THINGS HAPPEN

• We got a new fish. His name (after much debate which included the unholy alliance of weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth) is Phineas. Lauren wanted to name him Bubbles, but he's a boy so we nixed that. Baker wanted to name him basically any name from Star Wars which Lauren was adamantly against. Brian and I thought he should have a fish-type name like Gill or Fin, which the kids hated until I suggested Phineas (Fineas?). Everyone seemed happy with that, so it stuck. By the way, this does mean that Paco died. Lauren was inconsolable in her grief and Baker just wanted to know if he could be the one to flush him down the toilet.
  

• Cameron has become the most polite baby you have ever seen. She says Thank You, You're Welcome and Bless You in every situation where one of these phrases is necessary. And she will continue saying them over and over until you respond appropriately. The best example of this was at her recent well check. She was screaming and crying because she was terrified of the doctor and so he was being very gentle and keeping his distance as much as possible. When he got out his stethoscope, he said, "Cameron, is it okay if I listen to your heart now?" And, through her hysterics she managed to catch her breath long enough to sob out, "No, thank you! No, thank you! No, thank you!" I would have laughed if it wasn't so pathetic. Oh, who are we kidding, I did laugh. A lot. But the doctor did, too so I don't feel that bad about it. And then he listened to her heart anyway, while I pinned her to the table.

• The traumatic events continued over Memorial Day weekend when we went down to the cemetery to visit the grave of a family member. Before we left, Baker asked us what a cemetery was and we simply said that it was a place where they bury you after you die. He was super quiet on the ride over and, as soon as we parked the car, we heard this tiny little voice from the very back of the van say, "Mommy? Are you sure we're going to die here?" Just typing that broke my heart all over again. Sometimes, we are spectacular failures as parents.

• Brian and I have started watching Lost. We are streaming it from Netflix through the Wii. (I know that sounds like a whole lot of jibberish, but it is one of the coolest things ever.) So far, we have watched the first six episodes of season one. We are both still on the fence about it. I sort of feel like I don't really want to watch it, but can't seem to look away (like a car wreck). I am definitely intrigued by it and have been pulled into all the drama and suspense, but I haven't decided yet if I am actually enjoying it. Time will tell, I guess.

• Now that summer is here, I can't seem to keep my house clean or my children fed. They are always hungry and always dirty. They never want to eat or do the same things at the same time and it is becoming exhausting. I can't believe I have three more months of this.

• At the same time, I love having Lauren home (she basically takes care of Cameron for me) and we have started some really fun activities (softball, tennis, park days with friends, reading time with Mom, afternoon movies together, etc). And I am super excited that I actually get three more months of this.

So, that's what happening around here. What's happening with you?