Katrina

What a horrific nightmare. I am so sorry for all those affected.

I really feel for all of those people who are still in the hell that was New Orleans, those 100,000 who were, by and large, transportation-less and too poor to get out. Those who were abandoned by the rich and by the government, left to deal with the storm on their own.

Why wasn't there a plan in place to get the poor out in the face of such a horrible storm? Authorites knew that 100k lacked transportation and barely lived paycheck to paycheck, and they knew that New Orleans could be completely devastated by a hurricane. There wasn't much time to organize an evacuation, but there was enough time for the 1 million residents-of-means to make for high ground. It's just sad.

And now, it seems that the media is really emphasizing the "looting" going on (oh, if you're black it's looting, but if you're white, it's finding, by the way). Though the media is really harping on reports of non-essential consumer goods being stolen, the vast majority of photos I've seen is of people salvaging food. Of course, the non-essentials would likely be trashed after floodwaters recede anyhow. But is this really the emphasis we want to put on this disaster? Sure, there are dead bodies and people still needing to be rescued, but the real concern is keeping that poor black person from getting a pair of shoes? 'Cause we all know, the capitalist ethic is what really needs protecting down there right now.

Oh, it just pisses me off. Guess I should stop being a hypocrite and just turn commie, maybe.

And then you have to look at the forces that came together to make the recovery from this worse than it could have been. In 1995, Congress funded a federal project in southern Louisiana to protect from flooding by building pumping stations and levees. Unfortunately, the current government did not see that as a priority:

"On June 8, 2004, Walter Maestri, emergency management chief for Jefferson Parish, Louisiana; told the Times-Picayune:'It appears that the money has been moved in the president's budget to handle homeland security and the war in Iraq, and I suppose that's the price we pay. Nobody locally is happy that the levees can't be finished, and we are doing everything we can to make the case that this is a security issue for us.'"

Couple that with the fact that, from what I've read, 40-60% of Louisiana and Mississippi National Guard equipment (including rescue boats and helicopters) is in Iraq, and Bush's pet war is costing Americans far more than just dollars.

There are a few AP moms in Little Rock with family members who lost everything, so the AP group here is getting some essentials together to help them start over. I found a few things we don't need and am going to take them over later today.

It's just a very, very sad situation.

if you have some sticks and yarn...

Check this out. One worthy cause, I do believe:

Project for Afghanistan's Children

About a third through my first hat. My goal is ten by the end of September.

variation on a theme

Ooh, fun. Jaime tagged me for a neato 'getting to know you' thingy.

10 years ago I was: 13 and just started 8th grade. I'd just spent a few weeks of the summer at the 'Civil War in the Ozarks' AEGIS camp, camping out in the middle of a field and washing clothes in the creek with lye soap we made ourselves. I'd also gone on a wonderful trip to New Mexico, which was cut short because I broke a bracket on my braces and we figured it was an emergency. My stepmom was pregnant with a daughter who would be born at the end of September.

5 years ago I was: 18 and just starting my first year of college at Stephens, a women's college in Columbia, Missouri. I'd gotten moved into Searcy dorm and had figured out my way around campus. I really liked my classes, especially my International Politics course with the rather handsome Alan Singer. Influenced by new friend Julia Schaefermeyer, I also decided that I would go out for the Stephens soccer team, despite never having played soccer in my life.

1 year ago I was: 22 and had just found out that my effort had paid off and we were pregnant with our second child. I'd just started my last semester of college and was looking forward to getting all of that out of the way before the baby's birth. We continued our weekly playdates with my friend Jaime and her two boys, though we weren't always able to make it because of my school commitments, and I was slowly getting to know more of the other KCAP mamas.

Yesterday: I had a great mama's day out! The day started slow and lazy and, after lunch, I went out for a while with Ellie. We went to the local rather high-end toy store that rocks because they sell Brio/Thomas compatible tracks by the piece; we got a switch piece so that Tristan could hook his whole set together. Then, we walked over to the yarn store and did a bit of damage on some sale yarn for holiday gifts; eight skeins for $8. Finally, we drove over to TJMaxx and I got a new shirt and shorts with a merchandise credit my mother-in-law gave me. When we got home, Jon took a looooong bike ride and was gone for three hours. He came home, I made dinner, then got the kids to bed. Then I went out to a movie, as detailed in my last post. Whew! I swear those days are rare, but yesterday rocked.

