But I'm actually working on doing a little bit of sales in my spare time. It isn't candles, frozen cookie dough, make-up, or Amway.

It's a great product for anyone who needs to market their products or facilitate real-time communication. Wireless, it's the future.

Officially, I'm a distributor. So no one should feel any pressure. But what's in a name?

Even more shocking? Redding went peepee on the potty at Aunty Mindi's house today. Wow. 19 months old and he really wants to use the potty.

I don't talk a lot about his milestones, and I feel bad about that sometimes. He's so perfectly OK and on schedule developmentally... He's a complete rock star and I really should acknowledge that. It may be hard for him someday to deal, because every milestone his sister met was like a freaking miracle. Here he is, oh yeah, he was 7 weeks early, thank you very much. Yes he had restricted blood flow, just like his sister, but he stuck it out. OK, it is not so much a tribute to his toughness, but a tribute to the toughness of the village of people it took to put me on bed rest. But still.

This little guy?

Is completely amazing.

Seeing recent photos and sharing little funny blurbs has a way of warming up old connections in a way that a long, more formal e-mail can't. Plus, there's much less pressure than a phone call.

In the last year I've found myself spending a great deal of time on Facebook and LinkedIn. What in the world do I need with these things when I have my blog? Interaction. Convenient, adult interaction. The likes of which I don't find elsewhere.

My blog is fun. I really enjoy sharing the kids with friends and family and even strangers. But it is one way interaction 99% of the time. I do leave comments open on every post, until they get overwhelmed by spam. But my readers don't generally have a lot to say. That's OK.

I find myself living in a place where I don't have a lot in common with the people around me. Maybe I've felt that way most of my life, but I think it is more true now than it ever has been. Reconnecting with people who I share a bit of history with has been quite nice. We may not be the same people we were, we may be less alike now than we were then, but we still have that time we spent. That means something to me. Maybe not to everyone, but to me it does mean something.

Which is ironic, because I apparently have a bad habit of moving, far away. I've done it so many times in my life that it doesn't seem like a big deal. And I've always felt that if people want to keep in touch with me, they will. Why am I never the one taking the initiative? That's a good question and I don't have a good answer.

I digress. I could go on and on picking things apart.

The point is that life is good. Online social networking is fun. It may even spur me to start writing a book.

I'm quite certain that there are very few days in my future where I will be able to carry him around all day, because he's not feeling well. At 19 months old and 27 pounds, those days are surely numbered if not already gone since yesterday.

It's bittersweet to see them grow so fast.

Red is just glad that Stonyfield Farms came out with soy yogurt.

Annabella is happy about her new hat and books from Auntie Tammie.

Together they are just giddy all the time, practically.

I am one lucky woman.

Kindergarten has been an adjustment, to say the least. For us, as much as for her.

Now, she's complained about a couple boys in her class who bug her. Mostly what I can get out of her stories is that these boys get up in her face and she's just not happy about that. Whether they are doing it to intimidate her or just be close to her, I'm not sure. I don't think she's too sure either.

They've had lots of talks the last few weeks about feelings. How to handle anger, how to handle conflict. Things like that. Which is good. It's a little wild for your kid to suddenly burst into tears after you say something, only to follow it up with, "You crumpled my heart, you used unkind words."

Now, before you get all gooey eyes about how I'm abusing my daughter, you should know that based on her understanding of the concept from school, anything I say to her that she doesn't want to hear is using unkind words. Things like, "Please go wash your hands before lunch." Or wicked nastiness like, "Stop taking things away from your brother."

So, with all this interesting emotional stuff going on at school, we were a little concerned that she keeps getting herself all worked up in the morning.

After an interesting round about conversation with her Dad, Annabella finally told us what it is that is going on at school that is "making her stomach squeezy."

Her teacher has been reading the class a chapter book. Junie B. Jones and the Stupid, Smelly Bus.

The things that go on in the book are so new, so different for her, that she can hardly take it. Just the title alone, the use of the word stupid, makes her stomach feel squeezy. Even the word smelly is kind of a problem.

I'm not kidding. We have done a lot over the years to shield Annabella from the harshness of the world. So much so that she's having a bit of discomfort adjusting to being around kids who are not so sheltered.

She has come to grips with the fact that the other kids in her class don't always talk nice, like we talk at home. But the shock of hearing those words come out of her (perfect, amazing, wonderful) teacher's mouth is almost too much to take.

Annabella voted yesterday at school and "Rock" Obama won. I keep trying to tell her that that is not his name. She will hear none of it. I think it bodes well for former pro wrestlers running for president in about 12 years.

Annabella was very happy there was a woman running, though not for president. She can not understand why she wasn't running for president. But when I asked her why she voted for Obama over "the girl" she said, "I've been wanting to vote for Obama for like 20 years."

That is her new favorite time estimate. It was 5 minutes, now it's 20 years.

She's been smitten since she got an Obama necklace at the July 4th parade in 2006. Proving that the girl can be bought and cheaply.

When the dust settles, like my friend Mindi, I hope there is a decisive victory. I also hope that this election will be a turning point for a lot of people. It's not enough to merely vote and express your opinion once every 4 years. These are our elected officials and we need to hold them to their word.

I think it's clear to everyone in the country that something has got to change. So, in the words of Mahatma Gandhi, you all should go out there today with renewed determination to "Be the change you want to see in the world."

I will, too.

You're looking at it. [Purple shirt, black jeans]

No! A costume is something that's... Creepy or beautiful. You don't have that.

But, more importantly...

I bought beer and wine at Costco, and even got to shop around a little bit.

I have great pictures and movies of the kids to share and have reconnected with some very nice friends.

I even got to do some freelance work this week, actually use my brain a wee bit.

So, if I say it's Friday, it's frickin' Friday, alright?

Don't point out reality and no one will get hurt. (This means you, Jenkins.)

A friday two-fer.

Oh, we're a crafty family. Oh, sure, you betcha, dere, hey.

He is a sentient being, and he does not have to hold your hand if he doesn't want to.

He's not a toy, he gets to make his own choices about how he spends his time.

It was a beautiful crisp fall day. The kids were exceptionally well behaved. The pumpkins were plentiful and Grandma was buying. With smiles like that to warm your day what could possibly be amiss?

Here is our first family portrait. Looking back it is hard to believe it took from early August until the last day of October for the three of us to get in a picture together. The nursing staff at Lucille Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford handed Andrew and I the ears and took the picture for us. It was one of those spectacularly light moments in the nursery. Annabella would be home less than a month later.

Happy Halloween!