Sampling Some Super Sunscreen

We don't leave for the beach until Saturday, but I've already started mentally packing. Books, towels, chairs, swimsuit, sun hat, umbrella, gin, tonic, limes. What else could we need?

Sunscreen, of course.

If you're a regular Convertible Lifer, you know that sunscreen is serious business around here. After losing chunks of my forehead, part of my back and countless little spots here and there, I don't mess around with keeping my skin protected -- but I also still really like being in the sun.

So when I got an email earlier this summer from a company offering to send me a sample of their new sunscreen in exchange for a blog review, I was intrigued. SmartShield claims to be "serious sun protection" -- sounded like a good fit, but wouldn't it have to be sticky, smelly and thick to really be serious?

For the past two months, I've been wearing SmartShield's Rehydrating Face Cream with SPF 45 almost every day. Billed as "a luxury face cream with a unique formula for sports enthusiasts and professionals," it is the best everyday sunscreen I've found for my face. It's rare to find an everyday sunscreen with an SPF as high as 45 -- and this one isn't sticky, smelly or thick. In fact, it made my skin feel really soft and lovely, which was a total surprise. Make-up goes on easily over top and doesn't slide off halfway through the day because the sunscreen is oil-free. But even more importantly, it works -- even when I found myself in a sunny seat at the baseball game with no hat on (shhh, don't tell my dermatologist!), I didn't get sunburned.

In short, it's great.

Now you'll have to take my word for it that this is an honest review and in no way tainted by the free sample. If I were just sucking up to SmartShield, I probably would have written this review two months ago when they first sent me the sample, so maybe that helps with my credibility (or maybe it just shows that I've missed nearly every deadline all summer). And I will add that there are a few items on the ingredient list that might not appeal to those who are cautious, close-readers of labels, but I have to balance that with finding a product that works well.

Actually, I'm hoping they'll send me some of their other sunscreens, lip balm, insect repellent and the self-tanner to try out -- but I'm probably just going to have to buy them like everyone else.

# 21

Since July, I've written two blog posts. I posted once in August and once in October. And one of those was a recipe.

That's pitiful.

In 2009, when I started this blog, I wrote 158 posts. In 2013, this post will make 21.

Back in May, I wrote about the incredible experience of reading at Raleigh's first Listen to Your Mother and promised myself I would start writing more regularly again.

Back then, I thought I would have more time to write starting this fall -- with both of my children in school now, I would finally have a morning or two when I wasn't in the office or chasing little people and I'd be able to focus on writing again. Except it seems that every week there are doctor's appointments and grocery lists and volunteer projects and office work that spills over and a messy house that doesn't self-clean -- and suddenly those two free mornings are spent.

Then Friday, the incredible Anne Lamott posted this on her Facebook page. Specifically, she wrote:

You're pursuing a creative call of some sort, now? You're not pretending that you are going to get back to writing, singing, dance, as soon as this or that happens--i.e. as soon as you graduate or retire, or your youngest leaves home? You're doing it NOW, badly, herky-jerkily, as a debt of honor? That is the bigger meaning of it all: creation.

So here I am, doing it now. Badly, maybe, but starting again. Maybe I can get to 25 before the year's end.

And you? You know who you are... Thanks for being here with me. Now I have to go and write some more. Hope to see you soon.

Photo: That's me with the top down, not just a gratuitous shot up my nose. Stopped, not driving, so it's totally safe. 

2012 Convertible Life in Review

When my sweet husband asked the other day about my "hopes and dreams" for the coming year (yes, he's that awesome -- not only did he ask, he even listened to the answers), among the items on my list was to get back to blogging.

I want to write more in 2013. I've got scores of posts in my head that went unwritten this year -- our successful camping trip in July, books I've enjoyed, kid stories I'm afraid I'll forget, random observations about the world. Who knows if anyone would have read them, but at least I would like to have written them down.

I also want to read more of what other bloggers are writing in 2013. There's an amazing network of talented writers who let me lurk in their online lives, but I've been even worse about blog-reading than I have about blog-writing lately. In the coming year, I hope to do a better job of returning the happiness of leaving comments on posts (thanks, Brenna!).

