The Picture Book Meme (as seen at RaisingWEG)

RaisingWEG got this list from the NY Public Library. She has the ones she's read to her kids in bold, so I'll do that too. I'm going to put the ones I've read on my own in italics. I'm pleased that they included so many great ones and disappointed by some gaps.

1. Abuela by Arthur Dorros
2. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst
3. Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock by Eric A. Kimmel
4. Andy and the Lion by James Daugherty
5. Bark, George by Jules Feiffer
6. The Bossy Gallito: A Traditional Cuban Folk Tale, retold by Lucia M. Gonzalez; illustrated by Lulu Delacre
7. Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban; illustrated by Lillian Hoban
8. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin, Jr.; illustrated by Eric Carle
9. Bruno Munari's ABC by Bruno Munari
10. Buz by Richard Egielski
11. Caps for Sale: A Tale of a Peddler, Some Monkeys and Their Monkey Business by Esphyr Slobodkina
12. The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss; illustrated by Crockett Johnson
13. A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams
14. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault; illustrated by Lois Ehlert
15. Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin
16. Come Along, Daisy! by Jane Simmons
17. Corduroy by Don Freeman
18. Curious George by H.A. Rey
19. Dinosaur Roar! by Paul and Henrietta Stickland
20. Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems
21. Duck on a Bike by David Shannon
22. Fire Truck by Peter Sís
23. Freight Train by Donald Crews
24. Froggy Gets Dressed by Jonathan London
25. The Gardener by Sarah Stewart
26. George and Martha by James Marshall
27. Go Away, Big Green Monster! by Ed Emberley
28. Goin' Someplace Special by Patricia McKissack
29. Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann
30. Goodnight Moon by Margaret W. Brown; illustrated by Clement Hurd
31. Gossie by Dunrea Olivier
32. Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say
33. Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
34. Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion; illustrated by Margaret Graham
35. Henry Hikes to Fitchburg by D. B. Johnson
36. Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss
37. How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? by Jane Yolen
38. I Kissed the Baby! by Mary Murphy
39. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura J. Numeroff; illustrated by Felicity Bond
40. It Could Always Be Worse: A Yiddish Folktale, retold and illustrated by Margot Zemach
41. John Henry by Julius Lester; illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
42. Julius by Angela Johnson; illustrated by Dav Pilkey
43. Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes
44. Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes
45. The Line-Up Book by Russo Marisabina
46. The Little Red Hen: An Old Story by Margot Zemach
47. Lon Po Po: A Red Riding Hood Story by Ed Young
48. Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile by Bernard Waber
49. Mabela the Clever by Margaret Read MacDonald
50. Machines at Work by Byron Barton
51. Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
52. Maisy Goes Swimming by Lucy Cousins (but we have read lots of others.)
53. Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
54. Mama Cat Has Three Kittens by Denise Flemings
55. The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein
56. Martha Speaks by Susan Meddaugh
57. Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel by Virginia L. Burton
58. Millions of Cats by Wanda Gág
59. Miss Nelson is Missing! by Harry Allard and James Marshall
60. Mr. Gumpy's Outing by John Birmingham
61. Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale retold and illustrated by John Steptoe
62. Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! by Candace Fleming
63. My Friend Rabbit by Eric Rohmann
64. The Napping House by Audrey Wood
65. No, David! By David Shannon
66. Off to School, Baby Duck! by Amy Hest
67. Old Black Fly by Jim Aylesworth
68. Olivia by Ian Falconer
69. Owen by Kevin Henkes
70. Papa, Please Get the Moon For Me by Eric Carle
71. Pierre: A Cautionary Tale by Maurice Sendak
72. The Polar Express by Chris van Allsburg
73. Puss in Boots by Charles Perrault, illustrated by Fred Marcellino
74. The Random House Book of Mother Goose: A Treasury of 386 Timeless Nursery Rhymes by Arnold Lobel (no, but we have others.)
75. Round Trip by Ann Jonas
76. Rumpelstiltskin, retold and illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky
77. The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
78. Spots, Feathers and Curly Tails by Nancy Tafuri
79. The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf
80. The Stray Dog by Simont Marc
81. Strega Nona by Tomie De Paola
82. Swimmy by Leo Lionni
83. Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
84. The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
85. Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold
86. Ten, Nine, Eight by Molly Bang
87. There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Simms Taback (My sister went with his son, Jason. My first crush.)
88. The Three Bears by Paul Galdone
89. Trashy Town by Andrea Griffing Zimmerman
90. The True Story of the Three Little Pigs By A. Wolf by John Scieszka
91. Tuesday by David Wiesner
92. Uptown by Collier Bryan
93. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
94. The Wheels on the Bus, adapted and illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky
95. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
96. Where's Spot? by Eric Hill
97. Whistle for Willie by Ezra Jack Keats
98. The Wolf's Chicken Stew by Keiko Kaska
99. Yoko by Rosemary Wells (no, but again, plenty of others.)
100. Zomo the Rabbit: A Trickster Tale from West Africa, retold and illustrated by Gerald McDermott

Isn't it strange how different we all are?

Yesterday I went to pick up Muffin Man from daycare and saw another mom and her son as they were coming out. Her son only recently moved up to the toddler room. He's about 22 months. She's carrying him.

Me: "Oh my goodness, how he's grown!"
Her: "Yes, and he's walking so well too."
Him: (Stretches out arms for me to take him)
Me: "Can I?"
Her: "Sure!" (I do)

People. This boy is heavy.

Me: "Holy Guacamole! What a big boy you are!"
Her: "35 pounds."
Me: "Wow!"
Her: "Your son is getting so tall."
Me: "Yes, I'm living vicariously through my tall son."

People. My son is 2 years older, 1 and a half feet taller and 5 pounds lighter than her son. And her son isn't FAT, he's dense. I swear, she's feeding him lead weights or something. But he's awfully cute.

Good weekend

Friday Night: Ladies Night Out. Made food for the next month.

Saturday: Got gas ($2.59/gal! twenty cents cheaper than all the others! Why? No clue.) Got lunch. Went to a Moon Bounce.

Sunday: Brunch. Target (new stools for Muffin Man, he loves them.) Nap. Swings and Slides. Bath.

All-in-all, a very cozy weekend. How was yours?

Muffin Man-ia

New game:

Scene: Muffin Man's bedroom two nights ago. MM is half-way to pajamas, out of all clothes except his snazzy Nemo Underwear. He is lying on his back on the floor. I am kneeling nearby.

MM: "Mommy, tell me what 'P' starts with."
Me: "You want words that start with 'P'?"
MM: "Yeah!"
Me: "Well...'P' is for pig, and puppy, and pillow." (I kiss his tummy, he laughs). "'P' is for pen, and pencil, and paint." (another kiss, more laughter)
MM: "And 'P' is for pet! And pink! And...PUPPY!" (I kiss his forehead, he laughs)
Me: "That's right. And 'P' is for purple, and...umm...potty."
MM: "And POOP! And PENIS! AND TUSHY!"
Me: "No, tushy starts with 'T'."
MM: "Oh, okay."
Me: "And 'P' is for pinky" (I kiss it) "And pinkie toe" (I kiss it) "and...Pajamas."

At this point MM is laughing so hard we can't go on. I can't wait to see what other letters he's interested in.

For the rain it raineth every day.

I'm starting to grow moss.

A very bedraggled squirrel - tail wet and spikey - looked at me today with such a forlorn expression on its face. The geese outside the office building where I work go about their business with a grim determination.

Muffin Man looks outside during a pause in the drizzle, "LOOK! IT'S NOT RAINING!"
"You have to bring your raincoat anyway."
"Awwwwww."

What is it about drivers of grey cars that they refuse to turn on their headlights in rain and dusk?

Sound the "All Clear"

Test results came back normal. I'm absolutely fine. I've got to see the cardiologist annually from now on, but that's so that we can be pro-active what with the family history and all. He wants me to have a blood test to find out if we should be a little more aggressive about medication, but he thinks there's no reason to be concerned about my health at all, except for the family history.

Whew.

STOP!

Muffin Man can read!

Well, not really. But he knows STOP, FOOD, POOL, MOMMY, DADDY, his own name, and our last name.

He can read them and he can write them all except MOMMY and DADDY.

It made reading Max's Ride really exciting!!!

MakesBooksForGrandkids

Thank you for surviving your heart attack. Thank you for going on a diet. Thank you for quitting smoking. Thank you for taking care of yourself. Thank you for having a terrific cardiologist. Thank you for getting that triple bypass seven years ago. Thank you for taking your diet even more seriously. Thank you for swimming everyday and working out. Thank you for being so healthy and working so hard to stay that way.

I love you. I'm grateful that you are in my life and that you are in my son's life.

I wish I could have met your father. I wish I could have known your mother longer. I'm so glad that you have not followed in their footsteps.

You inspire me.

Yesterday

As some of you may know, last week I had a little scare. Yesterday, I went to get a nuclear stress test and the good news is, my EKG and blood pressure are fine while running up an incline. I won't know how the pictures came out until next Wednesday, but I'm not too concerned.

I'm glad to report that the folks who performed the test thought I did very well.

In the room with the treadmill was a defibrillator. I asked, "How often do you use that thing?"
"Never been used," they said. "But we have called the stretcher guys to bring people directly to the hospital."
"You're kidding"
"Nope, once it was a nice young lady, 'bout your age. A nutritionist. Great shape. We checked her right into Cardiac Care."

So, any day you take a stress test and don't end up in the hospital is a very good one.

Pissed off

I am sitting here steaming mad at myself because I've done it again. I've gnawed on my fingers so badly that two of them are bleeding. One of them looks hideous (bleeding in two places), the other isn't so bad. A third bled yesterday, but is better today. A fourth is healing pretty well from last Thursday.

On the other hand, my nails are looking good. I'm still keeping my teeth off them.

Aaaaaghhh! I'm gnawing as I type! Stop it!!!! Just stop!

I want to stop this. What kind of a role-model am I for Muffin Man if I can't break this horrid, ugly, disgusting habit?

