Wow, I've gone more than a month now without updating! No really, I'm not trying to set any records. If you're truly craving somewhat regular updates from me, Facebook is probably your best bet at this point.

My grandfather passed away last Saturday, less than two months after my grandmother passed away. Of course we'll miss him greatly, but at the same time we're so relieved that he's no longer in pain or having difficulty breathing and that he doesn't have to be without his wife of 62 years anymore. I'm sad thinking that I have no more living grandparents - neither does Cory - and that I'm no longer someone's grandchild.

I wish I could say that all is happy and joyful on the home front, but that's far from the truth. I'm feeling so incapable as a parent right now. It seems that all four children are going through huge transitions, and I can't do anything to make things okay. Accalia's really having a difficult time with losing her close friends a couple months back. It's finally hit her that her BFF isn't next door and isn't coming over to visit like she thought would happen. She's lonely and wants her friends, and I wish I could make friends instantly appear. I talk with her about how all transitions are hard and that if she can make it through this, it will be so much better on the other side. She's joined 4-H and will have her first meeting next month, and I said that's the perfect place for her to make new friends. Keeping my fingers crossed... The good news is that she absolutely loves her ballet class and is extremely excited about the recital piece she's started to learn.

Cole is also having a hard time, and I think it's partly due to friends moving away, too. He's also been so intensely involved with legos and Indiana Jones and is now starting to lose interest and ideas for these things. That's been hard on him as he seems to be at a loss of what to do - of a new, intense interest to grab him.

Ella continues to challenge me daily as a parent. She's developed this screech when she's upset, and lately she seems upset a lot. She likes to use it in stores, too, when she wants something and doesn't have it and immediately goes into the screech mode that causes everyone around to stop and stare. Yes, you're welcome other parents. I'm the parent you're all relieved not to be at that moment. Someone has to take the job, right? At the same time, I can see little ways that she's learning more patience and more understanding. It's just taking a while. She turns four tomorrow, so maybe that will be a magical turning point!

Tylan is practically running everywhere now. Leaps and bounds with everything. Teeth are coming in. Hair is growing. Height is increasing. Verbal and physical skills improve every day. That means there's a lot of restlessness at night and a lot of frustration during the day when things don't go as planned.

And yes, I know that when the parents are stressed, that leaks to the children and can cause less than desirable behavior. I'm trying to work on that. Just feeling stressed and incapable and ick. Wishing I had a more positive blog update since I do that so rarely lately.