Friday Again

Maybe I will blog better if I try to do it in the morning?

Our DSS visit went very well. Only one of the ladies came, as the other had to take her own little girl to the doctor. The kids were helping me fold towels when she got here, which they never do, so that started us off looking good. (Ed was upset that I had a basket of laundry in the kitchen, but the laundry had to be rotated, and, as I told him, if we pretend to be "model home perfect," they would be in for a rude shock when they show up on short notice and find chaos reigning!) We mostly sat and drank coffee (with cookies) and talked. The kids chattered to her for a while and then went out back to play. Actually, I suggested that they go out back because they were chasing each other around the house sort of loudly, with swords and blasters, but at least they were playing happily together! We took her on a quick tour of the house, and she seemed pleased with the place and said it looked like we had room for a couple more kids. I think we got points for having the school across the street, and the park and walking trail are nearly finished and are looking very nice. We still won't be qualified for a while, as they need to get back the results from our finger prints, and we need to have at least one more inspection, plus a fire inspection, and we need to take a CPR and a first aid class. But we are one step closer!

Katie had a t-ball game on Monday night. She has missed a game or two because of schedule conflicts, and she hasn't "missed" them. We gave her the talk about being a member of the team and following through with things, and I think she had a fairly good time once she was actually there. She did have one really nice hit, and she only Walked around the bases (as in "strolled") once.

Good game!

The girls washed dresses on a washboard with lye soap at Prairie Girls. I think Katie's dress ended up dirtier than it started, but watching them work certainly gave me an appreciation for my washer and dryer. They also made lemonade and doughnuts and worked on their samplers. We are reading Farmer Boy this month, which I like much better than any of the other Little House books so far.

The washing was done in water authentically heated on the (electric) stove, but we had the hose for rinsing. I'm pretty sure that any pioneer woman wouldn't have minded being squirted with a hose by a pioneer baby if it meant that she had a hose. With water coming out of it!

Harry just loves washing Emma.And washing.And washing. She is a Very clean kitten.

Harry had his yearly checkup yesterday. He is two pounds overweight and he has plaque. I wouldn't dare try to brush his teeth, and he only gets kibble, so I think he is just going to have a yellow smile. As to his weight, we can buy him diet cat food, but he gobbles Emma's kitten food every time he gets the chance, and I suspect that her food is high calorie. Of course, if I were only two pounds overweight, I'd be patting myself on the back, so maybe it isn't a big deal and the vet just wanted to give us something to justify his bill.