Okay, the ball is rolling...

So the girls are on their way. This morning the girls and I went down to their new school and got a tour and met their new teachers.
Mommy has been doing a great job acting happy about all of this. And I am. But I'm so not. But I am. But I'm so not.
Grace is so completely excited about leaving the nest that she is starting tomorrow. She's a funny thing that Grace. Ever since she could walk she sees no need for me. The only use she has for me is that I can reach the cups and bowls better and quicker than she can.
Emily will start on Monday. And I will be...what will I be doing on Monday? Oh dear...

Well, a lot going on around the Merrill household. Big changes people. I think I need to have my medication increased.
We are thinking very seriously about sending the little ones back to school. That's right...public school. Which to me sounds like government school which to me sounds like indoctrination which to me sounds SCARY!!!
But, I just don't know if I can do it any longer...I just don't think 24 hours a day with these little ones pecking away at me can go on much longer. It's all day. It's all night. My 2 hour break finally comes at 8pm when they finally go to bed. And I can't take it anymore!!
My heart has been jumping all over the place the past few days. The thought of it on a purely selfish level makes me delirious with glee. Then is washes away to guilt and I can barely breathe.
So, there it is. Mark is almost completely against it.

Quick story...yesterday the girls and I walked down to the corner to collect some sticks to glue to the side of a box to make a log cabin. As we're walking by one of our neighbors houses he says "Do you mind me asking why aren't your kids in school?" I wish I would have said "Do you mind me asking- do you even know my #$@^&*% name" But I politly told him we homeschool to which he said "Oh, so you're the one who's doing that." I AM SO SICK OF VIRTUAL STRANGERS THINKING THAT I CARE ABOUT THEIR STUPID OPINIONS ON HOMESCHOOLING!!!

Wow

How great are these...

Thanks to my dear friend Anne for talking her UBER-talented brother-in-law into taking my girls pictures. Thanks Mark!!

9/11

So, for the past 4 or 5 years to commemorate September 11th, my girls and I have visited our local firefighters to thank them for their service to our community. The past 3 years we've baked them our specialty too...banana bread. It's our specialty because it's all we really know how to bake.




And Emily made them all cards...








This year we expanded our visits to 3 firehouses. I only remembered my camera at one...



A HUGE thank you and to all of our county's heros who daily find it worth it to risk their own lives for us.

If You Know Anyone...

...who can analyze this dream I had...please let me know.

Ok, so in my dream I had twins. A 6 month old girl in footies and a boy...snake. So, I thought I would take my baby snake to the park for some fresh air so, I swaddled him up (he was coiled up in my hand) in a blankie and tucked him away.When I got to the park I unpacked him and Noooo!! I suffocated him! I was panicked. I rubbed his tummy, I was screaming. Then he gasped for air and stretched his big mouth and it occurred to me that I need to feed him. So...I nursed him. That's right. I nursed my baby snake. When I woke up I said out loud: "snakes aren't mammals".

What does it all mean?

W H A T

D O E S

I T

M E A N ???

Happy Happy Joy Joy

Nowhere Else I'd Rather Be

I had the nicest day with my daughters yesterday.
We headed out at 9:30 to go to Target and Claires for some window shopping. I was actually trying to get some ideas of what they would like for their birthdays, which are fast approaching. Then we grabbed lunch and went to the library. Fridays are library day. That's my favorite day.

Got this book I've been waiting for for a while:


Sixteen of the world’s foremost photographers traveled to thirty nations around the globe to live for a week with families that were statistically average for that nation. At the end of each visit, photographer and family collaborated on a remarkable portrait of the family members outside their home, surrounded by all of their possessions—a few jars and jugs for some, an explosion of electronic gadgetry for others. Awesome book!

Got the info on that book from one of my favorite websites...The Pioneer Woman. Found here:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/

Picked up a couple new memoirs. To be honest, I should probably find a new favorite genre. Because in the past month I have read the best funny memoir and the best dramatic memoir. I should stop now because from this point on they will all be measured by these two fine books. And they can't possibly measure up.