Obligatory Door Sign

I have to admit how proud I am that one of Julia's first solo-writing projects was this lovely sign for her bedroom door, sounded out and written with no help from moi.

"Yes grls oulad. No boes ulad."

Need she say more?

Have You Contemplated Your Belly Button Lately?

So, I was writing a paper for my English class tonight, and I was using the thesaurus feature to find a different word for "introspection." (Yes, we are old friends, computer thesaurus and I. Just what I need when the inevitable Marshmallow Brain sets in.) You will never guess what suggestion Number 7 was.

Navel-gazing.

That's right...staring at the belly button. Evidently it's the same as self-examination, meditation, reflection, and solipsism. (Just imagine the trouble an English language learner could get into with that tricky thesaurus...)

It's good to know that spending time staring at your belly button means that you are self aware.

So, I have to ask...when was the last time you gazed at your navel?

How Babies Care for Their Young

This is why babies shouldn't have babies.

(Among other reasons, of course.)

And the Pendulum Swings...

I come from a family that had a pretty rigid breakfast schedule...hot cereal on Mondays, eggs on Tuesdays, cold cereal on Wednesdays, hot cereal again on Thursdays, eggs again on Friday, then cold cereal, pancakes, or french toast on Saturdays and Sundays.

For a cereal lover like me, the lack of cold cereal in this breakfast scenario is just not acceptable. So, as an adult, I have tried desperately to make up for the striking imbalance that I experienced growing up. I think so far I've done pretty well accomplishing my goal. Especially when cereal is on sale. I'm like a mad woman, filling my pantry shelves with all the yummy (gasp!) name-brand cereals I never got as a kid. (I think our new all-time high for boxes of cereal at one time is 38.) (But believe me: I do not hold the record among my siblings.)

My poor mom. I am sure that all she was trying to do was to teach us healthy eating habits. Unfortunately, all that she really accomplished was to raise 5 cereal-hoarding candy fiends that sometimes eat dinners with no green vegetables, and rarely eat whole grains.

And, undoubtedly, my own children will resent the fact that all we ever had to eat for breakfast was cereal, and that waffles, eggs, and french toast were reserved for Sunday night dinners on the fly.

Why You Should Never Leave Your Children Unattended Around Dinnertime

Seems there's always trouble brewing any time I go in the other room for any amount of time, especially when there are empty tummies about. It sure doesn't take long for my hungry little monkeys to get into something they shouldn't be in...and then eat all of the marshmallows out of that something.

The Carnage.

I know, she looks guilty, but she was just
holding the box for a friend.

Seriously, she didn't even inhale.

Notice there are literally no marshmallows left.

The actual culprit (Vanna) is out of the shot...

Lex just happened upon the right place at the right time.