First, let me just say I love October because the weirdos within each of us feel free to creep on out...A few thoughts about our day so far:We left MOPs early this morning. Sophie paid in cash for her ticket on the strugggggle bus this morning....When this girl wants to nap, she wants to NAP. She was asleep within five minutes of turning on the car. MOPs runs from 9-11:30 a.m., and this girl usually naps for a solid hour around 10 or 10:30 a.m. every day. So, I need to figure out how to help her take her naps at childcare. At home, when she starts act I scene I of her fussmuffin production, I take her up to her room, reposition her eight different times as I rock her, sing "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" to her, and put her in her crib as her lids start to droop. Then I hold her down -- like, I legitimately pin her down -- with one hand on her belly while the other hand rubs her head, otherwise she will immediately roll over and try to climb up the side of the crib.I'm sure any skilled childcare volunteer could replicate this ritual with ease...... while the other handful of infants just... bask in the sun? stare politely into space? sing Sophie to sleep with a four part a'cappella jazz number?According to the National Sleep Foundation, a ten month old should be sleeping 11-14 hours a day. So naps are important, I guess. I mean, brain development, etc. etc. I want to make sure Littles gets enough sleep, but I would hate to stop going places like MOPs because my table is filled with the most adorable, funny group of young moms I'd love to befriend. Do I give up the possible community I've been hoping for? Do I stay at home so Sophie can get herself a nice brain? I don't want to overthink this, as is my tendency. So, I'm putting it aside for a day, and instead I'm going to listen to Paul's advice that he gave to the Philippians:"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."Here are some of those things (very noble things, very pure things):

• I successfully made my first grits casserole. All my Southern ancestors are either slowclapping as they look down at me from heaven -- or shaking their head because I'M THIRTY and I just made my first grits casserole. See instructions below.

• I looked down as I was driving today and noticed one of the cupholders in my car is filled with water. No idea how. Just a cupholder filled with water.

• I have exactly one awesome nursing dress. The hidden opening is the first thing I tell people about, and today I quickly whipped open the flap in my excitement. The function! The function! Annnnd here's some boob for you, nice lady I don't know very well. Technically she only saw my nude colored bra, but maybe she THOUGHT she saw some actual boob. Maybe she's blogging about it right now. First impressions are everything, you guys. (I'm wearing the dress in the picture above. The skeleton is a lady skeleton, don't worry. She's trying to find the flap. She's just curious.)

Laughter is lovely. Laughter is excellent. So, I'll think about more about whatever weird things in my life make me laugh and less about how I'm ruining my baby's cognitive development by taking her out of the house during nap time. Thanks, Paulio. (The idea of a Paul + Fabio -- Paulio -- mashup is also something you should probably be thinking about now. Fabio Lanzoni + the Apostle Paul. They should make romance novel-esque cover pages for each of Paul's letters with a Middle Eastern Fabio face ASAP. I mean, I would buy that Bible....)How to make grits casserole:

1. Turn on the Alabama Christmas soundtrack. It doesn't matter that it's October.

2. Make some grits (boil 6 cups of water, add 2 cups of grits). Add half a stick of butter and 2 cups of cheese.

3. Cook up some ground sausage. You probably know how to do this better than me.

4. Try to cook the sausage well enough that you won't infest people with deadly worms.

5. Stir 12 eggs and 1/2 cup of milk, then lightly scramble.

6. Mix grits, eggs, and sausage together with salt and pepper and pour into a greased casserole dish.

7. Top with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 20ish minutes.