The Definition of Masochism

In a strictly food-related sense, that is.

I am two weeks and 8.6 lbs (GO, me!) into a (I won't call it a diet. Let's just say "New approach to eating") thing, and I have requested that my good buddy Jason, whom I have convinced "owes me one" to get up at the crack of dawn, go 15 minutes out of his way to stop by the Dutch Monkey to get me half a dozen French Crullers because I have given up on the hope of them ever serving them on a weekend when I could actually stop by  myself.

Maybe I'm a little sadistic, too, since I'm employing Jason in this plot, and the rest of my company who's joined with me in a "Biggest Loser" style competition, but let's face it.  This is my blog.  Over here, at least, it's all about me.

I am determined not to derail my progress with these fantastic feats of pastry goodness (which is why I wanted six. Just for me.  All MINE.), but I may crumble under the cinnamon-y, sugary, fluffy, tender, sweet, decadent, luscious, moist, wonderful, angelic... excuse me, I need to go get a bib to contain the drool.

Okay.  All better.  Now, where was I?  Oh yeah. I might break tomorrow when he comes toting in that box of sinful yumminess, and who will I have to blame?  Myself, only.  And maybe my other co-worker Frank, who introduced us all to this heavenly (and fantastically trendy) hole-in-the-wall bakery.

Actually, I am getting the six to share with my husband, daughter, mother in law, and to eat myself over the next couple days.  I am concentrating very hard to not build this special treat up too high so that all I can see, think, or taste are doughnuts.  I think I'm doing pretty well so far.

Good Nights!

I'm going to let you in on a little secret of mine.  It's "Goodnight."  Just that one, simple word has made a world of difference in our bedtime and middle-of-the-night routines.  It's actually not even my secret, since I'm revealing things at the moment.  I got it from "The Baby Book" by Dr. and Martha Sears.

I have to be really honest.  When Hayden was on the "up-every-hour-on-the-hour-plus" routine, I was going crazy.  Chris and I were reading everything we could get our hands on about sleeping and not sleeping and babies and oh-my-gosh-how-do-you-turn-her-off-for-a-couple-hours, FOR THE LOVE!   When I came across this little gem in the Baby Book, I thought it was utter madness.  Still think it is, some days, but oh my stars it works.  EVERY time.  EVERY, EVERY time.  It must be baby speak for "if you want to live to see tomorrow, zip the lips and close the lids.  Pronto!"  Seriously don't get how it works, but I want to share it with you now, for those going through the sleep drama, that it might bring just a bit of peace to your lives.

The technique calls for you to, in preparation for bedtime, go around each room in the house, and begin to say "goodnight" to everything, quietly, with the baby in your arms.  So, we'd start in the kitchen - "Goodnight, fridge, goodnight", "Goodnight, stove, goodnight", "Goodnight, counters, goodnight", and continue through the room, naming each thing and touching it gently as I softly bid it goodnight.  Then we'd move to the dining room, "Goodnight, table, goodnight", "Goodnight, chairs, goodnight".  And then the living room, and finally into the bedroom.  We'd make the rounds, whispering goodnight to each stuffed animal, piece of furniture and toy, and then I would tell Hayden, "Goodnight, Mama, goodnight.  Goodnight, Daddy, goodnight", and finally, as I lay her down in her crib, "Goodnight, Hayden, goodnight".  I would repeat that very quietly as I would cover her with her blanket, tuck in Bunny Bear, and made sure she was settled.

If she began to fuss again, I'd begin "goodnighting" her, and if she really overly upset, we'd start the whole circuit over again, but I always tried to keep her in her room if we made it that far.  She'd eventually settle right down, flip over on her side, clutching Bunny Bear and begin closing her eyes.

In the middle of the night, when nothing would soothe her, a five minute "goodnight" session through the house would have the crying stopped in no time, and usually have her sacked on my shoulder before we made it back to her room.

Even today, if she's not feeling well, or not eager to go to bed, just a few "goodnights" re-programs her and she's back to my cuddly, sleepy baby.

