Hello, Monday!  It was a crazy weekend after a crazy week – as usual.  We planned to host Nugget’s third birthday party this weekend because it was the only weekend that worked for my parents to come.  He had two requests: (1) Star Wars theme; and (2) his friend S – actually his sister’s bestie, but Nugget loves her too – would come.  We were able to make both happen, so he had a fabulous time.  Most of Saturday was spent running around and doing party-related tasks – pulling out decorations; starting the marshmallow storm troopers and the tiny TIE fighter cookies, etc. – and working, of course.  Sunday was all about our little Dark Lord of the Sith.  He wore his Darth Vader “costume” (it’s actually pajamas, but it has a cape) and ran around whacking people with an inflatable lightsaber.  We all laughed the entire time, and it was a perfect party (thanks, as well, to Zan, who came over early to distract the birthday boy while I finished stuffing the Darth Vader piñata and making “Obi-Wan Kebabis”).  After the party, we walked to the local elementary school playground with Nana and Grandad, and Peanut serenaded the entire block while Nugget stroked random kids’ faces.  We scared several children away from the playground.  What else is new?

Reading.  Despite another hectic week (and hectic weekend) I got some reading done.  Finished up Fire and Fury earlier in the week.  I was a little burnt out on politics after that, as you can probably imagine, but library deadlines dictated that my next read had to be Young Jane Young, a novel about a woman who was involved in a sex scandal as a Congressional intern, changes her identity, but finds her past returns when she runs for office herself.  It was a fun, light read and I blazed through it in less than twenty-four hours.  The current read (again decided by library deadlines) is Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel, which I have been wanting to read for more than a year now.  The science is fascinating and – somewhat unusual for this type of book – the writing is gorgeous.

Watching.  Over the course of Friday and Saturday, Steve and I finished up the first season of Victoria, which ended on a real high note.  Now we’re anxiously awaiting the second season dropping on Netflix – soon, Netflix, please!

Listening.  More podcasts this week.  Two stand out in particular – an episode of The Mom Hour on kindergarten readiness (having a rising kindergartener, I was more interested in the second half, which talked about how to help them prepare; the first half, on how to tell if they’re ready, was not interesting to me – mine has already done Junior Kindergarten twice, and there’s no question she’s headed to the full K in the fall, or I will go Red Ross on the principal).  And the other that stands out was the VERY FIRST EPISODE EVER of Those Park Guys Podcast!  I love Rock the Park, and I follow Jack and Colton on all social media channels, so I am so excited to have them in my earbuds.  I only got to listen to part of the episode, because I turned it on in the car, while running errands over the weekend, and Nugget immediately protested.  But they’ll be in my ears as I walk to the Metro today.

Making.  I made a Force-tastic Star Wars party for my Nugget this weekend, complete with marshmallow stormtroopers, Dagobah swamp water (mostly lemonade, with a little green juice to give it that delicious swamp color), a Death Star beach ball, a Darth Vader piñata – in short, everything you need for a bumping party.  Amirite?  He loved it.

Blogging.  All the random musings this week.  On Wednesday, I will rant about a totally overused book review phrase that guarantees I will not read the book, and on Friday, I have a pretty all-over-the-place collection of colorful pictures.  Check in with me then!

Loving.  I saw a tweet this morning from @TheTweetOfGod: “How come nobody talks about Jesus’s miracle of having 12 good friends in his thirties?” and I had to LOL.  I am so blessed in my friends.  This weekend, my house was full of some of my favorite people, who all came to celebrate little Nugget.  Including Zan, who as I mentioned above came over early to help (she’s always doing stuff like that – she’s the kindest, best person) and Rachel, a newer friend – we met less than two years ago and hit it off immediately – with whom I have shared lots of chatting and laughter, and a few rants, since moving back to D.C.  Having good friends is indeed a miracle, especially in this busy season of life when everyone is running in ten different directions all the time.  I love my friends.

Asking.  What are you reading this week?