Most of the time, he sings. LOUDLY. If it’s not lyrics from The Sound of Music soundtrack, he makes up his own little Happy Birthday tune to EVERYTHING he sees in the store.

“Happy birthday to cheese! Happy birthday to carts! Happy birthday to coffee! Happy birthday to hats! Happy birthday to bananas! Happy birthday to cereal! Happy birthday to ladies! Happy birthday to mustaches!”

Yes, the other day, he sang about other shopper’s facial features. Or their hair. It was impossible to make him sing more quietly — let alone make him stop — so I raced through that store like my life depended on it. I could just imagine my horror if he were to start serenading someone with a disability.

Kellan obviously has no clue what a disability is. So it is equally impossible to make him understand why he should not limp around as if he has a broken leg in public places. I have never been so embarrassed as when I had to run into a drugstore last week to buy one thing. Just one thing, so I decided not to make him ride in a cart. Boy, did I regret that when he started hobbling along like Gollum from Lord of the Rings. We walked past a line of customers eight deep, and EVERY HEAD swung around to stare at Kellan’s limping gait. I could practically see the thought bubbles over their heads: “Oh, that poor crippled child. Just look at her dragging him around like that. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.”

So I made a mental note to myself. The embarrassment of a constant Happy Birthday song is 1,000 times more tolerable than having to drag a Gollum-like child around a drugstore. Next time, we’re opting for the cart.

I happened to come across a yummy slow cooker recipe for Tofu and Spinach in Peanut-Coconut Sauce, which is then served over rice. I’ve had a lot of slow cooker failures — I won’t lie — but the flavor profile sounded like a surefire hit for us.

So on Wednesday night, before I even got the full report on the success of the meal, I laid eyes on two divinely wonderful and heart melting things. First of all, Michael was cleaning up the kitchen. There’s nothing that depresses me more than walking through the door at 10:30 pm to find the kitchen sink teeming with dirty dishes. But on this night, Michael was taking care of the whole mess. Phew. And then….then, I spotted this:

Here’s the translation according to Michael:

“Thanks for dinner, Mommy. It was so, so, yummy. It was great. It was so, so, so yummy. Love, Kellan.”

It’s a miracle I’m still alive right now. My heart has melted into a big puddle on the floor.

Of course there are no beers or shots involved. And I’m not even sure that Loteria is meant to be a drinking game anyway. But when we were first introduced to it during our “We Made It Through The First Year of Marriage, Let’s Go To Mexico” trip, that’s what it became. Yes, Loteria helped give us some killer hangovers in a foreign country. Well, that and the friendly bar manager we met who took us under his wing and introduced us to a dance club called “The Zoo” where we danced with a guy (I think it was a guy) in a big gorilla costume. Come to think of it, maybe “The Zoo” had more to do with the hangovers than Loteria.

However, this game is PERFECT for a preschooler. It’s kinda like bingo, but it has the added benefit of reinforcing the Spanish language. See? There is educational benefit to this game! Well, except for the “El Borracho” card, which means “the drunk.” And the “La Muerte” card, which means “death,” is a little creepy. But “La Rana?” It’s an adorable little green frog! And you can’t go wrong with words like “La Estrella” (the star) and “El Sol” (the sun).

Oh, I forgot about “El Diablito.” Yeah, there’s a red devil involved in the game. And um….”La Sirena” (the mermaid) does happen to be topless. But it is tasteful, I assure you. We just do our best to emphasize “El Pajaro” (the bird), “El Tambor” (the drum), and “La Sandia” (the watermelon). Hey, it’s better than 100,000 mind-numbing rounds of Chutes and Ladders.

1. I wonder if the slow cooker meal I have planned for tonight will be good at all. I just found the recipe two days ago in a magazine. So this is just a big experiment, really. And just ask Michael — he LOOOOOVES being the subject of a slow cooker experiment. (Yeah, right.)
2. I wonder if I should try to cram my belly into some non-maternity work clothes, or if I should just surrender to the inevitability of maternity work wear, as I have maternity casual wear. (Luckily, I have plenty of maternity suits from the last go round.)
3. I wonder if the new teleprompters will make me feel out of sorts, or if its simply been so long since I’ve read from a prompter that it will make no difference whatsoever. I hope it’s the former.
4. I wonder if I feel weird not sitting at my old desk in the newsroom.
5. And the biggie — I wonder how long it will take me to get to work at the height of rush hour traffic.

That last one is the real mystery. I’m not a fan of the commute I have to make to the TV station, and it is about 1,000 times worse at rush hour. Oh well. At least I know I’ll get to spend the drive listening to whatever music I want to, without having to take (persistent) requests from the little guy in back. In fact, I could even turn off the music altogether and sit in total silence! Imagine that! Silence for an hour!

