These things I get myself into . . .

I remember before I had Wyatt, I'd decided that having a baby was going to be a new opportunity for me to simplify and stop overscheduling myself. Turns out, though, that I continue to overschedule myself and simply truck around with a baby on my hip doing everything I was trying to do before. I'm not saying this to whine, though. More an observation about my personality and why I must have a lot of stuff going on in order to, I don't know . . . distract myself from the housework, maybe?

The last week has been jam packed. I agreed to be in charge of this book publishing program at Monte Vista Elementary (I've been having PTA guilt--last year I wasn't incredibly involved beyond going to my kids' classes.) So I met with the principal a couple of times and got that all going. Relief Society Super Saturday is also coming up, so I had to meet w/ the Enrichment committee and get our craft projects decided. After a hilariously awful attempt to make a stepping stone with little glass marbles and grout, I was relieved to find that one of the committee members knows a lady who does Super Saturdays and she has super cute crafts that she supplies and teaches . . . and so we're using her. Relief! I also had various loose ends w/ the Irreantum fiction contest, and tried to find time to work on my book.

But those were the little things. The big things over the last few days have been:

1. Starting up my SLCC online English class. Long story (which I will make short) but it took the SLCC people a loooooonnnng time to get the template for my class posted, so essentially I wasn't able to work on anything for my class until Thursday. So I met with the teacher over online courses on Friday (with Wyatt--he crawled around and licked our shoes while we talked :-) and tried to overhaul my syllabus and get assignments figured out and learn the tricks of the Vista (online teaching) program all before Forrest got home from being out of town Friday night and the family left for our neighborhood Yuba trip. (Which will be #2. But I'll finish the teaching story first.) Last night was the first online "chat"--and I posted the syllabus about 20 minutes before the chat began. Whew! This was my first time chatting, and lemme tell ya, it's definitely different "lecturing" to a class that way. I'm thankful that I'm a relatively quick typist. How do the hunt and peck typists do it? I don't think it would be possible. But the class should be an interesting experience. Stay tuned.

2. Neighborhood Yuba trip. About 10 families from our neighborhood headed down to Yuba for camping and boating on Friday and Saturday. Forrest got home from a trip to MN at 5:00, and I had the boat all ready and he hitched it up and pulled out at about 5:15, with three of our four kids and Cameron (son of District Attorney Lora Miller) inside. Since we had to leave so late, I decided to stay home w/ Wyatt instead of tenting it--good decision--and I drove three other moms with babies there on Saturday morning.

Here's a cute pic of Wyatt doing his favorite beachy pastime, eating sand:



We really had a great time. It will probably be an annual event. I, however, am growing a touch weary of boat trips. I'm officially ready for fall. But I am looking forward to next year when Wyatt can play in the sand without eating it and splash in the water.

So we got home Saturday night, sunburned and tired and full of sandy particles, just in time for . . .

3. Ethan's birthday! We had the family over for ice cream and cake on Sunday night to celebrate. It was fun to get the Hallstroms and the Sweats together. Here's a video of Ethan's expert candle blowout (all eleven of them):


Then yesterday (Monday) we loaded eight of his friends, plus our four kids, into the van and the Tahoe and headed out to Classic Fun Center for skating, laser tag, and gigantic-inflatable-jumpything bouncing. Here's a picture of a bunch of sweaty boys:



Ethan had a ball and I think his friends did too. We got home just in time, though, for me to quickly scan chapter 7 and think up some discussion questions and start my online chat. So I went to bed happily last night.

Today I've been having a well deserved stay-at-home day. Wyatt and I have just been chillin. I even took a little nap. Heavenly. So for a final piece of cuteness (and an example of what really is fun about life, even with all the business), here's Wyatt:

The Promised Pineview Trip Blog Entry

Sorry this post is so tardy, but I used up all my blogging time with the previous first-day-of-school/existential rant . . . but now I can at least post some photos and video of our amazingly fun Pineview trip.

To whet your appetite, we'll start off the post with a video of Ethan's awesome kneeboard 360, his first completed attempt:




My Mom had the great idea to book a condo for the family at Pineview, and the digs were incredible. It was brand new and the furnishings looked like they came right out of a magazine--and the bed that Forrest and I scored (we got the biggest room because of Mr. Wyatt) had an obscenely huge bed with a cushy mattress and about 27 pillows. Well, not quite 27, but it seemed like it.

