Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Book Glee....
We pause for some shameless back-patting....
The Green Guide for Horse Owners and Riders is currently:
I had to take a screen shot .... and if you look closely, it says "only one left". YAY!
The Green Guide for Horse Owners and Riders is currently:
#5,657 in Books on Amazon.ca and...
#2 in Riding... (beating Pat Parelli... HA!)
#3 in Equestrian
#4 in Sustainable Agriculture!!
I had to take a screen shot .... and if you look closely, it says "only one left". YAY!
A Mish Mosh - Just another day in the life...
Many times during the day I think about something I'd love to write. Maybe I've come across an article I would love to comment on or an idea pops into my head or I remember a story that I'd like to re-tell. And then I get off work, I pick up the kids, we have our snack, I make supper, I do dishes, I reboot the laundry, I run M off to cubs/karate/wherever if I have to, I keep E off of the cats so they aren't squished into oblivion.
Rarely do I even get onto my computer.... wait, that's not true, I do squeeze in a round or two of an online game... one of those games that takes a minute to play. Because that's all I usually have ... a minute. By the time I get around to opening a word doc to do some actual writing, it's after 10 pm and the kids are in bed.
And this is after I stepped down from some boards! Some days I can't remember how I did all of this AND wrote two books...
Oh yeah, speaking of that.... my second book goes on sale in about two weeks :)
But my point is... I'm tired! It's after 11 pm as I sit and write this and my bed is calling me. But I don't necessarily regret the lack of time. Tonight I got to go with my son's cub group to a local observatory where we looked at the moon through an awesome telescope and spotted the international space station in the sky. I got to chit chat with some other parents while my son had fun running around with the other boys.... in the dark (no outside lights at an observatory, duh!).
I'd love to write about how M choose to come back and sit with me half way through the evening, just because he wanted to sit with me. I'd love to write about how he can't imagine that cubs will be ANY FUN AT ALL because he has to leave whatever he's doing NOW to do SOMETHING ELSE OTHER THAN WHAT HE'S DOING AT THIS MOMENT (horror!) ... and then every time he has a blast, regardless of the activity.
I'd love to write about E's first swear, which was exactly the same as my first swear (Uncle Gord may remember that one...). M's not-so-great-day at school that he did a great job recovering from, the PTA and how much I love other moms, the poor rabbits who are turning white at this time of the year and yet there's no snow for them to blend into yet, so they are quite the little targets for the coyotes.
But all that will have to wait until a day - soon - when I am rested.
I hope they have wireless in the retirement home. You think I can get some rest there?
Rarely do I even get onto my computer.... wait, that's not true, I do squeeze in a round or two of an online game... one of those games that takes a minute to play. Because that's all I usually have ... a minute. By the time I get around to opening a word doc to do some actual writing, it's after 10 pm and the kids are in bed.
And this is after I stepped down from some boards! Some days I can't remember how I did all of this AND wrote two books...
Oh yeah, speaking of that.... my second book goes on sale in about two weeks :)
But my point is... I'm tired! It's after 11 pm as I sit and write this and my bed is calling me. But I don't necessarily regret the lack of time. Tonight I got to go with my son's cub group to a local observatory where we looked at the moon through an awesome telescope and spotted the international space station in the sky. I got to chit chat with some other parents while my son had fun running around with the other boys.... in the dark (no outside lights at an observatory, duh!).
I'd love to write about how M choose to come back and sit with me half way through the evening, just because he wanted to sit with me. I'd love to write about how he can't imagine that cubs will be ANY FUN AT ALL because he has to leave whatever he's doing NOW to do SOMETHING ELSE OTHER THAN WHAT HE'S DOING AT THIS MOMENT (horror!) ... and then every time he has a blast, regardless of the activity.
I'd love to write about E's first swear, which was exactly the same as my first swear (Uncle Gord may remember that one...). M's not-so-great-day at school that he did a great job recovering from, the PTA and how much I love other moms, the poor rabbits who are turning white at this time of the year and yet there's no snow for them to blend into yet, so they are quite the little targets for the coyotes.
But all that will have to wait until a day - soon - when I am rested.
I hope they have wireless in the retirement home. You think I can get some rest there?
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
WHAT TIME IS IT MR WOLF?!
