My sounding board

I was whining to Jesse about some silly "mean girls" stuff that has been bugging me lately.

"I don't even know why this bothers me so much," I said.

"It bothers you because you're a girl," he said. "And a nice one at that."

This made me feel better for a while. A few hours later, I got in bed with something else on my mind.

"Since you understand that I'm a girl, I have something else that is really bothering me lately that I need to get off my chest," I said.

He put down his iPhone, got very serious, and said, "OK, what is it?"

I breathed a heavy sigh.

"Colored denim is coming back."

"And?" He asks, waiting for more.

"And I kind of like it."

And just like the first time, getting it off my chest made me feel much better.

Jones Family Finishing School

Today a cute boy came over to play with Penelope. She wasn't happy with me when she woke up from her nap, and he ran in to say hi while she was still groggy. There was much baby screeching and shameful chubby finger pointing in my direction. (What was I thinking letting a boy see her when she was so unkempt?!?)

After she calmed down, however, she became a total love-struck idiot. Honestly, you would think the girl had never seen another child before. I tried to use it as a good learning opportunity (it's never too early to learn how to interact). Lesson points for the afternoon:

• Don't just stare. Play it cool. Pick up a block or something.

• OK, talking is good, but nonstop excited yelling is not.

• Don't take things out of his mouth.

• Seriously, when he starts backing away from you uncomfortably, stop trying to stroke his face. (I have a personal experience with odd face-stroking on a date. It's never a good move.)

• It's not flattering to chase him around the apartment. When he hits a dead sprint, you may want to reconsider your approach.

Who knew how it took this much effort to teach social graces?

By the way, after he went home, she sat by the front door for a good ten minutes, staring at it, hoping he would return.