Just when you thought it was safe...

The girls and I felt so much better this morning; I was back to my energetic self and India and Kate were so much more pleasant to be around. Then, without warning, the Virus That Just Won't Die Part II. Headaches, vomiting, and other unspeakables are plaguing us again. All three of us are just miserable, feverish, and grumpy...welcome home, Tracy!

Yes, "the boys" survived Merle Fest with no arrests and, more importantly, all my cooking utensils arrived home unscathed. I will say that Tracy MUST have a shower or he's sleeping on the dogs' bed; evidentally the shower facilities were reminescent of MASH and 3 days of campfire and outdoors have left a Pig Pen-like cloud around my husband. We are sampling some of the music right now and I am impressed. My favorite musical story of the weekend: "The Mammals" and "The Ducks" joined each other on stage for the "Platypus Jam".

To keep the girls occupied today we made a run to Wal Mart (this was before the recurrance of illness). No big deal, right? Except the closest Wal Mart is 45 minutes away. We are really in the boonies...we drive 1.5 hours and a $20 toll just to get our car serviced, visit a Target or mall, etc. There are lots of things we just can't purchase on the Shore, making the occasional trip to Wal Mart a necessary evil. I am probably the only female in the free world who loathes shopping so I had mixed feelings about going ("I'm getting out of the house" versus "Wal Mart is Hell"), but I bribed the girls to behave by promising them a small toy. Kate selected some princess doll with molded hair that comes off. The hair is roughly the size of a chick pea and she keeps losing it. I know this because whenever she is looking for something she "calls" it, and right now she's walking around yelling "haaayaw" (hair) like I might yell "Daaaiissy" out the back door for one of our dogs. It's cracking me up! There she goes again. I should probably help her find the hair but right now I am enjoying her calling it too much.

Another Kate funny...she loathes being laughed at (it usually makes her cry) and today when someone would make eye contact with her and smile she would put her head down, look at me and say "I sad". When asked why, she said "People" in a tone I would reserve for saying "chicken guts". India, on the other hand, had no qualms about talking to everyone in the store and showing them the contents of our cart. Thank goodness I wasn't buying feminine hygiene products!

Postscript: Cliff and Rebecca - the vague yellow thing India is holding in her picture is the stuffed giraffe you sent when she was born. That is "Frinkles" and she is her "best lovey" (All you "Olivia" readers should get the reference). I had to search the world wide web to find a back-up...now we have a spare in case of emergencies! India tells me that Frinkles is afraid of the dark and often wakes her to ask for reassurance and to ask India to break out some "Monster Spray" - but that's a whole other blog topic.

"I love people. I love my family, my children . . . but inside myself is a place where I live all alone and that's where you renew your springs that never dry up." - Pearl S. Buck

My springs are parched today. It's a sad commentary that 6 years ago being sick and in bed on a beautiful spring weekend would have caused great consternation, yet today I would sell my soul for a day in bed with naps, books and grown-up television! Kate is now sick, too...not enough to make her tired and compliant; just enough that I need to change her diaper with a bit more frequency. Everyone is grumpy. There has been a lot of infighting amongst the Turman girls, and a bit more yelling on my part than I would like to admit. I'm hoping tomorrow will be a better day.

I'm "renewing my springs" a bit by listening to Pandora (see link), my new favorite site thanks to Clare's "life partner"(inside joke) Derek. If you aren't familiar with Pandora, you type in an artist or song that you like, and it creates a "station" of similar music. I'm blaring a little funk and some Jayhawks-like stuff and counting the hours (minutes, seconds) until bedtime for my munchkins.

We did make it to the beach today (sans William; India told Tracy "I have germs in my body and I might give them to William so he couldn't come, and that just makes me sad"). Cape Charles is the first place we visited when considering moving to The Shore, and just fell in love with it. We stayed in one of the B&Bs in the picture above; this row of houses faces the water. This is a bayside town, unlike the seaside town of Wachapreague pictured in a previous blog. Since the Bay is historically (and sadly, continues to be) a dumping ground for trash, Cape Charles beach is a great spot for adding to my sea glass collection/obsession. Beautiful stuff.

I'm finding myself increasingly frustrated with my digital camera. I think the problem is part stubborn, old-fashioned technophobe on my part, and part older, cheaper technology on the camera's part. I will frame the perfect shot, press the button, and what seems like 12 minutes later the subject has moved and the look is lost. I am longing for my 35mm...had some gorgeous shots of the girls and an osprey with seaweed for it's nest that were long gone before I heard the "click"!

