Mr. Clean

Logan is utterly obsessed with the concept of "cleaning" lately, which to him means dragging around a sponge mop or Swiffer mop (without the sponge or the Swiffer pad inserted). We've been allowing this, as there's no harm and it's certainly part of his natural curiousity to do the things we do around the house (he also likes to "make" his own sandwiches and wipe up spills).

All of this resulted in a most interesting scenario yesterday, in which Larry had to separate Logan from his mop in order to change him into jammies. As Larry carried Logan into his room, Logan reached desperately over Larry's shoulder, screaming "Nooooo! More cleaning!!!" If only we could fast forward 12 years, I'd be glad to get him his very own mop and let him go to town for real.

Sad Times in the Closet

Getting ready for my re-entry at Bulldog Monday, I spent my pockets of free time this week sorting through my disastrous closet. The only thing harder than getting dressed for work as a pregnant person is getting dressed during the "transition," which is what we call the period before we lose the rest of the baby weight and get an accurate read on how the pregnancy redistributed everything.

I sorted the clothes into four groups:

• Maternity clothes, which got boxed up and shipped to their rightful owners. Needless to say, we're done.
• Clothes I really should have given to Goodwill a long time ago.
• Clothes I want to keep even if I can't wear them now.
• The very, very few items that fit.

Sigh. There's no way I'm going to buy an entire new wardrobe. I like my old wardrobe. So my winter ensembles are going to be very limited. I'll have to distract everyone with earrings.

Slow News Day?

Grandpa Philip (referred to here by his alias, "Dr. Philip Silverman,") on News9 Oklahoma discussing antibacterial resistance research. View.

Perfect Park Day

Logan was a little cooped up Saturday so I made it up to him today with a trip to the playground to enjoy the absolutely perfect weather. Emily and I finally got smart and picked a playground halfway between our houses. It worked out perfectly. So much easier to drive 12 minutes than 25.

We packed a monster picnic for Logan and Wills, which they enjoyed al fresco. Look at that spread!

The only shortcoming of this particular park was the shortage of picnic tables. But one kind of genius attribute of eating on a park bench is that the three bottles of water spilled by the children (I'm not saying who spilled more) just went right through the slats onto the ground.

Hockey Pucks, Free to a Good Home

I took a little mommy time last night to do some baking in our new oven. Tried out a new sticky bun recipe that looked interesting because it's leavened with baking soda and -powder rather than with yeast.

Too bad I forgot to add the baking powder. I guess we're having waffles for Sunday breakfast.

Happiness in the Little Things

Breaking news...Oliver smiled at me for the first time today. Not that vague, gassy smirk they get, he's been doing that for weeks, but it really doesn't count. This one was a full-on, eye contact toothless smile that lit up his whole face. That sort of thing can make a mom burst into tears. I mean, that's what I've heard.

I'm only sad that Larry was not here to see it, but I have a feeling he will get his own some time soon. Go, Ollie, go!

Making the World Better for Grandchildren Everywhere

Usually it's unwise to believe anything one reads in the Oklahoman, but for this we make an exception.

Oklahoma researchers learn how germs spread resistance. Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation scientists said they are one step closer to finding a defense against dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria, sometimes called "superbugs.” OMRF researchers Philip Silverman and Margaret Clarke said they captured the first visual evidence of how some bacteria spread in hospitals and throughout the general population.

Read the full article.

And here is Grandpa Philip doing some research on chocolate birthday cake with Logan.