Non-Traditional Christmas in New York City

For the past 4 years I along with my family have been struggling with Christmas. Four years ago at Christmas I was saying goodbye to my ex-sister-in-law who was also one of my best friends....she was dying from colon cancer. She passed in Feb. 2005. Then in April 2005 our family said goodbye to sweet hubby's mom and my uncle who passed on the same day. Two weeks later my beloved younger sister Robin passed away suddenly. Then in July our family lost a cousin. When September came around I lost my wonderful daddy. Then 3 weeks later my daddy's brother passed away. We left Arkansas for Christmas that year. We just couldn't bear to go through the Christmas traditions that we had developed with daddy and Robin not here to share with us. We went to Kansas where Sarah was living at the time. The day after Christmas we left Kansas to drive to Mississippi b/c Sarah's grandfather passed away. The following year we had a very somber Christmas awaiting Sarah's surgery for ovarian cancer. Since that year we have struggled through Christmas...trying to make things work.....overbuying for the kids....but it didn't replace the empty places at the table or everything else that was Christmas with the Family.

This year was no exception.....still not able to face Christmas with missing family members, my sister and I packed up our own kids and loaded Sherman the Tank and headed for NYC to spend the holiday with Sarah in her tiny apartment. My sister and I chose not to over buy on the gifts this year.....her kids got one big gift - the guitar hero and a couple little things. Caleb got one big gift and a couple of small gifts. Christmas morning was wonderful. The kids opened their small gifts and went off to enjoy. There was no mentioning of "he got that, why didn't I get one" or "is this all???" or " this isn't what I wanted.....I wanted such and such", it was just quiet fun. We played guitar hero and watched movies. Later in the day some of Sarah's friends (who used to live in Kansas and attend K-state but now live up here) came over and we laughed and laughed and had the absolute best time. Our Christmas dinner was 3 hours late...but it didn't matter to us.....

Sweet hubby didn't travel with us.....he wanted to go deer hunting......he too is battling the Christmas blues since both his parents are gone now and his brother passed two years ago. He doesn't have family left to share Christmas with (except us of course) so he spent Christmas with some friends in Arkansas before leaving out to hunt bambi. We missed sweet hubby but we totally understood his choices and he understood ours.

I think, or maybe I hope I am at the turning point now. Maybe I am not ready to give up on the traditional Christmas with family, gifts, etc. Maybe next year I will start sending out Christmas cards again (I actually stopped 3 years ago). Maybe I will plan out a Christmas party for my family again. Maybe I will play Santa again. Maybe I will stay home and have a traditional Christmas day with my family........maybe......we will see when next year rolls around.....maybe.....

For now the doctor is out.....hoping and praying this will be my last non-traditional Christmas....maybe....

Mapigating the USA

NOTE: This is a combined blog from The Doctor's Report and Confessions of a Mimi - since we are traveling together, we are sharing our blogs.

Well, it’s that time of year again when Dr. Mom and Mimi gather their meager possessions, load up Sherman the Tank and mapigate the USA. This year we are headed to the Big Apple to visit Sarah. If the beginning of the trip is any indication of what’s to come we are in big trouble.
We were set to leave on Friday afternoon…However, Sweet Hubby could not tune up the Tank until late that day. We decided to leave out early on Saturday morning. After ten years of devoted service the Tank threw us a curve. His hinder parts (rear brakes) were cracked and hurting. It took some tender loving care and new shoes to make Tank all better. We hit the road at 12 noon. We made a quick stop at our friend’s home to open some presents for Mimi’s brood and Franklin. We grabbed some lunch very quickly and set off. We encountered our first slow down outside of Lonoke. A semi trailer caught fire and traffic was at a standstill. We finally made it through that mess and enjoyed the wide open freeways. All was well with our little excursion until we hit Jackson, TN. Then we encountered something that has never happened before in 20 years of traveling together. The Tank had a blowout! We quickly pulled over and found that only a rim remained. What to do? We were packed to the gills, weren’t sure that we even had a good spare since we have never used it, and the wind was biting cold. A good Samaritan (he looked like our cousin Mike 20 years ago) stopped to give us a hand. He had to suffer through the cold, find a jack big enough to lift Sherman the Tank, and we had to unpack the back to get to our spare. The spare was in good shape, just needed a little air.

The blown out tire --- separated from the wheel all the way around!!

The Good Samaritans!!!!



Chicken Little trying to keep Franklin warm!!

