Buckle up for the BIGGEST MOST GREATEST yet poorly formatted post ever

I picked up 4 empty or nearly empty water bottles in our bedroom yesterday. There are more in the car.

The Poteets had a yard-sale and we got rid of a bunch of stuff. It was wonderful. I sold some maternity clothes that were unused by me and pregnant friends. Joel threw in some books and we sold all our VHS tapes. The biggest sales were in mom's blankets and comforters and, if you can believe it, the prarie bride books. It was a good time with the sisters, and brought in a surprising amount of money.



Laura graduated from high school. This is significant to me because Laura is the first sister that I can clearly remember the details of birth on. She was valedictorian and gave a great, short speech. Afterwords, we had a great Poteet party. I was in charge of the food and drinks. Want the list? You do. You might want me to cater your next party. With the help of Andrea, Emily and others, we had prosciutto wrapped roasted asparagus, Baja shrimp cocktail salad, blue cheese with pears and honey, brie with raspberry preserves, chicken and tortellini skewers with tomato and basil, and a chocolate mousse dish. Oh, and White Sangria. I wish had thought to take a picture.



Another great part of vacation was returning the blue jeans that I bought at Gap outlet on our last vacation. I decided after one day of wearing them that I didn't like them that much. I got a skirt instead. Now I have a skirt.

Silas and Micah had a great vacation, except for all the sleeping that Micah DIDN'T do. He woke up a minimum of 2 times per night but the good news is we're working through this now. I am fully expecting him to sleep all night tonight, after 3 nights of putting his paci in over and over, but not getting up to eat. Silas had fun "swimming", that is- dumping pool water into cups and bowls by the pool, or occasionally standing on the first step of the pool. He also had fun playing with the cousins, eating cupcakes, taking walks with Gramma and Papa Fank., and going to the park with daddy and Uncle Heath.


We counted all the words we could think of that Silas uses correctly. We counted 140+. A couple of my favorites words and phrases are "Good job, Micah! You did it!" and "High five!" and "mouse". He chants "mouse, mouse, mouse," when he's looking for this little stuffed mouse that Andrea gave him. He has also changed our cat's name again from her German name, Frau Frau, to a middle eastern name, Namina. I'll add, "Namina, come here!" to one of my favorite phrases, especially when he tries to pick her up while shouting this to her.



Micah is getting REALLY wiggly. I can't leave him by himself anymore on couches or beds. He hasn't fallen off or anything, but he's started doing full circles in his crib. He can also roll over- but doesn't because he hates being on his tummy. He's also started eating solids. I'm glad for this because at his last dr.'s visit, he was too skinny and has dropped off his growth chart. He loves rice cereal, and we've also added apple sauce to keep the little system going. When he's not waking us up, he's such a good-natured and easy going baby.

If I may, I will toot my own horn by saying it's miraculous that I'm averaging reading a book a month. I have finished my fifth book of the year: _A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier_ It's a good book. Disturbing, redemptive, and eloquent.

We bought a pool for $9 at Walmart. I think this will be a fun summer.









STRAPPED FOR CASH, EVEN AFTER THE YARD SALE
Here's a few photos Joel and I plan to submit to a local modeling agency.











SNAKE BITE (no insults intended, mom)

This is where I got bit by a rattler. Ok, actually Joel threw a rock at me.
Alright, well, what really happened was this: I told Joel he should throw this rock that I tied to a rope over a tree so we could hang this hammock swing so I could read in the swing while Silas plays outside because swinging is so much more relaxing than sitting on the hard bench and I can see the whole yard from the corner but if i sit on the bench I can only see like half of the yard and it's not even the dangerous half. Anyway, the rock fell off the rope and rolled down the hill at breakneck speeds of more than 100 miles per hour and hit my ankle dead on. Joel suggested we call an ambulance because Micah was already asleep. I told him that was a good idea, but I would rather just watch the movie we got on Netflix. It was United 93. Very confusing.