I read books more than I go out. As a matter of fact, I get a little concerned about some of my anti-social habits. I will choose a night with Somerset Maugham or Russell Banks over a crowded bar any day.

I suffer the terrible disease of low self-esteem.

Everyone [of my kids] can ride a bike now, so the park has had a big resurgence in our life. We also play a lot of dumb drawing games.

How many times can you say, "No yanking on one another's genitals?" Everything is hilarious until someone starts crying.

I discovered on school days, when they've got to get up at 6:30, they won't get out of bed. But on the weekends, they were up at 6 a.m. I was like, "Why do you guys wake up so early on the weekends?" It's like, "Because I wake up and I think, Is it a TV day? And if it is..." So we had to change that rule. I'm like, "Thank you for telling me what I need to do."

We can't have iPads until after 7 p.m. Otherwise the entire day is, "iPad time? What about now?" It makes me crazy. And no TV on weekend mornings.

At restaurants, I carry paper and markers and tell everyone to draw a picture with a unicorn, an octopus and an explosion. That keeps kids still for a minute.