The unloaded loot (for Sarah) so that we could get to the spare tire.

The loaded car....without the extra loot!

Ok, we have to get a BIGGER jack....this thing is too heavy!!!

Once all was packed back in we drove to a WalMart Tire Center just down the road and decided to buy 2 new tires for the back wheels. (Sweet Hubby had already put new tires on the front and saw that the back tires were fairly new so he did not change them) We were able to get to the tire center about 30 minutes before it closed for the evening! We decided to eat some dinner and because it was getting late, we found a hotel and stayed in Jackson for the night.
Dr. Mom and Mimi are quite impressed with the kind citizens of Jackson. We encountered good will throughout this city. Everyone was so helpful and kind to us. It now goes on one of our favorite places to be stranded in. Hopefully this list will remain small.

So…we are back on the road again suffering through all the little spats from the kids and the hundred million “are we there yet?” questions. Let’s hope we can continue the trip without any further happenings of the bad kind and stil keep our sanity.

For now the Doctor is out contemplating the fact that there are still good Samaritans in this world. Mimi is confessing that driving can still be more pleasant than flying, right???

Christmas Decorating With a 4 Year Old!!!

We have always had the tradition of putting up the tree the day after Thanksgiving but this year Caleb was sick on Thanksgiving and on Friday so I thought well we can put it up on Saturday but he was still sick and still sick on Sunday....what is going on here??? On Monday he was diagnosed with MONO - ok, so no wonder he was not feeling well and running a strong temp!!! But on Tuesday he seemed to be much better and I was at home with him all day since my sister, Mimi, couldn't watch him for me so that I could go into the office (it is nice to have such a wonderful new job with flexibility of being able to work at home!). So what to do with a 4-yr old who is feeling better but confined to the house until he isn't contagious anymore?????? I know let's go ahead and put the tree up!!!

Putting the tree up in our house is a big deal for me!!! I am a Christmas tree snob of the worst kind! I am a perfectionist with the tree. My family used to find tons of things to do on Christmas tree day just so they didn't have to be around me while I griped about this and that trying to get my tree to perfection. Perfection included me stringing around 1000 to 12o0 lights (white lights only) on that tree. This would take me about 8 hours to do. Then I would begin putting on the decorations placing them with symmetry!!! STOP LAUGHING!!! I know that I have a Christmas Tree problem and I have since gotten help for it!! I am still anal about it but I have learned to let go of a few things. I used to work for Dillards Dept Stores in the Visual Section and learned the art of Christmas tree lights/decoration during that time - so I guess that sort of contributed to my quirks about Christmas trees.

Another quirk I have about my tree is that it needs to have a theme. When I was a single mom with Sarah we always made our decorations for the tree -- but they also had a theme - I know crazy huh? Well, there came a time when I could afford to buy the theme that I always wanted: A Mauve Victorian Christmas theme. I would hit the after Christmas sales to collect every ornament that I wanted to adorn that tree and now I have this wonderful collection of Victorian ornaments but after 10 years of the same theme I decided it was time for a change so I started buying the Santa theme ornaments and that has been my them for the past few years.

So today Caleb and I began the arduous task of putting up the tree. I don't do lights anymore....I bought a pre-lit tree which saves my sanity now. However, I am still quite anal about the ornaments and what goes on the tree. I have learned some patience since I do have a 4 yr old who wants to do "everything" and that included putting the tree together.

Notice the pj's---- he has decided that since he can't go anywhere there is no need to get dressed!!

Like I said, he wanted to be a part of every detail including straightening out the branches, however, I was afraid he was going to topple off the table into the tree, but he didn't.

I finally talked him out of helping with the top section but then he got a hold of the camera and took a fairly decent picture!!

Once we began putting the ornaments on he placed his precisely where he wanted them -- all together in the same area.


You know I am going to move them when he isn't looking......

Eventually he got bored with the tree and began working with the cardboard ornament holders --- yes, I can get those ornaments where they MUST be in order to have that almost perfect tree --- hey, I am still working on this problem!





The finished product with a few flaws....oh well.

Once we got the tree decorated we started on the other decorations. I have collected International Santas for the past 15 years so we unwrap them and put them on the piano.

Caleb wanted to open them and place them on the piano....you know when he isn't looking I am going to change it....yea, I do.

Yes, Caleb took this picture of his own handy work - lined up all together on the key cover of the piano!!!

