We got the new car. I met B at the train, and all of us went to the dealership. After 2 hours I got the salesman down to the monthly lease price I was willing to pay (which was $70/mo less than his first offer, with no money down and 3 free oil changes). 2 hours later we drove out of there in a new Nissan minivan. The kids were antsy, but kept themselves busy pretty well for 4 hours, lol. The car is a dream.

We also got a new mattress and a new TV last week. The TV was free. My mom was at her job 15 yrs so she got to pick a gift. She let me pick out a tv. Cool beans. It's big, bulky, and heavy, but so much nicer than the liney 27" we dealt with for 14 years. It was at the bottom of our stairs for 3 days until B and I decided we'll just push it up on a big piece of cardboard one foot at a time. It's a 32" Sony WEGA Trinitron someting or other. I know it's an old model, but we're not arguing.

W is learning to tell time. He can read the digital clock, but then I showed him what that looked like on an analog one. He counted by 5s to show how the minute hand goes around and understood o'clock, thirty, and quarter-to. We found a fun online matching game and printouts for him to play around with. His confidence is amazing. At a sweet 16 party we went to this weekend, he danced to some hip-hop songs and at one point all the teens (about 40 of them) made a circle around him while he busted out the moves, lol. The DJ was so impressed he gave W this thing to wear on his head. W didn't take it off all night. LOL.

J's social life is hitting a big high lately. She's always on the phone, IM'ing, or setting up a hang-out day (can't call them "playdates" anymore, lol). I guess that's normal for a 10 y/o girl, though. She has been very creative on the computer this week. She made a photo-logo thing for B's band, a flyer announcing free hamsters, and worked with K on new website layouts. She has been continuously researching baby hamsters and I might suggest writing down all the cool things she's learned. Maybe even make a hamster diplay board or lapbook.

K's doing lots of reading and writing. She wrote to a few celebs, entered a contest, and wrote to her penpal again. She read the first 2 chapters in her Barrons Earth Science book and did the questions at the end. After the party we went to on Friday, I dropped her off at my mom's for the weekend. They have a ball together - mainly shopping and eating out. K's new "thing" is exercise and nutrition. She wants to keep a diary of what she eats, what activities she does, and anything new she learns about the subjects. Mom bought K a teen workout video that she begged for, lol, and my sister will surely offer any help since she's studying holistic nutrition at some cool Manhattan school. K used to take healthy cooking class once a week until the place closed. She loved it. I got to find her another one like that.

We booked our hotel room for the end of the month competition. My mom may come too, which is great. I always could use another set of hands. J will have intense private lessons this week for her solo and lots of group rehearsals. I'll be ordering the hotfix stones this week (10 gross!) and spend a couple of nights stoning the costumes. B already started sewing the appliques on. The week is pretty open, so I can get lots of cleaning done, get to the library, and maybe visit friends. And I'm doing our taxes tonight, woohoo.