Utter randomness...

Wow. Two posts in one day. :) Go, me. LOL. So...three completely unrelated things...

First, thank you for the Easter basket ideas! I think I may go ahead with the swim themed idea, though Noah and Asher are stubbornly attached to their swim trunks. I tried buying them new ones the last couple years but they refuse and are skinny enough that the trunks just keep fitting. ;) We'll see. New towels and maybe some dive toys might work regardless.

Second, I feel like a slug. Not really, because slugs are gross. :) But, I haven't been able to get to the gym in more than three weeks because at least one boy or me has been sick since then. Argh. Just when I thought this would be the week, btw, Noah and Asher have been all sniffly and coughing again yesterday and today. I'm almost certain Noah's is due to allergies, but I'm afraid Asher's got what Micah just got over at the end of last week (yes, again...having been sick the week before that...this, at least, is only a cold...just annoying). Bleh. Still. I know I'm fortunate that this is a rarity for us.

(Okay, I'm realizing now that I could have gotten to the gym Sunday or Monday but I was busy purging all those toys...a workout on its own, right? LOL!)

Third, this is the utter randomness part. Do you know why the state of Rhode Island is named that when it's not, in fact, an island? I now do. Here's how it came about...

- The boys and I were grabbing some groceries this afternoon when Nathan called to say he'd be home late-ish but in time to watch the American Idol results show together (we record them and then skip commercials).

- The boys started talking about how they wanted to hear Adam Lambert's "Ring of Fire" performance again. (They're very taken with this particular song for some reason and have re-watched Adam numerous times.)

- Noah asked Micah if he knew what the real Ring of Fire was and then proceeded to tell him about the circle around the Pacific Ocean and volcanoes and all that, ending with a note about how the world's largest volcano is in Hawaii, in the middle of the ring. He then turned to me and asked whether Hawaii is part of the United States. (Yeah, we still haven't really gotten into American history and such...in the grand timeline, it's so recent.)

- I replied, obviously, that, yes, Hawaii is one of the 50 United States.

- Noah made some comment about how it must be the smallest since it's just islands.

- I corrected him by stating that Rhode Island is actually the smallest state.

- He quipped that an island was still the smallest state then.

- I was at a loss for words. I've honestly never thought about the fact that Rhode Island isn't, in fact, an island.

So, when we got home, I had to look it up. Turns out, Rhode Island, though it borders the ocean on only one side, takes its name from one of the islands along that coast...Aquidneck Island, which is technically named Rhode Island but is now referred to as Aquidneck Island so as to avoid confusion with the state that bears its name. Back in "the day" folks must have started calling the whole area around the island Rhode Island and that's that. (Yes, I'm sure someone else can explain this better but I was just fascinated by the whole thing and that I'd never even questioned it before.)

How's that for random? :)