I had called to have our piano tuned a few days ago and ended up exchanging emails with the guy so that he could see all that needed to be done (we had a broken wire, etc). He had originally quoted me for a tuning, but after seeing the pictures and studying them, he said that he would not do the tuning and would suggest that we not bother trying to fix the piano because many of the other strings are rusty and about to break. He suspected that it was stored outside, or some place with very high humidity to get that kind of rust. As neither of those things happened in our home, it must have been there when we purchased it. He estimated that it would cost $3,000+ to get all the strings replaced and really make it ok for long term play. Obviously for this price we could buy a new piano (or a couple!). I'm saddened, because Jason bought that piano for me and I loved it. So, we are looking for another piano. At least this time, we are more educated as to what to look for.

Yesterday, we went to MOPS. Ethan was doing a lot better, though he still had a low temp (around 99). Ethan loves his class. Gwen is still uncertain. I had to leave her crying and when I came back after the meeting, she snubbed me. Those who know Gwennie will know what I'm talking about. She was being held by a lady and I reached for her and she turned her head and raised her nose. Quite the little snob!

Before leaving for MOPS, the kids made an enormous mess on the kitchen table. Two bowls of cheerios with milk, left to soak, the milk sipped out, then the cheerios dumped on the table. I didn't have time to clean it up before we left, so it fermented for a few hours. Let me tell you, cheerios in this state closely resemble, in texture and odor, dog food that has been vomited up. It was hard for me to clean up without gagging, even though I knew that it was just cheerios and nothing gross.

Later yesterday, I took Toby to the vet to get his shots and have these two lumps looked at. The vet did a fine needle aspiration to remove some cells. The one on his chest looks like a fatty tumor (ie, harmless) because she only got fat out of it, no cells. The one on his leg though, she did get just a few cells so they're going to send it in. Toby is also a tank. A really big tank. The dog weighs 96 lbs! This is too heavy for him, though he does not look fat. Part of it his winter coat (which is thicker than usual due to the very cold weather we've had this year), but he does need to have his food cut back and more exercise. All around though, he was perfectly healthy and well adored. The vet even rolled around on the ground with him!

This morning we went to the mall *shudder* to let the kids play and so that Jason could return some shoes to Nordstrom. Ethan didn't play at all, and ended up going with Jason. Its been his thing lately to be very grouchy, bossy and all around party pooper for the last couple weeks. He's really been challenging his limits and expressing himself in ways that constantly surprise us. These changes are rough on him as they are on us.

After we left the mall we foolishly decided to have lunch at Macaroni Grill. Service was s.l.o.w. and kids were c.r.a.z.y. So not worth it! Ethan was in a roaringly bad mood and screamed for 15 min when we got home. I ended up rocking him in our room until he calmed down enough for me to get him prepped for bed. He insisted on sleeping with his coat zipped up. That kid.