I wanted to wring her neck and she knew it.  "Sorry Mom!  Sorry Mom!"  Is what she kept repeating.  I was horrified at the carnage.  I always knew if I was going to happen, Rosie would be the one to do it.  She has this glitch in her brain that says, "I know this is wrong, but I really can't help myself."  So she does it and then feels badly.  Here is what happened.

The girls were supposedly tucked away in bed and Brian and I were starting to relax and working on getting Weston settled down for the night.  Serra comes out of her room and whispers to me.  "Mom, I opened my eyes and saw Rosie on the bathroom counter, and she's cutting her hair."  I thought, surely just a few strands.  Then I opened the door.  The little imp's hair was litterally butchered.  She had cut it short all around her face and left a nice mullet hanging down the back.  I freaked out and she knew she was in trouble.  I guess I can be thankful that she didn't cut it right at her scalp.  We still can't figure out what she was thinking.  Serra is perplexed.  "Why would she do something like that." 

It's a good thing I had no where to be this morning unlike the rest of the week.  I spent about 30 minutes trying to salvage what was left.  It looks OK but I still may take her to someone who can fix it better.  It's a good thing she has some curl in her hair(it hides problem spots)  and that she has a LOT of hair because it could have been a lot worse. 

But how can you not love that face?

Beans.

So I have been doing inventory of my surroundings trying to decide what I need to get done before bambina #4 makes her debut.  I felt the need to get the baby space started so I can decide what more in terms of room I need to make for her.  Well, her changing station is ready, the crib has been moved from Westons domain to the master where she will reside for the first few month.  My canned supplies are dwindling as well.  The last time I canned any beans was in 2005 and there are only a few jars left.  SO...starting Wednesday I have been a canning fool.  21 quarts of great northern, (why so many you ask?...well aside from the fact that I always forget how much dried beans expand when you add water we have a favorite recipe that calls for a quart and I run out fairly quickly.) 16 pints of pinto, 7 quarts of small pink, 7 quarts of kidney, and 7 quarts of baked beans.  The baked beans are made from all the left over beans that wouldn't make a whole batch for canning.  In between all that I finally got all the grains, rice, beans etc. put into bins.  I am actually out of bins now and I had exactly enough for what I needed.  I couldn't have planned it better.  I couldn't move Wednesday night and realized I needed to take more breaks during the day.  Thursday was much better with rest time worked in.  I am too the point in this pregnancy where bending over to pick something up is nearing impossible.  I am constantly calling one of my children over to help me pick things up.   That is probably my biggest pregnancy problem.  I really feel great most of the time and baby girl is a kicker.  I get taken by surprise often with a kick that no 1 1/2 pound critter should be able to do.  2 1/2 months to go. 

Oh yeah!  I finally got my garden planted (another job made difficult by pregnancy).  We have quite a variety of things.  We have it placed so that it receives full sun from sun up until about 1 pm.  So during the hottest part of the day it will be in shade.  Hopefully that will help keep it from frying this summer.  That is, of course, if I can keep my little ones out of it long enough for anything to survive.  2 squash plants have all ready bit the dust from my little helpers. 

Weston has done pretty well in his cute little bed.  I usually have to go and help him back to sleep once during the night but his ability to get himself out of bed in the morning when he wakes up and come to me has been nice.  We usually end up cuddling for about an hour before I get up in the morning. 

Brian has picked up an extra job washing cement trucks on Saturdays and is looking for something else still to supplement the lack of construction work there is out there.  He has a few leads and hopefully something will work out.  In the meantime we are hanging in there and are still current on both mortgages...not a small miracle. 

Here are the promised pictures.  The ones of Serra are from her birthday photo shoot and I haven't decided which one to print for the wall yet.  Opinions would be welcome. 

First off...Serra's birthday celebrations...sibling helpers and a cool collage of pictures from Aunt Serra.

One of Serra's presents was a twisty towel for her wet hair.  She has a hard time keeping a towel on her head and this one stays on so well she wears it for hours after her shower. 

