Taking Stock at 30 Months. 5-16-14

Here’s what’s happening at 30 Months:
·         Boop is an avid YouTube watcher. She loves to watch the kiddie music clips, and it’s hard to keep it in check. Fortunately, she doesn’t watch anything at daycare, but when she gets home, she starts asking. We still read lots of books. And I wish I had more energy to get her out and about. She loves to sing and is able to get more and more of the words. Hopefully, I’ll make better use of the pool pass this year. Boop is still a live wire, but she’s a bit more manageable.
·         I’m not really sure if Boop had a UTI after all. Nothing showed up on culture at 24 hrs. I sent a message to her new nephrologist, but I still haven’t heard back after a week. It’s the same support staff as her last nephrologist. Honestly, they need to get it together. I would love to take her back to the place out of state, but my insurance won’t really cover it. I need to take a bit more time to check out the state insurance exchange. I think she could get better coverage for what I’m paying now, but my annual window to change ended while I was in full tilt grant-writing mode. Fortunately, my previous elections rolled over to this year; so I didn’t lose everything.
·         Poor Winnie. That’s all I can say. It’s been a week on antibiotics, and I’m still waking to her accidents. I got up at 3am, and there was already one waiting for me in the carpet. I stared at it for a couple of hours and finally got up the gumption to clean it. I need to figure out how to use the little carpet cleaner I bought last year.  
·         I still feel overwhelmed by stuff. I try so hard to keep up with it. I sent Mom home with 2 huge boxes of stuff that she got for Boop but that Boop didn’t use/had outgrown. That’s roughly equivalent to the amount of stuff she’s gotten Boop in the past month—I’m just trying to break even, at this point. Notice the piles and boxes of stuff to get rid of in the video below.
·         It’s good that we seem to be emerging from the snow. It’s been a cold, snowy winter. Of course, it’s rained for the better part of the week, but it looks like things may be a bit drier today. Maybe I’ll try walking to work today. 

Easter Morning

Here We Go Again. 5-8-14

Speaking of May the 4th, there's a disturbance in The Force, I suppose. 

I felt bad that I didn't get to spend as much time visiting with my grad school roomie as I would have liked. I had this image of us going out and doing something fun, but instead, I spent half the time ailing and half the time trying to get things sorted with one of my grants. There's also this little issue of being a mom and a daughter, and Gammy was too exhausted to manage Boop on her own for the evening. We opted for an evening out of Burmese. Then, we spent the morning at the Penn St. Market in Philadelphia. It was good to see her again, but I wish it could have been under better circumstances. That reminds me, I'm suppose to be scheduling a doctor's appointment. However, that will have to wait a bit longer. 

We've had a crazy week--beyond just the grant writing and challenges with teaching and students. Winnie has another UTI. Vet appointment today. And after a week of trying to get Boop sorted out with cranberry and pear juice (which worked great at home, but not so much at daycare), I finally relented and took her to the walk-in clinic at her pediatrician. We saw the nurse practitioner who helped me put a bag on her (they're clearly made for little boys) and sent her home. She hadn't soiled her diaper all day, and this was about 3pm. Finally, after pushing liquids, she finally went about 4:30, which of course did not go in the bag. I was able to find a drop in the bag to test with a home test kit, and it was positive for a UTI. So, I called the pediatrician's office. They're only advice was to try again <groan>. 

Speaking of a disturbance in The Force, I hear Boop is awake via the baby monitor... "Winnie! Winnie! <mumble, mumble, mumble> Winnie! Winnie!"

FABULOUS!

Taking Stock at 25 Months (and a week). 2-27-14

Here’s what’s happening at 25 months:

• Mercy sakes. Boop and the boys. I got updated by her teachers last week. They informed me that Boop has a boyfriend. Apparently, N kissed her 3 times over the course of the day. He’s a younger man. So, there you go. She’ll be dating before me.
• A few days later when I went to pick her up, her teacher asked, “Are those the shoes Boop came to daycare in?” I said yes, somewhat apprehensively. They seemed relieved. Apparently, she and E had decided to exchange shoes, but they did such a good job, the shoes didn’t look like they had been changed. They just happened to think that Boop usually wore purple tennis shoes. E is younger; so I suspect Boop instigated. As I was walking out, I looked down and saw suns on her sock. We turned back around. They had also exchanged socks, too, apparently. How on earth they managed that, I don’t know.
• My grants got in, but not without much drama. More on that later. Many long hours, only to start up again in a few weeks. I’m pretty exhausted but relieved that it’s over.
• Winnie seems like she’s seeing a little better. She’s recovering from another UTI and is full of energy, playing with her toys, running around.

