Sleepover

I love to stay in hotels. I've talked about it before.

Because Jon is working all day today, has an event tonight and then has inventory tomorrow at 4 a.m., we won't be seeing much of him in the next 24 hours. So I thought, why not do a sleepover with the boy somewhere? He loves a good hotel as much as I do. And he's been sick and a little needy lately, a lot of it having to do with the prospect of a new kid in the house. He keeps asking if I'll love him as much as the baby.

Thanks to my super Googling skills, I found a hotel downtown with a good deal -- a 1-BD suite for $99, including breakfast. And there's a pool. So, off we go. I see a toy store and a makeup counter in our future, as well, along with a pizza, a kids' movie and some good ol'-fashioned snuggle time. Maybe even a pillow fight.

Food Update

At Jon's store, they make this cheese spread called Fromage Fort, i.e., strong cheese. Basically, they take all the fancy cheese stumps that aren't going to sell, mash and blend 'em up with copious amounts of garlic and white wine, and there you have it -- the best cheese spread ever. It gives you baaaaaaaad breath and it's worth it. It's part of the fun, actually.

So, today, for breakfast, I got a little fancy -- I sauteed some shitakes with garlic and olive oil, dumped in two organic eggs, folded them ever-so-gently until nearly done and then --BAM!-- hit the whole mess with a big spoonful of Fromage Fort 'til gooey and melty.

Yeah, it was delicious. Sinfully so. Nasty mouth stench be damned.

Reunionizing

Next summer, my immediate family has plans to get together for a little -- OK, a big -- party. Three brothers, three sisters-in-law, one sister, one brother-in-law, one husband and me, all with kids. By the time the new baby comes, we will have enough bodies for two baseball teams, including team mascots.

We had been planning to rendezvous on the Florida coast in June or July of 2010. I had visions of taking all 10 kids to Disney World. Probably sounds like more fun that it actually would be, be still... I was looking forward to the trip. And then I went and got pregnant. A trip to Florida in the dead of summer with a newborn? No thanks.

So, my family has graciously agreed to head to the Pacific Northwest for our reunion. And somehow I was appointed the event planner. What the...? As the youngest, I am more accustomed to sitting back while others organize. I am now looking for a beach house or two next-door beach houses that suit a party of 20 -- 10 adults from 47 to 37, plus 10 kids, from late-teen to tiny-baby -- for five days.

Let's get the party started. Or, as we always used to say it, let's git the pahdee stahdid.

Food Update

Doritos.
Enough said.

Nope, I can't help myself -- here we go...

Doritos are the single-best snack food known to mankind. The unnatural nacho-cheese color makes me happy, the crunch is spot on, the flavor is just savory enough for this confirmed saltaholic. These superior chips need no dip -- they are perfect in and of themselves. Redeeming qualities? Absolutely none, nor do they profess to have any. And I like that.

Second-best snack food known to mankind? Cool Ranch Doritos.

Food Update

Today, I'm not experiencing my usual pregnancy-induced food euphoria. This had better not be an indication that I am getting sick. I will be mad if my love of food dwindles. It's one of the best parts of being in my delicate condition. Well, that and the recent overload of hormones. Fun.

For breakfast: Leftover spaghetti and meatballs from the Old Spaghetti Factory. It's Finn's new favorite place to go, so we've been three times in the past three weeks. Don't get me wrong -- it's not good. But he will dive face first into a plate of pasta with cheese and finish the whole damn thing, so that's a plus.

For a pre-gym snack: A bowl of Jon's sweet potato soup. Loaded with... I'm not sure what, but stuff that boosts your immune system.

For lunch: I'm thinking soup and grilled cheese. It's that kind of day. Hopefully the restaurant has a good soup today, all made from scratch. (And we get a meal credit here at work.)

For dinner: I'm only guessing it will include still more soup, of the sweet potato variety. Plus hot baguette and cheese. Hopefully all that sweet potato won't turn my skin or anything else orange.

And, as a final note, GO PHILS.

Food Update

At the local bakery this morning, ham and cheddar on pretzel bread with fresh orange juice.

Oops, I ate a deli meat. Whoopsie. Totally worth it.

A Failure to Communicate

While at work, I received a text from my husband who had the day off and was at home.

"ARE THE DISHES IN THE DISHWASHER CLEAN OR DIRTY?"

Now, Jon is a smart guy. Quite intelligent, in fact. And he works in a kitchen for a living. So it is not as if he cannot physically tell if dishes are clean or dirty. Right? Well, one would think.

So I took the next 15 minutes on my non-QWERTY phone to compose the following:

"DO THEY SMELL FUNKY? THEN THEY ARE DIRTY. DO THEY LOOK LIKE YOU WOULDN'T WANT TO EAT OFF THEM? DIRTY. DO THEY HAVE OLD DRIED NASTY FOOD STUCK TO THEM? DIRTY. HOPE THIS HELPS."

And thereby a category 3 row ensued about how as partners, we should not communicate using sarcasm and smartassiness when all that is needed is a simple YES or NO.

But, I reminded him, he was THERE and I WAS NOT. So, from my point of view, he was the best one to answer his question.

However, he countered, wasn't I the one to load the dishwasher, and so shouldn't I in theory know if said dishes are CLEAN or DIRTY?

Perhaps, I conceded, but since I load and unload the dishwasher AT LEAST TWICE A DAY, I don't actually keep track in my head when not at home what stage the dishes are at any given moment in time.

So there.