And with ever growing popularity...the Krispy Kreme doughnut cake. 

Serra earned a free dinner from Applebees from school so we took her birthday as an oportunity to use it.  She ordered Mac and Cheese.  It looked suspiciously like Kraft.  $4 for a 1/4 portion of a .25 cent box of processed cheese noodles.  Now that's how to make some money!  Serra and Daddy sit side by side for dinner. 

And some Easter Egg hunt fun.  Look at the camera Wes...yes his hair was very short. 

Found one!   Caught eating the whole bunny. 

As noted in earlier posts...when Weston falls he tends to lead with his head.  His nose took a beating one weekend.  He fell and opened up a wound on his nose right as we were walking out the door for church and we couldn't staunch the bleeding.  So Weston went to church with a bandaid on his nose. 

And here are a few shots of Weston and Rosie hanging out in the toddler bed.  I find them in here at least once a day reading books together.  Weston even goes and lies down for a little rest on his own now and then.  It's pretty cute.

...and beautiful Serra...

This morning I was in drying my hair and Rosie came in to tell me that the rug and towels from the dryer were dry.  I told her thanks and didn't think anything else about it.  When I went to the laundry room to put the wet load in the dryer I found she had already taken out the towels and put the wet load from the washer into the dryer and pressed the start button.  How awesome is that?   Three and doing laundry.  I then told her to put the next load in, showed her how to put the soap in and she got that one going too.  I guess it's never too early to learn housekeeping tricks.  Some other Rosieisms:

"The ticken burna my tonk." - The meat was spicy and burned her tongue.

"We watch Harry Potter and the Harry Stone in seca-minute. " - We are going to watch Harry Potter soon.

"Wes...him don't look like Wes no more." - After Weston got a buzz cut.

Yesterday morning Rosie and Serra were reading a Mickey Mouse book.  Rosie likes to point out which character she and Serra are in everything we read.  - "Serra, I'm Mickey, you're Goofy."  To which Serra gets a little annoyed.  "No I'm Minnie!"-  "No, you're Goofy."  This is one of the ways Rosie excels in pushing Serra's buttons. 

So after a few days of no computer I am back up and running with a new system, the new Windows 7 (which is fantastic), and the newest photoshop.  I have been able to recreate some of the lost documents from my fried harddrive in much more efficient programs. We have a computer genius friend that built a system for someone who then decided they didn't want it so I got the whole thing for $300 with all new software etc.  It's great...and really fast.  Like I mentioned before we took parts from both our old systems and put together a system with games and school stuff for the kids.  We thought Serra would be the only one for now that would get use out of it but low and behold Rosie is a whiz.  She plays a game called Animal Genius and seems to know how everything works.  It's fun to watch her work the mouse and keyboard like a champ.  I think kids are born knowing this stuff nowadays.  We got it up and running yesterday afternoon and the kids haven't asked to watch TV once.  They have almost as much fun watching each other play as playing themselves and so far have been really good about taking turns. 

I have moved their bedtime from 8:30 to 8pm.  It seems like they don't really get to be until 9:30 and I am ready to go to bed by 10 which gives me no quiet time in the evenings.  I thought by moving it to 8pm we might get a little extra time at night to unwind.  (If only Wes would cooperate...he is down usually by 10pm and that is with a single nap around noon) I swear my kids just don't need sleep like the rest of us.  They were good about staying quiet last night but still didn't go to sleep until around 9:30.  It may take a few days to get used to it.  Hopefully, it will work out.  On a bedtime note...I decided after weeks of trying to get Weston to sleep in a crib it was not going to happen.  He hates the crib and gets soooo mad when he wakes up and finds himself there.  So I found a cute and inexpensive toddler bed and he has been in there for almost a week.  He goes down fine and usually wakes up once.  After going back down again he sleeps until 5-6 am then comes and finds me and crawls into bed and sleeps a few more hours.  I am willing to make the compromise of a few cuddle time hours in the morning instead of the all night kick sessions we had before.  He likes to go into his room during the day and read books in his cute little bed.  I think it was the confinement of the crib that he hated. 

