Friday, June 30, 2006

Who is this fat slob wearing my clothes and playing with my toys?

When we signed up at the YMCA a couple of weeks ago, I was thrilled with the idea of having more options available for play times with the kids. During the school year we sometimes get into a rut, going to the same parks and playing with all of the same kids. So it will be nice to have our kids around a new group of kids once in a while.

But I was most excited by all of the really cool looking equipment in the fitness center. Treadmills, ellipticals and free weights, oh my. Since we joined, I have been up there several times. But I have been trying to take it a little easy, no need to hurt myself while I try to get back into decent shape.

Today I started a 6 week fitness program with a personal trainer. After asking lots of questions about diet and exercise the trainer did a couple of basic fitness tests, a body fat pinch test, a bench press strength test and a 3 minute step test. Guess what. I am fat and out of shape. Ti was a real ego boost to see those results.

Let's just say he could pinch a lot more than an inch and I think I started crying while I was bench pressing 80 pounds as many times as possible in 60 seconds.

Anyways, to celebrate my girth, we ran out (OK, we drove over to Lowes) and bought a new lawn mower. This one isn't self-propelled, so I guess I can get a little more exercise while I lug the Troy-Bilt up and down the hills.

Or maybe I'll just have a stroke and you can bury my weak fat ass in the tall grass.

Thursday, June 29, 2006

Bye Bye Birkies

May we have a moment of silence to show some respect to my favorite footwear?

It is time to ditch my favorite pair of Birkenstocks. I thought they could be re-soled and live for another few summers. But it's the professional opinion of the local repair shop that they COULD be repaired. For a price. Which happens to be about $30 more than a brand new pair.

So I'll be heading out to the dumpster in a little while and I'll be coming back bare-footed and sad.

After all, these sandals have been with me since before I became AtHomeDaddy. The Talker was only five months old when I bought them. I did not become a stay at home dad until a few months later. And that is when the Birks got broke in real good. I am pretty sure I went months without wearing socks or other shoes, except to church.

The kids and I walked a million miles around the neighborhood and visited almost every park for 25 square miles. All while I wore my brown Birks. I had them on when The Princess was born. When The Talker went to the ER. When The Princess went there, too. A couple of different times. And when we all watched The Boss Lady roll by on a stretcher a couple of weeks ago, my favorite shoes were there.

Since buying my first Birkenstocks, I have gotten two more pair, both tan. And they are worn out too. But if I am in a hurry, like if someone needs to go to the Emergency Room, I always go back to the first pair.

So I guess if The Boss Lady will jar loose of $100 I'll be walking my bare-footed sad self over to the sandal store to start a relationship with a new pair of Birks.

Hello Birdies

We found some mockingbird eggs in a hanging plant on our front porch a while back. The kids and I have been peeking into the nest once in a while to keep tabs on the eggs.



I was a little worried that Momma Mockingbird had become kitty chow. I have not gotten dive bombed in several days and I had not heard a peep out of her for a couple of days.

A few days ago The Princess wanted to see the eggs so I pulled the hanging plant down and was surprised to find three babies. They were not all crammed together in the nest; they had lots of room, so I guess they were newly hatched. I did not get around to snapping a baby picture until this morning. The are really crammed in the nest now.



Here is a close-up shot. It is a little blurry, because Momma Mockingbird decided to divebomb my head while I was taking the picture. Glad to see she is taking care of the babies. But I am even more glad that she missed my melon.

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Halfway through a busy week

The Talker is going to Vacation Bible School this week. And just to make sure it sinks in, he is going to two different ones.

Our church just opened a new recreation center and they are having VBS there. The Talker did not want to miss out on all of the cool stuff they have, from bouncers to canoeing and indoor rock climbing, so we signed him up along with 1200 of his close friends. He is there all week, from 10am-2pm.

A neighbor's church does VBS a little differently. They have a neighborhood group at their house and at member's houses all over town. So their VBS is in the backyard each evening. The Talker goes down there from 7-8:30pm each night.

On Monday the whole family swam at the YMCA's outdoor pool for a couple of hours in between Bible schools. By bed time we were worn out. The Talker most of all.

The Princess and I have been getting some good one on one time during all of this biblical chaos. Monday she and I went to the Y for a couple of hours in the morning. Today we are off to the Children's Museum for a few hours after we drop big brother off. After naps we will probably all end up back at the pool.

