Wednesday...

Here we are, Caleb still hasn't been to school yet. Fever has kept him out for the last few days, but yesterday morning started with hives of a sort. And I thought that the antihistamine and hydrocortizone cream had taken care of it, but then this morning it was double the problem... 80-90% of his body is covered including his face. So I have given him another antihistamine, gave him a shower, fresh towel to dry off, fresh clothes, and slathered him in the hydrocortizone again. I'm in limbo now to see if that is going to work, or if I have to get him into the doctor.

He hasn't has any new foods, so the nearest guess Mike and I have come up with is 1) For Caleb's fever we've given him a new kind of children's Advil... a ocean blue one with Cool Berry Taste. It could be the food coloring in that, but he's never had a skin reaction to food coloring before. or 2) zuma is shedding and her little needle hairs can pierce the skin and if pollen is on it... instant reaction. This one I doubt. It does appear to be an allergy type thing to a untrained observer, but I really hope it's not some virus strain that is going around.

So in limbo I will be for a little bit more.

We did get word that the interested parties involved in the conference with Caleb could not make the rescheduled time, therefore, they went ahead and approved the paperwork for Caleb's retention. All Mike and I have to do is sign it, and it's done. I don't know quite what changed their minds from needing a conference to not needing a conference, but I'm glad; I hate red tape and hoops. So, hurray, it's Kindergarten again for Caleb. He'll be happy, know 1/2 the things already, on the brink or fully reading and thus at the top of his class, in a familiar environment hopefully we are still waiting to hear about the intradistrict transfer. I expect him to be more mature and stronger and able to deal with learning and even failure better.

With him being out now 4 days straight, I feel less pressure about trying to cram in and catch up on what he's missing since he'll see it all again next year.

Joshy is on the mend. He's down to maybe 6 coughs a day, and the nose down to a dull strickle. I think he can get to school tomorrow. Caleb, still not so sure about. I have to work tomorrow, and I have MOPS on Friday. And that's a snapshot at the rest of our week.

Monday---
Home and sick.
Jockey is congested, runny nose and coughing.
Caleb has a 101.2 temp last night at 6, so no school today. He's pale, coughing, and moving slower.
I've also had to cancel his parent/teacher conference and am waiting on the reschedule date. As it turns out (without telling me, so it feels like an ambush) there were going to be other people involved in the parent teacher conference, the principal &/or the school psychologist, maybe the school counselor too, with the intent of further discussing Caleb's retention for next year. I'm glad that the retention issue is going forward, but I hate ambushes, and there has been ample amounts of time to tell me who will be added to the parent-teacher conference. So perhaps I showed my cards a bit too much when I said that if this one lady that I've come in contact with before is the psychologist, then I don't want her there and prefer the principal. I didn't like the way she stood between my son and I; nearly an anti-family vibe from her. Perhaps this is a adversarial approach, but I view this as a battle. And as a strategy, I have to take out the opposition one by one and the "easy" way with a simple request first. I can deal with those people who don't force my hackles up on sight. So now the meeting will be rescheduled, and hopefully with people whom I've dealt pleasantly with in the past and feel truly have Caleb and his family's interests in their sights.
Caleb and I had to have a talk today about no adult at school gets to have a meeting/conference/talk with him without me knowing. Our family is a team, they aren't always on our side, especially if they don't understand Jesus and follow our Bible. Mom and Dad are going to be with him and on his team long after he leaves the 6th grade where as they are not. They will try to be sneaky in their questions and it is mom's job to fight for him and our team. It really was a revelation to him when I told him that Grandma Bishop had to have this same talk with mommy when she was little in school. Wow, for him; deja vu, for me. He is now to say "No meetings without my Mom, Call my Mom, I don't feel safe." (speak in their terminology and they might get it.)

My sick boys are playing Hungry Hippoes. I'm still fighting the getting of it with just a mild sore throat but I'm holding out hope that I won't get it full blown. We'll be staying close to home and resting trying to get better. So that's our day.