5 snacks I enjoy: oreos, bananas, breakfast cereal, various chocolate-flavored energy bars, SlimFast (the old type, not the new nasty sucrolose stuff)

5 songs I know all the words to: Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (Beatles), Everybody Knows (Cohen), Until my Head Falls Off (TMBG), Only Happy When it Rains (Garbage), Jay Jay the Jetplane theme song

5 things I would do with 100 million dollars: pay a real estate agent to sell that damn house in Independence, pay off our parents' mortgages, put money aside earmarked for a home when we decide where we want to settle down, live off the interest and give Jon the option of retiring, set up a scholarship fund for low income mothers who would like to go back to college

5 places I would run away to: Bavaria, the Yucatan, Northern California, the Backwoods of Maine, just about anywhere with Jon

5 things I would never wear: a scarf knit with eyelash yarn, anything with sequins, black leather, one-shoulder shirts, stirrup pants

5 favorite tv shows: Going Tribal, Desperate Housewives, the Daily Show, Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, I love the (insert decade here)

5 bad habits: eating junk food, driving to go places under a mile away, getting easily frustrated, picking at my face, mindlessly surfing the web when I have nothing to see

5 biggest joys: Tristan, Ellie, Jon, Manhattan (who actually follows us whenever we take a walk), being in the company of friends

5 favorite toys: my computer, Penny the Blythe, my iPod, my Saturn wagon, knitting needles

5 fictional characters I would date: Jakob (Brothers Grimm), Shakespeare (Shakespeare in Love), Wesley (Princess Bride), Spock (Star Trek, original series), Chakotay (Star Trek Voyager

5 people I tag to do this: Roxanne, Julie, Sarah, my dad (if you get that blog rolling), elfinmama

"it wasn't just a story, was it?"

Oh, I love Terry Gilliam. He is a friggin' genius.

So I was really excited when Jon suggested that I go out to see his new movie, The Brothers Grimm. After pumping a bottle just in case and getting the kiddos to sleep, I went off to a late night showing all by my lonesome.

It was amazing.

It seems that most people fall into one of two categories: they either love Gilliam's stuff or they just don't quite get it. I can only conclude that the negative reviews---most reviews have been negative, by the way---come from folks who don't get what he does.

Gilliam seems to enjoy dichotomies and this film, like the earlier Adventures of Baron Munchausen (which critics also disliked), really explores the line between reality and fantasy, truth and 'the story', the Enlightenment Project and "superstition". The Brothers is another period film, which makes for great eye candy. This film was a bit more sinister than some of his earlier stuff, more along the lines of 12 Monkeys in tone, though there are some wonderfully hilarious moments as well as trademark Gilliam zany-ness. In any case, he shows again that he's a master storyteller. There were a few loose ends, but they didn't detract from the story because I didn't really notice them til afterwards. I thought the acting was great; in particular, I get more and more impressed with Matt Damon as he does more of these types of films.

It was really just a fun movie. I think I'll probably enjoy it more with each viewing, as that tends to be the pattern I've had with his stuff. If you like Gilliam, you'll love this movie. If you don't know his work, but enjoy somewhat off-the-wall stuff, you'll probably like it as well. But, one way or the other, what you won't be is ambivalent.

proud mommy moment

I was just reading a book to Tristan at bedtime. On one page, he pointed to the picture and said, "Look! Birds watching men pull balloon on the freight car."

Wow. When we moved here 3.5 months ago, he could only do three word phrases. Just wow.

reminder to self

If you decide to walk one mile each way to the grocery store at noon and think to put sunscreen on the kiddos, do not forget to slather your back and shoulders down as well.

wednesday

Just pluggin' along.

It rained yesterday---a rare event. I took Tristan out puddle-jumping, which is his favorite new activity, thanks to Grandma. He really loved it and got nice and muddy. We stayed out an hour and, though I'd of course done everything I could to prepare him for it, threw a huge fit when we went back inside. It's gotten to where I almost don't want to do things I know he'll like because I know he'll throw a tantrum when they end. Argh. I'm gonna start a thread in the gentle discipline MDC forum about that...

Speaking of MDC, I just passed 2000 posts. Woo-hoo! Been there over three years now, too. Yeah, and most of the members don't recognize my username, I'm sure.

Ellie's become supercute over the past few weeks...and almost four months old. Geez.

