Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to everyone! Our family has had a wonderful Christmas. We started with Sunday at my Grandmother's on my dad's side with aunts, uncles & cousins. It was a very nice afternoon. Yesterday was lunch at my parents with my immediate family, then last evening was church with my in-laws and friends. The in-laws spent the day here, and for the first time in my entire life, I didn't have to leave my house on Christmas Day. We hosted the meal here for the seven of us, and I think this is going to go down as being one of my favorite Christmases ever. Our family is so blessed, and I wish many blessings to everyone!

Enjoy the holidays!

I probably won't be posting much over the next two weeks. I want to really enjoy the holidays and not worry about getting on the computer and posting it all here. Trust me when I tell you that we will be having lots of fun, and I just want to take the next two weeks to focus on my husband and kids, and the multitudes of friends and family that we are going to be able to see. I hope that everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a wonderfully blessed new year, and please forgive my absence for a couple of weeks!

Finding motivation

I really need to find some motivation and get things going here. I just seem to be lacking it right now. I need to get presents wrapped and I need to clean the house, not to mention daily tasks such as laundry, homework and cooking. It seems as though I just feel like coasting into next week and our two week break from school. I'm grateful the kids haven't had a lot of homework this week, although that just adds to my coasting!

Taking a break

This morning, for the first time in what feels like forever, I took a nap. The last time I really remember spending a morning like this is January. Since May, I've been working out of my home for my dad's office, and any morning I wasn't doing that I was usually at the grocery or trying to catch up on much neglected cleaning and laundry. The grocery was yesterday, and although the cleaning and laundry are still neglected, I allowed myself to close my eyes for 30 minutes this morning. It was wonderful! My little guy allowed me the time to sleep, and then when I woke up he crawled up on the chair with me. At first I felt selfish for doing something like that, but now I feel so refreshed and I realize it was so very much needed! Now though, it really is time to get myself motivated to accomplish some things today!

Fourteen and counting

That's right, only 14 days until Christmas! I'm trying really hard not to have a little mini panic attack! I just feel like things are getting away from me this year. I want so very much to enjoy the Christmas season, and it just feels like it isn't working out that way at all. Deep breaths, and everything will be fine!

This evening my husband has taken our daughter to the UD game. We have two season tickets and the kids go on a rotational basis with their dad. In a little over a week though, we are having a date night and I'm going along. Not very romantic, but since the tickets are already paid for it's inexpensive entertainment (as long as we don't eat at the concession stand)! The boys and I are wrapping some presents this evening and JR is also working on some scouting requirements. At least we are being productive!

Christmas tractors

This week our youngest, in Kindergarten, brought home his homework for the week. Included in it is a book he is supposed to make where he draws items for the twelve days of Christmas. They are supposed to be different from the original song. He is not particularly enthusiastic about it (as an aside...my husband and I, who remembered this assignment from two years ago with our daughter, mentally groaned when it arrived. We are not crafty people and really don't enjoy crafty homework). It needed to be done though, and I cheerfully announced last evening that we were going to begin. However, our little guy doesn't want to draw things related to Christmas, as is the assignment. He wants to draw things that he loves, such as tractors, heavy machinery, cars, and dogs. I was too late in rescuing page one, where he drew a hay truck. The solution to this was to draw a Santa cap on the top of it. On page two he announced that he was drawing tractors to go with the hay truck. I explained again that this was to be Christmas and winter things and suggested snowmen or Christmas trees or bells or candles or presents. He announced that he would draw two little cars. I explained that wasn't quite the idea and he said that he wanted little cars for presents so why couldn't he draw them. I tried to convince him that he could draw a present and pretend there were cars inside. After much cajoling and coercing, I finally got him to draw two Christmas trees. I'm sure that there are those out there who are appalled that I would stifle my son's creativity in such a manner and feel I should allow him to "think outside the box". However, the assignment was to draw Christmas items, and the youngest has a bit of an issue when it comes to following directions. He is convinced that rules and regulations are intended only for his brother and sister and others, not for him. I saw this as an opportunity to guide his creativity with direction. We've completed six days, and in addition to the above we have snow, wreaths, ornaments, and snowmen. Only six days to go but I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to keep farm equipment out of it!

Weekend update

As always, we had a busy weekend around here. I had our extra little friends through the end of the week, so Friday evening began "catch up" time around here. At first my youngest was very excited because he thought I said "ketchup" and couldn't wait for dinner. Not so fast young man! What I said was "catch up" and it meant that the entire family was going to be forced to endure a whole bunch of errand running. We did treat them to Skyline Chili for dinner though! The kids came home and tumbled into bed without any complaints, so I knew they were tired! Saturday, my husband took HT to the UD game to watch a victory, and I took JR and JC to JR's indoor soccer game. He scored two goals! It was a really great game for the entire team. That evening was the cub scout pack Christmas party for JR and after three hours of complete chaos (which I suspect was the beginning of the headache...see post below!) we finally made it home to put the kids to bed. Yesterday was church, and trying to get some presents wrapped. Tonight is the last class of the semester for my husband, and he spent the day trying to finish his presentation. This morning we awoke to a coating of snow on the ground and the kids are very excited. HT is convinced that Santa will be here any minute now!

Try this at home

Saturday evening I went to bed with a headache, and yesterday I woke up with the same headache. Never a good sign. I immediately took 2 Tylenol Sinus because I could tell that this could easily become a migraine. I have prescription medicines for my migraine, but they knock me out. I mean "be prepared to spend the entire day asleep" knock me out. I could tell within an hour that they Tylenol hadn't done the trick. Many years ago I heard that caffeine can help with headaches, and recently I read a blog post about a person who finds that drinking a can of pop high in caffeine (i.e. Mountain Dew) often helps her migraines. I didn't have time to spend the entire day in bed, so I gave the Mountain Dew a try. I also took 2 ibuprofen before I left for church, and although the headache was still there, I could tell it wasn't going to be a migraine. Not sure if it really works or not, but yesterday the caffeine really saved me!

Waterworks

Today we only had one of our little extra friends. Unfortunately, she hadn't been able to get a very good night sleep and spent the majority of the day crying. I felt awful for her because there seemed to be nothing I could do to comfort her. My kids also tried their darnedest to entertain her, but there was no amusing her today. I told her mom that I'm not certain she felt well either. I'd never really had a day like that with any of my kids, so it was definitely a new experience for me! Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day!

Extras

We have extra little friends here this week. Yesterday was only one, today there are two. When added to my youngest, that makes three. Three is never a good number. As the mother of three children, I already knew this, but I'm often astounded to learn that it isn't just my children to whom this applies. Two children = fun, laughter, pleasantness. Three children = chaos, yelling, crying, screaming, tattling, and well, you get the idea. On the up side, it is almost time for Kindergarten for mine, and naps for the other two!

The big one

That's right, this is the big one, my 200th post! It's kind of hard to believe I've had that much to share in the last year!

And I'm glad it fell when it did, because yesterday afternoon was one of my favorites. I had hoped to get the tress up earlier in the weekend, but life got in the way. Finally yesterday afternoon the trees went up. We put two up each year, mostly because our ornament count requires it. I put the first one together myself. As I was putting the lights on, I sang "All I want for Christmas is a pre-lit tree" to the tune of "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth". Not exactly my favorite way to spend time. The kids put together the second tree while I put the lights on the first, then I put the lights on the second tree. All together this took nearly three hours. Finally, after dinner, it was time to put the ornaments on the tree. It is something that all five of us do together. There are many, many ornaments that my husband and I brought to the marriage from when we were children. And now that we have children, they each have many of their own ornaments as well. They especially love the ornaments that have their names on them! In addition, my husband and I always buy ornaments on vacation each year. Whenever we purchase an ornament or are given one as a gift, I always try to keep the original packaging and write on it with a marker so that we know when, where, or whom it came from. There are so many memories in the ornament box that it almost brings me to tears. It's a wonderful way to start the holiday season!

Leftovers

Lots of leftovers from our meals this week...still trying to get through them all. I hate, hate to throw food away! I've told everyone that tomorrow I am not cooking at all and the leftovers better be gone.

By not cooking, it will also (hopefully) give me some time to get our Christmas decorations going. I had planned on having everything done yesterday, and yet I haven't even started. I took the kids up to my dad's cottage yesterday to spend the day. My wonderful husband stayed home so he could get some grading finished. Repayment will be tomorrow when he keeps the kids out of my way so I can decorate, decorate, decorate!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! It's my favorite holiday of the year! It's the beginning of the festive holiday season, it involves a huge family meal, and there is no stress of gift giving yet. We will be spending the day at my aunt & uncle's house with my in-laws, various aunts, uncles, cousins, my grandmother and various family in-laws...about 30 of us in all. My in-laws arrived in town on Tuesday. Yesterday we took the kids to a movie, and mostly we've just enjoyed spending time together. Not entirely sure what the rest of the weekend is going to bring, but I'm looking forward to it. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Thanksgiving week

My favorite week of the year has arrived! Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and I just love this week...the beginning of the holiday season! My in-laws arrive this evening and on Thursday we are headed to my aunt & uncle's house. Between our extended family, various groups of in-laws, and even a few close friends, there should be almost 30 of us sharing the day together. I'm so grateful that my aunt is so wonderful and loves hosting big holiday meals! It will also be the first time that all seven great-grandchildren are in the same place...photo op! Not sure how much time I'll have on the computer this week, but I wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

The weekend has arrived

It's official...the weekend is here. Kids are about to walk in the door from school and my wonderful husband is on his way home. We've made it to the weekend! This is honestly one of my favorite weekends of the year. It will be a short week next week, and there is the OSU/Michigan game this weekend (GO BUCKS!). Tomorrow while I'm watching the game I'll begin to work on my Christmas cards, and the decorations will go up next weekend. I'm even finished with about 70% of my shopping! Have a great weekend!

