Happy Easter!

I have a few quick minutes before I KNOW that Emma will be awake, asking to get out of her bed.

We had a nice Easter weekend. Mike had been out of town all week and returned just after midnight on Sat morning. Just after lunch on Saturday, my brother Larry and his family arrived. They had been touring DC for a few days and spent Sat night out with us (in the boonies!)



The kids colored their Easter eggs. We learned something new this year. You can color an egg, write on it with the crayon AFTER that and then dip it in another color- the words are exposed in the original base color. This caused the kids to want to dip their eggs in a variety of colors over, and over, and over again. We finally just had to say STOP!!

The Easter Bunny visited our house. He had a little tougher job this year as we were striving to limit the sugar content because of Emma's diabetes. The kids got some cute toys in their baskets, some sugar-free jelly beans, sugar-free life savers, a sugar free bunny and a few sugar-full candies too.








After our annual Easter Egg Hunt in the front yard (in sub-freezing temperatures), we all got gussied up and got in the cars for the 2 hour drive to Charlottesville. We met my parents and older brother Bruce at the Boars Head Inn in Charlottesville for Easter Brunch. We had a nice time - would have been nicer had we actually been able to sit outside and visit but, alas, 40 degrees is just TOO COLD!!!






All of the kids slept on the way home - we're not exactly sure how much Michael slept the night before since he had a roommate (Gavin, my nephew) who seemed quite excited of the prospect of sleeping in the room with Michael!!

Here are some photos I took of the kids in the front yard. I may take these again in a week or so when its warmer and the grass is a little greener. I plan to update my blog with new spring colors and incorporate these photos into the design, so that you can see these smiling faces every time you open the page!! (I don't know why the last picture isn't rotated - I'll figure that out later)

Ride 'em Cowgirl!

I went into Emma's room to get her out of her crib - she was resting because she's got a little bug. Anyway, when I walked in she said "horsey". I wasn't sure why. Then I figured it out.

She took her pillow, stood it up on the long edge, put her hand on the railing and climbed on her pillow like a horse. Then, she jumped up and down like one of those "bucking bronco" rides. It was really quite funny and she's laughing and saying horsie the entire time!

Couldn't get my camera fast enough to have photos - maybe she'll do it again.

You really can find out almost anything on the Internet

I do believe that we are fortunate that Emma has developed Diabetes during this time of information technology. It makes it much easier for us to do Carb counting for her meals.

I haven't been feeling well today and decided that I was ordering pizza for dinner since Mike was leaving town. So, off to the Pizza Hut web site I go. I can put in the kind of pizza, toppings, and crust, and how many pieces of pizza Emma might eat, and it will give me a complete dietary breakdown, including carb count.

Did you know that 1 piece of Pizza Hut thin crust pizza with just cheese has 30 carbs!!

I have also been able to find out that a Chicken Nuggett Happy meal has 40 carbs - 10 for the nuggets and 30 for the french fries.

This is good information to know as we desire flexibility with when and where we eat!

A quick update

I've been meaning to provide a quick update for a few days and just haven't gotten around to it.

We are settling into a good routine here. Emma's new insulin regimen works much better. Now if she doesn't eat enough, we can just adjust her insulin down. If she wants seconds, we can just adjust her dose up.

Her blood glucose levels aren't swinging as much as they were, but still swinging some. She has been going low at night, which is intriguing, but we may just adjust by giving her a little snack before bed (we cut that out just because it keeps her awake to eat at 8pm). She also seems to be a little high before dinner, but that is most likely from her afternoon snack, so we'll probably start giving her insulin after that.

She has adjusted beautifully. When we tell her we need to poke her finger, she always says "pinkie one". Then she asks if we have to "pokie leg?" She has now chosen to sit in her rocking chair in front of the TV for her injection and its just gotten so easy because she doesn't even say anything most times now when we give it to her.

Had a little scare earlier this week when the sleep-deprived Mommy gave Emma the wrong insulin in the morning. I realized it about 1 hour into its 2 hour effectiveness - it was her "short acting" insulin. So, she got about another meal's worth of carbohydrates in the form of juice and granola bars to offset the insulin and I was very happy when her readings came back up. The nurse said that is actually a pretty common mistake - didn't feel too common to me. At least it was a short-acting insulin and in 3 hours I knew it was completely back to normal.

So, outside of feeling like we have a newborn that has to eat every 3 hours all night, things are pretty normal. I have gotten Samantha and Michael back into school, although not the full routine that I'd like. We won't be having "Spring Break" per se this week, as I have assignments for them to do, but I'm sure if one of their friends comes knocking on the door to play, I'll let them go out! Is it awful to pray for rain! It's gonna be a tough week regardless as Mike leaves in about 2 hours for a week in San Francisco.

Anyway, looking forward to Easter. Larry (my brother) and his family will be here Sat night after spending a few days in the city and then on Sunday we are driving to Charlottesville to eat brunch at the Boars Head Inn with my parents and my older brother, who I haven't seen in 15 years!

As I hear Emma talking from her bed upstairs, I'll wrap it up and go retrieve her for a snack - anyone want to predict how many of her things are thrown out of the crib and onto the floor? I guess all of them!

New Doctor, New Regimen - seems to be working

So we saw the doctor who will be our permanent endocrinologist yesterday. It was a crazy, hectic appointment because we had to go to Children's Hospital in DC; AND, it was the Doctor's day "on call" which is the only way she was able to actually see us.

She was frustruated with the regimen that the doctor in the hospital had put Emma on; as we were since her levels hadn't stabilized over the week and a half we'd been out of the hospital.

She started a new regimen yesterday. We like it for a variety of reasons:
- We increased her "long lasting" dose (her Basel). This is supposed to be the insulin that manages her throughout the day.
- We changed to a fast-acting "after meal" insulin for adjustments(Bolas). This is great because its based on her level before eating AND how much she eats. If she wants more carbs at a certain meal, we can increase her dose to adjust. If we can't seem to force the food in her mouth (which is often the case), we just decrease her dose. This is GREAT for a child who isn't in a position to understand the need for a certain amount of food.

In the past 24 hours, she hasn't gone above 250 (whereas she had been averaging higher than that most days). She has been staying mostly between 80 and 150 - and our target is 180!! So, for us, we are thrilled with the way her body is reacting. Of course, this could also mean her pancreas has kicked back in for a last hurrah, but either way, she isn't swinging and that makes us happy.

Zoo News!!

