I Won Something

Well, actually Lolly won this for me.

It's called the "Loser Badge."  Last week my darling Lolly made my BFL picks for me.  Remember that?  Yeah, she didn't do so well, bless her heart.  When she asked me if her teams won I answered, "well a couple of them did."  And that was not a lie.  She only got two out of about fourteen picks right.  It's OK, I still adore her and she was thrilled that she won the badge above for me.  Leave it to Lolly to find a silver lining.  

I sure as heck am not going to let her pick this week.  I decided to give it a go myself this time.  It may prove to be just as disastrous, time will tell.  Here are MY picks.

Oakland @ Baltimore
Arizona @ Carolina
Tampa Bay @ Dallas
Washington @ Detroit
Buffalo @ Miami
St. Louis @ New England
San Diego @ New Orleans
Kansas City @ NY Jets
Atlanta @ Philadelphia
Cleveland @ Jacksonville
Cincinnati @ Houston
NY Giants @ Pittsburgh
Seattle @ San Francisco

Indianapolis @ Tennessee
Total score: 49

Now get yourself over here and check out the competition.  

Love/Hate

I love my house.  I hate my house.  No, no, I love my house.  Argh!  I hate this damn house.

We bought our house fully aware of it's flaws.  The bathrooms have not been updated since it was built in 1935 and the kitchen had a partial upgrade sometime during the late '50's.  It's a diamond in the rough.  But we fell in love with it's charm, character, history, perfect location and massive backyard and fantastic potential.  It's our forever house.  I have visions of at least one of my children getting married here someday.   When we remodel, we want to do it right, and it will be amazing.

We've been planning our remodel since we moved in two years ago.  I never thought it would take us this long, but you know, life gets in the way.  We hired an architect, fired and architect, hired a new architect, got approval from five of our neighbors and finalized our plans.  The city building and planning department seems to be moving at a snails pace.  Then the stock market fell apart and we are tightening our belts and not feeling so secure about things right now.

I'm frustrated.  I can't stand my kitchen.  It's dark and cut off from the rest of the house.  The oven burns everything I try to cook no matter what I do.  The drawers don't shut properly and the paint is chipped.  Don't even get me started on the bathrooms.  Ugh.   I sometimes feel like we live in a tent, the windows are so flimsy.  There is a huge hole in our living room ceiling where water dripped down from a leak in the master bathroom shower.

I know that we are lucky to even have a house that we are not at risk of losing (knock super hard on wood).  We are lucky to live close to a public school that we are happy to send our children to.   We are lucky to have enough space inside and outside for our family of five.  And we are lucky to have enough space to host our family and friends for holidays and birthday parties.  I know all this.

But this house and it's 73 year old quirks are starting to get on my nerves.  Today the plumbing betrayed me.   After three of us used the toilet, it decided to clog and overflow.  My downstairs bathroom flooded, which is right off the kitchen.  It was a seriously nasty flood if you know what I mean.  I put some towels on the floor and raced out the door to get the girls to tennis lessons.  When we got home I got out the plunger, held my breath and plunged the heck out of that old, stinky toilet.  It was not pretty.  I fixed the toilet, but I couldn't bring myself to clean the floor yet.  I think I need a hazmat suit.  Anyone have one I can borrow?  

For now I just shut the door and told the kids not to open it under any circumstances.  I went upstairs to change my clothes and when I came back down Lolly had taped this up on the door.

It made me smile.

For more background on our lovely home, go here.  Be sure to read parts 1 and 2 as well.

Sleeping Together

Princess Lolly and Princess Frostine shared a bassinet, next to our bed until they were five months old.   Then they shared a crib in their own room for a couple more months.   One little baby in a big crib just seemed... lonely.   They have never slept with their heads more than five feet apart.   I have never even considered separating them.   There have been many times when one had an accident, or needed some Tylenol and I would turn the lights on, change the sheets, pour the medicine, get a glass of water all while the other slept without even stirring.  It's rare that one will sleep in longer than the other.  They usually come into my room in the morning one right after the other.

When have a spare room that we use as a playroom.  It's connected to their current room by a Jack and Jill bathroom.  I figure one day, when we no longer need a playroom, one of them will move into that room.  Maybe not.  I'll let them decide. 

For now, it makes me smile when I walk past their room after they are supposed to be asleep and I hear their little sisterly whispers.  I tell them to hush and go to sleep, with no conviction in my voice at all.

