While wandering a small bookstore, a book caught my eye called "Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder" by Richard Louv. I skimmed it enough to know that I want to buy it and jotted the information down in my notepad. Suddenly I see references to the book everywhere. The idea that not just time spent in front of electronics, but children overscheduled with teams and classes instead of unstructured creative play in nature is causing behavioral problems is very interesting. My school age children have multiple classes and activities that they attend every week. We have to practically evict them from the house to get them away from video games. My childhood wasn't like this. I left the house after breakfast and stayed out until I was hungry, often skipping lunch because I was having too much fun. I wandered large distances from home, played in dangerous places (I loved the drainage ditches and culverts) and had a wonderful time. My own mother has confessed that growing up on a military base, the children would play on the missile silos. I feel nervous when my children leave our cove. They have helmet, sunscreen and bug spray requirements the times when they actually step away from the computers, PS2, GameBoy and television. At least Sarah and Noah will spend time at camps this summer. It isn't unstructured, but it's a start. Has anyone read the book?

The Rocky Top Brigade should have its' own blood drive.

Amy wanted makeup on for this week's Half Naked Thursday picture.

Pediatrician - "Did they tell you Evan has hydroceles?" Cathy - "What?!?" Pediatrician - "It's just water in the scrotum. It usually goes away." Cathy - "Why does he have it? What if it doesn't go away?" Pediatrician - "Don't worry about it." But worry is my middle name.

Families of four or more children should get a house call once a year by a pediatrician and nurse for everyone's yearly check-ups. At his check-up today Evan weighed 9 lbs and 13 ozs. No wonder my back hurts.

Potty talk - 1. Evan should have been named Gideon since he has such a loud trumpet. 2. Lying flat on his back, Evan can pee in his own ear.

Being outside makes Evan sleepy. 

Sarah and Amy have their routine check-ups today. The drama and hysterics have begun already. "It's not fair. I hate the doctor. I don't want a shot." At least only one of them is getting a shot today. Update - Sarah and Amy are great. Sarah gets to wait one year since the shot she needed is being reformulated right now. Sarah got scolded (by the nurse and the doctor) for not wearing her glasses after she did quite poorly on her eye exam while insisting that her vision is fine without the glasses. No shots for Amy until Kindergarten.

This baby's parent wanted her to be found and loved or they would not have made that phone call. It may not have been the best place to leave a baby, but it was not the tragedy that it could have been. If law enforcement hunts this infant's parents down they are discouraging future parents from leaving their baby where they can be safely found. The problem with the current law is that all the places where babies can legally be abandoned are too heavily video-camera watched. The police should just thank the parent for alerting the pastor and then drop the case. The media should take the spotlight off this child and do a story explaining how infants can be safely, legally and anonymously turned over to the state.

Doug is looking forward to two weeks from today. I am looking forward to his outpatient procedure. :) 

Tonight I watched the trailer for the new version of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and all I could think of when I watched Willy Wonka was (I know this seems strange) - Michael Jackson. The appearance, the intonation, the dialogue or something just made me think of the Prince of Wierd Pop. I still look forward to the movie.

Today is Sarah's birthday but the best thing about today is that after a week at the beach followed by a week at camp, Sarah is finally home. Yay!

In my previous life (aka when I worked outside of my home) I visited Brushy Mountain and Taft Youth Center inmates several times. Consequently, I am not a big fan of prisons. Real justice would be creative, appropriate for the crime consequences. The amount of time that has passed since Killen's crime is unforgiveably cruel to the victims' families. Still, there must be a better punishment for Killen than a prison hospital. Maybe he could spend his days scrubbing the bathrooms in itinerant laborers' bunkhouses.

While I agree with my husband that presidents without term limits is a very creepy political possibility, the government giving businesses the right to seize your personal property in the name of profit is extremely scary and wrong.

It has been a long time since I posted a "Half-Naked Thursday" picture. Technically this is my brother's contribution to HNT too.

Do as I say and not as I do (or did).

For her birthday, I wanted to buy Sarah the Gwen Stefani CD but I just couldn't bring myself to buy it because of the cover art. I guess I'm not as open minded as I thought I was. Further explanation - When buying music for Sarah, I have been picking CDs from the Radio Disney playlist. I don't expect the entire CD to be child friendly just because Disney plays one song. I bought her Bowling for Soup a few months ago and it has some language that is questionable but it just didn't bother me the way this pose does. I don't want to limit her musical listening to bubble gum pop stars and soundtracks to animated movies but she is too young for the in-your-face sexual stuff. She has asked me to buy the new Cold Play CD for her best friend's birthday next week. Should I?

When Evan stretches or grunts he sounds like one of those knee high dinosaurs with the ruffled necks. The dinos that look cute but blind you with their spit.

Uncle Dean and Aunt Jeni have posted pictures of Sarah and Noah at the beach with them last week. I love the picture of Noah and the shark.

Ever turn on a movie just because you wanted to listen to the soundtrack?

I had a migraine yesterday that built up until I went to bed at 9 and waited for the aneurism. I felt terrible so Doug gave me a break from holding Evan the entire day. Doug held Evan for 10 minutes while I put on my jammies.

