What a difference a week makes.

Yippeee!! The kiddos are finished with school and now there are only TWO days left of work until my Leave of Absence begins!! I'm not sure who is more excited: me or Josh. He says that now his mornings won't be so stressful because he won't have to participate in the morning rush activities. And, I agree completely. The mornings have got to be the most stressful part of the day. Josh frequently complains that I am the only person who can wake at five, and still manage to be on the cusp of arriving late to work everyday. (Michael and I have to be OUT the door at 7:10, or I'm definitely late.)

Father's Day was fabulous, absolutely fabulous. Michael did a complete 180 from last week, thank goodness. Mass was delightfully relaxing and peaceful. Josh joined us, which was the perfect Sunday for him to go to mass because Michael was so well behaved. We went on a shopping spree for Michael B. the rest of the day. According to Josh, Michael is in desperate need of new PJ's, clothes, and shoes. We headed to the outlets and found some suitable shoes and clothes for the little guy. I personally can't stand the shoes- I think they're ugly, but Michael fell in love as soon as he put them on his little feet. He proudly whispered to me, "They're grown up shoes, Mommy." Josh seems to like the shoes, too. (Oh well.) The Gymboree outlet had a great sale on tops and shorts: $4.99 / top or bottom, which was a decent deal. Not as good as my favorites, Target or Walmart, but the clothes are very cute and met Josh's high standards of dress. Josh's standards include: mesh shorts (with pockets) AND white t-shirts with sport themes. The best part of the day was the fact that Michael did not have one accident in his underwear! I'm always reluctant to take him out places without a pull-up, but he's made tremendous progress in the potty training department.

After shopping, we met my parents and grandparents at a restaurant to celebrate Father's Day and Grandma's birthday. Grandma Frances proudly turned 83 yesterday. Our dinner was delicious and Michael was very well behaved, considering all that we accomplished yesterday morning and afternoon.

This evening we celebrated Father's Day with Granddad Michael. Mary Jane prepared a delicious seafood meal, with the seafood that they brought back from the beach. Michael B really enjoyed the shrimp and cantaloupe. The rest of the evening was spent in the yard, enjoying the "fall-like" weather that the storms brought in this afternoon. We had a delightful evening and Michael nodded off quickly this even

ing, thanks to all of the time spend outside.

Tomorrow I have a doctor's appointment. I pray that I haven't gained eight pounds this month. Seriously. Last month was seven, the month before was six! I'm cringing thinking about that part. I can't wait to find out what the heart rate is this month and to find out how the baby is measuring. The baby and I are celebrating 24 weeks together today.