Afterthought:  It often occurs to me that Gloppy is the only one in our house who has his own room and sleeps alone.  Maybe that's why I am never quick to take him back to his room when he makes his way to my bed in the middle of the night.

They're Both My Favorites

Lolly and Frostine.  Frostine and Lolly.   My first borns.   There are twins on my mom's side of the family and my dad's side of the family.  It never occurred to me that I would have twins.  Until my 30th birthday when I went to my very first OB appointment at 6 weeks pregnant and the doctor showed me those two little blobs swimming around in my uterus.   I drove home in a daze.  

Frostine and Lolly are fraternal twins.   Which means they do not have the same DNA.   I often get asked if they are identical.  But once people get to know them, they realize they are anything but identical.  When they were infants sleeping together in a co-sleeper next to my bed, I would reach over in the middle of the night and know exactly who was who just by touching them.  We used to call Lolly squishy because she was cuddly and well... squishy.  Frostine is all muscle, just like her dad.   She's been blessed with great, solid muscle tone.

Lots of mothers of twins struggle with "treating them as individuals."  I don't see it as a struggle, because their unique personalities force to me treat them as the individuals they are.  

Mr. Mint likes to give me a hard time, saying I play favorites with Lolly.  It may seem that way to him, but I know that's not the case.  Lolly needs me in a more intense way than Frostine.   Lolly is the one who clung to me and cried her eyes out on the first day of preschool while Frostine sat right down and got busy with some crayons.   The other night when I had tucked them into bed, Lolly looked at me longingly and said, "when will I see you again?"  She always wants to sit on my lap, wear my perfume and needs "one more hug and kiss."   I get Lolly.  She likes the same foods that I like.  She is shy in the same way I was as a kid.  She is very aware of other people's emotions.  Whether I am cooking dinner or typing on my laptop, she wants to be involved.

I am in awe of Frostine.  She is naturally athletic and will try just about anything.  Frostine has a competitive streak that is clearly straight from Mr. Mint.   When she realized that most kids in her kindergarten class could jump rope better than she could, she would come home from school and practice and practice until she was kicking jump rope ass on the playground.  Again, like her father, she is a whiz with numbers.  She would breeze right through her math worksheets.  Her camp counselor described her as "a spunky go-getter."  My hearts bursts with pride when I watch her determination in action.

So yes, Lolly is my favorite.  She's my favorite Lolly, and I love her in ways that are only for her.  And yes, Frostine is my favorite.  She is my favorite Frostine, and I love her in ways that are only for her.  I love them in very different, equally deep ways.  

And in case you're wondering about Gloppy...  he will always be my favorite son.

Kicking Sibling Rivalry's Ass

Yesterday my kids were utterly charming.  They shared their things with each other, made up silly games and Gloppy kept saying "we're friends, right guys?"  We went to Jamba Juice to get smoothies after camp and ran into some nice firemen who game each of them a plastic fire helmet.  All three of them said thank you and Lolly even said "thank you for keeping us safe!" with no prompting from me.  

I was starting to think that The Summer Of Kicking Sibling Rivalry's Ass might just be a success after all.   You know where this is going right?  It started this morning when all three of them came to jump in bed with me at 5:50am.  I had one twin on each side of me and Gloppy on my chest.  Lolly started some serious whining because my head was turned toward Frostine.  When I turned it the other way Frostine said I always pay attention to Lolly and I don't love her.   Ugh.  This continued through breakfast.  

I am hoping they turn back into lovely, supportive sisters at camp today.

Dance Recital '08

The shoes were ready...


Bows were tied and lip gloss applied...

With each tippity-tap of their shoes a little piece of my heart melted right off.  I have to go die from cuteness now.

A Toilet is Not a Toy

Have you ever seen that commercial where a dad is strapping his daughter in her car seat and she's telling him a story. The girl does not stop talking even when he shuts the door to get in the front seat. Nor does she stop talking the whole way home. Yeah, that's my Lolly.

Most of time I enjoy her constant chatter. I learn a lot about what goes on in her head. And sometimes I'm annoyed by the barrage of questions. She's never satisfied by my answers and always comes up with a follow up question. I hope her natural curiosity will serve her well in life.

