I’ve got five kids this weekend. Mo’s boys are here, because poor sweet Mira is in the hospital with a nasty tummy bug. She’s OK, and I’m sure Mo will update when she gets home, but for now, my house is a house of chaos and testosterone. Abby is doing her best to keep up with the raging river of boy-ness. It’s all Lego, all the time.

I love hospital soap. It’s a strange obsession I’ve kept hidden for years, but yesterday, while sitting with Mira, the smell of the hospital soap was like the best perfume. I must have washed my hands 10 times. It reminds me of when my babies were born. I’m not talking about the industrial smell of hospitals as a whole, but the antiseptic, clean, non-perfume smell of the hand soap the doctors use… So I finally wrote down the name and ordered some. I’m so excited. It’s all mine! Mine, I say!

Our visit with Auntie Heather was fantastic. My children adore her, and, well, I do too. We had planned for a tea party, but I just can’t seem to keep my life in order enough to pull off my plans most days. The tea party went by the wayside, but we did have some nice meals, made some stuff, and just hung out. It was quality and quantity time. Heather and I even got to take off by ourselves for a movie night.

Stella is a boy. We are still calling him Stella. It makes him fit in with the family.

I’ve got a backlog of paintings right now, and I got an order for textile patterns yesterday. It’s not much money, but I have to fill it- by next week. So if you’re waiting, per normal, I’m sorry and I promise I haven’t forgotten about you.

Beanie had his IEP yesterday for Kindergarten. He is going to be continuing on with the AIM program for next year, too. I know he really wants to go to Jeffrey’s school, but his team of teachers say he’ll benefit from another year of extra support and OT/PT/Speech. It’s hard to argue with the growth he’s had, so we’ll go with their recommendations.

Two bunches of broccoli stems in your trash can stink up your entire garage for two weeks, just in case you didn’t know.

We’re in month 14 for unemployment.  Somehow, some way, still hanging on. I try not to think too hard about the ‘how” and just keep riding the wave.

The car goes in to the collision center next week. We opted for going through the insurance, even though the the girl’s dad wanted keep the insurance out of it. That seemed a little too risky for us. We also needed a rental car that holds three car-seats- and staying private ran us the risk of being stuck with that bill- and we need another bill lie… well, you know. So, sorry, Dad Guy. I understand wanting to keep the premium down. Really, I do. Maybe you should have a chat with your daughter about driving while on her cell phone. She’s lucky we didn’t file a police report.

Remember the Birthday Banners? I made pink ones for Valentines/St Hallmark/Tea Party Day. They’re cute, and still hanging over my dining room table. It’s a little bright color in an otherwise too long winter gray season.

Watching the Oscars tomorrow night. It’s the only award show I care about… And I use “care” will flippancy and abandon.

Up this week: Taxes! Woo-hooo!