Life Is Good.

Today was a Banner Day for the Summers'.

First and most importantly:

Today I used the very last of the Vat o' Mayo I purchased in a moment of extreme mania last year when Maddie had that fucking Lice. The Vat o' Mayo was huge, but I'm happy to report (but not as happy as Logan is), another of my New Years Resolution's has been fulfilled.

It is.....all gone.

Oh, and also today....my daughter marched into school like she's an almost 7-year-old who doesn't struggle with new situations. I don't cry about school, obviously. But I do cry when Maddie is scared or struggling to feel comfortable. Let's all pray she keeps on feeling as brave as she did this morning when she kissed me goodbye at the door and walked into the school by herself.

In closing I would like to ask: Why do cats love the sink so much? [link via Metafilter]

Comments

[momdotcom]

I especially like the cat posed in the sink with a beer bottle...

You are SO lucky it's back to school for you! Up here in Canada we have a week to go. Seven. Long. Days. Good for Maddie for walking all by herself. Didn't you just want to run after her and grab her little hand?? I did---just looking at the picture.

I need a vacation to recover from summer vacation.

[jen]

What a great shot of Madison. And I am so lucky that I get to read your stuff early on Blogging Baby-- there's some very funny stuff a'coming.

[Eulallia]

I can't tell if that cat website is incredibly adorable or too weird for words.

[Erica]

Congrats to both you and Maddie!

[Lin]

My son sent me that same cats link today. Your wee girl looks so sweet in that perfect little back to school outfit.

[Jay Allen]

Good for you not crying. I would've been bawling like a baby without a bottle.

[buffi]

YAY for Maddie!! She looks adorable (from the back). I know you are proud. My girl starts tomorrow & I'm not sure who's happier!

[Lisa]

I'm enjoying your stuff on Blogging Baby, too, and that picture has BB written all over it! A great one!

Also? NONE of those cats is drinking from the water spigot. NONE. Is my cat the only one?

And? Is spigot the right word here?

[Heatheranne]

That's awesome for Maddie! It makes it so much easier for us when we know our kid isn't completely freaked out about us leaving them somewhere.

I love the cat link! Have you ever been to http://www.stuffonmycat.com/ It's a bunch of pictures of cats with things piled on top of them.

[EverydaySuperGoddess]

How could a girl NOT be brave in an adorably sassy skirt like that?

[crabby]

my cat isn't so in love with the sink, but moreso with the wood salad bowl that sits on top of my fridge. as you might imagine, i don't eat much salad anymore what with the cat hair and all. really, it's the perfect excuse to eat more twinkies.

also? good luck to maddie in school today!

[Paul]

OMG! Does mayo (even refrigerated) keep for A YEAR???

[clickmom]

I am totally with Paul on the year old mayo. ick.

And the cats, the humidity is back again here- I could totally sleep in the sink. Between the nice cool porcelain and the conveniently located beverage possibility it seems like heaven to me.

[RockStar Mommy]

I was so much like Maddie when I was her age... This picture is killing me. At least she looks great. My Mom always made sure I looked like the biggest clown in my class, which didn't help at all.

[PaxilMama]

But since you still HAVE the mayo, couldn't you get just a bit more out with a spatula? (ha ha)

I can't wait until school starts. Sept 7th. Cripes. And that's only for my 1st child (leaving me with two others). And only for a 1/2 day. Double cripes.

You did not miss me while I was in the hinterlands visiting relatives all summer, but I sure missed your blog.

[jess]

Maddie's hair cut is too adorable for words. Seriously, she is rocking some fashionable hair in those pictures. Also, I covet her backpack.

[AmyinMotown]

Lisa, my cat does as well. To the point where he races me into the bathroom and squeals his high pitched meow at me if I am so unspeakably cruel as to not turn the water on at once. And his favorite nap place is the sink. There is a picture of a cat on that site that is hhim, I swear, or his clone. It's too freaky.

[suburban misfit]

Lisa and Amy, one of ours does the drinking from the tap thing (Lisa, I think spigot implies outdoor faucet, while tap implies indoor, but that could just be a regional thing).

My daughter insists that one of our cats is on the site, too.

