updates

So I think I forfeited my nomination for "Mother of the Year" award. Yesterday, right before church I was ironing my skirt and after I went to put it on real quick I came out right as Dominic had grabbed the hot iron off the table (and he wasn't letting go!!!) and started bawling. After the initial first aid, we took him into urgent care where they gave him "the club" as we call it. A whole half of his palm and his thumb is one giant white blister. Poor guy.So we have to go into the clinic every day for them to redress the wound this week. As it is we are also weaning him out of our bed and room this week... so it's like insult to injury from his point of view.

Leo has the sniffly nose going on lately but that doesn't stop him from sporting his coonskin cap like a true little Scut Farkus.

Xavier and I are reading his fourth chapter book together: The Twits by Roald Dahl. While we still curl up with lovely picture books each day, I'm trying to add more emphasis on longer stories with fewer pictures. This accomplishes three things: one, his attention span is lengthening. Two, he has to start visualizing and imagining things more in his own brain... a creativity we always want to foster of course. And three and most importantly, it exposes him to more printed words. We are taking a very relaxed approach to learning to read and right now I simply run my finger under the words as I'm saying them so he correlates the verbal and written word. Sometimes, if the word is repeated often, I pause and let him fill in the blank. He doesn't suspect that this is a 'schooling' exercise, so as far as he's concerned we are simply enjoying a story together! And we are! Lots of fairy tales and fables and chapter books.

Steve is working hard with his firefighter class; he's loving showing off his knotting skills and quizzing me on CPR techniques. He still is doubled up, working simultaneously on his Home Inspection course through all this too. Plus he's always working on the needs and repairs of the home. He found a rat's nest in the attic last weekend; so we got to spend some of our Home Depot gift certificate money on rat poison--yippee. I wish there was a more humane way to get them out of the ceiling but Steve says not in this case, so I trust him to do what's best. So the one night a week or so that we are both free and clear, is really enjoyed as we watch a Netflix movie or occasionally read together or to each other.

I am trying to get our home back in order here, always organizing and 'purging' (as much as Steve will let me anyway!) of unneeded clothes and things. I wish the weather was a bit nicer but we are making the most of it in the home; I love baking and drinking lots of tea. I have a stack of clothes to mend/alter so that's annoying but I'm doing my best.

So that's life so far, in 2008 for our little clan!