As seen at Phantom Scribbler's - UPDATED!

UPDATE: I just finished reading A Day No Pigs Would Die. A three-hanky read if ever there were one. Woof. If you haven't read it, do so. It's short and moves quickly. I do see why some squeamish, prudish people might want to ban it, but phooey on them.

The Banned Books Meme.

Bold the ones you've read. Did you all know that Judy Blume is the most banned author?

Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
Forever by Judy Blume
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
The Giver by Lois Lowry
It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Sex by Madonna
Earth’s Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel (yes, even the newest one. And like PS, my mom gave me the first three after she'd read them and yes, I was too young for the first two.)
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak (and I read it to my son often)
The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
The Witches by Roald Dahl
The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
The Goats by Brock Cole
Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
Blubber by Judy Blume
Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
Final Exit by Derek Humphry
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Beloved by Toni Morrison
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
The Pigman by Paul Zindel
Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
Deenie by Judy Blume
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice) (well, one of them anyway.)
Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
Cujo by Stephen King
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
Ordinary People by Judith Guest
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
Fade by Robert Cormier
Guess What? by Mem Fox
The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney (no, but I saw the tv movie.)
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Native Son by Richard Wright
Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women’s Fantasies by Nancy Friday
Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
Jack by A.M. Homes
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
Carrie by Stephen King
Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
Family Secrets by Norma Klein
Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
The Dead Zone by Stephen King
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
Private Parts by Howard Stern
Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford
Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
Sex Education by Jenny Davis
The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell (how does this one get banned? betting? what?)
View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

Seeing BigSister!

BigSister is flying in today on business. I'm picking her up at the airport and whisking her off to lunch at Sweetwater's. After, I'll drop her back at the airport so she can catch a cab to her hotel in time to meet Important People for drinks. She'll be here until Thursday and this lunch is the only time she has free.

I'm so looking forward to seeing her! The next time I get to see her will probably be Thanksgiving.

This weekend...

I probably won't be posting much due to:

SingsLullabyes and MakesBooksForGrandkids are coming for a visit. They'll be here tonight and will leave Sunday. I'm looking forward to a good visit.

While they're here to look after Muffin Man, we're having a yard sale tomorrow. For sale are Muffin Man's stroller, booster seat & Pack-n-Play (with bassinet and changing table accessories), lots of clothes, kitchen items, lawn items, and books. Also a chair with ottoman that my better half brought into the marriage. I can't wait to get this stuff out of our garage. We would sell the three plastic potties, but MM is currently using them as stools to reach the sinks in our bathrooms. (Note to self: buy better step-stools)

So I'll catch you all Sunday night or Monday. Have a lovely weekend!

Clarification

Numbers 37 and 38 below indicate that I've been sad and angry lately. I want to let you all know that I am sad about Katrina and all the people who are homeless and angry at our dear President. I hope that Rita spares everything and everyone in Texas except for his ranch in Crawford.

100 things (as seen EVERYWHERE)

1. I am 36.
2. I learned to drive when I was 27.
3. The NYT interviewed me for an article about people who learn to drive as adults.
4. I still can't drive stick.
5. I will try to make time to learn.
6. Our other car is a Jeep. Manual transmission. I'm an idiot for not having taken the time to learn how to drive our other car.
7. I admit that I planned ahead last week so that I could fill up my gas-guzzling mini-van at the cheapest place. I was near empty the day before and got 3 gallons at the expensive place to tide me over.
8. If anyone comes out with a hybrid mini-van whose pedals I can reach without having to turn off the airbag, I'm gonna buy it the next day.
9. In Brooklyn, garbage disposals are rare. After 7 years, I still get a kick out of using ours.
10. If I'm channel surfing and I come across "When Harry Met Sally" I'll stop and watch the whole thing.
11. Even if it's cut with commercials.
12. Even though I own the DVD.
13. It's changed for me since 9/11, though. I get choked up when they part ways for the first time in Washington Square, because you can see the Towers framed in the arch.
14. I refuse to watch any new series on the Sci-Fi channel.
15. Especially if they look like I'll get hooked on them.
16. Ask me why. Go ahead. Ask me.
17. Favorite shows that have been prematurely axed (not just by the Sci-Fi channel): Far Scape, Invisible Man, Joan of Arcadia, The Tick (animated), Samurai Jack, Nero Wolfe...the list goes on and on.
18. Everything I know about racing, I learned from Dick Francis.
19. Everything I know about Alaska, I learned from Dana Stabenow.
20. Everything I know about the French and Indian War, I learned from Lois Lenski.
21. Everything I know about London during the Blitz, I learned from Noel Streatfeild.
22. I have a complete set of Howard the Duck comics (issues 1 through 33 inclusive.)
23. I'd rather see the OB/GYN than the dentist.
24. I'd rather see the dentist than watch another episode of The Doodlebops.
25. I have lots of favorite foods.
26. Two of my favorites are liver and sushi.
27. The only foods I really don't like are cilantro and green peppers.
28. I do like roasted red peppers.
29. I loved IHOP's potato pancakes. They just recently took them off the menu. Sigh.
30. On the other hand, they're really not on my diet.
31. Just last week I got down to my marriage weight.
32. My goal is to get down to my still-working-at-the-bookstore weight.
33. I'm not sure if that's realistic.
34. But I'm sure as hell gonna try.
35. Even if I don't get there, I'll have reached other goals (Eating better: more veggies, more water. Getting more exercise). And they are good on their own.
36. I've been really motivated to get healthier this year because, when he was my age, MakesBooksForGrandkids had a heart attack. I'm completely grateful that he is so healthy now.
37. When I'm feeling sad or angry, I bury my nose in Muffin Man's hair and take a good sniff. It always has the power to make me feel better.
38. I've been sniffing his hair quite a bit the last few weeks.
39. My Amazon wish list is 3 pages long.
40. I feel guilty about that.
41. It was longer, but I made a new wish list just for things I want for Muffin Man.
42. All my parents are great about buying stuff for me off the wish list.
43. I feel guilty about that too.
44. Three of my four parents had birthdays in the last month.
45. Two of them on the same day.
46. I was going to blog about the simultaneous birthdays, but I hadn't blogged about the other birthday and so I didn't.
47. Because I felt guilty.
48. This is obviously something I need to work on.
49. I actually feel guilty less often than I used to.
50. I used to be on the radio in college at two different radio stations. 16 years later, I can still recite their phone numbers.
51. Those were truly my all-time-favorite jobs.
52. But they didn't pay. Anything.
53. My all-time-favorite paying job was working at the bookstore.
54. But it didn't pay. Much.
55. One of my best friends from high school died in a fire 9 years ago.
56. I miss him.
57. I can still recite his parents phone number. I should give them a call.
58. I can tell you the address of every house I've lived in since I was 5.
59. And most of their phone numbers.
60. Without looking them up.
61. But I don't remember names all that well.
62. Including step-cousins and step-step-cousins, I have 27 first cousins.
63. The oldest is 50 something, the youngest is 3. The newest is 8. (Adopted from Russia)
64. I share a birthday with the newest one.
65. All the cousins on my mom's side of the family were born on the 18th of their birth month. Me, my sister, my cousin in France and my new cousin.
66. I love the smell of the city after a summer rain
67. But the smell of the country after a summer rain is even better.
68. My favorite diet-breaking food is a Big Mac. Mmmmmmm....
69. All my favorite breakfasts include eggs.
70. I invented a breakfast sandwich I call the Jewish Egg McMuffin. Take an english muffin or a bialy if you've got one. Toast it. Fry up an egg. Schmear the toasted muffin or bialy with chive cheese, add some smoked white fish, pop on the egg and top with the other half of muffin or bialy. Have lots of napkins handy. So delicious. But not at all kosher.
71. I love to cook, but I haven't done much of it lately.
72. I think Alton Brown is terrific.
73. Rachel Ray annoys me. Keep your hands still for a minute! But I like her $40 A Day show.
74. All my favorite tv shows have a considerable amount of snark.
75. Chef! is a great example of the kind of show I like.
76. If you haven't seen Chef!, all I can say is, I pity you.
77. I haven't seen a movie in a theatre since the first X-Men. I think. Was that after the first Harry Potter?
78. It's not the ticket prices, or even the concession prices, it's the commercials and the talking.
79. That said, the Coke commercial with Dave Chappelle was pretty good.
80. I do the NYT crossword puzzle on-line most days. I spend $20/year for the privilege.
81. I play way too much Spider Solitaire.
82. My husband and I are pretty evenly matched at Scrabble.
83. We play all our games strictly "Top of the Box".
84. Except "Man Bites Dog", we added a few poker variations to that.
85. Hearing my son laugh can make me giddy with happiness.
86. I love watching him become an independent boy, but I miss my little baby.
87. He made his own toast the other day, butter and all. I wanted to cry.
88. Christmas is my favorite holiday.
89. Yes, I'm Jewish. You wanna make something of it?
90. Both my sets of parents were totally into Christmas. Trees, carols, the works.
91. Thanksgiving's good too.
92. But, let's face it, Christmas wins because of the fabulous music, the pretty lights, and the whole idea of it. Peace. Good will. Love your neighbor.
93. We could use a bit more of that.
94. I bite my fingers, not my fingernails.
95. I hate that I do this and have often tried to stop.
96. I used to bite my fingernails too, but I finally stopped that. So there's hope.
98. I sucked my thumb until I was nine. At nine, I finally lost my last lovey (I called it a "Silkie") and stopped the thumb-sucking cold-turkey.
99. My teeth look great. Never had braces.
100. My favorite shopping experiences are Wegman's, Nordstrom's, and Amazon.com/co.uk/ca. Pretty much in that order.

As seen at ProfGrrrrl's

Rules:
1. Go into your archive. (Blogger dashboard)
2. Find your 23rd post (or closest to). Got it.
3. Find the fifth sentence (or closest to). Got it.
4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions. Got it.

It's the shortest (non-dialog) sentence in the whole piece. The one just before it is a doozy.

It had.

Behold! The power of stickers.

