America Is Reeling! Or Maybe It's Just Me. Still, It's Just Wrong!

Guess who doesn't have a conflict about what to watch on Monday night anymore. Seriously? Sabrina went home? That's not right. I don't care who wins now because it won't be the best dancer so what's the point?

The Perfect Week

Wow! I wish I was five. Pete is having the perfect week! First she spent all Sunday at an amusement park; then she gets two days off from school; then she gets to miss her piano lesson (although there might be some sympathetic regret since her teacher's brother died and that's why she's not having a lesson); then she gets to spend all afternoon with Moomie tomorrow; then we agreed that she could skip swimming this week to go trick-or-treating (a 2-fer!). The only way I can think of that it would be even better would be if the trip to see The Grandpa and Meme was this coming weekend. You know, like icing!

Oh Yeah. Almost Forgot...

Yay, Red Sox!

Ghost Vomit and $5.50 for Spun Sugar

Ah, amu$ement park$... We went yesterday because it was "free" with our season pass purchase. It was actually tons of fun, but it wasn't free. I'm pretty sure the cotton candy was refined from edible gold because $5.50 seems like a lot for everyday cane sugar. Since you can't bring outside food & drink in, our lunch only cost $40. Only $40... We ran into one of Josie's friends from school, and his mom had Capri Suns and would have had PB&Js if they hadn't been getting free lunch from Make-a-Wish. I wonder if she gives smuggling lessons.

The ghost vomit was cool, though. There was this wall with two ghosts painted on it, and where their mouths would be, there were these big openings, and every few minutes a ton of bubbles came pouring out of them so there was a huge pile of bubbles on the ground, taller than the children playing in it. Every now and then a bunch of bubbles would come strolling out of the pile, and one parent or another would wipe some of the bubbles away to reveal a child. It was cool. Husbandguy and I can never remember to bring the camera so you're just going to have to draw a picture in your head based on my fabulously detailed description (you can see it, right?). DH and Josie's friend's dad both thought it would be cool to have one of those at home.

The thing is, though (and the park might be getting a note from me about this), there isn't anything for toddlers to do there, and you can't just let them run free because it's so crowded you would lose them. So Lulu spent most of the day in her stroller. DH did take her out and carry her some, and we tried to let her walk but she doesn't always like to hold hands so that didn't work too well. I took her on the carousel because she seemed interested in that, but she didn't like it and got off her horse as soon as we started moving. So I wound up standing next to an empty horse holding a wiggly-worm for most of the ride. I should have gotten on the horse and put her in front of me. Next time...

Still, we had fun. And now we have season passes for next year for more "free" visits. Think of the possiblilties, though. Date night? You know, next year...

MN Is Taking the Day Off

Vilis ar blo
Rosis ar red
i hop yuo lik this pom

written by Pete, filling in for Mommy's Nintendo today

What Would You Have Thought?

The other day after Pete's swimming lesson, it was raining when we got home and I had a lot of stuff to carry. So I said to Husbandguy, "Would you get the baby?" and he said, "I have the keys," and ran off into the house.

What would you have thought?

I thought he was saying no. Especially when he took a long time turning off the alarm and so didn't come back out.

So after waiting a moment I stuffed as much as I could into the diaper bag and slung it over my shoulder and, with cold raindrops pricking me on the back between the bottom of my t-shirt and the top of my not-mom-jeans (thank you very much), unbuckled Lulu and got her most of the way out of the car before DH reappeared and said, "I'll get her," in a tone that implied he had intended to all along. Um, now? Really? It's a little late. Then we said this:

DH: I was coming to get her.
MN: It didn't sound like it.
DH: Do you want me to get her?
MN: It's kind of late now.
DH: Did you really think I wasn't coming to get her?
MN: You said, 'I have the keys!' and disappeared. What was I supposed to think?

That went on for a little longer, but you get the picture. Don't we sound like a smart, loving couple? Poor Lulu.

Why Are You Asking Me?

