Bus Face

We went to the Clinton Fall Festival yesterday (Clinton MI). We took a shuttle from the parking lot to the festival and back. This was the look on his face the entire time we were on the bus. I call this "Bus Face".

So, he was as thrilled as can be to ride the bus. But, not so thrilled to ride in his stroller. It was a constant battle. And I did get him out a couple times. He will walk & hold my hand for a while and then want me to carry him. Well...darn it...he's heavy. Too heavy to carry around all over the place - especially in the sweltering heat of yesterday. (It was HOT in Clinton, anyway) So, after carrying him for 5-10 minutes, I would plop him back in the stroller. He would fight, get out and walk, end up being carried...repeat.

The parade started at 2:30. He is usually napping at 2:30 (from about 1pm to 3:30pm +), so I'm sure you can imagine how exciting the parade was. We had a great seat - in the Subway driveway apron. He loved seeing the fire trucks, the horses, the Shriner's little cars and motorcycles and the bands. He could have cared less about half of the parade (the longest parade in the history of parades) though. And during that time, he would battle to get away from me, insist upon sitting in a pile of dirt and digging, and then pouring the dirt on me.

I know it's because he missed his nap. And because he's 2. He is typically a really good boy and a total joy to be around, but when he's cranked up...I just find it miserable. I told my parents (who was with us) and my husband (who was home sleeping because he's on night shift) to remind me of this day the next time I decide it's OK for the boy to miss his nap.

It's not going to happen people. Not going to happen.

Anniversary Day Trip

So, yesterday was our 9th wedding anniversary. Since it fell on a Thursday, and since my husbands schedule is not very cooperative, I decided to take day off and spend it with him. He was off on Thursday, but has to work Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Go figure. But, such is life.

We took the boy to the sitter and headed up to Motor City to the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA). I've never(!) been, and it's been a very long time since he has been. What a wonderful museum. Nestled in a very hip and happening part of Detroit - right near Wayne State University campus. They have a great collection of European Art - which we always love. And some awesome pieces of Phyfe furniture and pieces from renowned A&C potter Robineau. What I wouldn't give to own a piece from each!! And Kenro Izu's photography was AMAZING! There were so many awesome pieces, and it's such a nice museum, we will definitely make a point of visiting again. AND...even more exciting is that the Detroit Science Center is right across the street!

Even with all of the construction and detours on 75, it only took a little over an hour to get there which is just fine for a little day trip.

We headed over to the Rattlesnake Club for lunch. This is award winning Chef Jimmy Schmidt's acclaimed restaurant and is situated along the completed portion of the RiverWalk. Very cool. We started with a pomegranate martini. And then a cup of cauliflower cheese soup. For my entree, I choose the Wild Alaskan King Salmon, which was served with sweet corn polenta and topped with roasted sweet chile salsa. It was divine. My husband had the Angus Beef RattleBurger topped with caramelized onions, seared wild mushrooms, honey tellicherry pepper bacon, cheddar and a side onion stack. During conversations with our fantastic waiter, he learned that we were celebrating our anniversary, so minutes after they cleared our lunch plates he appeared with a slice of no-flour chocolate cake, topped with vanilla ice cream, caramel & berry sauce, berries and a cute sugar nest (I have no idea what it's called and I don't claim to be a foodie) - and a sparkler!

It was a wonderful Anniversary Day Trip. I'm looking forward to the BIG 10 year next year. Could a trip back to Paris (our honeymoon spot) be on the horizon? Stay tuned...

**Again, the spacing...not my fault**

September 25, 1999

September 25, 1999 at half past 4 in the afternoon, Hidden Lake Gardens, Tipton Michigan.

2 years after we officially started dating, we exchange wedding vows before Uncle Harold.

You see, ours is a love affair that was meant to be.

I met him in the hallway at Adrian High School in 1986. We had a lot of mutual friends, his best friends and my best friends. So, we ended up becoming very good friends and hung out (as a group) a lot. I thought he was a sexy skinny boy with punk rock hair, black chuck high tops, and black trench coat. He was such a rebel.

