Just Another Day In Paradise

Currently.

 

Currently, this what our girls do most mornings when they awaken....clearly, the baby is not loved at all. (image will not look large and distorted once you click play)

 

 

Currently, our living room looks like this....

 

 

Yes, pathetic, I know.

 

Would it help if I had excuses ranging from "we've been sick", to "we've been busy", and on up to "I had surgery and my husband hurt his back"?

 

Yeah, still pathetic, huh?

 

Currently, 2/3 kids are sleeping for the night and the last is lying in bed making her stuffed animals talk.

 

Currently, Thumper has been slightly less than pleasant. See, doesn't she look happy? Not sure what's been up with her.

 

 

Currently, we just finished Chapter 21 of the Skylanders game. Chaos, here we come!

 

Currently, I'm planning a certain 4 year old's upcoming birthday.

 

 

Currently, I'm 16 pounds under what I weighed before I got pregnant with Thumper and will be closing in on my goal weight in exactly 9 pounds.

 

Currently, all dirty clothes in the house (including the dogs towels) are clean. It will stay that way for approximately 3.2 seconds.

 

Currently, I have a busy day tomorrow and it's time for me to bid everyone in the blogosphere a goodnight.  

 

It happens in a blink.

 

I recently heard a song on the radio by the Christian group Revive. I had honestly never heard of this group before that very moment, but the lyrics to their song "Blink" really made me stop and think.

 

It was one of those moments where you are driving down the road, traffic all around, kids chattering away in the back seat.....when suddenly, this song comes on the radio and the lyrics seem like they were written just for you. Time stands still. Everything else seems to fade away and God meets you right there, in that very moment.

 

I'm not sure exactly what the artist meant to convey with these lyrics, but they can be taken many different ways. For me, I was hit with the realization that our children grow up so quickly. It happens in a blink. They grow up in a flash. My oldest is seven. I mean, really? Has it really been seven years since I first held her in my arms? Seven years since she was wearing newborn sized onesies? My middle child is four....losing that toddler look and growing into a little girl more and more each day. And my newborn is already 5 weeks old. It seems like just yesterday that I was rushing to the hospital in the middle of the night, my water broken only moments before. It's absolutely crazy how quickly time flies by.

 

 

 The chorus of the song goes like this...

 

It happens in a blink

It happens in a flash

It happens in the time it takes to look back

I try to hold on tight but there's no stopping time

What is it I've done with my life?

 

And so I stop to wonder.....what have I done with my life? What have I done in the lives of my children? Have I spoken the name of Jesus enough times to my kids? Have I hugged them more than I've corrected them? Have I told them that they mean the world to me? Have I made enough memories? Will they look back on their childhoods and remember the fun times? Will they say that I was a good mother?

 

 

Sometimes, especially lately, I feel like I'm just running through life. With having a new baby, everything feels like it's moving on fast forward. There's never enough time or enough hands. I have an entire mental lists of "must-do's" each day. Nurse the baby, change the baby, give the spelling test, wash the dishes, dust the shelves, sweep the floors, fix the lunch, help with the math, feed the dogs...the list is never ending. But then I think of a verse in this song....

 

Slow down

Slow down

Before today becomes our yesterday.

 

Every today becomes our yesterday. How many times do we look back and want to redo our yesterdays? I don't want my children's todays to become yesterdays without filling them with as many happy memories as possible. I don't want any regrets. Maybe the dishes can fill the sink for just a short time. Maybe it's okay for the shelf to have a slight layer of dust. Maybe it's okay that our days are full....because then, our hearts will be too.

 

 

In thirty years, when I look back, will I remember how spotless my floor looked? Or how we finished every subject of school every day? No, I'll remember the sounds of my children's belly laughs echoing in the walls of my mind. I'll remember their delight as I pushed them on the swings until my arms hurt. I'll remember how safe and secure my 4 year old felt because I gave in and let her fall asleep beside me on the couch for "just one more night." I'll remember how soft my newborn's skin felt as I rocked her at night, the dark room lit only by the soft glow of the night light. I'll remember listening.....really stopping and listening....as my 7 year old chatteres away about a myriad of different topics. Even if I'm not fully interested, she'll know that I listened.