Tonight while she was in the bath tub she was telling me that Gloppy tried to flush a huge wad of toilet paper earlier in the day. She rambled on about how she tried to tell him to use less toilet paper and on and on. She ended by saying that she thinks he might be confused about what by the word toilet. She thinks we need to explain to him that it's not a TOYlet. Her dad would be so proud.

Guilty As Charged

It's my own fault.  Isn't that the story of motherhood?  Kid is having a tantrum = either you forgot a snack and they're hungry or you lingered too long at the mall and they need a nap.   Kid gets ten ear infections a year = you fed her formula instead of breast feeding.  Kid won't stay on timeout = you haven't been consistent enough with discipline.  Kid won't give up binkie = you gave kid binkie in the first place.   Kid bites nail = they watch too much TV and need to burn off some nervous energy (that's true, I read it in a parenting magazine).  

I'm currently reading a book on sibling rivalry.  What am I learning you ask?   That I have perpetuated the problem by the subtle yet different ways I react to them and the language that I use.   

When I was pregnant with Princess Frostine and Princess Lolly one of my co-workers who had two young kids at home made a comment to me that parenthood is all about guilt. I remember thinking to myself, "ummmm, OK well maybe for you, but I'm going to be such a perfect parent I'll have nothing to feel guilty about."   I wish I could go back in time and smack some sense into myself. "Be afraid, be very, very afraid" I would say to the pregnant me.

On the ride home from the hospital with my two newborn little girls I was paralyzed by fear. The only thought running through my head was how is there ever going to be enough of me to take care of these two little babies.  I've spent the past five plus years doing my best to make sure they get the same number of pushes on the swing, they have the same amount of juice in their cups or get the same number of kisses.  It's crazy really.  When they were little, Mr. Mint would often suggest that I take one of them to the grocery store while he took the other to Home Depot. "Noooooooo way!" I would say. How could I possibly choose which one to take with me?  Would the other one feel slighted?  Whoever I didn't choose would end up married to someone named Blake and addicted to crack.  He would just stare at me with a look that said, "it's not Sophie's Choice you freak, they're only 5 months old."

This past weekend we were invited to a start of summer swim party at one of Lolly and Frostine's classmates houses.   When we got there all the kids were swimming, splashing and having a great time.  My girls clung to my side for the first ten minutes or so until they finally got up the courage to enter the water.  They spent the whole party either sitting on the pool steps or clinging to the side of the pool while their classmates literally swam circles around them.  I felt like I had completely failed my girls because they don't know how to swim.  

I could never take them to lessons when they were babies since there was always a one adult per baby requirement and I couldn't clone myself.   Once they were old enough to be in the pool by themselves we signed up for lessons.  They would cry through the whole class and beg me to take them out of the pool.  I couldn't take it anymore, so we gave up.  That pool party was the first time I realized I probably should have made more of an effort and stuck with it.  

Despite the fact that they were the only kids who weren't diving and sliding into the pool with ease they had a great time at the party.  I've decided to let go of the guilt I've been feeling for the past couple of days and get them into some private swim classes.  The good news is after seeing all their friends having such a fun time in the pool, they're anxious to learn.  

We'll see you at the pool.

A State for Cats

On the way to ballet today Lolly coincidentally started asking me about our dog Kirby.   

Lolly:  "Where does he live now."

Mama Ginger Tree:  "He lives with a family in Montana."

Lolly:  "Why Montana?"

Mama Ginger Tree:  "It's a nice state for dogs, he has a lot of room to run around."

Lolly:  "Are there other dogs there?"

Mama Ginger Tree:  "Yes, there are lots of other dogs."

Lolly:  "Is there a special state for cats?"

And because every time I watch this it makes me laugh even harder... I thought I'd share this piece of levity with you that my sister shared with me the other day.  "Team Building Exercise '99" kills me every time.  Enjoy.

Farewell to Kindergarten

Today was the last day of kindergarten for Lolly and Frostine.   For some reason I was more emotional today than  I was on the first day of school.   I've always respected teachers, but now that I have seen two truly amazing ones in action, I have a whole new level of respect.   It made me a little sad to say good-bye.  

After we got home and the girls were looking through their huge bags full of projects and workbooks from the year.  Frostine brought this into the kitchen and asked me to read it.

I couldn't get past the third line.  Tears were rolling down my face.  Can someone please tell my babies to stop growing up?  

