1.  We are developing a kind of a routine for these 4:30am wakeups.  Oddly enough, it helps make them more bearable. I go in, make sure he’s not unexpectedly poopy or anything, then, instead of holding or rocking him, I just go to his twin bed–his eventual ‘big boy bed’ and I put him between me & the wall, and I tell him it’s time to go back to sleep.  Even if it takes him 20 minutes of flinging himself around, bouncing off me, bouncing off the walls & the pillows, he settles and then sleeps deeply, and when he’s been deeply asleep for 10 minutes or so, I can scoop him up and deposit him back in his crib and seek my own bed again.  Not ideal (because what, really, is ideal about waking up at 4:30?!!) but doable.  And that’s an improvement.

2.  Henry knows the letter ‘O’ when he sees it.  He was having a great time at the library this week, playing with refrigerator magnets.  And we went through the whole alphabet, examining the letters, and of course I told him each one and he tried to say each one with varying degrees of success.  So when I was at Walmart buying proofing box supplies I bought a set (which is missing a Z, much to my dismay.  Seriously, Walmart, how hard is it to get a complete alphabet in an alphabet set, eh? THIS is why I don’t shop there, normally!) and brought it home and Henry helped put it on the refrigerator. I was somewhat distracted, thinking of something else, and wasn’t telling him the letters as we worked.  But then he plucked off the ‘O’ as soon as I put it up, and handed it back to me saying–without any prompting–’O!’  He can also find the A & B, but O is apparently his favorite.  Wow. I realize he’s a way off from reading, but, damn, the kid can read and remember letters.  Woohoo!!!

3.  Brownies. Specifically brownies where all you do is add oil and egg and water. Couldn’t be easier, and awfully darned tasty.  Yum.

4.  The smell of sauteing onions is just the most wonderful smell. My grandmother tells the story that her mother, when she’d been out shopping or gallivanting all day, would hurry home and start a pan of onions frying, regardless of what was for dinner–it made the house smell like she’d been busy in the kitchen all day!  I’ve always loved that story, and I do understand. I wouldn’t mind if my house ALWAYS smelled of frying onions…

5.  Yesterday, I cleaned out the drain in my shower. Ok, I have long fine hair, and I use gloppy conditioner on it every day–which leads to clogged drains no matter how careful I am with drain strainers.   So my shower usually drains slowly.  Finally, mine got so bad that even I knew I had to deal with it. I expected it to be a major project involving drain snakes & tears, but it was pretty straightforward and easy.  Yay for an easy shower drain to clean out, and was it ever nice not standing in soapy water while I bathed this morning!  Woohoo for non-soap-scummy feet–I think I’ll never wait so long again to do the dreaded drain-clean!