Wow, I didn't know if my blog would actually still be here! LOL! Can't believe it's been about 3 1/2 months since I last posted. It seems that I ended with a post about my grandpa's funeral, and now I'm starting out with a post that includes another funeral. Our 87-year-old neighbor, Julius, passed away the day after Valentine's Day. He had been going downhill for quite some time and didn't really have the strength to walk far or do much of anything. It's nice to think he won't be suffering anymore and also a little sad to know he's not sitting in front of his window staring across the street to make sure he doesn't miss anything. We've known him and his wife since we moved to this house in 1998, so he also has been a part of our kids' lives for as long as they can remember. We're going to the visitation tonight and the funeral tomorrow.

Life continues to be busy and stressful and including too little sleep! I'm still doing the paper route each morning (except Sunday), and it's been a horrible winter for having to get outside and spend a couple hours walking around. It's either snow or ice or wind or bitter cold temperatures - or a combination. I told Cory this morning that February is starting to feel really, really long. I know the kids are very ready for spring to arrive. Me too!

This Saturday I will start working from home as a live chat professional on the Apple website. So, if you happen to click on the "live chat" button, you could very well start chatting with me (Amy N). We'll see how that goes. I spent all of January and much of February so far doing certification training, which amounted to a 3-hour class five nights a week and additional hours of homework. I'm not feeling overly confident in my abilities, but I think just getting in there and doing it will help. I'm hoping the hours will be enough and I'll be able to keep this job so that I can quit the paper route - just as the nice weather is approaching again, I know!

Cory is still working hard with the prison, pizza delivery and private counseling. I've been able to act as the receptionist/secretary for the private counseling, but that hasn't been time intensive in the least. With my certification training, Cory also had more to do in the way of shuttling the kids to various activities and more solo childcare.

Accalia has discovered Farmville and is loving the games. So now I'm playing a couple of the games with her, and that can really drain your time! The spring dance recital is less than three months away already, and Accalia is busy learning her entire routine. She and Cole are also in the midst of taking swimming lessons. They usually just do that in the summer (they always want to take lessons - I remember hating it), but they asked if they could do it in the winter, too. Go figure! It's also fundraising time for 4H, and we've really done no fundraising. Does anyone want to buy mixed fruit boxes? LOL! Accalia's looking ahead now to different things she can do with 4H for competitions/demonstrations and so on.

Cole is going strong with tumbling and swimming, too. One of the worst parts of having the certification training is that I missed out on going to visiting days for their classes at the dance studio. I haven't seen their routines or what their recital costumes will look like, so I'm very eager for that! Legos continue to be one of his biggest interests, and now Cole has added some Ben 10 legos to his collection.

Ella, my little spitfire, is slowly becoming a little more patient and understanding and willing to cooperate. It's slow going, though, and I know will improve as she continues to mature. She has had a big leap with her verbal skills recently and has finally made progress with the toilet. Hurray! She's got the whole peeing in the toilet thing down but is refusing to poop in the toilet. One thing at a time, I guess.

Tylan is making so many moves for increased independence. At nearly 18 months, she now insists on walking everywhere by herself, which makes it an even longer process to go to the store. It's also a little tricky to walk outside with snow and ice covered sidewalks. She is so much fun to be around, though, and fits right in with her brother and sisters. She and Ella are also becoming more buddy-buddy, and Ella will often try to include her in play.

Well, that's a good start for getting back to blogging. Hoping to keep up with it now...