Thankful Thursday

1. Our trip to Sesame Place was fabulous despite the freezing water!

2. My dad left MD on Monday to fly to be with my brother in Brazil. He arrived there safely on Tuesday, and he didn't have any problem going through customs with all the science equipment (microscope, telescopes, binoculars, etc.) for Maurice.

3. My brother had a wonderful first year teaching at Amazon Valley Academy. The seniors surprised him by dedicating the yearbook to him. The dedication was really touching.

4. I've been able to submit a few more applications for Paul this past week. We're up to 79 now. Many months ago my mom said we might have to submit 100 applications. To be honest, I didn't think that was a plausible scenario, but it turns out she was right. The last six applications went to schools in Georgia, Arizona, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania.

5. Paul has an interview this afternoon via Skype, and he has a phone interview scheduled during the last week of June with the school where I taught the past 9 years. Maybe that's why no one has asked to see our house? Maybe we're not moving? I was going to do some more packing tomorrow. Hmmm

6. Our grocery store had some amazing specials for three days starting last Thursday. For example, they had boxes of Post cereal (Raisin Bran, Honeycombs, etc.) on sale for 99 cents each without a coupon. Wow!

7. On Monday morning I let Oliver cry from 4:30-5:15am, and he then slept until 7:05am. On Tuesday he woke up at 5:15am, and I let him cry but he never fell back asleep. When he woke up at 5:30am yesterday he hadn't even slept 9 hours so I decided to let him cry even though it hadn't worked on Tuesday. It proved to be the right decision because after crying for about 45 minutes he slept until 7:35, which meant he slept a total of 10.25 hours. Since his naps (put together) rarely exceed 90 minutes total, he really needs to sleep at least 10 hours at night.

There hasn't been any improvement with his naps. Yesterday his morning nap was 20 minutes and his afternoon was 40 minutes long. Sob. This morning he slept until 6:05, which meant he slept a little over 10 hours without any crying involved.

8. Ian and Nadia have had such a great time at VBS! The slip and slide was a blast last night (as seen in the photos here).

9. We visited the pool we joined for the summer for the first time yesterday afternoon! The water in the kiddie pool was nice so Oliver and I stayed in there. Nadia and Ian spent some time in the big pool, but most of the time they also stayed in the warmer water. We should have a lot of fun there this summer!