Things We Did Today:

Went to the museum, where Sam took especial interest in the mammoth bones, though he has seen them many times before. We walked around and around and around the display case cataloging the different bones and matching them to parts of his body. And later, while we sat on the floor of the post office waiting for Jennifer to return from her lunch break, he was able to list all those bones from memory for his Auntie Suzi, who just happened to come for her mail at the same time we did.

We counted out the donations in the Fire District jars at the store and the restaurant in Shoshone. Sam tasted Tobasco at the restaurant--what a great face he made! Luckily it was only a tiny dab.

We sat in the back yard at sunset and Sam swung and I pushed while we recounted the story lines from all of our favorite episodes of the Backyardigans, and there are MANY!

We made our own shrimp tempura for dinner and it was delicious and Sam actually ate some of it and declared it tasty and delicious. This was such a triumph for me! I've been wanting shrimp tempura for years but there are no Japanese restaurants near here. I found a box of tempura batter mix while Sam and I were cruising Albertsons in their snazzy kid car carts, and I thought, WOW, I could just MAKE some! Who knew you could just cook your own tasty food? What a world, what an amazing, fantastic world.

We talked about why I am so cranky every 24 days and how it's about an imbalance in my body and not about anything Sam is actually doing, even if I snap at him about doing this or that. I don't know if he really understands this, I can only pray that if we keep talking about it what will stick with him is this, rather than that awful moment when I snap and raise my voice. And I pray, too, to achieve the balance that will allow me to be with these mood swings in a more peaceful way so that they don't affect my son. Or at least to nurture his own sense of empowerment and self, as well as this bond between us so that he is strong enough to withstand these rocky bits, and that he is strong and confident enough not to be pulled under by my raging current.

Oh, and we had cookies and macaroni and cheese for lunch. Te he!