How does stuff like this get made????

It's definitely...provocative. It's the colors, more than anything else. I'm thinking if the sky had been blue, certain ideas wouldn't, um, pop into mind so quickly.

Well. the red sun is the symbol on the Japanese flag, so maybe they were trying to tie it all together like that. Still. HILARIOUS that nobody noticed until it was on the internet.

Found out that my cousin (son of leaast favorite aunt) got his girlfriend pregant. My cousin is 31. His girlfriend just turned 18. He swears up and down they didn't do anything until she turned 18. My aunt seems more upset because there's now no hope that he'll reconcile with his psychotic ex.

Yesterday, he tried to steal a sippy cup from a little girl in $30 Hannah Anderson leggings sitting in a $300 Peg Perego stroller. Her mother looked appalled. I got it away from him (making him cry and throw a fit in the process). I really like our neighborhood park but it's just a weird vibe. Two of the parents were talking on their cell phones while pushing their kids on the swings.

With that kind of description, I'm surprised it wasn't a nanny that was there.

Logo recently pulled from a Brazilian university web page for Oriental Studies:

Oh my! I'm glad I hadn't just taken a sip of my coffee!

With that kind of description, I'm surprised it wasn't a nanny that was there.

I met some nannies in the sandbox. It's a very strange, upscale part of the neighborhood. But the playground is made especially for little kids (and they're building a tot lot soon, too). It's a REALLY nice park, so we're going to keep going. As long as I can keep O's thuggish tendancies to a minimum.

As long as I can keep O's thuggish tendancies to a minimum.

Bwah! It does sound like a really nice park. Don't stop going. Sounds like a fun place for O.

I need some advice. So, I've been looking at jobs. A new one today (well, actually it was posted last night) is this one: [link] Do we think this is a bad idea? It would basically wipe my weekend, and I do treasure that time to relax and get caught up on school work. Plus, it would basically mean not getting back to church, which is something I'd really like to do when this semester is over. Should I send in my resume just as an exercise? I'd be perfect for them...I have A LOT of real estate experience (granted, on the commercial side, but still). I would still have Tuesdays free...and it would get my work out of the way in two days. It's the perfect amount of hours, and the pay is good. I'm just not sure...

While I push my Graco (the Honda Accord of the stroller world) and O's in mismatched Old Navy t-shirt and shorts.

It's funny the messages this stuff sends. I feel like our stroller (a Maclaren) needs a sign saying, "Grandma bought it," because it's by far the poshest bit of baby gear we own. We really do get totally different looks from other parents if I happen to have Annabel in the sling (transforming me to Granola Mommy) or the cheapo stroller (earning looks of vague pity).

ION, I'll be glad when a certain news story disappears of the radar altogether. It's disconcerting to hear one's not-that-common last name everywhere from TDS to Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me.

And vw, I'd personally be wary about giving up my entire weekends like that, but I'd say it depends on you--if it'd be less stressful to kind of keep school and work separate, a weekend job might be better, because you wouldn't be juggling your class schedule around it, etc.

Susan, I can only imagine how that news item is affecting you. It pings me each time I hear it.

Cashmere, think of the park as basic training for dealing with other mothers when Owen gets to school. It's a funny world out there in kiddieland. We have one mother (she has children in Ben and Julia's house), who I have only seen a handful of times without her cell phone attached to her ear. She and her h have split, and their 1.something million dollar house is on the market. She usually doesn't deign to exit her Lincoln Navigator (or whatever Lincoln's SUV is), even to wait with her little girl. We have supermoms who always look like they just finished modeling for JJ Jill. We have the happy, peppy, PTO moms who really do run the school (and that's a compliment--I'm grateful to them, because I don't have to). We have slackers moms like me. And we have the just-a-little-different moms--some of whom seem very cool, and some of whom seem odd. Julia has decided she is in love with the son of the one mother I've been tempted to run down with my car (only because she could single-handedly cause a traffic jam, even if she was the only car in a 10 mile radius on a 4 lane highway. She may well be a lovely woman, otherwise).

Oh, vw. I meant to post this before. What Susan said. Also, I don't suppose any church you're interested in has a Sunday night service?