Jersey girl

You think David Chase is exaggerating, but then you see headlines like this: Body in Car Trunk in N.J. May Be Mobster.

Of course it is.

A great miracle happened here? Not so much

Slate ponders whether the Jews can save Christmas?

My favorite line:

Merchants who are waiting around for late Hanukkah shoppers will likely be disappointed. This year, as every year, the greatest Jewish contribution to the American Christmas season is likely to be Irving Berlin's White Christmas.

good point

Who does not love the charming adventures of the little boy Calvin and his friend the tiger Hobbes? This theoretical person, who does not love the Calvin and the Hobbes, the Manolo he does not wish to know.

The Manolo speaks the truth.

soooo tired

So, we're having our floors redone. We actually have very good quality carpeting in our living room and dining room, which was there when we bought the house. Except -- it's white. In the dining room. And I have two kids. And it's white.

We had no furniture in the living room for a while, so it didn't really matter. And it made a nice gymnastics floor for the Little Ballerina to practice her cartwheels and handstands. However, we've been in the house for almost three years now, and well, it looks a bit pathetic to have a big front room with nothing in it but a kids' tent, a sit 'n' spin and some Barbies.

So we finally we out and bought a couch, some chairs and an ottoman and coffee table.

Anyway, we pulled up the carpet, and there's quite nice hardwood underneath that's never been touched. Excellent. But the upshot is, we're out of the house for a few days while they sand and put down the polyurethane.

And then, last night at the hotel I made a disturbing discovery. Not only will the Heffalump no longer sleep in the portacrib, she can climb out of the portacrib. Oy. I put her down last night, and took the Little Ballerina in the bedroom, thinking "ok, she'll cry for a few minutes, then fall asleep" -- but no. After five minutes of crying I hear a little tap on the bedroom door, and there she is.

I tried to put them down together in the pullout couch, but that led to lots of giggling and hijinks, which, nice that they're playing together, bad that they're staying up so late on a school night. I finally got them both to sleep around 9 -- way late for them -- and go to sleep myself.

And then at 9:30 LawyerMan gets home.

And his key won't work.

And the ringer on the room phone is somehow turned off.

And I turned off my cell.

Eventually his tapping on the door woke up the Little Ballerina, who opened up the room door (she peaked through the window first and saw it was him, but oy, not good). But then it took another hour or so to get her back asleep.

And really, all I wanted was a couch.