I thank you all for your kind words over the past few days/posts. Yesterday was a good day. It was beautiful outside. Two of my friends needed a babysitting favor, so I ended up with 5 little kids in addition to my own which, while it could have gone all wrong and contributed to the chaos, ended up pleasantly distracting my own so they more or less left me alone. They all played very nicely, and very quietly together. Considering we are talking about 8 children ranging in age from 2-7, this is shocking, but I am most certainly not complaining.

I think this sudden happiness is furthered by the fact that the laundry is well in hand. Not quite finished, but at least I feel in control. Control is important to me. Or at least the delusion of said control.

And I finally have some pictures for you. I have been the happy recipient of unexpected gifts recently. On Monday, I received some fun Merle Norman makeup that Karen sent to the girls and I. Thank you so much! On Saturday, Jenn’s package arrived, containing these-

and these-

and my personal favorite, these–

FABULOUS! Thank you so much! They are lovely.

I am actually writing this post a day ahead, because tonight (last night, for you readers) is the annual “cousin party” my M-I-L throws for all the grandkids. It’s a sleepover, meaning Nate and I will have nearly 24 hours to ourselves. I am looking forward to this immensely, and I’m not going to let anything get in the way of making the most of it!