Caleb stayed home from school today. A bit of a fever on that one.
Joshy is acting normal, but occassionally still has a bit of a cough. We're keeping it under control with a natural honey based cough syrup.
Mike's recovered enough to spend the next three days off of work.
I get to go out with the MOPS ladies tonight, if I don't come down with the ick between now and 7pm.

Until then, we are enjoying a peaceful day at home in the sun. The boys (despite being sick) are in the back yard in the sun and fresh air doing their darnest to plant apple seeds in the hopes that one day they will have a tree that bursts with apples on which they would never have to ask permission to gorge. The rabbit is hopping blissfully around them enjoying an exploratory jaunt after being couped up the last few cold and snowy days. The dogs are blissfully hoping to get their chance at the rabbit or their turn in the yard. Mike has taken it into his head to cook something... what do I care, I'm going out tonight. And I'm going to take an easy day and scrapbook and read.

It's turned out to be a fine day despite the illnesses in the household. In fact, more days could be like this and it would be fine with me.

Still sick.

Mike's recovered. Last night was the first night he wasn't coughing up a lung and all his stomach contents.
Jockey though, his fever climbed to 101... hence, he did not go to school today. He's a little seal cougher right now too.
Caleb... well, he felt a little warm, but I'm going to check him in a little bit to determine about tomorrow.

I think we are going to skip Awana tonight. Joshy wouldn't be able to go, but dragging him back and forth in the cold/dark to drop off and pick up Caleb would be hard on him. Caleb's completed 97% of his book with 2 months to go anyways, so there is plenty of time to work on it.

This coming Monday, I have a regular progress teacher's conference with Caleb's teacher. I'm hoping that she'll report some improvement. However, it was discovered that he was 'copying' off his neighbors often in the attempt to 1-complete work on time and 2- correctly because he didn't want to be wrong or late. Of course if undetected, leads us to believe he's finishing on time, correct work when he truly isn't and needs attention/help or more time. Time to buckle down again and stand like a hawk over his shoulder and see what he can actually complete without help or prompting. And obviously, I have spoken with him about not looking at his neighbor's paper and instead raising his hand for help or saying when he didn't understand something. We'll see what the teacher has to say.

We are looking forward to a calm weekend with a bit of recovery for the sickies. And if we are recovered, dinner at Papa Bill's is scheduled for Sunday. So far, I'm not yet sick, and I'm still hoping I don't get it.

Have a great weekend.

Sick-ies again?

Mike is still sick. And now, Jockey appears to have gotten it. He's developed a cough and a low grade fever. So I guess it is a good thing that I don't have to work tomorrow since the chances are high that I'll have to keep him home from school. I haven't seen any sick signs from Caleb yet, and I'm holding out hope.

On the bright side.... the $74 of cough and cold meds that I bought for "Free" (ok, $7 of sales tax) is coming as a huge blessing and being put to use! The cough drops are natural, the child cold syrup, the Theraflu for Mike, the elderberry immunity booster that protected Caleb and Joshy last bout, etc.etc. I thought even I was a little excentric "buying" a whole lot of free cough/cold stuff in July/aug, but turns out to be a huge blessing brought on by a little wisdom from above coupled with opportunity, and the innate excentricity, of course. (Note to friends, read "Death of a Garage Sale Newbie" to truly understand my tangibly, physical, pathological inability to buy anything at regular retail cost.)

Caleb spent a nice weekend with Grandpa and Grammy Dahl. The weather was a bit cold (snowy) and wasn't cooperating with the bike riding plans. But, none the less, they had a good time, Caleb came home with thrift shop/garage sale treasures and the tale of eating a whole crab at the casino.

Jockey and I made the most of the weekend with attending a birthday party for not-so-baby Emily. And the of course we dragged out every artsy thing he had. Markers, crayons, finger painting, water color painting, play doh. He loved it. He spent hours doing these things. And watching Caillou. A near bliss weekend for him. (THANK YOU GRANDPA AND GRAMMY, of course he'd love to be the one to go camping next occurrence.)

