Help!

I need to get rid of my "Reactions." The little options to check under each post are what I'm referring to. Who knows how to get rid of them? I put them in just as a temporary experiment and they are lame and need to be done away with.

Anyone?

Why Don't Mommies Get Sick Days?

I'm going on strike.

Babybeast is Nine Months Old

Technically she has been nine months for a few days, but she had her "well baby" visit today, which typically consists of several needle jabs and a very sad mommy.

I requested that we put off her vaccines since she has been ill and the pediatrician didn't blink, which I appreciate. I also asked to have her allergy tested via blood testing since we had to endure the bloodletting anyway for the lead test. One of her brothers is extremely peanut-allergic and reacts to several other things as well. He tested positive around nine months, so if she has it, she almost certainly will too. Hopefully she will be like her oldest brother and at worst be plagued with seasonal pollen allergies - they will make you miserable, but they won't kill you.

Oh and this will come as no surprise to anyone who has seen her, but at 24.5 lbs she's at the 99.7th percentile of fatness for baby girls, or as plotted in a scientific manner, well off The Chart. Unfortunately, she's only at the 75th percentile in height. Which means, as my pediatrician kindly pointed out, that, "she doesn't miss a meal, eh?" No, no she doesn't.

The second boy was 27lbs by nine months, though, and he's pretty skinny now and the oldest was 26 pounds and change and he's very tall yet proportionate, so I have hope that Ms. Chubbywumpus, who is actually more active than either boy ever was, will thin out with time. I'll have to post a photo soon to mark nine months - maybe tomorrow if she seems agreeable to posing.

Hooray to me for surviving nine months (and counting) of being a mommy to three!

Fun with Spam

This is an homage to my buddy Adie and her obsession with Spam.

Here is my attempt to make coherent (ok, vaguely coherent) paragraphs by piecing together spam subject lines......

Overwhelmed with debt? Want College Financial Aid? Want Cash? Quick Cash Now! A way to make money so easy even a Stupid Idiot could do it! $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Get paid to play with your food! You can afford AMAZING BREASTS!!!

Need a HOT WIFE? Get one from Russia ;) XOXOXOXO ...HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THE WOMEN FROM RUSSIA?!? Hurry! - 48 Hours Only Sale. New Customers only. Packages start as low as $29.99/mo.

We just had to tell you...You’re not crazy, Everything is really FREE! CONGRATULATIONS! Someone Thinks You Are Dumb. How dumb are you? B-I-N-G-O!

Check out the diet that changed a housewife's life. You probably have ROTTEN JUNK inside your body. The Finest Fruit for Your Body - Tiny Sweetheart Treats & Irresistible Cheesecakes Burn more fat sitting on the couch than walking around the block.

Feel like you will NEVER be loved? Help is here! Guess Who...Has a Crush on You? Meet someone sexy tonight. My Name is Nick Marks. I'm One of Those Internet Guys I'm 26 Years Old, with a Wife and 4 Kids and The Internet. Does Size Really Matter? COME SEE MY PICS! Do You Wanna Go on a Date or not?!? You will be approved - Guaranteed.

I found you a new job POLICE OFFICERS NEEDED Have you ever thought of becoming a POLICE OFFICER? Help prevent terrorist attacks! Spice up your life. Meet good girls and ones that are NOT THAT INNOCENT! Do You Accept The Challenge?

Mowing in February

Obviously the economy is in the proverbial toilet - the news makes that clear. But it hasn't really hit me personally at all. After all, Mister Lawyer has a stable job that is needed no matter the economic state of affairs in the country and we are both really grateful for that. Our savings is swirling at the bottom of the bowl like everyone else's but it's not an immediate worry, not like paying the mortgage or the medical bills.

Today there was an insistent ding-dong at the door, so I went to see who it was. I was hoping it was the package truck - boy do I like packages. But no, it was a man and his son, maybe 11 or 12. He wanted to mow the lawn.

I said, well, we have a guy. We do have a guy, but our guy isn't due to start until next month when the grass really starts growing. Truthfully, the grass was just fine as-is. A little leafy thanks to the oak trees, but certainly not bad enough to warrant any action.

We typically ignore it from about October to March which is nice. I always wonder what the lawn crew does for income from October to March, but I never saw a reason to have it done if it's not growing. I guess that's just a problem that comes with being a lawn guy.

