Delaney is in double digits!!

0

5

10!

Dear Delaney,

Today you turn 10, a whole decade -- a big milestone. I remember the day you were born like it was yesterday. It was a Sunday. I woke your dad up at about 2:30 in the morning to tell him my water had broken. He said, "Should I still go to Quantico?" "No!" Haha. As a matter of fact, he's leaving for Quantico again, tomorrow, on a Sunday. He just can't seem to stay away from that place. I guess that's why Quantico is called the Crossroads of the Marine Corps.

I am starting to see glimpses of the young woman you will one day grow up to be. It's in your eyes, the expressions that you make, and even in the way you walk. It's hard to explain. But everybody kind of has their signature ways about them, and yours have been established. I get the sense that your little kid days are numbered and that these next few years will probably fly, and you will grow and change a lot. But at the same time I see you are in no hurry to do that, and that makes me happy. I like how you still run around the beach trying to catch critters and make little habitats for them. You still run circles around the house when you're excited the way you always have. The way you find joy in the little things -- that never needs to change. 

Remember the card I got you for your birthday last year? With the funny picture of the dog and the words "Dance like nobody's watching;" and inside it said something like, "Nevermind, don't." I don't remember exactly and I'm doing a terrible job explaining, but that card with that silly dog picture and those words.. that's your humor exactly -- the carefree silliness and the deadpanning. It's been fun seeing your sense of humor develop.

You are especially close with your father. I am always happy when he texts to let me know that the two of you stopped at IHOP or something, on the way home from somewhere. Stay close to him. The way he treats me, you, your siblings and his family and friends is the best example of the way a man ought to be. He'd do anything for you. When it seems like he's being hard on you, know that it's because he loves you and he wants to set you up for success in life. But you already knew that, I'm sure.

You are a lover of peace and never an instigator of things with your siblings. It's so nice to be able to count on you for that! You are a much loved big sis, as Joe can attest to. Since you left town he's been known to blurt out "Nay-nee" at random times. When I ask him where you are he points out the window like 'she's out there somewhere..' He attempted to sing 'happy birthday' to you today, and it sounded something like this: "Day, day, day, Nay-nee" and was accompanied by side-to-side swaying. You've got friends for life in your siblings.

I hope you grow in your faith and know that you are always a child of God. Pray to Him when things are going great in your life, and when they're not. Pray when we ("we" can be defined as your parents or the pesky brother in the backseat) drive you nuts. You always make it look easy having to go through so many transitions as a military kid. New schools, new faces, new plans, you've always seemed to take it in stride. If When it gets hard, pray about it. Remember none of us, however old or smart we get, do this alone. Besides, just like your earthly dad sitting across the table from you at IHOP, your Heavenly Father wants to hear from you too.

By now you've had about all the fun you could probably handle for one birthday -- Wonder Woman and lunch with your sister, cousins, aunties and Grandma; and the waterslide park all day today (have to admit, I'm a wee bit jealous;)) The pictures have put a smile on my face. You are very loved.

All this rambling to say, happy birthday! I'll see you in a few weeks.

Love,

Mama

Delaney's Li'l Old Lady Shoes

The other day I fell down a rabbit hole of purging and organizing in my house, and I came across these tiny shoes of Delaney's. I smiled as I remembered the day I got them.

Delaney was almost 14 months old and a brand new walker. I decided it was time to get real shoes, an upgrade from the Robeez. (Silly me, not knowing that Robeez or bare feet were the best thing for a brand new walker. I was such a clueless new mom.)

I took her to Stride Rite and my heart skipped a beat at the sight of that entire wall of cute baby girl shoes. The salesperson measured her feet -- 3 1/2 extra-wide. I asked him to bring out every style they had in that size. How was I ever going to choose? This was going to be so much fun!

He disappeared into the back room and came out with one box. There was exactly one type of shoe in the store that came in 3 1/2 XW, and when he took them out I was so disappointed. Plain white. No bows, no sparkles, no fun little details. They looked orthopedic. They were almost identical to the very first baby shoes I had ever worn myself. But the soles of these ones were thicker, and there were little flowers on the heel so that was something.

Thanks to Quicken, I know I paid $26.99 for these beauties. I literally did not have a clue.

It's a wonder she ever learned to walk on those little mozzarella balls she had for feet!

She wore those old lady shoes well, though.

