Heptadecagon

Today was Aaron's first day of kindergarten. We had orientation yesterday, which went well. We met his teacher, saw the classroom, and went over some rules and regulations. I drove him to school both ways yesterday. Today, he actually rode the bus to and from school. Aaron had been so excited this past week, mostly due to the bus ride. He is familiar with the school, thanks to the countless number of times we have visited over the last three years. But he really hadn't ridden on a school bus...I could see the gears turning in his head when he was thinking about the ride. I asked Zoe and Talia to let him sit with them on the way to school, and to make sure that he made it to the kindergarten classroom (or at least to the teacher directing the way). Both girls assured me that they would do as I asked. This morning, we took the customary "first day of school picture" in front of the maple tree in our yard, and then wandered two driveways up to the bus stop. Aaro

School starts this week -- not a moment too soon for me. That sounds horrible, but I am being honest. This summer has been a difficult one for me. The kids have argued a bit too much, and it seems as though not enough work got done. As of Tuesday, though, we will have two third graders and one child in kindergarten. Melina will stay home with me most of the time, although the babysitter will come when I head out to teach. I call the days she is with the babysitter Melina's "art school time" -- Brooke is an artist that loves children, and patiently puts together works of art with the kids when she comes to sit. So, I guess in a way, everyone will be in school. We found out who the kids had for teachers two days ago. Aaron will have the same kindergarten teacher that Talia had. She is a sweet, approachable, lovable lady who clearly likes teaching kindergarten. She seems patient and kind, and Talia did really well with her. I think Aaron should thrive in her class

I partially chose the name Melina for the fourth baby because there is no nickname for it. I like giving the kids names that don't shorten (for the most part). But leave it up to people to shorten names or give nicknames, right? Zoe became Zo-zo bean , or just Zo-zo . Talia has morphed through Tallulah bean to Tats (rhymes with lots). And Aaron, well, the girls just call him Dude . Melina has taken it upon herself to rename herself Mimi . Personally, I like cousin Elli's moniker for her better -- Mina -- but you can't tell a 2 year old to stop calling herself Mimi when everyone else (meaning her siblings) call her that. Melina is, of course, adorable when she refers to herself as Mimi . Just today, we had this conversation: Me: Are you ready for bed, buddy? Melina: No buddy, Mommy. I'm Mimi. Me: You aren't my buddy, Melina? No: Zoe, Talia, Aaron my buddy. I'm Mimi. Well all right then. I should mention that Melina has just now acquired the ability

I received the latest issue of a magazine that will remain anonymous. It happens to be a style and fashion magazine, and anyone who knows me knows that style and fashion don't quite jive with my persona. It comes to me because another magazine that I signed up for was discontinued. I have since told the company to please cancel my subscription. In the meantime, I can only consider myself lucky to still share time with it! In any case, I was browsing through the issue yesterday, as I always do. Ads for Juicy Couture, Tommy Hilfiger, and Nine West were scattered amongst such items as what is most slimming for Fall , what shoes go best with what outfit (how about I wear black or brown shoes with everything and running shoes when appropriate!), and super stylish deals under $100 (uh, not such deal, if you ask me!). I stopped short when I reached a snippet on hair. I need to take an aside here. My hair has been essentially the same for a very long time. I vacillate between long/

We hadn't done a good job grocery shopping for a bit, so on Sunday, I finally went to the store. Well, in the bakery department, this older gentleman was staring at me. He looked at the cart, then me, then the cart. Very nicely, he asked, "How many people do you have to feed with all that food?" I laughed and told him I had 4 kids (only Talia was with me at the time). He laughed, too, and just shook his head. As I left the area I said, "I have to feed them, you know?!?" He agreed and flashed a big smile. The other day while Melina was sleeping and the girls were playing, Aaron decided it was time to talk science. Science to Aaron isn't simply rocks or leaves. This conversation revolved around quarks . I am pretty sure I wouldn't have been able to talk about quarks when I was 5. The college called yesterday and asked if I'd be interested in going full-time for a quarter, starting this Fall. They have an annually contracted faculty position t