Luckily, The Boss Lady is working short days this week. And then she is home all next week. Not much of a summer break, but at least next week won't be so busy.

Monday, June 26, 2006

Bring on the visitors

About 30 minutes before JB called on Sunday afternoon, I had given up. The house was a total loss for the weekend and we would be starting another week living in a toxic waste dump. No big deal. It has surely been worse in the past , but it still takes the wind out of my sails to start the week this way.

Then JB called from 20 miles up the road. He would be at the house in less than an hour.

The kids and wife were asleep, so I thought I could make the living room/dining room/kitchen presentable in short order. But then the size of the huge mess hit me so I called up reinforcements. The Boss Lady and I dove head first into the piles.

And in 30 minutes, with about 5 minutes to spare, the main part of the house was not only passable, it looked durn good. Our bedroom? Don't ask. The clutter had to go somewhere. But we just skipped that part of the house tour and no one cared.

Amazing how much cleaning a couple of lazy slobs can get done under the pressure of a surprise attack. I mean visit. Attack better describes what The Talker and The Princess did when they found JB sitting on the couch.

Saturday, June 24, 2006

Garage Clearance Sale. Everything must go.

I am quickly clearing out the garage. The gas dryer has been replaced and the old one promised to a neighbor. Another neighbor has dibs on the treadmill. Soon, the Salvation Army will haul away the old washer.

No real reason for the summer cleaning, other than getting rid of some clutter. But if you see something you like, make me an offer.


In other family news, we joined our neighborhood YMCA last night. It is a nice facility with indoor and outdoor pools, a nice gym, a huge workout center and lots of family classes and events. Did I mention the hot tub? It's hot in the hot tub. And a lot cheaper than buying one of our own.

To celebrate we all hit the indoor pool last night for a couple of hours. It was really nice since they have a 3-4ft deep pool just for kids and swim lessons. Both kids can touch bottom and play without lifejackets in a big area.

This morning I went over again. I rode one of the recumbent bikes for about 40 minutes. The equipment in the fitness center was really nice and I really dig the TVs broadcasting over FM frequencies. My nice clean MP3 player really came in handy.

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Wash. Rinse, Dry. Rock out. Repeat.

My Sansa m240 MP3 player survived a ride in the new clothes washer. After drying out overnight, it is playing fine this morning. The first time I tried to boot it up, it locked up. Thought it was gone, but I tried it later and it started up just fine.

So, if you plan on throwing your MP3 player in 40 gallons of warm soapy water, you could do worse than to buy a SanDisk player. Mine may not be as trendy or sexy as an iPod, but I bet your iPod could not even survive the gentle cycle. Plus, mine cost less than $100 and it is lemony fresh smelling now. Yours? I thought not.

By the way, can I borrow your iPod for about 45 minutes? I just want to check something on it.

Garden Bonaza



Not a bad harvest for two mornings from two tomato plants, six or seven bean plants, a handful of carrot seeds and three onion sets that a neighbor shared with me early in the spring.

Now if I could sell these things for $127.45 a pound, I MIGHT break even.

Tomato aficionados might notice that some of the fruit are still a little green. The birds get 'em if I don't pick them a little early. The Boss Lady says they don't taste as good, but I hate 'matos, red green or otherwise. But I hate it more when the birds peck holes in them and I get squishy tomato guts all over me when I pull them off of the vine.

The To Do list

The Boss Lady has been gone since Tuesday morning. She should be home sometime this afternoon. The kids and I are ready, believe me. Last week she was gone for 4 days. And she did not get home a moment too soon.

Anyways, last week I had the house ready for her arrival. It was not spotless, but passably clean and straightened. Clean sheets on all of the beds and the floors were freshly vacuumed. The kid's rooms were fairly organized and I had even folded AND put away the laundry. Which after 4 years as a Stay at Home Dad, is the one chore I still REALLY can't stand to do.

Today? There is a couch somewhere under that pile of laundry over there. If she wants to sit down, I guess she can fold clothes until she finds a seat.

And the rest of the house? The vacuum is still sitting in the corner where I left it when I was preparing for The Boss Lady's last arrival. The clean sheets are still on the beds So I guess they no longer qualify as clean sheets. And the rest of the house is an absolute disaster.