Last Wednesday, the day before Emma was admitted to the hospital, we took a day trip to the National Zoo. Sometimes, the downside of living CLOSE to the capital is that you feel that "it will always be there" and don't work it into your schedule.

Last Tuesday night, I heard the weather forecast was going to be great, nice and warm but overcast, and I decided to forego lessons for the today and have a field trip to the zoo.

We started with our favorite attraction - the Pandas. There are 3 Pandas at the zoo now - Mom, Dad, and Baby. While we were there, they had Mom and Dad in the same yard because its "that time of the season", but Mom didn't want anything to do with Dad - and as a matter of fact, she growled quite loudly at him when he came by.


One of my favorite areas is the Lion/Tiger display. There were two tigers sleeping away the morning on one side, but then this very alert lioness on the other. The other area I saw that was new to me was the invertebrate house - we saw lots of coral and sea life (unfortunately, the octopus wasn't there, which is what Michael wanted to see). At the end of that house, they have a butterfly house and you are able to walk through their garden as they flew around you.

The kids LOVE watching the Otters, because they have a great display with a clear window looking into their pool so you can really see the otters playing. I think Samantha and Michael would have watched them for a REALLY LONG TIME had I let them.



We saw almost all of the areas of the zoo, including an area I'm not sure I'd seen before - the bird house. As a point of background, the National Zoo is built on a huge hill. In order to see the entire zoo, you WILL take a trip DOWN and a trip UP the hill. The uphill is brutal!! But, that was the way to the Bird House, so we CLIMBED our way up a steep incline pushing Emma in the stroller. But, it was a neat attraction and Samantha saw what she had been asking about all day - the Flamingos. This is a video of the Flamingo dance that they do - its quite humorous.

Baffling Body Chemistry

I assure you, after we get through this initial phase with Emma, it won't all be about her Diabetes. But for now...

Emma had a pretty good day yesterday. He numbers were getting more normal and the night before when I felt certain she was going to drop really low (because of her evening numbers), she stayed right on track. The one nurse I talked to said that her pancrease could even be beginning the "honeymoon phase" (after a person's sugars get back under control, their pancreas will often begin secreting insulin again. It's not much and it doesn't last forever - its sort of a "swan song" for your pancreas.

Well, Emma's body chemistry said "ha".

She was high over night (over 300). High enough for me to page the doctor, which I'm sure she loves at 3:15am! The Doctor had us give her an extra little dose of insulin overnight. But, her breakfast reading, morning snack, AND lunch readings were ALL over 300. It just doesn't make sense with the amount of insulin she had. It even baffled the nurse on the phone at lunch when she was deciding what to do. Both the doctor and the nurse made a comment "maybe she's coming down with something" (at which point I just wanted to pull out the gun and shoot myself). Getting a bug evidentally messes up your sugars too. Well, the nurse said to do Emma's normal dose and then check it about 3 hours later, when it should have been in effect (and the morning dose should still be working, since they overlap).

She was 150.

It just makes no sense, after being close to 400 for 12 hours, for a drop to 150 just 3 hours later!!

Baffling disease.

But hey, we got in with the new Endocrinologist on Monday. We have to drive all the way to DC for the initial visit BUT she got us a 10:30 appt, instead of the originally proposed 9am (which would have meant a 7am departure!)

The simple things

When you have stress in life, sometimes the simple things can give you the most pleasure.

One of the homeschool curriculums that I am using this year is Sonlight. I actually wanted to use more of it than I did, but it just didn't fit in with the kids this year. I have been reading on their message boards about a completely re-designed language arts program, assisted by a well-known and well-respected home educator. I have been getting excited about the possibility of actually using more of the curriculum next year, which is my objective.

I received my new catalog today. I had heard they were mailed last week and many people on the message boards were talking about already having theirs. So, I was so excited when mine came today that I stopped what I was doing and sat down to look at the new areas. It is definitely exciting for me and makes me excited to finish some things this year so we can start some things next year - if only the kids were as excited about it as us parents!

The kind of post you wish you didn't have to post

For those in our immediate family and close friends, this is not new information. For others, it is.

Last Wednesday night at 10pm, I took Emma (our 2 year old) to the Emergency Room with extremely high blood glucose levels (a normal person would be between 80 and 130 and she was at 580). She was immediately admitted to the ICU and diagnosed with Type I (insulin dependent) Diabetes.

She stayed in the hospital until Saturday when she returned home and we began the processing of testing, and insulin shots on our own. I have spoken to the Doctor no fewer than 2 times a day since we have returned, and we have constantly been tweaking and modifying her injections until her body adjusts to the insulin and stabailizes.

I am happy to say that she has been "almost" stable for 24 hours. She had one "higher than normal" reading overnight, but the Doctor is fairly confident as to why this is happening and after leaving things alone today, she may make one more adjustment tomorrow that will probably address that reading.

But that's not the end of it. She will always have to monitor her sugar levels, and watch what she is eating. Right now, the struggles are making sure a 2-year-old eats what she needs to eat based on our injections. As she gets older, it will be more a "defiance" that will cause our challenges. And each growth spurt, and illness will be cause for adjustments.

But for now, we are just happy she is home and acting as though nothing has changed. She acts like nothing has happened and right now, she is currently transferring crayons back and forth from a lunch box to a Ziploc and back again (I think she has done this about 10 times now).

So for us, we have a goal of this having the least impact possible and being able to do things just as we normally have done. I do expect, however, that she will be eating more than one meal fed from tupperware at the soccer or baseball field so that she doesn't get off schedule.

From time to time, I will provide updates here, as its easier to cover everyone here than remembering all the emails I need to send!

Another tooth bites the dust!

Michael had another tooth pulled today. He had a tooth pulled out last month because his permanent tooth was coming in behind it. After pulling the baby tooth, the permanent tooth was moving nicely into place. The Dentist had warned me that his other front tooth was going to have the same problem and to watch it. I expected that by the time their regularly scheduled checkup came around in April that it would need to be removed. Little did I expect when I checked his first removed tooth on Monday that I found his other permanent tooth growing quickly in his mouth.

The Dentist said to not even bother with an assessment - we just scheduled for it to be taken out. It came out as easily this morning as his other one did last month - and the permanent tooth has almost come in as far as the other one - so it hardly looks like a tooth is even gone!

Photos to come soon - guess the Tooth Fairy is making another visit tonight!