Weston had his 15 month checkup last week and is measuring and weighing in the 80% all around.  He is 26.7 pounds and is 32 inches long.  His head size is 18" I think.  Anyway, overall he is healthy.  One of my concerns was the wrinkly spot on his head that is left from his major goose egg in January.  I asked about it and got a slightly disturbing answer.  When he hit his head that hard, even though it didn't bust open, the injury is the same underneath.  What is left after it heals is scar tissue underneath that changes shapes and moves around as he grows.  So, who knows what it will look like in few years.  My baby was damaged.  It made me feel bad.   It sure does make for expressive frowns though. 

Today is one of those days where I have lists of things I'd like to accomplish but have zero energy.  I think I could crawl back in bed and sleep all day with no problem.  I think I'll get the essentials done and then lay down.  That is why there is still no pictures....essentials people.  Soon though...I hope.

Very quickly...an update with pictures will have to wait as my HARDDRIVE has crashed.  I had no warning whatsoever.  It simply refused to boot back up when I tried to turn it back on one afternoon.  I may have lost pictures and videos from this year as I hadn't backed them up yet.  Everything else was backed up though.  We have someone coming to help tomorrow hopefully get me up and running though. 

In the meantime.  We had Easter and Serra's birthday in the last week.  Easter morning was difficult because of 9am church.  The girls went through their baskets and wanted to to the egg hunt badly but had to wait until after church for that.  We, like Julie, miraculously made it to church on time.  The girls loved coloring eggs and surprisingly love eating them too.  I had to make more hard boiled eggs just to satisfy the craving.  They got a second egg hunt at the Andersons. 

I exploded in pregnancy this week.  I didn't know if it was overly visible to others...until church today when a woman told me all of a sudden I look pregnant this week.  She actually used the word exploded as well.  Always nice to hear.  I suddenly have a hard time getting from one place to the next, I am retaining water like crazy which makes the carpel tunnel really act up, and I can't bend over to pick up things without major effort.  The next three months are going to be loooong and HOT!  It has reached the 80's here and I have been struggling with the heat.  I am in soooo much trouble.  The baby is measuring big...no surprises there and my doc agreed that I can have a delivery date of July 17th if the amnio the day before indicates baby girls lungs are ready for this world.  That would make it slightly less than 3 weeks early.  So mark your calendars. 

We got the raised garden bed 90% built and it and the part of the backyard and sideyard we are working on should be completed this week.  I can't wait to get stuff planted. 

Serra had a great birthday yesterday.  She started the day off with a requested birthday breakfast of biscuits and gravy (with hard boiled eggs cut up in it).  Then she opened all her presents.  She got a few new needed clothing items, a twisty towel for wet hair, sticker earrings, a sacrament activity book from the grandfolk from afar, hot cheetos (weird kid has liked them since toddlerhood), and some new computer games and activities to go with her new PC.  That's right we will be a 3 computer household.  We have taken parts from our computers that have become outdated or refurbished by a friend and put together a system for her.  She asked if she could have the internet if you can believe that.  She wants to e-mail her cousins.  I told her that her cousins don't have their own e-mail anyway.  Anyway, that will have to wait a few more years.  For now hopefully she will just enjoy having a computer to do some learning games on.  Brian actually only bought her one game that is not school based.  ZooTycoon.  She can build her own zoo but better make sure she builds the lions cages high enough so they don't eat the guests.  Her auntie Serra put together a great collage of pictures of the two of them together over the years.   She really loved that and is still trying to decide where she will hang it.  Soon after that we headed to the movie Hannah Montana.  AmyJo and Tucker came and watched over the two younger ones while we took just Serra.  She got popcorn, candy, and a drink and we settled in for a great movie.  Even Brian liked it.  I recommend it highly...a great family flick with a good message.  Then we picked up 3 dozen assorted Krispy Kreme donuts to build the birthday cake donut tower and headed to a UFC party.  Serra didn't mind sharing her evening with a few other families.  There were a lot of kids and a fun BBQ and more folks to sing to her while she blew out her candles.  The donut cake turned out awesome if I do say so myself and I did get pictures that Krispy Kreme requested a copy of to put up in their store.  As soon as I am up and running on my computer I will post those. 

