I’ve lost my driver’s license. I’m pretty sure a child of mine decided to play with my purse and took my license somewhere…and I haven’t the slightest clue where I should look. Of course, I need to get a WA license anyway, but if I were to have my LA one still, I could skip out on the written test. Now, I think I will have to take it if I can’t find my license. I just took the practice one online and I missed like…5…out of…20. There are fun facts that I just don’t tend to remember (like how much is a fine for parking in a handicapped space? How would I know? I’ve never done that and never will, until I’m a handicapped driver, that is). Gaah. Oh well. I’m sure I could just read the dinky little WA state driver’s guide and then take the test and pass it just fine. Just seems like a waste of money & time. And there’s there’s the little problem of us not actually having an address yet. But I don’t necessarily want to wait until we move into our own place before I can start driving again.

* Finish Kyrie’s scrapbook of the first two years
* Catch up with Antonio’s scrapbook and babybook
* Get started on a scrapbook of me and Rick
* Get some prints of the zillions of photos I take; frame some, put some in a photo album
* Make something like a mei tei or sling for Kyrie’s baby dolls (for her birthday)
* Make diapers and/or outfits for Kyrie’s baby dolls (another birthday gift)
* Try my hand at making fleece soakers/skirties/shorties
* Re-learn to knit, learn to crochet

Things here have been just lovely. Lots of little things going on.

1. My parents and some of my siblings painted the house in which we are staying (the house where my sister and brother-in-law reside, with their lovely children). The colors are only slightly different from before, but an improvement nonetheless.

2. We went cherry picking yesterday and I ate far too many cherries. We didn’t buy any. Is that cheating?

3. We don’t have enough space for all our stuff. I currently have clothes in an overflowing suitcase, two plastic bags, and two laundry baskets. I would put it all away but there really isn’t enough dresser room.

4. One of my dear friends found out she is pregnant! I’m so excited for her. Pray that her little one will stick! She suffered a loss at 12 weeks gestation last December (a couple days before Antonio was born) and had a possible chemical pregnancy a few months ago, so she’s feeling a bit nervous. I know your prayers would mean a lot to her. Her name is Lora.

5. I really had a good time with Ryan & Taneisha & co. yesterday. I love having great fellowship with friends. And I love pizza.

6. Sometimes I wish that disposable diapers were a) cuter and b) good for the environment. But mostly I enjoy cloth diapering.

7. Kyrie has been asking to have braids put in her hair every day. This makes her hair look very cute while in braids, but exceedingly crazy when the braids are taken out. She also insists that her hair is blonde.

8. Antonio’s favorite foods are watermelon and sweet potato puffs. He’s quite the little eater.

9. There are several things I’d like to get good at, such as photography, sewing, scrapbooking, and playing my violin. I used to be pretty good at violin, but I rarely play it anymore. I wish I had more chances to practice.

10. If anyone can think of a way for me to make thousands of dollars in a matter of days, please let me know. No, I’m not in any sort of trouble. I don’t owe any bad guys any money. I think it might just come in handy.

Nio has gotten very fussy as of late. He’s currently kicking and flailing his arms about as he sits on my lap, babbling very loudly. If I were to put him down, he would instantly turn into a pile of tears and would likely feel betrayed. So, here he sits, and the house shall stay messy until he decides to drift off to sleep.

I did manage to load the dishwasher, clean the living room floor, and tidy up a few things here and there. But I go nuts if my house isn’t clean. It makes me depressed. I just want to pack up the whole house so there will be nothing which with to mess up the house. But seeing as how we still have to live in it a few weeks longer, I can’t pack up EVERYTHING. Dishes, clothing & furniture need to stay put for a little while, still.

I need a babysitter.

We’ll only be here for a few more weeks and most of the packing has yet to be done.

Allergies are still bugging me. I’m sneezing and sniffing as I type this.

Antonio loves rolling onto his tummy. Every time I put him on his back, he immediately rolls over.

