He's Growing

My boy, I mean.

He surprises me almost every day with something hes says or does. And with things he doesn't say or do. He is getting a better grip on his emotions, better able to control himself when things don't turn out as expected.

My baby boy is walking the road of little boyhood now.


It's somewhat heart-wrenching, these changes. I can see how quickly it is all slipping by. I don't want to miss a moment of it, and I have no way to record each and every second.

He came to us with news of his first loose tooth a couple of days ago. My heart sank a little as the reality of how quickly we have reached this milestone sank in.

He gleefully wiggled it and asked if he could please share the news with his grandparents.

He was on the phone the rest of the morning.

His fine motor skills are becoming more refined. His writing, when he puts forth the effort, is so much better.

His recent discovery of the proper way to color has left us in absolute awe of his drawing and coloring abilities. His once scribbled coloring page habits have been replaced by a meticulous eye that colors objects fully and within the lines.

He delights in arching his right eye brow, just the one, and grinning at us.

He whistles his tunes for all the world to hear.

He practices snapping until I just know he will get the hang of it any day now.

He is affectionate and polite.

He is kind to others and a great helper.

He is a great singer and seems to have a special inclination towards music.

He loves to learn about Jesus, and comes to me with a guilty expression to tell on himself occasionally.

He is smart, funny, and quirky.

And the Lord, in all of his vast knowledge, chose to give him to us, and us to him.

Busy, Sleepy, Happy Us

I am doing my handprint business at the preschool where I used to work. My kids are all four in classes each and every day, and it is sometimes sweet, sometimes sour, but a very revealing time for me.

I will have Tales Of The Insanity That Is This Week when we are done with this stint.

Until then...

Home Schooling And House Keeping, Part II

I'm sure I left you on tenterhooks after our discussion last week, didn't I? Well, if your back, then welcome. If you haven't been here in a while, check out last Monday's post to catch up. And if your new here, hold on tight! I pedal crazy like there's no tomorrow!!!

And in case you are wondering...the boxes of clothes that were on the floor last week...gone! On Saturday. I didn't see any reason to get all up in a hurry about it.

So, this week I plan to address the Home Schooling part. But first, let's deal with the disclaimer.

Homeschooling is NOT for everyone. But it is for us. I am not accusing you of loving your children less or making bad decisions for them by putting them in public or private schools. Each family has to make their own decisions, taking into consideration their individual convictions and circumstances. I am not here to defend myself or cause you to feel as if you need to defend yourself if you do things differently than we do. Even amongst homeschoolers, there is much debate on 'the best method'. Really, it's all mind boggling.

Okay, now with that out of the way...

Of course, with not quite a year of homeschooling behind me, I am a professional, you know. In fact, let's make us a deal...if your here reading this and you have homeschooled more than one child for more than one year, don't tell me how hard you laughed. But do share some pointers with me! I love me some wisdom from folks who have 'been there and done that and still alive to tell the tale!'

How do we homeschool? One precious day at a time. With a functional and flexible schedule. Somedays we do school in the morning, some days in the afternoon. Occasionally at night or on a Saturday. And part of being flexible is knowing when to punt.

After a few weeks of doing actual school with Thomas, I was able to really identify his strengths and weaknesses. We focus on the weaker aspects in the morning, when he is fresh and better focused. When I am fresh and my patience bank is in full supply for the day!

As soon as we get past his least favorite subject, we hit his favorite subject. It's kind of a reward for us, after muddling through subject A, we get to feast on subject B. When we get up from the school table for the morning, we are generally both smiling. We save subject C for the afternoon, when the girls are resting so he is sure to get my full attention.

Subject C, by the way, I will share with you. It is Reading. Thomas started off with an amazing grip on his letters and their sounds. He has excelled in stringing those sounds together, and now, he is really and truly a full blown reader. We have a reading time together, just so I can make sure that he is really reading each and every word. He has a tendency to get ahead of himself and replace 'a' with 'the' or little things like that. We still hit upon words that have special rules and we work those out together, but mostly I just listen and follow along.

Now, there are the 'hows' of the actual, really real, school day. For the child who is being schooled.

What about my three girls, you ask?

They are there. In the beginning, I tended to run them off so that I didn't have two wanna-be kindergartners on my hands. But then I had to hop up and go find out what the crash or scream or silence was about. My bouncing up and down to check on them left me disconnected to Thomas and missing things.

