Sequel to Quantum Leap, Part I . . . you can read that if you click here.  

I made dinner in my own little bubble of happiness the other night.  Carter was taking a quick catnap and I stuck this puzzle in front of Brayden and said do this, or you’ll be grounded for the next five years.  And I don’t want to hear a peep out of you the entire time.  Errr. . . . just kidding.  I pulled it off the shelf (where it had about a quarter inch layer of dust on it) and said in my most exciting voice, Wow Brayden, a train puzzle! With animals! AND letters!  How much fun would it be if you did it right here, on the kitchen floor next to me, while I made dinner?  Daddy will be so proud of you when he comes home if you were able to do the whole thing all by yourself!  Think you want to try?!  

I was expecting a No thanks mommy, I’m gonna do [insert sport of choice] instead.   But was pleasantly surprised when instead he grinned from cheek to cheek and said, Yah! I’ll do it right here. Where he proceeded to plop down, dump the box out and work on the puzzle for the next ten minutes while crunching on an apple.  

And then I chopped potatoes, carrots, onions and beef with such fury that it seemed like my life depended on it while I had one child in a crib, the other one occupied by himself for only the fifth time in his entire life, and a little bit of Wiggles Nursery Rhymes blasting from the iPod in the background.  

What pure chaos.  But ahhh. . . such bliss.