Then we hung our stalkings on the mantle and added our nutcrackers. Also, on the mantle this year I added my temple ornaments. These ornaments are very special to me since they were given to me by my sister-in-law who passed away almost 4 years ago. I am so glad that I can set them out and remember her at this time of the year.

We ended our decorating with the nativity scene. This was a very special time for Caleb and I since we stopped everything and talked about each piece and why it is so important. It was at this moment that I was able to let go of everything else and reflect on the TRUE meaning of Christmas - it's not that perfect tree, or the collection of Santas, or the presents under the tree, no it is so much more than that.....the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and the significance of all that He has done for us. I hope that Caleb grasps this meaning rather than all of the other "silly" things that come along with Christmas.

He still wanted to group them all together --- yes, I did move them.....shame on me!

For now the doctor is out......searching for that Christmas tree fanatics annonymous meeting in order to overcome that silly obsession of perfect Christmas tree decorating.

I Didn't Blog About It

As I have looked back over my pictures from the past couple of months I have realized that I missed many opportunities to blog.

Here is my sad list:

I didn't blog about the fair

I didn't blog about Grandmother's 90th birthday party where she danced with her brother one more time!!!




And posed with her family to create a 4 generation picture (not the best picture).


I didn't blog about Halloween and I didn't take pictures of Halloween either (not a good Halloween person!)

I didn't blog about Hayden's birthday party

or sweet Gracie riding the rides at Chuckie Cheese....

I didn't blog about Thanksgiving (didn't take pictures either!)

I didn't blog about cooking this wonderful recipe that I got from my friend Llewellyn!! I was so proud of myself for actually making something (that at the time I hoped was going to turn out great) I made pictures of it as I put it together....ummmm yummy!!!

But now I am back on track and ready to get caught up on blogging (or at least not get behind again!).

For now the doctor is out.....planning the next blog!

Let us all learn TOLERANCE!

Yesterday was a historical event in the history of our country. Some people are celebrating today and some are crying tears of sadness, crying foul, or spitting hatred. Today we have a new president-elect. Today we need to come together as a country, a nation, a people and celebrate the fact that we DO have a choice and we CAN vote according to our choice, BUT, when it is said and done we need to have respect for the one who was elected even if that person was not the one of our choice. I think the following poem says it all:

The Cold Within

Six humans trapped by happenstance....in bleak and bitter cold.
Each one possessed a stick of wood, or so the story's told.
Their dying fire in need of logs, the first man held his back.
For of the faces round the fire, he noticed one was black.
The next man lookin cross the way, saw one not of his church,
And couldn't bring himself to give the fire his stick of birch.
The rich man just sat back and thought of the wealth he had in store,
And how to keep what he had earned from the lazy, shiftless poor.
The black man's face bespoke revenge as the fire passed from his sight.
For all he saw in his stick of wood was a chance to spite the white.
The last man of this forlorn group did naught except for gain.
Giving only to those who gave was how he played the game.
Their logs held tight in death's still hand was proof of human sin.
They didn't die from the cold without; they died from the cold within.

Author unknown.


Let us learn tolerance and exceptance of others who are not like us. Let us respect the man who will be our new President (even if he wasn't our choice). DON'T let our nation die from the cold within....TOLERANCE will be the key!!!

For now the doctor is out.....hoping someone out there is practicing tolerance towards me because I am different from them and praying others will practice tolerance for our new leader.

Happy Birthday Grandmother!!!

Ella Florine Cook Wallace

Today is my grandmothers birthday. She is 90 years young today. My grandmother has always been a fascinating person to me. She gave birth to 8 children, 1 boy, 7 girls. Her only son passed away at 6 months from complications to an illness. She has also suffered the loss of her husband and 3 grandchildren (including my sweet sister).

This is my grandmother holding me as a baby.

I find that I can relate to my grandmother's life - especially at this point in my own life -- like my grandmother, I too have a wide age range for my children -- I have two adult children and one preK child. My grandmother has 5 grandchildren who are older than her youngest child. She didn't have time to be the "conventional" grandmother since she was still raising her own children at the same time her grandchildren were coming along. BUT, that is ok. She was and still is a very FUN person!!! When I graduated from high school she asked me what I wanted as a gift.....I told her I wanted one of her famous "duck feather" pillows. She made me one and I kept it until it fell apart.