We hooked up in High School. Several times. Ok, many times. I had major hots for him. I even wrote on my off-white chucks that I loved him.

After graduation, he went off to the USMC. At his going away party, he cut off his long braid and gave it to another girl in our group. I was devastated. Well…to be fair, I was dating another guy and had been for a year or so and ended up engaged to and moving to Florida with this guy. However, I did cheat on this guy with him...every chance I got.

I would see him during leave of absences from the service – and would, you guessed it, hook up with him - no matter who I was dating at the time. I loved him, after all. Plus...he went from skinny punk rock guy to "Holy Shit, look at those MUSCLES!" No matter who I was dating, I always loved him and always hooked up with him when the opportunity {ahem} arose.

He got out of the service, moved to Ann Arbor to attend college, ended up dating a girl and moving to California with her. They broke up and he moved to Arizona, where he continued school. I saw him occassionally over about 4 years...and we hooked up each time. Get this...we were at a party in Grosse Ile Michigan, and my boyfriend at the time was with me. My boyfriend fell asleep on the couch, and I hooked up with HIM in the back room! Gawd. What a slut.

He came home for a mutual friends wedding in the summer of 1997. He was in the wedding and I was invited to the wedding. Neither of us had dates, so we decided (after hooking up the night before) that we would be each others date. Well…that pretty much sealed the deal. He was home for the summer (summer break from school) and we spent every waking and non-waking hour together.

One night, in his parents hot tub after some hot hooking up, I told him “I think I’m falling in love with you” (I knew that I was TOTALLY in love with him, but I didn’t want to scare him), to which he replied “I KNOW I’m in love with you!”

That was it, we were exclusive. We were official. He went back to Arizona to finish school. I went out there as frequently as I could, and he came home whenever he had a break.

The next summer he asked if I would want his mom’s old engagement ring (she got a new one for their 30th). Being the totally spoiled and ungrateful bitch that I am I told him that I didn’t want some used old ring. On my drive home that night, I realized what I had said and what he was TRYING TO SAY. I called him and told him that “yes, of course, I would love to have your mom’s old ring!”

We didn’t talk about it again for a week or so. I felt so terrible. I thought I had really screwed things up. Then I went to pick him up for one of my softball games and he grabbed me and kissed me passionately. There was something in my mouth. Gross! I spit it out…on the ground!

Then I looked on the ground. It was the ring. Wet and dirty, he picked it up and put it on my finger and asked if I would marry him. YESSSSSSS!

Fast forward NINE YEARS. We have a wonderful 2 year old son, 2 cats, a house, and he’s still the LOVE OF MY LIFE. Happy Anniversary, Boo!

The Boy & The Weight

Just a couple quick updates. The boy seems to be doing better. Daddy stayed home with him yesterday and told me that they played, they went for a bike ride, he ate the following: 2 scooby doo graham crackers, 2 bites of ramen noodles, 1 top of a blueberry muffin, 4 marshmallows, and drank a half jug of NutriPals. He said he didn't sleep much all day, and wasn't clingy at all. He has had an adversion to Daddy touching him since he's been sick though.

So, I got home from work and he's ok for about an hour or so. I made him some cheese ravioli's. One of his most favorite things. He usually eats about 20 (yes, 20 - they are about the size of a silver dollar), so I made 20. He ate 9. I think that's pretty good. Shortly after dinner he started getting whiney/clingy and all he wanted to do is sit on my lap. I think he's playing me. He's a playa.

This morning was much of the same...whiney/clingy. I felt absolutely terrible taking him to the sitter and he cried crocodile tears when I walked out the door. I told the sitter to call if she thinks I should come get him. There weren't any other kids there yet, so I'm sure he will be totally distracted and will be fine once they arrive...but it still breaks my heart.

