Milly missed out on our Enchanted Airlie night as we couldn’t get tickets any time that wouldn’t put the boys to bed super late aside from this past Saturday. Amanda would have let Milly go with us, but the two of them were out of town.

Tristen’s mom and sister had tickets for last night though, and Tristen had the idea of seeing if Milly could go if she wanted. Amanda was amenable, so Milly and Tristen took off while I finished up bath time for the boys.

Milly had the choice of staying with us for the night or going back to her mom’s. At first she decided to go back so she wouldn’t have to worry about getting things together before school, but then Amanda pointed out that it was a home school day, so she decided to stay over.

Duke hosted Illinois last night. They lost handily. This is a weird season with, as of today, three of Duke’s games being canceled because of Covid infections. That’s three games out of six, two of which were games that should have helped the very young team get used to playing real games together. I’m not saying by any means that’s why Duke lost to Illinois and Michigan State the previous week, but it’s not helping.

At least Carolina is losing when Duke is losing too, although the games the Heels lost have been more competitive. Duke’s losses were to two top-ten teams, for what that’s worth.

Did I mention that we hired a sitter to come over in the mornings once a week? Her name is Danielle and her first time watching the boys was last Tuesday. The boys took to her pretty fast, which is no real surprise. I hear Griffin laugh with her a lot, and both days she’s watched them she’s remarked at how sweet and loving Phoenix is, taking her head in his hands and gibbering at her and cuddling with her. He’s always been our little lover.

I asked her if she’d mind coming over a little bit earlier this morning so I could take Milly back to her mom’s without having to worry about getting the boys ready and in the van. It was actually very useful because I was also able to get a few things we need from the grocery store, gas up the van, and add some air to the tires, which the van’s dashboard has been complaining about for a week or so now.

I already felt decently accomplished when I sat down to work around 9:30. It’s really nice having Danielle here for a number of reasons. I can focus on work, first and foremost. even when Tristen’s here I sometimes have to fight the urge to go help out. Maybe it’s because she’s newer to them, but the boys tend to fight less with her here. Or maybe it’s because since she’s not with them all the time, she’s more engaging with them (although she does have a young child of her own).

Another big thing, and this is something Tristen pointed out to me when we were considering getting someone to help out with the kids, is that Tristen is pretty distracting. She’ll chat with me or sometimes she’ll just come to the living room to get a little break. Or sometimes if she’s standing by the stove I see her and get distracted.

Anyway, it’s been good, and with today being Tristen’s last day of part-time employment, we’ve asked Danielle if she could come two days a week.

Tristen stopped by Fairy Circle after work and picked up a couple dresses. Birthday presents?

You wouldn’t know Griffin has a broken clavicle by looking at him. He’s still running around, trying to climb on just about anything (even with his arm wrapped up), and pulling his brothers’ hair. I say he’s intrigued by and jealous of their curls. He was fine all day except that he was very upset at nap time. Usually I can leave him be for a few minutes and he’ll settle down, but that wasn’t happening today. I ended up lying in his crib with him for about half an hour, which kept him calm, but he wasn’t going to sleep.

It was frustrating to me because it was the first time in days that both Fawkes and Phoenix fell asleep pretty quickly and I had a couple phone calls to make, but it also felt nice to snuggle him and be able to give him peace and comfort. I finally got up after a little while and he cried again, but it didn’t last too long that time.

I didn’t get done a few of the things I wanted to get done because I spent as much time as I did on the phone, but I was able to do it after Tristen got home.

During bedtime lately Griffin really likes getting into his brothers’ beds. It made me wonder when he’d be ready for a bed. Not yet, of course, and certainly not while healing a broken bone, but I wonder if he might not do pretty well in one. He tends to sleep longer than his brothers, but I can imagine him getting up and about more before falling asleep.