Okay, have you seen the new Newsweek magazine? Newsweek changed their format about 6 months ago.

I realized the other day that I have taken Newsweek magazine as a subscrber for 20 years! Am I really that old? I have subscribed to Newsweek longer than our nanny has been alive. Sheesh.

Now, I have loved Newsweek. Maybe even more than Costco. Maybe even more than Target. I have loved the magazine.

Sure, I didn't always agree with the magazine. Especially when I felt there was a little spin on something written in there. That bothered me. They had the back page for the editorials and I liked the editorials confined to that back page. That way, I could avoid reading them.

But, Newsweek changed. All the great photos, gone. All the excellent in-depth analysis of the news artcles, gone. All the interesting back stories that no one else was reporting, gone. All the interesting tidbits I hadn't heard from anyone else and no one else had heard them either so I looked really cool telling them, gone.

Newsweek now needs to change it's name to "Opinionweek." That's all it is.

Its crap.

All around me, people are throwing their opinion at me all day long. People are telling me on Facebook how horrible they think the earthquake in Haiti is. People are taking out billboards to tell me what they think of Obama. People are on television talking about what a creep Pat Robertson is after his recent comments. Frankly, I am tired of hearing what everyone thinks everywhere. What use is discussion with others when I already know all the opinions through TV, Twitter, Facebook, billboards, blogs (ha! like this one), and now the "news." What I loved about Newsweek is that they reported the news that was interesting with the details I didn't know from all the quick info outlets. Now, that's gone. I just get more people's opinions about things I already know.

I miss the old Newsweek. I miss reading the NEWS of the week and making my own opinions and then sharing them with others who could do more than quote the opinions of someone on TV.

So, goodbye Newsweek. You were one of my longest relationships, but you have let me down.

I am having a moment of silence. The kids are both napping. My husband is out running an errand. The TV is off. There are no noisy toys, music, or silly running games happening. It is quiet. And I have missed this.

The one thing I really will never get used to with children is the noise. Constant noise. From the need to fill spaces with endless renditions of "mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy" to the (shudder) singing toys, there is so much noise with children.

About two months ago, there was an article in Newsweek. Here's the link: http://www.newsweek.com/id/219010. In it, she talks about the value of silence. She quotes an author who wrote that living in a silent environment "her physical sensations were heightened (she was overwhelmed by the deliciousness of porridge, heard different notes in the wind, was more sensitive to temperature, and emotional)".

I know this feeling well. With too much noise, I start to shut down. I can't take it. My senses curl in on themselves. Give me time in silence, however, and I wake up. I become alive in so many ways.

People have suggested earplugs to me. I use them to sleep often. But, when the baby is crying, the toddler is playing with those horrible popper toys, my husband is excited to explain at length something from work, earplugs make it worse. It feels like I have closed a door on my ears and everything is banging on the door to get in. I can still hear, it is just heard through foam.

No, the real joy is silence. Pure and golden.

I have never really been a person to listen to music when I am alone. Maybe when I am cooking, but cooking is a singing, dancing, move your hips kind of experience. No, alone, I like to turn off everything and have quiet moments. Silence allows me to truly get lost in a book. When I set it down, it is hard for me to remember where I am. Drinking a cup of tea is so incredibly warming and relieving when it is silent. A single cookie can be the most astonishing taste on earth when it is quiet enough for me to really focus on the taste.

Maybe this is one reason I am not ready to give up nursing my son. In the middle of the night, with him nursing, everything is quiet. It exhausts me to wake up every night. It robs me of the ability to be sharp. But, in my life, there is no moment more enjoyable than those moments of silence. I'm willing to lose a little of my sleep and sanity for those stolen moments of silence with my son.

So, I really enjoyed our Kiddie Kandids experience. I recommended them. I just hope none of you took me up on that.

It turns out that today, Kiddie Kandids just shut down. The website for Kiddie Kandids is nothing but a message that they are out of business. The stores were locked up tight and employees showed up for work and were turned away. Frankly, I am offended at Kiddie Kandids.

For God's sake, how expensive is it to keep at least the website running?

They could have let their employees know.

This is the opposite of corporate responsibility. Now, I see why they are out of business.

The good news is that we have our photos on disk. Do you suppose the copyright is still valid if the company holding it is gone?

All I can say is that if those lovely employees set up shop somewhere else, they should let me know where they are because they take lovely pictures of my kids.

Orion got this gift of three footballs from Jeff's dad. They must have good mouth-feel because he loves them. But, every time she sees them, Isis says (in this really chirpy voice) "Orion's balls!" and takes them to him. Sometimes, she even says, "Orion's big balls." I think it is indicative of just how tired Jeff and I are right now that we always, without fail, think this is really funny.