I swear I just looked at the clock and expected 9:30 pm but instead it is 11pm and I had plans to go upstairs and cuddle with a Big Rock Winter Spice beer and watch some of My Shows that I've PVR'd.
Instead I got caught up on trying to figure out a few more ways to get confused about what the heck I'm doing trying to be School Council Chairperson. I guess I'm so used to Knowing What The Heck I'm Doing that I freak about a little bit when I'm CONFUSED. Even though I heard someone smarter than me say "Confusion is the world's most honest feeling". Yeah, whatev.... I wanna know what I'm doing. Where's the GPS so I can plug in Get Me From Here to The End of the Council Meeting and Don't Let Me Drive Through a Bus Trap.
Do you know what a bus trap is? Maybe your city doesn't have one but mine does.... it's a big hole in the ground with a grate overtop of it and wide enough that busses can drive over it but cars fall into it nose first and usually end up with their rear end up in the air.... I have seen cars do this and a local columnist once complained that her GPS told her to turn right so she turned right and drove RIGHT into a bus trap. Does GPS = WHO CARES ABOUT ROAD SIGNS?? Because there are large, red signs that say things like BUSSES ONLY and NO CARS and they even put graphics up with big Xs through the cars... and still "UH, my GPS said I could go through here..."
Maybe my council GPS did actually tell me I could accomplish this task and I'm left with my face in a trap and my butt up in the air, hoping no one laughs at me.
Instead I got caught up on trying to figure out a few more ways to get confused about what the heck I'm doing trying to be School Council Chairperson. I guess I'm so used to Knowing What The Heck I'm Doing that I freak about a little bit when I'm CONFUSED. Even though I heard someone smarter than me say "Confusion is the world's most honest feeling". Yeah, whatev.... I wanna know what I'm doing. Where's the GPS so I can plug in Get Me From Here to The End of the Council Meeting and Don't Let Me Drive Through a Bus Trap.
Do you know what a bus trap is? Maybe your city doesn't have one but mine does.... it's a big hole in the ground with a grate overtop of it and wide enough that busses can drive over it but cars fall into it nose first and usually end up with their rear end up in the air.... I have seen cars do this and a local columnist once complained that her GPS told her to turn right so she turned right and drove RIGHT into a bus trap. Does GPS = WHO CARES ABOUT ROAD SIGNS?? Because there are large, red signs that say things like BUSSES ONLY and NO CARS and they even put graphics up with big Xs through the cars... and still "UH, my GPS said I could go through here..."
Maybe my council GPS did actually tell me I could accomplish this task and I'm left with my face in a trap and my butt up in the air, hoping no one laughs at me.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
It's Coming...
Even though I rarely finish, even though most of the people participating in my city are quite young (not that there's anything wrong with that... I just sometimes have no anecdotes to use.... lol), even though this is my first time in SIX YEARS not being a Municipal Liaison.... I still can't stay away from NaNoWriMo.org
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Listy Motivationus <-Inspiration! Just add water!
I have been staring at the screen, coffee in hand, and trying to figure out what to write. Over the work week I'll stop in the middle of my day and say "I want to blog this..." but there's no time (and I work full time and don't blog at work!) and by the time I get home, I've lost what I wanted to say.
So here in Random Order is a download of Things That Swirl in My Brain.
1. I am frustrated with my white carpet. I didn't choose the white carpet, but I did choose the house with the white carpet in it. I have children. What the hell was I thinking? The worst thing is that I know there is hardwood under there and I want it. And I've convinced myself that next spring I can pull up this carpet on my own and refinish the hardwood in all 1200 or so square feet of the top floor of our house.
2. Finally my son is having some kind of success in school. And I hate to say it, but I'm going to go ahead and say it.... because the teacher listened to me. He gets so easily distracted and I knew that giving him an MP3 player with some good songs on it would help. When he needs to focus, on go the headphones and he can do his work.
3. I'm kind of cranky that I listened to my doctor rather than the psychologist. The psychologist recommended we put M on Strattera. The doctor disagreed and said Concerta. We tried the Concerta and it was horrible. I freaked out and didn't want to try anything else. The doctor had said that the two were pretty much the same, one was just longer acting, one was more immediate. SO NOT TRUE. When I spoke to a friend in the pharma industry he explained the different base drug in each. Not saying that I am ready to go back to the medication track.... but I HATE not having all the info when I make a decision.