Everybody had a great time out on the boat on Thursday and Friday. The kids got a lot of skiing and kneeboarding practice, and Wyatt had a fun time playing in the sand and zooming around on the boat. Lucky for me, he loves being outside, and even seems to like the boat, too--which a lot of babies don't. It was so nice, though, to have an air conditioned condo to take him to for his naps. Made a huge difference. So here are some pics of the kids and their cousins out on the lake.







You might be able to tell from the pictures how much greener and prettier Pineview is than Yuba. Yuba still has its charms (can't beat the beaches, and the water is so clear), but as far as scenic beauty goes, Ogden canyon can't be beat. We did get caught in a HUGE storm that came barreling down said canyon on Friday afternoon, though. We could see the black clouds coming and before we knew it WHAMO! The kids were trying valiantly to make it up the hill to our condos and got stuck in a major sandstorm, all the while the men tried to wrestle our chairs and awnings into their bags (one awning didn't make it and ended up tossed 20 feet in the air and mangled like a giant spider corpse on the beach) and hold on to the boat for dear life. It was all very exciting.

Luckily we were able to retire to the condo and shower and recover . . . just in time to watch the premiere of High School Musical II. The kids were so excited, and it was a lot more fun for them to watch it all together (and stay up late--the movie didn't start until 9:00). Grandma even bought the girls matching pjs to enhance the experience. (And yes, Elise does have an "I Love Troy" shirt she picked out for school. There's something about that Zac Effron that appeals mightily to 9 year old girls. I think Scott Baio had the same innocent/not-so-innocent quality when I was 9. I had a poster.)



Notice Wyatt in the background crawling around. He perfected his crawling technique on the travertine tile and kept trying to crack his head on the stone fireplace mantle. Ah--the joys of mobility! I think I had the pleasure of a baby who would sit still and play with toys for a grand total of two weeks. While I type this, he has worked his way completely under my desk and is trying to suck on my toes. **Digression--We have been trying the "cry it out" method at night and he's doing better. Hopefully by next week, if we have the parental fortitude, he'll be trained!**

Finally, we also got to go and see the annual balloon festival held in the canyon. Although it was a little scaled down due to the storm, it was still a beautiful sight:




A wonderful time was had by all. It was so much fun to spend time with family and end our official summer vacation with a bang. Thanks Mom and Dad!

First Day of School

Even though it doesn't feel like summer is quite over yet, my kids ventured out for their first day of school today. Actually, since they're on D track, they are the last group of kids at their school to start (all the others started the last week of July). But I do like year round school, especially with D track: 7 weeks is the perfect amount of summer, if you ask me. The kids and I were all ready for school to begin :-).

So here are some cute first-day-of-school pictures that I love to do every year:



All the kids, even Wyatt Dean (who had been up since 5:30. Are all of you as sick of me complaining about my lack of sleep as I am of not sleeping?)



Sixth grader Ethan. Whenever I see pictures of him he looks like such a Hallstrom to me. I can see elements of so many Hallstrom relatives in his face. (His cute face). It's hard for me to believe he's in sixth grade, though. Only one more precious year until Junior High . . . and then all bets are off. But he's such a good kid, I have a hard time believing he'll be transformed into anything but a good teenager. He's definitely handy to have around, especially when your first grader is going to school and you don't want to worry about him. I know he's got Jonas taken care of. Ethan had been worried about his teacher because he'd heard a rumor that she was reaaalllly mean . . . but she told them all today that she'd told last year's sixth graders to start the rumor so they'd all be scared on the first day and behave, but that really she's nice. So he was relieved. He also lost his lunch box--a confession he made during family home evening, so I'd be less likely to be mad :-)--but he vows he will find it, as it is probably in the 4th grade pile of lunch boxes because that is accidentally where he left it. He reads this blog and will kill me for this revelation. Sorry, Ethan. I love you even if you are a teensy bit absentminded at times. (But aren't all future professors absentminded?)



And my pretty Lou. Fourth grade girl. She's always so nervous before the first day of school, and every year without fail cries on the last day of school because she loved it so much. I'm sure she'll be the same with 4th grade. She's wearing a new shirt that has glitter on it, and she ended up with glitter in her hair and on her forehead and cheeks. I'm sure all her friends thought it was some kind of fashion statement :-).



And big kid Joe. First grader. This is always a transition that kind of kicks me in the gut as a mom. My buddy's gone all day! But it's a good thing, too, especially for Jonas. He missed Ethan and Elise so much last year when he would come home from kindergarten, and I think he's ready to take off and learn in 1st grade. And tomorrow's a big day: hot lunch! They're having chicken nuggets, which is one of about four hot lunches I think Jonas will actually eat. Exciting!

