fairly disgusting. Now, Lyla has loved playing in the swamp, but I figured it might be time to clean out the cess pool lest someone get a fatal disease on my deck.

Drew and I headed to Home Depot to get a 50 lb. bag of play sand and one other item. I purposely went to the check-out line near the sand and asked specifically if someone could load it into my car. The lady took one look at me and said, "Oh honey, of course." Apparently Home Depot employees have been trained to avoid women going into labor in their store at all costs. It took us a while to get to the car since Drew insisted on carrying the bag. And then, some builders who were CLEARLY in no hurry to get to the job site sat in the lane where you have things loaded in your car for an additional 10-15 minutes. Guh. I tell you all of this to point out just how much time Home Depot had to find someone to load my sand. When I finally pulled my car next to the sand, I hopped out, optimistic that someone would be right out to help. After 10 more minutes of waiting (we are now up to nearly half an hour of waiting for a $3.99 bag of sand) I started muttering, grabbed a cart, loaded the sand in and loaded it in my car. I'm sure it was a sight. About that time, a guy came sauntering over-LAUGHING- with a snack in his hand, and said, "Huh, guess I'm 5 minutes too late." Har-dee-har. He was young. Clearly he had never experienced the wrath of a sweaty pregnant lady. I just rolled my eyes right in his face. And thought long and hard about writing a letter to headquarters, but I was too tired from all the manual labor.

We got home and I loaded the sand in the wheelbarrow and filled up the sand table. Yeah, I could've waited for Dan to do it, but I'm not so hot at waiting to check something off the list. It's been great having clean sand. Drew kept saying, "Mommy, it's so soft!" I think he meant, "Mommy, my hands are in no danger of rotting off when I play with this!"

Yesterday we spent a lot of time playing in the sand box. I found myself using the little rake and just raking lines over and over, in sort of a trance. I could feel myself relaxing more by the minute. It made me think of one of these:



I know nothing about a Zen Garden, other that what I've seen on t.v. dramadies, but I'm pretty sure you don't really need one. Seems like a plastic sand table and some clean sand will lead you to that place of zen just fine.

Blog Salad

This post is about to be all kinds of random. One time, at my old job, we had a discussion based around stew versus salad. And no, I didn't work in a restaurant. It was another way to try and describe how people come together-some like a salad, existing together, but not flavoring one another and some like stew-all together making each other delicious...or something. We were working towards stew. No wonder I was so exhausted!

Anyway. This blog contains all sorts of bits floating around in my head that will exist here together, but not really flavor one another. Feel free to leave and go check Facebook!

1. I'm really proud of my new ability to hyperlink. At least I think that's what it's called. So, in honor of my new talent, check out a couple of sites. First, my friend Laura just returned home from Ethiopia with her new son, Sol. And, oh my gosh, he is the cutest thing I've ever laid eyes on. Their story is amazing, and now she is raising two babies and a toddler. All I can say is, Bless Her Heart!!!

Second, I have found a new craft site for preschoolers. It's called The Crafty Crow and it is fantastic. This link takes you to the main site but there is a special section just for preschoolers. Drew and I are in the middle of a project I saw on here. I'll let you know when (if) we finish it!

2. Have you ever eaten at Famous Dave's? It's a BBQ joint and my husband loves it. Back BD (before Drew) we ate there more than any humans ever should. This is kind of a schtick of ours. We get going on a place and sort of wear it out. We have not been to Famous Dave's since...I have no idea. But, we went on Saturday and I'm a little bit in love with them. You want to know why? While you are waiting to be seated, they will give your child a snack!! And you have a choice! Goldfish, Saltines or Oreos. While we waited to be seated, Drew sat quietly and ate his gold fish. Big, giant smack-a-roonies (that's kisses...) for whoever had that idea!!

3. I read the book "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett over the weekend. I read about it on another blog and it sounded like most people liked it, so I bought it. And read it in two days. It is great. Beyond great. And hilarious.

4. I've been working like crazy trying to come up with activities for Drew and I to do during the day. I was given the very helpful advice (note the dripping sarcasm) that my son won't play by himself because I won't make him. Ahem. I just love advice like this. Lots of really mature things (like "Bite Me") pop into my head any time someone says something like this to me. What I know is that our day goes a lot more smoothly if we are both kept busy. Thank ye Lord for the internets!! And never underestimate the power of one inflated balloon!

