Principal's Award

It was so sad that Margaret missed school on Friday because she was going to be presented the "Principal's Award" at the school assembly. This is an award given to 2 students per grade level each month for work ethic and citizenship.
Luckily, she did get to go to the celebration lunch with the principals today and got her badge and certificate. Oh, and referencing Amy's blog about the attitude shirts our kids wear...check out Margaret's shirt..."I Calculate Math". You gotta be pretty confident in your scholastic abilities to wear this one!

Meme Tag - I'm It

I got Meme tagged by Katie's Scheurer Spiel. Good timing since I am now the one home sick and I need something to get my mind off my sore throat.

I have seen these things flying around emails and blogs for awhile, but I have actually never taken the time to do one. But first, I am a nerd, so I had to do a little research to find out what meme means (hint: it does not stand for "me me")

Finish the sentence with the 1st thought that comes to your mind.

I know.... lots of useless information that will come in handy if I ever go on a game show.

I believe... in God.

I fought.... off this strep throat, and lost.

I am angered.... by injustice in the world.

I love.... my husband more each day.

I need.... to get out of this house....soon.

I take.... minutes at the PTA meetings. how exciting.

I hear.... the wind howling outside

I drink.... hot tea before bed almost every night.

I hate.... when people leave shopping carts in the parking lot.

I use.... the computer too much.

I want..... a new kitchen.

I like..... pina coladas and getting caught in the rain. lol

I feel.... thankful for everything I have been blessed with.

I wear.... lots of v-neck t-shirts.

I left.... my dog outside all night one time.

I do..... too many things at the same time.

I hope... that my kids grow up happy.

I dream.... about traveling the world.

I drive.... my kids back and forth to places.

I listen.... to talk radio during the day

I type..... very fast, but not very accuately.

I think.... there is too much on the news about Britney Spears

I wish... we had traveled more before we had kids.

I regret.... some things I have said.

I care.... about my family.

I should.... go make dinner right now

I am.... a strong woman.

I said... to go to bed, kids!

I wonder.... if anyone will read all of this.

I changed.... after I had children. dramatically.

I cry... every once in awhile and it makes me feel better.

I lose.... my keys and sunglasses....all the time!

I leave... my kids every once in awhile to get out, but I always look forward to coming home and seeing them.

Ok - I will tag Rosylyn at "In the Burbs: ATL style" since her blog just got started and it will be a good project to get her going and Steph at the "Little Mullen Darlings" since she gives me shout-outs regularly and I would love to see her answers.

Blogiversary

Oops! I totally missed my one year blog anniversary on January 17th. I wanted to celebrate by going back to my very first blog entry and reviewing how I did on my "New Blog Resolutions". Oh, well...better late than never.

I resolve to use the blog to document the big happenings and little moments that we often forget. That way when someone asks what we have be up to, I can remember what we did last month, last week, or even yesterday.
Grade: B-. I've done a good job getting the important things on the blog. But I have done a so-so job of documenting the little funny everyday moments. For example, I completely left out the stories about Nathan and the marble in the dishwasher, Nathan and the candy and scissors hidden in his room, and Nathan and the spoonful of limeade concentrate. Plus, I have yet to document the funny things Nathan says that we refer to as "Nathan's Nuggets of kNowlege".

I resolve to actually put some pictures on the blog to share with friends and family instead of keeping them archived in my computer.
Grade: A+. I haven't done this much with my pictures since we went digital!

I resolve to use the blog to get me motivated in actually working on my family scrapbooks.
Grade: F. 'Nuff said.

I resolve to not use this as a replacement for keeping in touch with friends and family, but as a way to make communication better.
Grade: A. I know our family lurks here and loves seeing pictures of the kids. Hi mom and dad! I wasn't much of a phone talker before so I don't think too much has changed. And this has been a great way to keep in touch with people who have moved away - Amy, Jodi, Rosylyn - I'm talkin' to you!

I resolve to not stress out about being witty or having the perfect words, but to just do it.
Grade B-. Uh, yeah, I admit to rewriting a few entries until they were "just right". But I also have many entries where I just "Got 'er dun"

So, I guess I will call having a blog a success. I hope you have enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it!

Life in the Sick House

Somehow we survived Thursday and Friday, passing our time by watching hours of PBS kids, reading books, and playing Uno.

A BIG thanks to Shana who went out of her way to bring me some Children's Tylenol in a moment of desperation and to Chris who brought needed reinforcements of bread and Gatorade.

Meanwhile, in between making toast and administering medicine, I did my sick house routine:
1. wash anything in the house that fits in the washing machine
2. disinfect every surface in the house - doorknobs, phones, remote controls
3. rewash anything the children have touched since I washed the first time
4. re disinfect any surface the children have touched since I disinfected the first time
5. repeat as necessary steps 3 & 4 until whenever

Kyle got home Friday night and all seemed to be getting better...until Saturday morning, that is, when Nathan woke up with a fever and stomachache. Not wanting to be behind the 8 ball on this one, I took Nathan into the Dr. right away.

The place was so crowded that we waited about 30 minutes in the waiting room to be seen and Nathan fell asleep out there (a true sign of a sick child!) We got into the exam room, got the strep swab, and then the nurse left to do the test. Right after she left, Nathan proceeded to throw up on me! I got us cleaned up the best we could. Thank goodness for drive through pharmacies so we didn't have to walk in somewhere after that.