She was wearing them when we drove to the top of Mt. Washington. It was SO COLD on top of that mountain. And look, I see bare skin on that poor girl. We took the picture above just before we got in our car to drive back down. Before that she had been in a pack on Tim's back. I don't know what I was thinking when I set Delaney down on her feet on the gravel beside our car. It's bad enough to not be able to feel the ground through the thick soles of your shoes, but by this point she couldn't even feel her feet! She fell right down on her face like a domino. I really don't know how she survived me.

Things my kids do that I love them for

As all good parents know, we have to love our kids even when they're stinkers. And our kids have their share of stinkerish moments -- the kind that make us look at each other and say, 'What are we doing wrong?' 'Where do they learn this stuff?' There are a lot of discouraging moments in parenting. But we have to just keep at it and remind ourselves and each other that this too shall pass, and they can't be much worse than anyone else's kids.

Then there are times when they make us so proud, and it's easy to love them. These moments can be fleeting, and I'm sure there are plenty more than the ones that come off the top of my head. I want to write them down and make sure I don't forget them.

First, the one that gave me the idea to write this post: Delaney. For all her good characteristics, she has never been the kid we would call our most generous. Generosity is something we try to encourage in all the kids, but she would be the one least likely to share the bag of popcorn she brought home from school with her siblings, for example. It just wouldn't occur to her. We try to be patient about that, especially me, because I know I have plenty of selfish tendencies. When I'm browsing Pinterest, let's face it, 9 times out of 10 I'm looking at stuff that's for ME. Well, the other day, Tim took her and the other kids with him on a quick trip to the Exchange. When they got back, Annie was excitedly telling me that Delaney had gotten the baby a present. Sure enough, Delaney proudly presented me with a baby blanket that she'd used up all her spending money to get. This is not something I took lightly. I know how much easier it is for her to spend a few dollars on a toy for herself. I hugged her and told her what a good kid she is, and how much her baby brother and I appreciate it. (Tim told me as an aside that she had wanted to get this blanket for him last time they were at the Exchange, but hadn't had the money. This time she still hadn't had the money but was looking at it again, so he'd gone halvesies with her on it.)

Annie, our second-born, has for a long time been the one most likely to blow us away with generosity for her siblings. For example, she'll happily offer to buy something for Delaney or Timmy at the dollar store. She shares the bag of popcorn every time. We have always been sure to praise her whenever she does something nice for someone else that we would never ask her to do or expect her to do. Lately, however, I am seeing a new development, a new kind of generosity .. one that I take every opportunity to praise and encourage. It's little things, like a spontaneous offer to help Timmy clean his room or find his shoes, or read him a book. These little things are really a big deal. There was the time not long ago she went to my closet and picked out my outfit for church. It was a better choice than the one I had in mind, and it was kind of refreshing. She has good taste. Annie and I have not always seen eye to eye, and of course she and her siblings still have plenty of moments of strife. But to see this spirit of kindness and helpfulness in her fills me with gratitude and hope. It makes up for the rough times.

Timmy, still the reigning baby of the family, usually doesn't stand out as a big helper or sharer. In fact, he often poses as helpLESS in order to get us all to do things for him. I am especially susceptible to his babyish charms, and I rarely deny his request to pick him up or get him his lovey, or put on the shoes that I know he is perfectly capable of putting on himself. He's not a complete bum. He'll fetch me the water that I don't feel like getting off the couch to get myself, and do things like that. But his most winning characteristic is his sweetness. I watched from the porch one afternoon as he ran down the sidewalk to meet his sisters who had just gotten off the bus. His arms were outstretched. Annie dodged his hug (oh, Annie!) but Delaney bashfully hugged him back. He gives the best hugs. At bedtime he wraps his arms around my neck and squeezes as hard as he can, then asks, "Can you breathe?" He lets go only after he's sure that I can't. When Timmy does something for himself, especially without being asked (like last night when he changed his undies and put on his pajamas), I tell him, "I love it when you do big boy things like that." I want to encourage him to be a little more of a big kid, a little more independent, but keep the sweetness, keep the hugs! 

Our kids are such gifts to each other and to us. We can't claim much (if any) credit for when they do great things, nor should we shoulder the blame for when they do things that disappoint us. They are their own individuals, unique and full of surprises. Like us, they are imperfect. They drive us crazy sometimes, but they are good kids and we love them.

