It is early Saturday morning and I am sitting out on the patio listening to the morning dove and my drinking coffee. It�s pretty cool this morning so I donned a sweatshirt over my PJ�s. I frequently forget the fact that we have wireless at the house and I have the option of lugging my laptop out to the patio and enjoying the morning while catching up on the blogs and reading my e-mail. I like this. It�s really quiet this morning (of course it�s only a little after 7 far too early even for the lawn caregivers who will arrive in an hour or so and torture the Saturday morning snoozers with leaf blowers and mowers for the rest of the morning. I am sorry for those people who like to sleep in on their day off (I am obviously not one of them) but I feel especially sorry for My Darling who has worked far too many hours this week on the night shift and must again head off this afternoon for his last shift before returning to days on Monday. Quick turn arounds are never fun but they are even more difficult when you haven�t slept well during the opposing shift. Why our apartment complex has switched to Saturday morning lawn maintenance I do not know (it was previously on Friday when at least most of the residents were off to work by the time they began their clatter) but I don�t feel comfortable complaining since they have basically let us stay here month to month with no penalty for three soon to be four months. I must remember to leave a nice note for the staff when I go.

My family will be arriving mid afternoon. They are most likely laboring to get on the road right now as we speak. I remember the days when I was a child and we as a family were setting off nto the world for some family trek. My father, ever prepared and timely, would load up the car the night before as to hit the road before the sun with the plan of stopping for breakfast on the road. One of the best parts of vacation trips was the many breakfast places we visited traveling from here to there. We allowed to order at will bearing in mind that we were expected to eat all that we had selected. It was as a child I discovered that not all pancakes are created equal. Pancakes are by far my favorite �Sunday breakfast�. My Father, as a young man, worked for a time as a short order cook and produced delicious pancakes fluffy little sponges that absorbed the syrup without becoming heavy or feeling soggy. When I was allowed to decide for myself what breakfast offering I wanted it was invariably pancakes I chose. Unfortunately I was often disappointed in the quality of the pancakes compared to the lovely little cakes my father prepared. I soon abandoned the restaurant pancake entirely and opted instead for the more traditional egg dish followed soon after by the eggs and corn beef and hash combo that has become my staple. Still, when I am lucky enough to find a little place that can produce a good pancake I will always choose the pancake over any other option. At home I fix them regularly. My Darling also enjoys pancakes but I am sorry to say he has not the pancake ability that I look for in my pancake producers. While they are cooked all the way through (a condition that is not a forgone conclusion in any given restaurant) they are neither fluffy nor spongy and that places them much lower on my pancake scale than I would consume if it were prepared for me at a restaurant. I eat them anyway because they are made by my Darling and who am I to complain when my husband opts for making me breakfast. Besides, I thoroughly suck at making eggs the way he prefers them (basted with oil) often over cooking them resulting in a hard yolk center completely unsuitable for dipping one�s bread in.

This morning I will need to prepare the teddy bear cake for the shower tomorrow. Last night I stopped at the store and picked up the ingredients for the baby carriage fruit basket, finished the dust ruffle for the crib, baked the sheet cake which will accompany the teddy cake, and straightened up the place in anticipation of my family�s arrival this afternoon. My Mother will decorate the teddy cake which hopefully will have cooled and set enough to be easily decorated and my father will prep the watermelon carriage for tomorrow�s festivities. I honestly have no idea how many people will be attending. I suspect it will be a small gathering and I have planned on far too much cake and goodies for the event. I can send cake home with friends and family and/or bring leftovers into work for the guys in the warehouse to enjoy. It will be a lot of fuss and bother for a tiny affair but here in MI you only get one shower no matter how many babies you have (a result of the large families that were once common here?) so I best make the best of it I suppose. At least my Mother-in-law will be able to attend. A few weeks ago it was thought that she would have knee surgery this week and be unable to attend but as it turned out the doctors finally diagnosed the nerve problem she was experiencing as Parkinson�s and decided to postpone the surgery until after she had stabilized on the Parkinson�s medication. I am looking forward to see how she is doing. The last time I saw her she wasn�t doing very well, looking very worn from the constant trembling that marks the disease. I understand how much difference the right medication can make in the overall quality of your life. No matter how expensive the prescription I will always find a way to stay on my medication, I can�t imagine raising my son wracked with the moods that used to overtake me.

I suppose I should get to my morning tasks as I am sure I will want to take a nap before my folks arrive.

I will plan on posting some of the highlight of the babies shower next week.

I hope you all have a nice weekend.

I wish you Peace

~alison~

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