Can you say "Super?"

It's been a busy few weeks. Good. But busy. Even Super at times.

Jeff and I went to Puerto Rico on a long weekend work trip. (Yes. I know. And yes, it was just as great as you're thinking.) Ali spent four days with the Ogdens while we were gone, who achieved a whole new level of friend for their good care of her and their willingness to just let her slide into the family.

I asked my notorious eater how it was. Mostly, it was terrific.

"But Mom. There was ONE thing."

"What?"

"I had to eat chicken Pot PIE!!!."

"No!" I shared in her agony because it's a dish she truly hates. "But you ate it, right?" I asked.

"Oh yeah. I ate it," she said. "Blech."

That's a testament to how much she loves Karin.

In Puerto Rico, we had so much fun I forgot I had the camera along. And yes, I wore the two-piece. No one vomited within my eye-sight.

Since we've been back, Jeff has had that procedure all 50-year-old men should have. Alison was fascinated and talked about it for days. It's a perfect conversation starter for the 10-year-old set. I would relay all of the conversations we had over dinner, but Jeff has asked for discretion. (He's just fine, by the way.)

As you might expect from Christ the King School, the kids pray daily. Alison apparently was more concerned about her father than we'd realized. Alison told Jeff that Mr. Feeser had gotten curious. "Alison, you've asked to remember your dad and his surgery a few times now. What exactly is happening?"

"My Dad says I shouldn't talk about it," she said, regretfully. I think she relayed the conversation to prove that she'd really followed his wishes and was hoping he'd let her do the full reveal once it was over. No luck there, but a good try.

It's Superbowl weekend and Indianapolis has been going more than crazy over it for a a while. It's been fun to be here. We went down to Superbowl Village Wednedsday and like many other irresponsible parents, we kept Ali out a little past her bed time. We didn't see any celebrities but the crowd was amazing and it's just gotten bigger every day.

Jeff would have moved downtown and stayed there, I think. Once we realized we'd never get through the que for the zip line, Alison hopped around looking for superbowl logo images that were scattered throughout the party area. She found most of the teams but she liked the IMPD horse patrol better than everything except maybe the Xbox exhibit.

Alison asked me to straighten her hair for school on Friday. Taming the curls is an ordeal every day; actually eliminating them is an involved process. It generally takes at least an hour plus touch-up the next day. We haven't done it since the first day of the school year, and I was game. I started with the hair dryer and a pile of product.

A few minutes into it, I hear, "Uh. Mom. Does that hair dryer have to be so loud?"

"Yes. Ali. Yes it does."

She was happy with the final product despite the loudness and heat of of the tools.

I kind of owed her the attention because earlier in the week I'd had one of those days. And here's where having a great husband and great kid can save a person. Jeff took care of dinner and I crawled into bed.

Alison, a compassionate soul, crawled in next to me and read me Angry Bird comic strips from her iPad.

Now THAT was super.