And on and on and on... Where I fill you in on the past month.

Hey everyone out there!

It's been a busy last few months for us in a pretty good way.

Katie started 1st grade and loves it. She's so busy every day with her before and after school program, "centers" in her classroom, art projects and school work (I get to pull many papers out of her folder each day), that she falls into bed each night between 8 and 9 which is SUPER nice for mommy!

She's also got ... homework! Every Wednesday she brings home something for math. Wednesday is also the day she goes to Awana for church. This means that on Thursday night we're busily working on homework before (and usually after) dinner. And here I thought that when I was done with school I would be done with homework. *sigh*

At least now when she does her addition and subtraction I can check her work. Who knows what 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc. grades will bring. (A little nervous for algebra over here.)

Katie went to a pumpkin farm with her day care club. She had fun. I got a call from a teacher to say that she "fell and cut her lip, and I wanted to let you know before you came to pick her up. She's okay and everything, but her lip was a little bloody and now there's a bump on it but she's fine and I just wanted to tell you so you have advance warning before you come to get her today. I hope you get this message by then... Goodbye." I got the message and chuckled a little bit. As long as they don't call to say KATIE IS IN THE HOSPITAL, HURRY, SHE'S BLEEDING PROFUSELY, I'll be okay.

It was a bit red and there was a cut... but it seems to be over her prior cut where she fell off of a bench and hit her lip on the corner of the wall in the living room.

A count of the kids' injuries (If there were tears but no blood, I didn't count it) so far:
Lip - Katie (twice), Jake (once), Jack (once)
Stitches - Jake (once - with 5 stitches)
Head - Jake (twice), Jack (twice)

If we were counting bumps and bruises, I think the list would go on and on. Especially since Jake seems to like pushing Jackson over (poor baby!) and Jackson seems to fall over a lot on his own - he fell 3 times in one day at day care, right onto a hard floor. (I took him to the clinic that night and found that he has an ear infection. Hopefully that will clear up the problem a bit.)

Yep, I said day care! Jake and Jack have taken a huge step forward. Both boys are in the childcare program at the community center Katie went to when she was younger! Jackson is in the baby room and Jake is in pre-school.

Jacob seems to like the toys but doesn't really want to go (probably because he has to share and do things with the group... and he "doesn't want to play with other kids" and he "doesn't want to eat lunch" because he wants to keep playing) but it's getting better. He's starting to conform. Not hugely, but enough so he can stay out of the take a break chair.

And the teachers told me (with raised eyebrows and a look of shock) that he's great with clean up time. Probably because he hears it all of the time. Before he started pre-school, I would get home from work and we would have to do clean up time... Jake was pretty good with that once I labeled bins with pictures for him but I was a little surprised to hear he was one of THE BEST kids when it comes to cleaning up at school!

He went on a field trip last month and was SO GOOD! He got to pick a pumpkin to bring home and he got to ride on the bus. He was thrilled. (I was thrilled that he wasn't banned from future field trips due to any naughty behavior!)

Jackson seems to like his class. Each morning when I drop him off I fill out a sheet with his name, the date, how long he slept overnight, and what he's eaten that morning. The teachers fill out his diaper changes, what he ate for each meal, something he had fun doing that day, and finally they complete the sentence: I was a little ____ and a little ___... or something like that.

When we arrive he sits in one of the chairs around the little table (on his own!) and the teacher gives him his breakfast. It's the cutest thing EVER.

Things have been changing for me, too! I started a new job as a business analyst in the IT department (at the same company I've been working for the past 8 years). It was hard leaving the comfort of my old department but this move was great for me. So far, I'm loving it.

And surprise, surprise, we're having car issues. One of the cars, you know, the one that's just been paid off, died. It cost about $100 to get it towed from the parking lot to our house until we can figure out what to do next. Dad thinks repairs might be in the THOUSANDS. I'll just say "Ugh" and leave it at that.

And John has been able to find work now that his days are free. So far he likes what he's doing and I think he likes being around other adults!