So I wavered. He looked just short of desperate. Like he really needed some money today. And I wondered, what if he needed to pay his rent today or his car payment? Or buy groceries for that child? The boy, his assistant and translator, was the clincher. I asked how much.

He looked at our good-sized backyard and the little loquat tree that keeps falling down. He asked if I wanted it fixing and yes, I did - the stakes and rope were already there, so I know that would take about 5 minutes. He wanted $50. Our regular guy charges $30, but he's a good deal. I said ok. The surprised look in his eyes said "really?" He expected me to bargain him down, but I decided a few extra bucks wouldn't hurt us.

And then it started to rain and I figured he deserved every penny of it anyway.

I assume he did a good job, I haven't gone out yet...it's still drizzling and I'm made of sugar don't you know. I gave the child a little more for helping out - I could see through the window that he was working very hard and he definitely earned it. Mister Lawyer used to have to go out every weekend and mow his grandmother's property and he hated it. This boy probably wasn't keen on helping dad out when he had important things to do like hang out with his buddies and play video games.

Someone pointed out to me that "he's trying to work for money and that shows integrity." They have a good point but sometimes integrity isn't enough. A lot of people who could afford and were inclined to hire lawn care two and three years ago are cutting back and it only makes sense that service people like this are feeling the brunt of it, though of society in general, they can least afford to do so.

The money paid to service persons like the lawn guy goes directly to the worker and his or her family, no middle man involved, but they have no safety net either if those finds dry up. It's just something to be conscious of as we all decide which expenses can be eliminated or reduced this year.

I sure hope he got that loquat to stand up for good, stubborn thing.

Little Girl Clothes

My baby boys were roughly ten pounds each at birth and were roughly 30 pounds each at 12 months old. So not small. The rule of thumb was that they wore twice their age in clothing. At 3 months, they wore 6 month clothing. At twelve months, they wore 24month or 2t size and so on. Even now, while they have slowed down, the 5 year old is in 8-10 boys and the 3 year old is in 5-6.

The girl is admittedly beefy for her age - there is no doubt about it. She weighed in at 24 pounds 7 ounces today. So not exactly svelte. But get this, she, at only 8 (almost 9) months old, its wearing 2-3t clothing for tops and bottoms. Even by the boys twice-age-in-clothing-calculations she should only be wearing 18month size at the maximum and she is smaller than they were!

Clearly, baby girl clothes are much smaller than baby boy clothes when comparing the same size. And yes, I know baby girls themselves are often a bit smaller than baby boys, but I wouldn't say there is a massive difference. And if there is a difference, why not make the clothes the same and just let the baby girls grow into them?

I think I know why and here's my theory - let me know what you think.

~ Proposition one - baby girl clothing is infinitely more adorable than baby boy clothing - it just is. I like a cute boy's blue and green froggie outfit as much as the next mommy, but the cute factor of girl clothing is through the roof, far surpassing the boys department by any measure you could possibly use.

~ Proposition two - there is simply more variety of baby girl clothing. Boys have tops and bottoms - long and short pants and sleeves and if you want to get crazy, some overalls and maybe a sweater vest. Baby girls have long pants, yoga pants, sweat pants, long skirts, footed leggings, footless leggings, short skirts, frilly skirts, short pants, capris, shorts, any of which might be separate or calculated to be worn in conjunction with their matching t-shirts, embroidered tops, babydoll tops, cotton blouses, halter tops, tank tops, hippie chick tops, sequined tops, casual dresses, dressy dresses, jumpers, overalls, shortalls, and so on. There are a myriad combinations of vastly more designs. And they are all really cute.

~ Proposition three - people like to buy girl clothing. Parents. Grandmas. Neighbors. Aunties. Mommy's best girlfriends. Come on - they do. We do. We all do. Why? Well it's effing cute for starters. And people think little girls should look nice (a whole different topic) and should look pretty and that they like to look pretty and if they aren't old enough that the mommy wants them to look pretty. And let's face it, right or wrong, we all like pretty baby girls in cute little outfits. So we buy them, lots of them. In all the various combinations available, of which there are many.

