Trick and Treat

Bob the Builder...

and the sick one. Wish they were both costumes.

The flu bug played a trick on my 7 yo this year. Three days in and the fever still hit 103.8 today. He was very sad to miss trick-or-treating, but not so sad that he thought his brother should have to skip it too. Someone had to bring home the goods.

It all turned out okay. This may be the first smile we've seen since Thursday.

It's Here

To the tune of Old McDonald Had A Farm....

Welcome to our sickly house
ee-i-ee-i-o
And in my house are lots of germs
ee-i-ee-i-o
With a fever here, and a kleenex there
Here a cough, there a cough, everywhere a cough, cough
Welcome to our sickly house
ee-i-ee-i-o

You don't want to come inside
ee-i-ee-i-o
Cause in this house you'll be exposed
ee-i-ee-i-o
To a fever here, and a sniffle there
Here a sneeze, there a sneeze, everywhere a sneeze, sneeze
You don't want to come inside
ee-i-ee-i-o

This is where the drugs flow free
ee-i-ee-i-o
Tylenol for him and chocolate for me
ee-i-ee-i-o
With some motrin here, and some motrin there
Here some meds, there some meds, everywhere some meds, meds
This is where the drugs flow free
ee-i-ee-i-o


I have officially lost my mind.

My husband is typically a much lighter sleeper than I am. More often than not, if the kids wake up in the night for some reason, he will hear them first. He is up and out of the room before I even realize what is going on.

Last night, however, my eyes popped wide open around 3:00 a.m. It was raining and thundering, and although my kids were still fast asleep, I figured it was only a matter of time.

Being the good wife that I am, I grabbed my pillow and headed to the boys' room. Thankfully, the boys are going through a "special bed" stage, which means they like to throw their blankets on the floor and camp out there together. I don't understand this, but at least there was an empty bed for me to climb into.

So I laid there, waiting for them to wake up, thinking we must have purchased the world's loudest gutters when we built our house.

And I laid there some more, listening to my three year old snore. Loudly. Throw in the thumb sucking noises and the kid was a one-man band. His future wife will need to be so caring, and patient, and above all....deaf.

Finally, at 5:30 I dragged myself out of bed. My gallant effort to be proactive was all in vain.

And I am exhausted.

Ironic that now I am off to drag my kids out of bed for school.

Glass Half Full

I'm feeling incredibly blessed today.

That sounds more like a facebook status than a blog, but that's it. Just blessed.

Nothing particularly great is happening. The floors still need mopping, the laundry is spilling out of the baskets, and I have a day packed with stuff to do.

Maybe it's because my 3 yo slept until 9:00 a.m.?

Seven 7's for a Seventh Birthday

Seven Lists in Seven Categories that describe you on your 7th Birthday. Happy Birthday Buddy!

Favorite Foods

1. Pizza

2. Ice Cream

3. Cheeseburgers

4. Potato Chips

5. Tacos

6. Fruit Snacks

7. Dessert

Favorite Requests

1. Can I have just two more minutes?

2. What can I have for a snack?

3. When can I play on the computer?

4. Will you play a game with me?

5. Can I play the wii?

6. Can we go somewhere?

7. Can you get my brother out of here?

Favorite Places to Go

1. The Lake

2. The Park

3. Grandma's

4. The other Grandma's

5. Miniature Golfing

6. Illinois Trips

7. Any Hotel

Favorite Restaurants

1. Pizza Hut

2. Spangles

3. Quiznos

4. McDonalds (only if it has a Playplace)

5. Taco Bell

6. Chiles

7. Arbys

Favorite Activities

1. Torturing your brother

2. Eating Sugary foods

3. Sports - Baseball, Basketball, Soccer

4. Playing games

5. Building with Legos

6. Riding Your Bike

7. Computer/Wii Time

Favorite Complaints

1. "THAT'S what we're having for supper?"

2. "I don't want to take a bath."

3. "It can't be bedtime already."

4. "I don't want to lay down to rest."

5. "Stop repeating me."

6. "Why do I have to help with that?"

7. "WHAT?!?!?"

Favorite Movies

1. Ice Age 3

2. Madagascar 2

3. Bedtime Stories

4. Cars

5. High School Musical

6. Air Bud

7. Jungle Book

WEDNESDAY:

Internet mysteriously stops working.

Shut down. Unplug. Plug In. Reboot. Nothing.

Try again. Nothing.


THURSDAY:

Still no internet. Grumpy.

Three year old pees all over bathroom floor while sitting on toilet. Grumpier.

Six year old has a meltdown at the dentist loud enough for the whole town to hear. Mad.

Discover dog has chewed through phone wires. Hot.

Put dog up for sale on ebay.


FRIDAY:

Still no internet. Needing to borrow someone's Prozac.

Husband fixes phone wires during lunch. Ahhhhhh.

Dog is forgiven.

IT'S OVER

OVERWHELMED.
OVERTIRED.
OVERLOADED.
OVERWORKED.
OVER-COMMITTED.
OVERFULL.
OVERSTUFFED.
OVERDONE.
OVERBURDENED.
OVERTAXED.

OVER-DRAMATIC.

Did You Know?

**Does anybody know how to get those automatic links off of here? I have noticed it on other people's blogs as well. I do not want those!!