Least favorite week

It seems as though this, the last week before Thanksgiving, has become my least favorite week of the year. On the upside, Thanksgiving week is way up there among my favorites! But first we have to get through this week. I remember feeling very similar at this time last year. I think part of it is the anticipation of getting to the holidays, but I think a bigger part of it is the school schedule. We've been going solid, no breaks or days off, since early September at Labor Day. Even though the kids have school two days next week, I know there won't be any Spelling tests or heavy duty homework. I think the kids also feel the strain as it's been a battle and a struggle to get them to work on their work this week. I'm so looking forward to a few days off next week, and of course to the beginning of the holiday season!

Toothy issues

JR is doing really well with his braces. He's been very good about taking care of his teeth and not eating things he's not supposed to be eating. On Sunday he finally was able to work out his last baby tooth. He's really excited that he could get it out and the dentist didn't have to pull it. HT hates having loose teeth, and he usually works his out as soon as there is any sign of wiggling. That means there we were, standing in line at McDonald's when suddenly there was blood everywhere! As always, he was very pleased to have lost another tooth! Of course, I managed to lose the tooth before bedtime so we had to write the Tooth Fairy a note. And finally today, JC had a dental appointment. She is in a phase right now where she doesn't like to brush her tooth and often refuses to do so, or to use toothpaste. It's making me insane! We also learned today that it seems as though we are about six months away from beginning orthodontics on her. She's not nearly as excited as her brother was!

Where does it go?

I really don't know where the time goes...it seems like I just posted but it's actually been almost an entire week! Our weekend was really busy. I took the younger two on Saturday to a family birthday party, then we spent the late afternoon and evening shopping. JR and his dad went to the UD season opener (great game!) and then to JR's first ever indoor soccer game. He loved it! He played goalie, and although he gave up a goal, it was only 1 of the 4 scored by the other team. I spent Sunday at the outlets with some friends, and the rest of the time has been spent doing our normal everyday lives. But I'm very grateful for our normal everyday lives!

Addiction

I'm addicted, and I'm a little embarrassed to admit it...I can't stop eating the kids' Halloween candy! There is just way too much yummy chocolate in this house, and I'm in this house so many hours a day, and well, it just seems to happen. Fortunately, the kids don't seem to mind sharing! In fact the oldest seems to prefer the sugary hard candy anyway.

I've also become addicted to Longaberger baskets. I started buying them about two years ago and have absolutely fallen in love with them. A friend and I take turns "hosting" basket parties, and keep ordering off of each other. I find they can have very practical uses, and since I'm a practical person it just feeds the addiction! And since they are made in Ohio, I even tell myself that I'm helping my economy! Yikes, justification at its best!

Weekend over

It was a fun weekend, but it went way too quickly. We enjoyed our extra guests on Saturday, and the kids had lots of fun at their many activities yesterday. Selfishly, I'm looking forward to getting through the next two weeks. We have two full weeks of school, and this weekend has some commitments I'm not terribly excited about. But after we get through the next 12 days, it's the OSU/Michigan game! It's my favorite football game of the entire year and kind of like a holiday in my house. That's leads us right into Thanksgiving week, and the beginning of the holiday season. Looking forward to it!

TGIF!

After spending the majority of last week in bed, this week feels like it's taken forever! We really didn't even have anything major going on, it was just that I had to function all week. The good news is that everyone stayed healthy this week (knock on wood) and everyone has behaved very well this week (knock on wood again). Even our daughter's teacher commented to me yesterday when I ran into her that she seems back to her old self again. I'm not sure what "flipped the switch" but I'll take the good days while they last!

Our weekend is pretty packed full with soccer practice, a birthday party, a soccer award party, and a night out tomorrow evening with friends for Mom & Dad. We are also supposed to help a friend tomorrow and have her little ones (ages 5 & 4) here for most of the day. Looking forward to lots of fun!

Quiet and peaceful

We had a very quiet and peaceful evening around here last night. My youngest went to bed at 6 due to his behavior, and since it didn't take him long to fall asleep I'm sure that was much needed! JC earned her DS back after several good days of behavior...much appreciated after the last couple of weeks. Since she hadn't had it in about a month she was thrilled, and quietly played! JR had quite a bit of homework, and then was content to read a book for a little bit before bed. I almost didn't know what to do with all of the quiet! It's hard to believe how quickly they are growing up.

Really back in the swing

Okay, now I really feel like I'm back in the swing of things. For the past two days, my husband's car has been in the shop. One of the advantages of where we live is that the kids walk to and from school, so being without a vehicle is not a problem, just inconvenient. However, since I was pretty much sick all of last week, I really felt trapped being without my van for the last two days. It felt so good to actually be able to go to the grocery this morning, and this afternoon I'll be hitting other stores. I'm an early Christmas shopper and like to have as much knocked out in November as I possibly can. Happy bargain hunting to everyone!

Starting anew

I kind of feel like today is a fresh start. It's a really gorgeous day outside, and I actually feel mostly healthy! It's also the start of another month, and things just feel good. Some days, that is half the battle!

JR's soccer team lost their tournament game on Saturday. It wasn't terribly surprising since they were playing a team that was undefeated. His indoor season begins this Saturday. This will be a new experience for him this year, and he's really looking forward to it. The boys were able to sign up as a team, and one of the boys' uncle will be doing the coaching. It's mostly his SAY team, with a few other boys from the other SAY team in town. I think it should be a lot of fun for them.

JC's behavior took another tumble last week, and the principal of her school is understandably losing his patience. Today we had a long talk, and I'm hoping and praying that maybe somewhere in that conversation was a break through. She initiated the conversation and was hurt by something that happened at school. As much as it broke my heart to see her hurt, if it could serve a purpose to help her, I'm grateful.

Lots and lots of candy arrived in this house from trick-or-treating. The kids all had a great time!

Lost week

I basically just lost an entire week. I started feeling not-so-good on Sunday, and woke up Monday feeling pretty yucky. JR had a miserable cough on Sunday, and we had already decided that he was staying home from school. Usually when I'm sick I try to push through and let my husband go to work, but when I'm sick AND a kid is sick he's good about staying home to help. At the doctor on Monday it was determined I had the flu, and I'd be down for the bulk of the week. JR was just a bad cough and he went back to school Tuesday. I felt worse Tuesday than I did Monday, and my wonderful husband stayed home through yesterday to take care of things. It was really an awful experience, but I'm so grateful he could be here for me. I isolated myself as best as I could given the layout of our house, and I missed my kids so much. I'm still really tired and worn out, but I'm so glad to be among the living and to be able to hug my kids again!

Or not

Today is not exactly like I envisioned it, as is often the case with three children! HT has bronchitis. Because of his asthma and everything going around, the doctor is being aggressive about treating it and he's on antibiotics. I'm just glad it's nothing more serious. So the house is still a mess between caring for him and doctor appointments, but the important thing is that life is good!

Friday fun

I'm really looking forward to today...nothing on the calendar! My husband won't be home until late, like 11PM, but that's okay. I'm really hoping to get the house cleaned and disinfected. I want to kill any germs that seem to be floating around here. Lots of coughs and sniffles, but thank goodness nothing more serious, as of yet. We have a fairly relaxed weekend...no soccer games, no meetings. Tomorrow evening will be a dinner with friends, and then Sunday morning is church. I think our family definitely needs downtime right now and I'm grateful that we have some!

Running low

I'm running low these days on lots of things...groceries, patience, and energy. I've got plenty of fear though. Earlier this week we learned that a little boy in a neighboring community, a five-year-old in Kindergarten, has died from the H1N1 virus. He already had pre-existing respiratory problems and just couldn't beat the pneumonia that settled in with the virus. My heart broke for those parents, and I just couldn't help but think of my kids, especially my youngest who also is in Kindergarten and has asthma. We've learned that some of our friends have been diagnosed with H1N1. Up to this point we've been careful about germs, but I'm becoming neurotic. My wonderful husband is home sick today, but fortunately it is nothing more serious than a cold. He his not, however, nor has he ever been, a good patient. And today we got a phone call from the principal of the kids' school. JC had hit several children this morning and had found her way to the office. I think she was surprised that I wasn't angry. For one thing, I don't have the energy to be angry at her. Secondly, I'm too sad about her to be angry. She still suffered negative consequences for her actions, but I'm just feeling so lost about how to reach her and to help her understand how to be a nice person. She is going to start some counseling tomorrow and I'm hopeful that something will help her. Tonight I'm looking forward to some sleep so I can hopefully be rejuvenated for tomorrow!

