TMI

You know, we never really know all the mysteries behind "Aunt Flo" and I always love how when I ask my doctor something he responds like "Oh yeah, everyone knows that."

Well, TMI for you dear readers, but if you venture here, you know better.

I get diarrhea when I'm on the rag. So, from about 12 till oh, this coming weekend, I've had the insult of the poops to accompany the injury of the bloating, cramping, bleeding and general bitchiness and weepiness that arrives about every 29 days for me. Yippee. I mentioned to my doc on my last exam about the poops and asked if that was normal. I get the "of course it is normal" look and the speech that everyone is different and for many women, that is very normal.

Anyway. Ventured on to the Menstrual Mysteries story and decided I might reather be out of work than to have the job of the lab tech who had to help determine what is light or heavy bleeding:
"To prove it was reliable, the researchers randomly recruited 31 women between the ages of 35 and 55 (all of whom were still menstruating and none of whom were using hormones) who agreed to meticulously save and preserve all their used menstrual products from three complete cycles. At the end of each cycle, a technician was sent out to collect the samples for processing in the lab. Over the course of the three cycles, the researchers collected 1,489 bags of used products. As part of the project, the women were also asked to use the six-point scale to estimate how much blood they had lost for each cycle. When the data was processed at the end, the researchers found that most of the women's ratings closely correlated with their actual blood loss. This was particularly true of the women who were the heaviest bleeders. "

Lab tech: ewww factor 10+

Biting the hand that feeds you

Nothing like having the rug pulled out from under you to make you sick to your stomach.

After running some errands, I came home to check my email and found my biggest freelance job has put the halt on their contract labor - for now. Apparently, the powers-that-be are refiguring how they're going to compensate the writers and my editor has told me to stop working on assignments until she finds out what her budget is going to be.

I genuinely feel like I'm going to throw up right now. Prayers would be nice. I know the Good Lord always takes care of us, but these are the times that challenge my faith. I know once I get my mind wrapped around this, I will figure out how we'll make it through. But, for now, it is just a sick feeling.

Happy Birthday

Rarely in a child's education, there is a teacher that really makes a difference. Maybe rarely isn't the right word. My Pickle has been blessed with two wonderful teachers who have helped him, but this one came at the right time to hopefully reverse some of the damage done by two crummy teachers before her.

We have seen remarkable changes in this boy under her guidance: firm, but loving. She won't take his shit and he is a better kid for it. Now, he can still bat his eyes and get a little of what he wants, but not if it isn't the best thing for him. You can be assured of that.

SO, my boy was fired this morning when he tells me about 10 minutes before we're leaving that it is his remarkable teacher's birthday today. *sigh* You could have told me last night so I could have done something, I told him. I get the shrug and sorry look from him.

so, here's to you Mean Old Teacher: another year older, another year wiser and a few months from bidding adieu to the little stinkbug as you send him off to middle school armed with all you have taught him and a little more ready for it.

Thanks for all you do. Happy Birthday.

For the love of God

Please, do something before you EVER forward me some email .... please please please ...

Snopes it.

For the love of God.

There is no flesh-colored toilet spider.
You won't get free Gap stuff for forwarding the email.
Oliver North didn't warn the Senate about Osama Bin Laden.
Penny Brown is not missing.
Dallas is not doing a speeding ticket frenzy.

Please. I have to be the biggest bitch *no comments* on the planet. The first thing I do when I get one of these emails is to Snopes it and then send my reply to all, so hopefully they don't forward it, too. I hate that crap. It takes just a minute people. I'll say it again:

WWW.SNOPES.COM

And, yes, I'm yelling.

A new fave

I am going to have to add this to my links columns. It is a word reference translation dictionary type site. I was able to look up a common Spanish phrase I've known all my life, but wasn't sure if it really meant what I thought it did. So, I looked it up and sure enough, it is right on target.

So, if you want to say "poor baby" in Spanish, the term is pobrecito. No direct translation, but it is the equivalent. Pronounced - Poe (like the author) bray (like a donkey sound) see (with your eyes) toe (like the five on your feet). Poe-bray-see-toe.

There you go. Voila.

Wait, I need to look up Voila: lo and behold.

Till death do us part

Not talking about my dear husband, but about this God-awful cold, allergies, crud, whatever it is. I'm beginning to think it is going to be the death of me.

