Heptadecagon

We had an eventful day here yesterday. The girls are trying to get Aaron to either knock on their door, or ask them before barging into their room. This seems reasonable to me, yet so funny, considering the girls still barge in on me oftentimes. In any case, Zoe and Talia get frustrated with Aaron's inability to remember that he should knock. And yesterday, even though I reminded Aaron to knock or ask politely, the little red tornado blew through their room. Zoe's response? She got very angry and slammed the door in his face. Tim was upstairs, I was not. He immediately ordered both girls to come downstairs and sit for a few minutes. His meaning was clear: Zoe needed to cool off and think about what she did, and Talia should think about what she didn't do -- stopping Zoe from possibly hurting Aaron. Talia walked down the stairs nicely. Zoe did not. Zoe pounded down the stairs, and when she got to the living room, knocked several things to the ground. I asked her

I have been up since 1:23 am. I just now came downstairs. Here is what I have done to battle my insomnia: 1. Stayed in bed and closed my eyes. 2. Used the restroom and brushed my teeth (I'd already done all of this before going to bed). 3. Finished my book. 4. Rested in the lounge chair in our room. 5. Wondered why I wasn't sleeping. I am not a fan of not sleeping, especially when there is no real cause. Kid sick? That is a cause for not sleeping. Thankfully, the children are all mostly healthy. I do have a sore throat that just might be strep, but I wouldn't have thought that it would keep me awake. I don't have anything witty to say right now. I just wanted to say a big hello to other insomniacs that I know. Hopefully you have gone back to sleep and will read this in the morning. In the meantime, I hear Melina calling. So much for trying to get back to sleep.

Apparently, how I view my body and how my kids view my body are two completely different things. Me: I have a little extra skin from the pregnancies, but overall, I am in pretty good shape. Them: Your belly looks like bread dough. Me: My back-end, while still too flat to fill out the jeans, isn't too bad at my age. Them: Mom, your bum jiggles. Me: Varicose veins? Yep, I have them. But they could be worse. And I got kids in return. Them: What are those bruises on your legs? They are purple! Me: My boobs have sagged and deflated a bit from nursing four children. Them: You could use band-aids for a bra, mom. I think kids can do some real damage to a person's body image, don't you think?

A closed door usually means KEEP OUT! Not in this house, Where all rooms flow into one. Can I please have some privacy ? I plead, As the littlest giggles and runs away. I shut the door, quietly, Knowing that in 30 seconds Someone will open it again, Exposing the room to the neighbors, Due to the view left there by the windows. Which is why, When I use the loo, I pee in the dark.

Melina and I spent this rainy, cold morning mostly at home today. We listened to some music, we drank some tea (Melina likes peppermint and Chai teas, as do I), and we painted. While I was in the kitchen putting some things together for lunch, Melina was amusing herself in the living room. All of a sudden, she runs into the kitchen and says, "Mom! One time, Zoe was wearing pants!" She looked up at me expectantly. I wasn't sure what she wanted, so I said, "NO WAY! Really?!?" She just smiled, said "Yes!" and walked away, laughing hysterically. Okay, I know why I found the whole thing funny, but why did she?

A week ago, I fell asleep on the living room couch at about 7:30 pm. You might think that makes sense, considering I work at home full time, teach part time, and have children and animals. However, while I do go to sleep early many nights, falling asleep at that time of the night is akin to napping -- something I really can't do. Ever. Unless I have just given birth. Clearly, I have not done that since 2008. The week had not been that full, nor had that day, and I hadn't over caffeinated myself (too much caffeine drives me down, not up). What was the problem then, you ask? After much thinking, I pinpointed the problem: my sugar intake, most likely simple and refined sugars. That is my friend, Glucose, above. Isn't it lovely? I happen to be a sweet fiend. I like most (well-made and tasty) sugary treats, and I absolutely love ice cream. With all the Easter candy we have floating around here, I have been catching myself dipping into the pot. Several times a day. T

