Playing with Fire...works

July 3rd has been fun, but mostly laid back. I guess we were mentally preparing for tomorrow's race. After waking up at 7:00, Ollie and I had some serious snuggle/tickle/giggle/reading time in my bed and then he headed back to his crib for a two hour morning nap. This gave me the chance to get my replacement hand held computer programmed and ready for work on Monday.

After getting dressed and having morning snack, Ollie landed in his exersaucer thingy while I sang Old MacDonald. He LOVES when I do the animal sounds, and cracks up laughing every time I do piggy and donkey noises. I guess we have the same sense of humor, because I crack myself up too, and struggle with singing while laughing.

I vacuumed the basement floor, cleaned out the litter box, and folded laundry while Ollie spun from one toy to another, fascinated with each one. This probably would have occupied him for at least 20 more minutes, but I decided it was time to get some fresh air. Strapped into his car, Ollie and I went for a quick spin up and down the driveway. He laughs and smiles more the faster I go. I guess he'll have a lead foot like his mother...Daisy the Jeep didn't get the nickname White Lightening without reason.

I needed to vacuum the Bentley mobile and since Ollie usually loves to watch me do projects, I left him in his car and positioned him so he could see me at all times. As I unwound the extension cord he smiled and followed my every move. As I pieced together the shopvac he was intrigued with my clumsiness. The fun didn't start until I flipped the switch from off to on. As if he were connected to the switch, the crying would start as soon as the suction kicked in and would stop as soon as the motor switched off. I tried this four or five times consoling him in between. Eventually, I decided shopvacing would have to wait until Daddy was home from work.

Ollie was sleeping when Daddy got home, so he helped me finish cleaning the car. Once Ollie woke up, we were off to Meters and Miles so I could get some new running shoes for tomorrow's 5K. I know it's not smart to do a race in new shoes, but it's only 3.2 miles and we're walking in a group, so hopefully I won't regret it. I wore my shoes out of the store just like a 10-year-old, yet another indication that I'm probably not qualified to be a parent, but hey who is?

Daddy suggested Pasquale's Pizza for dinner, so we made our way to Bellevue and scoped out a parking place across the street. Ollie loved all the activity in the restaurant and made friend's with a baby in the next booth. Even though he had just eaten dinner, he couldn't take his eyes off his new friend's bottle.


After dinner we took a drive down Route 8 and ended up at Wes and Denise's house to check out their new miniature cows. By the time we got there, Ollie was sound asleep and it was approaching 8:00. Knowing we were playing with fire, we decided to hang out for a few minutes and watch the cows and shoot the breeze. Before we realized it, 9:00 rolled around and Ollie woke up. He had enough patience to check out the cows for about 30 seconds, and then reminded us that he was hungry and it was past his bed time.

We rushed home singing Old MacDonald the whole drive, this time teetering on tears, and not giggling at piggy and donkey sounds. Once we got home, Daddy and I worked together quickly to change his diaper and clothes and feed prunes, cereal, and milk. Within 15 minutes Ollie was in bed and almost sleeping even with the distraction of very loud fireworks coming from both sides of our house.

I'm off to bed now, since we have to be up early for the race. I doubt we'll win, but I'm confident we are capable of finishing.