Muffin Man woke up dry this morning but wanted a diaper on to go pee. "Go in the potty", say I.
"Diaper!"
"Well, alright. I'll go and get you a diaper, but you know, you don't get stickers for staying dry all night if you pee in a diaper. It just doesn't count unless you go in the potty."
"Diaper!"
"Okay, I'm going to get one. It's too bad you won't be getting any stickers this morning."

By the time I got back, he'd gone running to the bathroom and went in the toilet.

Stickers. Where would we be without them?

My Fair Baby (With lyrics writing help from Genevieve)

My son was dry all night
Yes, he was dry all night
Although he woke at four

We went to pee
And then he asked me
To sleep upon his floor

I told him, "No."
And as I rose to go
He kissed me and hugged me tight.

I only know, when he,
said "OK, good night, mommy",
I got to sleep sleep sleeeep
ALLL NIIIIIGHT*

* Thanks Genevieve!! I was stuck for this last verse and you wrote it for me.

And I still owe you a prize from before. Two prizes now. Thanks again!!!

And then he slept through until 7:30. That's my boy.

Well, two out of three....

I neglected to tell you folks that Muffin Man went diaperless to bed the last three nights. The first two nights he was DRY ALL NIGHT. Last night, not so much. He was so upset when he woke himself up in a wet bed a little before 7:00 this morning (please note, 7:00!!! No 4:00 visits two nights running! Can I hear a "Hallelujah!"?) I got him out of his wet pjs and stripped the bed and popped everything in the wash and told him all the while that it's okay, everybody wets the bed sometimes.

He wasn't buying it.

Oh well.

"Gee, I'm sorry if you think we didn't do a good enough job"

Washington Post: Bush on Failed Rescue: 'I Take Responsibility'

Some housekeeping notes

Every so often I find a new blog, or a new blogger finds me and I wait until I have a bunch of new ones and then I add them to my list at the right.

At the same time, I go through the list and I grit my teeth and I remove links to blogs that haven't updated in a while.

This is one of those times. I've added several new friends and said sad goodbyes to others. If you are a blogger that I've removed, start posting again and let me know!!!! (And if I've over-looked adding anybody, please let me know.)

Yet...I am also feeling smug.

Scrivener is talking about carpooling which makes me ask, did I or did I not pick a great time to cut my commute by two-thirds?

I am a weinie.

Yesterday morning: 4:18. I am awakened by the sound of Muffin Man's bedroom door opening. I wait. He appears next to me. "Mommy? Can I sleep with you?" I was tired. I didn't want to wake up enough to take him back to bed. I let him crawl in with us.

This morning: 4:25. I am awakened by the sound of Muffin Man's bedroom door opening. I wait. He appears next to me. "Mommy? Can I sleep with you?". This time, I am slightly more alert. I do not want this to be a nightly occurance. I say no.
"But I want you to sleep with me!" I bring him back to bed. He asks me again to sleep with him. I am too tired to get into a big thing with him. I bring blankets and pillows into his room and sleep on the floor next to his bed. He is in his own bed. A slight improvement, but still, not what I am aiming for. He cries in his sleep around 5:30, an obvious nightmare. I shush him and he seems comforted, he stops calling out. I am glad at that moment that I'm in his room, but still, it's not what I am aiming for.

What am I aiming for? I want what we had before our trip to Tampa. Him in his bed, me in mine and everybody sleeping all the way through the night. If there is another 4 AM visit tomorrow morning, I hope I will be able to wake up enough to move toward my goal.

Blame it on Andrea this time.

Andrea has a post about a song which reminded me of this song, though I've been reminded of this song for the last couple of weeks anyway. I first heard it at a Four Bitchin' Babes concert (Christine Lavin, Sally Fingerett, Megon McDonough, and Patty Larkin) and I wept along with everyone else. Here are the lyrics, and as Andrea says, have a hanky handy.

Home Is Where The Heart Is
© 1990 Sally Fingerett
On our corner, there's this nice man, his name is Mark, he's always smiling
He's got this mom who comes on Wed. in the evening with soup so steaming
He shares his house with his friend Martin, They're not brothers, they're not cousins
My little girl wonders all about these men, I take hold of her hand, I begin.

CHORUS:
Home is where the heart is
No matter how the heart lives
Inside your heart where love is
That's where you've got to make yourself
At home.

Through the yard live Deb and Tricia, with their drills and ladders and their room addition
My kid yells over are you having a baby, they wink and smile and say, "Someday maybe"
Through their doors go kids and mommies, funny how you don't see the daddies go in.
My little girl wonders 'bout the house with no men, I take hold of her hand, I begin

Home is where the heart is......CHORUS

'Round the corner, here comes Martin, he's alone now, he tries smilin'
He roams around his well-stocked kitchen, he knows that fate will soon be comin'
My little girl wonders where will he live,
I take hold of her hand and I begin

Home is where the heart is.....CHORUS

Martin sits and waits with his window open, his house is empty his heart is broken
We bring him toys and water colors, he loves to hear my little baby's stories.
She's the gift I share, she's his companion, she's the string on the kite
She guides him up into the wind.....into the wind
My little girl wonders who will care for him, We take hold of his hand, we begin, let's begin now

Home is where the heart is.....CHORUS

Oven-Fried Coconut Chicken

It's from Cooking Light. If any of you folks have qualms about registering (it's free to register, say you're a newstand buyer and fill out the form), I'll e-mail the recipe to you.

Absolutely delicious.

Missing you.

wtc
Originally uploaded by Mystery Mommy.

Jury Duty

Jury duty in Brooklyn, NY is a biannual three day marathon of bench-sitting. We sit in an auditorium the size of a high school gymnasium, about four hundred people sitting on rows and rows of benches. These are no ordinary benches. They are pews with hard wooden seats, eight inches wide. Just wide enough to cut the circulation to your knees by the time you’ve sat in them for an hour.

Despite the discomfort of sitting on the benches of doom for 8 hours a day, three days in a row, I always enjoyed serving jury duty. I would bring a few books and my knitting and would luxuriate in getting re-acquainted with my old friends Josephine Tey, Georgette Heyer, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, and Reginald Hill. Nothing like reading a good, old-fashioned mystery when waiting to be empanelled for a jury in Brooklyn.

I hear that post-9/11, jurors are not allowed to bring their knitting anymore. I suppose the knitting needles must be considered lethal weapons. I’m saddened especially because disasters like 9/11 and Katrina are often the catalyst many people need to start knitting. Making order out of chaos. Creation out of destruction. Plus, making warm things for people to wear is so satisfying.

The last time I served jury duty was 1997. Between jobs, going to school at night, I had time free and hoped I’d be picked for a jury. I was empanelled for a case against a drug dealer. When it came to be my turn for voir dire, the conversation went like this:

Q: “Have you ever been the victim of a crime?”A: “Yes, I was home during a push-in robbery when I was 10, and held-up twice at gunpoint while working
retail”
Q: “Wow. Anyone else in your family ever been the victim of a crime?”
A: “Aside from car thefts and burglaries when no one was home, no. I’m the crime magnet in the family.” (Laughter) I could see the lawyer for the defense decide not to take me.
Q: “Are you an attorney, related to an attorney or work for an attorney?”
A: “I’m working part-time as an office manager for [insert name of Big Time Defense Lawyer].” (There went the prosecution’s vote).

After I answered a few more questions and the rest of the pool were questioned, we were sent out into the hall to wait. No benches here, just a few radiators and one chair they brought out for the ubiquitous grandmotherly lady with the high blood-pressure. We waited. And waited. And took bets on who they’d pick. Everyone but me thought they’d choose me. I knew they wouldn’t. I was right.

Here in Ashburn, my jury duty consisted of one phone call the night before I was due to serve. It was Memorial Day weekend and I was in "Group 1" on the notice they sent me. I called the number, they said "Group One is not needed. If you are in Group One, you have completed your service." Hmpfff. I was disappointed. I was looking forward to spending some quality time with Reginald.

The Skull, by popular demand

Lo these many years ago, I was working retail in a mall. I worked one of those kiosks in the main corridors of the mall and at night we had to put up these stupid awnings to cover the kiosk. One night my co-worker didn't show up to help me and, as I may have already said one or two times, I'm pretty short. The awnings attached at the top of the kiosk. The kiosk is about 7' tall.

I stood on a wobbly stool to attach the awnings.

The wobbly stool slipped out from under my feet.

I landed head-first on the concrete floor.

I took a cab home. Went to bed. Woke up the next morning needing to throw up and feeling very dizzy. Went to the doctor (in a cab). Got checked. They found I couldn't focus my eyes (not uncommon for me, I have a lazy eye) and said, "You've won an MRI!" I was fine, just a bit concussed.

So yes, VERY, VERY, VERY stupid. STUPID.

Alphabet Meme (seen everywhere, but this one copied from Pink Cupcake (see "N"))

A - Accent. I was the only person in my linguistics class in college that my teacher couldn't place. "Somewhere in the east, probably mid-atlantic." was the best he came up with. "wud it help ya if I tawkt like dis?" I asked. "BROOKLYN? How'd you manage to escape without an accent?"
Just lucky I guess.
B - Bra Size. 36 DD.
C - Chore you hate. Cleaning. Like most of you.
D - Dad's name. MakesBooksForGrandkids.
E - Essential make-up. Sunscreen.
F - Favourite Perfume. None. NONE.
G - Gold or Silver? Used to be silver, now it's gold.
H - Hometown. BROOKLYN!!!
I - Insomnia. No.
J - Job Title. Software developer.
K - Kids. MUFFIN MAN!
L - Living Arrangements. Co-habiting with husband and son in a somewhat walkable sub-division.
M - Mom's birthplace. BROOKLYN!
N - Favourite Noldo I have no idea what this is. Does anyone else know??
O - Overnight Hospital Stay. Muffin Man's birth. Arrived Friday, left Monday.
P - Phobia. Small high spaces. And tsunamis.
Q - Favourite Quote."I'm monitoring the culture!"
R - Religious affiliation. Culturally Jewish. Spiritually, somewhat Quaker, mostly agnostic.
S - Siblings. One older sister. My tooth fairy.
T - Time I get up. 6:30. My alarm consists of a door creaking open, little feet padding down the hall and a smiling face peeking in at the door.
U - Unnatural hair colours. Never.
V - Vegetable you refuse to eat. Does cilantro count?
W - Worst habit. Nail biting. Actually, cuticle biting. I'm finally leaving the nails alone, but I'm having trouble with the cuticles.
X - X-rays you've had. Teeth, wrists (only sprains), foot (small broken bone), nose (broken in summer camp), lungs (whooping cough), neck/spine (car accident), skull (I did something incredibly stupid)
Y - Yummy foods you make. Oven-fried coconut chicken, spicy ginger peanut chicken, spaghetti sauce, salmon-salad sandwiches.
Z - Zodiac sign. Pisces.