Family Bingo Night

Family Bingo Night sounded like a good idea when I bought the tickets a couple of weeks ago.   My first clue should have been when a more seasoned fourth grade mom told me to have a couple of cocktails before we head over.  

On the ride to school we talked the whole way about how Bingo is a game of luck and you may not win a prize.  Judging by how things go at home when we play games, I knew it would be ugly if one sister got Bingo and the other didn't.  

Never the less, we stood in line for the Mexican feast, crammed into our seats and got ready to play.  I soon began to understand that wise fourth grade mom's advice.  In case you haven't been fortunate enough to attend a Family Bingo Night, let me just that a small gymnasium full of elementary school kids playing Bingo involves a lot of screaming.  Add to that 5th graders calling out the numbers, four Bingo cards to keep an eye on, a squirmy five year old on my lap, and another five year old on the verge of tears she is so desperate to get Bingo and I was really wishing they were serving vodka tonics as well as juice boxes.  

In the end, Frostine came home with a jump rope and Lolly scored some bubbles and a race care sticker book for her brother.  I came home with a headache.  

The Music In Me

It was like a scene out of a commercial.  After the drama of getting there, the kindergarten musical couldn't have been more Norman Rockwell.  The audience was packed full of parents, and grandparents with video cameras rolling.  The stage was decorated in bright circus colors with a retro clown, lion and juggler for accents.  The kindergarteners were dressed and ready for their moment in the spotlight.   

"Circus, Circus" was the story of a circus whose ringmaster gets laryngitis and the job is then given to a "sad clown" who comes out of her shell once given the chance to shine.   The music was fabulous.  The cuteness factor was off the charts.  

Princess Lolly's line was, "I think we can make your day, I think we can make you smile.  Why don't you be the ringmaster, try that for a little while."  She mumbled something, put the microphone down and did her nervous laugh.  After her (amazing) music teacher gave her a hint, she picked up the microphone and nailed it.  

Way to go my sweet little Lolly.   You make my heart sing.

Just Be Quiet and Watch TV

Princess Lolly, Princess Frostine and Gloppy built a fort in the living room this morning after breakfast.  Lolly was the "mommy" and Frostine and Gloppy were the babies.  Lolly made cake for them, gave them "presents" and read them some books.  

Frostine was really getting in to the role of "baby."  She was pretending to cry and saying "mommy, mommy, mommy."  Repeatedly.  Finally Lolly said, "I don't want to be the mommy anymore, just be quiet and watch TV."   I feel your pain Lolly. 

Family Dinner

We here in the Candy Cane Forest try to have dinner together as a family as often as possible.  During the week it's tough, but we can usually manage on the weekends.  Princess Lolly has been asking for steak for a while.  We don't eat a ton of red meat and the whole beef recall has me a little spooked.   But we decided to throw caution to the wind and grill a marinated tri tip.   Yum.  I think Lolly ate most of it.   She kept asking for more and finally we cut her off.  Then she ate an entire basket of strawberries.  She clearly shares her mother's appreciation of good food.  

She and Princess Frostine helped me make the side dishes which rounded out a very nice meal.

 

The potatoes were so tasty and the brussels sprouts were simple and delicious.  It was a nice little family dinner despite Gloppy's mini tantrum because we wouldn't give him Diet Pepsi with his dinner and we made the mistake of putting a brussels sprout on his plate.  He was fine after we got him a new plate that had never touched any green food.

Kindergarten - Not Just Playdough and Crayons Anymore

My twin girls are in kindergarten at a wonderful public school in our neighborhood.  We feel incredibly lucky to live so close to such an exceptional public school.  They are in different classes, but the teachers work closely together so all their projects are similar.   They have the exact same homework each week.  That's right... I said homework.  In KINDERGARTEN.  It's usually only one or two work sheets each night, but sometimes it causes me a lot of angst.   

Since they are in KINDERGARTEN, homework requires my supervision.  I don't always have time to sit down separately with them so I work with both of them at the same time.  This drives me nuts.  There is a lot of "why is she ahead of me" or "she stole the glue" or "she's doing it wrong."  Not to mention that Gloppy wants to do homework too.  So I have to photocopy their work sheets so that he can scribble on them.  Homework is not my favorite time of day.