So the other day, someone found my blog by searching for "how smart is my baby." I want to meet this person because I want to know what she found out about how smart her baby is.

When It Rains, It Pours

And today I mean that figuratively and literally. It is actually raining. And sometimes, like when Pete was outside waiting for the bus and probably later when Lulu and I are trying to get from our car into the store, it is actually pouring. And also, everyone is sick. Lulu's still got some blisters on her lower lip (the ones on her tongue are not bothering her anymore), and when she sleeps she sweats so much that it's like someone threw a bucket of water on her and it wakes her up. On the plus side, the little extra rash she had on her arms and legs that seemed unrelated to the HFMD is clearing up today (probably because I was going to call the nurse about it - it'll come back now that I've decided not to call but not early enough in the day to actually call today). Then I woke up with a headache and don't want to eat anything. That seems to be getting a little better. But the other uncomfortable problem I'm having, which I'm not going into detail about, isn't getting any better. Yet. Husbandguy is still limping around. Pete had to wear her new raincoat that she doesn't like because it is stinky and only cost $2.50 even though it looks Super Cute on her and keeps her dry. And our weekend plans were cancelled (it's really okay, TG). Well, not cancelled. Postponed. And not for very long. And there's a PTA meeting tonight. Yuck!

On the plus side, Lulu doesn't go to school on Thursday and so they won't be calling me about the blisters and rash, which would reappear if she had school today for sure. And she can go with me and get my other problem taken care of. I was able to drink coffee even though I didn't eat anything with it. DH can wear two socks again. And Pete will be happy because not visiting TG this weekend means that we can use our discount coupons and go to Carowinds, probably, and we still get to see TG and Meme later. And I don't have to finish all the laundry today so I can pack tomorrow. And we'll have more time to clean up the house before Moomie comes on Tuesday to watch the girls while DH and I meet with Pete's teacher to hear how smart she is. And DH can go to work on Monday (woo-hoo for DH!). So it's not all storm clouds and umbrellas.

Hey, did the Red Sox win last night?

Oh, and by the way, I don't mind the literal rain.

Stupid Outlook!

So I had this super cute video of Lulu singing "Happy Birthday" ("HAP to YOOOOOO! HAP to YOOOOOO!") and for some reason I sent it in an email to all my people instead of posting it on Picasa. I attached it, wrote a little note, and hit send. Then I went to get Lulu at daycare. After I got back and put Lulu down for her nap, I heard from Moomie about how cute it was. Then I saw that I had gotten the copy I sent myself (because sometimes Husbandguy can only get the emails I forward to him). Then I got it 4 more times. Then I heard that Moomie had gotten it 6 times. Then I heard from Moomie saying, "Stop sending me this!" Then I checked my outbox and found that it was still there "sending," again and again, apparently, so I deleted it. Then I got it 3 more times. I tried to send out an apology via Outlook, but it wouldn't go so I sent it out with my other email. Then I got the email 2 more times along with a note from Poppop in reply to the apology and thought I must be done getting the email. But it came several more times after that! Good grief! Stupid Outlook! And now it won't send anything! But it does receive...

Is Honesty REALLY Best?

Five minutes after I got home from dropping Lulu off at school today, my phone rang. It was Mrs., the director at the school. I had mentioned to the teachers that Lulu had HFMD because I thought they should know. I also mentioned that she had been fever-free since Monday and that her rash was mostly gone. But she's still got blisters on her tongue and they were concerned that she's still contagious. I called her doctor's office after Mrs. called and they said that she's not contagious if her fever is gone. But I have mixed feelings about this. Like I said, she had not had a fever since Monday morning. And also she hasn't had all the pain and trouble eating since Monday either so her blisters are clearly better. The rash on her diaper area is gone and she never had it on her hands and feet so they're clear too. And the nurse had told me when I called on Monday that if her fever went away she would be fine to go back to school. But that wasn't enough for them. They wanted me to call again today. I get that they don't want her to give it to the other children. But here's my thing: she probably got it there to begin with! If there is suddenly an outbreak of HFMD at the preschool, are we going to get blamed? What about the parents didn't tell the school that their kid had it?