 

 

I just want to look them in the eyes when they are adults and know that I've done right. I want to know that I've told them enough about Jesus, taught them enough, prepared them enough, preserved their innocence enough, and loved them enough. I want to know that I've spent enough time with them. Not by just being with them, but by really interacting with them, listening to them, asking them questions, and making new memories. I don't want them to grow up in a blink, but that's what happens. Time halts for no one.

 

So make the most of your blink. I have 3 little ones counting on ours.

 

It's definitely Monday.

 

Today was supposed to be the day that things got back to "normal." Or rather, merged into some sort of "new normal" for us since adding a newborn to the mix. But alas, it's Monday. Mondays are not known for being anyone's favorite day of the week. Maybe Monday feels a bit slighted because if ever there's a day for something to go wrong, it's a Monday. And today was definitely a Monday. (Is anyone else humming the "Monday, Monday" song by the Mamas and the Papas? Yeah, me neither).

 

Mr. Incredible was *supposed* to head back to work today after being off for the last two weeks. I was *supposed* to get back to schooling Stitch and Boo. We were *supposed* to get back to "life as we know it."  Monday thought differently.

 

In the middle of the night last night I was awakened by a barking sound. No, our dogs were both in the living room, locked in their kennels and sleeping soundly. This barking was coming from our oldest child. Poor kid sounded horrible. I thought something was a bit "off" with her yesterday. In fact, we took her with us in church instead of sending her to her own class. She wasn't complaining, nothing hurt, and she didn't have a fever....but I just sensed that something was off. Her eyes were a bit glassy and she wasn't her usual, perky self. Yesterday afternoon I took her temperature and it registered as 100.4. That's an iffy fever around these parts. It may be a fever....it may not be a fever. Before bed, I took it again and it was 100.3. Unsure of whether it would progress or not, I went ahead and put her to bed without medication. I don't like to medicate for fevers unless (A) the child is acting visibly uncomfortable, or (B) the fever is 101 or above and we're heading to bed for the night. I don't want the fever to get out of control while we sleep, unaware.

 

At nearly 2 AM, Stitch sat up, with a barking cough and a look of panic on her face. When I heard her noisily intake a breath, I'm sure I looked panicked as well. Hearing your child having breathing difficulties is just not something that a parent wants to hear. After a quick temperature check (101.5), I got her up and out of bed. Suspecting croup (as Boo had it several times as an infant), I bundled her up and took her outside. Cool, moist air helps bring down any swelling in the airways. Unfortunately, it was not nearly as chilly outside as I expected it to be. The air was definitely not cool enough to benefit her airways. So back inside we went where I stripped her down and put her into a steaming shower. Poor kid was having chills by this point. Plus, she was still panicking about her breathing, which was making it worse. She was on the verge of tears. I calmed her, explaining that if she cried, she was going to make it ten times worse.

 

The steaming shower was quick, as she was running a fever and I didn't want to send it up any higher by bringing her body temperature up with the hot water. I just wanted to kind of "jump start" the process of lessening the swelling in her airways by having her breathe in the steam. Our bathroom is somewhat large and it would have taken forever to steam up the entire bathroom enough to help her. So I just put her in with the steam.

 

After only a few minutes, I got her out, her little body shaking and shivering. I dressed her as quickly as possible and then blow dried her hair. I wanted to lie her down right away in order to calm her down and relax her breathing. She asked to watch a show. At that point, I would have bought her a pony if she'd asked. And so at 2:30 AM, Stitch was watching My Little Pony on a cot on the floor of the guest bedroom, bundled up in her sleeping bag, her fever slowly going down thanks to a dose of Tylenol. Baby and I tried to get a little sleep on the guest bed in the room with Stitch. Well, *I* tried to get some sleep....baby slept through it all.

 

At some point, I got up to go to the bathroom and heard little feet running down the hall towards me. Boo came running from the bedroom with a smile on her face, wanting me to pick her up. She thought it was morning and time to get up and play. I quickly took her back to our bedroom and put her in bed with Daddy. Thankfully, she immediately fell back asleep.

 

So that's how our Monday began.....very, very early in the morning. I'm running on very little sleep right now. Thanksfully, Mr. Incredible was able to stay home again today in order to take Stitch to the doctor this afternoon. I didn't want to drag two healthy kids into a waiting room chock full of sick germs....especially a 2 week old baby. And speaking of a 2 week old baby, please pray that she doesn't get whatever this is that Stitch has, whether it be croup or just a really bad cold. Newborns have such small airways anyways that I don't even want to imagine how bad it would be if she caught croup and her airways began to swell.