And about Busch Gardens

I loved Busch Gardens. They have a great little kids area (all adults must be accompanied by a child, you must be UNDER this height to go on this ride). Muffin Man had a ball. A serious, grin-all-over-the-face, laughing out loud great time.

AND....ALL THE SINKS AND SOAP-DISPENSERS ARE HANDICAPPED-ACCESSIBLE!!! Which means that they are also accessible by a completely potty-trained, independence-demanding three-year-old.

AND...it's all a little less huge than Disney. No big costumed characters running around. We'll do Disney in a few years, but I'm glad we had this opportunity to do something a bit smaller.

A shout out to a local moving company

From an e-mail I received today:

J&K Moving & Storage is generously providing its trucks, facilities and manpower to collect, palletize and ship donations to the victims of Hurricane Katrina...a collection truck [will be] onsite at Capital Community Church from Wednesday through Sunday morning this week. After Sunday, everything collected will be added to a larger shipment and delivered directly to people in need ASAP.

The types of items that can be utilized by the hurricane victims include:

• Water
• Drinks (no powdered drinks)
• Non perishable food
• Blankets & Pillows
• Clothing
• Toys & games for kids
• Toiletries
• Tools, etc. (you probably have a good idea as to what people need)

If you have anything you can donate, please drop it off at Capital Community Church on 20430 Ashburn Village Blvd. When traveling toward Rt. 7 on AVB, the church is on the right after you pass the sports pavilion. If you drop off during the weekdays, you can leave donations in the church lobby. In the evenings and on the weekend, you can take your donations directly to the truck as volunteers will be helping to load.

If you have any questions, you can call...the church at 703-858-3864 ext. 200

Hooray for J&K, you can be sure we'll call them first the next time we need to move. Unfortunately, they don't seem to have a web page, or I'd link to them.

Links to help

I'm linking to JenEx who has lots of links of places that will take supplies for displaced families and children.

And speaking of Katrina...

Please check out OTBKB today and yesterday for some addresses to send physical supplies to (not just money). UPS will deliver to these places, so if you want to send tangibles and not fungibles, you can send 'em to these places.

The lists of what they need are valid as of today.

As soon as I can, I'm heading over to Costco to get stuff to send and over to Inova to donate blood. And, of course, donating money.

Down in Tampa, this was all very much local news as many Katrina victims were shipped to Tampa Bay Area hospitals.

We're back!!

What'd I miss? I'll try to catch up quick!

Pictures were taken of Muffin Man and as soon as we get some of them back, I'll post 'em. He was adorable.

He did a fabulous job as ring bearer and received a watch from us and a silver train bank from SIL for a job well done. SIL looked glorious and she and her new husband were radiant.

Yesterday, we spent the day at Busch Gardens with SIL and new BIL (still radiant) and MM fed the birds and rode the dragon boat ALL BY HIMSELF. He only melted down once, when we were already on our way back to the car. Pretty impressive actually.

The whole long weekend went very well and he was a real trouper.

Very, very, very glad to be back.

Oh! And we went to Chuck E. Cheese for the first time and won 5 tickets. At this rate we'll have to go back at least 75 times to actually get a toy.

Going to the chapel

My sister-in-law is getting married down in Tampa over the weekend. Muffin Man will be a ring bearer. I'm leaving tomorrow and won't be back until Tuesday. Have fun y'all!!!

As seen everywhere!!!

Go to MusicOutfitters, and in the Search box enter the year of your high school graduation. You can then click on a link to the top songs from that year. Then bold the songs you like, underline your favorite, strike out the ones you hate, and leave untouched the ones you don't remember or don't care about.

1987 was not a great year, musically. Sigh. But I looooooooved Big Time.

1. Walk Like An Egyptian, Bangles
2. Alone, Heart
3. Shake You Down, Gregory Abbott
4. I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me), Whitney Houston
5. Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now, Starship
6. C'est La Vie, Robbie Nevil
7. Here I Go Again, Whitesnake
8. The Way It Is, Bruce Hornsby and the Range
9. Shakedown, Bob Seger
10. Livin' On A Prayer, Bon Jovi
11. La Bamba, Los Lobos (but not as much as the original)
12. Everybody Have Fun Tonight, Wang Chung
13. Don't Dream It's Over, Crowded House
14. Always, Atlantic Starr
15. With Or Without You, U2
16. Looking For A New Love, Jody Watley
17. Head To Toe, Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam
18. I Think We're Alone Now, Tiffany
19. Mony Mony, Billy Idol (but not as much as the original)
20. At This Moment, Billy Vera and The Beaters
21. Lady In Red, Chris De Burgh
22. Didn't We Almost Have It All, Whitney Houston
23. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, U2
24. I Want Your Sex, George Michael I'm embarrassed to admit it.
25. Notorious, Duran Duran
26. Only In My Dreams, Debbie Gibson
27. (I've Had) The Time Of My Life, Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes
28. The Next Time I Fall, Peter Cetera and Amy Grant
29. Lean On Me, Club Nouveau (again, original's better)
30. Open Your Heart, Madonna (yeah, yeah, sue me.)
31. Lost In Emotion, Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam
32. (I Just) Died In Your Arms, Cutting Crew
33. Heart And Soul, T'pau
34. You Keep Me Hangin' On, Kim Wilde
35. Keep Your Hands To Yourself, Georgia Satellites
36. I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me), Aretha Franklin and George Michael
37. Control, Janet Jackson
38. Somewhere Out There, Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram ick, ick, ick
39. U Got The Look, Prince
40. Land Of Confusion, Genesis
41. Jacob's Ladder, Huey Lewis and The News
42. Who's That Girl, Madonna
43. You Got It All, Jets
44. Touch Me (I Want Your Body), Samantha Fox
45. I Just Can't Stop Loving You, Michael Jackson and Siedah Garrett
46. Causing A Commotion, Madonna
47. In Too Deep, Genesis
48. Let's Wait Awhile, Janet Jackson
49. Hip To Be Square, Huey Lewis and the News
50. Will You Still Love Me?, Chicago
51. Little Lies, Fleetwood Mac
52. Luka, Suzanne Vega
53. I Heard A Rumour, Bananarama
54. Don't Mean Nothing, Richard Marx
55. Songbird, Kenny G
56. Carrie, Europe
57. Don't Disturb This Groove, System
58. La Isla Bonita, Madonna
59. Bad, Michael Jackson Again, sue me.
60. Sign 'O' The Times, Prince
61. Change Of Heart, Cyndi Lauper
62. Come Go With Me, Expose
63. Can't We Try, Dan Hill
64. To Be A Lover, Billy Idol
65. Mandolin Rain, Bruce Hornsby and the Range
66. Breakout, Swing Out Sister
67. Stand By Me, Ben E. King
68. Tonight, Tonight, Tonight, Genesis
69. Someday, Glass Tiger
70. When Smokey Sings, ABC
71. Casanova, Levert
72. Rhythm Is Gonna Get You, Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine
73. Rock Steady, Whispers
74. Wanted Dead Or Alive, Bon Jovi
75. Big Time, Peter Gabriel
76. The Finer Things, Steve Winwood
77. Let Me Be The One, Expose
78. Is This Love, Survivor
79. Diamonds, Herb Alpert
80. Point Of No Return, Expose
81. Big Love, Fleetwood Mac
82. Midnight Blue, Lou Gramm
83. Something So Strong, Crowded House
84. Heat Of The Night, Bryan Adams
85. Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You, Glenn Medeiros
86. Brilliant Disguise, Bruce Springsteen
87. Just To See Her, Smokey Robinson
88. Who Will You Run Too, Heart
89. Respect Yourself, Bruce Willis
90. Cross My Broken Heart, Jets 91.
Victory, Kool and The Gang
92. Don't Get Me Wrong, Pretenders
93. Doing It All For My Baby, Huey Lewis and The News
94. Right On Track, Breakfast Club
95. Ballerina Girl, Lionel Richie
96. Meet Me Half Way, Kenny Loggins
97. I've Been In Love Before, Cutting Crew
98. (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right To Party, Beastie Boys
99. Funkytown, Pseudo Echo
100. Love You Down, Ready For The World

Dances with Minivans tagged me

I've been tagged by Dances with Minivans! Here's what I have to do:
List five songs that you are currently digging - it doesn't matter what genre they are from, whether they have words, or even if they're not any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying right now. Post these instructions and the five songs (with artist) in your blog. Then tag five people to see what they're listening to.

Holiday - Green Day
Franz Liszt, the Famous Pianist - Beethovan's Wig
LY - Tom Lehrer/Electric Company
Walking on Broken Glass - Annie Lennox
Here Comes the Grump - Adam Ant

I don't know who's already been tagged with this one, so if you haven't been, and you want to be, TAG! YOU'RE IT!

Drop-off update

He stayed in his old room all day yesterday and is in the new room with the new teacher today (new for him, she's been at the school for years). He sobbed when I left him there, but I went down the hall and waited and the sobbing stopped. I watched the class on the tv in Miss Director's office and could see him moving around, clutching his two stuffed dogs (Big Worf and Little Worf). I hope he does okay today.

Sigh.