So... I bought magic markers. I printed off tracing sheets with the girls names on them. I pulled out curriculum that I had chosen not to use for Thomas because it was too watered down for him. I pulled out the math manipulatives. And for Christmas, the kids received a Leapster and what we call the Scribbler.

The older girls are given one activity each while Thomas and I work on subject A. They each get a fresh activity while we work on subject B. Admittedly, after Christmas, I officially started Sarah Grace with reading, writing, and 'rithmatic. Elizabeth is still highly content to just doodle or Scribbler while we work.

And then there is the baby. Up until recently, she was napping while we did our morning schooling. However, as you know, time marches on and things change quickly in the life of a wee babe. Anna is trying her level best to cut out her morning nap. So on days when she cannot be convinced to nap, I set her on the floor at my feet with some math manipulatives and let her have her fun. When it's time to switch subjects, I either give her an old remote control (she loves the buttons) or plop her up to the table with a crayon cake and let her go to it. And I always keep a handful of Cheerios close-by, just in case she deems food an absolute necessity righthisveryminute.

The thing is, kids love learning! Even the baby. So why not just have special things set into place to keep them occupied and feeling 'schooled' while I work with the school aged kids?

Do we do school every day? Heck yeah! Do we sit down with our school books and our pencils every day? Absolutely not! There are many days when we have Fake School. Thomas is learning math when he is in the kitchen with me measuring out stuff for a recipe. Sarah Grace is practicing her writing skills when she is signing her name on a drawing she has made and filling out the name of the person she wants to give it to. Right?

We read constantly. I swear there are probably fifty stories a week read in this house. Granny, Mommy, and Daddy all spend time reading to the kids every day. We do our Five in a Row, we read books the kids have picked up at the library, we read greeting cards to them (my kids LOVE to get cards in the mail!), we read poetry, nursery rhymes, classic stories, and current character stories. We read their AWANA materials and Bible stories. Honestly, sometimes I wonder if they don't have every age-appropriate written word in this house committed to memory as much time as we spend reading aloud to them. There is no way reading to a kid is not schooling them. No way.

I think that wraps it up for the 'hows' of our homeschooling.

Now, if you want some Really for the Real Real tips on some homeschooling, then I have posted some of my fav-o-rite homeschooling blogs for you.

An Unschooling Life
Curriculum Choice
Life In A Shoe
Raising Olives
Smockity Frocks
Simple Homeschool
The Tie That Binds Us

Do you have any favorites you would like to share? Post it in the comments! Also, if you have any questions, ask! I will be back next Monday with the all my left-over thoughts.

The Inner Genius Shines Again

No, really, I have genius.

Not, 'I am a genius'.

Just I have genius.

It shows through from time to time when it manages to heft itself from beneath the mounds of not-so-genius flotsam in my brain. Usually in tiny things, like remembering sippee cups for all the kids, diapers for the baby, and snacks for everyone. Or having matching socks on everyone.

Once in a decade or so, I have major genius moments. I would say marrying my husband was genius, but it was really just common sense. When somebody is that awesome and loves you and you love them back, it would be just plain stupid to say 'No.' when he popped the question. Or even, 'Lemme get back to you on that.'

And I am not stupid.

Usually.

However, none of those Major Genius moments are coming to the fore. Anybody who knows me IRL wanna help me out here?

Today, though, I had a genius moment.

The towel hanger-upper-thingy has been more than a bit loose for about two or three weeks now. I keep meaning to point it out to Joshua (other than at 7AM) and let him work his Male Magic on it. Alas, my memory is not what it used to be.

Which is how I found myself in the bathroom brushing my teeth and eying that hangy-doodgie-thing. I was tired of it scaring the bejeebers out of me every time I dried my hands on the towel.

I reached out to it, with my toothbrush still hanging out of my mouth, and started to move the ring upward to see if I could gain some understanding of how this thing must work. As I lifted up, the ring came right off the wall.

I nearly choked on toothpaste foam.

Because I am a jumpy sort.

When I recovered, I saw that there was just a screw protruding from the wall, and the white porcelain cone was held into place by tension from the ring and the wall. All I had to do was fit the hole that was in the part attatched to the ring over the screw and start twisting it around and around and around. And around.

It took so long to get the thing tightened that I stopped and finished brushing my teeth. Toothpaste is not my favorite flavor, and now that I knew what to do, I was fairly certain I could hold on to the concept for a few more moments.


And that is my genius moment for the day. A simple household repair.

Let me tell you, that thing not threatening to jump off the wall and crush one of my little toes redeemed my day, which was less-than-novel.