There was one time when I screwed up and when I admitted that I'd made a mistake, I got fired three days later (after I worked my bumbum off fixing the problem). I don't think they're going to fire Lulu from her preschool, but I don't want to be that person again who everyone looks at with blame because they admitted to something. Especially since she was cleared by the nurse to go back, and whoever gets it next could have gotten it anywhere, and I tried to do the right thing by mentioning it, and then I called the doctor when they asked and didn't argue, and I would have gone and gotten her if they'd asked me to, even though it was unnecessary, and wouldn't have let on how irritated that would have made me. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything...

Anyhow. Lulu is better.

Sleepover? Not So Much

Poor Pete! The Sleepover Gods were not on her side Friday night. Our phone rang at 9:30, and Husbandguy ran to answer it because it was either Pete or a tele-survey. It was Pete - well, Pete's friend's mum anyway (she's from England and has a really cute accent). She put Pete on the phone with DH, but Pete wanted her mom so he said, "Here's Mommy," and gave the phone to me, and I said, "Hey, kiddo..." and she said, "AAAAAAAAAAH-WAAAAAAAAH-HAAAAAAAAH!" and apparently gave the phone back to her friend's mum. After that little dance, we determined that Pete wasn't going to make it overnight so I told them her dad would come and get her because I was already in my jammies. I think they thought I was crazy when I pulled up in my jeans and PJ top and explained that it was easier for me to get dressed than for him to put on his shoes (remember he hurt his toe?). They said, "Oh," in that whatever-you-say kind of way and sent Pete out. Poor kid. You gotta do what you gotta do, though. By Sunday she had recovered and started making plans for trying again. Getting right back up on the horse. That's what we like to see!

Pete Says:

Sunday, before the game, Pete's mom asked Pete's Dad who he would root for if the Red Sox didn't make it to the World Series. Pete's dad said, "I don't know. Probably Cleveland." When Pete's mom asked him why, he said, "Because my boss is from Cleveland." Then Pete's mom asked him, "Which boss?" and he said, "Bob."

And Pete said, "Bob the Boss?" Giggle.

Lulu Update

It would seem that it's Hand Foot & Mouth Disease that is making her so miserable. No. It's not something she caught from a cow - that's just Foot & Mouth; and it's not something she caught from someone who is socially inept - that's Foot IN Mouth disease. On the plus side, her mouth is so sore that the nurse said it is perfectly acceptable for her to have ice cream for dinner like she did last night if that is all she can eat.

Baseball

Normally, I don't follow baseball. I usually can't tell you who won the World Series except for when the Red Sox won a few years ago. Who won in the years since then? I dunno. Here's the thing, though. I had to watch last night. Didn't you? Down 3-1. Winning games 5 & 6. It was like a cliff-hanger. Almost. A cliff-hanger with a very slow middle (did you see the bottom of the 8th?). And then they won! Ha!

Will I watch the World Series? I dunno. We'll see. But Go Red Sox! even if I don't.

Oh, by the way. "Pete Says:" tomorrow will be related to all this in a way. Check it out.

Poor Lammie Lu

My littlest one has been feeling icky since Friday night, poor kid. Last night was the worst. Sleep? No way! You can't make me. She threw up on her Daddy first thing this morning and seems to be feeling a little better for the moment. Well enough to share her breakfast with Bert, anyway...

(Bert is the elephant.)

