Ten on Tuesday

1. The girls slept in today! Yay for Mommy!!! Paige has been SO crabby with teething lately that I am really hoping that an extra hour of sleep will have put her in a bit of a better mood for today. So far, so good:

2. The appraiser came last night, so I am anxiously waiting to hear what the new number will be. Since the last one was OUT OF THEIR MIND thinking this house was worth $260K!

3. Today I have the joy of drafting yet another letter to the collection agency for the carpet issue at our last apartment. You know, the apartment we moved out of eight MONTHS ago?!?

4. I love this:


















You can make your own at Wordle. They are pretty fun!

5. It is supposed to be 88 degrees today. I should NOT complain, since many of you who are reading this have much harsher spring weather to deal with... but once we get over eighty I start feeling the ominous oppression of the triple digits that are quickly on their way.

6. I think Daisy had hives yesterday. Which is strange since she is seven years old and has never had any before! I came home from the store and she was all antsy, running from place to place and hiding under tables and behind doors, all the while rubbing her snout along the ground. I finally got ahold of her to see that her skin was red and hot, with small welt-like raised up areas from her nose to the middle of her back. I looked up how much benedryl to give her online (don't we love the internet?!?) and after one dose it has not come back. WEIRD. I have no idea what she go into or got bit by, but I had dreams about scorpions all night long.

7. Lauren is into a phase where she likes making up words. She will look around for inspiration and use half of one word and half of something else. Like yesterday in the car, Paige screeched and Lauren said, "No screaming, ya monkeekle!" (She was looking at a little book with Monkeys in it.) And this morning, "Mommy, I am going to chew my meat with my chompler teeth." Chomping and Molars mixed together. She shocks me with her cooky-ness every day! =)

8. Speaking of her and her cooky-ness... I have started re-reading the book Making Children Mind Without Losing Yours by Kevin Leaman. Enough said.

9. I can't wait for this weekend. I LOVE Easter. Love it! I have great memories of Easter as a kid... including the time there was a live chick in my basket. Too bad those cute balls of fluff have to grow into smelly, messy birds! Anyway, I can not wait to dye eggs, open baskets, egg hunt, and talk about Jesus' resurrection. I adore how Lauren tells me, "Easter is about how Jesus rose again." That is from a great board book, What is Easter? This line of books has simple, fun ways for kids to learn the real meaning of holidays.

10. The other reason I have always loved Easter... I love chocolate. Now, I used to be the milk chocolate lover but recently have discovered REAL chocolate. Not merely dark chocolate, but 80% cacao or higher chocolate. No high-fructose corn syrup, no milk, no artificial anything. Thanks to the cleanse I did back in January clearing out my sweet tooth, this somewhat bitter chocolate tastes like tiny squares of heaven. There is such an appreciation with this kind of chocolate - I liken it to tasting a fine wine. Try it sometime, but don't expect the sugary taste of a Hershey kiss - expect something new and different. Maybe, like me, you will find yourself ready to spit that next Hershey kiss into the trash!