Thank you all for your good thoughts yesterday. I feel so petty obsessing about this after what Katrina did to Louisiana and Mississippi.

It's hard to drive with tears in your eyes

Muffin Man has spent the last 18 months or so in one classroom at his daycare. He's had mostly the same teachers for that whole time.

All summer he was so excited about moving up into the next class (his best friend is there) and being a big boy.

Until today.

"No, Mommy! I want to go to MY room. I don't want to go in this room. This isn't my room! Mommy! Don't leave me! No! No! NOOOOO!"

It didn't help that I was not actually dropping him off in his new room because the teachers for that room don't arrive today until 11:00. Eventually, I let him go back into his old room until his new teachers come in. Then I had to pry his fingers off my neck.

I ended up putting my watch in his pocket. "See, Muffin Man? You have Mommy's watch. Mommy's watch will be with you all day. I'll come and pick you up later. It will all be okay."

"Bring my blanket back in here!!!!" (I'd taken his nap-time gear into the new room, his blanket is a quilt that QuiltsAlot made for him, and he has a flannel sheet too. He snuggles into them at naptime and reads a book quietly because heaven forbid he should actually take a nap at school.)

"Miss Director will bring it to you later. Big hugs and kisses now."

And so I got my hugs and kisses, but boy howdy, was it ever hard to leave him.

Pretty good weekend here

Though I worked most of it. Feh.

We took the safety knob off of Muffin Man's door, he now gets up in the morning and tiptoes into our room, uses the potty and then comes and snuggles with us. We can hear his door open and we watch for him to come in. He pokes his head through the door first and then moves his whole body in once he sees the coast is clear.

He took a really great bath tonight. Very cooperative and happy. Tomorrow he starts in a new classroom at daycare, so exciting!

Poooooooooop!

Yes, Muffin Man did it. He pooped in the potty this morning. He sat there for about 10 minutes "reading" a book, while I was in the next room doing some ironing. He called us in to look and we all admired that adult-sized poop sitting in the adult-sized toilet in our bathroom. I couldn't be prouder.

Muffin Man got a very big sheet of stickers for his very big accomplishment.

Starting to drag

I woke up this morning at 4:00 (combination fizzy brain and sprinkler system starting up). I tried to fall back asleep and finally gave it up at 5:00. Got up, brushed my teeth, decided not to risk waking anyone by taking a shower, got my clothes and got dressed in the guest room. Did some reading of the Washington Post and you bloggers and left, getting to work at 6:15 (and I wasn't the first one here).

I do have a lot of work to do, but I'm starting to drag. The cookies in the cafeteria are stale and coffee's just not doing it for me today. I'm not feeling sleep deprived so much as just bleh.

Memories of being pregnant

Secret Agent Josephine has a post about her first flutter and Brooklyn Girl has a post about feeling like something out of Aliens. And so I've been remembering feeling Muffin Man move around when I was pregnant with him and one particular moment that still gets me giggling.

I was working up until the last day and about a month before I was due, I was standing in a friend's cube, talking about a shower gift she was giving to another pregnant friend. I was standing about 2 feet away from my friend (the one on the right), she was sitting down and her face was about on a level with the top of my huge tummy. While we were talking MM decided to switch positions. On my left side a large bulge popped out of my tummy, slid over to just above my belly button and - whooosh! - disappeared. My friend nearly fell over. She slid her chair as far away from me as she could get.

She still shudders thinking about it.

Dang it! APL got the good title!

We hired a sitter tonight, since Mr. Spock was going to a meeting and I just couldn't miss seeing Corndog play at a local coffee house/pub sort of place. Just. Couldn't. Miss. It.

So, I go to meet APL there and since I got there first, I claimed a table and then started scoping out the musician-type people. Which one would it be? It couldn't be the tall, blonde one sitting at the table next to me. Wrong sex. What about the guy helping out with the sound check? No. He's starting at 7:00 and Corndog starts at 8:00. And besides, he doesn't look like he's out of college and Corndog has two toddlers. And a job. Hey, that guy talking to the sound guy looks like he just said [Corndog's Real Name]. Could it be him? Should I go and ask? But what if it's not? Then I'll look kind of weird, or like I'm picking him up or something.....

Oh! There's APL! I point out my pick for Corndog, she agrees he's a good bet. Right age. Sitting alone. So we go and get some yummy food and go back to our table - actually we decide on a different one and before I could ask her if we should go and talk to our pick, the 7:00 guy starts playing (not bad). And then the tall, blonde chick (Tori Amos wannabe, not bad). The shy, nervous, mousy girl (needs voice lessons, but wrote some good stuff). The cute older, hippy couple (big bass played by a small woman, big man playing small guitar). The southern college boys (good writing, not-so-great singing, and the singer didn't remember the words to his own songs). The guy in the aloha shirt (we thought he was a possible Corndog, but nope). And then...our pick! IT WAS HIM! And boy howdy, can he play! And sing! And write! He's got chops. We shouted and whistled and called out, "CORNDOG!!!"

Then we three sat and talked for over an hour and through a power outage about kids and jobs and commutes and carseats and daycare and zoos and visiting in-laws and whether one person can visit with three different groups of people in one weekend.

If any of you get a chance to see Corndog play, don't miss it. He's great on his blog, but he's even better in person.

Muffin Man and Backyard Girl

We have neighbors who live behind us. They have a little girl who is 5 months younger than Muffin Man. Backyard Girl is Muffin Man's best friend outside of school. He loooooooves her. Yesterday we spent part of the afternoon with her and her Dad at the neighborhood pool and then she came over and helped us make and eat ice cream. MM showed her all his toys and shared his play-doh accessories like a real gentleman. He even shared his scissors with her. This is a really big deal. Seriously.

At the pool, BYG was SWIMMING in the pool. Face in the water and everything. She would jump in and go over her head and then bob up with her head back so her hair would do that perfect-down-the-back thing. She's three! Her dad told us where they take her for lessons, so we'll be taking MM there next Spring.

Comment spam is getting up my nose.

And so I'm following the herd with word verification on comments. Please let me know if this is a huge hassle.

We went to the zoo.

Angry Pregnant Lawyer, Angry Boy (who's really not an angry boy at all. He's so delicious, I could just eat him up, toes and all), Muffin Man and I went to the National Zoo yesterday morning. We had a great time walking around, up hills and down, looking at all the animals we could see. Many of them were sleeping, including a panda bear - all stretched out on its back, scratching its tummy occasionally.

Muffin Man's favorite was the hippo. "The little one or the big one?" I asked. "THE BIG ONE!!!" he shouted. The little one, a pygmy hippo, could have fit in the big one's mouth.

I'm pretty sure that AB's favorite was the river otter. He shrieked with joy everytime it swam near him.

My favorites were the flamingos, so beautifully pink! It's amazing to see something that vibrantly pink occur in nature. Muffin Man wanted to see them play with a yo-yo*.

We also saw a capybara (the world's largest rodent). Those of you who are fans of The Tick may remember that he adopted a capybara, mistaking it for a dog. But really, what they look like is a very, very large hamster -- about 3 feet long and two feet high. It takes a python all of 5 months to digest one.

After the zoo we went out for lunch and APL and I shared two very yummy dishes, a sure sign, we agreed, that we could stay friends with each other. After all, how can you be friends with someone who won't trade bites?

We both kicked ourselves for forgetting to bring cameras (doh!)

And I swear, the parking karma we had was extraordinary. We got a spot right next to the entrance across from the elephants, and at the restaurant we got a spot right near the door. It was amazing.

*You know, from the bit in Fantasia 2000. What do you mean you haven't seen it? Honestly, people!

Happy Birthday, Big Sister!

BigSisterBirthday
Originally uploaded by Mystery Mommy.

I still look up to you. You are so important to me. My life would be so much poorer if I didn't have you. My admiration for you today is as strong (maybe stronger) as it was 33 years ago when this picture was taken.

Love you always.

Transcript of a conversation

MM: "Mommy, I don't want to give Daddy a cracker"
Me: "Well, you don't have to....unless you offered it to him. Did you offer it to him?"
MM: "Yes. But then I ate it."
Me: "But Muffin Man, that's teasing. Teasing isn't nice. It makes people feel bad."
MM: "But it's in my tummy!"
Me: "Yes, I know. But you have to go and tell Daddy that you're sorry you teased him. I think he probably feels bad that you teased him."
MM: "Okay. No teasing."

Now, it didn't end up being quite that easy, but I think we're making progress on what teasing is and why we shouldn't do it. And we're also making progress on why we don't hit people. Muffin Man is discovering how much power he has, and we need to teach him how to use that power for good.

Seen at Dances with Minivans

Take the quiz: "Which Greek god/goddess are you?"

Hermes
You are Hermes! Hermes was the messenger god.Hermes was known for his helpfulness to mankind, both in his capacity as immortal herald and on his own initiative. When Perseus set out to face the Gorgon Medusa, Hermes aided him in the quest. According to one version of the myth, he loaned the hero his own magic sandals, which conferred upon the wearer the ability to fly.

Pssst...hey kid, want some Harry?

I got TellsDonaldDuckStories hooked on Harry Potter. I did it with malice aforethought. I wonder what the maximum sentence is for that. On the one hand, he's not a minor. On the other hand, I know what Harry can do to an addictive personality. And TellsDonaldDuckStories is an addict: Coffee, poppy-seed bagels, and the New York Times. He's gotta have 'em and he'll travel pretty far to get 'em. Weekend visits have gotten much less tense since Starbucks started selling the NYT in all their shops.

So a few weeks ago they were down for a visit and I loaned him the first Harry Potter book. He read it during the hellacious trip home and went out and bought the whole set. And he bought another set for my neice and nephew.

I feel like a miniature version of Cyrus McPherson (nyah-haha!)*

*Cyrus McPherson was the villian in all of TellsDonaldDuckStories Donald Duck Stories (the ones he made up)

Okay, so it's not cake...

