It's amazing how Alyssa and I are so connected. It's always been that way ever since she was born. I had a difficult time after she was born and she had colic that whole time. When I started feeling better the colic suddenly stopped. So I've been really stressed and exhausted lately. So today she just starts crying in the middle of breakfast for no reason. Then she hardly eats her lunch (I'm the same) and sobbed like the world was ending when the boys at daycare touched her lovey. She's usually so easy-going.

Al came home from Monterey and gave me a much needed hug and she wanted in on the action. (To says she's possessive of her mommy is an understatement.) That hug alleviated a lot of the stress and I felt better--so did she. I tell you, it really made me stop and think about how much mommy's happiness affects the girls. Although I have to say that Alyssa is an extreme situation--maybe it's a Aquarius/Pisces thing. I may never understand . . .

Samantha is turning into such a 5-year-old. It's funny how much her personality is changing. She keeps cracking me up. This week she had a routine checkup at the dentist. She couldn't wait. She told everyone she saw that she was going to the dentist. She's always been obsessive about her teeth. She made goofy faces and acted so much like an older kid when she was in the office and it just hit me--she growing up.

Al rented a Barbie movie (The Musketeers) the other day and I looked at him like he was out of his mind. I thought it was going to be stupid and something that would be inappropriate. Boy was I wrong! It was actually awesome. It was so empowering for girls and the message (a girl can overcome any obstacle) was appropriate. Samantha ate up every minute.

I think we're going to start our bathroom renovation. The vanity is sitting in our bedroom and most of other things we have. I am getting sick of a leaky, rusty sink. We've been putting it off for 7 1/2 years. Plus we can garden in this rain, so at least we'll have something productive to do on the weekends.