Franklin is upstairs having a bath with D. I swear these last couple days have been incredible. The child is possessed. I was telling my mother how D and I have decided to cut out all white, processed sugar from his (our) diet in order to help him cope more with the normal trials of being three. And then she laughed.

She laughed and told me to find his "off switch".
Yes. It's that simple, folks!

This is the advice I received from a woman who brought up 5 children in the isolated north while her husband was an over-worked doctor. My mother is tough. She has coping mechanisms that no one has ever heard of. If she landed herself a spot in Survivor the other cast mates would just surrender. She is both physically and mentally hard as nails.

Find his "off switch".
I'm laughing - on the inside.

You know what though? I asked him - of course I asked him. I will try everything once. It was my motto in my twenties and still holds strong to this day. He immediately pointed to his chest and pressed it. He was silent for about 1 and half seconds and then started singing.
Thanks.

Anyway, for more sane news...
I have a community garden plot! It isn't the community garden I was working on with a bunch of people in the downtown area. I wouldn't actually qualify for that one, as we don't live in that district. I was just working with them in order to see what it would take to set up my own. I don't think I will live here long enough to do this. Working with city hall is a different kind of frustrating than a three year old - but not that much different. There is definitely no "off switch" and they not only sing while you are trying to talk to them but they sing and put their fingers in their ears while dancing in front of a camera.

No, my garden plot is on the university campus. I was on the waiting list and they found room for me! I am so very happy. I can't believe how happy I am. I was jumping for joy. The plot is in a good location as it is out of the way on the edge of the property and due to get plenty of sun. It also has some well-established strawberry boxes. I've put up some photos on flickr. Just click on the picture above for this entry.

Now you can look forward to a ton of garden related posts that may bore the concrete socks off of you. However, if you've got a plot of your own, I welcome any advice. I've never done the community garden thing.