Tracy and the boys are having a GREAT time at Merlefest. They went to bed at 4 am (their cue that it was bedtime was John falling out of his chair...'til then they "just weren't ready"), slept 'til 10am and are enjoying some wonderful music. Can't wait to sample some of the artists and we'll pass on recommendations to anyone interested.

Here I am, solo-flying the parent plane, and India and I have a stomach bug (the 3rd time at the Turman's this year, I might add). The illness unfolded as the girls were home with Tiffany, our babysitter, and I was at "spa night" at our YMCA then out for dinner and drinks with some friends. Spa night was a fundraiser where we received massages, manicures, etcetera. The manicures, makeup and jewelry exhibits did not thrill me (I'll take any excuse to get out of the house with friends) but the massage sure did. If I ever have disposable income the one selfish thing I would do is get a massage a month...it's one of my favorite things in the world. Dinner was great fun and it will be no surprise to some of you that we were sometimes inappropriate and consistently just plain loud. Some observations about the evening:

• when your babysitter is trying to call you to tell you your child is throwing up, it is important to have the cell phone volume on high enough that you will actually hear it
• sauteed zucchini and crystal mushrooms, fruited risotto, mushroom salad and 4 glasses of sangria do not mix well with a queasy stomach
• cleaning up your preschooler's yucky sheets does not mix well with a queasy stomach
• it's hard to fall asleep until after 1:30 or so with a queasy stomach
• sick children still wake up at 6am

I was supposed to take my friend Mary's son, William, today. Mary's husband is Tom (think prosthetic leg alcohol container from previous blog) and William is the boy India wants to marry. Clearly Mary doesn't want William within 12 miles of Toxic House, so we had to cancel. India is crushed, both because she loves playing with William and because I was going to take them to the beach to play. William is evidentally crushed, too, but I suspect that is mostly because he was looking forward to taking the girls' John Deere gator for a spin. India and Kate don't know this, but Mary and I were also going to take our kids out for Mexican tonight...now I'm facing a day of not leaving the house while India and I feel terrible and Kate has the energy of a manic gerbil.

I've finally gotten around to adding some links. I am especially hoping you will all visit the Neil Young site. He has a new anti-Bush, anti-war CD that can be downloaded for free...it's not quite "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" but on first listen is somewhat decent and, anyway, you just gotta love Neil. The Unemployed Democrats site is where I order my favorite bumper stickers. Mike and Dad; don't think you will like this stuff so I' m sorry. Mom, Janice, Clare, Cliff and Delane; knock yourselves out.

It's 8:30 in the evening, and I have the WHOLE HOUSE to myself. The girls are in bed and Tracy is in Durham with 3 buddies preparing to leave for a weekend at Merle Fest (bluegrass festival in NC). They are going to have a great time and hopefully not get arrested. Merle Fest is held in a dry county, which the boys did not realize until well after purchasing tickets. This caused great consternation and a need for serious scheming about how to work around what is a major dilemma. Our friend Tom (also Tracy's doc...scary) suggested that he have his leg amputated, give himself a few weeks to recover and be fitted for a prosthesis, fill the artificial leg with alcohol, drill holes in the toes, and there you go. My father, who probably secretly wishes he were going, suggested catheters taped to their backs with the tubes running down their arms for an instant "tap" (if you are unfamiliar with catheters, think of using them opposite of their intended direction). Of course, the wives' ideas, which involved emptying out Sprite bottles or OJ cartons, were sneered at as too banal. You know, I have no idea what they decided to do. Can't wait to hear about it; glad I'm not going.

Tonight I went to my friend Meredith's for dinner. Her husband is not a Merle Fest attendee, but he builds docks and is often busy until sunset so we frequently take turns hosting dinners and letting our girls play. I've been calling this foursome the dress-up divas, and tonight was no exception. Notice Isabelle (curly brown hair) is actually wearing a real Christmas tree skirt!!! Clare, does this remind you of Bernice from "Designing Women"?

