Status

So, we are on day 7 of someone having a fever. Nature Girl came in our room at 7:20AM saying she didn't feel well. Unfortunately I am not that surprised. The great thing was, though, it was 7:20AM and everyone was still sleeping. That is a first, in I can't tell you how long!

Daddy, made those who felt well, sausage biscuits. Way better than McDonald's.

EG has been on and off potty training. I am a relaxed potty trainer. I really don't mind changing diapers and sometimes that can be preferable to public restrooms. Except for Nature Girl, I have just let the kids lead the way. And have been pretty successful. (Nature Girl I tried to push. After much frustration, she did it when she was ready.)

Anyway, we had been doing pretty good with EG. Then she started reverting back to messing her diaper, if you get my drift. Now, I had been spoiled. I didn't mind changing an occasional pee diaper. But the other. No way. Especially because I knew she could do better. The regular M&Ms were no longer a motivator for her.

So, I asked her "EG, what would make you use the potty again?" And she said "pink candy." That was this past Monday. Because I wasn't planning on stopping by any kind of store that day, I asked daddy if he could swing by a convenience store and get some type of pink candy. I figured with Valentine's Day coming up, that shouldn't be too hard.

He stopped at grocery stores, convenience stores and Walgreen's. And came home with over $10 worth of candy! Pink M&Ms, regular M&Ms, Reece's Peanut Butter cups, and candied hearts. I know it seems like a lot, but it worked. She has been in underwear for two days, while running a fever. I know we have a ways to go, but I am certain we will be saving $10 worth of diapers in the next few weeks.

We got rid of the cleaning lady, so I had to mop the floors today. Ugh! But, the flip side is, we did receive our first letter from our sponsor child, which the money now goes to. He has really, really interesting handwriting. The letters of the Ethiopians are nothing like ours. We can't wait to write him back and get to know about him and his family.

Our new favorite muffin is pumpkin. So, I made some of those this afternoon. They taste great, are easy to make and they make the house smell so good.

We are getting a taste of spring. And boy does it taste good. It is probably mid-60s and sunny right now. If it would just stay like this forever! We have the windows open and I can hear the birds chirping.

Been having lots of thoughts about what I want to do next year in school. I know it is only January but it is fun to think about. Helps pass the January blahs. I have even purchased a book or two. One is learning history with the Bible as the base of what we learn. How other history fits in to what is going on in the Bible. I am very excited about that!

I also just bought a new way to teach reading. A more Charlotte Mason approach. If you read about her way of teaching reading, it takes a lot of prep. And I just never had the inclination to get all the stuff together. So now Simply Charlotte Mason has done all of the prep work and is selling it as a curriculum. I figure it will help Little Mama gain confidence and it has stuff for Boop who will informally start school in the fall. Oh my, three "students" in our little homeschool. And I thought this year was a little crazy!

We have two camping planned in the next couple months. The first is for Little Mama's birthday. The second is a bunch of families, most of whom we don't know, going camping for Spring Break! (Should be exciting!) Anyway, we will be going again in April for Nature Girl and we are having a really hard time finding a place. We wanted to go to the beach. It would be warm enough during the day to enjoy it but cool still cool enough at night. Almost every place we looked at was booked! Back to the drawing board.

We put the highchair in the garage. Now EG sits at the table with us.

Well, enough procrastinating. Back to my domestic duties . . .