Nix on the chocolate cake this weekend, we're making sorbet and ice cream instead. Yesterday was Yellow Doll Watermelon Sorbet. Yellow Doll watermelons are yellow inside instead of red. The sorbet came out pretty good, but we added too much sugar (following a recipe for orange sorbet and forgetting that melons are loads sweeter than oranges.)

Today is strawberry-vanilla ice cream. It was going to be cherry-vanilla but we couldn't find any fresh cherries. Is the season over already?

Yesterday we spent some time shopping at a nearby farm stand. Mr. Spock is friends with a local farmer and we got some personal assistance from him picking out the best peaches and tomatoes. And we bought a dozen ears of Bread and Butter corn. Ate some last night. Having more for dinner tonight.

Muffin Man is going through yet another "Sleep with me!!!" phase. Normally I don't but last night I did (today's not a work/school day, I didn't actually go to bed until long after he was asleep, and this morning he helped me put the mattress back in the guest room and make the bed.) I don't know what is behind the sudden overwhelming desire for me to be in the room with him, but I wish he'd get over it already. He's napping now. I hope he stays asleep for at least another hour.

When he wakes up we'll put the custard into the ice cream maker and add the strawberries (half pureed, half in chunks) and let it churn for 20 - 40 minutes. After we've had some ice cream, perhaps we'll go to the pool. Then back home for dinner and bath-time. Then bed again.

Just another Sunday afternoon at the MysteryMommy house.

And the race is on!

Yesterday Morning:

Me (trying to avoid the huge whine fest of the day before): Muffin Man, if you are all dressed by the time I get out of the shower, we'll have time to watch t.v. together. Otherwise, no t.v.!
MM: Is it a race?
Me: Yes!

5 minutes later...I'm washing my dainty bits...

MM: Mommy! I'm all dressed!
Mr. Spock: He did it all by himself.

People, I'm here to tell you that he got all his clothes on correctly. And he even put on his own socks. He wore sandals with them, but we'll deal with fashion faux pas later.

So we did it again this morning (I told him he didn't have to wear socks). And again, he dressed himself correctly. Including remembering that today is Splash Day at school and he should wear his bathing trunks.

AND....He made his own cinnemon toast for breakfast this morning with only a little bit of help from me (removing the hot bread from the toaster, cutting the finished product into triangles).

My little boy. He's growing up.

Mmmmmmm....Chocolate

Friday Mom has a beautiful post that mentions, towards the end, chocolate cake with white frosting.

Now I happen to love chocolate cake with white frosting and my mom's friend gave us a recipe for a triple-threat chocolate cake which almost could kind of count as home-made. Almost. But not quite.

Triple Threat, Almost Homemade But Not Quite, Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:
1 Box Duncan Hines Devil's Food Cake
1 Box Non-instant Chocolate Pudding
4 Eggs
8 oz Sour Cream
1/2 Cup oil
1/2 Cup fresh brewed coffee
1 bag Nestle's Toll House Chocolate Chips
1 Can Vanilla frosting (or make it from scratch, whatever)

Preheat oven to 350. Grease your pan(s).

In a large mixing bowl mix all the ingredients (except for the chocolate chips) until smooth. Pour into pan(s). Pour chips into pans (try to distribute evenly). Bake until a toothpick poked it the center comes out clean (check a couple of places, you may hit a chocolate chip). Generally it takes about 5 - 10 minutes longer than the side of the cake mix box says it will take.

Let cool in the pans and then remove and let cool completely before you frost.

The original recipe called for dusting powdered sugar over it as a decoration, but come on....

About re-reading The Secret Garden -- again

One of my all-time favorite books is The Secret Garden.

It starts:
"When Mary Lennox was sent to Mistlethwaite Manor to live with her uncle everybody said she was the most disagreeable-looking child ever seen. It was true too."

Isn't that a wonderful beginning? A preface I once read, I think it was to another book, talks about the importance of getting rid of parental figures in children's literature. The problem, the author of the preface wrote, is how do you get rid of the parents without traumatizing the young reader? Most books have the children in boarding school, summer camp, visiting slightly fuzzy grandparents. Not The Secret Garden. Mary Lennox's parents die painfully of cholera in the first chapter. But it is made clear that Mary couldn't have cared less about her parents. Many people never even knew they had a child. She is a hideous child, spoiled rotten. Ten years old and still having screaming temper tantrums. What a fabulous character!

After her parents die, Mary is sent to England to live. The house she lives in has hundreds of rooms, half of them locked up. It also has extensive grounds which include a walled garden whose door was locked and the key buried ten years ago. The mystery of the garden, the strangeness of the isolated and lonely house conspire to make Mary think of something other than herself. When she finds her way into the garden and discovers the secret of Mistlethwaite Manor, she blooms along with the roses she tends.

That preface I mentioned above made another point. If Frances Hodgeson Burnett had merely called this book The Garden, it'd be a pleasant book about how gardening and exercise make you a nicer, healthier person. But by calling it The Secret Garden, by locking it away and hiding the key....now the reader is intrigued, even as our heroine is.

Thinking of a friend

A friend of mine is going through a rough time. She's ill and at home and, because I'm allergic to animal hair and she has 2 dogs and a cat, I can't go over and rub her feet and make chicken soup.

This is a friend that I met on a contract 5 jobs ago. We've been friends ever since. She babysits for Muffin Man. He calls her "Auntie [Friend's Name]." She's family.

She was bemoaning the fact that she couldn't even clean the house and so...

I asked her permission to send over and pay for a cleaning service. At first she said, "No." I argued. She was adamant. I gave up.

A little later she called me back and said, "If you were sick, I'd be doing what I could to help you. What kind of a friendship do we have if I can't accept the same in return?"

So yesterday, her house was cleaned for her. And I still feel like it's a poor substitute for chicken soup.

Does this meme remind anybody else of Monty Python & the Holy Grail?

1. What is your first name? Elizabeth

2. Were you named after anyone? Yes. But I don't remember who.

3. Do you wish on stars? Long, long ago. Now I have everything I wished for then.

4. When did you last cry? Today.

5. Do you like your handwriting? It depends. It starts out great and then degenerates into illegibility.

6. What is your favorite lunch meat? Ham.

7. What is your most embarrassing CD? Um....possibly Free to Be, You and Me. Because I bought it 2 years before I had Muffin Man. CD I'm proudest of? Pianosaurus Groovy Neighborhood.

8. If you were another person, would you be friends with you? I agree with Phantom that this question is bizarre. I hope I'd be friends with me.

9. Do you have a journal? Aside from the blog? Does writing letters to Muffin Man count?

10. Do you use sarcasm a lot? Who me? Never.

11. What are your nicknames? Liz.

12. Would you bungee jump? Not even if you paid me.

13. Do you untie your shoes before you take them off? I very rarely wear shoes with laces, but my high-top black Reeboks never get untied.

14. Do you think that you are strong? My three-year-old can out-wrestle me.

15. What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Chocolate Fudge Brownie.

16. Shoe size? 7 - 7 and a half.

17. Red or pink? Red.

18. What is your least favorite thing about yourself? My nail-biting.

19. What do you miss most? Wild, abandoned snugglebunnies.

20. There is no number 20.

21. What color pants/shoes are you wearing? I'm wearing neither.

22. What are you listening to right now? Law & Order/Homicide double header.

23. Last thing you ate? Chicken Caesar Salad at the local pizza joint.

24. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Huh? I'd be some discontinued color, like Burnt Sienna.

25. What is the weather like right now? 72. Mostly cloudy. 94% Humidity. We are currently between scattered showers.

26. Last person you talked to on the phone? Miss Cindy at Muffin Man's daycare.

27. The first thing you notice about the opposite sex? I gotta go with Phantom Scribbler's answer here.

28. There is no number 28.

29. Favorite drink? Coffee. But I mostly drink water.

30. Favorite sport? I don't compete, but I'm a sucker for the Olympics.

31. Hair color? Brown.

32. Eye color? Hazel.

33. Do you wear contacts? Yes.

35. Last movie you watched? Aladdin.

36. Favorite day of the year? Christmas.

37. Scary movies or happy endings? Happy endings.

38. Winter or summer? Summer. Absolutely.

39. Hugs or kisses? Yes.

40. What is your favorite dessert? Sweetwater's chocolate waffle. And their white chocolate cheese cake. And their strawberry shortcake. APL, remember the strawberry shortcake?

41. Who is most likely to do this meme? It seems like everybody's doing it!

42. Who is the least likely to do this meme and comment? Mr. Spock.

43. What books are you reading? The Secret Garden (re-reading again).

44. What's on your mouse pad? No mouse pad.

45. What did you watch on TV last night? West Wing reruns and Miami Animal Police.

46. Favorite smells? My son's neck. Baking bread.

47. Favorite sound? Muffin Man laughing.

48. Rolling Stones or Beatles? Beatles. By a very fine hair.

49. What's the furthest you've been from your home? Japan.

50. Do you have a special talent? I can read and walk at the same time.

51. What is your ring tone? It just rings.

House Rules

Since I have just kicked out another smelly spammer and Phantom Scribbler just posted a fabulous set of Rules for Commenters, I hereby steal hers and thus include this link.

So, uh, yeah. What Phantom Scribbler said.

File Under: TMI

Let's get it on the table that I am not a prude. I performed in the Rocky Horror Picture Show Floor show as Janet, Magenta, Columbia, AND FRANK. I did that for over a year. NOT. A. PRUDE.

But I think that if the bridesmaids are going to invite the bride's future mother-in-law and present sister-in-law to a shower, it's preferable for it not to be themed "Sex Around the House".

I come and stand by every door.

Mr. Spock has a post that reminded me of the song the title of this post is from. It's a song I learned in the first sleep-away camp I went to (ages 7 & 8). Let's call it Camp Guilt.

I come and stand by every door
Though none can hear my silent tread
I knock and yet remain unseen
For I am dead, I am dead

It's about Hiroshima and the children who died there. We sang it every Hiroshima Day and after singing it, we would put origami cranes out to float on the lake. For a long time that was really all I knew about Hiroshima.

