It’s been a decent day. I woke up feeling that it was going to be anything less than stellar. Having crazy pregnant dreams as well as plain ol’ nightmares for most of the night leaves one with a sense of foreboding at even bothering getting out of bed. Needless to say, a certain Half Pint Host will not be watching “24″ or “Heroes” before bed again anytime soon.

I decided to make a list: a list of all those things that swirl through my head usually preceded by “Oh, I should do this!” and then quickly leave once a bag of raisins is dumped on the floor or the toddler is down and the couch is now open for seeing clients. And you know what: I actually did most of the things on my list! Things I’d been putting off, things I knew needed to happen so I didn’t get thrown into that “slacker/unreliable/never responds to emails” category.

I actually exercised this morning. Me! Who hasn’t exercised (minus running laundry up and down the stairs or trying to put library toys and books and puppets back where they belong before the toddler heads for the emergency exit) in months. Me! JJ was already awake, but I found the beauty of a) follow the leader (c’mon, JJ: step with mama!) which lasted for a good five minutes (which is 4.5 minutes longer than I expected) and 2) Sesame Street online. I was chatting with a beloved friend this weekend, and she mentioned how her tot loves working on the Sesame Street site: mine does as well, but only if you’re playing games with him. Except today I hit the jackpot: the elements consist of Elmo, letters, and sounds. You push a button on the keyboard: if it’s a letter, he tells you what it is and what words starts with it; if it’s a non-letter, he just giggles. JJ, who is a big fan of the letters and the Elmo and the giggling, totally dug it: insert happy dance, or happy stepping, as the case was at the time!

I actually got all my shopping done, as opposed to thinking, “enh: I’ll go out tomorrow.” A list of needed items, coupons gathered for easy grabbing, and some snacks made the trip manageable. Plus, running into friends with tots at the store helped: JJ would see how long he could yell and get the friend to respond, no matter that the mothers were ten isles apart. Joy.

I actually made it to the library, returned items JJ *loves*, found items to replace the aforementioned returnables, and didn’t set off any alarms. Plus, they were nice and let me check out all three of the DVDs I had on hold (normally you can only get two at a time: it’s nice to be known . . . most of the time).

I actually got a full tank of gas at the cheapest rate in town. Since I did the full town drive, I could scope out the prices. Yesterday I read an article on how gas prices were going up, so I figured it’d be best to get in while the going’s good (when you have a non-environmentally-considerate vehicle such as mine, those pennies really add up). I’m a cheap, environmentally-irresponsible American: what can I say?

I actually responded to emails, ate lunch, finished documents, talked on the phone, folded laundry, and did other things. All today! JJ really enjoyed “heping heping heping” (aka helping) with the laundry, which initially consists of throwing all the clothes out of the dryer and onto the floor. But then he went up and down the stairs lugging socks: that was “his” job.

And to reward himself, he got time with Bunan. “Pweesie Bunan? Pweesie? PWEESIE?!!?” “Bunan” is “bunny”, my stuffed bunny rabbit that I’ve slept with since second grade.* Now, the word for “bunny” is incredibly close for the word for “banana” which is “banan.” Most evenings we hear at least one, if not two or seventeen, pleas for “pweesie banan? Pweesie? PUH-WHEE-SEEEEEE!!!!” because, if JJ does not get his banan, apparently President Palmer will indeed be assassinated and Uncle Jack will not be able to disarm the suitcase nuclear weapon (look for suitcase nuclear weapons to be next year’s hot holiday item). But today, it was cries for “Bunan” which I didn’t mind meeting. And in fact, the two are cuddled up next to each other, dreaming about all the chaos and mayhem that they may engage in this evening when Mama is superpooped from being productive and will cease caring about the cliff/coffeetable diving events taking center stage in the living room.

My baby and my bunan: it’s doesn’t get much better than that.

*Yes, I sleep with a stuffed animal. Yes, my husband is fine with it. No, I do not plan on giving it up anytime soon. And no, even though “good” parents would pass on their beloved items to their children if their children request, Bunan is not leaving my bed at nighttime: not gonna happen. He can tell his therapist when he’s older: I’ll shell out for the session.

Daily Drivel, JJ Jawings