Well, that and the apple crumb dessert that I have near perfected.

Twas The Night Before Day Light Savings Time Began

I can't even remember the conversation that brought us to this remark...

'Well, Son, you can sleep outside in your tent tonight.'

Thomas' face lit up and this prospect. Sarah Grace immediately chimed in with her intent to camp out too, and Elizabeth was a scant two seconds behind Sarah Grace.

We watched the weather, and it was finally decided that they could indeed sleep outside. Frankly, we never even considered that they would actually do it. There was some hesitation on Sarah Grace's part. Monsters and such. We figured after the novelty wore off and the night set in, they would be through the door like shots.

So we equipped them with warm clothes, lots of blankets, a very large flashlight, and encouraged them to not be afraid. God was with them, and they had each other. And a flashlight.

We pitched their little tent right up against the house and tucked everyone into it about 7:30. Within minutes, Sarah Grace came in looking concerned, but only asked to go to the bathroom. Twenty minutes later, she needed to go to the bathroom again. Half an hour later, here she came again.


We were willing to let them giggle and have their fun for quite a while, so long as they stayed in the tent. We were even willing to pander to Sarah Grace's need to come in the house every few minutes, to reassure herself that all was well.


Somewhere around 9:30, we told them it was time to pipe down and get to sleep. After all, it was Saturday night, and we did have church the next day. By 10:00, they were quiet and sleeping.

Then we remembered the time change. It was actually 11. Joshua and I scurried about getting things ready for the next day and then went to bed. We cracked a window to better be able to hear the kids (who were essentially right outside our window).

I laid in bed and listened to the creaking and rustling. I rolled over and snuggled down under the covers. And I listened. And I was restless. And I listened.

'Are you awake?' I whispered.

'I am now,' came Joshua's sleepy reply.

'Do you think they will be okay?'

'Yes.'

'Are we really okay with letting them sleep outside all by themselves?', I pressed.

'Well, yes... are you going to sleep?'

'Probably not. I am listening for them, just in case.'

I couldn't state what my 'in cases' were. Just speaking such things out loud terrify the heart of every mother. But that man who knows me so well and loves me so much heard the fear in my voice.

'Would you like to bring them in?' asked my sweet husband.

'YES!' I replied, my feet already on the floor and moving towards house shoes.


We literally dragged each child out by their feet until they were far enough out of the tent for us to pick them up.

They slept through it all.

Once they were safely tucked into bed, I sighed with contentment and snuggled into my own bed to sleep.

For no where near as long as I would have liked to sleep. By the time we relaxed for the night, it was nearly 1 AM. The alarm was set for 6:15.

The alarm clock was not reset for Day Light Savings. I woke up about 5:30 because Thomas took a bathroom break. I was thankful for the 45 minutes left to sleep and my head hit the pillow again.

At 7:00, I was roused again by Sarah Grace and her needs. I glanced at the clock while she was making known her needs and bounced right out of the bed, announcing we had effectively missed Sunday School and were working on missing church, as well!

The morning went smoothly, considering that the kids were running off about four hours less sleep than normal. Our Sunday's tend to be really hard, since we are away from home from 8 or 9 AM until 9PM.

The kids slept until ten Monday morning, when I finally made them get up to eat breakfast. At nap time, there were zero struggles and the naps lasted a tad longer than usual.

So, this is either the worst thing to do on a time change...or the best. It all depends on how you look at it!

Home Schooling And House Keeping, Part 1

Okay, so we all know this isn't a high traffic blog, and that when I say I 'had some emails with questions', it really equates about four people, including a question in the comments of a post. That being said, four seems like a lot. And if four of you precious readers want to know about something, then I am gonna bring it to you in all it's glory.

The questions I am getting tend toward the how's of homeschooling and running a home 'smoothly' rather than the why's or the what's. If you are interested in the what's, go here.

Smoothly is relative, y'all. Don't go thinking I have it down pat and know The Secret.

I think there is definitely an art to schooling with a buncha' young'uns and keeping up with the demands of a home. I can't speak personally for how it works when they are all school age, but for right now, I am an In The Trenches Expert on having children too young to be in school and having none old enough to be helpers when it comes to running (running, not learning to clean up) the house. Um, expert on having that, not expert on making it work out all the time. Bear that in mind.

I am tackling this question a bit at a time. I think probably three parts, two posts to field the two different aspects of homeschooling and housekeeping, and then a third one for odds and ends. Because no matter how much I think and try to edit, I forget things that I want to share.

