this morning was josh's turn for crossing guard duty again, so he had to take micah to school. it went very smoothly leaving home this time; i'm anxious for him to get home so i can find out how it went at school! she just REALLY likes for me to take her. last week she cried when i put her in the car to leave with him, and he reported that she cried and had to have the teachers take her into the cafeteria. SIGH. this is very difficult for her... and for us. but i think every day gets easier. we've found out that if we walk her to her seat in the cafeteria, stand behind her and rub her shoulders for just a few moments... it works. that's become our magic trick. i did this once, on impulse, on a morning when she was having a very hard time. it worked, and that evening she said, "i want you to rub my shoulders like that every morning." so that is what we shall do. anything beats the alternative of standing in the hallway with her while she hems and haws, then finally gets dragged off me by a teacher who (through no fault of his/her own) does not understand the circumstances, and probably assumes i'm coddling micah and making it more difficult for her. i wonder if this is something we will move past anytime soon, or if it's something we'll be handling for years to come...

we had a really nice labor day, albeit busy. i started out the day by getting up at 8, packing up my laptop, and driving a few minutes away to the generator, an awesome little coffee shop on the plaza in downtown garland. the place is so charming and hip, with fair-trade, organic coffee; twice-a-week, kid-friendly, free yoga classes; kitchy, vintage furniture; and a tub full of lincoln logs, legos and train pieces for the kids to play with. it is such a neat place, and i wish we had discovered it sooner. anyway, i drove to the generator yesterday morning, while it was still a little bit crisp and cool outside. i got a cup of coffee and a harvest healthy muffin, and went and sat in the sunshine at one of the tables near the front door. i whipped through my home study (which was due first thing this morning, and i knew we were going to busy the rest of the day yesterday). then i went home, got the kids and the husband ready, and we went to my dad's. we ate hot dogs, talked and played in the pool. then we went to josh's dad's around 4:30, ate more hot dogs and talked. we got home around 7:15, with both kids sound asleep in the car. i successfully maneuvered rowan to his bed without waking him, but micah took forever to fall back to sleep. i think it was after 9 when she finally did. but she seemed to be in a great mood this morning, so it's all good.

so since yesterday ended up being jam-packed with family obligations, we didn't start our week 2 running base training. this morning, as soon as josh gets back from micah's school, he's heading over to whole foods for an informal interview with the grocery team leader (yay!) so he can maybe get 10 or 15 hours a week there. when he gets back, we'll do our thing. we've been making it with just my income, but we decided there are some things we want/need (some materials to make art displays for josh, a new computer desk, a new fridge) so we're going to save josh's paychecks for those items. i'm actually kind of sad that he'll be going back to work. i never anticipated how much i would enjoy having him home all the time. he keeps me company, where i used to be alone with the kids for much of the day. we feel like more of a team when it comes to parenting stuff and housework. i know we can stay that way, i'll just miss him when he's at work. i've been spoiled!! oh well, back to reality... :)

my med law & ethics class begins a week from today! i am sooo excited. today, after josh and i do our walk/jog, we'll go to richland and i'll pay my tuition. my father-in-law ordered my textbook for me from amazon.com, using his special membership to get free shipping, but i'm a little bummed... the book's condition was described as "very good", but it has writing all throughout. there are notes written on some pages, and some of the chapter reviews are filled out. argh! it was $33.60 compared to what it retails for in the richland bookstore, $120. so i guess i got what i paid for. :/ i don't know whether to have josh white out the notes and answers to the reviews for me, or just wait and ask the instructor. i don't want the instructor to be like, "yeah, you shouldn't have bought your book used online, dummy." i'm sensitive, i don't want to cry on the first day of class.