FB (FunBits aka FaceBook posts) plus some extra misc.


Always in progress... 
05.10.2011: Tonight Scott taught Liam how to text message on his phone. I was initially touched that Liam chose me to be the recipient of his very first text message. As it turned out, the message said "Poop." It was followed by another, which said "Butt." And a third, which said "Number 3." (L & his friend discovered what #1 & #2 mean, so they made up #s 3-8 as well. When in doubt, try out the dirty stuff on your mom first.
05.09.2011: Foodie-impostor-poll: Is it ever appropriate to substitute bologna for mortadella? (It would be like how, in the midwest, we sometimes make lasagna with cottage cheese instead of ricotta. Or at least we did in the 80s. I'm sure it's completely different now.)
05.07.2011: Mother's Day school assignment: describe your mother's hair. L: "My mom's hair smells like coffee. It's brown but she dyes it orange reddish. It's also straight but she has to comb it. It's brown sometimes, but it's usually orange." Yes. I color my hair. Now we all know.
04.29.2011: Prince William in full dress uniform (with hat) riding in a carriage and saluting. Ohmygod. My inner five year old princess (not to mention the inner randy teenager--come on folks, let's be honest) is in love. Regardless of how you feel about the monarchy, there's really nothing like a man in a uniform. Damn.
04.26.2011: Overheard in the Target restroom: "...and you know me, I can make it to Richmond without having to stop. Not like Bob. He has to stop 3 times between here & the Poconos. Anymore, I just see or hear a bathroom & I gotta stop." All this & more shouted by some woman to her friend in the next stall while I washed my hands. I thought about shouting "Have you or Bob seen a doctor?" but I just dried my hands and left.
04.18.2011: Tonight as I kissed Liam's little forehead & said "I love you honey, sweet dreams" he raised both hands up to my face & flipped me the double bird. Then he snorted & laughed uncontrollably. "What does that mean?" I said. "It's bad." He said. "Did you learn it from one of your little friends?" "A kid did that & got in trouble today." "Oh, so you thought you'd try it out on your mother?" "Yeah."
04.15.2011: I know what the American people need. The American people need pedicures. Went to L's belt promotion ceremony at karate tonight & all guests had to take our shoes off. The horror! Came home & conducted self-administered pedicure straightaway. And if you care about America you will do so too.
04.05.2001: After school today Liam casually mentioned that he's "actually a magical robot." This is in addition to being the African American son of Poseidon with Super Speed and Night Vision. Clearly he's inherited my best features.
04.04.2011: Robert Frost keeps following me around these days, like someone pressed "repeat" on the iPod in my head.
"Nature's first green is gold,/Her hardest hue to hold./Her early leaf's a flower;/But only so an hour..."
The poem gets rather more depressing after that, as you probably know, but I love it anyway. Happy Spring! (followed by inevitable swift decline...)
04.02.2011: Tonight's wine pairing tip: Had a long day? Treating yourself to that extra glass or two of cheap red wine tonight? Try pairing it with Goldfish crackers for a little something special! You've earned it! And let's face it, desperate women do desperate things. There's no shame in that at all.
03.13.2011: Seven years ago this afternoon I went into labor with a certain red-haired child. Today, I went into the bowling alley with 12 (wonderful) children for this child's seventh birthday party. As I sit here with a nice, stiff drink and two Advil, I can't decide which was more grueling: the fourteen hours of labor or the two hours of bowling. Either way, it was worth it :) Happy Birthday (tomorrow) to my best little guy.
03.01.2011: Today: "Mom, there was good news & bad news at school today. The bad news is that a purple thing disappeared from my desk & reappeared in my nose. The good news is that I sniffed it out ok. I was trying to make it reappear at home but I said the wrong words I guess." I still don't really understand what happened, but at least the purple thing got sniffed out ok.