So I've been skimming back through my 2012 posts to get a kickstart for the new year. Thanks for indulging me as a I share a personal favorite from each month of the past year...

January: Watching Him Go
Where I get sentimental about how my son doesn't need me anymore.

February: Best Friends Forever
Where my friend's loss reminds me how lucky I am to have great friends.

March: My Lenten Sacrifice
Where I gave up Catholicism for Lent.

April: Redshirting for Kindergarten
Where I get on my soapbox about holding back boys.

May: Why You Should Vote Against Amendment One
Where I campaign (unsuccessfully) for a step in the right direction.

June: Pippi Wants You to Call Her, Maybe?
Where get a lesson in pop music from my daughter.

July: Every Age He Ever Was
Where Anne Lamott says it better than I can.

August: Rules of the Name Game
Where I discuss some very serious (ahem) parenting questions.

September: Things I Learned on Vacation
Where I share random knowledge and photos from the beach.

October: Why We Need Books
Where I borrow from the WSJ because I can't find time to blog myself.

November: Where I Attempt to Write a Post about Politics That Doesn't Offend (Too Many) People
Where I do just what the title says, on the eve of the election.

December: A Prayer for the Living
Where I try to put words to the ache left after Newtown.

Do you have a favorite post from your own blog in 2012 -- or from another blog you love to read? Share it below in the comments so we can all enjoy.

And happy new year!

Friday's 5: Signs of the End of the World

Yes, I know it's Thursday. But I'm posting today just in case the world actually ends tomorrow. Which it won't.

But just in case it does (which it won't), here are the when-pigs-fly signs that proved the end was near (even though it isn't, but if it does, then I totally called it so there):

1. I've finished my Christmas shopping. It's only Dec. 20 and I'm done -- still waiting for a couple of gifts to arrive in the post, but everything is purchased and on the way. I've even wrapped most everything already. This is highly unusual.
2. I've been exercising. That fact alone isn't crazy, but I've been exercising regularly since this summer. Not only that, but I've been regularly working out with friends at the school track three times a week, including a 5:45 a.m. boot camp on Wednesdays. In case you missed it, that was ante meridiem. Even when it's dark and cold outside. This has never happened before. Ever.
3. I read 12 books this year (not counting children's books), plus one that I listened to. And only four of them are considered young adult literature (and none of them involved 50 shades of anything). That's a more than 200 percent increase over last year, and I've still got time to read more over the holidays. This is a positive trend. (Next on my list, coincidentally, is The Last Myth: What the Rise of Apocalyptic Thinking Tells Us About America by my long-time friend, Mel Gilles, and her husband Mathew Gross). 
4. I bought skinny pants. I know the rest of you have been wearing them for ages, but I just bought my first pair in November. They feel a little ridiculous and I can barely get them over my calves, but at least I'm attempting to be on trend. If nothing else, my husband seems to enjoy the view.
5. I just let my son ride off on his own. Granted, I watched him and his little bike almost the whole way, until he disappeared around the corner to the friend's house that's all of two blocks from our house. And yes, I did call to be sure he arrived safely. But he went on his own. Someone hold me, please.

So maybe tomorrow won't really be the end of the world. But at this pace, it's sort of the end of the world as I knew it. Thankfully, I'm on vacation until 2013 -- so I feel fine.

Catching Up

Hey friends... still here. Hope you are, too.

I have about 427 posts rattling around in my head and enough time to sit down and write about none of them. This makes me sad, except that I guess it's a good to thing to have a paying job, a freelance gig, two active children, a fabulous husband and a neighborhood full of awesome that are all keeping me busy.

So I figure I'll try to get back into a blogging rhythm by catching you up on some of the latest developments from recent posts at my convertible life...

