6 am wakeup call

We baptized out third this past weekend.. It was an amazing experience. I have the privelage of being his primary teacher and he is just an amazing guy. He is still so unbelievably shy and had a hard time at the baptism because of all the attention focused on him. He had his grandpa and Uncle Fredy speak and the spirit was so strong. I guess you could say we had waterworks going on, and in more ways then one...

the realization the the baptism font DOES NOT take 2 hours to fill as per bishops instructions...

I have been trying so hard to potty train Sassy. She loves the idea: get treats when she sits, wearing panties, which have been so much fun to find as I fold laundry! Such a far cry from the boys superhero undies they had at her age! however, there is something missing. She chooses 3-7 pairs to wear at a time and holds her pee until I have to diaper her for us to run errands or for her no nap. She has also peed through the whole stack of them. Not quite there, and i wouldn't stress except she is the one who wants to wear them and I dont think I should discourage it.

A few weeks ago a friend offered us 4 tickets to the hokie game (the week after we spent a small fortune that could have purchsed an island somewhere to take the kids, and on our 11th anniversary!!!) i had already agreed to babysit an extra kid while his parents went to the game so Van and his friend Alden went together with John and Aldens dad. those boys are so sweet together!

Sassy turned 2 on the 17th of Oct! What a wonderful day for us as we enjoy never having a 1 year old EVER AGAIN! It is so fun to go through each stage with her KNOWING it will never be this way again. I am so satisfied watching the older boys get old and seeing sweet girl getting there also. i am over baby stuff and ready to move on. We got her a tinkerbell bike (and she found T's helmet) and she has been having a great time sitting on it. She is not able to pedal but I am sure that will come soon!

The fri before her bday we took lunch over after she had her Parents Morning Out class and we celebrated with some of her friends from class. She had a great time adn really enjoyed practicing opening presents.

Her friends are sooo cute! She has 4 really sweet friends who are all within 6 months of each other and they have been together since she was born (shes the youngest) we will miss them so much when we move.

Seconds on cupcakes! Happy camper!

I've bee getting tons of people asking me how homeschooling is going. To be perfectly honest, we are getting good at it. Some days I feel really lazy or have tons to do and send him upstairs to read for a few hours, but this is the first time he has ever taken a chapter book and read it cover to cover. He used to pick it up, skim middles, get bored and be done. In the past 3 weeks, he has read the first 3 Percy Jackson books. That in itself is a total change. His math is also improving and we have been doing a lot of logic work as he really struggles with things like that. He is becoming a more logical thinker and is applying that into other areas of his life. WE are really enjoying history. We have spoent the last month on ancient egypt and i have learned so much! WE are currently mummifying a chicken and will wrap it in 4 weeks when the salt, baking powder and baking soda finish drying it out. We have also made a scroll and will make a clay tablet this week and then will subject them to the oven, the rain and his brothers to discuss why the tablets were better at preserving info vs. the scrolls. He is learning so much. On the other hand, I am so bored. all the time. it is tough having a 9 yr. old as your everyday all day companion. it makes me glad he isnt an only child and he's bored too. he doesn't know how to handle not having his brothers around. I think he is glad to be home and i am glad for his growth, but I am looking very forward to next year when all 4 boys are back at school and Sassy will be in preschool at least 2 mornings a week (she only goes 1 day right now) I need that selfish time. i am a better mom when i get it. (and a better wife)

the nile river- we planted grass and flooded the nile weekly to represent olden condtitions. the grass is flourishing, much like crops on the fertile nile valley! the projects have been so valuable for tying everything together for him.

I feel unsettled. I get this way every election day for a few different reasons but this year seems worse. I am unhappy with govt. and the games they play. I hate waiting to see the results and seeing if it flipped sides or stayed the same. i hate the candidates and their opinions. i feel they are all wrong (wish colbert would run! ha!) I also feel unsettled in my personal life. We are atthis awkward crossroads where 1 number makes a world of a difference. i obsessively check websites to find the magic number and the date when it will be announced. We are waiting for THE BOARD SCORE (insert scary music here) this has been a sticky spot for our family recently and until the number is released, our paycheck is not. it is a really frustratinf holding pattern and I feel so much anxeity over it. I hate the unsettled middle, i hate not knowing and i hate waiting (i saw a really funny sign from the rally to restore sanity/march to keep fear alive held the other day : WHAT DO WE WANT? pateince! WHEN DO WE WANT IT? NOW! totally the way i feel today!) So, since you have a few pieces of my scattered mind, maybe I should leave you with a few more:

today: I am going to listen to Christmas music and clean the house (dealing with little sleep as baby broke crib, was moved into toddler bed and WONT SLEEP ANYMORE)

----i got toy story 3 for 3.99! I love good deals and by buying a tide detergent I would have purchasded anyway (also on sale and used a coupon) and a thing of bounty paper towels (ditto on bought anyways, on sale and using coupon) CVS sold the dvd for 3.99 with the 25 P&g purchase! I had 3 neighborhood kids over this am to watch it.

---right now I am listening to this and the sounds of my daughter dumping an entire box of wheat thins on the kitchen floor that really needs to be swept, mopped and overall disenfected.

---I am looking very forward to nap time today where I am going to curl up with this which is long and hard to read but makes me feel smart (unlike atlas shrugged, where I cant get more then 50 pages in without being bored to tears. Should i keep going??)

---T and M didnt eat their halloween candy. their gym coach challenged them to eat 5 pieces and get rid of the rest. i took it a step further and offered them a new hex bug if they ate none of it. It was amazing. Jo ate his pieces.

---t and I are running a 5k this weekend. in the forecasted snow. his first ever. i am excited and hoping he can finish it. he has the goal of doing a mini triathalon for his 11th bday which involves a 5k, 300m swim and a 10 mile bike ride. he is my hero.