Vehicle shopping

Starting Monday, my husband and I will be vehicle shopping. We've been talking about this for over 18 months now, and little things have started happening to remind us that it's really time. Our van has been very, very good to us, but it's a 2001 and has over 124,000 miles. Little things have started happening to remind us that it's time to vehicle shop. About a month ago, I was at church and the van didn't want to start when I was leaving. The battery is less than 2 years old, but it was the first really cold morning of the year and I think that had something to do with it. It ended up starting on its own after a few minutes. Just over a week ago, the horn stopped beeping when we lock the doors. Again, not a terribly big deal, but I do like the "warm fuzzy" of the horn beeping so that I know that the van is locked. And Tuesday when my husband and I were going to meet up with some friends, the power steering stopped working, just for a couple of minutes. Oh, and the passenger window goes down now, at least most of the time. I've been keeping my eye open for used vehicles, and frankly, it's just discouraging. We bought our current van used in 2005. It had less than 30,000 miles on it and we paid $11,000. Now, used vehicle prices have absolutely soared. I'm not crazy about the thought of another mini-van, but because of having three kids and taking frequent trips, we need to have a vehicle where I don't have to have a carrier for the top...it's just not a practical option. I'm finding that larger SUV's that fit the bill are way, way out of our price range. My husband and I both agree that a car payment is not an option for our budget. We will pay cash and that will be what we can afford. So, we are in the market for a low mileage mini-van. We should be able to find one with less than 40,000 miles on it for less than $20,000. I'll be honest though, it's hard to get excited about going out and looking, and especially about spending that amount of money, for a vehicle that I don't really want!

Not exactly relaxing

It's been a very nice break, but not at all relaxing. And I am not one bit pleased that the kids have to go back to school on the 2nd. I can't believe the district isn't waiting until Tuesday! My husband's district was supposed to be moving into their new high school over this break, but that isn't happening. He doesn't see his students again until the 17th...hard to believe! I'm sure we'll enjoy our time together, but that's going to be a lot of time together without the kids.

Anyway, I think partly because it's been rather short, the break hasn't been relaxing. Not stressful necessarily, just very, very busy. The kids first day off I attended a funeral for a friend's mother. I hadn't planned to spend the day not being able to clean my house and get things ready for the holiday, but of course there was no where else I would have been. And I also got to visit with one of my best friends who came down from Chicago to be there. The next day my husband was also off, and we continued cleaning the house, but most importantly we went to the grocery to prepare for our big feast. My mother had used a gift card to purchase the turkey breast we were having, and I also had to drive the 40 minutes to get it from her. Christmas Eve we managed to sleep in and attended mass at 7:00 in the evening. Unfortunately Father wasn't even there at 7:00 in order to get started. It was nearly 9:00 by the time we were home, and our Christmas Eve tradition is to give the kids new jammies as their gift from us. We also read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" and it was 9:30 before everyone was in bed. My husband and I were up until Midnight doing some more cleaning and of course being Santa. The kids were up and at 'em at 7:30 Christmas morning, and everyone was very, very pleased with their gifts. We enjoyed some cinnamon rolls for breakfast and then I began the process of organizing our gifts and continuing to clean the house while my husband began cooking our dinner. We had a wonderful Christmas evening with my parents, sister, grandmother and aunt. My father's favorite gift was a photo book I'd made for him of him and the kids fishing the very last time we were all able to spend the day at the lake. It was nearly 8:00 before everyone left that evening, and I still had to get everyone packed and things ready to hit the road for my in-laws the next day. We were able to do lots of visiting with friends while we were there as well, and hit the road for home just in time to meet up back here with our friends who had moved west 18 months ago before they left the next day. Yesterday I spent the day cleaning and organizing (not to mention unpacking) because we were supposed to host our local friends for New Year's eve eve. I was fine until late afternoon, when my body just began screaming "yuck!", and that's pretty much where my body stayed for the rest of the evening. We had to cancel our plans and I spent the evening medicated and in bed. I feel better this morning, although I have some concerns about our plans for the evening. I guess we'll just see what the day brings. Through it all, the kids have been enjoying late bedtimes, and of course have been enjoying all of the wonderful gifts (and lots and lots of attention) from all of their loved ones. It's so hard to believe how quickly they are growing...in just six years JR will be finishing up high school. It just doesn't seem possible!

Happy New Year everyone...may you all be blessed with much happiness and good health!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all! It's been a very nice morning in our house. Santa was good to the kids, and there were even gifts that they hadn't realized they wanted. We are trying to organize and get ready for the next "wave", which will arrive sometime after lunch. My parents, sister, and grandmother will arrive for Christmas dinner this evening. Tomorrow we are headed to PA for our Christmas there. But this morning, we are just enjoying the magic of Santa, and are grateful for the REAL reason of the season!

Santa is not happy

I can pretty much guarantee that Santa Claus is not pleased with the behavior that has been happening in this house. HT has decided that rules don't apply to him. In fact, if you ask him, "Do rules apply to you?" his answer will be no. He has been smuggling toys to school when he has been explicitly told that he isn't allowed to take them to school. If I don't inspect his back pack right before he walks out the door, he'll manage to smuggle them along. We are at our wits end with this, as is his teacher. He's also become quite good at back talking to me and yelling at me. AGH!!!! JC has also been difficult. Yesterday she decided to spit on her brother, basically because she felt like it, and of course he decided to spit back at her and then arms/hands began flailing in attempts to hit each other, and it's just ridiculous. We also learned yesterday that JC attempted to cheat on her science test. She said that she didn't understand the question and was looking over her notes to see if she could relate it to anything. We believe this, because she is having a great deal of difficulty in school understanding questions and concepts that aren't stated EXACTLY the way that she first learned it. For instance, she can give me a correct answer orally, but is unable to write an answer that makes any sense. She is also unable to choose a correct multiple choice answer because it isn't worded EXACTLY how she is looking for it to be. She's frustrated, and we are hoping that something can be worked into her IEP to help her with test taking. Her science teacher was extremely generous and allowed her to start over on the test after the notes had been confiscated. My husband is tired of coming home to tears and an angry mom over the behavior of (mostly) the youngest two. And the fact that Santa is supposed to be coming this weekend doesn't seem to be making any difference at all. Hopefully they'll get back on the nice list in the next three days!

A long short week

I can already tell it's going to be a fairly long week, even though it's only a three day school week. JC and HT both fell asleep in the van on the way home from my Grandmother's last evening, and they aren't exactly getting along this morning. It really drives me crazy when we have a morning like this one, and I don't frankly see the next two getting any better. The kids are ready to be done, but it just isn't quite time yet.

On the upside, we had a wonderful Christmas celebration with my dad's family yesterday. Everyone was able to be there, and that really meant a lot. We took a picture of all seven great-grandkids who used to fit so easily on the couch, but not so anymore. The oldest is driving, and my youngest, the "baby" is almost 8. I love that we all got to be together!

It's beginning today

Today is our very first Christmas celebration of the year. The kids have been looking forward to this ever since my grandmother mentioned at Thanksgiving that we'd all be together again in just over three weeks. The kids are definitely excited, and we are all looking forward to seeing cousins we haven't seen since July (and in some cases, since last January)! There is a chance that one cousin has a hockey game today. It was going to to depend upon whether they won or lost yesterday and I don't know how they did. Even if they do play, they'll be there later in the day. I'm so grateful, so very grateful, that we get together like this and that my kids get to know family. I hope we always have this!

It's going quickly

It's really hard to believe how quickly the time is going. We are already half way through December, and there are only just a little over 2 weeks left in 2011. Honestly, it feels like it was just a month ago that it was starting to feel like spring and baseball practices were beginning. JR is starting to realize the quick passage of time as well. It's one of the many indications that he is growing up. The kids are getting excited about counting down to Santa Claus. JR still plays along, and although we've never had a discussion about it, I very much doubt that he still believes. JC asked me about it while we were out shopping Saturday. She said that EVERYONE in her class says it's their parents and there is no Santa. She said to me that she was SURE it wasn't us, because Santa gives toys and we only buy them what they need, not fun things like toys. I had to chuckle to myself...it's not all bad that she has that perspective! HT is certainly not behaving as though he believes in Santa. In fact, on Tuesday I had contact regarding inappropriate behavior from a teacher of each child. I was NOT pleased. Some privileges have been lost and bedtimes are a little earlier in an attempt to help each one make better decisions. Overall though, things are moving along smoothly (and quickly!) in these last few days of the year.

End of the week

We've made it through another week. Monday and Wednesday each had a child home sick, and I worked the other three days. My wonderful husband had another over night conference last night. On the up side, we are in really good shape as far as our Christmas shopping and prep. We are hosting again this year, and I'm really torn between turning our house into a Christmas showcase, and being practical with both our finances and our time. Tomorrow evening we are headed to a Christmas party, and then my wonderful husband leaves again on Sunday morning for another conference until Tuesday evening. We are having a very pleasant family evening tonight. We've made frozen pizza for the kids for dinner, and salads for us. We've lit candles, and we'll be watching Frosty the Snowman on CBS shortly. I'm so grateful for wonderful evenings like this!!!