Taking Stock at Month 23. 12-18-13

Here’s what’s happening at 23 months:

• One more month and Boop will be 2 years old. It’s pretty amazing to think of. She’s a head full of curls with a definite mind of her own. We made a quick run to the grocery last night to pick up a few things. Of course, she was not content to sit in the cart, even the one made for little kids. She maneuvered her way out, and totally had the shopping thing down. Unfortunately, she didn’t always want to look at the things that I did. We went down the baking isle to get stuff for cookies. I turned around, and she had 3 different kinds of candy sprinkles and was putting them in the cart. Did she know they were for cookies? Probably just a fluke. I reassured her that we already had some at home. I had showed them to her a few days ago.
• Boop sings her ABC’s a lot. She fumbles a bit after G, but if you sing along, she picks back up at O and can just about knock out the rest. She has started to say her numbers and can count to ten, sometimes even “fweven” or “twove”, but she sometimes skips a number in the middle. You know, most kids do these things, but when you’re with one a lot and are just going along, it almost blind-sides you to see that intellectual leap. We’re still a ways from colors. She knows the words and repeats them, but she doesn’t have the concept.
• It cracks me up (and wow a few minutes reprieve!) to see her sit and read. She’ll look at one of her books, I’ll hear some mumbling, and then all of the sudden, a word I can understand. She sits in her little bath and talks to her rubber duckies, ‘no, no duckie,’ she admonishes them. It won’t be long before she’s more independent. A mixed blessing, I guess.
• She’s getting too heavy for me to carry everywhere, and she screams the minute I try to put her down. Her attachment anxiety is so strange, and it was hard for me to understand. She does fine when I get her to daycare, but boy, she does NOT want to get dressed in the morning. Then, she is not anxious to get home, does not want to get in the car seat for the 1.5 minute ride home. Once at home, she will not let me out of her site. The timing is so strange, but I think it is just separation anxiety.
• Winnie did NOT have a UTI, yes, she did NOT have a UTI at our last vet visit. Hurray! Unfortunately, she is going blind—probably already there, poor thing. She’s not a young pup; although she acts like it. Fortunately the constant picking (scratching, biting, licking) is most likely the result of allergies. Annoying, but not serious.

Taking Stock at Month 22. 11-18-13

Here’s what’s happening at 22 months old:

• Boop’s favorite words are “No Way, Go Away!” Usually, this happens as I try to put a diaper on her, or any sort of clothes, really. We’ve been trying to potty train. She loves the potty, but she hasn’t made the connection. She knows she needs to wipe with toilet paper, flush the commode, and wash her hands, but she hasn’t gotten the idea of doing the deed, yet.  I thought I had it, yesterday. She hadn’t gone to the bathroom for a really long time, and I was pumping her with fluids. She proceeded to get off the toilet, and I asked her if she wanted a diaper. She said, “Diaper.” After I put one on her, she immediately went. And so, there you go!
• Boop really hasn’t gotten into her baby dolls that much. I guess she has a Winnie; so dolls are not as important. Lately, I’ve been noticing her throwing her blankets at Winnie, and this weekend, she finally figured out how to tuck Winnie into her blanket. Cute, yes. But Sunday morning, she had managed to find a tube of sunscreen. She had apparently decided that Winnie needed some lotion and was dabbing it on her. Winnie was unphased, thank goodness. 
• Winnie and her UTIs. She got this last one while on antibiotics; though I admit I missed some doses. She’s eating this prescription food, which she doesn’t like and which doesn’t help. I think the cranberry supplements must be doing the most good. Such a shame. Bless her heart, she’s also going blind.
• Hopefully, my Invisalign will be finished on my bottom teeth before Christmas, still many months on the top ones. I’m finally making some progress at work. Maybe I’ll wrap up some projects by the end of the year. At my last visit to the MD, I found that I had gained 9 lbs since the summer! Not exactly sure how that happened. Thankfully, in the last 2 weeks, I’ve lost about 4 lbs.  

