(no subject)

It's really *gag* SUMMER, now. I have to keep all my windows and doors closed again, FOR MONTHS, and worry that our chickens will die if they don't have water in the afternoon, and avoid fun outdoor activities completely between 11-3 so nobody gets burnt to a crisp by accident just playing in the yard. There are flies and mosquitoes and gnats everywhere (although to be fair, also dragonflies, purple martins and lightning bugs at night). To make this bitter pill extra hard to choke down, our van AC is not working O_O E-freakin-gads. We have missed our chance, at livable camping! I took Jake and Elise with me to get Isaac from school this afternoon and all three of them arrived home red faced and collapsed with shocked looks on their faces. I went around to each of them in turn and made them drink big cups of water. It felt like keeping my plants from shrivelling away!

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A tumblr post on wage disparity between the sexes had commentary below it about how women are PARTIALLY held back naturally, by their own choice to prioritize childrearing over climbing corporate ladders; I agree with this for the most part (and think women are free to choose whatever they want). I think, though, that the tiny tiny amount of female executives doesn't match up very well with the growing numbers of childless, educated women in the workforce. I keep wondering whether anyone is officially quantifying what I see anecdotally... because what I see is a greater prevalence of LARGE families, and a greater prevalence of childless and childfree people, but less and less of the "average" 2.whatever kids per household. Maybe this is just me?

I started mentally adding up all the women I know without kids, and realized it's a big number. It's definitely MOST women I know. Lots of women in my life (feel free to skim or skip the list), like...

-all the early 20s college students I met at my FIU orientation yesterday, and talked with about our lives
-the 20+ member adult roller derby team, -2 that have kids, all 25-35
-my friends Jenny, Angie and Courtney, from teen camps, who I keep in touch with (all early 30s) along with some faces I see on facebook in similar age ranges from camp who are friends of friends
-my good friend Jess from high school, along with at least a dozen nameable acquaintances from those days in school
-my x-step-aunt Joan (40something) and my actual Aunt Michelle (50)
-my former nanny turned friend (a nanny and doula), Gloria (3...6? I think?)
-literally every rotating NICU nurse we had at 3 different hospitals O_o I think this is a weird demographic thing
-my two favorite PATH Moms' sisters (both in their 50s) and my good friend Kristin's sister, Keegan (33)
-my first english professor; this 40+ woman who was a counselor when G and I were in school and is now a fb friend; one of his middle aged female coworkers; the waittress we had on our anniversary date; the trainer at the gym where my sister worked; Alex - this list could just go on for a very long time if I kept trying to include everyone, is the point.

When I think of families I know, online and IRL, I can think of a few examples with three kids, quite a lot with four, another fiver like us, and a handful in the "really big" category (6-12). Of the ones with three, one lost a child tragically and another couple are still aspiring to many many kids but just aren't there yet. Racking my brain for examples of two child families I come up with absolutely nobody, although I did remember that I know/know of at least half a dozen with singletons.

I now regrettfully inform you I am not getting to a point. Just thinking "out loud." Please forgive me :p

( Pictures are exciting, right? Food! And, our anniversary! )

(no subject)

Today, it was just Jacob, Elise and I at home during the school day. Grant was up at his office, A&A were at a friend's, and Isaac was at school. We sat around the table eating snack plates* and playing with Story Cubes for awhile. I'm teaching both of them to knit, this week, which is tedious as all hell but they always seem eager to get back to. We've also been working a lot with their Starfall writing journals and tear out, fold up books. The ones the two of them have are the last of my free pack of Starfall first grade workbooks and art books from 10 years ago when Starfall was giving them out free to educators and I ordered some.

After we got Isaac from school and collectively collapsed from near heat stroke, the four of us packed a swim bag and a snack bag and set out to walk up to the Y to swim. Two blocks out, though, Ms Denise (Elise's fabulous former preschool teacher) pulled over and gave us a ride in her giant SUV, which was sweet and thrilled Elise. She lives about a block from us so we knock on her door and sell her Girl Scout cookies and she always waves when Elise is playing outside as she's passing.

Anyway, swimming was cool. It's always weird for me how any mom within 75 pounds of my weight who is there with their kids is sitting on the sidelines fully clothed. I'm in a bikini, having fun in the pool. Usually after the first few minutes and/or whenever I'm not up on the deck, people stop staring. The lifeguard was fun and uncovered the diving board and encouraged kids to get on and try it - Elise is on cloud 9 for doing it when her big brothers (although she actually calls Isaac and Jake her "little brothers" and Aaron her big brother) were afraid to. The walk back was ok, it was cloudy and near sunset so aside from swarming clouds of gnats it wasn't too summer-ish.

I'm looking forward to the weekend, even though tomorrow's kinda ridic: Ananda has Girl Scout program aid training (for summer camps) from 10-4. Aaron has hip hop from 11-12:30. They both need to be picked up from Cybele's before any of that, and in the evening all 7 of us are going (and meeting various friends**) to the derby match, where Annie's junior team will be carrying the flag and generally skating around acting like they rock.

Derby matches are usually a lot of fun. And then SUNDAY!! Bwahaha, Sunday is Mother's Day, i.e. MY DAY, i.e. I will be sleeping in late, demanding all sorts of ludicrous pampering from everyone and going out alone for prolonged dates with my husband without any sort of bs guilt.

No, I am not kidding. I bought us gift cards to Outback and the movies, and new wine glasses (they were all broken over the past several months). I was just on the phone with my sister today, comparing the gifts we got ourselves - in advance of the day, obviously :p She went with clothes and a book.


*snack plates were started by my paternal, Cuban grandfather, who always gave my sister Laura and I, along with all our (all female) cousins plates of rolled lunch meat, tomato slices, olives, pickles, sometimes cheese and usually crackers. Jake and Elise are my first children to enjoy snack plates since every other kid I have hates at least one core component.

**I met this chick at the FIU transfer orientation the other day, very boho mismatched clothes, wild hair, piercings, interesting bracelets. I walked up to her and said, "I realize you shouldn't really judge people based solely off of their appearances. But you really look like we ought to be friends." This worked out very well, and before long we were deep into each others' life histories/aspirations, and planning for her to come to the match. She's a child psych major who wants to work with deaf kids :)


( +5 pics from last Sunday afternoon, which was event-laden... )