Well hello there...

Long time no see. Mostly because all I have time for these days is a quickie status update on Facebook - not much time for writing an entire post!

What have we been up to? Well, preschool started again, and I have to say that the new days are working much better for us. It ties in with our other activities, giving us two days of staying at home and not going out.

C is loving preschool, of course - even if she's absolutely knackered by the end of the week. She's really growing up so quickly. She plays pretend games now, like playing teacher. She is also more communicative about things she's learned there, or things that she's done.

P is loving having me to herself (or mostly, anyway). We go to the library, which she really enjoys, as well as going to Bible study, and next term there's playtime. She's not exactly enthused about potty training anymore, though she doesn't have a tantrum when I put undies on her either. I call it progress, even if we do change clothes 5 times a day.

M has teeth now, and this week we're going to try her out with some rice cereal - she's been grabbing for my food, and eyeing up my coffee for a few weeks now, so we'll see if she's keen. She kindasorta slept all night last night, or at least until 4:30 in the morning. I'm not really in a hurry, especially since I get to watch Lord of the Rings movies as much as I want. It's kind of my go-to movie, you know?

We brought another member into our family, an 8 week-old puppy, who is now known as Cino (like cappuccino). He's a labrador/beagle cross, though it's anyone's guess as to how much beagle or how much labrador. I can tell you that he wakes up with the sun like he just HAD a triple-shot cappuccino, and that he really, really, really loves to be with the people. We start puppy school this week, so prayers would be good. Truthfully, he's pretty easy to look after, and I did get gates for the kitchen out of it... The trickiest part is teaching the girls how to behave around him. C is pretty good, though she tends to tell him NO if he so much as sniffs in her general direction. P on the other hand, tends to shriek and jump when he sniffs her, which makes him play a bit harder, until she's howling in outrage, and he's pulling on her clothes. He especially goes for her nappies for some odd reason.

Me? I'm settling into term, finding my domestic groove. Volunteering to be the parent coordinator for C's class at preschool, which will help me in learning who some of the other families are. Beginning to think about some form of exercise, considering it's been over a year since I've done any at all. I really miss the boxing, so that will definitely be involved.

I've been struggling a bit with losing my temper. I know that the best way to teach the children to behave is to set a good example, and I really want to do that, but it's hard, my friends. And you know something? I think it's supposed to be that way. If it seemed too easy, I think it would be a warning sign. Of all the parents I know, the ones I look up to the most are the ones who don't have all the answers all the time. Who admit to struggling with it all. Something in me recognises something in them, and I suddenly know that I'm not supposed to have it all figured out. That particular job belongs to God, and I think I'll leave it to Him. I've got enough on my plate anyway.

Oh, and one more thing - we got our new oven/stove, though it has yet to be installed. Our other one bought the farm before Christmas, and while it was kind of an experiment making pizzas on our barbecue, I'll be glad to have a proper oven back. Can you say celebratory lasagne, anyone???

Off to bed now, after a huge day. Tomorrow is the day we use to get ready for our week (which kind of starts on Wednesday).

XOXO,
Sarah