Oh He's Soooo Funny haha :|

This morning, since it was rainy*, I asked Husbandguy if he'd mind sticking around until Pete's bus came so I could wait outside with her and Lulu wasn't inside by herself. He agreed. It would seem that at some point while I was outside he got a clever idea to teach me a lesson because when Lulu and I went into the kitchen after he left, all of the cupboard doors were open. I do a lot of things that annoy him, like leave dishes in the sink instead of on the counter next to the sink and make him put away his own t-shirts (he's got some complex filing system - I'd just do it wrong), but one of his biggest peeves, apparently, is that I sometimes leave cupboard doors open when I'm finished getting what I need out of them. What's the big deal? It's not like the dishes are going to escape. And the next time you need, say, a cup, that's one less action you have to do to get it. I'm being efficient. Planning ahead. Plus, you can see what's in the cupboard that way so if you want the Clifford bowl and it's in the dishwasher, you just have to look and see that it's not in the cupboard and you haven't spent all that energy opening and closing the door. Efficiency, I tell you! It didn't work, the Lesson Teaching. I'm still going to leave cupboard doors open because honestly I don't realize I'm doing it until he pretends to hit his head or something. Plus, I think it's genetic because one time Meme told me that the Grandpa does it too. So I can't help it. See?

*I'm not lying about the rain. It really is rainy today. And it's supposed to be for most of the day. The reason? Pete's school has a field trip today to pick pumpkins and will be outside all day.

She's A Swimmer!

Last night the whole family went to Pete's swimming lesson. And last night Pete did the most amazing thing at her swimming lesson. She's in a class with two little boys, and for most of the lesson they were all swimming the same distance, about 2/3 across the pool to where the teacher had positioned the little PVC pipe island thingy. But when I walked away for a minute, the teacher pushed the island (with the little boys on it) off to the side, out of the way, so Pete could swim all the way across the pool. And she did! I missed the trip across but saw the return trip. It was so cool! Her legs and arms were moving smoothly and steadily, just like when her dad swims, and she rolled over a took a breath about halfway, then rolled back and kept going, and when she got to the side she came up and peeked out at us, and I thought she'd look all proud and happy for herself, but the look on her face clearly said, "Yeah. No big deal. I've always been able to do that," with just the littlest bit of, "Eat my wake," mixed in. Holy crap! That kid can swim!! If those boys weren't inspired by that awesome display of swimming expertise, they weren't paying attention. I tell you what. If that school offered grown-up classes, I'd be in the pool in a minute!

SO - as soon as they evaluate her the next time, which I hope will be next week (and should have been yesterday), she will be officially done with the Beginner classes. My big girl? She's an ADVANCED swimmer now.

The Birds

Every fall, there is a flock (?) of grackles (I think) that comes through our neighborhood and just hangs out in the woods behind our house for a few weeks making grackle noises in the trees. Have you ever seen a flock of these birds? It's not just a dozen; it's more like a dozen dozen! They're black. And their noise isn't a melodious tweet-tweet; it's more like something you could use in your independent horror film to build tension as the lost hiker wends her way through the unfamiliar forest (total cliche, by the way - don't do the hiker thing in your movie). And it's weird because after about five minutes of the cacophony, you actually start to notice it and when you look to see where the noise is coming from, there are all these black birds everywhere - in the trees, in the sky, on the ground... It does not make you want to run outside. It's really creepy (you can use that in your film if you want).

But it's kind of cool, too.

Housework Really IS Hazardous

For real! The other day, when Husbandguy hurt himself, he was vacuuming. And just now, when I was vacuuming (in another room - we're not that clean), I totally ran over my own toe, the same one DH hurt. Except mine just really hurt and made me spend the next 15 minutes wincing at the thought of what could have happened and wasn't so bad that I'm going to have to cut a hole in an old pair of sneakers just so I can wear shoes like DH. But still. What's up with all the Extreme Vacuuming injuries at our house?! If the carpet wasn't new, I'd suggest to DH that we just give it up all together.

Oh! And Also...

Pete's piano teacher gave Pete SHEET MUSIC yesterday! Her first real piece! A 3-pager! Who knew she was ready for that?! I mean, aside from her teacher, of course...

Sibling Rivalry?

