Wednesday

There has been some changes 'round here. My Dear Nathan has a couple of kidney stones. They are causing much grief. I cannot stand to see him in pain. He is supposed to be invincible. He is my rock. He is also the cause of grief but I will not get into that. Perhaps on a private blog. One day. I advise against the holding of one's breath.

On the kid front. Darian has secured herself some employment. We are very proud of her. She was so excited and is very happy to have her own money. She is doing alright in school. I can't believe that she is doing as well as she is in her gym class! She had no mark at the end of the Grade 9 because there was nothing to mark her on (read: schools don't fail kids). She is sitting with a 92% in Gym 10 currently. She could use some more effort in her other classes but I am not the hounding type. She knows what she wants to do after high school and only she can have the drive to do what is necessary.

Camryn has had a great year so far. Much better than last. Not that last year was horrible but she wasn't happy with her school and it affected her marks and mood. Her most current report card was great and she is back to her bubbly, social self. She has new friends and has decided on the junior high she would like to attend next year. (Holy shit!!! How did that happen??)

Camryn is starting to show a growing sense of responsibility but still really likes to be a "kid". I don't see her being in any rush to "grow up". At least not until she has both feet in the shark tank known as junior high.

Roo....oh my. I still can't believe that I should be looking for a kindergarten for her. I am in such denial. I keep thinking that I will just keep her home with me until she has to start Grade 1 or just bite the bullet and homeschool her like I would really like too. I am too scared to screw my kids up though. We are going through some struggles with Darian and depression right now and I can't help but feel responsible. I know that I have to let my little Roo go a bit and send her off to make friends who are her age and are not related to her. I have been home with this little one since I was only 15 weeks pregnant with her though. Letting go will be hard!

She is so sweet and such a combination of her sisters and the opposite all at the same time. She has Camryn's easy-go-lucky and Darian's my-way-or-the-highway (if that is even possible). She is quiet and cautious. Not an adrenaline junkie like Darian or adventurous like Camryn. I probably am making no sense but sometimes I just don't have the words to describe my children and their personalities.

Kaiden. My Tiny Man. He is quickly catching up in size to Roo. I am sure by year's end that he will be bigger than her. He is almost as tall as her and out weighs her. He is starting to talk. He calls me "momma" and I hope he never stops. I love it. He is a full-tilt kid. There is only 1 setting and it is ON. He is starting to play with his sisters. He will play Polly Pockets with Roo, even though he still tries to snack on them and is currently joining in PlayDoh with Camryn and Roo. Last time we tried that he shoved blue playdoh up his nose.....blue boogers...great!

We had to move Kaiden out of the crib as he learned how to scale the walls. No problem though. We had a futon to use and he couldn't open doors. For about a week. We have now had to buy the knob-thingies to keep Tiny Man out of things he is not supposed to be in. Can't wait until he can rip the gates out of the wall!

And yours truly? I got myself a big, bad job at WalMart. I am working as a p/t cashier. Dream job? No. Allowing me to pay bills? Yes. That is the point. I still get to stay home with my monsters and be the maid and all that jazz but in the evening I get out, interact with people taller than me and not related to me and they pay me for it. Plus I get a discount. Which is good when you have as many monsters as I do. I am a little happier about the WalMart job because instead of doing the responsible thing with our tax return we decided to go to Florida for our 13th anniversary. Now at least I can contribute to chipping away at the mountain of debt we climb.

So....there is a quick (or not so quick) update. We are all surviving, working to better ourselves, just working, planning a vacation and hoping that winter will end soon.

TTFN