Self-Incrimination

Evan: Give back my Lego gun!

Daniel: What?! I didn't steal your Lego gun! I mean, I would have if I knew you had it but I didn't.

We've Been Sick

So, last week we had a virulent illness pass through our household. One night, while keeping vigil while Daniel was suffering the worst of it I was rubbing his back. He said, "Having you rub my back when I am sick is like a power-up." Hmm, maybe a bit much video-gaming over the vacation, eh?

Back to Reality

Blair and I just got home after 3 days in San Diego. It was really weird to step out of Christmas for a spell and just have 3 days to read, sleep, and eat sushi. Oh, plus a side trip for me involving a rental car, GPS unit, and a shopping plaza I just had to get to while Blair was in meetings. It was a really relaxing trip and I can't wait for our next getaway to Orlando in January. But, first, Christmas!

Have I Been Saying That Out Loud?

So, Sophia and I go work in Evan's classroom on Friday's. All of Evan's little friends stop by the stroller to chat with Sophia off and on during the morning. They tell Evan how cute she is, how much she likes them, how lucky he is, etc. Last Friday, Evan came over to me and said, "Mom, all of my friends just love Sophia." Then, he leans in and whispers conspiratorially, "Too bad they don't know it's like living with a nightmare." Oops, with all the Christmas decorations and tree ornaments, I guess I have been muttering what a nightmare she is a bit too often. So, since Friday, I have made a concerted effort to mention less often what a nightmare it is and more often what a blessing she is. I don't know if the kids have noticed but I have. She really is the Cutest Thing Ever.

More Library News

I know. I am just a big dork about the library. And it has rubbed off on my children. Poor things. They have all insisted on getting a library card of their own as soon as they are five. Well, as you can imagine, this is hard to keep track off.... their movies, which are due after 7 days, their books due date, their holds, not too mention my own due dates and holds. It is an earnest endeavor. But, did you see? The county library system is now affiliated with www.libraryelf.com. You go to this web site and register all of your cards and it will keep you apprised of due date, hold waiting, holds expiring, and all that good stuff for all cards registered on your account. ALSO, once a day, they will text your phone with a snapshot of that day if something is going down (again, due date, hold fulfilled, hold expiring). Is that not the coolest? An example of how cool this is: Daniel wanted to check out The Tale of Despereaux to read again before he saw the movie. We had to put it on hold. The hold came and went because it was on his account which I do not monitor daily to see what holds came in (as opposed to mine which I check like I check my friends' blogs.... refer to sentence two ). Well, long story short, I ended up at B & N buying the dang book. So, this will save me money.

(Side note: The telephone calls from the library used to work, but now I have too many impertinant children living here who think they can answer the phone. I bet half of those times that they just hang up and say "telemarketer", it is probably the library. )

Anyway, do you have 5 library cards that you like to keep track of? www.libraryelf.com may help you out. Let me know.

Family Night Fun

Our neighbors came over last night for some family fun, we had a great time decorating our gingerbread houses and this was what Blair and I came up with for our efforts. It is a lot of work but it is always so much fun. Of course, the most stressful part is selecting the candy at the grocery store.....

How Much is that Puppy in the Window?

Seriously, what is Sophia doing? You can't see in the picture but there were bowls and bowls of popcorn that she had already dumped out on the counter but she had to go and eat out of the bowl like a little puppy. Which made the other kids laugh and laugh which only encouraged her. Which is a very similar result to the day she began dropping things from the railing upstairs. Scared me to death and everyone else? They just laughed so she just did it some more. She will be the death of me.