To start today's blog, let's have a group exercise. Raise your hand if I have ever gotten into your car and immediately commandeered your radio/CD player/i-Pod. Yes, that's what I thought, I see all the hands of my college roommates, my family, and, waving proudly in the front row, Dan, who hasn't gotten to choose his own driving music for six years. I admit that I have a problem. I hate to listen to music that I don't like. I even hate to listen to music that I love, but am not currently in the mood to hear. I wish stores did not play music while you shop, because I can't choose to tune it out if I don't like it. I hate the new trend of cell phones playing songs to you instead of ringing while you wait on the other end for someone to pick up. If I wanted to hear a badly distorted Nickelback song, I would listen to the radio. But I don't. Ever. And that's why those of you who have had to cope with my control freakiness in this area over the years will so much love this story.

This afternoon, Dan and I were running around trying to get out the door to go to a cookout at the home of a friend. We were running a little late as a result of the refusal on the part of She Who Must Not Be Sleeping to take a nap. Another fun side effect of the naplessness was that she was in a super-cranky mood. We've recently been driving the smaller of our two cars around most places because the air conditioning in the larger car conked out and we are hoping we can get by without paying the absurd sum of money it will cost to fix it. Because of the size of Kate's car seat, which must be in the back seat, this means that the front seat is so close to the dashboard that I have to sit up straight so my knees don't dent the glove compartment. So after a rough afternoon on the baby front, we packed ourselves into this car like so many circus clowns and started backing out of the garage to go to the cookout. Kate's response to this was to start wailing inconsolably.

Faced with a 20-minute trek across town, we were pretty much desperate to think of something that would keep her happy. And so we did something I had been hoping I would never have to do: We unwrapped the Baby Signing Time audio CD that we were given for Christmas and we put into the CD player. Immediately, the car was filled with the chiming, chirpy sounds of the Baby Signing Time theme song, as sung by Rachel the Signing Time Lady and her backup choir of toddlers. In case you've never heard it, it goes like this: "Baaaby, baaaaby, Baby Signing Time! Baaaaaby Baaaaby Baby Signing Time!" Kate instantly stopped crying. I, on the other hand, turned to Dan and said in all seriousness,

"This is a real low point in my life."

And Dan laughed and laughed and laughed.