1. It's amazing what kind of energy you can find in the pockets of a nice pair of jeans, the heels of some snazzy boots...the bottom of your second cup of coffee. I woke up this morning feeling stuffed up and tired and just plain yucky. Prospects were not good. So, in an effort to save the rest of my day, I dressed in my new favorite jeans, and cute shoes, and pretty much made every effort to look as though I WAS going to do something worthwhile today. And you know what? I'm so simple-minded that the influence of my outfit was powerful enough to trick me into acting as though today mattered after all. I got a ton of stuff done this morning and I'm really feeling a lot better.

The boat-load of coffee I drank probably helped with that too.

2. Although she has not reached the actual day of her birth yet, Evie has started telling people she is two. And rather then illustrating this with the conventional gesture of holding up her index finger and middle finger (like a peace sign), she folds down her last three fingers, then points her thumb up and her index finger out, straight at the person inquiring about her age (like a pretend gun). While, in theory, she is still showing you two digits, it looks less like an "I'm this many" gesture and more like an "I'm going to shoot you now" gesture.

What can I say? She's odd.

3. For weeks now I've been asking Evie what kind of cake she wanted for her birthday, and I got one of two answers: "Pink" or "Baby." That seems clear enough. She wants a cake shaped like a pink baby. And there are, in fact, pictures of baby-shaped cakes on the Internet, but when it came down to it, I just didn't want to do it. The thought of cutting up--and then EATING--a baby-shaped cake grossed me out. So I cheated. I sat her on my lap, fired up the browser and showed her a couple of web pages of alternate options, knowing that 2-year-olds are easily distracted. And, sure enough, when we saw a cute dog-shaped cake, Evie cheered and clapped her hands. "Puppy dog cake! Yay!" Eating a puppy-shaped cake does not disturb me in the least, for whatever reason, so we're going with that. Next on the agenda for the afternoon: make puppy cake.

4. And also Barbie Princess cake. Lucy loved Beth's cake from last year, so we are doing that whole doll-dress-cake thing again. This time with a non-ballerina Barbie, and a caked baked in a taller bowl, so hopefully this year Barbie's skirt will be long enough to cover her rear.

5. I cleaned out four bags full of old clothes and books and toys today and gave them all to Goodwill. I can't tell you how wonderful it feels to just get rid of clothes when Evie outgrows them, instead of washing them and folding them and saving boxes and boxes and boxes of them in the attic for the potential next baby. Now we're just free! It feels nice.

6. At the store today, Evie got to spend a $5 gift certificate because it was her birthday. Her choice? A tiny plastic potty for her baby doll. Yep, I really think this kid is ready.

7. Despite the wretched weather, the calendar is telling me that it's the end of May, and that means I'm ready for summer to be here already. Does Beth really need to attend the last three weeks of kindergarten? I'm kind of tired of the whole going and back and forth to school every day thing. Let's just skip it.