Later on, my school took us on a field trip to the UN. There's a fabulous museum there with exhibits on the Holocaust and Hiroshima. One image I'll never forget is a photograph of a sidewalk in Hiroshima with a man's shadow permanently stained onto the concrete. I can't imagine the amount of light and heat it would take to cause that. It's so hard to believe that human beings could create a weapon that can melt rocks, vaporize people and animals, and cause horrific cancers and then use it. It's even harder to believe that we used it twice.

What Kind of Food Am I?

Adding to our nightly ritual is a little routine (during the back-pat phase) called, "tell me all the foods I am."

Me: "Are you my little pumpkin?"
MM: "No." (laughing after each no.)
Me: "Are you my little strawberry?" (really, he should be considering how many of them he eats)
MM: "No."
Me: "Are you my little kumquat?" (don't you love the word "kumquat"?)
MM: "No."
Me: " Are you my little nectarine?"
MM: "No."

This goes on for a while, with him throwing out suggestions for what kind of food he is until finally he says, "That's enough, Mommy."

Me: "Are you my Big [Muffin Man's Real Name] Boy?"
MM: "YES!"

Then we do the whole kissing, hugging, "Night-night" thing and he goes to sleep. When it goes on too long, I have to really cudgel my brains to come up with foods. Often, I suggest pastries. I've actually been reduced to asking if he's a lobster or a veal scallopini. Hey! You've gotta be creative!

D'Oh!!!!

This morning started off pretty good. Mr. Spock and I got up on time, he took a shower, then I took a shower. He started getting Muffin Man ready while I dressed. I was looking sharp in my red suit (pants and blazer, a lovely nose-bleed red) with my black cami underneath the blazer. We go downstairs for breakfast (Kashi Go-Lean Crunch with milk, and coffee. WW 4.5 points.) I take off my blazer so as not to spill skim milk all over it, something I am quite capable of. I clear the table and Mr. Spock and Muffin Man go tootling off to daycare in the Spock-mobile. I lock up the house and head off to work, arriving fifteen minutes later, in good time for my nine o'clock meeting.

Y'all know what happened right? I'm going into detail here. WHAT HAVE I LEFT BACK AT HOME?

The blazer. It's on the back of my chair in the kitchen. It is now 8:35. I don't have time to go back for it. I will have to go to the meeting wearing my red pants and my black cami. I'm mortified. It's not that I don't look okay. I do. It's that, what with my figure and all, a black cami is not...appropriate office wear. It just isn't.

I go to the meeting. As soon as the meeting is over I rush home to get the blazer and rush back. Phew. I resolve to never take it off again.

Which is why there's a big Shepherd's Pie stain on it now.

Interjections!

Muffin Man's new favorite substitute for Aladdin is School House Rock. Always the real reason to watch Saturday morning cartoons for me, I have no objection but...

Now the songs in my head are Interjections and Adjectives...very distracting.

I'm also kind of preoccupied with a project I'm working on. I have to write an essay of more than 150 words about "a significant event or relationship that has influenced [me] during [my] life."

So, do I write about the hold-up, Muffin Man's birth, or the day Mr. Spock proposed to me? I thought about writing about growing up as a child of divorced parents, but let's face it, I'm 36. The divorce is OVER. I'm personally leaning toward the hold-up since it's kind of unique.

Votes?

Finally!

It's about time!

I should buy stock in Kleenex.

I'm sitting here crying for a dog I never met.

He's just a loon.

Me: "Well, Muffin Man, it looks like you're not listening. So I think we just need to go home."
MM (shrieking): "But I want to go to Costco!!!!!"

Also seen at APL's

Overall, Your Observation Skills Get: B+

Your senses are pretty sharp (okay, most of the time) And it takes something big to distract you!

How Observant Are You?

Seen at Angry Pregnant Lawyer's

Your English Skills:

Grammar: 100%

Punctuation: 100%

Spelling: 100%

Vocabulary: 100%

Does Your English Cut the Mustard?

Housekeeping - UPDATED

There's some stuff I need to clean out of my brain:

1. Everybody please head over to Jenn's page to congratulate her for finishing her thesis and defense.

2. Purple Kangaroo is breathlessly anticipating the arrival of her third child, please go over and give her some support.

3. BrooklynGirl is looking for advice, go on over and help her out too.

4. Corndog seems to be having self-esteem issues - can you believe he actually thinks he is writing without humor?

5. I think genevieve (her comment is in there somewhere) should start a blog. She's obviously erudite and witty. All those in favor, say "Aye".

6. Muffin Man was dry all night for the second night in a row, which makes 3 out of 4 nights. I'm giddy.

7. Song that is in my head right now? To the tune of Eine Kline Nachtmusik - "Please don't play your violin at night. Wolfgang, go to bed. Turn out the light. But I must play my violin. At night my violin must be beneath my chin...." From Beethovan's Wig.

8. Updated to add: Welcome KLee to the blogosphere! Very glad to have you in the neighborhood.

And again.

Dry again last night! Twice in 3 days!

Visions of no more diapers dance in my head. It'll be like a pay-raise. No diapers, no doublers. Swoon.

But I'm getting waaaaayyyy ahead of myself here. I know that. I'll jinx it if I fantasize about it too much.

Words to live by.

Mr. Spock took Muffin Man to school this morning. I left before them and MM raced to the front door so he could let me out. Hugs and kisses were given.

Me: "Bye-bye, Muffin Man. I love you."
Him: "Bye-bye, Mommy. I love you too."
Me: "Have a good day."
Him: "Have a good day."
Me: "Be a good listening boy at school."
Him: "Be a good listening girl at your meeting!"

With a start like that, how could my day not go well?

What's the secret?

So it seems the secret to getting your child toilet-trained is a three-step process.

1. Put your child into underwear at his request on Christmas Day. For the next three months, wash 4 loads of laundry daily. Put your child back into Pull-ups.

2. In June, get told by the director of your son's daycare that she wants to move him up into the older class, but can't until he's toilet-trained. Put him back into underwear.

3. Order Toilet Training in Less than a Day from Amazon.com. By the time it gets delivered to your door, your child will be toilet-trained. Truly. I'm surprised I didn't think to order this earlier. Everyone knows that if you spend money on something that should be easy, you will discover that you didn't need to spend the money.

Who's the little man?

Muffin Man stayed dry all night! Whoohoooo!!!!

And boy, was he amazed at how much pee he put in the potty.

The Meme

1. What were three of the stupidest things you have done in your life? Please note, these things were stupid, but I don't regret them. I couldn't be where I am now if I hadn't done them.

a) Dating and moving in with "Snake" during college. 'Nuff said.
b) Leaving college half-way through. See a.
c) Putting off learning to drive until I was 27.

2. At the current moment, who has the most influence in your life?

a) Muffin Man. Followed closely by Mr. Spock.

3. If you were given a time machine that functioned, and you were allowed to only pick up five people to dine with, who would you pick?

a) Jane Austen
b) Georgette Heyer
c) Laura Ingalls Wilder
d) Frances Hodgsen Burnett
e) Josephine Tey

4. If you had three wishes that were not supernatural, what would they be?

a) That everyone would actually learn how to live and let live. No more shooting at each other.
b) That the world in general and my country in particular would make a priority of universal health care. No more dying of curable diseases, no more infant mortality from preventable causes. And oh! No more starving to death while we're at it.
c) I'll talk to Mr. Spock about this one later.

5. Someone is visiting your hometown/place where you live at the moment. Name two things you regret your city not having, and two things people should avoid.

Regret:
a) That there is no viable public transportation to get from where I live into downtown DC.
b) We need a closer bookstore.

Avoid:
a) The Beltway. Especially on a rainy Thursday evening.
b) The weird little pub across the street.

6. Name one event that has changed your life. There are many, many answers to this one. Hard to choose just one.

a) When I was in my early 20's, I got hugely angry with MakesBooksForGrandkids and, by extension, SingsLullabys. I was so angry that I stopped talking to them. A month went by, then two. I couldn't communicate my anger, I couldn't communicate with them at all. After a point, it got so that I couldn't pick up the phone when I wanted to. What was I going to say? "Sorry I've been avoiding you like the plague"?

The upshot was I went into therapy so that I could re-establish communication with them. I missed them. I was angry but I didn't want to cut them out of my life. After 6 months of therapy and 10 months of no contact, I was finally able to write a letter to my dad. I stayed in therapy for over 3 years.

I infinitely regret the pain of that separation, but it was a huge catalyst for change in my life. My therapist helped me get my shit together in so many ways. I honestly could never have been in this marriage, could never have been the mom I am, could never have achieved a healthy adult relationship with my parents if I hadn't spent that time in counselling.

7. Tag 3 people.

Mr. Spock
Preludes and Nocturnes
Angry Pregnant Lawyer (have you been tagged yet?)

Lunchtime at the new job

While I now have a desk and a computer, I don't have any developer software yet and so can't do my job. I do have some specs to read and I am reading them, but boy howdy! I'm dying for some work here!

Oh! And I still don't have a phone.

Spent part of the afternoon yesterday in the neighborhood kid-friendly pool with Muffin Man. We mostly bounced up and down in the deep end (4'6'' deep) and we went underwater once! He did some good floating (holding on to his noodle for dear life, while I held on to the noodle.) I must figure out a way to carve out enough time to get him swimming lessons.

Yesterday evening, after we got home from the pool, he said he needed to go pee. So he left Mr. Spock and me in his room and we listened while he went trotting down the hall to our bathroom (which shares a wall with his bedroom).

We heard him:

Raise the toilet seat
Tinkle
Roll out some toilet paper
Flush
Put the seat and lid back down
Move his foot-stool (actually his old potty)
Turn on the water
Grab the soap (the metal soap dish is rather noisy)
Sing the Alphabet song
Turn off the water
Pause (we assumed he dried his hands)
Trot back to his bedroom.

We were so proud and praised him to the skies.

Coming soon: The meme Andrea tagged me with.

I'm here! I'm here!