20 Questions for Delaney at Age 8

I was just reading a birthday update/interview on another blog and realized that I had not done a birthday interview for either Delaney or Timmy yet this year. They just fell the cracks of our busy July. I decided I'd better catch up on that right away, so here is Delaney's, better late than never.

In the two months since this photo was taken, her two top front teeth have grown in -- finally! She spent about 10 months looking just like this, and we wondered if those teeth were ever going to grow in.

1. Who is your favorite person in the whole world? Daddy.

2. What's your favorite color? Blue.

3. What's your favorite TV show? Annedroids. 

4. What's your favorite outfit? I'll wear anything. [Upon further thought] Let me think.. my favorite pajama outfit is my flipflop ones.

5. What sport do you like best? Soccer. [I ask her if she's sure because it so happens that she is playing soccer currently, and does not have much enthusiasm for it. I tell her that it doesn't have to be a sport she actually plays.] Football.

I don't know who took this picture, but apparently here she is showing off her new front teeth and whatever else she's got in her mouth -- yuck.

6. What song do you love? Mean.

7. What's your favorite cereal? The Star Wars kind.

8. Who is your best friend? Norah.

9. What do you want to be when you grow up? A vet.

10. What is your favorite book? Max [the Marine dog].

Here she is looking characteristically bashful when asked by a neighbor about that day's reading material for the bus. It's one of her old go-to's, her dog encyclopedia. These days it's the Star Wars trilogy, and judging by the thickness of that one, it's going to keep her occupied for the whole rest of the year and maybe even the next.

11. What are you really good at? Putting my tongue on my nose. [This I did not know. I ask her to do it for me and she does. She laughs at me when I attempt to do the same.]

12. Where do you wish you could go on vacation? Massachusetts.

13. What is your best memory? The picture of me and my funny face when I was a baby. [I ask her if she means the one where she's pouting and ready to cry.] No, the one where I'm sitting in the chair.. [Well, that narrows it down to about a 1000 pictures we have of Delaney sitting in a chair as a baby and making a funny face.] Let me go try to find it.. [She runs off to her room and I wait. She comes back unsuccessful and then I say to her, "You know you can't actually remember that anyway, right?" She gives me a funny look. I think she has a different idea of what a "memory" is. She doesn't think it's something you remember, but more like a keepsake.]

Here you go, Delaney.

14. What would you buy if you had $1000? Doggies.

15. What is your favorite vegetable? Corn.

16. If you could have a wish, what would it be? To have a doggy.

She's an elf-sized 3'10.5" and 50 lbs. She's at the 4th percentile for height and 21st for weight. She wears size 7/8 in clothing and size 13 or 1 in shoes, depending on the brand.

17. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? Chocolate.

18. Who is your biggest hero? Daddy.

19. What do you like to do with your friends? Play with Fenway. [This answer makes me sad for her because she is referring to Norah who lived next door until this past summer, who has a dog named Fenway. I hope that next time I ask her these questions she'll talk about things she does with kids who are in her own zipcode.]

20. What do you hope you'll get to do before your next birthday? Get a doggy. [I give her a look and say, "Really, before your next birthday?" She has already been promised a dog when she turns 10. But a girl can dream!]

I'm going to wrap this up with the little collage I posted on Facebook the day of her birthday -- Delaney at ages 0, 4, and now, 8. She is one special little little girl and we love her to pieces.

First Day of School

The girls started school on August 13 -- the earliest start to a school year they've ever had. Looking through the calendar of their new school,there are many days off and early dismissals sprinkled throughout, probably to accommodate military families. Yet another new school for these kids -- the charter school we sent them to last year just wasn't a good fit for our family. It's still way too early to tell how this school will work out, but already I am liking having our kids going to the DoD school with all the kids on our street and most of the kids in the neighborhood. I know their parents and feel much more comfortable than I did last year when I knew almost no one they went to school with. The kids they ride the bus with are the same kids they play outside with. I am really hopeful that the girls will bond more with the girls who live down the street. I don't have to worry about Timmy, he makes friends in a second. It will be his turn to get on the bus with them on the 27th when he starts half day pre-k. In the meantime, he gets to enjoy being a bum all morning for a little while longer.

I got up early and made pancakes from scratch. I had written this little bit of encouragement on our chalkboard the night before.

I jumped the gun and took them outside for pictures when it was still too dark. The bus comes right around 7. It was so muggy outside that those signs they're holding turned into damp rags after a few minutes.