I used some of my funds from my Pullip sale to get a size 2 Solstice Hotsling from the Babywearer boards, to strengthen my still-expanding sling collection. Turns out my old HS was too big the whole time. I can comfortably do the tummy-to-tummy hold in this one, which is really fabulous. So, if anyone is looking for a size 3 Mendhi, let me know, 'cause I'm going to be putting one up for sale.

news o' kiddos

Ellie rolled all the way over, back to belly, yesterday for the first time. She'd been trying for quite a while and had managed to kinda halfway flip, but this was the first real time. She doesn't really like being on her belly much, so not sure if she can flip from there (though that's supposed to be easier than from the back).

And my firstborn has weaned. 34 months. Pretty dern good. Hope he doesn't get all sick now, lol. He hasn't nursed in eight days...a few times, he's said "Tristan nurt!", I've asked him if Tristan still nurses, and he says, "No! Too big." He even turned down some milk I expressed into a bottle for Ellie on the cartrip, but which she didn't want.

Awww. My little boy isn't quite so little.

home again!

Ahhh, to be somewhere with decently tasting water!

We had a great trip---MUCH better than the Memphis one! Jon's mom came down and met us in Fayetteville; Tristan had a really fabulous time playing with Grandma. She hadn't seen Ellie since she was a couple of weeks old, so I think she really enjoyed that. Having a Grandma around made the trip a lot less stressful for me! Jon and I even got to go have a solo date at Chili's, which happened to be right next door to our hotel.

Jon had a good time at the race. It was actually made up of three smaller ones: a time trial early Saturday morning, a road race on relatively flat terrain on Saturday afternoon, and a road race on very hilly terrain this morning. His mom went with him for the time trial while I stayed at the hotel with sleeping children. He said it was incredibly difficult but he felt good about how he did. Ellie and I went to the road race that afternoon, while Tristan and Grandma played at the hotel. It was awful! Right as his category was lining up to go, a big storm began blowing in. For the hour and a half of the race, rain pelted down. Jon said it was truly awful, but he felt like he did as well as he could. He did much better in this morning's 20 mile race, despite the hard uphill road; he was only about 50 yards behind the leader the whole time. I'm proud of my man :)

The hotel was really quite fabulous. I don't know why the Fayetteville hotel, categorized by Priceline as '1 Star' was so, so, so much better than Memphis' supposed '2 Star'.

The trip also gave me a reason the break out the knitting needles and I started and completed my first project since Ellie's birth.

we're outta here!

Off to Jon's first bicycle race as an adult :). Be back on Sunday!

thursday

We got the oil changed today and, in the rather bright lights of the waiting room, I noticed that there are patches of hair on Tristan's head that are starting to turn dark brown. Awww. I was wondering if he'd keep that gorgeous blond head, but it looks like he won't.

And I had to post another photo of cutie Eleanor...my friend Jaime gave me this set for her back before she was born. A sundress and a nicely matching Susie's One Size fitted diaper. I'm so excited that she fits into it now!

dollar score

I love going to the dollar store just to see the random stuff they have.

We were running around yesterday trying to find a bike store to fix a spoke in one of Jon's wheels. We finally found a store that could do it quickly and, afterwards, we had a little time to kill before we had to pick Jon up from work. So, we visited the dollar store next door.

Now, how cool is this?


It's called the 'JIAOBAO Baby Bed'. It works kind of like the car windshield covers in that it is a small circle, then you twist it and it pops open. As the insert that came with it said, "JIAOBAO Baby Bed is designed in accordance witht he principle of prestree made of space special steel, it can be folded for thousands of times without deformation or break. It is available for baby on bed, onfloor oroutdoorslawn. It is portable and foldable."

I think it's really nifty! It has lace netting to keep mosquitos out, and a zippered opening. I did wash it before Ellie laid in it and am glad I did---the blue dye bled out like mad. I've never seen anything like this and am quite happy with it for $1. BTW, if you are going to go on an outing looking for one of these, it was from a 'Everything's $1' store (not Dollar Tree, etc).

long-winded fill in the blank...

Found this on another Mothering mom's blog...

Childhood Trauma Survey

1. What was the first car your family had that you can remember? brown-sided station wagon

2. What was the name of your first pet and why? Oreo, a cockatiel---my dad and I read that birds can say vowels better than consonents and I hoped to teach the bird its name (never did, only taught it to wolf whistle)

3. How did your first pet die? if I remember, we placed an ad in the paper and found him a new home...so I'll never know.