I guess I've started potty training

I bought a potty seat for Emma a while back - one that sits on top of the main seat. She has been carrying it around the house for a while, and Dora has had her turns with the seat. I've also sat Emma on it a couple of times just to get the feel.

She has started asking to go potty. I think most times she has already gone, but its a start. AND, she has gone a few times in the potty over the past few days.

So, I guess we are starting potty training. With the other two, I had the benefit that day care did most of the training for me, and the kids were around other kids their age who were learning, so this is a new environment for us. I guess I'll just get out the timer and start our "every 20 minute" trips to the bathroom!

You can't turn your back on this one!

Michael was inspired to clean up some more in the toy closet today. And I can't seem to find my very important American History folder that has all the cross-references between video and workbooks that I need to give the kids their assignment. So, I think the stars were just aligned for us to get some organizing done in the basement.

As an important note, the kids don't seem to clean if I'm not sitting there handing them piece by piece for them to put away - they don't seem capable of picking it up off the floor and doing it themselves. So, I had spent some time downstairs sorting through junk toys with them. And I left Emma upstairs. There isn't much for her to get into (well, there is stuff but not much that I'm worried about permanent damage).

I came back upstairs to see what she had gotten into, and this is what I found:



She is definitely a creative one and loves to play pretend. For those who can't tell, she has taken her entire princess tea set and set up a tea party on the kitchen table!

The Moon, and other things

Well, there was no eclipse for us last night. The clouds rolled in all day and by the time the moon rose, there was no eclipse. Of course, about 1 hour after the eclipse had finished, the clouds moved off!!

We spent some time this afternoon in the toy closet in the basement. I am convinced we have too much stuff. No doubt. I was hoping to spend the time just sorting the toys into "use" and "not use anymore" piles. Instead I found our toy closet strew with little pieces of many toys, none in the boxes or bags they belonged in.

So, the kids have spent the past 2 hours cleaning out several boxes that I filled from the floor and shelves of little pieces of games and toys. And I haven't even tackled half of the closet yet. It will probalb]]bly take all week in our spare time to actually clean out and sort the toys. BUT, I'm having a yard sale next month and I'd love to get rid of those that aren't played with anymore (and won't hand down well to Emma). Until then, I am just creating piles of things to sell all over the house in expectation of April 21 (yard sale day)!

Getting too old for this!

Our homeschool group went ice skating today for PE. The kids were both pretty excited to go; I took Emma to a sitter so that I could go out and skate with them.

It started out rough. Michael didn't want to let go of the wall for fear of falling. I "helped him" fall so that he could see that it didn't hurt and he gained a little confidence - just in time to fall on his face and scrape his cheek. Its going to be quite a bruise tomorrow - and this just after I had convinced him it didn't hurt.



Samantha gained confidence each minute. She skated out in the middle with the older girls from the group. A little practice and I think she can be really good.



But my body is taking this opportunity to remind me exactly how old I am. My foot is sore (the one that I broke 2 years ago) because those muscles have never been the same. My back is sore and my calf muscles just ache. I'm sure they will be even more sore by the end of the day - a gentle reminder that I am no longer a teenager!

I am becoming my mother

I've always heard that generation after generation, people tend to do things like their parents. I have seen it a lot in what Mike and I do with the kids. But I don't think any more than this morning.

I actually got to sleep in late. Emma slept in late and the kids were somewhat quiet when they got up this morning (which NEVER happens, by the way). Samantha ate her breakfast and did parts of her schoolwork that she could do on her own, and Michael played quietly. I finally got up just before 8 and got Emma up and ready to eat breakfast.

I put Emma in her chair and got her breakfast. I then sat down at the table for a minute to collect my thoughts and look at the pile of papers there to see what I needed to do. Samantha comes up and gives me a run down of what lessons she has left to do, most of which involve me. She said "I'm ready for Dictation". And my response, "Samantha, I can't do that right now. My brain is just not awake yet"

That came straight from my mother!! I'm sure she's laughing as she's reading this!

Snow

We finally got snow!!

For once, the weather forecasters were wrong - but wrong in a good way (at least as far as I am concerned). They had said that we would be getting 1-2" of snow starting around midnight Sat night, and then it would turn over to ice, sleet, and freezing rain mid-day.

The snow came - but the sleet didn't. So, instead of 1-2" of snow, we got about 5" of snow and no ice. Its nice pretty snow. I was actually driving in it for a brief time yesterday and it was beautiful falling down among the trees that I was driving under. Of course, my driving trip didn't take me far as I turned around and came home. The roads were not great for driving at that time and while I am pretty good at driving in the snow, many people around here aren't and all I needed was someone to lose control and run into me. So, I turned around and headed home - not getting my errand done that now will not get done this week, as it isn't something easily done with 3 children and Mike is in Denver until Friday!

The other downside is a big hole we now have in the front yard. We have an unusually shaped front yard due to a lane/driveway on either side. I grant that its unusual, but anyone who has driven by here a few times would know what it looks like. However, it appears that the snow plow driver didn't - and decided instead to plow up a huge hunk of our front yard. Then, to add insult to injury, he then pulled back, lifted up his plow, and just DROVE through the front yard.

So, I'll be filing a complaint with the Homeowners Association that hired the plow driver and having to get my lawn reseeded this spring.

But, it is a beautiful snow.

A few photos from Emma's birthday

Here are a few photos from Emma's birthday weekend.

Her birthday was Friday. On Friday night, we gave her her present - a Dora the Explorer Sit and Spin. It plays music and sings songs. She is as interested in pushing the button and playing the music as she is in sitting on it.



On Sunday, we had friends come over to have cake with us. We got Emma a Dora the Explorer balloon which she carried around the house all afternoon - she called it her "Dora Boots balloon"


So, our "Baby" is now a "Toddler"!



And here is a video of Emma. We can't seem to get the sound to work - so if you do, please let me know how. It is Emma dancing to the music from her Sit-n-Spin - if you get the music you will see how unbelievably cute this is!

Happy Birthday Emma!!

Today is Emma's 2nd birthday!!

I don't have photos to share yet - because the camera is in the shop - but I am borrowing one from a friend this afternoon and then I'll share some current images!!

Just a quick flashback to 2 years ago:
Emma was born on a Wednesday. For the 4 weeks prior to her birth, I had been on bedrest, in the hospital, and then back to the hospital for DAILY testing. Yes, every day - including Saturday and Sunday - I had to go and bed monitored. I have very low amniotic fluid and Emma was breech and they wanted to make sure she was developing ok during that time.

