Groomzilla, I’ll do it if you’ll do it. Think of it as my gift to your novel-writing muse….

So does anyone know anything about “Boo” etiquette? Yesterday we got “booed” by someone, I don’t know who. I guess that’s the point, but really, how am I supposed to reciprocate if I don’t know who I am supposed to be thanking for the lovely bag of candy goodies and spooky flashlights for the kids?

I’ve been sneaking peaks at all the neighbors windows, and see no evidence of other “boo” activities. So I have no clue if this is really a neighborhood “thing” or if one family is trying to start a “boo” thing, or if I was totally wrong and the “boo” bag came from someone else like Lovely Friend.

So what do I do here? Do I “boo” two neighbors? Do I “boo” two friends? Do I play dumb and “boo” no one? Apparently actually living in a neighborhood is much more complicated than I had originally envisioned. We are already dreading the holiday season…

• We all have a low grade sniffle and cough. Which sounds suspiciously like it is going someplace. I so hate it when you have a few days warning that illness is descending. Like the time I got the phone call from a friend about the fact her son had thrown up on C on a playdate. That was a fun time.

• You want to know how I know the cold is going someplace? Because it is 65 degrees in my house, and I keep shivering and wanting to turn the heat on. AND I am wrapped in my fluffy blanket.

• This is why I hate the fall and winter months. The constant wait for the next illness. Because as soon as you are over one, you just know there is another waiting in the wings.

• I have no long-sleeved tee shirts. Before the move, I purged my closet and figured I would replace all of my ratty clothes at Old Navy, and then when I actually went there, there were no plain old tee-shirts to be found. None. There were sparkles and cowl necks, and these strange gathered things that I can’t imagine would look good on an almost 35 year old, but no plain old tee shirts.

• On the upside, while linking to all those fashion disasters, I DID find plain old tee-shirts on the website.

• On the downside, tomorrow the furnace guy is coming to inspect the furnace. And I’m not buying any tee shirts until then, because the furnace is many, many years older than I, and if my doctor insists that I am middle-aged, then I can only imagine what my furnace will be called. Hopefully not toast.

• I still can’t find the camera. But before M heads off this am, I am going to try to remember to ask him if he knows. If not, I did find the video camera, and just maybe I will learn how to use YouTube. If only YouTube had been around when I was an aspiring television and film major. I spent a good while last night checking out the work of the students at my alma-mater. Too bad I can’t offer any of them a job…unless they want to babysit.

• I need a pillow for my blogging chair. My back is killing me. Big comfy chairs were not actually designed for short people.

• I hate Monday mornings. I have to go rally the troops for breakfast and school. Gah. I should have done afternoon pre-school.

Last week the kids and I ventured to the library so C could attend story (half) hour. He disappeared into the story room, and A and I did every puzzle in the library several times over. For some reason, while she won’t touch the 40 billion puzzles in our playroom, at the library the puzzles are a major draw. But I was finally able to bribe her into accompanying me to the adult section with a stack of new Dora books to peruse while tucked under the water bubbler. I picked out this book, and so far it is fabulous. Then I added this one and this one, as how many books sitting in your Amazon cart can you actually ever find on the shelves of the library? Clearly the library gods were telling me it was time to pick up the pace. As we passed the travel section, I picked up a few books on London as well, so I could show C and A where Julia and Evan are now spending their days. At the circulation desk, the librarian stopped us and handed over this baby, which I hope to take for a test drive this afternoon.

Just as A started terrorizing the patrons and I began wondering if story (half) hour would ever end, the children emerged, each carrying a coloring page and a book. One by one they bolted to their caregivers, full of news about the itsy-bitsy spider and Georgie the Ghost. But as A and I stood there with our piles of books, a little concerned about the whereabouts of C, a small figure stumbled out with only his eyes visable over the collection of early readers gathered in his arms. The librarian trailed behind, picking up the droppage. She finally spied us, and steered C over. As she eyed my pile and C’s pile, she laughed. “I see he comes by it honestly. We generally don’t let the kids take out this many books from the story hour room, but he was so engrossed in them all…”

I gathered up C’s books with my own and thanked her, while C literally buried his nose in a book and started walking towards the door, running into several other patrons on the way. He handed over the book under protest at the scanner, and then quickly snatched it back and curled up in a chair with it while waiting for A and I to finish checking out the rest of our finds. I have to say, it perked up an otherwise dreary parenting week. Now if only he would learn how to actually read the book himself….

Why is it that they don’t make hats for kids over the age of two with ear flaps? Has anyone seen one anywhere? I was finally able to purchase C a jacket on Ebay at a reasonable price as I just refuse to pay full price for a winter jacket, but now I can’t find a hat that isn’t camouflage, which I refuse to buy on principle. The few that I do find he’ll never keep on his head. I want ear flaps. He’s never going to keep a scarf on, and quite honestly, it’s a hazard at the playground.

BTW, the new spell checker on Beta? Fabu. If you need spell checker like I do, it is totally worth the switch.