Himm....I suppose I should update so you guys know that I'm still alive.  I just wonder, as always, does anyone really care about my mundane household tales and stories of what the children are doing?    And yet, I know that I miss reading my subs when they aren't there.  So, perhaps I should give an update.  I will tell you that I have been spending much more time on Myspace and Facebook lately.  I can simply type a sentence or two, and don't feel so obligated to type paragraphs or such.

First I'll update you on Daniel.  He's lost 69 pounds and dropped 2 pant sizes.  He's able to wear belts that he hasn't worn in years.  His shirts are hanging on him funny, and it won't be long before we have to purchase so more.  Also, the shorts he wears around the house (elastic waisted) are beginning to try to fall off.  So, we are going to have to find some more of those for him.

Me, on the other hand.  I've gained weight.  I've got to find some time to start exercising....walking or simply riding the eliptical bike we have.  I'm still doing the Flylady thing.  Or I should say, I re-started the Flylady thing a couple of months ago.  This past couple of weeks have been very successful.  I no longer have a pile of laundry to do.  Each morning, the kids make their beds and then bring down all the dirty clothes from their rooms.  I wash whatever we have, no matter the size of the load or loads.  I also have begun to "swish & shine" my bathrooms every morning.  This is simply swishing the toilet bowl with a brush soaked in a cheap cleaner (like leftover baby shampoo that I watered down a bit.) and then spraying the sink and toilet with glass cleaner and wiping them down.  I also clean the mirrors every morning.  It's nice to be able to enjoy the clean bathrooms.  I don't do laundry or swish & shine on the weekends though.  Only Monday-Friday.  I'm getting much better at keeping my dirty dishes in the dishwasher until evening.  My kitchen sink needs to be reshined, but overall, my kitchen is better.  I'm also "getting dressed to the shoes" every morning.  I'm not so good at wearing makeup everyday, but I'm getting there.  Daniel teases me and says, "I don't know who you are or what you did with my wife, but you can stick around."   Things just feel more peaceful at home when it's clean.  The only exception to my clean house right now is my living room.  I'm tagging stuff for my Mothers of Multiples clubs' consignment sale.  So, my living room is cluttered with boxes of stuff to tag and stuff ready to go to the sale.  

Courtland is TEN now.  Wow.  It still blows my mind.  We started his 5th grade work this month.  He seems to be enjoying it quite a bit more than the 4th grade stuff.  I'm not sure why, but he seems to work better at this stuff. 

Cierra turned 6 last month.  She is getting so big and is upset that she hasn't lost any teeth yet.  Her reading has simply exploded and she is reading words that amaze me.  One of her favorite programs to watch now is "Word Girl" on PBS Kids.  She informed us the other day, out of the blue, that she knew what "cumbersome" meant.  "Oh, yeah," we replied.  "What does it mean?"  "Heavy and hard to deal with, " was her reply.  Where did she learn that?  Word Girl.

Camry has completed all of her pre-school work, so we printed off the Summer Bridge Activity stuff we had for preK to K.  She will definitely be ready for Kindergarten in the fall.

Cienna has come so far this past year.  Her speech has improved dramatically.  Her social skills are also coming along.  She won't be going to public school next year, as her teacher wanted to put her in a regular Pre-K class and only have her pulled out for speech.  Well, I know how big our Pre-K classes are here.  She would be going from a class of 6 or 7 kids with a teacher and 2 aides to a class of about 30 kids with a teacher and maybe one aide.  That just won't work for her.  So we are going to homeschool her next year and take her to the school twice a week for speech.  We'll start her in the Pre-K curriculum that we have.  I also have a special education curriculum that I will attempt with her.  I was kind of worried if we made the right decision or not  That was until we met with her genetics doctor.  He agreed that such a dramatic change in classes wouldn't be beneficial, and might actually prove to be detrimental.  So, that eased my mind quite a bit.  Also, we don't have another genetics appointment for 2 years!

Chonda is a very, very active toddler.  She wants to be doing just what everyone else is.  School, play, conversations.  You name it, she thinks she's big enough to do it.  I can't believe my baby is 2.  But I'm so excited to think that before too long, she will be potty trained!  And I will be done with diapers! WOOHOO!  I can't wait.  I've had at least one in diapers for over 6 years now. 

So, that's what's going on here.  Did that catch you all up?  If not, you'll just have to tell me what else you want to know.  But for now, I'm heading to bed.

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