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!