So my hypothesis is this - I think that manufacturers make the clothing sizes for baby girls smaller intentionally so that we have to buy more of their products more often. It's brilliant - we are forced to go shopping for simply adorable clothing in all the adorable combinations they offer even more often than we otherwise would and the typical mommy is none the wiser. In fact, except for the financial expenditure, we kind of like it. So the clothing makers win big and we conspire along with them by "needing" their offerings. Interesting.

1....2....3....Damnit!

Overheard today. Yes, my little angels.

It's a new game they have invented. I'm not sure exactly what it entails, but it seems to involve yelling 1....2....3....Damnit! And then.....something? I can't see - they are in the next room. Running around, perhaps?

Hmmm.....sounds like some vocabulary editing is required on my part.

I may have to catch this on video for posterity. If I can stop giggling.

I know, you shoudn't laugh at that but damnit, it's funny.

Sickness

Well it's been a fabulous week here at Chez Lawyer. I mentioned before that the baby had a fever and was a tad cranky. She still had the fever and we had a rough night in Friday. A really rough night. But that's all. No runny nose. No cough. No wheezing. No ear pulling. No vomiting. No nasty poos. No nothing. Just the fever which was getting progressively worse.

I took her in on Saturday and the poor thing endured a battery of tests, most of which were painful or annoying.

Diagnosis? Pneumonia.

WTF?

I'm pretty low key about illnesses - I typically let them get over it on their own before resorting to the pediatrician who is not unlikely to prescribe antibiotics. I know that many doctors continue to prescribe antibiotics for things like bronchitis, which is no longer indicated. My mother's doctor gives out antibiotics like candy. He's a human pez dispenser. Nevermind that most of her problems stem from allergies; apparently antibiotics are the key to wellness. Wrong.

Taking antibiotics for colds and other viral illnesses not only won't work, but also has a dangerous side effect: over time, this practice helps create bacteria that have become more of a challenge to kill. Frequent and inappropriate use of antibiotics selects for strains of bacteria that can resist treatment. This is called bacterial resistance. These resistant bacteria require higher doses of medicine or stronger antibiotics to treat. Doctors have even found bacteria that are resistant to some of the most powerful antibiotics available today.

Antibiotic resistance is a widespread problem, and one that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls "one of the world's most pressing public health problems." Bacteria that were once highly responsive to antibiotics have become increasingly resistant.

Well that's scary, eh? So I'm hesitant to run to the pediatrician. Not only that, but it seems that every time I take healthy children there, they become sick within a few days. Coincidence? I think not. That place is a festering germ pool as far as I'm concerned and the less time we spend there, the better. And I like our pediatrician, truly I do. I have no complaints at all - it's not their fault that sick germy kids flock to their place of business, is it? Well, it is kind of, but it's to be expected when your business is sick germy kids.

So the baby had pneumonia. She had run a low grade fever for a few days and then Friday night it spiked up to just under 104 and stayed there all night and through the next night. After a desperately sleepless night, we thought it best to have her checked out.

The pediatrician we saw said her lungs seemed "clear" and that he'd take an Xray, just to be sure. Her ears were fine, so everyone thought it might be a bladder infection, there being no other visible or obvious symptoms. And they tested for that too. And she had a good wee all over the nurse as punishment for the catheter, proving that she wasn't even close to being dehydrated. And we all were quite shocked when the Xray image of her lungs came back cloudy and most certainly not clear.

Saturday night was rough too and I thought we might need to make a trip to the ER when her temperature climbed over 104, but after a cool bath during which she was bribed to sit still with all sorts of things she's not normally permitted, we were able to keep it under control.

And she's fine today, if a bit tired. She only woke once last night which was fabulous. Beyond fabulous, actually. And I'm beyond grateful - we both needed our sleep. A few more nights like that and we'll be back in fighting condition.

Our Two Patients

The little guy is doing well - sleeping at the moment. He's had a very long day, as have we all. Babybeast is still running a mysterious fever with no other symptoms but crabbiness. The elder beastling is currently sporting a lime green cast from shoulder to hand which covers and hold in place the pins which extend out of his skin. His stuffed doggie, Ike has a matching lime green cast on his right foreleg.

Apparently, at the hospital, "Ike fell off the chair and broke his arm just like me" which required immediate surgical treatment. Luckily we were already at the hospital, and while they normally treat little humans, the staff was amenable to treating a small stuffed dog since it was an emergency stuffed doggie medical situation.