Kyrie keeps saying, “I see Esther in a few weeks.” She’s been saying this every few minutes. I don’t think she understands the concept of a few weeks, though, because when she woke up she asked if we were going to Esther’s house. She also said, a few nights ago, “I miss Esther and Grandma Lisa. I LOVE them…SO much!” Last night, it was, “I see Uncle Forrest in a few weeks? I see Auntie Bekah in a few weeks? I see Noelle in a few weeks? I see the puppy in a few weeks? I see David in a few weeks? I see Timothy in a few weeks?” AHHH! She doesn’t. stop. talking.

She also said to Rick last night, “I need to go.” He asked her where, and she replied, “I go to work. No…I too little to go to work. Papa go to work. Papa’s big.”

Both kids are sleeping in the middle of the day! Woohoo!

In other news, Kyrie tried to trick me earlier. It was so funny. I’ve been having allergy issues or something — I’m not sure what it is — I’ve been congested for months now. But anyway, I asked Kyrie to get me some tissue, and she runs off to get it, then comes back, hiding it behind her back and pretending to look all sad and disappointed with her head hung low. Then she “surprises” me with the tissue and gets a giggle out of it. I love that her sense of humor is that complex! It really was the cutest thing.

When we got home from church on Sunday afternoon, this is what we found sitting at our front steps.

We’re not sure what we’re going to do about it. She is the sweetest and most mild-mannered dog I’ve ever come across. She’s also a new mommy from what I can tell, though I haven’t seen her puppies anywhere (which concerns me a little — my current theory is that she had them under our house, and they’re still too little to find their way out). She is very skinny, so being the compassionate people that we are, we got her some food and water. She’s still sticking around our house and I really think she genuinely wants us to adopt her. I feel so torn! She needs a good home, but I don’t know if we’re ready for a dog.

It’s been a bit over seven years since this picture was taken. This is the day I fell for my Valentine. I love her more with each passing day. Our camera is way better now.

It’s cold enough to snow here, but of course it isn’t snowing. It was so chilly in our house last night that I decided our house was not built to withstand these temperatures (after all, it’s not often that it dips so low here in the South). Of course I woke up this morning to discover that our kitchen door was slightly open, so that didn’t help. Whoever left it open, I am frowning a frown of disapproval at you!

Kyrie, Antonio and I all snuggled up in the king size bed last night and slept wonderfully through the night. I have to admit that my favorite moments with my kids these days are the ones where they’re asleep.

Rick is in Florida doing classes and Rebekah, Forrest & the kids went to Texas to visit the Enloe family yesterday. So it’s just me with the kiddos. Play-Doh was the best Christmas present ever (for me, at least) because it has kept Kyrie occupied quite a lot lately, which helps me get things done.

Antonio smiles, coos, and giggles now. It’s lots of fun. I need to keep the camera next to the bed because he’s the happiest first thing in the morning.

Kyrie has possibly the worst cold of her life so far. She sounds really sad when she talks and she has quite a cough. No runny nose, thankfully. She rarely gets sick, so her worst cold isn’t necessarily horrible; just bad for her. I caught it, too, but I’m coping.

I enjoy cloth diapering more than I thought I would. I got a bit panicky about my decision a few days before he was born, wondering if it would add a lot of work, but it hasn’t. A little more laundry, perhaps, but not enough for me to really notice. Plus it’s nice that we don’t have to buy any diapers at the store.

I think I’ll go find something evil to eat. I have plenty of candy left in my stocking.

The blog is up and running again! I was feeling so lost without it.

Happy 41 weeks and 1 day to me. I had a long talk with Antonio today and I let him know that it’s okay for him to take his time, but he’s missing out and he’ll really enjoy all the yummy milk he’ll get when he comes out. Kyrie is so excited about baby brother and I think she’s beginning to sense that his arrival is quickly approaching. Sometimes she’ll say, “Baby brother come out of Mommy’s tummy in a minute?” Hehe…a minute long labor. That sounds awesome.