All done

I have completed my 12 dozen muffins for church tomorrow. I have four different flavors (one is chocolate!) and hopefully everyone will find something they like. It really wasn't that bad because I used box mixes, but I'm still glad that it's over! Also, soccer season came to an end this morning for HT. He's assured me that he's ready to move on. JR's team lost this morning, so there is a pretty good chance that their season is over as well. We'll know for sure early this week. Tonight is a birthday dinner for a good friend, and tomorrow after Sunday school we are headed to my Dad's place at the lake. It should be a beautiful drive up there!

Cheaper by the dozen?

This weekend is our turn to provide milk and breakfast at the Sunday School program at our church. I absolutely love the children's program at church, and because of the program attendance has grown by leaps and bounds. So much so, that we are now required to provide 12 doz. food items and 2 gallons of juice or milk. I can handle the 2 gallons, but 12 doz. donuts does not really fit into my budget! So I've decided to break out the baking pans. That's right, I'm going to bake 12 dozen muffins and bread slices. For those of you that know me well, I'm sure you are having trouble reading right now through the tears of laughter that have undoubtedly formed! Cooking and baking are not exactly at the top of my talent list. I'm determined though, and the price is right! I'll let you all know how it turns out!

Braces on

JR got his braces on yesterday. He's been so excited about this. Now, he's realizing that there is some discomfort that goes along with it. I think it makes him look really grown up, although I'm not sure I'm ready for grown up yet. JC is also feeling better and is going back to school...which hopefully won't be a source for trouble this week!

Lots to tell

There has been a lot going on in our house, mostly good, some not so much. Last week was an absolutely awful week for JC. I'm not entirely sure what is going on with her right now, but the last several weeks have been rough with her. Last week was the topper, when we received a phone call three out of the five days from school regarding her behavior. Her behavior has been rough at home as well, and I'm feeling a little lost in how to deal with her, and help her through whatever is going on. But on the upside, we had a really wonderful weekend. My in-laws arrived Saturday afternoon. Yesterday we spent the entire day at my parents with extended family, and it was so much fun! My cousin has three little ones, all younger than our youngest and even with the age gaps, my kids love to see them! It was also an absolutely beautiful drive to their house. I had made the drive the week before, and sometime in the last week the leaves have really, really changed to beautiful colors! Today JC is home with the sniffles and a headache. I'm very much hoping it doesn't turn into anything worse. Another week, another opportunity for new adventures!

Changing leaves

The leaves are beginning to change around here. It's definitely been feeling like fall, but the leaves are changing about a week later than normal. It's really starting to get beautiful. Because we had a rather cool and wet summer, we are supposed to have some unbelievably beautiful color this year. I may have to break my self imposed rule and actually go take a hike!

Home alone

Today is a preview of life to come next year when my youngest starts first grade. Today he is on an all-day (or at least almost all day) field trip. I have five hours to be in the house totally by myself. Originally I had planned on a nice long nap, but thanks to yesterday's migraine, I'm not really tired anymore. I'm working instead at the computer on a paying project, and I'm lonely. Yes, I'm actually lonely. I miss my morning with my little guy. It's not like we do anything super exciting in the mornings, but I just miss having him around. The paradox of parenthood I suppose!

So proud

Last week JR worked really hard on his multiplication. He really struggled, but was very dedicated and worked so hard. On Friday after school, we had to run an errand, and when we returned home there was a phone call from his teacher. She said that he had asked so politely earlier in the day how he had done but they weren't graded. She now had them graded and he had them all correct, even the bonus! My eyes filled with tears because I was so proud and excited for him. Saturday both boys had a soccer game. JR's team played the team leading the standings and managed a 1-1 tie. All the boys, every one of them, played a great game. Yesterday, I awoke with a migraine. Thanks to the pain pills, I slept 21 out of 29 hours and didn't make it to his game. He scored his first ever soccer goal yesterday! He had been wanting it so badly and I'm glad that he could finally get one in the net. My wonderful husband said that several of the parents and even the coach were so excited for him that he finally got his goal. He had a great weekend!

A new month

October has finally arrived! I love this month! I used to think that September was my favorite month of the year, but that has definitely changed. September has turned into a very rough month in our house. It's the only month where my husband works one evening a week at the high school concession stand, spends Friday nights at high school football games, and this year he's added a grad class to the mix. And it's on top of school starting and learning new routines after being off all summer with lots of spare time on our hands! We made it through though, and October is always much less hectic. I also love the colors, smells and tastes (caramel apples!) of the fall months. To me October is a perfect month...just the right temps, and well, I could go on and on! Happy October to everyone!

Fall has arrived!

It is definitely fall here. I can't believe how cool it's gotten. It's also cloudy and it's been rainy. I could do without that, but I'm loving, absolutely loving, the temps. The kids seem to enjoy them as well. I've also enjoyed getting out the warmer clothing. I love being wrapped up in sweatshirts, and it's always fun to remember the kids' clothes from the prior year. Some of them even still fit!

HT lost another tooth today. That's five he is currently missing. JR also lost one over the weekend. He only has one more baby tooth to lose. He's working hard on trying to get it out because he doesn't want them to pull it when they put the braces on October 12. We'll just see what happens!

Another Friday is here

I wish I could be happy that it's Friday, but our weekend is going to be so crazy that it doesn't appear as though it's going to be relaxing. JR has scouts after school, and tonight I have to teach at the agency. The kids have to come with me because my wonderful husband is working at the high school football game. Tomorrow he and JR will be up before dawn and off to an all day cub scout event. HT has a soccer game in the morning, then we are coming home to clean the house. Sunday is of course church, then that afternoon my husband has to work at the local festival. I'll be taking the kids to JR's soccer game, then my parents are coming down for dinner that evening. Monday will be my husband's class, and a cub scout pack meeting. I haven't looked any further than that because I just can't handle it! I don't mean to sound as though I'm complaining. My family is healthy and happy and that is the important thing. And hopefully we will get enough sleep somewhere in there to remain healthy!

I thought I'd be better...

I really thought I would be better about posting since school has started again. I'm finding though, that even though I'm working from home, a paying job takes away from other things! I'm enjoying the extra money while it lasts, since it is only a temporary assignment.

The kids are really into the routine of school. I'm thrilled with how responsible JR is being with his school work. Of course there are days that he forgets, but I think he's a pretty typical fourth grader. He had another soccer game Sunday. He came really close to scoring a goal again. While I would have been very excited for him, I wasn't there and I would've cried (a lot) if he scored his first goal and I wasn't there.

I was listening to HT read yesterday. He read, "Dinos eating ham on turkey." I said, "it says ham on rye." He shrugged and replied, "I like turkey." All right then!

JC has been grounded to her room for the last week for completely unacceptable behavior at school. To make matters worse, she lied about it repeatedly. She is such a convincing liar it's scary. We tried to make this punishment pretty severe because we want her to be miserable and remember this...we don't want any repeats of the behavior!

Not much new happening around here the next couple of days. Just more school work and soccer!

Fresh cuts

Tomorrow is school picture day. I had hoped to get everyone a haircut last week, but the week just flew by. I didn't feel well at all Monday, so by yesterday morning I was feeling pressure! It worked out though, and there are three children with three crisp haircuts. They really look great, and I'm looking forward to their pictures tomorrow!

So close!

That was pretty much the theme of the weekend. Notre Dame was so close to beating Michigan, and OSU was so close to beating USC. Today was the biggest though. Three times today, JR was so, so, so close to scoring a goal in his soccer game! A friend and I were so excited and we were practically kicking it in our seats for him! I got tears in my eyes when I thought about my oldest son, and everything he's been through, and we wanted so badly for him to score. Not to be today, but it was so close!

We've made it through the day

I'm exhausted, but for the most part we've made it through the day. I knew it would be a long one. The original plan was for our family to go to HT's soccer game at 9, then my husband would head to a friend's house to help chop firewood. I would take my three and two of JR's teammates to his noon soccer game which was about 20 minutes away. Because of scheduling conflicts, I was also supposed to help coach. Then later this evening I would join my husband at our friends' house and we would spend a lovely evening visiting. Not to be though. My wonderful husband awoke at 2:30 this morning with a fever of 101.9. Yuck! The kids were in no mood to get up and at 'em this morning, but somehow we made it to HT's game on time. He did fairly well. The cute thing is that he really wants to play goalie, but there is no goalie at that level. I came home between games long enough to clean and refill water bottles for round two, as well as throw a snack together for the little ones during their older brother's game. We followed the directions perfectly, and when we arrived at our destination I was alarmed to notice there WAS NO SOCCER FIELD! Several other parents arrived at the same time so it wasn't just me! I was able to get in touch with our league president, and he knew exactly where to send us. And as a bonus, the assistant coach was able to be there so I didn't have to make my coaching debut (Thanks goodness)! JR's team played to a 5-2 victory, but unfortunately JR was in goal for both of the opposing goals. We've come home to finish the day with football and movies, and hopefully a good night sleep! My husband's fever is down to about 100, and fortunately he doesn't feel awful. He's staying away from all of us though!

NFL has begun!

On a lighter note from my previous post, the NFL season has begun! And I can think of no better way for it to begin than a Steelers victory! A very exciting and dramatic game, although I'll be honest, no one in my house was awake to see the Steelers finally win. JC was in bed long before the game ever started due to her behavior, but the boys stayed awake to watch kick off. HT made it to half-time (one benefit of being in PM kindergarten) and I was the last to give in as Hines Ward fumbled in the red zone. It was so cute to see HT before the start of the game. He had his beloved foam finger, his Terrible Towel, and he was jumping up and down whenever Big Ben would appear on the screen. Go Steelers!

