Ten for Tuesday 9.23.08

1. Today finally came! Lacey and I are going to the So You Think You Can Dance concert tonight. I'm so excited!

2. Apparently this is "National Stay at Home Week" because all of the TV shows are premiering. The problem is that none of my shows are on right now. SYTYCD just ended, and Lost and 24 won't start until the new year. Bummer. I didn't used to be so into TV, but it seems like recently I am so dog tired by the end of the day that I don't have the energy to be productive and work on a project at night. I just want to lay down and relax in front of the TV for awhile.

3. Speaking of TV, I just finished the last season of 24 which I didn't like as much as previous seasons. It seemed like they were running out of ideas for the show, which makes me think that next season may not be very good. I am definitely looking forward to the return of Lost more than the return of 24. Anyway, I'm not sure how I will fill my entertainment needs for the next few months. Either I will have to start reading again (not a bad option) or I might have to borrow Jessica's copy of the Alias series (I'm sure Reed will be thrilled to have me hooked on another show!).

4. While we're on the subject of TV, we won a TV at the firm party a few weeks ago. Since then Reed has been considering trading it in for a larger TV for the family room. He's been spending some time reading up on the new technology and was not happy to find out that if we get a large screen we will most likely need to subscribe to cable with and HD package in order to get a decent picture. Although I'm not excited about the prospects of paying through the nose for cable service, and am excited about the prospect of getting a DVR. Wahoo! I love the idea of watching what I want when it's convenient. Which is a little bit like using my. . .

5. IPOD. A few months ago when Reed got his new phone he let me use his IPOD. I still don't have any decent music on it, but I do subscribe to a few podcasts that I love, and it has made doing housework (especially ironing) much more enjoyable. Currently I'm listening to fascinating shows about the mess on Wall Street. I am so glad this IPOD just fell into my lap, because I'm sure it would have been a long time before I actually forked over the money to buy one for myself.

6. In other news. . . this is what the boys did to my bedroom while I was giving Blake a bath on Sunday morning. At first I just thought they were using the blankets from their beds, and then I realized they were emptying my linen closet. Apparently they were creating some kind of an island. I am so glad my kids have great imaginations, but it is so exhausting cleaning up pointless messes like this all the time!

7. I think I need a vacation from my kids. A long one.

8. My kids have an unbelievable radar ability. No matter what they are doing, or where they are in the house, they immediately know when I am on the the phone. They go from playing happily in the toy room or having a snack to standing at my feet screaming their guts out. Using the phone at my house can be a dangerous thing. I have been known to take the phone up to my room, lock the door, go into the bathroom, lock the door, and then into my closet and shut the door---just in hopes of getting a few minutes of peace before my kids jimmy the locks and start screaming. It's maddening. They also can use their ability to detect when I've eaten a piece of candy, but that's a story for another day.

9. Back to the topic of messes. . . I'm not really sure what I've gotten myself into, but we are having a trial run with Legos. Michael has some friends who have Legos, and he's been really interested in them lately. He wants to play with them constantly, and as a consequence he never wants to play at our house because we don't have any. So, on Sunday night we had dinner at my parents' house and I asked if we could borrow some of their Legos. We brought a few buckets home with very strict rules that the Legos must stay in Michael's bedroom and he needs to keep the door shut. He is also responsible for cleaning them up when he's done. If the rules are broken, the Legos are going back to Nana's house. We are two days in, and things are going well. Michael says Legos are the "best toys ever," and he has been playing with them non-stop since Sunday. Fun, fun!

10. Back to the topic of needing a vacation. . . Blake is currently experiencing Binki withdrawal. The binki situation has gotten completely out of control. He wants the thing in his mouth around the clock. He can hardly bear to take his binki out of his mouth even to eat, so he'll take a bite of something and then shove his binki back in and think for a few minutes if it's worth it to take another bite. He frequently can be found sucking on one, and holding binkis in each of his hands. So, I'm trying to wean him from this habit slowly. I've been limiting it during the day, and then I give it back to him for naps and at bed time. The problem is that he is SO much more pleasant when he has his binki. This hasn't been a very fun experience for anyone. It will get easier soon, right?