And he's SO SKINNY! I can't believe it. I hope these steroids kick in and make him hungry hungry hungry! I miss my boy who eats as much as a grown up!

So, my 4th weigh in was this afternoon. Pretty much a bummer. Must be I spent too much time worrying about the boy and not enough time worrying about what I was putting into my mouth. I honestly didn't eat much for 3 days, and don't think that I overate. But, I certainly didn't get any exercise, and my stomach is a mess. I'm up 2 lbs. Oh well. Onward. It will come off next week...and then some (I hope).

But, I wonder...why can't I get the croup?

One Sick Boy

Early last week, the boy had a slight cough, runny nose, runny poop, etc. Just some basic signs of a cold - or as I was convinced it was - signs of teething. He has had the exact same symptoms (above) with every tooth.

Friday morning when I dropped him off at the sitter, his symptoms seemed about the same, but he was a little clingier than usual. I told the sitter to call me if she wanted me to come get him.

She didn't call. I picked him up after work and he was still clingy and the symptoms seemed the same. I put him to bed at his usual time (8pm) and by 9:15 he was coughing so hard I felt terrible. Standing outside his door...I debated going in. Hoping it would pass. Well, it didn't. And he began SCREAMING for me...and coughing/barking at the same time. I went in. He jumped up and said "mommy! {sob} mommy! {sob} wanna get me out". How could I argue?

So, I got him out. We sat on the couch in his room for a little while. Neither of us could get comfortable. So, I asked if he wanted to get in mommy's bed. "Uh huh". He's never slept in our bed. He's only played/jumped on our bed. So, hmm. This should be fun. He fell right to sleep, arm thrown around my neck. I sort of fall asleep. It was difficult...what with a foreign object in my bed and all. Then the coughing/barking starts up again. He can't stop. He can't get comfortable. He tries. I try. We spend the next few hours trying to get sleep. It doesn't work. We end up awake at about 3:15am. He wants to come downstairs and watch Scooby. I tell him that it's too early and we'll watch Scooby later. That's not what he wanted to hear. Crying, coughing/barking begin. So, we spend the next couple hours watching Scooby. He is in my arms, dozing on and off. Me, I'm sitting upright. I'm wide awake.

We run out to Target to get some milk and cough meds. We get home, I give him the meds, and wait for them to kick in. And I wait. And wait. They never kick in. Meanwhile, he is coughing/barking non-stop. Literally. Non-stop. I'm heartbroken, and scared, so I load him in the car and head to the ER. Everyone in the place knows instantly that it's croup. They didn't even triage him because they wanted to get him in and get him treated. He was that miserable.

They give him a shot of steriods (apparently this is how they treat croup) and tell me I should see improvement within the next 6 hours. Great. What am I going to do for the next 6 hours. So, we head home, plop down on the couch, and watch dvd's all day.

I tried to put him to bed at 8pm. He wants to sleep in mommy's bed. Mommy's so damn tired, she doesn't protest. Well. Another restless night. Up at midnight...in a hot steamy bathroom. Up at 1:30am, sitting on the front porch breathing in cool night air. Neither of which bring any relief. I tried to put him in his bed. Nope. So, we laid, restlessly, in Mommy's bed, for another half hour or so only to get up and come down to the couch and watch Scooby Doo.

Thankfully, Daddy is home today and can help. Only...the boy wants nothing to do with him. Daddy tries to hold the boy, the boy protests "No daddy, not you, only mommy". This is how we spent the rest of the day. Anyway, we tried the steamy bathroom a couple more times and I do think the last time helped. He was sound asleep in my arms at 7:30pm, so I carried him upstairs, changed his diaper (to which he didn't move or make a sound), and put him in HIS bed, closed the door and walked away. We'll see.

I stayed home with him today. We went to the Pediatrician in the morning. The Doc was very concerned with his breathing. So they gave him a breathing treatment. No change. And another, different kind of breathing treatment. His breathing calms, and so does the cough. If it wouldn't have worked...he would have been admitted to the hospital! She sends us home with a prescription for steriods. He took the steriods like a trooper and I could tell that it made him feel better. We spent most of the day laying on the couch watching cartoons.