Decisions for our family

I do not always make popular decisions. By that, I mean I do not always make decisions that are popular in my home (fact of life), that are popular by the students I'm teaching on a particular day (usually means I've done a good job), or even that are considered common by our culture. While I don't necessarily dislike something just for the sake of disliking it because it's popular, I also don't happen to go along with something just because it's the popular or current line of thinking. As far as I can remember, I've always been this way, and I know without a doubt, that I get this from my mother. I can remember shopping for clothes as a child, probably about the age that JC is now. In the 1980's Jordache jeans were all the rage and "everyone" was wearing them. I can vividly remember standing at Lazarus (today would be Macy's) and my mother informing me that there was absolutely no reason to pay that price for a pair of Jordache jeans when another pair could be purchased for half the price. The quality was the same, the extra $$$ was just for the label. I suspect (although I don't remember) that I was disappointed, but I do remember that it really made perfect sense to me. I don't remember asking for certain brands of anything, at least until I got to high school and "had" to have certain shoes. I also remember my mother telling me that she would pay a certain amount for shoes/clothes/etc, and I would pay the difference if I wanted a certain brand. At this point my kids are not into the "have-to-have" brands, although I'm sure it won't be long before JC and JR start to notice such things. My answer to them will probably be the same as my mother's answer to me...it really makes one decide if one really needs that brand or if there is some other preferred way to spend the money. Now as an adult, we have a wii, but no xbox or any other gaming system (we know of a family that has at least three separate gaming systems...seriously??!!) and my children do not have cell phones or email accounts, nor are they on any social sites. We might be the meanest parents ever! However, not only do I think there are better ways to spend money than purchasing expensive video systems and other electronics, but I also feel that my children get plenty of screen time with their hand held video games and the little amount of television they are allowed to watch. Do I worry that my children are missing out? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Instead they find the time to read a book or go outside, or any number of other things that require imagination, creativity, and other important things.

This lack of "popular" decisions extends beyond material things, but also to how we choose to spend our time. We have very close friends who never deprive their children of any opportunity. They could have every inch of every square full on their calendar, but if another activity was requested, they would figure out a way to work it in. I understand that is how they choose to spend their time and I respect that. That, however, is not how our family functions. For instance, our week is a little busy. I was gone Monday evening, and last evening my husband had a meeting after school, then was home long enough to change clothes before taking HT to (and coaching) basketball practice. Tomorrow he leaves for Columbus and won't be home until Friday evening. Saturday we have plans to attend a holiday party and have a sitter lined up, then he's back to Columbus Sunday morning until Tuesday evening, when he'll rush home for basketball practice again. Tonight and next Wednesday are UD games for which he has tickets, and next Thursday we have an orthodontist appointment after school before we attend HT's Christmas show in the evening. My husband decided to skip the UD tonight in order to be home with us before he leaves. This Friday, HT's scouts have their annual Christmas dinner. We've gone in past years, but my husband and I discussed it last night and decided to stay home this year. We decided that instead, we wanted to be able to spend some time as a family, just the five of us, and are planning to watch Frosty the Snowman on CBS together. We are excited about this, and so are the kids. Our friends asked if they would be seeing us at the scout dinner, and we explained that we were choosing to spend the evening as a family. Our friends were absolutely aghast! They pointed out that we would be together as a family at the dinner. We explained that we wanted to spend time with just our family, and that since all of the kids have been sick we thought it best to have a quiet, quality evening at home. They then offered, since HT had been sick last week not this week, and apparently they felt as though we were depriving him, if we wanted us to pick him up and take him with them. This happens quite a bit. I politely explained that would defeat the purpose of a quiet family evening, and thanked them for their offer. I know that my kids are far from perfect, but I also know that they are wonderful, and only young for a little while. I want them to look back and not have memories of running from activity to activity, always being in a car, or of having a stressed mom & dad who are trying to fit it all in (not to mention worrying about how to pay for it all). I have wonderful childhood memories of evenings together as a family, and that is what I want for my kids. I love watching them laugh, and I love sharing a movie together, or even better, a board game. I realize that our decisions may not be popular, and these days they aren't common, but they are what we feel is best for our family.

Another classic

Last evening I was sitting on my computer doing something (probably nothing important, to be honest) and right behind me sitting at a table were my husband, JC, and HT. My husband had brought home a couple of bags of apples from the FFA sale at his school, and HT was excited. My husband was happy to cut him an apple, and then they were all just sitting around the table chatting happily. The following (soon to be a classic!) conversation occurred:

JC: An apple a day keeps the doctor away!

HT: That's what Benjamin Franklin said right after he was shot.

Before I could jump in to correct this, JC added: All the presidents except Barack Oboomba (yep, that's how she pronounced it) are dead.

At this point, I could sit still no longer, and jumped off the couch, hands waving, exclaiming, "Stop! Stop!" The kids stared at me while I added, "First of all, our President's name is Barack Obama, not Oboomba. Secondly, not all of the former Presidents are dead, and lastly, Benjamin Franklin was never a President nor was he shot to death."

Where do they come up with these things? They do provide us so much entertainment! My husband and I still wondering about JC's fascination with famous dead people...she's really too much!

And now it's complete

I noticed it Sunday afternoon...JR seemed to have a bit of a cough. He also mentioned that his chest hurt a bit when he breathed. I was pretty sure that meant he was going to be the third victim of bronchitis in our house, and it now seems as though I'm right. After school today he mentioned that he was really cold. That is exactly what JC told me Friday night. I took his temp and it was 99.6. Not enough to be overly worried, but enough to know where we were going with this. He ate his dinner, and then took a hot shower. He had a warm cup of tea and then sat wrapped up in a blanket. I gave him some nighttime cough medicine, and he went back to being wrapped up in the blanket. I was just getting ready to send him off to bed, and he was burning up. Took his temp, and it had spiked to 102. Yuck, yuck, and yuck! Back to the doctor we'll go again tomorrow! Although the timing isn't the best, I would much prefer it now as opposed to a few weeks from now!

Christmas cards

I have my cards ready to send out, and some have already gone out. I've received a few in the mail, and it's one of the best parts of my day! I especially enjoy seeing pictures of friends and family I may not get to see very often. I'm almost amused though, by the effort (or not so much) that goes into Christmas cards. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate receiving them no matter what kind of card they are. However, mine are all hand signed and hand addressed. I still send pictures of the kids to family, but I still send an actual hand signed card, and I still address the envelope by hand. In a few I might even write a short note if it's someone I haven't seen in a few years. It takes a while, but it's something I enjoy, and I like the fact that as I sign each card and, especially as I address it, I specifically think of each person or family. Most of the ones that I've received are photo cards, and I do love them. But the person who sent them didn't have to take the time to sign them, and about 75% of the envelopes have labels. As I said, I truly, truly appreciate receiving them, but it will be a long time before I let go of my rather old fashioned, handwritten ways!

Now it's her turn

I'm home with JC today. She has been running a fever in the evenings. It's been odd...it's only a few hours each evening, and ibuprofin does wonders! Each morning she wakes up feeling pretty good, but having very little energy. The doctor decided that since she has a cold and HT just got over bronchitis, combined with the time of year and everything going around, he wanted to go ahead and put her on antibiotics. I was hesitant because I don't like to over medicate, but I do know it's probably for the best. I think having sick kids, even kids who are truly HEALTHY but just aren't feeling well, is one of the worst feelings in the world. As a parent, I know how I feel and I know it's going to be better. With my kids, I always worry that it's something worse, something serious, and that is the most terrifying feeling in the world. Hopefully another day of rest and another good night sleep, and she'll be fever free and back to school tomorrow!

Home Alone

HT has finally gone back to school today. He missed four consecutive days, all the way back to last Tuesday. Last Monday I didn't work but we were out the door before school started to get JR to an orthodontist appointment. The week before that I worked every day, so the last day I had a relaxing morning at home was November 10 (I worked the 11th as well). I'll be honest, I am so enjoying the peace and quiet, and knowing that I have almost 7 full hours all to myself! At the same time, I really enjoyed having HT around the last couple of days. It absolutely broke my heart to leave him Tuesday morning to go to school, even though I know he was in good hands with my husband. But "Dad" isn't "Mom", and since he was still pretty sick that morning I really hated leaving him. The good news is that the 15+ hours that he slept Monday night helped him to have a pretty good day Tuesday, and yesterday was even better. I regret that I had to turn down a sub job yesterday, but I don't regret one bit that it was to stay home with my little guy. And although I would've been happy to go in today, I'm also not complaining that I'm home alone!

I live with Amelia Bedelia

My husband and I have known for a while that we live with Amelia Bedelia. For those of you not familiar with the books, Amelia is VERY literal, and it causes all kinds of comedic moments. JC has read many of her books starting back to when she was first reading, and I'm beginning to think she might not see the humor in them. Because, it turns out, she is exactly the same way. While we've joked about it for awhile, the last few months it has become more and more obvious. When we were driving to a family reunion in August, JC asked if we had turned the correct way. I answered (rather sarcastically), "No JC. I purposely told your father to make a wrong turn." She answered, "Great. Now we have to turn around and do it again." A couple of weeks ago we were working on math, and it asked her to double 5. She answered "25". I said that it wasn't multiplying, it was as if she had two fives. She said, "Oh, 55!". Nope, not quite. Last week on a test, she had missed a map question that asked her which dot was closest to 88 degrees latitude. I asked why she had chosen the dot that she chose when another was clearly ON the line. She explained to me that she had chosen the dot that was closest to the WORDS, 88 degrees latitude. Oh my! The best example was last night. I had not been thrilled initially with the Christmas tree my husband purchased. However, once it was decorated I had to admit it didn't look bad at all. As we were all watching Rudolph together as a family, my husband said, "I really like our new tree." I replied, "It's growing on me." JC immediately piped in with, "Huh? It doesn't look any taller to me." My, my, my, what else can we say????

When it rains it pours

It has rained, literally non-stop since sometime Saturday night. Just when we think it might actually let up a bit, it starts coming down harder. I can only imagine what kind of flooding may happen in our region from this!

