6/9/15 - TEN ON TUESDAY

Computer time - Teebs was given his first computer session a few days ago with some time spent on Starfall. He loved it! It was so cute to watch his face go from intense concentration while he did the tasks being asked of him to a huge grin and fist pump when he got something right.

Dog bite - My legs are healing well. The leg with the small bite has a big, but light, bruise that's starting to fade and there's just a tiny bit of firmness still at the bite. The leg with the puncture is finally scabbed over, which is nice. I've had a dark ring of a bruise around the area that swelled up immediately after the bite, but the swollen area hasn't bruised at all. I'm curious to see if it will. It was pretty numb for about a week, but I've started getting a feeling back on the outer edges over the last couple days. Progress!

I took Devon and Naomi out for our first post-bite runs before breakfast yesterday. While I'm bummed we missed the chance to run during the few drizzly days we had last week, it felt good to be back in the running game. Naomi shrieked once and started to blitz when a large dog barked unexpectedly from behind a fence, but otherwise she did great. It's understandable that she's a bit jumpy, but she didn't let it stop her. We're thinking about carrying some sort of protection with us when we run, but I have mixed feelings about it and no decision has been made. For those who missed my post on Facebook last week, the dog's owners also got permission from the city to build a fence.

Hiring season - For a variety of reasons, this time of year is always hard for me. It's been extra hard the last couple of weeks. Life goes on and I'll survive, but if you're sitting around wishing you had something to pray about, then feel free to pray that I won't spiral into the angry/hopeless pit that this time of year can tempt me with.

Interrupting - I interrupt a lot. It's so self-centered and rude, but I find myself doing it pretty regularly. Time to work on that. Again.

Jam - I made up a bunch of strawberry freezer jam last week, but realized on a trip to Costco on Sunday that it would have been less expensive to buy their organic strawberry jam instead. And I'd have more freezer space. Hmmm ... I was thinking about buying one more bucket next year so that I could jam one and bag two, but now I'm thinking I'll just buy jam from Costco and freeze two buckets of Rotary berries plain for smoothies, oatmeal toppings, and desserts.

Parenting - Sometimes you have one of your kids help you do the family budget and bills for the month, just because you think it's a good thing to do, while sporting a hat that another one of your kids made, thanks to inspiration from a book they read.

Ringtones - I decided to mess around with two of the phones in our home, mine and the kid/house phone. I recorded all four kids saying "Mom" one right after another, as if they were looking for me or needed my help, and turned that into the ringtone for when they call my phone. Teebs giggles a little at the end and it cracks me up. I also recorded myself saying, "Oh, little Ws .... I love you" and made it the ringtone for my number on their phone. They don't know I did that, though, so it will be fun when they figure it out. I may have to find a reason to leave them home alone tomorrow and find a reason to call them when I'm gone.

Snack - I love Food Should Taste Good's multi-grain chips! With a piece of cheese, loaded with black bean dip, or just plain, they're so delicious.

Sunshine - Devon and Naomi sat out in the driveway for quite a while, just chatting and eating. It was one of those ordinary life things that I eventually decided I should snap a picture of. Of course, in the 30 seconds it took me to grab the camera Naomi started to walk away. So, I confess that this picture is slightly posed because I insisted the wandering child go back to where she'd just spent the last 20-30 minutes and pretend like I wasn't there.

Tooth - Naomi's had a gap in her smile for six years, thanks to her plunge off the piano bench as a toddler, and the permanent tooth is finally coming in. Completely crooked. Ay yi yi.

** This post contains affiliate links and we're grateful when people use them. **