I spent half my life wishing I was Only...I'm only now starting to feel some of the sibling...payoff, and we still disagree all the time.(Maybe it affected me...Mom says I was born in the weirdest town in SoCal. My brother was born here. Maybe that's why he's...conventional.) I wonder what it'd be like to have sister but if she'd been good at being popular or something, it might have been painful being Little Sister Spaz.

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I was really bored as an only child, which makes me think I want at least two children, except I think I would be better with one child.

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You know sj, you don't have to fiddle with fancy steel cut oats that you do in a slow cooker over night, or anything special you have to get at TJ's or anything like that. Those are all nice, but they're for the oatmeal gourmand. If TCG will try oatmeal, the one or five minute Quaker oats have plenty of soluble fiber, which is the cholesterol removing substance.

I only buy the five minute oats, because that's what I like best, but there's nothing to cooking them. And they have no salt at all. The recipe says to add salt, but notes you don't have to. I never do, and don't miss it.

You bring the water to a boil, add the oats, turn the heat down to medium, and let them cook about five minutes. You stir them occasionally. If the water is all absorbed before your five minutes is up, they're ready.

Quaker even has a little chart on the back that notes the healthy-heart serving size (the amount that gives you 3gs of soluble fiber). This is not a huge deal, and if he doesn't like it as cereal, you can make cookies with them. And if you don't like the cookies, you can send them to me (no raisins, please).

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I'm antsy. I really want/need to get out of the house, but it's so freaking cold!

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I think there's an element of jealousy, too -- I think a lot of people with kids would never *want* to admit to thinking about what their lives would be like if they'd opted out of parenthood, so seeing other people make that choice is a thorn in the side -- "How come they get to [perceived image of endless travel, parties evey night, more spenging money, no one throwing up on you at 3 a.m.], when I didn't?"

I think I ran into this a lot after my divorce. For a number of reasons, I left the kids in my ex's custody. The number of people, women in particular, who asked me "how could you DO that?" as if I was the most unnatural mother in the world chapped.my.ass. It's not like I left them in the woods to be eaten by wolves. The one time a woman looked at me and said "that must be terribly painful for you" I nearly threw myself on her shoulder and cried my eyes out.

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Thanks, Cindy. I'll keep that in mind. I have been eating instant oatmeal every day for a couple of weeks. Maybe I can get TCG to eat oatmeal on the weekend.

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Just an(other) quick drive-by:

For those snowed in, suggestions for how to spend the time. Including - Jilli are you there? - making Peeps dioramas.

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The one time a woman looked at me and said "that must be terribly painful for you" I nearly threw myself on her shoulder and cried my eyes out.

Isn't it amazing that a small kindness can break a person like that? I'm sorry you caught so much crap for making a personal parenting decision, Sail. And like you said, it's not like you left them in the woods to be eaten by wolves. My husband is every bit the parent I am. We don't do everything alike, but we're both crazy mad in love with our kids, and they'd suffer no more without me than they would without him.

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It is very cold outside but not that windy, so I didn't feel it as much.

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You know sj, you don't have to fiddle with fancy steel cut oats that you do in a slow cooker over night, or anything special you have to get at TJ's or anything like that.

Yeah, I don't even like steel-cut oats. They're too tiny. I like Quaker and I put in much less water they don't come out so glutinous, but with noticeable (and tasty!) grain. Five minutes and boom! Hit it with butter and maple syrup and life is good.

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