Saturday Synopsis

This picture of Alice, 17 months, was taken by my friend Denae with her fancy camera. Not only is it a good photo, but Alice is actually looking at the camera, which is a rarity these days. Please notice the Baby Mohawk. She has pulled so many clips and ponies out of her hair that it was starting to become sparse on top. One day I'd had enough and drove her to the hair salon and made them cut it. She screamed the whole time. We've had to give up on cute hair accessories so it can grow back. I don't know when I'm going to try again, but rest assured this is only a temporary setback.

Henry (6) is currently my favorite child. Although he leaves them everywhere, it makes me happy that he can play alone with toys. Henry's 1st grade performance at school was this week and featured sugary snacks. He sang Candyman, Teach the World to Sing, and Sing, Sing a Song. He wouldn't practice his songs with me, even though I taunted him by singing the words wrong on purpose. Henry's reign of cuteness is almost over. One of his giant front teeth is growing in which will change his face and make me sad.

Claire (10) learned an important life lesson about the internet a couple of days ago. She forwarded an inappropriate story to a bunch of her friends without reading it. Luckily it didn't contain anything too outrageous. After a concerned mother called me, Claire had to email an apology to her friends and then call their parents and tell them what happened. It was traumatic but I think she'll recover. I'm proud of her for stepping up and rectifying the situation.

Max (13) wears braces and he is supposed to wear rubber bands with them at all times except when he is eating. We went through an entire year of noncompliance and awful ortho visits and we didn't know what to do. I think we might have finally found a solution. I bought some of his favorite ice cream, Dreyer's Reese's Overload, and made a deal with him. If Carl or I asks him if he is wearing his bands and the answer is positive, he gets a scoop of ice cream. If the answer is negative, someone else gets a scoop. We try to catch him all of the time but so far we've only had a couple of scoops of ice cream. I hope it doesn't wear off before his next visit.

Carl (42) returned home this week after a business trip. During his trip the dishwasher broke, my cell phone broke, and my sanity broke. For some reason, it was a hard adjustment for me this time. We are all happy he is back to fix stuff. He couldn't fix my phone, though, so I had to buy another one. I succumbed to my iphone desires and I love it. I'm a believer. Today Carl and I sneaked to a matinee of Baby Mama. It stars Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, both of SNL fame. We are fans. We both thought it was hilarious and I think we annoyed people in the theatre with our loud laughter.

When we arrived home this afternoon, the above rodent was in the door between the slider and the screen. It was trying to escape our cat. Carl thinks it is a baby rat but the thought makes me so sick I want to vomit. Why are mice better than rats? Why do vermin make me feel violated?

I closed the blinds and hollered for Carl who went outside and shook the invader down to death by feline. I love my cats.