4. Is anyone watching The Biggest Loser? I keep watching Abby, the woman who lost her husband, five year old daughter and three week old son in a car accident a few years ago. And while one part of my brain says "she is really strong", the other part of my brain says "I could not be that strong, I think I'd lay down and die".
5. I could live in a motorhome and be happy. I know that some people (uh, like my husband) would think that's cRazY. But I think it would be cool. Then I wouldn't covet a Dyson vacuum because there would be no room to use it.
6. I love old stuff. I have a "new" old typewriter. We have a SUPER old set of spurs that come with a SUPER old letter that says they were THIS GUY'S SPURS. Yeah, the Charge of the Light Brigade Guy. I want to paint my walls to look like old parchment paper. I love my photos in black and white. Maybe this is why I bought a house that hadn't been updated since the 60's. The only old thing I don't love is my old fridge.
7. My house is too cold. I'm sorry but I need at least 70 F in here.... and hubby makes the cranky face if it's over 68F (20C) and I am trying so hard to keep it there, but DUDE... I have two pairs of socks on, slippers, three shirts, a pair of sweatpants AND my housecoat. But I can't put anything on my nose and it is cold too dammit.
So here in Random Order is a download of Things That Swirl in My Brain.
1. I am frustrated with my white carpet. I didn't choose the white carpet, but I did choose the house with the white carpet in it. I have children. What the hell was I thinking? The worst thing is that I know there is hardwood under there and I want it. And I've convinced myself that next spring I can pull up this carpet on my own and refinish the hardwood in all 1200 or so square feet of the top floor of our house.
2. Finally my son is having some kind of success in school. And I hate to say it, but I'm going to go ahead and say it.... because the teacher listened to me. He gets so easily distracted and I knew that giving him an MP3 player with some good songs on it would help. When he needs to focus, on go the headphones and he can do his work.
3. I'm kind of cranky that I listened to my doctor rather than the psychologist. The psychologist recommended we put M on Strattera. The doctor disagreed and said Concerta. We tried the Concerta and it was horrible. I freaked out and didn't want to try anything else. The doctor had said that the two were pretty much the same, one was just longer acting, one was more immediate. SO NOT TRUE. When I spoke to a friend in the pharma industry he explained the different base drug in each. Not saying that I am ready to go back to the medication track.... but I HATE not having all the info when I make a decision.
4. Is anyone watching The Biggest Loser? I keep watching Abby, the woman who lost her husband, five year old daughter and three week old son in a car accident a few years ago. And while one part of my brain says "she is really strong", the other part of my brain says "I could not be that strong, I think I'd lay down and die".
5. I could live in a motorhome and be happy. I know that some people (uh, like my husband) would think that's cRazY. But I think it would be cool. Then I wouldn't covet a Dyson vacuum because there would be no room to use it.
6. I love old stuff. I have a "new" old typewriter. We have a SUPER old set of spurs that come with a SUPER old letter that says they were THIS GUY'S SPURS. Yeah, the Charge of the Light Brigade Guy. I want to paint my walls to look like old parchment paper. I love my photos in black and white. Maybe this is why I bought a house that hadn't been updated since the 60's. The only old thing I don't love is my old fridge.
7. My house is too cold. I'm sorry but I need at least 70 F in here.... and hubby makes the cranky face if it's over 68F (20C) and I am trying so hard to keep it there, but DUDE... I have two pairs of socks on, slippers, three shirts, a pair of sweatpants AND my housecoat. But I can't put anything on my nose and it is cold too dammit.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
This is how we make friends around here
Last week my son was out riding his Most Favoured Possession: The Awesome BMX Bike his dad gave him for his birthday. I let him ride in the back alley when it's not "coming home from work" time and all the tired people are Just Trying To Make It Home To Have A Martini.
I was in the house, as I don't feel the need to hover around the back alley. He's 8. He can ride safely and it's not as though I'm allowing him to ride on the expressway.
He came home after a few minutes. Without his Most Favoured Possession: The Awesome BMX Bike. That was certainly odd. I asked him what happened and he began to explain how The Mean Man had kicked him out of "his end of the alley". He'd been so scared by this man's menacing arm waving that he left his bike behind and ran home. At this point in the conversation his cohort arrived and explained that he'd moved the Most Favoured Possession: The Awesome BMX Bike into his garage so it would be safe.