Harvest Moon? 9-19-13

I got a little more sleep last night. Of course, Tuesday night was no fun. That was the night before I had to teach. Winnie was up a lot: pacing, pacing. My friend stayed over that night (her boyfriend lives out of town, and she stays here when she can’t manage the trip back and forth).  We were already in bed; so Winnie had to announce her arrival. The diaper fairy also visited early that morning to bring clean diapers. And then my friend had to leave early for a trip. So, Winnie was making sure Boop and I knew everyone who was coming near the house—in or out. Then, she added on a few extra up-and-abouts to make sure I got no rest. Turns out, my friend at work said it was the full moon. Her dog goes a little nutty then, too. She took something herbal to help her sleep. Yep, I’m still nursing; so not an option for me.  

So, I guess I had always heard about things being nutty around the time of the full moon. For a while in school, I worked at a nursing home associated with an inner-city ER in Indy. Oh boy, could you tell when there was a full moon! However, a friend from China says this moon is a time for celebration. Perhaps this is Harvest Moon. She brought in some moon cakes for the holiday, and she brought in a special one for Boop. Boop had to sit her high seat because she did NOT want to share with Winnie.

Taking Stock at Month 20. 9-17-13‏

Here's what's happening with Boop at 20 months old:

Doesn't quite fit into these yet...

• This morning she informed me, "Boop Winnie's Dog." I quickly followed up with "Winnie is Boop's dog;" however there is probably more truth to the former. Winnie still doesn't put up with much from Boop, and Winnie has Boop trained pretty well when it comes to dinner time. Boop is starting to catch on though. When it's something that Boop likes to eat, she tells Winnie in no uncertain terms, "NO," and "Go AWAY!"
• It's a case of 'be careful what you wish for.' Boop isn't saying "NO" to everything these days. It's turned into an emphatic, "NO WAY!!" and is accompanied by a swinging arm to get rid of the offense. Trying to get her dressed in the morning is challenging. She doesn't want to wear clothes. It's pretty inconvenient as the cold weather is moving in. I get the swinging arms a lot. And she's pretty forceful when she throws her little body around.
• When am I going to get time to take Winnie to the vet? She had another accident yesterday after a while of no messes in the house. I'm just starting to get caught up after a week of some flu-like virus, and now I need to get Winnie sorted. I wish I were back to 100% to manage it, but I still have this funky cough that picks up whenever I have a little activity.
• The decks still aren't finished. I was hoping that I could get the back deck finished; so that we could set up Boop's inflatable pool. Now that the main area is finished, the temperature has taken a wee nose-dive, not getting above 70. Friday looked like it might hit 80, but now that has been revised downward. 

Come Out, Winnie! 9-15-13

Feeding Time. 7-20-13

I took great pains to explain to Boop that Winnie's food was for Winnie and not for Boop. 

Boop surprised me with her next move, but she still wanted to lick her hand after feeding Winnie.

It's ON!! 6-28-13

I've had it. I'm ready to kick some herbal heiny. 
I did something very stupid last week. I was trying to clean out around the edge of my deck. And  with all of the time I played down in the country, I learned long ago. And I should have remembered. "Leaflets 3, let it be." It didn't dawn on me that I could encounter it in my humble little plot; so my radar wasn't even on.
My skin has been crawling since about 3:30am. I couldn't get any peace; so I figured I would get up and find a distraction. Apparently the stuff has just spread to my face. 

4am photo. Not sure if you can see the rash that is just developing on my face.
My face is a bit swollen, too. You can see a bit of the rash on my finger.

We've got 2 culprits here; so I can't just blame myself. Sure I was weeding with wanton abandonment, determined to get that tree and weeds cut out of some of my garden decor. However, my urushoil footprint was likely a bit low. After all, I was using some heavy gloves for most of the time. But the bigger biological terrorist is likely my little Winnie. 

Sure, she *looks* innocent enough!

