Of Flowers and Ball Pits

Today I have many a musing rolling around in my summer weary, heat imploded head. Add to that air full of smoke and God knows what other particles thanks to wildfires 200 miles away from here, and you can imagine my lowly brain cell capacity today.

First things first, I owe a big public THANK YOU to my dear mom, a continent away for several months, who wept when she read my recent Obama post. She's in Germany toiling with the ex-pats at Democrats Abroad to ensure Barack Obama is our next President. I got lovely purple (my favorite color) flowers from her yesterday with a card that read "Your article after Obama's speech made me cry. I am so proud of you. I love you. Mom" Now that's way better than a comment any day (not that you should stop the commenting because you know what crack it is for all bloggers). Right back at ya, Mom!

Now I must relay a funny story about a fellow mom and friend. We'll call her Poison Pen. I went to her house last night for book club (We read Rockabye by Rebecca Wolfe of Girl's Gone Child.). So Ms. Poison Pen answers the door in a sling. Now I would expect to greeted by a Singapore Sling, but not the medical variety. Here we were all gushing around her, worried she had tried some crazy daredevil adventure from her youth. Skateboarding. Windsurfing. Ripsticking. Roller blading. Mountain biking. Surfing. Belly dancing. Tantric sex. Pole dancing.

Nope, turns out Poison Pen fell off the balance beam. In a Mommy & Me class with her 2-year old. Now it's generally not nice to laugh at other people's mishaps, though Mac Daddy believes the only reason to watch figure skating is for the falls. And I must admit, it does make it way more fun. But get this, she not only fell off the balance beam, she fell into the ball pit. I'm talkin' a massive ball pit that's like 9 feet deep. Imagine the worried looks she got from other parents who were trying their darndest not to bust a gut laughing and secretly thankful it wasn't they who fell. I bet there was a lot of snickering going on. At least Poison Pen provided great dinner table conversation fodder that night. It turns out she tore some thumb ligaments and needed hand surgery. Geesh. Yeah, I feel bad for her and all, but don't tell me that's not freaking funny stuff. The story wouldn't even of have been blog worthy were it not for the ball pit.

Now if you haven't checked out In the Motherhood, you're missing out. Lots of I-want-to-look-away moments a la Curb Your Enthusiasm. Funny mom moments that I bet you can all relate to...and even top. Chelsea Handler, Jenny McCarthy, and Leah Rimini (The nutty Scientologists apparently tolerate humor.)are stellar in that made-for-the-web way. Chelsea especially. I'm so going to get her new book.

And lastly, I am ACHING for a new pair of shoes. It's been eons since I've treated myself. DSW is sending me love letters, begging me not to break up, enticing me back. So what if Father's Day is coming up? Mama needs some shoes! And a new bag while I'm at it since Deal is fully potty trained, opening up a whole host of new handbag options! I have my eye on these impossibly impractical, playground unfriendly jazzy little sparklers. Maybe daddy needs a date night for Father's Day with a hot MILF on his arm.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's 5:00 Fridays!