"I am the one who loved you. I am the one who stayed. I am the one and you walked away. I am the one who waited. And now you act like you just don't give a damn. Like you never knew who I am." ~next to normal

The reprise of "I Am the One" is one of my absolute favorite songs. It's from Next to Normal, my favorite musical. Every time I hear that song I cry. Really. For some reason it just popped into my head, and I started crying. I cannot listen to it without tears welling up. It breaks my heart. And I love it. Why are we drawn to things that make us feel pain? I guess sometimes feeling anything is a good thing. But anyway, for me, this song has to be sung by Bobby Spencer and Aaron Tveit for it to really pack a punch. Speaking of Aaron Tveit, why is he wasting his time on Gossip Girl? I watch the show and I find it entertaining albeit sometimes annoying, but Aaron Tveit is way too good for it. Go see him in Next to Normal and you'll see what I mean. I don't think he should be missing performances of it to film Gossip Girl (although I know he doesn't miss very often, and luckily he's been on every time I've seen the musical).

We went on a field trip today to the Liberty Science Center. I always loved going there as a kid. I remember my Girl Scout troup went there and stayed overnight, and that sleepover was just so exciting to me. It was a fun field trip, although of course it was exhausting. It helped that I only brought half of my homeroom class (the other half had to stay at school because they can't behave). We saw an Imax movie in the giant dome, and even though I'm older now, that experience is still thrilling to me. My kids were overwhelmed by it. One of my boys (the recent arrival) cried because he was scared. Here are some of my kids:

My class is mostly made up of boys. On the trip I brought 9 boys and 3 girls. I have a total of 7 girls in my class (and 18 boys). I'm not sure why it's so unbalanced.

I just finished reading The Elegance of the Hedgehog (I had it on hold at the library for at least five months and finally received it last week). I loved it because it's so beautifully written. I kept stopping and writing down quotes that jumped out at me. Here are a few gems from the character of Paloma, a brilliant 12-year-old who seems to be reading my mind:

"Personally I think grammar is a way to attain beauty....Pity the poor in spirit who know neither the enchantment nor the beauty of language."

"In the end, I wonder if the true movement of the world might not be a voice raised in song."

"Teenagers think they're adults when in fact they're imitating adults who never really made it into adulthood and who are running away from life. It's pathetic."

And the excerpt from which the title is derived:

"Madame Michel has the elegance of the hedgehog: on the outside, she's covered in quills, a real fortress, but my gut feeling is that on the inside, she has the same simple refinement as the hedgehog: a deceptively indolent little creature, fiercely solitary - and terribly elegant."

It's a beautiful book.