Dad doesn't drink milk and hates soy milk so he eats his cereal dry.

Has he tried almond milk? I loves me some almond milk in my cereal.

Ha! The buffista babies *are* readying themselves for something big (now who said that?). Or, possibly, preparing a manuscript for Broadway -- "How to break your parents and other neat tricks".

The scene: upstairs, near toddler bed...

Sox: night Iris - have a good nap! {cheerfully, because babysitter is lying in exhausted heap and obviously needs a break, and possibly some pills}

Iris: no. I. Don't. Want. To. Sleep. {jumps off of bed. grabs armful of stuffed animals and puts them in bed}. THEY sleep. I work.

Sox: It's time to sleep. {deposits Iris in bed again - why don't toddler beds have RAILS?? - puts gate in doorway. goes downstairs. comforts babysitter.}

sounds of stuffed animals hurled 1 by 1 from bed. 5 or six rounds of all of the requests that have become the pre-nap litany - 'juiiice, tuckmein, toodark, toobright, juiiiicetuckmeintoodarktoobright..." then quiet. then - a new one.

Sounds of clothing (currently understood as the clothes Iris was wearing for her nap) being hurled over the gate and down the stairs.

Iris: mommmeeee?

Sox: {from office, where workChat is pinging like crazy} yeeeaaauuusss??

Iris: I'm too cold to go to sleep.

Swear.

ION - the 'strange data' issue from this morning is due entirely to the person in question trying to work from - ta DA! - *A Screen Capture of the data*. A jpeg. That someone sent them as an example but which amazingly wouldn't respond to their input. I really would like to trade my mallet for a pointy wooden stick. but I think I'll just keep practicing the deep breathing.

Rice milk is good for cereal too.

I'll have to ask him about almond or rice milk. I tried some almond milk but it was too thick for me.

edited to add that Dad's pretty happy with plain stuff. He'll happily eat a plate of plain rice. One of his favorite meals is plain rice, sliced chicken, and sliced cucumbers. It's kind of like a dish he used to eat when he was in Vietnam and is his One True Meal.

Kristin T - another poet to check out for your gang is Lynda Hull - The Only World. My students (albeit 9 years ago) loved the change from purely confessional ... especially as it was still dark matter. She didn't publish a lot before she died (Ghost Money and Star Ledger), but it's beautifully formed urban stuff.

Thanks, Sox! I don't know if I've read her or not, so I'll look her up. I haven't babbled happily about how the National Poetry Month festivities are going yet, but I will soon. When I have time. So maybe not so much with the soon.

The toddler stories are making me cry with laughter. They are also making me slightly grateful for my faulty ovaries.

I still can't talk. I e-mailed my friend M Nashville to tell my mother and sister to not call. I didn't e-mail my sister, because even though she has e-mail, she can't find it on her computer. It's not hiding. It's just that she, too, would try to click on a jpg.

My friend just e-mailed me that my sister was crossing the street and was hit by a car. She apparently just has bumps and bruises and a big knot on her head, but she was hit by a car! Her poor head. She has managed to hit it a lot in the last few years. So right now I'm trying to find out more about how she is by the method of her calling M, M e-mailing me, me e-mailing M and M calling my mother and sister.

Stumbling in to say thanks! for all the birthday messages and for the support for my fundraising campaign. Everyone will get an individual thank you, of course, but I just wanted to express once again how wonderful this community is...and how blessed I feel to be a teeny part of it.

Skipped to the end to wish Beej Felicitations on the Anniversary of Her Natal Day, while it is still that day! I hope you have a year of success and fulfillment, of friendship and kinship and love.

Beverly, your felicitations are always so gracious and lovely. Thank you, my dear.

And WHOOT!! This South Beach (modified heavily by me) diet thing seems to have some merit. I lost 8 lbs (about 18 more to go) in the first two weeks. I know that won't last, but it is a good boost for both better eating and my training regimen.

And extra double helping of WHOOT WHOOT, for my phone and dsl being activated after 5 days down. We'll call them the dark times...they are over and I am never going to take these luxuries for granted again.

Oh, wait, wait I get it! It's a metaphor!

BWAH!

So my Subaru is in the shop, Juliana. Oil leaking onto spark plugs, among other things. They're trying to get it to me by 3:30 so that I can pick up Daisy Jane, but if they don't, I guess plan B involves BART for Daisy and staying home tonight for myself.

I am supremely cranky about this.

Dupe post.

They're trying to get it to me by 3:30 so that I can pick up Daisy Jane, but if they don't, I guess plan B involves BART for Daisy and staying home tonight for myself.

Oh no! Okay, so do you want to call her cell and leave her a message when you know? Do you want to call me & call her? Let me know.