Remembering

Today, of course, few of us can help but remember those awful days eight years ago. My heart goes out to the families directly affected by this date. I can't imagine. I mentioned last night to my husband that I was glad my children have no concept of what this date is. Two of them weren't even born yet, and the oldest was just over two. Sadly, my husband said that if it isn't this, it will be something else. I suppose that is true. My thoughts and prayers are with the families, and our entire country, today.

Nothing new

We are pretty much in the back to school routine, and it seems to be leaving very little time for much else. We are still managing to fit in scouts and soccer right now, but homework seems to be taking the vast majority of our time right now. I know that things will settle in soon, but getting there can be tough.

We enjoyed our Labor Day weekend. We took the kids to the county fair, where the older two had entered a poster contest through their school. We visited with friends that evening, then on Sunday JR went with my sister to a science museum while the rest of us spent the day with Dad at the lake. We absolutely love being there. Monday was a day to get caught up on laundry, and work on getting ready for another week!

A day of firsts

Yesterday was a day of firsts in our house. HT tied his shoes for the very first time yesterday. He was so excited, and we are so proud! JC had her first sleepover at a friend's house last evening. She loved every minute. And it wasn't a first, but JR had a wipe out on his bike yesterday. Lots of bandages on him. Eventful day!

Patriotism?

Sunday evening at dinner, JC announced that they were learning a new song in music class at school. JR chimed in that it was the Star Spangled Banner. The following conversation occured:
JC: (singing) "Oh say can you see, by the dawn's early hell..."
me: Stop. Sing it again.
JC: (singing) "Oh say can you see, by the dawn's early hell..."
me: Did you say hell?
JC: Yes
me: I think you still have some more learning to do.
I then proceeded to lay my head on the table and laugh and laugh. I just couldn't help myself!

Soccer begins

Yesterday was the official beginning of the soccer season for JR. JC isn't playing this year, and HT doesn't have games until after Labor Day. Due to a scheduling conflict, I wasn't able to go to the game yesterday, but JR's team won 8-6. Today I got to see the game, and was so excited that JR got an assist on the first goal scored today! It was a painful game though, as we were ahead most of the game until the last 10 minutes when the other team scored four goals to win 4-2. Still plenty of soccer left to be played though!

Week 1 is in the books!

We've survived the first three days of the school year. Frankly, the kids are adjusting better than I am. Oh, I have no problem adjusting to them being gone, but I have a major problem adjusting to getting up in the morning! The kids are really enjoying school, and I'm really enjoying hearing about their days each day. High school football also begins this evening. My husband is no longer coaching, but he is doing stats for the high school team he used to coach, so he's off to that this evening and HT is with my sister for the evening. After JC and I picked JR up from scouts, we brought in Chinese and now it's movie night!

And so it begins...

Another school year has arrived. Last night was open house, and we were able to meet all of the teachers and see the classrooms. For JC it was simple, she has the same second grade teacher JR had two years ago. For JR, it means a year of changing classes and having multiple teachers. And for HT, it means his first day of kindergarten. The older two told me this morning that they didn't need me to walk them to school today. Even though they had walked to and from school themselves last year, I still had planned to walk up with them today. Instead, a neighbor and friend of JR, who happens to be in the same homeroom, came over and walked with them. I smiled to myself as I heard JR and his friend make plans to sit by each other, and other normal kid things. HT goes in the afternoon so I walked him up after lunch. I was able to walk him to his classroom, and take some pictures of him at his table. He was already playing with new friends and didn't even hear me say good-bye when I left. I'm so grateful to share these milestone moments with my wonderful kids!

Last day of break

Today is our last day of summer break. Tomorrow it is back to the routine that school brings. The kids are so excited, and for that I'm very grateful. Today we spent the day visiting my mom and grandmothers. I enjoyed the adult company, they enjoyed seeing the kids, and it kept the kids from hanging out in front of the TV all day. I have two of the three school bags packed for tomorrow, and school clothes are already laid out and ready to go for tomorrow. It seems hard to believe it's here...where did the summer go? I think we all really enjoyed our summer though, and I have many wonderful memories from it.

Lazy day

We are have a very lazy day here today, and we are loving every minute of it! I can't get over how relaxing and laid back today is, and I'm wondering why we didn't do more of it this summer. Tomorrow is the first day back for my husband to school, and I will be babysitting tomorrow as well. The kids start back to school on Wednesday. I think we are all ready to be getting back into some kind of routine. In the meantime, I'm enjoying this very precious down time...soon it will be very, very difficult to find days like today!

Last week

Hard to believe that this is the last full week before school starts. Today is going to be a bunch of errand running since the van goes in tomorrow for repairs. I'm really looking forward to my last grasp of a slow pace this week, but I'm not really sure how slow it's actually going to be. I'm also looking forward to having a little more time to blog. I feel badly that we had such a wonderful summer with great memories, but I didn't really take the time to share them!

Settling in

Our week began with a bang...literally. On our way home Monday from the lake we were involved in a minor traffic accident. It was our fault, but no one was hurt. We had been counting John Deere sightings on our way home, and as we resumed the trip after the crash HT announced, "Seventeen John Deeres and one boom boom." The van should be going in for repairs this week. We also babysat extra kids on Wednesday, and other than that we are settling in for back to school. The kids enjoyed an afternoon at the pool yesterday and were also able to see who their teachers will be for the coming year. I'm sure they are all going to have a good year. I'm not really ready for the rigorous schedule that school brings, but I am looking forward a bit to a routine and some quieter afternoons!

The craziness continues!

Our last week has not gone quite according to our plan. Sunday evening we had a very nice dinner with my parents. It was at their house that JC announced she wasn't feeling well. Sure enough, Monday when she woke up the fever had spiked. Strep throat again! We were supposed to leave Tuesday to go back to my in-laws, but she still wasn't up to making the trip that day. My husband took the boys to a movie (since it meant we weren't going to the amusement park with the grandparents), and we stayed home and listed to the rain pound all afternoon. We hit the road Wednesday, and my husband, his parents, and the kids went to MLB game Thursday evening. HT's first major league game! Yesterday we drove home so JR wouldn't miss soccer practice, and my husband went over to a friend's house to help frame a basement. At 11:30 last night the phone rang. A friend had managed to drive a nail through his foot so the guys were taking him to the E/R. They weren't able to get the entire nail removed, but they did finally send him home. My husband arrived home about 6:30 this morning. Not exactly how they had anticipated their evening! Tomorrow we are headed back up to my dad's place at the lake for one last night there, and also to help Dad with some things. Only two weeks until school begins again...it might actually be calmer then!

Enjoying quiet time

It actually is truly quiet here this evening. I almost don't know what to do! My husband is at a guys' night, and the kids are in bed. We had a wonderful time last weekend with our friends during our childless weekend, and then we had more fun this past week with our guests. They arrived Monday and were here until early this morning. We visited so many fun sites in the area and they even brought some of their extended family with them, and we got to meet more people. It was wonderful hanging out with everyone. I can't describe how special these people are to our family, and how connected we feel even to their extended family. We last saw them 24 hours ago and we miss them already! Not a lot of down time though, as Tuesday we are back on the road to our in-laws...this time for amusement parks and baseball games. It's been a truly memorable summer with lots of action packed fun!

On the road again

Believe it or not (and I'm not sure I do!) we are hitting the road again tomorrow. We are going to spend tomorrow evening back up at the lake, then we are leaving from there Wednesday to go to my in-laws. They are keeping our kids for the weekend while we meet friends for a "kid free" weekend from Thursday to Sunday. Sunday we'll drive back to the in-laws, then all of us drive home Monday. At that time we are expecting friends from out of state, and we are so excited to see them! The blog will be very, very quiet for the next two weeks, but please know that we will be off having a great time!

Busy, busy, busy

I can't believe how busy we've been lately, but I'm enjoying it! My dear friend stayed here for two days and we had a wonderful time. It was wonderful to visit with her, catch up on all we'd been doing, and reminisce about our youth! She was able to see my dad, and I drove her around to show her the changes in the town we grew up in. My wonderful husband was spectacular. He handled everything here at the house which allowed me to devote my time to her while she was here. The day that she left I ended up being sick. Not terribly ill, but enough that I just needed to veg in bed. My wonderful husband kept his plans that we had with some friends that evening, and he enjoyed his much deserved evening out! Friday I had to go to the grocery, and then my husband and JR left for an overnight camping trip. I had volunteered to teach a class at the adoption agency and so the two little ones and I spent the evening there. Yesterday was an all day family reunion. We had a great time visiting with extended relatives that we usually only see once a year at this reunion. The newest relative was also there, being only a month old. Jacob is a cutie! My sister took JC to the Reds game last night, and then everyone had to be up early for church this morning. Today I've been finishing up my work project that I've been doing, and tonight is a birthday party for a friend's child. Tomorrow we are getting ready for our next trip! The summer is going quickly, but we are certainly trying to get the most out of it!

Company coming!

I got a phone call from a dear friend last night. Her family moved away right after she graduated from high school. We've stayed in touch over the last 16 years and used to visit often. We were even bridesmaids in each other's weddings. Then children started coming along and we haven't seen each other in over four years. We hadn't even chatted on the phone, other than to leave each other voice mails, in about 16 months. Her call last night was to say that it had been long enough and she is on her way here today. I'm so excited! She'll be here for dinner and I just can't wait to catch up!

