HOORAY FOR SNOW!

Winter break is almost over and we have not yet had a chance to go sledding. So after lunch today, we decided to head out and hit the hills.



READY?



SET?



GO!



NO, STOP!!!


Some of us went airbourn!




Some of us preferred to watch.

But we all had fun!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Does that say Happy Birthday Jess???







Looks like someone got into the cake early!





But I want it NOW!!!



Oh well, Happy Birthday anyway!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Let me be the first to wish all of you a Happy New Year!

Wow, December really flew by. I can't believe it has been 2 1/2 weeks since my last post. It has definitely been a busy 2 1/2 weeks! Christmas concerts, Birthdays, more Christmas concerts, more Birthdays. Not to mention Christmas squeezed in there somewhere. Everyone seemed to enjoy Christmas. The kids are enjoying all their gifts. We haven't done anything exciting over break due to the fact that we have been in and out of the Dr.'s office with Strep Throat. Four of the Five kids are being treated with antibiotics. If you can be the first to guess which of my children does NOT have Strep, I might be handing out prizes. Anyway, we have stayed home all week which has given the kids a chance to really get into their gifts and tear the house apart.

The Christmas Tree came down Sunday. I couldn't take the mess anymore, and the kids needed room to play. I left the decorations in the windows, and the outside lights are still up. I'm not a total scrooge.

I have many pictures I was hoping to share, but haven't had a chance to go through them and get them posted. Maybe I'll get some up later. Considering the 5 nights in row I will be working the end of this week, any pictures will most likely be posted after the kids go back to school.

I have to add that the whole family is enjoying the Wii the kids received for Christmas. We have all been competing for the best scores on Guitar Hero III daily. Jeff and I continue to play after the kids go to bed. I think we're all addicted. Thanks to Danny and Lisa, Jenny and John!

So once again,

HAPPY NEW YEAR, and here's to a great 2008!

Moms' Night Out

I got an invitation to the 4th graders Moms' Night Out. I guess this group of moms have been doing this every December since their kids started school. I think this is the 4th year, since the kids are now in 4th grade. I know I've seen a letter before in years past, but I never bothered to go. This year, one of the moms organizing it kept asking if I was going so I figured why not? It's Jeff's poker night, so I arranged for Grandma to take the kids. She kept them overnight so I wouldn't have to rush home to get them to bed before going to work. Thanks Mom!

I have to say, I almost didn't go. Jeff got stuck working late. I had to get the kids homework done, fed dinner, changed into pj's, and packed for school in the morning. They weren't listening well at all, and by the time I dropped them off I was 15 minutes late. It just seemed like too much work for a couple hours out. But Grandma had the kids, and I told the other moms I was coming, so I went.

When I got there, I didn't see anyone I knew. I walked through the entire restaurant and bar, but could not find them. I was trying to decide whether to keep looking or just leave, when I saw 2 other moms come in. Apparently, I was the first one there! We sat and waited for the rest to arrive. In the end I think there were 9 of us. Four moms I knew, and the other 4 I didn't. The four I didn't know disappeared to the bar for a smoke and didn't return until dinner was over, so I guess I can say I still don't know them. I was introduced, and I know there names, but I'm so bad with names I'll have forgotten them by next week. The rest of us had a nice dinner. We talked about work, kids, husbands and housekeeping. It was so nice to talk with other moms and realize that we all deal with many of the same issues. After dinner we had a grab bag. I got a pretty red candle that will look nice on my living room cocktail table and a snowman ornament for the tree. By the time dinner was over, I had to head to work. I think the rest of them went to the bar. I'm not a big drinker, so I don't mind missing that part.

In the end I'm really glad I went. It was just the break I needed in what has been a very busy holiday season. Needless to say, I left in a much better mood than I arrived in. I think I might even go again next year!

Just Another Day...

After a VERY busy weekend, and my last of 3 nights in a row at work, I came home yesterday morning to find Kate sick. She had crawled into bed with Jeff at about 5am and proceeded to throw up all over MY side of the bed. Jeff stripped the bedding, and stated washing it, then put some fresh sheets on the bed. As I got the other kids ready for school, I timed Kate's "episodes". She was vomiting every 5 minutes! I tried taking her temperature, it showed 95 degrees. Darn, I hate those digital thermometers. Is this right, or is their something wrong with the thermometer? Maybe the battery is going out? How do you know? I really miss the days of mercury! Finally I got the kids off to school. Jeff stayed home from work and is going to take care of some shopping. I wanted to go with him after a nap, but I have to stay home with Kate. After he had left, I try to get Kate and myself settled down. I have fresh sheets, but no quilt. I thought I had an extra blanket laying across the foot of the bed yesterday, and I started looking for it. I thought maybe it would have fallen off the foot of the bed and still be OK. I looked on the floor, but did not find it. I have some clean clothes sitting on my cedar chest that I haven't put away yet. I thought Jeff may have tossed the blanket over there. I didn't find the blanket, but let me tell you what I did find. Apparently Kate's vomit went projectile because everything within a three foot radius from my side of the bed is splattered. Clean clothes, dirty clothes, old dresses I've been meaning to pack away. I guess I'll be doing laundry all day. Kate's episodes of vomiting finally started to slow down. Every 8 min, every 11 min, 14 min... Finally at about 9:30 she fell asleep. She woke up at 12:30 and was feeling fine! She ate a light lunch and played with Emily all afternoon. She ate dinner, watched TV and went to bed. She got up this morning feeling fine, so I threw her in a quick shower and sent her off to school.

