Purple toes

Once again, I have purple toes. Lovely. Here's the photo from last time, taken a bit later, just for comparison. As bad as it looks, it doesn't really hurt. I haven't had pain medication all day and can walk on it with almost no limp once I get moving. The first step or two makes me wince, but beyond that I'm feeling pretty good.

My Left Foot

I had my second foot surgery Wednesday, this time on my left foot. It was basically the same thing that was done on the right, but the joint was in worse condition. My doctor again had to remove the arthritic stuff from the joint (have no idea what that actually is), take a piece out of the bone to shorten it and open up the joint space and then screw the pieces back together, remove a bone spur and bone chips in the joint, and then drill holes to allow the formation of a secondary cartilage to replace what had been worn away. It apparently required a lot more work and resulted in a lot more bleeding during the surgery, so I had quite a bit of bleeding afterwards as well. I actually had to have the dressing changed yesterday morning, but the doctor said it had stopped and shouldn't be a problem any longer.

Now I just have to sit around and let it heal. That's harder than it sounds since I'm not one to sit still for very long and I keep getting reprimanded for being up and about too much. On the up side, though, I'm not having much pain. It's a bit more uncomfortable than last time, but not terrible and I'm already tapering off of the pain medications.

I also had the screw removed from my right foot at the same time, so I wouldn't have to spend an additional 5 days off of my feet. Of course, that means I have the lovely surgical shoes on both feet and have to keep both of them dry in the shower until Monday. It's quite the sight with the shower guard on one foot and a newspaper bag on the other!

I have my parents here until Monday to wrangle the kids while I'm off my feet (literally). They've been doing the school runs, taking our little one to her classes, and walking the dog. Mike has been in and out with work, but has mainly been taking care of me. It's working out well so far, although I think our youngest is a bit tired of being at home since she so rarely is during the day.

Coming Up For Air

It's been a crazy few weeks here. The kids started school and we immediately started looking for someplace new for them. Within a few days, I had contacted a new school and talked to the principal. It turned out that he was someone we knew from years ago when we were doing water rescue training with our first Leonberger, Audubon. I took that as a good sign.

After meeting with teachers, observing classes, and having the kids shadow for a morning, we made the decision to move them right away. Or more accurately, the kids made the decision to move. That happened on a Friday and by Monday, I was turning in the withdrawal forms at their old school and the registration forms at the new school. After getting immunization records and new uniforms, they started at their new school on Thursday.

Their first day was a bit crazy - they had an all-school mass, where the priest introduced them to the rest of the school, and then school pictures. The up side is that they get to be in their class pictures, but it was a wild way to start off at a new school. They both canme out smiling at the end of the day, though, and were excited to go back on Monday morning (they had Friday off).

Last week was their first full week, so they've had a chance to get a feel for what it's really like. Our daughter is in kindergarten and her new class is less demanding than what she had before. To make up for that, her teacher is working with her and another little boy using the second grade reading program and she will be working with the resource teacher on more challenging reading, writing, and comprehension and potentially math as well. At this point, she's just having fun meeting new kids and finding out about the different programs this school has.

After observing classes, we decided to move our son up to third grade instead of keeping himin second grade. It seemed to be a better match for him academically and socially, and so far, he's really liking it. The personal responsibility and homework demands are much greater than what he's had in the past, but he's stepped up to the challenge and has even taken a couple tests already. It should get easier for him as time goes on, since he'll have had the chance to learn the material with the rest of the class instead of having to pick it up quickly at the end of a unit. He was telling me today how much more he's learning in his new class than he did at his old school, so it seems like it was a good move all around.

And that's where we are. I'm trying to get a feel for the volunteer system at this school and adjusting to the new schedule (they start 30 minues earlier now and get out 15 minutes earlier). We've had the chance to meet parents from both kids' classes at the parent socials and our daughter got her first birthday party invitation. Our son even went on his first field trip (Monterey Bay Aquarium, where he apparently was able to answer all the questions and lead the tour around the facility). Life rolls on and we're going along with it.

