Starting them early…they ran in the under 6 age category for the 2 km race. Primo ran much of it and walked probably 0.5 km. Bella ran about 0.5 km, walked about 0.5 km and was carried the other km by the Big Guy. (Who also, coincidentally, carried the pumpkins they got for completing the race all the way to the van. And then his arms fell off. The end.)

It’s pouring rain here today.

We just got back from puddle jumping. I taught the kids every rain song I know, which totals…three.

1. It’s raining; it’s pouring; the old man is snoring. He fell out of bed & bumped his head & couldn’t get up in the morning.

2. Rain, rain, go away. Come again another day.

and 3.

(…from which I knew a line and a half, so we came home and searched for them all on GooTube.)

We studied all of the worms that have emerged from the soil, and saw what we think was a centipede too. Primo and I had a philosophical discussion about why we couldn’t step on him and we decided that only God should decide when someone dies – not a Diego rain boot.

I love Sundays.

Yesterday we ran out of milk.

I mean, like, really out. So “out” that I couldn’t even have a latte this morning. (Until I could get to Starbucks, that is. I’m not that stupid. I wouldn’t have any friends sans caffeine.)

So after our chiropractic appointments we were going to Costco to get some bulk stuff we were out of, and decided to stop at Safeway first to get milk. My kids have never had a drop of milk that wasn’t of the breast or organic variety, and we can’t get either at Costco so we always have to make several stops for groceries. Milk wasn’t on the list, but since that was our primary purpose for stopping at Safeway it should be a no-brainer, right?

I left with three bags full of groceries and no milk. And didn’t notice until the kids were buckled in their carseats.

So? I bought milk at Costco.

The same price for 4 litres as I usually pay for two. But now we’re home and I can’t bring myself to put it in my kids’ cups.

Dumb? Yep.

Canadian non-organic milk doesn’t even have the hormones that American milk does, so it’s not nearly as bad to buy non-organic dairy products here but it still makes me feel horribly guilty to put those chemicals in my babies’ little bodies.

Some families don’t even drink milk after weaning. Many green families, actually. Which is very interesting to me. I haven’t really done my research on it (shocking! I know!) but some things I’ve read are rather shocking.

1. Westerners are the only people who drink milk from another mammal after weaning.
2. We’re also the only society with osteoporosis.

Hmmmm.

I wrestle with giving my children milk at all, but justify it because it’s organic. They get fat and calcium from many other sources (a head of organic broccoli lasts two days around here, and they’re both nuts for nuts) so it’s not like they’d really be missing anything. Vitamin D maybe, but they spend a ton of time outside so probably not. They also have goats milk occasionally, and soy or hemp milk, but they hate almond milk.

So, all that is just to say that I have a ridiculous amount of milk guilt and, though I know it’s totally dumb, I can’t help it and am not sure what I’m going to do about it.

I mean, it’s not like I fed them a hotdog.

I do not have a child with autism. I do not know a child with autism very well. I have friends and e-friends with children who are on the autism spectrum at one place or another and I think of them ALL the time.

I have no words, but this song does.

They’re babies. They’re children like the rest of them, and they’re in there. Please look.