Silence is golden. Too bad we never have any.

Jake can talk. Really, really, really talk. He NEVER shuts up. Seriously. Tonight he was driving me insane before dinner. I wanted a few minutes to finish my magazine before dinner so I banished the kids to the "kids" room while I sat in the "grown-up" room which are two living rooms separated by a pair of folding doors. Instead of the quiet I was looking for I got Jake sitting in the doorway between the two rooms talking. And talking. And talking. By the time we sat down to dinner it had almost become a joke between Lincoln and me. Every time he opened his mouth we'd just look at each other and try not to laugh. Even Hannah attempted to start a round of "The Quiet Game" (a game that she ALWAYS wins, by the way).

(Setting the scene: Mommy, Daddy, and Hannah quietly eating dinner. Jake prepping his taco.)

Jake: Spoon. Spoon. Spoon. Spread. Spread. Spread. Pat. Pat. Pat.

Lincoln: You know Jake, most people have internal dialogue narrating their lives.