So here are some scintillating happenings in our household of late.

1. Wesley is getting his second tooth. And he turned 21 months old today.

2. John was laid off last month. He’s writing a novel.

3. I’m trying to save money but don’t feel successful yet.

4. I teach Zumba four days a week and can’t live without it. I love teaching but sometimes I like to drop in to other Zumba classes to relax a little in the back, unnoticed.

5. When I teach Zumba I’m a walking billboard for Zumba. I saw one of my students today outside of class and she was like, “Wow, it’s funny to see you in normal clothes.” I.e., she was shocked to see me A) not dripping wet with sweat, B) not sporting a sexy headband to absorb the sweat, and C) not wearing clothes trumpeting the Zumba logo all over.

6. I signed up for the Freedom Run on July 4th. This week my goal was to run three times a week (instead of just once like I have been) to get ready. There’s one day left in the week and I still have to run two more times. Hmmmm.

7. Walk into our house and you’ll notice the trash cans are on counters and bathroom doors are closed. This is because Wesley cannot, canNOT resist the temptation to take the lids off trashcans and root through their contents. Ditto with bathrooms and toilets. Yesterday I got home from getting groceries, set Wesley up in the kitchen with some toys, went back out to the car to bring in more groceries, and came in to find Wesley had disappeared. I wondered where he was–and then I heard the water pipes from upstairs. In the minute it had taken me to go outside and come in again he had abandoned his toys, gone upstairs and beelined for the master bathroom (door was open), popped open the seat cover, and flushed away. I’ve also seen him using the bowl-like protective cover for the toilet brush like a drinking cup.

8. I have five hanging baskets (mostly petunias) outside the front door. One of them has already apparently died, but I keep feeding it water in hopes it will miraculously spring back to life again. Seeing flowers die depresses me greatly.

9. I’m reading The Host by Stephenie Meyer, and John is anticipating the release of Brandon Sanderson’s new novel. Wesley likes books, too, mostly to turn the pages and to stack them on top of each other.