My dad worked crazy shifts when I was a child, too. Lots of 12 hour days (and nights) so he was tired a lot. But one of my most cherished pictures is of me and my twin sister (we're about 4 years old), sitting on my dad's chest while he was sacked out on the couch in his uniform. I grew up in a very touchy-feeling family so my kids take after me in that respect.

Not from a touchy feely immediate family. They've shifted more towards it now, and it makes me look at them funny. Extended family is very gropey though, and that doesn't bother me any.

I also have the twin thing where I touch and lean subconsciously. Poor DH had to cope with that and he's a person with a very defined personal bubble.

Another corrupt politician bites the dust. It almost gets my hopes up for November. Twice bitten, still hopeful.

Is that a really bad wig, or a really bad hairdo?

I'm drowning in babies.

Oh Cashmere, what a way to go. Too cute! Your room looks wonderful, too. The walls really pop.

My kids are cuddly, but Chris is really the only one who doesn't injure me. Ben's 5 feet and 100 lbs. Julia is all elbows and knees.

I'm very random...okay, random's not it...strangely selective with touching and feeling. There are people at krav I hang all over, that I touch and grope with abandon, and others that I like as much or more that it's never more than a fingertip touch on the arm.

Not sure if that's more about me or them, though. Probably me.

Biggest. Baby. Ever.

Marie Michel's fifth child was one for the record books. Michel gave birth to a 14-pound, 13-ounce boy Tuesday at William W. Backus Hospital.

Backus officials said the newborn — Stephon Hendrix Louis-Jean — broke the 18-year record for the biggest baby ever born at the hospital by 1 pound, 13 ounces. He was nearly 23 inches long.

Christ. That kid's huge. And I notice she gave birth to 8.5lb twins. Oh, ouch.

Ouch!

Brendon went through a stage where he wasn't cuddly, then since he grew taller than me he always had to drape himself over me. Now at about 10" taller than me he is Mr. Huggy. Both of the boys will use me as a pillow when they watch tv. Not at the same time though! I may be pudgy, but not that much pillow to go around.

Wow, that kid's huge. And, from the one picture, born to a not-huge mom. I wonder how big the dad is? I have a friend who gave birth to an 11-lb. girl, but she herself is 5'10" and sturdily built and her husband is 6'6" and ditto; next to other babies, their baby looked like Gargantua, but next to her actual parents she looked properly wee and newborn.

Your life-jacket can be found under your seat, but please do not remove it now. In fact, do not bother to look for it at all. In the event of a landing on water, an unprecedented miracle will have occurred, because in the history of aviation the number of wide-bodied aircraft that have made successful landings on water is zero.

Well, there was a hijaked 767 that made a water landing. While the landing might not have been "successful," many passengers survived. In fact, many of those who didn't survive died because they failed to listen to instructions and inflated their life-jackets while still on the plane.

I also wonder about those semi-aquatic landings when planes slide off the end of runways into Jamaica Bay (or wherever)