HT is home and is a sick little guy. He's been iffy since early last week, but overall he didn't really seem that bad. That is, until last night. That poor child coughed all night, and none of us got much sleep. I took him to the doctor this morning, and he has bronchitis. Because he is asthmatic we want to make sure he doesn't develop walking pneumonia, so he's on an antibiotic, albuterol, and (the best of all!) cough medicine with codeine. I'm hopeful we can all get some sleep this evening.

We received a call from JC's principal this morning. They had a classroom spelling bee, and when JC missed her word she stormed across the room and threw a pencil. She was sent directly to the principal's office. I remember this happening once in second grade. She gets so angry at herself and just doesn't seem to know how to handle it. Unfortunately, her actions when angry at herself are a danger to others. I explained to the principal that while there was absolutely no excuse for her actions, I suspected the fact that she's as exhausted as the rest of us probably caused her behavior to be worse than normal. And then there is the fact that it's spelling...for some very odd reason she expects herself to be absolutely perfect at spelling. She is not this way about any other subject, but when it comes to spelling anything less than a 100% can send her into tears. I have no idea why, but she's always been that way.

I'm scheduled to work so my wonderful husband is staying home tomorrow. HT isn't allowed back to school until Wednesday at the earliest, and possibly later in the week. I'm so grateful to my husband for being able and willing to do that, and hopefully HT will be feeling better quickly!

Black Friday

I'm happy to report there was absolutely no shopping done by me today whatsoever. I don't like shopping, and I don't like crowds, so you can imagine how Black Friday is not my idea of fun. However, my husband seems to have done some online purchasing (based on what my credit card says), and he also ventured out today to try to buy us a new Christmas tree. We have always put two trees up, but this year there is no room in our dining room for the second one. We knew that meant the one in the living room would have to be bigger because the old one didn't have enough room for all of our ornaments. This new tree was proving to be more challenging than I had anticipated. First of all, almost all the trees I saw were pre-lit and I did NOT want that. I'm picky about how my lights are on a tree and I've never seen a pre-lit tree that lived up to my standards. Secondly, the unlit trees that we were able to find were almost sold out. Apparently I'm supposed to think about trees in October, not at Thanksgiving. Fortunately, he found one this morning at Target, and I'm very excited to work on getting it up tomorrow evening. First though, friends will be coming over and watching the OSU/Michigan game. Go Buckeyes!

Thanksgiving tradition

A few years ago my husband and I began a Thanksgiving tradition all our own. The night before Thanksgiving, he and I sit down with a glass of wine (or two) and watch all the Thanksgiving episodes from the sitcom Friends. The Thanksgiving episodes are many of the best, and honestly, some of them are some of the funniest things I have ever seen on television. One even has Eddie Cahill in it, which doesn't hurt either! :) My husband is getting ready to make a cheesecake to take to my grandmother's house tomorrow and the kids are outside sweeping and raking leaves, but after dinner it is all about my husband and I sitting down to our DVD's!

Mom guilt

Today I have a very serious case of "mom guilt". JR called about 30 minutes after school started to ask if I could bring him his homework. I explained that HT was home sick, and since we are having absolutely miserable weather, I wasn't going to take him out in this weather. I could tell that he was disappointed, and we both know that this is going to adversely affect his grade. I can't help but feel guilty. I've tried to tell myself that it's a good lesson to learn. All he had to do was to put the homework in his folder when he finished, instead of being lazy and just putting it back on his clipboard. Hopefully he'll remember this lesson next time. I try to tell myself that if I had been working today or out running errands, the result would've been the same. But since I told him I wouldn't bring it up, I have this terrible guilty feeling that what he is going to remember is that I wasn't there for him. I know that I'm there for him in hundreds of ways every day, but I can't help but feel the guilt!

Feel like I can breathe again

After the last few weeks, I'm finally starting to feel as though I can breathe freely again. It's nice to have two full days in a row off work, but even these aren't exactly relaxing. Yesterday there were two doctor appointments to shuffle to, and today HT is home sick. Fortunately he doesn't seem to have the stomach flu (although he has mentioned his stomach hurting) nor is he running a fever. However, he has ZERO energy. It's been years since I've seen him this lethargic. Hopefully a day of rest will have him back to his old self again soon!

I'm so looking forward to this weekend. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and there is so much for which to be thankful. Last week my husband lost his aunt, and we lost my mother's best friend, who was like a member of the family. I'm so grateful that we both have our parents and that I still have both of my grandmothers. This year we are spending thanksgiving with my dad's side of the family. I haven't spent Thanksgiving with them since 2001. My grandfather was still alive then, and they hadn't even yet moved to the retirement community. I can't believe it's been that long since I celebrated with that side! This evening my husband and I are going to see Les Miserables and have dinner out with my mother and sister. Friday my mother's side of the family is getting together for a family outing to the newest Muppet movie, then we are gathering with friends to visit with our friends in from out of town. Saturday is the OSU/Michigan game, and hopefully our Christmas decorations will be up over the weekend. In spite of the many plans that we have, I'm so blessed to be able to do so many things with friends and family!

It was a long week

Last week was one of the longest our family has experienced in a very long time. When the week began, I was scheduled to work three days, but I ended up working all day, everyday. Tuesday was one of the longest days we've had in a long time. I went straight from working at school to volunteering at school by being in the library for the school book fair. Then we had two separate parent teacher conferences. During the book fair, my mother called to let me know that her best friend had passed away. We had been told the day before that hospice had been called in, and I'm glad that her suffering at the very end was rather short. It was also at the book fair that my sister called to let me know my cousin's husband (only 28 years old) had been taken to the e/r with stroke like symptoms. Fortunately, we learned two days later that apparently it was a rare form of a severe headache and he should be fine. That evening about 10, my sister texted me. I couldn't imagine who could be texting me so late. Normally my sister wouldn't, but on the other side of my family a cousin had let her know that yet another cousin's husband had been rushed to the e/r with chest pains. Fortunately he too appears to be okay, but I'll be honest, it was a very long day. At first I was finding myself thinking how unlucky our family was, but ultimately I decided that no, we were indeed very lucky. Both Eric & Russ should be fine and we are so grateful! JR had a major social studies project due last week, and my husband helped him a great deal with that. I managed to squeeze in the normal responsibilities of cooking dinner and doing laundry, and even managed to get everyone packed so we could leave after school Friday to head for my in-laws for an early Thanksgiving. My husband managed to take two wrong turns before we even left the area (this did not instill confidence in his driving for the evening!) and it was nearly 10:30 that night before we got there. To say that I was exhausted is an understatement! We had a wonderful dinner with the family, and after church and brunch this morning we were back on our way home. It was an absolutely miserable drive home (it rained fairly hard most of the trip), but we made it safely, and we are all looking forward to such a short week. We have so many fun plans next weekend, and we have so very many things for which to be thankful!

Long week ahead

This is usually my least favorite week of the year...the last full week before Thanksgiving. It almost always feels like the longest week of the year. We've been going straight through without break since Labor Day. This year is definitely not going to be an exception. I'll be working every day, and I need to find a few "spare minutes" to the get laundry done and get us all packed for a weekend at my in-laws. We also have our second round of parent teacher conferences tomorrow evening and I'm scheduled to help at the school's book fair. Thursday HT has a scout meeting, and I'm already feeling exhausted about it all! But we'll get through, and it will be nice to visit my husband's family this weekend.

Last evening we officially ended football season. It was the year end party and we turned in the equipment. Basketball season is now starting and I attended the league meeting on Saturday to get our team and the rules together. My wonderful husband will be coaching HT and since he doesn't have an assistant, I guess I'm it! HT is so excited that his dad will finally be coaching him in something and we are looking forward to a fun season!

Feeling emotional

For some reason, I'm feeling very emotional today. I'm sure part of it is the fact that my wonderful husband is gone tonight for an educator's conference and won't be back until tomorrow. I also know that tomorrow is the five year mark of the death of the daughter of a high school classmate. The little six year old girl had many, many health problems and the classmate mentioned that five years ago tonight was the last time she ever got to tuck her in. It's affected my whole evening, and I shed some tears when I tucked in my own, absolutely beautiful children. They are growing up so fast, and although I enjoy each new phase and appreciate their independence, I find myself at times grieving the loss of my "babies". JC has had some problems at school the last two weeks, and I'm feeling a little lost about how to help her. There is a HUGE part of me that wants to go to school and pummel some of the little fourth grade brats who are being difficult. But I know that I can't protect her from every hurt in life, and I just pray that I'm making the right decisions, giving her the best guidance, and helping her to cope with life along the way. I'm really looking forward to this weekend. We have a few plans, but for the most part I'm hoping that we can reconnect as a family!

