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My time is short these days, and I have been meaning (and wanting) to get here and write about all kinds of things. I have several posts half-done. Does that count :)? Anyway, here are a few things I've been wanting to mention:

- Notice the search bar at the top right under header. Yea! It works. Feel free to try it out :).

- Updates on Bridget:

Preschool is going great. We just got her first progress report, and she is, well, making progress! She has a nice start on many of the goals on her IEP, which I am pleased about, but I am even more happy about how much she is enjoying school (as well as the bus and even her backpack!) and about all the new things she is doing and learning.

We're noticing a "language explosion"--in relative terms, of course. Last night, Bridget said, "I go sleep" and "Where cup? Where my cup!" She has started saying, "Oopsie!" (which has morphed from her very cute "Oop!"), and is now able to say every name in our family (a few of the names are short versions, like "Bri" for Brian...but we know exactly what she is saying, and it is clear to others as well). She is saying "Mom-my" and "Dad-dy" and "Em-my" (when previously she was just saying "Dad", "Mom", and "Em"). She is also beginning to put new words together to describe things, like, "baby sad". Bridget is still signing, but consistently saying words with the sign. She's repeating lots of things they must be doing in school, such as letting us know the type of weather each day at the bus stop (she signs and says "cold" or "rainy" or "sunny"). She will also randomly mention names of her classmates. She is singing along with the ABC's, Itsy-Bitsy Spider, You Are My Sunshine, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Happy Birthday and other songs. She says "Hap-py Birth-day" and "Pat-a-cake" very clearly, as well as many other words in the songs. Some parts are less clear to us, but she is attempting the whole song regardless. Wow!

Bridget is very much enjoying all of her siblings (and vice versa). She is absolutely part of the group, just as any other three-year-old would be. She especially likes reading with Emmy, listening to iPods with any of the kids and being in the basement when the boys are shooting baskets (trying to shoot baskets herself).

We ditched the official potty training way back in the summer. Right after we started, it was clear to me that while Bridget was showing many readiness signs, she was not 100% ready to potty train (mainly because she was not able to give me any notice before she needed to go...so even though she was mostly going in the potty, I never felt safe taking her anywhere in underwear). Being able to go when I asked her to was great, but in my mind, that did not constitute being "potty trained". Sometimes, we'd sit in the bathroom for a half-an-hour before she would go. A few days of that was more than enough for both of us, so I decided she was getting ready to train, but was not quite there. And there was really no hurry, other than some arbitrary timeline I'd set to potty train her by the age of three. I decided I'd assess as we go, and begin again when she was able to tell us consistently when she needed to go (and after she'd adjusted to preschool). She has made strides in all areas this past few months. Now it is a matter of me getting serious about it again. When I am able to be consistent and focus on potty training for at least a week, we'll begin again. I am not in a rush, though. It will happen sometime soon :).

I have been thinking of others during this holiday season, and have been giving whenever and wherever I can. Brian's 5th grade class has been talking about Random Acts of Kindness and has been trying to focus on things to do that (1) cost little--or no--money and (2) are unexpected. We've been talking at dinner time about what each of the kids is doing each day to show that they are paying attention to others and how they are spreading love and kindness. We're participating in food drives, adopt-a-family programs and other community-oriented programs, as well as encouraging the kids to give compliments and go out of their way to notice others & opportunities to make someone smile.

(Does anyone remember hearing about the customer who paid for the next person's order in the Starbucks drive-through? There's an idea that could be applied to any drive-through scenario.)

I have been busy fundraising for our local Ds organization, helping friends to locate hard-to-find gifts, and sharing special recipes with family and friends. I'll always answer the call when someone is looking for a certain type of recipe (holiday, nut-free, vegetarian, etc.) if something I have fits the bill. I'll also do some asking around if need be. Giving of time, talents or ideas is free and easy.

I have loved reading all the thoughts and ideas about giving on other blogs. Check Bethany's blog to find everyone else who is participating in her challenge.