And I am a sharer, y'all. An over sharer.

If, by chance, you are reading this blog and you do not yet have children, I can offer you no better advice than to make it a point to learn to manage house. To manage the laundry, the routine cleaning, the deeper cleaning, the organizing, the meal making. Learn to meal plan and shop smartly and efficiently. And if you really want some good advice that will put you in good stead regardless of future finances, learn to be frugal and creative.

If you already have kids, I hope you already have a routine that allows you to care for all your responsibilities and still maintain a composed appearance.

But just in case your not June Cleaver, never fear. You can do it all.

Goodness, do I sound like a commercial or what!??

Really, though, be encouraged. It is not impossible. But it's not exactly a piece of cake, either. It takes determination. And discipline. And a plan.

For the record, as I sit here writing this out, I can move my head just a little to peer around the screen of my laptop and see three largish tubs of children's clothes waiting for me to Do Something with them, a corner full of toys strewn every which way, and a quarter of the couch covered in the stuff I dropped on it when I walked in the door this evening. If you can't read between the lines, this is not a showplace!
There are several 'plans' out there that have had time put into them to help you get right to the nitty-gritty rather than fumbling around making lists of all the things that have to be done and breaking them down into functional time tables. I am sure there are hundreds of possibilities available on the web. I will only be sharing about the ones I have personal experience with.

If you are not familiar with a Household Notebook, you should certainly check into it and consider implementing one in your home. Ours in a two inch three ring binder and includes sections for everything from my Daily Docket and the School Plan for the day to Menu Ideas and Favorite Recipes to Gift Trackers to things I am doing with my home business. It is my brain when the one that was installed in my head trips. This site gives lots of tips on household notebooks.

Motivated Moms is still one of my all time favorites, but given that I am currently residing with my mother in law, it doesn't fit us right now. It has a small cost associated with it, but if you ask me, it is totally worth it. They set you up with a list of things that you should do each and every day as well as taking all the household responsibilities and breaking them down into very attainable daily increments. And if you miss a day? It's not a huge deal. Your home won't fall apart if you take a day off.

Well, I guess that depends on what the destruction level of your kids is.

Another popular site Fly Lady. Now, to me, Fly Lady was kind of tough. I just couldn't get with the program there. BUT! I did pick up some really good tips that totally revolutionized some of my house cleaning approaches. I think it was while I was doing Fly Lady that I picked up the idea to simply time your most dreaded chores. When I did that and found it tool less than four minutes to really clean the potty and the area around it, I quit hating it so much. I still follow her on Twitter, so I will occasionally see her reminders to do a quick clean up or check the laundry. It's a good reminder, since I gravitate to my computer whenever I, well, I go a lot. Let's just leave it at that.

My current favorite is the Daily Docket that Simple Mom has on her site. Because it is so general, it allows much flexibility, while still keeping me on track. I love that it has the MIT's for each day (Most Important Tasks). It is nothing more than a blank form for me to fill out, so I am free to put my cleaning activities, my meal plans, our school plans, and our outings all on one piece of paper. I can totally stay on track.

As for me, I have learned that I need to make a mark. Physically utilize a pen, pencil, crayon, marker, or lip liner. I just need the physical aspect of writing things down on paper and checking them off my list. In short, I am a tree killer. But it's what works for me. I have tried keeping up with things on my computer, either on line or simply with an Excel file on my laptop. For some reason, that is no good for me. Maybe it is for you. Find what works, though, and see it through. That's the important thing.

If you already have children, take some time to figure out what will work for you. Focus on learning to care for your home. If you need to let outings slide for a week or so, do it. You won't regret taking the time to learn to really take care of your home. A neat home promotes a sense of peace.

Note I didn't say an immaculate home, though if you can do that and still be a nice person to your family, you're my hero.

Neither did I say that a neat home makes a peaceful home. Even when our home is clean, things are rarely peaceful. We are a naturally noisy family. We define living out loud.

That's all for now! Check back on Monday for the next segment in this exciting series!!
There's that commercial again...

Oh, wait. I'm not done. Here are a few sites that I have run across, though never utilized. Maybe one of them will fit your family better than the ones I have tried.