Sunday morning rambling

Our lives seem so unbelievably hectic, and yet I have absolutely no idea what to write about here! Our computer is still wacky, but we are making do with our laptop. I worked 2 1/2 days last week. I'm pretty used to the unpredictability of things, and expect my subbing days to consist of things such as the sweet little three-year-old who vomited during the relay fun and the not-so-sweet six-year-old who informed me, "there is a part of me that just doesn't like you." I did not respond with, "don't worry, the feeling is mutual," although it did take some restraint! I'm happy to report that HT has gotten over his cough & cold significantly quicker than I have. In fact, it's still lingering in me even though it started over two weeks ago. I am glad that I went to the doctor two weeks ago. I have no doubt that the sinus infection would have settled in my chest and I'd have been miserable with an upper respiratory infection. We are fighting some growing pains of having a preteen in the house who doesn't feel that homework is necessarily the best use of his time. Yesterday we had a mishap occur which required a trip to urgent care. JR was outside with his carving tools. He's always been so responsible and I've never questioned allowing him to have them or use them. However, he said he just couldn't take JC's nagging anymore, and allowed her to use one. Sure enough, she sliced into her hand. The doctor said he could do stitches or we could just do the liquid glue/bandaid. My husband opted for that since it wouldn't require an additional trip back to have the stitches removed. We had long conversations with all children about the dangers and responsibilities of things that might be fun but are not "toys". JR had a friend over Friday evening. I wasn't able to be here, but according to my husband they got along well, but didn't really do anything. They watched a movie, then afterward the guest entertained our two younger ones while JR sat and watched the TV. Sounds as though we still need to work on his "hosting a guest" skills! This week we have another crazy week. My husband will spend two days in Columbus for school, I'm scheduled for work two days in preschool, JC has a scout meeting, and next weekend we have the year end party for JR's football. Life is crazy, but I wouldn't want it any other way!

Being thankful

I'm finding myself growing more and more thankful every single day. Certainly, part of it is the month of Thanksgiving...the month where we (hopefully) all remember our many blessings and celebrate them. By the way, have I ever mentioned that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday? It is, without a doubt. However, I digress...

Anyway, with this being only by second year of subbing, I wasn't really sure how November was going to be. Last year, it was one of the busiest months I had all year. This year, I was really, really busy in October, but thought with the school year becoming more routine and meetings becoming less frequent, well, I thought perhaps I'd work a little less. That is turning out not to be the case. I'm feeling a little swamped and overwhelmed. And yet, feeling so very grateful. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to work as a sub at school. It's truly an ideal job. It allows me the opportunity to earn some extra money, but I never have to worry about finding day care for my kids. I love the fact that I sometimes get to see the kids while they are in their school environment, and I love the fact that their teachers know I'm easily accessible. I also love the fact that the job is not full time. I'm grateful that my husband understands that sometimes the dishes remain stacked in the sink overnight because he agrees with me that we'd rather spend a couple of hours during an evening hanging out together than accomplishing various chores. I'm grateful that I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by the holidays because it means that I have many dear friends and family members for whom I want to buy presents, and I'm grateful that the money is in the savings accounts to buy those gifts.

I'm grateful for our family dinners. I love being able to take a little bit of time to connect with the kids. I'm grateful for the fact that we are blessed enough to not have to worry about how we are going to put the food on the table, and I'm grateful that our family takes the time and effort to sit down together as a family, even when dinner is leftovers or a bowl of cereal. And I'm grateful that the rest of the family enjoys that time as much as I do.

I could go on and on and on, but it's getting late, and I don't need to spell it all out for everyone. I do hope everyone finds more reasons to be thankful during the month of November than they can even being to count!

Home with a sick kid

Yesterday morning I could tell that HT was coming down with the same thing I'd had last week. I wanted to keep him home, but since it was Halloween I really wanted him to try to get through the day. I made the mistake of leaving the house about an half hour after the kids on a mission to get a bunch of errands done. I had just walked into the grocery (20 minutes away) when my cell rang. It was the school letting me know that HT was sick and that I needed to come and get him. I hated being that far away when my little guy needed me! He spent the afternoon coughing on the couch and watching a movie. We decided that since he wasn't running a fever he could participate in trick-or-treating, at least just to the neighbors. We also decided that he could sleep downstairs on the couch because that would help him to sleep propped up, and hopefully decrease the coughing. I slept curled up in the recliner just in case he needed something during the night. I decided during the night that with all of his coughing, he was staying home today. I wasn't scheduled to work, and being able to just stay home and rest is one advantage of having a stay-at-home mom! He's been laying down and watching TV or a movie all day. I know that it's going to be a long week for him, but I'm hoping he doesn't feel as miserable as I did last week!

Might be awhile

Just wanted to let everyone know that we are having serious computer issues around here. My husband is going to be taking my desktop (also known as my lifeline!) in to get worked on sometime this week. God love him, he tried to "fix" it himself, and now I can't access my email or use several other features. I put fix in quotes because it wasn't exactly broken before he got his hands on it, it just wasn't doing exactly what it should be doing. Now, it pretty much does nothing at all. We still have our laptop (which is what I'm on now) but it's pretty inconvenient so I don't like to use it much. So please forgive my silence over the next week (hopefully not longer!) both on here and in the email world. In the meantime, maybe I'll actually be productive in real life! Happy Halloween everyone!

Catching up on our week

It was another crazy week around here. I ended up working every day except Monday. While the antibiotics are working, there is still a lot of gunk in my and I've pretty much lost my voice. That makes subbing a little challenging, especially with the sixth grade group who aren't quiet to begin with! While I didn't necessarily get a chance to really celebrate my birthday on Thursday, the kids tried their best to make a big deal out of it, and I tell myself the fact that I haven't cooked all week is my gift to myself (helping to alleviate the mom guilt of having take in!). Overall, nothing terribly dramatic happened in our week, and I'm very grateful for that. I have many, many things I hope to accomplish this week, but a lot depends on my work schedule. Mostly, I'm looking forward to having the entire family at home in the evenings!

Officially over

Football season officially came to an end this afternoon. Our team had to travel over 45 minutes to play our game, and unfortunately it wasn't our best game. In fact, we got crushed. We got down early in the game, and I think the fact that we had dominated most games this season really hurt us. The boys didn't know how to have to "bounce back" and instead they just began to panic. JR is not the least bit heartbroken about this, which leads me to believe that his football days may be over. My wonderful husband though, had a great time coaching and is taking it a little harder. I'm disappointed they won't have an opportunity to play for the championship next weekend, but I'm looking forward to a little more of a relaxed schedule!

Enjoying the mundane

Our life is very much mired in routine and mundane "family" things, and I'm so very grateful for that. My visit to the doctor brought me a round of antibiotics, and I'm happy to report that they seem to be doing the trick. I've almost completely lost my voice, but at least I know that I'm already on antibiotics and that things will be getting better and not worse. I also managed to accomplish getting my flu shot while I was there....bonus! I worked today, and will work again Thursday and Friday. Apparently someone requested me for tomorrow, but the sub person never called for that. I'm not really complaining because I could definitely use the time to get some errand running done. JR's football team has made the playoffs, and they've added an extra practice into our crazy week. My wonderful husband has parent conferences this evening, and both JC and HT have a scout meeting scheduled. But at this time, I'm so enjoying the fact that our biggest worry in life is wondering how we are all going to eat dinner at the same time and which parent is picking up which child. I'm so grateful!

To the doctor

I am admitting defeat and heading to the doctor this afternoon. Now, most people will tell me that going to the doctor is NOT admitting defeat. It is being an adult and accepting the fact that I might need some help in getting over whatever I've got, but I just don't see it that way. I really, really don't like going to the doctor. For whatever reason, schedule me a dentist appointment and I'm fine, but don't ask me to see a doctor. And there have been times when not going has paid off and my body has healed on its own. However two things are prompting this doctor visit. First, I am scheduled to work two days this week, and I expect November to only be busier. I hated the fact that I had to turn down two opportunities for employment today, but hopefully by doing so and getting to the doctor I'll feel better and won't have to say no again. And secondly, the cold/sinus infection has literally started coming out of my eye. Not only is this unpleasant and a little painful, but it has only happened one other time in my adult life. That was four years ago (also in the fall) and by NOT treating it quickly it led to an upper respiratory infection that not only landed me in the hospital with an allergic reaction to an antibiotic, but I ended up so sick that my in-laws had to come and stay with us for a week because I was literally too sick to function. It took me months to feel better again, and it was also when I was diagnosed with asthma. I remember how I felt during that winter, and I don't intend to sit by and let that happen again. So, to the doctor I shall go this afternoon!

It's that time of year again...

...for my annual cold/possible sinus infection. Almost frightening how I get sick at almost the same time every year. And with our current schedule, there hasn't been much time for resting. I'm hanging in there though, and grateful I can still function even if I don't feel like it!

It's also time to plan the Halloween costumes in our house. I realize some people have been working on this for weeks, possibly even months, but I'm all about trying to ignore it and see if I can get the kids on board with that. Needless to say it never happens, but my kids have grasped that the costumes need to be inexpensive and easy to put together. Two of the three are ready, and JR can always go with the slasher costume again this year if he needs to. I suspect someday my grandchildren will have elaborate Halloween costumes because my children will want to overcompensate for the Halloweens I never gave them. Doesn't change my feelings about Halloween!

Today is also the end of the regular season for JR's football team. They will be in the playoffs though, so it isn't really the end of the season. We don't have any details about that, but I'm glad he's enjoyed the season so far.

And it's also the time of year for us to provide breakfast to Sunday School. This year's requirements are 11 doz. donuts/baked goods and 3 gallons of milk. I'm mostly done, but I've still got some baking to do!

Heart melting moment

Yesterday I subbed in fourth grade. As an aside, it was the exact (and much needed) opposite of my experience on Friday. I was able to have JC in class, which was awesome, and I LOVED the topic I happened to be teaching. Anyway, HT's class went by while I was alone in the room, and I went out to wave. I heard him say, "Hurry up Mom!" but I had to go a different way to retrieve my class from lunch. When he got home yesterday, he mentioned that he had been disappointed I hadn't caught up to him to give him a hug. I melted a little, but explained that I had a job that needed to be done and it just didn't work out. It was so sweet! Today I only worked in the afternoon, and I got to school while he was out on recess. I left a little note on his desk that said, "Hi Bug. I love you very much! Mommy" As his class was returning from the computer lab later this afternoon, my class was at the daily specials class so I stepped into the hallway to wave. I heard him say, "Mom!" and he pointed to his friend Sarah who handed me a note. His teacher and I laughed at his need to pass notes in the hallway, and we were amused that he had the foresight to realize he was in the line on the other side of the hallway and had made plans to pass it to someone on "my" side of the hallway. I opened it in the room and he had written to me, "I know that!" I just can't put into words how much I love these kids and how proud I am to be their mom!