The photo is from 3 days post-surgery.

Their Valentines

I made little goody bags last week for their classes. Instead of candy, because lord knows they'll get far too much of that, there are temporary tattoos (similar to those above), stickers, a little heart glitter (you are welcome - no need to thank me, moms!), a real fruit leather bar, and thanks to a HUGE number of $2 off Kashi coupons I got in the mail, a Kashi strawberry fruit bar.

The kids are making valentine's "cards" to put inside them right now. Their job is to color and maybe cut them out.

While it's not the fanciest design ever, it's going to have to do - we've been thrown off kilter by the whole broken arm/stomach bug saga this week. And besides, they're kinda cute. I printed the following in black and white into a table, six to a page, on landscape:

You’re a Winner
in My Book!

Happy Valentine’s Day!
From ________

Uh..

I just really like that graphic - pretties up the old blog, eh?

Gimpy Arm Update

Just a quick update - we are scheduled for Friday morning, thankfully. We were able to avoid the ER route, which is nice for the obvious reason that no one likes to hang out at the ER if they can avoid it, but also, because we've already been sick this month and we certainly don't need it again...I can't imagine hanging around a children's hospital ER with small healthy children without them picking up something nastily germ-o-rific.

I suppose Friday the 13th is as good a day for surgery as any. Wish us luck!

Supracondylar Fracture

*Sigh*

That's what my baby has. It means broken elbow - he broke the bottom of his humerus. The 5 year old fell off a tree stump from a tree downed by Hurricane Ike, falling maybe three feet onto the grass. I think he inherited my natural grace, or lack thereof.

His three year old brother told his preschool teacher on Monday that the elder Beastling's arm was broken this weekend "by Hurricane Ike." She emailed me, perplexed, for clarification.

So we've been busy - all day Saturday at the ER. All morning at the orthopedist. All afternoon into evening at the pediatric orthopedist. He has had four sets of x-rays so far...I'm not keen on that. I've been learning a lot about children's fractures. The verdict is that he requires surgery this week and that will involve three pins in his elbow that stick out through the skin, which seems rather Frankensteinian, but is the proven therapy.

Because of the trouble scheduling surgery like this immediately, the pediatric orthopedist said we would need to go through the ER at the children's hospital he is affiliated with and get admitted that way. It is about an hour from home, but a very good hospital. He would be doing the surgery, but we could not be fast-tracked through the ER and so it could involve a long wait. With at least two of the children. Did I mention the three year old has a stomach bug and spent the day vomiting?

The surgery does require an overnight stay, possibly two if the ER wait is lengthy.

I'm sure you can imagine how unattractive this all sounds right now, but I realize it is all routine for them and he is in very good hands, so I am not terribly worried, just having difficulty figuring out the logistics, you know?

I will know more tomorrow.

For Bonnie (Moron-Proof Noodley Stuff in a Pan)

This is screw-up proof, I promise. Hope you guys like it.

Moron-Proof Noodley Stuff in a Pan

None of the amounts are set in stone - a little more or less will be fine.

~12 oz box of whole wheat penne pasta or similar style
~1.5ish jars spaghetti sauce, give or take
~1 can petite diced tomatoes (you can leave this out if you don't have any)
~ Frozen onions and bell peppers - about a cup of each (you can leave these out if you don't have any)
~ 1 package 20oz Italian seasoned ground turkey
~ 2C shredded low moisture part skim Mozzerella

1 large sauce pan
1 Pasta Pot
2 8x8 pans or equivalent (I suggest lidded Pyrex for easy storage)

1) Put your turkey and frozen veggies in the sauce pan - cook until well browned, breaking up turkey regularly. If you want to throw in some extra Italian seasoning, go ahead.
2) Cook pasta per directions, and remove from heat and drain about a minute short on the cooking time. You want it edible but firm.
3) Pour half the pasta in each pan and half the meat mixture in each dish.
4) Split the sauce and tomato and pour half in each dish as well as 1/4 of the cheese and combine (reserving 1/2 cheese).
5) Cook glass dishes at 350 for about 30 min.
6) Sprinkle 1/4 remaining cheese on each dish and cook for about 8 minutes or until well melted.