I asked the boys what had been going on. I managed to figure out that they'd been eating crab apples and one had rolled "near" The Mean Man's backyard and he'd come out yelling and swinging.
Hmmmm.
I asked them to show me the yard from which the ogre had emerged. We made our way there and the boys arrived first. They were in plain sight while I had yet to be seen because the bushes in the man's backyard were too high. The three of us were still in the back alley, just to clarify that we hadn't actually gone IN the backyard.
Well. Out of the house comes this, crazed man with arms flying and he's yelling "What the hell do you two want, why the hell are you standing there..." At which point I stopped being the curious mom and turned into Mother Bear from Hell.
He and I "exchanged words".
I determined that the boys had been throwing crab apples in the man's backyard. I paused to glare at the boys who stared at their toes, realizing they had left that detail out. I sent the both of them off home so I could finish my conversation.
The Mean Man tried to say that the boys had disrupted the entire neighbourhood by riding their bikes in the back alley. He had forgotten, of course, that the boys had only started riding their this summer since the back alley had been quite unsafe for the previous few years due to some crazy teenagers who lived two doors down. "Oh yeah, they weren't great..." he admitted when I reminded him. He also had concerns about how fast they rode their bikes. He kept saying he was concerned. Concerned he'd hit one. Concerned they would get hurt. Concerned.... so concerned in fact that he hadn't bothered to mention any of this to the parents. Because when you have an issue with an 8 year old boy, you don't try and solve it with the 8 year old boy... you mention it to the PARENTS.
He was quite upset about the fact that the boys were arrogant. At one point Michael had opposed me sending him home and The Mean Man said "see! see! arrogant!"
Um. NORMAL 8 YEAR OLD BOY BEHAVIOUR.
I made sure to tell this man that I would be talking to my son about his behaviour and that it would not happen again. But, did he know WHY they did it? BECAUSE HE'S THE MEAN OLD MAN ON THE STREET. And guess what is fun for an 8 year old boy? Picking on the MEAN OLD MAN ON THE STREET. Ooooh, look at how mad he gets. Ooooh, let's throw things in his back yard. Ooooh....
I'm not saying it's Right. I'm saying it's what boys do. And if he'd been a NICE OLD MAN, it's quite likely that they wouldn't have done anything at all.
After he cut me off a few times and I told him I was going to finish my sentence even if he was old, mean, Scottish and arrogant... we calmed down.
Then we had a talk about the neighbourhood and about Michael being Scottish, too and how he was surprised more homes were not selling and how he had been there for 31 years. And then we made like friends and shook hands. And I found out his name is Bob. Bob the Scottish and Not So Mean Man.
After the war had ended, I took Michael around to the front and made him apologize for throwing crab apples. Bob asked him to be more careful on his bike.
Now whenever Michael goes out to ride his bike I ask "what will you say if you see Bob?" and he says "I'll say hi".
That's how we make friends around here.
I was in the house, as I don't feel the need to hover around the back alley. He's 8. He can ride safely and it's not as though I'm allowing him to ride on the expressway.
He came home after a few minutes. Without his Most Favoured Possession: The Awesome BMX Bike. That was certainly odd. I asked him what happened and he began to explain how The Mean Man had kicked him out of "his end of the alley". He'd been so scared by this man's menacing arm waving that he left his bike behind and ran home. At this point in the conversation his cohort arrived and explained that he'd moved the Most Favoured Possession: The Awesome BMX Bike into his garage so it would be safe.
I asked the boys what had been going on. I managed to figure out that they'd been eating crab apples and one had rolled "near" The Mean Man's backyard and he'd come out yelling and swinging.
Hmmmm.
I asked them to show me the yard from which the ogre had emerged. We made our way there and the boys arrived first. They were in plain sight while I had yet to be seen because the bushes in the man's backyard were too high. The three of us were still in the back alley, just to clarify that we hadn't actually gone IN the backyard.
Well. Out of the house comes this, crazed man with arms flying and he's yelling "What the hell do you two want, why the hell are you standing there..." At which point I stopped being the curious mom and turned into Mother Bear from Hell.
He and I "exchanged words".
I determined that the boys had been throwing crab apples in the man's backyard. I paused to glare at the boys who stared at their toes, realizing they had left that detail out. I sent the both of them off home so I could finish my conversation.
