Some things from the past week I've neglected to tell you:

- Both boys have had strep throat. At separate times, of course. Asher's began last Sunday, but it took me a few days to clue in (Did you know you can have strep without an ongoing fever? Did you know that a preference for cartoons over sand tables, and an insistence on drinking milk over water, can be the only signs a three-year-old gives that he is legitimately sick? Now I do, too), so he started antibiotics Wednesday evening. Then, yesterday morning Silas refused his pancakes, and though he had absolutely no other symptoms, a mama just knows (at least, a mama who's been fooled once already this week just knows). Silas began his antibiotics on Saturday evening.

- Our backyard is the cleanest it's ever been. Come see it now, before the weeds creep back in between the bricks and the pollen settles back onto the grill. Well, not now, you might get strep throat. But tomorrow, come by and see our clean yard. We have spent late afternoons all week trimming and spraying and digging and mowing, and I'm proud of the result.

- Brian got a bike carriage for the kids. I'm not sure what it's even called, but picture an old-fashioned princess carriage. Then shrink it, cover it in nylon, and bolt it to the back of a ten-speed. That's what he bought. The boys LOVE it. The way I know they love it is that they sit close enough for their little knees to touch without beating one another. Yesterday Brian rode them downtown to a park (which is only about four miles away - not an impressive distance on a bike - but contains an enormous hill, and the fact that he drove them - like a mule - up that hill is QUITE impressive) for the morning. Crackers, juice, bike rides, and playgrounds - just what a Saturday morning should be.

- I've worked a lot this week - on Easter, on the yard, on my job, on disinfecting so as to contain strep throat with its nebulous symptoms, on fretting over my kids' future educations, on my views on the Apostolic Succession, on an irish soda bread recipe that fooled me with a little beginner's luck but has kicked my butt every attempt since then, on conquering the pollen that keeps blowing in through open windows and settling onto every surface in its path. On my life. Tonight, I'm tired, but the good tired. The tired that comes from using all the elbow grease I've got.

- So tomorrow, we play. And rest - but mostly play.

- I have this nagging feeling that I'm missing something, forgetting to do something important with the boys. We aren't spending as much time at the table as we used to, but we read together often, sound out words in the car, count whatever comes our way. They are engaged with their worlds. Still, I have this feeling that I should be doing more with them, but I'm not quite sure what that would mean. We're less structured than we were a year ago, but is that something I should correct? I don't know.

- My kids have a grandma who not only loves them, but knows what they love. This was their Easter gift from her today:



And here is the reception it got:





Homemade chocolate race cars didn't get a blip of excitement, but pineapple flowers? Had to be eaten on the spot. My little wholesome boys.

- And because you hung in with me this long, an Easter picture. For you.



Good night, all.