A bit of an update

It's been an entire week since the great dinner-stomach virus-laundry debacle, and I think we can say with certainty that the cell phone is dead. We'd held out hope, despite the pieces that fell off as we fished it out of the washing machine. We gave it our best effort, but no matter what we've done to try to dry it out, the water has remained. You can see it in the lovely little screen on the front of the phone. Looks like Mama will be getting a new cell phone for Valentine's Day!

Daddy's been swamped with school work lately -- papers, problem sets, and a midterm. As you can imagine, the circus isn't always the best place for studying. Even when everyone tries to be good and leave Daddy alone, the chaos somehow spills over into quiet we meant to leave for him. So on Friday the girls packed up and headed for Nan and Grandpa's house. Instant peace and quiet for Daddy!

We felt optimistic, though not fully confident, that we'd licked the stomach virus. Thursday had been a pretty good day for Madeline, and no one else was showing signs of sickness. But even though the girls weren't technically sick, they weren't quite themselves yet, either. They were both tired and clingy and grumpy. Madeline was particularly difficult -- it seemed for a time that she'd given up sleep altogether, waking and staying awake from two to five each morning. Consequently, we spent rather a lot of time like this:

A little post-nap snuggling.

We'd thought -- and Nan and Grandpa had thought --that the visit would be a bit of break for Mama, but because the girls were still "off" that just wasn't the case. When you're little and you're not feeling yourself, only your Mama will do, whether it's morning, noon, or night. And even in her sleep-deprived state, Mama knows that, really, being that person -- the one person who can stop the fussing, who can soothe little spirits by her presence and in her embrace -- is a privilege. And that privilege lasts such a short while. The nights might have been long, but they were sweet, too.

Grumpy or no, the girls were still delighted to be with their grandparents and all the spoiling that comes along with such a visit. Nan and Grandpa's house is a fun place, filled with toys and treats. But it's not the things that make a visit great -- it's the people! Kathleen loved having more people to read with and talk to and direct in her imaginary games. Madeline especially loved being with her grandpa. She'd yell, "Bampa!" and race toward him whenever he entered a room, holding up her arms to be held. When he'd leave, she'd cry, truly heartbroken that he'd go somewhere without her. On Tuesday morning some workmen were trimming trees in front of the building, and Madeline and Grandpa stood at the big window, transfixed.

A sweet sight in the morning.

We finally headed home on Tuesday afternoon, and since we've been here, the girls have been getting back to their regular sleep schedules. (Thank goodness!) They missed their own things, we think, and we know they missed their Daddy. Daddy certainly missed them. But the quiet helped Daddy get lots done, and he feels pretty confident about Thursday's exam. (Good luck, Daddy!)

And, not to be left out of any family update, Indiana seems to be growing right on schedule. His little heart was beating well at Mama's appointment last week. When the doctor's office called a few days later, we were nervous that perhaps Mama had failed the dreaded glucose test. But, as it turns out, the sugar levels were fine, but Mama was a bit anemic. (Nice to have an excuse for being tired!) Indiana does not seem to have suffered any from the low iron levels -- he keeps moving all the time. We can hardly believe that we'll be meeting that busy little boy in two and a half months!