Is drinking wine a good way to handle this?

There once was a boy named Jack. He was a good little boy and always very curious. 

My Touchpoints book tells me that the half-birthdays for toddlers are often a harder time developmentally then the real birthdays. Jack's almost 30 months and we are definitely in a difficult terrible two's phase. The willfulness and the lack of impulse control - at least using the proper terminology makes me feels better. 

As servers sweetly suggest I buckle my toddler son into his high-chair at restaurants and as the single, childless 20-something salespeople at The Spice House look at me incredulously as my son runs amok the glass jars of spices, I'm trying to deal with all of this with humor and common sense. Yeah, so, maybe I shouldn't have spent $8 on a jar of ground cardamom, if I really have no idea how I'm going to use it. (At the time, I was in grab-and-go mode - I could only clutch Jack between my knees for so long.) But we're just rolling with the punches and trying to keep our heads above water.

You tell me if you see any similarities:

Happy birthday

On May 22, 1997 - nearly 13 years ago - I called my blind date to tell him I was running a few minutes late.

Jeremy should have taken that as a clue of how life would be with me.

Rarely on time (because I'm always trying to squeeze in one last thing to check off of my to-do list) and sometimes short on patience (it's my Italian side), I am beautifully complemented by my husband.

He is patient to no end with me and our son. He is kind, funny and snarky, all rolled up into one. He is a gifted storyteller and knows his way around his kitchen. He didn't have really any experience with babies when our son was born but took it all in stride.

He's dependable and will be there (on time) when you need him. None of our friends or family would disagree.

Happy 32nd birthday to my best friend.

Spring has...sprung?

A projected high of 82 degrees today with lots of sunshine? In Chicago? In mid-April? I asked my director of land preservation here at Openlands if spring has come earlier this year, and he said no. But I don't know...it seems like things are definitely greener faster this year. I love it!