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Gosh, it's been so long since I blogged, I hardly know where to begin. Let' recap:

1. Most of you know by now we bought a beautiful, loving, well behaved pug from a college student who knows Melissa T. Her name is Lola, she's a year old, is excellent with children, spayed, and house trained. YAY!!! Lola is so lovable and affectionate; she slept in our bed her first night with us and actually burrowed under the covers. Second night: on the full size bed between Ross and Grant. Guess where Miss Lola sleeps now every single night? You got it, with the boys. While I'm glad for them, I am more than a little disappointed too, because I was really looking forward to having Lola bunk with me while Kris is gone.

2. That's right, my sweetie Kris, an officer in the ND Air Guard, is attending mandatory Officers' Training School at Keesler AFB in Biloxi, Mississippi. He left on Friday morning, got there today, and begins school tomorrow. It's a 10 week program, so he will be back around July 9. We will miss him terribly, but I am very cognizant of the fact that A) 10 weeks is not a 12-18 month Tour of Duty; and B) Biloxi is not Afghanistan or Iraq. He is stateside and safe. Tomorrow morning is the first work/school day without daddy, so that will be a true test of my patience and ability to function under pressure.

3. We moved Ross to his very own twin bed last week (thanks G & G Gillett!). He loves it, Grant doesn't have Ross lying across him anymore, and now Lola just sleeps with Grant.

4. The kids are great--Hope is as sweet as ever, and boy is she talking! A lot of it is babbling, but it's so much fun to listen to! I took her to WalMart today and she literally said, "Hi," to every person who passed us. She also says "ball, Lola, Mama, Dada," and "cheese." Grant is excited for summer events to start--baseball, writing enrichment, and basketball camp. Ross is three--what can I say? I remember how difficult Grant was during the first six months of age 3, and Ross is certainly mirroring that pattern. He is so argumentative and aggressive with Grant, yet he will cry at the slightest affront. It's tiring. The good news is that I just taught the topic of guiding young children's behavior in my Preschool/Kindergarten Curriculum class. Reviewing that content always helps me parent more effectively. Acknowledge his feelings (instead of saying, "It's okay, Ross" which actually devalues how ticked off/hurt/upset he is, I say, "That must have hurt when you bumped your head" or "You are really mad at me right now for not letting you watch a movie."). Offer two choices. Be consistent. Guide and redirect instead of punish. That doesn't mean I don't totally fail sometimes ("Ross!!! Do as you're told! You're driving me NUTS!"), but hey, I'm human.

I really should be in bed now, but I'm not at all tired. I'm sure it's the coffee I had at 8:00 combined with the cardio workout from 8:30-9pm. Don't be too impressed; I ate WAY more calories this weekend than I burned off. Nighty night to my blogger friends!