I've tried drugs given to me by friends who are nurses and have sample Rxs, I've tried antibiotics I've had and never used before, I've tried OTC crap ... I get better for a day and then BAM! I'm back to square one of the watery, itchy eyes, stuffed up and runny nose (which I don't understand how I can be both, but I am), sore throat, chapped lips, headache, etc.

Off to the doctor this morning for some top-notch high-grade drugs. I'll even take a shot if it cures what ails me. This has been goign on since before Christmas and I can't stand it anymore. Plus, my honey would probably like it if I stopped snoring.

Update: Went to the doctor this morning and got a shot in my right hip. *ouch* And some samples of Clarinex and Certuss D (a de-snotter, thank you Jesus). If this doesn't do the trick, he advised me to take a long walk off a short plank. Ok, not really, but he gave me enough drugs to work for a wihle. It is allergic rhinitis. The unseasonal warmth has caused the mountain cedar to be high already. Yippee. My worst allergen is blowing in daily. Shiny.

Just wondering ...

I'm pondering how some folks are going to spin it so that Bush caused the Canadian mine fire, but I suppose they won't blame it on him because the first reports indicate that all the miners are safe.

A reminder we can all use

Stumbled on over to some of the blogs who left comments on my SPF post and found this great reminder that we are not on our own in life. There is someone much bigger and stronger than we are.

Thanks to Charmed*1.

Oh yeah, turn on your speakers, too, when you go to the link.

Stuff Portait Friday: All about me!

The assignment at Random and Odd this week is:

Your Toys.
Your Secret.
Your Eyes.

Ok, here it goes. I didn't want to show you my toys because that might freak out some folks. *wink* So, I picked my favorite toy: Great White Hunter. He was so hot with those sideburns, but I like the shaved head enough to sacrifice the sideburns.


My secret: how I really got my job at the airport (by holding hands with my boss in a bounce house). Shhh.


And, my eyes. I could have used some more mascara this day. Oh well.

Ack! I should have made that smaller. Something sort of creepy about seeing my pores and wrinkles up close like that. Yuck. At least the trolls have something new to pick on other than my size.

Have fun and go play!

Tight End Friday

What better title for a hunk of the week other than tight end? I love it.

The Cowboys' Jason Witten was named to the Pro Bowl team to replace Jeremy Shockey, another worthy hottie of the week candidate himself.

So, here is to you Mr. Tight End.

He even played at UT, if I remember correctly.

And, look at his playing with the cute little kid. What's not to love?

Enjoy ladies.

Missing my baby

My sweet Little Bit went to spend the next two days with her beloved Granny and I'm missing that baby girl so much.

But, she is her granny's girl.

Last year, she preferred her Granny over everyone else.

When my mom had her stroke last July, my first thought was how hard it was going to be on Little Bit to handle not having her grandmother in the same condition.

Above was a few weeks after the stroke and below was about two months later.

She was so excited to get to spend two days with Granny, so I'm glad they're getting this time. It will give me a break to get some writing done, but I feel so lonely without my shadow under my feet and trying my patience and calling to me from the back seat.

Top 10 signs you're a gay cowboy

From David Letterman:

Top 10 Signs You Are An Alternative Lifestyle Cowboy
10. Your saddle is Versace.
9. Instead of Home on the Range, you sing It's Raining Men
8. You enjoy ridin', ropin' and redecoratin'.
7. Sold your livestock to buy tickets to Mamma Mia!
6. After watching reruns of Gunsmoke, you have to take a cold shower.
5. Native Americans refer to you as Dances With Men.
4. You've been lassoed more times than most steers.
3. You're wearing chaps, yet your "ranch" is in Chelsea.
2. Instead of a saloon, you prefer a salon.
1. You love riding, but you don't have a horse.

Thanks to KR for this.

"It's a major award!"

"The old man's eyes boggled, overcome by art."

Now, you, too, can own your very own leg lamp.



If you don't get it, you really need to rent, view or buy A Christmas Story. For some of the best quotes, check this out. Hat tip to Chad for sending this to me.

Addendum: You can get an autographed leg lamp to really illuminate the glow of electric sex in your home, too.

If I had a million dollars ...

There are all sorts of things I'd do, but I'd go to the SciFi Summit in Pasadena. Star Trek people and Serenity folks, too.