On second thought, this commute is going to be a piece of cake.

Yep. I start tomorrow. But it’s only part-time, and I’ll only be employed for about a month. So it’s not like I’ll be slaving away or anything. I’m sure I’ll be very tired at the end of the month, but I can do this.

What’s the job, you ask? My old one. Yeah, that one. The one I left about eight months ago. It’ll be fun to be back for a while! Of course that means some of my prime blogwriting time — from 8:30 to 10:30 pm — will be spent at work. So you may not hear from me on a regular basis, but I’ll be around.

I guess it’s time to be a nightowl again. Wish me luck.

So I got an idea. I dug out an old partitioned box that once served as bead organizer in my jewelry making days. I rummaged through my big box of craft supplies and found lots of scraps — strips of ribbon, small blobs of wool left over from felting a sweater, small rolls of raffia, a handful of old buttons and pieces of yarn. I found some small bags of enriched pasta that we’re unlikely to ever eat, and dropped a few pieces into the box. Then I supplemented these small treasures with pom poms, foam stickers and googly eyes from the dollar store. Ta da! A crafty treasure box.

I sat Kellan down with sheets of paper and a glue stick, then I opened the box. It was like Christmas. “Wow!” he exclaimed. “What’s that?”

“Those are your craft supplies. You just rub some glue down on the paper and stick whatever you want on there.”

“Oh, oh, oh, oh. Okay!” With that, he dove into his craft project with gusto. He barely lifted his head to acknowledge me during what must have been a solid hour of artsy crafty bliss.

If you’re anything like me, and you have a habit of saving ridiculous small bits of craft items for use “someday,” this is the perfect way to use them up. You could also add cotton balls, regular stickers, bits of scrap or tissue paper….whatever you have around. And if you don’t have a partitioned box? No problem. I think an old egg carton would work beautifully.

A couple of cautions: be sure to buy a glue stick that is permanent. You don’t want all those little treasures falling off an hour later. Also, I think it’s best to buy glue sticks at the dollar store because those things get used up fast for this project. Look for the permanent kind. I found a three-pack for a buck.

This is a perfect bad weather activity! And it’s kinda fun for parents to do too, if you’re feeling the need for a little craftiness in your life. Enjoy!

However, I’m finding it nearly impossible to nest properly this time around due to the presence of a certain little person around here. Oh, and there is plenty to do. I must be pregnant, because all the disorganization and piles of paper around here leave me consumed with the urge to track down some storage bins, organizational drawer trays and my label maker.

An example of the mess around here: I am currently looking at a tiered metal stand that is supposed to hold fruit in our kitchen. However, ever since Kellan arrived, the only fruit it holds is bananas — and only in the very top tier.

• Tier one: Bananas on top of two washcloths that should be in a laundry hamper.
• Tier two: One of Kellan’s large paintings from preschool (folded up), two of Michael’s hats, a notification from my insurance company, and two Scholastic Books order forms.
• Tier three: A Christmas stocking and a Ziploc full of handmade Christmas ornaments that never got painted.

Now, if you can imagine this kind of organizational chaos — multiplied by ten — at my computer desk, on our fridge, on countertops and inside drawers. Even the linen cabinet that I once organized within an inch of its life is now a total disaster. All of this is totally abhorrent to me at the moment. Tiny messes I was able to overlook for months now drive me mad.

However, there’s only so much a person can tackle when there are dishes to be done, meals to be cooked, laundry to be washed, writing deadlines to be met, playdates to be kept, doctors appointments to be made, and oh yeah….I guess sleep should fit in there somewhere.

When I got tagged to write a “10 things that make me happy” post by Mom2Miles at Diary of a New Mom, it occurred to me that sometimes my happiness gets pushed aside for more important tasks, like wiping a runny nose or chasing a gagging cat off the carpet and out the front door. I am trying to make more room in my day-to-day life for happiness, and for gratitude. I believe the two go hand-in-hand. Luckily, it doesn’t take a lot to make me happy — I just have to remember to work the little things in on a regular basis. Such as:

1. A new magazine. I love the smell of a fresh, new magazine that no one has yet to leaf through. They’re shiny, they’re pretty, and they’re full of cool ideas. I love new magazines so much that I have a pretty big problem with throwing them away. I have stacks of them stashed all over the place. It’s my little secret.
2. Snow skiing. There are few things I love more than whooshing down a mountain. It’s zen-like, really. These days I don’t get to ski as much as I’d like (especially not now with a growing baby belly) but there will come a time that I will. Both our kids will learn to ski. In fact, Kellan already is and he’s doing a great job.
3. Hearing my son speak nicely to other people. I never realized that something this simple would make me feel so happy!
4. Good music, good shows. I don’t have much time to search out new music anymore, but I love discovering a good band. And I love seeing a good show. U2 shows are by far some of my favorite, but there is nothing like seeing a great band in a small Boise venue. Spoon and Band of Horses are some that come to mind. The only thing that will keep me away from a Finn Riggins show (they are a fantastic Boise-based band) is a lack of a babysitter.
5. A nice dinner, ALONE, with my husband. A meal in which there are no booster seats, sippy cups, or kids’ menus involved.
6. Christmas. My absolute FAVORITE holiday — always has been, always will be. It’s much more work than it used to be — especially now that we have to factor in a fair amount of toy assembly — but having Kellan around has made this holiday that much sweeter.
7. Working out. I used to hate working out, and I could only do it if I had a workout buddy or a TV to watch. But we’ve recently joined a gym and I suddenly LOVE exercising. It gives me time to read a magazine or just zone out in peace. When I pick up Kellan from the in-house childcare area, I feel sorta like I’ve had a mini-vacation.
8. Giggle fits. When I melt into a puddle of giggles on the floor, which happened more times than I’d like to admit while I was on air, I am TREMENDOUSLY embarrassed. But honestly? Those giggle fits are pretty cathartic. And I still get a chuckle out of the time I giggled nonstop about a fly that landed on my shoulder as I was delivering a report about terrorists. I was mortified at the time, but it’s pretty funny to look back on now.
9. Spending time with old friends. Laughing about old jokes and shared memories is a total luxury in my book. It’s a reminder that I used to be a fun, spontaneous person — and still can be from time to time.
10. Dessert. I have a serious sweet tooth. I abstain from dessert most of the time, but just ask my husband — I get positively giddy over a big hunk of chocolate cake. The gooier and chocolatey-er the better! But I also love a delicious bowl of gelato or ice cream. And pie. And cupcakes (even though I nearly OD’d on them last year).

There you have it! Now it’s my turn to tag a few fellow bloggers to write about their own 10 happiness triggers:

• Meg at Meg’s Knitting Knot
• Loukia at Lou Lou’s Views
• Lindsay at Banter
• Michelle at My Two Seasons
• Maria at Bored Mommy

I think we were both a little nervous to bring it up, and unsure of how to start the conversation. But last night, after dinner and a dessert of fresh-baked banana bread (yay me!), we did it. This is how Michael finally broke the ice:

Michael: Kellan, you know how you said you’d like to have a friend around to play with?

Kellan: Yeah.

Michael: Well, Mommy and I have been talking about getting a brother or sister.

Kellan: But where are we going to get one?!?

Yeah. Michael actually said we’ve been “talking about getting a brother or sister.” Which prompts the obvious “where” question. Awkward. We managed to skirt the issue by explaining that the baby is already in mommy’s tummy. At that point, the sweetest thing happened: Kellan stared at my belly in a mixture of awe and giddiness. Then the excitement overwhelmed him — he brought his hands to his face and squealed! Awwwww.

I explained to him that the baby won’t come until summer, after Easter, and suddenly his attention shifted to the Easter Bunny. “But I don’t want to see the Easter Bunny. I don’t like the Easter Bunny. It scares me cause it has a big head. If we take the baby to see the Easter Bunny, maybe we could just look at the fire truck instead.” (There was a fire engine at last year’s Easter Egg Hunt.) It took a few minutes to get his focus back to the subject at hand (including some reassurance that the baby will still be in mommy’s belly at Easter), but soon he was talking about how he wants to rock the baby to sleep and give “her” a bottle.

This kid has Big Brother written all over him.

University of Idaho students using new studio cameras at KUID, 2008 (Photo courtesy Glenn Mosley)

I normally don’t spout off much about politics here on AnchorMommy, but right now, I feel I have no choice. Something very disturbing is happening in my beautiful home state of Idaho: funding for Idaho Public Television could soon be phased out — for good.

Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter (yes, out of state readers, the image you’re picturing is probably accurate — he does go by the name of Butch, and he’s a cowboy boot devotee) is hoping to plug a massive state deficit by cutting many things, including education funding (you know it’s bad here when they start talking about education cuts) and funding for IPTV. I know the money has to come from somewhere. And I am by no means advocating that the education budget is the place to look for more savings if IPTV is spared. But here’s the thing — to start solving this budget problem, Gov. Otter needs about $175 million from reserves and $100 million in budget cuts. The proposed cuts to IPTV would only save about $1.6 million a year. (The grand plan is to cut about $4 million in IPTV funding over the next four years.) Seems to me the savings of cutting IPTV’s funding is just a drop in the bucket when it comes to fixing Idaho’s budget problems.