Messies Anonymous

Homemaking 911

Donna Young

The Sounds of My Day

-The steady, vibrating hum of the laundry appliances.
- The thud-thudding of four pairs of little feet tromping up the steps and all over the upstairs portion of the house.
-Screeching and squealing, mostly good, occasionally unhappy.
-Mama, Mama, Mama, Mama, Mama, Mama, Mama...
-Doors slamming as kids run in and out.
-The music of a battery operated toy that sings out if you push 'this' button.
-Crayons being dumped on the table.
-Sniffling.
-The sweet 'slurping' of a child sucking their finger/thumb.
-A book being read aloud by my exuberant reader.
-Singing of all kinds.
-The cat scratching at the door, signaling his hunger pains.
-The odd, muffled whirring of the Sit and Spin.
-Giggles.
-Silence that means mischievousness is afoot.
-Water running as one of the children takes fourteen minutes to wash their hands.
-Plastic lids being spun like tops on the tile floor.
-The sound of the chairs being reclined.
-Dogs barking (the ones my children are pretending to be).
-Little hands practicing five finger piano scales.
-Littler hands pinging out any noise they can on the piano.
-Tears of tiredness.
-Belly laughs because of tickle bugs and tummy raspberries.
-Mama, Mama, Mama, Mama, Mama...
-Background music playing as I work in the kitchen.
-The sweet silence of napping children.
-Bathtub splashing.
-Running feet and squeals of delight as Daddy arrives home.
-Dinner table conversation.
-'Daddy, can we fight?'
-Daddy reading aloud to us all.
-Half-hearted whimpering as we direct them towards bed.
-Sleepy prayers.
-Giggles that delay sleep.
-Soft, heavy breathing of four peacefully slumbering children.

Flirting With Spring

The sun came out and the weekend was glorious. Particularly Monday. 71 degrees, people. That is my kind of March weather. We celebrated by kidnapping Daddy from work and making him take his lunch break out of doors. It was so torturous he took pictures.





And so did I.

How We Got Kids - Part 4

We planned for Anna. We literally said, 'Hey, let's try to get pregnant in the Spring.' I was envisioning a Christmas baby. Plus, we had always said 'if three, then four', meaning that we would prefer four children over three. It felt all funny to actually be trying to conceive.

And we were not let down. I suspected I was pregnant before I ever missed my cycle and sat on pins and needles waiting to be able to take a home pregnancy test. Those two little pink lines had me jumping up and down and trying to find my composure all at the same time.

I dashed up the steps, informed Joshua I needed to see him privately when he had a moment, then went to wait. He looked at the little stick, looked at me, and we hugged and got all giddy.

It was to be my biggest trial as a pregnant woman.

Everything went along just fine for the first seven and a half months. And then we went and had our five year anniversary. After a nasty bout with food poisoning, I was told to 'take it easy, stay off my feet, keep that baby in there a bit longer.'

The food poisoning had left me severely dehydrated and sent my body into a bit of pre-term labor. The OB informed me that I was now four centimeters dialated and about 60 percent effaced. With eight weeks left on the books to cook my babushka.

I was relegated to my favorite recliner with my laptop, the remote control, and some books for company. And my 'I am a professional bed rester' of a friend to boss me around. From near and far. She took an evil delight in this unusual event of our friendship, I tell you.

After a few weeks, the doctor released me and told me I could be done with that insanity. I was mildly amazed at how quickly my body had deteriorated and how easily I found myself exhausted.

Absolutely no one expected me to carry to term with this baby. I never have before (induced or natural, my kids don't seem to want all 40 weeks). My OB was amazed when I carried past Thanksgiving. And I was irritable.

I am not a good third trimester pregnant woman, just in case you ever wondered. I am done at about seven months. Get it out now, I am done.

Of course, you know, it's not supposed to work that way. So I wind up being grumpy for two months. It's all very charming, really. Just ask Joshua.

Finally, the OB said the Happy Word. Induce. Buddy, I said yes, can we do it tomorrow? She put me off a few days, but on December 1, 2008, I went to the hospital to have my darling baby girl.


Anna Joy was jaundiced. Surprise, surprise. She did her time in the Tiny Tanning Bed, and mercy, dawdled about getting the yellow out of her system. She finally got past it, though, and soon became a sweetly accepted part of our family.


She is ours and we are hers. I can't imagine what it was we did before she arrived on the scene. It's wonderful how the Lord knits us all together and makes families of us. And it is such a joy and a privilege to have Anna Joy as a part of our lives.

A Color Study

One of the cool things about homeschooling is I get to do things with my kids. Which means I get to see them see it and hear what they are thinking as things happen. It's a really neat experience.

