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!