What do you do when your child is obsessed with something? I enjoy Lion King about as much as any other parent (I LOVED the Broadway version and liked the movie, oh, the first 16 times I saw it), but for god's sake! We even have the Broadway soundtrack and both girls are adept at creating their own language for the African sections...cracks me up. India sings Lion King, plays Lion King (she strong-arms her friends into playing various characters and she is always Mufasa because she likes "getting dead"), and just generally seeing life through Lion King-colored glasses. Yesterday after play group my friend Andrea and I took the kids to McDonalds for lunch, and the Happy Meal toy was a lion. I'll let your imagination run wild.

The point of all this is that I spent the better part of today convincing India that she does not need to have a Lion King-themed birthday party. Firstly, I try to avoid the licensed character thing...I have a pet peeve re: marketing to small children. Secondly, while I fancy myself a decent cake decorator, I WILL NOT make a lion cake! Besides, who wants to eat tan and orange icing?

India's birthday is June 6, so you would think this conversation a timely one, but as many of you who know her well are aware, she has been planning a Lion King party since her 3rd birthday (that one was ladybugs...we sent each kid home with live ladybugs for their garden and the cake was as cute as a...well, a bug). Perhaps a day or two after that she began to obsess about birthday #4.

Once I pried her off of the Lion King idea, her second and third choices were a "shoe" party or a "princess" party. Each involved guests wearing the named fashion item and, of course, a coordinating cake. It took a bit of explaining, but I think India finally understands that her friend William might not be interested in wearing play heels or a sparkly tiara. I cajoled her into settling on an ocean theme. Now THAT I can enjoy doing. Those of you who know me well understand that my bored mother brain will latch onto this creative outlet and obsess...I don't know where India gets it!

I had to yell "shut up!" to a wild bird last night. We had thunderstorms starting around 10pm and for some reason a whipporwill decided to sing like a lunatic for an hour right outside our open window. Poor Tracy was already comforting one of our dogs, who requires valium (you think I'm joking, don't you?) and Tracy's physical presence to keep her from losing her marbles and tearing our house into toothpicks at the first sign of a thunderstorm. Too bad I couldn't have slipped the bird some of Millie's valium! It hasn't done much to help the dog, anyway...we are praying that she will soon lose her hearing. I'm not kidding, it is a HUGE problem. She's probably done $1000 worth of damage to the house during times when we were both working and couldn't contain her. Between the storm, the damn bird, and Millie wrapping herself like a fur stole around Tracy's neck, neither of us slept very well.

India had a hard time returning to preschool yesterday after being gone for a week. Tears welled up and she kept hanging her head and whispering, "But, Mommy, I want to stay with you" (jabs to the heart...guilt, guilt, guilt). Of course, I picked her up in the afternoon and she didn't want to leave. The folk from WolfTrap are spending the week at school and India is learning African, Old Time, and several other forms of music. Evidentally she is quite good with the spoons (it's that Southwestern Va heritage)! She's a bluegrass fan, anyway, and loves "Jailhouse", Dell McCurry (did I spell that correctly?), and "Shady Grove". Kate, on the other hand, prefers what they call "Boogie Music", which is usually Earth, Wind, and Fire, disco, or "Groove is in the Heart". Maybe we will have them preprogammed with decent music taste before they hit the Hillary Duff stage.

I had a dinner meeting last night with the director of our local Hospice and some other women. I am helping them plan a black tie gala for next May at a local winery...I think they figure if it's a party and wine is involved then I'm their girl! I'm very excited about this, particularly so soon after the death of my grandmother who was a Hospice patient. I feel strongly about the Hospice philosophy, both as a psychotherapist and as a human being. People like me wouldn't need to provide so much grief counseling if our culture didn't try to run so hard from death. Enough soapbox, but suffice it to say that it should be a learning experience and a great event for a pet cause. Anybody interested in buying some expensive tickets?

It didn't hurt that we met at Flaminco's, a new restaurant that is operated by a woman from the Chech Republic and serves traditional European foods...right down to the "salad" served last (Yes, Janice, a new restaraunt with FLAVOR that doesn't serve just crabcakes and sea trout and there are lots of non-fried and vegetarian options). Olga had made us a pitcher of Sangria yesterday morning so it would be just right by dinner. Maybe that's why our meeting lasted until 9!

We are back on "The Shore" after a long, emotional trip across the State for my grandmother's funeral. It was difficult, both because of the long drive with 2 children under four, and because it was for such a sad reason. Tracy's parents were kind enough to take the girls for several days so I could focus on helping my mother and grandfather. The girls had so much fun with their Pops and Gigi that India tried to negotiate another day out of us, but I think their grandparents would have keeled over from exhaustion had we left the girls with them another minute! Kate didn't sleep well (she's a terrible traveler and a Mommy's girl) and they are both high energy all the time. Thank you, Dex and Judy, for allowing us that time. It was a huge help.

