busy, busy, busy with mr everyman.

block a little time for it tomorrow.

be thankful for...

your opportunities.
people who like you.
indoor plumbing.
and an underwear optional lifestyle.

guess how much loot miss frugal spent during her four day jag in the worlds greatest and most inflated city...

lower.

lower.

lower.

no. try thirty bucks.

if you recall, marty and bella were in nyc last weekend. marty went there for two reasons:

1. so bella could see her long time friend, grace, who moved there earlier this year and,
2. to get the hell away from alex.

marty had been commenting on how clingy he'd been since she started the weaning process. i didn't notice it, but then again i'm at work for 3 hours a day so i'm not the fixture in the house walt is. with marty gone and me on little man duty, allow me summarize the weekend as such:

alex's attention requirements make the needs of my third girlfriend look like care instructions for a pet rock.

on a positive note, at least i didn't wake up to find him attempting to draw milk from my itty-bitty, one-haired, man-nipple, as i did with his sister.

special note to peggy walter: click on these words

this weekend bella is going to have her first sleep over at a friend's house. the friend is grace and the place is manhattan. this puts little man and i on our own this weekend. very exciting.

on the morning they were to leave, i was up early (4:30am) addressing work issues. at one point i walked into the bedroom and found bella had snuck into my spot in bed and was snuggled in close to marty. i took a moment to stand and watch my two girls looking so perfect. suddenly, marty bolted upright, looked next to her and pushed bella two feet further away and then re-collapsed into her previous pose.

this was not a gentle persuasion, one fearful of waking a resting child. it most reminded me of how i used to push fifty pound burlap sacks of idaho russets around the cellar of a restaurant i worked at.

you have to take time for the sentimental moments in this house because when they do happen they don't happen for long.

before i sold my soul to the corporate devil this is the kind of gift you could expect from me come the holidays or other such anniversary. as i start drafting this season's list of 'things to purchase for christmas' i look at this aged piece of paper hanging on our fridge and fondly recall those leaner, simpler days.


click for larger image

i heard a news story today about a lawsuit against a school district. the plaintiffs were petitioning for the right to place stickers inside the school's science books. this insert intends to correct any misinformation the textbook and educational facility may attempt to convey to its students regarding evolution.

were i the decision maker in this squabble, i would grant the zealots their request with the single condition that i get to place my own sticker inside all of their fancy, leather-bound bible books.

walt and i watched one of those home shows on the tele last weekend. they were discussing the new age of luxury homes. the encouraging news; we're seeing a departure from the behemoth stone-faced mansions of yesteryear for more intimate, better crafted domiciles. more intimate meaning a 12,000 square foot hovel, complete with the requisite half-court basketball and golf facility in the basement.

i wasn't sweating what we didn't have until one feature was discussed. it seems that what you and i knew as a study while growing up is now known as a knowledge nook. and it seems quite important that these cerebral crannies be 'acoustically open so kids are able to chat with mom and dad if need be'.

a flood of explanation washed over marty and i. in our defense, how were we to know we'd fail as parents without an acoustically open knowledge nook?

bella places a pen and sealed envelope on my desk and says she needs me to address it to someone for her. i pick up the pen and tell her to shoot. she dictates the following:

sarah.
your face is in this envelope.
open envelope.
we love you.

if i were sarah, i'm not sure if i'd be really pleased or terribly pissed.

the key to my happiness has always been tied to gross ignorance about anything of consequence.

i think i need to go back there now.

since having children, the tenor of our dinner parties has changed.

curiously, it's not to say they haven't changed for the better.

the 2004 everyman photos have been released.