February 6th

Wow - What a day! Patrick had a great nap yesterday but that didn't transpire into a great night last night. He woke up sometime in the 2am hour. I didn't want to get sucked into I have a pacifier and now I just can't get back to sleep please hold me. So I let him cry it out for a while but then I did sneak up to find him without a pacifier and his blanket. SO he got the benefit of both back and I held him for a while. Of course when the time came to put him down he cried again but not as long as he did before.

I did feel a sense of accomplishment in getting Tom's room ready. I need the mattress raised up and put the clean sheets on.

Picking up John from preschool was fun today. He had a great day. He came out with a Chinese New Year mask and then when he was in the car he revealed to me that he received ashes. I asked him who gave them to him - expecting to hear that one of the priests distributed them, instead I heard "you know the lady who plays the piano". A side note - she is part of the Pastoral Council that runs our church - not just the music minister.

I took the boys to the Ash Wednesday Service at noon. I thought I would be ok because it wasn't a full mass. I was ok but it was hard at times. Patrick fell asleep, James wanted me to hold him and the lady who plays the piano presided over the service which led to a lot of questions from John. Luckily the older women around us thought my "children were beautiful" and said they were very good in church. This was from a group of people we don't normally sit around.

We came home and the boys played for a little while. Around 1pm I needed a nap so everyone was going upstairs today. John and James sounded like they were having fun both had their socks off when I checked in on them. Patrick was crying for awhile but he quit and started again so one of the boys went in his room to check in on him. I was able to rest for a good half hour until the Plain Dealer wanted to know if I wanted to get their paper daily. I declined and hung up. Then got up to get some more things accomplished like dinner, laundry and calling the local tax service place. John came down to visit - I had to talk James into going to bed which he complied and luckily Patrick did fall asleep. I had John write some thank you notes to Uncle Bob and Shelly for helping us out last month. I wrote out the thank you note so he would know what the letters are to look like but it turns out its just easier to tell him the letter and let him write it in capital letters. My letter includes both capital and lower case so he can practice both. The letters turned out ok and John enjoyed the exercise. I sent my version in the envelope just in case the recipient couldn't make out the run on words.

James was a hard one to wake up after nap. I'm sure the late start didn't help. As I was getting dinner ready the Plain Dealer called again to make sure I didn't change my mind in wanting the daily paper - um no in case you were wondering. John and Patrick ate dinner well but it took James a long time to eat. He didn't eat a great great lunch either that I thought he would eat up dinner.

Tonight I got my hair cut and then ran to Target. It was nice to get out for a little while without having to buckle and unbuckle anyone. I like my haircut and I finished getting things at Target for John's Valentine's party. My friend Anita, whom I spoke with today, suggested we play a hot potato as one of the games. I found a heart the kids can pass around and prizes will be candy. I also decided to get some things for the boys Easter baskets. Who knows when I will have the time to get out again myself.

Tomorrow we are going to Babies R Us to get my cousin presents for her baby shower. Hopefully John won't tell her too much when she comes on Friday to watch the kids so I can get the carpet cleaned in the living room. Ok I'm ready to go to sleep!