Heptadecagon

She doesn't get much face time around here, especially by herself. This one is for the aunts, great-aunts, and grandparents! Hope you enjoy it. It is fuzzy because Tara took it with her phone. Her cuteness still shines through, though!

Melina had ideas of what she wanted to do after nap today. Melina: Shoe? Me: Okay, you want your shoes on? Please go get them. [Melina ran off to get her shoes, came back to me, and sat down.] Melina: Side? Me: You want to go outside? Well, okay. [Melina ran off to get her coat, came back to me, and looked for help with the coat.] Melina: Wee? Me: You want to swing? No, not today. Let's go out in the front instead. Amazing how three words: shoe, side, and wee, can constitute a conversation, but they did. I told the story to Tim and he knew exactly what she was saying. The progression of language fascinates me with every child we have. Melina was disappointed not to be able to swing today, but thankfully, the girls put her on the sled, and she was able to go "Weeeeeeee!"

I need to start keeping a list of things that Aaron says. Today's bit of wisdom from Aaron was: Boys are dimmer; girls are lighter. What?!? I just had to share that with someone, and since Tim is coming home late tonight, I picked you. Aren't you lucky? P.S. We had a nice Christmas in Michigan. We also had a nice Christmas back here, since Santa dumped a ton of stuff at our house, too. All that and the boy with the red hair still wonders why he didn't get a red robot.

I've written before about the different comments people have made when I have been out with the kids. The one I heard today made me laugh out loud. We were exiting the doors of a local restaurant in front of a couple that looked to be in their late sixties/early seventies. Woman: Are they all yours? Me: Yes Woman: You have a wonderful family. [How does she know? She only thinks I do because they are cute. Of course, I am biased when I say they are cute, but it is allowed, right?] Me: Thank you! Man: We had five. Quit while you are ahead! I didn't see a slap on the arm from the woman, but that is what I'd have done to Tim if he'd said the same thing. No biggie -- gave me a good laugh.

I am beginning to wonder from which planet 5 year old boys come. My sweet 4 year old boy (not completely innocent) morphed into this alien of a 5 year old. I'd really like to know how that can happen so quickly. I am not going to bore you with the details of our issues as of late, but check back frequently if you'd like a good laugh, or, if you just want to feel better about your own family situation. Perhaps it has to do with his red hair?

There are several things that I have discovered over the last two weeks. 1. As per my earlier post , single parenting is tough work. I think I do not appreciate Tim as much as I should. Nor do I tell him that, I am sure. 2. The house is neater with one less person around. 3. I have much less laundry with one less person. I could not figure that one out until I realized that a pair of socks, a pair of underwear, and one T-shirt a day (along with towels, work shirts and pants) can really make a difference. 4. I do not like cleaning the cat litter, but do not mind taking out the garbage on Thursday night. The dog doo -- I didn't even get to that one. Tim is supposed to return home tomorrow. I can't wait to see how the kids react when they see him get home.

We had an early visit from Santa this year. Or else his little elf came on by. According to the girls, it must have been his elf that left a note from Santa on their beds. The note essentially said the following: Dear Zoe and Talia: Have you been good this year? I want you to be honest. A little elf has told me that things at home have been a little loud. Please try to listen to your mommy a little better. She listens to you and tries to help you be good children. She also loves you very, very, much. I want to bring you good things, so please do your best. See you soon. Love, Santa The girls were amazed at the fancy writing (thanks to wonderful computer fonts). They figured out that Santa (or his elf) must have stopped by when the girls were at school and the rest of us were at Meijer. Will it help? I hope so. I think they did a little better yesterday. Aaron realizes that he might be getting his own note if things don't shape up around here. You can call me a bad parent;

The kids like chicken baked with bread crumbs on the outside. I was making that dish for them yesterday afternoon. Aaron: What is that? Me: Chicken. Aaron: It doesn't look like chicken. Me: Well, it has to bake first. Aaron: What part of the chicken is it? Me: The breast. They are called chicken breasts. [I continue to cut the chicken breasts into smaller pieces, trimming them of the parts I don't want on them. I trimmed off a rather pink section as Aaron watched.] Aaron: I bet that pink part was the nipple, mom. He had me speechless. We went on to discuss the chicken and the egg conundrum. It was quite the afternoon. *** Melina has been asking to sit on the potty. She says "bobby" and pats her bum. Cutest thing ever. She is already with the program, though, as once she is on the potty, she wants a book. I can't imagine where she would have gotten the idea to read while sitting on the potty [smile]. *** The breakfast table was rife with discussion this m

