Apparently, this pregnancy has changed me...

The other day, we had a rash of cards show up

on beds in the house. Mine made me laugh, especially compared to the others. But, not to worry, apparently, it's what's on the inside that counts.

A Sunday Skirt

Miss M has badly needed a new skirt or dress. I've finally taken the time to remedy the situation. Presenting, my latest creation.

(As a side note only interesting to others who sew, I did my first ever blind hem on my machine on this skirt. Somehow, that makes me feel very accomplished.)

Costume Time and a Story

Presenting, last year's costumes. We've got Isis, an Egyptian goddess, and her good friend Tape Dispenser. Joining them are Luke Skywalker, Tigger, and a butterfly-fairy-princess. I'm happy to report that the weather was beautiful and the candy plentiful. We had no trouble with either rain runoff in candy buckets or drowned witches this year. With Tape Dispenser's award for best homemade costume at the university's family party (great job, Professor!), I think we can call this year a success.

And, with the picture as an illustration, recently, Young T has begun escaping again. The other day, a kind neighbor looked out her window and saw a cute Tigger walking outside about to cross the street. Then she realized he was by himself. She hurried outside (without her shoes) and escorted Tigger (complete with two Tigger slippers not in the picture) back to his loved ones. The Professor was quite surprised when Young M exclaimed, "Somebody's bringing Young T back!" How grateful we are to live around neighbors who are willing to step up when we need them.

DIY

Young T sure doesn't let much stop him.

Yesterday before dinner he was running around with a shirt and diaper on after a diaper change. When he noticed the other kids outside (his idea of paradise) he knew he wanted to join them. So he found some "pants" and put them on. Then he went looking for shoes.

I hadn't yet clued into what he was thinking so I just told him that he had Andrew's Sunday shoes, not his. I told him that his were downstairs in the family room. Off he headed.

The next thing I knew, he had found his boots, put them on (wrong feet) and headed out to play with his brothers. At least he knows we wear pants and shoes outside, I guess it's time to work on adding a coat.

Some things I didn't understand as a child

Watching my children address their valentines has been fun this year. I'm sure most of it is personalities, but my children seem to follow stereotype--if only I had believed it as a girl.

My girls spent hours considering each message and each person they were meant for. They made homemade envelopes just because they could. Some valentines were considered too girly for the boys, others were too weird or too big. And the heart stickers used to seal the envelopes were carefully rationed to prevent too many boys getting pink rather than red. (Except the boy in Miss E's class who reportedly likes pink. He got probably4-6 pink hearts on his. Do you think his parents will tease him about his girlfriend?)

My boys didn't do it that way. Of course, Young M was instructed not to personalize his to make delivering them easier for his class. But Young A simply went through the list. The next valentine at hand was the one the person got. A couple designs were rejected so they would all be uniform size. He was more interested when the stickers came out evenly to three rows of eight used and three rows of eight left than what color was used for any of them. He also loved to see the top half of the heart sticker sealing one valentine lie next to the bottom half of another make a whole heart. So much fun.

As a girl (especially towards the end of elementary school) I always wondered if (hoped) the boys carefully chose this one or that one for me. I would carefully consider what somebody might think the valentines meant--especially if it was for someone I particularly liked (or didn't). Later, as a teenager, I would try to read meaning into almost anything a male did that seemed to involve me. Apparently, it was all for naught. The boys didn't mean anything, but the girls caught all sorts of messages from them. And the girls gave out all sorts of messages that the boys didn't even notice. No wonder everyone was so confused.

A quick explanation

Without making excuses, I'd like to explain one reason for the dearth of information lately. I am currently working on another project that leaves less energy for most everything. But I'm happy to report that all the major systems are in place for the next addition to our family. We are on to the growing big enough to survive stage. We're excited for our next baby. I'm especially thrilled to have recently started the third trimester.

In the meantime, the children keep growing faster than I'm ready for. They are enjoying school, except for when they don't. The boys recently got haircuts all around. Football season is over. Young T still doesn't understand that there are some things 2 year-olds just shouldn't do. We haven't had stitches since Labor Day. The primary program went well. We are getting close to being done with eye therapy. (Hooray! Hooray!) Miss M went skiing. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving (with a reminder to be grateful for heat. The furnace broke over the holiday weekend. We've loved the heat since it was fixed.) And now we are preparing for the infusion of family coming next week.

Easy birthdays

I enjoy toddler birthdays. It is so easy to make a little one's day. Weeks ago, Young T turned 2. As part of his day, I took him to the dinosaur museum while the others were all at school. And, when that had been thoroughly enjoyed, we got him 2 balloons, stars and ducks. He loved it.