Yesterday after Pete's piano lesson, for which she received a stick of sugarless gum from her teacher, Pete and Lulu and I were riding home in the car, and I realized that Pete seemed to be making an unusually large amount of noise chewing her gum. Pete is a noisy chewer, generally (we're working on it), and gum... well, gum isn't the quietest chewable there is. The thing was, though, that somehow the chewing sounds seemed to be a lot noisier than usual, like there was more than one person with gum in the backseat. So when I got to a stoplight, I investigated. Lulu, wanting to be like her sister, was also "chewing gum!" Big cow-like jaw movements and smacking tongue sounds were coming from my littlest angel, much to her sister's aggravation. You'd think maybe her sister's imitation would help Pete realize how obnoxious her chewing is, but I don't think she got it. "She's really annoying me!" she said. Yeah, Pete. I know.

Think He Thinks I'm Crazy?

So last night, I was falling asleep in the living room and decided to move into the bed; Husbandguy stayed up watching TV. After about ten minutes, I got up again and moved the baby monitor out of our room into the living room because somehow it was magnifying the sound of the neighbor's barking dog. At some point after that (ten minutes? twenty? five? dunno), I got up again and followed the swarm of black, fly-size bugs to the door of our room; there must have been a couple dozen of them. Then I opened the bedroom door and stood in the doorway where Husbandguy could see me. And he said, "What?" And I said something - not sure what - probably about the bugs - and stood there some more. Eventually I just went back to bed. I'm pretty sure now that there weren't really any bugs because DH would have noticed them if there were and he didn't seem to. He was sure calm if he did!

He's not unused to me walking around half-awake talking about things that only I can see, like slugs on the baby swing or Rolie Polie Olie on the windowsill or that time I had us both out of bed because I was sure there was a frog coming out of a box on my pillow. But what does he think of it? That's what I want to know...

Pete Says:

(Sorry if I posted this one before. Maybe if I did and don't remember, you won't remember either.)

When Pete was almost two, Pete and Pete's mom were looking at a book about Santa Claus that Pete's grandma had given Pete. Pete stopped on one page for a long time and then said, "Santa look like Daddy!" And when Pete's mom looked she saw that it was true: that particular picture of Santa did look like Pete's dad if Pete's dad had a white beard, etc.

Piano Lessons

I'm not exactly sure what the difference is with Pete's piano lessons, but her whole attitude about the piano has really changed! She comes to me now and asks me to help her practice instead of me always having to remind her. She's even more patient with me when I make suggestions when she's having trouble with something. She got out her theory book on her own and worked on it by herself until she needed my help with instructions. She's only had two lessons with her new teacher, but each time she has gone in and been confident, saying things like, "I can do it," and, "Let me show you," instead of, "Do I have to?" and, "Are we done yet?" Her teacher has given her a ton of pieces to learn each week, and this week she had five or six pages to do in her theory book. She has learned her pieces and finished her theory (she's a Pro at drawing the treble clef sign!) and is clearly proud of what she accomplished. I'm honestly sorry that I hurt VW by switching to a professional piano teacher, but I don't regret it at all. I know it was the right thing to do for Pete.

Hey! Where've You Been? (updated)

Oh, right! I was the one who was missing.

Okay. Here's what happened:

For someone who "doesn't work," I was actually busy last week! I ran around all day, every day, except for Monday, which is when I did the grocery shopping and laundry so I guess I wasn't actually idle that day. First, I had to help host a parent coffee with the principal at Pete's school (Lulu helped) and then the next day I had an appointment with my neurologist which was followed by a morning of reading with the kids in Pete's class (very rewarding, by the way, and I got to hear Pete read - she's very different at school!) and then the next day I had to stuff folders and sort books for Pete's class (Lulu helped with that one too) and then the next day I spent the morning in the media center (at Pete's school) counting books. How high did you count on Friday? I counted to 1059! And then I wished I had a media center card because I saw a bunch of books I wanted to check out. It was cool because every day, when I signed out in the office, I was able to tell the secretary, "See you tomorrow!" Well, except for Friday... And that doesn't even include the swimming and piano lessons and Lulu-being-sick stuff, and Husbandguy's injury. I'm not so busy this week. I have two things to do at the school, but they're both on the same day. It's almost like having "a Real Job." You know?