02.23.2011: If art is the sun at the center of my universe, it is Liam’s Pluto, which isn’t even considered a planet anymore. He wants nothing to do with it. Tonight's homework: look in a mirror & draw a picture of your smile. Liam read the directions &, in 5 seconds flat, drew a circle with 2 dots for eyes and squares for teeth. Me: "Do you want a mirror?" Liam: "No." Me: "Do you have a nose?" (L draws third dot.) Me: "What about ears or hair?” (Draws 2 semi-circles and some lines for hair.) Me: "Do you want to color it?" L: "No. I'm done." Me: “Ok.”
02.22.2011: While my feelings about unions are usually lukewarm due to potential abuse of their true function, in this case I send enthusiastic kudos out to my fb friends & their friends who have been protesting at the Capitol. (Gus, this means you :) You make me proud to be from America's Dairyland. Keep it up! My folks may be on their way down to join you...
02.13.2011: Today, overhead from the back seat of the car. Liam's friend: "Hey, where was your cat? I didn't see your cat today." Liam: "He's dead." Friend: "He died?" Liam: "Yeah, he died because his kidneys didn't work & they burned his body up. He's ashes now." Friend: "Oh. That's sad. What do you call a fish who doesn't breathe?" Liam: "A dead fish." Friend: "Yes! How did you guess?!"
02.07.2011: The hardest part of pet ownership is when it comes to an end. Rest in peace Earl Grey; I'm so sorry you had bum kidneys. The second hardest part is explaining it to your child. Ugh, what a day.
02.06.2011: If the Packers don't win the Super Bowl my husband will pop a stroke, which will be a real big pain in the ass for me. He'll be crabby & sorry for himself all week. On the other hand if they win he'll be an insufferable braggart until next year. Hmmm. Looks like I lose either way... But then, I suppose the Super Bowl isn't actually about me. (Later that night: Hubris it is.)
02.01.2011: Gave myself a haircut this evening. Sure did. Not easy with such short hair. Bit tricky round the ears. Blind faith in the back. Some spots are thinner than others. Perhaps it's artsy. But you know, I had such a great time.
01.22.2011: I would like to tell you that when I lost track of Scott & Liam in Ikea today I spent five panicked minutes with their sweet faces flashing before my eyes. If only I could deny that I stood blissful and still, wrapped in precious, silent solitude, as humanity (who wasn't asking me for anything and who wasn't quoting 1980s movie lines) streamed past me. But alas, if I told you that, Dear Reader, I would be a liar.
01.17.2011: "Mommy, did you know that some people think that when people die they go to heaven & become (wait for it...) zombies?" Now, I admit we're utterly laissez faire about religion in our house, so theoretically we encourage such displays of free thinking. But in this case I may try to clarify a few points...
01.15.2011: In addition to being the son of Poseidon (please refer to earlier post), Liam has revealed that he is actually African American. I tried to sound supportive, but I felt obliged to point out that your ancestors have to be from Africa for you to be African American. He firmly countered my logic with "I have powers other people don't have, Mom, so I actually am African American. I have Super Vision too." "Ok," I said.
01.01.2011: Just wrestled Christmas back into its boxes and I'm not sorry.
12.23.2010: Funny, I don't remember asking for a head cold for Christmas.
12.21.2010: I've been singing bedtime songs to L for nearly 7 yrs now, & his favorite has always been Silent Night. So tonight he interrupts & asks me what a "virgin" is. My response was thoughtfully inadequate. He has now forbidden me to sing "round yon virgin," and had instead requested the far "less gross" "round yon Mary." Naked Boy is suddenly Mr. Prudey Pants.
12.06.2010: Happy St. Nicholas Day to those who know what I'm talking about. Hope your stockings/shoes were filled to overflowing last night!
11.23.2010: Big Day! We finally flushed Swimmy the Fish this morning. To review, Swimmy left this world last March and has been camped out in a Ziploc in our freezer ever since, mostly due to me forgetting he was there. But he fell out AGAIN this morning when I went for the waffles, and that was IT. We peeled him out of the bag, said some kind words, and down he went. Dead fish pet out of freezer: check.
11.19.2010: Poor L has had a wicked cold all week, which culminated in losing his voice yesterday morning. He asked me in a very concerned whisper if he'd have to start going to the School for the Deaf now because he couldn't talk. Sheesh. Amusing, but it just broke my heart. The world is so scary and unpredictable when you're 6-3/4 (and not much better when you're 35-1/2.)

