It was entirely too nice on Saturday to sit inside and do anything on the computer, so I stayed outside and played in the dirt.

Seriously. I transplanted one of my plants. I need to transplant another one but first I need to get a bigger pot. Does anyone know how easy, or how to, divide a rubber tree? It’s growing like…well like a tree and I’m soon to run out of pots big enough and my climate is not conducive to planting it outside permanently.

Mr. FullCup asked me an insanely silly question, “Do you want to go to Menards?” To the uninformed, Menards is a lot like Home Depot and Lowes. Only much much better.  I always want to go to Menards. This trip I bought something I had never bought before ever in my life, no, not in all my born days.

I bought spray paint. And I learned a very valuable lesson about using spray paint. I learned spray painting is fun!  I used spray paint on a little bistro table and chairs I bought last Spring at a garage sale. Last Spring I stripped and refinished the table top and I just had to repaint the metal.

I think it turned out very nice.

It is spray painted in a dark bronze with a hammered finish. And today is too cold and windy to get any use from them.

This week I have three full days alone. My two girls are attending the Christian school with Catherine Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The school offers their achievement test free to homeschoolers. So every year they go and are tested.

I don’t have to do it. I want to do it so I know how we’re doing and if we’re keeping up. So far we’re blowing them all out of the water.  They look forward to this week all year.  The night before testing week is like Christmas Eve at our house. Yesterday afternoon they spent quite a bit of time packing their backpacks.

We have completed 11 weeks with Catherine. And while in some instances it is getting easier it is very far from easy.  There are times that are just plain delightful with her. And other times that are just as painful.

I mentioned in my last update about her “logical consequences” with her nose. We have been reminding her repeatedly to drink water, we have provided a humidifier to help with her nose bleeds. And she refuses to drink water. We’ve tried hot water, warm water, flavored water. Nothing. She went most of last week without drinking water at all.

She was directed by the school, the Chinese teachers, the doctors and us to drink more water. I was told that she had been told if she had another nose bleed she would go back and have her nose cauterized again. Something she doesn’t want because it is painful.

Well guess what? After a week of refusing to drink water, because she believes she is her own authority as has no use for adults (per her own words), she had another nose bleed on Saturday. It was not as severe.

We will see what happens. As for me, I am no longer telling her to drink water all the time. She knows she is supposed to and she knows the consequences for not drinking water.