Santariffic

Today Matthew had a special visitor at preschool.  Santa dropped by the talk to the kids and read them a story.  Matthew gathered round with the other kids for the story and was actively engaged in listening and responding to Santa’s questions, but when it came time to sit on Santa’s lap, he refused.

When I asked him about it later, he told me that sitting on Santa’s lap would make him nervous but talking to Santa didn’t make him nervous.  When Kev asked him if he sat on Santa’s lap and got a negative answer, Matthew told him he was afraid.  But like he told me, chatting with Santa was not a problem and once Santa had Matthew engaged in a lively conversation, I was able to sneak in a photo.  It’s a good thing Santa knows Matthew so well and understands his stubborn streak.  He definitely took the time to help create a photo op for me!

Winter Precipitation

It’s been snowing for two days.  Which means that Matthew has been hyper.  You see, somehow Matthew has confused snow with Christmas.  Every time it snows he runs around the house yelling, “It’s Christmas!”  And when it melts he gets all sad and proclaims, “Christmas is melting.”  During family home evening yesterday I asked why we celebrate Christmas and Matthew responded with something about  shoveling Christmas.  So two days of snow equals one hyped up preschooler.   

 He was uber excited to get home from preschool so that he could build Frosty since he was convinced that if he built Frosty then Frosty would come alive.  I tried to tell him that wasn’t going to happen, but he was sure that Frosty’s magic hat would appear so Frosty could be alive.  Luckily for me, he was not completely devastated when Frosty did not come alive.  I think he had so much fun building him that he kind of forgot about the coming to life part.  (He was having so much fun that he even let me take his picture!) 

                                                                             

However he was pretty upset when the snow began to melt later in the day and Frosty’s head dropped off.  

Holiday Life Lessons-Part II

When living with a house full of boys, there inevitably comes a point where you must tell your offspring that 1) They really shouldn’t feel obligated to rewrite the lyrics to every Christmas song ever written, 2) If they feel that they really must make up their own words, they definitely don’t all need to be about things blowing up and 3) Yes, I realize that Weird Al Yankovic has made millions of dollars doing that exact thing, but there is a reason (more than one, in fact) that I did not name my children Weird.

Holiday Life Lessons-Part I

Too many helpers can lead to deformed gingerbread men.

Luckily for us, deformity in no way affects flavor.

Of course, too many helpers is just as likely to result in gingerbread men that are happily dancing through life.

And with a house full of little boys, Limping Larry, No-Leg Nancy and Brain-Bashed Brenda are just as likely to get nibbled as Fred and Ginger.

Halle-freakin'-lujah!!

Nathan is finished patching!  After two years and two months, he is finally finished!  He has been a real trooper through all this and I definitely see a celebration in his honor coming in our near future!

The doctor says that if he slips a little in the next three months he may have to patch a bit more, but for now he is stable and patch free.  And we all have our fingers crossed that his eye will stay stable.  So give Nathan a hug and a high five when you see him!  He is happy, happy, happy!

Strep Is A Four Letter Word

Yes, I know strep is actually a five letter word.  In fact, it is actually a twenty-one letter word (Streptococcus pyogenes).  But it should be a four letter word because in my opinion it is just as filthy a word as *&#@ or $%@& or even *&@%!

I hate strep.   It hit Kev in October by bashing him with a high fever.  So two days later when Matthew threw up and started running a high fever, we knew what it was.  But strep is a wily little bugger and slipped in the back door, foregoing the fever and just leaving me feeling like roadkill: smashed flat, limp, disgusting and miserable.  And yes, I think roadkill is miserable.  I mean, can you think of a less dignified way to die than to be smacked down by a 6 ton hunk of metal on wheels? 

But back to the strep.  Apparently my version is feverless so I didn’t automatically suspect strep when my throat started to hurt.  For me a cold always starts with a sore throat so that is what I thought was ailing me.  Of course a severe sore throat, red and swollen tonsils, a bunch of swollen lymph nodes, tons of white junk on my throat, and six days later, I know better.

I hate strep.

And I’m really sorry to anyone that I exposed before I knew what I was dealing with.  But at least I’ve felt crappy enough that I’ve pretty much spent the last few days hunkered down at home.  On the bright side, Daniel and Nathan have been off-track and have happily learned how to cook a few new meals this week which has been a help to me!

Has It Really Been A Decade?

Things I’ve learned over the past ten years: 

#1-Time goes by much too quickly.

#2-Because of #1, this . . .

becomes this . . .

 much too quickly.

#3-Take advantage of each day so you don’t have regrets when

are old enough to learn #1 and #2 for themselves.

#4-Camouflage cupcakes are much harder to make than I thought they would be.

In spite of the strange looking confections, Daniel’s tenth birthday party was fun.  Having reached the decade mark, he is old enough to opt for the dinner and a movie kind of party so we fed everyone and then let them watch "The Sorcerer's Apprentice."  That worked out great for me because I sat and read a book the entire time they were watching and I didn't even have to play musical chairs or attempt to pin the tail on anything!  And they had a great time!

I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but I love that half of his party guest list is always made up of cousins.  And the two friends right next to Daniel are his best friends from this neighborhood, two wonderful boys that he just loves and we adore.

Due to a migraine, Kev and all the boys helped me decorate Daniel's cake for his Sunday celebration with extended family.  I'm thinking I should have let them do the cupcakes as well because their camo is much better looking than mine.  Perhaps I just think too symmetrically to be able to effectively create the randomness of camouflage . . .

It is hard to believe it has already been ten years, but Daniel is definitely growing up!

A Shout Out For Daniel!

In November our elementary school focused on respect and this time Daniel was the man of the hour!  He took his turn in the limelight at a special ceremony held for the students from each class who were chosen as student of the month for being great examples of respect.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: although my kids may be impertinent and disobedient on occasion at home, they are always on their best behavior with everyone else.  I’m so grateful that my kids treat other kids and adults with respect when I’m not around.  Daniel’s teacher waxed poetic (literally) about how Daniel shows respect in her classroom:

“Daniel (last name) shows respect

Every single day.

He always listens and obeys

Whatever the teacher may say.

Daniel lends a listening ear

To all the kids around him.

He values their opinions,

Is polite and always kind to them.

Daniel shows consideration

To adults and to his peers.

He is an example of respect

And that deserves three cheers!”

And I find myself a very proud parent for being able to participate in two of the first three ever student of the month ceremonies at our school.