sex and monsters

tonight was friday pizza night at the schwedhelm house and the following transpired at the dinner table... me: kiele, how was school today? kiele: it was fine. Â mrs boller [6th grade science teacher, currently teaching the family health unit] said that you have to talk to me about sex? me: oh really? kiele: i wasn't going to tell you but since you asked me how was school today, i thought i better, so i don't get in trouble. me: you learned all about sex, huh? Â did you also learn things like you can't get diseases from kissing and stuff like that? kiele: you can get a disease from kissing? me: no you can't. kiele: yes. you can!! Â that one disease...the love disease. me: Â what love disease can you get from kissing? kiele: you know...that disease where you fall in love [said with a grimacing look of disgust]...the love disease.

all the time we're talking, skyler, in the peanut gallery, is screaming: sex? what's sex. i want to know about sex. Â what's a period? Â a baby? Â how is a baby made?

OH MY GOSH!

and the conversation didn't stop there. it went on and on. kiele informed me that she's not happy about having to have a period someday and she's not using that stick thing. skyler informed me that she knew what a real live period was...the dot at the end of a sentence.

i couldn't stop laughing, in the best way, of course b/c i still had not had the talks with kiele. now...now i've not only had all the talks (i've been waiting for the right time to have) with kiele, i've had the talks with skyler and ryder too. and at the rate sky is going, she might need the talks first.

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and ryder. i'm not quite sure what to do with him as he is convinced that monsters live in his bedroom walls. it's to the point that he is scared to walk near his room. when he's in trouble (e.g. when he is outside, sitting on the grass, crying about something his sisters did and won't come in), sometimes, he'll have to go in his room as part of his discipline. well, he now covers his ears and screams about the monsters, as i put him in his room. he actually begins covering his ears as tight as he possibly can on the way to his bedroom and screams,

no mommy. no. not my room.

someone had recommended monster spray. i tried it for a couple weeks but it didn't work. not one bit. he remains terrified. i'm not quite sure what to do about the whole thing. and needless to say, ryder still sleeps in my bed; he basically always has...and this monster deal hasn't resulted out of my trying to get him sleep in his own bed. i wasn't going to tackle that until it was closer to steve getting home.

and here he is. Â my boy, as an indian, vest, drum and all. Â taken yesterday for daddy, at ryder's preschool thanksgiving performance. this is his new way of smiling for the camera. aye. the smile of a photographer's child.

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today was a better day, although kiele and i are still not feeling well. today, i spent a lot of time with the kids and yet, i was still able to knock out a couple lingering things off my to-do list. Â