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...