Dogs aren't affected by poison ivy. They just carry it along to unsuspecting folks. So one of the 1st things I did this morning was email her groomer to see if we can get some of that hair cut off. The next thing I did was try to figure out how in the world I'm going to get rid of this stuff. Here are the results of my web search and other ideas for my shopping list:

• Dawn dishwashing liquid for Winnie's bath (check)
• Long rubber gloves to wash Winnie and to remove the offender (check)
• Plastic barrier with ground clips for around the shed to keep Winnie from getting underneath. Not sure how I'm going to get it stuck on--maybe hammer and brads?
• Black plastic tarp for covering weeds and compost pile, which is no longer any good.
• Maybe herbicide? I really don't like this idea, especially so near to my container gardens and with the baby
• Arrid Extra Dry spray. Yes, it will be hot out there in long sleeves and pants, but my 'research' tells me that this can help heal the rash
• Calagel. Again, to help heal the rash
• Large plastic bags to get rid of the offender
• An ocean of calamine lotion

So, it looks like a trip to Lowe's is in order. Winnie has a UTI; so I guess we'll hit Lowe's on our way back from the vet. It looks like I have A LOT of laundry to re-do this weekend. Grrrr!

Taking Stock at Weeks 65/66/67. 4-24-13

Here's what's been happening the last 3 weeks:

• Little Boop is still full of energy and keeping me VERY busy. So, along with figuring out how to open the child-proof drawers, she's figured out how to open the child safety caps on pill bottles. Fortunately, it was only acidophilus, but she has the skills. 
• She's still not crazy about using utensils. I wonder how her applesauce went today at daycare. This is a skill I would like for her to pick up quickly! All of her spills are a bit hard on her clothes and my floor. We're trying to get through some of her pickiness. Meat is not something that she is crazy about. I just worry about her getting enough protein. I got sunflower seed butter, which wasn't a hit. I bought tofu. That will be the next thing to try. Thank goodness for humus! And well, she likes Winnie's dog food better than Winnie does. That has a high ICK! factor for me, and I can't figure out why dog kibble is so much more enticing than a bite-sized chunk of white-meat chicken.
• I'm trying to get the house together to have a few folks over. I did some serious weeding this past weekend. I was hoping that one of my helpers would be able to work on the side of the house, but he had to leave town before he could get it done. He did help me pick up my patio furniture the night before he left, which was great. I just need to figure out a time to sit and put it together. Boop was not happy as I tried to pull things out of the box. I looked up, and she was down 1 step off the back deck. Of course, I said, "Stop" and "No." Which in Boop language means, "Hurry" and "Do more." With that, she rolled down the last 2 steps of the porch. Fortunately, she recovered quickly, and she didn't seem too worse for wear.
• Winnie is still battling UTI's. More tests, more money. Even when we find out the strain of bacteria, I'm not convinced that it will help. They said something about having her on antibiotics for a month. That should be fun. They had to take her off antibiotics for the test, and we're waiting for the verdict before giving her more. So far, we are just managing on meds for pain. She seems to be doing okay, though. 
• Mom decided at the last minute to get a knee replacement. Unfortunately, we just can't manage that quickly. I hate for her to be far away and try to go through this. Of course, she probably has a tinge of relief that Boop isn't around to yank out an IV or put a knot in the tube that gives her pain meds. Not sure if we are going try to make a trip or not. It's just a long trip for Boop and a dog with a UTI. If we tried to fly, we would have the cost, plus the 1.5 hr trip back and forth to the airport, plus trying to figure out what to do with Winnie. The car would be 7 hrs. 
• Boop and Winnie are starting to get along a wee bit better. Winnie certainly loves Boop when it's dinner time! But, lately, Boop has gotten better about being able to rub Winnie's back. And Winnie will sit still for that. But Boop also is fascinated by Winnie's teeth, nose, and eyes, and nothing good comes of that. 

Taking Stock at Week 61/62. 3-25-13

Here's what's happening at Boop's Week 61/62:

·         “This is some welcome to San Francisco. We’re visitors here, and this is how we are treated?!?!” Well, those words did come out of my mouth, and it had its effect. More on that later—too much to relate in this brief bullet point.

·         One more tooth poked through on our trip. That’s 6 ‘teehs’. 4 on the bottom. Those top ones are working their way down, but it will be a painful trip, as big as they are! And then, I looked over at little Boop as she stood by the futon for the first time in the week. Wow, she’s gotten so big. She’s tall. At 14 months, we still need to get to the pediatrician for her 1 year appointment.

·         Boop is shaping up to have a lovely ski-slope shaped nose, I believe J Only time will tell. It’s going to be a bit long, though.

·         Poor Winnie. It was a long haul while we were away. She has another UTI. I’m trying to figure out how we will get her to the doctor. I wasn’t able to get her to the vet before my trip; so I’m not sure if she got rid of her last UTI.