Attic Purge Fashion Show

So...I decided the dead of summer would be the ideal time to purge our attic. Because, I'm not getting to the spa nearly enough for sauna visits, so I just hang out in the attic until I've sweat out all of my impurities. And believe me, these days I have a lot!

I think it's the nesting urge looking for something to nest. At any rate, I have been saying good-bye to all sorts of useless stuff and encouraging my husband to do the same. Both of us kept a completely unreasonable amount of school papers and work papers. I guess when we moved four years ago, all the hard work of it all was so fresh. Now, I could give a care! And, if by some strange chance I end up back in Children's Ministry, you can bet your bottom dollar all of those articles I painstakingly filed will be obsolete. I think I'm going to have to drop off recycling every day.

I did manage one really great find for Drew. Daniel and I had accumulated quite a bit of "skit clothes" over time. Why I insisted on keeping them and bringing them to Nashville is beyond me. Somehow "tacky prom" and a 70s murder mystery party don't really show up on a firm's calendar. Which, maybe they should. A little good mood would go a long way at that place! Anyway, Drew was ecstatic to have some of his own dress-up clothes. He puts on outfits and says, "I"m a movie player!" I think he might mean "movie star".







Gotta run. I think Hollywood is calling...

Works for Me Wednesday

I'm trying out another "blog carnival" today. A neat one I have found is over at We Are That Family . I'm attempting many new technical things today, so LOOK OUT!



(Banner added! And a hyper link! Woot!)

My Works for Wednesday is about making cheap and easy photo magnets for your fridge (or other metal areas you keep magnets...) I feel like we get a zillion thin magnets each year with info for some realtor/handyman/insurance agent/banker/lawyer on them. Now, I do have to say that any magnet I get with the UT football schedule on it, I'm keeping! But, what about all the others? I like a free magnet because I love sticking stuff on my fridge. But, I don't really like the junky look of all the random advertisements. So, I started attaching photos to the fronts of the magnets. It is very easy to do, especially since the magnets are quite easy to cut to fit the photo.

So, grab some pictures you would like to look at regularly, cut the junky magnets to size, and attach the photos. I have used both hot glue and scrap booking glue (because I have to use it for something since I don't exactly scrap book...) and both worked equally well.

Makes a nice neat photo montage. For free!
(Noticing a theme here??)

Free Nashville

This Free Nashville post is a little unique, because this is actually a free activity all over the country. Regal Cinemas hosts free movie Wednesdays at our Bellevue movie theater. FREE MOVIES!!! I've been sort of itching to take Drew to a movie. Not really sure why. What about loud sound and a giant picture seems like it would jive with Drew, I ask?? Oh well. I'm irrational.

Anyway, Katy and I decided to give it a shot, deciding that since it's free, it wouldn't really matter if they only lasted 15 minutes. And we could always go to Dunkin' Donuts to kill time. Seriously. Twist my arm about picking up some Munchkins!!

We arrived at the theater super early. This is due solely to my paranoia. I had heard through the mommy grapevine that it is hard to get into the free movies, so we should get there early. Apparently 30 minutes early was PLENTY of time, since we were the first ones in the theater! Ha! I apologized to Katy for my freaky overkill (I have to do this a lot...) but it turned out to be a pretty good thing. We got seats on the front row of the stadium seating, which means there was room for the kids to stand up and move around a little bit.

The kids did AMAZING!! We saw the Veggie Tales Pirate's Movie. Drew and Lyla both love Veggie Tales so we figured it was a good choice. I will say that a plethora of snacks really helps the whole attention span thing. Especially if one of those snacks is Rasinettes. Mmmm. Chocolate. But they have raisins in them, so that's good, right?

Every time we try something new, and it works out, we're pumped! So, two thumbs up for Free Movie Wednesdays!

Drum roll, please!!!

Ta-da!!






The very first tomato from my tomato plant!

The hardware store is having a contest for Bellevue's biggest tomato. Think I should enter it?