On Wednesday, February 16, I went in for my 2 routine tests AND I had my weekly checkup with the OB. So, I had THREE appointments that day. Normally, through the graciousness of friends, I was able to fit them in while Michael was at preschool and Samantha at school (with the friends helping out when the time went over). But this day, the appointments were way too long, so Mike stayed home to be there when Michael got home from preschool.

My non-stress test, monitoring the baby's heart rate (ups and downs) was fine, but my biophysical profile (which is a specialized sonogram) couldn't register much movement or diaphragmatic movement (breathing). They even brought in the ACTUAL radiologist (who you never see, its always technicians) and he couldn't get these to register. So, they sent me over to the OBs office next door. When I walked in the door, the OB just wrote me a note and sent me back over to Labor and Delivery.

I had been eating trying to raise my blood sugar and increase movement in the baby, so they were forced to wait 4 hours before they could do the surgery - we were having a C-section because she was breech. So, I spent the afternoon sitting in a pre-op room reading a book and watching other babies come in and out from the OR while waiting. During this time, Mike was running around furiously getting Michael to one house and Samantha to another so that they could stay the night, still get to school, and he could be at the hospital with me. He walked into the pre-op room a mere 10 minutes before they were ready for me!!

They hooked me up with an IV and sent me WALKING down the hall to the OR!! That was a sight, I'm sure!! In a very short time, the Doctor was in the operating room and in no time flat, Emma was here!! All 6 lbs, 12 ounces of her with a round head, just like her siblings!! By far the smallest one I had, seeing as she was a full 4 (or possibly 5) weeks early.

We were sent back to post-op and then checked into our room for the night by 8pm. I felt like I was "old hat" at that since I had spent 5 days there just the previous month. I was just so happy to NOT be pregnant any more and have a baby who really did love to sleep - I had to wake her to feed her!

So, here we are 2 years later with a baby that won't stand still - she is always on the run and always has something to say!!

Happy Birthday Emma!

The curse of a verbal child

Emma has been quite verbal for a while. I think she was about a year old and one of the women in our babysitting co-op said that Emma said "Thank you". She has MANY, MANY words - I should count just to see.

She is also trying to learn manners - well, more accurately, we are trying to teach her. We tell her that we don't respond when she yells for something or throws a tantrum and that she is to say please.

So, in her sweetest voice, she comes to me a couple of minutes ago, after being "rescued" from her crib by Samantha to say "My shows please. My shows".

That would be Noggin! My lifesaver while I'm doing school with Samantha and Michael. They have lots of cute shows (and a few annoying ones) and two cartoon characters that "MC" between shows (because there are no commercials) named "Zee" and "Moose". She loves everything about Noggin. You can be guaranteed to get lots of hugs if you are at my house at 6pm - when Zee and Moose go "night night" and Emma cries!!

How can you NOT turn the channel for a child that uses such good manners at such a young age.

Verdict on the dishwasher, and other things

So, we paid a GE repair specialist $179 to come to our house this week and a) replace a piston in the dishwasher that wasn't quite broken but would be soon; and b) tell us that the dishwasher problem was in the hose that was wound back behind the cabinets in the kitchen. Its either a clog or the line is frozen. I voted for frozen since the highest the temperture got this week was 28 degree.

The long term solution to this problem isn't easy - it probably involves removing cabinets or counters or both!!

The short-term solution seems silly but works. About 2 hours before we run the dishwasher, we open up the cabinet doors between the dishwasher and the sink, AND we remove the cover from the bottom of the dishwasher. Then we run a spaceheater into those spaces for a couple of hours. It heats the hose up that is behind those cabinets and enables the water to flow through - thus allowing the dishwasher to ACTUALLY work!

But how obnoxious is that. We have known something is wrong with the back side of the house there when it comes to temperature. I have always felt a breeze under the cabinets in the winter time - yes, literally, a breeze blowing on my feet. We feel certain there is insulation on that wall but perhaps not enough; or perhaps because its a bump out, it doesn't get the appropriate insultion from the basement. When and if we do ever remove the cabinets or countertops (Which is always a possibility because we have always wanted granite), we will find some super insulation and fill back behind those cabinets to the point I will never feel a breeze again. In the meantime, we are heating the cabinets from the outside and washing our dishes!!

In other parts of our life, basketball and cheerleading is continuing. Yesterday didn't see nearly as much time at the gym, but still a few hours, nonetheless. Emma hasn't been feeling 100% so its tough being at the gym when she really should be asleep in her bed.

Emma turns 2 at the end of the week. Two always seems anti-climactic. One is such a big deal. At three, the kids often have a few friends at preschool that you invite over. But then there's two. Of course, we'll have a cake - if not for Emma, then for the other kids who think you are supposed to have cake for a birthday. Perhaps I will invite over our friends, the Legeers. They have a baby 3 months younger than Emma and Lauryn is a friend of Michael's from preschool!

And lastly, our camera is in the shop. Neither of the kids will own up to their role it in, but it had clearly been dropped, as evidence by the DENT in the housing and the break in the LCD screen. We could use it to take photos, but not change the settings, nor see the image we took. After much trepidation, I packed it gingerly in a box (insured for AT LEAST the cost of purchasing a new one) and shipped it off to Canon with assurances of return within 7 days of receipt. We'll see. Since our back-up camera is also broken (slippery fingers in this family also), we are camera-less right now and I am hoping to take a friend up on a generous offer to borrow her "backup" camera until ours returns.

The $20 remedy

Emma has been sick for a few days. She has been acting lethargic and has had a fever. After sleeping for 3 1/2 hours in the morning, I called the Doctor and set up an appointment. (As an aside, she was also experiencing her "pooping" problem again, too). After spending an hour at the Doctor, we didn't get much of an answer other than a) her ears are clear; and b) she looks ok to me (mind you, this Doctor doesn't realize that sitting still ISN'T characteristic of Emma)

By the time it was bedtime last night, Emma was acting like her normal self. Running her mouth and watching her favorite "Baby Show" (that would be Teletubbies). Mike says she got the $20 remedy - that is, we just needed to pay the $20 to the Doctor for her to feel better!!

Things we have plenty of ...

Cold air
Static Electricity
Dirty Dishes

It is certainly cold here. Michael asked this morning if he could go shovel the walk and the thermometer said 12 degrees. I told him it was a bit too cold to be outside shoveling. This is day 3 of freezing cold weather and its at least a couple more days of the cold.

