Who is Jake?

Again, with the bulletry....... Bang. Bang.

• Be sure to comment on this post if you would like to be entered for the Sleep is for the Weak giveaway. The deadline is Midnight, CDT.
• One of the secrets to my sanity is having a few hours, even if on a weekly basis, to myself. Last week, our babysitter came for the last time - she is moving away to go to college. I have had a babysitter since Arun was 5 weeks old and this is the first time we are attempting to go without one. I am going to work around the system by going to my mom's, but that is a bit of a drive, so we may be on the hunt for another babysitter after awhile. For now, though, it works. I drop the kids off at my mom's and then head to a tea shop in downtown Lawrence. I really do like having just 2 hours a week to sit alone and knit while listening to my iPod. It totally recharges my spirit.
  
• I was nervous about "admitting" we do not have permanent gates on our stairs. Folks are really, really weird about that sort of thing. We get the old Squinty Eye ALL THE TIME about it. We do have a jury-rigged gate at the bottom, on the 4th step. This really works well because Anju can learn how to go up and down quite safely - even if she falls, she does not get hurt. You see, my version of baby safety is on a Injury vs. Death scale. If something could result in a broken arm or other minor injury, then I generally allow it. If it is an activity that could result in death (say, cliff diving, playing with black widow spiders or eating raw chicken) then that activity is strictly forbidden. Would I be thrilled to bits if Arun broke an arm? Of course not! But I also want to raise children who are not afraid to explore their world and to try new things.
• I discovered this the other night - give your kid colored construction paper and a pair of scissors. Let him Go To Town cutting that paper into confetti. Entertainment Mileage = 1 hour, minimum. Then, give him a freshly charged Dust Buster and let him Go To Town vacuuming. Entertainment Mileage = 15 minutes or until the battery needs recharging. The other night, we got about 2 hours of Entertainment Mileage out of cutting up paper. He spent a good 30 minutes flying paper rockets to the moon that I cut out for him. Anyway, surely, I am not the first parent to have thought of the Confetti/Dustbuster Hack! Otherwise, I would be tempted to actually submit it to Parent Hacks.
• Quick Story: When one of my friend's daughter says "drink", it sounds like she is saying "Jake". So, one evening, my friend's husband inquires rather suspiciously "Who is JAKE? " My friend and I had a good laugh over that. Like my friend would even have time to take on another lover. What? Between the hours of 2pm-4pm? And only then, if all the stars align just so and her children go to sleep at the same time. What sort of guy would take sloppy seconds with that sort of timing involved?