I'm Baaaccckkkk!

It's been a while since I've made the time to sit down and write. The kids went back to school and life turned upside down. It's back to juggling their school schedule, soccer, baseball, swimming, gymnastics, and music (no, they're not all doing all of those things!) and we're just now settling into our new routine. I'll update how our summer ended soon.

As for me, I got clearance from my doctor to go back to normal activity after my foot surgery this past week, so it's back to running for me. I need to take off the several pounds I put on sitting around, and it will definitely feel good to push myself again. I'm finding that my foot actually feels better the more I do, so getting back in the gym will be good for me. I should be having the other foot done some time this fall, so I need to put myself back together before I have to take time off once again.

Pictures from the Week

My poor bruised toes. They've been a lovely shade of purple for about a week now.

The kids had a fun time at the park on Thursday. Lots of time on the swings, running around playing tag, going down the slides, and playing in the sand. It was a gorgeous day, so it was great to be outside enjoying it.

I have a small cooler with a pump that circulates ice water through a pad on my food. It's much easier than constantly switching out ice packs. Zatarain discovered he could flip the lid open on the cooler and have his own bowl of ice water right there in the family room.

The girls came downstairs thie evening dressed in their finest. When our older daughter, who loves to help Mike with the grill, found out that we were grilling for dinner, she asked, "Can we be your flower grill fairies?"

We have a very small backyard. This picture actually makes it look bigger than it is, but that doesn't stop Mike and our son from practicing baseball while the ribs are cooking. Our daughter was the cheerleader in the background.

The Week in Review

It's been an interesting week, in spite of the fact that I still have to take it easy on my foot. I went back to the doctor on Monday and got the bandage changed. He gave me a boot cast to wear when I'm out and about, which makes it easier to walk, but is really heavy, hot, and uncomfortable. Needless to say, I only wear it when I have to and stick with the very attractive shoe the rest of the time. On the down side, I do end up yelling, "Don't step on my foot!" an awful lot.

No one was in camp this week, so it was me and the three kids entertaining ourselves since Mike went back to work on Monday afternoon. They got a bit stir crazy and watched more TV than they normally do, but we survived. Our son did an evaluation for a pre-competitive swim team on Tuesday and will be able to start swimming with them in September. He was very excited to watch the huge number of kids in the pool (there were probably 20 lanes swimming at the same time between 2 pools) and can't wait to join in. I don't know how thrilled either of us will be when he's swimming in the dark in November, but we'll give it a try for the fall and see how it goes.

Everyone had swim lessons on Wednesday morning. I couldn't go in because of my foot, so I paid a friend's daughter, who is in high school and is a swimmer and a lifeguard, to take our little one in instead. It was fun to sit back and watch all 3 of them for once. I also found out that she will be old enough to take lessons on her own starting this fall, so it's the last session of lessons that I will have to be in the water. It's the end of an era - I think I've been in the water with one kid or another for the better part of 7 years!

Our son has done tae kwon do at school for the past 3 years, but they dropped the program at the end of the year, so we need to find a new studio for him. His old teacher recommended 2 places, so we checked one out on Wednesday evening. The class they had us sit in on was their basic class, where they work on discipline, basic skills, and their core values. It was not at all what our son expected and he absolutely hated it. I'm hoping I can get him to check out their forms and sparring classes to give it a fair shot, but he wants nothing to do with it right now. We may go see the other studio and see if he like it any better. I'd hate to see him give it up because he's actually quite good at a lot of the skills and he's worked hard at it for a long time now.

Thursday we went grocery shopping. Under the best conditions, it's no fun to take all 3 kids to the store and with my foot in the boot, I really wasn't thrilled with the prospect. I decided to take them to the park first to burn some energy, with the understanding that I was going to be sitting down the whole time. They managed to find a little girl to play tag with them and had a great time running around. Shopping went well after that and our son got to play Safeway Scavenger Hunt while we were there. I send him out to find things from my grocery list, and he has to hunt them down and bring them back to the cart. He's gotten pretty good at it, but we do seem to end up with more bags of chips than I sent him out to get.

