The Upside of Late Summer

Summer may be coming to an end, but it keeps the ice cream on the cone for a little longer.

The Upside of Stale Bread

While stale bread is a reminder of the wasteful lifestyles that many of us lead, the anguish can be alleviated by knowing that that bread is not going to go to waste.  Feeding ducks is not only a great way to reduce your waste, but also improves you hand/eye coordination and reflexes, as the ducks are pretty aggressive.

The Upside of Driving in Southwest Florida: Waffle House

If Disney World is the jewel of America's Southern states, then the Waffle House has to be the grease on that jewel that, no matter how you try, doesn't come off. As far as Ava and Mae were concerned this introduction to diner eating couldn't have come at a better time, during the height of their waffle obsession. Ava is up to 3 a morning and Mae Mae can easily gum her way through 1-1/2. My only fear is that they won't be able to go back to Eggo's.

The Upside of Volleyball: Ball, No Shoes, Sand

Margret and I tried to explain the Olympics to Ava while watching volleyball. She looked up at as and said "She is great at playing ball." When I asked if she would like to play volleyball she replied, "Do you play in sand?". I said yes. She said, "You don't have to wear shoes?". I said no. She said she would like to play. If it only somehow incorporated Dora, it would be the perfect sport.

The Upside of Snow: Snow Day

Ava and I took advantage of a snow day to break in her new winter wardrobe. Unfortunately, her foot has grown two sizes since we bought her boots. Nothing a couple of plastic baggies and some electrical tape can't fix. After rigging up her ghetto boots, we headed downtown Naperville to the sled hill. What I mistook at first for stage fright, I soon recognized that the snow was up to Ava's waist and she litterally couldn't take a step. We also broke in an early Christmas present (a blue sled from Grandma), we named it Rosebud...after a reoccuring movie reference from the Simpsons.