Apologies for the delay

It has been a while, I know! I'm not really sure why except that there is not a lot to report and the redundancy of daily life has gotten the better of me the past few weeks. No good excuses.

We are waiting to get Michael's test results back to determine what steps we take next in regards to jobs. It seems like an eternity, but that's the way it is.

Paige continues to love school! Each day, a different student is assigned to be "Snack Leader." In preschool, that is pretty cool. The poor kid is learning early about the patience that comes with having a last name at the end of the alphabet. There are 16 little ones in her class, and alphabetically, she is DEAD LAST!!! So, she is more than eager for school on Monday when she FINALLY gets to be "Snack Leader." She has the songs picked out, the menu planned and is quite detailed in her approach. I am seeing maturity happen before my eyes and can not believe how quickly this little girl is "finding her own." Michael had the day off the other day, so Mama and Paige had a "Girls Date" after school. We used to do this often, but school has limited our adventures. After the festivities I allowed her to choose a few things at Target. After selecting a puppet (and requesting we pick one for Nathan so he didn't feel sad), she opted for the RECORDER!!! Part of me, remembering the sound of recorders from elementary school, wanted to refuse her selection. But if there is one thing Paige has always loved, it's music! So, for $1.50...I can take a few headaches!

Nathan is doing well! He has now figured out what it means each morning when we load up and make the drive to school. After we drop Paige in her classroom, he begins his protesting! The kid is not small, so to on-lookers it must be quite a sight to see me carrying this kicking, screaming child to the car. He loves his sister...or maybe he just wants to play in that big room! He isn't short on finding, or creating, new adventures at home. His favorite is when he finds the cupboard door unlocked where the spices are stored...

Thankfully, he has not figured out how to open the jars...YET!!!!

The most exciting change of events has happened. I had been struggling the last few weeks with how to work with Paige about privacy, sharing and her belongings. When we first moved, I thought it was important for her to create her own space, so I allowed her bedroom to be off limits to Nathan. This quickly developed into something I did not like. On the funny side, she began locking her door...for pretend. I saw her at the door one day making weird body movements and asked what she was doing. She proceeded to give a lengthy description of how she locks her door with her "key," but then puts the key in her belly so Nate can't find it (she literally pretended to eat and swallow the key). I have a video and have not been able to upload it to share. It was the funniest thing to watch. But this eventually became more hostile than I agreed with, often leading to shoving and screaming towards her brother whenever he came within 5 inches of her door. I mentioned to her the other day that we were changing the rules a bit and that she could keep her "special" toys in the closet, but needed to keep the door open. It is not fair that three of us can go wherever we want, but Nate gets locked out. I was gearing up for a huge battle, but was ready to be firm! Next thing I knew, she started asking to leave her door open and requesting to wake Nathan up from his nap so he could play with her in her room.

So, all of a sudden, these two are inseparable! I'm sure it is a phase and they will eventually return to avoiding one another. But for now, I'm enjoying watching them play and love one another. She is teaching him how to work the toys and helping him fit things in the right places. So, although the daily routine of driving to school and simply living life has already become redundant to me, I am cherishing every day home with my kids! Watching them learn and grow and take risks is such a gift!!