Anyway, we are off for yet another birthday celebration at the Andersons.  More later. 

I've got spring in my veins and I want to plant things.  We don't have spots yet for a full blown garden but I have hinted not so subtly that that is what I want in the backyard with the credit we have with the landscaper.  I want to put in some raised flowerbeds up near the patio that has a drip system for summer veggies.  There are a few things that do really well here in the summer.  Squash (but really, is there anywhere you can't grow zucchini?), melons, tomatoes, and peppers.  So to satiate my need I pulled out the buckets I have been saving and cut holes in the bottom, lined the hole with 2 coffee filters, filled the buckets with soil, bought some small tomato and pepper plants, and a variety of herbs.  Brian's job today while he is out is to find some hooks that we can attach to the patio to hang the buckets from.  The tomatoes and peppers will grow from the bottom and I'll plant the herbs in the top.  The idea is to keep the tomatoes from burning and to keep them away from bugs.  The ground gets so hot here in the summer that all my tomatoes in the past have a big brown burn spot on the bottom where the ground radiates excessive heat.  We'll see how it goes and I'll take a picture when all is said and done. 

Last week we acquired, free of charge, a trampoline.  Someone in our old ward moved back into their house after having renters for a while and the renters left the trampoline.  Their yard is not really big enough to have anything else except the trampoline and she wanted it gone.  I was more than happy to take it off their hands and the kids spend lots of time outside in the backyard now that there is something else to do.  I can't keep the Wes man inside now that he has discovered there is a world outside the walls of the house.  He threw a big time tantrum today when I made him get dressed before going outside this morning. 

The pregnancy is going well.  We are at around 22 weeks.  Some days, like today, I feel so good I forget I'm pregnant, until I sit down and feel a little kick or two from the baby girl.  Yesterday, I was so tired, I fell asleep in the afternoon and dragged all day.  So the days I feel good I go go go like a mad woman trying to get everything done that needs doing.  Wes seems to be sleeping better at night sometimes.  Last night he stayed in his own bed all night.  It makes a difference to both Brian and I when he spends less time in our bed.  He is a bit of a hog when it comes to room and likes to kick us. 

The day of Dallas and Melinda's wedding I started feeling a cold coming on and by the time we got home I had full blown sinus issues.  A week and a half later I had an appointment with my OB and I mentioned I hadn't been able to kick it yet.  He perscribed a z-pack for me and within hours of taking the first dose I was tons better.  By the next day my sinus infection was gone.  What a difference a day makes.  My carpel tunnel hasn't been bothering me very much lately so I have put off getting the shots.  I am sure I will need them closer to the end but since we're saving pennies I'll wait until I really need the shots to function. 

We have had lots of adventures this month so here is the evidence:

I took the kids on the Ethel M chocolate factory tour and then they got to choose a treat after.  The also had a botanical garden outside that we spent a few hours perusing.  We all had a great time although for some reason Rosie was very sad in this picture.

The next day we headed to Logan for wedding and festivities and we were "treated" to (depending on who you talk to) 2 feet of snow.  The kids were more than willing to brave the elements even though their snow gear was sadly lacking. 

Rosie and Princess Melissa head down the hill behind the house for some sledding action. 

Did I mention the 2 feet of fresh powder?

Rosie decided the sled was optional.  Maybe that is why her legs were frozen stiff. 

By the time Rosie had had enough she was one frozen little popsicle.  Evelyn on the other hand laid down for one more snow angel. 

We threw blankets in the dryer to get warm and bundled the kids up when they came in.  They hung out together in this beanbag for a long time getting toasty. 

And the next day they went out for more frozen fun...this time it wasn't snowing though.

And the reason for coming...the Wedding.  Here are my two handsome men in their suits. 

A few of the grandkids with the blissful couple. 

A bad spot for a picture...way too bright.