Optional - I'm sure you could freeze one of them after combining the ingredients but before baking - just put the extra cheese in a ziploc on top and freeze the whole thing.

There you go, Bon - you can do it!!!

They Call it Puppy Love

I just received an email from Sam's Club, of which I am not a member.

Sam's Club challenges, "Animal Lover? Time to Prove it!"

The link leads you to the Pet Center and a graphic that says "Feel the Puppy Love? In the Spirit of Valentine's Day Show them How Much You Care." An image of a heart shaped doggy bowl filled with treats is featured.

If you click on this it takes you to an article about general animal care, but let's dissect the headlines for a moment, shall we?

I have pets and I consider myself an animal lover. We are at an all time low of three cats and two fish right now, but the fauna tally here typically registers higher than that between our own pets, strays we are feeding, fosters we are harboring....you get the picture. I have never once felt the need to prove that I cared about my animals as suggested by Sam's Club. And I particularly have not felt the need to prove that I care for them buy buying them things, which of course is the implication of the email. As a marketing tool, the goal is to convince the customer to purchase their products, of course, but "Animal Lover? Time to Prove it!" does not accomplish that goal. If anything, I find it to be rather repellent.

Blush Pearl Necklace CHIEN COATURE pearl necklaces are made of natural and dyed freshwater pearls and CRYSTALLIZED™ Swarovski Elements. The necklaces are wired with flexible jewelry wire and should not break under normal wear. The clasps are lobster claw in sterling silver. Each necklace is custom-made to fit your dog.

In the Spirit of Valentine's Day Show them How Much You Care. Really? Do dogs and cats feel left out on Valentine's Day? No kidding? This is what I'm thinking. I'm thinking that animals don't give a flying frick about holidays and as long as they are fed, watered, sheltered, and given some cuddles, they will be eternally grateful. I'm thinking that the mere idea that animals care about holidays and not only care, but actually require commercially purchased offerings is a symptom of how disturbingly material we have really become as a culture.

I confess, before children I used to put catnip and kitty treats in a stocking for the cats at Christmas. They didn't much appreciate it, but I did do it for a couple of years. I think we can all agree that it wasn't for the cats. Well, it was for the cats, technically - I don't eat cat treats, but the stocking wasn't for the cats, of course, and as it turns out, they don't really appreciate wrapping paper either as it only hinders their ability to gnaw through the foil treat package. I have since stopped this ridiculous charade, though the cats still get plenty of treats.

Twinkle Collar Red-Multi Colored Cross
This fashionable collar can be worn as an exquisite necklace or high fashion collar.

What I really don't understand is buying things "for your dog" that dogs don't really appreciate. Like jewelry, for instance. I don't care how adorable your doggy is - the dirty truth is that he would opt for a tasty cat turd over a crystal-laden collar or beaded necklace any day. Now I don't begrudge the purchases either, but recognize that if you want to buy baubles for your dog, you are not doing it even one iota for the dog - it's all for you, baby.

Tropical Garden Collar

The Tropical Garden Collar is truly art to wear for your dog! The collar is made of white Italian lambskin and faced with rich white velvet. The collar is faced with hand woven, 3-D floral jewelry made of Czech pressed glass pieces and CRYSTALLIZED™ Swarovski Elements. This collar is meant for dress-up and party wear – treat this as jewelry for your dog.

That animal neither wants nor needs such frivolities - he needs attention and nourishment, but he does not need doggy spangles. There's a lot that animals don't need. They certainly don't need us to prove that we love them on any commercial level.

Bluebell Harness

This beautiful harness is made of two layers of buttery-soft Italian lambskin. The motifs are cut away from the pastel blue top layer, the top layer is carefully stitched to of the cream irridescent bottom layer. Three sizes of three-dimensional flowers are appliqued and finished with beautiful CRYSTALLIZED™ Swarovski Elements.

So buying sparkly pet junk is fun and harmless, unless of course it helps drive you into the mire of debt that plagues most households. But here's an idea and one that will make you feel warm and fuzzy inside: as fun as frivolous pet products are, there are animals out there that do need and they need more than just love, commercially purchased or homemade. They need help. This Valentine's Day consider giving to your local pet shelter, either financially, of your time, or by helping fill their wish list.

