Last night I had a hard time sleeping. Thoughts of my Remy and our cat Molly who hasn't been seen for a full day now, jumbled around in my head. I also woke up with a stinging pain somewhere behind my right shoulder blade, one of those ones you can't quite pinpoint where the exact source of the pain is. Anyway, this morning Jay informed me that I was a bad partner during these wakeful times, that I was not considerate of the other sleeping person, that I snuffled, sighed, sneezed, and tossed. "Most people just lay there and try to sleep," he said. Now, I ask you, how does he know what most people do? When the kids can't sleep, they come in and tell us. Who are these other people whose sleeplessness habits he knows?

Work is taking up way too much of my time lately. And there are so many things to do at the farm, like get ready for Christmas, one of my favorite times of the year. Yes we have a very big tree, as usual, and once all our favorite ornaments are on it, I can't imagine a smaller one. The kids and I made some great new ornaments this year, gold pizzas with pepperoni or cheese.

Remy was the emcee at his school talent show last weekend, as well as doing his own comedy routine. He did a great job with very little practice. I've always known that oration would be one of his strengths, because of his verbal gifts. It was a very positive and I think, life changing experience for him. Here's an excerpt: " I love to read books. Here's a book question for you- if a book about failure doesn't sell, is it a success? I also love biology a lot but there's something that's been bothering me. Is a fly without wings called a walk? and here's another biology question. If a turtle has no shell, is he homeless or naked?" Okay he didn't write the jokes, but at 10, does it really matter?