What a pain in the mouth!

Chewing is really a wonderful thing. People take it for granted. When it hurts to chew, say, because you have these metal brackets attached to each tooth with a wire running between them pulling your teeth in directions they don't want to go... it can be a bit painful.

The kids have been doing great on their homework and chores. Thanks to mom, of course. She drives them much better than I do. I just don't have the energy she does. Some days I feel older than she is.

JP and I have a great system worked out for talking to each other. He calls, lets it ring once, then hangs up. Then I use my phone card and call him back. Last night around 10, just as I was about to curl up in bed, the bedside phone rang once. How nice to be able to talk to him just before I snuggled down to sleep. He can't say too much, no details of anything, even something as trivial as his living conditions. He was able to tell me that he saw camels yesterday. Of course, when we talk at night here, he's just gotten up at 4-5 a.m. the next morning. So as I'm getting ready for bed, I ask him "So what did you do today?" he can reply with "Nothing, I just woke up!"

Our friend Nancy is coming down to mom's to see us this weekend. We will probably have a few drinks to say goodbye. Alex will be the only kid along, and we are thinking of bringing Zoey and my "little" Comet, too. Nancy loves our goldens, and she hasn't seen Comet since she was just a little bugger. She is now the biggest of the 4 dogs. And such beautiful golden blond curls! She really is georgous. And such a well behaved girl, too. And very smart. She learns things very quickly. She can sit, stay, come, heel, shake, and she understands commands like "Get out of the kitchen" and "Go lay down" and "Kennel" which is something she is hearing less of. The kennel used to be her bed, and her daytime place when nobody was home. Now that she's older (and bigger) she is gaining my trust, and can be loose in the house.

Well, time to crack the whip, kids are goofing around, and there are chores to be finished up, and tests to study for. A mother's job is never done... just ask mine! She is the best ever. Best mom, Best friend, Best child wrangler... you name it, she's the best at it!!