I kind of like my Dell laptop…like…a lot. There are some neat functions of Windows 7 I’m enjoying and I’m starting to feel ok in the foreign country ;-)

Our town is widening the road in front of our house and adding a left turning lane. We met with the highway department today to discuss how it will affect our property. We’ll lose a little chunk of land up at the corner and two scraggly lilac trees, but are keeping all our big trees which is nice. Technically our property line is IN the road, so it’ll be kind of nice that the town will pay us for a little sliver because we can’t really use it anyway. Surveyors will be out in the next two months to give us an estimate of what the town will pay us and then actual work on the road begins next spring. We had been hoping they’d put a sidewalk in, but they’re not going to bring it to our end of the road. Instead they’re putting in a large 5 foot shoulder for bikers and pedestrians, which will still be nice for walks with the stroller.

Ben has been daytime potty trained since he was 2 years 3 months old. He’s pooped on the potty exactly three times since then. I just think he waits and then it gets uncomfortable which then reinforces the fact that pooping is a bad thing so he doesn’t want to go and waits more. Vicious cycle. Tonight he was sitting on the potty saying “Go away poop, go away!” He waits all day until his bedtime diaper and just poops in that. And then 5 minutes into bedtime I hear “Mommy I pooooooped, come clean my butt.” Lovely. I don’t really care, but it would be nice if he’d just go on the potty. Oh well, some day.

I did three family photoshoots a few weeks ago. I don’t even know how it happened, I wasn’t looking for photography work and then all of a sudden friends asked. I was a little nervous, but they all ended up being fun and I got some great shots I’ll share in a bit.

The kids go to a babysitter on Tuesdays now. They’ve been going since the beginning of October to the girl who cuts my hair. She has an in home daycare at her house and does an excellent job with the kids she watches. Ben really enjoys when the big kids get picked up on the bus in the morning and likes doing crafts and playing with the other little kids during the day. I’m not even sure Cassidy realizes I’m gone, but she does seem happy to see me when I pick them up later. I get so much design work done during the day too, it’s great. Wish grandparents were closer for free childcare, but I’m thankful for this too ;-)

I’ve started running again and am full force back at the Y. It took a little while to transition from always being aware I was growing a little person in me to now being able to give everything to a workout class. Some days I miss the modified pregnancy part, haha ;-) I do enjoy sweating along with the other ladies though.

It’s funny, before kids I wouldn’t dream about going in public without makeup and hair done. Not that I did makeup and hair for the Y, but it’s so nice to show up in the morning and everyone else is makeup less and poofy haired, ready to workout. I think overall having kids has made me want to impress people less. There’s a nice freedom to that.

Speaking of hair, mine is falling out. It’s kind of disgusting. There’s always hair monsters in the bottom of the shower and everywhere in the bathroom. It happened 3-4 months after I had Ben too so I was expecting it, just kind of not looking forward to it. I’m still taking prenatals, but the hormone fluctuation of being pregnant then not being pregnant is taking its toll. Oh well, guess that’s what volumizing mousse is for. I am 10lbs away from my prepregnancy weight though!