Catching up

Holy crap! How did almost a month go by? Life here has been trundling along as usual. Jack is still doing great. He's somewhere around 11 pounds now, probably a bit over. I take him for his next checkup next Tuesday, so they'll weigh him then. I'm still able to squeeze him in most of his newborn clothes, but I won't be able to for much longer.

Our dishwasher finally came. I got my dad to come over and install it while Nick was at work, and it works just great. It's wonderful to not have to do them by hand anymore!

There have been a couple of spankings promised, although none delivered since the one I posted about last month.

Memorial Day Kelly and Grant hosted the whole family for a cookout and pool party. This is the first year Daisy has really been old enough to enjoy a swimming pool, and she's absolutely enthralled. I think I mentioned that Kelly is expecting a baby in October (the day before Daisy's birthday actually), and they found out it's a boy, so Jack will have a little boy cousin his age to pal around with growing up! :)

Morgan went on her Safety Patrol trip to Washington DC this past weekend and had a good time for the most part. Unfortunately the other 5th grade girls in her room were all apparently obsessed with sex, and she was really uncomfortable with a lot of their conversation, as well as some of the games the other girls played (mostly things like french kissing inanimate objects, etc, harmless stuff really, but still inappropriate). This has Nick and I both disturbed, although I do feel like it's a good thing that she feels comfortable coming to us and telling us it upset her. I've tried to keep the lines of communication open to her for any questions she has about puberty, sex, etc. I know that realistically, if she has questions, she'll get the answers somewhere, and I would rather it be from me than from classmates with questionable morals, or heaven forbid certain sites online. I just don't remember being nearly so obsessed with things like that as a fifth grader, but times have apparently changed.

My dad wants me to contact the school board, but honestly, all that will accomplish is making her a target. The school year is over, so the school board can't really address the issue anyway, especially since all of these girls have now left elementary and will be going to the middle school next year. I talked with Morgan about it, and gave her some ideas of responses she can use if she's ever in that situation again, and told her how proud of her I am for knowing what kinds of conversations/games are not appropriate for her age, and for standing her ground even though the other girls gave her a hard time about it.

This week she's at church camp, and this year Nick went along as a counselor. It really surprised me when he volunteered, because he's just not the type of guy to feel comfortable in that kind of job, but he's been having a blast. Morgan didn't get back from DC until yesterday evening, so I had to take her up to camp myself, and then I took Daisy and Jack back tonight to join them for the evening meal and service.

Money has been incredibly tight the last few weeks (sadly I'm going to miss girl's night out for the first time this Thursday), but God has been providing the things we need, even if we haven't had room for extras.

I did get to do something really neat a few weeks ago. A while back I was at my friend Denise's house and noticed a painting in her kitchen. I asked if she had done it; it turned out that she had, at one of those group painting classes where a teacher walks you through each step. I mentioned that I had always wished I could paint and would love to try a class like that some time myself. A couple of weeks later she surprised me with tickets, and we had a great girls night out, just the two of us! Usually everybody in the class paints the same thing, but she took me on a painter's choice night where you could choose from any scene offered that month. She let me pick for both of us, and I chose these adorable owls to hang in the girls' room. Not exactly sophisticated subject matter, but I know my limits, and it was perfect for its intended home. I really, really want to go back and do it with Nick. He's the artist in the family, and he'd totally kick my butt at it, but I know we'd both have a blast.

Anyway, that's what's been happening around here. How are things with you guys?