4. What was the name of your elementary school? Forest Park

5. Who was your first best friend? Elizabeth in preschool

6. Are you still friends today, and if not, what happened? No, we lost touch years ago

7. What was your favorite board game? not really into board games

8. Did you play house or other make believe games? yes

9. Were you a Dungeons and Dragons geek? no

10. Did you sleep with stuffed animals as a kid? Yes, Molly Bear

11. Do you still sleep with stuffed animals? Nope, sleep with a wiggly baby

12. Who was the first person you looked up to when you were younger? my Dad

13. Who was your favorite relative? Uncle Ken

14. Were you short or tall in elementary school? average?

15. Were you teased in school? Yeah, though I've mostly (intentionally) forgotten the specifics

16. What was the name of your favorite teacher? Ms. Julie Western

17. What was the name of your least favorite teacher? geez...how could I have already forgotten that?

18. What was your best subject in school? Social Studies/History

19. What was your worst subject in school? Math

20. Did you do well in Physical Education? not particularly

21. Were you clumsy when you were younger? Yes...still was until I got my glasses, lol

22. Who was your favorite band as a kid?: They Might be Giants or The Beatles...a close tie

23. What was your favorite movie as a kid? The Adventures of Baron Munchausen

24. Did your parents read to you? Yes

25. Did you have a favorite book? I read so many that I had many fleeting favorites...one long time one was 'Island of the Blue Dolphins' by Scott O'Dell

26. What was your favorite restaurant as a kid? Red Lobster (my Mamaw and Granddaddy took me there when I did well on report cards)

27. On what TV or movie star did you have a crush? neither TV or movie...but...John Lennon!

28. Do you now wonder what you were thinking? nope, he's still pretty hot

29. Who was your first crush in school? Matt Fuller

30. As a child, what kind of car did you want when you grew up? a jeep

31. Did your parents spank you? rarely, though 'Santa' did bring me switches for Christmas one year (they went unused but I worried about their reappearance for years)

32. Did your parents fight a lot when you were a kid? I vaguely remember a fight in the kitchen, but I must have been very young, since they seperated and divorced when I was 3 or 4

33. Did your parents get divorced or stay married? see above

34. If they got divorced, how old were you when it happened? see above

35. Did you ever run away from home? no

36. How old were you when/if you first got glasses? 23

37. Did you need braces or a retainer? both, but I was pretty bad about not wearing the retainer

sunday

We've been having a pretty quiet weekend. We went to the flea market this afternoon---it was intended to be a Mama and Ellie-only outing, but the menfolk felt like coming too. No Blythes, though I did find a dealer with a lot of antique dolls who said she'd had a couple of Blythes in the past and sold them for $15 each (!!!!). Oh, how I wish I'd been there.

Tristan has decided that all of his trains need tweaks here and there. It started yesterday because he thought his "scoop car" had a "mean face". Yeah, I could see it...so I sanded off the eyebrows and drew "happy" ones. He was delighted! He kept bringing me cars, asking for faces on the once which didn't have them, clocks on the back of all of them, and windows with conductors peeking out. I just found him in his room, scribbling on his trains with a permanent marker that he'd apparently nabbed. Sigh. Natural progression. Glad it wasn't the walls.

Jon hooked up the bike trailer and took Tristan for a ride yesterday. He loved it! It was really hot, but we had a hard time getting him inside.

diversion

I have read that the Japanese take dolls quite seriously. Since Japanese culture is heavily influenced by Shintoism, an animist religion, many consider dolls to have souls. Unloved dolls, or those whose owners have "outgrown" them, are ceremonially burned so that their souls can move on. Collecting, customizing, and, well, playing with dolls is considered a fairly normal adult hobby.

So, unless you are prepared to try to emulate the friendly folks in the East, you might want to skip this entry. Keep in mind that I have spent the past month and a half deeply steeped in the 'net's Blythe culture, so this might get a bit long-winded.

I've had my French Trench Blythe for almost a month now and it's time to give in and introduce her.



This is Penelope ("Penny"). I'm slowly learning more about her, but it appears that she's a fairly footloose girl with a taste for travel and Belgian chocolate. She's fluent in English, Dutch, and French, and can get by in German, Czech, Japanese, and several Chinese dialects. Her loves eating anything heavily flavored with garlic and her favorite drink is oolong tea. She's a complete sucker for nineteenth century travel narratives and pretends to like nineteenth century poetry, though she thinks it's generally pretentious and dry.