The Mean Man tried to say that the boys had disrupted the entire neighbourhood by riding their bikes in the back alley. He had forgotten, of course, that the boys had only started riding their this summer since the back alley had been quite unsafe for the previous few years due to some crazy teenagers who lived two doors down. "Oh yeah, they weren't great..." he admitted when I reminded him. He also had concerns about how fast they rode their bikes. He kept saying he was concerned. Concerned he'd hit one. Concerned they would get hurt. Concerned.... so concerned in fact that he hadn't bothered to mention any of this to the parents. Because when you have an issue with an 8 year old boy, you don't try and solve it with the 8 year old boy... you mention it to the PARENTS.
He was quite upset about the fact that the boys were arrogant. At one point Michael had opposed me sending him home and The Mean Man said "see! see! arrogant!"
Um. NORMAL 8 YEAR OLD BOY BEHAVIOUR.
I made sure to tell this man that I would be talking to my son about his behaviour and that it would not happen again. But, did he know WHY they did it? BECAUSE HE'S THE MEAN OLD MAN ON THE STREET. And guess what is fun for an 8 year old boy? Picking on the MEAN OLD MAN ON THE STREET. Ooooh, look at how mad he gets. Ooooh, let's throw things in his back yard. Ooooh....
I'm not saying it's Right. I'm saying it's what boys do. And if he'd been a NICE OLD MAN, it's quite likely that they wouldn't have done anything at all.
After he cut me off a few times and I told him I was going to finish my sentence even if he was old, mean, Scottish and arrogant... we calmed down.
Then we had a talk about the neighbourhood and about Michael being Scottish, too and how he was surprised more homes were not selling and how he had been there for 31 years. And then we made like friends and shook hands. And I found out his name is Bob. Bob the Scottish and Not So Mean Man.
After the war had ended, I took Michael around to the front and made him apologize for throwing crab apples. Bob asked him to be more careful on his bike.
Now whenever Michael goes out to ride his bike I ask "what will you say if you see Bob?" and he says "I'll say hi".
That's how we make friends around here.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
You-Know-What Moments
I had A Moment the other day. Sunday mornings are SUPPOSED to be nice and peaceful as you head out the door, right? Except they aren't. They are hurry-up-and-brush-your-teeth and stop-squishing-the-cat and PLEASE-don't-poke-your-sister.
As we were backing out, my son Michael (8) was repeating a phrase over and over and over... I can't even remember the phrase now, but it WAS ON MY LAST NERVE. And you know how that can be.
So I lost it for a moment and said "would you please stop being such a pain in the ass?!?!" I meant to say arse or butt or something else, but ass came out...
There was silence in the van.
Emily (3) isn't quite sure of which words are bad words yet, since I rarely, rarely say any of them... she looked at Michael and said "What did mommy say? A bad word?"
Michael, still recovering from the shock (yeah right) said, "Yeah, mommy said I was being a you-know-what in the ass."
As we were backing out, my son Michael (8) was repeating a phrase over and over and over... I can't even remember the phrase now, but it WAS ON MY LAST NERVE. And you know how that can be.
So I lost it for a moment and said "would you please stop being such a pain in the ass?!?!" I meant to say arse or butt or something else, but ass came out...
There was silence in the van.
Emily (3) isn't quite sure of which words are bad words yet, since I rarely, rarely say any of them... she looked at Michael and said "What did mommy say? A bad word?"
Michael, still recovering from the shock (yeah right) said, "Yeah, mommy said I was being a you-know-what in the ass."
Friday, September 11, 2009
When is it ok to lie to your kids?
Do you remember those lies our parents told us - the ones we didn't figure out until we were adults ourselves?
You can't swim for an hour after eating or you'll get cramps and drown. Or... we're tired of watching you kids swim and we want to go inside and play cards and smoke.
Don't go near the train tracks because a train will come by and if you're even ten feet away it will suck you in. Or... we know we're letting you run rampant in this little town so we're going to try scare the crap out of you about the only thing that could really hurt you.
Don't pee in the pool or the chemicals will change color and we'll see exactly who peed. Or... seriously, we're tired of adjusting the pH because you kids are too busy playing to go pee in the bathroom.