Daddy is staying home with him tomorrow. Hopefully the boy will accept that.

Z and the TV

Ok, so my friend Danielle is having a contest for a $25 gift card for Build-A-Bear, and to enter, all I have to do is write about my child's TV habits. Here goes:

When Z was little, I hoped to keep him from watching regular TV as long as possible. He was too little to care about TV before he was mobile, and after he started moving he could never be still long enough to watch TV. So, the first year and half of his life were pretty much TV free. He used to love the beginning of Jeopardy - and would clap and holler "JEPERDEE!!!" when it came on, but he never really "watched" it.

Somewhere around 1 1/2 to 2 he started showing interest in some cartoons, but as mentioned above...he can't really sit still long enough to watch anything. Scooby Doo was on the Cartoon Network a lot at this time, so he started to really like Scooby.

Somewhere along the line, the reality of my life set in, and TV became a sort of babysitter for me. I didn't want for this to happen...but it had to happen. My husbands work schedule is not very conducive to normal family living, so in order for me to cook dinner peacefully, or pack lunches and get out the door by 7:25am on weekdays...I rely on TV to entertain my child. I HAVE TO in order to get things done. I play single parent 50% of the time.

I don't know how real single parents do it.

So, the reality is...my son watches cartoons. He loves Scooby, Bob the Builder, Thomas the Train and Caillou. He really only watches when I NEED him to as he still can't sit still for very long. I ask him if he has ants in his pants...and he usually replies that he has spiders/monkeys/worms/kittys/etc in his pants. He's very silly. Anyway, once that NEED is over, we're running around inside, outside, upstairs, downstairs.

He's only 2 yrs and 4 months old (TODAY!), so he doesn't have chores or homework. And I do hope to keep the amount of time he spends in front of the tube under control...unless I need a babysitter.

OUCH

Severe frickin diaper rash? You have got to be kidding me.

He is RAW.

I am going to cry my eyes out.

2 Yr Molars?

Ok, so, I'm pretty sure he is cutting his 2 year molars.

He's been working on them for MONTHS. These are - by far - the worst ones - as far as teething symptoms goes.

He is still sleeping thru the night, so no problem there. But, he has that rattly cough he's had with all of his other teeth. The rattle has been going on for about a week now and so has the burning poop. Poor thing will have a burning flaming poop - it will hurt his butt - and next thing we know he has diaper rash. Now, he hasn't had a diaper rash since he was a wee little one. And it looks very painful and is all over his bottom and around his penis and in the creases. I feel so terrible and slather a gob of desitin on it. It goes away in a day-ish, and then returns a couple days later...when he has another flamer. Repeat.

It has to be the teeth. He really doesn't ever get sick, hasn't been sick in probably a year. And this cough...it sure does sound familiar. He still uses a pacifier (I know, I know) and has been cramming it to the back of his mouth and chomping on it. He's very whiney and clingy, and his appetite comes and goes. And he's an eater...so when he doesn't eat...I get concerned.

Tonight...he wanted marshmallows for dinner. I didn't care. He didn't feel good. He was laying on the couch with a sore butt and a rattly cough. If he wants marshmallows...he gets marshmallows.

Hurry up you damn molars. I hate seeing him like this.

I'm down with it

Lost 2.2 today. Total of 5.6.

That's almost 2 lbs per week - for 3 weeks. The healthy way to do it.

I'm down with it.

I'm craving El Camino though...I guess if I'm gonna have it...tonight's the night. No other plans to eat out before my next weigh in.

You see...I can't eat out and do WW. Technically, I could, because with WW you can eat anything - it's all about making healthy choices and portion control.

Well...I simply cannot do that in a restaurant. If someone else is cooking for me...I'm not going to order something healthy. I'm going to order my favorite thing at that particular restaurant. Which is typically very un-healthy.

