Time to locate the kids to start miracle music (yes, that's back) so when I heard loud little voices singing along to scripture scouts, I headed that direction. After checking the bedrooms, I finally opened the door to the bathroom, to find Miri & Jacob standing on the edge of the tub belting out "Rameumptom" to the mirror, enthusiastically leading with 2 tampons each.

So last week Miri was having her normal day, and then when we pointed out that she could have done a job a bit better and she totally dissolved into tears. Alternately sobbing with despair "This is the worst day of my liiiiiiiife!" and then accusing everyone around her, Mike took her aside to have a 45 minute talk a la Dad Campbell. He tried to patiently reason with her, using all the great listening techniques we have been taught. Surreptitiously evesdropping from the hall, I could tell that she was just feeling unloved, completely unrelated to issues she was talking about, and it was bringing back my own talks with Dad. Finally, Mike exited, no concerns resolved, and snarled in my ear "This baby had better be a B-O-Y." Immediately after, Miri danced out saying "I think this is my best day ever!" and gave me an exuberant squeeze.

Listening to NPR this week, I've heard at least 3 execs from different mortgage lending firms say that the housing and mortgage crash is such a shock; no one could have seen it coming. But I find this funny, since I, a mom from Idaho, remember catching long suffering family members and telling them that this exact thing was going to happen over a year ago. . . Although we're no California, the price increases around here seem pretty dumb. . . When we got our home evaluation for the prop tax, Mike & I were livid! How could our value almost double since we bought the house? Mike stayed home w/the kids while I stomped down to the county offices to look up an identical home on our street that sold last summer. (no new kitchen, of course). I firmly demanded the book with the latest sales in it, and searched until I found the house. When I finally found it, I quietly shut the book and crept out of the office, hoping they didn't know my name.

One last note: after years of inactivity, the Knogahyde tape has suddenly surfaced, and we get to hear our favorite band non-stop, especially in the girls' room. We used to be floating around to Chapin's "This Pretty Planet" and now we blast out "Call Me Up"! When I just went in I asked the girls if they were rocking out. Miri leaned over to confused Caroline and said "That's when you're relaxing so hard to rock music that you don't have to think anymore." Yeah, they were. So I've spent all these years confident in the belief that I owned "Jennabee Road". I thought it was on the tape. Hey, Stu, could you post the song??

I was calmly counting Jacob to 3 yesterday when Seth leaned down to say "Mom, I would be careful about who hears you say things like that, before CPS takes all of us away." That's when I realized what I had just said: "Jacob, we don't stab Julia. Give Mama the dagger, that's one." The Spanish daggers strike again!

We really enjoyed Scott's use of the word "scamper" in his blog, and Mike really wanted me to fit it in mine, but no luck this time.