Once it was time to go two mailboxes down to the bus stop I begged them to let me take one last picture on the sidewalk because I had the sun behind me and there was finally enough light for a decent shot. Annie agreed if I promised that it would be the last. Timmy had to be in the picture, of course, there was no talking him out of it. No talking him into putting those flipflops on his feet either. 

We waited with the small crowd of other kids and parents, everyone kind of nervous and excited. When the bus came around the corner and I looked down at Delaney, she was swiping a tear away. Reflexively, my eyes started misting up too, and I gave her a squeeze around the shoulders and kiss on her head. My heart ached for her, my brave little girl who's had to go to three schools in three years. Annie was being stoic, but I know this moment was just as hard for her. The first day is so scary. I hugged and kissed them each a couple more times and hoped they couldn't tell that I wanted to cry too. I was glad they at least got to go together, even if they were being dropped off at separate schools. 

When they got off the bus that afternoon around 3:15, they were tired but in good spirits. While they had cookies and milk, Annie told me that the teacher had given her juice that calmed down the butterflies in her tummy, juice that was sweet but also a little sour. Hmm, what kind of juice is that? Delaney had nothing to report except that she'd been chosen to be student of the day, the kid who is line leader and stuff.  

I am hoping and praying for a good school year for these kids!

The Rest of Our Summer Part 1: Massachusetts

It's been almost a month since I posted last. What a whirlwind these last few weeks have been! We got back from Ohio two nights ago, and school starts this Thursday for the girls. Meanwhile, we're having a hectic couple days as we take care of the things both planned and unplanned that need taken care of, and I try to reestablish control over my little kingdom here (with Tim already gone on another work trip).

Today was quite a day! My saving grace is that at quarter after 7 my kids, who have been routinely staying up until about 10 while we visit with family, are now in their beds and quiet. Something about this day (maybe I'll talk about it in another post because it was a doozy) did them in too, and maybe it's for the better so that we can get accustomed to early bedtimes and early mornings again.

So, I left off with my summer day in the life post, which was just a typical day. There followed several more of those, and I got tired of it fast. It's just too hot around here with not enough to do. I failed at my resolution to make our summer more structured. I wanted to sign them up for swim lessons or gymnastics, but changed my mind when I saw that my kids would be missing half the sessions I'd be paying for. So we didn't do much, and I gave in to the doldrums. I will, however, pat myself on the back for being proactive with the back-to-school shopping in July. That saves me a lot of heartache now.

Meanwhile, Delaney had the time of her life up north with our family in Massachusetts. They were pretty busy going to state parks, amusement parks, and all kinds of other stuff. She turned 8 there too. We were all feeling a little jealous of her, but mostly happy for her. Here's a sampling of pictures Tim's sister Sam shared on Facebook.

The caption for this one was, "Fun at the lake. Yes, that's Delaney being launched!"

Delaney, Juliana, Auntie Karen and Alexa at Patriots Place

Delaney and Juliana at Purgatory Chasm

On the 23rd the rest of us flew up. Here are some highlights from our week there:

The night before Timmy's birthday, which was on the 25th, I started feeling all guilt-ridden because we wouldn't actually be celebrating his birthday ON his birthday. (It seems to happen more often than not that a kid's birthday can't be celebrated on his/her actual birthday, and strangely, it bothers me more and more.) I wanted to celebrate it in some small way. Tim's sister Kathy gave us the idea of the candle in the donut for when he woke up. I think he liked it! 

On the afternoon of the 25th, we -- that is all the female members of the family -- embarked on the odyssey that was attending the Taylor Swift concert at Gillette Stadium. This was an event that initially I had been excited about, but as the time got closer I started to dread and think, 'What did I get myself into?' I like Taylor Swift enough, but I am not a fan of crowds and waiting around for things. But even though it was a very long night (that didn't end until 3 because it took an hour-and-a-half just to leave the parking lot afterward!), It was not bad. It was even fun. There was some waiting around for things at different times, like waiting through all her opening acts which I found to be 'meh.' But all in all it was a great night, and the crowds didn't bother me because of the open air. The kids had lots of fun, and even the 6-year-olds hung in there as it got later and later. There were no meltdowns, no one even complaining about the long walk back to our cars at midnight. 

They looooove Auntie Karen!

The next day, after very little sleep for any of us concert attendees, we left at around noon for the Pawtucket Red Sox game. Tim's sister Karen had set up some birthday festivities for Timmy there, and sort of for Delaney too. But Delaney had already had her birthday celebrated a couple times by then, so mostly it was for Timmy. He ate it all up, ham that he is.