The older kids went to Great America with friends on Friday. I didn't tell them about it until Friday morning, and my son's reaction was, "Are you serious?" Being the smart ass I am, I of course responded, "No, I'm kidding." He looked very confused, so I reassured him that it was true and that he needed to get his stuff together for the day. I kept our youngest and our friends' 17-month-old for the day, which our little one loved.

I took the girls to the Y for my Pilates class, my first exercise since having my foot done. It was so good to do something besides sit around! I had to modify some things, but found I could actually do a lot more than I had expected. I'm dying to do some kind of aerobic workout, but this will have to hold me at least until the stitches come out on Tuesday.

Today we just stayed at home. Mike cleaned out the garage, I cleaned up the garden and the dog run, and the kids and dog ran around like the lunatics they are. We had dinner together - ribs, potato salad, coleslaw, garlic cheese bread - and watched the Giants game (they won!). The night ended with fireworks from Great America.

So it's been a good and busy week. Next week, our older daughter is doing a gymnastics camp and that will be the last camp of the summer. Our son's 8th birthday is Monday and he and his sister are beside themselves excited about it. It should be another fun week!

iPhone Apps

I've added a new Gadget to my sidebar - Favorite iPhone Apps.

What are your favorites? Let me know in the Comments!

Just Sitting Around

I've discovered that my tolerance for laying around on the couch is 3 days. Two of those days were in a Vicodin-induced haze, so my real tolerance may very well be much lower, but it's now day 4 and I'm sick of sitting on the couch.

There have been some pluses. I've read a book and a half so far, kept up with the happenings on Facebook, and increased my score in Bejeweled. My kids and my husband have been waiting on me hand and foot, which is quite a treat. I can take a nap whenever I want, which is less frequently now that I've taken a bunch of naps and stopped loading up on pain meds. I haven't had to cook for anyone in 4 days.

But for someone like me who rarely sits still, it's hard to feel useful in 10 minute increments. I should be making better use of my time sitting around. I have pictures to put into frames; I could be training the dog; I have outgrown kids' clothes to fold and pack away; I have a photo book to finish and a pile of "stuff" from the desk to sort out. Instead I'm sitting here not doing any of those things. Ah well, there's always the other foot.

Foot Surgery

For several years now, I've had pain in my big toes. I had x-rays done for a broken foot about 18 months ago (Zatarain stepped on my foot and broke it - that's when you know you have a big dog!) and the doctor asked at that time when I was going to get my toe fixed. Even I could see that the x-rays looked bad, with huge bone spurs and arthritis, but I still had a baby to carry around, so it just didn't make sense to undergo surgery yet. Now that my little one walks on her own most of the time and the pain level was getting to the point that it hurt to press the gas pedal in the car, it was time to get my foot fixed.

I chose to have my right foot done now so I wouldn't be stuck unable to drive during the school year. The operation involved shaving off the bone spur and contouring the bone so it doesn't stick out so much. This alone will make it easier to find shoes that fit. My doctor also cut the bone and shortened it to open up the joint, cleaned the joint out to remove the arthritis, and drilled holes that will fill with blood and eventually form a fibrous cartilage to replace the cartilage that has been destroyed. He said no one my age should have feet that bad and was very pleased with the amount of movement I had at the end of the surgery.

I now get to spend the next 5 days laying down with my foot elevated to prevent swelling, with the exception of 5 minutes per hour where I need to be weight-bearing. I should be able to drive by Monday and my activity will progress depending on how I'm healing and how I'm tolerating increases in my activity. I should be healed in 6 weeks and able to have the second surgery done in 3 months.