My grandmother would have adored some of the funny things that happened; we had some funeral crashers (a Southern, small town phenomenon), my grandfather kept commenting loudly on every visitor's appearance ("Boy, he's really aged" or "Whoa, she's a little plump"), my mother introduced the Lineberrys, who own the jewelry store, as Mr. and Mrs. Diamond. We did a lot of laughing. I'm not sure that all of my granparents' friends approved, but the ones who told me they loved my grandmother's dirty jokes at bridge club must have seen some of my grandmother in my mother, sister and me.



This afternoon the girls and I went to the park in Wachapreague, about 5 minutes from our house. The park looks just like every elementary school playground, decidedly unscenic, but Wachapreague is gorgeous! It's where we used to put in our kayak pre-girls, and is considered the "flounder capital" of the East Coast. The building in the left-hand picture is a restaurant and one night we changed our minds about eating there and Robert Plant was hanging out in the bar all night! For part of the summer there is a carnival fundraiser that also overlooks this area...the ferris wheel view is fantastic. The marsh in the back is typical of the "seaside" and leads to the barrier islands that line and protect the Shore. It's a pretty amazing place. I hate to wish the days away, but I can't wait until the girls are old enough that we could justify the expense of a boat. The barrier islands are a great beach destination and sometimes you can be lucky enough to be the only people on an island. Fabulous!

My grandmother "Granny" passed away yesterday morning. This morning we are preparing to make that loooong trip across state. We will stop in Stuart and leave the girls with Tracy's parents and continue on to Galax. We had been anticipating this for so long and I had a list of things to accomplish to ready us for travel so I thought I had everything under control, but yesterday I just walked around like a zombie. I feel so sad...mostly for my mother and grandfather. Today is his birthday.

I never felt like I really new Granny; not like my other grandmother, Makey, who EVERYONE knows. Granny was, and is, a mystery. A tall, cool blonde beauty with a mysterious past, very closed-off and, well, just plain hard to know. Part of me is grieving just that; there are things that no one will ever understand about her now. We were close, though, in her own Granny way. My favorite memory: after her mastectomy she told me she bought a prosthesis that felt like a real breast. We were visiting for Thanksgiving and Tracy and I were newly engaged. Granny kept insisting, "It feels real. Feel it!" I kept replying "I'm not touching my grandmother's breast, even if it is fake!". We went round and round, until I finally gave in. Just at that moment, Tracy walked in the room! I think he wondered what kind of family he was marrying into. Another great memory; going to see Steel Magnolias (one of my faves) with Granny and Mom. We were all weeping, and Granny reached into her purse and starting silently passing tissues down the aisle. The way she did this made us laugh so hard that we cried even more! She had a great sense of humor, and was stronger than I will probably ever understand.

I sat India down yesterday to explain why Mommy was so sad, and why they would be going for a sleepover to Pops and Gigi's. Her obsession with all things Lion King came in handy (India can play 6 degrees of Lion King like nobody's business), as I explained that Granny had died just like Mufasa dies. India thought about this for a while and then asked, "Did Granny fall off a rock, like Mufasa?". This made me smile through my tears and see a little bit of Granny in my little girl.

I LOVE SPRING!!!! It's so beautiful. The sky is so blue and the air is fresh. I open all the windows for as long as I can and we spend a lot of time outside. I'm very hot-natured so I fear the summer and hang on to the mild warmth of spring and fall.

According to her Hospice nurse, my mother's mother, Granny, is actively dying. My parents are traveling to Galax tomorrow and the nurses feel that she only has a matter of days, if that. It's very sad, but it is also way past time; I am ready for her to stop suffering. Now we all are on pins and needles waiting for the phone call. I have a list of things to do (board the dogs, ask my friends to feed the cat, pack, cancel appointments, etc) and Tracy is trying to prepare for time away from both work and school. In the meantime I am trying not to jump every time the phone rings.

To end on a more upbeat note, it was back to preschool today for India and evidentally she learned "My Country 'Tis of Thee". I know this, not because India told me, but because I overheard her singing "Land where my fathers died, land where the pilgrims fried" over and over in the tub. I'm not sure if this indicates an early use of the electric chair or they were just making tempura. Later India was drawing Tracy and I with bath crayons (REALLY cool toy) and informed me "I'm putting hair on Daddy...on his body, too. Daddy has lots of hair on his body."!