He's wearing the hat of one of the mascots, Paw.

Then there was yet another surprise for Delaney, that lucky girl! Remember how I talked about how sad it was when her friend Norah who lived next door to us moved to Massachusetts at the end of the school year? Well, we invited her family to the baseball game months ago, and also agreed to let her go with them for a couple days at the beach house they were staying at in Connecticut. I think Delaney kind of maybe suspected they were going to be at the baseball game. We didn't do a great job of keeping that quiet since we kept bringing it up in her presence and hoping she didn't guess who "they" were. But I'm pretty sure she didn't expect to be leaving the game with them. I was worried that that was almost a little more excitement than she could handle, especially after such a late night. We had decided that we would have her bag in the back of the car and then ask her if she wanted to go; and of course she did. We took a Grandpa-style "selfie" (when he uses the timer on his camera -- which I think turn out to be the best pictures. There's something about that blinking red light that gets everybody to focus!) of all of us together right before it was time to leave.

Here's a picture Norah's mom texted me the next day.

The baseball stadium didn't allow Karen to take Timmy's birthday cake in, so we did cake and presents back at Tim's mom and dad's. I love this video, with him being unable to resist sticking his finger in the icing as soon as he sees the cake, and then looking around to make sure he's not in trouble. I think 4 is shaping up to be his most colorful and challenging (for us) year. He's getting to be "too big for his britches" at times, and wants to run the show. We've had our hands full with him. He's lucky he's cute.

We went to a waterslide park at some reservoir with really chilly water. I did not go in that water like my braver sisters-in-law and the kids did. But I did go down waterslides with Timmy. It was a lot of fun, and I even managed to keep everything on every time. Oh, the things those lifeguards must see, the stories they tell when they go home..

That water looked good enough to drink but no way was I getting in!

We spent our last day there at Kathy's pool, where I had a really rough time floating around in a tube and eating ice pops and then taking a nap inside in the air-conditioning. Oh, and eating the meals Kathy made. 

This family is girl-heavy, but we are doing our part to contribute boys. Did I mention we're having another boy? Another point for Team Blue!

The next day we flew back home, unpacked and packed again for our next trip with just the kids and me. Dun-dun-dun.. 

Day in the Life: Summer 2015

Date: Wednesday, July 8

Cast of characters:
Tim: 40

Rachael: 36

Delaney: 8 years old today!

Annie: 6

Timmy: 3, about to turn 4 in a couple weeks

Baby #4: 18 weeks gestation

Today it's just Annie, Timmy and myself at home. Tim's out of town for work and Delaney's visiting family in Massachusetts. It's very unusual for it to be just the three of us.

6:30 a.m. My alarm goes off. I get up, start my coffee brewing, make my bed, and brush my teeth. Then I plop down on the couch for coffee, morning devotion/prayers, Facebook, and whatever else I feel like perusing. It's so quiet and peaceful. 

7:50 a.m. We're off to a slow start this morning. I start to cook my eggs and Annie joins me in the kitchen. She and Timmy have been sleeping late this summer. 

A couple minutes later, Timmy makes his way out to the living room, collapses into the La-Z-Boy and sticks his thumb in his mouth. I tell him he's a lazy bum and playfully squeeze his leg.

8:30 a.m. We finish up breakfast and I clean up afterward. This would have been a pool morning, but unfortunately I ran out of time yesterday getting the kids' school registration done. I got Annie and Timmy's done, but today we still have to go do Delaney's. It's a time-consuming process because it takes 25 minutes just to drive there each way. If I had a little more motivation to get us moving earlier and faster, we'd still have plenty of time left in the morning for swimming. But I don't. Oh well.

I cue up a prenatal yoga video on YouTube and set up my mat. Since I discovered the wealth of yoga videos online, I've decided I'm breaking up with the Y. It's just too easy to do this every day in my own house, and too hard to get to the Y most days. I can handle the added distraction of Timmy rolling his cars around the mat or sliding books under the edges. Today he's happy to snap a few pictures of me too.

9:20 a.m. I've still got to water my plants. I can't believe how fast this morning is going. None of us is even dressed yet.

Everything looks so pretty in the morning light. I got this pretty pot on the right at Lowe's a couple weeks ago. I hope I can keep it alive because I love it!