One small step for a boy, One giant leap for my Drew

I have some major news to report. We are now a paci-free zone!!! In the words of one of the Little Einsteins, "I CAN-NOT BE-LIEVE IT!" Any of you who have known Drew since birth, like I have, know that he came out searching for a paci and has been passionately in love with them ever since. You may wonder what would possess me to break up a love affair like this one. Am I just the meanest mom ever? Maybe. But not over this.

We have LOTS of life changes coming up. This needed to be done, and like learning to use the potty, I'm sure it's a little trauma he won't remember. I'm banking on it. We've been talking about it for some time now. And the main thing that pushed me over the line of fear was the day he took a nap at Katy's with no paci. Basically, if we go to Katy's I need to plan to stay there for no less than 4 days. He loves her and he loves it there and falls apart any time we have to leave. On the aforementioned day, I had planned to bring him home for a nap. He always naps better at home. But he would have none of it. He wanted to nap in Katy's bed. So, I said to him, "If you stay here to nap, you'll have no pacis." I was FOR SURE he would beg to go home. Nope. So, Katy's bed with no pacis it was. And he did great! Without knowing it, he sealed his paci fate that day!

Our method of giving them up involved trading them in for a special toy. He used his pacis to purchase a big wheel. A Batman big wheel with lights and sounds. After he deliberated between the Batman "motorcycle" and the Cars "motorcycle", we took our selection to the counter and he plunked his baggie of pacis up there to "pay". Oh how I wish you could have seen the look on the cashier's face. He was approximately 17 years old, and had definitely never seen the likes of this little charade before. To his credit, he played along really well. He did sort of just hold the bag of pacis awkwardly until I said, "You can just put those in the t-r-a-s-h." Drew did not miss a beat. He did not cry or second guess his purchase. He just marched proudly out of the store, ready to practice pedaling with Daddy.

Since then he's done pretty great. He still asks for them at sleeping times, but doesn't get overly upset about not having them. He is learning to put himself to sleep without them, which usually consists of his other favorite thing-talking! But, each time he goes down, the time he is chatting to himself gets shorter and shorter.

We also got a "Big Boy Cake" to celebrate the milestone and to celebrate what a great job he's been doing with the potty.





My baby is not a baby any more. I'm sad. But, I'm happy that he is growing into such a great little kid!! Time will tell how many pacis he will steal from baby sister!

Dear McKay's-I love you

One of my favorite things about Knoxville, when I lived there before and after college was McKay's Used Bookstore. Back in the day, McKays was in a tiny building on Kingston Pike and sort of had a creepy vibe. But I still loved it. What, pray tell, could I possibly love more than cheap books?? And not only buying cheap books, but taking in books and getting cash or credit for them. Brilliant.

You can imagine my jubilation when the heavens parted and down came a McKay's right here in Nashville!! I couldn't believe it. And, in fact, the arrival of McKay's encouraged me to keep my dream of a Chik-Fil-A on Highway 100 alive. Can you imagine?? WALKING to Chik-Fil-A??? Anyway, I have passed on my love of McKay's to my son. We stopped by today for a short visit. I was looking for one specific book and bribed, uh told, Drew that if he was good while I was looking he could pick out any book he wanted. I'll be honest. To this point, I have heavily influenced his book choices. I definitely steer him towards the books I want him to have. Because did you really think I'd lose my control freak tendencies that easily? But today, I decided to just let him pick. ANY book he wanted to pick. I think he is still a little small for so much freedom. I could see the wheels in his mind starting to smoke as he considered ALL those books. Finally, I directed him to the board book section where he could browse a little more easily. His selection? A tiny little book called "Agnes Mouse". I was sure wishing for someone else to be there with me, because I thought it was hilarious!! The best part (and why I LOVE McKay's) - it only cost 50 cents!!! Barely made a dent in my credit voucher!! More free fun!

I guess I need to trust Drew's literary tastes more often. The book has fold out legs for dear Agnes, so that she can sit on the bookshelf. Thrilling, when you're two!

