Pox?

None of the kids in this family have had chicken pox, despite many casual exposures. Chicken pox has been running rampant through the community for the past 6-7 weeks and I was hoping it would arrive in our home, but after all the end-of-term performances.

Fiona has been snotty, cranky and mildly febrile for 24 hours and has a few suspicious-looking itchy spots. This may be it for us. The other three will then get it within 14-20 days. The timing is great - no groups lessons, rehearsals, performances, art classes or soccer games to miss. Everyone better in time for the summer music camp weeks.

In the midst of whatever it is she's got, Fiona has had long spells of being her usual funny self. When I pulled up her shirt to look for more spots, she looked down at her flat chest and commented "I don't have any breastfeeders." Breastfeeding is still a central theme in Fiona's life.

As I type this, Noah and Sophie are perusing a "book" that Noah made with folded copier paper, a construction paper cover and a stapler two or three years ago. They are enjoying poring over his rudimentary spelling and printing. "Rainbow" is spelled "RAMBO". Noah made dozens of these books at that age; I'm glad this one survived. It's wonderful for the kids to see clear evidence of their academic progress. Without artificial milestones like "passing Grade 3", these tangible indicators of progress are worth their weight in gold.

Today we moved the dining room into the family room and moved the fridge into the dining room (even cleaned it in the process!). Tomorrow the kids are looking forward to tearing up the old flooring in the kitchen. We've been packing boxes of kitchen stuff and hiding them in the attic. Tons of work still to do, but the renovation should begin in earnest in a couple of days whether we're ready or not.