So, that's the update. Enjoying the snow out there? We did, but now it's melted, dark and SO cold. But we'll all be cozy in warm blankets soon. Good night.

How did the meeting with Caleb's teacher go?

Well. I had filled out a questionaire, and so had his teacher. When the scores were within 5-6 points of each other and both scores fell into the "good candidate for retention (i.e. repeating kindergarten)". The counselor was there too. We discussed and wrote out the pros and cons, something that Mike and I had gone through at home, but they needed to know what we were thinking. There were dozens of pros, one maybe two cons that's it. Most importantly, this is 1) what we want as parents and 2) when asked, this is what Caleb says he wants. Those weigh heavily into the decision. Mrs. Gillespie fully supports our decision and can see the value in it based on her experience with Caleb. The counselor commended us as parents for looking at this decision so maturely and with such an open mind, most parents seem to think that a child's age mandates them into a school grade... you're going into kindergarten because your 5, come hell or high water, etc. She thought that it was great that we were trying to make a good Caleb decision. And that is our intent, not just to make a good '09-'10 decision, but a good decision that will give him a good footing for the next 15 years.
Thinking on the various points brought up at the meeting brought a dawning revelation to me: Caleb in his personality truly wishes to lead and be a role model to other kids. However, right now he lacks confidence and is so afraid to fail and face humiliation (points brought up by his teacher) that it is actually stunting that desire in his true personality. Thinking on that, coupled with the idea of not fighting my child's nature as lectured on at one of our MOPS meetings, I've developed the belief that maturity gains easier comprehension, full comprehension leads to confidence, confidence leads to leadership. I will be affirming Caleb's nature and personality by giving him the opportunity to mature and build into himself comprehension, success, and confidence.

So all in all the meeting went well. I have the teacher and counselor on board. The counselor has paperwork to fill out and to meet with the principal to make the final decision. I was told that at another school this might not be possible, but that our principal is in favor of retention when it is appropriate; this makes our intra-district transfer that much more critical... turned that paperwork in today too. And while I was at it, I told them I needed AM kindergarten for my job... I figured I'd get all my demands out on the table while I was in the building. So we are just waiting on paperwork and a meeting that should be pretty cut and dry because we (the parents and child) want this so strongly. I'll be praying and holding my breath in the meantime.

That's the results for today. I have to get the kids to Cubbies and Sparks.
Caleb has school tomorrow and then will be going camping with Grandpa and Grammy Dahl in Anacortes. Jockey and I will have some quality time (maybe slow bike rides and painting) while Daddy is working most of the weekend. So that's it in a nutshell.

"MOMMY, I dressed myself today!"

That was how I was greeted today (after a potty run) by Josh. This is the very first day that he had ever picked out his own clothes, put them on and came out ready for the day. Minus socks of course. But still. He did really good and totally independent! I keep staring at him some days because he is morphing into a big boy every day. It's happening right before my eyes and I'm amazed.

Caleb is on the big boy cruise. He's growing taller, 1/2" in the last 2 months or so... but he is about the same daily. He'll be on this big boy cruise phase for a while I think. We asked him again his thoughts on Kindergarten and he is sure he wants to do it again. I received the questionnaire that they have parents fill out to see if the child would be a good candidate for retention. The questionnaire only confirmed my decision to put him in Kindergarten again. Very few questions had any academic components, very reassuring. They had questions like: are there more than 3 grades difference between siblings. Yes. Is your child significantly, slightly smaller or significantly/slightly larger than most kids in his class... significantly smaller. Where is the child's birthday in the calendar year? What kind of interest does the child display in school? These things only reinforced my belief that this isn't an academic decision, but rather a maturity and developement decision. So now it's going through the red tape with the school.... Starting this Thursday, meeting with the teacher.

Mike's on his second week of working opening hours. I think he might be adjusting and hopefully that means more family time with the boys in the afternoons.
I have put in my request to be on the craft team again for MOPS next year. It was gladly/gratefully accepted. I'm working today. I received my meds and will embark on a hopefully life changing process at the end of this week/weekend... although it will probably be rough and a huge shock to my system. Patience to just wait it out and let the meds work and see what improvements come of it. I'm hopeful.
That's it for now. Time for school and the day to start.

