Turner had his appointment with the cardiologist today. No, you probably didn't know anything about it, because I decided not to say anything to anyone - no sense getting anyone worried over what was probably nothing. Well, I was right, because it's probably nothing. The doctor called it a "functional" heart murmur, which means probably no big deal. He wants to see Turner back in a year to check it. Said he'll be just fine, live a normal life. We all feel much, much better. Except that now Guthrie is obsessed with wanting to go to the doctor. Every time he bumped into something today, he announced he had an "owie" and needed to see the doctor. Maybe it was the lollipops that did it.

Our backyard is quickly turning into an orchard. We have my two orange trees, Guthrie has a lemon tree (which already has lemons growing), Roz got an avocado tree, Eric a banana plant, and Samantha wants a pear tree (which will, of course, need a partridge, and that bad joke was, of course, a tribute to my dad). I think we have enough trees. I feel good about having a potentially functional back yard. Instead of just a bunch of open space that the kids will never use enough to make it worthwhile, we can actually grow our own food, and do something beneficial to the environment. When Turner is old enough to help (or at least not scream at me) I want to try my hand at a garden. Nope, I've never been successful at growing anything green before, but I'm willing to try. I think it will be good for all of us. And kids are always much more enthusiastic about eating the food they've grown themselves, even if it's green.

Have I mentioned the produce here? About 1.5 miles from our house there is a produce stand. Today we stopped and got a half dozen plums, half dozen peaches, a pineapple, 3 oranges and 2 hot peppers. Total cost? $4. Yep, $4. Last time it was the plums, peaches, a watermelon, and a box of mangoes (15) for a whopping $9. I will never buy produce from the grocery store again if I can get it from the fruit stand. And on the way to Houston to take Roz home we saw avocadoes 8 for $1!!!!

Roz is home, Sam will be here in 3 weeks, and right now it's just the 4 of us. It feels very strange. The house feels waaaaay too big. And of course I miss Samantha like crazy, but she seems to be doing very well, and seems happy, and I'm confident that we all decided on the right thing. I think she needs way more attention than I was able to give her with one high-needs toddler, let alone a high-needs infant added to the mix. However, a non-custodial mother is always viewed with suspicion, and always assumed to be less than a good mother. @@ I'd like to list off all the reasons I wasn't even permitted to be a good mother, but some of you might be reading this, so I'll refrain. And if you suspect you might have been part of the reason, you're probably right. :) But no, I won't answer that question for you. Sorry. Deal with your guilt on your own. You deserve it.