Goo Goo Gaa Gaa

One of the toughest aspects about being a stay-at-home mom, in my view, is not only that one is rarely intellectually active, but that one's daily discussions may be on the level of "goo goo gaa gaa". On some days, I simply run errands and spend time with my youngest, then pick up the girls, and that's about it. If my husband is still in working mode once the kids are in bed, this means that my conversation with adults may include brief exchanges with the baker, some random parent at the park, and my kids - most of the time being with my youngest, who does not speak in sentences yet. When the input to my ears is at the level of "banana" (16 months), a short story about a playground slide (4 year old) and on the newest favorite friend (nearly 6 year old), and my own output includes a lot of "no, do not throw the water on the table" (16 month), "dont forget to wash your hands" (4 years) and "yes, you can go up to play with the neighbour" (6 years) - honestly, it gets a bit mind-numbing. I wouldn't want to miss the stories my kids tell me, nor all the new words my youngest learns every day. But - a bit of a healthy balance would not hurt...