State of the Household 2010

My Fellow Americans,

I'm happy to bring you a good report on the state of the Ellis household.

The husband is overseas fearlessly supplying aid to the soldiers on the ground. He is spending lots of time in the gym and little time at the desert bar. Mike's "hard" body is going to give those rocky [can't name the country] mountains a run for their money.

The wife is no where near the gym and her body is rapidly heading in the other direction. 18 pounds to date. I'm happy to tell you that her mental state is much improved. She is now settling into the cycle of the deployment and is becoming quite "fat and happy" as a result of our new housemate.

Jack is turning into quite the helper. He is always asking for jobs to do. Today he helped me make pumpkin muffins. He's getting tall and articulate.

Ty is potty training and is doing (cross fingers, hold breath) exceptionally well. He learned in a matter of a couple days how to "hold it" till we get to the potty. He even told his teacher at MDO yesterday that he needed to go #2 in the potty. Wow. I can't believe it. If this turns out to be successful then I'm sure we will have a relapse when new baby arrives. It's ridiculously easy right now.

My secret?

A gumball machine filled with peanut M&M's (cause they aren't as messy nor bad for your teeth as gumballs)

This might also have something to do with Jack's vigor for work.

Hannah is (and this is me speaking for her), loving every minute of her time here. She jumps up out of bed in the morning and comes and hangs out with us. Coffee, eggs, tomato, spinach and toast is a common breakfast at the house. She has her own room and constantly fights the dogs over the territory. She has a part time job at MDO with the boys.

As for the dogs, Mamie is shaved and wearing a sweater. Ike looks like a fur ball and will get his hair cut soon.

My fellow Americans, we will continue to work together to make this country a place where children happily build train sets and work puzzles, where dogs are treated as dogs, and where grown ups drink lots of coffee and share food with their neighbors.

Thank you.