Just busy at home, still computerless at work, and working on that Meme that Andrea tagged me with. At my last job I could read y'all while I was eating lunch at work, but this week, not only do I not have a computer at work, I'm sitting in my boss's office. And while you'd think that having a shorter commute would mean I'd have more time at home to read y'all, I'm actually using the extra time to spend with my son.

So I'll be doing more writing this weekend and in the meantime, big hugs to you all. You are truly very dear to me. I miss you when you don't update and I feel lonely when you're on vacation.

And to Mr. Spock, I love you loads.

Okay, I am allowed to bring the 'fridge.

Still no desk, no phone, no computer. Got an e-mail address, but no way to look at e-mail.

But who cares? Fifteen Minutes! In RUSH HOUR!!!!

Nu? Job?

No badge, no desk, no computer, no phone, no 'fridge, no microwave. Not allowed to bring my cute little Sharper Image 'fridge from home.

But who cares? Fifteen minutes from my house, people!!!!

How much time did it take?

A little under 7 hours!
To do what?
Finish Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince.
And?
Pretty good for a book that would have been better if it were only half as long.....

It's under discussion at Phantom Scribbler's.

Visitors

TellsDonaldDuckStories and QuiltsAlot are here for a visit. TDDS has already lived up to his name.

Muffin Man was eager to show off his new potty skills and his tastefully decorated room (he put up his own artwork all by himself which goes very nicely with the stickers that now adorn his changing station (rewards for potty successes). I'll post a picture soon.)

Yesterday, while he was upstairs hanging his pictures, I was downstairs starting dinner.

"Mommy!"
"Yes?"
"What are you doing?"
"I'm making noodles with pesto."
....
"Mommy!"
"Yes?"
"Can I have noodles with pesto, too?"
"Yes."
"But there's no hurry, Mama."

And he ate it all, too.

What's the word?

Please leave a one-word comment that you think best describes me. It can only be one word. No more. Then copy & paste this in your blog so that I may leave a word about you.

from Beanie Baby (see Andrea? I got around to it eventually!)

I'm a Ravenclaw too!

I'm a Ravenclaw!

spotted at Phantom Scribbler's

POOP! (Warning...contains graphic description of grossness)

He tried. Really, he tried. But he thought he could do the poop thing the way he does the pee thing.

Standing up. Only, y'know, facing in the other direction.

And, as I've said before, he likes his privacy. So I didn't know. I swear to God, I didn't know he was gonna try this.

Then he yelled, "Mama!!!! POOPY!!!! Mama!!!!!"

Now, to give him credit, half did get into the toilet (and boy howdy, the size of that thing!) and half was on the floor at the foot of the toilet, after having slid down the front of the toilet leaving a trail behind.

There was poop on his butt, on his legs, on his feet, on his shorts, his Nemo underpants, his suspenders, his hands, his tummy, his penis, the sink, the towel, and the wall. Thank goodness he'd taken off his shoes and socks when we got home.

I used wipes and more wipes and more wipes. And then the toilet overflowed.

Hey, I told you, it was BIG.

Bathtime!

I can't pick one...

One of my managers is a minister. He doesn't have a church, so he considers our team to be his "flock". Every week he tacks on a homily to the end of the agenda for the weekly staff meeting. The agenda that goes out not only to our internal team, but also to our clients.

Following are some summaries of the two most hideous:

1. PG-13 and R rated movies are like "dog poop brownies" ("Now when this father's kids want to do something or see something they shouldn't, he merely asks them if they would like some of his special dog poop brownies -- and they never ask about it again.")

2. "Help Is Sometimes A Deterrent". This wonderful bit of word-smithing came out for the meeting after a shit-bomb that we had warned all our managers about months in advance finally went off. The tag line in that little beauty? "Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If we went through our life without any obstacles, it would cripple us."

Yeah. Thanks. Next time, maybe you'll listen to us. (uh, that would be a "no.")

Well now, that's better.

He was back to being Cooperative Boy last night and this morning. Phew. He even leaned back in the bathtub to get his hair wet (with my hand under his back). That was a definite no-no in the past. But last night he wanted to do it - and then he wanted to do it again! Yay!

Gotta start packing up my stuff from my lovely windowed office here at my current job to move to my new job. I'm looking forward to the new job and better commute, but boy will I ever miss this office.

Proud, yet exasperated.

On the plus side: Muffin Man is potty trained, he likes his "privacy" when he's doing his thing. He pees standing up. At the real, honest-to-goodness toilet! He wipes. He washes his hands (with a reminder, and a bit of supervision). He flushes. He's such a big boy!!!!

With every silver lining, a cloud:

He's being a real pain in my ass.
"I don't want that shirt - I want this shirt! NO! NOT THE SHIRT I JUST SAID! THE OTHER ONE!"
"I want my Nemo underwear, not that Nemo underwear! The OTHER Nemo underwear!"
"NOOOOOOOO!!!"

And that's just this morning.

I'm giving him alot of leeway because of the whole potty thing, but he's still resorting to hitting. And then he laughs at me. And that just drives me flipping crazy.

And he's normally such a sweetie. A loving, hugging, kissing boy. Seriously, he says and does the most wonderful things. Most of the time.

I like Phantom Scribbler's way of dealing with LG today. Perhaps I'll try that tomorrow.

Busy, busy weekend

Saturday morning: SoupAndBread followed by a visit with APL & AB. So much fun!

Saturday afternoon: Naps all around, followed by a visit to Wegman's and dinner.

Sunday morning: Brunch, followed by meeting up with Mr. Spock's sister, her friend, and her friend's two kids at the mall to go shopping for clothes for Muffin Man and friend's son to wear at Mr. Spock's sister's wedding this Labor Day weekend. They are going to be ring-bearers.

Sunday afternoon: Sent Mr. Spock and Muffin Man home for nap, continued shopping.

Sunday evening: Dinner at sister-in-law's house, followed by bath for MM and bed (I finished tucking him in at 10:00 PM!)

Results of shopping: Very good. Got complete outfit for MM.

PT Update: Dry all day 10 days in a row!!!

Oh. My. God. London, I love you.

Read this from the London News Review.

Found via Underpaid Kept Woman.

I still don't want to talk about it.

But Susie Sunshine says it well and so does Scrivener and Angry Pregnant Lawyer and OTBKB.

More Meeting Haiku

Donuts smell so good
Chocolate covered, cream-filled
Fried yeasty goodness.

I'm so not hungry
Why are they...mmmm....tempting me?
Can't I have one bite?

Stop. Don't look, don't touch.
Breathe deep. Remember your goals.
Please, please, don't eat them.

I don't want to talk about it.

And anyway, Phantom Scribbler said it best.

Caught Me

"If, as you live your life, you find yourself mentally composing blog entries about it, post this exact same sentence in your weblog."

seen first at 1B*.

An Open Letter to My Parents

I know you read this blog. How come you never comment?

You may have noticed that I blogged incessantly about your youngest grandson this week. He has crossed a major milestone! Have you nothing to say about that? Come on, come on. Speak up!

Boy, Do I Feel Sheepish

The Phantom Professor has a quiz on her blog that she gave to Sophomores and Juniors at her college.

I'm embarrassed to say that I did not get all of the answers right. One of the three I got wrong I blame on my (mostly dormant) Brooklyn accent.

Houston, We Have Contact!

Dry Days in a Row: 4
Pee standing up?: Check.
Poop in the potty?: Check.
Sitting on the BIG GROWN-UP potty and shunning the little potty?: Check and check.

Go Muffin Man! Go!

So, why the new job?

My current job, the one I'm leaving, is a pretty good one. I've only got the usual amount of headaches from clueless managers (including the one who attaches a sermon to the staff meeting agenda each week). So why am I leaving?

I live in Ashburn, VA - ten minutes west of Dulles Airport. Ashburn is in Loudoun County, the fastest-growing county in the country. I work in Merrifield, just inside the Beltway. If I worked Saturdays I could get to work in 25 minutes.

But I don't work Saturdays. I work weekdays and so does everyone else in this part of the world (our region has been consistantly in the top three worst-traffic regions for the last 5 years). My commute can take anywhere from 35 minutes on an exceptionally good day to 2 hours on an exceptionally bad day. Most days it takes about an hour each way.

My new job is just south of the Dulles Airport. I see the building I'll be working at out the passenger-side window of my car on my commute each morning. The morning of my interview with them it took me 15 minutes in rush-hour to get there. I arrived 45 minutes early (I wasn't taking any chances!).

My worst commuting days will probably never take as long as my best commuting days do now.

I can't begin to describe how much stress I've let go of since agreeing to take the job. Since I'll be hourly for the first 6 months, I could work an hour of PAID over-time every day and still get home earlier than I do now!

Excited/Nervous - Updated

Excited

New job! Short commute! Yay!

Nervous

Muffin Man was dry all day yesterday and today went on the potty at brunch and again before nap! Yay! After we flushed the before nap one down he wanted to go again, very insistant. I thought it was stalling, but...so I let him sit again and it was about 15 minutes and I was getting annoyed and told him to call me when he was done and left the room for awhile and then he got upset and he did pee in the potty after all. So I'm nervous that I may have made him think that the potty's not such a great thing. I hope I didn't make a mistake there.

Update: Seems he's not been inhibited by my before-nap grumps. We had success this afternoon and before bed.

PT Update - Starting to look really good!

Muffin Man stayed dry all day! Went to the potty before and after nap at school and before bed just now!

YAY!!!!!

Stickers and toys!!!

PT Update - Cautiously Ecstatic

Muffin Man went in the potty at school! I was so proud and he was so proud and so I asked him, "What would you like for dinner? You're a big boy who went pee in the potty, so you can choose."
"Pizza. I want to eat pizza at the pizza store." he answered.

So we went to Bravo Pizza and ate pizza (mediocre, but they sell it by the slice) and half-way through he said, "I need to make pee-pee."

So I took him to the rest room and he said, "You first, Mommy."

So I went first and then he pulled down his pants and put the portable seat on the toilet and I lifted him up onto the grown-up seat and...

He peed in the grown-up toilet in the bathroom at the pizzaria!

Strawberry ice-cream cones for everybody!!!!