Alone, almost

Do you hear that?

No?

Me neither.

The house is so quiet. And not "everyone is sleeping" quiet. It feels empty and odd.

The girls, Belly and Jilly, ages 6 & 4, slept at my mom's last night. It was only Belly's second sleepover and Jilly's first. Fairly Odd Father is up in Vermont somewhere---mountain biking this weekend with some friends (please keep his pinky finger in your thoughts---we do not want a repeat injury).

Last night, my youngest---D---and I spent the evening together. We sat on the front porch and ate ice cream (his dinner) and then ran through the sprinkler until the mosquitoes dive-bombed us. We watched TV together and I realized that "America's Funniest Videos" IS geared to a 2-year old brain!

It is strange to have the house so quiet. Contrary to what I may have thought at one time, one little boy is not so noisy.

That being said, I think it is time I get down to business and finish a meme I was tagged to do quite a while ago by Robin, who was able to reach me all the way from Israel.

In this meme, I am supposed to reveal eight random facts or habits about myself. The following should not be confused with this post, which had me spilling six weird things about myself. Let's see if I can come up with anything else:

1. My mornings must include coffee and a shower, in that order. I don't need to shower right away, but I need to do it before I get dressed.

2. I can't sit still. I pace when I talk on the phone, jiggle my legs when at the computer and even 'run' my feet back and forth while I'm falling asleep. I'm not high-strung, am I?

3. I am a crier. I cry reading books to the kids (The Giving Tree is particularly difficult), watching a movie, hearing the news or just because. In the past few days, I've cried: when I accidentally slammed Jilly's hand in the car door (miraculously, she was fine); when my friend got up to speak at her grandmother's memorial service; after FOF left for his trip; when I saw my new niece; when I stubbed my toe. . .I think you get the idea.

4. I have an innie-outie bellybutton. It doesn't stick out, but it isn't like most innies which are just little slits. If FOF hadn't taken the digital camera to Vermont, I'd take a picture. Or, maybe not; my belly isn't the prettiest thing to see after three kids.

5. I am NOT a blond, even though I act it at times*. I was blond until I was about eight years old, and then it started to get darker and darker. Any blond picture of me since then is from dying my hair. In addition to blond (all shades, from white-blond to brownish-blond), I've been orange, red, maroon and dark brown. Someday I will post a 'hair retrospective'.

* for instance, I had spelled 'blonde' with a silent 'e', but spell check says this is wrong! Really?!?!? --hangs head in shame. . .or sham--

6. I do not like to follow arbitrary rules. This is a major reason why I chose to homeschool my kids, and it is also why I'm going to end this meme at #6.

I'm also supposed to tag eight people, but it's a holiday weekend! No more work! Have fun and get wet to celebrate the start of summer!