the long and short of it ...

i apologize for having to look at the icicles picture for so long! haha. we've been slowly surviving this leap into homeschooling. i'll be honest, and admit that most days, i want to pack the kids up and send them back to school, so i'll have a little sanity in my day. but then there are a few days when it's very rewarding, and everyone is getting along great, and it's sweet to look at all 3 of my kiddos playing happily together, and enjoying being at home. so i guess it's a toss-up!
learning-wise, cam and claire are doing fine! we're on schedule with our curriculum, and i've been able to get more organized with their schoolwork. we've been making friday a 'slow day', by cranking out more work at the beginning of the week, so we can start relaxing by friday, because frankly - by friday, I AM POOPED!

we were blessed to get a Y family membership for only $19/mo! see? it pays to be poor and live on one income sometimes! :) the Y here is incredible - it's a model for all new Y's being built - it is huge, and has rock walls, an indoor walking track, 4 pools, 2 of which are kiddy pools with sprays and slides, so the kids have been thrilled to be able to go there whenever they want. they'll be starting swimming lessons in a few wks, even caloway! tim has been really diligent lately, with going every morning and working out, so we're really thankful for the Y.

caloway's leg is slowly on the mend - the abscess finally drained (ew, but we were so glad it did!), so that healed, and now the dr. was able to treat the molluscum (the warts on his legs). he had 15 warts treated last week, and on saturday night, broke out in a bumpy rash all over. we took him back to the dr on monday, and apparently he had contracted a small virus a few wks ago, and this rash was his body's immunity response to the virus - it's called papular acrodermatitis (PAC), and it could take 6-8 wks for the rash to disappear. i cannot wait for that boy's skin to return to normal! we call him our little leper - i feel bad putting him in his class at church, b/c his skin looks so awful! he's not contagious, the rash can't be spread, but still! i don't want to be looked at as the mom who puts her germy, rashy kids in the nurseries. i don't like those moms!!

on the bright side, dan and erica and ava visited us this past weekend! we had so much fun with them here, took them to pittsburgh on saturday, and went shopping. of course we had to take them to IKEA! poor ava was reaching the end of her 'pre-nap' cheerfulness, and was driving erica nuts in IKEA, throwing bubby down, and grabbing at stuff, just to make her mom mad! hahaha - i remember those days :) plus, the carts at IKEA are the kind that can go front and back, and side to side, so maneuvering those stupid swedish inventions w/ a toddler in tow was a lot of work for a preggie mom. SO LESSON TO BE LEARNED: go to IKEA without your infant children! lots more fun.

can't wait for spring to arrive, this snow has got me eating way more than i need to be eating! feels like there's nothing else to do, but eat, eat, and then bake some more to eat. some news on our house: the bank finally got the appraisal done, and the house appraised at $84,000. we owe $92,000 on the house we bought 7 yrs ago! thankfully we're past the sticker shock, and the emotional pain from having to part with our beloved home for nothing. the house is officially on the market, and the bank will pay the realtor from the $84,000 they get when the home sells. the realtor's dad is interested in buying the home, as well as 2 other people who were waiting, or should i say "salivating" for the home to reach rock bottom price before deciding to let us know they're interested in buying it. i don't like people like that, especially when you know them personally. but i guess - business is business, huh? business stinks.

well, i really could go on, but i'm going to save some for next time. please pray for us, that the house would sell quickly, and we won't be financially ruined because of it! God is good, even in spite of the nasty storms that blow through.

icicles!

tim knocked this baby off outside our bedroom window. this one would have definitely taken out an innocent bystander below on the front path!