In brief

I'm getting in a bad habit of starting posts, getting interrupted and then never finishing/publishing them. By the time I return to them they're usually so outdated it's not worth it. And generally speaking I try to make this blog at least somewhat interesting to at least some of the readers. But it also serves as a journal of sorts for me, so before I forget ...

- Claire made it all the way through Mom's Morning Out last week, and she has made it through Sunday school and church two weeks in a row. Not perfectly -- she still cries some and I think requires a lot of one-on-one distraction from a variety of gracious and patient volunteers -- but I'm very hopeful that her separation anxiety is starting to improve.

- Mom, Amanda and I (no babies! Thank you, Matt and Stephen and Dad and Ron!) went to Chapel Hill Friday and Saturday for a miniature version of our annual girls' trip, a tradition we began the year after Mom's liver transplant.

Before babies, we had slightly more ambitious destinations (New York City in 2008, Greenville, S.C., last year), and we stayed for three or four days. Next year, with four babies between Amanda and me, our "trip" will probably be a morning in Carthage, but I'll still enjoy it. Any time is a good time with the two of them.

- I finally used that massage gift certificate Matt gave me for Christmas, thus checking No. 39 off my 101-things list. Being pregnant again has already rendered me unable to complete a few other items (e.g., give blood at least five times and visit an amusement park -- I'm not going to go if I can't ride the roller coasters). I did not want a soon-to-appear baby bump to get in the way of the massage. Thanks again, babe!

- The details aren't finalized yet, but this store in Knoxville, Tenn., is probably going to sell my picture frames! I will be really excited if it works out!