Last night was a difficult one; I spent part of the time talking to the nursing staff at my maternal grandmother's nursing home. She has emphysema and COPD and is recieving Hospice care. Last night her temperature was up, her oxygen sat. levels were very low and the staff wanted to know how to respond. They couldn't reach my parents so they called my sister, who then called me in tears. My grandmother's nursing facility is not a fan of Hospice, not comfortable with letting her just pass on with dignity, and seem to want to rush her to the E.R. every time she spikes a fever instead of contacting the Hospice nurses like we have requested they do. I called and reiterated the medical plan and spent the rest of the night talking to Clare, trying to reach my parents, and waiting for the phone to ring (it didn't). We know it is only a matter of time; we've had several close calls already and I think we are all torn between selfishly not wanting to deal with her death, yet hoping for an end to her suffering. Mom just called and said that the nursing staff report that she is comfortable yet not improved, and I am thinking that it's time to make a list of things to accomplish so we are able to pick up and go when needed.

On a more positive note, Kate just makes me laugh. Yesterday she ran up to me and said "I dot da poop, Mommy". She's famous for false reporting, so I took a peek and told her there was nothing there. She then said, "I dot da poop. I sho' do, sho' do, sho' do!" (think elderly, southern, black male accent). I cracked up, so she kept repeating "I sho' do" all afternoon. She also says "I don' won' do dat" (don't want to do that) , "I pill in da fwo'" (I spilled it in the floor), and "I don' likey dat" (self-explanatory).

India has begun to express an interest in learning about gender
roles, particularly the whole marriage and childbearing thing (I think this is scaring Tracy to death. He keeps saying, "I was a teenage boy, and I know how they think!"). She has already selected her spouse, her good friend William. Excellent choice, by the way; that's him in the monkey suit at Halloween. She has decided to have 3 children named Nicole, Joe and William. Thank goodness she chose friend's names...her imaginary friends are named Causalicious and Mackenzie Veranda (Yes, she's strange). She informed me yesterday that "first I will be a Mommy who works, then when the babies come out of my belly I'll stay home". This is a girl with a plan. At least she's not asking about how the babies get in or get out! Unfortunately William has 2 other girls who want to marry him too, so India will have some competition. Lucky William!

Despite the ugly behavior from yesterday, the Easter Bunny did make an appearance at the Turman house (notice India's surprise!). Kate was up before six but luckily did not remember to anticipate presents so I was able to hold off the melee until India woke up at 6:30. That wiley Bunny knew of my girls' love of sunglasses (that's "asses" to Kate) and dress-up clothing, so we had a very Elton John Easter. The Easter Bunny also thoughtfully provided some chapstick for each child, which they use every 3.6 seconds throughout the day. They have the best-lubed lips in Virginia, and the couches, dogs, and other household items are suspiciously cherry-scented.

My favorite moment of the day was when India disappeared upstairs, emerging 10 minutes later wearing her pink dress and CHRISTMAS socks:
Tracy: "Why are you wearing Christmas socks on Easter, India?"
India: "Because I don't have Easter socks."

We laughed so hard that she burst into tears and all day reflected back "do you remember when you laughed at me about the socks?". Kate then had to put on her Christmas socks, which we barely noticed under all the tulle and chapstick.

Tracy finished his paper and now has to prepare for an on-line group project meeting (can you believe that?), so time to sign off.

"What's so funny bout peace, love and understanding?" -Elvis Costello

I'm almost afraid to write today...the amount of screaming, time outs, fighting (not to mention near melt-downs on my part) have reached epic proportions in the last 2 days! (Brooke, I think I lied about it getting easier.) India and Kate knew we had a dinner party to go to last night and, although they love their babysitter, they walked around the second-half of yesterday sobbing "No Tiffany, Mommy; NONONONONONONONONO TIFFANY!!!! NO NO NO!" These exclamations were shouted in conjunction with lots of leg-hanging, begging to "hold me" and sniffling. This happened for approximately 2 hours off and on. When we left I had to wrench my shirt and necklace from Kate's surprisingly strong fist and Tracy and I literally ran out the door and rode around for 15 minutes rather than remain in that house another second!

