Fighter Man

otherwise known as Spider Man. Race is very fond of his new shoes.

A Room to call her Own

When I could stand the fighting no more I resorted to giving up our beloved playroom for Peace in the house. So here is Claire's new room which was makeshifted in one evening thanks to our friends who loaned us a day bed ( aka a crib w/o one rail) and a rug. She loves it. She loves that it is right by the kitchen which means she is always really close to me. All she requested was a Hot Pink bed spread which I thankfully found at Ross for $20! After about a day of her having this room I kept realizing my kitchen utinsils were missing along with many bowls and silver ware, the last straw was the coffee pot. When taking a closer look I found many of these items tucked in Claire's drawers and under her bed. Upon asking her why, she announced "Well Mom this is not just a room, this is my home and you need to get me some of this Real stuff of my own!" So I have I have compromised by allowing her to store some of my stuff in her room but the coffee pot had to get back to it's rightful position.

A Dog...........................kinda

Well I finally gave in to my parents request to take their dog home to live with us. I still have no idea how this happen. I am weirdly okay with it and have been shocked by my instant bond with this dog. Capri is a 7 yr old lab mix. The kids have been in love with her for years and if you know my Claire you know how much this means to her. I have oddly already learned lessons about myself through caring for Capri and in some way feel like having her is like having a piece of my Mom with me all the time. To make a long story short, 2 days after bringing Capri home with us and almost killing her on a 3mi walk we found out she has heart worms. So because the treatment is extensive and very hard on the dog my Mom has taken her back until she is well.
Evacuating with 3 kids and a big ol' dog is not easy let me tell you. However Capri gave me a sense of peace the entire trip with her nose pressed against my shoulder. I actually miss her.

Better Late than Never

Went back to school about a week and a half ago.



The pic of me is kinda deceiving because this is me at 5:30am now that they have returned to school. I know you thought I was spending my mornings leisurely with Race. We still get good morning time together, it's just playing cars or taking a walk instead. No worries, I do love this time and if I have ever told you I'm praying for you this is where you can picture me doing it.
School is good so far. Gwen is in a Module which is 1st and 2nd together, so I"m still trying to wrap my head around that. We love her teacher ( she is one of my good friends) and love love love the school. Claire is enjoying pre-school, I think. She is happy when I come get her but still reminds me every morning ( she only goes 3x at week) she would rather be with me. It is a long day for a girl who would rather be under her bed playing puppy dog. But I'm praying I did the right thing to prepare her for kindergarten.
Gotta go, 35 1st and 2nd graders are counting on me to set up their lunch room!