Thing 2 is a favorite of the Dog. She curls up next to him, often under the covers near his feet. This is generally a good thing, but Thing 2 likes bedtime snacks. Dog is a major hog. She will eat tubes of chapstick and gnaw away at recycled yogurt cups if a trace of yogurt can be detected. And while we discourage eating snacks in bed...I think it's been well-established that Thing 2 is, among many things, independent.

I am going here! http://www.madelineartschool.com/Classes_detail.cfm?recordno=9&Product_CatalogID=136&ProductNumber=WKL080811&ProductCode=49&NewProduct=0

To order anemic-looking "organic" crickets, it will set you back $8.50 and at least that much in shipping. They show up in a well-taped box with decorative blue crickets hopping about on the outside of the box as if to suggest that this really is a fun package to receive. I had nothing to do with the opening of that box and declared hands-off were any of them to escape. Which they did-- at least half of them-- in Thing 2's play zone, boy ...

We knew we couldn't not stop. How could we not? But it was hard and weird and humbling and worth it.

The dog can be a stitch when she chases her tail. Round and round she goes and strangely enough, she seems pretty happy about it. I think I need to adopt this dog-like attitude. Chasing my tail is fun! I am not getting anywhere, but so what? I am moving, at least. Isn't that something? Suddenly she stops, looks up as if to say, "Wasn't that cool?" and then she rests a bit only to go at it again.

I started dreaming about Baby Doll long before she arrived. I would have a girl! She would be full of joy and mischief, which is how I arrived at the name Lucy. It was full of spunk and kind of old-fashioned. Like no other name I could think of, Lucy seemed to encapsulate what I wanted for my little girl. The road to Lucy was long and difficult and today, none of that matters.

Imagine being a 7 year old boy going to visit his Grandpa on the farm. The tractors and the horse are fine, but their appeal is nothing when compared to this. "Hey, Ben, guess what I saw in the horse barn this morning? A salamander. Should we try to catch it?"

I wonder if our Minnesota legislators are listening to us today. Really listening. I have been e-mailing fast and furiously. My message was short and sweet. Please VOTE NO to the marriage amendment. Be thoughtful about the future of Minnesota and do not drag us into an unnecessary civil rights debate when the facts are already clear. Everyone deserves to be treated fairly. People need jobs and the budget needs attention and these matters of ...

In the end, we all have the same hours in the day. Some of us give a large part to work so we can eat, have daily shelter, and not run around naked. Some of us stay home and raise some kids and attack all the house work. In the midst of all of either scenario, there are choices to be made-- little snippets of time that you get to say....how will I spend this?

"I am really lucky to have you as my wife," said Big Man. "Thanks, sweetie." "But," he continued, "it could have just been my skill in reeling you in." Pause. I waited to see who would go there first.