I don't know if it's the repetition, or the gentle tone of my voice, despite her sometimes feverish cries, or the distractions of touching so many different objects, but this magic trick has presto-chango-ed my baby girl every single time.

If you're losing sleep with a wee one, take a night and a wild hair and try it- you might be surprised!  Also, let me know if it works for you.  I'm dying to know if we're the only ones who this helped (surely we couldn't be, or they wouldn't have put it in a book, and besides, these people have like 8 kids... they must have the hang of it by now, don't you think?).

Sweet dreams!

Motherhood Rule #237

I'll go ahead and warn you all - this is what some might call a "TMI" post, but as a new mother, I find that my boundries of what I will and won't share thse days are surprisingly broad.  For those also in my shoes, I'm sure you can relate.  For those who aren't, but have been, I'm sure you'll remember these days fondly.  For those who haven't been there yet, sorry, but this is how things go. Brace yourself.  For those who won't ever be in this position, or who are grossed out anyway... might want to skip this one.  Fair warning.

Motherhood Rule #237

Your suddenly "too-busy-for-cuddling-I-can-walk-and-need-to-go-explore" 14 month old will determine that the only time s/he wants to be cuddled, nay - MUST be cuddled - is the 2 minutes you need to go to the bathroom.  S/he will toddle in, stuffed animal, books and toys in hand and demand to be placed in your lap immediately or face the wrath of Unhappy Child, S/He Who Refuses To Be Soothed, and will force you to listen to wailing the likes of the pitiful demons of hell until you acquiese and set Her Majesty squarely on your lap (the same one you're using to do... er, other things).

That's good for me, though, you know, because  I can't think of a time when I want more to cuddle and snuggle closely with someone than that particular time. I just love having a small body squirm on my legs and play with my shirt...then. Ah, the joys of having a child!

After our "quality time" this morning, I had to peel Hayden off of me and try to convince her between screams that I was actually done and going to stand up myself.  Once we passed that hurdle, her new fascination became the toilet and what was in it (lovely).  I cautioned her though, to step back, telling her she had to be CAREFUL there and that we don't play there.  She immediately backed up a good step or two and peered at the bowl from a distance, clutching her Bunny Bear tightly.  As I stepped forward grasp the handle and end this freak show, she quickly grabbed my pants leg and whining, pulled me away.  I realized that she had grasped my warning well - she didn't want me to get to close to this dangerous object either... I carefully reached my arm over and flipped the handle, and then we left the bathroom, her off to another adventure, me off to warn other mothers of this odd toddler rule. 

Moving On Up...

This week was Hayden's first full week in the 1 year old classroom.  She just moved in there from the older baby room, and it's been a big change for her.  For starters, there are no more cribs, and no more random naps.  They get one 2-hour nap, and they each have a cot that they sleep on.  She's been great on the cot, although staying asleep the whole two hours, and staying awake the rest of the day, has been a bit of a challenge so far.  She's still adjusting, which is clear when I pick her up at 5:15 and she is ready to drop.  She's been in bed all week between 6 and 7pm, and it seems like she's torn between eating and sleeping when I get her home.  I know she's ravenous, but she's also so exhausted, she just doesn't know what she wants.  That's been fun, by the way.

Instead of being corralled into one area of the room, they are free to roam the entire space, which is filled with big foam blocks and mats (like you see Hayden reigning from in this picture), push toys, rocking toys, and shelves for many other toys.  They also have 'craft' time, which in our brief experience seems to be mostly teacher-led, with a few crayon slashes across the page from a tiny hand.  It's a start, though, and we already have our very first refrigerator art (although my refrigerator is not magnetic, so we'll need to find another home for it).

Another big change is their eating arrangements.  They sit at tiny tables and tinier chairs to eat their meals as a group, instead of being fed from a high chair.  It's an interesting process to watch.  Hayden tends to be pretty particular about trying to stay clean as she eats (with varying degrees of success, but at least the desire is there), but some of those kids just don't care.  Fun times.

When the weather is nice, they get to play outside twice a day, so another big shift there, and instead of being corralled in by baby gates, they have the whole room to roam, so Hayden's getting TONS of excercise (thus the ravenous and exhaustion).