She has lived an awesome 90 years....so many changes in this country and world that she has seen or been a part of. She was left alone during WWII with 3 girls while her husband was fighting overseas. She could fish, hunt, and do whatever was necessary to take care of her family, and at the same time she was very much the "lady." She came from an era where women didn't have the right to vote; women took "care" of the house and children and their "man." Now she has granddaughters who are feminist, who are professionals, who work outside the home, who have chosen not to marry or who have chosen not to have children or they have several children; and those granddaughters are greatful to that grandmother who fought along with others so that they could have the right to vote and make choices for themselves.

I find some things very amusing with my grandmother. When I took sweet hubby to a family get together for the first time after we started dating, my grandmother told me that I needed to fix sweet hubby a plate of food and serve him......ummm, yea, that isn't happening!!! I just smiled and told grandmother that sweet hubby had two legs and two arms and he knew where the food was and if he was hungry he would take care of himself!!! Umm, yea, she was a little taken back by that but eventually she became used to her granddaughters "way out there" ideas.

This is a five generation picture that includes Great Grandmother (center seat) Grandmother (r) mom (l) and myself with Sarah (standing)

Even to this day when grandmother goes out "to town" she must be dressed appropriately including the makeup and LIPSTICK!! She is sometimes shocked that women don't "dress" appropriately for going out (and that includes applying the LIPSTICK), and by going out I mean things like Walmart or the grocery store. I hardly ever wear makeup these days and very rarely do I wear the lipstick, but I give grandmother a lot of credit, she does set the example for us even if we don't always follow it!!

My grandmother at 82 on a cruise with 5 of her 7 daughters and 4 granddaughters.

On Sunday we will be helping her to celebrate her wonderful life by attending church with her in her small town and then having a reception to honor her. I think I am very blessed to be a part of this wonderful lady's family. She is so intelligent, funny, and such a lady!!! Happy Birthday Grandmother!!!

For now the doctor is out, hoping she can live up to her legacy....and hoping she inherited those longevity genes!!!

The TRUE Meaning of Friendship

I have a birthday coming up soon. Usually as my birthday comes around I sit and ponder about my life....this year I am pondering about friends. I love my friends. I have great friends. But usually we all have great friends. This past year I was reminded of a lesson I learned many years ago about friendship and I want to finally share it.

When I was a teenager I had a LOT of friends. I went to a lot of parties, and sleepovers, shopping trips to the mall, etc. I thought I was really something since I came from a lower middle class family and ALL my friends were from upper middle class and upper class families living in wonderful homes and doing wonderful things. My daddy always made sure that I could do some of the things they did...he would give me what extra money he had so that I could sort of keep up. He was a great daddy! Then one day my daddy was in a motorcycle accident.....crushed leg....hospital for a long time.... rehab for a year.....cast for two years....lost business.....no job.....mother went back to work to support a family of five kids....lots of stress.....no extra money....needed a job to buy school clothes....lots of stress.......where are my friends????

They were continuing on with thier lives, parties, sleepovers, and the mall. Depression sets in with this teenager whose life has been turned upside down. Withdrawal from the world of friends, with the exception of one girl who stayed by my side through all of it. Still had sleepovers at her house, still went to the mall with her (even though I couldn't buy anything) and still went to parties with her. I love her to this day. One mall trip was made so special by her and I will never forget it. We packed our lunch (sandwiches and chips)and put it in our purse and her mom dropped us off at the mall to go window shopping. Our plan: try on all the new fall fashions as though we were actually going to buy them!!! She didn't buy anything and of course I couldn't. We spent an entire day going from store to store trying on new, crisp, fashionable clothing knowing that we weren't buying anything that day. Then we went to the Orange Julius and bought a drink and sat in the mall eating our sack lunch and laughing. I love this girl!!!! She was (and still is) an amazing friend to me in a trying time of my life. (One thing that happened during this time was that with all of the staying at home I did my grades came up and I was asked to join the honor society - eventually making new friends in a different crowd - wonderful for me because of so many other reasons that won't be addressed here).

So I have come to understand the meaning of friendship and have been reminded of it this past year. There are all kinds of friends, wonderful people who love you, who do things with you, who are there for you. So here is my definition of friends:

Family friends - the family members (extended members included) who love you in spite of being family!!! YOu know who you are. My first best friend was my cousin Tami......we loved hard, we fought hard, we played hard, and we got into trouble together. You always found us together. I love you Tami!!!

