I'm not dead

I haven't been blogging, but my house is really, really clean. I can only focus on a few things at a time. So when I'm blogging a lot, chances are my house is a disaster or I'm not cooking good meals for my family. So right now, I'm on top of my housework and I've been exercising. Next week--who knows! :) I wish I was Wonder Woman and could do everything!

With the failing economy it seems that many of our friends are losing their jobs. It's a hard time and we feel really blessed to have a job right now. Unfortunately, like many others, we are getting a pay cut. But we are okay, because we're glad to be employed. So I've been trying to think of some ways to earn a couple extra dollars without adding stress to my family. So I may start teaching piano lessons, and possibly a preschool or elementary aged (after school) music class. We're doing more with our music at home, so it seems to make sense. And the beauty of it is that my parents' house, just six houses down from mine, has a beautiful grand piano with no one to play it except for me and my sis. So, my mom has kindly agreed to let it be the new Oliver piano studio. (With my massive studio of...probably two or three!) Hopefully that will help offset the cost of violin lessons and repairs, french horn rental, clarinet rental and lessons and hopefully soon, cello lessons! (Turner!) It's fun to think about, and I've been doing a lot of research on the subject, trying to decide what method of teaching will work best for my teaching style (which I'm still trying to figure out!). Also coming up with ideas for a preschool music class. It will be fun next year with Regan being at school all day. I'll have my two little boys and will be able to do fun stuff with them and their little friends.

Kids are all doing well. Everyone missed at least one day of school last week with the crud that's being going around. Regan stayed home today with a nasty cough. Just as it seems that everyone is better, the next virus enters our home. The joys of having a big family! But other than Turner's seizures (he has had three total, but it has been a month or more since his last one, and they were all determined to be merely febrile seizures with no permanent or serious consequences), it has just been colds for the most part. So, although it seems as if we've been sick all winter, it hasn't been REALLY sick. Just runny noses.

Cooper has reached the ripe old age of 18 months and had his first week of nursery. He did fine. He was the only child in there that day, so it was nice for him to get lots of attention. He has a little separation anxiety from me, so as long as Dix or the boys drop him off, he should do just fine! I'm starting to get the itch to take down the crib. Each time I've taken a child out of the crib, I've usually had another one on the way. So it's weird to think that this will be the last time we take down the crib. I'm thinking we'll do it soon before he can open the door. He'll learn to stay in bed quicker that way.

That's our last few weeks in a nutshell. Well, besides Cooper's really big news. We chopped off his hair. Here's a couple of thousand words about that...oh wait, pictures will say it so much better.