Thursday, October 30, 2008

Happy Halloween!

Been busy, busy, busy today...will be busy, busy, busy tomorrow as well. We are going out of town right after trick or treating so I'll post pics and stuff when we get back...got my dad's camera...WooHoo! Happy Halloween...STAY OUT OF THE CANDY!!!!!!!

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

WARNING!

If you see the little boy in this picture lurking around your food...do not turn your back on him! He will eat your food before you can say "Don't touch my pork chop". Yes, that is what Max did this evening. I grilled 4 nice tasty pork chops for dinner. Max and Abby each got one and were enjoying their mom's culinary delights (hey, it's my blog, I can say what I want). I stepped into the office to check my email. BIG MISTAKE!

Max came in about 2 minutes later and asked for dessert. He told me that he didn't really finish his second helping of baked beans but he was still "a little bit hungry"...(ahem, a perpetual state for him)...so he ate some more "chicken". I reminded him it was pork chop then realized that he didn't have any more on his plate when I left the room. When I asked him where he got it he showed me MY beautiful pork chop gnawed down to about 1/4 of it's original size! He said he just stuck his fork in it and ate it that way...how nice of him to remember he isn't allowed to use a knife!

Anybody out there doing Weight Watchers? I'll hire him out to you...he does wonders for our portion control...he eats our portions! Seriously, the boy had 4 pieces of pizza at my parents' house last Saturday...then asked for dessert! His metabolism must be through the roof! I swear I hear his body humming from the energy whenever he comes close to me :) He really doesn't eat a lot of junk...he'd as soon have baby carrots or a raw cucumber than a cookie. He did inform me tonight that the baked beans he was eating have protein in them and that he could actually feel them working in his body to make him stronger...what a kid!

By the way...the warning about the little kid in the picture should also be posted about the big "kid" in the picture...where do you think the little kid learned his food swiping technique from?????

Want Some Cheese with that Whine????

If Abby's "whine" had alcohol in it I would be drunk. Oh my goodness. Shehas had a serious case of it lately. Even regular conversation has turned into whining. I remind her to use her big girl voice and her big girl words but she just whines right through it. Now she doesn't even ask for something nicely, she automatically whines for it...somebody please tell me it is just a 3 year old thing and that I will eventually get my sweet little girl back...even if you have to lie to me...just tell me it is a phase. I think Lucy is taking lessons from Abby...she has started screaming though instead of whining...fun.

This too shall pass...want some cheese while we wait?

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Today was one of those days that you stumble onto a scene where you immediately want to grab your camera to capture the moment...alas..I had no camera so these moments will have to forever live in my mind. Gonna be a tight fit in there right now :)

Anyway, Abby had gone to the bathroom to do #2. (Rewind for background...Having been Miss Independent for quite awhile she has recently insisted on wiping her own bottom...WooHoo!!!!! Unfortunately when I see her underwear there is usually evidence that she has not been thorough enough. Therefore I have informed her that she may wipe herself but she has to let me check before she pulls her panties up.) Fast forward to this morning...after she was done and excitedly told me she "got it all" I told her I was coming to check her. I round the corner and what a sight! A 3 year old tooshie stuck way up in the air was planted right in the bathroom doorway! Certainly not a picture I would ever post on the blog but it was one of those moments you aren't expecting...know what I mean?

The next moment was also an Abby potty moment...go figure. I walked into the bathroom to see her sitting on the toilet with her Bobbies (loveys) on the counter and a James Patterson novel in her hands..."reading her book" as she calls it. I cracked up and she thought I was crazy. After she finished up washing her hands she collected her Bobbies and stuck the book under her arm and walked out :) What a character!

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Just because she is so cute...I have to tell you that Lucy is trying to learn how to jump. If she's holding onto something she can jump like she's on a trampoline but she is now trying to get her feet off the ground standing on her own. I was trying to demonstrate to her and she looked at me like I was nuts. When she tried it all she was able to coordinate was a head thrust. Well...we'll keep practicing. Have a great Tuesday!

Monday, October 27, 2008

Not Me!