And, the cold dry air is causing a lot of static electricity. I have been shocking Emma a lot and each time I shock her, she gets a funny look on her face and puts her hand where I shocked her - she is definitely trying to figure out what is happening.

And, yesterday we realized that our dishwasher no longer pumps water. It currently has water sitting in the bottom of it and Mike is looking for a repairman to come out and tell us what's wrong. When you have 5 people living in a house, 4 of which are home all day, the dirty dishes pile up. We usually run the dishwasher overnight, so right now we have a pile of dishes on the counter waiting for me to go wash them!

Funny the things we remember

Today is February 5th. Whenever I see that date, I have vivid memories come rushing back into my mind. I will always remember February 5th. I was 13 years old in February of 1983. On the 5th I went on my first skiing trip - with our church group. We went to the Homestead Resort, about 2 hours away from home. I can vividly remember the windy roads going up the mountain. I can remember my ski lesson on the bunny slope and my first two or three times down the bunny slope. I can see in my mind vividly getting in line for the ski lift to go up to the intermediate hill. My first trip down was quick and exciting. And I remember getting in line to go up again.

I remember starting down the hill at the top. I can remember thinking that I was going faster than I wanted and that the snow felt icy. The next I remember, I was laying on the ground and I remember seeing skis stuck in the snow in an "X" formation. And I remember sliding down the hill on a toboggan.

I can remember laying on the table with a ski boot on my foot getting ready to get my leg x-rayed. And I can remember their telling me my leg was broken. I can remember my mother crying on the phone when she was told (gosh, she didn't cry when I told her 18 months ago that I had broken my foot!)

On February 5th, 1983, I went skiing for the first time and broke my leg. 12 weeks in a cast, my dance season cut short and many activities changed that year. I bet that my mother doesn't remember that it was Feb 5th. But I do, and I think I always will.

Upward Cheerleading and Basketball

I received a flyer in the mail in November for a basketball and cheerleading league held at a nearby church. I hadn't ever heard of this league before, but the flyer came at a perfect time, as I was interested in getting Michael involved with basketball, and Loudoun County doesn't have a very organized program.

So, we signed the kids up for "Upward". Michael plays basketball and Samantha is on a cheerleading squad. Its a nice program. They have over 300 children signed up, assigned to teams from 5 years old to 12 years old. They practice once a week and play games on Saturday. For a reasonable registration fee, each of them received their full uniform, that they get to keep!!

The kids are having a good time and have met some new friends. And, I am continuing my family tradition of spending most Saturdays in the winter, all day, at the gym!

My son, the artist

You always wonder when your kids are really little what they are going to be good at. And what they are going to be interested in.

Michael likes to build things. He loves his K'nex and his legos and even Emma's blocks. He loves to build things. Sometimes it just to knock it down. Other times we can't get him to take it apart.

About a week ago, I went into Michael's room looking for him because he was suspiciously quiet. Very unusual for him, which often means he's doing something he shouldn't.

But not this time.

He had decided to make a picture out of the coins in his room. He made a bird. He didn't copy a picture or anything - he just designed it himself



It's a Bird!!!

He says his next creation is going to be a spider.

Reporting on the "no snow" storm

This is how they lead off the news report at 5pm tonight.

We were expecting a little bit of snow with a little bit of ice on the top.

Now we aren't even going to get that.

We want a big snow storm - or at least a decent size snow storm and haven't had one yet.

Ears and Games

We've had a busy weekend. On Friday we took Samantha to get her ears pierced. She has been bugging us for a while to get it done and we finally decided to let her get them pierced. We gave her a pair of Mickey birthstone earrings that we bought at Disney for her birthday and told her she could get them pierced. For the next 3 days, she talked about it incessantly. She went to a friend's house after PE on Friday and when I picked her up, that was ALL she was talking about. We got them pierced before dinner and finally had to tell her at dinner to STOP TALKING ABOUT HER EARS!!

Saturday was Samantha and Michael's first game in their Upward league - Michael playing basketball and Samantha cheerleading. The day started with a Mommy boo-boo. I tried to be a good Mommy, knowing that Michael would feel left-out if the star he earned at practice wasn't ironed on. I went to the league web site that instructed me to iron the star onto his jersey. Against, my better judgement, I followed their directions and melted his polyester jersey. Luckily they are reversible and he was wearing the other color this week, so no one could see.

But, Michael played his first game and had a good time - he was surprisingly "not aggressive" so we'll work on that a little, but he did score the first basket for his team. Michael earned a star for his jersey for "Sportsmanship". This, along with a replacement of his first star, will be ironed onto his T-shirt, which is cotton.

Samantha was cheering during his game - the cheerleading teams rotate games and just cheer for everyone. We are still trying to figure out how this child that can be really loud when we want her to be quiet decides to be really quiet during the one time she gets to be loud. I kept holding my hand to her ear to get her to cheer louder. She earned a star for Spirit to put on her Megaphone.

This is a neat league - it is organized through a local church and has over 300 kids playing basketball and cheering. I'm glad we found it for the kids, and expect many a Saturday to now be spent at the gym - at least they have a concession stand with hot dogs!

Michael's about to lose his first tooth - scheduled for Jan 31st!

Well, Michael is about to lose his first tooth. Unfortunately, its going to be "assited" by the dentist. I was looking in his mouth earlier this week and noticed that he had a permanent tooth coming in behind his lower baby teeth.

Turns out it has come almost completely in - and didn't TOUCH the baby tooth it was supposed to knock out. And, it has not chance of touching the baby tooth it was supposed to knock out.

So, the dentist needs to take it out to give the permanent tooth a chance to move to where it belongs.

Guess its time to start the SECOND orthodontic savings account, huh?

Busy Holiday Season!

This Christmas season was very busy. I had grand plans for teaching the kids about Christmas around the world and the Christmas Story. That lasted 1 day, for after that, the stomach bug started its way through the house. That took the week to clear out and then we were scrambling around to finish getting ready for Christmas - presents to be wrapped, cookies to be baked, and meals to be planned.






On Christmas Eve, we had a nice dinner at home (our annual plans with friends had to be postponed due to conflicts). Emma opened up a new nightgown to match Samantha and Michael's (she had matching ones last year too, so I purchased this last year knowing she would have outgrown last year's jammies). The kids were tucked into bed after listening to the Christmas Story and leaving out milk and cookies for Santa.






