I've been trying to find a few minutes for the past couple days to sit down and blog, but it just hasn't happened.

Friday morning was a happy one because we were able to pick up the van, although it wasn't very nice to pay the nearly $500 for the repairs. It turned out there were a bunch of little things - tune up type repairs - that needed to be done in order to get the van running well again. We still have a couple belts that need to be replaced, and we'll try to get that taken care of before our Christmas travels.

Friday morning was also the first time Cole went to the art studio that Accalia has been taking classes at for the past few years. He recently started asking if he could go, so now he's going along with Accalia. He loved it, and Lita (the owner) was very impressed with his focus and intensity.

Cory worked all three days over the weekend, but they were relatively short shifts so we saw a lot more of him than we usually do. Saturday morning was the first Saturday in well over a month that we didn't have to get up to do anything. No soccer games, LLL meetings, etc. So we took it easy and Cory got our camper ready for the winter. Hopefully next year we'll get more than just one camping trip out of it! Saturday was the day that the new Discovery Bridge spanning the Missouri River and connecting Yankton with Nebraska was dedicated. We didn't attend the dedication ceremony, but we did drive over the new bridge just like most locals were doing. I was supposed to hold the monthly LLL meeting on Saturday, but the library is closed for at least a couple weeks to have new carpet and a new circulation desk installed. I guess the other thing that happened on Saturday was a trip to Goodwill with Cole, Ella, Tylan and myself. I initially wanted to find a winter dress or two for Accalia, but that didn't happen. I did find a couple things for Tylan, though, as well as a new ballet skirt for Accalia, some books, and an assortment of games and puzzles.

Sunday was supposed to be the fire station open house, but that was postponed. I think it was probably because of the weather and the forecast for rain, but it didn't end up raining until the night. It was a pretty relaxing day overall since Cory had Monday off (Native American Day), so there wasn't a bunch of rushing around or going to bed early for him.

Yesterday was a full day, which we had planned since Cory would be home. I took Tylan and went to my 8-week postpartum checkup. Everyone at the office wanted to see Tylan, which is something of a bonus of going to a smaller clinic where everyone remembers you. Everything is fine with me as far as Dr. M could see. I've lost 30 of the 50 pounds I gained during Tylan's pregnancy. I guess we'll see how it goes with those final 20. I haven't actually done anything yet to intentionally lose weight and I never have with pregnancy weight, but I have a feeling it won't be that easy this time.

In the afternoon, Cole and I took Tylan for her well child visit (she's 8 weeks today), and everything is looking good for her, too. She now weighs 11 pounds, 9 ounces (in the 90th percentile and about a 2 1/2 pound gain over 6 weeks) and is 22 inches long (in the 50th percentile and a one inch gain). Over the past couple weeks Ella has developed a case of baby acne on her face, which none of the other kids have ever had as infants. Apparently it usually starts at 4-6 weeks and may last for several months. Her doctor said that babies who develop baby acne are more likely to develop acnes as teenagers. I haven't checked that out, though, to see if that's actually the case. It doesn't see to bother Tylan, so at this point it's just a cosmetic issue. Poor thing.

Accalia had ballet later in the day and has gymnastics today. So far today we've made trips to the bank and to the grocery store. I have a couple packages ready to mail later today. That's about it for running around. The biggest challenge lately seems to be trying to maintain harmony in the home, especially between Cole and Ella. Accalia and Cole never had these problems getting along, but it's another story with Cole and Ella lately. It's basically Ella wanting to be included and Cole wanting to play alone. It doesn't help that Cole and Ella have such similar personalities and energy. Lots of clashes lately. It could be an interesting winter if we aren't able to find strategies to help.