Inadequate, schminadequate

Kristy was having an outpatient procedure done on Monday which required someone to take her, stay during the procedure, and take her back home. So the kids and I went with her and stayed with her while she checked in. Well, anyone who has kids knows that kids are impossible in a waiting room, especially a waiting room that doesn't have any of those germ-infested, but very appreciated nonetheless, toy areas. So, as to be expected (or expected from my kids), they were a little rowdy--bouncing off the ottoman, sitting in every seat in there, and Squealing Sloane wasn't exactly helping to keep the noise level down. So after Kristy was called back to the patient area, she overheard some people talking:

(A baby can be heard squealing from the waiting room)
Patient 1: Is there a baby out there?

Old Grumpy Man (okay, so I don't know that he was old, but every other person in the waiting room was old, so I'm going to assume this guy was one of the ones I saw. And as for the "grumpy" part, by virtue of his upcoming comment, I'm going to say he's grumpy.) So anyway...
Old Grumpy Man: Yeah, there's a baby out there. She sure is cute, but man does she squeal. ... Actually, there're 3 kids out there. And that mom, she's trying, but that's just TOO MANY KIDS for her.

Yes, "too many kids for her". I, apparently, can't handle three kids. No, not thirty-three, and not twenty-three...just three. Thanks a lot grumpy old man for making me feel completely inadequate as a mom.

So yes, I know my kids are rowdy. They're kids. One is an extremely rowdy boy that we have thought on many occassions that we need to get tested for ADHD. (Seriously.) The middle one only needs a small egging on from her big brother to get her going. And the little one, well, she's little and you can't exactly reason with her just yet. But as rowdy and wild as they sometimes are in public, they are equally as friendly to anyone and everyone they pass. They are equally as excited about the ordinary things in life, like discovering "treasures" (aka acorns) in the grass, or adopting a new "pet" in a rolly-polly. They are equally as inquisitive about the workings of the world. Reid loves watching shows like "How It's Made" and is constantly asking me how recylcing works, how train tracks work (the other day, when asked about the train tracks, I said, "Well, the train just drives on the track." And he said, "No, like, how did they get here? I want to LEARN, mom."). His latest discovery is electricity. He found a book at the library and we have read it no less than 20 times in the last 2 weeks. He can tell you how it starts at the power plant with a generator (and how the generator works), how it is sent to a substation where a transformer increases the voltage before it goes on its long journey, being carried on lines that are held up by transmission towers, until it gets to another substation, where another transfomer then decreases the voltage so it can then be carried by more lines, which are held up by power poles, to our house, where it is then carried on wires in the walls until it gets to an outlet. Oh, and I forgot to mention that he also knows what electrons are, how lightning is created, what items are/are not conductors of electricity, and how electricity was discovered by Ben Franklin in the first place. And he's only 5! I may not have done the best job in the waiting room, but my three kids are smart, well adjusted, socially-able kids, and I know I (as well as Jeremy, of course) had something to do with that. So take THAT Grumpy Old Man!!

Here are some pictures of Reid with his electricity experiment:

The overall setup

The light doesn't turn on if the metals are not touching

But when you line it up, and then touch the light bulb to the battery, voila! The light turns on!