Okay – seriously – I am taking a break from packing to ask a very important question:

Do y’all really wear the same pajamas night after night?

REALLY?

Because while I know I’m weird, I did not realize until today that my pajama-wearing habits only serve to intensify the weirdness.

HOWEVER, I am a shower-in-the-morning girl – not a bath-before-bed girl. I can see how you’d wear the same pajamas if you are a bath-before-bed person because you’re clean when you put on the pj’s and still clean when you take them off. But for someone like me, who showers in the morning, wearing the same pajamas would be sort of like wearing dirty clothes to bed. Which doesn’t so much interest me.

But then I’m crazy and have issues, so don’t pay me a bit of mind.

And I don’t do the whole matching pajama thing…I usually wear some sort of (clean!) capri pajama bottoms with a (clean!) t-shirt.

Honestly, I remember being surprised when everyone thought I was strange for using fabric softener AND dryer sheets (WHY? WHY WOULDN’T YOU DO THAT? WHY?), but I’m actually more surprised about this pajama thing. I guess it’s because my clothes-washing habits are my own doing – but the pajama habit is my heritage, y’all – it’s what my mama taught us to do.

I’m FASCINATED by this, as you may have gathered.

So please feel free to throw in your two cents in the comments.

About your pajama habits, mind you.

Not about my incurable case of the crazies.

Back when I used to read magazines for knowledge and insight (as opposed to now, when I’m really just looking for colorful pictures of the contents of celebrities’ grocery carts), I always loved articles that tried to teach me the smart way to pack a suitcase.

The how-to essays would inevitably advise me to take just five items of clothing (look! it can be tank top! or a bikini top! and look! it can be a shawl! or a sarong! and look! if you turn the arms inside out and wrap them counterclockwise around your torso area, you can transform your long-sleeve t-shirt into a slinky evening gown! and don’t forget a jaunty wide-brimmed hat!) – because that is all any sensible girl could possibly need.

So the information was, as you can see, terribly practical.

And I don’t know about you, but I would have major anxiety if I had to travel with only five items in my bag. Because when I travel, I like options.

Which is why, by the end of today, my suitcase will look something like this:

And then we have toiletries:

So as you can see, I have quite a day’s work ahead of me.

I do hope I haven’t frightened you.

Thanks so much, y’all, for all the great ideas re: traveling with a four year old. I am making my way through your emails, too – and you have shared so much info that I never would have thought of otherwise. All your tips are going to be a huge help as we make our way through a sizeable to-do list tomorrow.

The biggest thing I’m wrestling with is what shoes to take for me. Personally, I don’t think running shoes / tennis shoes are all that comfortable for long periods of time…and even though I have some Geox sandals that are super comfortable, I’m concerned that something without a back strap will get on my nerves after a few hours. I know that Crocs would be cushiony and good – but I worry that they’ll get hot (rubber + sun = HOT FEET = EWWWW).

So, if you’ve recently traversed either the land or the world of the large mouse (trying to avoid unwanted google-age), what shoes did you find worked the best? What about with your kids? Did they do okay in tennis shoes? Or Crocs? I don’t want to pack too much, but I want to make sure that I pack the right stuff.

Also, did y’all try to take water bottles and snacks into the park? Or did you just buy whatever you needed once you got there?

Finally, we’re thinking that we’ll just rent a stroller at the park…does anyone have any experience with that?

Okay – I think that’s all. But if you have any additional hints – anything you think I’m missing – feel free to share.

Thanks so much, everybody!

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.