For $55 I could have an 8x10 photo taken with Nathan Fillion! For $65, I could have breakfast with Nathan, Summer Glau and Morena Baccarin.

*sigh*

See the DIFFArence?

Last week, Army of Dad and I were invited to a little mixer by some PR folks hosted by Hillwood and Victory Park at the model home for The House. We're thinking it is some mixer to showcase the new designs. But, we were soon educated otherwise.

We noticed models for Victory Park and a sign for the event:
The Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS (DIFFA), which is the oldest and one of the largest funders of HIV/AIDS service and education programs in the U.S.

Hmm. Looks manly enough entering the foyer. Here is Michael Johnson, Baylor grad and Olympian. On an opposite wall was Lance Armstrong.

We looked at the models for the development and started to notice that the largest population present at the event was gay men.

I didn't even notice that one of the cars in the parking garage was a Ferrari till AoD pointed it out to me.

The Victory Park layout below.

So, we're checking out the swanky digs and the beautiful people everywhere.

Sample bathroom. AoD wasn't sure what the hook on the wall was. It is a pretty tiny towel rack.

A chef prepared sushi in the sample kitchen. Big tubs of wasabe on hand to clear the sinuses.

I have no idea what the gnome's story is, but he was part of the decor.

I thought the chair looked like a martini glass.

A little windblown from hanging out on the patio, but I'm being an olive in the martini glass chair. My cleavage didn't get me anywhere with this crowd.

Digging those pants on the dee-lish little boy toy. He is obviously a kept boy. He got in a Honda at the end of the night. The gal in the fur next to him got into a Jag.

Open bar and hip people.

I kept thinking Queer Eye for the Straight Guy when I looked at this Fab 4.

I think that used to be my mom's comforter in the 70s. It is a guy, by the way.

We spent a great part of the night chatting up these guys. Dean (the blonde) is a nurse and breast cancer researcher. David (the shaved head) is on the DIFFA board. We met their partners and a designer named Dennis (whose partner is Dean's brother) and had a great time. Of course, David was trying his best to get a rise (ew, bad pun) out of Army of Dad by talking up lots of gay things. We were talking about shaved heads and I told David he had a great head to be shaved. He responded " I give great head, too!" while looking Army of Dad in the eye. AoD chuckled politely and once David couldn't get a reaction out of him, he stopped going at the gay references. Was pretty funny. It was almost like once we started talking to Dennis, then we were the "ok heteros" and others came over to talk to us, too.

Part of DIFFA's fundraising endeavors is that selected designers create coats to be modeled and then sold at auction. Dennis (whose picture I didn't get to take and last name I didn't catch) is designing a coat, too. It sounded lovely. But, his description was hilarious. He was using buck skins and was telling AoD that "You know, in East Texas they actually hunt deer! We had to use three hides because they all had bullet holes in them!" He seemed so surprised. Great White Hunter bit his tongue and just nodded even while Dennis told him about how the deer's horns or antlers (whatever) are shed and he used the pieces for buttons, so his jacket is organic. I loved the description. It sounds fabulous. Another coat below.

And, how AoD helped get through the night: free beer.

I have a feeling some boys were drooling. He's a hot one!! But, back off guys, he's all mine! I have to say that I feel so comfortable around gay guys that I had a blast. I've had many really good friends who are gay men, so I guess it just comes naturally for me to just fit in. AoD did a great job, too.

Not too bad

I'm trying to change some eating habits to make myself healthier. I love to snack and I picked up some 100-calorie packs of Oreos and some cheezit type crackers. I haven't tried the crackers yet, but the Oreos are great. There is enough for me to be filled up - with some sort of drink - and they actually taste pretty good.

A friend sent me the following tips and I may try to implement some of these, too:

When it comes to losing weight, it's all about numbers.
It takes 3,500 calories to build a pound. If you have a deficit of 100 calories every day for a year -- either by eating less or exercising more -- you can lose 10 pounds in a year. And sometimes it's simple changes that can bring about big results.
Here are some ways you can lose 10 pounds (or more!) this year.
1
When you go to a restaurant, ask for half of your portion to be put in a doggie bag right away. Even if you only go out twice a week, you'll easily save enough calories to lose 10 pounds a year.
2
Is a tall glass of juice your morning ritual? Swap that 20-ounce OJ for a real orange and you not only save more than 100 calories, you also get some fiber while you're at it.
3
Learn how to add 10 minutes of exercise a day. The goal is 30 minutes a day. If you walk for just 30 minutes -- even just three 10-minute walks a day -- you will lose 13 pounds this year.
4
Use sugar substitute instead of sugar in all your baking. If you use a couple of teaspoons in your iced tea and a couple on your morning cereal, you could easily lose 10 pounds by switching to a substitute.
5
If you can't take diet soda, just downsize your regular soda portions. If you usually pick up a 44-ounce soda in the morning, switch to a 24-ounce size and save about 200 calories a day. That's about 20 pounds this year.
6
Swap out your cheese. Replace the 1 1/2 ounces of Cheddar or American cheese on your sandwich with one ounce nonfat mozzarella and lose 11 pounds in a year.
7
Replace your regular beer with light beer and save about 50 calories per bottle.
8
Forgo regular bottled salad dressing (2 tablespoons, about 150 calories) for an equal portion of fat-free dressing (about 40 calories) for a net savings of at least 100 calories.
9
Take the stairs every day at work. If you go up and down often enough (say up and down five flights three or four times a day), you've got your 100 calories.

Wonders never cease

Pickle, my dyslexic son who has some emotional issues, was helping his little brother with his homework tonight. He was helping him pronounce the big words in his book.

I really could openly weep. This boy has come so far in a short time and he is blessed to have such an incredible teacher to get him this far. We were lucky to find a shrink who spent some time with him and suggested dyslexia classes instead of ADHD medications. We are lucky to have some people in his corner working hard to help him reach his potential and for this, I am blessed.

Me and my big mouth

I always volunteer to do Career Day at the boys' school to tell children what it is like to be a writer.

*RUN RUN RUN! DO ANYTHING ELSE IF YOU WANT TO BE ABLE TO PAY YOUR BILLS!!!!*

Oh wait, that is just the thought running through my head, it isn't what I actually tell them.

I manage to teach them about self-discipline (BULLSHIT), the importance of meeting deadlines (BULLSHIT), how important a dictionary is (ok, not bullshit), the importance of good spelling and grammar (MORE BULLSHIT) and how much fun it is (Only BULLshit some of the time.)

I leave out how most of us wind up lonely, withered, divorced and alcoholics.

Tomorrow, I go to speak to the fifth-grade kids in Pickle's class. He's in a special class for kids with issues, so this is always interesting. They typically respond best to my Nascar story as well as those involved dead bodies and blood.

The first grade class is hard to impress, too, because they've never heard of Roger Staubach, Wil Wheaton, Dick Conrad or others that I've interviewed although I can still impress them with my interviews of the now President and First Lady.

But, it gets worse. As I'm firming up the time and details with the first grade teacher, she asks me to talk to the entire first grade. Oy vey. (can a Catholic say oy vey?) She said there are 45 of them "but, they're little" she says.

Yes, yes, true. But, so are ants and I don't want to be thrown in an ant bed! I will let you know how it goes.

Heathers

One of my favorite movies of all time is Heathers. I can't believe I haven't thought of that as I've answered all the goofy memes about movies I love. I own it on VHS and have it in a box somewhere in my packrat areas.

But, I forgot about it until I saw this.

Two of my favorite lines in the movie:
What is your damage, Heather?
and
Fuck me gently with a chainsaw.

I say the first one frequently - minus the Heather part - to my children. They dont' get it; they just think it is a mom thing. I saw the latter occasionally when I'm surprised. At the funeral I attended yesterday, the lady's granddaughter was speaking kind words about her and mentioned some of the things her Memaw used to say all the time. I hope my grandkids don't get up in my funeral mass and say "You know, Mimi (because I won't be called Granny or Grandma, etc.) used to say "Fuck me gently with a chainsaw!" and "Goddammit!" whenever she was shocked by something stupid we did.

Remind me to clean up my language. My eldest does frequently.

Poor poor pitiful me

I'm a Linda Rondstadt song today. (AoD, you must go read the lyrics for a grin.)

It is a long story that I really don't want to get into on the blog, but suffice it to say that I haven't felt particularly loved by certain segments of my family. So, dysfunction has reared its ugly head. I have cried enough to make my eyes sore, but not really get it all out yet. It sucks to feel this way. I talked to one of my relatives and she made me feel a little better about it all and told me I wasn't completely psycho, but she also teased me about "going to eat a big squishy worm" for being so pathetic. I like her for that reason.

