I had a really great blog this morning but lost it and sunk into a malaise that has been difficult to shake. I hate losing creativity to computer error. And I swear it was the computer's fault not mine. Seriously. But I am committed to blogging more frequently to get back in the habit, so here I go again.

Besides blogging (yes, I am a mult-tasker) I am watching my toddler amuse herself by throwing things off the table. She knows she is not supposed to sit ON the table but nonetheless insists on doing so.

I bought her a new coloring book and crayons at our foray to Joseph Beth last night to see the Carwile's play. (See http://www.carwilestringstudio.com/inconcert.html for more info.) She started out today by coloring in the book and then has moved on to trying to mark on any surface I was not sufficiently vigilant enought to keep her away from. Now she is throwing the crayons one by one onto the floor. At least she is not trying to eat them.

She is child number three and naturally gets away with a lot more than number one ever did. Not so much because I am worn down and don't have the energy to enforce the rules (although that is sometimes the case). Mostly it's because I have to divide my attention between so many people. And toddlers naturally master the art of exploiting power vaccuums. No one has to teach them this, it is entirely intuitive from my observation.

The baby will be 2 months tomorrow and this is my observation so far on having four kids, two of which are under 2 years. It is harder to connect to people outside your family because each foray into the real world with everyone in tow is a major expenditure of effort. For example, attending church has taken an exponential leap up in difficulty with the arrival of the baby. Thankfully, we are now meeting Sunday afternoons so this gives me many hours to get myself and everyone ready. On the other hand, I think we will be closer as a family because of our size. Having four kids has forced Peter and I to get our act together better about dividing up family chores. The boys have had to take on more responsibility and they are learnig to enjoy their sisters as they help take care of them. They are not just tolerating them as they go about their business.

Well, it's time to help the toddler transition from chaos to order again. Toodles.