·         Why me? I seem to have a knack for wearing other’s vomit while on long plane rides, especially those from California—cross country. Delicious!

·         I’ll be 40 Wednesday.

The Weekend, Part II. 2-27-13

So, there was blood on my arm when I got to the animal hospital. I wasn’t really sure where it came from. We took her in, and the vet tech was telling me that it was a bad bite, that they would need to do surgery. It really wasn’t sinking in, and I really still hadn’t seen the bite. I was looking on top of her head, thinking the husky got her between the ears.

It took the vet a bit of explaining to help me understand the seriousness. There was some discussion about exploratory surgery and needing to leave her overnight. She showed me the bite again, and then I realized the bite was underneath, at the base of her jaw and neck. It was a hole the size of a crochet needle, very close to her esophagus and trachea. That’s when I started to get queasy. And then the anticipation to see if the guy would follow through and pay added to my anxiety, when I saw a potential bill of $700.  It took a few phone calls to get it sorted, but his mother eventually put a down payment on the bill.

I stopped on the way home to get groceries. I needed a distraction, but I was lucky I didn’t pass out in the frozen food section. Mom called when I was at the checkout, frantic that I wasn’t home. After getting in and getting sorted, I called the vet office, and everything went fine. I brought her home at 10:30pm, and she had a port and about 10 staples.

The Weekend. 2-26-13

It’s 2am, and my mind is buzzing. I was trying to pull together an exam for yesterday, and this was complicated by the fact that my assistant had never given an exam before. He tried, and I appreciate him hanging in there. But it magnified my stress level.

Poor Baby!

I got behind this weekend for a couple of reasons. For one, I was traveling for work on Thursday and Friday; so I didn’t have much time in the office before needing to finish the exam. The other reason is that most of my Saturday was taken up by a very unfortunate event. I had planned to do a bit of work on my exam while Mom was still in town and could help with the baby.

Mom had taken Winnie for a walk after we returned from errands. They were gone a while, and I was starting to wonder what had happened. I figured I would wait a bit, as I didn’t want to spur friction if I went to look for them. Not long later, we got a call from the dog park. A dog had attacked Winnie. So, I grabbed Boop and went down to see what had happened. The owner was there, and I looked him square in the eye and said, “You need to pay to have her evaluated.” Winnie was bleeding, and we tried to find a pen to take down his information.

One of the people we encountered while in search of a pen was walking back from a nearby ball game. She just happened to be a vet. She agreed that she needed to go to the vet, and we both thought it would require a few stitches and some antibiotics for infection. As it was Saturday afternoon, vet offices were closed; so after getting the fellow’s name, we head to the animal hospital in a nearby town. As it turns out, our initial assessment was wrong.

Taking Stock at Boop's Week 58. 3-4-13

Here's what's happening at Boop's Week 58 (or the best I can remember):

• I put my finger to my mouth to quietly give Mom the idea that she needed to stop talking; then I pointed over to Boop. Boop had her back to us. She was walking around her turtle trying to figure out how to get on, and I was pretty sure she was going to do it. She hiked up her leg and hopped on. And if that wasn't enough, she put her hand to her mouth and blew a kiss! Not to us, because she couldn't see us watching, but to the world, just to practice, just because she could. We nearly split our sides and were gushing with praise. Boop is such a little card. She had never done either one before.
• And then the big news for Winnie. We had to make a trip to the doggie ER. More on that later.
• I managed the first trip overnight away from my little Boop. I was hoping to get lots of rest, but I forgot my breast pump and was pretty miserable. The review went fine though.

Taking Stock at Boop’s Week 57. 2-22-13

Here’s what’s happening at Boop’s week 57:

• She almost has it. Boop has almost figured how to blow kisses. She gets that she needs to touch her lips, but the blowing the kiss part hasn’t quite sunk in, yet. It won’t be long.
• Hallelujah! Winnie got rid of her UTI. Not sure what is going on there, why she has had so many. The new vet put her on a different antibiotic, and she’s doing better. Fingers crossed, it lasts a while. She still is scratching and biting a lot; so that is something different than the UTI’s, I guess.
• Our first overnight apart so I could travel for work. It seems to be going well. Mom came in to take care of her. We tried to maintain a decent schedule as much as possible. So, she still went to daycare; there was just no me to nurse at lunch. We skyped, and she recognized me on the screen.
• I just can’t seem to get it all done. I gave up the BBC on my Twitter feed as it was overwhelming and have been trimming other folks I follow on Twitter and Facebook. I’m trying to check it less frequently. Boop has been staying at daycare a little longer in the afternoons as I try to wrap things up at the office. I’m still looking for ways to get a little extra time here and there.