Now I can finally get some things done today. Not so fast! The kids got a late start today. It is usually their responsibility to take care of the dog in the morning, but today I waited until they were gone and then I let the dog out. I watched as he did his business, both #1 and #2. He came in and I fed him. Since I was downstairs, I decided to take care of some more laundry. I took the clothes out of the dryer and Emily helped me fold them. Then we went back in the laundry room and she helped me put the clothes from the washing machine into the dryer. Halfway through this, Bailey came in and stood at the back door. I figured he must need to go out again, so I opened the door. He ran into the pen and as I watched him I noticed he seems to have some diarrhea. Boy does it smell! I can smell it from the basement door! When he is done, I let him back in. I was going to go back upstairs to get more clothes when I saw it! There on the basement carpet is a pile of crap! I yell at the dog. Then I yell at Emily to stay away. After I finally get it all cleaned up, I decide I need some breakfast. I wash up and Emily and I go upstairs to share a bowl of cereal. After breakfast, we play for a little bit. I change her diaper and decide it is time to get our day started. I go to the basement to get her some clothes when I almost step in it! The darn dog threw up! Not once, not twice, but three times! He had been jumping around playing with Emily while I was doing laundry earlier. It probably upset his stomach after having just eaten. As I cleaned up after the dog again I have to wonder, when does it end and who will be next?

Politics or Comedy?

OK, I am by no means a political person. I don't claim to be democratic or republican. I vote for the candidate I feel is most suitable. I do like to follow The Carpetbagger Report. Even though this site is strongly democratic, it helps me catch up with what is going on in the political world. As a mother of five young children, I just had to share this story. The following was recently posted here:

Yesterday, I got an email from a regular reader noting that Clinton’s campaign had referenced in a press release an essay Obama wrote when he was in kindergarten, titled, “I Want To Become President.” In all sincerity, I assumed the email was a joke, parodying the intensity of the campaign season. There’s simply no way, I thought, that Clinton would reference something Obama wrote before first grade. I didn’t even make a note of it, because I assumed it was a joke.

It wasn’t. Obama, apparently as a subtle dig at Clinton, told a Boston audience yesterday, “I’m not running to fulfill some long held plans or because I think it’s open to me.” The Clinton campaign

tried to turn the tables, citing decades of examples, including these:

In third grade, Senator Obama wrote an essay titled ‘I Want To Be a President.’ His third grade teacher: Fermina Katarina Sinaga “asked her class to write an essay titled ‘My dream: What I want to be in the future.’ Senator Obama wrote ‘I want to be a President,’ she said.” [The Los Angeles Times, 3/15/07]

In kindergarten, Senator Obama wrote an essay titled ‘I Want to Become President.’ “Iis Darmawan, 63, Senator Obama’s kindergarten teacher, remembers him as an exceptionally tall and curly haired child who quickly picked up the local language and had sharp math skills. He wrote an essay titled, ‘I Want To Become President,’ the teacher said.” [AP, 1/25/07

I found this to be quite humorous. I also enjoyed some of the comments posted on his site regarding this article and found myself laughing out loud. I will share some of them with you as well.

On December 3rd, 2007 at 4:46 pm, adam said:
Who the hell writes essay’s in kindergarten?

On December 3rd, 2007 at 6:41 pm, CalD said:

I’m thinking of suing my grade school though. We sure as heck weren’t writing essays in my kindergarten class. I feel deprived.

On December 3rd, 2007 at 8:58 pm, ERA said:
Obama was living in Jakarta at this point in his life. So, the Clinton camp shouldn’t worry. He meant President of Indonesia.

On December 4th, 2007 at 2:08 am, goatchowder said:

First of all, kindergardeners don’t talk like that.
Secondly, Obama “wrote” an essay in kindergarden? An ESSAY? A five-year-old? Are you high?
Kindergardeners can barely form letters properly, let alone spell “president”. If they write a sentence of more than 3 words, you got a genius. If they spell even one of them correctly, hooray.

On December 3rd, 2007 at 4:35 pm, The answer is orange said:

If he’d written an essay titled “I want to be a fire man,” in 1st grade would Camp HRC claim he can’t make up his mind?

And um. No offense to his teachers, but I can’t remember crap I wrote two months ago. How the hell are they able to recall what one student wrote a few decades ago?

I have to say I agree with most of these comments. I know if I asked my kindergartner to write an essay about being president, it would probably look and sound something like this:

I wont to bee pursednt bcouz i can liv in a big wit haus.

I doubt if any kindergarten student has dreams of being president so they can improve world relations, help the national deficit or improve health care. Could it be that my children are just average, and people like Obama and Clinton were just much more advanced for their age?

I doubt it!

OUCH!

As you know we had some trouble with our furnace the other day. While I was waiting for the serviceman to arrive, I thought I should straighten the house a bit. So I picked up some things in the living room, cleared the dining room table, and then went downstairs and straightened the basement. As usual, Emily followed me through the house repeating "Hepp you Mommy?" When I was done, and the house looked decent, I decided to vacuum the basement. I pulled out the vacuum cleaner, and Emily says "Ouchie Mommy?". I told her no, no ouchies today. Just cleaning. Somehow I don't think she believed me because as soon as I turned the vacuum on, both she and the dog ran upstairs!

This all stems from an incident several weeks ago. Someone broke a picture frame in the living room. As usual, Emily was eager to help me clean it up. I had already picked up the big pieces, and wanted to vacuum the little pieces. I was afraid she would hurt herself on the glass, so I told her over and over, "No Emily! OUCH!". Well she got the idea alright. I don't think she will ever go near a vacuum cleaner again!

By the way, the furnace just needed to be cleaned and is working fine now.