the idea came to her after folding a load of laundry before waking the kids for school , after doing a quick and poor wash of the dishes that dotted the counter and sink , after emptying the dishwasher , making three breakfasts , chasing bryce just to put his socks on for the third time , settling two disputes between the girls over what cartoon to watch while they ate , nearly burning her hair in the curling iron , gazing over a cluttered bathroom countertop , observing a toilet in need of a scrub , counting mildew stains on a shower curtain , making the bed , messing her closets while looking for an outfit , seeing no straight lines anywhere in the house this notion of having another child came after all of that and also after she was back in the kitchen and stepped on the crunchy floor from dropped cereal and found a desiccated banana that bryce had stuck in the tupperware drawer , and while signing two permission slips for school , then realizing the clothes dawn had picked out revealed too much for a ten year-old , and seeing that rhea 's clothes did not match , and wincing after bryce poked her in the eye with his pet mop .