Free Nashville

I was talking to Katy last week about all the fun we've had and how much of it I failed to blog about. How was I going to go back and remember everything? She suggested that I write some posts on all the free stuff we've managed to find to keep the crazy kids busy. Great idea, huh? So, this is my first installment of Free Nashville. And I'm excited. Because I'm cheap! [And, just a note, even free activities can sometimes include some hidden fees like parking, etc. I'll try to remember to point those out when I can.]

Have I mentioned how much I love the downtown library here in Nashville? Because I super love it. It is an amazing place even if you don't have kids. Restaurant on the main floor, tons of books (duh) and movies for FREE, a great courtyard for reading or eating-best on those days when it is not overrun with nutty preschoolers. It's great. And, if you're a parent, it's even better. Every Tuesday and Wednesday there are three storyhours-9:30, 10:30, & 11:30. That's a total of six story hours for you to choose from. They are very well done, include puppets and just enough routine to make a kid like mine feel at ease. When they crank up "It's a Great Day to Make Some New Friends" or "The Rainbow Song", my son knows just what's coming. For a kid like him, that's a big deal. Each of the three adults who make story time happen-Professor, Mary Mary, and Library Pete-are very approachable and always speak to the kids. I'm pretty sure the kids think the story time players are celebrities. If they were older they'd probably start asking for autographs!! Just today, Library Pete sat with Lyla at the end of story time and showed her the book he had just read. It was sweet. Drew was there too, just sitting a few body widths away-don't want to get too near a stranger!!

Also, a lot of weeks they offer a free craft time for the kids. We opted out today because my son was possessed, um, I mean, not feeling well. Which led us to the courtyard. I don't know what it is about this courtyard, but it brings out the runners in Drew and Lyla. The giant fountain doesn't hurt either. I usually dump some pennies in a baggie and hand them out one at a time for some wish making fun. And a good time filler. Today there was a giant rain puddle by our lunch table and we just let the kids go for it. Drew, Lyla, and their friend Etta had a blast splashing around in the puddle. Us moms tried hard not to focus on the actual contents of the puddle...well, until Lyla dunked her cheese stick in the water and took a big bite. Blech!

The library also hosts tons of special events for kids at different times during the week. Every month or so they will offer a new marionette or other kind of puppet show. Currently they are doing a marionette show of Cinderella. You can even catch these shows on Nashville Public Television sometimes. Which I happen to think is a riot!!

Finally, there is a whole floor dedicated just for the kids, so you don't have to be a complete maniac about keeping your kid quiet. You know, within reason. Which Drew sometimes blurs the lines on...In the middle of the short bookshelves are puppets and a little puppet theater, a bead table, small tables and chairs, child-sized club chairs, and a gigantic window with just enough ledge for Drew to use as his stage.

I've always been a library kind of girl. I used to play library when I was little, taping baggies into the backs of my books and making check-out cards for each of them. Remember check-out cards??? Before the handy scanning system? I even had a date stamper compliments of Dad's work. I was also a library aide in 5th grade. I feel like I've mentioned that before. At any rate, I thought I was 27 kinds of awesome for working in the library. I'm pretty sure I should've been a librarian.

So, if you haven't been, check out the Main Library downtown. The only cost involved is parking. Be sure to get your parking ticket stamped at the front desk (they'll even stamp your hand if you want!) and the cost will be cheaper.

A Walk About

Today Drew and I took a walk. A really long walk. I had some errands I needed to do, and they were all right in our little area, so we decided to walk. It was so fun and we saw a lot of fun things while we were walking. There is a secret passage of sorts that leads out of the back of our neighborhood and to some side streets that make walking to the store a little less dire! Keep in mind that there was a time when I was unaware of the secret passage and pushed a double stroller down the shoulder of Highway 100-the main thoroughfare through our part of Bellevue!! Talk about dicey. You should have seen me jogging behind the double stroller. Good times.

As we started out on our walk today Drew decided to bring a few items along-a measuring tape, a luggage tag, some fake hay from the manger, and a rock-because, really, you never know what's going to come up!



We made it about two blocks before all the items ended up in my bag. Predictably.

Anyway, our first stop was a construction site where we got to see both bulldozers (or a "bulldoze" as Drew insists it be called) and an excavator. I didn't get any pictures of this part. I was too nervous to let go of Drew's hand. It was a total bonus. We stood and watched the machines work for a long while. The workers were all very friendly. Luckily, not in a whistling and leering kind of way.