Lo and Behold, Santa visited that night. He left an assortment of toys the older kids wanted, and some Dora toys and an art easel for Emma. All in all, the toys were a big hit with the kids. They all exclaimed they had a great Christmas, and the looks on Emma's face told us the same.




After Christmas breakfast, we packed up and headed to Williamsport, PA to visit with Mike's dad for a couple of days. The kids had a fun time opening presents with Oma and Opa and playing with Opa's trains (always a hit). We headed home a little early because it appeared the Emma and Michael were both fighting a cold.


After a day back at home, we headed out again, this time to Roanoke, VA to visit with my parents, siblings, and nephews (notice no nieces in the mix). The kids again had a great time sharing presents. I enjoyed seeing the boys open their fleece blankets that I made for them. And, after I agonized over what to do for my one nephew that I coudn't find fleece for, it turns out that the tie-dyed print I chose was perfect for him!!




The visit ended on a rough note, as it turns out that I would be spending Sun morning in the ER with Emma with an ear infection. Of course, it was Sunday AND New Years Eve, so that limited my Doctor choices. The first Urgent Care I went to didn't treat children (huh!?) but that worked out for the best as the ER had "no waiting" and the Urgent Care had a room full. As I expected after Emma spiked a 103.5 fever, she was diagnosed with an ear infection and given antibiotics. They began to take effect quickly.

Happy 2007!

I have so much to update about right now but need to get back into the swing of things before I do so. In short, I'll share shortly with you about:
- Christmas in Williamsport
- Christmas in Roanoke
- Our New Years trip to Walt Disney World!

For now, Happy New Year to everyone and I'll share more soon (including photos!)

Emma's make-believe world!

Emma is great at playing make-believe. A couple of weeks ago, Samantha brought up her princess tea set from the basement because she doesn't play with it anymore. Emma loves to play with it. She likes to drink pretend tea and "cookies" and she INSISTS on having a plate before she starts.

Today Michael gave her his bear to play with. She decided she wanted to color so the bear was going to color with her. She put the bear in the chair at the coloring table and put a crayon in his hand.

Right now, the bear is sitting in his own rocking chair watching TV with her - and she pats him once in a while to make sure he's ok.

It's very cute!

10am and done wrapping!!

That's right - I accomplished a feat never accomplished in this house, nor, I doubt, my mother's house either. I was done wrapping at 10am this morning. The only reason I wasn't done yesterday is that I spent the morning wrapping the presents that the kids picked out at 5Below, and I couldn't do that last night when they were in bed.

So, all the wrapping is done, and the baking done. We are now cleaning the house. The entire upstairs is vacuumed and the bathrooms are cleaned (Samantha actually LIKES to clean toilets and sinks so that is now her job). Main floors are vacuumed. This afternoon, we'll vacuum the stairs and the basement and dust all of the woodwork and we'll be in good shape. I like it much better when I have a CLEAN house for Christmas. Especially since the family room will no longer be clean as of tomorrow morning!

Congratulations Larry!!

My brother, after working very hard for MANY years, has been announced as a partner with the Law Firm of Moore & Van Allen in Charlotte, NC. We are all very proud of him!!

The Nutcracker

Samantha and I went to see a production of the Nutcracker today. It was put on by the local ballet company - the Loudoun Ballet Company. They have been doing this production for years and it seems to get bigger and more elaborate each year. The costumes are bright and colorful and the performers are just outstanding. They never disappoint. It is such a nice tradition that we have established each year.

We'll be spending this week talking about Christmas around the world and doing some things to prepare for Christmas, such as making some snowflake ornaments and baking cookies. I think for once we are actually going to be ready for Christmas EARLY for a change!

New Banner

Just for those who hadn't noticed, I have updated the banner at the top with the new photos of the kids. Enjoy!

Mind your Ps and Qs!

That is the name of the drama production Samantha was in today. This was coordinated through our local homeschool group and this is her second play. Samantha seems very natural in these plays and I see some talent that could really be fostered.

This play was about Grammar. There was "Captain Grammar" and "Doctors" that were to fix all the "Grammatical injuries" being suffered by people. Then, several of the characters represented the grammatical errors.





Samantha played "G", as in "people keep dropping the 'g' off of words, such as comin' and goin'". She also played "Awful" because it is used an "awful" lot of times when other words could be used!! She then played "I" because I is often used as an object when it should be "me" - and yes, mom, I am guilty of this all the time, including in my previous post.

It was a neat production and fun to see the kids developing their dramatic skills!!

Concluding our Weather Unit

We are wrapping up our Weather unit in science right now. The kids have been learning about all different aspects of weather. Along the way, we have built some "home made" weather equipment to see how they work, and we have been creating little booklets and other "craft" items about weather. Yesterday, each of the kids put all of their craft items together into a "lapbook", which is simply a file folder made into a fold out book that kids can build to learn about a subject and display their results. The lapbook we created for Weather is one that I designed myself based on what we were learning in our weather curriculum. It was fun to make and even more fun to see the kids eyes light up as they realized what they had created.

Then today, we took a special field trip. We went to the NBC station in Washington, DC and met the morning weather man, Tom Kierein. We watch him a lot in the morning as we determine what kind of weather we'll be having during the day. Mr. Kierein showed the kids all of his screens and equipment and how he did his weather broadcasts. We watched him do 3 separate broadcasts while we were there. It was a really neat tour. We also got to see other parts of the NBC studio, including the temporary news studio they were using while renovations were occuring in their main studio - we also got to see the main morning news anchors in action. We saw the control room where the producers and directors worked and controlled the cameras. We also got to see the studio where national programs, such as "Meet the Press" and "The Chris Matthews Show" are filmed. It was really neat to see. The kids had a great time and Mr. Kierien was really great with them the entire time!!

This was a great way to end our unit - but I'm just not sure I'll be able to live up to it when we finish our Astronomy and Oceans units.

Visiting Santa and Family Portraits!

We had a busy day today.

We went to the mall to visit Santa. Emma, just like her siblings at this age would have NOTHING to do with Santa. So, we have some Santa photos with Samantha and Michael, but none that include Emma. Maybe next year. Samantha took a nice photo of Emma and I during the time that she REFUSED to let me put her down!! Seems a little 3 year old girl was looking at her and she would have nothing to do with that!!

I took some nice photos of Samantha and Michael individually in front of the Christmas decorations. These will be their "school pictures" for this year. Emma wouldn't cooperate for photos at the mall, but I did take some nice ones of her in front of the fireplace after dinner.