1. Winners! Thanks to all of you who voted (or tried to vote) for our Instagram photo in the Thomasville Furniture Facebook contest. Courtesy of your clicks and my husband's genius, we won! Now we have to figure out which of the fantastic sectional sofas they're offering will actually fit in our strangely long and narrow family room. Will invite you all over for a sit once we get it in the house.
2. Calming down. After lots of reading and conversation, I've talked myself off the ledge following the superintendent's firing. I still think it was really poor timing and very poorly executed, but I'm willing to accept that there were real problems that we didn't see from the outside (interesting article here) . I've still got a lot of questions -- just hoping that the school board gets themselves together quickly. Bob Geary at The Independent said it all better than I can.
3. Assignment 2.1. Post-firing, the school board found itself a miracle -- agreement on student assignment. Okay, not all of student assignment, but at least agreement that they needed to revert to the previous base school assignments instead of the new proposed ones. It actually didn't change anything much for my house, but it made a big difference for most of my neighborhood.
4. Remodeling genius. I don't really know how this started, but I've had thousands of hits on this post over the past month via Pinterest. The post, which is almost a year old, includes a photo of how we (and by "we" I mean "our fantastic finish carpenter") built a corner separation using molding between the family room and the kitchen. Apparently there are a LOT of people who needed this tip. And you're welcome.

And now I'm out of time again. 

Just know that I miss y'all and our virtual conversations. Thanks for hanging in there with me.

The Best Non-Political Vote You Can Cast All Year

Okay, people. We need your help here.

My brilliant husband learned about a contest to win a Thomasville Furniture sectional sofa by posting an Instagram photo of one of their couches on the company Facebook page.

And because he is so brilliant, he took our kids on their school holiday Wednesday (while I was at work) and captured this hilarious photo of Spidey and Butterfly Girl relaxing in the Thomasville store.

Now all we need is for you to click over to the Thomasville Furniture Facebook page and vote for our photo -- you have to "like" their page first in order to vote (sorry about that). If you vote for us and we actually win, I promise to let you come hang out with Junius and Pippi on the new couch. We'll even let you choose your own costume.

Here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/Thomasville/app_364041783617057 (Note: Lots of people are having trouble with the link. Not sure what's happening, but it might not be mobile-friendly. Try going to https://www.facebook.com/Thomasville and look at the top of their feed for the link to the promotion.)

And may the odds be ever in our favor.

Friday's 5: Things I Learned on Vacation

We spent last week at the beach. It was glorious -- even with one rainy day and two cloudy days. I won't bore you with the details of drip castles and sunscreen and sand in the bath tub and trying to force Junius to let me take his picture. But I will share with you five random things I learned while at the beach.

1. Good books are even better with cocktails. Before I left for the beach, a friend recommended that I bring a copy of Rules of Civility by Amor Towles. And she suggested that I enjoy a mai tai along with it. Spot on, with both recommendations -- although I'd add a good gin & tonic to the beverage list. As a result, I've decided that all literary selections should come with a drink menu.

2. Some women shave their faces. Not because of a hair issue, but to slough off dead skin cells in order to look younger. And by "some women" I mean someone other than me who may or may not be one of my friends at the beach. I'm not a dermatologist, I haven't tried this, and I'm not making this up -- I'm just sharing. And no, I don't have a picture for this one.

3. Beach olympics are perfect on a cloudy day. You'll be totally jealous when I tell you this, but one of our friends organized "olympic events" including sack races, hula hooping and water balloon tosses -- complete with a hand-stitched olympic flag and "Chariots of Fire" playing in the background. There were also olympic ring tattoos and gold medals for everyone. See? Jealous, right?

4. Dress appropriately for the battleship tour. They don't tell you this on the website for the USS North Carolina, so I'm going to give you the straight truth. We stopped in Wilmington on our way home to tour the WWII battleship. Being an actual battleship, it's very interesting, seriously enormous and crazy hot (no air conditioning) -- all of which they mention on the site. What they don't tell you is that you SHOULD NOT WEAR A SKIRT. My above-the-knee swingy knit skirt was great for the temperatures, but not so smart for climbing up and down the dozens of ladders all over the ship while strangers stand below. Now you know.

5. Popsicles are for breakfast. Or at least they are on check-out day. In year's past, I've always ended up throwing the leftover popsicles in the trash -- not like they're going to survive the trip home in the cooler. This year I was awarded Rock Star Mom status when I handed my kids popsicles and paper towels and sent them out on the deck at 9 a.m. while we packed up the house.

Now it's your turn. What random knowledge have you acquired this summer? Share with us so that all may know...

I'm Walkin on Sunshine

I won't lie to you -- I'm competitive and I love to win. If I were a member of the Dunphy family, I would most definitely be Alex. I like getting good grades, big prizes and lots of positive reinforcement.