We've been through the ringer over here, or at least I have. Recently, I read an article regarding twins and the relationship between them. I can remember neither the name nor the author of the article, but she is a twin herself. She described having a twin as "an instant party." I think of that description often. Especially at bedtime. This past week, Zoe and Talia have not put their listening skills to good use. Me: Please go to sleep right away. No talking. Them: Okay. Then I hear giggling, singing, and whispering and realize the "instant party" has begun. Last night, it lasted until 9:30 pm, and it would have gone on longer, if I hadn't morphed into Mean Mommy. I don't like doing that, but let me tell you, it worked. We have tried separating them at bedtime, and that does work: they each fall asleep quicker on their own. I started out that way last night, but when tears ensued (partly due to weird shadows on the walls and partly due to mis

All I can say is this: being a single parent, even for a couple of weeks, is just plain hard. Kudos to those single parents out there that do it every day. I could never manage. On that note, thanks to you, Mom, for coming down for a bit. I appreciate that I didn't even have to ask. I hope we didn't drive you too crazy.

Thank goodness for washable markers. Enough said.

Zoe, Talia, and Melina tried hotdogs today, and liked them. Aaron (clearly the only one with some sense) wouldn't touch them. In the girls' defense, they were made of chicken and pork, two meats that they like best. Why did this vegetarian household have hotdogs at dinner? We were babysitting a toddler that liked them. We wanted to make sure we served him something he would eat. In the end, he liked the grapes and pretzel goldfish (after dinner) the best, but did a pretty good job with the hotdog. That's enough excitement out of this house for one night. P.S. Tim, I didn't get a picture, but there are witnesses.

I received an email at my work account today, telling me I'd been nominated. For what? Mother of the year? Not by a long shot. It was for Who's Who in America. Since 1899, Who's Who in America® has chronicled the lives and careers of America's most noteworthy people. Today, Marquis Who's Who has grown to include the biographies of millions of leaders and achievers from around the world and from every significant field of endeavor. Executives, journalists, educators, students, libraries, and researchers of all kinds consult our online biographical database and specialized directories for in-depth, accurate information they can use with confidence. From the Who's Who website. Who, may I ask, would want to use my biographical data for anything? They must be reaching pretty far here, contacting adjunct faculty at local community colleges. My one book that has been published, while nice, is not a best seller, nor do I do cutting edge research. I got

As in, driving me. How many times can a 5-year-old boy NOT listen to his mother? Infinite. How many times can two almost 8-year-old girls NOT listen to their mother? Infinite. How many times can I hang my head, hoping that Jo the Supernanny will walk in the door? (There is a pattern here, if you haven't noticed.) Infinite. *** We don't own too many valuable items in this house, except for the kids. Why is that? Because of said kids. Case in point: We had (emphasis on the had ) two very inexpensive floor lamps in the living room. Aaron likes to stand on the base of the lamps. For what purpose, I don't know. Two days ago, I told him (again) to get off of the lamp. One day ago I told him (again) to get off of the lamp. (Bananas, I say!) This morning, the lamp looked like it was leaning. I tried to right it, but couldn't. By this afternoon, I thought I'd look into the problem. As I came upon the lamp, I noticed some dust on the floor. I picked the lamp u

5:41 am, Tuesday, December 1, 2009. I wake up to the sound of 3 kids cackling in the girls' room. I look down at Melina, who is sleeping lengthwise across my abdomen at a very odd angle (yes, we believe in the family bed), and decide to try to get a few more winks in before waking her up. At least the kids are making happy sounds, right? Aaron had gone to bed (in the girls' room) the previous night and was asleep by 6:20 pm. He promised me before falling asleep that he would NOT wake the girls up in the morning. After finishing up their snacks and books, the girls joined Aaron in their room for the slumber party. Clearly, Aaron did not hold up his end of the bargain. I am not sure what I will do this evening come bedtime. *** We went to the library today to make a copy of something I need to send out. Aaron and Melina were enthralled by the copy machine. Aaron was pointing and jumping and saying, "Look, look!" as if I'd never seen one in action before. Mel