For those of you who don't know about Blythe, she is a doll characterized by large eyes which change color with the pull of a string (pink-blue-orange-green). She was originally created for the American company Kenner in 1972; however, she pretty much creeped out most little girls and was not manufactured beyond that year. Fast-forward thirty years and she has been rediscovered (mostly by women ages 18-30, it appears) and the Japanese maker Takara has created several dozen "Neo Blythes", along with petite Blythes, Blythe merchandise, etc. They are well-known and loved in Japan and Southeast Asia and are slowly gaining a foothold here in the States. Hasbro has been licensed to distribute in the US (though only one Blythe, Mlle Rosebud, has come out since that happened) and the Ashton Drake Gallery has made two reproduction Blythes, which are supposed to be faithful to the original Kenners but are generally regarded as overpriced junk (much lower quality than Takara). Original Kenner Blythes routinely sell for $1000-2000 on eBay, depending on their condition (now you know why I've been going fleaing!).

The thing that really draws me to Blythe is the fact that she is so customizable. I have taken out and painted/foiled two of Penny's eyechips; the brown shown above was originally her orange one. I really like her 'stock' (ie, from the box), so probably won't change much about her, but a lot of people do.

Yeah, one more photo---Penny is pretty suspicious of the intentions of my new garden gnome---and you can go back to the regularly scheduled blogging...

tuesday

I'm all excited that strangers left comments on my blog. My normal blog content can't compete with cute baby pictures, though, so I won't expect it again :)

It's about time for an all-around family update, I think...

Eleanor: Well, yeah, she's cute. She's also growing way more quickly than I'd like! She's much more of a "typical" baby than Tristan was---she coos, gurgles, squeals, and chews on her hands. She prefers to be held for naps but does sleep pretty well at night. She's gotten strong enough to squirm out of her swaddling blanket at night, but we still swaddle her because she manages to grab her pacifer out of her mouth and completely wake herself up otherwise. She's a really sweet baby...when I talk to her, grins and wiggles like it's the best thing in the world. However, she is definately not a foodie. She'll only eat every 2-2.5 hours and loudly refuses if she's not ready yet. Not a fun baby to nurse in public with.

Tristan: Still a train fanatic. We got a couple of old Thomas videos that the library was about to throw out and he's been wanting to watch them constantly. In a few areas, they show the different characters one by one without saying their names, but he knows them and happily shouts them out. His Oma bought him a few small Thomas train cars and he's insisted on taking them everywhere; even if he doesn't get them out, he has to know that they're in my bag. He's started trying to "play" with Ellie. He'll bring her one of his toys and try to get her to hold it. And yesterday he told me that she's his friend! His language has really taken off again and he's can do four and five word phrases and sentences and is also starting to pick up idioms.

Jon: He bicycled a lot as a kid, biked to work some in KC, and has started up cycling again. He's been biking back and forth to work for a couple of weeks and has gone on two 30-40 mile rides over the past week. He's also just decided to apply for a Conflict Mediation graduate certificate at a local university; it looks like his job will be paying for part of it. If I didn't know him better, I'd say he was a glutton for punishment.

Me: Yeah, glasses. And dolls. And eating food I probably shouldn't. That's about it.

by popular demand...

...some pics of the girly :)

i can see!

I really wonder how long my vision has been off. I really didn't realize how blurry things had gotten. I've also noticed that my distance perception has changed and Jon says that I'm driving better than I have the entire time he's known me. Wild.

I'm customizing my Blythe's eyechips today. Perhaps she'll be ready for me to introduce her pretty soon.

Head-scratching find of the week: the animated version of Orwell's 'Animal Farm' in the DVD dollar bin at Wal-Mart.

gettin' older...

just like Jaime said, lol. I have an astigmatism. Not horrible, but bad enough to make things a bit blurry. Went and filled my prescription at a discount place---got two pairs for one price and had them tint one, so I'll have a pair to drive in (reading signs is particularly hard). Poor Jon had to wait around with two unhappy kids while I tried on just about every pair they had, many twice. The opthamologist said that it's a fairly minor prescription and I don't have to wear them all the time, but I think that would confuse things for Tristan, since he most certainly does have to wear his all the time.