Next up was the hardware store. I needed some stakes and ties for my tomato plants AND I made the best find!! Something I've been looking for for over a year!! More on that later...

After the hardware store we moseyed on over to Walgreens. And I do mean moseyed. When you are on a walk with a 2 1/2 year old there is a lot of this:


This is Drew stopping to examine/talk to a spider.

After Walgreens we went to McDonald's to have a biscuit. I mean, I'm pretty sure after all that walking, the biscuit didn't even count, right?? Maybe that should be my new rule-want a biscuit? walk to get it!!





Our final destination was the little playground in our neighborhood. I'm pretty sure it was the only way I was going to keep Drew moving. We were both walking a little slow the whole way back!! We did get to jump in some bonus sprinklers...





And spend some quality time with a butterfly...





All in all, it was a great adventure. We did have one rather iffy moment-while crossing Highway 100 Drew dropped his measuring tape...twice. I did not really feel the measuring tape was worth getting run over for. Drew disagreed!! Also, our culture is not really a walking culture. We got some pretty weird looks, which is a shame I think. My neighbor passed us and backed up and offered us a ride. She was sure I was without a car-I mean, why else would I be walking?? When I told her we were just out for a walk, she told me she was impressed. I think what she meant was that she thinks I'm a lunatic!!

"Not Me" Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I've been reading MckMama's "Not Me" for a while now. Somehow, in the last few days, I've found myself doing LOTS of things that could be in just such a post. So, today, I decided to play along.



I did not allow my child to eat a giant chocolate chip cookie at the grocery store at around 9 a.m. just so I could have a few moments of peace while I shopped. I would never let my child eat a cookie that early in the morning.

Yesterday, when we were all packed up and ready to leave Grammy's, we had a little potty incident. We didn't exactly get all the parts pointed in the right direction in time, if you catch my drift. I did not consider wearing clothes with urine all over them because I was so tired and did not want to have to get clean clothes out of the car. Not me!!

I was not SO tired on the drive home yesterday that I told Daniel the complete wrong way to Katy's house. (Shouldn't he know this??-**Edited to add: I sort of forgot Big Dan reads the blog. He would like the record to show that "he did know the way to go, but I talked him out of it." I was in a stupor! Never trust a huge pregnant woman in a stupor!) I also definitely did NOT fall into a semi-coma, so that he had to shake me awake. Not me-I'm perky and full of energy.

I definitely have not put off clipping Drew's fingernails for so long that all they need is a little shaping and polish and would look like a nice manicure. Not me! I'm always on top of my son's grooming needs.

I'm super sure by this time next week, I'll have much more to confess!!

Road Trippin'!

Whew weeee! We just got back in from a whirlwind trip to Knoxville to celebrate Weston's 3rd birthday. (Please join me in a moment of silence over the fact that the "big" kids are all turning 3 this year...sniff...) The fabulous fire fighter party was not until Saturday, but Katy and I decided to join forces and head to K-town on Wednesday. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to paint the picture for you. It was sheer madness. We had three car seats crammed in the back seat of my car. The back area packed to the gills and our bags filled with essentials needed at a moment's notice wedged in all around us in the front. The kids did great on the way down minus a few dicey moments. And, you'll be proud to know that the words, "Don't make me pull this car over" were actually spoken during the course of this trip.

We had a great time staying with Grammy. Drew and I slept in the same bed for the first time ever. I'm still trying to figure out how he managed to take up as much room in the bed as Daniel does!! Poor kid. Sleeping with me these days is no picnic. Considering changing sides is like a major process and the fact that I get up to visit the restroom around 149 times a night, it can be slightly disrupting.

Thursday we spent the day with Weston while Kristin and Wade were busy holding down the fort at Edmondson Construction. I decided on the way over that I would be putting together some structured activities and a schedule. Laugh if you want, but three 2 (almost three) year olds has meltdown potential like you would not believe! We had a great time-the kids did great!

And let me just add in a shout out to Baby Van, who barely makes his presence known in the midst of all the toddler mayhem! Sweet baby. He is my boyfriend already!

