I have tried and tried to write a post with, you know, paragraphs and stuff, but my brain is scattered in about ninety-two directions right now. So please bear with me while I subject you to the random assortment of information currently residing at the forefront of my mind.

1) In three days we are going to see a very large mouse and all of his animated friends. I am utterly unprepared for this trip in terms of packing and whathaveyou, so the next few days are going to be a smidge hectic. I mean, I would like for all of us to have some clean clothes to wear while we’re visiting the land of the large mouse as opposed to spending the entirety of our vacation in dirty blue jeans and stained t-shirts. So if there isn’t very much from me this week in the way of blogging, you can blame the laundry. And the large mouse.

2) If anyone has tips for keeping a four year old occupied on an airplane, I’d love to hear them. I’ve been picking up small toys and books at Target, TJ Maxx, etc. – but I’m wondering if I shouldn’t just surrender and let him watch movies on the laptop. So if you have any hints for how to make the plane ride a little more enjoyable for him, let me know in the comments. He hasn’t been on a plane since he was one, so it’ll be, for the most part, unfamiliar territory.

3) I am officially obsessed with “Barefoot Contessa.” Which means my summertime Food Network-a-thon is in full swing.

4) Several weeks ago I started trying to figure out how I could tote our necessities (camera, sunscreen, Purell, money) around the land of the large mouse without resorting to a fanny pack. Because I just cannot surrender to the fanny pack. Even though I’m sure that those of you who use a fanny pack look absolutely adorable when you wear it.

So after a little research, I got one of these bags by Kavu:

You can wear it across your body so that both hands are free – and it’s deceptively small. I can fit everything we’ll need inside without having to keep up with a backpack. And without having to wear a fanny pack.

Which is a plus for me, as I need absolutely no extra baggage in the fanny / stomach area.

Let’s just leave it at that.

AHEM.

My bag isn’t solid pink, though – it’s red and pink and green and brown stripes. Because y’all know I like my accessories to be bold and sassy.

5) And since I’d like to end this post on a Really Klassy Note, I thought y’all might be interested to know that Alex made up a song this afternoon.

I’m not sure what the final title will be, but here’s the working title (and, as far as I can tell, the only words in the song):

“Hot In Poot Tunnel Today”

As a mother, I’ve never been more proud.

Mama and Martha left this morning, at which point I promptly got on the couch and watched all manner of HGTV and Food Network programming. After a little bit of lunch and two more episodes of “Barefoot Contessa,” Alex and I took a four-hour nap.

FOUR HOURS.

Not that we were tired or anything.

Just a second ago I checked my email for the first time in a couple of days, and I found a note from Big Mama. Since the last time she had heard from me was yesterday afternoon, when I was headed to Goody’s with Martha, she was somewhat concerned that during my shopping excursion I had gotten entangled with a poly-blend pantsuit and been unable to escape.

But I made it out alive.

So I’m about to cook all the fixins for tomorrow’s praise team breakfast at church, and when I finish, I’ll be back with a story or two from our YeeHaw Mamaw visit.

Also: after today’s nap-a-thon, I can officially report that I haven’t been this rested since 2002.

Life is good.

…going on at Shannon’s blog.

…but no time to say it. Today I’ve been to Macy’s, a local bakery, Steinmart(s), Ross and Walmart(s). Then we cooked supper and visited with a friend and tried to explain what a blog is to Martha.

Still working on that last thing.

But she is deeply touched and surprised by the fact that she and Sissie are such a bloggy hit. Although Martha hasn’t actually looked at the blog. I think she’s a little scared. Because when my friend Leigh was trying to explain the whole blawg thing to her earlier tonight (WHAT? YOU THINK I WOULD EXPLAIN IT? ARE YOU CRAZY?), Martha’s eyes started to dart around the room like she was looking for a translator to interpret the strange language she was hearing.

And then she asked me why I haven’t sent her what I’ve written, and I said, “BECAUSE YOU DON’T HAVE A COMPUTER. OR AN EMAIL ACCOUNT.”

And then she asked me why I haven’t sent what I’ve written to D.’s brother, and I explained that we’ve tried, but Scott doesn’t understand how to 1) open an attachment or 2) click on a link in an email. I went on to tell her that I showed the blog to Scott’s wife Rose last summer, and Rose thought it looked really “cute and fun,” but if you were to ask her about my blog today, she would have no idea what you’re talking about, though she would absolutely LOVE IT if you’d go for a run with her.

If you can’t tell, D.’s family isn’t so big on the technology. However, we’re looking into getting Martha a Presto so that she can stay in the bloggy loop.

So anyway, we’ve had a great, funny day. And I’ll update sometime tomorrow, but first I must sleep. For many hours. In a row. Without waking. And preferably without someone throwing up on me.

That would be such a treat.