Two in January!

Look at that! I am actually posting twice in one month. I haven't done that in a couple of years...

I am watching Frodo and Little "dump!" on the coffee table. It really shouldn't be called that at our house. It has much more function as a performing stage. Little has learned how to say jump! and says it to Frodo all the time. She calls him "deetee" and then says "dump!" and waits for him to pull her up really high. Of course, X-men ( the cartoon)is going in the background. Common recent questions at my house are things like, "mom, what is your favorite Marvel hero? Why?" "Do you want to know a Chuck Norris fact that I just made up all by myself?" "Mom, Strengtha is Rapunzel's super-hero. What's yours? What powers does she have?" and so on, ad nauseum.

Super heroes are pretty important around here.

I'm trying not to read too much into that.

In fact, the other day, little put her fist into my chest and said "shhhhh" and when I asked at dinner what that was, my husband gave a knowing glance at my son and said, "you tell her what it means." apparently, she was Wolverine when the claws come out...

:-)

Buggy started her first day at the University preschool today. She was so excited that she peed through 3 pairs of unders in about 1 1/2 hours until I finally just put her in a diaper. :-) We *will* learn to potty. Someday. If she wasn't dry most days at home, I wouldn't have any expectations anyway, but she's been doing so well at home for over three or four months. Ah well. We'll get there.

Rapunzel got croup on Sunday. That night, I told her she couldn't go to school, and she got confused. Then she enjoyed spending all day on the couch and not having to do chores yesterday. With all the oil and herbs she got, she got over it pretty quickly, but it gets a little weird when you can hear one of your "healthy" kids wheezing in the room...and how weird is it that *she* has the croupy lungs and Buggy doesn't? Does that mean she may be predisposed to asthma? I have no idea. I hope not. I just know that her lungs are really reactive and whenever she gets a cold, it is almost always croupy for her.

That's our week, I think. Don't expect another post for a while. ;-) I'm stocking up...

January Blahs

I really hate January.

There is no caveat, nothing that makes it bearable, and nothing that has ever made it better. I just have to plow through it. I know that I am not the only one that feels this way.

so...to bury myself in my warm blankie, I have just checked out 6 fantasy novels (escapism anyone?) from the library and plan to just take a break for a while. Last year was the first year that I had actually allowed myself to "hibernate" and it was much happier for everyone. We put homeschool on "autopilot" and do tons of stuff during the summer (I love flexibility) instead.

We will hopefully be filling out a few new puzzle pieces in Buggy's health and I'll keep you updated as they actually start happening. As of right now, we are ju8st trying to get in to see some new specialists that may have a different view than her current ones. (I know, I'm guilty of sometimes dr shopping. I know dr's hate that. I don't enjoy when I have dr's who don't read their medical journals, and then call me crazy for doing it myself.) I know they don't always have a lot of time as they are "too busy saving people", but you think that occasionally, maybe someone found a better way to do that. Something that would maybe save you time and energy. And amazingly, something that would improve a patient's quality of life.

**sheepishly getting off of soapbox**

Christmas and New years were great. Although I'm not sure our kids would agree, we had a wonderful time. It was laid back and much more quiet than in years past. We had people visiting us and it was great to see them.

My sister who has nannied for us since she got home from her mission, just let us for good. :-( She has the last leg of her degree in an internship in rural PA. She's driving there right now. Good Luck Auntie Chicken! Luckily, her roommate is still here and she will be taking over the position. Now that I've had a nanny for so long. I can't really go for very long without one. :-P

Rapunzel lost both of her front teeth this past month and it's been a little silly. Frodo has started reading The Hobbit, we'll see how that goes. Little is talking up a storm. Nobody really knows what she is saying, but she's talking all the time. :-)
She has also just started Nursery at church. She still needs one of us there with her most of the time, but is taking short forays by herself. It makes me all paranoid about germs again. Luckily, the church is well supplied with sanitizer. :-)

This photo that I have posted is my grandma's 80th birthday. We had a great family reunion with most of my cousins in town. It was fun to see everyone again.