It's Monday people! I have been thoroughly enjoying MckMama's blog for the past several months and she has an awesome therapy that she created for all of us to participate in. It's called "Not Me Monday". It's a place where we can all confess all the things we "didn't" do this week because...well...because we just wouldn't do that! Read my Not Me's then click on over to MckMama's blog and check out some other "Not Me" confessions.

Okay...this is my first time so...don't judge...

1. I did not let Lucy wear leftover swimmy's when I ran out of diapers. I also did not wait until after we met my mom for lunch to go to Wal-Mart and buy diapers.

2. I did not run across the street to the drugstore during lunch with mom...in the pouring rain...then refuse to pay $13 for a pack of diapers.

3. Lucy did not soak through the swimmy at lunch! I also did not forget to pack another swimmy in the diaper bag before leaving home.

4. I did not leave the wet swimmy/pants on Lucy until we could get to Wal-Mart to buy the appropriately priced diapers. I also did not just wrap her blanket around her bottom to hide the wet pants. I would not do this.

5. I did not let Abby watch two movies when we got home on Friday because it was POURING rain outside and she was so quiet. Then, I did not let my children use their child safe scissors to cut about 5 pieces of paper into unbelievably small bits of paper all over the dining room table...they did not enjoy that at all!

6. I did not go to a Widespread Panic concert with my hubby and sister and her boyfriend and leave my kids with my parents.

7. I did not let Abby have chicken for dinner 3 nights in a row because that is all she wants to eat right now.


8. I did not open the Halloween candy that I bought on Saturday for trick or treaters. I absolutely did not have any of said candy because it would be too many points!

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Rain, Rain...Finally went away

It rained and rained then poured then rained some more. I think the clouds got tired of moving and took a short vacation on top of us! I looked out the front door last night and it looked like we could do some white water rafting down our street. I got to sleep a little after 10 last night and it was still pouring. John stopped and picked up dinner on his way home last night and the road he was on to come home was flooding over from the marsh on either side of it. He said the police were there getting ready to close the road. He made it home safely thank goodness.

I looked out the back door around lunch time and one corner of our backyard lloked like a swimming pool. We knew that wasn't good since we back up to the marsh. Yep, the buffer area behind our fence was FLOODED! I was surprised we didn't have a gator swimming up to the back fence. I hope the cool air stays around so the swarms of mosquitos don't attack!

John and I are going out tonight so I'll post more tomorrow about our big night :)

Friday, October 24, 2008

Rainy Day...Lazy Day...Friday

It's one of those days that is perfect for snuggling under the covers with a good book and a cup of your favorite warm beverage. Falling asleep to the sound of the rain, cozy warm in your favorite old sweatshirt (mine happens to say Clemson across the front) and your comfy "lounging pants" (mine also say Clemson down the leg...GO TIGERS!).

Anywho...we are having one of those days today. The kids are off school for a teacher workday and it has been raining and cool since about the time we got up this morning. Of course, the only one in this house that has been able to take a nap on this perfect day for naps is Lucy...go figure :) We HAD to go out today though...as much as I dreaded the effort in the rain...because poor little Lucy was completely out of diapers and was having to make do with a leftover swimmy. We were going to meet my mom for lunch so I figured I'd run across the street to CVS for diapers while she was with the kids in the restaurant. They didn't have Luvs and the smallest pack of Huggies or Pampers was $13! I could get two packs of Luvs for that! So...I waited...bad idea. I got back to mom and the kids and a few minutes later I realized Lucy had leaked through the swimmy...how did I find this out you ask?...I was holding her on my lap :0

Her pants were soaked, MY pant leg was soaked, my sweater sleeve was soaked...ewwwww. We left the restaurant and got to Wal-Mart for our beloved Luvs...and milk...and laundry detergent...and floor cleaner...well, you get the picture...I can't go into Wal-Mart to get just one thing when I know we need other stuff too :) We finally got home and I stripped Lucy down and changed her and put her down for...ahhhh...a nap! I got changed (into above mentioned Clemson attire) and threw the "wet" stuff into the wash. I let Max and Abby watch a movie and have some popcorn and I have enjoyed the peace and quiet and sounds of rain. Aren't rainy/lazy days nice :)

The movie is over and Max and Abby are now sitting at the dining room table/art center being "creative". Abby is practicing her cutting with her kiddie scissors and sending little bits of paper wafting to the floor...again. Max is busy continuing to make his fleet of buses. He is no longer content to draw them on paper and hang them on the wall...now he wants to cut them out and "sort them". Maybe they inherited Mimi's artistic gene...