So, sorry for the neglect. It was hard enough to find time to play WebKinz!

Ew! I Bet He Wishes He Had Just Gone to Work!

This morning, Husbandguy stayed home and saw the girls off to school so I could go to an appointment. He had planned to go into work late, but at some point he apparently decided to just take the day off. After my appointment, I went to Pete's school to listen to the children read (What fun! Whole other post!), and on my way home afterward my phone rang. It was DH asking me to stop and get hydrogen peroxide. ?!! I didn't realize he was at home, and I made the mistake of asking why he needed it (Moomie: don't read the next part), and he said, "I ripped my toenail off." Wow! Seriously? Okay. Stop talking about it! EW!! Now see? If he had just gone to work that wouldn't have happened. That'll teach him to take an unplanned Mental Health Day! Poor DH. I'm a little torn because I wish I could have helped him when it happened and at the same time I am SOOOOO glad I wasn't here because I don't want to look at it. I just warned him, though, that he's going to want to change his gauze before Lulu gets up from her nap or she'll want to poke the pretty red spot, and also Pete will be totally grossed out by it (just like her mom). So in that way I've helped him. Even if I won't get anywhere near his boo-boo. Poor guy!

LL Says:

A simple sentence! Pete was in Lulu's way so LL said, "Sister walk!"

Pete Says:

One morning, Pete's mom asked Pete what Pete wanted for breakfast, and Pete asked for a Pop Tart. Pete's mom must have sounded annoyed when she reminded Pete that she had told her the day before that there weren't any Pop Tarts because then Pete said, "Here's the thing: I'm only 5! I can't be expected to remember everything there is for breakfast."

Oh! I'm So Excited!!

Maybe irrationally so. Last week I went to volunteer training at Pete's school, which I wasn't able to do last year because Lulu was so little and I just didn't ask Husbandguy to watch her (he did this year). When you go through training, they make you a nametag with your picture on it! I didn't get one last year and sooooooo wanted one. Sooooo bad. The head voluteer lady was super nice and said, "Oh, we could have made you one," but it she said that this year when it was too late and didn't matter anyway because NOW I HAVE ONE! And I get to wear it tomorrow in an official capacity as the PTA coordinator of the classroom coffee with Dr. Principal that is happening in the morning. I'm going to be so proud!

Kiddoo-ism

Hey, PSP! This weekend, Lulu used a phrase that we consider a Kiddoo-ism (a Beanie-ism on your blog). She said, "Hold you!" because she wanted her dad to pick her up!

She Swears Like a Sailor!

Lulu's new word is "f***er." For real. She says that! But she doesn't mean it the way some other person - grown-up person - would mean it. For her? It means "football." We think it's a cross between "football" and "soccer."

Four Things on Friday

PSP sent me this in an email and I don't feel like forwarding it (sorry PSP) so I'm posting my answers here as a reply to PSP. Feel free to add your lists in the comments...

Four Jobs I've Had:

1. Mom
2. Sandwich Maker (twice)
3. Admin Assistant
4. Sales Assistant (yeah, huh, it's different from #3!)

Four people who e-mail me: (regularly)

1. Moomie
2. The Grandpa
3. PSP
4. The PTA board

Four of my favorite foods:

1. Chocolate-covered strawberries
2. Capellini bolognese
3. Chocolate cake
4. Pollo Fundido

Four places I would rather be right now

1. New England - anywhere in NE
2. The Grandpa & Meme's new house
3. Shopping with Moomie
4. Maine (I know it's in New England, but I'd really like to be there)

Four people I think will respond
*I'm skipping this one and adding...

