in short

• My sister, Beth, gave me her old iPhone, and, although I don't have any sort of data plan that goes along with it, I can use it with wi-fi or for games and other non-Internet apps. I have fast become addicted to some game that requires the player to get water to an alligator so that he can take a shower in the depths of some city sewer system or something. Ironically, Parks is addicted to it, too. Today's rest time found him lying next to me, very closely, on the bed, trying to instruct me on how to finish a particular level.
• Parks has also taken to getting up in the wee hours of the morning, traipsing into our room, and asking 1) is it time to get up?, 2) can I play your iPhone?, and finally 3) can I sleep with you? Usually we are so exhausted that anything involving a quick resolution sounds like the best option at the time. In other words, usually he ends up in our bed. A friend of mine wrote on her blog that "they won't want to sleep with you forever," and that has stuck with me. I'm trying to enjoy moments like these with the boys more, rather than worrying about what I should do, or what ramifications my actions (ie, letting the 3-year-old sleep in our bed without much protest) might have for the future. It's the same with John, and I'm learning to enjoy his middle-of-the-night cuddles much more than I ever did the first time around, when I was consumed with how my attention at that time of the night would affect Parks' future ability to sleep. Obviously, whatever I did then failed, so why bother?
• That said, Parks had a little cold earlier this week and had to miss Monday and Tuesday of school. I thought the days would never end. Maybe it was the time change? I don't know, but I could've sworn it was 4 in the afternoon and almost time for Cal to get home when I looked at my phone and it was barely 9 am. Sheesh.
• We watched a heck of a lot of PBS kids and played a heck of a lot of the alligator iPhone game those days. Judge away.
• The other night, in the middle of the night, Parks was in our bed and he said, out of the blue (and while we were dead asleep), "Mommy. Daddy. When can I get a nutcracker? Like one that we saw at the United States?" um, okay. How do you respond to that at 4:17 in the morning?
• We had had the nutcracker conversation earlier that day. "Mommy. What was that thing that Ninny had, that man that Ninny had, at Christmas? That man that Ninny had at Christmas that liked peanuts?" Credit to me, please, for knowing immediately what he was talking about.
• Last night, again in the middle of the night, Parks said, "Daddy. When is it going to snow?" Cal muttered something incoherent, and Parks responded, "I know! It will snow after December." I really wonder sometimes what is going on in that kid's head when he's supposed to be sleeping.
• John has gotten two teeth in the last month. Hard to believe that he'll be six months old on Wednesday. Seriously, where did the time go? P's first 6 months seemed more like 6 years.
• Cal tried to correct Parks the other day when he said "Lou" instead of "You." I glared at Cal and he stopped. Yet another something that I'm trying to enjoy while it's here rather than wish (or correct) it away. He won't go to college, still asking us, "Can I sleep with lou?" And that thought makes me kinda sad.
• My honey is a bit of a celebrity, these days! Read this, if you haven't already.
• I survived my snack-duty week at preschool. I brought my goods to the teacher that Monday, and she said "Bless your heart!" like I had done too much or something. How am I to know? Since Parks doesn't eat, I haven't a clue what a normal snack amount is for an average 3-year-old. And for an average of 10 kids per day for 5 days, that's 50 snacks! Oh well. It's done. Better to go overboard than not do enough, right?
• Add unfolded laundry to the un-emptied dishwasher phenomenon.
• I am SO TIRED. I think that if I had the opportunity, I could sleep for at least 72 hours straight without even rolling over. One of these days, Cal will come home from work and I'll have checked myself into a hotel down the street for the night. You think I'm kidding. I even briefly wondered last week if I could be pregnant again... but I'm not. Phew. 
• I haven't been alone in my house since May 12, when I was on an all-too-brief bout of bed rest right before John was born two days later. See point above, and nod your head as it all starts to come together.