Back to normal-

We're glad to report that Juner ha finally turned a corner and is starting to feel better.

She woke up from her nap in a great mood and even ate some supper. Today she ate a half a can of chicken noodle soup. (That's more than she's eaten in the past week.) Plus, she's sleeping better at night and the constant crying has slowed down. She decided to make the most of her good mood and dress papa up in mama's headband.

Mama and I spent the afternoon putting stickers on my new parking lots. These are a really cool presents. They collapse and fold up into little briefcases, so I can take them anywhere. And with stickers on them, I like them even more.

I requested that mama take this picture. Look at how good my cars and trains look.

Mama went through our toys and sorted them in an effort to cut back on the sheer bulk of it all. She had a few boxes to put away for now and a few more boxes full of odds and ends that she said jsut takes up space (Happy Meal toys, bead necklaces, etc.). June enjoyed discovering all the new toys she didn't even know she had.

I asked mama to take a picture of my racecar. She wanted a shot of my "boo-boo." (That's what they called it at preschool, so that's what I call it, much to papa's disapproval.) We've been experiencing extreme cold down here (ha-ha), so we can't go outside to play at school. Instead, we play in the carpeted gym. I was racing on a scooter (you remember them from Fairview junior high- the square plastic boards with wheels) with my best girl- Gracie from the 4 year old class. I was seeing how fast I cold go while holding on to the scooter and running behind it. It didn't work out so well because I flipped over the front and got this awesome rug burn on my face. Then again, it did work out well, because now I look tough and I think Gracie felt bad for me.

Mama and I had a few trying days. I just spent a month under the full attention of many adoring adults- what did she think it was going to be like coming home? She even called papa and threatened to walk out on the whole family if he didn't come home soon to take care of HIS unruly 3 year old. Luckily, she got over her grumpiness (what? you thought maybe I was misbehaved? Never) and now we're having a good week. Yesterday she took a shower and I walked in her room to find her getting dressed. She was not so pleased when I exclaimed "Mama, look at you big belly!" She was further displeased when she bent over, and upon seeing the folds in her skin, I yelled "Oh no! You broke it!" Needless to say, we spent yesterday morning signing up for her membership at the gym around the corner from our house. It works out well for me because they have (free!) childcare at the gym, so Juner and I got to spend the morning playing with new toys and watching tv. Juner was especially popular among all the 2 year old girls waiting for their moms. And mama likes the gym too, especially now that she signed up to have sessions with a personal trainer twice a month (Surprise papa! Did we mention you look great today? And that we love you very much? And that this big belly is all your fault for making mama have your two babies anyway? We'll talk about it later, but you can blame Aunt Jenni for planting the idea.) Now mama is really a over imdulged stay-at-home mom. Just give her a monochromatic sweatsuit and send her to Indiana!

And since I'm in a rambling mood, mama asked me to mention the weather. We know that the upper midwest is really getting hit hard by the cold front. We checked online and the forecasted high for today was -4 degrees. That is cold. I speak for 3/4 of this family when I saw (quite emphatically) that we don't miss it. The remaining dessenter is sad sack mama, who has spent all winter moaning about how we never get any snow and that North Carolina wouldn't know cold if it bit them. She gets all snippy when people mention how cold it is and is infuriated that the preschool demands that it must be 40 degrees before we can play outside! She felt this way until she realized this week that NO ONE in North Carolina wears a coat. Well no wonder you're all cold! A fleece vest does not do the trick when the temperature dip below freezing! Mama used to say in Wisconsin "Don't complain about the cold if you haven't put on a hat." Meaning- if you won't sacrifice your hairdo to protect yourself from instant frostbite, you lose all rights to whine. Mama has since revised the rule to include coats for Winston. No wonder they can't take the kids out! WE're the only one's that show up for school in coats and hats! And lucky us. Because we're so well prepared for the weather, we've been walking to school and playing outside much more that normal. And mama walks briskly breathing in the cold air exclaiming how she only feels alive when the temperature is below freezing and how she used to go running with Hucky's mama when it was -1 degree. And she did get her wish today. When we woke up it was 13 degrees. Still not as cold as Wisconsin, but enough to make all the Rebs down here cancel school and go back to bed until February. Poor southerners.