Heptadecagon

Aaron, Melina, and I went to the running shoe store yesterday. I needed a new pair of shoes, and my coupon would have expired in a couple of days. The kids like to go there because the store has a bus they can play with. All smiles inside the store, as I tried my shoes on. We got back into the car, and, since we all like to listen to music, I had the radio adjusted to a local music station. First up from the radio -- Toad the Wet Sprocket. I can't remember exactly which song, but it was probably All I Want . I associate that song (and others by them) mostly with my college days. Melina listened to just a few lines and piped up from the back seat: Mom! When I was a kid, I really liked this song. When I was a kid. Apparently, I say that alot when we listen to the radio. *** I returned home from work this morning to find out the latest gem to come out of Melina's mouth. Brooke relayed to me what happened. Melina: Are you a mommy, Brooke? Brooke: No, I am not. Melina: A

I took the girls to their 9 year well-check the other day. Both of the girls are healthy and growing, and this year, no immunizations were necessary (yeah for them!). Next year, they will need a booster shot, and when they turn 11, the doctor suggests giving the girls the Gardasil shot. For those of you not familiar with what that shot is, you can visit its website for detailed information. In short, Gardasil protects against some forms of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) -- a known cause of some cases of cervical cancer and genital warts. My point here is not to debate the merits of the vaccine, or whether or not the girls will get it. Tim and I will discuss any concerns we have with the data and then decide about getting it for the girls. They might get it at 11, or we might hold off on getting it for them. We'll figure it out in the next couple of years. However, the whole thought of Gardasil got me thinking about unprotected sex, STIs, and teen pregnancy. The question I had

This past Tuesday was quite a day for me. In the morning, I met an old friend, Missy, for breakfast. Back in elementary school, we pretty much stuck together. We were really good friends until high school, when I moved to another town and school district, about 1.5 hours away. I think we kept in touch until about sophomore year of high school, but new people and new interests sometimes get in the way of friendships. In college, I met Karen, who went to high school with Missy, and I kept up on how she was doing that way. In grad school and once the kids were born, I still learned how she was doing from Karen. When I told Karen we were possibly moving here, she piped up, "Missy just moved to that area!" To make a long story short, we connected at some point after we moved, and have tried to get together periodically. It is nice to hear about Missy's parents and her siblings, and how her work, husband, and kids are. I thoroughly enjoyed our time together, and I am so

Melina has this hilarious habit of telling secrets. She walks up to me and whispers, "Mom, I have a secret," and expects me to lean in close and listen. What types of secrets can a two year old have, you ask? All of her secrets are things that she would like to have or do at the moment. 1. Can we go downstairs? (Whispered to me at 5 am.) 2. Can I have an ice cream sandwich? (Whispered at almost any time of the day.) 3. Can I watch the old Scooby Dooby Doo? (The old 1970s version.) 4. Can we make macaroni and cheese? She will walk away defeated if you respond no to her secret (usually to numbers 1-3). If you comply with the request, she does a little happy dance that is just the cutest. Trust me. And just because I think it is funny, I have to relay this story. We were headed to church last Sunday, and I was sitting in the front seat, giving the usual "you must behave spiel" to the kids. Me: Kids, I expect you to be behave and be quiet, please. Zoe, Talia,

Yesterday marked our 200th posting to this blog! Happy Anniversary to us! For some people, that number is nothing. However, to me, that seems like a lot of information to be posting out there. So, I just wanted to say thank you to all of you that actually read us. Another thank you to those that comment, and a third thank you to those that tell me, via the phone or email, how much you enjoy the blog. We'll keep posting even if if you don't keep reading!

I have had a couple of "What would you do?" moments over the last couple of weeks. So, I am curious. What would you do, in these instances? 1. Talia came home with a paper that covered the anatomy and physiology of the heart. The paper explained what type of muscle the heart is, and had a brief paragraph on what the heart did. On the other side, there was a labeled diagram of the heart. Both the paragraph and the diagram had errors on it. This was not the fault of the teacher; she had downloaded the papers from an educational website, thinking that the information was correct. Contact the teacher, or not? 2. I ordered two Adirondack chairs for Tim's birthday. Yes, his birthday isn't until late March, but I thought I'd get a jump on things. The chairs arrived, and Tim started to put them together. As he was finishing up the first chair, he realized that the arm rests were defective, and that they would not go on properly. He checked the second chair -- same thing.

