38 Seconds.

Do you ever have those moments when your house is quiet? When everyone is busy doing whatever it is they're doing, and you're all alone. All alone in the quiet.

That moment is right now.

And I better write fast as it will last exactly 38 seconds.

From the kitchen I can smell the wonderful scent of my white chicken chili. Just the smell of it screams "winter!" You know the food, the kind that just implies that it should be eaten while lying under a fleece blanket in front of a roaring fire. Yep, that's my white chicken chili. (Actually, it didn't really sound too good for dinner tonight, but I had all the ingredients. So forgive me for simply trying to talk myself into it.)

My television is paused right now on, of all things, Good Times. Don't ask me why. I don't know. But Florida just quit reading JJ the riot act and I had to pause it, because I just can't take much of her.

Rocco is asleep in his crib beside my bed, which is amazing since Remi is laid up in my bed like Lady Godiva eating her snack and drinking from "Cuppy." (That word is capitalized because Cuppy has become a friend of ours. When Remi takes a nap, so does Cuppy. When it's time for bed, Cuppy also has to go to sleep. In the fridge. When it's time for Remi to take a bath, Cuppy goes into his stainless steel Maytag bathtub. See how that works?) All while watching, you guessed it, Pooh.

I think that bear will be with us forever.

It's getting darker sooner now, and so it's kind of dark in my house. My lamps are turned on, though, which means the lighting is just right.

I'm sitting in the AG's big, leather recliner and I'm curled up under my favorite blanket.

And all is well.

Oh, wait.

Brandon just walked through the door.

The AG is calling on my cell phone to ask what we're having for dinner.

Okay, Remi heard Brandon come in and is now running full force to the door. They are now wrestling on the living room floor.

Their screaming, wailing and gnashing of teeth has awoken one little Rocco.

In their quest for UFC contention, Remi and Brandon roll over the remote causing Good Times to come back on blaringly loud.

Rocco is screaming now.

Okay, Brandon plays too rough and Remi is crying.

Brandon's cell phone is ringing.

The timer on my dryer is going off.

My chicken chili is starting to boil.

The AG is calling my cell phone to tell me that white chicken chili doesn't sound that good to him.

Pooh is still singing.

Florida is still whining.

And my 38 seconds is up.