whew!

it is amazing what you can accomplish with two big kids to help and two little kids missing from the scene. Ethan and Maia went with Eric to round. Leaving me Ben and Sophie. Chrysta and Cody helped me gather all the toys and banish them back to the bedroom. pick up all the playdough chunks and scraps and trash so I could vacuum. So Ben and Sophie are dressed, Living room dining room are both picked up and vacuumed and generally tidied. for the moment. of course some stuff goes on the couch and then back to the floor when its clean again...but I wont think about that. just thinking happy thoughts that the dining room and living room are vacuumed.

Tomorrow the kids go back to school for another week. Sophie can hardley contain her excitement about going back. She thinks I stay there out of sight while she is there. I dont tell her different. Maia is feeling much better about school with Ben and Sophie there with her. She gets lonely for family when she goes there all by herself. Cody let it slip that he actually sort of likes school. he was SO against going back. and here he is doing physics. chrysta likes it but she hates homework and she often has a lot of it. HOURS of it. Way more than I ever did. But then she is still learning to work hard and fast and get as much as possible done in class. it is impossible to do 50 some math problems before the bell though so she always has math to bring home. Cody is apparently not doing so well in his computer typing class. he has missing assignments because he cant type fast enough to get them done in class and you cant take them home. Eric wrote a note to the teacher asking what we can do about it. at this point he is failing, of course its only ONE week into the term but if he is failing at one week chances are he will be failing at 6 weeks. not sure what to do there. We asked the kids the other day what they might like to be and chrysta wants to be a baker(no big surprise) and cody said architect or builder. I wonder if he would like mechanical drafting. DOnt know if they offer that here. but maybe there is hope he will go to college yet. Ethan still likes school but spends so much time entertaining at lunch he barely gets his sandwhich done and doesnt get to eat dessert.

Today Ben had a crying fit because I wouldnt take his pajama top off for him. He has done it repeatedly this week and I wouldnt just stop everything and do it for him. he was pretty mad. I put him in his room and said if you are going to scream you can scream in here. he came out a short time later with his shirt off. little stinker just wants mama to do it.

Sophie hates being on her tummy. I made her today. she screamed. I lifted her up under the belly so she was in crawling position(but all the weight was on ME) and at first she cried but soon figured out locomotion. and as long as I was holding some of her weight up she could do it and move forward. and coudlnt get enough of it. but if I let go she would just scream and cry. She doesnt even really know how to roll over from her belly. hurry up ortho appointments! fix this kid so she can do all the things she wants to do! so she can roll and crawl and MOVE like other kids do.

Ethan is excited for his school program this week. Its on friday. He goes around singing silver bells all the time so I guess thats what they are singing. cant wait to see it.