11.15.2010: Watch out world, L's thinking ahead to fatherhood. He plans to spell his child's name ENTIRELY IN CAPITAL LETTERS. God I love this kid.

11.13.2010: L & I drove home from the pizza joint last night in our sensible Honda Fit. Windows down, Beastie Boys blaring, Liam improv rapping out the window something about "raccoon buttcracks" while I was doing the "wutcha wutcha wutcha want...yeah." Technically I know this is inappropriate behavior, especially for a mother and her 6 yr old son. But man it was a good time. Right ON.

11.11.2010: For several months now, every time we turn on our tv it is tuned to the "Inspiration Network." We're not doing this. I've consulted professionals and checked settings, and still it's on every time. At 8:30pm they show The Waltons. This Friday there is a Very Special Episode: Sissy Spacek's breakout television role. She plays with John Boy's affections. Not to be missed!

11.02.2010: Pressed the buttons as hard as I could in the voting booth today... Unfortunately I could only push them once. L suggested that we could go back again later today since I like voting so much, which led to an interesting discussion of the finer points of voting and thinking for yourself. (And reading and understanding our constitution, especially if you are running for Senate, but I digress...)

10.31.2010: So as long as we're on the topic of odd goodie bag items, we had some interesting trick-or-treating this evening. There's a very nice, but vaguely odd man who lives down the street. Tonight he handed out mysterious paper bags marked "Beware of Contents," which I assumed would contain mysterious unwrapped baked goods. We were all dying to know, so we ripped open the bag as soon as we got home and found a single, unsharpened, #2 yellow pencil. Mysterious in its own way I suppose... Bless him for trying.


10.27.2010: Cereal. It's what's for dinner.

10.09.2010: L recently returned home from a birthday party with the requisite bag o' goodies, which had not yet been ransacked. In this bag I found: a few Blow Pops, some bubble gum, jelly beans, some old-looking chocolate Easter eggs with their foil half off (remember, it's October...), an orange vitamin C drop, and three Halls Honey Lemon cough drops. Oh my God. Maybe they forgot to go to the store in time.

10.07.2010: Last night I had a dream in which I looked absolutely fabulous in a red bikini. As far as I can remember that was the only point of the dream. I went on to have another dream in which I could not find my favorite mascara. I like to think I'm deeper than this, but I just don't know anymore. Also, I was wearing the red bikini at the YMCA. Why look fabulous at the beach, when you could look fabulous at the YMCA?

09.28.2010: Today's hot gossip: Liam tells me he has to split up with Caitlin because Andrew said you can only have one girlfriend at a time and today Madison is his girlfriend. L says Madison sucks her thumb but he doesn't mind. I told him it was kind of him to accept her just how she is. Today's lesson: kindness and acceptance. Tomorrow's lesson: what not to do with your girlfriend.

09.21.2010: Today has proven to me once again that parenthood is equal parts utter humility, dark sense of humor, and iron-clad control over one's gag reflex. I spent the morning giving a presentation to a graduate seminar and was feeling really smart and relevant to my field. Thirty minutes later I got a call from the school nurse  telling me that dear L had been sitting on the potty for almost an hour and they were becoming alarmed. I tried to convince her (in some detail) that this was normal for him and I asked if he was singing to himself. But it didn't work out so I had to go and pick up my constipated little one early. Let's just say the afternoon was filled with "plum" juice, Q-tips, Vaseline, latex gloves, and a warm bath. And now my dear child is happily dreaming in comfort while I relive my graphic conversation with the school nurse, not to mention the rest of the afternoon. That's true love my friends.

08.26.2010: "Girls can work a grill too you know.": how I concluded this evening's conversation with my 80 yr old neighbor. Other evenings' conclusions have included: "No I didn't know you sleep with a gun," "It's not really and Injun tepee, it's for my pole beans," and "Some of my favorite people happen to be gay and I'd love it if they were my child's teachers." He usually follows up with make-up food gifts, like bologna.

08.20.2010: Yesterday at the neighborhood pool L poked me in the chest and said "Did you know those things will help you float?" I think there's a buoys/boobies mix-up.

08.02.2010: Ugh. Ended up in the ER at A.I du Pont Children's Hospital last night with the e.a.r. Poor kid. Apparently L's ear canal was so swollen that the drops weren't getting in, and the infection moved right on in to his middle ear as well. After two bad nights, he seems to be resting peacefully now. Fingers crossed that it continues. And still nothing from Poseidon, the jerk. He could at least call.

08.01.2010: I'm sorry to report that L & I did not Sweat of the Oldies yesterday due to an earache & subsequent dr visit. Despite being up most of the night with a painful case of swimmer's ear, Liam informed Grandma and me this morning that his father is actually Poseidon, god of the sea. Scott seemed surprised and I myself have no memory of an encounter with Poseidon of any kind.

07.31.2010: L & I have a date to Sweat of the Oldies later today. I don't think I'll be able to keep it up for a full two hours--we'll see though. Richard Simmons can be quite engaging.