And so that's why my friend over at Old Dog New Tits (which, by the way, is one of the best Twitter/blog names ever) totally made my day for giving me the Sunshine Award. Clearly, I am deserving of this random prestigious honor for which there appear to be no actual criteria.

Also, you're welcome for sticking Katrina & the Waves in your head for the rest of the day with this post title. It is my most favorite song (cue mental image of me with big hair and leg warmers).

But enough with the speeches. Here are the rules for this award:
1) Include the award logo in a post or in your blog.
2) Answer 10 questions about yourself.
3) Nominate 10 to 12 other fabulous bloggers.
4) Link your nominees to the post and comment on their blog to let them know they are nominated.
5) Share the love and link the person who nominated you.

And here are my answers to these random questions:

Favorite color: Carolina blue (duh). And sunny yellow, plus a little hydrangea pink and that gray-green shade that isn't anything at all like seafoam green.

Favorite number: 8 -- because it's so lovely, even and curvy. Also, 4 because it is fun to write. And never ever 7. Ick.

Favorite animal: My children. Honestly, they're like puppies with a bigger vocabulary.

Favorite non-alcoholic drink: Chai latte, which I can almost never drink anymore because the black tea and the caffeine make my third kidney unhappy. But I should add that, thanks to my Indian friends in college, I was drinking them before Starbucks made them cool.

Prefer Facebook or Twitter: Twitter via Hootsuite. It's so much snarkier than Facebook.

My Passion: The beach. And napping. Especially napping at the beach.

Prefer giving or getting presents: Can I pick "exchanging"? Because I love finding just the right gift to give to someone, but who in their right mind doesn't love getting presents?! And by "exchanging" I mean I give you a gift and you give me a gift -- I don't mean returning it to the store to get something else.

Favorite pattern: For china? wallpaper? I'm not really sure what this means.

Favorite day of the week: Saturday. Which is why I am passionate about the beach, because everyday there is Saturday. Except for the Saturday when we have to leave the beach, and that Saturday is the only one that feels more like a Monday. Blerg.

Favorite flower: This one changes, but at the moment it's white hydrangeas. And always yellow roses.

And here are the bloggers I am nominating for this award:

• Momsicle (who was also on ODNT's list, but I won't make her write the post twice)
• 649.133 (who has one of the more clever blog names around)
• Living Life Well (who is making great progress on a very cool list)
• Motherhood WTF (who makes us all feel less alone in our parenting)
• Telling a Good Story (who doesn't blog nearly enough)
• Let Me Start By Saying (who writes funny and serious equally well)
• Naps Happen (who shows how a good nap is worth 1,000 words)
• Ninja Mom (who is a proud fellow member of Team Banana Clip)
• Fizgiggery (who is very cool, and not just because she's British)
• Don't Take the Repeats (who is awesome, and not just because she got me started in all this blogging mess)

Now go blog visiting, share some comment love -- and tell them I sent you.

How to Protect Yourself If Your Wallet Gets Stolen

Consider this post your public service announcement from My Convertible Life for the month. Just another opportunity to take something I learned the hard way and share it with you so that you can learn it the easy way -- that is, sitting on the couch reading blog posts.

Earlier this month, my purse was stolen.
From the front seat of my locked car.
Which was parked in the driveway of a friend's house.
In the middle of the afternoon.

Seriously.

In the interest of full disclosure, I had left my windows open about two inches because of the unseasonably warm (but oh-so-welcome) temperatures. And, as it turns out, that is just enough space for a skinny teen-age arm to slip into the car, pop the door lock, grab my purse and take off running.

Miraculously (long story short), a neighbor saw the kids digging through my purse beside his house and walked out to confront them. They ditched my purse in the woods and fled the scene, taking only the rare $7 in cash I had in my wallet.

I considered that $7 a happy donation toward not having to replace my driver's license, credit cards, pictures of my kids, almost-filled bagel punch card and two brand new tubes of lipstick. And honestly, I was more pissed off about the prospect of losing the sandwich card and the make-up than I was about the credit cards.

As frustrating and bizarre as the whole experience was, even in the initial panic of realizing my purse had been stolen, I had peace of mind about one thing: I knew exactly what cards were in my wallet and what numbers I'd need to cancel them before anyone started using them.