Mike is taking the next 5 days off to take care of the kids and me. The kids are fascinated by this whole process. Our son has appointed himself my timer, making sure I'm not up on my feet for more than 5 minutes at a time. Our older daughter wants me to give her jobs to do to help out. So far, she has help gather the laundry so I could sort it, fed the cats and fish, gotten the mail, and taken charge of the garden. Our youngest has enjoyed snuggling in bed with me and wants to bring me "presents". At one point this afternoon, all three kids were sprawled out in bed with me, Ben was laying on top of me, and Zatarain was in his crate next to me. I guess no one wanted me to be lonely! I wanted Mike to come up and take a picture, but I didn't get a message to him before everyone started to move.

As you can see above, Dr. Chicory has also been taking care of me. He kept me company during dinner tonight (Mike made ropa vieja) and has been laying on the couch with us this evening. You can see the blue tubes for the ice machine that circulates cold water through a pad that is under the bandages so I don't have to constantly change ice packs. I've had these for other surgeries (this was number 10) and they make a huge difference in keeping down the swelling and making me more comfortable.

Sick Day

I managed to catch a cold that my husband brought home from a trip to visit his sister and her family. Fever, headache, post-nasal drip, just lovely. The kids, God bless them, let me sleep in this morning and then we just hung out at home for the day. They watched insane amounts of TV and managed to occupy the day without killing each other. The little one took a 4-hour nap and I managed to get through a week's worth of newspapers while drinking copious amount of tea. I did take them to the pool after she woke up, and the sun (it was HOT today) and chlorine seemed to help my head.

Our son has pulled his Sky Coaster set out for the last couple of days and this is his latest creation. It was slightly modified by his little sister when she stepped on it and released his loop to form a corkscrew. He thought it was much better that way and thanked her for her help.

Catching Up

It's been a busy couple of weeks. Our summer started off nice and calm, with a good rhythm to our days. And then camp started and everything went crazy. My son did one week of camp and loved it so much that he asked to go back this week. Since they had open spots, including for swim lessons, we signed him again. So instead of just having one kid in camp (my older daughter), I've been juggling two and my poor little one has been suffering with very short naps the last few days. The up side is that all three kids have been going to bed very early, so my evenings have been pretty quiet.

I finally had time tonight to get some little chores done that I've been putting off. My older cat, Ben, has always had an amazing coat. She sheds like a German Shepherd and I periodically have to really go over her to get her undercoat out or she mats badly. I've put it off too long this time and now I do have to battle big chunks of fuzz under her coat. She is not a happy kitty when I start working on her and she lets me know loudly. It should at least decrease the hairball puking, if nothing else.

I also sat down and trimmed Zatarain's feet. Leonbergers are pretty low-maintenance as far as grooming goes. They have a lot of coat and do require brushing, but you aren't supposed to do any kind of fancy trimming. The one thing that does need to be done on occasion, though, is trimming the feet. Audubon's mom, and therefore Zatarain's grandmother, had amazingly fuzzy feet and both of my dogs ended up with the same. Left alone, they start to look like snowshoe rabbits. It's not the best look for a Leo, so I trim Zatarain's feet when they start to get furry. I let them get pretty long this time, so it took a while to get them under control. Zatarain closely monitored my scissoring, resting his head on my left arm while I trimmed his feet with my right. It was very cute and he was very patient, wagging his tail when I would talk to him and tell him how handsome he looked. He was less happy when I started working on his nails, but he cooperated better than usual and I was able to get them done fairly quickly.

I've also been trying to work out more the last few weeks and that takes up a chunk of time in the morning. I'm having foot surgery on July 22, so I want to get into the best shape I can ahead of time since I won't be allowed to work out for a while afterwards. I try to run on Mondays, do a cycling class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and do Pilates on Fridays. I just added the cycling back in after 2 1/2 years and it's been miserable getting back into it. I'm finally feeling better during and after the classes, so I think I've gotten past the worst of it. I'd love to add one more day, but I've never been good about working out on the weekends.

So that's the update. Hopefully I'll be more timely over the next couple of weeks since our pace will be slower.