So, if I'm going to eat out while doing WW, my best bet is to get it done at the start of my new week, so I have the whole week to reverse the damage! HA!

Oh well. It's just the way I am. I'm down with it.

General Babble

There's just so much to think about.


This is a crazy time for us. We had court today. I can't really talk about it, but phase 1 is complete. My husband has an interview this week (via phone, maybe) for a position in Columbus. I don't necessarily want to move to Columbus, and there are a lot of things they would have to offer in order for us to pack up and move, but it's exciting. It's a step closer to getting out of his current place of employment. Plus, it's a large company with an office here in Toledo, so if the Columbus thing doesn't work out, hopefully he will be considered for anything that opens up around here. I do, after all, have connections there.


My husband's upcoming work schedule puts him working all weekend for the next - at least - 3 weeks - so I'm debating if I want to tackle potty training by myself. I'm planning to do the fast track method. I have the doll, both a potty and the insert thing you put on a regular toilet to give the boy a choice, big boy underwear, etc. We talk about it all the time. He likes to watch himself pee in the bath. He knows he can control it by contracting his bladder, and will start and stop it while in the bath. It really is funny. I'm really not interested in taking 6 months to potty train my child by putting him on the potty once in a while or whenever it is convenient. I'm really hoping the fast track works. He's very strong willed, so he has to be into it too. I'm still on the fence about this one.


Our 9 year wedding anniversary is next week. I have no idea what to get my husband. He said he only wanted one thing...and I can't repeat it. He's a simple man. We have a date planned though. More about that later.


I'm starting to freak out about a little pre-school and real school. I have no idea where to send the boy. We kicked around Montessori...and aside from the cost, we decided that we don't want our child to be a robot. He's far to outgoing, energetic, excited. He's never been to daycare, only a home sitter. I did visit a couple daycares when he was brand new, but they scared the heck out of me, so I never looked again. I really have no interest. I do, however, want to get him into pre-school next year, at least for half days a couple days a week. I really need to start talking to people to get some recommendations.


I want to transition him into his big boy bed at Christmastime. I found the bedding today. Now I'm nervous about the transition. Why? I have no idea. I'm afraid that my awesome sleeper will change when he has freedom. He has slept thru the night since he was 12 weeks old, with only a few incidents over the past 2 years (I can count them on one hand), involving puke or teething, where he woke in the night. I'm just worried he will feel the need to get out of bed a hundred times per night.

I'm anxious for my weigh in tomorrow. I'm ready for something exciting on the scale. We'll see.

I'm excited to get a Blackberry. I just need to find the time to make it happen. While we were waiting for "court" this morning, my husband was playing with the Voyager (my current phone which will become his) and almost instantly locked it up. Bizarre.

I like my new bangs and I think they make me look younger, but I have a couple weird frizzy sections that are making me nuts. I think I may quickly run the flat iron over them tomorrow and see if that helps.

Just more of the same. General mindless babble.

Remembering

Well, no, I didn't forget. I could never forget. I just didn't think to blog about it.

I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when the first plane hit. I remember getting a phone call from my husband telling me about it. I remember passing that information on to co-workers. I remember the comment from an idiot I worked with at the time.

I remember sitting on the floor in the media room. My hand over my mouth, tears streaming down my face.

I remember gathering my things and heading for home. I remember calling my friends in NYC. Over and over and over again. I remember receiving a call from my friend that evening. It seemed like days, weeks, before he called me back. I know it's because it was difficult to communicate at this time. He told me that he and the rest of my NYC friends were ok.

I called my friends in Alexandria. I knew they were ok, but I wanted to make sure.

I remember sitting on the couch, bundled in a blanket - bundled with nerves, watching the tv for days on end. My hand over my mouth, tears streaming down my face.

This was happening in MY city. These were my people. My heart was broken. I was so sad. Yet, I couldn't stop watching. Over and over again. I watched. And I cried.

