We've been...

...busy. We've been really busy. And sick. Well, Sammy was anyway. He got the flu on Halloween, and for about 4 days he had an almost 103 degree temperature anytime that he wasn't on a steady stream of Ibuprofen. And poor little buddy was always cold. He even wore scarves to eat dinner he was so cold. Bless his little heart. He finally started getting better, (we thought) and then he got an ear infection, so now we are on a 10-day regimen of that gooey pink amoxocilin.

Claire and Annabel are still best buds of course, but they've been going through a bit of a change. Annabel recently turned 8 and Claire, of course, is 6. Their age difference hasn't ever been an issue, but just recently I've noticed a shift into "big girl-ness" by Annabel.

Where she used to be happy to play Calico Critters on the floor with Claire for 3 hours at a time, suddenly that stuff has become a little, as she says, "boring". I asked Claire's teacher what to do and she said that as kids get closer to 9 they tend to like games with more structure to them.

So we've been doing lots of projects. One day they hunted for nature stuff, which turned into them making these little taped specimens and examining them under a microscope.

But we've also discovered GAMES. I'm not a huge game person, but apparently this is the perfect age for kids to love games. They're too old for Candy Land, so we've been doing games like Topple, (where you have to balance the board and keep it from toppling over) and this one above where you remove the sticks carefully until all the marbles fall through. They really enjoy the whole process of setting up the game, keeping score, etc.

We also have been busy buying lights for the new house. I really realized that I don't like most lights that are on the market. It seems to define your style so much and since I don't KNOW my style, I agonize over every freakin' hallway sconce.

The reason we were able to walk around and pick out so many lights was because Matt's parents were kind enough to take our kids for Saturday day and night so that Matt and I could have a birthday date for me. Then, the next day, they brought lunch and a cake and presents. Thanks Harris family!

I've also been cooking lately. Way more than normal actually. Mainly because I've been STARVING all the time. And that, my dear friends, is because...

Untitled from Susan Harris on Vimeo.

I'M PREGNANT! Yes, it's true. I blame the Big Guy for the whole thing. But happy suprises are what life is all about, right? Here is a video of us telling the kids. The funniest part are the following:

a) Claire assumes that the reason I was at the doctor was to get my back/neck fixed. Shows how often I'm at the chiropractor!

b) When we tell the kids, Sammy continues to chew french fries with no reply, while peaking under the camera to see if there is truly something in my stomach.

c) When we tell them, Claire proceeds to pick her nose and start reading random signs on the wall of the restaurant and won't comment at all. Kids!

d) When we tell Sammy that he'll be a big brother and Claire will be a big sister, he says "YEAH! And you guys can be the grown ups!" Hahaha.

So, there's my news. I've said it. I'm about 10 weeks by the way. Which is one reason I haven't been writing much lately. Much...too...sleepy....