9:45 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. or thereabouts. I don't have any pictures except one from this entire chunk of the day. We go to Delaney's school and get her registered -- a much quicker process than yesterday because I know where to find her school and I only have one set of papers to fill out this time. Then we come back home and have lunch. I make Annie and Timmy eat in silence because they've been bickering nonstop, all the way home in the car and then all the way in the door. Then I start naptime early, in hopes of an afternoon trip to the pool. 

At some point I call the Y to cancel my membership, and I'm told that I will have to go in person to fill out a membership termination form. Of course.. They're banking on the people who are too lazy to go there in the first place being too lazy to go there to cancel. Smart of them.

2:30 p.m. We're in luck today -- no lightning within 5 (miles) warnings this afternoon. Thunderstorms are common just about every day here in the month of July. But today it's hot and sunny, no threatening storms. 

Timmy always has a wedge when he gets out of the pool. He says wedgies are "the worst thing ever."

4:00 p.m. We get home from the pool. I am SO hungry. I haven't had anything to eat since my lunch of leftover fajita chicken and peppers with chips and pico de gallo. That filled me up so much I forgot about eating for awhile, and that's unusual for me. I'm weak with hunger by the time I come in the door. I turn on the oven right away and start pounding and breading chicken breasts to make chicken parmesan. 

Timmy asks me if he can knock on the door of the "boy who has a lot of toys" and see if he can play. He means the boy who just moved in two doors down. I remind him that the boy's name is Peter and with a sigh I say, "Go ahead." After I see him run out the back door and across the yard separating our houses, I think that it might not have been a bad idea to walk him there since they don't really know us and are not expecting Timmy on their doorstep. But then I figure they'll just send him home if it's not a good time, and I go back to getting dinner ready.

My phone rings a minute or two later, and glancing at the number I don't recognize, I say, "I bet I know who this is." Along with cookies, I also gave them a card with our contact info a couple days ago. Never know when you're gonna need it! It is indeed Peter's mom, just making sure it's OK that Timmy is at her door, and it's OK for him to play. I tell her that he did have my permission and I'm being kind of bashful and apologetic, like, "I hope it's OK,.. it it's not send him home, .. just while I'm getting dinner ready.." Just babbling. She says she's happy to have Timmy play, and says she'll "walk him back home in a little while." I almost tell her it's not necessary to walk him home, but just as quickly I change my mind. After we hang up I shake my head and chuckle to myself. She must think I'm the worst mother in the world. I totally trust these people after having met them once. The kids are happy and polite and the parents are very nice to talk to. And the grandmother speaks with a British accent, which shouldn't win them any points at all, but for me it does. She even offered me tea while we were there on Monday.

4:45 p.m. The chicken is out of the oven, so I dash over to get Timmy. I chitchat with them for just a little bit, but I am almost delirious with hunger by now so I keep it short. I thank them very much for having Timmy over. I like them a lot and hopefully they don't disapprove of me too much. So far I think they're good neighbors. Now I'll wait with bated breath to see who moves into the house right next to ours.

5:30 p.m. At last the pasta is ready too, and I am serving up dinner to the three of us. 

5:50 p.m. We sing "Happy Birthday" to Delaney in Massachusetts. Then we eat our own treats in lieu of birthday cake. Timmy and I have ice cream and Annie has strawberry shortcake.

6:20 p.m. Annie and Timmy play for a little while on the jungle gym out back and I clean up the kitchen and take out the recycling.

6:45 or thereabouts: The kids come in sweaty and dirty, wanting to relax and watch Disney Jr. I have them take a bath first and put on their pajamas. Then the two of them assume their positions on the couch, Timmy sucking his thumb and Annie snuggling up with her face against one of the white feather pillows that she has adopted as her new "lovey." Unfortunate since the tags on the pillow covers say "spot clean only." We'll just have to see about that.

8 p.m. Bedtime for two children. I settle down with a cup of pregnancy tea (a blend of red raspberry leaf, nettle and alfalfa) and a really, really good book, Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult. Jodi Picoult books have been hit-or-miss the past few years for me, but I would say this one is one of her best.

I talk to Tim for a bit, tell him about how I made a less than stellar impression on the new neighbors, and listen to his day. I take my book back to bed after that and read until I can hardly keep my eyes open, and probably turn off my light at around 10.

I realize as I finish this post three days later that I really need to take better notes or at least more pictures, especially if it's going to take me this long to write up a DITL. There's a lot of this day missing! Next time.