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Monday, March 2, 2009

Things Done by 11:00 AM

1. Dress and feed baby and preschooler.

2. Make French toast because it's a special SNOW DAY!

3. Find snow boots that were a five dollar waste of money, since we already had our one annual snowfall in February. Put boots on Owen. Smile because it's nice to be wrong.

4. Take picture of Owen and Paul all bundled up. Paul looks like a big hooded ninja, creeping up behind his unsuspecting toddler victim.

5. Watch Owen play outside. He attempts to make a snowman, but the snow is still too powdery. If we had a snowboard, it would be perfect. For forts, snowmen, and snowballs, not so much.

6. Watch The Today Show with Joel, which I normally don't do. I have a rule that I'm not allowed to watch TV during the day to prevent my mind from becoming yet mushier. I feel bad for local news lady Meaghan McGrath, who, six years into reporting, still has to stand in the snowbanks and report that it is, in fact, snowy and cold.

Perhaps I should watch The Today Show more often, because they have an interview with a couple. He was planning to propose, and thought he would pop the question by putting her engagement ring...in a Frosty. She ate it. Not just the Frosty, but the ring as well. Three days later, after bowls of Fiber One, her ring reappears. He proposes, and she's wearing the thing while being interviewed by Matt Lauer.

That's what you get for eating fast food.

7. Watching that interview makes me think, "I need to get rid of the Fiber One in the pantry." I bought if for my mom and dad's recent visit, and Lord knows I'm not eating it. I look up a recipe for Fiber One bran muffins and make them with Owen, who is by now inside.

I continue to attempt baking with Owen despite the fact that he has ZERO IMPULSE CONTROL. I hear that baking teaches togetherness and math concepts. It's a treasured memory from my childhood, cooking with Grandma and Mom. Plus, the world needs more men who can cook. So, we work on dumping the ingredients into the bowl, and mixing them up. That part is okay. What's not so okay is when Owen decides to freestyle by adding egg shells or juice from his sippy cup into the mix.

I have to keep the edge from my voice and repeat to myself, "This is fun, this is fun," even as Owen is attempting to grab handfuls of flour from the dry ingredients bowl.

8. Muffins in the oven, I go online to see if I'll be teaching tonight. First, I check email (ignoring a request from a student to edit her essay for the FIFTH time--I'll do it later), than I check Facebook (incidentally, Fiona is breathing on her own and doing much better--keep praying), then I look at the blog page to see if anybody commented on a post (people--I live for it. Feed into my neediness.), and then I go to WashingtonPost.com to read the headlines, since we didn't get delivery today. I walk away from the computer and Paul asks, "Do you have class today?"

Oh, Yeah. I get back on. Yippee! Free money today! No class!

9. Somewhere in the mix of all this, I talk to my parents, drink my coffee, and put Joel down for his nap.

10. Since Paul is home, I take opportunity of the time to clean out the junk drawer. It's really purty now.

11. Owen and Paul go outside to clean off the cars. I decide to write the blog.

12. It's now 11:30. I've done a lot. Except, I didn't change out of my PJs. Gotta love snow days.

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