We might get around to cleaning the house a little today but I doubt it. It is kind of overcast and cool outside so we most like be found floating away the morning in the neighbor's pool after the USA World Cup Game.

Welcome home, Boss. Feel free to fold yourself up a nice cozy spot on the couch.

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Are you ready to tumble?

Which one of the following does not really belong at the bottom of a load of laundry that just finished spinning in the new machine?

Three pair of blue jeans

Two swimsuits

One white sock

Two pair of Batman underwear

My SanDisk MP3 player

It may not belong in there, but it IS sparkly clean now... I guess I'll let it skip the dryer ride and just give it a few days to dry out before I see if it still works.

Passing on the neighborhood dryer

I just finished installing the new clothes dryer. I bought a washer and dryer set from a friend who is moving out of state. It was a great deal that we could not pass up. Plus, for the first time in my adult life, there is a matched washer and dryer in the house.

I plumbed up the washer the other day, because ours is rusting away. But our dryer was working fine, so I put off that swap until today. I just rebuilt the dryer in the spring after we bought it for $50 from a neighbor. Now it is headed to that side of the neighborhood again.

Other Dad is taking the gas dryer to replace his old electric. His family lives just two doors up from where we bought the dryer in December.

Now I just hope it keeps working good for them because they are friends of ours. And we never seem to be out of old dryers around here, but I would sure hate to run out of friendly neighbors.

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Too much fun for this early in the week.

After a huge scary problem that worked itself out, and that I won't detail further here, The Boss Lady and I were both asleep before 10pm last night. Good thing I got my rest, since she is off to a conference for the rest of the week.

I am not sure what happened, but the kids were angels today. No whining. No fighting. No yelling.

All right, who replaced my kids with Folger's crystals?

Monday, June 19, 2006

Uncle Lemon rides again

Take a man's tractor away from him and this is what happens...

Sunday, June 18, 2006

It is like Christmas around here.

Father's Day just keeps going around here. When I ran to pick up lunch, the restaurant was passing out free caps to all the dads who came in. So Dad and I both got caps that say "World's Best Dad". I guess we will have to battle to the death some day to decide who actually deserves to wear the hat.

And once Mom and Dad headed home, I ran to the south side of town to pick up another of my Father's Day presents. A used washer and dryer set. They are a lot better than what we have now, and maybe I can sell our old ones for truck parts money. Besides, since I do almost all of the laundry around here, I am glad to have a washer that isn't rusting away.

And we are about to finish Dad's Day at the baseball park. Hot dogs and sodas at the ball park, now that is a good way to start a week.

Saturday, June 17, 2006

Happy Dad's Day

To all of my pals who are dads, Happy Father's Day a couple of hours early. Along those lines, I got my Father's Day Present tonight. Here is the left overs.



It will take me a while to get all of this packaging thrown away. But it was a big box and it took an hour and a half to put together, so you know it is a good gift.



Yep. I got a see saw for Father's Day. I have seen them for six months or so at Costco, but they finally went on a clearance sale. So the family met me up there this evening so that I could drive the Saturn. Without kid's car seats I was able to fold down the back seats and just barely squeeze the big box in for the ride home.

The best part of the gift was having The Talker help while I assembled the see saw. He held tools and brought me parts when I needed them. And he stayed out there the entire time I was working.

And by the smiles on their faces, it looks like I got a gift that everyone will enjoy.





After the kids were in bed, The Boss Lady and I moved it to the back yard. NOw it is one more reason for every kid in the neighbor hood to want to hang out over here.

Friday, June 16, 2006

Fire the Rocket!

Tonight Roger Clemens is pitching for the Round Rock Express.

If that sentence does not make any sense to you, then go away. Thank you. Come Again.

The Boss Lady and I are splitting season tickets with Uncle Lemon, so we would be getting to watch the action form some prime seats. If we hadn't given tonight's tickets away a month or more ago. And no, it did not help that the people who had the tickets are big Astro's fans.

This is The Rocket and he is pitching 150 feet from our seats.

After the people offered all of the tickets back, we finally decided to take two of them, so Uncle Lemon and I will be out there. The Boss Lady gets to spend some quality time with the kids and we don't waste two awesome seats on the munchkins.