Taking Stock at Week 55. 2-10-13

Here’s what’s happening at Boop’s week 55:

•  We started the week with Winnie at the vet. We went to a different vet to get a 2^nd opinion. We’re trying a different antibiotic. Another UTI, of course. And it was snowing to beat the band. A bit of a scary ride home with snowy roads and lots of power outages.
• Boop is walking. Crawling is still a bit faster and easier, but she’s got the hang of walking. She likes having a hand to hang on to while she’s walking, as it helps to steady her and is faster, but she waddles along just fine on her own.  Thankfully, she’s pulling my pants down less.
• Boop is still nursing and doesn’t show much sign of wanting to stop. Babies do all kinds of strange things while nursing. Along with twisting, grabbing, pinching, and poking, Boop has added an interesting one to her repertoire: finger in my belly button.
• Boop and I are sick, but more on that next week.

Just Getting To It. 1-4-12

Happy New Year! I didn’t manage to post on the day. I spent the majority of day chasing after Boop. I tried to stay up to see the ball drop on New Year’s Eve, but I conked out before. Then, I woke up right before. Then, I conked out again. Then, I woke up again in the New Year. The ball dropped in Times Square without us. I needed the sleep more, I guess. At least, I saw the new year come in the Southern Hemisphere. I would have had to be completely out of it to miss that.

Her momma's daughter: flash on, eyes closed. New camera has a brighter flash.

One of my fave New Year’s Day events is to go to the clearance sales. But I was still pretty tired when I got up, it was cold, and the roads were covered with snow. I didn’t want to drag Boop out in it. I didn’t want to drag me out in it. I’m generally moving slower. Maybe it’s seasonal affective disorder. Maybe it’s having a busy toddler. Maybe I’m feeling overwhelmed by all the stuff that I have to do. Probably both.  

I usually don’t make resolutions, but I have a few things I want to work on.

Resolution #1: No pee-pee on my carpet in 2013. That one will be impossible to manage, I know. Between Boop peeing while I’m trying to change her diaper on the floor and poor Winnie fighting those UTI’s, the carpet doesn’t stand a chance. At least, I will plan not to pee-pee on my carpet this year!

Resolution #2: To be on time…for something. Before New Year’s, my resolution was just to be on time, period. We’re only a few days into the new year, and I don’t think I’ve managed to be on time for anything. Okay, an exaggeration, but I haven’t been on time for much. They say not to make unattainable goals or else you’ll get discouraged. So, I’m trying to boost my self-esteem a bit with this resolution, especially since I don’t have much control over Resolution #1.

I had another resolution, but I’ve forgotten it. Probably because I’ve already broken it. And so I’ll make up a new resolution: only make resolutions if they enhance my self-esteem and feelings of self-efficacy.  

Taking Stock at Boop's Week 54. 1-31-13

Here's what's happening at Boop's week 54:

Who is this little girl?

• Winnie had her first accident on the carpet this year, which is better than expected. She wouldn't go out at lunch, and I got home a little late. Fortunately, I don't think it was UTI-related. 
• Boop and Winnie have their ins and outs. I was encouraged when Winnie let Boop pat her on the floor. Then, an hour later, Winnie is ready to bite Boop's hand off for picking at her. Maybe this is a sibling thing?
• Boop is still nursing, but I'm thinking more and more about the next step. The transition from bottle to sippy cup has gone well. She seems happy enough either way, and she's just as happy to try to drink out of a regular cup with some help. 
• It shouldn't be a surprise to learn that Boop is a human garbage disposal: fruit, veggie, meat, carbs, dog food, it's all good. I've had to take Winnie's food out of her mouth more than once, unfortunately.
• As for me, I'm trying to figure out what I want to do when I grow up. In the meantime, I'm trying to do old people stuff like save for retirement. I've started a little 529 for Boop--thanks to our cousins, and I've talked to Mom about starting one there, too.

In from the Snow. 1-30-13

Do me a favor: open the door and let'em in!