All in all, she's handling the changes pretty well - just like the 'big' girl she is.  While I am so proud to see her moving on to new and better challenges, there's a tiny piece inside that is so sad to see her move farther and farther from babyhood.  That's part of growing up, I suppose (for me, as much as her!)

Hair Days

Not sure if they're bad hair days or good ones, but Hayden and I have settled into (somewhat of) a morning routine these days, the last step of which involves me fixing her hair. The easiest way to do this, given her size and my need for a mirror, is to set her on the edge of my sink while I work. The girl is FASCINATED by her own reflection - she thinks she is something else, let me tell you! and she often gives herself a standing ovation once we're done.

She typically starts the morning looking something like this:

(well, we both usually do)

Or, like this:

Which she thinks is riotously funny, by the way.

Add a little water, a brush, some hair ties, a LOT of squirming, a random 'toy' or two:

('Toy' by the way, is anything that qualifies as something I don't think she can open, spill, damage, hurt herself with, or eat. Well, eat all of. That is her daddy's lint roller. Earned me about 30 seconds to get the bow in that day. May not stick to squat now that it's been covered in massive amounts of drool and baby snot, but totally worth it, if you ask me.)

And after about 10 minutes (5 on a good day) of baby wrangling, laughing, splashing (when she's so kind to turn the faucet on for me while she's IN the sink), twisting, turning, sometimes crying, fun... she gets to enjoy the fruits of our labors...

...and continue to enjoy her 'toys'. This one is the ziploc full of teeny tiny hair ties that don't even come close to fitting around my ginormous fingers, which take me all of about a minute to suspend between the tippy-tippy-tips so I can try to snatch a wad of her hair long enough to make a couple passes and secure it before she dodges me again.

It's not always an easy process, and not always fun for either of us, but I can't tell you how grateful I am to get to be this little beauty's mom, and dress her and fix her hair and hold her and love her and hug and kiss her everyday.    It's these little moments, these little routines we have and things we do together, that make life so special and wonderful with her.  I wouldn't trade a minute of it or wish it away for the world.  I am looking forward to many more hair days, both good and bad, with my sweet little Haydie Pie.

A Little Harried

After being up approximately every 15 minutes last night (yes, you heard me right) between the hours of 11:30 and 6:00 tending to a very snotty, extremely clogged up little baby who was not thrilled with being so, I am a wee bit worn down, you might say. Adding to my exhaustion was the horrendous "thud!" and ear-piercing scream that woke me up at 5:15 this morning, only minutes after having dozed off (again). Chris and I jumped up (or at least I did. I know he had one eye open... I think. Hard to remember), and I flipped the light on to check the crib, from whence the sound came, only to find a soundly snoozing Hayden. Poor thing. She must've been having a bad dream, we reasoned, and rolled around in bed enough to make the crashing sound we heard. Fast forward 5 minutes, to about the time I slipped from consciousness, and an urgent crying jolted me up yet again. Light on, look in the crib, and she's... out like a light (no pun intended). I comforted her with thoughts of Bunny Bears and Paci's, and assured her Mommy and Daddy were nearby, so please, please GO TO SLEEP FOR THE LOVE! and gently tucked her wee little body back in, smoothed back her hair, and crawled defeatedly back into bed.

Apparently my soothing worked wonders because she didn't stir again, and neither did I. Through my alarms and Chris's I slept, and awoke with a start at 7:30, with barely enough time to splash some water on the important parts , brush my teeth and hair and get Hayden ready to go.

As we dashed out of the bathroom, I noticed the very firm imprint of my pillow across my cheek, giving me only the time to hope it would fade before I arrived at work (it didn't).

In the kitchen, I got Hayden fastened in her seat and got her morning reflux medicine and syringed it up the dropper, ready to dispense it when I noticed it had turned a rather unseemly brown color (it's usually a very pale yellow). Perplexed, I took a quick look at the bottle as I got ready to give it to her, and noticed just in time that I had prepared a cc of Vanilla Flavoring to dose her with. That's, good, Bon. Send her to preschool with alcohol on her breath. That won't raise any questions. Of course, my only thought was that I was glad I hadn't switched it with something worse. Like the triple antibiotic ointment and the orajel (never happened).

