Sickness Comes On Horseback But Departs On Foot - Dutch Proverb

Still sick. The baby, or as we're now calling her, Typhoid Mary, is cranked up on "my parents don't even want to move, let alone play" so she's bouncing around like I gave her speed. Her only lingering symptom is a constantly running nose. Neil and I aren't faring so well. Mercifully, Neil's parents came over yesterday afternoon to distract the Bean for a while so we could get some much needed rest. They are, without a doubt, some of the nicest people around. I am lucky to have them in my life.

One of my more unfortunate symptoms, in addition to the aches, chills, weakness, sore (huge understatement) throat and stuffy nose is hypersensitivity. Sounds, lights and temperatures are particularly painful. Since I'm drinking tons of water to stay hydrated, I have been visiting the commode quite frequently. Every time I plant my sensitive cheeks on that seat, it is like sitting on a thousand needles. Because of this, I have decided that it is time to invest in a heated toilet seat for all three of our bathrooms.

What? I don't think I'm overreacting at all.

PS - Sorry I haven't been around to visit all of you in the last couple of days. Unbelievably, I just don't have the strength or concentration for much computer schtuff. Hopefully I'll be back up and running soon. I miss you!

My Own Personal Hell

A sickness has taken over my house.
First it was the babe.
A veritable onslaught of snot.
Then it was the husband.
Same symptom, bigger weapon.
And now I'm starting to feel off.
Guess who still has to take care of everyone, though?

Pray for me.

Sometimes Wishes Do Come True

Saturday night, Neil and I met a couple of friends at a local restaurant for a night of beer, crabs and laughs. Lots of laughs. For those of you not familiar with Blue Crabs, they are a delicacy that is native to Maryland and the Chesapeake Bay. When alive, the crabs are true to their name and are quite blue, but when cooked they turn a lovely orange/red color. Around here, we steam them (the only way to do it) and load them up with tons of salty Old Bay Seasoning. So much seasoning, in fact, that your hands (and shirt and pants and surrounding floor) are coated in the vibrantly orange stuff. It is not an overstatement to say that by the end of the night, you feel like you will never be able to get it all off of you.

I had never even heard of this style of crab before I moved to Maryland, and it took me years to develop the taste, but now I love them. Back home in Kansas, if you say crabs, you mean Alaskan King Crab Legs, of the Deadliest Catch variety. I still love those and the amount of meat you get out of them versus the Blue Crab, which is a lot of work for a very little meat*, is awfully appealing, but a night out eating blue crabs is an Experience.

It took the four of us three hours to pick our way through two and a half dozen crabs, but I wouldn't have traded a minute of that because during that time we traded stories, told jokes and caught up on each others lives. It's about more than just the food.

Sometimes easy isn't best.






















* An experienced picker produces less than one ounce of meat from the average crab.

** A rare photograph of me to be posted here. I swear I don't keep them out due to some sense of modesty or desire for anonymity as much as that I am generally the one holding the camera so there just aren't many pictures of me. I actually put on make-up for this little outing. Don't hold back, you can tell me how pretty I look. No really, you can tell me. It's okay, don't be shy.

Update: The Power Of Music

Remember my friend's video of the couple playing the piano?? When I posted it just a week ago, it had had about 50,000 views on YouTube. Now it's over 190,000 and it's about to go worldwide. I don't want to say it's all because of me, but I think we all see the connection. They'll be playing it on Good Morning America at 7:45am EST tomorrow (Monday) morning. How awesome is that!! Tune in if you can!

Friday Top Ten: Anywhere But Here

I've been feeling pretty frustrated lately. Sophie is so inquisitive, which I guess is good, but she is also EXTREMELY willful, which is not so good. She is into everything and simply will not accept no for an answer. Maybe someday that will do her good, but for now it is driving me crazy. Some days I just wish I could teleport myself away. Away from the crying and screaming. Away from the "Stop! Don't! Get down! Please eat! Don't eat that! Another poopie diaper?! Arghhhh!"

Ten things I wish I was doing right now, if time, money, distance and my 30-something metabolism were no issue:

1. Sipping a cup of tea in a sidewalk cafe on the Champs Elysee while I admire the gorgeous fashions of zee French ladies.

2. Sunbathing on a white sand beach in Playa del Carmen, Mexico while charming little Mexican men bring me salty, limey margaritas.

3. Laying in bed. All day. Anywhere that has no kids. And no cats. Just me and a stack of books.

4. Looking out over Loch Ness from the battlements of a medieval castle, fancying I see a head poking up through the waves.

5. Eating beignets in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Listening to all the fun accents and wishing I could live in one of the beautiful wrought-iron adorned homes.

6. Driving on the back roads of Kansas. Nothing but wheat and cornfields in any direction.

7. Enjoying a full day of pampering at the spa in the hotel we stayed at for our wedding/honeymoon in Cabo San Lucas.

8. Drinking copious quantities of ale from gigundus steins in a beerhaus in Munich.

9. On an unlimited shopping spree in New York City with my best friend to tell me what not to buy and a personal driver so we don't have to toddle around on our mile high Louboutins. (How freaking fabulous are those shoes!!)

10. At an all you can eat crab leg buffet, melted butter up to my elbows and a never empty ice-cold Dr. Pepper at my fingertips.

Where would you go? What would you do?

Have a great weekend!

Doing Some Sussing

Finally got done Sussing Out last night's episode of Lost. Come check it out!

Easy Rider

I have officially graduated from BRU. That's Babies R Us for the unitiated. While I poke my head in from time to time, the days of weekly visits have passed. Now it's T(oys)RU. Sophie hasn't yet learned how to beg for toys, however her mother is a little less restrained when it comes to deciding her daughter should have something. I see something on TV or at a friend's house and she MUST have it. I swear it's not about keeping up with the Joneses so much as keeping the girl occupied. If it works for someone else, it could work for us.

This past weekend I decided it was time to look into an outdoor wheeled vehicle for the Bean. Whenever we go to the park, she always gravitates towards the trikes, big wheels and scooters that the older kids leave laying around. So we bundled into the family wagon and set off for TRU. When we arrived in the bike/trike section, Sophie practically jumped out of the cart in her excitement. She ran right over to this pink Radio Flyer, dragged it off the shelf and jumped onto it. We had a match.

Now she loves going outside to hop on her new ride. She can't reach the pedals well enough to move herself yet, but she loves being pushed around on it. I am sure it won't be long before she can propel herself.

I swear just yesterday she was a tiny bundle in my arms, where did this KID come from?