So, off I go to eat a worm.

Fruity oaty bars

" ... make a man out of a mouse! Fruity oat bars make you bust out of your blouse!"

Woo hoo!

Army of Dad found a link that shows you how to get an Easter Egg off your Serenity DVD and see the making of the Fruity Oat Bars commercial (where River says Miranda and then whoops some serious ass).

Pretty funny. However, now I can't stop singing that damn song.

To find the Easter Egg:
“In the main menu, if you play around with the buttons you’ll find a featurette of the Fruity Oaty Bar,” Peristere revealed. (From the main menu highlight “play,” then press left, which will highlight a marker on the right side of the menu; press enter to see the featurette.)

Talks of a sequel, too.

Just say no

Some people get their panties in a wad over the damnedest things. Turns out that some people are suing Nickelodeon and Kellogg in an effort to stop junk-food marketing to kids.

According to the story:
The plaintiffs are citing a recent report documenting the influence of marketing on what children eat. Ads aimed at kids are mostly for high-calorie, low-nutrition food and drinks, says the government-chartered Institute of Medicine.
Wakefield, Mass., mother Sherri Carlson said she tries to get her three kids to eat healthy foods.
"But then they turn on Nickelodeon and see all those enticing junk-food ads," Carlson said. "Adding insult to injury, we enter the grocery store and see our beloved Nick characters plastered on all those junky snacks and cereals."

Ok, so, as a mom, you can't tell your kids no? Please. Give me a freaking break. My kids pick up all the cereals with whatever guy is the big man of the moment and guess what? I'm the mom, I make the decisions and I tell them no. Or, we do these "treats" in small portions for special occasions. This is ridiculous. Come on people. We don't do the "fruit snacks" with all the great characters on the boxes or shaped candy thingees and guess what? My kids don't even ask any more because they know the answer is no. N O.

Ok moms everywhere repeat after me: NO.
Say it louder. NO.
But why? Because I said NO.
Puuuhhhhlllleeassseee, mom. NO.

There, now repeat this exercise at the grocery store, too. See, not so bad after all. They'll only pitch a fit a few times and if they keep hearing no, they'll give up.

Official Man Card

My friends and husband have often teased me that I should get an Official Man Card because I often think like a man. We also threaten to revoke it when I get weepy and stuff.

With that said, here is something for the guys who keep coming back:

Some chick at Coyote Ugly. We still haven't been to the Dallas one yet.

Fuzzy Wuzzy

I'm in a pretty pissy mood tonight.

A smile on my face came after Army of Dad found the furry episode of CSI.

My two cents

Well, if it were only two cents, we'd be doing well, I guess.

I always think it is awful when people are going to lose their jobs. Having been there, I know how devastating it can be. It can also damage the economy in those communities from the trickle down effect. Bob loses his job, so he won't be going bowling every week and he certainly won't be taking the Mrs. to Outback Steakhouse for dinner till he finds another job, etc, etc.

However, Ford's restructuring is another example of how the past-their-time unions are screwing people. Unions played a great role in US history and that is where they should be today - in history. We looked at Fords both times we were going to buy new cars and both times, they were priced so high, that even their economy vehicle was out of our price range. Hmm, any ideas why that is? Probably because they have to pay Bob a shitload per hour to work on the assembly line.

And if my pro-union buddy KR reads this, I still love you. Just put your fingers in your ears and don't listen/read.

Off to a funeral for the grandma of one of my friends. I hate funerals.

Football picks

Ok, I was 2 for 4 last week.

Steelers 34
Broncos 27

Seahawks 31
Panthers 28

Have you ever seen the rain?

I don't want to know who'll stop the rain I'm just glad to see it today. Of course, it would rain when AoD has plans to go hunting.

Sorry for him, but I'm so glad. Forecast: Rain all day.

Too close for comfort

We have a large vacant field about a quarter-mile north from our house. This is where we fly kites and kids ride dirtbikes and motocross bikes, too. Occasionally, some drunk redneck goes muddin over there, however with no rain in months, if they tried now, they'd be dustin.

I drive by the field every day to take the boys to school. This morning was no different. Nothing unusual. Then, on the way to pick up the boys from school, I smell smoke (I have a very sensitive nose) and look over to see the charred grass in that field.