A good deal for everyone.

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Blogging away my free time

At some point during the last couple of days I followed a link from Darth Daddy's blog over to Margie's blog, Mix-Pix Awards.

While looking around over there I stumbled onto one of her posts that just cracked me up. Even now, when I went back to find the link to it, I am still cracking up.

And to top it all off, Mix-Pix Awards has the good sense to feature AtHomeDaddy's entry about the mad momma mockingbird as her newest entry.

Yeah for me.

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Day 4, Airport Run

The Talker and I went out to the airport tonight to pick up The Boss Lady. Her flight arrived about half an hour later than scheduled. But because of my piss poor listening skills, it arrived about 3 hours after I THOUGHT it was going to land.

Turns out it is a really bad idea to tell the kids that Mommy will be home to read them bedtime stories if you haven't read the entire trip itinerary. And it is a REALLY, REALLY bad idea if you do it a dozen times or more during the day.

The kids were really bummed when I finally told them that they would have to wait until tomorrow to see Mommy. And I just could not stand the idea of The Boy falling asleep crying, so I took him with me and a friend stayed with the sleeping Princess

Everyone is home. The house is a wreck. The dog is barking and chewing on the kid's toys.

Life is normal.

At least until she leaves again for a few days in a couple of weeks...

Day 4, Movie Day!

It's not like we haven't watched a movie or two every day since The Boss Lady left but I took it to the WNL this morning. Mad TV fans might know about the WNL - whole 'nother level.

So how did I pick today's feature flick? I flipped over the DVD cases and found the movie that had the longest running time, 115 minutes. That is all I cared about, how long could I keep both kids occupied. Hey, I had a ton of laundry that I needed to fold before the wife comes home tonight.

So what movie was it?

Does it really matter?

If you are worried, I did finish folding laundry AND I got it all put away, too.

AND best of all, the movie is only halfway over. So we can cruise with it right up TNT!

Which is 'til nap time for those of you who are not as hip as me...

Don't Mess with Texas Mockingbirds!

A couple of nights ago I headed out side to toss a some trash in the dumpster. As soon as I stepped on the front porch, a momma Mockingbird, which if you follow the link you will learn that they are the state birds of Texas, came flying at my head. She was not happy to have me standing on the porch.

Turns out she has a nest and three eggs in one of my hanging plants. No wonder she was defending my porch so mightily.



This morning the kids and I were able to sneak a peek into her nest when she wasn't home. Hopefully they will hatch soon and momma will quit dive bombing me when I walk on the porch.

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Day Three ends in a draw

Well, the kids haven't won yet. But I can't gloat. 'Cause neither have I. They did get to bed at a decent hour, but we made that deadline by skipping baths and the rest of the night time routine.

It is 10pm and I am beat like a flat-topped step child.

Goodnight.

Day 3, Off to an early start

The Boss Lady and I have always been opposites. She is a morning person (after the second snooze alarm) and I am a night owl. Which work out pretty good for me on weekends. I stay up late watching TV and surfing the web and then in the morning I sleep until all hours of the morning have passed me by.

With The Boss out of town, I am trying to get to sleep earlier, so that I can be semi-conscious when the little ones wake up. 'Cause they both wake up FAST! From asleep to ready to play in .357 seconds.

So last night I put in Raiders of the Lost Ark as soon as the kids were down for the night. I figured I would not make it through the movie, since I was worn the hell out. But of course, I was still up playing on the 'net and watching Sports Center after midnight.

The first thing I heard this morning, at 6:13 am, was The Princess yelling "Daddy, I am up, come get me. Mommy, come get me! Bubba, I AM AWAKE, OPEN MY DOOR!"

But, even if she did wake me with a laugh, there was no chance she was getting out of there before 6:30.

Two minutes later I heard The Talker heading out on a rescue mission. "Hang on. I'll be right there after I go potty."

The boy has his priorities right...

Within 30 seconds I heard The Princess turn loose again, this time with an angle I could not ignore. "Help me, SOMEONE! I am stuck. HELP ME!!!"

I imagined her wedged underneath a piece of furniture or stuck between her bad and the wall. Something drastic. What I found was funny, but not injury-causing. She had climbed up on her play table and pushed her way through the mini blinds, to bang on her window and scream at the world.

