Thoughts and an Experiment

A random collection of thoughts for today. If that bores you, skip to the EXPERIMENT at the bottom!

Spring has Sprung. Finally. Summer, even, with a high of ninety degrees today. At first, Cue took offense to this horrid, too-shiny-in-his-eyes thing we call the SUN. After a while, he got into the spirit of things with a little summer siesta.


Still Missing, One Slightly Undersized Brain. This afternoon I gave Ess and Gee a bath. I wanted to cut the elastics out of Ess' hair so that I could wash it and discovered that I had left my little scissors downstairs. So, I left them getting undressed in the bathroom (dangerous on so many levels) and sprinted downstairs to grab the scissors off of the mantel. I returned in seconds to find them still happily removing their socks. When I went to cut the elastics, I was holding the TV remote?! Where did I leave my brain again? Oh yeah, Costco.

Beautiful Hair. While on the subject of Ess' hair, it is an adventure, but I improve every time I do a style. I have read a lot about how important hair is in Haitian (and African-American) culture. It is very important to me that I learn to do her hair and that she feels that I understand how to care for it. I also want her to LOVE her hair and know how beautiful it is. That's why I cried when I read her 'interview' from toddler school with Teacher Glinda. The last question was 'something special about me is?' Her answer? 'I have beautiful hair.' Now, if only she will feel that way when she is sixteen.

And now, here it is, the promised extremely official, very scientific experiment.

Boy Sperm Like Breakfast. Our fine local paper (my small, diaper-filled kingdom for the Washington Post or NY Times) reported on a study that has been on my mind. Research indicates that women who eat breakfast, and more specifically breakfast cereal, statistically have more boys. And conversely, women who don't eat breakfast cereal are statistically more likely to have girls (there still being, last I checked, only those two options).

I found the article fascinating because I could easily apply it to me. (As opposed to things that are less fascinating in that they have nothing to do with me. Kidding, sheesh). I eat cereal for breakfast like it's a religious edict. Every single morning. Cereal (either honey nut cheerios or honey bunches of oats). Milk. Day begins. And, I have borne....two boys. Viola! My mother? She thinks cereal floating in milk is cruel and unusual punishment banned by the Geneva convention. I have two sisters. Study confirmed.

What? You find this anecdotal? You want more evidence? Cool, because I was thinking it would be fun to run my own little scientific research project right here. How about it? I need volunteers. Tell me, about your cereal/sex experience. (That's cereal as in food eaten in the morning, not serial as in a lot of times in a row, although the latter would be more fun, perhaps). Boys or girls, breakfast cereal or no? Anyone abhor breakfast cereal and have five boys? Adore breakfast and have girls? If you have a mix (of children, not cereals), did your breakfast eating habits change at all between them?

Once you have reported your results to me, I shall do math (yes, that is frightening, but I will run my math by my clever husband and see if it is correct) and ascertain if our numbers confirm or rebut their 56% boys for cereal eaters hypothesis. The more data, the better, so ask your friends about their breakfast habits prior to conception. Or better yet, if they live in a cool place, get them to come and post it themselves so I can have their dot.

Wait, what's that? Not scientific, too many variables...no control group... you're breaking up, sorry.