I saw this exhibit the last time it was in America. There are more little pieces but no gold mask touring this time. I remember how tight the security was back then and wonder how much worse it will be in the new paranoid America. Will Steve Martin be writing a new song?

Weekend thoughts: Barbeque is made from pork, not beef. Ribs should be dry, not wet. Vinegar based barbecue is as wrong as ordering a sweet tea in Chicago.

I just returned from a visit to my parents' community pool that I thought was an outing planned by my husband and father. When we came home the house was suspiciously pleasant smelling and I found a note on the table that I had been visited by "The Cleaning Burglar". I immediately guessed who my fairy godmother could be but it took a LOT of musing and prodding to get Doug to confess the whole conspiracy of good deeds. Please go wish one of the sweetest people in Knoxville a Happy Birthday.

Sorry about the blur but Evan had the squirmies. 

Cutting my own hair is more psychologically complex than just stress relief.

baby feet 

Yesterday afternoon Doug and I took Tommy, Amy and Evan (Stop your grumbling. As long as they are held, newborns just sleep and eat. They rarely cry) to see Madagascar. Although not as well-done as Finding Nemo, Madagascar was very cute. I do suspect that Hollywood thinks that if they fill a cartoon with pop culture references and jokes to bring parents into theaters, the children in the audience will just miss the adult humor. Children are not pets or accessories Mr. Hollywood Producer. Children are very perceptive and if one of my children uses the word the penguins used during a very cold scene, there will be big trouble in little Knoxville.

Everyone is going a little stir-crazy over here. I think we need to get out of the house today. Maybe we'll search for ideas for Sarah's birthday. The 12th birthday for girls is the "talk on the phone and roll your eyes at your parents" themed birthday isn't it?

"Rumor travels faster, but it don't stay put as long as truth." Will Rogers

Yes, that was me. The tired woman recklessly tossing groceries in her cart at the store formerly known as Bi-Lo while breastfeeding a baby? That was me.

I volunteer to blog this event for the local paper if they will just pay for my plane ticket.

I can too form a sentence without one of the children's names in it. Umm, uh, well, I will think of a sentence and get back to you.

I don't know why they call them "the terrible two's". The three's are soooo much more stubborn and contrary.

Amy - "I got a boogie." Mom - "Mommy is feeding Evan. Give it to Daddy." Dad reaches out but the object has fallen from Amy's finger and disappeared. Amy - "It's OK Daddy. I get another for you."

Sarah LOVES to hold Evan. 

I guess Lucy needed her teeth brushed. 

Evan's favorite napping spot. 

The recycling truck just visited our cove. Recycling sounds like such a good thing to do. Furniture, playground surfaces, paper and so much more can be made from our trash. The next time you are carefully sorting and cleaning your recyclables, consider the following. After the trash service picks up your recyclables, they take them to a large, new facility where employees further sort your trash. Then, the materials are all buried in a landfill just like all the unsorted, nasty trash. They do catalog where the different materials are buried just in case they ever need to dig them up and use them. Guess how many times they have dug up recyclables since this expensive program was started many years ago? I think somebody missed the whole point of recycling.

Ben & Jerry's has free wi-fi. Now I just need a laptop so I have an excuse to spend more time in their big leather chairs listening to their fun music.

My brother is starting to think that Indiana is better than Tennessee. I need more than "cool hospitals" to convince me. Last year, Tim sung the praises of Australia and he was pretty convincing. Anybody else want to tell me about where you live? Do you have mountains and rivers just a short drive away? Are the people in your town friendly and hospitable? Do you run into people you know everywhere you go? Does the whole town become enthusiastic and supportive on 'game days'? Do you have 4 different seasons (not just 2)? Is Tennessee a good place to live?

Michael will be pleased about this. Warning - article contains LOST spoilers

Remember the cool sound of pulling suction cups off the windows? Whether it was a toy arrow or a stuffed Garfield, it was fun to lick it, stick it and pull until it went 'pop'. Well, that sound is just not pleasant at all when it involves a nursing baby and part of your own anatomy. "Pop!" "Ow!"

"Daddy! Evan has a peanut!" "Yes. That's because he's a boy." "Evan's peanut is small." Umm, small compared to what?

We wear out dryers. 

Too moody to blog today.

Maybe after his skin all peels off, Evan won't be the color of an acorn squash.

Today is free donut day at Krispy Kreme! Yummy!

Multiple choice question: Mom stumbles up the stairs looking like she has been on a bender. Dad looks at her and says "Wow, looks like I was a bad husband last night." Mom. . . A. said, "You snored for 7 hours straight last night. Ask me how I know this." B. asked Dad how many diapers he changed during the night before handing him a baby with a soggy diaper. C. gave Dad the evil eye of death intended to melt this moment and his words into his brain before sitting down to fold laundry with one hand.

Noah and his friends are running a chop shop in our backyard. Car parts in exchange for building supplies, what a bargain.

Doug made it 5 whole days before asking me if I will be going on a diet.