Today

Timothy felt much better today so he headed off to work this morning.  The kids and I worked on school for what felt like a very long time--mostly because I somehow managed to not grade the last 100 pages of Miriam's math book.  Oops.  We went through about twenty pages today.  I graded what she had done then helped her on the two pages that she hadn't figured out on her own.  We did some math (ha!) and we need to get through 31 pages a day to be done before Friday.  I want her to start her new math book in January, so we shall push through.

I let Emeline make peanut butter no bake cookies today. Yummy.  I need to stop eating them.  Miriam played on the computer a little bit.  Nick ate with us and the kids drove me nuts saying, "Mannequin game," thereby causing all participating children to freeze until the child who started it said it was okay to move again.  It is hard to get through a meal with people not eating the majority of the time.

After supper Timothy took the oldest four and Nick to my MIL's Christmas show.  It is her 34th annual Sound Choice family and friends concert.  That is amazing to me--34 years of singing with her friends.  I always say I'm going to start singing more, but Beckie made it happen.  She is also taking voice lessons now, which she has always wanted to do.  Awesome.  Someday, someday.

Clover still won't keep her diaper and/or underwear and pants on, so the not-really-potty-training-just-being-naked thing continues.  She has hit the really, really, really fun stage.  Lately she has been insisting on getting herself dressed, which inevitably leads to her being tangled up in some item of clothing and her shrieking and/or crying about the situation.  Then I go to help her and she panics that I might actually help so she runs away as best she can.  Then I'll say, "I won't help if you don't want me to, but say, 'I need you, Mom' if you need me."  Then I'll leave so she'll stop thinking I'm going to help her, only to have her start shrieking, "I need you!" or "Mom, I need you!"  When I return, she panics and tries to run away from me again.  Apparently what she wants is to see that I am on hand to assist, without my actually acting like I am going to assist in any way.  She also likes to sit on the potty then lift her hands so they are hovering a few millimeters above the toilet and say, "I going to fall!  I going to fall!" Then grabbing the toilet and giggling.  I think she mostly likes to go potty so that she can clap for herself (I clap too, as does anyone else who happens to be around) and say, "Good job," or "Good job, Clover."  It is priceless.

Annabel has, amazingly enough, learned to sit.  Mostly.  She still regularly plops over so sitting on anything but carpet is a risk.  Mostly she still rolls and army crawls around.  The girl is not a stay-where-you-put-her type baby.  A frequent occurrence is one of us noticing that she is no longer with us, usually in the dining room or library, and for the noticing person to yell, "Check the stairs for Annabel!" which is always followed by Cowen or Eli sprinting for the stairs to make sure that Annabel is not in peril.  She often is in peril.  She likes to hang her whole upper body over the top stair to pat the stair below it.  She has only fallen once--and only down the top three stairs to the landing, not down the long flight on the other side of the landing.  Lest you think we should take greater precaution, we do shut the door to the stairs throughout the day, but with so many people coming up and down, it is inevitable that someone will forget and so we watch Annabel and try to make sure she stays where we are.

Cowen has become quite the annoying reader.  He always has his nose in a book and if I ask him to do anything he grouchily says, "I just want to read all day."  Growl, growl, growl.  Emeline, on the other hand, is the great disappearing reader.  If she isn't curled up in the yellow chair (her normal spot) then we have to track her down to her hiding spot.  Is she behind the couch?  Under the table? Locked in the bathroom?  Curled up on the floor on the far side of her bed so you can't see her when you open the door?  I basically have to ban reading for anything to get accomplished in this house, including, ironically enough, school reading.  Ha.

We still don't have any snow, so the sled lies dormant, and the kids stay inside more than they should.  Just snow already!!!!  I must go clear the table and wrap some presents and give myself a stern lecture about not eating more of Emeline's yummy cookies.  Merry Christmas!