I remember everything about that day. Despite being in a fog. I even remember what I was wearing.

I remember our trip to NYC in late November. I remember going down "there". I remember seeing the soot that was still on the surrounding buildings. I remember the smell. I remember the memorials. I remember so much that I will never forget.

I remember wandering around down there...hand over my mouth, tears streaming down my face. So many others were doing the exact same thing.

Tears are streaming right now. Only my fingers are typing. They'll be over my mouth soon.

Week 2

Ok, so my second weigh in was today. I am down .6 lbs.

I had, of course, hoped for more. But, it is going in the right direction, so I should be happy about that. I will get this weight off....one ounce at a time.

I need to re-evaluate what I'm eating and doing and see if I can create some excitement on the scale next week.

We have a bday party this weekend, so I need to be cautious about what I'm eating & drinking. Otherwise, I have no plans to eat out (which is what always gets me in trouble) or do anything otherwise un-WW-friendly.

I'm going to the gym tonight, tomorrow and Friday. Maybe I'll try to jog on the treadmill again.

Ok...here's to a great weigh in next week!

All Boy (& A Pretty Little Girl Too)

So, we went to a family reunion today in Adrian. It was held at Heritage Park. I was a little nervous at first, because I didn't remember there being a jungle gym/play area there and was concerned..."what the heck are we going to do with this kid for a few hours?"

Well, we weren't disappointed, there was a wonderful jungle gym thingy, larger than most I've seen here in T-town. It was awesome. And the boy had a great time playing on it. He can scale a ladder like he's been doing it all his life, and they had a rock wall too, and he scaled it like a pro! There's also the face first sliding he likes to do...this kid is fearless.

But, none of this pales in comparison to what we found about a couple hundred yards away. The people who maintain the park live on site and have a barn full of all sorts of things boys love. We saw tractors, trailers, lawnmowers, miscellaneous farm equipment, so on and so forth.

He rolled the thing above down a big hill and back up again (well, daddy had to help). What a great time! And yes, the tongue is always out when he's working hard.

Tonight after his bath, I was helping him put his jammies on and I asked him if he was my best boy. "Nope. I'm a girl." Hmm. I asked if he was sure. He said "No, I'm a baby". I told him he sure was a big baby. He then said "Yep".

Gustav, Hanna, Ike?

I'm not sure which of these rolled through T-Town yesterday, but it poured...for about a half hour and then sort of rained off and on for another hour. We haven't had rain here since early July.

I was thankful to get this rain (and also, obviously, thankful we live in Ohio and not on the coast)...I'm tired of watering our lawn every day. But it was drying up like a slug does when you pour salt on it.

The boy and I were out exploring after the rain. Checking out all the puddles, the sticks that had fallen off the trees, the new critters crawling around. Whoa...let me back up and tell this cute little story before I go any further. I let him jump in a couple puddles on the way to the car when I picked him up from the sitter, and as we're driving home, he looks at his shoes and says to me: "Look Mommy, I'm dirty in my two shoes!". This kid. Cracks.Me.Up.

Ok, on with the story. He discovered that his pool (which has been turned upside down in the back yard for a week or so) had a puddle in it.

Next thing I know, he is in the puddle. Jumping up and down like a mad-man. Bouncing off the inflated edges and sliding into the puddle.

He was soaked. He was filthy. He had THEE BEST TIME EVAH!

The fun never stops.

This spuds for you (me)

The little cuties pictured here are the inspiration for the points friendly potato soup that I scorched on Monday.

It's hard to tell from the photo, but they are just a hair bigger than a cherry tomato! They are so incredibly cute.

