Day 11 of the 31-Day Blog Project

Can't stop me now. Jack went to school and had a playdate today. Kate stayed home. Here's how things went.

- Kate and I had breakfast, her 2nd and my first. She had two waffles, a yogurt, milk, and juice, and wanted more food. I gave her half of my waffle.

- We did a puzzle in the living room. With Kate, doing a puzzle typically consists of her doing it, and saying she doesn't need any help if you try to put in a piece. She did it twice and then graciously let me put in some pieces the third time. Thanks, Kate.

- Took Kate to get her haircut. She sat in the Barbie car at "Sharkey's"; I admit I kind of want to take the big stuffed shark in the window one of these days. She held up little toys to show me as the haircut went on. At the end she got a lollipop and a balloon. She noisily enjoyed the lollipop all the way home. I played a game of pinball during her haircut. I'm not sure if the machine is there for the kids or the parents, but I also don't know if kids have any idea what a pinball machine even is, so I felt I was doing it a favor by playing it. Finally I let Kate drag me away. In fairness, my alternative to playing pinball would have been reading magazines clearly geared toward females.

- Back home, we took Laney for a walk. I walked down the middle of the sidewalk holding the middle of the leash, with Kate on one side holding the end and Laney on the other side wearing it around her neck. Basically I focused on making sure neither one got too close to the other so there wasn't too much angst. Laney seems interested in eating leaves and branches. I don't know what's up with that.

- Lunch was leftover chicken and rice. During the same meal Kate claimed she didn't, did, and didn't like mushrooms. I had the chicken, Kate the rice.

- Kate napped, I trained Laney to rip big strips of fabric out of my pants. Seemed that way, anyway.

- Kate woke up, we had apples, and then did more puzzles. Kate likes doing the easy ones over and over, and getting my help with the harder ones, with which she quickly loses interest. Or maybe she was just nonplussed by the one implausibly featuring a zebra playing a guitar.

- We went to get Jack. As we arrived, I saw him helping himself to a piece of gum. His snack at his playdate was gum, a lollipop, and a chocolate donut. Excellent!

- Back at home, I installed a gate and Jack and Kate played some games that involved rolling a pool ball around the floor and taking their pillows off their beds. It's a rare day that we don't have to go looking for their pillows before bedtime.

- Bingo Night at Jack's school. Jack got a little too into it. When he and his friend Brian are shouting back and forth, "I'm only one number away! C'mon, N 32!!!!!!!!!!!!" I start to get a little concerned. Plus I was really hoping for N 36, myself, 'cause Daddy needs a new wooden airplane with a rubber band propeller.

- Got home and put the kids to bed; Jack was convinced that everyone won at Bingo but us. Well Jack, there were 200 people there, and about 10 people won. "But Nick won!" he lamented. Well, maybe you'll win next year, I said. Or we'll head down to Atlantic City and I'll sneak you into the casino under my coat. Just kidding.

- Jack had bought cookies with the dollar I gave him at Bingo Night; I saw him and his friends tearing around the gym, gleefully holding up their cookies. Kate didn't get one, so Emily promised her one when she got home. As I headed upstairs with Jack, she sat on the kitchen stool, eating her cookie, drinking a glass of milk, and smiling out from under her new haircut.