Monday morning

Another Monday morning has rolled around. The wonderful thing about summer though, is that it really doesn't matter what day of the week it is (as long as we make it to church sometime over the weekend)! Our last several days have been pretty uneventful. My wonderful husband took all three kids to see Ice Age 3 at the one screen theater here in town. They all loved that! Yesterday was a quick trip up north to have dinner with my mother, sister, grandmother & aunt. We went to Bob Evans, which is my kids' favorite place to eat. The youngest especially loves it! This week will be more working for my dad's office, and another fairly unscheduled week. Might be the last one of the summer as things get a little crazy from here on out, but it's all fun!

More fun

We've really had a wonderful day today. This is the first time we've spent an entire day at the lake, where we both wake up and go to bed here. We are already wondering why we don't do this more often! It is actually a little chilly, so we spent the day away from the lake. We drove over to New Bremen for the bicycle museum. My husband and I really enjoyed it, and the kids did for the most part. I also enjoyed seeing the restored lock that New Bremen has built. We followed that with a quick trip through Minster (my husband and I absolutely love those two towns) and then had ice cream at DQ. We've just been hanging out since we got back to the cottage and we'll be lighting the fire pit this evening. I'm so glad we took a couple of days to come up here!

Fun at the lake

The wonderful thing about my dad's place at the lake is that it's only 90 minutes away. We were able to run a few errands around town this morning, and still made it here in time for lunch. Shortly after we ate, my dad arrived to spend the rest of the afternoon with us. It was such a wonderful treat to have him here. He got to watch the kids play in the sprinkler and then we headed out for a very nice dinner. It's just so relaxing to get away up here, and having Dad here makes it even more special. He left before the ice cream tonight, but we still have lots of fun things planned for the next couple of days. I can feel the tension and stress melting away already...

To the lake

We are headed to my dad's cottage at the lake today and will be back Thursday. In theory, I should have some extra time to get online and post about what's been going on in our lives lately. Don't get too excited...even though we've been busy I'm not sure it's all that exciting! Have a good week!

Moving right along

That's how I feel about the summer...it's July already! We are now working hard on trying to get our summer projects completed. My husband has pointed out (correctly) that our project list is substantially longer than our available time. We'll just plug along and see what we can accomplish though.

Also, we are having computer problems that I don't understand so my posts might be sporadic. I've been doing some extra projects for my dad's office and hopefully we can buy a new computer by the end of summer. This one is over five years old so it has certainly served its purpose well!

Recap

I'm just now making it back onto the blog to write about our vacation. Getting back into the groove of things took longer than I anticipated. Most of our vacation time was spent at the pool that was at the house we rented. The kids loved, absolutely loved being at the pool, and I think they would have slept there if we would have let them. We also took the kids to the Wright Brothers Memorial. They were very excited to see that , especially since we'd been reading about it before we left. We visited a lighthouse which our youngest truly loved, and we also visited the NC Aquarium. For us adults, our favorite part of vacation was the food! We love seafood, but we seldom eat it here. It's just not the same as the fresh seafood from the coast. My in-laws even kept the kids for an evening so that we could enjoy a night out to ourselves. It had been very long since that happened, so we splurged on a bottle of wine, an appetizer, and dessert to go along with our entrees. We decided to skip Monticello on the way home. We were all just tired and really just wanted to get home. We might take a little mini-trip somewhere next week, but that has yet to be decided. All-in-all, we had a wonderful time!

We're back!

We had a wonderful vacation, and at the same time we are so glad to be home. The weather is absolutely gorgeous here today! We did lots of fun things while we were gone, and thoroughly enjoyed spending the week with my husbands family. So much to share, but first so much unpacking to do! I'll be back later today or tomorrow!

Strep throat

Yep, it's strep throat. Yippee! Actually, she feels pretty good today, and we are getting her on antibiotics right now. The doctor says that we can still leave tomorrow, and at this point that is our plan. We did decide to leave about 5 hours later than originally planned so that she can get a good night sleep in her own bed. Hopefully this won't make the rounds through the rest of the family. This will probably be my last post until we return from vacation on the 29th. We are stopping at Monticello on the way home from the Outer Banks so we should have lots of good stories! Have a great week!

Not part of the plan

We are in day two of JC's fever. She was around 100 all night, but then had spiked to 102.7 by this morning, and vomited. She is on her way to urgent care with my wonderful husband. Her dance recital for this evening is clearly out of the question, and leaving for vacation tomorrow is in doubt at this point. We are hopeful that, worst case scenario, we can leave by Tuesday...things are just up in the air at this point. All we can do is go with the flow, and most importantly, I just want my little girl to feel better!

Fever 101

Actually, JC's temp around Noon today was 101.6. AGH! She had slept all morning, but I just assumed she was that exhausted. We'd had several very long weeks, and the last two days have been very, very long. I finally checked on her at Noon and discovered she was burning up. I felt awful for letting her suffer so long. Fortunately, the Tylenol does seem to be working, but she has to get better fast. Tomorrow is her dance recital. I would hate for her to have to miss it after she has worked so very hard at ballet for the last nine months. And not to mention of course, that we are supposed to leave on vacation Sunday. Sending some prayers that she is okay!

Absent from the blog

Things have been pretty crazy around here. My father's office has a project that I can work on from home and get paid, so I've been working like a crazy woman on that. In addition, we are leaving for vacation this Sunday, and since I'm responsible for 95% of the packing I've been trying to work on that as well. My wonderful husband decided to start a painting project this week, and we've also had ball games, basketball camp, a scout meeting, ballet lesson, and guitar lesson. So much for summer being more relaxing! It's not that bad though. Saturday is the culmination of JC's nine months of ballet lessons in her recital. We have rehearsal first which means we will be at the auditorium for about seven hours all together. Needless to say, all of the packing has to be finished before hand, so I apologize for my absences, before and after this post! I'll try to post again before we leave, but there will be no computer while we are gone so it will be a while before I can post again once we leave. Hope every has a great weekend and week next week!

Season over

Baseball/softball/tball season has come to an end for our family. Since practices started on March 30, I think we are ready for ball season to be over. This was a particularly tough week. I've always said that the toughest part of working with children is always the parents, and this week proved to be no exception. Apparently, hoping that adults will behave as responsible adults is asking too much out of some people. On the upside, though, all of our kids had a good time, and we especially saw some skills develop in our youngest. They are all now getting excited about soccer practice, which will begin in about a month. I'm glad they are active kids!

Lots to do

We had a really nice weekend here in our house. Friday evening was supposed to be make up games for the younger two, but the other team never showed up for the youngest. Saturday morning JR had a scout den meeting, then in the afternoon JC had ballet practice. We spent the entire evening at the third birthday party of a good friend, which then morphed into a graduation party for another friend. It was a very, very late night, and our oldest was up until 3AM. We had managed to put the littler two down, but even then it was close to 11. We got up for church yesterday, then had dinner with some other friends. Needless to say, everyone was in bed very early last night. I was still sleeping soundly this morning when I was awakened by a phone call regarding a basketball camp that was supposed to begin tomorrow, but oh wait it's today. AGH! Only six days until we leave for vacation, but it's going to be a heck of a six days!

Resolving to read

One of the things I'm trying to do this summer is to read. I read to and with the kids all of the time, but I'd really like to try to find time to read stuff for me. Right now I can't even seem to find time to catch up on magazines, but I'd like to find a really good book. Suggestions? No, I haven't read Twilight but my good friends are addicted and it just doesn't sound interesting to me. I really, really like autobiographies and many things that are non-fiction, so if anyone has some thoughts please let me know!

Summer begins!

Okay, I know that today is the second day of summer for the kids and even my husband was home today, but as far as I am concerned, our summer vacation officially began at 3:30 this afternoon. I've been babysitting for friends this week and today was the "big" event...9 children ages 2-10 were here all day. Thank goodness my husband was home because that would have been a lot to handle by myself. The kids were fairly well behaved and there weren't any major problems. And now I consider myself to be officially celebrating the beginning of summer!

This is day 1?

Day one of summer vacation has not gotten off to the best start. I'm still babysitting today, and one of our guests had an absolute meltdown over breakfast this morning. I know that she is tired, and after she calmed down we hugged and decided to have a better day. My younger two and the youngest of our guests were playing upstairs. I knew it was too quiet, so I thought I better check. Sure enough they were using buckets (a play one is upstairs with a housekeeping toy) of water to "mop" the floor of our daughter's room (she has a wood floor). AGHHHHHHHH! All of this occurred before 10AM. Wow, can't wait to see what the rest of the summer brings!

Seriously needing coffee

This morning, for the second time this week, I was awakened by thunder, followed almost immediately by HT shrieking for me. He's developed a strong fear of thunder. I went to get him and brought him into bed with me where he clung to me. My husband was already up for work (his last day!) and I could smell the coffee brewing. Since I'm babysitting again today, there was no point in really trying to go back to sleep. I let my husband have his morning alone/quiet time, then I came downstairs all ready to poor myself a cup of coffee. Unfortunately, my husband had taken the entire pot with him in a giant travel mug. SO disappointing. I could brew another pot, but I'm not that motivated. Let me assure you that the decaf instant coffee I'm drinking instead is not cutting it this morning!