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Football and Voting...

Calling all college scouts...

Max made two touchdowns in his (flag) football game tonight! I think he is ready for his FULL scholarship. Clemson gets first dibs :)
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Max also got to vote at his school today for various local issues and for the President (of the U.S.). He informed me yesterday that he was going to vote for John McCain. This is how our conversation went...

Max: We are voting for the President tomorrow mom.

Me: Really? Who are you going to vote for?

Max: John McCain

Me: Why John McCain? (not that I care but I was curious)

Max: Because I like him?

Me: Okay. What do you like about him?

Max: (thought for a minute)...I don't want to talk about it mom.

Okey...Dokey...conversation dropped.

Today he informed me he voted for John McCain. Still didn't want to say why. I figured it out...Max's teacher said they had talked about each of the candidates...it dawned on me that Max may have learned that John McCain used to be a fighter pilot...my son would hand over his vote on a silver platter to a fighter pilot at this point in his life :) I asked Max if he knew this about McCain and he said yes...grinning...I asked him if that is why he wanted to vote for McCain...grinning widely...YES!

Do I know my kid or what???????

By the way...Max goes to a primary school that is K-2nd and they held the mock election to give the kids a sense of what an election is all about. They even got to use a real voting machine (no hanging chads!). Political views were not being discussed at school. It was all for fun. Max was very serious about it however and when I happened to mention to him yesterday that grownups are voting in a couple of weeks for the President he firmly informed me that HE was voting tomorrow.

Oh yeah, McCain won by a landslide. I can't remember the specific numbers but it was McCain/Palin 600+ votes to Obama/Biden 300+ votes. Max wants to know when McCain gets to move into the White House :)

Doing Great!

We just got back from a conference with Max's teacher. He is doing great in Kindergarten. He knows his sight words for the first quarter and his writing has improved a lot in just a few weeks. John and I have known that he is learning a lot but it is nice to see evidence of it in his writing and and to hear it from his teacher. We are so proud :)

After the conference we stayed and went to lunch with Max and his class. I had to pack Abby a lunch in her lunch box so she could feel like a big girl. Max's teacher commented to me that he always seems to eat his lunch really fast...I told her he learned to eat fast early on so his dad couldn't eat his food :) Love you John !

Max's assessed writing sample for the 1st quarter!

in case you can't read the translation his teacher wrote...it says...

"I went to the restaurant with my Mom and Abby and Dad"

Not sure where Lucy was...I'll have to ask him later. He is doing great with writing the beginning and ending sounds of words that he doesn't know and is also spelling his sight words correctly...from memory! You Go Max! Have I said how proud we are? Oh yeah...his reading is right on track as well. Okay...enough gushing...until later.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Dressing up for Halloween...

I decided the blog needed a costume for Halloween. Hope you like it :)
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On a side note. Got an estimate on my car and it looks like there may only be a problem with the spare tire...if there is a problem at all. I have to take it back next Wednesday and they'll take off the spare and check it out to make sure nothing is bent. The guy isn't sure how long it will take so I'll be getting a rental...just in case. I told him my only request with the rental is that I can fit 3 car seats in it...he laughed and said in that case he didn't think a Dodge Neon would work for me...uh...probably not :)

Lucy continues to NOT WANT TO NAP today. She fell asleep in the car on the way home...again...and is now in her bed...screaming...again :(

Started the Day with a BANG!

Well, a fender bender is one way to start your day. On our way to take Abby to preschool this morning we were rear ended. It wasn't bad at all and the air bag didn't even deploy. I don't think my car was even damaged but I am taking it in this afternoon just to have it checked out (I'm mainly concerned about the spare tire which is mounted to the back of the car and absorbed most of the impact). Everyone is fine, no one was injured...thank you God! The other driver was an older gentleman who was very nice but I think he got shook up when he saw I had two little ones in my back seat. When I spoke with his insurance agent on the phone earlier she said she got the feeling that he was more upset about that than anything. She also said that although he didn't know at first what make and model car I had he told her it was tough and he was glad I was in it because it is safe...3 cheers for Honda! :)

Abby got to school a little late but she's fine. She was more upset when she found out a policeman was coming than she was about the accident itself...go figure.