And there you go. The three big kids in school. If I didn't have my kissy little Wyatt, I'm not sure what I'd be doing with myself. (Okay, so I do know what I'd be doing with myself . . . but it sounds kind of luxurious so I don't want to think about it too much :-). I've gotta say that Wyatt is such a little lover and a blessing and I wouldn't trade him for the world, but man, he's been kicking my can lately. It's nice that he's crawling, but now he's into everything, and his sleeping is still so erratic, and he's so, well, ACTIVE all the time that some days I'm exhausted just from holding him while he bounces. He even punches me while I'm feeding him, no kidding (or kicks me, or wriggles and squirms). Oh, the squirminess. I think I'm feeling a little extra exhausted today from all the excitement of the first day of school. When the kids came home, it took me literally TWO HOURS to read through all the papers they brought back and fill everything out and sign it and organize it and attempt to commit a dozen or so mucho importante parental responsibilities to my sleep deprived brain--all while Wyatt was wiggling and bouncing and trying to grab my pen and eat it and crumple the papers and drool on them. Oh, I'll stop now. No one likes a whiny blogger. I'm just tired. There's just . .. . so . . . much . . . to . . . do. All the time. And I keep trying to do other things--things that I like, like Irreantum, and my novel, and teach online for SLCC, and plan our Enrichment Super Saturday--and I wonder why I feel so frantic most of the time. And/or grumpy. Like today I came home from grocery shopping and bought a pork roast to make BBQ pork sandwiches and put it in the pot at 1:00--which is waaaay on the ball for me--so it could simmer and get extra juicy. Then when it came time for dinner, neither Jonas nor Elise would even touch it. They literally gagged when I tried to make them eat it. And I was so tired and so spent that instead of making me mad it made me feel like crying at the futility of it all.

This is really getting depressing. And this was supposed to be a fun first day of school post! Sorry.

I'm really not depressed, though. Just tired and overwhelmed and sick of cooking dinner and sorting socks and signing permission slips ad infinitum, all with a teething wiggly baby on my hip. And bad hair. And pants that still don't fit right, even seven months postpartum. And no food storage except brownie mixes and canned peaches. And a broken printer that leaves green streaks on everything I try and print in color. And a patch of stiff carpet where Elise spilled her milk and didn't clean it all up. You know the list. Waaah, waah. Yes, I must get over myself.
If you're worried about me, just go back a couple of posts and read my one about blessings. I'll feel better in the morning :-).

Oh, and I still have to post about my super fun family trip this last weekend, and I promise this one will be much more upbeat. Because it was super fun. Now I'm going to bed to degrumpify. Say a little prayer for me that Wyatt will sleep till at least 6:30. If he does, degrumpifying is much more likely. Stay tuned.

Tagged . . . and crawler baby.

I was tagged by my sister-in-law Andi, (**correction--I was tagged by my actual sister Amy! But they were both doing this list so I got confused. Sorry Amix!**) but before I answer her questions, I'm going to post some incontrovertible proof that Wyatt is now crawling (at 6 1/2 months--I told you he was a goer.)



So here's my list:


Four Jobs I've Had:

1. Hardee's Gal. I got the job before I turned 16 and my friends and I had waaaaay too much fun hardly working.
2. Receptionist/Assistant at my Grandpa Ranquist's law firm. I specialized in deciphering my Grandpa's handwriting and rewinding the little dictaphone tapes over and over and over to try and deduce what it was my Grandpa had mumbled :-). It was a great job, though, summers and Christmases my first two years of college.
3. Undergraduate Research Trainee in the Education Dept. at BYU. The professor I worked with gave me a ride on his motorcycle. He was about 65.
4. Various teacherly positions. Starting in the fall, I'm going to teach an online English 1010 course for Salt Lake Community College. I'll let you know how that goes with Mr. Wyatt pulling on my leg the whole time.

Four Movies I Could Watch Over and Over:

1. Say Anything. I think I've already explained on this blog how it is inextricably connected to meeting and (ooooh, so mushy) falling in love with Forrest and that I have a thing for John Cusak because he's so smart and so funny.

