Ten Things You May Not Know About Peter
1. He has freakishly dextrous toes. He can pick up even tiny objects with them (such as buttons). When he straightens up things on the floor, he doesn't even bend over at all. Remember that movie with Daniel Day Lewis called "My Left Foot"?

2. His mind sings all the time. Every so often, he belts out a line from a song (musical or radio) that is in his head. If you ask, he may share the stream-of-consciousness thinking that led to that particular line. It can be disturbing.

3. He is a human jungle-gym/roller coaster for the girls. They slide down his back, climb on his head, allow him to dangle them upside down, swing on his arms.

4. At work, he does not like to be touched. You know, the friendly pat on the arm and such. No. This makes him uncomfortable. It's funny because he's such a touch guy at home, very affectionate and cuddly.

5. He is obsessed with sharks. Loves "Shark Week" on the Discovery Channel.

6. He has insane amounts of worthless trivial knowledge in that brain, a great partner to have in Trivial Pursuit.

7. He taught himself how to play the guitar. Can play pretty much anything after hearing it. He sings Molly & Rebecca to sleep at night with his guitar.

8. His goatee is going gray. He has been known to experiment with Just for Men.

9. One reality show (pretty much the only reality show) he enjoyed last season was "Project Runway" on Bravo channel, the one about fashion designers.

10. He's the best Daddy and Hubby around. We couldn't ask for better!

Stay tuned for Ten Things You May Not Know About Molly...

Take this Home and Sell It!

We are down to the wire. My last day at my job here is June 29, and my first day at my next job ( a part-time one! Yippee!) is just over a week later. The house here in Davenport is not yet on the market, and I am getting super-anxious. For about a year, we have been purging, moving stuff down to my parents' garage in Memphis in spurts, making list after list of "little projects" (which always take more than a little time, even if they're not expensive). The list seems to grow all the time--which is, I think, not the way a list is supposed to work. With kids and dogs under foot, everything takes twice as long. (This, I keep saying, is WHY we are moving back to Memphis, so when we have projects to do, the kids will have cousins and grandparents and aunts and uncles to entertain them at a distant location--and we can return the favor!)

So here we are, April fast approaching. Down to the three-month mark. For those who are not terribly familiar with me, I am generally a pretty laid-back person. Except when something big is about to happen. Uncertainty makes me insane. And I know that what the house looks like is a reflection on me and me alone, no matter how much Peter and I are partners and all that mess. It's all about me and my "ability" (and I use that word loosely) to decorate, organize and clean. So when people are coming over, when there's about to be a birthday party, when we're about to go out of town, when we NEED to put a sign in our front yard, I am NOT an easy person to live with. I see the irrational behavior, but I can't seem to stop it. I nag and nag and get all passive aggressive ( a common Midwestern trait whichI seem to have adopted). My temper is short, I get headaches, I need caffeine & ice cream, and nobody does anything to my satisfaction. So, Peter, girls, co-workers & friends, I apologize now, both in retrospect and in advance. I KNOW I am crabby. I KNOW you aren't doing anything wrong. It's just that, well, uncertainty makes me insane.

All of you who wondered: what will you do if the house sells fast and you still have to be in Davenport--you can relax! I don't think that will be an issue at this point. But you never know--miracles can happen! Maybe someone will come in at the first open house and say: "I have always wanted a freshly painted 'California split-level' house with a new sump pump and arched doorways! And thank goodness the outlet covers are white! We'll buy it at your asking price!" Until that moment, I will be a witch, even though I know it's not right.

Toy of the Week

As you all know, kids go through phases with toys. This week, the girls have discovered/rediscovered a toy from Christmas. (As is often the case when they get lots of stuff all at once, it takes a while for certain things to be truly noticed.) It is the Polar Set from Animal Planet, a collection of arctic-dwelling figures--penguins, polar bears, killer whale, beluga whale, Eskimo, rescue truck, igloo. You'd think with so many to choose from, arguing would be minimized. But no, if Molly has the penguin baby, Rebecca inevitably wants it immediately. The latest way they handle this is to announce, "Mommy, Molly won't share the baby penguin." After a brief pause, I will sigh and say, "Molly, can you please share? ISn't it nice when other people share with you?" Quiet. "Okay, but you say when to switch." This means I now am entrusted with monitoring how long one child plays with the toy and then I say "SWITCH!" It's both a blessing and a curse to have kids who are old enough to play without me all the time!

Our Rebecca Just Turned 3, EiEiO!

Saturday was Becca's 3rd birthday party! Some time ago, she settled on a farm animal theme for the party, insisting on a pinata. I was so crafty and made cute little barn invitations with doors that open. I also made animal Bingo cards and I drew a lovely (if somewhat distorted) cow on a poster board for "Pin the Tail on the Cow.". The older the girls get, the less stuff I seem to be able to make for the party, though, so I relied on www.birthdayexpress.com for goody boxes, a cow pinata and farm animal plates. This little local bakery we have here called "Wal-Mart" made a Charlotte's Web cake. I made pigs-in-a-blanket, got a chicken nugget party tray from another local favorite called Chick-Fil-A, and had a big bowl of fruit. Granna and Papa picked up balloons and took Becca to Cookie Cutters Haircuts for Kids for a spiral-curly hair-do and fancy pink bow. Four little girls joined us--Sakshi, Eesha, Emma and Kenzie--and, I think, they all had a pretty good time. As is the trend when girls come to play, everyone had shed their party clothes by about an hour in, trading them in for dress-up clothes. There are princesses on farms, right? It was sort of "Girls Gone Wild: Toddlers Get Fancy!" Pete made a special appearance as Farmer Pete, playing his gee-tar and leading us all in "Our Rebecca Had a Farm." What a Dad!

I am still more-than-a-little shocked that Rebecca is 3. Three seems so much older than 2. Three is starting preschool in the fall and taking her first dance class. Three is getting herself dressed and playing the DVD player all by herself. Three is too big for all the 2T clothes and gets herself dressed. I'm not ready! (On the other hand, Three uses the potty, brushes her teeth, cleans up toys--sometimes, and is actually pretty good at doing things "all by myself." Maybe I am ready!)

Happy Birthday, my Becca-bean! You can be my little Farm Princess any day!

Welcome, Annsley!

We have a new niece/cousin! Matt & Laurie have adopted a new little daughter (born Feb 28) who has been blessed with the name Annsley Morgan Marsh. It's been a long journey to become parents again for them--and of course, it's not quite done yet, as there are some legal hoops to jump through to finalize things--and we are just thrilled for them! Caroline (9) and Hallie (7 on march 1!) are now big sisters! We haven't seen pictures yet, but we hear she is beautiful with dark hair and blue eyes. In just under two weeks, we will drive down to Memphis to welcome Annsley in person to the Marsh clan!

Congratulations to Matt, Laurie, Caroline and Hallie! Annsley, you're gonna love your family--and we already love you!