 

So now I'm signing off, heading into the guest bedroom with Stich to slather her chest and feet with Vicks, set up the cool midst humidifier, check her temperature, possibly dose her with Tylenol, and prop her up on pillows. I'm hoping for an uneventful, restful night in the guest bedroom with our oldest and youngest children. Mr. Incredible and Boo can sleep soundly in their normal places. I'm praying for a better Tuesday.

 

Odds and Ends.

I have nothing in particular to post about this evening, so this will be a potpourri entry of sorts.

 

Stitch is completely finished learning to ride her bike. She's off like a pro, careening around the cul-de-sac with shouts of "Watch me, Mommy!" as she glides a bit too close to the mailbox for Mommy's comfort. On Monday evening Mr. Incredible took her around the block, unprepared for the progress she made that day while he was at work. He figured he would walk beside her as she rode. Turns out, he ended up jogging the entire way around the block, still lagging behind her as she gleefully rode ahead. She's a regular Speedy Gonzalez now. And she smiles wildly as she pedals faster and faster.

 

I found an awesome balance bike on Amazon for Boo. I just knew she would love graduating from a tricycle to her red Kazaam bike, pushing to keep up with big sister. The bike arrived, I put it together, and set her loose in the driveway. Her patience with it lasted all of 5 minutes before she abandoned it and went back to her Diego tricycle, passed down from Stitch. I think that we need to find a gently sloping roadway so that she can more easily glide down it and attempt to balance. Maybe this weekend we can take her to the local high school, which has a slope in the parking lot. For now, she refuses to touch it.

 

 

My bi-weekly OB visits are just about to turn into weekly ones. On Tuesday I had another appointment and they want to see me back in 10 days. That's when the fun begins! Okay, not really. But next Friday they will begin checks to see if my body is progressing towards getting this little one out into the world. I asked about a scheduled induction. Due to the fact that we live 45 minutes away from the hospital where I will deliver (and that's with NO traffic), this is my third child (quicker labors), and I haven't the slightest clue what going into labor even feels like (I was induced both other times), I would feel more comfortable *not* rushing to the hospital in an attempt to prevent baby from being born in the van. I'd like to be a little more calm than that. So if all is going well, I can have a scheduled induction at 39 weeks.....which is 2 days away! 2!! Seriously, for 9 months you spend your time thinking that the end is so far away and that this little one will never come out....and then it sneaks up on you *just like that*.

 

Thankfully, we pretty much have everything ready. I think the only thing we need to do is put together the bouncy seat. Today I had another appointment at the specialist for an ultrasound. They are monitoring me often since I had low fluid with both other kids. Today's ultrasound looked good - fluid levels are within the normal range. But they did totally freak me out though. They told me that baby was already 6 pounds, 11 ounces and I'm only 35 weeks! I know that ultrasounds at this stage can be wrong....up to two pounds wrong....so I'm hoping that she's not as large as they say she is currently. I guess we'll find out in a few weeks!

 

Well, I'd seriously better hit the sack. I hate posting with only one photo in the entry, but I'm *extremely* tired this evening and we have a pretty full day tomorrow. Goodnight!

Weekend Edition

 

This weekend has been pretty busy for us. It's been filled with visiting family, dinners at Sonny's, ballet class, a football game (for Mr. Incredible, not me), one sleepless night (me), a trip to Wal-Mart, dog siting, and a playroom that looks like disaster struck. Whew!

 

Stitch has recently begun taking ballet at the local children's center. It's the very same place where we attend homeschool group. I've tried to talk Boo into a class, but she won't have anything to do with it. Stitch seems to enjoy it though. She wanted to take ballet after becoming interested in the books and TV series featuring Angelina Ballerina....a dancing mouse. I couldn't really get any decent photos, but here's Stitch in her class.

 

 

She thoroughly enjoyed dog sitting my sister's poodle this weekend. Stitch took full responsibility of all the walking, feeding, and playing that needed to be done. She's really good at taking care of pets. We have two dogs of our own, as featured on our side bar. Marley was bought for the girls and I informed Stitch that the sole care of Marley would fall on her since she was the one who really wanted to get another dog. She doesn't consider Chase to be her dog since Mr. Incredible and I adopted Chase right before we were married 11 years ago. She wanted a dog to call her own....Chase isn't too interested in the kids. So this weekend she cared for our two dogs, as well as my sister's dog, Biscuit.

