1. If you see something, say something. Last week, A came home from work and told me he thought he heard someone locked in the trunk in the car next to him, maybe like some teenagers were fooling around, and should he call 911? I hesitated a moment, then told him if it was my kid, I’d want him to call. This week, as I was driving home from dropping Z at school, I saw a brush fire off the highway. Again, I hesitated, figuring someone else would make the call, but did it. In both cases, we were the first report.

2. Sometimes, when my toddler is making me absolutely crazy, I sing the soft kitty song to myself. Don’t judge, it helps.

3. Zanna’s current obsession is boats. I took her down to the marina this week to see the boats go to bed. She had a blast running around.

4. Bar exam results came out this Friday, at 6 pm. As an afternoon distraction, Z and I went on a sunset toddler hike with Hike It Baby. The kids walked almost the whole way up, stopping frequently, of course, to pick up sticks and rocks, run backwards, and look at the poop on the trail. They were really, really into the poop. (I passed, and am thrilled to have that done and over with.)

5. I’ve become an unexpected Six Flags convert. My parents didn’t take us to amusement parks much, probably because they’re so flipping expensive. So even though there’s a Six Flags in the town we live in, I didn’t contemplate going. Until the 2016 tickets went on crazy sale. I am now a full-on believer in amusement parks for the toddler set. They’ve got a ton of kid rides, lines so far have been completely reasonable, and I’ve never had problems bringing in toddler snacks. If you’re in the area, you should do it.

Closing Tabs

I’ve been trying to come up with a better name for these than Monday Roundup, but “Monday Funday” is a lie and “Monday Blues” is to depressing. Feel free to put suggestions in the comments.

Vegetables are totally underrated, kids. You can do really fantastic things with them. Like this pineapple bourbon sweet potato casserole or this savory roasted vegetable crumble.  We’re in charge of vegetables for Thanksgiving this year, so you might see one or both of these. On a side note, I’m on the lookout for good recipe blogs.  If you have one you follow, let me know.

Mental illness has a tendency to be invisible, especially when someone appears put together externally. Esme Weijung Wang talks about Fashioning Normal.

While I won’t deny that there’s a small part of me hoping Z will be a prodigy kid, like this 14 year old rock climber, mostly I just want her to be happy and have a real childhood.

My views on tipping servers changed after I started dating a chef and learned how little they make. I think Danny Meyer is making the right move by abolishing tipping, and would love to see this spread.

I’m pretty sure the family that got the shout out from Patrick Rothfuss here is ours. Presents have definitely gotten less important to me as I’ve gotten older.  8, 16, and 24 year old me would all be shocked by that statement, but it’s true.  Spending time with my family and friends is pretty much all I need to keep me happy these days.

That’s it from me. What interesting bits of the internet have you come across this week? What are you looking forward to making for Thanksgiving?