This time we have all the grandkids although Rosie is zonked and Evelyn and Jane ornery.  Ethan doesn't look to happy either.  Actually I think Landon was missing, as nap time is more precious than a photo at times.

The three muskateers quite pleased with their floral aquisitions.  Joseph took charge of Wes for a lot of the reception.  That was really nice.  How do you aquire one of those 13 year olds?...and I think Wes's head is almost as big as Josephs.

Rosie slept for most of the party.  Wes is the MAN!

We got into the 80's for a few days when we got back and headed to the park to enjoy it one afternoon.  Serra is a good big sister and helped Wes play on the big toys.  Wes also had fun hanging out with other kids at the park.

Trampoline fun!

Eric's family from Idaho Falls came to Vegas for a few days and we spent some time with them.  The kids spent many hours in the grandfolks pool. 

Wes discovered a new thrill ride at the park.  He really loved this thing and when he was made to get off to share with cousin Jill, he waited patiently nearby until we let him back on.

So we tried to get a picture of all these Anderson cousins and as we stepped outside to take it Violet took that moment to empty the contents of her tummy all over her mother.  So Violet is missing from this shot as she and mommy were showering.  You will notice there are only two boys.  That's right folks...we Andersons seem to like to reproduce females.  Wes and Christian will have to stick together. 

By the way...Kathryn who is sitting next to Rosie is 5!!!  She is the tiny one in their family and Rosie has caught up to her and possibly surpassed her in size.  My little Amazon Rosie. 

There are too many unknown variables in our lives right now but the gender of our baby is not one of them.  Yesterday we had the 20 week anatomy check for our wee one and it looks like baby #4 is another girl.  Actually she gave us several very good views and there is no doubt about this one.  We are thrilled (especially me) as a baby girl is very fun to accessorize .  Weston seems to be more clingy to Dad since he heard the news though.  He figures he better stick close to the only other one of his kind in this crazy world of girls. 

Everything is looking good for baby girl.  I visit the perinatologist each trimester for a little bit more evaluation than is usual in a standard pregnancy.  I have a few risk factors that make is "necessary".  I have never felt like I really needed it but my OB insists on it.  Anyway, they look closely at the heart and spine and brain to rule out some genetic defects.  The only reason I go along with it all (because it is frightfully expensive) is because it makes a difference where we deliver if there is foreseeable problem.  Everything looks tip top with this little miss.  If I deliver early like usual...I am more than half way. 

Yesterday was our 11th anniversary.  Brian took the day off and we spent the whole day together.  We all went together to the docs, then out to lunch at Fazoli's in honor of Julie (for that is where her water broke with Olivia).  Brian needed to check out one of his jobs so we stopped by and the kids played in the huge backyard with swingset while Brian conducted a little business.  We took the kids to the park for a while until it was obvious they needed a rest.  Rosie collapsed under the big toy with her scooter and looked like she was falling asleep.  It was over 80 degrees, the hottest day we have had this year so far and our little fair skinned children were quite flushed.  We came home for a little rest and Rosie and I fell asleep for nearly 2 hours.  I have a cold and that along with being pregnant makes a nap quite necessary especially if I plan on staying awake past 8pm. 

Upon awakening we realized we better get moving if we were going to make our 5:45 reservation for dinner.  Traffic was unbelievable in a bad way and after dropping the kids and Grandpa and Grandma's we ended up being 30 minutes late anyway.  Lowry's still seated us though and we enjoyed 90 minutes of prime rib bliss.  We had all sorts of gift certificates and saved quite a bit on this trip.  Brian managed to eat the largest serving they offer (24 oz) or something close.  He was quite pleased with it but was very full late into the night.  I think he is still full this morning.  I have a hard time believing we are in a recession when we go to a pricey place like that on a Wednesday night and the place is packed.  Anyway, it was very nice and it is also very nice to enjoy a quiet dinner with the one I love and after all these years enjoy his company just as much as in the beginning.  We look forward to many more years...an eternity in fact...of blissful happiness. 