In the afternoon, Margaret thought she was ready to go back to gym, but an hour into class, she was too tired to continue. It seems just as Margaret shared strep with Nathan, Nathan shared his dry cough he has had for days with Margaret. Now she is back feeling almost as bad as she was on Thursday.

Ah, the joys of winter!

The Travel Curse Strikes Again!

Kyle left Wednesday morning for sunny Debuque, Iowa (high temp 0 degrees F)...Margaret came home Wednesday afternoon feeling tired. By dinnertime, it was pretty obvious we were again blessed by strep. Never fear...due to Shana's excellent recommendation, we headed straight to the Minute Clinic. Less than an hour and one positive strep swab later, we were out the door of CVS with antibiotics and everything we needed to make it through the night.

It has been a whole year since Margaret has had strep. It may just be a coincidence, but while I was gone on my girl's weekend, Kyle and Ed encouraged Margaret to drink from a public water fountain instead of getting her a bottle of water, something outlawed by her doctor 2 years ago... so I lay the blame on them!

PJ''s,Pancakes & Preschool

What a great way to spend a chilly preschool day - wearing PJ's and having Pancakes and Hot Chocolate at snack time.

What's Cooking?

Nathan was watching Curious George on the DVR yesterday. After the show was over, the TV popped over to Boy Meets Grill on Food Network. Nathan was entralled by the show. Not only would he let me not change the channel, but he was giving me play by play of what Bobby Flay was cooking - "He's using cherry tomatoes", "That's a lobster", "He's using avacado". Maybe my little guy will get the love of cooking like the rest of the family!

Speaking of cooking, the HMIM crew has started up a recipe blog. Check it out!

HMIM's in Galveston

This weekend was our annual Hot Moms in Minivans Galveston Getaway. How appropriate that we go on MLK weekend because it is a chance for us to be "Free at Last" from the obligations of mommyhood - at least temporarily. Amy did a great summary of the weekend, which I am not about to top, so instead I thought I would give some thanks for this year's group.

To Chris - thanks for being my roomie and going walking with me on the beach - even when the wind was soooo cold.

To Krista - thanks for always making it entertaining, from giving us TMI about bodily functions to teaching us new yoga positions, and being a great sous chef!

To Mo - thanks for always keeping it real, packing lightly and keeping us stocked with Tylenol PM.

To Narci - thanks for entertaining us with your ticklish pedicure and being quick with the hand sanitizer after we left the scary gas station restroom on the way home.

To Charisse -thanks for bringing us great snacks and bringing a gift that was worth me stealing from Chris (love the new cake stand and apron!)

To Dana - thanks for jumping right in with a group of women that you didn't know - it was great meeting you.

To Amy - thanks for smiling though your back was still hurting, for not calling us lame when we wanted to go back to the house after dinner instead of going out, and for hosting us for the 3rd year in a row at Gladys' house. We love ya!

Can you see Nathan?

Nathan's obsession with camo has now exceeded his prior obsession with green. I let him dress himself on Monday and he chose his dream outfit - camo shirt, camo pants, camo crocs. He grew out of his coat mid-season, so when I saw this camo coat at Old Navy, I knew I had to get it for him. Finally, a coat he won't complain about wearing!

Christmas ain't over till it's over

As always, my dad's family Christmas party doesn't happen until the first weekend in January after New Year's. The cousins came back in town for the party on Saturday night. Dad and his brothers are putting together a video of stories from their childhood and we got to watch part of the video and discovered a few things we didn't know about our family history. More importantly we confirmed that very few of them can actually remember the birthdays of their own children (my dad gets bonus points for remembering mine AND the kids' birthdays...with years). Here are the next generation of cousins: Nathan, Ryan, Clay, Lilly, and Margaret (Daniel was off elsewhere with G). And, yes, Ryan and Clay are Longhorn fans, but we still like them. On Sunday we took the cousins to the Heard Museum to see the dinosaurs and our favorite sycamore tree. It was an amazingly nice day for January.

Happy Birthday Sandy!

Happy 1st Birthday to our sweet dog Sandy. She has been a better dog than we could have imagined, despite her weak stomach, propensity to get dirty, and tendency to chew up inappropriate items. Who knew a puppy would be so calm, great around kids, rarely bark, and be just so sweet.
So, Happy birthday to Sandra Dee, Sandelicious, Puppy Princess, Mucky Pup. You have been a great addition to our family!

Happy Nac-a-New Year

We headed off to stay with the cousins G & Amy in Nac for New Year's. Also there were our friends Bob & Kelly. The first night, we had a great dinner and fun hanging out. That night, we told Margaret that she needed to go to bed with the younger kids, but if she was still awake when all the other kids were asleep that she could get up and play games with us. She and the kids were all tucked in their bedrolls, and about an hour later Margaret came out and said all the other kids were asleep. She stayed up with us and played games for another 2 hours.
The next morning, Walker and Nathan woke up and asked us where the presents were. We were all confused until we found out how Margaret got the kids to go to sleep...she told them that if they went to bed before midnight that MAYBE Santa could come to visit. Clever girl!
Keith joined the crew on New Year's Eve morning and the guys had fun with their LONG golf outing. Then we headed for a hike with Gerald at their property.
Another great dinner, and then the guys treated us to a spectacular fireworks show by the campfire. We had the fireworks finale around 8pm for the kids' countdown. We got the kids (except Margaret, of course) in bed and then hung out until a little after midnight. Happy New Year!