School's out!

Finally the end of the school year has arrived! Rain caused field day to be moved indoors, but it sounds as though the kids had just as much fun as if they'd been outdoors. Report cards also arrived home today and I'm very pleased with them. All-in-all, it was really a wonderful year for the kids. And, no more homework until August! We'll be working on various things throughout the summer of course, but no rigid schedule. No sleeping in right now, as we are babysitting some friends' kids until the teachers have completed their work as well. Still, summer is officially here in our house!

End of an era

Today my youngest finished preschool. I can't believe that preschool days are completely behind us. I'm a little sad about it, but I (fortunately) didn't shed any tears. It helped tremendously that my little guy isn't the least bit sad about the end of his preschool days. In fact, if he could start kindergarten tomorrow I think he would be absolutely thrilled. I'm glad that he enjoys school, and I'm grateful that he's ready to move on. Now we just have two more days for the older ones!

Needing some sleep

Everyone in this house seriously needs some sleep! My in-laws arrived on Wednesday, and I've been letting the kids stay up later in the evenings to enjoy their time together since the kids are in school all day. We also had baseball games Thursday and last night, and there were other fun activities with Nonie & Pappy along the way. This morning we had breakfast with them at Bob Evans, then they drove home. We were supposed to go a scout fishing outing today, but JR didn't realize it was even happening so we decided to stay home and just do some unwinding. The kids had a fun day outside, with bike riding and catch, and even some neighbors joined in. This evening my husband is at a Reds game with friends and the kids and I attended a graduation party for a girl who sometimes babysits. Tomorrow is a gathering for my grandmother's 80th birthday, so after the grad party the kids and I are staying in this evening, watching movies, and having an early bedtime. As tired as we all are, it's been fun!

Not the manners I was going for

Obviously I try to teach the kids good manners. Some days are better than others! The other day I was getting a poptart for HT to eat for breakfast. Most mornings lately he's been sleeping in past when the other two go to school, so by the time he's eating breakfast it's just he and I. He asked for poptarts so I brought him his favorite...blueberry. He's usually a very polite little child, but there was no response this time when I handed him the plate. I gently reminded him, "What do you say?" and he responded, in an irritated tone, "I wanted two." Still have some work to do in the manners department!

Hail storm

We unexpectedly spent 1/2 hour in our basement last evening! A tornado warning was never actually issued for our area, but we weren't taking any chances. They issued a tornado warning for the next county over, and several times kept mentioning our town when they mentioned the path of the storm. The strange thing is that there really wasn't any thunder or lightning associated with the storm, but the hail was unbelievable. Most of it was dime size, but there were several pieces that were quarter size, and we even located one that was golf ball sized. The kids were excited (once the storm actually passed) to see all the hail on the ground. They were out running to collect the pieces. This morning HT ran to the window to see if the "ice cubes" were still on the ground. He really broke my heart last night. He was so absolutely and totally terrified of the storm that he was shivering in my arms uncontrollably. I remember feeling that fear as a child, and I've always been terrified of storms. Having children changes my perspective though. First I have to be calm for them, and secondly I actually feel calm because I know in the deepest part of my heart that I would never and could never let anything happen to them if there is anything at all in my power I can do to control it. Anyway, we got our evening back on track after the excitement, and spent lots of time studying for tests today, as well as just reading some good books. Only five more days of school after today!

Way too optimistic

Apparently I was way too optimistic about not having homework this week. I know it's still a full week, but not only do both kids have spelling tests and nightly homework still, JR also has both a Social Studies test and a Science test tomorrow. I really find this ridiculous. I would think that the teachers wouldn't want to give major tests on the same day, but this is the second time in a row that it's happened. It's really frustrating for me! The other issue I have is that they are only giving us one day's notice. We have an agenda book, but they didn't bother to list it until today, nor was it included in Progress Book (the website used by the teachers). I'm just grateful that none of our kids have games this evening or JR would really be out of luck!

Late night

I'm almost never on the computer this late at night. In fact, I try to not even be awake at this time. Alas, HT has a horrible cough and we've brought him down to the couch. It's nothing serious, but he's got some heavy duty phlegm going on right now from allergies. He's also got some major gag reflexes, and phlegm tends to cause some problems, so we brought him down to the couch just to be safe. I don't sleep particularly well on the couch, so I thought I would get up and see what's going on in cyberspace. My wonderful husband volunteered to come down and sleep, but he has to work all day tomorrow, and I have nothing in particular that needs to be accomplished. In fact, we have absolutely nothing on our calendar tomorrow. We are looking forward to that!

Another month gone by

I can't believe that June is here already! And I can't believe school isn't closer to being out! We'll live, I know. There was beautiful weather here yesterday. I mean, absolutely gorgeous. Unfortunately, I was suffering from allergies and sinuses, so after getting the flowers planted in the front flower bed, I was in the house the rest of the afternoon. It was wonderful sleeping weather last night, and so far I'm feeling much better today (meaning I can actually breathe out of my nose). Three ball games tonight, although there is a chance of storms. My in-laws arrive Wednesday, and we have a very full weekend next weekend. Have a good week!

It's Friday!

The end of the week has arrived and we've made it through another week! I'm cautiously optimistic that this is the end of the major homework push for the kids. JR's game last night was rained out, so we had a more relaxing evening. We read some new books I'd bought for the kids about summer, and that made us even more ready for the school year to end! Tonight JC has group ballet pictures to be taken, and then the only other plan we have for the weekend is an evening out with friends tomorrow evening (kid free!). We are hoping to make it to church tomorrow evening before that so we can sleep in and just hang out on Sunday. It's supposed to be a beautiful day, and in addition to getting my flowers planted, I would love to be able to have a picnic or some other fun activity with the kids.

We've also learned that my in-laws are coming next week! I was really hoping they would come after we asked them to earlier in the week. They will get to see each child play ball, as well as attend a special lunch at school with JR. I'm really looking forward to seeing them. I'm grateful for so much fun in life!

A/C

I finally broke down yesterday and turned on the a/c. I always set my target date as June 1, but we were close enough. It wasn't so much the heat that I couldn't handle, it was the humidity. Can't stand humidity. This evening, however, I will be turning it back off and enjoying a beautiful spring like day tomorrow!

Fries with that?

When we were up at my dad's cottage this weekend, he took us over to a new restaurant. It had only been opened a few months, and Dad had been there already so we all decided to try it out. I wasn't terribly hungry and was looking for a lighter meal so I checked out the salads. I knew they were not from around here when I saw that they put french fries on the salads. I did however, know that they must be from steel country because that is the way they make salads there, and since my husband is from there he thinks that is the way that salads should be made. It turns out that they are from Youngstown, OH, very close to the PA region where these salads began. My husband was so excited and couldn't wait. I, on the other hand, continued to ask for my fries on the side!

Unwinding

Yesterday was a day to just relax and unwind in our house. My husband and oldest son participated in the Memorial Day ceremony at the park and cemetery here in town. Then they came home and we really just hung out around the house. I have been doing some clerical work for the office where I used to work (and my dad still does) so I spent several hours doing that yesterday and watching the Reds game. The kids played in the slip-n-slide and had a friend over. My husband dozed most of the afternoon. It was nice that we had hosted everyone Saturday so the house was still clean and we didn't have anything we really felt we had to get done. It was nice that way. JC is on a field trip today and she's excited about that. The sun is out right now, but they are calling for storms later today, and in fact it will be that way all week. We'll just have to see about games this week!

A day with family

We've had a wonderful weekend. Our gathering Saturday evening was nice and we enjoyed seeing friends. Yesterday was such a nice day, full of family! We began the day having brunch with my mother, sister, aunt, grandmother, a cousin, her husband and three kids, and another cousin. It's a family tradition every Sunday the weekend of Memorial Day, after placing flowers at relatives' tombstones. We did the cemetery portion of the trip last year, and decided to just meet for brunch this year. My cousin with the kids does the same thing and everyone understands. Following the meal, we headed up to my Dad's cottage at the lake and spent the day with my Dad. It is a day full of memories that I know we'll never forget. My father has a chronic lung condition, and is on oxygen 24/7. We know that he doesn't have much time left here with us, but Dad still works every day and does everything that he can to enjoy his life while he can. I think he's often worried that an extended time with the kids will just wear him out, but yesterday seemed to be the exact opposite. He absolutely loved getting to spend the entire day with the kids, and they loved getting to spend it with him. There were lots of golf cart rides, ice cream cones, dinner out, and badminton games. Dad just loved watching everyone have fun. I'm sure he's worn out today, but it was a great day full of many memories for us to take with us forever.

Weekend plans

We are having a fun weekend here. Last evening my husband and JR went to the Reds game. It was fireworks night and the Reds won...sounds like a perfect evening. I've spent all day yesterday and today cleaning the house for a cook-out we are having this evening. I'm looking forward to reconnecting with some friends we haven't seen in a while, as well as visiting with some I see regularly. Tomorrow morning is brunch with extended family, and then we are headed to my dad's cottage near the lake to spend the rest of the day. Usually my dad prefers to let us have our "own space" when we are there, but he'll be there with us tomorrow. I'm very excited about that! We'll come home late (as late as I can make it) tomorrow evening, then JR will be in the Memorial Day parade Monday morning. Following the ceremony at the cemetery, we will spend Monday just relaxing. Possibly head to the pool here in town, but nothing stressful or work related. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

School work

This morning, I was reading a blog that I read often and this writer, a stay-at-home mom to 10 (yes, you read correctly, ten), was thrilled and whoo-hooing that school was out for the summer. In the comments section someone else was cheering right along with her, while another mom wrote that she couldn't cheer yet because they still had three days next week, but she was pretty sure that she was done with homework. This made me really stop and think. She was done with homework? Isn't that the job for the kids? I know exactly what she means though. Right now my youngest, a preschooler, is sitting here doing his homework for the weekend. I have yet to meet a preschooler who could be responsible for his/her own homework, so that makes the responsibility mine. My daughter has nightly math homework, weekly spelling words, and a weekly reading log. My son has weekly spelling words, a weekly book report, a weekly geography worksheet, and nightly math homework. While the older two are generally responsible kids, they are still awfully young to be taking on the responsibility of that much homework by themselves. My oldest hasn't yet mastered time management (go figure, some adults haven't either!) so unless I urge him on Monday to begin the weekly assignments, everything gets pushed to Thursday. That wouldn't be a problem, but there isn't nearly enough time on Thursdays to accomplish everything. We've made great progress through the year though, and he pretty much knows that school work comes before everything else he would rather be doing at home. Why are all of these stay-at-home moms, myself included, so excited about the end of the school year? I am fairly certain that my mother and women of her generation felt more dread than joy at the end of the school year. It meant the kids were home ALL DAY, EVERY DAY! Is my generation more loving and patient? Ha, ha, ha, ha, uhm, no that's not it. I think it is simply that school is so much more stressful than when I was a student. And if I'm feeling the stress, my goodness, what are the kids feeling? I know that much of what happens in schools today, and thusly the homework, is necessary because of the state standards. I just worry that kids don't really get to enjoy being kids. I worry, because this is supposed to be the carefree, stressLESS part of their lives. If they don't get to enjoy it now, when?

Reacting

For the first twelve years of my life, I wasn't allergic to anything. I vividly remember the first August when I started reacting to something (hay fever, probably). From that point on, I was pretty much in a Benedryl induced trance from the middle of August through the end of September. It was miserable. But on the upside, I knew it was only about six weeks out of the year. Five years ago I developed a horrible case of poison ivy. It was so awful that my eyes swelled shut and I was in bed for three days. Everyone asked what I had been thinking by ignoring the poison ivy I saw, and it was easy...I'd never been allergic to poison ivy before. About 18 months ago I was prescribed Erythromycin for an upper respiratory infection. Not a problem. I'd taken it before. This time however I developed a violent reaction to the medication and was in the e/r. Now here I am, in the middle of May, no where near the end of summer, and I'm miserable. Absolutely miserable. Apparently my body has now decided that it is also allergic to pollen. Yippee! I can't take antihistamines, except at bedtime, because they cause an extreme case of drowsiness...even the ones that are "non-drowsy" formula. Since I can't control the sneezing, etc. my asthma is also starting to kick in. I've already warned my husband that I'm not sure I'll be at the ball game this evening. Sitting in the middle of a field sounds almost overwhelming!

Fifteen more...

...school days after today. We are all so ready to be finished with the school year. It really feels like it's taking forever this year since everyone is going nearly an entire extra week due to the days off for weather this year. We are hoping to get up to my dad's place at the lake this weekend, but we haven't set anything definite yet. There are also some scout activities we could do if we stay home. The sad thing is, there seems to be no time for sleeping this weekend. I love the fact that my kids are involved in things, and they are things that are good for them. However, I'm also a big fan of kids having unstructured time. I think they need it to use and develop their imaginations. I also think they need to unwind and just be kids. They just don't seem to get that opportunity like I did when I was a kid.

Baseball season is still going well for everyone. We had two games last night, will have one tonight and one on Thursday. JC got to go to a really fun birthday party Sunday where she rode horses and played with water balloons. I wasn't crazy about that since the high was in the low 60's, but no damage done!

Cute story

My daughter said something that made me laugh last night. I immediately looked at the clock to see if it would be too late to call my mom to tell her after I put the kids to bed, and I couldn't wait to tell my husband. The sad thing is, I have no idea what it was that she said! In just 30 minutes, I had managed to completely forget what she had said to make me laugh, and I couldn't share it with anyone. I'm losing my mind!

Nineteen more

That's how many days of school are left for the kids, at least the older two. Little guy only has thirteen, which just seems impossible to believe. I think on some level, I'm looking more forward to the summer than they are. I've noticed, though, that the kids do seem to be wearing down as well. Right now our lives are pretty crazy with the ball schedules. I'm not complaining, it's just reality. JR still has at least an hour of homework every night, and at least two nights a week it's closer to two hours. Part of it is that his teacher does assign a little more than the other teachers, and part of it is the fact that he simply takes much longer to do his work. The kids all enjoy being at the ball park, but I've noticed that they really don't mind on the evenings when we have rainouts, even if it is their game being rained out. I think they enjoy the fact that we have a more relaxed dinner, and we might even get to play a game together as a family. I think we are looking forward to the more relaxed lifestyle that summer is going to bring!

First place!

No, this isn't a post bragging about one of the kids...my Cincinnati Reds are tied for first place! I know the season is still young, but it's been a long time since the team has given us something to be excited about. Right now I love watching them play. There are lots of good things happening for them and it's fun!

West coast trip

No, we aren't traveling, but the Reds are out west this week. It really throws my evening routine off...I'm used to turning on the TV at 7 and catching the game. I obviously can't actually sit and watch it, but at least I can keep track of the score. And after the kids go to bed, I can give the game my full attention. This week, the games aren't starting until about 9:30. I haven't seen the end of either game yet, but I'm still staying up later than I'd like. I'm dragging a little today!

Mother's Day

Happy belated Mother's Day to all of the moms out there! I am very blessed to have not only my mother, but both of my grandmothers and my mother-in-law still in my life. They are all wonderful people. After church we headed north to spend the afternoon with my parents. Dad brought fried chicken for lunch and it was delicious! After the meal we headed over to my grandmother's retirement community where Dad and JR could fish. JR loves, loves, loves to fish! Neither my husband nor I really enjoy it, but I'm so grateful that it's an activity that can be shared between my father and my son. My grandmother also enjoyed visiting with the kids, and I also enjoyed getting to see my aunt who was in town as well. The day was so peaceful, and I couldn't help but think back to a Mother's Day several years ago where I had the exact opposite feeling about the day. My husband and I had been trying for two years to become parents and we knew it wasn't going to happen the "old fashioned way". My best friend had become a mother two months earlier so it was her first Mother's Day as a mom, and another very good friend was expecting her first child two months later. It just felt as though I was being taunted by Mother's Day everywhere. It was a rough day to get through, but of course I did get through it. And it is because of days like that day that I am so aware of the three little, beautiful blessings in my life, and I know that it all works out exactly as it is intended. Blessings to all moms!

Ball games

All of our kids have started their ball games. My wonderful husband is coaching our daughter's team, and he's really enjoying that. Our daughter is definitely not the most talented athlete, but for the most part she enjoys sports. I suspect her talent lies more in dancing though. Regardless, my father and grandmother came down to see her first game last week and she got a really good hit. She was even able to go around and score a run and they won that game. Saturday's game was a loss, but the team was really short handed since it was an unscheduled make up game. JR played catcher for his entire game on Saturday, which was also a victory for his team. He's moved up a level, and now the games take about 2-1/2 hours to play. It was the first time he'd played catcher for an entire game, and the first time he'd ever played in a game that took that long. He was TIRED that evening! We were very proud of him though because he did a very nice job. And little HT just loves hitting the ball and running the bases. I love seeing pure joy on a child's face!

Another week

Another week absolutely flew by! Last week was full of ball games, meetings, homework, etc. Not only did I not really have time to write, but I didn't really feel that there was anything terribly exciting to write about. My husband and I felt like we needed to reintroduce ourselves to each other by the end of the week. We work well together as a team though, and I'm grateful for that. This week will be another crazy week because we are hoping to have a garage sale on Saturday, and my wonderful husband is in charge of some fundraisers for a local community group. Only 22 days of school left though!

Chickens

For the last several weeks, HT's preschool class has been incubating chicken eggs. Yesterday, about an hour after school, his teacher (also a close personal friend) called to say that one was near hatching. I threw the kids in the van and rushed up to the school. We were there waiting, and after about 45 minutes we got to see the new chick come into the world. We rushed home then because there were two games last night. Although it meant dinner after the game instead of before, I didn't mine because how often do we get an opportunity to see that? I had told the kids that I would bring them up before school this morning to see the chick again. However, HT's teacher called again last night, saying that when she had checked on the chick a few hours later, she found it drowned in the water bowl. I explained to the kids this morning what had happened, and our little neighbor was over at the time. HT was sad for a moment, especially since he had been watching the eggs for weeks. The neighbor ,though, added his words of comfort, "It happens all the time in nature. It's the circle of life." Pretty profound for a 9 year old!

A wonderful Sunday

Yesterday was an absolutely wonderful day. It was supposed to rain, but it never did. We were especially grateful for this right after church. Yesterday was the last session of Sunday School, and after Mass there was a church picnic. We absolutely love our church. We love the fact that we know so many of the families there, and we love the fact that the children (all children, not just ours) get to be so involved in the church. There were activities and prizes for the kids during the picnic yesterday, and I was actually able to visit with other adults...as a stay at home that is always a treat! The weather was really ideal...not too hot or cold. After the picnic we went to look at some open houses. We might be putting our house back on the market this fall, but we'll just have to wait and see if I'm really willing to live like that again. Anyway, we didn't see any houses that we fell in love with, but one of the houses had property that I fell in love with! It was five acres of the most peaceful and quiet spot on Earth. The front yard had these beautifully mature trees. I told my wonderful husband last night that I could just feel myself starting to yearn for that setting. Unfortunately, the house was not ideal. Doable, but not ideal. It had potential, but at the price they were asking (a very fair price) we wouldn't have any money left to tap the potential! It does motivate me to clean my house though...just in case! My wonderful husband also got the garbage disposal replaced last evening. I was impressed with his handiness. I just felt very relaxed yesterday about life. It doesn't last long when I look at our calendar of baseball games, meetings, etc., but I'll take what I can get!

Opening Day

Today was opening day for the little league baseball group. The parade was held right on time and it's a really nice day for baseball. Alas, however, not a single game was played. The rain we received Thursday and yesterday was just too much, and the games were actually called off last night. Apparently they are going to try to play them next weekend instead.

My wonderful husband is off to buy a new garbage disposal. Ours gave out on Monday, and I've been hand washing dishes ever since. He is convinced that if he buys the exact same one he'll be able to replace it himself. We shall see. I suspect there is a future post in this!

None of it's good...

An acquaintance and I were at t-ball practice for our five-year-old boys last week. He also has two older children that are the same ages as my older two. We were watching our young sons out on the diamond as they were interacting with each other and other teammates. I made the comment that it's amazing what the younger ones pick up from the older ones. At that moment my son decided to stick his tongue out and razz another kid. The acquaintance added, "And none of it's ever good." Amen!

Tidbits

I should be better about posting, but when my house looks the way that it does, taking time for something like a blog seems a luxury I should do without. We spent much of the weekend sorting through and trying on spring/summer clothes, and replacing the winter clothes currently in the drawers. The winter clothes also have to be sorted by what might fit again next year, along with what to do with those that won't. I currently have tubs and boxes of clothing pretty much everywhere, and the house wasn't all that clean to begin with! With temps in the mid 80's over the last weekend, putting it off wasn't an option! We also needed to get screens in windows and I should start some spring cleaning...eventually. Yesterday I realized that the garbage disposal has a hole in and water shoots out if we run the disposal or dishwasher. So I've been hand washing lots of dishes (we can use the water in the sink as long as the bucket is under the disposal) but I don't seem to be able to catch up on that either. I also insisted on hanging laundry out on the line over the weekend. The drying racks were completely ineffective because of the 30 mph winds we had going through. So I had to use our rather short clothes line, and just keep checking so that I could replace a dry item with a new wet one. And with lots of the flu last week, we had plenty of laundry to be done! We are gone pretty much every evening with the kids having ball practice. Last night all three had practice, along with one having team pictures. Tonight my husband has his grad class, and two kids have team pictures. Wednesday brings my husband having a meeting, one kid at ballet, one at guitar lessons, and one at ball practice. Thursday my husband has conferences, and we have a ball practice. Friday we can relax, then Saturday is opening day, so there is a parade and three ball games. As much as I would prefer that my house be all picked up and sparkling clean, I just refuse to allow myself to stress about it!

I miss the days...

when just a kiss from Mommy could make the tears stop flowing. They grow up too fast.

Family update

I'm happy to report that everyone finally seems to be mostly healthy today. My husband missed both Tuesday and Wednesday at work, and the little guy missed Tuesday also. Everyone is back at school, although HT still seems to have some stomach issues. We were very grateful that it rained during the day and practices were canceled on Tuesday. Other than that, our lives have been pretty unexciting, and our evenings have been spent mostly at the ball park. We have one more week of practice, and then the season begins May 2. No schedules have been provided yet, which is really a pain. With three playing it doesn't really matter though...I just plan to be at a diamond. The schedules coming out only provides clarification on which one!

Prayer request update

Last week I mentioned that our friend was in the hospital, but that surgery had gone well. I've just learned that an infection has developed and this is definitely a set back in her recovery. She is still in the hospital, and had hoped to go home tomorrow so the family is, needless to say, very disappointed. Any prayers are always appreciated!

Sick kid

It's currently 4AM, and I've been up for the last hour with my sick kid. This time it's the youngest. He gets EVERYTHING that goes around. I'm just grateful he didn't get it right after JR last week and he was able to enjoy all the fun of the weekend. My husband and I aren't feeling so well ourselves so we'll just see how today goes...

Fun Friday

Yesterday was a really, really fun day, although the beginning not so much so. We awoke to HT covered, absolutely covered in hives. We had a meeting at school for him so I went there and my husband took the little guy to the doctor. It's definitely an allergic reaction to something, we just aren't sure what it might be. We are guessing it is either the antibiotic he was on for last week's impetigo, or it could have been the strawberry he ate this week. Either way, we are hoping it starts to disappear today. And the meeting at school went well! After that we took HT to breakfast at Bob Evans, which is pretty much his favorite restaurant. Next came a quick trip to Target where we found some great movies for only $5! Once we came home, my husband decided that since we had some coupons, he was going to go ahead and buy me what I wanted for my birthday. So after the trip to the store, he returned with a wii! I LOVE IT! Last evening we hosted a skating/birthday party for the youngest two. So many friends came, and it was just a terrific evening. JC also got to have a friend spend the night. I wasn't surprised that the kids couldn't sleep last night. Even at my age, I was so wound up from all of the fun things that I had trouble falling asleep!

Update

I'm happy to report that as of last evening, our friend was doing very well. She'd had surgery yesterday and things went really well. We are hoping that she'll be out of the hospital by the middle of next week!

Prayer request

I have a prayer request for anyone who may read this and wishes to offer up a prayer. We found out earlier this week that our friend, Amanda, has been in the hospital since Sunday. She has severe abdominal pains that they have been unable to diagnose. I just spoke with her husband, and today is not a good day. He said that she is in a lot more pain today, and they still don't have a diagnosis. He is grateful for the friends and family who are currently caring for their sons, ages 7 & 4-1/2. Please pray for Amanda, her family, her doctors, and those who are caring for the boys. Thank you.

Kids say the darndest things

We've been having rain here lately. A lot of rain. It rained Monday, Tuesday, and yesterday. Sunday was partly cloudy and that was the last time we saw a peek at the sun. Even the kids have noticed, because this morning HT came running up to me and exclaimed, "Mommy look! It's not raining outside!"

This morning at breakfast (everyone is healthy and eating again) JR wanted to chat. He was asking all kinds of questions, and one of them was "Is everything made from water?" Before I could respond, JC sighed and said, "Everything is made in China."

Enjoy the sunshine!

Calgon, I need to be taken away!

I need to take a warm soothing bath this evening. It's been a challenging 24 hours. Last evening JR was an emotional basketcase. Everything anyone said to him brought him to tears. We finally understood that he probably wasn't feeling well when he vomited all over his bedroom this morning. I'm still trying to figure out how a nine-year-old doesn't try to get out of bed, but that's the way it goes. I've been way behind in laundry, so I was working on that this afternoon (especially given the clean up situation). While I was outside helping my husband put together the new basketball hoop that the Easter bunny brought for the kids, something happened to the washing machine and it flooded the laundry room floor. On the "up side" I had just finished drying the towels that I'd used to clean JR's room so they were readily handy. When I called my husband in to dinner, he announced that he realized he had put part of the portable hoop frame together incorrectly and was going to need to take it apart. Given my husband's lack of engineering ability, this is not terribly surprising. In fact, had I not gone out to look at it for myself, he would have put it back together incorrectly as well. The good news is that tomorrow is another day, and hopefully we'll have fewer adventures!

Losing track

I'm really starting to lose track of what day of the week it is. This is not good, considering everyone has very specific places they are supposed to be, and they are different on each day of the week. The kids are back in school so they can help me keep track. My wonderful husband is on spring break this week. I'm just kind of losing it! I love the breaks in routine, but I'll also enjoy next week when everyone is back in their routine and I have quiet time again. I'm finding I seem to need that more and more with each passing month. I feel selfish about that, but one thing I've also learned about myself is that if I don't recognize my own needs, everyone suffers. I'm also recognizing that I've got to get this house organized SOON, or we are all going to go crazy!

Love the rain

This is one time of year that I really love the rain! I don't like storms, but on a day like today, rain means that the ball practices are cancelled. We can actually have an evening at home. The kids are slowing getting back into the school routine, and since there isn't a ton of homework we will even have time for a board game this evening. I enjoy the kids being outdoors, but I also love family time!

All good things must come to an end...

...and that includes spring break! Although we still technically have the weekend until they go back to school, the vacation has definitely run its course. Today has been full of rain, yelling, screaming, tattling, biting, and all the fun stuff that goes along with too much togetherness! I just about can't take it anymore. The good news is that we have some specific activities planned for tomorrow so that should help, and then Easter will be at my grandmother's house. Have a great weekend!