We picked up the kids and Wes fell asleep on the way home and transferred nicely into bed.  The girls went to bed without much fuss and so we had a few hours of quiet to ourselves.  A very nice day in all. 

Bureaucracy at its finest:

We have to build a cinderblock wall separating our 2 lots.  We also have to build the walls up on the property where we share walls with neighbors.  In order to obtain building permits for the walls Brian has to obtain notarized letters of permission from the neighbors.  It's been a process because one of the homes was foreclosed on and so there was no owner present.  The bank that owned the home would not let us do anything.  The HOA has been hounding Brian to get it done and it doesn't help that one of the HOA board members is one of the wall sharers and wants it done last year.  Someone finally bought the foreclosed house and Brian had all the letters in hand at the city offices.  He had a check in hand to pay the fees.  They asked him for a letter from the owner of the empty lot.  He said he was the owner and therefore didn't think he needed a letter.  They told him he had to have a letter.  So he scribbled a permission letter in front of the clerk and handed it to him.  "I'm sorry sir. I can't accept this.  It has to be notarized."  So Brian had to write a letter to himself giving himself permission to build a wall between his two lots and then get it notarized.  LAME!

We have done some fun things over the past few months and I do take pictures now and then.  I finally am sharing a few. 

One morning a few weeks ago I took the two youngest kidlets to Krispy Kreme for their free tour and doughnuts.  I thought it was pretty cool especially the free doughnuts and milk part.  We still managed to make it home with a purchased dozen.   

Amy Jo and Bubba Jill came with us too.

We went to a hockey game with the Shahs.  We brought our doughnuts to share.  Serra's favorite!

Wes and his ever present bruised forehead. 

Girls making Valentine cookies. 

Wes loves to dismantle the dishwasher.

Serra played a Macaw in a school play.  She also received an award for being a great citizen. 

This was by far Westons worse hit yet.  He was carrying a pillow the same size as himself and tripped and hit his head on the marble fireplace seat.  This happened in late January and he still has a soft spot where I think brain matter leaked out. 

Weston discovered himself. 

An afternoon of bike and scooter riding at the park. 

I've spent the last 5-6 months filling in the cracks of our year supply.  I got my hefty rebate check from American Express this month and used it to finish buying what we needed today.  Man that feels good.  Yesterday I cataloged everything and printed a list I will keep in the pantry where we store it all.  As we use things I can keep track.  That way I don't run out of things like wheat like I did recently.  A lot of it is still in bags but I have all the buckets to transfer stuff to.  It's just a matter of getting a good day when I have lots of energy to be hauling buckets around.  I honestly feel that we could survive on what we have and maintain our health with what I have stored for at least a year.  That is a tremendous feeling.

Everyone was sick last week with the exception of Serra.  On Sunday when everyone seemed to be better she started in with a sore throat.  Yesterday she was crying because she said it hurt too much to swallow.  She had hardly eaten anything for 2 days except for banana shakes.  I took a gander in her mouth and was horrified with what I saw.  Her throat was nearly swollen shut and had pus pockets.  Appetizing, I know.  I had her to the doc within the hour and she tested positive for Strep.  24 hours later she is a new kid.  I am so thankful for antibiotics.  I found out that Strep left untreated can turn into Scarlet Fever or Rheumatic Fever with lifetime consequences.  This is the first bout of illness we have had around here in almost a year.  I guess we have to pay our dues once in a while. 

I made Hot Chicken Salad the other night for dinner.  It's a chicken casserole and has almonds in it.  Rosie started spitting it out after a few minutes.  "Mom, I don't like the bones."  Maybe that's why so many kids are adverse to nuts in food.  After all, who really wants bones in their cookie. 

Weston continues his daily destruction of everything in his path. (With a smile)  And baby #4 made its presence known last Sunday.  I have been feeling the faint stirrings of life since then. 

I asked Serra today if she wanted a baby brother or a sister.  She said she doesn't care either way as long as this one looks like her.  "It's not fair...Rosie got a twin so I want one too."  AWWWW...