07.30.2010: So apparently Liam and my mom have been doing Richard Simmons' "Sweatin' to the Oldies II" all week (only L calls it "Sweatin' of the Oldies"). When I got home from work yesterday he told me he could do Sweatin' of the Oldies for two hours straight and he lost 800 pounds. Damn.


07.10.2010: Tonight. South Philly Ikea. The loudspeaker announces a "Code 90 in Bedding." Wow! My imagination, always ready for a walk in the underbelly, flies in a million directions. What on earth is a Code 90... in BEDDING?!? But I'm embedded in self-service furniture, Aise 29, Bin 14. I may have to Google it. Update: Thankfully a friend found out that it's a "Code 99" and it means a parent reported a missing child.

06.16.2010: I had a lovely birthday with family and friends. Liam thoughtfully gave me two packs of Silly Bandz (the prize he covets most) and then, in his excitement, he took half of them for himself. I gave myself a tattoo. THAT, at least, is all mine. I chose a stylized henna-looking medallion of edelweiss (the flower) because Liam and I sing Eidelweiss (the song) before bed every night. And what's the one thing I can count on never changing? How much I love that time with him. The tattoo and I will, of course, continue to sag together, but I don't mind.

06.12.2010: I was temporarily overcome with guilt and now we're watching the kindergarten class pets for the summer--Hermie the hermit crab and Cutie the hamster--though if one were a stickler for accuracy they would both be named Stinky. (Actually, if one were a stickler for accuracy one might also say that Cutie is a gerbil, but really, whatever.)

06.05.2010: In the past 3 days two of L's friends have told me that the tooth fairy gave them $100 for their first tooth. One. Hundred. American. Dollars. I feel this is insane. I'm afraid my dear son has been assigned the Rational Tooth Fairy...

05.22.2010: Why, yes! That was me you saw wandering into the men's room at the restaurant this evening! My apologies, once again, to the friendly fellow at the sink.

05.10.2010: UPDATE: as of 8:26 pm last night we came full circle and my status as Best Mother in the World was restored (and I didn't even get my underpants pulled down, which really wouldn't have been good for anyone). After bedtime books and songs I kissed L goodnight, thanked him for such a wonderful Mother's Day, and told him I was so happy to be his mother. This gush of maternal love was apparently enough to right all wrongs, and I was once again granted superlative status. Today's challenge: the dentist.


05.09.2010: At 7:14 this morning I was crowned Best Mother in the World. I am sorry to report, however, that at 5:33pm my favorability rating fell sharply. I am currently the Worst Mother in the World. Furthermore, if we can't go to a restaurant tonight I will have my "underpants pulled down" by my only son, who has sworn never to speak to me again. I feel I'm being jerked around.

05.03.10: Liam, at dinner this evening: "Mommy, did you know that Andrew's mommy used to work at K-Mart but she got fired? Then she worked there again, but she got fired again, and if she ever tries to work there again she has to go to jail. I think her boss fired her because he thinks she's ugly, but I don't think she is."

04.28.2010: A man hanged himself from a tree next to the playground at L's school today. This is sad and distressing on many levels. School staff handled the situation very well and L seems ok - mostly oblivious, thank goodness.

04.24.2010: Planted the garden today! Lettuce, beets, peas, beans, cukes, spinach, tomatoes, herbs, onions, and broc. Amazing how a year's worth of kitchen scraps has turned into a big pile of gorgeous compost filled with fruit stickers we forgot to remove. We seem to eat a lot of bananas...

04.13.2010: Opened the freezer tonight to retrieve some pea soup and out jumped Swimmy the Fish in his Ziploc bag. Better get on that...

04.11.2010: Just flew back from Wisconsin today. Wonderful time with the family. The temperatures, not so much, especially with the snow on Wednesday. As we stepped out of the Philly airport this afternoon I was delighted to peel off a coat, a scarf, and two sweaters (which still left a long-sleeved shirt). It's spring!

04.02.2010: The Easter Bunny almost forget to get the goods this year. Close call. Managed to find a chocolate bunny that wasn't cracked in half at Rite Aid, and K-Mart had a sock monkey and some jelly beans. Easter Regained. Plus The Ten Commandments movie is on right now. My absolute favorite (can't explain it). But I just love it when Moses comes down from the mountain with fabulous blow-dried hair.