Pierced ears

Yesterday JC got her ears pierced. I have to say, she looks really cute! We've always told her that getting her ears pierced would be her gift from us on her 10th birthday, but a poor decision on her part led to her getting a new DS this summer. We contributed towards that , and that became her birthday gift for the year. I had mentioned this to my mother, and she was happy to step in and pay for JC's ear piercing as a birthday gift from her and Dad. Yesterday was finally the big day! JC and I met my mom for lunch and then ventured to the mall. She was so excited, and didn't flinch at all when they pierced her ears. She's very cute, but it's also another reminder that my kids are growing up too fast!

What are the odds?

For various reasons, everyone in this family had a rather larger lunch, and none of us ate until about 2:00. No one was really hungry then, at what would be our normal dinner time, so about 6:15 my wonderful husband decided to grill some burgers. I wasn't overly hungry, but wasn't going to argue if he wanted to handle dinner prep for the evening! Unfortunately, as he was walking in the door with our grilled burgers, he tripped, and there went our dinner all over the floor and outside on the ground. He and the boys were especially disappointed, but these things can't be helped. Cereal for dinner instead. However, as I was sitting there eating my Lucky Charms, some kind of flying bug (gnat-like) decided to take a nosedive directly into my bowl of cereal. You have got to be kidding me! So much for my dinner plan b! I decided at that point to just throw in the towel and look forward to my evening snack of popcorn!

Random Friday tidbits

It's been a very long week around here. I worked three days this week, and none of them were under ideal conditions. Monday I was called at 9:50 saying that a teacher needed to leave ASAP. It's always stressful trying to get there quickly under those conditions, although I really enjoyed the third grade class I got to teach. They were a really good group of kids. Yesterday I was called at 6:30 AM to go in for kindergarten. There must have been something in the air yesterday, because this group behaved like NO OTHER group of little ones I'd ever had before. They managed to find a way to break EVERY single playground rule in the 25 minutes they were outside, and that doesn't even begin to discuss their indoor behavior! Today I had really, really hoped I would be home because my wonderful husband had the day off for fall break. We had agreed though, that since the sub calling policy has changed, it was important that I take a job if offered today. I thought we were out of the woods, but at 7:00 the phone rang and I was to be in 6th grade today. Because of the way 6th grade is done, I knew I wouldn't be having JR, but I knew that I would know many of the kids. It was the WORST SUBBING DAY EVER. I have no idea how parents allow their children to behave the way they do, but it was absolutely astounding, appalling, and just downright disrespectful. I had a headache by 9:15 (school begins at 8:50) and sadly, that was the "best" class of the day. I haven't been able to stop talking to my husband about what a wretched day it was.

Last evening I took HT to our local fire department with his cub scouts. I am astounded and amazed that out of all the second grade boys in our town, the three boys that have decided to join scouts are, without a doubt, the three worst behaved boys in the second grade. It is so frustrating for me, because HT is such a follower. He rarely causes trouble by instigating something, but he always manages to find trouble and jump in. Needless to say, the addition of these new scouts is not making cub scouts the positive experience we had hoped it would be.

Speaking of scouts, more drama ensued in JR's group. My husband and I are getting a little tired of the fact that there has been more drama the last three months (2 episodes) than there have been meetings (that would be none). We did some research and found another scout troop that we think would be great for JR, and as a bonus, JR had mentioned that he would really prefer to be with this group because he knows both the boys and the adults better. The only downside is that they aren't going to be "official" until early in 2012, so we just have to bide our time until that can happen. We are excited about this opportunity though, so good things do happen out of frustrating/less than pleasant things!

JC also got back into the routine of scout meetings this week. Her leader resigned so the asst. leader (who was the one doing all the work anyway) has taken over. Unfortunately, no one has stepped up to be the new asst. leader so they are in danger of having to disband. I told my husband that while JC talks about enjoying girl scouts, I don't understand how that can be. I've witnessed the girls from scouts being mean to her (and others) and I just don't understand how she can enjoy being around such mean people. I know that she enjoys the activities, and I really think that might be more the case than actually enjoying the troop. I feel a little badly for not stepping up to help out as an asst, but it's really, really not something I enjoy (and I didn't enjoy it as a child) and I'm also convinced that again, if this falls apart, it means that she will have the opportunity to try something even better for her.

There is officially one week of football left, but unofficially we know that it will probably be at least two more weeks, and possibly three. There is about a 95% chance that JR's team is going to make the playoffs. I'm excited for the boys, and grateful that JR is enjoying the experience of being part of a successful team, but my husband and I are starting to grow weary of waving to each other when one of us is leaving as the other is arriving home.

On the upside after all of my complaining, the kids are enjoying school and doing fairly well. JC and JR have both had some adjustments to how things are being done this year, but they have mostly worked through them and we are pleased. They've made new friends, and we are happy with their teachers and how the school year is going. And as always, even though we are crazy busy, we are grateful for the opportunities and blessings!

Homecoming at our house

Last evening was homecoming for our school district. JR was in the parade with his sixth grade team, and my husband was one of the coach supervisor's on the "float" (really a flatbed). He took HT with him, and JC and I watched from along the parade route. Because we only live a block from the parade route, several of our good friends met us here and we all walked over together. As we were walking back, we were discussing dinner. We decided to order a few pizzas to feed the seven adults and eight kids, and we are ended up spending several hours here. It was a gorgeous evening, and the adults enjoyed our time on the front porch while the kids enjoyed lots of fun outdoor activities before setting down to some board games later in the evening. It was so fun having an impromptu gathering at our house with so many good friends!

A pretty crappy day

Sadly, it was a pretty crappy day, and most unfortunately, I mean that literally. I subbed in kindergarten today, and one of the little ones had an unfortunate accident in her pants. Thanks to poor decisions made at school I also have two grounded children, and I spent the evening at a scout meeting where a child (thankfully not mine!) was completely and totally out of control. He was rude, disrespectful, and disruptive, and his mom just sat there and did nothing. I'm enjoying a glass of wine and some peace and quiet before I have to deal with another day...which will undoubtedly be better!

Date night

Last evening, after football practice had finished, my husband and I treated ourselves to a date night. Someone mentioned that it was a shame that we had to wait until football practice was over, but that made me laugh. Our very first date ever was also on October 4 (which is why we decided to treat ourselves last night) and it was also worked around football. It was on a Thursday evening because we obviously couldn't go on a Friday night (games), our next several Saturdays already had commitments, and Thursday was the day that practice ended the earliest and my (now) wonderful husband could make the 75 minute drive from where he taught to where I lived. The one year anniversary of our very first date is very memorable. We didn't celebrate that night because it fell on a Friday and guess what...there was a football game. I vividly remember sitting in what was considered to be hurricane remnant rains and just wanting the game to end. We did celebrate the next evening though, and that was actually the evening we became engaged. That however, is another post for another day. Anyway, my husband and I really enjoyed taking about an hour to escape the house and just hang out as the two of us. It's definitely a rare treat these days!

It makes all the difference

About once a month, our school district has a one hour delay for teacher inservice. I love those days! Today was one of those mornings. I am amazed at how that extra hour of sleep makes things run more smoothly here. We still have 65 minutes until school begins, and the kids leave 15 minutes before that. Normally at this time frame before school begins I haven't seen any of my children physically moving and I'm hollering up the stairs to make sure they are doing so. Today though, not only are they all up, but they are dressed and have already completed some of their morning chores. It's really a much nicer way to begin the morning. I can't really blame them for not being so happy/jolly/jump-out-of bed on the other mornings though. They have a mom who is most certainly NOT a morning person!

Little houses

Our house is small, and some days it feels unbelievably small! We've done many things over the last several years to make our tiny house more functional, and there are so many things I absolutely love about our house. I love our location, and that we are able to walk to the school, the bank, the library, several eateries (Mexican is only a block away!), the hardware store, and even the little one screen theater in town. We have amazing neighbors for whom we are very grateful. This is the only house my husband and I have lived in during our married life and this is the house where we brought our children home. Our house was built in 1865 and in my opinion, has a lot of charm. Of course there are drawbacks, not the least of which is the size and the lack of storage. Some days, especially in the cooler months, it feels as though we just can't get away from each other. But that makes me think of a song that was out when I was in college. Doug Stone sang a song entitled, Little Houses. I absolutely love the lyrics of that song and have decided to share them here. I choose to think about those things when I think about our house!