So what's new.  Wes and Rosie have colds and that's always good times.  Lots of snot, less sleep than usual, and humidifiers going.  Has anyone with kids bought cold medicine lately.  Since last year all the age and dosing recommendations have changed.  What was OK for a 2 year old last year is now OK for a 4 year old.  Rosie still fits into the weight requirement so she gets meds when I can get her to take it.  Sometimes it gets slipped into her juice.  I watched her drink it once and she was making faces.  She noticed the taste difference in the juice.  She doesn't like medicine.  She says "it tastes lucky a me". 

Rosieism:  Rosie recently discovered she had hair on her legs.  One evening she got quite a disgusted look on her face and declared she needed to take a shower.  She had already had one that day so I asked her why.  She showed me her legs and said, "look, there is hair all over my legs...it's lucky (yucky)...I need to take a shower and wash it all off."  I know how you feel little one but unfortunately it's just not that easy. 

We finally rented out out other house.  We are only getting in rent enough to cover half the mortgage, but at least it's something.  I would really like to find a way to unload that place without hurting our credit but unfortunately the so called mortgage renegotiations that the banks were supposed to use bail out money for are not happening.  The requirements are completely impossible to fit into and so we are left with a house that is worth literally half of what we paid.  In the meantime Brian is still pulling in just enough work to keep our heads above water.  We feel like there is a ticking timebomb financially.  We are just not sure where to go from where we are right now. 

Baby news:  no news is good news...all doc appointments have gone well.  I am nearly 16 weeks and I look like I'm 30 weeks.  That's typical for me though.  When I'm 37 weeks I look like I'm carrying triplets. 

Serra has managed to avoid the sickness of the younger two.  I bought what I thought was a shower cap the other day.  Oops! It ended up being a hair cover for black girls that is supposed to help your hair grow faster while you sleep.  Serra thinks it is just the greatest thing and is now on a campaign to get her hair to grow faster.  She wears this thing all the time.  Brian calls it her do-rag.  She asks daily if her hair looks longer.  She is such a funny kid.  I was helping her with her homework the other day.  It was math and she needed to write down  the # 17.  She gets confused with the teens and tens.  ie...17 is confused 70 on paper.  I told her to write - one seven.  She proceeded to write the #7.  I kept saying, one, seven.  She finally got fed up with me and said, "I DID...I wrote 1 seven.  I started to laugh and she just looked at me like I was crazy.  This morning she was trying to be helpful for Valentines Day.  She helped make omelets for breakfast and then said when we started cleaning up.  "I am going to help unset the table."  I guess if we set the table for dinner, we unset it to clean up. 

I really don't remember the girls being as big of menaces as this boy of ours.  He is a tornado that twirls around the house making messes faster than I can clean it all up.  The girls think it's very unfair that I make them help me clean things up as they declare they didn't do it.  Well, neither did I.  He has learned how to get into the spice cabinets where all the oils and vinegars and sauces are stored as well.  I used something called fish sauce about a year back for a soup.  It was gross and I should have thrown it out knowing I would never use it again.  However, it cost money and so it sat in my cabinet.  Well, the boy pulled it out and managed to break the lid spilling fish sauce all over the floor.  Most of it was on the rug so I gathered up the rug and took it to the laundry room.  It dripped all the way.  This stuff smells like a fish market.  It took me a full day of baking soda treatments on the floor, and double cycles for the rugs it encountered in the washing machine.  I was gagging the whole time.  2 days later I think the smell is gone.  If the kid isn't in the kitchen tearing things out of cupboards he is in the toilet.  We used to be able to just keep the lids down until he figured out how to open them.  Now even keeping the doors closed doesn't work as the little scrapper can open doors.  He doesn't seem to get "No" quite yet.  He gets upset when I tell him no but it doesn't keep him from trying it again even with me standing right there.  Yet he is so sweet and has a big toothy grin that just melts me.  He runs to the door when Brian gets home hollaring the whole way, and throws his arms up in the air to be picked up.  Hopefully, he will be more manageable by the time the next one arrives.  Times ticking quickly on that though. 

I'll get organized and show some pictures soon.