[Lil' Sis]

Bonnie's cat both sleeps in and drinks water exclusively from the bathroom sink. I think they just like the roundness & nest-iness of them, plus the coolness in the summer. My cat isn't allowed in the bathroom without me after 14 rolls of toilet paper were found shredded into 1/2-inch pieces. Our cats like to sleep on bags. Not IN them, just sitting on top. Purses, grocery bags, the occasional wallet. My cats are a little off in the head.
-miao.

[Courtney]

ohh good luck Maddie and good luck Mom! I am dreading sending Conner off for the first time. hope it all goes well!

[pinky]

Clearly I'm weird, since no one else has asked this question:

what did you do with all that non-lice-related mayo?

Tuna salad? Egg salad? Chicken salad?

Hair mask? Creamy facial?

[Nancy]

Pinky: I think I have to raise my hand as the weird one here. I go through that size vat of Hellman's every two weeks.

It's tomato season. Hellman's is integral to tomato season.

Not to mention tuna salad; egg salad, cheese sandwiches, dipping stoned wheat thin crackers; the list goes on.

'Tis my favourite condiment.

[Heatherg]

I have mayo standards, i cannot eat generic mayo. It has to be Kraft. There are no exceptions in our home! lol
and
Your gonna hate me for this, but when school begins, lice goes around again so start early and hairspray Madisons hair every morning. Lice in our childrens school usually goes around once in the first month and then we dont see the little bastard creatures again until next year!

Not trying to scare you or throw you into alcoholism, just take the hairspray precautions and hope for the best.

Also, did you get permission to post that photo with all those *other* kids in it?
ooooooo- you gonna be in trouble again!

Seriously-
Congrats on making it through summer and ya-hoo for Madison for being such a big girl!!

[Dana]

I am lucky enough to be buying ginormous vats of mayo on a regular basis. With 4 boys, it's just more practical. I especially loved when my 3 year old dumped a bag of cheetos in our vat o'mayo. Thank God you're rid of it! Maddie sure looked cute....from the back!

[Neil]

Anyone know why they call Hellman's mayo as Best Foods mayo here in California? Same exact stuff, much more boring name. Maybe it was the "hell..."

[Jennifer]

That picture makes me weepy. Good for Maddie.

And Neil? "At the same time that Hellmann's® Mayonnaise was flourishing in the east, Best Foods, Inc., introduced mayonnaise to Californian consumers. As Hellmann's® expanded on the east coast, Best Foods® proved to be a smashing success in the west. It was nearly inevitable then, that in 1932, Richard Hellmann Inc., was acquired by Best Foods, Inc. To this day, Hellmann's® Mayonnaise is sold east of the Rockies and Best Foods® Mayonnaise is sold west."

You asked. I had to find out.

[Angel]

Congrats on conquering the Mayo and making it through another summer ;)

My cat loved to sit in the sink, thanks for the site :*)

[jenB]

creamy facial. i am so hoping you were using the mayo for a creamy facial.

i should be banned from commenting, clearly.

maddie looked so cute and grow'd up. *sniff* i love that hair cut.

[Linda]

You made my head itch. It's the L word. No, no- don't say it, please.

I just blogged a bit recently about our lice issues http://justlinda.blogspot.com/2005/08/pillow-fight.html -am I allowed to post a link???). Namely, the imaginary lice that will NOT go away (they don't bother anyone else in my family, just me).

So, will buying a vat of mayo make them go away? haha

[Taamar]

Yeah, cats like sinks.

Hey, have you seen www.stuffonmycat.com? Much laughter.

[beth]

True story: When I was a kid I met someone who told me that she once sat down and ate an entire jar of mayonaise and then she found out it was made of eggs and she never ate it again. Her story really grossed me out at the time, and it took me a few years to really warm up to mayonaise again.

[Jen]

Thank you, Jennifer, for the demystification of the Hellman's/Best Foods issue. As an East Coast transplant to California, I've been perplexed for years about the different names, and the fact that they even use the same ad jingle, "Bring out the (Hellman's/Best Foods), and bring out the best!" It was a valuable educational moment.

[Torrie]

That. Is a lot. Of Mayonaisse.