We finally took our family photo in front of the fireplace tonight. Imagine how difficult it is to take a family picture with 3 children (yes mom, I know you are remembering) - then add into that the fact that I was doing this with a camera timer with the camera on a stepstool and a baby who won't sit still for 2 seconds. In the end, we got a couple of nice shots.

Another busy day coming up tomorrow - visiting the NBC TV station in DC to meet the weather man - Tom Kierein!

I color!

That's what Emma said this morning when I asked her what she was doing.

A little background. I have realized that I picked a tough year to start homeschooling - tough in the sense that this is the age where Emma is all over the place! Its tough sometimes to get some work done with the older kids while Emma is running around the family room because she is seriously into everything.

This is a busy week. My expectations are pretty low, work wise, because we have a visit to Santa, a field trip to the TV station, and Samantha's drama production all this week. I decided that the ONLY thing I wanted to make sure to accomplish today was complete the Weather lapbook that we have been building the components for. I'd like the kids to be able to take it with them to the TV station to meet the weatherman tomorrow.

Samantha was in the shower, Emma was gated in the family room, and I was at the kitchen table with Michael working on his lapbook. I didn't see Emma when I turned around so I said "Emma, where are you?".

Her response: "I color wall. I sorry"

She was over in the corner near the stairs coloring quite brightly on the wall going up the stairs.

I guess its a good thing that we have painted walls and a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser!

I needed to add one more Christmas tradition

This tradition has been passed from father to son for many generations and we have fully embraced it in this household, and it is...

... The expletives that go along with putting up Christmas lights on a Christmas tree.

My father did it, my father-in-law did it, and my husband does it.

Its a fond family tradition passed from father to son, generation after generation.

And it obviously doesn't restrict itself to real or artifical trees. This year, my husband contributed a few choice words to the fact that part of the lights on the PRE-LIT ARTIFICIAL tree aren't lit - because he can't find the plug.

Ah, the fond family memories we create!

Christmas Traditions: Old and New

We have many Christmas traditions in our family. Many are old; taken from our own childhood Christmases and many are new that we have started or developed over time.

We decorate the house to a "t" - with more and more decorations and lights every year (it seems).

We have Christmas Eve dinner with a dear family friend that we don't see enough due to busy kids schedules.

We wait until the coldest, snowiest, wetest, ickiest of days to go get our Christmas tree (Because after years of trying to plan and always getting bad weather, we've just decided to go ahead and plan for the bad weather because we know there won't be crowds!)

The Christmas countdown calendar was something that Mike bought a few years back. He pulled it out that year on December 1st, ready to "set it up" and start the countdown. I think it was about 6 hours later when it was actually "ready", after Mike cut out 25 different little shapes and glued them together and hooked on the strings. But, now its done and all we have to do each year now is hang it up on December 1st.

The Advent wreath is new this year. I don't know what made me think about it but I decided that as part of our homeschooling curriculum this year that I'd like to make sure the kids know the story of Jesus as well as the other Christmas stories that they can recite from memory. I'm interspersing Bible stories (from Luke, which has the best account of the life of Jesus) with Christmas around the world traditions, focusing on areas from our heritage (Germany and England) and our closeby neighbors (Canada and Mexico)

So, I scrambled this past week to find an advent wreath. After several calls to crafts stores, and numerous conversations with people who didn't even know what an advent wreath was (that's a bit sad), I found one at the Christian bookstore at the mall. BUT, they didn't have any candles.

And, my internet research shows that the meaning of candles has changed over the years and through the different religious implementations of the advent wreath.

We have 4 Royal Blue candles to signify the celebration of the birth of Christ. We will light another one each Sunday until Christmas Eve, when we will add a white candle in the middle to signify the birth.

This is our newest Christmas tradition

Christmas Parade!

Today Samantha marched in the Manassas Christmas parade with her dance school. They wore adorably cute Elf costumes and danced to "We are Santa's elves" from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

As a piece of background, Samantha also marched in this parade 2 years ago. Let me share the experience of two years ago for contrast. Two years ago it took us 25 minutes to find the location to drop Samantha off, and we dropped her off with no coat, no snacks and no water on a day where it was about 35 degrees with the wind blowing. We sat in bumper-to-bumper traffic and then drove down roads we didn't know trying to get to where we could watch the parade. We ended up at a good corner - right near the end of the parade - and across from a 7-11. That's a good thing. Samantha's location was number 104 in a parade of 112 entries. The parade was scheduled to start at 10am - and Samantha group launched AFTER 12:30. And did we know this from the other end of the parade? Of course not. All we knew was that we left her with no coat in the cold for hours. The parade was so poorly timed that at times there was 10 minutes or more between floats. The 7-11 was FULL of people because we needed to eat and use the bathroom after being there so long. Luckily we were able to bring the van up into the parking lot and mom and dad could sit in the van for a while until their performance got closer, because of course we didn't take any chairs with us. Samantha's group came through at about 2:30, if I remember correctly (because I have conveniently blocked it out)

Fast-forward two years.

We pulled into a parking lot right next to where Samantha's group was gathering (Mike was told he wasn't supposed to be there but oh well!). Samantha's teacher was STILL late in arriving (at 9:25, when she told us to arrive between 8:30 and 9am). But, she had warmer clothes and snacks and water. So, I left her with some other moms and we headed to our viewing location. I had pre-printed a map so I knew exactly how to get where we wanted to go. We went back to the SAME corner we used 2 years ago - but we were smarter this time. We parked backed into a spot so that we could see the parade route while sitting in the car. We brought the DVD player so the kids could watch videos until we got closer to Samantha's group. We brought our soccer chairs so we had somewhere to sit on the curb. We went into 7-11 early and got snacks, and while their bathrooms were CLEARLY marked with "Not for public use", I was able to get the nice lady behind the counter to let me in for Michael to go.

As the parade started, we watched the floats for a while. They were timed much better this time, although there were still some patches of "Dead space" while there was a group performing at the review stand just before us. But, they did a better job of spacing performance groups with floats so there weren't long periods of lapses.

As Samantha's group approached, I walked up the block so that I could see them perform at the reviewing stand. I got right up front so that I would have a good view of the dance and get some great photos.

And my camera broke!!

One of my children dropped it a few weeks back, just after we had gotten our other camera back because IT had been dropped.

I got the two shots of Samantha when we dropped her off and a couple of shots of favorite floats from the parade. But now I need to depend on the charity of the other moms, hoping they got some good shots of the performance and the marching with Samantha in them.

