Well here we are and it is Feb already and I feel like I haven’t posted many updates so here we go. Tic Tac is starting to read and things are beginning to click! We were in Continente the other day and she said “Momma I think I know how to spell Date” I said “oh you do, how do you spell it?”. Then I waited and listened to her sound it out and say “D- A- T” to which I said “Yessssssssssssssssss, you did it!!! You sounded it out and spelled it!”. Don’t worry later on we can add that annoying silent E at the end. For now, you spell DATE, D A T.

This past few weeks have been full of rain, wind and storm after storm. We had our own little storm at home with Dada violently projecting liquids from both ends. He went to surf and 2 days later had high fever and alternating excretions from top to bottom. Luckily I have a car I can drive now so I took him to the Urgent Care and basically sat in the car practicing parking all diff ways while he waited 3 1/2 hours to leave with an antibiotic and results that were basically non results. One urine test, two up the nose test (COVID, flu), and a blood test all to determine that it could be viral, could be bacterial. I had to pee so bad that I left to go pee at Continente mid way, and then when he finally got out he had to explode so bad that again we visited the Continente bathrooms. It took another 45 min at the pharmacy just to get a prescription and by the time we got home he was with fever again and shaking like charlie in cold weather. I am happy to report that after another few episodes involving the bed and shower, he was horizontal again and walking around about 2 days later. It was an experience.

Yesterday was a gem of a day after the constant rain and so the abusive relationship with this island continues. We forgot all the miserable weather it dished out and soaked in the sunshine that just feels so diff from anywhere else in the world. It is like a warm hug and the blues and greens look like they’ve been digitally enhanced everywhere you look.

Today is Valentine’s day and everyone is still asleep but last night sweet little tic tac paddy wak spent her evening working to surprise everyone with little homemade cards she cut, colored and wrote in. Lulu woke me up at 6am so I quickly whipped up some cards and am all ready to surprise her back.

Love you all!

Oh sweet Muffy you were so proud and came to me telling me that you finally made an R that doesn’t look like a “walking O”. bahahahahahahhaha. I never thought of your walking Os before and now I will kinda miss them. But you go my little proud muff!! Also, yesterday you read like a champ while eating popcorn so I told you that it might be super power popcorn and now we will only do reading/writing homework while eating super power popcorn. I adore you.

Oh sweet muffy and our little morning pretend game just makes me want to freeze time. We pull out all your stuffies from the closet and you set up your famous ice cream shop that they all one by one (sometimes I get to sneak them in pairs) come to visit. I am the voice of each of these characters and by now we have a routine on what flavors they order which is based upon the color of the animal obvi except cookie monster who always gets coooookieeeee.

I love watching you just wrapped up in imagination and am well aware that these moments are fleeting. My precious lil muffin turduckin I adore you!!!

Dada turned 44 and we all sobbed (minus sissy) b/c that seems to be what we do now when anything sentimental happens. Dada was the first to start while he was reading the bday cards and then he opened up this frame and all he could get through the tears was “it’s nice”- hahaha. He was too choked up to get anything else out, and I love him even more for it.

We had breakfast together then cake and then intended to go on a family hike but as always we ran too late so it turned into a Toobs and Momma hike while the others played some bday UF. Dada was on Justin’s team and won the first round (but does that even count) then he went back to his own team and got whipped. Everyone sang him a happy bday at the end and that mostly wrapped up the bday fun.

We got home to a leak under the sink and short rib soup that didn’t quite do what it was supposed to do in the instant pot but was edible so half win.

Dada this bday you have officially lived the same amount of years with me that you have without me and next year you will have lived more of your life with me than without me. You informed me of this the other day and it still baffles me. Time has flown by too fast. What a life we’ve lived and what a life we’re living- so thankful for you and all of it. Looking forward to doing the next 22 years with you and more- just hoping it all goes by a bit slower than the last 22.

While the other half of the family were playing UF, me and Toobs were playing pretend house and having a picnic. We built a little driftwood tree and ran up and down sand hills. When we got home Toobs said the most hilarious thing. We set up an app so the entire family could see everyone’s photos and on her iPad a photo popped up of some Xmas presents I had wrapped in the closet before Xmas. She showed me and said uh oh momma, next year (she pointed at the incriminating photo) “You better watch out, you better not cry”- hahahahahaha. Guess i’ll have to keep that in mind next year.

Don’t worry Toobs, I’ll do it all “goodly” next year. Oooh another favorite Toobism.

Oh Meeps the annoying little brother always trying to be around Lulu and mess with her. This is him just staring at her like a creep while she eats.

Below that are some pics from family walk and the girls playing laser tag 🙂

Oh my little Too bear you are almost 7 and just lost your first top tooth and oooofffff it is all going too fast. You’re sitting next to me and talking to me right now as I type which you are basically doing all day b/c you are now a little chatterbox. You’re so flipping funny and smart.

We are currently reading The Wish Tree and just finished Sweep. We complained about the book Sweep the entire time we read it and how we will never take sissy’s recommendation for a book again b/c it was slow and boring. Then we finished it and both bawled crying at the end. Literally, we sobbed together.

You think you’re a teenager and last night you did “skincare” with a little headband before bed. I tried to video you but you caught me so I am just documenting the memory.

For Xmas you got everything from My little Ponies to makeup. You are a mix of 7 and 17 (thanks to your big sissies). You still call for me every morning with your Momma, Im awake, I miss you, I love you, and I want bubbbbbaaaaaa. I still come rushing down and sign you a morning song that goes something like this:

Good morning to my muff, my little muff a puff, hi ho the derry O, good morning to my muff. I love my little muff, she does her muffy stuff, hi ho the muffy low, I love my little muff.

Then I say something like this:

How’d you sleep guadaleep, howd you sloop guadaloop?

Yup, and we somehow think this is all normal. Anyways, I started this whole post because I wanted to remember something you say that gets me every time and I don’t want to forget in case one day you stop saying it. When you’re trying to ask “is that ok with you” you always say “does that mind with you?”. Ugh it melts me, and of course I reply, no that doesn’t mind with me. Eeeeek I adore you muffy pie!!!!

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