Bullet Post

- It's spring, which means that it's birthday time in our house. We've celebrated two of the three kids birthdays in the last 2 weeks. You know you have birthdays that are close together when you end up throwing away half a birthday cake because everyone is tired of cake. Must remember to post birthday pics and such on the other blog.

- When parents get sick, dad always ends up being the sicker of the two. Never-mind that mom had to clean the house, do mountains of laundry, host a birthday party, teach primary music, and care for a sick three-year old of the most unpleasant kind, all whilst suffering from a sore throat that made eating, speaking and yawning unbearable, running a low-grade fever, and being so exhausted that sitting on the couch immediately led to snoring. No, now that dad is sick, mom's complaints from the last week are paltry compared to the raging fever, bone-wracking chills, and puss encrusted throat that dad is suffering from. Hmph.

- Laundry is a thankless task. Especially now that everyone is potty-trained and changing their own clothes, multiple times a day. (Someone please tell me why, once a child is potty trained, they feel the need to change their pants 6 times a day, even when they are perfectly clean?) Also, now that soccer season is upon us, the coach has twice as much laundry each day. All that being said, laundry has two great perks. (Don't tell my family.)

1. Everyone else hates to do laundry, so they leave me alone as I sort, load, fold and put away. Blissful time, all by myself.
2. I claim all treasures I find in the laundry as my own. I can do whatever I want with them. That means all toys, drawings, rocks, paperclips and other such treasures get dumped in the trash. And, all money found in mine. Look at how I cleaned up this week.

$4.12, a hair clip, a tiny key, a pistachio shell (can't figure that one out since we haven't had pistachios in the house since NY), a stack of business cards (anyone want to send their kids to a great little independent school, just call my husband) and a paperclip. Awesome.

- There's nothing like a good romance novel (or 6) to keep stress at bay. Well, that and diet coke. We have a big chair in our master bedroom, next to a sunny window. There's nothing that makes a day seem a little brighter than 20 minutes in that chair with a frosty cold diet coke, a blanket on my lap, and a little romance between a viscount and a governess (for example.)

- I'm thinking of planting a small garden this Spring. Our ward has a garden, and we have a small plot reserved for our use. The kids are jazzed about digging in the dirt and watching things grow, but I'm wondering if planting a garden, with just their help, is a little more than I can handle. As a total gardening novice, will I only end up spending money and time on a piece of dirt that will give forth... nothing? Looking for gardening tips of the most basic variety.