Shower Epiphany

A lot of really good or really bizarre thinking happens in my shower. Which makes a lot of sense, honestly. Usually my shower occurs when the kids are either still sleeping or playing with Daddy, so I have a few moments to myself to ponder the hot water & whatever happens to be rolling around in my brain.

Recently I was pondering prayers. I am always in awe of people who talk about how they've been praying for their child's future (be it for their future spouse, for them to be truly wise, whatever...) since the child was born/very little. (These are folks who have children who are nearly full grown or older.)

At the same time, I have found that both to be truly admirable as well as a bit puzzling. Because, really, what is the person hoping for? That the sheer volume of prayers will result in what they want/need? While that sort of dedication is commendable, the thinking seems a bit skewed to me. (Not to mention that there could be other reasons that I haven't even thought of!)

Which is when it occured to me... maybe all that praying is so that God will make YOU the sort of parent you are supposed to be for your children to meet that kind of end. Kind of humbling.

5 Positives

After reading Rachel's post (and grabbing her graphic) about needing to curb the negativity, I realized she might be onto something with this positivity thing. (Hmm..... I think I might be making up words. Oh well, this isn't Scrabble and it is my blog!)






So, here are 5 things I can be positive about:

1. My family. I have 2 absolutely beautiful children that I love even when they drive me crazy. And a wonderful husband who loves me even when I drive him crazy.

2. We have a roof over our heads, food in our kitchen, and clothes in our closets. Enough said.

3. There have been so many times I am thankful for the fact that I've taught chemistry for 5 years already. That might sound weird, but I'm teaching AP for the first time this year, and without that background, I'd be sunk. Dead in the water. As it is, I still do an awful lot of work and quite a bit of thinking on my feet in order to stay on top of things, and it always amazes me how it all works out.

4. Following that, I love my students. My AP kids are putting up with me for the 3rd year in a row. And they work HARD. It's nice to see incredibly smart kids actually working. My Physics kids are in their 2nd year, and are amazed by the fact that they actually like the subject. My first year students are a mix of challenging and over & under acheivers, but that helps me to be a better instructor.

5a. Friends in real life. I am not one who makes friends easily, but I am incredibly thankful that I have made several TRUE friends. The kind you can call at 7pm or midnight if you need help, and know that you will receive that help. The kind you can talk to about anything that crosses your mind.

5b. Online friends - I am totally stealing Rachel's 6th point here. :) I am incredibly thankful for all of the wonderful ladies I've met online - for the knowledge I've gained, the laughter and tears that I've shared. You've taught me more than I realized there was to know.

What are you feeling positive about?

Almost Wordless Wednesday - Awe

Bug was absolutely in awe of the policeman on a horse. I think he thought it was a one-man parade the way he was waving. The policeman waved back & then actually stopped and offered to let the kids pet the horse; only Bird took him up on it.

Jello Ice Cream Pie

I'm not entirely sure where I found this recipe, but judging from the way it's worded, I suspect I found it on a message board somewhere.

The ingredients: a box of Jello (I chose cherry), a pint of (French) vanilla ice cream, a graham cracker crust, and some cherries (optional & chosen to match the Jello flavor).


Boil 1 cup of water. While you are waiting, measure out one pint of ice cream because a) you are too cheap to buy one pint of expensive vanilla ice cream and b) the store didn't have 1 pint of plain vanilla anyhow.


Once you've got the water boiling, add it to the Jello & stir until everything dissolves. Add about 1/3 of the pint of ice cream & stir until it all melts.


Allow the mixture to come to room temperature. You can put it in the fridge if you want, but it's just as easy to let everything soften on your counter - doesn't take too long either. I quartered my cherries while I waited.

Once the mixture is at room temperature, stir in the rest of the ice cream until it melts. Add the cherries, and then dump the entire mixture into the pie crust.


Cover and pop in the fridge, allowing it a few hours to solidify.

Crazy Counting

Bird is 4 and Bug is 3. Tonight at dinner Husband and Bird were counting fingers - discovering that 3+4 = 7.

Ever the Parrot, Bird was then holding up 3 and 4 fingers to Bug and asking him to count how many fingers were showing. He had no desire to count past one hand, so was doing his best to answer her so she would go away, but it wasn't going quite how either of them hoped.

