Emma the vulture

Saturday night I came home from work and though I am usually too tired to have dinner, I wanted a barbecue ham sandwich. Emma, who had already brushed her teeth and was for all intents and purposes ready for bed, appeared out of nowhere. She does this every time anyone gets ready to sit down and eat, even if her own dinner was half an hour earlier. It's so bad that I have found myself waiting untiil she goes to bed to eat. I am more firm than her daddy in saying no to this behavior but she still does it. This night she sat on the counter and watched me make a sandwich. "Can I have that?" she asked. I eyed her warily. "No," I said, "You already brushed your teeth." She thought about this for a minute and was not deterred. "But I like that." "You don't even know what this is," I told her. "It's whale." This gave her only brief pause. "I like whale," she assured me. I started giggling. "How do you know? You've never had whale." "Oh yes, "she chimed. "I do so like whale." "Whale is only for grown ups," I informed her. In the background Patrik started to crack up, telling me to cut it out. "I like whale," she repeated, very sure. In the end she ended up with a plate of her own, and to this day is positive that she does indeed like whale. Proving that not only will the kid eat anything, but I can convince her of anything as well. Except that kids can't eat whale. Or that she should be potty trained.
I am stunned that Easter is almost here. The older I get the more rapidly time flies, which is kind of frightening. I mean, it was just Christmas, for crying out loud. Then someone at work said yesterday that Christmas is only 9 months away. Sheesh. Julia will be 6 the Wednesday after Easter and I look at her in amazement. If last Christmas was only yesterday, then this beauty was born just a few months ago. They just keep growing no matter how much I want them to stop it. To remain my snuggly little girls. *sigh*
Chase is staying with us right now which he hasn't done for any length of time for quite a while. I sincerely enjoy his company. He has matured into such a lovely young man and I find myself doubting that all the troubles we've had in the past are real. The girls adore him and Julia in particular has a little crush on him. It's quite charming. Christopher remains in Palm City, 20 minutes north of us, staying with his friend Greg and his mom and seems to truly be thriving. He leaves at the end of the month for his chorus trip to New York City and he's so excited. This time next year we will be gearing up for his high school graduation. Don't get me started on how that makes me feel....where has the time gone?
Laura is a social butterfly these days. She seems to have a new party to go to every week (much to Julia's dismay. She's quite jealous even though we have assured her that her time will come.) She is such a beautiful little girl who is transforming right before my eyes. Everyone loves her. She is a gentle soul. I am so very proud of her. I have warned Patrik that in about 9 years he better brace himself for 3 daughters in puberty and a wife going through menopause. He may have to move....
My dear brother Joe is having a hard time coming to terms with his cat's cancer diagnosis. Joe is single, a very lovey guy, and since he has no children of his own he is super-uncle to mine and his cat is his child. I have never loved a pet the way he loves his and I am sad that he has to go through this. He goes to see a specialist vet today, and I fear the news won't be good. I hope he knows how just wonderful he is. I treasure him, we all do.

*thinking of you, Uncle Tom and Aunt MaryLee*