Some mornings are a little crazier than others. This is why we have kids. To keep life interesting. Keep us on our toes. Keep us sleep deprived to the point of incapacitation.

Good times... good times....

Wake Up Call

So, this morning, Chris and I awoke suddenly, staring at one another wide-eyed as we heard what our fuzzy brains could only register as a fire alarm of some sort... but a little more distant than one would expect, considering we have an alarm in our bedroom.

What could it be, we wondered? The security alarm? No, in the many, many times Chris or I have accidentally set it off since we got it, it never sounded like that. Not my car alarm...

"Oh, wait!" Chris says, suddenly alert. "It's your cooking timer, I bet!" I roll over and check the time - seven what in the morning? My cooking timer? Huh?

He dashes off to go check and the silence that shortly followed confirmed his guess.

It was then that my sleepy mind began to roll back far enough... some 13-odd hours back... to the night before when Hayden decided she wanted to play with the kitchen timer. Because it beeps. And, apparently, because that's a fun trick to play on your parents the ONE MORNING we are attempting to sleep in.

Really, though, it's not all her fault. I could blame the one who's idea it was to hand it to her when she kept leaning and grunting, reaching for it (mine), or blame the one who forgot to check to make sure the damned thing was actually off and not set for 13 hours and 23 minutes of cooking time (ahem. CHRIS?!?!?)

I'm not sure what the kid was cooking, but I'm guessing she wanted it well done.

Sitting on Top of the World

Today is one of those rare days where I feel like I totally have my act together.



I am back on the weight loss band wagon, and feeling good about that. Not that I've actually lost any weight yet, but I'm having positive thoughts in that direction, and that's a good start, right? This week - good thoughts. Next week - begin thinking about what I'm going to do with all my positive energy. The next week - eat a carrot or two. I think this is gonna be a good thing.



I have gotten reconnected with my creative side, and am pretty excited about scrapbooking, writing, drawing, you name it. I have just set up my first scrapbooking retreat weekend, where I will host about 15 women for over 48 hours of all-you-can-scrap, more-than-you-can-eat, don't-even-think-about-sleeping FUN! I thought up a name for our group, and drew a logo - we're the "Mad Scrappers", and this is our design here. Cute, huh?

I have been dreaming about how to combine the things I love into one gigantic thing I love (more to come on that later), and dreaming is always fun and exciting.

Hayden has been sleeping (mostly) through the nights, and so I am sleeping (mostly) through the nights, so I feel more like a human and less like a zombie.

I have started a new "to do list" notebook at work, and am keeping up with it (2nd week in a row!) and just love marking through those completed tasks (even if I occasionally add one I just finished, just so I can cross it right off!)

I emptied my email inbox. I went from 1893 emails to 6. WHOOT! 6 whole emails! I reconfigured my folders to a new, more-conducive-to-my-filing-tendencies system, and have been moving those emails there just as fast as I get them. I'm also deleting those I DON'T need.

I cleaned off my desk this week, and finally, finally got rid of the last of my predecessor's junk.

Most of this may seem like no big deal to all you "together" folks out there, but to a new mom who's main accomplishment each day for the last year has been to make it out the door with all her clothes on, her teeth brushed, and the baby (you've got to remember the baby!), these are some pretty big milestones. Hell, I even checked all my voicemails and finally got that blinking light on my phone to stop! This is big stuff!

Hayden has some serious greenage working it's way out of her nose this morning, though, so I expect that soon a doctor's visit will be in order, followed by a sick day, making me sit at the house bored, which will inevitably lead to me deciding that cookies, chocolate and and entire bag of wheat thins sounds like a good lunch, and I'll get behind with my emails and voicemails again, and then we're right back to square one. So, for right this minute, when I feel like I really have my act together, I am celebrating and enjoying sitting on the top. Don't think I won't dig my nails in and cling to this patch of grass like the King of the Hill when life starts to tumble down on me by the dumptruck load, but for me, half the fun is scratching your way back up, so it's okay to get knocked down every once in awhile.

