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A friend recommended that I stuff my wet cellphone in a bag of rice to dry it out faster. I like the logic of the solution coupled with the absurdity of actually carrying it out. Until the rice works its magic, I will use Julie's girly phone with Beyoncé's "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)" ringtone. If you call me and I'm in public, expect a quick answer.

On another subject, Lyla's ideal wake-up time is somewhere between 7:00 and 8:00. Anything earlier is the first ingredient in the recipe for a challenging day. It might have something to do with my desire to drink coffee and eat cereal in relative peace.

Today she woke up at 6:23. In cereal time it was immediately after I poured the milk. I chug-slurped it all down and prepared for a back-to-bed attempt, the baby-equivalent of baseball's suicide-squeeze play.

The back-to-bed involves taking Lyla out of her crib, changing her diaper, feeding her a small bottle, and putting her back in her crib before she realizes she's awake. When it works, she'll sleep for another hour, sometimes two. But everything needs to be timed and executed perfectly. I am simultaneously the bunter and the runner on third.

This morning's back-to-bed was successful. Lyla slept until 8:45 and woke up cheerful, as you see in the above photo. It'll be a good day--provided I'm able to rice my phone back to health.