2. When Harry Met Sally. I just saw this movie again one day when I was up early w/ Wyatt and it's one of those that I love watching, if only because the dialogue is so great. Such good writing. It was heartening because I've been a bit nervous about my book because it's not very blurb-worthy ("What is your book about?" "Well, it's about this family, and it goes through time, and each character has a chapter," blah blah blah. So hard to explain.) Well try encapsulating "When Harry Met Sally." (Actually, the scene at the end after they're married does this: "When we met, we hated each other, then we didn't know each other, then we were friends, then we fell in love.") And look how popular this movie has been? And can you believe it's almost 20 years old???? How's that for staying power.

3. Good Will Hunting. It's a little melodramatic in places, but so am I. (Which places? I'm sure you're wondering.) Also good writing and great characters. I love Minnie Driver as the girlfriend. (I also love her as the girlfriend in Gross Point Blank.) But if I'm flipping through the channels and this one is on TNT, I always stop.

4. Best in Show. So funny. Period.

Places I've Lived:

1. West Valley City. The good times of my childhood on Cilma Drive. Lilac bushes, basketball hoop over the garage, walking to 7-11 on 4100 W. with Stephanie Reiva to get Tangy Taffy.

2. The Kearns (or, as I preferred to call it, "Unincorporated Salt Lake County") house, the starter home that Forrest and I built just off of 5600 West. According to a codified West Side Pecking Order, it's embarrassing to live in West Valley City, but not quite as embarrassing as living in Kearns or Magna. West Valleyites who lived in Taylorsville were obviously superior, however, and I often wondered what it would feel like to be cool enough to live east of 2700 West. I still don't know that feeling . . . :-)

3. Miiiiinnneeeessota! Land of 10,000 lakes and four homes over seven years (Edina apartment, Woodbury rental house, White Bear 11th Street house, White Bear Pintail Lane house.)

4. Jolly Old England. Okay, so we only lived in Altringham, a suburb of Manchester, for three months, but I'll count it since we were there long enough for me to learn to drive on the other side of the road and count out English change.

Favorite TV Shows:

1. So You Think You Can Dance. Best summer show. Well, only summer show. But it does make me happy. Finale this week! I'm rooting for Sabra. Did you know she lived in Roy, Utah for 10 years? Not rooting for Lacy, the sister of last year's winner Benji (my altime SYTYCD fave). She always seems fakey fakey, like she's pretending to be humble. And she shakes her tooshie at the camera too much.

2. Project Runway. Another great reality show about talented people doing things well. And a little snarkiness thrown in for entertainment value. I just saw a clip of season two and Santino doing his impression of Tim Gunn (the host), pretending that he had a crush on another contestant named Andre and that they were all going to Red Lobster. Truly hilarious.

3. The Office/30 Rock. I lump these together because they're both on Thurs nights and both laugh out loud funny. Those of you who aren't as morally corrupted as I am should not watch 30 Rock. But if you are already corrupt and haven't started watching it yet, please do. SOOO funny.

4. Lost. Nuff said.

Favorite Foods:

1. Foods derived from marshmallows. Peeps, circus peanuts, chocolate covered marshmallow Santas, Chicks & Rabbits. I've already explained this on the blog so you know of my marshmallow issues. I also like a good plain marshmallow from the bag.

2. Diet Coke. Also explained.

3. Really good red salmon smoked by Forrest. Yum.

4. Cheesecake with raspberry sauce.

I will have to finish this later because I have gone on way too long and must move along to other things . . . I'll update soon!

UPDATE:

It is now Wednesday morningish and Wyatt is sleeping and I swept the floor and put in a load of laundry and loaded the dishwasher and sat down at the computer to work on my novel, but I am weak and checked blogs instead and got sucked into updating this list. Don't tell my editor. Here's the rest:

Four Websites I Visit:

1. rottentomatoes.com This website is a must for anybody who likes movies. It takes movie reviews from around the country and averages them out for a score ("fresh" or "rotten"). Sometimes I purposefully DON'T go to Rotten Tomatoes before I see a movie and come up with my own little critique and then read the reviews to see how many reviewers agree with my sage observations. A little lame? Maybe. But fun.

2. Babycenter.com. I signed up for a little email newsletter on this site when I was pregnant w/ Wyatt and I've enjoyed the little articles and calculators and calendars and whatnots. Every once in a while I visit the "Birth Club" message board for January 2007 babies, but I never post. But it's fun to read other people's posts, and every once in a while somebody has some good baby rearing advice.

3. Segullah and other "Bloggernacle" (the Mormon blogosphere) blogs like A Motley Vision and Times and Seasons. My friend and fellow writers' group member, Kathy, is the editor of Segullah, and lots of other cool people I (kinda) know post on these other blogs. Fun reading.

