Busy days

Oh my - it has been a month since I have written eh? It's been a busy time. I feel there has been no time to "Catch up". My nights are filled with cleaning the dishes, laundry, kids .... maybe mowing the grass and general clean-up.
There is some family time in there: Just the other night Dad got the music going while I was attempting my first meal with eggplant and we danced away while chopping, mixing, cutting. James was breakdancing on the carpet while Nate was dancing in the kitchen with me, tongs in hands. He was playing with the zucchini and squash (It was nearing the end of its useable life so I had cut it up to cook) while I worked on the eggplant croquettes. I thought they turned out alright but Dan ... well, lets just say he was good, lol. So Nate is moving the veggies around with the tongs bouncing up and down in the chair. My only concern was he would bounce himself right out of the chair.

With the early mornings and late nights there isn't much time for family sharing during the week so these moments are precious. The other night I had James get on the phone with Grams and sing to her...everyday they learn new songs at school and James comes home humming them. We need to call you more often Grams! He learned this cute one about a squirrel yesterday :)

Nate is adjusting well to the longer days except for the cough. THE cough. Sigh. Don't know if its allergies, a mini colds, possibly asthma....but it breaks your heart to here this little body coughing away.  We have a doctor issued nebulizer that we have orders to use. It does help, bronchially, but does nothing for the junk and juicy sounding coughs... bleh. he handles it all well enough, such a trooper, but i do worry.

We are still waiting for Nate to say more then "dat". I got him to say boat, and bird last night, and don't get me wrong, he IS talking, we just don't understand 96% of it. I don't think its a hearing issue but if he is not talking more by Christmas we will need to get some testing done to be sure. We can tell he gets frustrated when he is trying to communicate a thought and we just are not understanding. Got to give him some credit -- he knows all the sounds things make. I'll ask him to say 'kitty' and he says 'meow meow'....over and over again. lol.

James is learning his letters and practicing sounding out the written word. I really need to work with him more at home. he writes letters at school and draws lots and lots of people. Turning into an artist. He sings songs, he talks about what he learned, and he thanks me for his lunch each and everyday. He primarily eats pb&j but I've been able to slip some other fun food in there.  I want to feel more creative with their lunches and for food for them but James can be such a picky eater that i fear a meltdown at school should I send stuff he won't eat....he has been known to get so upset over food to make himself throw-up. Now, he is getting better but I also don't rock the boat a whole lot.

Dan has been crazy busy at work, sick with mono, started a new diet (low-carb and has lost weight already!) and still kinda helpful around the house .... j/k, he has been good :)  I'm proud of him for making the changes and am trying to work with him for my health too .... but I can't bring my self to limit the kids. James' main diet IS carbs. *sigh

All in all life is good, just very very busy. I'm enjoying the cold weather but i do not appreciate the stink bugs hanging out on my windows. Thank goodness Miss Marmalade is a hunter and Loves to get them. I watched her catch a moth in mid-air last night. No lie. She is a bit of a chunk but agile :) We're still having some issues with Mango not pee-ing in the litter pan but I think it might be a cleanliness issue. Yes, I do clean the litter pan, but it happens that more than a day can go by ....by the third night is when she gets annoyed i think. So long as we don't leave wet towels on the bathroom floor and we keep the litter clean (which James really wants to help me with) - s'all good. I do enjoy a warm kitty laying my lap at bedtime :)

Looking forward to cool nights and upcoming holidays and family! Maybe we'll slow down in January....