Etc.

We're down five chickens. Two bodies remained, with chunks missing, and there were three trails of feathers, heading out into the woods. It has been a very sad day.

Q went after the mouse earlier this evening when I sat him up on my knee long enough to check email. I took him over to this site to see what Daniel's been up to and he got his little fist on that mouse and moved that arrow all over and wanted to see more of those pictures. What a hoot.

S has gradually gotten a smidge less clingy since returning home. She is so funny about school. She's always got to be doing something to try and keep up with the bigger kids, running for Kindergarten workbooks (which she's really well done with) just so she can make herself busy like they are. Sometimes it's hard not to chuckle in the moment, which would totally not be taking her seriously and would so not go over well. Our big achievement for the week was working for quite a while on a 500 piece puzzle without getting frustrated to the point of foot-stomping. Next she'd like to play "the element game" (Element-o) some more.

K saw a very nice orthopod yesterday. She has a fracture in her back (trampoline) and is experiencing the joys of restricted activity. No gymnastics, no swimming. Poor little chickie. The doctor asked her what else she likes to do. She scrunched up her eyes and thought for a second before answering, "I like to roughhouse on the couches... with my big brother." "Ah." He had smiles and inquiries about the actual amount of roughhousing currently going on (none because she "might go upside down which would hurt") and admonitions about continuing to be gentle and off we went. She'll be seen again in about four weeks for another look at her progress and probably (hopefully) heal up just fine.

E is more of everything lately. More fun, more cranky, more (gulp) hormonal? Hear me wailing in distress? Can't we give me a minute to just sit with the little squirt who used to actually want me to do her hair instead of the big kid who wants to do it all herself and is leading her sisters astray in the same manner? (Kidding. Sort of.) Please? Wah. Of course, I'm also tremendously proud of her and how she just takes things on, much like her Daddy. That is, when she's not having to knock out her checklist of schoolwork. For some reason, all coping skills are suspended when we must diagram sentences or do multiplication.

G is suddenly his Dad all over the place. He's nearly as tall as I am and his involuntary gestures are so much his father. He's such a guy. It makes me smile. He's talking about wanting to do Marine Biology next year for science. We'll see. I've thought about Prentice-Hall curricula, but it's expensive and I don't know how linear it is for a kid who is beyond junior high science but not quite the level of self-study one would like to see in a high-schooler either. I think part of the reason he'd like to take this particular tack is because we've talked about the work his Dad did with dinoflagellates (red tide) and G's been many times to the place the work was done. I don't know if he realizes it or not, but I think he's trying to walk in those big footsteps. Awww. Sniff.

I've been so tired today that my arms feel like they belong to someone else and I'm having trouble staying warm (!). Sleep has been spotty over the last several nights, getting to bed at 4:30am, 3am, 2:20am, and only then because I was nursing the little monkey in the dark with a blanket over his head. If I can get Q down and go to bed tonight before one I would count it as celebration material. It's all a matter of perspective, no?

I was sorting through some old papers and came across one on which I'd written the date, in very large letters. It was left over from the time when the kids and I were here, a certain someone was doing a rotation relatively nearby, and my grandparents were staying in the house as well. There was some difficulty in the tracking of days with the older set (they were about to move into assisted living) so I was using the excuse that the kids needed to have the date posted for them. Clever, I know. I was also writing Bible verses at the bottom of the pages in the hopes that certain of us might gather enough strength from them to keep on keepin' on. What can I say? It was a pile of people and personalities to share the space, my grandmother was, erm, less than supportive about my teaching the kids history (including mythology) vs. straight up Bible stories, and Alzheimer's was figuring prominently in the decision making processes. I'd dislocated my kneecap (reduced it myself, oh yes I did) and was limping about. The verse on this particular sheet is also my Thought for this Week. Ready?

God will help you overflow with hope in him through the Holy Spirit's power within you.
Romans 15:13 TLB

Alrighty then.

I'm going to go convince Q that he wants to sleep. Have a good sleep and when you have a second, give out some extra hugs and snuggles. Mwaaa.