couscous and fine linens

make no mistake. my kid is quirky. really quirky, in fact. but to be honest, it's one of the biggest reasons i have fallen head over heals in love with big h.

the other day i was at the grocery store, and i was so bored with what we've been having for dinner these days. (buz...don't even go there. and for those of you who don't know buz, he was going to say, "um, pretty, you don't cook. what are you bored with?") anyway, i was walking down the carbohydrate, i mean, pasta aisle, and i began salivating. it was wonderful. i was in the midst of so much culinary loveliness. spiral pasta, penne pasta, elbow, lasagna, rotini, angel hair...i could go on and on. but i won't.

don't think i don't want to.

my point...

right. i was in the pasta aisle, and a box jumped out at me. it didn't literally jump out at me. but it did catch my eye, i should say. a box of couscous. i've always heard it talked about but never tried. surprising seeing as how it is part of the carb family and all. so i bought a box. parmesan flavored. and cooked it the other night.

yeah, guess who LOVES couscous? my insanely picky eater. and i just don't have the heart to tell him that it's couscous. i can hear him, "coos what? i don't yike that. no thank you."

so because i am incredibly witty and intelligent. i outfoxed him. again. i called it little ball pasta. and he has continuously asked for it ever since. i'm smiling and laughing as i write. i am too smart for my own good.

yesterday, we went to a local mall with one of my best buddies from high school. poor her. my son is in love with her son who is about seven or eight months younger than big h. and for some reason, every time we get together, big h hugs AND kisses him. buz, pretend like you didn't read any of that. :)

and yes, we went to a mall. again. is it possible that i miss the rain? it is so bloody hot. (buz doesn't think i do a very mean british accent, but i try.) hot. i can't mention enough how hot it is. i am letting out so many sighs right now. there is absolutely nothing you can do to cool off other than swim or shower all day. and i think my husband might not be proud of my mothering if he knew that all i did all day was shower. and swimming is out right now because of the goo's crawling capabilities. taking the two of them to a pool is next to impossible. unless i was ok with goo crawling on the pavement and taking a nosedive into the shallow end.

no thank you.

so malls, it is. the other night, i changed big h's sheets. i only have one pair of sheets for his bed. honestly, because i'm lazy. so i hadn't had a chance to finish drying them, and i had some that my mom gave me from our old house. they are dark green. big h's bed has a train quilt, and his other sheets are blue and white gingham. so the dark green ones are quite a contrast. if i were trying really hard to look at it from his perspective. so that night, he was ready for bed and told dad that these sheets were very crazy and funny and he would like the other ones, please. well, that wasn't an option.

so my kid slept on top of his quilt.

have i mentioned how quirky he is? and have i mentioned how much i love him?

so yesterday, we're at the mall at one of our favorite stores. (i had high hopes of taking him somewhere inside the mall to pick out some sheets. he's one of those kids that if he picks something out, he is ok with change.) so, big h is playing and he sees some bunk beds and says, "mama, yook at that. that's like my bed, huh? i yike those sheets. they are much better than those crazy ones at home. can we get them?" picks out his own pottery barn sheets. not the tractor ones. or the dinosaur ones. or the pirate island ones. or any kid-looking ones. nope. the ones that perfectly match his quilt. i love my kid. :)

and then, because sometimes i can't contain all of my thoughts in perfect paragraph form, i will now use my bullet points to convey some of my latest thoughts.

• potty training has actually been fun. don't quote me on that, and honestly, i can't believe i just said it out loud. and i sure don't want big h to know. because for posterity's sake, don't think i'm not totally going to embellish every story to make it sound so much worse. but i want the world to know. i am so glad i waited so long. big h is ready. and he is loving it. we ate at schlotzsky's with some friends today after coming down the slide like farm animals. i was busy helping the goo with something, and my bff took her kid and big h to the bathroom. when he returned from the restroom, he said as loud as he could, "MAMA! GUESS WHAT I PUT IN THE POTTY? POOP! I PUT POOP IN THE POTTY!" couldn't help but smile.
• this is a tribute to my two buddies who were once sandwich artists at subway. jill, my roommate from college, and marina, big h's best friend cj's mommy. they were sandwich artists, when sandwich making really was an art. (and don't get me started about how marina actually went to a sandwich making conference. and if my memory serves me correctly, i believe she may have won an award. i am in awe, people.) i don't want to offend anyone who currently works at subway. but here's my question: what is the deal with not cutting the "V" in the bread anymore? why do they just cut it in half? wasn't part of the specialty of subway the "V?" i miss the V. anyone else miss the V?
• um, my daughter turns ONE this friday?????? period.
• my nephew is coming next thursday.
• my best friend lives up north. and when i say north, i mean, she has to have a passport to go to her nearest grocery store. and she probably jokes that i live so far south that i need a passport to get to my local grocery store. oh, how i wish we lived in the same vicinity. no such luck. any way. let me just say, for the record, that i must apologize to those of you reading. it was actually hotter there today than it was here. and mind you, these people do NOT have air conditioners. they went to home depot to get a little a/c unit, and they were out. because they only had 14 to begin with. my apologies for complaining and whining.

and you know me...always have to share life through pictures...

if you look closely, you will see him making a fish face with his mouth. that is his "holding my breath face."

no caption necessary.

and i can't think of any place they would rather be than with each other...