Bits and Pieces

We've had a really interesting weekend. Little Catherine somehow acquired poison ivy. All over her body. 

She was pretty brave about the bumps, but for some reason the Calamine lotion totally freaked her out.

Carol celebrated a birthday! This was not one of my creative cakes, but it did have lots of blue sprinkles on it, so that counts for something. 

My friend Jen sent the three little girls some cute bathing suits. Catherine insists on wearing them 24 hours a day and changing suits every hour. I don't even need to buy her clothes! Catherine says "thank you Aunt Jen!"

She did allow Francesca to try this one on. (This suit is much too big for Catherine, but it fits Francesca, who is 18 months younger. Guess who is the picky eater in our family?)

We fostered a sweet dog named Harold. He was quite the cuddler. 

One good thing about Victoria's casts is I think she has finally really bonded with us. I guess she hasn't really had a choice. It's not like she can get away. If I set her down, she follows me with her eyes and if she thinks I am leaving the room, she protests with a loud "MAAAAAAAAA".

She also has a new word! "Uh-oh"  Very exciting!!!! Though I am not a fan of annoying, battery operated toys, I will do anything to help Victoria learn to talk. So, I got her two new toys that I think are helping. The loud, shrieking voice changer. 

The parrot that repeats everything, twice. Victoria really likes to bite his beak. 

 Our biggest project this weekend was moving the girls. We gave them the master bedroom, since there are way more of them than there are of us! We had to take out the carpet years ago because the previous owners smoked, so I told the kids they could paint the floor any color they wanted. Of course, they chose bubblegum pink!

The walls are bright yellow, so it is a very colorful room, though I am not sure how sleep-conducive it is!

Francesca's dressing changes have been horrendous. I dread doing it because it causes her so much pain. Here she is on Tylenol with Codeine. Poor baby! Several of the areas are healing, but some are still very raw.  Salt water on a wound really burns!  She isn't sleeping much either, no matter what I give her. 

I have lost three pounds on my new diet. I call it the "the children always want whatever is on my plate so I have decided to eat oatmeal for dinner because no one likes it" diet. 

We saw a rainbow outside today, which I think means good things are coming! 

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Several people have asked about my homeschooling philosophy, so I will try to post about that soon. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask!