Grab Bag

1. I'm at my mom's doing laundry today because my washing machine is broken.  Still.

2. There's a mouse in this room.  Somewhere.  I can hear him.  Under the desk?  In the closet?  In the wall?  Why do critters follow me wherever I go?

3. Newbie and I surprised my mom and her 32 fourth graders today.  It was so fun!  The kiddos were in the middle of a lesson on the miners trapped in Chile.  They were watching live footage of the rescue on CNN, and they were secluded in a "mine" taped off with masking tape matching the dimensions of the mine in Chile- they couldn't leave the space provided because that's all the space the miners in Chile have had to live in for the past 2 months. 

a) my mom is an awesome teacher.

b) "Mine" taped off in the classroom = bonus for the germaphobe bringing her baby to school....since the students couldn't leave the "mine," we stood on the outskirts untouched by fourth grade cooties. =)

4. I am getting my Bob and Jillian on in a Biggest Loser challenge beginning October 23 and ending December 23.  Thaaaaat's right, baby.  There's a pot for the winner, a 10 buck entry fee, and -get this- a blog for the competition. I [heart] blogs.  My youth group leader from high school is hosting it, and I. am. so. in.  I figure if I let you in on it, I have to get off the couch at least once or twice between now and Christmas.  Otherwise, oh, the horror of admitting I did nothing.  =)  So long, Halloween Oreos; hello, pool and track at the Hubs' "office".  I'm giving myself the weekend in Chicago to go Cheesecake Factory nuts before I cut myself off.  Oh glorious Godiva chocolate-filled Windy City, you are my last hoorah!

5. I love Home Improvement.  Why can't TV be what it used to be?

6. My baby boy is almost crawling. No joke. The past two days he's been sticking his little hiney up in the air and pushing up on his hands.  Batten down the hatches!  This bald-headed baby is about to be on the move!

7. Newbie slept through the night in his own crib for the first time last night!  He usually ends up in bed with us from 6:45 to 8 because we can squeeze an extra hour out of the night that way.  But he pulled it off in his own bed last night.  I have always dreamt of getting up in the morning and sneaking into my baby's room to peer over the crib and see those sleepy morning eyes wake up, and today it happened!  I loved seeing him wake up in his big boy bed, push up on those arms and peer over the edge of the crib to smile at his mama.  What fun!

8. Yesterday my MIL took me and Newbie out to lunch and to the mall.  We had a lot of fun with her- Newbie is such a trooper at the mall...a trait me and both his grandmothers really appreciate! While we were out, she bought him adorable little monkey swim trunks from Gymboree.  Those suckers were the last ones in the store on clearance, and will last Newbie through to next summer.  Three cheers for plans to hit the pool a billion times this winter!  Woohoo!

9. I feel like I have to come up with ten things because it feels cooky to stop at eight.  The pressure is unreal.

10.  Today is a velour suit day!  Rainy and cold, it's an Eeyore day weather-wise, which means its a velour day for this mama.  Woot.

11. Newbie moved up to his big boy car seat today!!!  He was over 22 pounds last night when we weighed him, and his Chicco only goes up to 22 pounds.  We pulled out his Britax car seat, (Those puppies are as big as a battleship.  Not kidding.) and I installed it rear-facing in our car this morning.  It took me 35 minutes.  No, I don't want to talk about it. 

That's 11.  The cookiness of a list of eleven will haunt me for the rest of the day, but it's DEFINITELY nap time, so I have to scoot. 

Have a fantastic velour suit kind of day!