I must say I really try to notice this in our textbooks and make things more inclusive. But it's not always easy.

OK, kitty just ran to the door to investigate doggie-like sounds coming from the hall....

Ooh! I just saw something on the Daily Show that made me think maybe my Work Nemesis will lose her job! t /oblique

And I realize it's terrible to hope for that for anyone, but she's just so incompetent, she should have been fired for cause years ago.

Family Tree Trauma can happen in even the most traditional of environments.

My Father's youngest sibling was the eighth child. When she had to bring in a baby picture of herself they couldn't FIND ONE. She was in plenty of group shots, but they coulnd't find any of just her. She took in a picture of her older sister.

Oh, my. They're re-releasing a CD with Butterfly Kisses on it. Why would you want to do that.

Trudy, it's not that traditional to be the 8th kid, surely?

Huh. Tonight's Criminal Minds repeat is set in Jamaica. I'm currently listening to an appalling accent. How could they not find better ones?

Trudy, it's not that traditional to be the 8th kid, surely?

It's OLD SKOOL, Roman Catholic, Man! What could be more traditional?

(Though I mostly meant "traditional" in the "Mom & Dad & Full Siblings All in One House" way.)

Sure, it's shantung silk, but... it's not made of butterfly wings, you know?

True, but it is made from baby butterfly butt-bunting. That's pretty special.

Here in NYC, we have term limits -- except the City Council just voted that the limit is three terms, not two LIKE THE PEOPLE VOTED FOR, because Bloomberg wants to run again. I don't even believe in term limits and this pisses me off.

That's quite odd, though I'll note that if it pissess off enough New Yorkers, then the right to run again won't mean that much. Mostly, though, I'm happy this wasn't the reaction when Giuliani was talking about a third term.

Do your self-eval Kathy!! Do it for America!!

Damn straight! Is America shirking from its self-evaluation? Can you do any less?

I had a classmate who was the child of her father's second marriage. She had three or four half-brothers who were all much older than her -- I think the youngest was about 15 or so when we were in first grade. Her father died when she was a baby. In first grade, we were learning about bar graphs and making a graph showing how many of us in the class were the oldest in the family, the youngest, in the middle, or an only child. She got all flustered because she didn't know whether to say she was the youngest or an only child.

Trudy, I'm so happy for your friends and their boys! The wee brother holding his big brother's hand and putting washcloths on his face is breaking my heart, in a good way.

{{{}}} to everyone with family issues. And, java, that story of your kindergarten picture of your family is exactly how I would have expected wee!java to be.

Picspam:

The meerkat costume has arrived. Matilda likes it. So does Emmett.

I have a video of Matilda hopping around the kitchen cackling gleefully, but this computer is uncooperative so it'll have to wait until I can get over to the more docile laptop.

8 kids in one house makes my head spin. My father's many half-sibs were scattered across houses.