“How does he do it? Bob in Charge of All Three Kids is an entirely different showthan Sarah in Charge of All Three Kids. With Bob, they’re happily willing to be independent little taskmasters, content to leave him in peace until he comes to them with an offer of a new activity. With me, I have all the magnetism of a favorite rock star without the bodyguards. They’re on me. A typical example: Linus is under my feet, whining, begging to be picked up, while Lucy hollers, “Mom, I need help!” from another room, while Charlie asks me forty-seven hundred relentless questions about what happens to trash.”

“Five kids in one lifetime ain’t bad – and I love them all so much. They’re the best things that ever happened to me, no question about it.”

“me: just don't ask about his forty-three ex-boyfriends, okay? or ask him about why he's carrying around an axe.mom:...me: i'm kidding about the axe part.”

“Do you want to know something? I have three pairs of kid gloves. I've had kid mittens before from the Christmas tree, but never real kid gloves with five fingers. I take them out and try them on every little while. It's all I can do not to wear them to classes.”

“Yes, I received your letter yesterday
(About the time the doorknob broke)
When you asked how I was doing
Was that some kind of joke?All these people that you mention
Yes, I know them, they’re quite lame
I had to rearrange their faces
And give them all another name
Right now I can’t read too good
Don’t send me no more letters, no
Not unless you mail them
From Desolation Row-Bob Dylan, “Desolation Row” (1965)”

“What's that?""It looks like something from Linus... It is! He sent me a little birch-bark canoe from camp! He said he made it himself... Sometimes I think I don't deserve a nice brother like Linus...""I have often thought the same thing.""Dear Linus, please send me another canoe. The first one broke when I threw it at Charlie Brown.”