Friday was more hanging out with Kristin and Weston and Saturday was the par-tay. The big bash took place at Nana and Poppy's pool (speaking of, Lyla and Drew have adopted Nana as their own!) You should have seen Drew swimming! He jumped off the diving board and went down the slide!!!!!! Daniel and I kept looking at each other like "Who's kid is this???" Once we got him a fabulous new floatie he is like a new man.

We had a great time and were all exhausted by the time it was over. No other way to have a road trip, though, right??

Uncle Glen

*Disclaimer! There is a slight possibility that Glen spells his name with two "n"s. Daniel doesn't know either, so we're going with the one "n" for now!

Daniel's Uncle Glen is the youngest child on his mom's side of the family. He is several years younger than Daniel's mom (just like my brother and I) so he and Daniel have become friends and golf buddies over the last several years. Glen just returned from spending a year and a half in Iraq doing contract work. Once he was back in the States he and Daniel wasted little time in planning a weekend packed with golf. Also, Glen had not seen Drew since he was 6 months old! Needless to say, he had some catching up to do! We stopped by Glen's place for a visit and Drew had a blast. Glen is one of those people who immediately puts you at ease-he is quite possibly the most laid back person you have ever met. You can't help but be relaxed when you're around him. He is also quite the kid person. He and Drew were fast friends. Of course, it didn't hurt that he has a gigantic yard and a John Deere riding mower!! We are so glad he is home and look forward to seeing him a lot more often.










And can you believe this picture??? Love these guys!!

Hello? Is this thing on?

Oh poor neglected blog. I have no good excuse for my sad lack of life documenting. Other than things here have been pretty crazy, and as a general rule, when things are crazy, I tend to think way too much or way too little. You should thank your lucky stars that I choose not to blog when I'm thinking too much. You would feel a lot of pressure to intervene and have me committed!! And when I'm thinking too little, it turns out I spend a lot of time reading other people's blogs and getting sucked into the vortex known as facebook. Geez. Little did I know how addicting a social networking page would become. Somehow, I now have an insatiable need to know the mundane details of other people's lives. Weird.

Despite all the mayhem, Drew and I have still been having the summer of fun. I'll work my brain really hard to remember all that we've done and write it down. The fun has been bumped up SEVERAL notches because my sister, Katy, has been on maternity leave. So, I have a real live grown-up to talk to while we have adventures with our kids!! Drew and Lyla were just getting used to not seeing each other three days a week, and then Katy and I started making plans almost everyday!

Here are a few updates in the mean time. (Do you like how I pretend there are hundreds of people waiting for a post from me?? Ha!)

1. The vegetables are growing!!! Despite the ridiculous heat wave we had, I managed to keep all the veggies alive. I have real live, actual tomatoes growing on my tomato plants!! I think we may have made a late start considering I keep hearing about people harvesting and eating their veggies. Oh well. At least they're not brown and withered, right?

2. I am huge. I would love to say that I am a very graceful, elegant pregnant woman. However, that would be such a GIGANTIC lie that I'm afraid my computer might catch on fire from the sheer preposterousness of it. During the previously mentioned heat wave I was already working on a serious set of "cankles" (you know, when the calf just kind of flows into the ankle, leaving no definable ankle??) Oh, I have all kinds of get up and go until, you know, around 1:30 when Drew goes down for a nap. After that, well, I'm almost useless. Thankfully, I'm still sleeping. This is mostly due to a very creative pillow configuration I've got going. I won't even mention the many mornings I retrieve Drew from his bed, put him in mine, and proceed to let him watch WAY too much t.v. so I can keep sleeping. Because that would be humiliating.

3. I said a few updates, which is pressuring me to come up with three, but I got nothing. Well, unless you count Drew's new love affair with the cartoon "Caillou". The look on his face when he's watching it is reminiscent of his tiny baby face watching Baby Einstein videos. Sort of like a trance. The fact that it comes on just before we start our bedtime routine is, frankly, fabulous. Unless it's today. When he threw the mother of all fits and I told him he would not be watching any more Caillou today. Guh. I hate when a consequence is a punishment for me!!!!