So, when needing Lara to do something, a lot of prompting is involved. "Come on, Lara, let's go!" "Lara, move it!" Tonight, when getting ready for bed, I said, "Lara, get moving." So she then stands up straight and just wiggles her hips back and forth and says, "Okay, I'm moving."

This past weekend, Lara's friend M came to spend the night. These girls bounced off the walls the whole time with delight. They were super loud but I didn't mind because I actually had some SPACE. I think M is one of the most compliant children I know, because she was more than happy to oblige Lara in all the games...hence, my space. The wanted to get out a game of Candyland for the second time, but I told them no (I didn't give them the reason why, but it was because I wouldn't be able to keep Claire from sitting directly on top of the board as she loves to do). So Lara then says, "Come on, M, let's take this game into my room and shut the door, then my mom cannot see us and will not tell us no anymore." My first thought was that she is going to be such a bad influence on her friends.

We are still working on reading lessons. I've decided we are already far enough along that there ain't no turnin' back now. She is doing fine. She is definitely cognitively advanced enough to learn it, once we get her to focus a little.

Claire is a little babbler. Basically, in a day, Claire just crawls all around the place, babbling, chasing the kitties, following Lara around the house, playing with things here and there. Claire is a lot different from Lara. She doesn't have patience to be read to, though she loves to sit in your lap and look at books. She won't draw because she only wants to eat the drawing utensil. I feel like there is not a lot I can do with her right now. At this age, Lara was doing puzzles, drawing, playing with play-doh, looking at books for 45 min. in one sitting. These are just not the things for Claire, whether it's an interest issue, or a safety issue. What's important, of course, is that you just find what is an interest, even if it's just ripping paper, and do that. Because I am trying to throw out great expectations with the garbage. Oh, and one thing that is new for us is the climbing thing. Claire LOVES to climb onto anything.

Anyway, Lara and Claire went to Grandma and Grandpa's house Saturday night, so Dustin and I took in a movie, then went to a dinner theater Sunday afternoon. It was so nice to have such a long break-thank you, Jim and Marilyn!!

Today, I had such a bad day. You know, when it's like just one bad thing after another. Every other day in your world is fine, then suddenly there's this storm cloud over just YOUR head. I went grocery shopping, which I HATE doing. Blah, blah, blak. I first went to Aldi for a few items to cut costs, but when I opened my wallet to pay, found I had left my debit card at home. Employee said she'd hold my food if I wanted to go home and get it (her idea), so I agreed. 30 minutes later, I am back at the store, with debit card in hand, staring around for my cart, but she had put all my food away. I was already quite frustrated as my whole purpose of cutting costs at Aldi was negated by the fact that I spent extra money on gas going home for my debit. I did NOT want to redo my grocery shopping, so I just left. Which means I gave Aldi a quarter for no reason (for the cart). I was about to go home and order Dustin to do the shopping since he doesn't mind grocery shopping, and HE didn't have a storm cloud over his head. But I decided to take control of the situation, and grocery shop I did, just at another store, which of course meant there was no need to go all the way back for my debit since I had my checkbook on me. Are you following? Of course, at Wal-Mart things were weird. They were probably not weird at all, but since I was very mad at my day, if you happened to be in it, that meant I had to be mad at you too. I mean, dude, how long does it take you to find a can of soup? Can you at least stand near the soup when looking and not directly in front of the food I would like to look at? And, lady, why are you stopping your cart (which was, I'm sure, three times as big as a normal cart) in the middle of the aisle? Then all your little kids must flock out like doves being freed and run around the aisle, and HELLO, do you not see me standing here waiting for you to move!?! And, WHY, every time I turn into an aisle, does everyone whip their heads around to look at me like I am pulling my car into their driveway? I mean, I'm sorry, I totally thought anyone could use this aisle.

Then, it started getting better. It got better when a man called out to me and said, "Hey, you! Hey, lady!" I turned around to see a quite old man wheel up to me in his wheelchair, and you know what he told me? A 60-year-old man had made the Guinness Book of World Records for having the longest hair at 42 feet long. So, he, an old man of quite little hair, and, me, a young woman of quite a lot of hair, laughed about the idea of your neighbor coming over once a week to wash your hair, and how it must be something akin to yard work, then he wheeled away, and I wheeled away, and my storm cloud started to dissipate. Not fully, of course, and when I got home, it popped and started raining on me. That's when I decided to make some bread, because nothing lifts the spirits like the smell of baking bread. And also because little can go wrong when you make bread in a bread machine.

So, my friends, that is what I leave you with tonight. The next time a storm cloud hovers over your head on a bright and sunny day, just be glad that your yard is not a long stretch of 60-year-old hair.