03.21.2010: This morning Liam informed the pediatrician that he caught a cold from Caitlin when she breathed on his face with bad breath. He further stated that instead of blowing his nose he likes to sniff in hard and use his thumb to remove extras. I had to sit there and smile like an ass and agree to work harder on nose-blowing. As it turns out, he now has a sinus infection from his self-styled booger-handling technique. (I love this kid so much - it never ends. What a wonderful, silly little guy.)

03.14.2010: Best line overheard at L's 6th birthday party this afternoon: "Hey guys! Guys! GUYS! Hey guys! Raise your hand if you're evil!"

03.10.2010: Rest in peace, Swimmy the Fish. We've been on death watch for months, but the old boy just wouldn't give in until today. So far Swimmy is in the freezer. We didn't want to head out into the back yard with a shovel in the dark last night and Liam didn't want to flush him, so we compromised and wrote "Swimmy" on a Ziploc bad and froze him. We'll bury him when it stops raining. (Note: 11.19.2010: Swimmy is still in the freezer.)

02.24.2010: Yoga, and math, are hard.

02.16.2010: Apparently, when describing his paper bag mask of a Wild Thing to his kindergarten class today, L earnestly pointed out that the black feathers on top are the eyebrows, and the black feather on the bottom is the penis. Evidently the teacher, like me, was "laughing so much" and "didn't even say it was innapohpeeit." They hung it on the classroom wall for a week. Long live art!

02.13.2010: ohmygodifwedon'tgetoutofthehousesoonwe'reallgoingtokilleachother

02.10.2010: Good thing I'm a wicked good snow-shoveler and we have a micro-driveway. Better thing that Liam's friend lives just a few doors down so I don't have to play Lego-Batman-Star Wars-Super Mario-Aliens in the Blanket Fort all day (or at this rate, all week). I'm only good for a few minutes with that...

02.08.2010: And I, I took the car with all-wheel drive and that has made all the difference. Bring it on snowstorms, you can't scare me. For once in my life I have an all-wheel-drive car, and good tires, and my top-notch, homely waterproof boots from Our Wisconsin Homeland. If only they'd open the damn schools I could use all this stuff.

02.07.2010: Just ventured through the snowdrifts to K-Mart (!) and was greeted by a display of kiddie swimming pools and assorted patio furniture. Hope springs eternal, especially in retail.

01.26.2010: Miss Delaware read to Liam's class last week, and my little orange-haired chatter box made it onto her website - in a photo of him in his gray shirt and sweatpants talking to her as the rest of the class observes with interest. I wonder what he was saying... Probably something like "Do you know what? Do you know what? Do you know what? Today I'm wearing my gray SuperSuit so do you know what? I can turn things into stone." I love this kid.


01.24.2010: Lo! What evil lurks in the back of my fridge? The moment of truth is upon.

01.17.2010: Glad to see that the winter Olympics are scheduled for late Feb. Nothing beats luge doubles for getting out of a late winter slump.

01.11.2010: Things I kinda wish I'd known: if you want to have a kid and there's even a slim chance both parents will work outside the home, be sure that either a) someone who loves you enough to watch your sick kid (grandma) lives really nearby, or b) you have enough money to pay someone to love enough to watch your sick kid. Not that I wouldn't have done what I did. I just might have been more strategic.

01.09.2010: I got the grocery shopping done, vegetables chopped, laundry started, and football season is almost over. Things are heading in a good direction...

01.01.2010: Happy New Year! It was the first New Year's Eve I saw midnight since L was born, I think. The Giffords brought over a breathelizer - it was informative... Scott still won't shut up about being .03 after more alcohol than he's seen since L was born. With all the strutting and feathers, you'd think he was in the Mummers' Parade.

12.31.2009 L & I were driving up the strip mall hell of Concord Pike today. Liam: What's Men's Wearhouse? Me: It's a store where men go to get suits. Liam: When I'm a man, I'm going to get my super hero suit at Men's Wearhouse.

12.21.2009: Schools are closed again tomorrow! I can't believe this! What a crock of poo! Even our neighborhood is plowed and we're usually one of the last. Ridiculous!

12.20.2009: Schools are closed already for tomorrow. I just can't believe it.

12.13.2009: Normally I love rainy days. But today the roads are slippery, the fire in the fireplace won't stay lit, my feet won't get warm, and everyone is edgy. I think I'll make a cup of tea and think about spring rain.

