8:01 pm

It is 8:01 pm right now and my house is quiet. Except for the gurgling sounds from my dishwasher. Both Ella AND Mason are asleep. No Benadryl or Sudafed were required. They have been waking up a little earlier these past two days for the boys to get ready for school, so I am trying to get them to sleep a little earlier too. And tonight it just might have worked. Mason is doing great with potty training, so since he's had a dry diaper the past three mornings, tonight we decided to try sleeping in big boy underwear. I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow. My morning started at 3:30 when Ella woke me up to tell me she didn't feel well. Makes for a long day. She was fine by 7:00 am when she re-awoke. This morning we spent a lot of time cleaning the house in preparation for Ella's kindergarten teachers' home visit. When I say 'we' I really me 'I'. Ella and Mason just played and kept messing up whatever area I had just cleaned. At 1:00 pm Mrs. Waldrup and her assistant Ms. Hampton came over to meet Ella and talk to both of us. Mrs. Hampton worked with Ella for a few minutes while Mrs. Waldrup talked with me and asked me some questions. Meanwhile, Mason took this opportunity to act as if he had been injected with some hyperactivity medicine and was bouncing off of me and all over the room. Both teachers were wonderful and fun with Ella and she was so happy and excited to talk with them. Here is a picture of Ella with her teachers:

Mrs. Waldrup was telling Ella about her pink toenails and pink rubber bands in her braces. (She fell last year and broke her face, so she needs braces. She was running and tripped. Exercise can be harmful to your health.) Anyways, she asked Ella if she likes pink, to which Ella answered with a resounding "YES!" and showed Mrs. Waldrup HER own pink toenails. Then Mason got involved and showed everyone HIS pink toenails. Mrs. Waldrup told Ella she also really likes purple and will get purple rubber bands next time and paint her toenails purple too. So as soon as she left, Ella wanted to do something with purple.
"Let's make a purple cake Mom!"
You know how I am about baking. Ella didn't have to ask twice. And when Ella found out that I now am the proud owner of an apron (Christy made it for me at Homemaking a few weeks ago, THANKS CHRISTY!) Ella was so excited to wear it while she baked.
Here are Ella and Mason deciding that they both like the cake batter better than the finished product:


Ella wanted pretties in her hair, and not just any pretties. I had to do them a specific way. I think I finally did it the way she wanted them done. Here's Ella with her new hair do while she sucks applesauce threw a straw.

The boys had another good day of school. Jaxon was the perfect example of a middle schooler in his attitude and behavior this afternoon. Slightly hostile, a bit arrogant, and a tad rude. It is nice to see such classic text book behavior of preadolescence in my own living room. Amy Parish is AWESOME and picked Colton and Jaxon up for Scouts/Young Men's tonight. Jaxon was mad he had to wear Sunday dress because there is a fireside and a white shirt with blue jean shorts is NOT Sunday dress. Next time he tries to pull that I will put him IN a Sunday DRESS of mine to wear. Hmph!
And here's a fun note to end on. This is how we caught Ella last night while I was reading scriptures at the dinner table:

She was trying to read my German book for class tomorrow: Essential German Grammar. I think she'd have better luck with the writings of Isaiah than the German book. Wish me luck tomorrow!