Apoplectic O, sick J, slightly ragged E

Oh my. I'm not sure I've ever seen Oliver throw a tantrum like this. He's not much of a tantrum kid; in fact, he's pretty laid back nearly all the time. At present, however, he's crazy as Chucky, as different from his usual self as Jeckyll was from Hyde. It was literally impossible to brush his teeth, so I finally just put him in his crib and left the room. He's screeching about wanting to get out. Really, intensely nuts. In my non-reactive reaction to him, I was reminded of how differently I'd have behaved, probably did behave, with Jack. First child-second child. Interesting. In the meantime, J has quite the fever and feels awful. I gave him a hot bath and some medicine but I don't have high hopes for tonight. Fortunately, I got to sneak out for a pedicure this afternoon - A Oui Bit of Red is a terrific new OPI color - and am feeling damn lucky about that.While I thought T returned home tomorrow around 2, it's actually closer to 5 or 6. Fantastic.

Off to put something together for dinner and enjoy a glass of wine.

Beans are done and look wonderful, Wms-Sonoma deal

If you need anything from Wms-Sonoma, they are offering free shipping on all orders today-Monday. Use code: PRESIDENTS at check-out. Also, all sale items are an extra 20% off. I got a Staub saucepan for 65 or 70% off!!! The boys and I have had such a nice, mercifully calm morning. It is a stunningly gorgeous, warm day here, so we spent some time working in the yard after building a construction vehicle garage (incredibly big actually due to the extensive collection of "constructions" they've amassed), putting together a kaleidoscope (cool), and watching a little TV. During the boob tube breaks, I cooked these beans which, all in, take about 3 hours. Lovely. I couldn't find fresh cipollini onions yesterday so made do with frozen pearl onions -seems to be totally fine- and the thyme, bay leaf and sage-scented stew flecked with pancetta is really nice. It just feels healthy, and I know it'll stick to my ribs.

Best-ever eco stain stick is back, braised cranberry beans

I must alert you to one of my favorite green products that I've not been able to find in ages but which has just reemerged on soap.com: the Ecover stain remover. It works like a charm, is biodegradable, and is made from plant-based ingredients. I also must admit that after a relatively austere dinner of a salmon burger and tomato & daikon salad, I enjoyed 4 or 5 madeleines for dessert. They are beyond! Heh. Also last night I set up a pot of dried cranberry beans to soak overnight. Today I'll be making a batch of braised beans with cipollini and herbs. Divine. Kids a'calling. More later.