Taking a little break...

Hello, hello! Well, I dropped our camera last week while volunteering in Ella's classroom on pajama day, and now it's broken. Drat! So I won't have much to add to the blog for a bit now. I know you all just love to read my thoughts, but it won't be the same without those photos! Some quick updates anyway:

* Ella's PJ day at school was a riot. The kids "went to bed" and "woke up" to an alarm. They all had some Cheerios for "breakfast," too. I loved seeing them all so snuggly in their jams. (I was in mine, too!)

* While I was there, we had our first babysitter here for Nonie and Owen. It went great! Her name is Britta and she's loads of fun for them. We'll have her twice a month or so... this way I can help in Ella's room and get some errands, appts. done. She just finished her graduate program and is looking for a job. While I hope she gets one, we're happy to have her while we can!

* I toured my first school for Ella for next year; this one was a Montessori. I loved it! Very child-centered and had a family feel. I have a few more to go before decision time, though it's also a bit of a crap-shoot, as getting into a school that is not your neighborhood school is based on a lottery system in the St. Paul Public Schools. We shall see!

* We now have a couch in the basement! Hurray! It made it through the basement door frame by sheer will and determination on our part. Paul and I had to use a ton of elbow grease, but now it's here and we're thrilled. Just a few little things to finish before we host the Sandy Family Christmas. It's very motivating to have something like that on the calendar; now we know it will be done before the holidays! What will Paul do with all his free time after that?