Looks like flu season has opened early in Northern NH. Half of the boys' school is down for the count. #1 included. Thank goodness for Children's Motrin! One down, 6 of us to go.

Maybe I'll do a one-month-home post next weekend and fill everyone in on how Princess Eee's adjustment is going. Right now I am going to fight off germs in my sleep and leave you with some photos from last week and today...




What was that, KJ, about being a New Hampshire girl?!!? Let's peel (and eat) some more apples! Notice the jacket worn indoors over a wool sweater. Yes, this one's blood is still a bit thinner than the rest of us. And right now, she LOVES tights. Every day, must wear tights. She does not know a spanish word for them since they are not common in the Land of Eternal Spring, so she calls them pantalones (pants).

Zippy's estate:

The Bookends, kindred spirits.

The sisters, waiting for brother's soccer practice:

Abuelos visit

Princess Eee loved having her maternal grandparents visit. (I don't think she remembers meeting Grampy Dude and Gramma Ramma on the night of her arrival in the USA. So she will be thrilled to meet and re-meet all of her other grandparents too.) When her sib's got home from school the day Nonnie and Bobo arrived, she ran to all of them to excitedly introduce HER grandparents to everyone. Not sure if she understood my explanation that the rest of us already knew Nonnie and Bobo, but she shared them fairly well the remainder of the visit. The photos below all need to be credited to "abuelita" Nonnie.

A very rainy day at the orchard:

These two are starting to be pretty good friends (phew!)

This girl LOVES her bubble baths!

A Good Time Was Had by Some

Fun times were had today. Rough times too of course. We are not even at the two week mark yet so let's be realistic. Cupcake and Princess Eee had a jogger ride to the town playground and no one cried. They played very nicely together the whole time we were at the playground. We only had to go inside for the potty once. Neither one asked for food the whole time we were on the little journey. It was a very nice outing. Then later at home when all the big kids were home from school, they raked leaves into a good pile for jumping. They had fun together for a few minutes. I do not think all five of them, however, were having fun at the same time at any given moment. Princess Eee is extremely sensitive right now (who can blame her?!?!?) and believes any accidental bonk or bump was fully intentional and that we are all out to get her. This made for tough times in the leaf pile. But she LOVED the turkey meatloaf for dinner (thank you Mary Jo!!!) and ate her three helpings happily. She even went outside to play with Papi Moco Loco and the other kids for a bit after dinner while I cleaned up inside AND let J help with bathtime again tonight.

The washing machine repair man might trump our visit to the pre-school tomorrow morning, but it quit halfway through a cycle so the stinky, dirty clothes have been sitting in stinky, dirty water since Tuesday. I cannot miss the repair man for a pre-school visit that can happen any time before Princess Eee's birthday. It's the 8am-5pm "window" they gave me that is the bummer.