Mr. Bean

I heard Hudson using his higher than normal pitched voice in the kitchen. He only uses this special voice when there are animals or insects to converse with so I was a little leery at what I might find. He was squatting down having a very animated discussion with an errant coffee bean that had fallen under the counter. He mistook it, I suppose, for a little bug friend. (The coffee bean, incidentally, came from Nicaragua, where our church has developed a relationship with some coffee farmers from whom they buy the beans directly. Fair trade at its most basic.) Here is the boy with Harper's new frog (with which, most surprisingly, she has been incredibly generous) wearing his new frog pj's:
In other Animal Related News, we had, when we first moved into the new place, a veritable tribe of rolly-pollies (sp?) roaming around. Most of them have moved out but there's one unfortunate little fellow, long dead, who has been laying on his back for several weeks right at the baseboard behind the rocking chair in Hudson's room. I don't know why I didn't dispose of him when I first noticed. The same reason I still haven't unpacked 75% of my closet, I suppose. Anyway, Harper discovered Dead Rolly Polly, only she refuses to believe that he is, in fact, dead. She has thought of all sorts of amusements and enticements to raise him from his eternal repose. She tries to persuade him to hop on the rocking horse for a wild ride. She leaves cars and books nearby. It's very sweet and more than a little sad.

Is anyone else a little creeped out by the enormous, tumor-like mass of seeds inside of bell peppers? We like bell peppers around here (red, orange, and yellow only--the green ones only the husband enjoys) but every time I cut one open I am a little frightened. What if the Bible verse said "faith like a bell pepper seed mass" instead of mustard seed? We'd all be in trouble.

I was an inveterate speeder most of my life. I was an appallingly bad driver in high school (passed the driving test on the THIRD try) but did not let that stop me from whizzing around at excessive speeds in my V-8 Camaro (I know, it's like a John Hughes movie). Then in college I got approximately 27 speeding tickets a year because for some reason it seemed terribly important to cut 15 minutes off of my drive time from Port Neches to College Station. I got a little better when I had to start paying for my own tickets and defensive driving, but I still sped, mostly because I was always running late to something. This changed when I had kids. Now I usually drive a little under the posted speed limit and, since I read in a Wall Street Journal article that I could save anywhere from 24 to 84 cents per gallon, I don't drive over 60 on the highway. This, it turns out, makes some other drivers Extremely Frustrated. I stay in the far right lane (feeling smug that instead of complaining about High Gas Prices!! I am actually doing something to alleviate part of the problem) and they fly past shaking their heads and their fists.

Latest cable indulgence: Jon and Kate Plus 8. This couple had twins then sextuplets, then they invited a camera crew to film their days. It's highly entertaining. Especially considering that tonight's network offerings included Wipeout!, Celebrity Family Feud, and I Survived a Japanese Game Show. Seriously? What poor sap had to call the advertisers on those gems?