Monday

OK, I'm going to have to dig deep to find things to be grateful for today...the list might not be very long, but I'm gonna try:

• Leapsters...they have saved my skin so many times! Today, during our almost one hour wait in the pass office, the kids played Leapster for all but the last 10 minutes. For that 10 minutes they acted like orangutans on speed...but for 50 minutes, they were pleasantly preoccupied with their Leapsters.
• Lunch at the PX...one more meal I didn't have to cook or clean up after.
• The indoor play area at the PX, which is great for rainy days...and the fact that when other people's kids started running out of there crying, it was NOT Josiah or Annika's fault, but instead was a gargantuan 18-month-old boy who was slapping everyone's face. Annika's sporting a decent scratch, but since she was rude and called this kid (and I quote) "an idiot", I didn't get on his case. I did, however, get on her case. Just as I was wondering where she might have heard the word "idiot", we heard it tonight on "Cars". And I'm not saying it has never come out of my mouth. Proof positive that they hear everything we say!
• Having a wonderful mother-in-law to sing "Happy Birthday" to this morning at 6:30 a.m. Minnesota time. Happy Birthday Mom!
• Watching Annika's skill at making friends. I am happy to report that she is the farthest thing from shy and can so easily insinuate herself into a group of girls, be they three, eight or eleven. She just has a way.
• Contractions. Even though they aren't painful, I know that every one is doing a tiny bit of work to make the real job easier. There were quite a few today. For anyone wondering, we have about 10 weeks left to go.
• Having a built-in babysitter. My Aunt Kathy is here and so will be able to watch the kids tomorrow morning while I take Hans in to get his poor toe operated on. Hopefully they won't act like oragutans on speed!

Gosh, that got a lot longer than I thought it would...I just had to think about it a little longer!