Here's why -- and here's my PSA info for you:

Several years ago, my wallet was stolen out of my office at work and never recovered (long story -- you can buy me a drink if you want to hear it). The three critical lessons I learned from that painful disaster combined with the recent purse-snatching incident are these:

1. Never EVER give your PIN number to ANYONE. Not even your bank. Because the person you think is calling from your bank might in fact be the asshole who stole your wallet. Trust me on this. Your bank DOES NOT NEED TO KNOW YOUR PIN. They don't care -- in fact, they don't want to know. YOU are the only person who ever, ever, ever needs your PIN. Have I made myself clear?
   
2. Know what's in your wallet. Take every credit card, license or other important item in your wallet out. Place them all on your scanner or photocopier. Make a copy. Turn them all over to the other side and make a second copy. Put these copies in a safe place where you can access them quickly when you're in a panic. Now when your wallet is gone and you can't remember if you still have those credit cards to Ann Taylor much less what number to call to contact your bank, you have everything you need in one place.
   
3. Eliminate the temptation. Even if you're just going to be inside for a minute, take your purse with you when you leave the car -- or, at least lock it in the trunk where no one can see it. This rule applies at the mall, in the preschool parking lot and (sadly) in your own driveway.

Now, go in peace and make those copies. Because if you don't do it, you can consider yourself jinxed.

Say Cheese

A year ago, you saw what happens when Pippi takes the camera. This year, she's focusing more on herself than the house.

There's no profound message here. Those expressions just made me laugh -- plus the close, chin-multiplying angle she gets by having preschooler arms.

Happy New Year! Hope 2012 is bringing smiles.

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2011 Convertible Life in Review

Thanks to friends who (like us) have young children and aren't planning to party through midnight tonight, we celebrated "Happy Noon Year" today with friends, neighbors and lots and lots of kids.

So if you're like us (admit it, you can't stay up past midnight unless you're reading The Hunger Games -- oh wait, that's me) and you don't have big plans, you can entertain yourself with this recap of posts from 2011. This list isn't necessarily the most popular posts, but they're a selection of posts I liked writing or ones that capture something particular to the past year.

Happy reading -- and hope to see you in 2012!

January: Still Catholic After All These Years
Where I wrestle with my religion some more.

February: Saturday Strategery: Moving to the Big Girl Bed
Where I come to terms with the fact that my baby doesn't need her crib.

March: Moody Toddler Available to a Good Home
Where I admit that I don't always enjoy the company of my daughter.

April: The F-Word
Where Junius gives me a vocabulary heart attack.

May: Is That a Leak in My Ceiling or Just My Own Tears?)
Where I am more than done with home renovation projects.

June: Hair
Where Junius tries out a bold new look.

July: Camping: A Timeline
Where we go family camping and live to tell about it.

August: Big Teeth
Where Junius grows up when I'm not looking.

September: Tenth Anniversary of 9/11
Where I remember the day and am grateful for blessings.

October: Dread
Where I terrify you into wearing sunscreen.

November: Love Letters
Where my dad shows me he loves me.

December: The Burden of Making Decisions
Where I bemoan one of the hardest parts of parenting and complain some about schools.

If you've made it this far, then you've earned some credit for yourself. Share a link from your own blog (or one you like to read, if you're not a blogger yourself) in the comments to take us to one of your own favorites from 2011.
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A Week in My Life: (Last) Wednesday

Yeah, so blogging every day for "A Week in My Life" with Adventuroo didn't happen. At all. But I took all these pictures each day and I'd hate for them to go to waste. Plus I think it will be interesting to look back in a year or two and see how our routines have changed. So here is our Wednesday from last week. Tomorrow will probably look a lot like this, only without Junius -- he's at Grandparent Camp for his last week of track-out.

Wednesdays, even more than all the other crazy days, are a race.

I should have Pippi at preschool at 8 a.m. so that I could be at the office by 8:30 -- but I never do. After locking the front door, loading us in the car, waiting for Pippi to buckle herself in and remembering to put my smoothie in the cup holder instead of leaving it on top of the car, it's 8:12. My husband has already taken Junius to a friend's house for the day. I drive with my makeup bag in my lap so that I can fix my face at traffic lights.

