Family Update

Here's a recent update on the the family:

Here's a picture of me with Gayle King. We walked by the XM radio studio when I was in New York. Probably the closest I'll be to meeting her.
I'm pretty beat from working 5-6 nights a week during the month of December. I was a negligent friend during the month and didn't do much for anyone. No Christmas cards, very few neighborhood gifts, and I was cranky. I'm glad it's over but I'll sure miss the money. I am grateful for the generous tips I received. I'm trying to get back into my lazy lifestyle. Don't be surprised if you see me in my pajama bottoms, no make up, and pulled back hair...ahhh...

Max finished his football season on an awesome note. His team made it to the regional finals. The final game was played in a terrible snow storm. They lost but it was fun to see his team get that far.

Michael recently joined a book club at school. He is so excited to be a part of it. I am excited a member of my family wants to read a book. Whenever he has spare time he has that book in his hand.

Maggie hasn't spent much time at home. These days she goes across the street and stays at the Harman's. We now refer to her as Maggie Harman.

The look on Claire's face says it all. She is a menace through and through. She's been sticking things up her nose. We've never had a child do this. She's put peas, cheerios, more peas, pencil erasers and paper. What to do, duct tape her nose?

Claire started biting the tips off of her binky. It was an obvious choking hazard so no more binky's for Claire. We decided to let Kate keep hers until she started passing it to Claire through the crib. We took the binky's away from both babies. Once the binky's were gone, they decided they would quit taking a nap. It was quite hellish to say the least. That lasted for a week and now they are doing pretty well. Little do they know they will be taking a nap until they are 18.

Andy celebrated his 40th on the 31st of December. We went to Tucci's to celebrate. Other than that, it was really low key.

I finally took Kate to the lab to get her blood drawn. I put it off to the very end of the year because I dreaded seeing her get her arms pricked. The blood test will determine if she has neurofibromatosis. Her blood will be tested in a lab in Alabama and we won't learn the results for 3 months.
When we finished at the lab (she was a champ) my mom and I went out to lunch. Kate was such a sweet girl. She was easy going, a good eater, and stayed in her chair the whole time. It was nice to spend some time with just her. I rarely get to enjoy her laid back personality when I have 4 other screaming kids around.

Ah, finally, the mattress. That's pink duct tape. Claire has never had a sheet over her mattress because she's always pulled it off. Recently we learned that she started picking the plastic off her mattress. Plus, the angel taught Kate how to pull her sheet off the mattress. Tonight, I duct taped the sheet to the mattress. We'll see how it works.