Four books I love:

1. A Prayer for Owen Meany
2. Little Women
3. Winnie the Pooh (A.A. Milne)
4. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (#6)

Four movies I would watch over and over:

1. Ever After
2. Disney's The Sword in the Stone
3. ...um... I'm not a big movie person...
4. Disney's The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

Four Places I have lived:

1. Ohio
2. New Hampshire
3. Boston (for a summer)
4. NC

Four TV Shows I watch:

1. Eureka
2. The Soup
3. Monk & Psych (they count as one)
4. ...um... DH likes NCIS and I watch it with him

Spam

I keep getting this email in my spam mailbox with the subject "Not for oversmart people." You'd have to not be oversmart to think that email was really for you!

LL Says:

Something I did when I got out of my car at preschool this morning set off my car alarm, and Lulu thought it was necessary to make fun of me all the way into the building. She kept saying, "Hong-k!" again and again.

Pete Plays the Piano

Pete's first lesson with a professional piano teacher was yesterday. It went really well. Her teacher has been teaching for years (decades, really) and has a lot of good techniques, and Pete really responded to her. She's got about eight songs to practice this coming week! They're all review except one, though, so it's not as much as it sounds like. It was cool.

You Won't Believe This

Yesterday Lulu pointed at her bottom and said, "Poopoo." So I said, "Do you want to sit on the potty." She didn't answer but just left the room, and when she came back she was stinky. Hmmm...

Pete Says:

So Pete's mom decided to find out if the bus will drop Pete off even if Pete's mom is not waiting outside for Pete. The first day Pete's mom tried this, when Pete got off the bus, Pete said, "Moh-ohm..." Pete's mom thought Pete was going to say, "Why aren't you waiting for me outside?" What Pete actually said was, "Why is there a bottle of laundry detergent on the chair on the porch?"

(Pete's mom had forgotten it there when Pete's mom had come home from shopping earlier.)

Remember Before

Remember how when I started all this, I used to refer to Lulu as Boss 2 and act like I worked for her? Remember, I cleared all that up a while back? Well it's a good thing I did, I think, because imagine what you would think if I told you that Boss 2 won't stop licking my shirt!

Sorry PSP!

Hey PSP! Sorry I can't ever talk when you call. I'd worry you might think I was making excuses to avoid you except that this last time I'm pretty sure you could hear the meltdown going on in the background. And that was just Lulu! Pete hadn't really started yet. She'd just begun to make tears. Seriously, though! I'm sorry. We're just going to have to figure out how to talk in person!

Sorry I'm Late

My computer has been tied up all day burning a DVD for Pete. That's all I'm saying about that.

So, are you wondering how the sleepover went? It was a ton of fun!! And everyone slept! Eventually. We did a bunch of cool stuff: met The Grandpa for dinner, played in the play area at the mall (Husbandguy's idea) until some kid threw up and they had to shut it down, read Ginger's book that she brought and then read Pete's book that she picked out, had cinnamon rolls for breakfast (Ginger got to choose) (my 90 minute dinner rolls recipe makes pretty good cinnamon rolls in a pinch, btw), played outside... Lulu also had fun when the big girls let her play with them. At one point, Ginger said to me, "This play date is more fun than I thought it was going to be." I thought that was a nice thing to say, if a little backward. I feel kind of bad because I think Ginger was supposed to have a piano lesson while she was here, but I didn't know at first because there was some confusion earlier in the week about lessons and VW just dropped her off on Friday and I didn't get to talk to her, and then we ran out of time. I think everyone's priority was having fun and a piano lesson would have been a downer so I don't think it was missed. Still, though... Oh! And I was right. Kids are different when their parents aren't around. Or maybe it's my kid who's different when Ginger's parents aren't around... Well, no matter, the girls got along great. The only tense moments happened when they were hungry, which is totally understandable!

And Ginger's got a fantastic imagination and is a wonderful storyteller. While we were waiting for the rolls to be done, she told me about a "dream" she'd had that night. I think she might have been making it up on the spot because her description was very detailed, but it was a great story. I was impressed by the structure. Plus, Lulu turned into a little T-Rex in it, which made a cute picture in my head.

So we had fun. And, like I said, everyone slept. Which won't happen in a couple of years, I know.