But tonight was actually kind of fun.  Everyone was in a good mood and Gloppy was at my in-laws so I could focus on the Princesses.  Today at school they had a presentation from a group called Wildcare.  Apparently they learned about different kinds of animals and taxidermy.  Taxidermy?  OK.  Part of their homework tonight was to write and illustrate what they learned.   Princess Lolly learned that "turtles can't take off their shells."  Very nice.  Here is her "rainbow turtle."

Princess Frostine was beyond excited about her illustration.  There were no live animals at this presentation, so I am not sure where this came from, but take a look.

In case you can't read that, it says "the bird peed on his feet."  It was all I could do not to laugh.  She described the bird in detail the whole way home from school, so I was anxious to see her rendition.  I'm not sure if it's supposed to be a vulture or some type of exotic bird.  She was so proud.

When I pulled out their second sheet of homework, I thought there must be some mistake.  Here's what my KINDERGARTNERS had to do.

Seriously?  Subtraction with numbers greater than ten?!  I can't even do some of these without using my fingers.   I'm going to have a really hard time with homework when they get to first grade.

The Price I Pay for a Shower

Want to see what three kids can do to a room while their mother takes a shower?  Here's what the room normally looks like.

Now here's what it looked like when I came back downstairs after my shower.

I really wish this picture did it justice.  What you can't see is the cereal they helped themselves to and then proceeded to sprinkle around the room.  I swear it was a quick shower.  I am just thankful I decided not to shave my legs.  You'll notice the kids are nowhere to be seen.  Well that's because they had moved on to destroy other rooms in the house, or get more snacks.

A Valentine Photo Essay

CAUTION:  LOTS OF PICTURES AHEAD

The Candy Cane kids started preparing their Valentines this past weekend.  Here are Princess Frostine and Gloppy getting crafty.

Here is Princess Lolly putting some sugar on some sugar cookies.  Gloppy was covered in flour and pink sugar crystals, but he wouldn't let me take his picture.

Here are our creations ready to go in the oven.

And here's the finished product ready to put in bags and attach our valentines.

Princess Frostine and Princess Lolly ready to take their cookies to school and spread the love.  Lolly woke up with a fever though, so she stayed home under the care of Grandma Nutt.

Here's Gloppy at his Tiny Tots Valentine party.  He was a little out of sorts so we left shortly after he finished his pink cupcake and collected his loot.

After dinner we made some popcorn, built a fire and watched A Charlie Brown Valentine.   

After the kids went to bed it was Indian take-out, Diet Pepsi and Survivor for me.  I would have poured myself a glass of wine, but I had one too many glasses last night at my mom's night out.  The flowers were courtesy of Mr. Mint.

Happy Valentine's Day to me.

Scenes From My Day

Act 1:  Breakfast

I try hard not to be a short order cook.  In our house, if  you don't like what is being served, you can have a hard boiled egg, some cheese or peanut butter toast.  But it pains me to send them off to school without a good breakfast.  Breakfast is the one meal where no matter how hard I try, I end up making at least two if not three different things.  Today was one of those days.  I made Trader Joe's french toast for everyone and even sprinkled some powdered sugar on it.  When I presented it two out of three gave it the thumbs down.  To make a long story short, I wound up making eggs, wheat toast, sliced strawberries, a protein shake and some black tea as well.  The shake and tea were for me.

Act 2:  Out and about with Gloppy the Chocolate Monster

After I dropped the Princesses off at school, Gloppy and I went to run some errands.   Six months ago, Gloppy's vocabulary consisted of about 20 words or so.  Lately though, the boy does not stop talking.  He provides a running commentary to our day.   He also provides commentary to everyone we encounter.  Today he told the Starbucks Barista that we needed to pick up daddy's shirts, he told the dry cleaner that we were going to get some pizza.  At the pizza place, we ran into an acquaintance with her son.   Gloppy told her mommy ran on the treadmill this morning.  Why thanks Gloppy, it's always nice to have someone to do your bragging for you.  Seriously though, they kid does not stop talking ALL. DAY. LONG.

Act 3:  Helping with workshop in Princess Lolly's kindergarten class.

Sitting at a table with three of Lolly's classmates, one of the little girls invites me to her birthday party.  She gives me her address, tells me who is going to be there and what kind of cake they are going to have.  I ask here if Lolly can come too, and she replies, "no."