Little Houses lyrics
Songwriters: Ewing, Skip; Cates, Mickey;

A little white house, in the heart of town
On a little sad street, just a little run down
Became a home, for Bill and Sue
Two newlyweds, who did the best that they could do

And when they brush each other, passin' in the hall
Sue would smile and say, "This place is pretty small"

"But you know, love grows best in little houses
With fewer walls to separate
Where you eat and sleep so close together
You can't help but communicate
Oh, and if we had more room between us, think of all we'd miss
Love grows best, in houses just like this"

Before too long, Sue and Bill
Were makin' plans, for Jack and Jill
Oh, happy day, when the news came in
But what to do, when they found out Sue was having twins

When they could not pass each other in the hall
Well, Sue would smile and say, "This place is really, really small"

"But you know, love grows best in little houses
With fewer walls to separate
Where you eat and sleep so close together
You can't help but communicate
Oh, and if we had more room between us, think of all we'd miss
Love grows best, in houses just like this"

That little white frame house still keeps them warm
Though it's been thirty-two years, since the kids were born
And when they look back now, they hold each other tight
And whisper in each other's ears, "You know you were right"

"Because love grows best in little houses
With fewer walls to separate
Where you eat and sleep so close together
You can't help but communicate
Oh, and if we had more room between us, think of all we'd miss
Love grows best, in houses just like this
Yeah, love grows best, in houses just like this

Midwest Living

There are so many things I love about living in the midwest, and almost all of them have to do with fall! When I was younger I never particularly liked the fall decorations...so many things were brown and orange that I didn't find it appealing. Now though, I love decorating for fall. To me, it is the coziest season. Rarely is it so cold that it's unpleasant, but the coziness of a sweatshirt or a warm jacket can't be beat. And the colors are so gorgeous! I love the pumpkins and I love the beauty of the leaves changing color. I love the sound of the crisp leaves under our feet and I love the smells of the fireplaces. Fall in the midwest also means football, and we all know I love that! Fall is, without a doubt, my favorite season.

And yet, I also find fall marked with a tinge of sadness in it. After all, it's the season of dying, the leaves, the plants, outdoors is shutting down. It's also heading into the end of the year. And while the holidays are an absolutely wonderful time, the end of the year always makes me reflective and a little sad about the passage of time. The fall is also when the school year starts again. While that is obviously a beginning and not an ending (although it does mean the end to our glorious carefree days!) it too marks the passage of time and the fact that my "babies" are another year older. With my obsessive personality, I find that I have to fight very hard against focusing on these things in the fall. Instead, I make sure I decorate (in those wonderful orange and browns!) and I cheer for our favorite football teams, and I soak in all the wonderful, absolutely wonderful things that living in the midwest brings us each fall!

Still undefeated

JR's team won again last evening. I'm amazed that we started this game in the 5:00 range. As I pointed out to my sister at the time, at 5:50 it was halftime...the week before we were still 15 minutes away from even starting the game. Anyway, it was a good game, and it pretty much sealed the fact that his team ought to make the playoffs. Not sure if I had mentioned, but as of last week JR has been moved to playing wide receiver. They'd had lots of injuries at that position and had asked if he was willing to move. The head coach had told my husband that he'd get more playing time by making the move. We are disappointed, very disappointed, that he's getting less time than he did before. We know that it's hard to get 50 kids playing time (yep, that's how big the team is!) and we also recognize that JR isn't the best, but we'd still like to see him be able to play a little more. He enjoys the victories though, no matter how much or how little he plays, and we are glad that he's learning that lesson...the lesson about the team.

It's all about the perspective

Tonight I had HT and JC with me in the van and as we drove into town, there was a lady walking three dogs. I noticed it specifically because it was starting to sprinkle, and frankly, even if she'd had an umbrella, with trying to hold onto three dogs it would've been useless. I had to laugh at HT though. When he saw them, he exclaimed, "Look Mom. There are three dogs walking one person!" I love his perspective!

Early bedtime

Today was not the most fun day in our house. JC definitely woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. She was incredibly unpleasant before she left for school. I keep telling my husband that 8:30 is just too late for her and the last two nights that's what time she went to bed. Fortunately, she behaved in school and that is very important. She and HT have been fighting non-stop for the last month. This evening they came in for dinner tattling on each other and I let them know it all needed to stop. Then about 7 this evening, HT and JR had a physical altercation, which is inexcusable on both sides! I decided 8:00 was a necessary bedtime for all. This Saturday I'm taking them all to my parents' house to pick up walnuts. If you've never lived with a walnut tree before, consider yourself lucky. Every several years the walnuts literally fall by the hundreds (and possibly even thousands) and this seems to be my parents' lucky year! I told Mom & Dad it will do the kids good to be helping them and it will keep them from fighting over what to watch on TV. Of course, goodness knows what kind of fighting walnuts can lead to!

It's so true

One of the things I've always heard about Ohio weather is that if you don't like it, stick around until tomorrow...it's bound to change and be different. This is certainly very true in the spring and fall transitional months, but it's almost getting a little ridiculous here. Last evening as I was putting the kids to bed they were astonished it was raining...it had been a fairly pleasant evening. This morning when I got up it was a little cloudy, but nothing alarming. It then literally rained for three straight hours in the middle of the day. Not a little rain either, but a good, solid, steady rain. By the time I left work today at 3:00, it was an absolutely gorgeous and beautiful day. The sun was out and I was even wishing I hadn't left my sunglasses at home for the drive. Now I sit here at 3:30, and it's clearly only a matter of time before the rain starts again. Even with this crazy uncertain weather, I love Ohio in the fall!

Still a tie

Forty eight hours later, and JR's game still ended in a tie. They went ahead a practiced afterward, and it helped to seal the decision that the younger two and I weren't going to go. Overall their record for the year is 3-0-1 with four regular season games remaining.

Wish they were home

Today is an absolutely yucky day. Last night I was awakened several times by the sound of pouring rain. It seemed as though it lasted all night, and based on rain totals (over 3" of rain between Midnight and 8AM) it might have lasted that long! As my husband was leaving for work this morning, it sounded as though the rain was picking up steam again, but he texted that he had made it to work just fine. The kids left about 10 minutes ago to walk themselves to school. I really, truly wish, that today was a day where we could all just stay home and hang out. I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels that way today, but it would be so nice if none of us had to go anywhere today!

It's not over yet

JR's team played their fourth football game of the season last night. It was scheduled to start at 4:00, as it is every week, but didn't actually start until after 6. While this is the latest we've started all season, the earliest they've ever started is 5:20 so it's not like 6 was a big shock. They start with the third grade at 1:00, and we have no idea why they insist on scheduling the games an hour apart when it's simply not possible. Anyway, I was concerned about getting the game in...after all it doesn't stay light as late as it used to! This game was taking forever with penalties and injuries and I don't know what all. The last five minutes of the game we honestly couldn't even see who was in the game, and my husband told me that their quarterback hollered at them that he couldn't see the signals coming in from the sideline. It was DARK by 7:45, but the game lasted until 8...it was getting a little ridiculous. At the end of the game it was a 16-16 tie. We could live with that and were packed up and ready to go. Not so fast! The league requires OT unless both coaches agree they don't want to play it. The other team refused to take the tie, so on Monday we have to go back (of course it was an away game...they don't have to do the driving!) so that we can finish the game. The ironic part is that each team gets one possession and if no one scores than the game is officially a tie. So the result might not even change. Gotta love the sixth grade pee wee games that take 48 hours to complete!

TGIF!!!!

It's been a pretty crazy week around here, but I'm sure it's no crazier than any week in any house with children! On Monday and Tuesday, my husband attended what he described as the "worst conference EVER" and is not particularly looking forward to the other five trips that are required. In fact, his principal has already been in contact with the state Dept of Ed (as had other principals who had sent attendees) to discuss the displeasure. I guess we'll see what happens! I was very grateful that football practice was canceled on Monday. My parents had come down for dinner and it just made the evening much more laid back. JC and HT have laid off the fighting somewhat, and that certainly makes life more pleasant as well. I really enjoyed my two days of subbing this week. Today I'll spend a few hours at the jr. high, and that ought to be very interesting. I'm definitely a little nervous, but feel confident enough to know that it's just a few hours and I should be fine. Tonight and tomorrow morning my husband has volunteer responsibilities, and of course there is another of JR's football games tomorrow afternoon. He's been moved to receiver so I'm somewhat hoping that he'll get a little more playing time...of course he's also going to have a target on his back if he gets the ball and he isn't going to like that. It's still amazing to me how quickly the weeks go by!

That explains a lot

The Weather Channel has released it's top 10 cities for fall allergies sufferers. Our metro area ranks...(drum roll) #2! I have no argument with this whatsoever. I'm allergic to ragweed/pollen, and I also have sinus issues, and they are all in full-on attack mode. And they have been for about six weeks now. I've been so miserable, and I've also experienced some asthma flair ups this year like I haven't had in years. The article (and several others I've read) also mentioned that our weather this year (extremely wet spring and extremely dry August) made things perfect for some of the worst allergy conditions ever. Isn't that just great???!!! It all certainly explains the way I've been feeling!

Another week begins

It's early Monday morning, and it feels REALLY early. I haven't slept much at all the last two nights between allergies/cold and the scheduled life of a mom/wife. There were things that needed done, and it didn't really matter how little sleep I'd had. I'm already looking ahead and thinking that I ought to be able to hit the sack by 9:30 this evening, and I've got time for a little nap this morning, if everything goes according to plan. We've got something of a busy week this week. Of course there is our regular football schedule for JR, plus my husband has his own football responsibilities Friday evening and also has a meeting Weds. He's out of town today and tomorrow at a conference for school, and will also be working at the town festival this weekend. I have a dentist appointment later today, and will be working at least two days this week. JC is also scheduled to be on safety patrol duty this week, and thinking about it all just makes me more tired. My husband and I laugh. Before we were parents we used to think we were so busy. Now we have a much better idea just how busy we weren't back then!

I was unaware brushing teeth was a contact sport

I don't know what is going on with JC & HT these days. I do not remember JR and JC going through a phase like this, but perhaps I (my sanity) have blocked it from my mind like so many other unpleasant things in life. I honestly didn't know it was even possible to fight over some of the things that they fight over. Tonight for instance, they managed to come to blows while brushing their teeth. I can't imagine what they could possibly have been fighting over...we have two sinks for goodness sake!

