Sorry for the dearth of posts.  I was having some technical difficulties with my WordPress plugins that were horking my ability to log in.  Now, all is well (thanks, Denny).

I am taking a vacation day today, because my childcare provider’s kid is sick, so we’re keeping the little dudes separated for the time being.  Normally I would “work from home” (ie, try to keep up with email and do a few things while scrambling after Miles), but it’s going to be such a beautiful day that I decided to not even try.  Miles and I are going to take a long walk around the neighborhood, play at the park, and run errands.  I’m out of coffee filters, so he may get his first Java House experience.  It seems like a good time, since classes are over and he’s unlikely to interrupt anybody studying.

Unexpected 3-day weekends are pretty good, especially when it’s 75F and sunny.

[flickrvideo]http://www.flickr.com/photos/aprille/3546738689/[/flickrvideo]

[flickrvideo]http://www.flickr.com/photos/aprille/3539274852/[/flickrvideo]

[flickrvideo]http://www.flickr.com/photos/aprille/3533470535/[/flickrvideo]

Happy Mother’s Day, everyone, but especially my mom.

We had an outing this morning that was, I think, more fun than stressful (I’m still not sure about that, though).  We went out for brunch at a popular place in our part of town with no reservation.  It actually ended up being fine—we got a nice booth without much waiting—but the lines for the buffet were long and Miles was pretty squirmy.  He didn’t want to sit in his high chair or on our laps very long.  It makes me nervous for the plane ride, and also thankful that we’re not flying to Hawaii or Europe or somewhere else far away.  Two short flights are enough, thanks.

The rest of my day will be spent recovering and eating cheesecake.  We may also go to the library.

Cheesecake?  Why yes.  Rhubarb quark cheesecake, even.  You can read about Jack’s quark saga on his site, and he was kind enough to share some with me.  The cheesecake is really good, not too sweet and tangy with the rhubarb.  It didn’t crack, either, which I consider a triumph considering I didn’t use a bain marie.  I did put a dish of hot water in the bottom of the oven, which may have helped.

Here’s the cheesecake:

And here I am with the special little guy, the reason I’m a mother:

(Photo by Denny)

If I were still teaching Spanish, I would totally show this video and have my students analyze the lyrics as a study in the present subjunctive.

This is Gael García Bernal, one of my favorite actors, doing a hilarious Spanish version of “I Want You to Want Me” (“Quiero que me quieras”).

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vy4b2iOgP7w[/youtube]