I didn't get to shout out a Happy Mother's Day to all of you, but I hope those of you who are mothers had a great day, and I hope you remembered your own mom in some way. This year was a Mother's Day to remember. In a good way, I guess. Melina and I are always up early. But at 6:30 am, while she and I are on the couch reading, I hear activity overhead. Aaron? Perhaps. He usually strolls down way before 6:30 am, but perhaps he was tired, and therefore didn't start stirring until that time. The tread on the hardwood floor sounded pretty loud, though, and Shadow doesn't go upstairs. All of a sudden, Tim is in the living room. For Tim to be awake at that time, and downstairs, something must have happened, or is happening. Now, I was aware that the kids all made gifts at school. And, a packet arrived from Grandma M the other day (perhaps with cards inside), so I figured that at some point, the children would be putting forth their homemade gifts. But at 6:30 am, on a Su

Melina knows the correct name for most things. However, she doesn't always get it right when she tries to speak of those things: 1. We have an old Pillsbury Doughboy (it was mine when I was little). She won't admit that title is truly his name. To her, he is The Frosting Boy . 2. Yesterday, Melina was watching The Magic School Bus . It was an episode about the Rain Forest. She saw a parrot and yelled, "Carrot!" 3. Today, we were making some elbow noodles. Sometimes we call them moon noodles, since they are crescent shaped. She looked up at me and said, "Mom, when are those arm noodles going to be done?" I politely informed her that yes, her elbow was a part of her arm, but the noodles go by the name of elbows.

Question and answer time with Zoe and Talia. Zoe: Why do you have so many sperm cells? Me: Because they have to make such a long trip, most of them die before they even get to the egg. Me: How big are they [sperm cells]? Me: They're tiny. You'd need a microscope to see them. Then the girls asked whether or not I can feel them wriggling as they, um, leave me. I don't think the word "ejaculate" is part of their vocabulary yet. No, I answered, they're so small I don't feel their tails swishing or anything. Z&T weren't clear on how long sperm cells persisted. I explained that three different packets (didn't know what else to call them) of sperm cells that were delivered at three different times were involved in making them, Aaron, and Melina. Talia: So, nine months before Melina was born, you and mommy did it? Me: Yes, we did. Talia: But we were ALIVE then! Zoe: So do you do it in the bathroom? Me: No, we don't. Zoe: In the water? Me: No.

I just had "The Talk" with the girls. They already knew alot about the care and keeping of their bodies, and a good deal about anatomical parts. The only reason I had this talk tonight is that they specifically asked how the ingredient from the man got into the woman. I tried to keep it quite scientific, and without too many unnecessary details. When I told them how the sperm got into the woman's body, they simultaneously flung their bodies against the couch and said, "Disgusting!" Great. Keep thinking that, ladies! When I was putting them to bed, we then had the following conversation: Zoe: Did you and Daddy do that? Me: Um. Yes. We do have four kids, don't we? Talia: Then you did it four times? No, wait. You have us. You only did it three times, right? Me: Okay, we need to finish this conversation another time. Get into bed.

I have been running for 20 years. It is hard to believe that it has been that long, but it has. I have never been a fast runner. My best 5K (3.1 miles) time was something just over 22 minutes, which translates to about 7 minutes, 15 seconds per mile. That time was fast for me, but for my friend, who ran the race at a 6:23 pace, the time was quite slow. The actual record for a 5K run by a woman on the outdoor track is 14:11:15. Yikes. You can see why, in the running world, I might actually be considered a recreational jogger. I am of the opinion, though, that it doesn't matter what pace you are keeping, as long as you are moving. When I was younger, my long runs were 10 miles or more, and I actually got out to run 6 days a week. Grad school work could wait, but running couldn't. I can't say the same about the kids. Gee, kids, I need to go run. Help yourself to working the stove and getting dinner. Can you imagine? Not yet, but maybe soon. So, these days, when

I have a friend, currently expecting number 6 in the Fall, who homeschools. My sister homeschools for preschool. Tim has a coworker who's wife homeschools all of their children. I have thought about homeschooling in the past, but I just didn't think I could handle it. Furthermore, I thought the twins especially would benefit from the social interaction that public school provides. Recently, however, I have been revisiting the idea of actually homeschooling the kids. Why? I love our schools, and I love the teachers, but I do think our educational system lacks many things. I consistently complain to Tim about one thing or another, and I often supplement the kids' learning at home. This subject could of course be another whole post, but I don't feel like going into all of my thoughts about the US educational system. Do I think that I could give them a better education? Yes, I really do think that I can for many subjects. And therefore, I just might. I can't