It's been 5 months.  Is anyone even there, anymore?  Just in case someone is still checking (oh, you patient person!)... Feel free to skip to the pictures at the end.

In January, right after Christmas break, Lil'Nathan, Mary, and Joseph started public school.  I offered it as an option to Lil'Nathan.  Joseph heard and pleaded to be able to go, too.  Mary said she wasn't interested.  About a week later, however, Mary said she wanted to go, too, which really surprised me.  As it turns out, she loves it the most.  Lil'Nathan is so-so, but overall happy with it.  Joseph, my most adamant "I-want-to-go-and-I-want-to-go-now!" (he used to ask weekly) is the one who told me two weeks into it, "You didn't tell me there would be so much sitting."  Um, yes I did.  I tried to talk him out of it, actually.  But once committed to go, they were committed to stay for the rest of the school year.  Mary and Lil'Nathan will keep going.  Joseph may decide to come home.

Eight days into his school career, Joseph broke his collar bone in PE.  Three weeks later, Mary broke her wrist, also in PE.  We are all watching Lil'Nathan and taking bets on what he's going to break and when.  He survived the Youth Winter Sledding Event yesterday, so I'm thinking his turn will come this week at either the school's winter carnival (sledding) or the Scout Klondike Derby.  I have a friend who said to me, "bring me the little kids when it's Lil'Nathan's turn, so you don't have to drag them around the hospital." See, I'm not the only one who thinks it's coming.  :)

And just so they weren't left out of the injury pool:  Elisabeth took a tumble off a stool in the kitchen on Wed, and took a pan of cooling brownies with her.  It shattered/exploded next to her and she had a few small cuts on her hand.  (See the pitiful photo below.)  Charlie put himself to bed on Fri at 5pm and woke up at 9 to throw up.  He's had a cooking fever ever since and has spent the past two days asleep, waking only for water and a hug or two.

LISTEN has been good to so far this year.  After one frustrating day trying to find Mary some jeans (the girl is picky! she tried on 23 pairs and we were there over an hour!) we went back the next week and hit the jackpot.  She got 2 perfect pair of jeans and 2 shirts.  But the golden prize was a practically brand new Zojirushi bread machine (exactly like ours) for... ready for this?... $2.75.  Yes.  YES!!  I saw it and grabbed it b/c the paddles on ours need to be replaced ($30 new), and it looked like it was in great shape.  When we got it home, we realized it couldn't possibly have been used more than a few times--it was spotless!  And it works perfectly.  I went back to LISTEN on Fri looking for a new brownie pan, but they didn't have any.  :(  I came home, instead, with a Warring-Pro Belgium Waffle Maker, the rotating kind.  This was $6 and it was brand new.  (Smelled that funny new-smell when we used it yesterday.)  Makes perfect waffles.  The kids are thrilled.

Joseph's birthday is on Tuesday.  He'll be 8.  He'll be baptized on Sunday, right after church.  But unlike Lil'Nathan's baptism, where GG and Gramma and Grampa were there, or Mary's, where GG made it, Joseph's will be without visitors.  You can blame the schools up here.  They scheduled winter break for the following week and that makes flights out of NH wicked expensive.  And he doesn't want to wait until the end of March when the tickets go back down.

In Dec I found out I was pregnant.  We had our first midwife appt. two weeks ago.  She found no heartbeat, and at 10+ weeks that was cause enough for an ultrasound.  They wouldn't let me see the ultrasound, but Nathan watched and said there was nothing in there.  The dr. and midwife suggested a D&C the next day, thinking it might be a molar pregnancy, but after they got the full ultrasound report and my bloodwork numbers, they said molar wasn't likely and I could wait it out.  I'm still waiting.  My body is showing no signs of letting go of this pregnancy.

For a while I was hopeful the first ultrasound might have been mistaken and was living accordingly.  But I had a long talk with my midwife and got a few more details (the gestational sac wasn't empty, but had an unformed mass--"a cyst-like mass") and now my high hopes are much lower.  Still, they are there, I guess, b/c I asked for another ultrasound and will get one on Tues afternoon. (My midwife seemed reluctant to order it, b/c she is convinced it's over.)  I did also call my Boston midwife and she concurred with me that another ultrasound is a good idea, just to be sure.  She also recommended another blood test. She told me, "I don't think this is going to end the way you want it to."

I know. 

I found out I was pregnant with Charlie the day Lil'Nathan was baptized.  I found out Elisabeth was coming the day Mary was baptized (also her birthday).  What will I find out on Joseph's birthday?  I'm having chocolate either way.

And as for other news... it's snowing.  That about sums up the past few weeks.  Snow.  Nice, light, super-easy-to-shovel snow.  Our neighbor said if he wins the lottery, he'll buy a snowblower and we can all share.  :)

Wanna see some pictures?

Peanut with her beloved "baby orngies."

Joseph, quiet.

King Charlie, on Christmas morning.  Thank you, GG.

Lil'Nathan, before he realized he wasn't making a funny face.  HA! Gotcha.  :)

Mary, hamming it up with her new cast.  She goes in on Wed to get the "real" one.  This was a temp b/c of the swelling.  I told her to get plain white and then paint it.  She gave me a "poor woman, you don't understand anything" look.

See, isn't this pitiful?