A pretty smooth week.

Everything has clicked along as expected. With the exception of snow on the grass, roof and trees yesterday morning... followed by beautiful sun in the afternoon and this morning.
We are looking forward to the weekend. Mike is off for the next three days. Caleb has a birthday party to attend, his first birthday party for a classmate this year.

I have an appointment to speak with Caleb's teacher and discuss her observations about Caleb's development in comparasion to his peers. I hope to get a confirmation to the general decision we have made in terms of putting him in Kindergarten again. Everyone I've spoken with has confirmed the decision in various ways. But, the red tape starts with a teacher conference, therefore that's where I begin.

So that is all for right now. Have a great weekend.

Just a little catch up...

Friday was MOPS. Jockey loves going and eating the mommy's food. Mike picked up the boys so that I could pack everything away after the craft at MOPS.

Friday night we had "movie night" at Jockey's preschool. They wore pj's and watched some cartoon that had them entertained. Mostly it was just something to do and hang out with Jockey's buddies. The mommies got to talk a bit too.

Lots of "stuff" to do this week without anything major to report. Household chores etc. Sunday was church, nice. Grocery shopping, laundry, the usual.

Joshy had decided that he likes girl's bums and their long hair.... don't really know why.

Caleb's opinion is that he would like to be in Kindergarten again and learn everything fully, be the oldest and biggest and smartest in class and read... So I'm going to look into what it takes to re-register for Kindergarten. He can always take AP classes in High School, do running start, or be skipped ahead a grade, but it would be awful to endure being the smallest (too small sometimes) for sports, youngest to get his license etc, and too young to be mature enough for college.

So another week has begun and pretty much more of the usual.

Hello and happy Sunday.

Life is just clicking along here on President's Day weekend.

I passed another kidney stone (not as bad as Nov or July's, but not painless mind you.) In church, I was reminded once again of the blessing of the God-given/provided ways and tools to deal with this reoccurring event in my life. Sometimes God takes us around the same tree (aka, trial) because we didn't learn or didn't learn it all the first time, but sometimes we have to go around the same tree of blessing to be reminded of God's constantcy, renew our gratefulness, and see the depth of the blessing and provision for us. So another stone passed with a few bumps, and for those who are counting, that is 3 strained and caught in 8 months!

Mike and I have made a huge decision to register Joshy for a second year of Preschool rather than put him into Pre-K for the '09-'10 school year. He is chronologicially allowed to move forward, but after talking with other moms of boys with close to the cut off birthdays... and thinking ahead... It is our choice to give Joshy the advantage of being the oldest, more intellectually developed, probably still not ever going to be the tallest, most socially developed kid in his class. He'll be 16 when he starts his sophmore year (rather than just before Junior), he'll be 18 his entire senior year, and a full19 when he goes into college. We looked at all the advantages and there was just one disadvantage of having peer pressure to buy smokes in the senior year. He will be legally able to get a job, old enough to drive to it, he'll be able to get to more extra-cirricular activites/sports etc. I think we are making the right choice, although I had to face my selfishness in trying to get more time for me sooner and get him into Kindergarten in '10 rather than the pre-k he'll now go into that year. Once I swallowed my selfishness, I was able to see the advantages and started to feel objective about this choice. I do worry about putting that much more time between the boys in school/peers, but then again there's more time between having to pay for college for the boys now too. I do worry about Joshy sooo wanting to be a "big boy", but I really don't want him to be the runt in his class (more than just the inevitable physical). I think this is a good decision, and I'm hoping that the undeniable confidence in the decision will come the closer we get to it. If anything, I'll get to keep my "baby" with me longer, right? Does this mean I get to stay in MOPS longer too?!

So no school tomorrow, but lots of errands.... with both kids, sigh. Well, it can't all be sun and roses.
That's all for now, have a great week.