Football games

In the world of college football, Notre Dame FINALLY won a game last night! Last week was such a heart breaker and I can't even stand to think about it. Our Steelers didn't play so well last week, but we are hoping for better things this year. JR's team is 3-0 so far this year. In fact, yesterday was the first touchdowns they had given up all season. While I know that JR is not necessarily thrilled with playing football, I'm grateful that he's able to be part of a successful team. Because their team is so successful though, they don't play a lot of defense, and since he's already splitting time because there are 50 players on the team, it's a little difficult for all of the defense to get any quality playing time. He's enjoying the games, but has still informed us that there is no future in football for him. We're proud of him for trying though!

At least they can't fight on the way home

JC and HT have been beyond intolerable lately. I'm sure it has something to do with being tired and a new routine, but there is absolutely no excuse for their behaviors lately. They fight. All. The. Time. They fight over everything and nothing, usually at the same time. On Monday I was watching them walk down the hill from school behind JR, literally punching, pinching, and skirmishing as they went along. I explained to both of them that I was not interested in excuses or explanations. Their behavior was dangerous. They couldn't possibly be paying attention to traffic if they are paying that much attention to hurting each other. In addition, it's distracting to JR who IS attempting to pay attention to traffic, and it can even be distracting to drivers going by...all of this adds up to not being a good situation. They were assigned to spend the rest of the day, with the exception of dinner, in their bedrooms. Now, of course there are things to occupy themselves in their bedrooms, but at least they weren't together. That's the ironic part about all of this...they can't stand being apart and always want to be together. Over the course of the last 2-1/2 days they have managed to fight about who got to the bathroom first, who was really standing next to JR at a particular moment, who has the best school principal and so on and so forth. I worked at the school yesterday and told the kids to please walk themselves home as usual. I would be home shortly after they arrived home. JR called me as I was leaving the school to inform me that yet again, there had been physical fighting on the walk home. I spoke to each of them and informed them each that it was bedroom time again. I spoke to each when I got home and reiterated the conversation from Monday, and this time I removed some of the more fun items from the bedroom. In addition, I've explained that since it seems as though they aren't getting enough sleep and therefore can't be pleasant people, their bedtimes are 1/2 hour earlier this week. Today, JR and JC are staying after school to attend a meeting to be on Safety Patrol. I've informed JC that if she can not begin to make better decisions that I will revoke my permission for her to be on Safety Patrol. I told HT that I would meet him after school and we'll walk home together...at least for one afternoon they won't be fighting with each other while they walk!

LOVE this weather!

I am absolutely in love with this weather! A cool front came through over the last 24 hours, and it couldn't be more gorgeous right now. It got down into the 40's over night, and right now, although things are wet, it's sunny and 52 degrees. Just an absolutely perfect fall day to be home and doing...well, I'll figure that out as my day goes along!

She's just not good at adjustments

As with every school year, JC is having a VERY difficult time adjusting to the new routine. On the upside, I'm not aware of any incidents that have occurred at school. On the downside, she is an absolutely awful person to be around at home. I had forgotten (or perhaps blocked for my own sanity) the previous Septembers when she had trouble adjusting, but it's all coming back to me now. She loves school, and she's really enjoying it. I know part of it is that she is tired and especially this year with all the changes in our district, everything is so different. Today I watched as she and HT physically fought with each other all the way down the hill while walking home. For the past 48 hours she just hasn't been able to be pleasant with any of us. Both she and HT have spent the entire afternoon/evening, with the exception of dinner, in their individual bedrooms. I've explained if they can't be nice to each other then they will definitely be separated and I don't wish to be around either of them. Hopefully this is a passing phase for JC and she will quickly adjust, and I also hope that HT stops pushing her buttons as well!

New policies

There are new policies and procedures in place for this school year, and for me personally, it kind of stinks. Last year the school secretaries and principals called the subs, and I had a great relationship with them. They knew that I WANTED to work, that I considered this my JOB, and that I would not say "no" unless it was completely and totally unavoidable. I would cancel plans and reschedule doctor appointments in order to be able to work. And from what I understand, I was also pretty good in the classroom. However, this year the sub caller is located at the central office. This is certainly more efficient as she would know if I'm scheduled at another building and there wouldn't be duplicate phone calls. Apparently though, she has a policy that she does not accept requests (we know this because I was specifically requested by a teacher and didn't get called) and she wants to offer equal opportunities to the entire list. In the past there were certain individuals that teachers and principals did not want in certain classrooms, or even in their buildings, but that is no longer a concern for her. As someone who was doing a good job and got to work a lot, it's very frustrating. My husband is also very frustrated, but as we both said, there is really nothing we can do about it. We are continuing to tighten our budget and make tough choices, and we've explained to the kids that they will be participating in the budget tightening and tough choices. I'm also keeping my eyes open for an ideal part time job that doesn't require child care. My husband and I both agree that is NOT an option for right now...we want me to be home when the kids are home. And for that, I'm very grateful!

Ten Years

It seems almost incomprehensible to me that it's been ten years since the day that changed our country. September 11, 2001 seems like another lifetime ago. My husband wanted to discuss it in his high school social studies class on Friday, and I reminded him that he had to, in essence, teach the history first. He didn't understand until I reminded him that for his students at age 14, they have no (or very little) personal remembrances of the day. They can't understand the emotions, the horror, the sadness, the shock, and so many other myriad of feelings that happened. I had thought about writing my story of the day, but decided against it. After all, it's not about me and my story. It's not about my thoughts and feelings. It's about the brave heroes, the victims, their families, and most importantly it's about our collective story. And I don't need to write that here...no one old enough to remember will ever be able to forget.

So that's what I was smelling!

We had an awful odor in our kitchen this week. It was definitely the smell of something going bad, but I couldn't seem to figure out what it was. Trust me when I tell you I've been burning lots and lots of candles and doing lots and lots of cleaning. I had taken so many things out of the fridge, and even started going through the freezer. Yesterday, I happened to notice something on top of the fridge. When I put my hand up there (because of course I'm too short to be able to see what is up there, I found that there was a bag of chicken breasts, now VERY thawed sitting on top of our fridge. Yuck, yuck, and yuck. My husband had taken a bunch of things out of our freezer last week trying to find a pound of ground beef in order to make stuffed peppers and apparently had missed putting the chicken back. Even though things were completely wrapped in both freezer paper and a ziploc bag, it will still be a while before I have a craving for chicken again! On the upside, the smell is gone!

Through the first week

Everyone had a wonderful first week! HT was especially excited that his teacher had her baby boy yesterday morning. JC had enjoyed the additional responsibilities that come along with fourth grade, and she's also been making some new friends. We had hoped this might happen for her, that she would be able to "start over" with her new classmates from the other elementary. JR enjoyed his week also, but he's learning that school AND football can be an exhausting combination. In fact, I was a little worried about everyone's behavior yesterday because even before they left for school I could tell they were all absolutely exhausted. It's to be expected, but had some concerns about their ability to keep it together. Fortunately, all was well at school and last night we had a family game of Apples to Apples. It's such a fabulous game! The kids are learning that part of the fun is not necessarily taking the game completely literally, and it's also a great vocabulary tool for JR. And I love the fact that our family is having fun together without a TV screen being involved...it's awesome!

Major weather change

I know that Labor Day weekend marks the unofficial end of summer, but the weather change here is a bit ridiculous. Friday marked the first day since the 1960's that our area had a September day in the 90's. And we didn't just reach 90, we were in the upper 90's! Same with Saturday. I hung out laundry on Saturday and would literally sweat just walking outdoors. It was miserable. Then the front moved through Saturday night causing so much damage to my hometown, and Sunday was a yucky day with rain. On Monday, the high was in the low 60's and rainy...literally a 35 degree temperature drop from Saturday. Yesterday JR actually wore jeans on the first day of school and it was another day of low 60 degree temps. As we were walking to the school JC mentioned that it was usually much warmer on the first day. So true! Today it's rainy again and still in the 60's. Would you believe I love it? It is absolutely a perfect day to curl up with a book and light some candles or do some scrapbooking or stick in a movie. The house is mostly picked up and I intend to spoil myself on this "perfect" fall day!

Memorable first day

The kids had an absolutely wonderful first day! They were so full of stories and information when they came home. They were very wound up and chatty...it was very cute! We celebrated their successful first day by bringing McDonald's in for dinner and shortly after that JR and dad were off for football practice. They hadn't been gone 15 minutes when HT started swinging on the furniture. I was opening my mouth to tell him it probably wasn't a good idea when his hand slipped and he went face (particularly nose) first to the floor. As long as I live, I'll never forget the screams or the look on his face...he was looking at me and it was as if he was begging me to make the pain stop. I was holding him and trying to comfort him when JC started screaming. HT had bit his lip at impact, and as with any facial injury, there was a lot of blood, followed shortly by blood coming from his nose. My mother happened to call right then and she suggested having an x-ray taken just to confirm that the nose hadn't damaged any sinuses. Fortunately there was pretty much no one at urgent care last night and we were still able to be home by 8:00 with the news that nothing was broken. The nose is still very swollen, but I was surprised that the lip wasn't more swollen, and there are no black eyes. He's still uncomfortable this morning, but Tylenol is doing wonders! Before bed last night I asked him what lesson was learned and he replied, "Don't fall." I then asked how we could guarantee that he didn't fall and he responded with, "I need to make sure I have a better grip." Apparently in his mind, NOT swinging from the furniture isn't even an option!