Bird: Bug, how many fingers are there?
Bug: 1...2...3...4!
Bird: No, there's 7. Try again!
Bug: 1...2...3...4!
Bird: No, see there's 7! Try again!
Bug: 1...2...3...4!
Bird: No, there's 7! Try again!
Bug: 1...2...3...4........7!!
Bird: Good job.

It was so hard for us not to completely burst out laughing at that point.

Who Tried This Stuff??

Our cordless telephone has been dead for months (a year by now?). The answering machine attached to it works, but other than that we have not had a landline telephone except for the old-fashioned model in our bedroom that I've owned since I was 15. (And that was a Happy Birthday, let me tell you!)

Thanks to an Amazon gift card, we've recently acquired a working cordless model. Husband is slowly working through the manual (yes, he reads the directions! I'm so lucky!), and has come upon a few amusing instructions:


* Do not use this telephone to report a gas leak. (Is this like not using cell phones while filling your gas tank?)


* The AC adaptor should be connected to a vertically oriented or floor-mounted AC outlet. Do not connect the AC adaptor to a ceiling-mounted AC plug, as the weight of the adaptor will cause it to become disconnected. (Who has an outlet in their ceiling? And who wants to plug their phone into it?!)


* Note, if the message memory becomes full, erase unnecessary messages. (Is this not the most unnecessary statement ever? Are there people who panic when they hear 'memory full'? Do they seriously not know what to do?)


I'm dying to see if it works, but I have to let it charge for at least 6 hours first.

Biking Shoes

As it gets warmer & warmer, we've been spending more time outside riding bikes. I have no idea why, but this is Bug's favorite pair of shoes to wear when he rides his bike. Oddly enough, it's the only time he ever wears them.

Animal Kingdom

Haven't blogged about a theme park recently, so figured it was a good time to dig into the vaults and talk about this one.

Disney's Animal Kingdom opened back in April 1998. I'm not exactly sure when, but I was able to go with my family sometime that fall. My sister & I were excited because her leg was broken (stress fracture), so she had to rent a wheelchair & that allowed us all sorts of helpful privileges. (What can I say? We're weird.)

In all fairness, the first year of any park is sketchy as they work out all the kinks.... blah, blah, blah. None of us liked it, and I'd never been back since.

Over the last couple of years I've had quite a few people tell me that the place is so much better now; I'd probably really like it if I went back..... so we decided to use our final day of our 3-days passes to go there.

Quite honestly, my opinion hasn't changed. It's not that it's a bad park - there are lots of really good things about it. Let's start there.

The Good
* Everest - the newest roller coaster. Disney is not in the business of building thrill coasters, and this is definitely not a heart-stopper. BUT, there is an awful lot of creativity here that is just a lot of fun to experience. Be sure to either Fast-Pass it, or get in the single rider line. Otherwise you will be looking at a 40 minute wait on a good day. (I think we saw 90 minutes at one point.)

* The Boneyard - the playground for the kids. The ground is that fake bouncy stuff, and there are lots of slides and fun things for the kids to climb & run around on. There is only one entrance/exit, and it is manned by a Disney cast member. (I still wish they would tag the kids & parents though. Just because a child is leaving with AN adult doesn't necessarily mean they are leaving with THEIR adult. Sigh. What a world.)

And there are fossil "excavations" you can climb on. Bird was rather fond of this one. She kept yelling "Giddyup horsey!!" (Dinosaurs are kind of lost on her.)



* Finding Nemo: The Musical - We all enjoyed this - even the kids who still haven't seen the movie. It's a very fun mix of puppets & songs & actors, and it pretty much does the entire movie. Neither child liked the sharks, but other than that they really enjoyed it.

Make sure you try and get in a little sooner than 10 minutes before curtain. We got split up (Bug & I were parking the stroller) and were almost cut off in line. It kind of felt like waiting in line for a lifeboat on the Titanic. Except that we eventually got in. Cast Members are exceptionally good at packing this theater to capacity.

* Rafiki's Planet Watch - I think this is the younger kids/hands-on version of the Kilimanjaro safari, but it is enjoyable for all ages.

First off, you get to ride a train! (Bug was swooning, if it is possible for a three-year-old boy to swoon.) I found it kind of amusing that the seats were actually benches, all facing the loading platform. It did make loading/unloading easier though.



Secondly, there is a LOT you can do there. This was a scavenger hunt at the Discovery Station (There are 6 of these throughout the entire park; they all have different stuff for kids to try), and they both enjoyed looking for bugs & woodland creatures.