I was just thinking the other days about the little white lies we tell our kids. I started lying when I'd want my kids to eat something. M would poke at the meat and say "what's this?" and I knew if I said then he'd say "I hate ". So I'd say "it's frozen dinosaur" or "it's monkey nuts" or "boiled squirrel brains". He used to fall for it, now he just makes that face at me and laughs.
E on the other hand is still in the lying zone. She didn't want to eat the cauliflower (although she was joyfully scarfing down the green beans and broccoli) so I said "But E, you have to eat the cauliflower because it makes your hair grow more pretty princess curls." And as soon as she popped one in her mouth I said "OH! Look at that curl that just grew!" She froze and then clamped her hand right on the top of her head, feeling for a new curl. It was quite cute.
But it can be hard when kids ask you tough questions that you really don't want to answer. We have a policy on honesty. We will tell the truth to the kids ALWAYS, except if it's an adult thing. We're not going to discuss adult things with them. These can include WHY I'm not married to M's daddy (frankly, it's not his business... his dad and I are now better friends and all he needs to know is that we couldn't be friends while married. He does NOT need the details and he won't get them from me!), what a family member said to anger mommy, what mommy thinks about a snotty mom from down the street, why a cousin is a little 'different' (um, because he's crazy?) etc... I mean, really, some of those things don't need to be spoken out loud at all.
I acknowledge that I can be judgmental. I'm working on that. Sometimes I can't really help it... when I see a fellow mom drop her kid off at day care and she's still in her pajamas I can't help but thinking "what the heck are you in a rush for... you got a pillow waiting for you at home??"
But I digress... yet again ... My point is that sometimes I think it's ok to lie to your kids... when it's a funny lie, when it's an obvious lie that they can figure out or when you are too tired and, really, the kids have been swimming since 9 am and it's 3 and I need to get out of the sun.
My other rule is that sometimes it's ok to tell them "that's something between mommy and daddy, it's an adult thing, it's ok and you don't have to worry about that." Hopefully that tides us over until the birds and the bees talk, because I'll have to tell the truth for that one!
You can't swim for an hour after eating or you'll get cramps and drown. Or... we're tired of watching you kids swim and we want to go inside and play cards and smoke.
Don't go near the train tracks because a train will come by and if you're even ten feet away it will suck you in. Or... we know we're letting you run rampant in this little town so we're going to try scare the crap out of you about the only thing that could really hurt you.
Don't pee in the pool or the chemicals will change color and we'll see exactly who peed. Or... seriously, we're tired of adjusting the pH because you kids are too busy playing to go pee in the bathroom.
I was just thinking the other days about the little white lies we tell our kids. I started lying when I'd want my kids to eat something. M would poke at the meat and say "what's this?" and I knew if I said
E on the other hand is still in the lying zone. She didn't want to eat the cauliflower (although she was joyfully scarfing down the green beans and broccoli) so I said "But E, you have to eat the cauliflower because it makes your hair grow more pretty princess curls." And as soon as she popped one in her mouth I said "OH! Look at that curl that just grew!" She froze and then clamped her hand right on the top of her head, feeling for a new curl. It was quite cute.
But it can be hard when kids ask you tough questions that you really don't want to answer. We have a policy on honesty. We will tell the truth to the kids ALWAYS, except if it's an adult thing. We're not going to discuss adult things with them. These can include WHY I'm not married to M's daddy (frankly, it's not his business... his dad and I are now better friends and all he needs to know is that we couldn't be friends while married. He does NOT need the details and he won't get them from me!), what a family member said to anger mommy, what mommy thinks about a snotty mom from down the street, why a cousin is a little 'different' (um, because he's crazy?) etc... I mean, really, some of those things don't need to be spoken out loud at all.
I acknowledge that I can be judgmental. I'm working on that. Sometimes I can't really help it... when I see a fellow mom drop her kid off at day care and she's still in her pajamas I can't help but thinking "what the heck are you in a rush for... you got a pillow waiting for you at home??"
But I digress... yet again ... My point is that sometimes I think it's ok to lie to your kids... when it's a funny lie, when it's an obvious lie that they can figure out or when you are too tired and, really, the kids have been swimming since 9 am and it's 3 and I need to get out of the sun.
My other rule is that sometimes it's ok to tell them "that's something between mommy and daddy, it's an adult thing, it's ok and you don't have to worry about that." Hopefully that tides us over until the birds and the bees talk, because I'll have to tell the truth for that one!
