Gosh, it's been a long time...

...since I posted. About 1/3 of a year.

I keep meaning to, and then not...

What's up?

We've moved. To a house. We are loving it. Lost a pool but gained a backyard, extra bedroom (used as playroom/tv room/guestroom) and washer/dryer. Plus clothesline. Totally worth it.

Maggie has started reacting to soy through breastmilk (yes I'm still nursing her) as well as in her regular diet. So she and I are both 100% soy-free. Thankfully I've found more soy-free foods-- even tater tots, and fast food, when we want junk. ;) Also graham crackers, saltines, etc.

Jeff's work is going GREAT. He even gets home before 10 most nights even though it's tax season. And he gets along SO WELL with his boss. He's realized that his boss being from the South makes a difference-- he "gets" Jeff's attitude (which is kind of more laid-back and externally calm than most people out here are used to.)

I'm doing a lot more CPST work. USA Baby in Burbank has my cards and I get a lot of calls and occasional e-mails. I also do the occasional presentation/lecture/Q&A session there. Loving it. Sometimes since we're in tax season I do checks in our garage (oh yes, we also have a 2 car garage, though currently 1 car's worth is full of, um, stuff we haven't unpacked and my car seat collection) and that is great for me, adult interaction is wonderful.

We keep getting sick but I think we're finally on the upswing. Dratted colds.

I got a new stroller, Mountain Buggy Urban Double. After a period of panic even though I got it at a great price because it wasn't love at first push, I've begun to really appreciate it. We can still walk to the park and store when we want to and even down to Arnie's Cafe or my dad's. It's great to have a really easy-to-push stroller for that kind of stuff. I do recommend it if you're in the market for an all-terrain stroller; it has it's downfalls but it really does push like a dream. Definitely one to consider.

Emma has booster-trained, though she sometimes still wants to ride in a harness. She and Bridey have both passed 40 lbs. now and we still haven't had the money to get a Radian 80SL or XTSL so they have to forward-face. Maggie is 36 lbs. and rear-facing. As she approaches 40 we WILL find the money for a higher-weight rear-facing seat, because I will NOT turn her so young!

Emma got 3 teeth extracted. Her permanent teeth are coming in behind instead of below, and so won't push the baby teeth out, but the baby teeth get in the way. So they have to be pulled. Jeff had the same thing. She also lost a front tooth naturally. So now she's all gappy and impish-looking. It's cute and strange at the same time. Definitely makes her look older.

I've been on the compy a lot less because there is so much more to keep up with! But, the house is staying in reasonable condition. So much so in fact, that we are hosting Easter dinner and egg hunt this year, for my mom's family and some of our friends. Lots to plan, followed by 2 birthday parties (a "Ladybugs' Picnic" and a "Luau." Fun!)

Emma is reading really well. About second-grade level stuff now. We've pulled back on writing for now. Once she's an independent reader at a 2nd or 3rd grade level, we'll focus on writing. Then math. I aim to have no more than 15 minutes of sit-down "work" a day right now, and lots of outside running around and playing. Since we moved here our grocery bill has about tripled because the children EAT ALL THE TIME. They have also grown like weeds. I'm counting this as a good thing.

As you can see I still have a weird sleep schedule. Sometimes I can sleep, sometimes I can't... It's usually better but every once in a while I have one of these weird nights when I'm just not able to sleep no matter how exhausted.

So, that's it. And hopefully I'll come back to blogging in the next few months, I think it's nice to get everything spit out on the screen. Cathartic, kind of. ;)