Jed and Tucker have recently discovered how much fun it is to play dress-up with each other. Tucker feels like pretty hot stuff playing army with his cool big brother, and Jed is thrilled to have someone to play his war games with and order around.

Evan stayed home today to do some electrical work on our house. The wiring in this house is what my dad would call "Micky Mouse," very poorly done and much of it by amateurs. It's positively scary some of the things Evan has come across. I think our fire prevention angel has been kept very busy since we moved in.

In order to work on the house without getting zapped he had to turn off power from about 12:30 to 7:30 this evening. So the kids and I took off to the children's museum in Londonderry, then the chiropractor. It was back home again for an hour or so of reading books and playing games (what else could we do without power when it was cold and terribly windy outside?) Then I left Jed with Evan and took the little ones out to pick up Burger King and Applebee's takeout. After dinner Lindsay and the kids and I wrapped up in blankets and shivered in the living room while I read them stories in the waning light. Finally Evan was able to turn on the power again at 7:30 and we're starting to warm up again. He feels much better about the state of the wiring now.

Warning: any men reading this post might want to skip the following paragraph :-)

I've always heard that the more kids you have the harder it is to lose the baby fat. Ain't that the truth! After Jed was born I got down to my pre-pregnancy weight within three months without even trying. With each successive pregnancy it has taken longer, and the extra weight I gained with Jackson isn't coming off without a fight. It's not that I'm so very vain; it's just that I want my clothes to fit! And there are some sizes I refuse to have in my closet, not to mention the fact that elastic waistbands have never done anything for my figure. I recently started doing a workout DVD called Postnatal Bootcamp with Lindsay Brin. It has fairly short, quick, intense workouts designed specifically for moms who've just had a baby. I absolutely love the workouts and am feeling great, but the waistbands aren't budging. Oh, well. I guess I just need to be patient. If any of you have some tips, please do tell!

Jack wins all the jelly beans!

That's an expression Evan's family has used for years. I don't know the story behind it, but we use it as an accolade when someone has done something great. Last night Jack definitely won all the jelly beans! Several nights now he has slept for seven or eight hours at a stretch, but last night he fell asleep around 8:00 after eating only half a meal--and proceeded to sleep till 5:30. I fed him on one side (one very sore side!) and at 8:00 he's still sleeping soundly. None of my other kids slept through the night till they were eight months old. Jackson has been our easiest baby yet. Hurray for Jack!

And in other recent Jones household news, Jed is now reading! It finally clicked that if you put C-A-T together it makes a whole word. Evan has been working with him quite a bit in the evenings since January because I was burned out and getting nowhere with him. Whatever he did got Jed over the hump. It thrills me to no end to hear my boy reading words on a page!

Tucker is showing great signs of improvement since we took him off gluten. He's still skinny as a beanpole; can't keep his pants on. (Thank God for overalls!) But he's much happier and less clingy now, making all of us happier.

My parents and Kristi were here for a visit last weekend! It was lovely to see them and spend time with them. I love seeing Evan and my dad conversing. With both of them being in the trades and both being pastors (or erstwhile pastors), they have a lot in common and never run out of things to talk about. My mom spent all day Thursday with me and the kids (Daddy and Kristi came a little later). It was fun having her be a part of our daily routine. She held Jack while I taught Jed school and helped entertain the little ones. It made a happy day for all of us.