Heptadecagon

A good friend of ours lives about 3.5 hours away. It had been ages since we last saw him, so we thought about our options for a visit. The best thing for everyone was to meet with Eben for the day, so we chose a zoo that was about 2.5 hours away for our family and Eben. I had not been to a zoo since our visit to St. Louis when Aaron was 1.5 years old, a visit that Aaron didn't even remember. The day turned out to be quite humid and warm (it was early August after all) but the rain that fell helped keep us slightly cooler. Melina was smitten with Eben. She wanted him to push her stroller, and she held his hand for part of the day. Overall, it was a good day.

Three out of our four children are at school all day. I have been left with just one child, for the first time ever. It is a strange feeling to take care of one child all day, without the other little ones around. I am getting quite a bit of Melina-time in, but to be honest, it is hard work! I am more wiped out now than I was during the summer, when all the kids were home! I guess I need to thank the other three for helping keep Melina amused! Thank goodness she is good about playing by herself at times. We wouldn't eat if she didn't! I do have to be honest, though. In some ways, I do look forward to naptime. Do I need a break from a very loquacious 3 year old? Yep. Do I want to eat some lunch in peace? Yes. In other ways, naptime isn't all that, as they say. During the time that Melina naps (or doesn't), I scurry around here trying to get everything done that didn't get accomplished in the morning. I rush to finish dishes, clean up the kitchen, sw

Yes, we are a little late with Walloon pictures. This year, we went towards the end of July. The weather was perfect. Not too hot, not too cold. The kids had a blast on the beach, and on the boat. I think Tim and I could retire there no problem someday. Ahhh, just the thought. I am looking forward to going back again, hopefully next year.

This post will either need to be updated later with photos, or perhaps I will just make a new post with them tomorrow. Either way, we have had quite a few awesome days as of late: 1. Teresa and Dave got married! Yippee! We all had fun, and stayed up too late! 2. We visited Julie, Gil, and Rebecca in Alexandria, Virginia, and made it into D.C. for a day. We also traveled to Mount Vernon, the estate of George Washington. The "Necessary" there was the highlight of the visit. Can you imagine what that was? You'll find out when I post photos. 3. The girls had their first book club meeting today, and our friend, Sandra, was kind enough to have us all over for lunch and a discussion. The girls discussed "The Wish Stealers" by Tracy Trivas . Both the chatting and the lunch were splendid, as were the cupcakes. The icing on the cake? A phone call from Tracy Trivas herself! We spoke with her for over 30 minutes, and I cannot speak highly enough of her

I love yogurt. I eat it almost every day, at lunchtime. Unless I am pregnant -- then I don't care for yogurt, and I am not sure why. I've taken to buying Yoplait brand yogurt, as that brand has 50% of the daily recommended amount of calcium. I am not a big milk drinker, and there are only so many leafy green vegetables you can eat, so every little bit helps. But here is my question. Why does Yoplait make a huge assortment of flavors in the Light variety, but not nearly as many in the regular? I do not like Splenda or Aspartame in my yogurt. Yes, I get a lot of sugar in flavored yogurt, but considering I have curbed my sugar intake elsewhere, I am not too worried. So why? Do you have an answer? Have they done research on this subject? Here is the only thing I can think of: the people who eat Light yogurt might be watching their diet for calories and sugar, and therefore, they might be the sort of people who will also NOT be eating dessert. Thus, Yoplait makes m

Our vacuum cord died the other day. Tim was vacuuming, and in the middle of doing so, the cord split. It is now Wednesday, and I am having withdrawals. I didn't realize how much I depended on having that vacuum; there are certain tasks that just require it. Tim hasn't had the chance to replace the cord yet, but I am hoping he does so by the weekend. On the plus side, I am starting to get creative in my attempt to clean up around here. Which means I am shaking up the routine, I guess. I have enlisted the help of the dog, if the mess is food related, and I have thought about recruiting the cats, but they are less reliable. If the mess is of the craft variety, i.e. paper, sequins, and buttons, I have the kids crawl on the floor to get the big (and little) things. Broom-sweeping the carpet isn't so great, but it works in a pinch, I guess. And since this post has been nothing but one big complaint, I guess I should see the silver lining in all of this, and consider mys