You can brush goats & sheep. Bird really liked this; Bug was rather hesitant to go anywhere near the real animals!


There's also a giant conservation center where you can "hear" the rain forest, "talk" to some ecological heros, see some of the veterinary work (if you're there early), and talk to all kinds of knowledgeable experts.

You can also see some Disney characters, if you are there at the right time. We got to see Rafiki and Jiminy Cricket.

Which brings me to my next point:

* Character Greetings
Overall, I've noticed in the last few years that Disney is working really hard to make many characters available at ALL the parks - not just the Magic Kingdom. Depending on who it is & the time of year, it can still take a bit of planning & quick-footedness in order to see the ones you truly love, but far more do-able than it was when I was a kid.

There are many places in AK where you can love on the characters. In addition to Rafiki & Jiminy, we also saw Baloo & King Louie (Jungle Book) somewhere in Asia, Pooh/Tigger/Eeyore were at the Character Landing (though we didn't stop there - we've seen them in EPCOT), and we happened upon Pluto & Goofy in Dinoland.

THEN, there are 4 permanent huts in Camp Minnie-Mickey where you can see Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy. These were the shortest lines I'd ever seen at any park - 45 minutes, and we'd been through all 4 of them. Bug was asleep for all of them, so we'd just had pics of Bird, and maybe Husband or I in there (Disney is incredibly tolerant, and within reason you can take as many pictures as you want). These pathways are shaded, have fans so it doesn't get too hot, and have calm, quiet music piped in.

Mickey is Bug's favorite, though, and we didn't want to miss this opportunity. We actually had a fresh Mickey (he'd switched out a couple families earlier) who was delighted to take a photo with the sleeping Bug.



Believe it or not, we actually went back later around 5pm (after Bug had woken up & we'd eaten dinner) to see Mickey again. The lines were even shorter!! Got a nice family photo too.

* Jammin' Jungle Parade

Usually, we're too busy to watch a parade. But we happened upon the parade route about 10 minutes before it was due to start - and we managed to find a nice shady place up front to sit as well. It was your typical parade - lots of floats, music, and dancers. Bird had a ball watching everything; we woke Bug up, and he was chipper by the end of it.


* Festival of the Lion King - We had an early dinner (hey, no lines at 4:45!!), saw Mickey, Donald and Goofy again (Bug was awake), and then got in line for the 6pm show. The line for this is outside, so plenty of time for the kids to jump around & work off some extra energy.

The show itself is PHENOMENAL!! We all really enjoyed it. No scary parts to speak of.


After we left the Lion King, it was only about 6:30. Since the park closed at 8pm, we were kind of surprised to see a mass exodus of folks leaving the park. I have no idea why.... maybe they were park hopping to another park for dinner, fireworks (they don't do those at AK out of respect for the animals), later hours??? Who knows.

It did mean, however, that the kids did not have to wait to ride the Triceratops ride (think Dumbo's flying elephants or Aladdin's flying carpets). Twice, while Husband & I took turns riding Dinosaur - which was down to a 20 minute (posted, but really maybe 5-10 minute) wait.

* Dinosaur - a fantastic ride!! It is not a simulator. You won't want to do it if you have back problems, etc., but this is easily one of the best things in AK.

The Not-So-Good

* This park has shorter hours than the others, out of respect for the animals. It sort of doesn't matter, though, cause you will have done just about everything possible with those fewer hours. Less bang for your buck though.

* You still pay $11 for parking.

* Animal Kingdom is NOT very stroller friendly. Florida is naturally flat, but those Imagineers made it all nice & bumpy so it feels like the jungle safari you've always wanted to take. Personally, if I'm pushing 100 pounds worth of kids/stroller/baggage, I like the flatness! Oh well. It was my cardio for the day.

* The pathways are rather narrow. Very cute, and creates a nice ambiance, but I really don't need to feel penned in by people all day long.

* To further complicate the walkways, there are all sorts of groups that periodically appear to play music, tell stories, or other fun things. They are all very well done & fun to watch, but then you have both the performers & the audience taking up valuable walkway space.

* We ended up buying the family photo with Mickey. They have all sorts of fun things you can do, like add the date & Mickey's autograph, and it was a rather nice photo. (The photographer had taken one with my camera, but just looking at the LCD screen I was worried about the quality.). Now, these guys have really good cameras, but I think they skimp a little too much on the printing. This is Disney World - I expect high Kodak quality (especially considering the prices!), but instead got what looked like a mid-range photo printer - a little hazy.

