The Night That the Lights Went Out in Georgia

We had a storm last night and lost power. Little Monster was already in bed, so she didn't care one bit, but Mom and Dad had a few minutes of dark. When the lights came back on they lit some candles just to be sure and Mom beat Dad at a third straight game of Kingsburg.

Little Monster has had a few cranky days. Mom wanted to go to the movies today, but Madeleine was having such fusses that it wouldn't have been possible to go. As well, it's been kind of rainy, so we can't even go out to the courtyard to watch cars or sit on the grass. Little Monster has been Little Crab in the car and at the house, and she's only happy when she's eating or when she's seeing the blades of the ceiling fan turn slowly.

Little Monster has also been working her tongue a lot lately. Some times she sticks it out and other times she rolls it around her mouth. As well, she's been using her hands more and more. She can grab things, like the blanket or parts of her jungle gym, but she doesn't really know she's holding on to anything in order to use it yet. And when there's nothing to hold, sometimes she just grabs her other hand, which looks like she's being crafty and rubbing her hands together in malevolent anticipation. Excellent.

We had breakfast at Waffle House yesterday, where the waitresses love Little Monster, but where Dad has seen some of the same people as before, so he's worried that he might be perceived as a "regular." Yikes. Then we went to Target to buy a new bathmat because the old one was bigger than the square footage of the bathroom. Finally, we visited the grocery store, but Little Monster cried the whole way there from Target, so her face was all red and flushed at the store (which earned her some sympathy from one of the clerks).

Last night, Mom made some balsamic-soy glazed chicken wings and Dad gave Little Monster her bath. It was a role reversal of epic proportion. Even the cat enjoyed the chicken wings (but don't tell Mom that Dad fed her with scraps).

Today has been a bust. The rain means Dad can't run, so he's spending the day working on his trivia questions and book. Mom has been reading and rocking Little Monster, since she can't risk the movies. We'll leave in a little while for the store, but it'll probably be another quiet evening in, with maybe another sound thrashing at Kingsburg in store for Dad.