Hi.

I've set my own personal record for least blog posts published in a month.  January was home to a whopping five.  Also, my camera has been collecting dust lately, and the few pictures that I have are still in it.  And, it's at my parents' house.  Whoops.  Hmmm....does a month really happen if it's so poorly documented? Kidding.

For Stephan (who misses my posts :)) and the grandparents (who would probably like updates on their grandbabies)....these pictures were all I could scrounge up...

Some random January factoids:

: :  A house under constant renovation = Chaos. Chaos in my house = Chaos in my head. I spent January trying to tame that beast.  It's spilling over into February.

: : Levi, Levi, Levi. We've had some rough times lately.  But, after numerous discussions about what could be causing Levi's worsening behavior (and some sweet help from a friend), Stephan and I had one of those "duh" moments.  Turns out that it was the crud we were letting the poor kid eat because I was too tired (and...cringe...maybe too lazy) to be vigilant about what was going into his body.  The removal of artificial and over-processed junk has yielded a much more reasonable kid.  And, a less tired mama...funny how that works.

: : Also, it turns out that Levi is very similar to a border collie.  If you've ever had one, you know that they require a job otherwise they'll tear up your house.  Levi is the same way, so I've been giving him LOTS of jobs lately.  He's thrilled.  I'm thrilled.  And, the laundry is getting washed at an astonishing rate. Now, if he could just get coordinated enough to fold it. :)

: : I spent most of last month fretting over Sophia's eczema.  It is from the depths of Hades.  I tell you.  We would wake up to what looked like mini crime scenes each morning because she would rub and scratch her face until it bled...nearly every night.  We tried all manner of creams, lotions, and oils with very little improvement. Thanks to the advice of friends, I'm now on a lactose free diet.  (Sort of...I might have forgotten and put butter on some things.)  I'm hesitant to say anything for fear of jinxing the poor gal, but things are beginning to clear up.  We'll see.

: : The brightest spot in January--Stephan now has a week off every month!  I cannot tell you how beside myself excited I am.  For the whole of last year his months went like this: 80 hour week, 30 hour week, 80 hour week, 30 hour week. It was trying, to say the least.  But, now one of those 30 hour weeks has been ditched.  During his first week off he painted the dining area...you remember the one with peeling wall paper?  Sigh. It's lovely.  Maybe this house will get finished soon, and we can spend one of those weeks actually relaxing.  What a change that would be!

Random February factoid:

: : Sophia is 5 months old. She's nearly halfway to a whole trip around the sun! Her personality is shining through more and more each day. I do believe the girl's gonna be a pistol....a bright, sunshiny pistol.

So what's been happening in your neck of the woods while I've been away?