Stuff We Didn't Do
* Kilimanjaro Safari - The Fast Passes go quickly, and we just didn't manage to get one. The standby line was always over 70 minutes (as if! with 2 young kids?!), and this closes early - before sunset.

* It's Hard to be a Bug (3D movie) - very fun (I did see it oh so many years ago), but not for kids.

* Kali River Rapids - you are guaranteed to get soaked, and we didn't want to be.

The Bottom Line
Go to Animal Kingdom if you are looking for the Complete Disney Experience. Or if you have park hopping privileges. Or if you have just had no luck with the Character Greetings. Otherwise, I think you get more for your money at Sea World or Busch Gardens.

Potato Skins

I mentioned a while back that I made potato skins for the Super Bowl. In case you wanted to make your own, here's how I did it.

Start with as many potatos as you want. I only really wanted 4, since we are a family of 4 and the kids have a combined appetite of one person.



Give them a really good scrub, poke them with a fork a few times, and then pop them in a 400F (200C) oven for anywhere between 30-60 minutes. The bigger they are, the longer they take.

Once they are cooked, let them cool to room temperature so you don't burn your hand off trying to finish preparing them. Not that I'd know anything about that. Ahem.

Prepare your frying pan by dumping in a bunch of oil & turning on the burner. I did a 60:40 mix of olive oil and vegetable oil.



While the oil is heating, slice each potato in half, and scoop out as much of the middle as you like. I like to leave a bit on the sides, but not so much on the bottom. By the time you are finished with this, your oil should be hot & ready to go. Pop those suckers right in!!



The seasoning you see is garlic powder - season to taste. You may notice there's only 6 skins in here - I did not fry nor season the skins for the kids. They'll live a little longer because of it. :)

After several minutes, take them out, put them back on the cookie sheet, and fill them with whatever your little heart desires. I stayed simple - a dallop of butter on the bottom, cheese, and bacon bits. Other ideas: olives, scallions, onions, peppers, jalopenos.... the possibilities are endless.

Pop them back into the oven (still 400F) for as long as it takes the cheese to melt. Enjoy!!

RIP Microwave

You always been just like a microwave to us. Very strong (but not overly so), with that wonderful rotating table and excellent cooking times.

We never really knew where you came from; you just showed up at our wedding reception with no card or note. We valiently tried to figure out who gave you to us, but nobody ever fessed up.

But as I was making peanut butter krispy treats for Husband, you started to do this:


Note - this is not MY microwave; this is some person who purposefully put metal in their own microwave. My microwave glowed like this, but did not sound like this. I am in no way condoning or encouraging you to do this to your microwave.


I don't know why you did this. I checked inside, and there was definitely no metal anywhere inside of you. Just peanut buttery goodness.


But the nuclear-reaction-glowing and the post-glow scorch marks scare me. I don't have a good record with appliances - just ask the fridge (#26, and it was later discovered that there may have indeed been fire involved), and perhaps that old toaster. So I'm afraid you're going to have to go.


Fare thee well, old appliance.

That Sound You Heard Was My Heart Getting All Smooshy

I've never been a big fan of Valentine's Day. The snarky side of me HATES the fact that it's totally a Hallmark-created holiday. The practical side of me always says "we really don't need to do anything special for each other just because it's February 14." The sentimental side of me always twinges when he listens to me and really doesn't do anything.

The students at school always manage to pump each other full of sugar (not to mention the teachers who schedule "fun" activities that always seem to include sugared food as well!).

The icing on the cake was when at 6:45am Husband asked me if I minded if he worked late. For reasons not worth getting into now, he really did need to put in some extra hours to avoid having to use his paid-time-off.

All this to say that although I wasn't really in a funk, I was certainly not at my best when interacting with the kids. Bug ended up in bed very early when instead of cleaning, he was merely languishing on the floor instead - clearly tired. (and he did fall asleep rather quickly!). Bird, on the other hand, chattered away for quite some time.

Ordinarily, this is not a problem, but last night she kept calling me in to talk to me. "Can you refill my cup? What's your name? How do you spell it? Can I have a hug? How do you spell Dad? Do I really have dance class tomorrow?" Until finally I told her in no uncertain terms - IT IS BEDTIME. You can stay up & play quietly if you are not tired, but you need to do it by yourself. She agreed, and I thought that was the end for last night.