 

 

Biscuit probably received more hugs in one weekend than he's received in his entire life. And, of course, Biscuit's birthday happened to fall this weekend so we made sure to sing Happy Birthday to him and I let the girls choose a few dog toys from Wal-Mart to gift to him. He was practicially smiling.

 

Switching subjects.....

 

Not to alarm you....but I'm about to make mention of the "C" word. I felt the need for the forewarning so that I do not startle anyone. For the past week, I've started contemplating......wait for it.........Christmas!! Yes, hold onto your pants! I know it's only mid-September! I know I still have to get through the birth of our third child, Halloween, and Thanksgiving! And I know it was 95 degrees outside today! But I like to be ready. I don't like last minute rushes and trying to throw together gifts for those hard-to-buy-for people. So I'm starting early. Don't worry, I'm not actually purchasing very much yet, I'm mostly just contemplating.

 

As I was perusing Pinterest a few weeks ago, I ran across this great idea: A Book A Day in December. However, I'm going to modify it just a bit. Instead of having 24 Christmas themed books (because, I mean really...how many Christmas books does one family need to own?), I'm going to seek out some of the very best children's books and wrap those up. On December 1st, when Hermie the Elf arrives, he will come bearing a basket full of gift wrapped books with a note attached. The note will instruct the girls that each day they are to take turns choosing one book to unwrap and I'll read it to them (and Hermie too!). By Christmas Eve, we'll have 24 wonderful books to read throughout the rest of their childhood. My kids love listening to chapter books, but these 24 books will be comprised of picture books only. I want to be able to read the entire thing on the day the book is opened so that the next day will be free to read the next book.

 

I've already begun collecting the books....I want to be sure that I have plenty of time to locate the ones that I choose. And I don't want to pay full price (cause books can be crazy expensive). I have quite a few paperbackswap.com credits saved up, so I browsed around there and ended up ordering The Kissing Hand and Miss Nelson Is Missing (I remember this book from my own childhood). And then I took a journey back into my own memory and remembered loving a book titled Mother, Mother, I Want Another! This wasn't available on paperbackswap.com (at the moment, anyways) so I surfed on over to Amazon, who had it in stock, and used, at a good price. So I went ahead and ordered it from there. Three down, twenty-one more to go! I think the kids will really enjoy this little project. Hermie will get all the glory though.

 

Switching subjects again....I hope no one gets whiplash.

 

The girls started back to AWANA again a few weeks ago. This time, Boo is old enough to be a Cubbie. She gets to wear a vest, carry a bag, and memorize verses just like her big sister.

 

 

Well, that's about all I have for tonight. Within the next few days, you can look for another post about my favorite obsession....Disney! It's in the works. Good night!

Stream of Consciousness

 

Today I had another ultrasound appointment to check Baby C's fluid levels. Since I was induced with both Stitch and Boo due to low fluid, we're keeping a close eye on this litle girl. We got to see Baby C in there opening and closing her eyes, kicking around, and the ultrasound technician even pointed out hair on her head! I never knew you could see hair on an ultrasound. I'm wondering if we will have another crazy haired newborn like Boo?

 

 

After the ultrasound, the kids and I made a Target run. I wanted to pick up some of the last few baby items on our list.....one bottle, a box of newborn diapers, two swaddle sacks, breast pads, a soft hairbrush, Desitin, and milk storage bags. Honestly, I think that all we *need* is an infant tub that will fit in our sink, some socks, lanolin cream, and a few newborn sized outfits and we're good to go. Of course, I still have some *wants* that I would like to pick up....like a few pair of cute soft soled shoes and some newborn photography props, but that's about it. I'm ahead of the game. I wanted everything purchased and organized well before we bring baby home. I've never done this thing with having two "older" kids and a newborn, all the while trying to homeschool and run a household. I need to be organized in advance. Eight weeks (or six, depending on what due date is correct) to go!