Last week was our annual Teacher Convention in Kansas City. Some years are fantastic and some just okay, but I always manage to walk away with something new. We had a great time in KC, and this year I gleaned the following important information.

• On the average, fathers only spend 4 minutes per day with their children. Really? Four minutes? In that case, my husband gets a gold star for fatherhood.
• Rules without relationship will result in rebellion. Amen to that one.
• You never can be too careful. Make sure all your i's are dotted and t's are crossed, and never assume something "won't matter." I heard about a family who sued their school asking for five years of tuition to be returned to them simply because their son did not get into the college he desired. Then there was the family who created a website called "Destroy ________ Christian School" because they did not feel the school was meeting its accreditation standards. Wow. Something tells me those things don't fit under "What Would Jesus Do."
• Males cannot be trusted. Okay, that may be a bit of an over-generalization, but when it comes right down to it, guys are just as bad at keeping secrets as girls. Nevermind the fact that we girls were the ones who........ummmm....."decorated" their hotel room.
• Even after twelve years of significant changes, I still work with some of the best colleagues ever!
  

I Love Fridays!

Fridays are my day off...in theory. This is the first Friday of the school year that I have actually stayed home the entire day. Not that I have worked on ALL those other Fridays, I just haven't stayed home.

If you would walk in my front door right now, you would never believe I actually spent much of my morning cleaning, but here was my coveted day off. I have to record it for my own personal benefit, because who knows when it will ever happen again.

• Mopped 2 bathroom floors
• Vacuumed carpets
• Scrubbed 1 shower
• Chatted on Facebook (While cleaning, of course.)
• Cleaned mirrors
• Dusted
• Returned phone calls
• Swept kitchen floor
• Washed laundry
• Folded laundry
• Put away laundry (Yes, that deserves three bullet points. All three of those steps in one day is a pretty big accomplishment around here.)
• Began organizing bookshelves in the playroom. Now it looks like a war zone, but progress is in the works.
• Chatted some more on Facebook.
• Built a Bob the Builder set.
• Worked on accreditation.
• Cooked 3 meals. Real meals.
• "Played" Connect Four with the 3 year old.
• Organized the boy's sock and underwear drawers.
• Built a racetrack.
• Read books to my son.

Here is my 3 yo "helping" me mop the bathroom floor. It lasted for about 45 seconds.

In case you are confused, those are ski bibs and snowboots that he is wearing. Not because he is preparing for the arctic blast hitting us this weekend, but because he asks us approximately every 13 hours when we are going to take him snow-skiing. Not that he knows what snow-skiing is, or how to do it; he just knows that daddy skis, it involves snow, and you get to wear those cool blue 'overalls' that he begs for every.single.day.

Personally, the thought of him careening down a mountain on skis makes me want to wait a few more years to go. Like about 30.

Choices

I just got done reading this blog. This girl is an amazing 18 year old. Anyone who has been touched by adoption in any way should take a minute to read it. On second thought, even if you don't know one single adopted person, read it anyway.


At one point in my life, several years ago, I also had my own thoughts and opinions about women who chose to give their baby away. It seemed so heartless and selfish and.....unimaginable. But it didn't take me long to realize what a selfless, amazing act of love it really can be.


I'll be honest, most days I don't even think about the fact that one of my children is adopted. He is such a part of me, such a part of our family, that it doesn't even seem possible that he is not actually blood-related.


Then on other days, such as yesterday when I read that post, the memories become fresh again of our first-hand experience of being the recipient of that kind of love. The kind of love that can endure 10 hours of labor and still choose to let someone else take the baby home. The kind of love that can hold and feed him and still follow her heart about what is best for the child. The kind of love that can stand in the parking lot and watch strangers walk away with her own flesh and blood.

I cannot comprehend what that feels like, but I imagine it somewhat resembles open heart surgery with no anesthesia. How God can heal that kind of pain, I do not know, but I pray that if there can be any comfort for birthmothers, it is in the fact that families longing to love those babies are miraculously pieced together in the process.

For her, it was most likely the hardest decision she ever had to make. For us, it was an answer to prayer. For her, it was giving up the life she had a part in creating. For us, it was welcoming new life into our family. For her, it was somewhat of a nightmare. For us, it was the fulfillment of dreams.

I am not able to wrap my mind around how that all works together and comes out okay in the end. I cannot begin to count the number of times someone has said to me, "I just can't believe she gave him up." I understand what people are meaning when they say this, but my answer usually surprises them.

"I can't imagine what my life would be like if she hadn't."

Reflecting on the Week

*My three year old's favorite phrase this week: "There is bones in your blood. There really is."

*I ran so crazy this week preparing for teacher in-service that I am actually enjoying a Friday night of sitting in the chair and clipping coupons. Now that is sad. So sad.

*I got to sit at the "Young Table" today at school. Woo hoo! Our administrator thought he would be funny by letting the "over-forty" crowd eat first at lunch. It made my day to be considered young again. Granted, everyone else sitting near me was WAY closer to 20 than I could ever dream of being, but none-the-less, I wasn't old. I bet they all went home tonight and clipped coupons too.

*I love, love, love my job. I am exhausted and worn out and brain dead and tired and sleepy.....but I still love it.

*I discovered this week that it is possible to overdose on Sharpie marker fumes.

*It is also possible to go the entire week without washing one dish, doing one load of laundry, or picking up one toy. It's not pretty, but it is possible.

*Yay for the weekend.