Chili Cook-off

The undergraduates host a chili cook-off every year during the "dead days"...and this year it's being held tomorrow, so my chili is currently brewing in the kitchen and it smells so good!. Maybe next year both Matt and I can enter a "team" since we cook our chili so differently. Mine is "yankee chili" with beans - three different kinds...yummy!!!, which Matt won't allow me to make at any point in time unless I'm taking it to a pot luck or something. His chili is southern chili and doesn't include beans. I do; however, have another member for my once one person team - one of the undergrads was around when I was trying to turn in my entry form and fee and said that she didn't have a team but volunteered to be on mine. Whoo hoo! So we're "Hapester & Catanach" - not a really catchy name, but I wasn't in creative-mode today, I was in productive mode...and did get quite a bit done...not everything on my to-do list, but 5 of the 8 things off of it that I had ear-marked for today (and quite a few that had never made it onto that list). Not too shabby for trying out that new technique learned in that workshop last week (and the technique isn't a to-do list...those of you who know me know quite well that I have those with me virtually ALL of the time). It's more of a to-do time allocation management list, and I haven't fully implemental all aspects of this system at this point in time. Phases Rebecca, phases.

Anyway...I have never actually made it to the Chili Cook-off, so I'm excited to see how the turn-out will be for tomorrow. I hope for their sake that the turn-out will be a good one...When I talked with the president earlier today, he only mentioned 5 teams, including mine, so I'm hoping that there were more teams that had signed up that he didn't know about. I'm not thinking that we'll win or anything like that (my chili isn't a hot chili), but I just think it's nice to support them in what they're trying to do. I'm supposed to be in two places at once tomorrow, so I'll enter the contest and stay for a little while there, then leave to go to the COALS advisor meeting and just make it over to that a little late, which shouldn't be too much of a problem.

As for Kellen...He woke up on the wrong side of bed this morning, but his Daddy got to deal with him and get him dressed for school. We're still counteracting the effects of the grandparents, I think, because he wanted to watch everything on TV, or what he wanted he wanted right then, etc. He was just being a bear! I don't think he actually got a swat, but it was pretty close. He had a rough morning, because Matt had brought him into bed at I don't know what time...and I finally had enough at about 5 and took him back to his room and put him back to bed, and he went back to sleep, amazingly enough. So he just had an overall rough morning, so it was somewhat understandable that he wasn't acting like himself.

After work, I got to daycare to be told that he had successfully poo poo'ed in the potty today...and had a nice little sticker on his shirt as a reward. When asked if he had done so, he replied quite proudly, "Yes. Kellen poo poo potty!" I once again do NOT understand what world warp we go through when we leave daycare that he does so well there and NOT at home. Will I ever understand this?

There are some days when all I want to do is have him sit in my lap and I wish he would just let me snuggle with him...but alas, it seems that those days are over now. He only does that on rare occasions when he feels like it, and usually that's when he doesn't feel well, so although I enjoy snuggling with him, I don't like for him to feel poorly. I just wanted to snuggle with him tonight as I broke rules and let him watch the Charlie Brown Christmas special on TV (which doesn't help the overcoming grandparent rule-bending weekend, but oh well!). He was being so sweet, but no such luck. I managed a hug and a quick sit down on the lap, but that was about the extent of it. He did; however, enjoy the show...and asked for more when it was over. Too cute!