10.15.2009: Scott's wisdom teeth are out, Liam's fever is gone, and I can't wait to go back to work tomorrow. I'll add that to the list of things I thought I'd never say, along with "here's your dinner Liam, now go watch tv."

10.12.2009: Sooooooo sick of watching Scooby Doo.

10.11.2009: I have a little boy with a fever, upset stomach, chest congestion, cough, runny nose, and sore throat. I think I can guess what this is (H1N1) -  and I don't want it! Poor kid. Good thing I dropped $20 on Scooby Doo movies at Blockbuster yesterday.

09.04.2009: This old guy gave me a really hard time at the park today about having only one child. Apparently I appear "young" and "able," so clearly I should want more children.

08.29.2009: Few things are more beautiful than children chasing bubbles at an outdoor summer concert. Almost zen-like. It was a completely happy evening.

08.23.2009: Yeah, we went to the circus today. It was hot under the big top. Everyone was sweating. Not everyone used Dial. Especially not the elephants. But at least we spent a lot of money.

08.07.2009: I'll be watching another Batman movie with The Boys tonight. I'm seriously outnumbered in this household. Even the cat and fish are boys. Perhaps I'll give myself a manicure during the movie, just to balance things out a bit.

08.03.2009: I'm the proud mother of "that kid." You know, the one who puked in the pool tonight and made everyone get out. My apologies to the kid behind us who wailed "But I just got here."

07.29.2009: I don't recommend setting a mousetrap under one's kitchen stove and then forgetting about it for a few months. At least we got the little varmint, a few weeks ago, or so...

07.25.2009: L & S just left for a birthday party and I have three whole hours to myself. I am afraid. I don't know what to do with this rare and precious time. I feel I should do something monumental and worthwhile like write a novel. But I really want to take a nap.

07.20.2009: Took the day off work to catch up on household chores and cooking. Yes, that's right. I am a fabulous and interesting person, with a fabulous and interesting life.

07.18.2009: Just ate three cherry tomatoes right off the vine with rain still on them!

07.04.2009: Just drove through Maryland from DC to Delaware at dusk this evening. Big fireworks must not be illegal in Maryland because they were everywhere. It was fantastic - like a moving fireworks show for miles and miles. The best part was random explosions over Baltimore - very Star Spangled Banner!

06.29.2009: Harvested from our very own garden and ate for dinner this very evening: yellow wax beans, the sweetest peas ever, lettuce, arugula, and a cucumber! (Liam had grilled cheese and mandarin oranges.)

06.19.2009: I really love the Kennett Square farmers' market. I got the most beautiful flowers, pies, and tomatoes this afternoon.

06.02.2009: Really groovin' on Tom Waits these days. He doesn't know this, but we made falafel together on Monday night. He screeched and I ran the food processor. Excellent all around.

05.13.2009: Just spent two peaceful hours weeding and watering my garden without once being asked to engage in a light saber battle. I feel so human!

04.25.2009: Finished planting garden this morning.

04.19.2009: Excellent visit with Mom and Dad. Wish they lived closer.

04.05.2009: Worried about my little guy's fever. It's just a cold, but I worry and worry anyway. Why can't I be more laid back?

03.21.2009: An engineer husband is very useful when constructing terraced garden boxes in one's yard. He uses words like "level" and "structurally sound."

03.11.2009: Constructing a light saber birthday cake.

03.25.2009: No idea what to make for dinner, and I really don't care. But I love my new glasses.

03.07.2009: So excited about the new backyard garden I spent all day constructing.

03.02.2009: L & I both have colds on this snowy day, but it's nice to snuggle up on the couch together and watch movies.

02.20.2009: Sooooo sick of hearing about Star Wars. Maybe there will be a new obsession soon.

02.11.2009: Spectacular light saber battle with two 5-yr-olds today. Apparently I played the part of Yoda but lost anyway. I thought Yoda always won...

02.01.2009: Just made secret ingredient pancakes for L: whipped tofu, vegetable puree of peas, beans, corn, sweet potatoes, whole wheat flour.

11.30.2008: Trying to give consistent answers to L's questions about Santa Claus.

11.05.2008: Thrilled about the election on many levels.

10.04.2008: L & I waited in line for 40 mins for cider doughnuts today. Worth. It.

09.29.2008: Gushing with pride over Liam's promotion from beltless newbie to white belt in karate class today.

09.21.2008: A 3-day, 2-nt summer vacation was perfect for us this year. Enough to see new sights, but another day and we probably would have thrown ourselves off Mt Pocono.