And if lawmakers approve the plan, the costs would be great. There are many, many aspects of Gov. Otter’s proposal that disturb me, but the following are what I see as the most upsetting losses:

1. Public television service to Idaho’s rural communities. This doesn’t affect me a great deal personally, since I live in the Treasure Valley, and I will continue to pick up national public television programs my household can’t live without, such as SuperWhy?, Clifford the Big Red Dog and the all-important Sesame Street. (However, we will lose the IdahoPTV Kids Channel which I find invaluable, because I can turn it on at practically any hour of the day that I need to keep Kellan occupied for a few minutes, and feel confident that he is watching quality programming.) But without its current level of funding, IPTV most likely will not be able to continue broadcasting outside the Treasure Valley. Imagine — Moscow, the town that is home to the state’s only land-grant university, will get no public television signal. Service to Twin Falls, which is practically next door to the Treasure Valley, would likely go black.
2. The television studio at KUID — the place where I got my feet wet in the world of broadcast media — would most likely be closed. I have to be honest. This is the one that makes me most upset, obviously because I have a personal connection to that studio. But first, a little background.

University of Idaho Broadcast news students producing a show in the KUID studio, Spring 2009 (Photo courtesy Glenn Mosley)

When I majored in Broadcast Journalism at the University of Idaho (the program was then called Visual Communication) I trained on equipment that was as much as 50 years old. The switcher was a behemoth, and looked like it was straight out of a Star Trek film. And the studio lights? Let’s just say I said a little prayer before flipping any of those switches because that light board was probably born the same year as my parents. Now? KUID has a brand new, state-of-the-art production facility — one I would have killed to train in as a student. If KUID is closed, which it most likely will be, what will happen to that equipment? It doesn’t sound like anyone is really sure about that at this point. It is entirely possible that students will simply have to wave goodbye to that professional-grade studio and the guarantee of hands-on, practical training in their chosen field. This, friends, is a travesty. As Pat Hart, the Acting Director of the School of Journalism and Mass Media puts it, “A working TV studio is crucial to our recruiting efforts. It’s become a must-stop on the campus tour for prospective JAMM students and their families, and has added greatly to the “Wow!” factor — particularly for students who first visit WSU and don’t even get near their studio.”

What sets the University of Idaho’s Broadcast Journalism program apart is the hands-on, personal training students get from their instructors. I still know many of the professors there, and I have no doubt that their personal attention to each student will not disappear. But it breaks my heart to think of the possibility that those students will be reduced to station tours of television stations in Spokane and Boise to get anywhere near a working TV studio. What kind of training is that for the next generation of broadcast journalists? In a world where story length and depth is replaced by brevity and shocking soundbites, why would we give up-and-coming communicators LESS opportunity instead of MORE???

As I mentioned earlier, these are just a couple of the serious problems I see with Governor Otter’s plan. I believe his proposal is short-sighted, and quite honestly, makes a much-needed public service nothing more than a political pawn. (It is said that a documentary on gay parents upset Idaho conservatives 10 years ago, and since ever since then, there has been talk of making IPTV a market-based operation.) If Idaho Public Television has to retool its mission and focus solely on providing service to the Treasure Valley, then it ceases to become Idaho Public Television. It then becomes Boise Privately Funded Television.

What now? Well, those who care about this issue — or even those who are slightly peeved by the idea — need to speak out. Luckily, that’s pretty easy to do, if you can spare 10 or 15 minutes to send an email to one of the decision makers at Idaho’s Statehouse. You can contact your local legislator here. Or perhaps more importantly, you should contact the Joint Finance Committee Co-Chair, Representative Maxine Bell, through this email form. Here is the contact form for Senator Dean Cameron, the other JFAC Co-Chair. The JFAC committee has the final say on where Idaho’s tax dollars go, and those two are the big cheeses in charge of that committee. The Facebook group Save Idaho Public Television also has a great list of resources for submitting editorials to your local newspaper. Please — do what you can to make your voice heard on this issue.

Idaho Public Television is very good at taking care of much of its own needs. It raises about 2/3 of its budget from private donations every year. But according to IPTV General Manager Peter Morrill in an email sent to concerned UI alumni and supporters such as myself, IPTV would have a difficult time making up for what it could potentially lose in state funding. “It is highly unlikely that we could raise an additional $1.6 million each year on top of what we currently raise privately,” says Morrill. “It is even more unlikely that it could be sustained over many years. If you have opinions on this matter, now is the time to let policy makers know.”