My sisters - I love my sisters!!!! I lost my youngest sister 3 years ago. I miss her terribly! But, my other younger sister, Mimi, is the greatest!!! We grew up fighting each other like cats and dogs but eventually found that we couldn't live without each other. We do so much together, family vacations, lunches, outings, etc. ONe time someone made a comment about what such good friends we were and they thought it was so great that two friends did so much together and then were shocked when we told them that we are sisters - sisters who are friends.

My daughter - What can I say... the two of us fighting against the world!!! Just the two of us for so long!! What a wonderful daughter and friend you are. I love you dearly.

My parents - I always loved being around my parents. They are so much fun!! I miss my daddy so very much and I miss his wisdom and his love. I still am fortunate to have a mom who I can do things with and spend time with.

My husband - what can I say.....he is my BEST friend.

Then we have what we call Acquaintances. These are people who we call friends because we see them on a regular basis. They are people that we do things with on occasion. We have lunch with them, or go to a party with them, or go to church with them. We see them in the store and stop and talk to them. We know some better than others but we still consider them our friends.

We also have Long Distance Friends. THese are the people that we know and love but they had to move away or you had to move away. You still keep in contact and you still visit each other. We don't get to spend as much time with them anymore but they are still very special to us. Maybe they are True Friends as well.


Then we have TRUE FRIENDS!!! These are the people who know us.....they know our backstage personality and love us in spite of it. (Backstage personality ---you ask what is this? Well I will tell you....socialogically speaking, we have TWO types of personality - a Front stage and a Back stage personality. Your front stage personality is your best performance of YOU!!! This is the you that you want the world to see.....you know, the person you are on that first date, when you meet someone important, when you are around people you don't really know. The backstage personality is the person you are at home with your family members who can't disown you because you are certifiably crazy!!! This is the personality that shows that you are human.....you get sad, you are happy, you cry, and you have a BAD day that you take out on your family because they LOVE you no matter how awful you can be).

TRUE FRIENDS are always there for you....like my teen friend who took me to the mall and showed me that we could have a good time even though I didn't have any money. True friends come over in the middle of the night when our hearts are broken, when we lose someone we love, when we become engaged, and just because. True friends can be silly with us or cry with us. A TRUE FRIEND loves us when we are having a bad day, they tell us that our hair looks good or HORRIBLE in that color, cut, etc. True freinds don't care if you are poor or rich, fat or skinny, they love all of you all of the time.

I was reminded of this because this past year I am coming out of a "somewhat severe" depression. Depression that was caused by a lot of life changes....new kids, (new baby), extended family members passing, my sister passing, my dad passing, my daughter being diagnosed with cancer and surving it!! Opening a business then losing a business. Finishing a degree that took me longer to get because of some of the changes happening. Through all of this my TRUE FRIENDS have been there with me. When I started to withdrawal from the world they called me and dragged me out even though I was lousy company. When I just wanted to sit and cry - they were there right beside me (sometimes physically and alot of the time spiritually). My true friends kept me updated on the world that I was missing, on the people in it, on the life that was going on around me that I didn't want to be a part of. Thank you true friends.

I feel that I am so blessed because I have so many good friends. I love my family friends - they are so wonderful and fun; I love my acquaintance friends whom I am getting to know better these days since I have ventured back into the real world and who may become one of my true friends as well, you guys are wonderful and I so enjoy your lives and being a part of them; I love my long - distance friends - the ones I get to play with when I travel to their new city and are able to keep in touch with better because of the internet email and of course the lifesaver FACEBOOK; AND I admire and revere those gals who are there with me at my worst - who worry about my mental state and whether or not I am going back to the "bad" place and what they need to do to pull away from it. YOU ARE BEST!!!! I am so thankful for you - my True Friends.

For now, the doctor is out.....hoping that everyone has a TRUE FRIEND somewhere out there.

PS. Family, I know that I am behind on The Franklin Diaries but I will catch up sometime this week.....please be patient with this crazy doctor!!!

The Franklin Diaries - Part Four

On Tuesday Sarah had to work late so Franklin and I set off on our own.....ummm what to do, I know let's go play in Central Park!!!! Well, the first thing up we took the subway to Columbus Circle at 59th and crossed over to walk on the southside of the park. Like all good tourists, you MUST do the cheesy horse drawn carriage through the park (the funny part is that you think you are getting this great tour of the park but in reality you aren't, you actually on see a very, very, very tiny section!).....