School's Out For Summer...

My kids got out of school last Friday for summer vacation. I am so happy that they are done! I am ready for a break from the constant driving, the early mornings, and the crazy evenings that go along with the school year.

It's taken a few days, but we're settling into a routine. We go out in the morning and do errands or go to the Y or go on a "field trip". After lunch, the little one goes down for her nap and the older kids have reading and work time. Their school sends home a packet of worksheets for them to do over the summer, which they are supposed to work on over the course of six weeks. My son finished his yesterday (in 3 days) and my daughter is almost done with hers. I knew that was going to be the case, so we went to the teacher supply store yesterday to find some extra workbooks to challenge them a bit. They are both very excited to start working on some more challenging stuff. Have I said that my kids are weird? Better that than hating school, I suppose!

I need to get them to the library to sign up for the summer reading program. I'm not a huge fan of libraries. Handling books that have been read by who-knows-how-many other people really grosses me out, so we tend to go to the book store instead. I feel like the kids really should know what a library is, though, so we'll make the effort this summer. I do remember really liking the summer programs as a kid, so hopefully my guys will, too.

Aside from that, our summer should be fairly laid back. The older kids each have a couple of camps they are doing, and all three of them will continue to take swim lessons. The rest of our time should be spent at the pool, going to the beach, going to the Y, and checking out some new hiking trails. We're all looking forward to these few weeks off!

Wednesday Wash Day

Wednesday and Sunday are my laundry days. Why, you may ask? Because it means the fewest number of uniforms for the kids (3) and the fewest number of wash days. Brilliant, no? Anyway, I really don't mind doing laundry. Filling the machine, adding the soap and softener - and always Oxi Clean, folding, hanging, putting away, I don't mind any of it. The one thing that really gets me is the sorting. And that's because as I sort the laundry, I have to empty pockets.

I'd always heard stories about the things moms find in their sons' pockets. Marbles, rocks, frogs, string are all the stuff legend. My son isn't too bad in that regard, though. I just generally find empty snack containers and lint in his pockets.

My daughter's clothes, though, make me cringe. I usually have a large collection of the cleanest rocks in town sitting on top of my drier, since I've had to dig them out after listening to them bang around in the load of clothes. She will pick up literally anything and stick it in her pockets, only to leave it there for me to find as I go through the laundry. I've come across hair clips and rubber bands, sand, crackers, raisins, paper, small toys, feathers, paper clips, bracelets, her watch, and rocks. Lots and lots of rocks. She's so obsessed with rocks that one of her friends tried to find her a rock-related birthday present, but gave her a selection of soaps and lotions instead (not sure what she was suggesting with that one, but my daughter loved them anyway). I've tried to tell her that it's gross to pick that kind of stuff up, and even more gross to carry it home with her in her pockets. It hasn't had any effect.

Now my youngest has discovered pockets and specifically asks to wear pants with pockets. So far, she is only putting her hands in them, but I'm sure if she is anything like her sister, she, too, will be collecting weird stuff and leaving it for me to find on laundry day.

I Need a Fashion Intervention - Photos

You asked for it (Jason!), you got it! I recreated the look for all the world to see. Obviously, I have no shame. Your fashion advice is certainly welcome, because as you can see, I shouldn't be allowed to dress myself.

I've also included a photo of the Curious George lounge pants. My kids love them, but they might not be appropriate for the grocery store.

I Need a Fashion Intervention

I had a "What Not to Wear" moment the other night.

Let me first say, that I would love to be nominated for the show. I have begged my friends to submit me for it. I happily admit that I am the least fashionable person I know, with pretty much the most boring wardrobe on the planet. I only wear make-up for really fancy occasions, and even then I barely manage to look passable. It's actually so bad, that my husband prefers it when I don't wear make-up. I have had the same hair style for probably 10 years (at least it's not a reverse mullet!). I've tried to change my hair color, but my hair revolts and will now only be blonde. So I know I need help and I just keep waiting for Stacy and Clinton to jump out at me and offer to take me off to New York for a week to make me over.