Right now, I'm just lovin' the view. Have a good day, everyone! I hope you're at the top of your hills, too.

My daddy's cooler than your daddy...

... 'cause my daddy's on the radio!

Check him and Martha's Finest out on this video clip here in the 106.7 studio in Atlanta:

106.7 True Oldies

Look under the ‘true videos’ box on the left side of page. You can enlarge it to full screen view.

As my pops would say, "Highly cool!"

They're promoting the singing Valentines program they participate in each year, and in the clip, they give a little preview of the good stuff (the singing, I mean!).

Gone, Gone!

Hayden started using this phrase last night, along with the hand gestures, and I managed to catch a quick bit of it on film using my phone.

She'd eaten her ENTIRE banana (shortly before downing 3 rice cakes, a handful of puffs, a roll, and 2 chicken tenders. The kid is a bottomless pit!), and was looking for more. I had to explain that it was "gone, gone."

I think she got the picture.



Happy Friday.

Hunger Pains

You know in the cartoons, when they were in the dead of winter and two characters were starving to death, one would eventually start to picture the other one as a gigantic, talking roast turkey leg, or a steaming pork chop?

Well, last night as I was changing into my pajamas, Chris walked in the closet with Hayden, and I swear they were both giving me the same exact look. I think Hayden was even drooling a little, but that kind of comes with the territory when you're her age.

It was a little disconcerting, to say the least.

The Key to a Happy Marriage

Last night, as I was getting ready to go to the grocery store, I called Chris to see if he needed anything. He had a couple staples to add to the list, and as we were getting ready to hang up, he threw in, "oh yeah, get me some raw peanuts. You know, those ones that I like."


"Oh yeah. of course I know, those ones." What I know is, if I had sent my loving husband to the store with that same set of instructions, it would have been hours before I'd seen him again. He'd have been lost in the aisles for hours, randomly picking up anything that looked like peanuts, and calling me at least a half dozen times for more specific information.

"What's the name of them?", "What does the bag/box look like?", "Where are they in the store? What aisle?", "Are the on the left or right side? Top or bottom?" Oh, and heaven forbid I tell him to ask a store employee. AAACCCKK! That lands right up there with stopping to ask directions. Speaking to another human. Especially one getting paid to help you. Just can't do it. Not in his programming.

I pointed this out to him last night after his "those ones that I like" comment, and he admitted I was right. I noted that I remembered exactly which "those ones" were, where they were, and would be home with them shortly, and probably wouldn't even get a thank you as he tore into them for all my heroics.

"Well, here's your thank you in advance, then, since you're probably right about that too."

You know, Chris will laugh at the fact that I texted him our complete dinner order (with notes about condiments for each - including his, and drink reminders) after we've just hung up the phone going over the same information. He laughs that I'm that particular, and I laugh about the fact that I secretly know he'll flip open his phone to read the order when he pulls up at the drive-thru, because otherwise, I might not get my barbeque sauce. And we know how I get about my barbeque sauce. (Well, you may not, but let's just say there was a certain incident when I was pregnant regarding some barbeque sauce, and I was perhaps not the most reasonable human in the world at that time, and we'll just say that Chris rarely forgets barbeque sauce now, God bless him).

You see, that's why our marriage works so well. We know exactly what to expect out of the other and are willing to meet them there, instead of trying to get them to become our envisioned versions of them. We also know how to laugh at ourselves and each other. Really, we've got a good gig going over here.

Happy early Valentine's Day, Hon. Enjoy the peanuts!

Head, Shoulders ...

If you can finish that sentance, you probably have a young child at home. Or you were once a young child. Or you, as an adult, have a strange obsession with children's songs for no apparent reason.

Myself, I have a year old daughter who delights in her many toys that sing/play/dance to this little ditty. Therefore, for the last, oh I don't know... 2 or 3 WEEKS I have had this song on a continuous loop in my head.