I was craving some soup, and thought I would try to come up with something. Here's the recipe (I really never ever measure anything when I cook, so the quantities are a guess - for the most part):

5.4 ounces of potatoes (2 points and = to about 10-13 little potatoes)

about 3 cups of water

3 chicken bullion cubes

about 1/2 onion - or however much you like

a spoonful of crushed garlic

about a 1/2 cup of frozen peas

1/3 cup of instant potato flakes (2 pts)

A dash (or 6) of crushed red pepper

Fresh ground pepper to taste

Sautee onion and garlic until carmelized. Boil potatoes (leave them whole...they're so cute, and bite size) w/bullion cubes, red pepper and pepper. Once potatos are soft, add onions, garlic and peas. Boil for a few minutes until peas are no longer frozen. Remove from heat, stir in potato flakes to thicken.

It's REALLY REALLY good...and only 4 points for the entire pot! YUM!

**Again - I have no idea what is going on with the spacing. It's not me.

anticlimacticness

My first official weigh in. I'm down 2.8 lbs. Now, that's OK, it really is. I'm OK with that. Really.

It's just that...well, I had hoped for more. Always.Want.More.

I have been a SALT addict this past week. That is probably part of the problem.

I journalled every day. So, there's no problem there.

I measured my food. So, we're good there.

I maybe didn't make the best choices, but I still ate my allowed points and used only 11 of my flex points.

So, my goal for next week is to lose 5 lbs. I'm heading to the gym tonight and will make it there at least 3 more times before my next weigh in. I'm upping my water intake and limiting my salt...right after I eat this sour apple with salt on it.

So, onward and upward. Or, downward? No matter...I'm losing it.

Digits and kids

So, the 90210 premiere last night. Was I excited? YES! Very! A little part of me died when it went off the air in 2000. Did the premiere live up to my expectations? Um, I'm still on the fence.

Sure, there was a lot of drama. There was a lot going on all over the place, none of the scenes lasted very long, and it just seemed to jump jump jump all over. I hated the music - there was WAY to much of it. It seemed as though they were trying to pack way to much into a season premiere. But, I think that is often the case.

I love Kelly Taylor. As always. Brenda Walsh looks TERRIBLE, and is an equally terrible actress, and I still hate her.

As for the rest of the characters, I wasn't particularly blown away by any of them. The girls in the show are emaciated. I cringed as Annie ate a small bowl of lettuce for school lunch in one of the scenes. They need to EAT! The show left me feeling a little "meh". The original 90210 was my guilty pleasure for 10 years. They were my family. I will likely continue to watch the new 90210 in hopes that it gets better with time.

I asked my son this morning if he was my best boy. He said "I'm your super best best orange boy". Not sure why orange...but that's ok. He is my super best best orange boy.

And...it's comforting to see that ridiculously beautiful hollywood types can have ugly children. Did you see Nahla? Not cute.

Labor Day

My normal boring existence was filled with fun activities this weekend. My husband was off ALL WEEKEND and MONDAY! We went to the Toledo Zoo on Saturday and again on Sunday. You see, on Saturday, we never made it past the Africa side of the zoo (the west side of the trail). We never walked over the sky walk. We rode the carousel - over and over and over again - and went on the train too! We spent some time in the misters - because it was hotter than hell (if you ask me, anyway), and spent a lot of time running in and out of the Polar Bear exhibit. So, on Sunday we entered through the back entrance (Broadway) and spent a lot of time in the Aquarium before heading over to the playground and then a few minutes checking out the monkeys.

And Sunday evening headed to the Toledo Botanical Gardens so the boy could run run run!

He was exhausted, and slept until 9:30 am on Monday....that's 13 1/2 hours! Monday morning after we got around, we headed up to the lake to visit (& play with) friends. I'm not a big fan of the water - and will not wear a bathing suit in front of anyone - so the boy hasn't spent much time at the lake. He ran into the crashing waves like he was born to do so.

We had a great weekend. It's nice having my husband around. I miss him.

**I was so engrossed in writing this that I burned the 'points friendly' potato soup I was making for lunch tomorrow. It's scorched, the house is full of smoke and my soup (& probably pan) are ruined. Do I try again? Argh. PS: I have no idea what is going on with the spacing on this blog but it's not my fault.