 

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes!   :::cue David Bowie music:::    My blog is going to undergo a few changes to make navigation easier. If you notice in the upper right corner, underneath the header, is a word cloud. I'm slowly going to go through all of my past entires and tag them according to category. If you want to learn more about our homeschooling ways, just click "homeschool" and it will take you to every post I've written about homeschooling. If you want to see more of Boo, just click her name. Same goes for any category up there. Right now, I do not have them all past entries categorized, but I'm slowly going back through several years worth of posts to put them all into their correct category. All future posts will be categorized upon publishing though.

 

As for other changes to the blog, I'm in need of a name for Baby C! Not a real name (we've already got that), but a blog name. As you may have guessed, Stitch and Boo are not our children's *real* names. And Mr. Incredible and I do not go by our blog names in real life. If you have any suggestions, feel free to leave a comment. And due to our family's insane love of all things Disney, it does need to be Disney related.

 

Look for a new header coming soon! I like to change them every year and this one is due for a change....or possibly even overdue for a change. Speaking of overdue, my library books were NOT! Yes, after paying $50 in library fines, I managed to return our books ON TIME after being away from the library for the past year. Hopefully I can keep this up. If not, I'm sure that Mr. Incredible will confiscate my library card.

 

 

Saturday.

 

Saturday's are for.....

 

Sleeping till 9.

 

Shopping at thrift stores.

 

Supper at Sonny's.

 

Snack time.

 

Yes, Saturdays are our designated "snack days." We don't keep junk food in our home and we are not ones to stop and get any during the week, so Saturday has been designated snack day. We allow the kids to choose what they want for their weekend snack (as do Mr. Incredible and I). For the past few Saturday's, the kids have been hooked on ice cream sandwiches. However, these are not just any ice cream sandwiches. The girls orignally had this dessert at Joe's Crab Shack years ago. It was a special occasion so we allowed them to share an ice cream sandwich from Joe's. They brought out a sandwich, cut into pieces, with toppings to dip in. They were completely enamoured. Since that day, the kids have occasionally requested that I re-create that same dessert. So tonight their toppings included sprinkles, chocolate syrup, strawberry syrup, and caramel.

 

Needless to say, they were in heaven.

 

 

 

 

This afternoon the girls spent their time coloring in the sunroom, as they spend most of their free time here lately. We had this sunroom addition built around this time last year. Since then, the kids have completely taken it over as their own. They love it out there. It must be because all of the natural light....it's like it just draws them out there.

 

 

Notice the insane amount of crayons, coloring books, and stickers they have spread around the rug. They're obsessed, I tell ya.

 

Tomorrow our day will be filled with church, organizing our school area, laminating, binding some workbooks for the kids, and hopefully taking my own maternity photos. *That* should be interesting.

 

Now if I could only get these kids down for the night. Between the two of them, they have gotten out of bed no less than 10 times since being tucked in nearly an hour ago. Gee, wonder why they can't sleep? Could it be the sheer amount of sugar they ate in the above photos?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of those days.

 

From the looks of my posts, one may think that it's all sunshine and roses over here, all the time. Trips to Disney, homeschooling fun, family parties....it's all fun! But no, we're just like everyone else over here in the Incredible household. And today has been One Of Those Days. You know, the kind where you want to run screaming from the house, searching for the nearest Dairy Queen. Yep, that was today.

 

It was a productive day, but very stressful. I was bitten by some sort of bug - the cleaning kind. I cleaned out our entire refrigerator and freezer. Not just cleaning out food that needs to be thrown away, as I do that often. But I mean DEEP cleaning. I took out shelves and drawers, I used Lysol and paper towels, I scrubbed and made things shine. Yeah, I'm not sure if I've *ever* done that before with the fridge/freezer. It looks brand new! Now I don't want anyone to touch anything in there....if I see as much as one little drop of food or liquid, I'm just going to flip.

 

I got school completed today with both kids. I worked on the nursery. I washed dishes. I listed a few things on craigslist. I organized my scrapbooking things. So yeah, I got a lot done.

 

I also cleaned up a pooptastrophe, thanks to my lovely 4 year old who refuses to fully potty train. Yeah, I am *so* over cleaning up a 4 year old in that way.

 

Then I witnessed that same 4 year old, who is usually calm and easy going, pitch the fit of her life - over a Webkinz hamster. Lately I've seen little glimpses of an emerging attitude. I think that my usually joyful little girl is going to experience the Frightening Fours at any moment.

