It’s been a while since I’ve taken a moment to update, so I
am long overdue.  Today was a delightful time. Kristen and her girls came
over for the day. We all had a great time “fighting” over who got to
hold 3.5 week old Kendall, who is just as fat and bunchy as a baby should be
and was a delight. Kayla was also much fun, as she appreciates humor and makes
the two year old’s version of jokes.   We also got school done, which
was an added bonus!

Also, the Wells Fargo man came down my street three times today! It was quite
exciting to receive two boxes with books (a free review copy of a textbook I
want to use for my class and three Scrabble books for David) and our new
computer desk armoire. It’s a Sauder put-together, but it’s better than the
used put-together we bought five or six years ago and are still using. No one
could accuse us of being extravagant with furniture purchases!

Tomorrow should be a fun time! James and I drop the kids off at my mom’s at
about 9:00 am, and then we head to Barkeyville,
PA, home of Slippery
Rock University,
to go to an overnight math conference. Of course, James will be going to the
conference. I will be checking out the outlet mall and reading, reading,
reading!

It’s no wonder I never update.  Rachel wants to play a card game, and I
have an email alert beep, and I also have 40 essays to grade (with 60 more
coming tomorrow).  Plus, I have to decide what to have for supper. 
Maybe I could hire a cook?

I’ve got my first real cold of the year.  I don’t mind being sick,
as long as it doesn’t involve a headache. I’d rather have stomach flu
than a bad headache.  This is a nice sickness. I sound sickly and
cough here and there. People feel sorry for me, and I get to sleep
in.  Life is good.

James is at a deacon’s meeting, so I probably won’t see him until after
midnight. It will give me time to finish the mindless romance novel I
am currently reading. 

We watched Wimbledon with Kirsten Dunst and Paul Bettany. As someone
who doesn’t care for tennis, I still liked the movie. Of course, there
was some swearing and fornicating.  I just feel bad for people who
don’t know any better.  I think it was a British movie, and I do
enjoy that dry British humor. 

I can’t believe Easter is so soon! I didn’t realize it was in March
(duh).  Perhaps I should look more than three days ahead on my
calendar.

This Friday, I’ve volunteered to be a chaperone at the high school
youth retreat–and I get to drive the three hour one way trip! 
When I told Nathan I was chaperoning, he gave me a smile and a
thumbs-up. I felt like a cool mom.

Wow! It snowed! I didn’t even know we were supposed to get snow, and
there are at least three fluffy inches out there. I’m so glad it’s
still Spring Break. The kids are all in their jammies watching Pet
Stars, and I am sure they will go out and sled ride later. Libby might
not, as she had a stomach flu-like attach last night and is claiming
she still feels funny. 

James and I were supposed to go out on a double date tonight, and event
to which I was quite looking forward, but alas, it is not to be. The
other couple’s children are sick, one with stomach flu and one with a
highly contagious sinus/eye infection. I said to James that he and I
should just go out anyhow since N. is old enough to babysit. We shall
see.

We watched  Sky Captian and the World of Tomorrow last night. Boy!
Was it a good movie!  I really enjoyed the comic book/old radio
drama feel of the whole thing.  The entire time I watched it, I
kept thinking of LJ’s comment, “There are no sets!”  I thought
Polly was irritating, but overall the whole thing was quite a pleasant
way to pass an evening.

Today, my adgenda includes sewing socks (to label them as we have two
sets of people in the same size sock) and ironing.  Ah, the bliss
of a short list of things to do!

Home again, home again, jiggety jig.  We had a wonderful time
visiting Ohio, but now I am worn to a shade and twice as mean. 
(Shades are mean. Just read Eragon.) 
This trip, I felt much more comfortable at EBX, although I’m not sure
why. The last two times we were there, it felt so foreign. 
Visiting with Lord and Lady J and meeting the baby princess were
definitely a highlight.  James was just so thrilled to speak with
someone who knew the difference between RAM and KB.  I think he
really misses it when he is out of the loop at work, and most
especially when he is out of the loop with email and all things
internet.

I got to visit Kristen and baby Kendall at the hospital tonight. 
Despite K’s warning that little K was all purple and ugly, she was
quite lovely. She had that special newborn smell, and her gray eyes
were alert.  K is exhausted and sleeping poorly, although she
perked up with my visit and with Lady J’s gifts.  She didn’t
indicate that the chocolate eggs would be gone by morning, but I
wonder…

So, now it is back to cleaning and grading and settling disputes
between my children. Perhaps the new set of weights we purchased
tonight will serve to head off some fussing as they work to set them up
and actually lift weights. I predict more tiffs, however. 

Oh, an electric blanket sounds so good right now…

This morning should be a whirlwind of packing and cleaning as we
prepare for our trip to Ohio. I like to travel; I really do. But, when
it gets right down to it, WHAT a hassle!  I am so grateful that we
now have a van (Toyota Sienna) that actually has room for suitcases in
the back and room enough for the children. We are trying a new thing.
We are taking along  James’ laptop to use as a DVD player in the
car. I am hopeful it will work out well.  I baked countless dozens
of cookies yesterday–snickerdoodle, chocolate chip, and
thumbprint.  I started at 4:30ish and didn’t finish until 9:30 or
so. Still, they are done and in containers to be packed for the trip to
help offset the food consumption at our hosts’ home. 

I get a little testy when the house is a wreck and needs to be cleaned
and things need packing and showering and sweeping and all that. God,
give me patience and graciousness today!  Don’t let me blow my
witness to my children by reacting in anger!