This past week, we have been doing some fun things with colors. To brighten things up in the midst of what has been a very dreary and entirely too snowy winter. We used food coloring to make colored water one day and then experimented with mixing the different colors together to see what would happen.

We have also melted crayon shavings together to make 'new' crayons. I like these. They are very sturdy!

And finally, with Elizabeth's latest boo-boo, we have made rainbow Jell-O. The kids delighted in the pouring of each new color on top of the old color and seeing the thin line where the two colors meshed.
Now...they are looking forward to enjoying their Jell-O treat as dessert tonight!


I am just loving these bright pictures...don't they just make you feel like Spring is that much closer??

Anna Joy - 15 Months

I am 15 months old and...

...I need a contraption that allows me to simply be upside down all the time. I am happiest when viewing the world that way.
...I have four teeth!
...I have been sick for most of the year 2010 so far.
...I finally started signing 'please', 'more', and 'thank you'...but only if I want to.
...my crazy mop of curls makes my Mommy smile!


...I can fit in a shoe box.
...I would be happier if I could just move outside and live there.
...I sing beautifully!

A Letter To Tuesday

Dear Tuesday,

I am looking forward to seeing you tomorrow! You see, it has been a tail kicker of a day. As if Monday, by it's very nature, weren't enough, we added to the usual chaos.

What? You doubt me?

Tuesday, dearest, we put on real clothes today. This is not our ordinary Monday habit. We generally greet Mondays a little later in the morning and rarely bother to change out of our pajamas. It is a very soothing way to acclimate to the abrupt ending to our wonderful weekends.

But today, this Monday, we all were up and dressed by 8 AM. It may never happen again.

Why, you ask?

Apparently, motivation is something we should leave to the 'suits' of the world. We handle it badly around here.

As in spend the day in the ER bad.

No, really. It happened just as I say!

After we all got duded up in our Real Clothes, I went to Wally's to do a bit of necessary shopping. Toilet paper, ya know? It's a good thing. Upon re-entering the house, I was told that our little Elizabeth, our Sunshine, had sustained a busted lip.

It turned out to be a bit of an understatement.

One of the great things about our Elizabeth is that she rarely complains when she is injured or sick. One of the really frustrating things about our Elizabeth is that she rarely complains when she is injured or sick. We are generally left in the dark about how she feels. She just smiles and remains more or less cheerful as she goes about the business of living. It is an admirable trait.

That sweet little, non-complaining personality of hers nearly covered up the fact that her injury was far more that a slightly busted lip.

You see, Tuesday, our darling Elizabeth took a face-forward tumble down several steps today. Once you got past the gashed and swollen lip and really looked in her mouth, her upper front teeth were pushed into odd directions and her poor little gums were just a mass of bruised and bloodied tissue.

So we took her off to see the dentist. He assessed it all and said that her teeth seem to be fine and that time will tell what the outcome will be. Once he saw her lower lip, he referred us to the Children's Hospital in Birmingham.

It was a very sore little girl who made that trip. Much of the trip was made with her moaning low and softly in the back seat while I tried to get there as quickly and safely as possible.

So we could sit and wait for two hours. This wasn't all bad, as Elizabeth finally konked out in my arms and slept.

Our dentist had called ahead to brief folks on what he had seen, and when they did get us back to an exam room, our little Elizabeth was seen by an ER doctor, and we had a consult with a Plastic Surgeon.

Thankfully, it was agreed that to suture her poor little lip would be cause for more trauma that benefit and that, again, time would tell how well the healing process would work. The plastic surgeon advised that things could heal very nicely and his services might not be needed. Again, time would tell.

And as nice as those gentlemen were, we hope we never have to see them professionally again.

Elizabeth was quite the trooper. She was brave and co-operative for mostly everything. She took the one-on-one time with me in the exam room to discuss at length her birthday menu. I am pretty sure we hammered out all the details. April 6th just can't get here fast enough!

Tuesday, dearest, you are, of course, invited. The day just wouldn't be the same without you!

The ending to our Monday was a happy one, though. We have our Sunshine back to her regular happy self, though her smiles will probably be a bit smaller for a few days, so as not to aggravate her lip. She feasted on Jell-O and baked beans, both items she proclaimed 'sof enough to not hurwt my wip and teef.' Daddy read aloud to all of us, and the children are happily tucked into bed.

I think I shall join them, Tuesday. I want to be fresh and rested for your arrival!

Until tomorrow,
Aubrey