Well, I've been trying to write for a few days now. I get started and then I get called away or something goes wrong with this old computer of ours. Now all my news seems old and I'm tired of talking about it even though you've never heard it.

The new news is that Gertie woke up at 2:07 last night during a thunderstorm when I just opened her door the smallest crack to see if her windows were open. They weren't. I raced around closing the necessary windows and John raced into her room to comfort her back to sleep. I think he thinks it was the thunder that woke her up (which is possible, I guess). Anyway, he cuddled her and then laid her back down and she screamed for a long time, so he brought her into our bed, where she was wiggly, but quiet until she started saying, "Eat," repeatedly with enthusiasm. Well, I'm not getting up at 3 am to fix my toddler a midnight snack. No way. But I am pushover enough to get up and get her a drink of water, with the promise that she's going back to her bed right after. She guzzles the water. I take her to bed. She screams for an hour straight. I do go get her--she's standing up--and hold her in the big brown chair in her room until she falls asleep, which isn't long. I have to sing the whole time, though, even though I'm dead tired. Now I try to get up and put her back to bed. Trouble. Now I'm parked on the hardwood floor right next to her crib singing again. I can't believe what is going on here. I move to the brown chair by myself and sit there--still singing--until finally at 4:25 am I am able to sneak out holding my breath.

What was that? I don't know, but it better not happen again.

Today I go to Julie's to stay a few days and visit with Beth and my Mom and Julie. We're going to the dinner theater. I have wanted to do this forever, so I've very excited.


I think most of you know the ceiling in our living room collapsed when we were gone for our class reunion.
Our new ceiling finally gets put in in the living room today as well. I can't wait. This is how we've been living:


Yes, those are our huge living room chairs in the dining room. Each meal I fantasize that I've lost 40 pounds as I try to squeeze into my place at the table. The fantasy becomes much more difficult to bring to live after I've eaten.

Anyway, we're just going to have him put the drywall in and not finish it off yet, because we want to consider doing something fun with the ceiling. I have looked into tin ceilings. They've expensive, but a possibility. There are lots of fake tin ceilings as well. I'm not sure if they're trustworthy or not. The cheap version would be to paper bag it like it was before. I actually liked it. Any opinions or new ideas?

The big kids went off to play with friends yesterday and Gertie and I went to the multicultural fair here in town. It was fun. She discovered bubbles. I wish I'd had the camera, but no such luck. I have taken these pictures the last few days and talked all about them in my prior blog attempts. Now I'm just going to show them to you. They're cute. This morning I did discover how I could go back and work on my previous blogs. There they were, waiting for me. Oh, well. Too late.