Lucy fell asleep in the car on the way home but...unfortunately, did not continue her much needed nap once I put her in her crib...UGH!

Needless to say, getting home later than expected, dealing with two insurance companies, calling the repair shop to set up and appointment, a 1 year old screaming to get out of bed...does not help get the to-do list any smaller. Gotta go get Abby now...



Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Counting My Blessings...

On days like today I try to remember to count my blessings as much as I can. Two of my little blessings (namely Abby and Lucy) were the cause of most of my counting. It was just a rough day. Lucy has been TRYING to get some teeth in and I am thinking/hoping/praying that they will break through soon because today was totally out of character for her. My poor baby who is normally a very happy little girl just didn't feel good today and was screaming and crying a lot. She had about 4 or 5 really...no...REALLY BAD DIAPERS which has now caused irritation in her diaper area. With some diaper cream and some Motrin for the pain I am hoping she can have a restful night (she certainly did not have restful naps :( )

Abby...my dear sweet little Abby. What can I say. Her day started about 6ish and she started crying and pitching a fit. Why you ask? The only thing I can figure is that it was because she was awake in her bed and no one was there to fetch her :) Once that drama was over we had a short break before the next one started...what was that one about?...She was mad about the clothes she was wearing...the ONES SHE PICKED OUT HERSELF! I told her she could change them herself and apparently it was the wrong thing to say...YIKES! Everything seemed to set her off so I don't know if maybe today was an off day for her too or what...sigh..... We did have good moments today and those were the rays of sunshine through the storm.

I have been trying very hard lately to give my worries and frustrations over to God. Being the worrier (is that right?) that I am it has been hard but I keep trying. When I have been successful with this I have felt such a wonderful peace and calmness and I know that God is letting me know I have done the right thing to give it over to Him. I want to spend more time enjoying the blessings God has given me and less and less time worrying over things that I can't control anyway...God is in control and I need to trust that...and Him.

Monday, October 20, 2008

CRAZY WEEKEND!


Here are some pics...


Look very closely and you can see a hole in Max's smile :)


Isn't she just a precious doll baby?



Abby was showing me how she was going to smile pretty for her school pictures last Friday :)classic Abby...



Shea and John and the kids came into town this past weekend so I took the kids up to my parents house to join in the ruckus :) Seriously, I did not realize how much noise 7 kids could make. Saturday we were pretty much stuck inside due to cold and wet weather so we couldn't release the hounds :) We went back up on Sunday and John went with us. The kids were able to get outside and they took advantage of it! Max and Jack also had a great time playing my mom and dad's Wii. Once the boys headed outside Shea and I challenged each other to some Wii. Yeah, I'm still a little sore today:)

My dad made tacos for dinner and once Sophie, Macy, and Lucy finished their buffet at the baby table there was enough meat, cheese, tomato, and flour tortillas on the flour to make about 3 more soft tacos :) Marley and Cooper (dogs) had their own taco night when they got to clean up!

We had a great visit and are looking forward to seeing them again over Thanksgiving! This time at their house :)

Friday, October 17, 2008

First One In...First One Out

Our family had a momentous occasion last night. MAX LOST HIS FIRST TOOTH!!!!!!! :)
It has been really loose for a couple of weeks and last night it came out! It was actually knocked out (accidentally of course) by his daddy. They were being silly together and when John was trying to tickle him, Max's mouth must have bumped against John too hard because lo and behold the tooth popped out onto the floor. He did bleed which was cause for drama (Max's...not ours). After about 5 minutes of biting down on a wet paper towel and rinsing his mouth out he forgot about the blood as he kept checking out the gaping hole in his mouth :)

He left his tooth under his pillow for his first visit from the Tooth Fairy. He was all excited before bed and kept trying to demonstrate to me before bed how he thought the Tooth Fairy would sneak the tooth out and replace it with $.

She was successful because this morning he woke up and found 4 quarters, a 50 cent piece and a NOTE FROM THE TOOTH FAIRY! He was thrilled. He took the note to school for show and tell.

