So it's been a while since I posted anything on here, so I just thought I'd update what's gone on in my life for a while. To be perfectly honest, my personal life is pretty much the same. Caroline has been going to school pretty good for a while. She had about a month of crying every - single - day. That got old, and it broke my heart some days..... "Mommy, please just take me home!!" or "I'm just not myself when I'm not with you!!" (That was my favorite attempt.) Mind you - she got back in the car every day perfectly happy saying she had a great day, so I know it was just the initial separation that bothered her. I had resorted to flat-out bribery every week to try and get her to not cry every day. Little things like a Hershey bar, a $5 board game, bathtub crayons, whatever little thing tickled her fancy that week. But last week I upped the ante. Little prizes are ok on a weekly basis, but my wallet can't handle $20 prizes. So I told her that she could get the new Tinkerbell movie (which is big to her) if she didn't cry that week, BUT - NO MORE crying at all for the rest of the year after we got it - or I would take it back to the store. (I'm so mean, I know....) AND IT HAS WORKED! She hasn't made a peep about going to school. She gives me a hug and kiss, and gets out just like she did those first weeks of school. Yippee! So whether or not bribery is the "right" parenting decision - I don't care. It worked and my mornings are no longer a Battle Royale. Score. The baby I keep is precious and sweet, and has a cute little personality. However, he's recently decided that if you put him down to play, the world is coming to an end. :-) It's actually kinda funny. When he's sleeping, eating, or riding in the car, he's fine. But the moment you put him down just to play, he's not very happy. He did learn to crawl this past weekend finally. So I'm hoping that will help. He's super snuggly and loves to be rocked. Caroline adores him! He's her "Micah-Moo" and she loves him so much. I'm glad he's been brought into our lives. As most of you know, my mom has had a rough road for the past few months. She was supposed to go in for a "typical" colon resection for a spot of cancer they found during a colonoscopy. But, of course, you know we don't do anything typical in our family. A few days after she was released to go home from the first surgery, she was very sick. Long story short - there was a leak in the first surgery site, and after 5 days of trying to figure that out, they ended up having to go back in a 2nd time to repair the leak. This led to an ileostomy bag for 7 weeks, which then had to be reversed, resulting in a 3rd major surgery in a 10 week span of time. Her 7 weeks of having the bag were awful for her. It practically ate away her skin, burned, pulled, annoyed, and basically was just a shitty situation (no pun intended) (well, maybe a little.:-D ) She's home from the 3rd surgery now, and is having some typical surgical pain, but all in all she's doing much better than she did after the 2nd surgery. For a while there I thought I would never get my mom back. It was pretty rough for everyone involved. She's been staying at my house, in my recliner, since the 2nd surgery. It's just easier for me to take care of her without having to drive back and forth everyday, hauling kids and their necessary stuff. So it's worked out well having her here. I also want to say Thank You to all of you that have sent sweet messages, cards, said a prayer, stopped by for a visit, brought meals, helped with her school stuff, and given your support to her and all of us during this time. Lyda Sue is the backbone of our family. It's hard to function when your backbone is missing. We've managed, but we sure do miss her being up and running like normal. I pray every night for her speedy recovery, mostly for her sake. But partially for mine. When you have a momma as great as mine, it's hard to not have her in full swing. God willing, she will be back to normal very soon. Of course having her here also means that now there are 7 (8 if you count my Dad) people living in my 3-bedroom house. That's a lot of folks, but surprisingly enough, it hasn't been bad. Everyone keeps their stuff in their space and it works. I'm pretty sure my husband is earning "Saint-hood." Ha! He's been great through it all with no complaining (or not much :-)) We're big and loud and he's learned to roll with it. My Aloette business is doing well. I'm trying really hard to become a manager and have my own team of women selling Aloette all over the state of Mississippi. I'm very near that goal, so if you or someone you know is interested, please let me know. Our franchise was recently bought by my friend Mindy, and we are doing incredibly well under her direction. She has taken Aloette to a brand-new level in this area and I'm grateful for her guidance and wisdom. We were under leadership before that ran off women for many reasons. If you weren't a "rockstar" you weren't welcome. But not with Mindy. So many of those women who just want Aloette to be a part-time thing are returning to this business with a fresh outlook and a new desire to do well. And that's all because of her. She's an excellent leader and I'm proud to call her my friend. So that about sums it up. My life in a nutshell for the past few months. I hope you all are doing well and have a wonderful holiday this week!