Yesterday morning Caroline wanted to walk to school and I agreed because it is a rare morning that we’re actually ready in time to walk. It’s not that the walking takes so long as much as it is all the stopping to look at rocks or walking along the curb like it’s a balance beam. But we had plenty of time and I thought it would be a nice change from our usual morning routine of me bringing the car to a rolling stop and telling her to jump.
Of course that was before I walked outside and realized the humidity level was hovering around 184%. I’ve been in swimming pools that didn’t feel as wet as the air. Needless to say, things did not turn out well for my hair.
After I got home I drove over to my sister’s house to babysit my nephew, Luke. He is five months old which is right about the age that I find babies to be completely irresistible because their little thighs get all fat and they laugh at you with their little toothless grins, but they’re still content to sit and stare at a ceiling fan like it’s the best thing they’ve ever seen. And then they’re all “What is this? My foot? Oh I’m going to put it in my mouth because I can.” So it’s not really an inconvenience to spend a few hours getting a baby fix.
While I was there I watched The Today Show. Normally, it makes me feel like I might throw my shoe through the television to watch it for any amount of time, but they were doing a segment on foods that are supposed to make your stomach flatter and I was intrigued because who doesn’t want to know more about that? I will share my newfound flat stomach knowledge with you because I am all about sharing some science.
According to some girl on the show (I can’t remember her name or what qualifies her as an expert on this topic), there are a group of foods called MUFAs. At first I was confused because I wasn’t sure what the dad from The Lion King had to do with a flat stomach, but apparently it’s an acronym that stands for monounsaturated fatty acids. New research shows that eating MUFA foods can help you burn fat in your stomach area. And you know what the MUFAs are? Olive oil, nuts and seeds, avocados, olives, and dark chocolate. Are you kidding me? I EAT ALL THOSE THINGS. Why isn’t my stomach flatter? Is the science flawed or is it that I eat my avocados on top of tortilla chips covered in beans and cheese and my dark chocolate in syrup form over a bowl of ice cream? It’s hard to know.
Later in the day, the Cheetah Girls had our last practice of the season. I think they’ve really grown over the course of the season because they actually listened to P for at least three seconds before they all began twirling in circles or doing cartwheels while he tried to explain that the object of soccer is to score goals.
And then we came home, ate dinner, and got ready for bed.
As I tucked Caroline in, she reminded me that her library book is due tomorrow and we hadn’t read it yet because we’re in the middle of another book right now. She asked if I’d read it to her before bed, so I went in the kitchen and grabbed Shark and Dolphin by Rod Theodorou and Carole Telford. We snuggled in together and I began to read the first page:
“Many people think that sharks attack hundreds of people every year, but this is not true! Most species of shark are harmless. About 30 to 50 shark attacks are reported throughout the world each year. Far more people are killed by bees or in horse-riding accidents.”
What the heck? Worst bedtime story ever. Thanks for that, Mr. Theodorou.
In other news, we still haven’t caught the mouse. Which I find to be even more disturbing than bees or horses or why my stomach isn’t flatter considering my vast intake of avocados in the form of guacamole and chocolate in the form of anything edible.