Chocolate malty balls

For the first time in months (or maybe years), Mike and I went out shopping together, looking for black men's work shoes.

Gavin was so happy to have his dad's company. He threw himself into Mike's arms at every opportunity, and showed him how to play with toy cars on every surface he could find. The two of them entered a chocolate shop with big shiny eyes and identical "ooh"s and "aah"s, and they were cute enough that I bought them some treats. I inadvertently tortured Mike by giving him the simple (so I thought) task of picking out a pair of shorts for Gavin. Half an hour later, he was tugging at his hair with frustration, so I grabbed an outfit for the kid and turned Mike towards the men's section instead. He immediately found himself some clothes, to my surprise. We left with a new spring outfit apiece; but no black shoes. We finished the evening by watching The Notebook and enjoying each-other's company over popcorn.

But now I had a shoe mission of my own. Our cockroaches have a taste for cheap faux-leather loafers, and ate big holes in my work shoes. I decided it was time to search out the perfect pair of librarian shoes; conservative, closed-toed shoes with enough of a heel to make up for their dowdiness. This sent me on a three-hour hunt through 5 stores, and as much as I like my stupid quests, I hate shoe shopping. At first I settled for a $45 pair that gave me real misgivings - I'm simply not the kind of girl who can spend that much for shoes with so little substance. I went to Ross and found exactly the shoes I was searching for - closed-toe, inexpensive, and just a bit slutty. (Although my mother clucked her tongue at them and said, "Sorry, kid, nobody at the library is going to be stuffing dollars into your pants in those." Rats.)

Gavin has been developing sentences. Recently he has said, "Mom, I watch Thomas? We go buy Thomas," and "Mom, where treats for kitty?" and "No, mama no poop, baby poop!" Yes, I am a proud mama. Last night we took him to Scottish dancing, where he figured out how to make forts out of sectional dancing mats. My mother stuck a few together to make a box and closed him up inside, keeping him busy for an hour while Mike and I danced.

Exciting events in the next few weeks: I must suffer through an intensive class weekend this Sat and Sun; Mike is dancing a demo at Aloha Tower on St. Patty's day; Easter with a 2-year old promises to be fun; and the Highland Games are on the first weekend of April.

I'm a happy girl.