Every once in a while, I leave the house in an outfit that I know would make them cry. I imagine that there is a hidden camera somewhere nearby capturing how pathetic I am for all the world to see, over and over again in syndication (I definitely need a hobby). And yet, I still go out wearing it.

Here's my latest example. Saturday night, Mike and I were trying to make popcorn the old-fashioned way. We realized that we needed more popcorn and oil, since our last experiment had gone seriously wrong. I left for the nearby Safeway, at 9:45 at night, wearing an old t-shirt under a dark green, fleece-lined hoodie, with shorts, crew socks, and my slippers, already wearing my glasses, and my hair in it's end-of-the-day state. And being the environmental geek I am, I walked into the store carrying my pet store reusable bag. It was quite the picture, and I got a number of weird sideways glances as I loaded up my bag with popcorn, oil, and Junior Mints (the ultimate accompaniment to popcorn). I could easily picture a cameraman hiding around the corner of the freezer case, laughing his head off as he got prime footage to take back to New York.

I hurried home, and am now biding my time until I get "ambushed" as a result of my incredible lack of fashion sense. My only consolation - at least I wasn't wearing my mint green, Curious George lounge pants. That might have been too much even for Stacy and Clinton.

The Cookie Monster

No he's not blue, but he did eat 2 dozen oatmeal raisin cookies this afternoon.

I made a batch of cookies this afternoon for my son's birthday celebration at school tomorrow. They finished up just in time for me to leave to pick the two older kids up from school, so I left them on the counter to cool, covered by towels. I had a brief thought that they might be in jeopardy, but I really didn't have any choice since they were too warm to put into containers. I just hoped that Zatarain would ignore them and I could put them away when we got home.

No such luck. We got home and Zatarain immediately went out to his dog run and didn't come back in. Never a good sign. I walked through the kitchen and sure enough, he had eaten all but 6 of the cookies. We'll see how this comes out in the end (get it?). I'm sure it won't be funny when he's running for the door at 3 am.

So I had to make another batch, but I didn't have any Crisco left and I had to take Zatarain to his obedience class (fat lot of good that's done!) this evening. That meant heading to the grocery store at 9:00 tonight to get Crisco, and since I was there, I figured I might as well get the things I need to make soup tomorrow. I finally got home at 9:40 and got the cookies finished by 10:30. At least I don't have to go to the store again tomorrow. And I get the adoration of my son for making him the cookies he asked for, which makes it all worth while.

The Project

I have found myself in the middle of a viral project. It's one of those things that seemed simple enough - spackle the holes where my daughter's curtain hold-back came out of the wall. I figured that if I was spackling, I might as well do all of the spots that needed it, which turned out to be many since we seem to have a talent for knocking large chunks of wall off of our corners. Of course, the spackle is white and our walls are not, so that means that all of those spots now need to be painted to match the rest of the walls. It didn't make sense to have these clean spots where the walls were just painted surrounded by the normal grime that we usually think of as our wall color, so that meant cleaning all of the walls. And that has found me on my knees all morning with a bowl of soapy water and a rag scrubbing all of the walls and baseboards. I have managed to do the downstairs so far, which has allowed me to see more spots that need to be spackled and has created more spots that need to be painted since we have the world's cheapest paint and it tends to rub off as I clean. I'll make my way upstairs to do the rest of the walls next.

On top of that, I need to do a second coat of paint in the kids' bathroom because I'm in the middle of repainting in there; I desperately need to bathe the dog because he's now shedding in chunks after being at the beach last weekend and he still smells a bit ocean-y; I have to finish building my drip watering system for my garden, that I started to work on about 5 weeks ago and have yet to finish; and I have to get to the grocery store today because we are now out of just about everything except toilet paper (stocked up just before we left for Maui). So much for a weekend with absolutely nothing planned!

