Please Don't Die, Please Don't Die, Please Don't Die . . .

Many people have asked me how Tyler and Darcy are settling into their new schedules and routines at PCA, and how Peyton and Sawyer are doing without their big brother and sister here all day. First let me wipe away the tears and then I'll tell you.

I'm kidding.

Okay, yes, I cried again today. But only for a minute. Really. Tyler just always seems to get me right here. Bless his heart, I can see him struggling to find a way to tell me that he loves his new surroundings, his new friends, his new life, in a way that won't seem to scream, "Why couldn't we have done this sooner???" What he doesn't seem to grasp yet is just how happy, how excited, how gratified I am that the transition has gone so well.

Indeed, I look at Darcy and simply cannot believe that she hasn't been at PCA since August. How can one child have so many friends in four days? Kids just gravitate to her. One particular kid who shall remain nameless (I say that because secretly I think he has a crush on her) made up some sort of jingle about how "everybody likes Darcy because she's HIP!" That about sums Darcy up!

Today was a better day for Sawyer--he didn't seem to pine for his big bubby and sis like he has the previous three days, and for that I am thankful. But boy, when we pick them up from school . . . it's like a free-for-all in our van! And what's awesome is that THEY are just as glad to see Sawyer as he is to see them! And then there's Peyton . . . oh wait, I didn't tell you this story.

Remember how the girls got gift cards from "Grandma Phyllis" for Christmas (oops, Phyllis, if you're reading this, we've been a little slow getting to the thank-you notes!) and each bought a Tamagotchi? Well, not surprisingly, Peyton lost hers within the week though, for once, it wasn't entirely due to her irresponsibility or "flightiness" (is that a word?). It still bugged me when she lost it because she took it in a store when she should have left it at home, but NOOOOO! She HAD to bring it with her! She put it in the pocket of her jacket, put her jacket in the cart . . . long story short, when she put her jacket back on the Tamagotchi was gone, and no amount of retracing our steps could turn it up. I went back to the customer service desk several days later and was even allowed to rummage through a big bin of lost articles, but naturally it wasn't there.

Here's the infuriating thing about Peyton: She refused to let it get her down. That's what I said. Oh, sure, she cried for a couple of minutes on the way home, but then she shook it off and went on about her day. Why does that infuriate me, you ask? Because she's not learning her lesson, people! Another toy lost? Oh well, on to the next! I guess she's heard me say, "It'll turn up" one too many times and she has taken it a little too literally! I have to say, I did not give her the "I told you so" speech on the way home because she's heard it PLENTY in her seven short years, and I'll admit my heart did break a little bit to see her sad little eyes with those tears running down her sad little face . . . STOP IT! How does she keep DOING that? Just imagining her sad eyes makes me want to go out and buy her a new annoying electronic device, er, Tamagotchi right this minute!

Not.

Anyway, now Peyton has become the official "baby-sitter" for Darcy's annoying electronic device, er, Tamagotchi, you know, making sure it doesn't die and all in Darcy's absence, so when Darcy hops in the van Peyton gives her a full report of the Tamagotchi's shenanigans. And let me just say, it's a good day when Peyton can report, "No, your Tamagotchi did not die." Sounds like Darcy is not too sure about the qualifications of her Tamagotchi's caregiver--next she'll be asking for her references!