Until she called me one more time. And I was not a happy camper when I went back in there.

Except she gave me this. Not just random letters. Her first real words, other than her name. And not just any words.



This post could alternatively be titled Why I'm Now Two Inches Tall.

Happy Heart Day

This had me just about fall over laughing.



This picture was found here.

Hat tip to chilihead, who posted it on her blog.

Wordless Wednesday - Mommy and Daddy (by Bird)

Shaken, Not Stirred

One of my favorite labs in chemistry is making ice cream.



It is a wonderful real-world application to the concepts we've been studying - reactions, and the amounts of chemicals involved. If the proportions are incorrect, things go BOOM!! (or you get lousy ice cream).

It's incredibly easy to do, and fits nicely into one class period:

Into a quart-sized resealable bag combine:
* 1 cup milk
* 2 tablespoons sugar
* 1/8 teaspoon vanilla

Half fill a gallon-sized resealable bag with ice and toss in a generous handful of rock salt.

Seal the smaller bag & place it into the larger bag. Seal the larger bag, and then shake the entire thing for about 15-20 minutes. The more you agitate the bag, the quicker the concoction will solidify. It is ready when it's about the consistency of soft-serve ice cream. Pour into bowls & enjoy!

Tips:

- You really do want a quart-sized bag instead of a regular sandwich bag. Sandwich bags are thinner and are more likely to develop holes from all the shaking. Nobody wants salt-flavored ice cream!!

- If you are feeling particularly nice, have towels (or old spit-up washcloths & cloth diapers) on hand for the students to use as insulation for their poor, dainty hands. (did you catch the sarcasm there? *groan*) In all seriousness, though, it is very cold, and if you are not as prone to wearing thick sweatshirts like my students are, you will need something for your hands.

- If too much rock salt is added, the ice will melt before the ice cream is ready. Just add more ice & salt.

- Collect all the ice in one sink - rock salt is a pain to clean up.

- Don't want plain vanilla?? Add whatever flavor you want to the sandwich bag. This last time, my TA (who's also one of my AP students) & I decided to make chocolate ice cream. Dumped a bunch of Hershey's syrup into the milk mixture & smooshed it around before putting the bag into the ice bag. Very tasty!!

Weird things you can spell with element symbols

Last week in my AP class we were discussing buffers. Buffers are solutions that resist changes in pH. (what, this isn't normal, everyday conversation?!). As I was explaining the concept, I provided the example of a solution of sodium acetate and acetic acid. All of a sudden one of my students yells out "NACHO!!!"

We all kind of stared at him for a second before our eyes reverted back to the board to figure out what in the world he was talking about. And then we saw it - the symbol for sodium acetate:

NaC2H3O2

Naturally, it was only a matter of time before one of the girls came up with C2H4IPS.

Totally spiffy idea for a t-shirt.

Fashionable Bird

Bird really wanted to wear a dress to school. Unfortunately, it was a bit too chilly to wear a short-sleeve dress, and I explained to her that she really needed to wear long sleeves and long pants instead. Here is her compromise.



This way we both got what we wanted.

A Hammer to the Head Might Have Been Kinder

On her next birthday, Bird will be five. If you ask her about it, she will either mention:

a) the fact that she wants a tea party for her birthday with a castle cake, or

b) the fact that she'll be five and old enough to go to kindergarten at "Mommy's school".

This is a child who LOOOOOOVES school. She is in preschool for the first time this year, and it's been amazing to watch her blossom & flourish. She comes home excited to tell us all about what she did, or how the wonderful Miss A or Miss M did whatever it is they do with a room full of 4-year-olds.

So when our required meeting with the elementary principal rolled around, I wasn't worried. These meetings are required for all parents of incoming kindergartners, and I really had no idea what to expect. I know who this person is, and have only heard amazing things through the grapevine.

Therefore, imagine the shock we had when Husband & I met with this person, only to be told Bird may not start school after all.

I was left a bit lacking when the meeting started with a question: When is Bird's birthday?, and upon hearing it was in May, we were treated to the "Kids born in May/June/July/August aren't always ready for school, and most times its better for everyone involved if they just wait another year" speech. Only, instead of treating it as a possibility, it was definitely implied that this was more a 90/10 proposition of her staying home another year.

Reasons this royally angers me:

1. She really wants to be at Mommy's school, and she will be hugely disappointed if she has to wait another year. (Although, to be fair, this has nothing to do with whether or not she is ready for school.)

