Picked up my new contacts today! Woo hoo! How's that for exciting? They had been sitting at the eye doctor's for close to a month, but the insurance check to reimburse us for the cost (well, techincally the cost of the eye appointment) just arrived yesterday.

Cole was pleasantly surprised that his visit to the doctor wasn't painful. He was put through all of the rather odd testing that accompanies the five-year-old (aka kindergarten) check up - drawing shapes, identifying colors, hopping up and down on one foot. Cole weighs in at 42 pounds, only five pounds more than Ella, and is 44 inches tall (75th and 50th percentile, respectively).

Then Accalia was back at the art studio after about a month long break and had a good time creating a poster celebrating her recent success in shoe tying.

While Accalia was at art and then until about 7 p.m. (except for short eating breaks), the kids were playing with the neighbor girls. Perhaps it just because of my current funk of a mood, but I just can't help by be annoyed by the constant neediness of these girls. I need a new perspective! Any words are most welcome. The two youngest girls walk in our house and the first words out of their mouths are "This place is really messy!", referring to the living room floor scattered with legos and an assortment of small plastic and stuffed animals. Then they ask for food - chocolate - and when I offer them each a tootsie roll they tell me they want a different kind of chocolate. They eat the tootsie rolls, though, and come back for seconds. Then they're thirsty and I get water for them. "We want pop! We want juice!"

Maybe it's because my kids don't do that when they go to someone else's house. They're there to play and aren't asking to be fed as their first priority. Of course they've eaten at other people's houses during playdates, etc., but I make a point to see that they have a snack beforehand (if they're hungry) and have snacks along as well. It's unsettling to me that they come from just next door and are seeking out food. Is it just because we have food that they don't normally get? Or are they limited in their snacking and meal times so take the opportunity to be able to eat when the mood (or availability) strikes?

I think part of my issue with this is that right now we're barely scraping by, so our food budget is extremely tight and it's difficult enough making sure we have enough food and make it so that the kids feel as if they always have enough to eat and aren't left wanting. I think it's really stressing me out that lately I have essentially three more mouths that I've been feeding and I'm not feeling all that generous about it.

So that seems to be my big issue as of late. When I write it all out, it seems like such a small thing. Don't they all when you really think about it?

Accalia has a soccer game tomorrow, and Cory may or may not be there depending on whether he can arrange his appointments.

I think I'm going to get off of the computer now and try to relax a bit before bed.