It's been one week

It's been a rough week here, but we have persevered and have the weekend firmly in our sights. It shan't get away from us!!

The week started with Elli down with some awful stomach thing. Then she recovered, but as we swung into the week, things got crazy. Thom worked and extra night, we had school conferences for Avery and the wacky logistics of getting the car fixed, all on one night. Then, no time to recover, as Avery spent two days home from school with the same ol' stomach bug. And all the craziness threw Jack off his schedule....

But now, all kids are healthy, Jack is mellowing out, and the weekend is upon us!

Trials

It has been a hard week. I started my commute to Milford to train for a new position in Loan Resolution with the Bank. This was not by my choice. Then Thom went back to work on Wednesday and my mother watched all the kids for the first time until I was able to rush home. And there are countless other little things that all added up to an uphill battle this second week of March. Oy. But at the end of the day, when Jack smiles, Avery says something goofy and profound, Elli graces us with a peek into her world, and Thom and I share a private little joke, well then we know that everything is ok.

Molasses Chocolate

We love our Molly Moo Cow! She's been here just over a year and brings us all so much love and loyalty and protection and fun. She has more nicknames than could possibly be listed here, but she is a dear sweet wonderful member of our family.

Seventh Heaven

For Miss A's 7th Birthday, she chose to take two of her friends to the Mecca of her Stuffy religion-- The Build-A-Bear Workshop. She and her fellow worshipers went right to work choosing the best, most needed critters and stuffing them to perfection. Aves chose a Black Lab which included a small Lab Puppy, and barks. All three girls had a great day. So much laughter, to many smiles.

Hard to believe she's seven already.

Weighing In

The results are in from the latest trip to the Doctor! Mr. Jack Finnian is fully 24 inches tall, and weighs a nice twelve pounds, eleven ounces. He is doing quite well indeed, the doctor was suitably impressed with all his stats.

So it's not just us-- he is an awesome boy!

What makes a family

How lucky we are to have each other! I am so proud of Thom for being such a tremendous dad to all of our kids. The girls are enjoying helping out in new ways. And Jack is such a good little man adjusting so well to being without Mommy. Probably better than Mommy is adjusting to being without Jack!

Home for Boys

Well, we have managed two days so far, with Ophelia back at work, and Jack and Thom manning the home front together (get it? ... 'manning'... we so clever!!!) With day one including a snow day for the older sibs, that one was a challenge of a starting place. But day two was more of a 'regular' day, and went better than Day One. Jack misses his mom, misses being able to trade off from one parent to the other in order to maximize his snuggly comforts, but we are learning a new way to go through the day.

Soon enough it will be old hat.

Right?

A&A Visit

We all had a great weekend with Alex and Adam.

Who else needs a facial?

Sibling Sweetness

Somedays, the kids get along real well. We like these days.

The Big Change

Tomorrow we begin the next new phase: Mom goes back to work, and Daddy-O is home with the little nipper. We have been nervously planning for this day for some time, hopefully all will go smoothly. Or smoothish at least.

Send happy thoughts!