2. Nobody of any authority at the school has ever met Bird in person.

3. She has not been tested yet.

4. She may have a late birthday, but she is a very typical firstborn child - extraordinarily driven.
5. She is a sponge, and happily soaks up all the information the world has to offer. It would be better for all parties involved that she be taught a good way to use her powers!

Furthermore, it seemed like no matter what question I was asked, I gave the wrong answer.

"Does she know her numbers?" well, she can count...
"Many children can count, but if you show them a number out of context, they have no idea what it is or what it represents." (True, but isn't that partly why they go to kindergarten??)

"Does she know her letters?" why, yes she does.
"Well, most kids can sing the alphabet song, but again, they may not know a random letter written in front of her." (Actually, she probably would. She really likes letters.)

"Does she attend preschool now?" Yes, for the first time this year. It's a 3-day program.
"Many students are in a 5-day program now.... blah blah blah" (I quit paying attention)

"Do you read to her before bed?" Yes we do. "Does she pick the same story every night?" Not really - she has a large bookshelf and it depends on her mood that night. "Many parents believe their children are capable of reading when in fact they have just memorized the story from hearing it so many times." (Were you even listening to that last answer??)

It will be at least another month before Bird tests. I continually alternate between wanting to fill her with as much useless info as possible and just simply living life as we know it. Quite frankly, I'm leaning towards the latter. We both do much better without pressure.

Wordless Wednesday - Firewall

I am punny. :)

Bacon Crackers

I first read about Bacon Crackers over on the Pioneer Woman's blog. (And if you need more explicit directions, definitely click that link & check them out over there.) I was a bit skeptical that something so easy could turn out tasty. I mean, come on - only three ingredients?

Sure enough, that's all it takes: Club Crackers, parmesean cheese, and thinly sliced bacon.



Grab yourself a bunch of crackers & spoon a heaping teaspoon of parmesean cheese onto each one.



Then wrap a slice of bacon completely around each cracker. I used turkey bacon cause I like less grease (and yes, I realize the tradeoff is more salt. I wish they made a low sodium turkey bacon!!)



Bake on a wire rack (don't have one of those - how do you like my mini-muffin pan standing in instead?!) in a 250F (120C) oven for up to 2 hours (if you have a normal oven), or a mere 1.5 hours (if your oven is more like my Portal to Hades).

I had to be careful - these suckers went from not cooked to nearly burnt in the space of a few minutes. Since I used turkey bacon, I didn't really need the muffin pan, so I probably would just line them up right on the cookie sheet instead.

As far as taste went.... they were okay. (The folks I cooked them for seemed to enjoy them far more than I did though!) I felt it could use less salt & more cheese. Should I do this again, I will probably sprinkle some mozzarella in with the parmesean. Cause really, what's a little more fat at this point?!

It's all about the snacks.

I suppose some people were watching a football game yesterday. I recall eating lots & lots of tasty snacks.



This platter features bruschetta, parallel-universe-bruschetta (no olives), and cream cheese & jelly sandwiches. I also prepared veggies & dip, potato skins, and made a Jello ice cream pie for dessert.

Mmmmm..... snacks, crazy commercials and men in tight pants. Perfect evening!!!

Thought for the Day

“The gospel of Satan is not a system of revolutionary principles, nor yet a program of anarchy. It does not promote strife and war, but aims at peace and unity. It seeks not to set the mother against her daughter nor the father against his son, but fosters the fraternal spirit whereby the human race is regarded as one great ‘brotherhood.’ It does not seek to drag down the natural man, but to improve and uplift him. It advocates education and cultivation and appeals to ‘the best that is within us.’ It aims to make this world such a comfortable and congenial habitat that Christ’s absence from it will not be felt and God will not be needed.”


–-A.W. Pink (1886–1952)

hat tip to the ladies here

Kid-dar

I found myself perusing my gigantic stack of magazines yesterday, when I came across this snippet (that I'm now paraphrasing cause I already recycled the magazine).

In a perfect world, the father would have the side of the bed closest to the door so that HE can be the one to intercept all the middle-of-the-night visitors.

Huh. I guess I live in a perfect world, since Husband does indeed have the side of the bed closest to the door. I, however, am the one who is awakened by any middle-of-the-night visitors, and I am the one who walks her back to her bed every time.

I think that no matter what, kids can sniff out where Mommy is hiding.