The boys both had their valentines day parties today. (No school until next Tuesday).
They are both delighted with the goodies that they received.
I think we have entered into a new phase though. Caleb promptly sorted out all of the girly valentines (pricess, dora, fairies) for disposal; thanks for the candy but, he didn't want them because they are girly. He kept the TMNT, Transformers, Spiderman, Batman, Power Rangers etc; these are all tucked away in his room. That's boys for ya. I know we are in a phase, I can only pray that it lasts until he's out of his teens for a less complicated life... and then swings definitely and inevitably back for his twenties. I was just surprised and humored by his opinion of girly valentines.

The snow stayed on the grass, lucky for us... I guess. So School is on a normal schedule. Maybe we'll get more tonight!

Well, It's SNOWING (and sticking at least in the grass).... we'll see what that means for tomorrow!

Another week has begun... with a little of the white stuff.

Yes, we have a trace amount of snow lining our grass this morning. Nothing on the roads fortunately, which meant that school was on schedule. The sky is now a crisp blue with just bit of white clouds beginning to roll in. I checked and we aren't forecasted for more snow, but we can always hope! Tuesday night/Wednesday is good for me.

Caleb and Joshy were excited about the snow, and I can be that this afternoon is going to be an outdoor, wet, cold and fun kind of day followed very closely with hot cocoa and naps... Sounds like a great day to me!

Joshy (unfortunately) is beginning to follow in his brother's footsteps. Since we began to take the pacifier away, he has begun to suck his thumb. sigh. Just when you think, hey we did ok with this one, we can ALWAYS take away a pacifier, he switches and gets ahead of us. Why don't these kids come with a rule book?!

Speaking of rule books....

Last Friday was MOPS. It was probably one of the most impactful topics (for me) to date. Basically it was on reinforcing/affirming the Nature of our Child. The nature of our child as defined by their gender. The long story short, reinforcing and stregnthening their gender defined role to increase self-awareness and self confidence. For me, I paid attention mostly to the boy specific details being as that is most applicable in my life. What I came away with has given me insight to boys, and a little bit of grace for their stupid actions.
Boys should be trained up in a manner that will form them into good men. Good men are Priests (spiritual leaders of the house), Providers (of more than just financial) and Protectors (of all aspects: emotional, social, psychological, physical, etc). Because of these future roles they will behave in ways meant to develope these aspects of their lives.
Jumping off the couch is not mere an attempt to disobey and annoy Mom (please note, mom is a girl and it isn't built into her the need to do this). Jumping off the couch is a way for boys to conquer and explore. Conquering the couch is a boy expression that developes them into courageous protectors. Understanding this, I can change my perspective and be a bit more graceful and less high strung. Boys will turn everything into a weapon, it is a natural expression of the wish to protect. Granted they need direction with in that activity that will prepare them for the role.
These boys will need to be trained to be "gentlemen", not because women are able to open a door or walk on the correct side of the sidewalk... but because it affirms, rather than contradicts, the boys nature to protect (and women will inherently feel protected by these actions).
As married men, my boys will have to be the leaders of the household and ensure the spiritual wellbeing and growth. This has to be modeled to them. HOW to do this role. Pray with the children to teach them HOW to pray, and often to teach them to be in the habit. I must pray for my children of course because I can't do this on my own. They will need to be taught HOW to study, How to pursue God's will, How to living in the morals the Bible teaches... and to be strong enough and wise enough to lead others in these skills too.
And Providers, obviously there is the financial, but it is so much more. They need to provide environments where others can express themselves. To provide information, skills for care-taking, finances, etc.
NOW, I know how to appeal to their boy nature in their discipline and training. Caleb hits Joshy, now I say... that doesn't follow God's law (golden rule), that doesn't follow God's command to be your brother's keeper, and as family Caleb need to protect Joshy not hurt him. And then later in the day, Joshy hit Caleb and we go around the tree again... different boy. I know that I will attempt to draw to one of these three roles into my disscussions and discipline of/with the boys. They need to be following God, they need to be responsible for the care of others, commitment to providing for the tangible needs of their family. And as a Mom (and Dad MUST help too as the BIGGEST role model), it's my job to get these boys trained. I'm not just trying to get them through childhood alive and eating with a fork while sitting at the table.... It's a bigger job than just making them civilized. I have mini-men that need to know how to do it right.

