Grab Bag

~ This morning we (well, Michael, Lilah, and I) had crock pot oatmeal for breakfast. I got the recipe here. It was quite yummy - very creamy. I added fresh sliced and peeled Gala apples last night to cook along with the oatmeal, but I they were pretty flavorless. It think next time I will use Granny Smith apples, and maybe some raisins . . . -mmmm. I'm all over this breakfast-in-th-crock-pot concept and am going to try a breakfast scramble next with eggs, sausage, potatoes and cheese.


~ Daisy went into the restroom at school today and washed her hands! You may remember that on her extensive list of phobias, public restrooms is an item. So this was a huge step for her. Somehow a teacher's assistant bribed her into doing it, and the teacher took pictures, which she showed me after school today, featuring a laughing Daisy in the restroom with her hands under the air dryer. Maybe she'll actually go potty in the restroom at school yet.


~ Daisy and Annabelle are suddenly slightly obsessed with boobs - or as they call them, "boobies" or "breasts." I guess it's no wonder since breast feeding has been a featured attraction in our house their whole lives. But lately, they are forever copping a feel on me and examining their own little boobies. It's a little unnerving.


~ Last week Kevin brought home a permission slip for a film the 6th graders are supposed to watch this week about AIDS/HIV. Which I think is great. However, the permission slip stated that they will be teaching the message of abstinence. I signed the permission slip because I think he should see the film, but I told him flat out that I don't think teaching abstinence is realistic and that, as his parent, I am not going to tell him "Don't have sex." (Picture horrified facial expressions from Kevin.) I told him that, believe it or not, within the next couple of years, he's going to start looking at girls quite a bit differently than he does now, and there will come a time when he is going to want to have sex and not be all grossed out by the mere thought of it. (I don't think he believes me.) I told him that the important things are: (a) to wait until it's someone you care about and who cares about you, and (b) to make responsible choices, because the choices he makes can impact the rest of his life. He hates these discussions - anything having to do with sex or puberty. And it's awkward for me, although I try very hard to play it cool.


~ The girls were playing doctor over the weekend. They were taking turns being the patient. They said that the patient had cancer. Sigh.


~ We are in the midst of a spring heat wave and I am realizing that the older I get, the less I like such intense heat. I think 70 - 75 degrees is about my limit for pleasantness at this point. It's in the 90's for the second day in a row.


~ Daisy is full of questions. Way more so than the other kids. I know I should welcome and encourage her curiosity about everything, but it's exhausting.

~ Last night our main water line backed up again, I shit you not. It's only been two months since the nightmare that flooded our downstairs with sewer water. It wasn't anything like that this time - it only backed up into the shower, but not beyond - but it still required an emergency, after-hours call to a plumber which cost emergency, after-hours rates.

~ I can't get this song out of my head that the girls brought home from preschool:

I like to ate, ate, ate

Ape-les and baynaynays

I like to eat, eat, eat

Eaples and beeneenees

I like to ite, ite, ite

Iples and bi-ni-nis

I like to oat, oat, oat,

Oples and bononos

I like to ute, ute, ute

Ooples and boonoonoos