Do you know anyone who has ever received a Purple Heart?

Today is Memorial Day. It's the official start of summer and for many is synonmous with cookouts, shopping, and hanging out the beach or pool. But Memorial Day used to be a sacred day that was reserved for the remembrance of those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom.

The Purple Heart is a U.S. military medal awarded to those wounded in combat and last week the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commissioner began a nationwide search for Purple Heart medal recipients to share stories to be included in exhibits at the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor museum located at the New Windsor Cantonment State Historic Site in Vails Gate, New York. The facility will honor Purple Heart medal recipients, veterans who were wounded or killed while serving their country.

More information, including the contact info where you can submit your stories or other artifacts is available here.

Happy Memorial Day and thank you to all the brave men and women who have served and continue to serve as I type. Bless you all.

Maybe she's listening afterall . . . ??

Like many parents, I sometimes get the feeling when talking to Peanut that it's . . . well, pick your idiom: In one ear and out the other. Like talking to a brick wall. Falling on deaf ears.

But yesterday, I overheard her talking to blanket, her most treasured object and very much a person to her. It went something like this:

"No, no blanket! That is NOT for you."
"Blanket, do you want to go right to bed?"
"No, blanket you cannot do that."
"You are being punished."

I felt guilty about all the statements I make to her that begin with "no" and end with some type of ultimatium for about .0003 seconds. Then I started snickering. :-)

Date night!

Last night, the husband and I had a night out. Alone. Without kids. And while that might seem pretty ho-hum to you, it was really freakin' great for us. Because the last time we had a date night was in February 2005 and I was 7.5 months pregnant with the Loaf. So you see, we were due. Loooonng due.

We had reservations at Origin, a fabulous French Thai restaurant.

After settling into our very cozy corner table for two and cracking open a bottle of most-excellent Rawson's Retreat Chardonnay, we enjoyed two amazing hours of great conversation, laughs, flirting and of course, gorgeously prepared and luscious tasting food.

We started with the Shrimp and Crabmeat Spring Rolls. I followed that up with the Phuket Jumbo Shrimp (prepared with literally a mountain of garlic on top - yum!) and Mark had wild boar! It was spicy, but pretty tasty. We polished off the wine and ordered dessert - creme burlee for me and something called a caramel banana purse for the man, which he had to confirm with the waiter is actually prounced "purse" and not "pur-say" or something.

After that we walked around town for a bit and then joined some friends for a drink at another restaurant. All in all, it was a really great evening! I'd forgotten what it was like to eat a hot meal, all the way through without getting up to fetch someone milk, or telling someone to sit down and eat.

The number of the day is: 15!!

- It's the number of years, as of today, that I have been a college graduate
- It's the exact number of gray hairs I plucked from my head last night
- It's the long-used soccer number of my beloved husband, whose birthday is tomorrow (happy birthday, babe!)

An Open Letter to Britney Spears

Hey dumbass -

We've all seen the latest evidence that you are as dumb as a post. Feeling good about yourself?

I beg you, before your next kid is born, please take a few moments to peruse this. In case you are just too fricken' lazy to click the link, that's the official American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation not to put babies forward-facing in their carseats until they are at least 1 year AND 20 pounds. Got it? It should be both. Big kids under a year are simply not safe facing forward. Law or no law. There is no excuse for having that baby facing forward.

Now, if the first link is too cumbersome for your teeny tiny brain to absorb, try this one or perhaps this one . Do you see that child's neck violently snapping forward like that? Do you really want that to be Sean's head? No one does. Because as talentless, stupid and annoying as I find you, your baby is an innocent victim in all this. And if you or your hangers-on can't be bothered to do what's right for him, maybe the public pressure will be able to get you on a better, safer path. Before you start endangering baby #2.

My PSA of the day

When your toddler keeps standing up in the tub, then squatting, then sitting over and over again (standing, squatting, sitting, standing, squatting, sitting). It is not a fun, new game. It means they are preparing to poop. A lot. Do not be a fool! Remove them from the tub immediately!

I can't believe I never knew this before last night. The only saving grace was that Loaf was in the tub by herself. If Peanut had been in there too she would have Fuh-reaked. Big time.

Happy Mother's Day!

To all the Mommies out there who:
- kiss boo boo's
- wipe snotty noses
- sweep up 400 cheerios a day
- step on at least 200 more
- realize that horrible smell in their bedroom is a piece of hot dog under the bed from Moses' time
- lose their patience
- get it back
- juggle 10 tasks with grace
- juggle 10 tasks without grace
- prepare lunch for their toddlers with one hand while holding their nursing infant with the other
- get up 6 times a night to replace a paci, pour a cup of milk and rub a wee back
- manage day after day on 4 hours of sleep
- realize, as they are scraping Play-Doh off the floor, that the wall is covered with purple crayon
- arrive to their meeting only to realize there is dried sweet potato on their suit
- cry because they just want a moment's quiet and it's only 2 p.m.
- cry because they're stuck in an office dealing with stupid people as they desperately miss their kids
- scour ebay for the perfect Elmo birthday cake candles
- can recite The Cat and The Hat from memory
- understand there is no better sound than the laughter of a young child
- well, except perhaps a completely silent house ;-)
- turn off their Gwen Stefani CD to listen to Barney because they love how happy it makes their kids
- and know truly, 100% what it is to love so deeply it aches . . .

Happy Mother's Day!!

We had a great day here that included flowers, chocolate-covered strawberries, Mexican food and lots of hugs! :-)

Life's been in the way

Yeah, yeah. I've been MIA for well over a month. April was crazy. Sick and crazy. We've had a bad run of puking, diapers from hell, colds and I had the flu and a sinus infection that kept me in bed for a week. It's been really fun. (NOT!!) But I'll try to be better.

In the meantime, a lot has happened, but for the moment I'm only going to write about the biggest news: the Loaf turned one. ONE! How did that happen? I'm still trying to figure out how the sweet, snuggly baby that I brought home yesterday is today a squirmy, chattery toddler with a raging independent streak. When exactly did she go from being a tiny newborn that I carried tucked against my chest for hours each day to the big girl who demands to be put down after only a few minutes? Time is such a funny thing. My pregnancy passed so slowly, each day clicking by with marked anticipation. A seemingly endless nine months. But once she arrived, things happened in light speed. One moment I was marveling over her in the hospital and the next she was squishing cake between her tiny fingers on her first birthday. It makes me so afraid for the next 18 years. I know they will pass in a flash and the thought of it breaks my heart a thousand times over.

I must try to remember that when it's 8 a.m. and I'm in the throes of tantrum number 17. Or when it's 2 a.m. and I'm getting up out of bed for the 14th time to replace a paci and rub a teensy back. Easier said than done, I know.

On the other hand, I so look forward to the wonderful times ahead. I know the passing of her life is going to bring me much joy: first words, first time she sings a song, first day of school, learning to ride a bike and read, sporting events, dances, recitals . . . and then way down the road getting her license, the prom. Her wedding. G.U.L.P. It's terrifying. But fabulous. And what is life without a good dose of both?