Adventures in Being Myself

I'm on Facebook. A lot. Everyone else is, too, so I don't really have a problem. Okay, maybe I have a small problem...whatever, back to my story. I'm "friends" with NPR, which is my other addiction. I have no patience for bad radio, so NPR it is (except when Zane and I are jammin' to the new Z-100). Wow, I am scatter-brained today. Must be the Diet Coke. Okay, so, really, back to my story. Today NPR updated its Facebook page with a story link about the release of the entire first season of Designing Women on DVD. Like most women living below the Mason-Dixon line, I love Designing Women. My sister and I have seen every episode and still watch re-runs in syndication. There are certain lines and dialogue that never fail to crack us up. In honor of the DVD release, NPR Pop Culture blogger Linda Holmes created "The Designing Women Game: Write Your Own Julia Rant." Finally! An opportunity to channel the queen of the calm, cool, collected tirade; an opportu...

It's time to lighten the mood in this joint. It is Friday, after all, and who wants to ride ickiness into the weekend? Not me. So, here are two brand-spankin'-new photos of my boys. It's too bad they really don't like each other very much. PG - 43 years, Zane - 17 months Nice try, but no. We are not cutting Zane's hair. EVER.

still trying to make sense of it all; but promised to write a blog entry about the incident. As posted to my Facebook profile last Thursday, via Twitter, I "learned a very hard lesson today: never, ever trust anyone. That includes "friends." When I joined Facebook last Spring (as a way to see photos of a dear friend's new baby boy), I determined to use the service for pure social reasons: reconnecting with old friends from high school; staying in touch with friends who are geographically distant; keeping up with the local social scene; sharing photos and quick updates with family near and far; etc.,. I work in a field that all but requires socializing with colleagues. Politics is built on a foundation of personal relationships and connections, and the line between "colleague" and "friend" is faint and distorted. Still, as my "friend" list expanded to include friends who are also work colleagues, I adjusted my privacy settings to allow on...

"Hi, Mama! I ate all my lunch!" "...and I really, really enjoyed it!" "Peanut Butter and Jelly is my favorite!" "Jeah!"

In my search for inspiration, collected thoughts, cogent paragraphs and witty rejoinders, I'm settling for another (stolen) meme to clear the writer's block: Let's start out with something oh so clever, whats your sign? Virgo. Congratulations! You just had a baby boy! Whats his name? I actually did have a baby boy 16 months ago. His name is Peter Zane Biagi LeBoutillier. If I were to have another baby boy, his name would be Aidan. Congratulations ! It's a baby girl! You name her? Ava or Lila Look at your recent calls, who was your last missed call from? Ashley. What is bothering you right now? Last night. What is your favorite color? Blue. Who's the last person you texted? PG. Is there a high chance of you going out to the movies soon? No. Are you easily scared by horror/thriller films?Yes. If you had $100 would you spend or save it? I would spend it. If there was a large spider in the room, would you stay? As long as the spider stayed on its own side of the room. D...

After church, before a nap. No, Mama, I won't smile. Paci gooooood... Loot from the Easter Bunny. Round 1.

A boatload of toys (and I mean that literally...Zane's toybox is an actual boat...) and what does Zane choose to play with? Dental floss. The special dental floss. Woven. With fluoride. For sensitive teeth. The $3.59-a-box special dental floss. His mission, seemingly, was to remove all of said floss from the box; and he succeeded. I can't really complain, though; he happily amused himself while I dressed for work. It was all pretty cute actually. Reach woven floss with fluoride: $3.59. Happy 16-month-old toddler: priceless.

I think it may be time to lock the trash cabinet. This morning I found two cordless phones and one sippy cup in the household garbage bin. In other news unrelated to garbage, Zane's new favorite words are "woooooooow" (he usually busts out with it when presented with a meal), "whooooooaaaa", "ballllllllll", "wa-wu" (waffle) and "buh-bye." He is also blowing raspberries with his tongue out, which just cracks me up. He has also taken to pointing his tiny finger to my belly button and saying "bay-bee." I know Zane is an old soul, and I can't help but wonder if he is asking for a baby brother or sister. PG and I are mesmerized by the cognitive development taking place right before our eyes. Zane understands how to put things away in their proper place; he will come find us when we call to him; he can distinguish between bunny and bear and monkey when we ask him to bring a specific toy to us; and he will come sit down in f...