Oooooh, I am exhausted.

A little girl turned five this week and there was much organizing of Pirate decorations and accessories, as well as buying of presents and distributing of invitations (for a party which thankfully was NOT this week) and Halloween costume finalizing and Mommy (my mommy) hosting and chocolate-chip cookie baking for the annual school Halloween festival.

(Deep Breath)

And then there was the menstrual cycling, or at least the appearance of symptoms signaling that my body might be trying to work up to the menstral cycling now that the baby is solidly on solids.

And then there was the hitting of the wall and the asking of my husband to fulfill my volunteer hour at a church Halloween festival that we were too tired to attend. He said yes without batting an eye. Have I mentioned that he is a good man? Yes?

There was also the stealing of the kisses from the baby and the producing of belly laughs from the baby by the five-year old who is now deeply on board with big sisterhood. Do we have the best-natured baby in the whole world? Possibly. (knocking on wood)

Did I mention the mild disappointment from this mother when her five-year old was too self-conscious to wear her pirate hat and eye patch at the Halloween festival and later, the mild sadness when after a discussion with the five-year old this same mother discovered that seeing all the other girly costumes at the festival had made the five-year old a bit embarassed about her love of pirates. (For anyone concerned we have tons of girly costumes for her to wear if she decides to abandon the pirate costume before Halloween).

And then there was the seven year old who was struggling to recover from a sinus thing and her mother who as usual spent much time wondering how to find time alone with this same seven year old who seems to be needing a little extra attention lately.

There is more to say, but obviously I can only talk in run-on sentences, so I will be back later.

Senator McCain, it is hard to believe that you will fulfill your promise to cross party lines and bring this country together when you and your running mate make insinuations that a perfectly good American is connected to terrorism, that he has socialist tendencies, that he and his supporters are not pro-American, when your campaign laughs at and then taints community organizing. You have put fear into the hearts of good Americans.

When you do that, you fan flames that tear this country apart. You deepen the wounds that are already causing us so much pain.

Obama served on the board (organized by a Republican) with Bill Ayers because he believes, like so many others, that we make progress when we are willing to work with all sorts of people for a greater cause, even those who are not like us.

The reason that you are losing in the polls is that you have underestimated the American People. We are smarter than you give us credit for. We are tired of politicians that deliberately put fear into our hearts for political gain. Our desire to come together as a country is deep. We don’t want to be divided anymore.

Obama has understood that from day one. Even when we underestimated him, when the Democrats underestimated him and were calling for “red meat,” when the media underestimated him, he never underestimated us.

That, my friend, is why while you are a great Senator, he is a great leader and will make a great president.

Hannah to Rachel: “Are Triscuits healthy?”

Rachel to Hannah: “How am I supposed to know? Hannah, I’m only seven. It’s not like I’m eighty-nine or anything.”

I’ve been so wanting to write a political post. I’ve started quite a few times, but never quite have the energy to pull it off. And then I wonder, why do it? Will it make me feel better. Probably not. But will I burst if I don’t? No, but it sure feels like it.

I’m a Gemini. You know, the twins, the dual personality. Like a good Gemini, I’ve got a sort of ranting, “Take that, Sarah Palin” type of post floating around in my head. And then I’ve got another more hopeful, more conciliatory post in my head. You know, the one I would write if I were more like Obama. Maybe I’ll write both and post them at the same time and then be done with it. Get it all out there and move on.

Yes, I know half of you are Republicans. I think that’s good for me. I think we should all have times when we know members/friends of the opposite party are listening when we talk politics. I think that would take us a long way.

But no politics right now. I want to talk baby.

Little brother is having a needy day. I think he may be teething, but am not sure. His bottom front teeth pushed through last week. I think the top ones are coming through.

He’s so easy most of the time, sometimes I forget he’s there. Especially when I’ve got the girls. He’s just this beautiful round presence in my life and I get so much pleasure out of making him laugh and just hanging with his mellowness.

He’s starting to hold his arms out, just a little bit, when he wants to be picked up. It’s so sweet. He can put the pacifier in his mouth by himself now, but sometimes he puts it in sideways so it pushes his nose in. So cute.

He’s still not sleeping through the night regularly. I try to keep night feedings down to a minimum and sometimes let him cry it out. There are time, though, when it’s obvious that he is hungry, or teething, or something. I don’t let him go long when he makes it clear.

Today I got nothing of consequence done. The dishes are still in the sink. My project of clearing out my office to give him a full room of his own made to progress. He took a few short naps, but woke up each time with piercing cries. Teething is my guess. He wants to be held often.

So I am a bit sleep deprived from a night of the same sudden piercing cries, and am a bit frustrated that nothing has been accomplished and it’s almost time to pick up his sisters.

But I’m also thinking how absurd it is in a way when we think of babies as these pleasant smile machines that are here on earth to give us cuteness and pleasure. When truly, it is us that are here to keep them happy and cared for. Believe me, I’m no martyr, but it just struck me as absurd that we get frustrated when all they are doing is needing us, like they should be.

It is also absurd that I should WANT to do uninterupted housework when I’ve got this gorgeous, drooly baby, who despite always wanting to bite my chin and pull my hair, heaven on earth to hold.

So really, truly, it is a no brainer. But I have no brain these days.

Can’t proofread now. Baby needs me.

Sometime this year, Rachel discovered there was an “F-word.”

“Fart,” she whispered to me one day, in explanation.

Apparently, she knows the “B-word,” too.

“Mom, you’re great. You’re the b-word.”

“The b-word?” I asked.

“Yeah. You’re the best.”

A few minutes later she complained, “Mom, Hannah says I’m not the b-word.”

I looked her straight in the eye and said slowly. “You are the b-word.”

Her face lit up.