This past weekend, the girls had the slumber party that was supposed to be in celebration of their ninth birthday. It was originally planned for February 4th (their birthday is January 31st), but due to the power outage and sickness, I postponed the party. Preparations were minimal: cleaning, buying some healthy groceries, and making chocolate chip cookie bars and rice krispie treats. My plan was for pizza at dinner (thank you Mr. Delivery Man) along with raw veggies and juice. Dinner went off without a hitch, as most kids like pizza, aside from one child showing everyone how to explode the juice container. Thank goodness the tablecloth was one of washable kinds that cost $6.99! After dinner, the girls played -- loudly. There was a lot of shrieking, running, and dancing. I like Taylor Swift, so we had one of her CDs from the library. The girls turned up the volume, and proceeded to sing and dance. Melina was in the thick of the whole thing, and at times, she was carried arou

A good Friday to you all. Lots of things have been tumbling around in my head, most of them not worth sharing. But every once in a while, I think it is nice to just purge things from within. Lucky you, today is the day! We have had power all week. Melina has been ecstatic about that fact; she repeatedly tells me that the refrigerator is now plugged in, and that the TV works! "And my hands aren't cold, Mom!" I heard that quite a bit this week. I am proud to say (and somewhat almost deflated at how long this is taking) that Melina is on her way to being weaned. I keep the nursing at nap time, as I think if I take it away, then nap time will not occur. That scenario is just not acceptable to me at this time! The nursing at bedtime is still there, but once she is done, I go help put the others to bed, and she falls asleep on her own. The problem we are having is with the 3:09 am nursing session. For 3 days in a row, I have gone into her room, told her "the mom

Twice a week, I make a short trek from the parking garage, where I park the car, to the school in which I work. The two are connected by what I consider a human habitrail, but what is really a covered pedestrian walkway. The walkway is useful when the weather is extremely cold, snowy, or rainy. During that short walk, I am able to see the backs of many people. Sometimes, I try to recognize students from the back, and sometimes, I just admire people's sense of style. Today, I happened to look at the pants of several people in particular. Why? I don't know, so don't ask. First up, was a lady with long, black hair. Her hair was very pretty, in fact, and nicely highlighted. She had on a simple black, form-fitted sweater (it was 1 degree above zero, so why she wasn't wearing a coat is beyond me), tight gray pants, and long, leather, black boots that went from foot to just above the knee. From the back (I actually never saw her from the front), she was quite attract

Tim was the only one in our house brave enough to head outside on the ice to get some pictures. The coating of ice made for nice images. The above picture is of our lilac tree. The poor thing has been dying the last couple of years. We had decided to give it one more year to redeem itself. It seemed to survive the ice, but the winds that followed the next day did the poor tree in...the last large branches have broken away from the trunk and the whole thing will need to be taken down come warmer weather.

Let's recap the week we just had, just for fun. Those of you that know the week we had might think that I am a glutton for punishment. However, I just want to spread the glee. Monday, January 31 (see previous post): The girls birthday. They had a great day. Tuesday, February 1: No school due to ice. Vomit from Aaron. No power as of 10 pm. Wednesday, February 2: No school due to wind. Aaron diagnosed with strep. No power. Thursday, February 3: Two-hour delay, but the kids can warm up at school. Tim vomits all day. Friday, February 4: No delay, no cancellation. Tim and Aaron are fine. Power on as of 9:30 am! Saturday, February 5: Laundry galore, but we still have power. Vomit from Melina. Sunday, February 6: My stomach is queasy, but nothing happens. Cat vomit all over the girls' beds and floor. . To be quite frank, we all held up really well, and I need to commend the kids for being real troopers. The first day, the kids were fine in sweaters. They played normally and enj