As I'm in the shower, "Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes! Head, ..."
Getting Hayden dressed for school, "...shoulders, knees and toes, knees and..."
Driving to work, "...toes! Eyes and ears and...."
Sitting in meetings, "....mouth and nose! Head, shoulders, knees..."
Writing this post, "...and toes! (from the top now) Head, shoulders,..."
Going to bed, "...knees and toes! Head, shoulders, knees and toes! Eyes and ears and..."

For the love of all that's holy! I think I am slowly going crazy here! Hey, that's something different...

"I am slowly going crazy, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, SWITCH! 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 crazy going slowly am I! I am slowly going crazy, 1, 2, 3..."

AAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!

Thankfully, I only have a good 6 or 7 more years or so of this to look forward to until we hit the obsessions with the chipmunk-voiced prepubescent boy bands. Oh, joy!

Can you say, "Slow down?!"

Or, "The one in which I gush about my baby girl."


Hayden's vocabulary is growing in leaps and bounds. Just 6 weeks ago she'd finally added Papa and Mama to her list, but said little else but Dada and Bye Bye.

Now, she's learning new words everyday, and cracking us up with her imitations of our words. Some of her recent additions include:

• Ball (pronounced "Baaawww"). She got the pronunciation from her teachers, who as they say, are definitely from around here.

• Nose ("Na"), said as she is pointing at your nose. She knows where Mama's nose is, Daddy's, Grandma's, and almost anyone's but her own. I think she knows, she just doesn't want to tell us.
• Please ("Pea!", sometimes "Bea!"). Cutest thing ever to hear her say.
• She can say several classmates' names - Jack, and Jacob, although I have yet to hear her. She can identify them all by name - if you ask her where Sarah is, she'll survey the room and point her out. She can tell you where almost anyone is soon after meeting them and learning their names. It's amazing to watch, really.
• Baby ("Baayy bah", or "Baayy beehh"). When the babies are brought over from their classroom at the end of the day, Hayden walks around their bouncy seats, pointing each one out and labeling them "Baayy beehh".
• Uh-oh ("Uh-ahhh"). Ususally said when she's just thrown something on the ground intentionally and wants me to think it's an accident. Like her dinner. Or her milk. Or her Bunny Bear. For the umpteenth time.
• She sometimes says something that sounds a lot like grandma, she's said Abbie, something like Randy, and quite a few other words we can't quite make out just yet. She can moo like a cow and baaa like a sheep when you ask her what those animals say. She will sing "Ahhh aaahhh ahhh" into her microphone when I tell her to sing "La la la".

Everything she can do, and is learning to do, just amazes me.

She dances whenever music comes on, just as she has since she could sit up, and has recently choreographed her own rendition of "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" that involves stretching her arms overhead and quickly squatting down, then getting back up and starting over. It's hysterical to watch.

She can mimic her daddy on her little piano, including zipping her little fingers across all the keys, just like Daddy does when he's playing Jerry Lee.

She can let you know what she wants or doesn't want with grunts, jabbers, and lots of pointing. She's picked out her own outfits, loves getting dressed, and will hold out her arms, legs and feet for the appropriate articles. She LOVES chicken, and can eat two tenders by herself. She knows, somehow, what a Bojangles box holds, and you have to nearly restrain her to keep her from taking it from you. She does not like fish, and can tell the difference between it and chicken, and will not eat it from her plate. She can feed herself with a spoon, with both hands, although it is a messy proposition.

She loves her ball popper games, loves books and her piano, and is still best friends with her Bunny Bear. She loves to walk everywhere now, and is starting to try to climb stairs. She loves being tickled and chased, and will give everyone kisses when it's time to go bye-bye (or at least make the "mmmm" sound and let you give her a kiss.) She makes sure everyone gets at least one or two kisses before we go. If you tell her it's time to go bye-bye, she will go to her carseat and get ready to go. When I pick her up at school, she finds Bunny Bear and comes running to me, all "packed" up. If you tell her it's time to go nite-nite, she will point to her crib and lay down to sleep.