This is a view from my driver's side of my minivan. Fortunately, the wind was blowing away from our house, which is on the south side of this road. We're also lucky that we have a fire station less than two miles from the house, so they managed to stamp this bad boy out before it spread.

Thank God that it was doused before it got bad. Hot Rod's buddy lives just to the west of this property just to the left of that row of trees you see in the picture.

*doing a rain dance and thinking of that Phil Collins song*

Bowl me over

The day after the Chuck E. Cheese birthday party, we had one for Hot Rod at a bowling alley. It was a Sunday afternoon and the Bengals were playing the Steelers that day. I was not going to miss the game, so I had some employee turn off some stupid syndicated comedy show and to the football game and I watched poor old Carson's crappy injury occur within a few minutes after our arrival.

The kids and some of the parents went out to bowl. Here is Hot Rod checking out the scores. (Like his dad, he is ALL about winning. Not that I don't contribute to that a little.)

So, during the kids bowling session, all the moms were plopped off in a corner gabbing.

Not me. I wouldn't be able to see the TV from there. So, I got some grub and plopped down by the TV and the birthday presents. I was guarding them, you see. Yeah, that's it. Guarding the presents.

Chili cheese nachos. Mmm.

There is my soda and nachos on the table and up in the right hand corner is the football game. Behind me, was my son bowling. So, I could watch the game, go watch him bowl during his turn and everybody's happy. Ok, except the Cinci fans and Carson.

My boy won his lane and didn't finish that far behind the M dad that was playing. Of course, having the bumper guards down helped.

Wow, what form! He was winning the second game, too, when they were called away for pizza and cake.

There is my best friend from growing up acting like a pizza waitress surrounded by hungry first graders.

There is my boy turned around from the party to watch football on the TV. *wiping a tear from my eye* He's a chip off the old block.

The birthday boy blows out the candles. And, yes, those are Hot Wheels atop the cupcakes.

My friend made the mistake of telling the boys they could pick which cupcake and car they wanted. That was chaos.

In the end, he got the Corvette he wanted and he had to get the icing off somehow. Can't have a red iced Corvette, must lick it all off. We had a sugar-filled drive home and a happy kid that the Steelers won.

Question of Four

Ms. Jenni at Just an Army Wife tagged me (there I go again getting Army of Dad's hopes up at two women together) for the Question of Four meme. So, here it goes:

Four jobs you have had in your life:
1. Movie theater cashier
2. Dental assistant (for two days before the dentist made a pass at me and I quit)
3. Gingiss Formalwear consultant
4. Newspaper reporter

Four movies you could watch over and over:
1. Lord of the Rings trilogy(please, like you didn't expect that one)
2. Harry Potter movies
3. You've Got Mail
4. A Christmas Story

Four places you have lived:
1. Fort Worth, Texas
2. Waco, Texas
3. BFE i.e. Bonham, Texas (home of the late Sam Rayburn, former Speaker of the House)
4. Midland, Texas

Four places you've been on vacation:
1. Nassau, Bahamas
2. Berlin, Germany
3. Fort Lauderdale
4. St. Louis

Four websites you visit daily:
1. Army of Mom
2. Lab Kat
3. Yahoo email
4. Business Journals

Four of your favorite foods:
1. Mashed potatoes - ok, all kinds of potatoes
2. Filet - butterflied and well done
3. Corn
4. Cheese enchiladas

Four places you'd rather be right now:
1. Under the covers with my honey
2. Soaking in a hot jacuzzi tub
3. Curled up on the couch in front of a fire
4. Honestly, I'm exactly where I want to be: home with my family

Anyone else want to play? I won't make you, but I will go look.

A Wiggly Birthday

Two weeks ago, we had the birthday party weekend and the kids were loving it. First, Little Bit had a Chuck E. Cheese party to attend for one of her preschool classmates. Here she is with another friend. Poor little gal took a header a week earlier and had scabs on her nose. Here they're enjoying cake.

I took the boys, too, and just kept them segregated from the party. Of course, this Wiggles cake was HUGE, so we had a few pieces, too.

Hot Rod didn't even care that it was on a Wiggles plate. He was just thrilled with the cake. Me, on the other hand, I was a little creeped out by these happy fellows looking up at me.

Pickle was thrilled to have a baby to hold. He loves babies. This is the little brother of one of Little Bit's friend's. In the end, fun was had by all. I even took my book and read, which was nice.