Act 4:  A quick trip to the grocery store with Frostine and Lolly

At the check-out stand both girls pick up a mini Farmer's Almanac and ask me "what book is this?"  They are both blocking my way to unload the groceries and there is a line forming behind me.  I quickly try to tell them that it really isn't a book for kids.  The checker then launches into a lengthy explanation of all the helpful information in a Farmer's Almanac and how she used it to plan her daughter's wedding.  Um thanks, but I really just want to pay for my groceries and get home.  Of course both girls were then convinced that we needed one so I had to bribe them with a cookie.

Act 5:  A first for Gloppy

Ever since he learned his colors, Gloppy has referred to the color pink as "bubblegum."   Today he suddenly switched to "pink" for pink.

Act 6:  Kid's playing together before dinner

Princess Lolly takes something that Gloppy was playing with and he asks for it back.  She ignores him and he starts to cry.  I ask her to give it back to him.  About four times.  I ask her if she is ignoring me.  She looks right at me and says "yes."

Act 7:  Dinner

We're having one of my kids favorite meals.  A roast chicken from the grocery store with BBQ sauce for dipping, mashed potatoes and sliced cucumbers.  My mom (Grandma Nutt) stopped by and was sitting with the kids while I chatted with my sister on the phone (about our mom of course).   When I got off the phone she told me Gloppy was asking for something that had to do with his BBQ sauce and she couldn't understand what he wanted.  Gloppy is not much for dipping any of his food, he prefers to eat his condiments straight.  After a little investigation I realized he wanted a spoon to eat his sauce.  He already had one, but Gloppy being Gloppy cannot use the same utensil for more than one food.  

Final Act:  Evening

The kids are in bed, the kitchen is clean and Mr. Mint and I on with couch each with our respective laptops.   He reads me an e-mail from a co-worker that says, "Give me a 2 second call when you have a sec."

100 Days of Kindergarten

Yesterday was the 100th day of kindergarten for Princess Frostine and Princess Lolly.  Frostine had a fever so she had to stay home and miss the festivities.  Turns out she has a double ear infection, probably only the 5th one of her short life.

Kindergarten is truly a transforming year.  Teachers aren't messing around in kindergarten, and they've learned a lot in 100 days.   Like how to count to 100, by one's, five's and ten's.  To watch them start to read and write sentences has been simply amazing for me as a parent.   They don't even ask me to spell things for them anymore, they just sound words out and give it a shot.  Their phonetic spelling is priceless.  Watching the look of pride on their faces when they read something makes my heart swell.  *Sigh*

To celebrate the 100th day of school they had all kinds of fun festivities in class.  My favorite is the glasses and crown that Lolly is sporting in this photo.  (That's Frostine hiding under the blanket.)

I still can't quite believe that these little babies are in kindergarten.  I never thought any of us would make it this far.  I'd like to have these two little bundles back for just one day.   One day without all the crying (theirs and mine), diapers, and sleep deprivation.   

  

 

Those were the days.

Of Course

My iPod was charged, my running clothes were laid out right next to my bed, there was a bottle of water waiting on the treadmill.   Mr. Mint left for work around 5:30am per usual.  Around 5:40am I heard a door slam and little footsteps marching into my bedroom.   I look at the clock as Gloppy climbs into my bed and hear another set of footsteps joining the party.  It was Princess Frostine of course, because no one is going to get time alone cuddling with mom in bed if she can help it (especially her little brother!).  

Now my kids have always been early risers.  It is the price I pay for my early to bed philosophy.  But if they are awake before 6am, I try to get them to go back to sleep.  If there is just one of them in my bed this usually works, but add a sibling into the mix and I might as well forget it.  

I considered taking them downstairs with me and putting the TV on while I ran.  While my kids like TV, they are not the type to get totally sucked in.  If there is something more interesting going on they could care less about TV.   Since the treadmill has only been out for a few days, it is far too tempting to sit right next to me while I am running with a litany of questions.  "When is it our turn?"  "How much longer are you going to run?"  "What are we going to have for breakfast?"  How many more minutes are you going to run?"  "Mom, are you sweating?"  "How high do I have to count until you are done?"  You get the idea.

My point is, I was looking forward to just a nice run on my treadmill without all the other distractions.  So we all stayed in bed until Princess Lolly came in and we started the day.  Of course once I was up the day got away from me.  

So apparently there are still some excuses left.