Like I said, the best MOPS to date.

That's all for now, have a great week.

Happy Friday!!!!!!!!!

The weekend gets to begin for a lot of us (not Mike unfortunately).

MOPS is this morning and Jockey is looking forward to his class. Caleb gets to go to school. And of course, I get to hang out with the Ladies of MOPS. And drum roll, I'm going to go to Snohomish for their annual city antique sale! Kind of excited to go. Still probably won't buy anything... but it's the idea that the dream is 10% off and therefore 10% closer. Like having 4 of the 6 numbers in the lottery insteal of just 3. (3 #'s in the lottery equals just going to the antique stores without children).

So the kids and I are going to kid back with a $5 pizza and hang out tonight. Should be mellow. Talk to you later.

Sick....


I've still got the bug, mostly in my throat and chest. I thought it was over on Monday, but, yesterday I think I had a fever in the morning while I was working.
Jockey is better.
Caleb (CROSSING MY FINGERS!!!) hasn't gotten it. I gave him Elderberry Immunity booster (part of my free stuff purchased months ago) and I'm hoping that it will help him avoid the flu.
Mike, he says he isn't feeling well. But he's still getting to work because no worky no payee.

Jockey is still adding "ee" to everything he says. "truckee" "brotheree" "shirtee"

Caleb's done excellent at school having gone several days/weeks without stages. Everyday I ask him to tell me what he did at school... he says patterns. I'm looking for Reading, Counting, Math, Money, etc...

For Awana, Caleb is learning the challenging feat of memorizing the 27 books of the New Testament. It's been rough drilling him, but he's gotten it in chunks, the final test is saying all 27 together!

Well, off to school for Caleb, and I have to drive.

Uh-oh, Sick.

I came down with the flu/cold last night, literally within an hour I went from feeling normal to shoving Comtrex in me and heading for bed. Joshy's got it too. Ick.

It's hard to find separation in the house to prevent anyone else getting sick. The boys will sneak sharing drinks and food. And right now they are curled up with Mike watching Football, which means breathing the same air. It's pretty much a foregone conclusion when one person gets it, we will all get it. Frustrating.

I'm already looking at paring things down to the minimum for myself and the boys. I'm hoping I'm over this fast. I have to get to work tomorrow (a job I can/do take the kids with me). And I can push everything else back until Thursday. I am suppose to help with Awana Thursday, but if one of the kids is sick I have to stay home with them and can't help. Sigh, how inconveinent. I don't want the boys missing any more school. Caleb's missed so much due to snow and floods...

Well, it's not in my control so I guess I'll just get over it and find some yummy soup.

A funny story from this week...

One morning, Joshy came crying and screaming to me. He had huge tears and was scared and was saying "my weiner's broken". Never one to jump to a state of panic, I'm thinking I'm going to have to explain to him morning incidents that happen to boys sometimes (read between the lines). No. He is pulling down his underwear as if to show me something. Ok, now I'm a little concerned... blood, something else... doctors might have to get involved. He is still crying huged amounts of tears and thinks something horrible is wrong with his boy parts. He shows me this flesh colored lump in his underwear and says it pulled right off of him; in his mind, part of his weiner is in his underwear. I look at it.... GUM!
WHY DO YOU HAVE GUM IN YOUR UNDERWEAR? In the MORNING, has it been there ALL NIGHT? WHERE did you get it? And most certainly... NO!!! you may NOT chew on it!
Once he realized what it was, and that he was intact, he recovered quickly and said that it was silly. But then he didn't quite understand why I wouldn't let him have the gum, uh mmm duh!

The rest of the week was fairly routine. I worked. Jockey and I got to go to a playgroup with the MOPS moms. Caleb didn't have stages at all this week. Jockey got a new teacher. We enjoyed the one day of light snow. And now it is sunny and we have the full 3 days off of school and work. What to do, what to do....

