A Weekly (ish) Update

I have been seriously neglecting this blog the last few weeks. When I started it (over a year ago now) it never occurred to me that I would feel "blog guilt"; I do believe it's a unique 21st century nagging feeling that revolves around not posting updates on your own blog AND remorse over not reading the other blogs you like to keep up with. It's only some small comfort to know that I'm not the only one that feels it or complains about it!

On that note I would like to thank Pawhealer for her very kind words about me last week. One of the really unexpected but fun benefits of blogging is getting to know other people that you would normally never have the opportunity to meet in real life and when I don't have the chance to check in on them, I get a little antsy. And it's even more cool when they like you back, heh.

But I digress.

Here are some things that have happened around here while I have been AWOL from the blog, in no particular order.

Another main part of the rotten tree in our front yard fell off into the street. Again. We cannot get a tree cutter to cut it down because it's right next to power lines, and the power company won't come and do it because it's "not their job". The city manager is aware of the problem but is quite content to let it be because it's "really not their job". Needless to say, every time a piece comes down onto the lines and knocks out the electricity in our area, we are very popular with our neighbors.


The Punk somehow got the lid off a child-proof bottle of infant Tylenol and drank what was left of it. Luckily, there was only a tiny little bit left in the bottle, but it scared the bejeesus out of me. He also made me mad because he was soooo proud of himself for doing it. Once we figured out he had not fatally poisoned himself and we didn't have to make a trip to the ER, I asked him if we could sell him on the black market and he actually thought about it for a few seconds before saying no. He really is too smart for his own good. Punk.


The Princess, on the other hand, came home with good news - she has been invited to join a Duke University program for gifted children, which is quite an honor and an awesome opportunity for her to participate in brainy activities she wouldn't normally get exposed to anywhere around these parts.

Surprisingly, she was not at all excited about it, until I figured out that all our years of brainwashing regarding how much we hate Duke's basketball team had actually sunk in. I spent an hour carefully explaining that this program was different than that and how proud of herself she should be. But I have to admit, as a Carolina alumni, I was secretly pleased by her reaction. Isn't that awful?

And happiest news of the week comes from our good friend Sean and his lovely wife April. They produced baby Olivia on Tuesday. Well, technically April produced her via C-section while Sean watched in a rather ghoulish fashion, especially taking in the fact that the doctors had to bounce on April's ribcage to finally pop Olivia out. I don't blame her reluctance, it's cold outside! But she is quite a beauty, isn't she? I am particularly envious of her full head of hair, as both The Princess and The Punk were born bald as old coots.

As soon as we get over our family cold and/or stomach flu that we keep giving each other over and over, we are going to go see her and take in that wonderful newborn baby smell - if you're a parent you know the one I mean. And even better, we get to give her back to her parents when we're done ...

I think that about wraps it up; got to go now as The Husband is sitting next to me in a pitiful fashion, sniffling and hacking, waiting for me to pay attention to him in that sad man way they have when they're sick. He's a week behind the rest of us in the illness competition, slacker. Why me and Grandma are already well into round two!