Shelters typically accept the following items, but call to determine the need of your local shelter:

~ Pet food, preferably premium brands (Nutro, Science Diet, Wysong, Eukanuba, ProPlan, Purina One, Special Diets)
~ Ceramic or Metal Food Bowls
~ Small Litter Boxes for cages
~ Large Litter Pans
~ Cat Litter
~ Used Towels for Cages
~ Scratching Posts
~ Cat Trees
~ Cat Nip
~ Cat Toys
~ Postage Stamps
~ Envelopes
~ Computer Paper
~ Printer Cartridges (call for needs)
~ Bleach
~ Paper Towels
~ Rubber gloves
~ Spray Bottles
~ Fuzzy commode seat covers for cage beds
~ Trash Bags
~ Digital Camera and volunteers to nicely capture and edit photos for the website
~ Gift Cards for Petsmart or PetCo, Office Depot, Office Max, Target, Home Depot or Lowes
~ Dog chew toys
~ Dog leashes
~ Dog treats
~ Volunteer dog walkers
~ Round fleece cat beds
~ Newspapers
~ Blankets
~ Cat Collars (quick release)
~ Dog collars-all sizes
~ Gift certificates for grooming
~ Chew Bones
~ Powdered kitten/puppy replacement milk
~ Large jars of peanut butter for dog treat toys
~ Animal shampoo
~ Animal carriers

Even if you are on a budget, this is a great way to dispose of your old towels and pillowcases and that hideous toilet cover set from your first apartment or that perfectly functional digicam that has been gathering dust since you upgraded.


And if you have kids, big or little, this is a fabulous opportunity to demonstrate what loving animals is really all about.

Valentine's Day Mazes

Here's a really cool Valentine's Maze courtesy of Family Fun. They have a whole passel of printable stuff to keep your little Valentine busy.

Here is a heart-shaped Backyardigan's maze from Nick Jr. and the rest of their Valentine's printables.

Blackdog has some increasingly difficult heart-shaped mazes for the child who likes a challenge. Or, make your own maze.

Here is another and another and another. Can you tell my kid really likes mazes? And more.

This one is interesting - you have to count your way through the puzzle. This one is simplest, buy they have others counting by 2s through 5s.

The thing is, my 5 year old broke and dislocated his arm today at the elbow, so instead of him running about like normal, I'll need to keep him calm and busy and he will stay put for these. I got them each a book of mazes before Christmas and he had done the entire book within 24 hours, but my goodness it kept him quiet!

Surplus Bananas

And what to do with them.

I hit the grocery store a few times a week. I always pick up bananas, so sometimes we end up with surplus. Or everyone wants the pretty yellow ones and not the homely mottled ones.

So here is my "What to do with Surplus Bananas" post. I invite you to add your own ideas too - links are always appreciated if it involves a recipe.


Banana Pops

You Need:
~ Bananas
~ Orange Juice or other fruit juice. Pineapple juice from the pineapple tin works great.

How-To: Blend it and freeze it into pops.

Serve: While the kids are IN the bath. Use them as a treat for sitting still while you shampoo and there's no mess involved.

Banana Flowers

You need:
~ Bananas
~ Sprinkles

How-To: Cut bananas in 1/2" - 3/4" chunks and arrange as shown. Put the ends of the banana in the center of the flower.

Serve: As Dessert. I always play it up and the kids beg for them. Great way to get rid of slightly bruised fruit - the sprinkles disguise any banana blemishes.



Frozen Bananas

You need:
~ Bananas
~ Sharp knife, baking sheet or small tray, and wax paper

How To: Cut in 1/4" rounds - any thicker and it's too cold to eat. Optional - add sprinkles before freezing. Freeze your tray for a few hours and then pop them all into a sealed container.

Serve: In small Quantities - melted bananas are not so yummy. Try serving them with frozen grapes - another favorite here.

I've been pressured into joining the Facebook cult

Well that's a real timesuck isn't it?

Not sure I'll keep up with it - after all I have this blog thing going now, too, right? Seems like a lot of work and I've never been known for my love of work. Mister Lawyer would tell you that's the understatement of the year.

Anyway, there's not much on there that's not on here so I'm not sure what the use will be....the comment wall thing is cute, but you can leave comments here too, people!