Unfortunately today seems to be Take Your Aggression About Having A Babysitter Last Night Out On Your Mother Day. This holiday seems to come around with frequency, unlike the good ones. Tracy went to his office to work on a paper and the girls were determined to drive me crazy to exact their revenge. In one hour's time we had a broken Easter snow globe that scattered miniscule pieces of glass, oily water and "snow" all over Kate's seat, 2 spilled containers of Easter egg dye (did you know this looks very pretty on unsealed hardwood flooring?), at least 4 screaming matches between the sisters...I feel sure there was more but I think I blocked it out. Poor Tracy came home and was shocked and amazed, and not in a good way, by their behavior and I think more than a little bit concerned about my mental health. We finished the eggs without further incident (notice they are tie dyed...where's the peace here?) but both adults are counting the minutes until bedtime. We've rented "Derailed" and maybe a good suspense movie will make me feel better. Lets hope the Easter Bunny and loads of chocolate improve their mood tomorrow.

Wow! What a crazy day yesterday! I vacuumed, dusted, went to the grocery, drug store, book store, took a spinning class, half a pilates class, fed the girls, took a shower, made dinner, got the girls up from their naps, then hosted my friend Meredith and her daughters for dinner!! Whew! I was so tired last night I just crashed. Meredith has 2 girls, Isabelle and Angelina, who are each exactly 1 month younger than India and Kate. Tracy had a late meeting and her husband was working late, so we pooled our food resources and tried to carry on a conversation while strangely clad aliens ran around us screaming. India and Isabelle are hilarious. They are like "ladies who lunch"... greeting each other with hugs and kisses and then throwing out compliments like "I love your shoes" or "I like your dress!". From left to right are Angelina, India, Isabelle, and Kate.

Never thought I'd say this, but I LOVE living in a small town. When we went into our local bookstore we saw the girls' babysitter, 3 friends of mine, and the owner (also a friend), who brought out some hand-me-downs for India. In the 15 minutes we were there I knew everyone in the store. As much as I miss Richmond, there is so much charm to living here and I truly appreciated it yesterday.

It's 8:30 and everyone is in bed, even Tracy! This means I have both the computer and the remote to myself. It's so quiet that it is almost unnerving, but I'll take it. Tracy doesn't feel well, and has foregone homework tonight. A rare occasion. Hopefully it's not a cold; I think he's just plain worn out.

Today was not as smooth as yesterday. India was up at 5:50 and Kate evidentally woke up on the "wrong side of the crib". Within 5 minutes of her getting up she was pulling India's hair! It's a good thing she is so cute. And the child knows how to use it! She cocks her head to one side, pats me, pouts her lips, and says " I torry, Mommy" in her best pitiful voice. This afternoon India obsessed over Lion King (this has been going on for MONTHS) and kept repeating "Pretend I'm Mufasa and I'm getting dead" and "Pretend you are Sarabe and I'm getting dead" and "Pretend Kate is Simba and I'm getting dead"... a theme here? I know, they are aggressive and weird, but I love them just the same.

Today started at 4am with India having a nightmare. She promptly went back to sleep and later informed me that there was a monster on her wall with big teeth, big feet and big knees (knees?). She stated that she was able to shoo the monster away with her "blankie"; go girl!

No preschool today because of the Easter holiday, so I am trying to come up with projects to keep everyone focused ( focused = not fighting) and to avoid a need for wine (for me, not the girls) at 5pm sharp! We completed some sand art today and spent a lot of time outside. Tracy fed the girls while I went to a Board meeting, and I received the best greeting when I came in...choruses of "We missed you, Mommy!" and orders to "sit here" were a great welcome home.

Kate's vocabulary is extensive, but almost every word starts with a D or a T. Tonight while brushing teeth she asked for a "touple mo" sips of water...so cute. She also says "you dop!" (you stop), which is not very polite but makes me secretly smile. Kate is one tough cookie. Tracy is chomping at the bit to start his accounting homework, and it may take me 10 minutes to figure out how to post a picture, so all for now.

Welcome to the first posting of our blog site. A good old friend suggested I try this and it should be a great way to stay in contact with family and friends. I'm not sure that I know what I'm doing, though, so we'll see how this goes (Derek, I'll need a tutorial on your next visit). Maybe this will force me to be better about taking pictures. Poor Kate will think she was adopted...there are so few pictures of her compared to India! I'll try to post a picture tomorrow.