But, Mike saw a reporter talking to Samantha's teacher after the performance, so we are hoping they won an award.

If for nothing else, the wonderful costumes that were perfect for the occasion!
And it was just as cold as it was two years ago!

There's just something NOT RIGHT about this

Its December 1st and currently 72 degrees outside.

There is just something wrong with that. Very wrong.

It snowed in Dallas, TX yesterday, by the way.

But not here. Certainly not when its 72 degrees.

Another milestone - ARGH!

Emma was our last to turn over (6 months - on the dot) and our last to crawl (about 10 months). She was our last to walk and run (walking at 17 1/2 months and just recently running). One milestone she hadn't tackled yet is the stairs.

I have tried numerous times to show her how to climb up and come down on her bottom, but she had no interest. Not only did she have no interest, but she seemed terrified at the prospect.

Perhaps it was the fact that she tackled the feat of climbing on the couch at Oma's and Opa's this weekend. Perhaps its the fact that she has parlayed that into an ability to climb up on our couch. But NOW she has decided that she can climb up the stairs. Last night she just headed for the back stairs and instead of stopping and asking to be picked up, she just kept going...and going...and going - and alas, she was at the top.

While I'm happy that eventually I won't have to carry her up and down the steps anymore, I'll now need go up and down with her each time until she does it consistently without falling - and when I'm not with her, I'll have to put up the gates at the top and bottom because with THIS child, anything is possible!!

To those who have inquired...

... and to the one that I don't (surprisingly) seem to have an email for:

Moon Sand is a "cross" between Play Doh and Sand.

Here's one
Here's another

There is evidentally a problem with the manufacturer because everyone is having trouble.

Good News is that my sister found a set and is shipping them to me, and I got some off of eBay at a "not too bad" a price, so the Stopper Family will have some Moon Sand to play with this Christmas!

She's not asleep!

And how do I know that? I just coughed, sitting on the couch in the family room. All of a sudden I hear this voice from beyond - from the bedroom at the top of the stairs. It said, in the sweetest of not-yet-two-year-old voices, "Bless You".

Getting a jump on things!

I remember last year that Christmas snuck up on us. I think maybe someone removed a week or so from the calendar and forgot to tell me. I found myself around the 12th of December and I hadn't even thought about what I wanted to do.

But not this year. I've already started thinking about it. The kids have perused the "ToysRUs" Toy book that came in the mail a couple of weeks ago. We usually also take a trip through the toy aisles at Target for ideas. After that, I will finally be able to provide the grandparents and aunts and uncles ideas for gifts for my kids.

Of course, one of the "hot toys" this year is Moon Sand. Can't find it anywhere. My sister says she found some in Texas, so she is going to try to go back and get some for me. In addition to looking cool, it will actually be very good for Michael's Sensory System.

I actually have a couple of ideas for my nephews as well (you notice I didn't say "nieces" - I don't HAVE any nieces) but will look forward to ideas from my siblings as well.

All in all, I look forward to possibly having some gifts wrapped and under the tree BEFORE December 23rd, which is when I started wrapping last year.

Here's to the best laid plans of mice and men!

Almost Heaven!

To give you a little background on this post, I wanted to tell you about something I did in college. On a typical Sunday afternoon, after spending the weekend visiting one of many places, I would settle in to do homework or study for the following week. I would often go to the library and check out the Star Wars trilogy (the original one, this was 1990 and 1991 after all). I would put these three movies in the VCR, in succession, as background noise when I studied. It worked well - I seemed to need the background noise and since it was something I was familiar with, I wasn't distracted actually trying to pay attention to the movie. I did this MANY, MANY Sundays!

Anyway, this past weekend, the Cinemax movie channel has been running a Star Wars Marathon - all 6 movies in order. Over and Over. All Weekend. It started Friday and its going until early tomorrow morning. And, since we actually get an east coast AND a west coast feed, I actually have the movies on two different channels - so I can switch back and forth based on which scenes in which movie I'm interested in seeing. So, its been like heaven here. You'd think after 3 or 4 times listening to the movies, I'd be tired of them, but no. I have washed and folded laundry, I have napped, I have planned the lessons for the next two weeks, played with Emma and done any number of things, all with one of the six Star Wars movies as background!

Well, its unanimous!

All of my kids have loved Teletubbies!

We were first exposed to Teletubbies when Samantha was about a year old - it was on during the time we were getting ready for work, and she would sit mezmerized while it was on.

Michael watched it too - although not a lot because it was no longer on in the morning when we were preparing for work.

Now, with the wonders of technology, we can have an episode of Teletubbies any time we would - with our cable's "On Demand" service. Typically, Emma gets a good dose of "Noggin" in the morning while we are trying to get some lessons done. But even that isn't keeping Emma occupied these days.

Recently, Mike pulled up an episode of Teletubbies for Emma when he wanted her to calm down before bedtime. She was catatonic. She didn't move for the entire episode (much like you see in the photo above!)

She doesn't call it Teletubbies - she calls is "Poe" (one of the characters on Teletubbies). Her favorite part is the baby face in the sun that laughs from time to time - she laughs right along with that baby.

So now, when we need Emma to calm down and sit still (if only for a few minutes), we just have to turn on an episode of Teletubbies and we're set!!

Sometimes the best photos are the unplanned ones

Didn't have much to say today, but I finally went through the photos that I took during our annual trip to the Cox Farm pumpkin patch last weekend and I found this really sweet photo of Emma eating an apple that I wanted to share.

Trick-or-Treat

The kids had a great time trick-or-treating. Every year, they go out a little bit longer and hit a few more houses.

After I got the obligatory photo on the front stairs - which wasn't easy with Emma looking away and BOTH of my other children blinking at odd times - they kids headed out. I did finally get a good group shot.


















I am also sharing individual photos of Michael and Samantha, since I shared an individual one of Emma yesterday.

I wanted to get a photo of Emma walking away to trick-or-treat, but she was too quick for me. She ran DOWN the driveway and down the street after Samantha so fast that Mike had to run to catch up with her. I can't get her to even leave the driveway on a normal day - and we couldn't catch up with her last night.

So Emma went to just the few houses around us and then Mike brought her home. He headed back out with Samantha and Michael for a bit longer before they all returned tired. We have huge piles of candy in the house now - and we are rationing it to the kids so I don't have to peel them off the ceiling in order to get any schoolwork done.

Happy Birthday Granny!