 

Stitch, thankfully, has been uneventful today. She's usually my high maintanence child, so this is a welcome break.

 

Then the doorbell rang. I was on the phone, Boo was pitching a fit, the dogs were barking their heads off, Stitch was trying to tell me something, and I opened the door to some kid selling something. I usually do not even open the door, but I thought it was my dad because I knew he was supposed to be stopping by. Well, it wasn't him. I feel bad, but I kind of blew the kid off with an "I'm sorry, I'm really busy right now" while trying to hold the phone, shush the dogs, and tell Boo to take herself to the bedroom to cry. The kid took one look at the chaos and left.

 

To top the evening off, I realized I didn't have anything for dinner. So the kids had hotdogs and salad for the second night in a row. I'll be having a deli sandwich. Mr Incredible is not even home from work yet. Dinner is dofficially taken care of.

 

Bedtime for the kids is in 40 minutes. Then I'll become best friends with the couch, a DVR'ed episode of Army Wives, and a bowl of chocolate ice cream. Baby Sprout likes ice cream. Her Mommy does too.

 

Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

A casserole blog post of sorts.

 

You know, you dump a bunch of ingredients in a dish, stir it around, and voila! You have a casserole! That's sort of how my blog post is probably going to turn out. We have been SO busy here for the past few days, and I have so many thoughts going through my head, so I'm just going to toss them into one post and hope that it turns out to be edible. Errr, readable.

 

On Saturday we went to the annual Christmas parade in a nearby town. It was a nice little day trip with the family. Joining the girls and I were my parents, youngest sister, her boyfriend, and the girls little friend. After the parade we managed to do a little sight seeing, despite the crazy crowds. We visited an old Fort, as well as a wax museum. Dinner at a seafood restaurant followed. It was a fun day complete with wonderful weather.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 There was one quite frightening moment during the day when I thought I would be forced to become a Death Eater. Thankfully, I got away.

 

 

 

 

 Boo went to the eye doctor last week for a check-up. They like to keep tabs on her eyes to be sure the patching is still helping her bad eye. Sure enough, it is working, surgery is pretty much guaranteed to be avoided, and Boo cooperated like a champ. We still need to continue patching for a while so that the vision in her bad eye will continue to improve. But, as of now, the eye doctor cannot even detect any "wandering" in Boo's eye, which is great news!

 

This evening, I am neck-high in photographs to edit. I photographed the wedding of a family friend and took over 700 photos! I think I'll be editing till I'm 40! It was a beautiful wedding consisting of a wonderful young couple. Just one sneak peek for the family since I haven't been able to dive too deep into the editing process yet. The kiddos are snug in bed and I'm using the opportunity to continue on with my editing.

 

 

And speaking of editing, today I photographed my girls little friends. The babe is turning one, the older is just 7 weeks older than Boo. Here's a sneak peek for mom and dad....

 

 

 Today I managed to slice my finger open while setting up my photography equipment. That was fun. Or not. I was wondering if a visit to the urgent care may be necessary. It wasn't bleeding a lot but it wouldn't....::::disclaimer to the squeamish (like me), don't say I didn't warn you::::... stay together. It kept gaping open.  Eww. Gag. I know. Finally, it did end up staying together. Urgent care visit avoided. But now I can't really use that finger for fear of breaking it open again, so it's not really a whole lot of fun attempting to do things thumbless.

 

Herme's mischief this year is in full swing with all his elving antics. The last few days have consisted of this....

 

And even a little of this....

 

That elf causes some sort of mess that I have to clean up every single day. I really don't quite know what to do about him anymore. The girls love him to bits so maybe I'll just let him stay.

 

Paisley began therapy for her auditory and visual processing disorders. More on that in a later post. All I know is that it is taking up lots of time, energy, and money and I just pray that it helps aid her speech and reading issues. Traditional speech therapy was just not working.

 

This week is another jam packed, full to the brim week....there is packing for trips, dentist appointments, Whole Foods visits, finishing up of Christmas shopping, homeschool group, church, therapy, schooling, photo editing....and oh yeah, I guess I'll breathe in there somewhere. Possibly even sleep too. And continue fighing off this cold that's attacking my sinuses. Whew!

 

And that's my blog post casserole! Tired just from reading it? I am. Goodnight!