She knows her Baby Einstein DVDs and watches them intently. Other programs don't hold her attention nearly as much, if at all, but the Baby Einsteins pull her in.

She can identify colors - red, yellow, purple, green, blue, orange. She can pick up the right color ball when you ask, and carry it across the room to you. She can also put it in her ball popper if you ask, and turn it on. She has found the on/off buttons for almost all her toys, even if they're tiny and/or hidden, and makes a game of cutting them on and off.

She loves unloading things. She has a tub of toys we leave in the den, and her first order of business each night is to begin emptying it, both hands flailing as fast as they can, toys scattering. If I'm unloading the dryer, she comes to help, and pulls the clothes out as fast as she can. If she finds a diaper or travel bag, she can have it empty in no time!

Hayden loves cups with straws, and is not wild about sippy cups. She loves vanilla Soy milk, but hates formula. She won't eat baby food, and is crazy about dried pineapple and raisens. She loves anything sweet, like her mama, and isn't a big fan of veggies. (I'm trying not to stress too much about that right now).

She's a constant source of amazement for me, and always a source of pride. She is such a happy, smart, fun, loving, kind and beautiful little girl, and I can't wait to watch her grow. I just wish it didn't have to go by so fast.

Dutch Monkey

Yesterday morning, we woke up (way too early for what was supposed to be a lazy Sunday morning) (and yes, we were being heathens; we should have been headed to church, but instead we were on a mission. A mission to find the most amazing doughnuts in the world. Well, at least within an hour drive. We have our limits on an early Sunday morning. Especially after a way-too-late Saturday night. I'm not naming names, but that sleep loss could have been prevented, boys.) and met our friends Carrie and Joel (did you find the original start of this sentance after all those parenthetical comments? Good for you! You could probably keep up with me through most of my rambling real-time conversations. Otherwise, oh, look! A chicken!) and decided to head to the Cumming-ish area to find a particular doughnut-making legend,the Dutch Monkey. And find it we did.

Oh man, this is the coolest doughnut shop you've ever seen. Started by two amazing chefs, this place is hip, fun, and all about the food! With a huge glass display case that displays their fine wares, you can drool over their exotic creations such as "pineapple coconut lime cake", or "lemon meringue" (complete with toasted meringue atop the generous portion). There is a Boston Cream donut, a blueberry with cream cheese frosting (yum!), French Crullers that will make you cry "uncle" (which they didn't have yesterday morning. Boo.), Pomogranate Iced, and even a Maple Butter Bacon, fried with a delicious strip of bacon around it. Oh, and of course, their signature doughnut was the "Dutch Monkey" a banana-jam filled doughnut drizzled with chocolate icing.

We went, we saw, we stuffed ourselves silly. They should have big canteens of milk at each table to help you wash down all the gooey, wonderful sweetness. Hayden loved the bright colors of the place, the kiddie table, especially, watching them make the doughnuts through the Willy-Wonka-ish viewing ports along the kitchn, and most of all, enjoyed her first tastes of a real doughnut!

When we were thoroughly sated, we sat and talked and enjoyed each other's company as we plotted our next visit and choices for the next time. Maybe once a quarter would be enough to visit, we thougth. Otherwise, this place could do some serious damage to our waistlines. Well, maybe once a month, if we promised to be good, and only get one. (We each had to try two this time, just to check out as many flavors as possible). We let Hayden explore the kiddie area a bit, and she even met some of the other kids, including another Hayden, who was about 8 years old and was just thrilled to meet another girl named Hayden (they're apparently somewhat of a rare breed, we're finding).

What a great way to spend a lazy morning. Out with some of our best friends, eating doughnuts that rightly should be described as 'decadent pastries', and playing and laughing with Hayden. Of course, my absolute favorite part of the morning was getting to watch Joel's expressions at he ate. That man knows how to appreciate a good meal!

If you're ever in Cumming, may I highly recommend a stop in to the soon-t0-be-famous Dutch Monkey (and, in full disclosure, no this isn't a paid endorsement. I'm pretty sure these folks don't even know I exist. I just love a good doughnut!)