First, Franklin fed the horse a carrot! He thought this was really great! I was thinking it's a good thing sweet hubby isn't here because all I would hear would be how that horse is going to bite his hand off or how nasty it is......sweet hubby can be a little overprotected of Franklin (wait, that's harsh, not a little overprotective.....a TON overprotective).






We are all set for our ride through the park!










So much fun for Franklin!!!



We drove past the large play area, the carousel, and Worman skating rink. So when we came to the rink, I asked the driver to stop and let us out there (I really didn't want to finish the ride and then walk once again back into the park)........I had been hearing on the news about a crazy man hanging upside down for 60 hours so hey, we are gawky tourists and really what do gawky tourists do? They go see crazy men hanging upside down in the park!!!


This David Blaine hanging upside down for the 60 hours (at this point he has about 20 more to go). Franklin wasn't really impress with this.











Franklin was more interested in eating his snack!




At least I wasn't as much of a gawky tourist as some....I didn't get my picture made with him or get his autograph, I mean I do have some self-respect....I keep my gawky tourist to a minimum!!!






Once we (I mean, urr, I, when I) got my thrill seeker gawky toursity thing out of the way we managed to make our way through the large mass of other gawky tourists to find the big playground. And we played, and played, and then we played some more, and wait, we played a little more.....I mean it isn't every day you get to play in Central Park!


King of the mountain!






Baby slides....


Baby swings......

Then on to the big slides and the big swing.

Franklin was fasinated with the tire swing ......he stayed on it for a long time going round and round then proceeded to stagger instead of walk!


He also enjoyed a little rock climbing as well.....

I finally convinced him that we really needed to go and do some other things..... you know like ride e carousel!!!!

After the carousel ride we ate hotdogs in the park.....then Franklin wanted to chase the pigeons again. He was so wired from his day that I wasn't sure I would make it through.....maybe there is a reason people are always asking me if he is my grandson instead of my son!!!!! I AM TOO OLD FOR THIS!!!!!! BUT DARN'T, IT IS A LOT OF FUN!!!!!!



Once we finished our hotdogs it was time to walk again......did I mention that I lost 20lbs walking across the Brooklyn Bridge.....well I did, and now I am working on losing another 20 lbs walking through Central Park.....I am sure that is how it works......So when that bicycle taxi came along and asked us if we needed a ride, I didn't hestitate to say yes......I mean I don't want to lose weight too fast......so we ended up at 59th and Madison to visit a little toy store that I heard about a long time ago.....I actually used to visit this store to buy Sarah bears when she was growing up.......so I thought it would be fun to introduce Franklin to FAO Schwartz.........



As you can see we are considered diplomatic guests since we were greeted at the door by the doorman (stop smirking - I know they greet everyone but I can dream can't I?)


This small toy store is 3 floors! YES, 3 wonderful, glorious floors of heaven for all children who enter with their wallet holding parents. First things that you see are life size elephants, tigers, horses, etc ranging from $350 and up! Pocket change......

Of course we had to look at everything!!!!! I mean it is a toy store.... Unfortunately for us we had a budget of what we could spend so we had to really look hard to find the things in our budget......but until then we did a lot of playing!

This is the King's chair so that you can sit and read books! We were in a book area where Franklin picked out a new book and a puzzle to purchase.....oh, yeah, my baby is intellectual.....who needs toys to play with when you can stimulate your brain...uh, huh.... (Ok, I am really joking here, but I was truly amazed that this kid picked out a puzzle and a book for his treat instead of another toy that he really didn't need!)

You can't go to FAO without playing the big piano (this is the piano that Tom Hanks danced on in the movie "Big") Franklin was a little hesitant at first but once he overcame the shyness I couldn't get him off! He really enjoyed playing the music with his feet.

After we finished with the piano we made our way downstairs to the candy store area where Franklin bought his teacher some m&m's and himself a large lollipop and starbursts. Did I mention this was a small toy store and that we spent about 2 hours in there!!! I am so tired at this point I absolutely must rest before going on so we sat out in front by the water fountain to watch people and birds.

We headed back home so that Franklin could work on his puzzle and read his book.

As you can see there isn't much floor space for him to play on in Sarah's room!

All in all it was an absolute FUN day for both of us. One thing I have noticed since we have been here is that for some strange reason Franklin has a tendency to go to bed at 6:30 most nights....still trying to figure that one out (NOT).

For now the doctor is out.....wondering what tomorrow will bring....