4. Slate magazine. My homepage is MSN, and Slate is connected w/ MSN. It seems like whenever they have a "teaser" article on my homepage that looks interesting, it's always a Slate article. The article I linked above is my favorite Slate column, "The Human Guinea Pig." It's a woman who goes and does crazy things like competing in the Mrs. America competition or trying her hand as a street performer. Pretty funny.

Four Places I'd Rather Be:

1. In the really cool Hilton Hotel that Forrest and I stayed in when we visited NYC a couple of years ago. Best bed ever. And awesome views.

2. At the movies.

3. Out to lunch with someone fun.

4. Somewhere quiet. :-) (SCHOOL STARTS MONDAY!! HOORAYY! :-)

People I tag:

1. My friend Delise.
2. My friend Darlene.
3. My sister in law Mindy.

Blessings

Life is good.

Last night I was able to have a fabulous evening with a bunch of extraordinarily cool and smart people discussing the Irreantum fiction contest. We had over 130 entries, and I've spent a good portion of my summer as Irreantum's fiction editor reading these entries, culling them down to a top 25, and organizing the fiction contest committee, whose responsibility it was to come up with the winners.

Last night the committee met and I had a ball discussing the merits of each story and basically watching the gears turn in all these smart people's brains. It's still something of a mystery to me how I fell into my involvement with Irreantum, but I consider it one of my life's real blessings to be a part of something that I care about so much and that gives me so much pleasure. Although my work with the magazine is unpaid (people often ask me if I'm paid--which I'm not since a lit mag runs on a shoestring budget--and they seem genuinely perplexed why I would be involved with something like this without a paycheck attached. I tell them it's like me asking them if they're paid to play on their summer softball leauge :-), and has occasionally been a source of stress, the vast majority of the time I feel nothing but honored to be in a position to help champion quality Mormon literature. I like nothing better than watching talented people do things well, and last night was a prime example of it. Talented writers, talented committee members, smart smart, cool cool people, and I get to hang out with them. And make them cookies and yummy little tortilla wraps and have them over at my house. And have a husband who will take the kids and entertain them for hours and then hustle them upstairs (Wyatt included) with nary a peep to be heard and get them all in bed so my meeting can progress as smoothly as if I were the sterotypical single, urban writer chick living in a loft with nothing in my fridge but ketchup and takeout containers. (Actually it's full of ketchup and Sunny Delight containers.) So I'm blessed.

Then today I got to head out with my good friend Elise--who also happens to be my daughter--and have our annual Mom/Daughter day.


(Elise in her tennis getup, earlier this year).

Mom/Daughter day started a couple of years ago when the boys went on the fathers and sons outing, and now it's a day that Elise and I both look forward to every year. We went and saw Harispray (a wonderfully fun, joyful movie, and it stars the heartthrobby Zac Effron, so Elise was thrilled), went to eat at Red Robin (she had spaghetti and a chocolate shake--interesting combination, but it's her day--and we were both stuffed), and did a little school shopping. She's getting so old. She seems so much older to me than when we did this last year, and it's fun to think that she's growing up into a person I genuinely like being with. Seems like she was just barely my 15 month old who wouldn't walk unless she was holding on to my pinkie. Now she's my 9 year old, Heelying around J.C. Penney and chattering about how Zac Effron looks totally different than he did when he was Troy in High School Musical and she prefers his hair shaggy instead of slick.

So it's been a good couple of days. And tonight we're going to a BBQ (don't have to cook!). And Monday we're going to Lagoon. (I can ride the rides! And I couldn't last year because I was preggo.) And Thurs-Sat we're going to a condo by a lake with my family. And then the kids go back to school and Wyatt and I get to hang out. Did I tell you he's *this* close to crawling? Crazy 6 1/2 month old baby.

Life is good.

Why I don't go to the mall

I don't go to the mall very often, mainly because it's big and noisy and I buy most everything my family needs (wears, eats, watches, reads, drinks, plays with, etc etc) at Target. But the kids needed new shoes for school and Mervyn's was having a sale so I thought I'd check it out. While I was there, though, I:

1. Spent way too much money on shoes. The kids talked me in to getting them "Heelies" ("They're really comfortable, Mom, and we'll wear them without the wheels for our regular school shoes--promise!") which were on sale for $25 less than they usually cost, but still. Spending money on shoes and clothes gives me a very slight momentary thrill but then I end up feeling sick to my stomach. I wish this were the case for some of my other vices, though, as it usually keeps me from spending a whole lot of money on shoes and clothes. We'll see how practical the Heelies decision ends up being. I already told them that if they lose the wheels, they're dead meat. All three of them.