My baby boy is certainly on his way to being a really big boy now! I got a couple of pics that I will post as soon as I get them off my dad's camera. I'll also post a pic of the note Max got from the Tooth Fairy :)

Oh yeah, the blog title, the first tooth that Max lost was the first tooth that broke through the Saturday after Thanksgiving in 2003.
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On another topic...Max had an ENT appointment this morning. His right ear looks great and the tube is clear. The left ear...not so much. He had a hearing screening and the audiologist and Dr. said that the tube loooks like it could be clogged and/or working its way out and there is a small amount of fluid behind the ear drum. This is causing a mild hearing loss in the left ear...again! He has to go back in 6 weeks to have it checked again. If it seems worse at that time we may have to discuss replacing the tube. He is currently on his 3rd set of tubes and we were hoping 3rd time would be the charm but maybe not. Fortunately, his hearing loss has always been attributed to the fluid and once that is gone the hearing is normal. I am praying this stays the case. I am putting this into God's hands and believing that God will heal Max's ears in His time...not ours.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Back to Football

It has been 2 weeks now since Max played football (flag football of course). He was sick a week ago Saturday so we kept him home then last week it rained so much that Thursday and Saturday's games were cancelled. So tonight the "Steelers" are back on the field :) My parents are coming and my dad is bringing his camera so I hope to get some pictures that I can post. I'll be borrowinig the camera for a couple of days to get some more pics of the kids.

Shea and John might be coming down this weekend with the kids so hopefully we can get together. It's been about 1 1/2 months since we have gotten together. Abby is thrilled over the possibility of getting to play with Molly :) They are so silly together and love to wear matching clothes whenever possible.

Hey, maybe we can talk Mimi/M/Mallory into coming home for the weekend as well...hint...hint Mal :)

Will post agin soon with more pics. I need to scrub my floors...no, company isn't coming but Lucy keeps throwing her cup to the floor and spills milk! UGH! These sippy cup makers claim "no more spills"...when they do their testing do they throw it down onto a hardwood floor as hard as they can to see if anything comes out? Lucy is a champ at this. Of course, she usually waits until just after the floor has been scrubbed! Little stinker.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Playdate and other stuff...

Today was a fun day. My friend Jackie came over with her little girl and another friend's daughter that she was watching. We had a good time letting the girl's play (Lucy slept through most of it). Abby said she wants them to come back soon. Jackie and I were actually able to talk in person rather than on the phone. I told her she needs to come over more often because nothing motivates me more to scrub my kitchen floor on my hands and knees than company coming over :) It's not the ONLY time I scrub my floors but company rates an extra scrub :)

By the way, I LOVE THIS WEATHER!!!!!!! John and I opened our windows a week ago this past Saturday and turned off the a/c. We've had a cool breeze blowing through the house...it is so awesome. I can't wait to see the difference in the electric bill this month!

Max had his field trip yesterday. They went to the fire station. Anytime Max can get close to a fire truck is cause for excitement but this time was even better because he FINALLY got to ride on a school bus!!!!!! He has been asking me since school started when he can ride the bus but I am not ready for that (many reasons including being nervous about putting my 5 year old kindergartner on a bus with a bunch of 3rd-5th graders, bus drivers quitting all the time, being late, slamming on brakes to get kids to be quiet, etc.). Maybe I am being too overprotective but I don't care...anyway, he got to ride on the bus yesterday and when I asked him about it after school I got the impression it wasn't as great as he thought.

LUCY CUT ANOTHER TOOTH! Finally! I saw today the tiny point of another bottom tooth sticking out of her gums (sorry for that image Mal :) The top two front teeth are just under the surface as well. As cranky as she has been lately I'm wondering if she's going to get all her teeth in fell swoop!

Abby got her hair cut on Saturday. Cute bob that isn't quite short enough to keep her from putting her hair in her mouth...YUCK! But at least now she has to work to get it there. The hairdresser suggested maybe putting a little hairspray on it to see if she would stop.

I guess I'll stop rambling and go make dinner. Tonight we are having spinach salad with red and yellow peppers, roasted almonds, and tomatoes...YUM (not the tomatoes though)!

