Ella had a late and long-for-her nap this afternoon (3:30-5:30), so she is quite awake still. Ditto Accalia and Cole without the benefit of naps. Shortly before Ella went down for her nap, I gave her a bath. She had smeared lotion all through her hair. Ella very much enjoys smearing things on herself - lotion in her hair, glue on her legs, lip balm in her ear.

Anyway, since Ella was napping and Cole was fine with staying at home with Cory, I took Accalia for her dress rehearsal (bun intact and looking pretty fine) and was able to sit there and watch her without also trying to keep another child or two content. Then Cory had to leave for three hours of seeing clients, so the kids and I were on our own for the evening. Around 9 p.m. we went outside to wait for Cory and saw a HUGE spider spinning a web on the front steps railing. I hope it's still there tomorrow so I can get a picture of it and maybe even identify it.

Tonight I'll be going to bed with a clean kitchen which is an enormous accomplishment for me. Must have been that iced coffee I made for myself that gave me that extra motivation.

Tomorrow Accalia has her last art session of the summer, so there'll be a little party for her there.

Over the weekend, Cory and I took a personality test that I came across in a magazine a few months old. It turns out we both have fairly similar personalities, which I could have told you before taking the test. There's one distinction in our personalities, though, that is most likely responsible for how different we react to things and approach resolutions. Cory is very much a black and white thinker. He sees things as being very much black and white with little or no in betweens. He's also a firm believer in following rules. I, on the other hand, tend to see many different options than an either/or and don't follow as closely the belief that just because an authority figure has said something means I have to do it. I told Cory that knowing that about the two of us really helps me see clearly why he reacts to things the way he does (thinking in particular about when one of the kids does something that doesn't especially thrill him). Oh, and here's the quiz we took in case you want to take it. I'm predominantly a negotiator type with director being my secondary type while Cory is just the opposite. It's apparently a fairly common couple combination.