A few moments of peace... ahhhhh...

Seth took the two older kids to Sam's Club tonight, so it's just me an Ruby hangin' out. She's watching Signing Time and I'm attempting a blog post. We'll see if I can get it published before the rest of the family returns and chaos resumes!

Ruby has been acting strange lately. Clingy. Whiney. Not wanting to eat. Waking up at night screaming, but then falling back asleep, and then waking up an hour later with another shrill cry (the kind that makes your heart leap out of your chest, especially when you're sleeping and all's quiet!) Puzzling. No fever. No rash. No obvious, distressing symptoms. No teeth coming in. She's had a runny nose for a week or so, but its Spring, and all my kids seem to get that this time of year. (Seth too!) One thing that has puzzled me a little is that for the past 3 or 4 mornings her nose has been stuffy and a little bloody. This morning, after a good night's sleep, I noticed a spot of blood on her sheets (about the size of a lime.) It was where her face had been for the most part of the night. So... was it from her nose? From her mouth? Neither appeared to look bloody this morning. Then I remembered that yesterday she fell in the hall, where there is no carpeting, flat on her face, and when I picked her up I noticed some blood in her mouth. (Hm, could it still be from that?) She wouldn't let me look to see if it was coming from her lip, gums, or tongue. She absolutely hates it when someone tries to look in her mouth! Always has! So, it's still a mystery. She has eaten a little better today than she had been the past few days. She has her 18-month check up coming soon, so if any of this continues, I'll be bringing it up to her pediatrician...

Kibby has been her normal giggly self lately. Perhaps more giggly than usual, even. Ordinary little things I do make her collapse in a fit of giggles. And then of course she wants me to keep repeating whatever I did. Over and over and OVER. Must be the age... Her potty-training has been going well! She rarely has an accident - only when she can't get to the bathroom because someone else is in there. And overnight... still not quite there, but she wakes up dry about 50 - 75% of the time, though! Let's see... Not much else new to report on her.

Ethan has been getting back into the swing of school, after enjoying a week off last week for Spring Break. He is excited for Easter coming up and going to our church's musical, and of course for the Easter Bunny to come! He has been behaving well in school (since the St. Patrick's Day chocolate-snitching incident...) His teacher still checks his backpack and coat everyday at the end of the day, though, to make sure he hasn't swiped anything from the classroom. (Remember in the Fall he brought home some magnets from his class? So the chocolate was a 2nd offense, except he was caught right away and returned them. But yeah...) His teacher reports that he is doing well academically, is well-liked and has lots of friends and is behaving well in class, with the exception of all the kids needing reminders to not talk when it's listening / work time. Ethan is a chatterbox, that's true!

Today he got a pedometer from his school (the gym teacher, they all got them) and he's been runing around the house all night trying to get a really high number. He was on about 3,000 steps when they left for Sam's...

Me, I've probably taken about one-tenth that today?? :) Yes, the couch is still my friend!

One last thing. (Chaos is coming, I heard the garage door open!) Our strange knocking... Well, Seth must not have believed me that there was an animal up there... he NEVER checked! And I haven't heard anything since. Things that make you go hmm...

However, now that the weather is warming... if I start to smell any nasty dead-animal odor coming from ANYWHERE in the house... you can bet your britches it will NOT be me taking care of it!!! :)