Ta-DA!!!

Okay, first of all, the yogurt turned out SO yummy!!! I mixed "blonde" sugar into the milk before incubation (I'm gonna put some vanilla seeds in the next batch to see if I can flavor it even more) and it made it so perfectly sweet that there was no need to add anything to it!!! The only thing was that it was a little thin. I like thick, creamy yogurt. It was creamy enough, but I think I need to add a little more powdered milk to the milk next time. I'm gonna make bifidus (Activia) next time!!! YAY!!!

Secondly, I made my second batch of bread yesterday afternoon and it turned out great. Sam RAVED about it (and you know, he's no raver). I personally found the inside a little doughy. I lowered the temp to 220 C this time. It made the crust perfectly crispy without burning it, but I think I'll leave it in longer next time so that the inside gets a little more cooked (or turn the oven off and leave the bread in there for 15 or so mins... we'll see).

*sigh*

Sam is sick.

He was sick yesterday--fever, sweats, headache--but refused to go to the doctor because they are all on vacay. Dumbass!!! So, of COURSE, he was sick all night long. Shivering and sweating or so fevery he groaned in his sleep. Sounds like the flu or strep to me--which is all too familiar to me because I just had it a few months ago (thanks again Anne for watching the kids). The thing that gets me is that when I had strep, I still had to take care of the kids. I still had to get up and get everyone dressed and fed and ready to go. I still had to feed, wipe mouths, do laundry... all with a 103 temp. I'm glad he's staying home and resting, but I wish he'd stop the moaning. Okay, lay on the couch and watch videos, but PLEASE don't let the baby chew on the fan's electric cord RIGHT in FRONT of you while I'm changing the toddler's diaper!!!

At least now, Lily is playing and Lolo is sleeping and Sam can rest on the couch while I get some stuff done. He's in an Ibuprophen-induced nap right now. And he has a doc appt this afternoon. He ALSO has an appointment having something to do with the van (it's a carte grise... I don't know what it's for and I don't really care, but I know he's been waiting 3 weeks for the appt and WON'T miss it...). All I know is that he had better not miss that doc appt. I'm not usually in favor of antibiotics, but he needs some. I don't want all my kids sick. We sleep on the futon, which is also the COUCH where the kids sit and play all day... They don't need his sick germs all over them!

Speaking of kids... I was lying there this morning after Lolo woke up a SECOND time to drink a SECOND humongous bottle (I guess formula isn't as filling as boobie) and Ryan shows up. I tell him he can't lay in our bed because Papa is sick but that he can just take my pillow and lay by my feet. He leans over my legs and I realize he's all wet. I say, "Were you hot in your bed, Baby?" He says, "No. Not really. But I peed in my underwear." Awwwww... "Did you pee in them in your bed or on the potty?" (Sometimes the stream sneaks between the top of the toilet bowl and the seat and hits his underwear.) "In my bed," he says. AWWWWWWW!!!

Look, I peed the bed until I was almost 12 and then did it one time again when I was 14. So, I know how embarrassing and scary it can be. And having someone sound disappointed in you only makes it worse. So, I say, "Okay. You wanna go change your shirt and undies? It'll make you feel better." He nods. I hose him down in the bathtub and let him dry himself off and get dressed like a big boy and then, I tell him to go lie down in my spot on the futon while I get the baby a bottle. I strip his bed down, turn the fan onto the mattress (I TOLD Sam we needed to get Ryan a better mattress pad... does ANYONE ever listen to me?) and shove his sheets, mattress protector and duvet cover into the washer. I hope he didn't feel too bad about the whole thing. I really tried to downplay it and even said, "Ryan, these things happen. Sometimes we just sleep really hard or we don't feel like we need to go pee before bed and we get a wet surprise." I just don't ever want to make him feel like I did when I was a kid.

BTW... He got to go to the POOL yesterday at school!!! I'm glad I didn't know much about it beforehand... I would have obsessed all day about his potential drowning. He's going on a big tour bus today to a drive-through safari zoo... I already bit my nails down to the quick. *eyeroll*

Also, since Sam is sick, I had to take him to school. While I was putting on his shoes, Lily said, "Shoes, I'ant shoes!!!" So, I took her with me. We took the bus which Ryan always loves, but Lily loved it too because I told the story of the Three Bears and the Three Little Pigs. Lol. We walked into Ryan's school and Lily just exploded into laughter. Everything was "Look, Mama! Look!" *sigh* We just found out that she might go to "school" as early as September 1st. I'm really happy for her, but I'm also a teensy bit sad. She's really becoming expressive and cute and fun to play with. But that also means she really really wants to play with other kids. Instead of taking the bus, we walked back from Ryan's school (which is really a pleasant walk and NOT that far... I don't know why Sam doesn't just walk with Ryan to school... Maybe I should start...). We even stopped at the droguerie at the end of our street because I've been wanting to go in there. It's AWESOME!!! It's like a little general store. I saw some knives in there that I REALLY want. I'm dying for a good chef's knife and a bread knife. They're not cheap and I'm sure I could get one cheaper at the supermarket, but I want to buy from these folks cuz it makes me feel like I'm supporting a small merchant in my neighborhood, know what I mean?


Needless to say, I didn't get to go training this morning. I didn't get very much sleep between the baby waking up hungry and Sam waking up shaking and groaning and Ryan waking up wet. I had planned to only WALK today to take an easy day so I can do that tomorrow and still do my long haul on Saturday ("long" only means 6 miles this time... Like I said yesterday, I'm just getting started back so I don't want to overdo it).

My writing buddy (Hey B!!!) finished my other chapters. So, I'm gonna make those changes, send 'em to my readers (hey y'all) and hopefully get some feedback pretty quickly.

Dude... I just wrote a whole paragraph about what I'm planning on doing today... How freakin' boring!!! Suffice it to say that I'm going to make pizza. I'm gonna make the sauce, I'm gonna make the crust, and I'm gonna throw it all together into a big organic piece of yumminess. So there!

Oh, and BTW...Laurel has TWO teeth... Bottom front... *sigh* Why do they grow up?