I'm late but there's a winner

Yes, I was going to post a winner yesterday but that didn't get done.--skip to the bottom for that late breaking news. I'm back from my trip. On the last day as we were waiting to get on a shuttle golf cart to get our rental car, I decided I should at least look at the water since I was in the area. I walked to the balcony outside the lobby and got a view of the Caribbean. It was lovely but I was done and ready to go back home.


I arrived home around 11 so Bug was sleeping. I not-so-secretly hoped he would wake up during the night a pretty safe bet these days so I could say hi. He didn't disappoint. I heard him about 1:30 and he wandered into our room as I was getting up to see him. He saw me and hugged/fell into me...it was sweet. I decided that he should come and snuggle in our bed. That morning this is what I awoke to:


Bug: Mommy, do you know how much I love you? I'm gonna show you...but first I have to get this pookie out of my nose."


(Pause while I wait for the nosepicking to end and find a tissue...sigh)


Bug: THIS much (with arms spread out as far as possible).


That tops a view of the water any day. There's no place like home.


So, No Whey, Mama, you won the PB&J cake mold. I'm going to look for your address because I know I have it from last year but I'm becoming increasingly disorganized (or unorganized...I can never remember which is correct) so please email it to me. Happy baking! (P.S. Have you heard of/tried The Divvies Bakery Cookbook: No Eggs, No Nuts, No Dairy...Just Delicious! thought you might be interested if you don't have it.)

PB&J Cake Giveaway

I think this is adorable...a PB&J (or any other kind of sandwich) cake mold. I got it thinking I would be creative but who am I kidding...it's still in the box so I'm giving it away to someone who might actually use it and make something terrific. If you want a chance to win it, leave a comment. Leave a second comment if you're a follower. I'll pick a winner when I return from my trip next Thursday. Sadly, I'll have very little chance to check blogs while I'm traveling so save all the good stuff until late next week, 'kay?

On another note I'm convinced Bug is becoming one with Dennis the Menace. Even his hair has that little cowlick these days. If he didn't already have a Halloween costume, I would get some overalls, a striped shirt, a slingshot for one back pocket and maybe a frog for the other and call it a day.

random tuesday thoughts

You know it's time to color your hair when your three-year-old sees your driver's license and says, "Oh, Mommy, this is when you had yellow hair. Now you're growing gray hair."



I returned from my work trip on my birthday and was greeted at the airport by Bug running to me with a bouquet of flowers. (There was a cake with EXTRA frosting for me at home from the crabby bakery!) Bug was having cookies and milk while waiting for the plane so we sat down to let him finish eating. That's when I noticed at the table next to me there was a woman dressed as Sylvester (the cat, not Stallone).

I will always love watching "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown."

There are 14 bags of candy in our home and they aren't for Halloween and I swear I haven't opened any. I'm traveling this week for work (again...so crazy that I rarely travel for business and now have back-to-back trips) and need the candy for the meeting. Likely, I'll have to pick up a few more bags before I leave. At this point I'll need an extra suitcase...I wonder what security will think.

Go to The Un Mom for more.

the slow creepy fox walked through the nice park

The other day we decided to pack a picnic and head off to the National Arboretum. It's beautiful and we rarely go there but it seemed a perfect day to be outside so off we went. As we settled in for our picnic, I noticed something about 30 feet from me walking toward a tree.

He was slinking forward, low to the ground. Enough so that I didn't realize it was a fox at first. His front half looked in tact but the back of his body was mangy. There were other people having picnics and some waiting for shuttle buses--all staring at the animal--and taking photos. Mangy Fox found something to eat on the ground but was skittish and looking around, very protective of his snack.

After he nibbled for a bit, he walked closer to the arboretum grounds (hello, tourists!), which also meant he was closer to us...about 20 feet and seemed to look me in the eyes curious to know what we had to eat--or more accurately--what he could eat. My mind was racing how to protect Bug if Mangy Fox came after us. Luckily, the creature (as Bug called him) kept walking but taunting all of us by turning around and glaring every few feet.

After our lunch, we toured a bit of the arboretum with one eye on the lookout for the creature. Before we left, Bug saw a couple making out in the park. I don't know which captured his attention more: the creature or the couple. No matter what...it's always a good day when you don't get rabies.

sibling wanted...

The other night we watched our friends' three-month-old baby. (I LOVE babies!) The parents dropped off Baby Clark (or Quark as Bug says) and as soon as they were out the door I scooped Clark into my arms. Bug stood next to me as we both cooed and giggled with Baby Clark.

Then Bug looked at me and said, "He's my brother, right?