At 8:18 we're in the preschool parking lot. Pippi actually carries her own backpack (amazing!), meanders through the parking lot, pushes the door opener (every child's favorite part of coming into the school), strolls down to her room and finds her cubby (her teacher moves their names around each day, so that way they learn to recognize their name). I get to my office at 8:30.

Work work work. Blah blah blah. Me at a desk. Computer writing social media. Meetings. At 12:49, I'm back in the car and racing to preschool so I can get Pippi before she heads to afterschool care and falls asleep during quiet time. I curse the radio for the pledge drive chatter. On the way out of school, Pippi leads me through the path her class took that day on their nature walk. I remind myself to treasure the feel of her hand in mine.

At 1:07 we're in the car driving home. Time for Pippi to change into her dance clothes, grab a quick snack and head downtown for Dance Play class at 1:32. This time she claims she can't hook her own seatbelt -- it's always that last bottom piece that won't click. Her smile below is my kankoomommy for helping her.

While Pippi is in class, I sneak over to the Farmers Market to get advance tickets for the NC State Fair. (I cannot emphasize enough the importance of buying ride tickets ahead of time. SO MUCH cheaper.). I only discovered the advance ticket plan this year, but apparently everyone else knew based on the line. I spy a punch-buggy yellow on my way through the parking lot. After Dance Play class is over, we pick up Junius at his friend's house and go home.

While I try to make dinner, Junius takes pictures of Pippi. She's pretending to be the teacher and demonstrating some sort of art project. She insists that I be the student, then takes my crayon-holding hand and corrects what I'm doing wrong.

* * *

At that point, I ran out of the energy required to live the day and document it simultaneously. My husband came home and we gulped down dinner. Then he took Junius to faith formation class (6:30-7:45, which means Junius is out past bedtime which is totally crazy to me) while I took Pippi through her bath-books-bed routine.

On that particular Wednesday night, once the kids were in bed asleep, I sat on the couch with my laptop and wrote my post for Tuesday. I stayed up too late (as usual) and regretted it the next day (as usual).

I'm assuming all of this is normal, right? I mean, the rest of you are running your own version of this marathon, right? And every time I think the slow-down is just around the corner, well... it's not.

More from (Last) Week in My Life:
- Monday
- Tuesday
- Friday

A Week in My Life: Tuesday

Yes, I know it's Wednesday. But Tuesday was very full and there was no time for blogging -- but lots to document. I'm participating in Adventuroo's "A Week in My Life" project. You can see my Monday here.

Tuesday started painfully early for a good cause. If I look a little blurry in that first picture, it's because I was volunteering at my polling station at 6:30 a.m. in the RAIN in the DARK and I wasn't totally awake yet. The kids joined me at 7:30, mostly playing in the car for my last half hour of greeting. (Translation of J's post-it: "Christine is are [our] school board.") And no, no one wanted my little candidate flier.

Once our shift was up, we headed home to play. Also to lay out the newspaper across the counter because it was somehow soaking wet inside the plastic bag.

At 9:00 we got ready for our friend Baby J, who hangs out with us on Tuesday mornings. That means dumping out an entire basket of toys and then confiscating all the tiny things he might try to eat. We also got our They Might Be Giants station playing on Pandora (via TiVo, which I LOVE). You can see here that we all love Baby J very much. He loves us too, although sometimes I think he'd like a little more personal space.

At 11:00, we loaded up Baby J and took Pippi to her gymnastics class. Baby J took a nap while Junius played games on my iPhone.

After we returned Baby J to his parents, we loaded back into the car with lunch and headed to Daddy's office for flu shots. Junius, apparently exhausted from the morning, gave out along the way. Pippi managed to keep herself awake by singing the entire time.

Junius and I were very brave for our shots (Pippi already got hers at the pediatrician). Then we argued over who would get to push the buttons in the elevator.

On the ride home, we rocked out to one of our most favorite CDs: the aptly-titled Songs Your Mom Will Like by Big Bang Boom. That's Pippi beatboxing and playing the air trumpet on track 14. Buy it now and thank me later.