So that's the week in a nutshell. Have a great weekend.

Not a tragedy, but a comedy. I had to share.

All this time, we've been training our kids to keep the dogs and rabbit apart. Keep the doors closed when the rabbit is out, put the rabbit away before the dogs can go outside. etc. etc. Today, their training failed and rather than a tragedy, we had a comedy.
First, Shooter rabbit was out and running around and the back slider door was open. Then Zuma got a hold of a pizza crust (thanks Jockey) and then was allowed into the TV room (again, thanks Jockey). I leapt up to grab Zuma, but thinking that I was going to take her crust away, she ran outside. She ran to the side of the fence and began crunching on the crust. Contrary to my expectation, Zuma didn't chase the rabbit on sight. The rabbit hopped to about 3 feet away. When Zuma was preoccupied with the crust and didn't go after the rabbit on sight, I decided to see what was going to happen. The rabbit approached Zuma. He hopped up and sniffed Zuma in the front, then nose to nose, and then he hopped around Zuma and sniffed her back leg. It was only then that she was "oh, what's THAT sniffing me". Then Zuma began to walk toward Shooters hutch and the rabbit ran at her to defend the hutch. So then Zuma walked to the middle of the yard. And oddly enough, the rabbit hopped out to her and sniffed and then charged at her. He circled Zuma and hopped under her and charged again and circled. They were acting like two dogs playing/wrestling, just like Tigger and Zuma do when Zuma goes under Tigger. I was amazed and shocked. I was actually worried that the rabbit would bite and draw blood from Zuma and send her yipping and howling. If I hadn't of been worried, I might have had happiness rather than simple shock. It was actually quite funny to see the little 4 pound rabbit charge and take on a 23 pound dog and try to "play". (I'm choosing to be optimistic and view it as play rather than aggression.)
I'm still shocked and humored by the charging rabbit boldly approaching and playing with a dog. Granted, Shooter didn't sprint anywhere and tempt Zuma's love for a good game of chase. But I am relieved that this was a comedic event rather than a blood bath. I only wish I had the camera in my hand. I don't know whether we should risk it just for a picture. But that's what memories are for. Hope you enjoyed the story.

What is it with boys and forts?

I mean I get the fort thing kind of, I liked them when I was a kid.... but Caleb and Jockey are near obsessed. I've built forts for them plenty of times, but I can't keep up with the voracious fort appetite. So their forts end up being a pile (and I mean a big pile) of blankets. They bury and nestle themselves in and thinks it is great. Their favorite is when they build said forts in front of the tv and get to watch a cartoon, or in a bedroom and they get to sleep in it.

They received a pile of cars and trucks this week from Mike's co-worker. From that point on, they have been playing with cars non-stop. The cars even made Joshy's show-n-tell priority. He's got plenty of things to take, but he is latching on certain cars, a blue one his day, a purple one the next. I love that they boys are brought joy by the simplest things.

I've been reading Caleb some scholastics readers books from Auntie Kristina. (Huge thanks Aunt Kristina). They really are helping him. It's vastly frustrating when he wont even look at the book's page or the word I'm directly pointing at. However, he is actually sounding out words. He shocks me when he actually does try that he really does know what he is doing. I can't seem to get him to want to read. I don't think this is an uncommon problem, so who do we get past this?

Joshy's make up Christmas program was this week. I sped through work and made it back to his school in time to see him perform. Of course, I forget the camera. He was so cute, he actually did sing about 4 words and then huge pauses and back to the same 4 words. He actually stood (not sat) on the stage. But when he saw me, he screamed out Mommy and tried walk to me. Twice.

MOPS, FINALLY! The Ladies finally were able to get together, no more floods, blizzards etc to cancel our meetings. We had a good time chatting and getting to work on the craft that I prepared. It was alot of work, but very worth it. I can't wait until the next MOPS.

Otherwise the week is has been busy but routine. The weather is chilly, but it's going to be sunny! We've got the whole weekend to go. You have a good weekend yourselves.