My Dad is a Jack of all trades, his Dad was too. That comes in really handy when you're poor and can't afford to hire someone to do the work for you. I spent numerous weekends over the years assisting my Dad on the projects he had to do, painting, basement remodeling, flooring, etc, all while my numerous siblings got to sleep in or play with friends. I didn't care, I loved the time I got to spend with my Dad alone. No other kid would dare interrupt and risk getting drawn into what they considered home improvement hell. My Dad has what I like to call Home Depot Turrets, when he's working hammers and cuss words tend to fly freely! It was frightening to others, like the time he yelled "F**k Bob Vila" at a wayward closet door when my BFF Trish was over spending the night. She still talks about that to this day...Anyway he taught me a lot, and now that I'm grown (or so they tell me) and own my own house I can truly appreciate all I've learned. Last year I installed wood laminate flooring throughout the entire first floor of my house, no small task with a newborn around. It turned out great and I saved around 5-7 grand doing it myself. This year I decided to tackle ceramic tile in my bath, I needed to replace the moldy carpeting that had resided there far to long. "Tile is a pain in the a**" my Dad said, I did it anyway, ever needing to prove to myself I can do it. It looks awesome...no cussing involved...(ok, maybe a little)

Dear Eliott...

Can someone please tell me why my son, who refuses to eat anything not squirting from my breasts, will gladly chow down on the dogs food like it is a the best stuff ever? Really Eliott? Not cookies or cereal, mac n cheese or PB&J's, bananas or applesauce...your choice of food is Iams mini chunks? I know Pheobe is one of your favorite creatures on this planet, probably because of your mutual ball obsession, but maybe you are spending way to much time together. On another note, I know you are a bit quirky and like to do things at your own speed, but would you kindly utter the word Mama just once for your good ol Mom? It's an event all mommys wait for and you are making wait far too long. To add insult to injury, my dear son, I know you have it in you! The word you decided to say yesterday, albeit cute and funny, is far harder to pronounce and just might cast a doubt about my parenting skills. Are you ready for this? The word was.....












SpongBob. Yup, freakin SpongBob.