Moving on...

Well, we are alive. After much prodding from others, including Sean, I am giving a "brief" update of our lives. Here it goes...

We moved! We were renting our house and situations changed, so we needed to move out. We were staying at my parents while we were searching for a home that would fit us just right. It's not easy when you are looking for a place that takes 2 adults, 5 small kids, a dog, 3 guinea pigs, fish, frogs, and snails... Well, Mom had come home one evening after being gone all day (I blame it on short term memory - she had already forgotten the chaos of all of us being in her home) and said that we should just move in with them! After discussing it further with Sean and Dad (at different times), we decided it was the way to go. They have 5000+ square feet after all, which includes 3 1/2 baths, 5 bedrooms, 2 kitchens, tv room, play area, basement, office, etc...so, here we are. We can help with bills, and they can help with child care while we both work. It actually is working out well all around. Although we did get rid of the dog, a fish died and we have a tadpole. Philmont, one of the guinea pigs, had two babies, but they didn't make it. On a related note, I am not pregnant, for a change.

I am currently off for the summer. I have enjoyed being with the kids more. Being gone all day has made me appreciate the time I do have with them. Although the trip to Ohio was wearing me out. Especially since I was with my in-laws with out Sean most of the time. Since he had to work, he drove us over and came right back home so that he could get to work. He drove all day in order to get to work just in time - 12 hours later he was ready for sleep. He then drove over to get us. He had been working the weekend and after his Sunday shift he went home, took a shower, and then drove 7 1/2 hours to come get us. We did let him rest a little and didn't leave the very next day. But we left on Wednesday so that he could be to work that evening. Our water pump went out in Canal Winchester (just south of Columbus) and put us a couple of hours behind, but the auto mechanics were great (if you ever have car problems in that area, go to Hoffman's and they will fix you right up!) and we were on our way in enough time so that Sean could get to work on time. Speaking of his work...he was hired on as night supervisor of his shift for Illinois Crane at Caterpillar. They finally made him official June 1st. Yea!! He likes his job and we are kind of getting used to the schedule. I miss him though. I start back to work on the 21st of July and Nora and Olivia will be going to full day preschool soon after that.

Caleb is ready for kindergarten. He got rave reviews from his teachers and is surprising us with all that he knows. Belle finished 2nd grade with flying colors and is moving on to 3rd grade, but her teacher remains a mystery. I guess they might be getting a new one. Nora continues to be our klutz. She picked out a bike helmet and pad from a garage sale near Mamaw's (Ohio Grandma) and was wearing them and still managed to scrape her elbow with the elbow pad on! Only she can do that. She still won't leave Tori alone. It would be really sweet if Tori didn't scream every time Nora mauled her. Olivia isn't hearing well. She has a lot of fluid in her ears and we are going to have to take her to the Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor in July. She will most likely be getting tubes. She is quite rough and seems to hit a lot. I think she is our tom boy. It's hard to keep her clean. She really has a mind of her own. Tori is trying hard to walk. Or rather, we are trying hard to get Tori to walk. Caleb likes to do the "walking thing" which is trying to get Tori to walk back and forth between two people. The problem with that is that you need to have two people that she really wants to go to. Daddy, Mommy, or Grammy, but definitely not Nora! She is working on more teeth, since eight is not enough. She still eats everything! She got two big bites out of Mamaw's bar of soap before someone took it away. And then there's the garlic...