And I joined under a somewhat false name anyway so I can't be found by anyone I don't want finding me. It's not paranoid, it's just practical. I have no desire to be BFFEAEAEAE with everyone I was in 5th grade with and I have a hard time turning people down, so this eliminates that problem.

You're wishing you had thought of it, no?

If you are reading this, there's a decent chance I'm not hiding from you, just for the record. I'm not completely antisocial, I just don't like to have to deal with people.

Guess Who Slept All Night?

In her very own bed in her very own room?

We had a difficult period getting her down due to the cold, but she slept from about 10:00pm until almost 5:00am which is nothing short of a miracle. She was woken by the elder Beastling at 6:00am but she went back to bed until 8:57.

She then had almost a three hour nap today.

I'm not sure if it's due to her being sick or not, but this is working for me.

Speaking of sleeping, here is the 3 year old plum tuckered out yesterday. He must have slept like that for an hour and a half. I should have moved him to his comfy bed, but something of a quasi-scientific interest in his position compelled me otherwise.

Well now I feel guilty

for complaining about my notsleepy babe yesterday. She's sick and was up all night with all the snuffles and the wuffles and the sadnesses.

But she is, also, at this very minute sleeping. Where? In her very own crib (yes, crib!) in her very own room. Not in the pack and play in our room. Not in our bed. She's been down for 45 min so far. And counting.

If this goes well, we might give her the permanent boot tonight. I'm not sure if I have the fortitude, to be honest, but it sure sounds attractive.

Mister Lawyer and I used to read before bed. Books without pictures that didn't have rhyming verse. Since Babybeast, we are stuck going to bed in the pitch black for fear of waking her. The thought of being able to read again is very exciting. I'll try to remember to post a photo of Mister Lawyer's To Be Read pile. You will be horrified - it's several feet tall. Heck, I'm horrified and I live with it.

For now, I'll be happy if I can get another half hour of nap out of her. Fingers crossed, people!

______________________________________

Here you go. This is his pile of accumulated materials that need to be read. Technically it's only one of several piles. And that box at the top is a recent shipment from Barnes & Noble.

Sleeps Like A Baby

If "sleeps like a baby" means getting up every hour on the hour, wailing at the top of her lungs, farting, and then demanding food, then yes, she does.

Peanut, Peanut Butter, Jelly....

First you take the peanuts
And you crunch 'em,
You crunch 'em
First you take the peanuts
And you crunch 'em,
You crunch 'em You crunch 'em crunch 'em crunch 'em

For your peanut, peanut butter
Jelly
Peanut, peanut butter
Jelly

Then you take the grapes
And you squish 'em,
You squish 'em
Then you take the grapes
And you squish 'em,
You squish 'em You squish 'em squish 'em squish 'em

For your peanut, peanut butter
Jelly
Peanut, peanut butter
Jelly

Then you take the bread
And you spread it,
You spread it
Then you take the bread
And you spread it,
You spread it You spread it spread it spread it

For your peanut, peanut butter
Jelly
Peanut, peanut butter
Jelly

Then you take your sandwich
And you eat it,
You eat it
Then you take your sandwich
And you eat it,
You eat it You eat it eat it eat it

'Cause its peanut, peanut butter
Jelly
Peanut, peanut butter
And jelly!

Then you take your mouth
And you wipe it,
You wipe it
Then you take your mouth
And you wipe it,
You wipe it You wipe it wipe it wipe it

'Cause its peanut, peanut butter
Jelly
Peanut, peanut butter
And jelly!

Yes I want one. No I cannot have one. We have no nut products in the house, thanks to the three year old and his potentially fatal allergies. *Sigh*

Sometimes I sneak out to the grocery store and eat a Reese's on the way home. And then wash my hands like they are covered in Anthrax spores. Shhh....don't tell anyone.

The Dreaded Lurgy

Alas, we are infected with it. I know you Americans are confused and horrified - "oh dear, that sounds bad, doesn't it?" I grew up with this phrase - my brother knows what I'm talking about, "Not The Lurgy (shudder with mock horror!)" Yes, well we have it. But I think we'll make it. Luckily we are armed with Robitussin, orange juice, PBS Kids On Demand, and a pizza delivery joint just down the street.

Down with The Lurgy!

We will survive.