We are finally on the mend here at the Harriet household. AJ is almost back to his exuberant self, although he has developed a husky little voice that makes me want to give him anything he asks for. To celebrate his newly returned state of perkiness, I hauled him off to do some shopping for school clothes this morning, which he actually seemed to enjoy. He was particularly happy about a new pair of black shiny dress shoes. After trying them on in the store, he refused to take them off and went goose-stepping around the place, stopping in front of every mirror to admire his fancy feet. As a treat, I took him to the toy store afterwards. Note to self: NEVER take a two-year-old to Toys R Us. It was all too much. He walked in and saw the towers of toys and aisles and aisles of flashing lights and buttons waiting to be pushed and something in his little head exploded. He didn�t know what to do and whenever he started to play with one thing, he got upset because he was sure he was missing out on something better. In the end I just grabbed a toy I thought he�d like and headed out. He was very happy. That�s really what he wanted all along. I really should have known better.

In an organizational coup, I actually started cooking dinner at lunchtime. I am quite proud of myself for getting ahead of the game and not forcing myself into a last minute sprint around the kitchen like I usually do. I�m cooking a large vat of split-pea soup. The soup itself smells wonderful, but for some reason it is spreading a strange aroma around the rest of the house that smells curiously similar to a wet dog. I�m mystified as to why this is happening, but it is undeniable. I�m sure there�s a chemistry experiment in there somewhere.

I had a great cyber-meeting with my thesis advisor and am now on a tear to finish editing this chapter before next week�s conference, so I�d better get back to work. But before I do, I thought I�d share this site I came across while digging for some data on the history of Navy Pier. It�s sites like this with a ton of great old pictures of Chicago that make me love the internet.

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