Taking over JJ's place.

JJ's roommate T was surprised that SS remembered him, and even more surprised that our daughter has a major crush on him. Our daughter has turned into the littlest stalker. Scary stuff for a parent. As P was taking SS upstairs to bed, he asked SS to say goodnight. SS's idea of a good night was "I love you T." We are going to lock SS away until she is 30.

SS was up early and I was forced to get up even though I had slept only two hours and sorely needed more rest. Nothing like having a loud mouth nose to nose with you shouting "IT'S DAY TIME MAMA, WAKE UP, WAKE UP!" The plan was to make breakfast and head out to the Mall to let SS play in the indoor playground. We ended up lounging around and did not leave until 4:00 p.m.

When we lived here we referred to the entire county as the town without milk. It is such a freaking depressing black hole. People usually talk about the Redwood trees, the luscious greenery. The Endor scenes for Return of the Jedi were filmed here. P took me to the area during my first visit to him. But frankly, once you have seen it there is no need to return. There is seriously not a damn thing to do here. That is why we drove to the Bay area every other month. We craved civilization.

The Mall has pretty much been decimated since we moved, and that is sad because it is the only thing to do around here. JJ said that the only entertainment is to play video games or drink, and preferably both. I loathe video games and can drink anywhere, so no pull for me. Two stores were holding closing sales. Amid all that depression we saw a new baby/kid store. Do not know how new, but it was not there during our last visit almost two years ago. Here we are in such an economically depressed area and the first thing I noticed was the BOB strollers. Those are crazy expensive and the one I saw first was $459. How many people in this area can spend that much on a stroller? P said that their target demographic are pot growers.

We returned to JJ's place and cooked dinner. JJ is now the unwilling owner of a tiny rice cooker. One of JJ's roommates commented that it was the most action their kitchen had seen since he moved in last May. P started the morning by cooking bacon and eggs, and managed to wake everyone up with the smell. We made the gai pad kra pao (chicken basil) for dinner since we had a lot of Thai basil and chilis left over. JJ asked for the recipe, and that is a lot because since he cooks for work he does not cook at home.

You have to love people who lack self awareness. Abu e-mailed me and stated that she had no concerns about SS using a public restroom, because she was confident I knew what to do. She then proceeded to provide a tutorial on what to do. Of course Abu does not see it that way, she was just "reminding" me of what to do. Those reminders are as welcomed as when P hears the dreaded "I was concerned." Nothing positive, believable or kind has ever preceded that statement. The sad part is that we are likely to end up annoying our kids as much. We can see JJ nodding as he reads this and saying "you already are."

SS did very well with the potty. It helps that like her father, she has no qualms about pulling down her pants in public. She had an accident and I was completely at fault. SS fell asleep on the drive to JJ's and I really wanted to keep her awake to avoid being up all night with her. SS was understandably sleepy, lethargic and pi$$sed. P was about to put an overniter on her and I stopped him. Dude knew what he was doing and I did not consider SS's overall tiredness. Sorry SS, Mama promises to learn from her mistakes. I know she is not holding her breath on that one.



JJ's roommates will be talking about how he had a chick spend the weekend and all she did was pee in their living room.

SS immediately honed in on the Rock Band drums, she was in loud wild child heaven.



JJ trying to get SS to make peace with Bing. The cat incurred SS's wrath last night when he got too close to SS's milk and D-O-G. After that SS made it her mission to make the animal's life a living hell, just like she did with Grandpa's cat. We are sure Fergie still has nightmares about the beautiful little girl that turned out to be a cat stalking psycho.

P insisted in buying this microwave for JJ while he was still in high school. It sat in the garage for years until JJ moved out. Weird that is is still in use. It is the right size for a small apartment.



SS was immediately drawn to this gingerbread house, ready to go inside and start eating.

SS wants one like this at home.

SS is still hypersensitive to noises, this is what happens when she flushes.