Speaking of Speaking of, I am Going to Bed

It is 11:12 and I can’t sleep. Maybe it is because I drank way too much lemonade and my body is going into [fake] sugar shock. I have determined that there are four things that I consume that may kill me: My coffee creamer; my sugar-free double-chocolate pudding and the aforementioned “light” lemonade. All have that fake sugar. So I need to eliminate them from my diet, but I am very much not looking forward to that process. Did I say four things? I meant three.

Speaking of rolling with it, Nicole just booked two trips for work this fall: London in September and San Francisco in October. Part of me keeps trying to figure out what it would be like if we all went. How would it work? How would Nicole work, literally? How would the plane rides be and how about baby jet lag? After about two minutes of visualization I usually conclude the same thing: It would be too hard. The girls are still a little too young, and as much as I would love to navigate the Tube in London with the girls, it wouldn’t be a walk in the park. But then I think that will be our fallback excuse for the next 18 years. I don’t know. The girls miss Nicole when she is at work: How will they be with a whole week of no Mommy? I also don’t that that much space in our togetherness.

Speaking of us, I am also obsessing over our upcoming Very Big Day. Thanks Ellen and Portia for showing us what kind of wedding you can have if you spend a couple million. I won’t be wearing a Zac Posen gown because I don’t think I could take myselfseriosuly in anything with tulle. I obsess over what I will wear for the Very Big Day. I am all over the place, from cashmere and pencil skirts to mustard yellow strapless dresses (I think it would be a good fall color). I spent an hour tonight looking at different options online and it made my head hurt. I am also obsessed over were exactly to have said day, but we can’t get up to Massachusetts till maybe early October. Every weekend is booked or Nicole is away between now and then. There are a lot of little details that we need to attend. Not having these details decided or a location picked out makes me feel unsettled.

Speaking of unsettled, there was a minor earthquake in Tokyo today, where my brother and Mina and the kids are now, on the final leg of their Asia Tour 2008. All I can think is, what if that was just a foreshadow? What if a bigger quake is coming? Leave now, while the airport still has a runway.

Speaking of runaways (yes, I added a vowel), one of my students told me that he ran away and joined a traveling carnival when he was a teenager and stayed with it for 12 years. This is, believe it or not, the second Carny I have had in a class. I love teaching adults because they have much more interesting biographies than mini children.

Speaking of mini children, the girls are consolidating their naps. It sort of started last week, but this week they are firmly in the one-nap mode (about three to three and a half hours) with an bump of an afternoon mini session of quiet time in the crib (about 30 to 45 minutes) and bedtime promptly at 6:30. Having such a huge block of time is great; I can get so much done. But the change in schedule kind of throws me for a loop. I am trying to roll with it, and that is harder than it should be.

Pictured above: My fridge. Notice the stacks of pudding and the lemonade on the side. Evil fake sugar crap that must be banished. Below that, hair color. I narrowed it down to these two colors, but once I took this picture I decided that the one on the left is much better. What do you think? Speak now or forever hold your peace. Also pictured, a mini cake I made tonight, yellow cake with chocolate sour cream frosting. The cake was great but the frosting was not. I got the recipe from a book I just bought called Small Batch Baking. It features recipes that make just one or two portions. I think this will revolutionize our baked goods eating habits! No longer will we need to eat an entire cake just because it is there or 36 cookies! Now I can make a batch of four cookies. And mini cakes. And mini pies in cupcake tins. Also pictured, Madeline and Avery and stuffed animals in a box: Hours and hours of fun. Yes, Madeline is in a sailor top.