I guess she had given up on her family. She must have been hoping that a neighbor would come to her aid and open her bedroom door so that her morning play could begin.

Monday, June 12, 2006

Day 2, Lesson Learned

This morning the kids and I went the movies. And this I vow. I will never take a child under 4 to a movie without the following:

Prozac - for me, myself and I - and a lot of it
Popcorn money - and a lot of it
A child sized set of theater seat restraints to keep the kid in place
A straight jacket in the smallest possible size for when the toddler decides to toddle around
A muzzle with a hole big enough for the toddler to drink through a straw and eat popcorn
At least two leashes - in case she chews through one of them
A set of ear protection for everyone else in the theater - for when the two year old gets bored and decides to sing her ABC's really, REALLY LOUD!
A wife, babysitter or perfect stranger - someone to pawn a kid or two off on an hour into the show

Besides all that, the movie was OK. The Talker loved it. I was a little too busy with the other child to pay much attention to the flick.

47 hours until The Boss Lady's plan is scheduled to touch down.

Day 1, Done

The kids and I had a good time yesterday, as evidenced by the fact that everyone in the house was still asleep at 7 am. Now at 7:30, I am the only one awake.

I must have worn them out good with playing in the yard and swimming with friends for several hours before dinner. Today we are off to see Cars and hopefully find a lot of fun stuff to do this afternoon.

But before all that we need to run to the grocery store. There is no way I can be out of Dr Pepper with two and a half days to go...

Sunday, June 11, 2006

Quantity time with the family

The Boss Lady left an hour ago for four days at a conference in Las Vegas. So the kids and I will be seeing a lot of each other until Wednesday night. Especially since they were both up 45 minutes early this morning.

Oh, It is going to be a load of fun around here this week. Wanna come watch the chaos and maybe take the kids to Mc Donalds for a few hours?

But it is a good week for her to be gone. World Cup Soccer is on three times a day. NASCAR is on this afternoon. The NBA finals might need a little attention this evening. And the kids and I are heading to see Cars in the morning.

So while the wife is out gambling away the kid's college funds, which should only take about 5 minutes, we will have plenty of fun right here. So hurry and let me know if you want to come vist or babysit for a couple of days.

Thursday, June 08, 2006

Is it Happy Belated Blog Day?

Or maybe it should be Happy Blog-iversary. Anyways, I started this blog 2 years ago yesterday, with these four posts.

Welcome to AtHomeDaddy!

Today's schedule, It's rigorous..

The Rest of the Story

Thanks for that!

And this memorable post, Next Time, I'll Take a Spatula, was the first one that someone I did not know commented on. I thought I had made the blogger big times!

So this thing started before one kid was sleeping through the night and before we switched dogs and cars a couple of times. Ah the memories... But what I am really wondering now is, who the hell has time to post four times a day to a blog?

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

The AtHomeDaddy Fan Club

Has held it's first couple of meetings this week. And boy, is it tough being the Mayor of the club.

The neighbor's grandsons are hanging out with her this summer. They are 5 and 8 but the 8 year old could pass for 12 easily. The fiver is ALL about being five. He is a sassy little smart mouth know it all. My kind of kid. Somedays.

The problem is that Grandma works nights, so the boys are looking for something to do in the mornings while she is asleep. Yesterday they came over and played out front with us for an hour or more. Everybody was good and The Talker loved having big boys over to play.

While they were playing, the five year old saw our playscape through the fence. But the back yard has been needing a mow for a long time. The skeeters are so bad that I think they set up a landing strip back there. Anyways, I was finally motivated to mow the back yard. Nothing like having a herd of kids from 2 to 8 guilt you into doing your chores.

Yesterday afternoon the boys heard us playing in the backyard, so they came over. This is when I found out about the 5 year old's bossy side. I had to remind him several times that The Talker is indeed allowed to play on his own playscape. When he tried to play along with the older kids, The Talker was sent away by the younger brother several times.

Finally, when I was really getting tired of trying to teach Jr. the house rules, the older brother took charge and they headed back to grandma's.

So now I have to figure out how much playtime these guys are going to get over here. I don't want to provide free baby sitting, but I don't ever mind kids coming over if they can follow our simple rules. And from what I've seen so far, Jr. might have a problem getting with the AtHomeDaddy Program. Big Brother is proving to be a good model for the little kids. And I really want The talker to see more of him in action.