Happy Birthday John

Another year has gone by and on Sunday the 12th my sweet hubby turned 37! It's hard to believe I met him when he was 28. I think he had a good birthday considering he was sick. His parents came down on Saturday and we went out to dinner at Outback. On Sunday we went to church and came home to hang out for awhile (it was raining here for days!!!!!). After John's parents headed home I went to the store to get the stuff we needed for John's birthday dinner...his choice...tacos! Max and Abby and I also made him a homemade apple crisp. Unfortunately he was so tired from being sick (coughing kept him up at night) he didn't get any dessert because he FELL ASLEEP! Poor baby :) The sleep did him good though because he is feeling better and was able to enjoy his birthday treat last night :)

Happy Birthday John! Here's to the next 37+ years :)

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Stuff...

I got stuff all stuffed up in my head...specifically my sinuses...after all 3 kids have been sick I'm surprised it took me this long.

I felt bad earlier that I wasn't able to take the kids to the Fire Prevention Display at the fire station this year. We have gone the past few years and Max really looks forward to seeing all the fire trucks and helicopter and rescue boats on display. The weather was really if-fy and John had to work tonight so I didn't want to chance getting stuck in the rain with 3 kids and having to walk who knows how many blocks to get to the car. The only thing keeping me from a complete guilt trip is the fact that Max's class is going to the same fire station on Monday for a field trip...how lucky is that :) ?

Because I was feeling guilty I did let Max stay up an hour or so late and we worked on some of hi "optional" homework items (practicing writing letters, making patterns, flashcards for sight words, identifying and writing numbers to 31). HE DID AWESOME!!!!!! My baby is READING :) As a (former) first grade teacher I am so excited to see him learning these new words every week and being able to identify them in different contexts...as a mom I am SO PROUD and of course I get a little teary eyed when he's reading to me because...well, because HE'S READING!!!!! Abby also likes to sit with us and she wants to read Max's books after he's done. She echo reads with me and loves it. YEAH!!!!!

By the way, I have been thoroughly enjoying this "blogging" thing and I have found some blogs that I really enjoy visiting. I will slowly be adding links to my sidebar...feel free to check them out. Check out the one I added tonight...4 little men and girly twins...

Gotta go...

Monday, October 6, 2008

Are We Done Yet?...Being sick that is...

"Croup" has now become a "bad" word in my house. If I never have that nasty bug floating around in my house again I will be so grateful (not that I'd rather have any other nasty bugs mind you). A week ago Thursday I had Abby at the doctor and she had it...this past Tuesday, Lucy woke up early in the morning with the "seal" bark cough and rough breathing...Saturday morning, yep, you guessed it, Max was barking. Fortunately, since Max had it twice in his first year I knew what to listen for in the breathing to determine if they needed to go to the Dr. Although they sounded bad at night (of course it wouldn't be bad when we were already awake) they never had the really bad breathing so we got to have a vacation from the doctor's office last week...WooHoo.

Oh wait, I did have to call them though because Max came home early from school on Thursday after he had thrown up at school...AGAIN! Okay, this is gross, he was throwing up bile so of course I called the dr. Apparently, the antibiotic the ER doc gave him was the same stuff he had taken a couple weeks before when he had impetigo. I made the connection that both times he had taken the stuff (Augmentin) he had thrown up. Needless to say his pediatrician has now put it in Max's records that he is not to have it ever again and why.

I felt bad that Max had to miss his football pictures and his game Saturday morning but I had to make that call. Also, we decided to take yesterday off from Sunday school to rest and recuperate a little more so we'd be ready for school today...YEAH! I keep reminding the kids to stay out of each other's faces and to definitely stay out of Lucy's face. Abby coughed on me the other day and I asked her who was going to take care of me if I got sick. My sweet babies actually fought over who would get to take care of mommy :) Let's hope I don't have to take them up on it :)

Funny little side note about Max's knee injury...I was grilling burgers Monday and had the big kids outside riding bikes or scooters. Within 5 minutes Max wiped out and broke open his knee again! Of course we had drama. To make a long story short...I had to sit on the boy to get a bandaid on his knee! UGH! We are healing nicely now and anticipating losing his first tooth...it's very wiggly...stay tuned!