I keep telling myself that it will all be worth it when these things are done and we can enjoy them. I'm beginning to think it may just be easier to move and start over.

The Weekend

Soccer practice for the older two, a BBQ with friends, and an evening in front of the TV. That sums up Saturday.

Registering for summer swim lessons, mass, errands, and finishing the garden rounds out Sunday.

A fairly typical weekend for us. Unfortunately, Mike is absolutely drowning in work right now, so he spent much of his weekend (except for the BBQ) slaving away. The poor guy will be more than ready for our trip next week. Don't tell the kids - they know we're going, but we've kept the dates from them so far - but we leave next Monday for Maui. We're all very excited about it!

Friday

Friday was an unexpectedly calm day since a friend of mine offered to take the baby with her for the afternoon so she could play with her daughter (thanks Charmian!). I had time free to get some work done at home and then do my Pilates class without having to bring her along. I even got to go to the post office without a tag-along, which was fantastic! Ah, the things you appreciate when you have kids.

I do Pilates once a week and usually have at least one other person in the class with me. This week, no one else came, so I worked with the instructor by myself. It was a good workout, a real full-body workout, and I'm sore today. The worst spot - the muscles along my sternum. Strange. Pilates has made a huge difference for me in strength, toning, and stability for my back. I love it and highly recommend it, especially if you can work on the reformer with a good instructor.

Friday night was the kids' school gala. There are two fundraising events each year, and the gala is the larger of the two. It's a fancy evening out for the parents, with food, an open bar, and silent and live auctions. Mike stayed home with the kids this year, so I went with a friend whose husband also stayed home. It was a fun evening at a really lovely venue (Silver Creek Valley Country Club in San Jose). I signed the kids up for a few parties and won a laser tag outing for my son and his friend with their teacher. The music was good and people actually danced this year, so it was more of a party than it has been in the past - definitely less stuffy-feeling and more relaxed. All-in-all, it was a fun evening and I'm glad I went.

Thursday

It's been a busy few days.

Thursday was the baby's music class, Music Together, which is usually pretty fun. I've been doing the same class for 6 1/2 years now, since my oldest was a year old, so all of the music is REALLY familiar - I think I'm on my third time through the series of collections. I keep going back, though, because my little one enjoys it and is just naturally musical (she sings ALL the time and is remarkably in tune) and the instructor is the most amazingly talented man I have ever seen. During the course of a session, he will play the mandolin, violin, viola, saw, banjo, and possibly others, plus you can see he genuinely loves what he's doing. He also loves to have the class do rounds and partner songs, which are my favorites (try getting some people together and singing "When the Saints Go Marching In", "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot", and "This Train is Bound for Glory" at the same time. Really cool!)

After that, we hit the garden center to get a few things to fill out the garden. I needed one more tomato plant and a few other random vegetables, plus a couple more bags of compost. I also got a tangerine tree to put in my big planter, so hopefully the girls will have home-grown tangerines in the future (my son doesn't like oranges in any form). I put my tomatoes on our front porch in pots this year, since the last couple of years they have completely overgrown my garden and kept anything else from growing. I'll have to keep them a bit more tame than I have in the past to keep them from overwhelming the pots, but they should do really well out there since the porch gets so much direct sun in the summer. Once things are starting to really come up, I'll post some pictures and keep you updated on the progress.

My son's tae kwon do class got moved from Friday to Thursday due to the school's fundraising auction on Friday night, so we had a later evening than usual. The baby fell asleep on the way home and REALLY didn't want to wake up, so she refused her dinner, had a quick bath, and went to bed. She didn't seem to miss not eating. My son was very proud that he got another stripe on his belt during class for learning his one-steps (he already has one for forms), so he only needs one more (for three-steps) to be ready for his next test. He is currently a blue-green belt, which is his sixth belt, and will go for a blue belt next time. It's taken him a long time to like the sport, but this year he finally enjoys it and has really taken to the forms. He even makes up his own, but he can rarely remember all of the motions he's put together.