After a little rest time (read: 30 minutes of TV) at home, we loaded back into the car (are you noticing a theme here?) for some play time at our friends' house. Pippi showed us how she can buckle her own seat belt (which can take up to 5 minutes, depending on the amount of whining involved). We admired our friends' fabulous Halloween decorations, debated the scientific names of toy dinosaurs and generally had a whirlwind of fun.

At 6:00, we picked up Daddy and went out for dinner at a local restaurant that was having a fundraising night for our arts school. Junius impressed his friends by reading all the signs on the way in (yes, first-graders are that cool). The kids played with wikistiks while we waited for our food (smart restaurant), then Pippi cleaned her plate and part of Junius' too. My girl loves some pasta. I had the yummiest bleu cheese mac-n-cheese with bacon -- comfort food on a rainy night.

Back at home, we filled milk cups (I don't know why, but that blue cup is THE ONLY WAY Junius will drink milk and he MUST have it at bedtime every night) and went upstairs for bed. Junius brushed his teeth and protested all the photography. I spray-treated Pippi's shirt (why oh why do I ever buy white shirts for her?) and pondered the need for gender-specific children's toothpaste. Then Daddy showed the kids pictures from his day touring cool Raleigh locations like the science museum and the RBC Center.

It was my turn to read to Pippi. She picked out "The Shy Little Girl," a book I somehow still have from my childhood. I love how much she loves the book, even though parts of it are really dated. The trick to getting Pippi to sleep is to get her to be still -- see how she fidgets with her hands to stay awake?

Finally at 8:00, with both kids asleep, my political junkie husband and I settled in on the couch for election returns. With two laptops, an iPad, an iPhone and the television between us, we stalked the results, read tweets aloud, flipped news channels and cheered for the victory. Who says you can't have champagne on a Tuesday?

And so my day ended where it began -- worn out, but happy to support a great candidate.
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A Week in My Life: Monday

This week I'm participating in Adventuroo's "A Week in My Life" project. In case you wondered what it looks like where I am. Apologies in advance if you're exhausted by Wednesday.

Junius is tracked out this week, so he got to hang out with me at work this morning. Thankfully, he had Daddy's iPad and could watch Toy Story 3 while he ate lunch. He pronounced my office "boring." He's absolutely probably right.

But at least I made a lot of progress on my to-do list today. Turns out that having Junius at my desk is a lot less distracting than having to go to meetings, which were cancelled today.

Even though he got to have pumpkin bread and play with the tape dispenser, Junius was still happy when it was time to leave.

We picked up campaign materials on the way home (the kids and I are volunteering for Christine Kushner at the polls tomorrow!), then went to preschool to get Pippi.

 This is my view in the rearview mirror.

Not sure I'll ever understand why climbing out of the car and carrying your own stuff into the house is so hard. But apparently it is. So. Very. Hard.

Junius's first task after arriving home? Testing out the paper/straw boat he made in my office to see if it would float. Turns out that construction paper? Not so sea-worthy.

Meanwhile, Pippi took control of the iPhone, where she recently discovered the iPod button. She likes to listen to the first 15 seconds of every song. Yes, that's Ben Folds Five. Thankfully it's not one of the songs with the F-bomb.

Here's the bane of my existence. A full dishwasher, waiting to be unloaded. Sort of like Pippi getting out of the car, I don't know why this pains me so. But it does.

While I was unloading said dishwasher, the kids started to get silly. It always begins innocently enough...

...then turns into a wrestling, giggling heap, which is all good and fun until...

...somebody gets poked in the eye...

 ...and (unrelated to the eye wound) someone else lands in time-out.

We ultimately all recovered and were grateful for some playtime outside with our friends across the street. Notice that Junius is travelling sans-training wheels as of yesterday. (Also, if you are a mom with a son, you must take a minute to read my friend's latest post.)

We closed out the day with one of the kids' favorite meals. That is, anything served on the floor in front of the television. Always swore I wouldn't let my kids watch TV during dinner. And yet, here we are. At least we were watching Sesame Street and talking science terms with Grover 2.0.

Good night, y'all. It's been a full day.

P.S. In case you missed the good news on Facebook or Twitter Friday, I got the all clear at the dermatologist! I'm free for another six months. Phew.
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