So, I'll be in glasses starting tomorrow, and probably for the rest of my life. When I was a kid, I wanted to have glasses, probably mostly because my dad did. The frames don't look nearly as nice on my face as I'd figured they would.

My uncle and cousin are in town this weekend---they brought Tristan a wonderful twin bed frame, a hand-me-down. He loves it! It's solid wood and really nice; we'll be able to raise the height as he grows. Jon never likes it when we get more stuff to move, but I'm happy to have it.

friday

The office sides with us. Yay! The manager thinks the woman downstairs is unreasonable, but had to give us a complaint form because that's the regulation. So, all's cool with that snafu. We're not going to get kicked out or anything, lol. And now the after quiet hours music is known to them.

Yesterday was a pretty full day of flea-ing for me while Tristan spent the day with Grace and his Mimi. Ellie and I went to three flea markets and I was pretty shocked about how overpriced things were. By the surplus of stuff with dust and faded pricetags, it looks like it was mostly too overpriced to sell. I found a box of arrowheads for $.50 each and a box of dug-up Civil War bullets for $2.50, but mass-produced plastic lunchboxes from the '80s with peeling pictures were marked $20-45. Madness. Most ridiculous find: I saw an old Beatles metal tray at Goodwill earlier this week for $5; found the exact same tray (but more scratched up) marked $95.

Today is Jon's day off (he works tomorrow) and I have an opthamologist appointment this afternoon. I've always had perfect vision, but have started having trouble seeing at a distance...dunno if it's serious enough for glasses, but we'll see.

it's on.

So, the neigbor lodged a formal complaint with the office.

She has picked the wrong pissed off housewife to mess with.

wednesday

It's so dern hot that I haven't been up to much at all.

I've been in a real flea market mood lately and, though I'm generally leery of taking Tristan to that sort of shop because of breakables, we stopped by a thrift store today. Lots of neat retro stuff---I'm really more into the clean lined Ikea version of midcentury furnishings, but if I were into polished walnut swank, I would have been in heaven.

Tristan's spending tomorrow with Grace and his Mimi, so I think the girl and I might hit a few then :)

Not much on the neighbor front, they've been keeping their distance. Good.

dear downstairs neighbor,

You've been just what I would expect in a young party-loving apartment dweller. You've played your music so loudly that if we chose to use the playroom as the bedroom it is intended to be, I'd never be able to sleep. You carry on conversations long after quiet hours and loudly enough that we can discern not only tone of voice, but individual words. You've littered the ground around our apartment with hundreds of cigarette butts and smoked weed on your porch more than once or twice. I haven't complained, I haven't called the office or the cops.

I'm a pretty decent neighbor and I've lived in enough apartments to know that some noise (and other) pollution comes with the territory. Yesterday, when you came in the middle of the day and said that Tristan is so loud that your houseguest is thinking of leaving (though of course having a houseguest is against your lease), I honestly said I would do my best to curb it. And I tried. I cajoled, threatened, yelled until, by the end of the day, both Tristan and I were wrecks. And, this morning, after another of your loud nights, you had the audacity to bang on the ceiling when Ellie cried. Babies CRY! And if you think your banging on the ceiling is going to enable me to comfort my baby more quickly, you are a foolish ass.

Tristan, do you have your stomping boots on?

early morn tuesday

It ended up being a pretty good day, though quite busy. We went down to a children's museum, which was suprisingly nice...though I do believe Tristan may have enjoyed it more than Grace.



Between that model train display and their three train tables, he had a really hard time leaving. We met Jon for lunch at a pub; I had an amazingly good sandwich, hot turkey with apples and strawberry preserves. Yum! Then we went to the library to get a Thomas book, then we went on a trolley ride. At one point, the driver (conductor?) asked if anyone wanted to ring the bell, so we went up with Tristan. He looked down at the bell button on the floor, then went straight for the controls. I couldn't help but laugh. That kid knows what's what. "A bell? C'mon. I want the real stuff."

So, yeah, I dunno if Grace enjoyed herself or not, but it was a fun day :)

I'm up rather early this morning, after having gone to bed with the kids way early---7:30, I think. Maybe I'll get back for a nap before they get up.

Being a SAHM, I don't keep track of the date too well, but I just noticed that yesterday was Aug 1...last Aug 1, sweet Ellie was conceived. Awwww.