2. Decided to take Wyatt in to Kiddie Kandids for his 6 month pictures since he's almost not six months old anymore and Kiddie Kandids was virtually empty, so I could walk right up and get the pictures done.

3. But first I had to do to the Gymboree down the way and buy Wyatt an outfit for said pictures--but it was on sale for 14.99. Ethan said he looked like a giant tomato but I thought he was cute.

4. I had the smoothest, most enjoyable Kiddie Kandids photo shoot ever, considering it was spur of the moment and I had all the other kids with me going "NOOOOOO! Not Kiddie Kandids! That takes FOREVER!" I got right in, Wyatt was smiley and cooperative (except for trying to crawl off of the portrait platform.) Here are the proofs from the photo shoot. Sorry if they're small, but you know the Kiddie Kandids people want you to shell out the cold hard cash for the good ones:







Too cute, right? I ended up wanting to get most of them, but I didn't succumb and only bought the first (w/ the black background) and the last (on his tummy). It still ended up costing me . . . well . . . more than I'd hoped. I swear Kiddie Kandids used to be cheaper. Didn't it??? Oh, but he's so dang good lookin I couldn't help it.

And this is why I don't go to the mall.

Dr. Weissbluth is up in the night . . .

or at least he should be, with me, suffering the consequences of his sweeping pronouncements. Like, oh, babies should go to bed at 7:00, and if they do, then they will magically sleep even better because they are getting MORE sleep and sleep begets sleep and blah blah blah. Lemme tell ya, there was precious little sleep begetting last night. Here's proof: Wyatt Dean at 5:25 a.m.



I think the only thing being begotten there is his brother's light saber. And a mischievous look of satisfaction.

Yesterday I went to the zoo w/ the kids--lots of fun, but a story for another time--and, as a result, Wyatt's naps were all messed up. I tried to get him down for a late afternoon nap and he wouldn't go, so we decided to push him until 7:30 and then just put him down for good (according to the good Dr. Weissbluth's pontifications in Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, this should be Wyatt's regular bedtime anyway. And if you miss a nap, you're supposed to push it until the next regular naptime or bedtime.) But then Wyatt woke up at 10:30--which wasn't too bad, because we weren't asleep ourselves yet, but then he woke up again and 2:00 and then again at 4:15. At the 4:15 wakeup, I went in to feed him (again) and of course he promptly peed through his diaper, which is the kiss of death if your baby is lightly on the edge of wakefulness. (I recommend Dr. Weissbluth add a new chapter to his book called "Peeing Through.") So I changed the Wy-Man, rocked him vigorously and patted his bum, and once again achieved a light state of sleepiness so put him back down in his crib and tiptoed away. I allowed myself to hope (which is the biggest mistake of all) and drifted back to sleep myself when I didn't hear anything by about 5:00. But then at 5:25 he started crying and we came downstairs and I took the cute picture with the lightsaber and started blogging.

Now he is getting fussy on the floor. He has moved from playing with the boys' lightsaber to playing with the electric blue hair piece Elise received as a party favor after attending a birthday celebration at "Sweet and Sassy," a beauty parlor for little girls where they dress them up in leopard print evening gowns and do their hair with electric blue hair pieces and cover all exposed skin with multicolored glitter and send them down a runway. Also a story for another day.

I do think that Dr. Weissbluth has some important advice to impart. Wyatt has been sleeping better when his naps are better and Forrest, ever the optimist, believes that last night was simply an anomaly because Wyatt's naps were so disrupted during the day. Perhaps so, my dear. Perhaps so. But I'm not buying the 7:00 bedtime, Mister Doctor with the sweeping generalizations and the horrifyingly disorganized sleep advice book that has sold millions. (Really, for a book that has gone through a multitude of reprints, could this guy get an editor??? There book has no internal sense of structure and he skips from thought to thought as if he were a self-important dinner guest giving no thought for anyone else's time. Maybe that's why I don't entirely respect this guy: not only am I up at 5:00 a.m., but he doesn't know how to write.)

And now a smell has wafted my way and I think it's time for a diaper change. Oh, Wyatt Dean. I love you. Now can I please get some sleep????

Update: Wyatt did fall asleep again at 6:30 and I was able to get back into bed myself, since the kids still don't have school. We both slept until 8:30. Hooray! It is now 9:07 and the other three kids are still sawing logs . . . .