And they're off!

The school year officially began 20 minutes ago. I walked them up today because I wanted to see how the morning traffic patterns are working since my kids have to WALK through them, and I also wanted to see who was in HT's classroom. His teacher is due to have her first baby any day now, and she wasn't sure she'd be able to be at the first day. She is though, and I'm excited for the kids. With the changes in our district there are so many new things, but as we were walking up this morning it just all seemed to be exciting. I think it's going to be a great year!

Everything is ready

The bags are packed with new school supplies and the lunches are already made...even included is a dessert of a homemade cookie. The first day outfits of new clothes are laid out, and I've done my "homework" by completing all of the paper work we brought home from open house. Everything is ready for the first day tomorrow...everything except me. The kids are excited, but I'm so sad...so sad I could actually cry about it. I don't know why. Maybe it's because I know this is the last year my kids will all be in elementary school...next year we'll have one starting junior high and I almost can't stand the thought of them growing up so fast. Maybe it's because I know that life gets hectic and scheduled again and free time is at a premium. Maybe it's because I don't feel like I really got to accomplish the fun and carefree things I had hoped to do with them. But mostly, I think it's because I'm going to miss them. I mean really miss them. I'd been doing some research on homeschooling HT this year in case he had been placed with a teacher that I knew would make the year miserable. I'd never before understood why a family would want to homeschool, but I had a new appreciation for it. I didn't feel like it was something I really wanted to do, and I know that it's not what is best for them or our family as a whole at this time in our lives, but because part of my mind was set on getting to spend the day that way, I'm really, really going to miss them. I'm glad each of them is excited about the beginning of the new school year.

Today, we spent our last day at home before the routine of school begins by going to the county fair. As part of their art curriculum at school, the teacher has each child make a poster and enters it in the fair poster contest. Our weather has turned quite brisk (after being in the 90's on Friday and Saturday for the first time in September since the 1960's) and it was actually pretty chilly! We got to see the posters though, and everyone had a snack. I'm looking forward to a quiet and peaceful evening.

Feeling helpless

I've been feeling so helpless when it comes to my parents and the storm clean up process in my home town. We are only 40 minutes away for goodness sake...we ought to be able to help somehow! By mid-day I had spoken to my mother, sister, and grandmother, as well as my cousin who had spoken to her mom (my aunt) and our grandmother (my other one). It was nice to know that everyone was safe, but knowing where they lived throughout the town meant there was pretty much no power in the town at all. I worried about my parents especially, but I had spoken to Dad and he was doing fine. We offered to come up and help with sawing, but no one took us up on it. We offered to have everyone come down here to spend the day, but everyone wanted to be home. The pictures I had seen of the town showed such destruction, but miraculously there were no injuries at all...truly amazing! By bedtime last night 95% of the town was back in the lights, but Mom & Dad were not and they knew it would be today before their power came back on. They've had a rough summer with their a/c going out three weeks ago and selling the cottage, and just ordeals they've had to navigate. I'm wishing I could find a way to do more than just send good thoughts!

Very grateful

We had "big" plans today. We were going to visit the county fair and then drive to my parents' house for dinner. However, it's rained all morning so the fair is doubtful at this point. No big deal, we'll either go tomorrow or we won't...no one is going to lose sleep over this. My mother, though, called an hour ago and canceled our dinner plans. They have been without power since 1AM and according to her, the town looks like a war zone from a storm that went through last night. I've been in contact with a few other friends who confirm that most of the town is without power and it seems as though my mother is not overstating the amount of damage. Fortunately, no one seems to be hurt, and although there are some cars with trees on top of them, I haven't heard of any major damage to buildings. I've also heard that it's thought to be straight line winds, although some of the pictures I've seen show things literally twisted...that to me sounds a little more like a tornado. I'm very grateful that there don't seem to have been any injuries, and Mom says that Dad has plenty of oxygen tanks at this point. I've invited them down in case Dad needs to plug in his oxygen machine (in order to conserve the tanks) or if they are in need of being in a/c. At this point though, they are okay, and I'm grateful for that!

College football

I LOVE FOOTBALL! Today is the beginning of the college football season, and because it is a holiday weekend, JR has no game. In fact, we have no plans today at all. Actually I do have plans. My plan is watch football. All. Day. Long. The first game begins at noon, and the last game of the day begins at 10PM tonight. I can watch about 15 consecutive hours of football...what a great day!

COSI

Today my sister took the kids and me to COSI, a children's science museum. She has a family membership that includes the kids, so I only had to pay for myself. We had a great day! The kids enjoyed visiting the traveling dinosaur exhibit and loved the 3D dinosaur movie we saw (I wasn't as big a fan, but it's all about the kids!). I love seeing the kids faces light up when they get to participate in some of the hands on experiences that are offered, and it was just a really fun day. On the way home, we stopped at the local farm market that we often frequented when I was a kid. I DO NOT understand how I can live in such a rural area and yet can't begin to find any kind of farm market that comes even close to matching this one. HT suggested that we pick up some sweet corn for dinner, and it was a great idea! Our dinner consisted of corn-on-the-cob and tater tots...definitely an all out hit with the kids. Tonight my wonderful husband is at a high school football game, but the kids have put in a movie and I'm going to the other room to enjoy some college football and whatever else the evening brings. Today has been a really wonderful end to our summer!

Makes my heart melt

HT has had a wretched day today. I suppose it must be because I'm the really mean Mom who asked him to clean his room. He bit JR on the neck earlier in the day (apparently I'm raising a vampire) and has thrown more than one all out tantrum. It's a little ridiculous at the age of 7, but he'll have plenty of time to think about that as he will be without TV the rest of the week and without his DS until school starts. Later in the day though, I was in the attic looking for some things, and he came in and asked if I needed help. I said I was about finished, but thanked him for offering and said to him, "You're a good boy." He replied to me, "You're a good mom." Oh, moments like that almost make all the ugly stuff disappear!

My little environmentalists

On Monday while we were running around like crazy people, we stopped to drop a dish off at my grandmother's house. She lives in a beautiful retirement community. She has lived there almost nine years, and I'll forever be thankful that she and Grandpa made the decision to move there when they did...it helped a great deal during Grandpa's final days and continues to be a wonderful source of socialization for Grandma. I also love visiting because it was built in the 1990's, and I knew the family that owned the farm before it became a retirement community. I have wonderful memories of climbing the trees and running through the fields, rolling down the hill out of the barn, and so many other wonderful childhood things. Anyway, Grandma had mentioned before that the tree in her front yard had been removed. Apparently the ash borer has done some damage, and the community is on a mission to stay on top of it. We were able to see them take out another tree, and JC exclaimed, "But they are taking down Mother Nature!" HT chimed in with "They are removing the birds' nesting spots, and owls' nesting spots, and squirrels' climbing spots!" I explained that the trees were sick and in order to save other trees they needed to be taken down. I thought it was so cute and sweet though, how much the kids cared!

Meet the teachers

Last night was Open House for the kids' schools. I remember being a kid and Open House always happened mid to late September, and it was an opportunity for the parents, and any community member, to venture into the schools and see what was being learned. Now though, it's become more of a "meet the teacher" night. JC is especially relieved to have met her teachers, and I think she's going to have a good year. I know that it helps that the teachers know me and I them, and that we can all communicate. HT is so excited about his teacher, but she did tell us last night that her doctors are wanting to induce her Monday so she would miss the first day. She would much prefer to be induced Tuesday night after the first day, but it will all work out...the sub she is going to have is wonderful and she already knows HT as well. JR did a very nice job of introducing himself to his teachers, and of course they all seemed nice. I'm hoping to get an opportunity to chat with them more throughout the year...I strongly believe in communication!

I know several additional people have signed up to be subs this year, but I'm not going to worry about how much I work. I'm hopeful I can work at least as much as last year, but I can't control it so we'll just have to go with the flow. There are plenty of things I can be doing around here if I'm not working! I think we are all really looking forward to the school year!

First football game

Saturday brought us to our first football game for JR. We love the fact that they play at the high school field which is just up the hill behind the schools. It was especially handy because the game started nearly an hour late, but we had friends who were able to text us and keep us posted. I'm VERY grateful we didn't have to spend an extra hour sitting out in the sun! Our team won 32-0, and JR was able to get in on three series in the second half. I thought he did just fine, and most importantly, he had FUN. Not sure how the next seven or so weeks are going to work out, but I'm glad that it's off to a good start and glad that he's finally having fun!

Hurricane Irene

We are all anxiously watching the weather forecast following the path of Hurricane Irene. For one thing, I know people who live in VA Beach, and I've never before really known anyone who was in the path of a hurricane before. And of course it's concerning to see that it's going to go up the east coast and hit the major metropolitan areas of either (or both!) Philadelphia or New York City. My heart is breaking though, as I watch the coverage directly from the Outer Banks of NC. I've seen coverage from Duck, which is our favorite place to stay when we are there. I've just learned they have issued mandatory evacuations for Dare County, and it just makes me sad. It's also a little eerie as I remember six years ago at almost exactly this time when everyone was following the impending arrival of Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana. I certainly pray that there is no where near the magnitude of destruction and devastation. The kids are also in tune with this particular hurricane since it is hitting our favorite vacation spot, and it's fresh since we were just there two months ago. They also have vivid memories of the remnants of Hurricane Ike that hit us almost three years ago and literally shut down the entire area (including schools!) for days, and in some places for over a week. Sending many prayers for the safety of everyone affected by this latest storm!