What's in your jelly blob? Hayden had a little jelly spillage from his sandwich tonight. I noticed him staring intently at the jelly blob on his plate and then he says "It looks like Oklahoma". Indeed it does, my little Rorschach-savant. Not quite as exciting as the chocolate-drippings Virgin Mary I saw on CNN the other day, but the Oklahoma jelly blob was big news in our house tonight.

Fun in the sun...Just got back from an extended weekend in Galveston. Funny how being only an hour from home can seem like a world away. Shockingly, we made it through the weekend with no sunburn, which is Mom's biggest fear with the fair-haired boys. Trevor did spend about 4 hours in the emergency room, but many x-rays later we concluded that there were no broken bones as a result of an encounter with a heavy door. I think when kids are under two years old, their bodies must still be mostly cartilage and very little solid bone, because mine have managed to escape any serious injury despite some scary looking falls and pinches.

When we first took Hayden on a trip when he was little, I felt like we spent most of our time in the hotel room so he could have his naps at the proper times. Baby #2 is a whole new ballgame. We just run him ragged and let him catch mini-naps whenever he can. We were floating along on the lazy river at Schlitterbahn and he fell asleep on my chest. So I figured I'd just keep floating until he woke up. Boy, was he rudely surprised when a big wave crashed down over us. But overall, he managed just fine, perhaps a little cranky at the end of the day.

The rental house concept worked really well for us. Splitting it between three couples, it ended up about the same cost as three hotel rooms, but with the bonus that we could hang out and talk like grown-ups after putting the crew of little ones to bed. When is the last time that happened? And Sean and I extended our reign as Trivial Pursuit champions, mostly due to him not letting me talk him out of the right answers.

Now, if I could only get my mind out of vacation mode and back into work mode...

Brainwashed? I'm starting to think Sean has completely brainwashed my children. I was sitting in the living room with Trevor yesterday. He was over in the corner working intently on placing a soft baseball up on Hayden's baseball tee. Then he pulled himself up to standing with the baseball bat in hand, with his back against the wall since he really can't stand steadily on his own yet. Then he swings the bat and knocks the ball off the tee. He was obviously delighted with himself.

Is it normal for a 14-month old who can barely stand or walk to be trying to play baseball? How have both my sons managed to inherit their father's obsession at such an early age?

Trevor steps

The little man has some new skills to show off...

Bug Spray or No? We've been taking walks with the kids in the evenings for the past few days. I'm undecided on whether I should put bug spray on the kids, especially Trevor. How much of this whole West Nile Virus thing is hype vs. real risk? I just hate to put such strong toxins like DEET on him especially when he puts his hands and his feet in his mouth all the time. But he's a real mosquito magnet. That's just 'cause he's so super sweet. :-)

Job or career? Once upon a time, when I was younger, I thought I wanted a career. These days, I wish I could just have a job. What's the difference? With a career, it always seems like I'm being asked to do something today for some undefined future reward. Just put in an extra 20 hours a week on this special project for no extra pay and you'll impress people and be open for great opportunities in the future...Great opportunities to do what? Work more long hours?

I want a job. Just a job. Just to come in and do an honest day's work for a reasonable salary. And to be able to go home and be with my family and not worry about the things I've left undone and not get calls at 6 am when something goes wrong at the plant. Am I too naive? Are there any professional jobs out there or is it the full career-woman track or nothing? I just miss my kids sometimes and can't see the logic in working longer hours. I mean don't we work mostly to give our families a more comfortable lifestyle? How much better off are my kids if we have more money but they don't know their own Mother?

Walking man...Trevor took a few steps on his own last night. Very exciting but kind of scary and sad at the same time. Sad because he's getting big too fast and I just want to freeze him just like he is right now. Scary because once he's walking there will be no stopping him and he's already into everything. For some reason, we never babyproofed the cabinet under the sink when Hayden was little. But I've caught Trevor with the bottle of Comet in his mouth more than once already. Just think how much more he'll be able to get into once he can walk. Yikes!