Twas a great weekend.

First off, an extra hour of sleep. Hallelujah. And Ella slept in, too.

Second, no showers all weekend (and we even went out in public). And even though the adults played irresponsible, we did decide to give Ella a bath in the big girl tub. I would have posted a picture but I was playing the part of hyperventilating mom, sitting on the edge of the tub reciting the statistics of how it only takes a baby 4 ounces of inhaled water to drown. David, on the other hand, was a trooper. It was, of course, his idea to put her in the big girl tub in the first place. And though Ella did fantastic for the most part, I did have to pull her up quickly by her arm once, maybe slightly pre-maturely (or maybe not!), but I'm not totally crazy. I'm just a first time mom.

Thirdly, we cleaned house. We spent our extra hour on Sunday morning tearin' this place up. I mean, every inch of the floor Simple Green-ed and every Howie hair (and boy do they hide) vacuumed up. The process was somewhat exhilarating, you know, cleaning cause you want to--not cause you have to. I did, however, remind Howie that he should take security and pleasure in knowing that he will be the ONLY dog that we will ever have like him. No need to fret, Howie. You are our one-of-a-kind pet...the only one we will ever own that needs to be Furminator-ed weekly, that slobbers puddles, and that can wear a saddle. We love you, bud.

And Fourth, because of the kindness and support of all of you, it is time! I have officially started my first book. Monumental, I tell you. This thing has been baking in the oven for a long time. I have no idea how long it will take to finish, but that doesn't really matter to me at this point. I love the thrill and creativity of each page, pen to the paper, recorded thoughts out in the open. Thanks for being part of my process; you have built my faith to move forward!

Lots of good stuff this weekend. And a busy, fun week ahead. Happy Monday!

(corresponding song: Everybody Dance Now by C&C Music Factory)