The Talker's View

I created a Flickr account for The Talker's photos. Go there to check them out.

And here is a teaser...

Stream of semi-consciousness

I once had a college professor who would start each class talking for a few minutes about whatever was on his mind. And if no one interrupted his thought, he would talk for the hour about lots of unrelated things and then dismiss the class. He called it a stream of consciousness. I called it an easy 8 am class.

Not surprisingly, I made an 'A' in that creative writing class. But it is a little surprising that I don't remember ever actually writing any papers.


Anyways, in the mindset of that class, here are a few things I have been meaning to blog about but haven't gotten around to...

When we were loading up to go to Pop's house last Friday morning, I heard a bird squawk . It sounded odd and when I looked that direction, I saw a Red Tailed Hawk swoop down and snatch a mockingbird right out of the air. It flew off over our house and several mocking birds gave a short chase. Cool!

When I was fishing Friday afternoon at Pop's pier, the fishing was lousy. And I saw why late in the day. The bay is protected from the main part of the Gulf of Mexico, so lots of small fish live there. But that invites dolphins in. And there were several dolphins eating sushi in the bay that afternoon. Cool!

At one point, when we were heading home, The Boss Lady was trying to get The Talker to chill out and be quiet. She asked, "Son, where is your quiet voice?" His response sounded like something out of a horror movie "The quiet voice is GONE!" Cool! I have often wondered if the boy is possessed.

Yesterday, when the kids and I were out running errands, I was needing a few minutes of quiet. The Princess was happy, playing with a Leap Frog toy. And the boy was needing something to keep him still. So I gladly paid $200 for a quiet 30 minutes in the car. I gave him my digital camera and I showed him how to take pictures. He shot 60 pics in about 15 minutes. So when I get around to it, I'll upload some of his pictures. Interesting stuff.

Well, that about does it for this morning. Class dismissed.

Monday, June 05, 2006

Damn.

I should probably just end this blog entry with the title.







But I am not a man who chooses to use only a few words, so here goes...

We got home from a long weekend yesterday afternoon. On the way home The Boss Lady and I were planning the rest of our busy week. She is leaving Sunday morning for four days at a conference. So big fun will be had right here at home during that time. And if the conference is boring, I guess the wife can skip out and find something to do. After all, she is heading to Las Vegas. How the hell do I get sent to a four day conference in Vegas?

Then, when the week was looking hopelessly busy already, we found out that to fly out this morning on a quick trip home to attend a funeral. She will be back tomorrow night, so I guess today/tonight/tomorrow is like a warm up for the kids and I.

After taking the kids to the grocery store at 8 this morning, the park at 10, running errands all over town at 3, the baseball game at 6 tonight and back home and into the tub at 8:30, we really needed the extra warm up day.

Now, the kitchen is trashed, the car is filthy and still full of stuff from our road trip and daily errands and it is a couple of hours before I usually head to bed. But I am down for the count and the piles will be waiting for me in the morning.

And maybe for The Boss Lady after she gets home from Las Vegas in 9 days.

Sunday, June 04, 2006

The Flounder Fumble

We headed down to Pop's fishing shack on Friday morning. By 1:30 I was already 'sitting on the dock of the bay, wasting tiii-iiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-iiiiiiii-ime....'.

Got skunked Friday on the trusty rod and reels. But the sail line was loaded with Gafftopsails. I don't get to fish in the bay often and when I do I usually go after Reds and Flounder.

SO when I pulled in a couple of small gafftops, I tossed them back. Then later, I landed one big gafftop, but I did not want to clean one fish, so I tossed it back. Of course, when I finished reeling the sail line in, there were two more nice sized gafftops, and several smaller ones. But by then I was really wanting to find the flounder, so I put all of the gafftops back.

Saturday we went to a family barbecue. More about that later. But no fishing all day.

This morning I finally landed a nice flounder. We would have been eating great tonight. But right after I unhooked him, I fumbled the fish and he flopped right back into the drink.

I decided that fish for dinner did not sound so great, so I packed it in and we headed home. Fishless.

But I did find a gas station that sells Dr Pepper with real Imperial Pure Cane Sugar in it, so I brought home a handful of those instead. Yum.