One is delayed, one is closed

We spent the bulk of yesterday dealing with an ice storm here in NW Ohio. My husband left the house one time in the early afternoon and when he got home he told me "That's enough of that", and didn't get in the truck again. As of about 7:00 PM last night my daughters school was on a 2 hour delay for this morning, but nothing had been said yet about my son's school.

I had one of my can't sleep nights so I sat out here alternating between playing games on my computer and watching TV. By the time I finally called it a night, only my daughters school was delayed, but still no word on my sons school.

My husband tried wake me up before he left for work, but wasn't successful, but a phone call from him an hour later when he made it to work did finally wake me up. After I got my coffee, I came out here and turned the news out. The very first thing I seen when I looked at the TV was an announcement that my son's school had closed for today. So I hopped online to see the latest about my daughters school, as of right now, 7:30 AM, it is still on a 2 hour delay. BUT, I just checked the site that I rely on for school closings and delays, and all other schools in my daughters region have now closed, so I know that hers will close now too! And on a quick refresh of the closings/delays page, her school is now closed too! At least they do it well before the time that I would normally wake her up!

Looks like a good day to bake some cookies!

Helping my kids save their change

Unfortunately my teenagers don't see the value in change, they'd much rather have the bills instead. My husband and I decided that if we wanted to teach them the appreciation of every penny, we'd have to come up with something very clever. That's when we decided a coin sorter just might do the trick. The kids throw their change into it (and so do we, but don't tell ;-) ) and when it gets full we bring out the coin rolls and before you know it you have several rolls of coins, which to them adds up. It's helped them realize the value of money a little better, I've even caught them picking up pennies they find on the ground...LOL.

Peace At Last!

As you know from a few posts ago, my son brought home a home economics "project" this past weekend in the form of a doll from the "Baby Think It Over" program. I must admit, there were times that I "kind of" enjoyed having a "baby" around, I mean, come on, I'm a 40 something woman with teenagers, there is a "part" of me that would love to have another baby. But it's not to be as the "baby factory" was condemned and closed almost 12 years ago...LOL!

But I must admit that I'm very impressed with this program, sleep deprivation aside...LOL! I've never been around anything like this before so I'm not sure how to compare this baby to other baby simulators, I only have my own personal experience with babies to compare it to, and let me tell you, it's RIGHT on the money.

The biggest goal with the Baby Think It Over doll/program is sleep deprivation, I know this because I went to their website...LOL! We were up most nights every 2 to 2 1/2 hours. One night we had a 3 hour stretch and last night her last "needs" time was 2:20 a.m. and she never went off again. Unfortunately I had to be up at 5, so I didn't get much sleep...LOL!

My childs over all reaction was two fold. First, he actually became attached to the doll, even talking and cooing back to it at times. His second reaction came this evening when I asked him if he was enjoying his freedom to which he replied "Yeah, I sure did miss being able to do what I wanted to when I had her". Unfortunately for me, he's not one to sleep alot, so the sleep deprivation didn't get to him the way it got to me.

Over all I feel it gave he and I some really nice time together. I camped out with him every night and only helped when he said he needed it. For the biggest part of the 3 days he took care of his "baby" and he did it proudly. My hope is that it deters him rather than actually making him want a baby!! I don't think he understands that it's actually the young mother that would be responsible for the vast majority of the babies care!

Can you say OUCH??

OK, so I must REALLY be out of the loop from being a stay at home mom for so many years. I don't have many adult friends, and those that I do have don't have children with braces. That being said I about fell out of my chair when they presented me with the "estimate" for braces for my eldest child in the amount of $4649.00. I knew they weren't going to be cheap, but I honestly had NO idea they would cost that much!

We're going to attempt to get financing, but I'm unsure as to whether it will happen or not. At this point it's a bit depressing, he definitely needs braces, but I don't know how I'm going to manage to cough up the dough :-( I feel like a horrible mom.

Off to the Orthodontist

I'm sure I'm a bit "behind" other parents, but for the first time I'm having to deal with something as a parent that I also had to deal with as a teen. I'm speaking of Orthodontics a.k.a. Braces. I got mine WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY back in the mid 70's before they were actually cool. The names I put up with were horrible. Tin grin, brace face, metal mouth, etc....the list goes on and on. I remember being in a lot of pain from both the braces pulling the teeth and from the brackets tearing the inside of my mouth apart. I endured them for more than 3 years, it would have been closer to 2 and a half, but I had to put the date off for having them removed twice, once shortly after my father passed away, then again about a month later because my brother was getting married. But I remember the day they came off, I smiled like I've never smiled before!

Today I take my eldest child for a consultation at the Orthodontist. The dentist HIGHLY recommended it as their last appointment. My eldest could care less, but the youngest is actually quite upset because they don't need them....LOL!! The appointment is at 2:30, but with all of the snow we got and the fact that I'll have to fill out paperwork, I'm planning on leaving here about 1:30.

I'll post an update this afternoon and let you know how it goes!

**huggles**

Passing The Bug

Yeah, it's kind of like playing pass the buck, the only difference is you're passing a bug from one family member to another. First my youngest was sick, she started not feeling good on Saturday and finally finished up yesterday. But yesterday when hubby got home he wasn't feeling well, so he hit the couch and slept for like 5 hours straight. He still felt like crud this morning so he took the kids into town to meet the cab that takes them to their program, then he took a sick day and came home. About noon or so I started feeling like crud so I laid down, but thanks to the dogs didn't get any "real" rest. It will definitely be an early night, especially since the kids have to be to the dentist at 7:45 tomorrow morning **UGH** I just feel completely exhausted and am sure if I went to bed now that I'd easily sleep through til morning!

So, that's how you play pass the bug, anyone else want to join in?

**huggles**

My kids are WERID!

I'm not sure if it's the new school they're going to, or the fact that they don't get as much fresh air because if it being colder and them being inside more, or if it's just because they're mine, but my kids are VERY weird!

I have to take them to and from the bus stop every morning and we are usually early so we have a few minutes to talk and laugh before they get on the bus. They always seem to be in either a very goofy mood or a very grumpy mood in the mornings. But in the afternoons they are always running and acting goofy when they get off the bus and it always just makes me laugh.

I'm glad they're doing better at the new school! They seem to be enjoying school much more and the reports I've gotten so far have been promising! So my hubby and I have decided that making this change for them was definitely a good thing!
**huggles**

Ohhhhhhhh the joys

For those of you who know me, you know that I have 2 children. My eldest is almost 14 and male and my youngest is 11 and female. They both recently changed schools and they are both now in Jr. High. My oldest is used to it because this is his 2nd year in Jr. High, he'll be in High School next year. My youngest, however, was in elementary school prior to transferring schools, so was abruptly put into Jr. High.

I was a bit nervous at first because it is a big change, but she seemed to do well with it and was actually starting to come out of her "shell". She made friends right away and was getting good grades again. Tonight, however, was her first Jr. High dance. I was hoping her older brother would go also, just to kind of keep an eye on her, but he didn't want to, and she was insistant on going, so we conceeded and let her go. The dance was at a local church and was going to be highly supervised and chaperoned, so we felt comfortable with her going alone.

Hubby just got home from picking her up and she is DEVESTATED. The church that it was at is also the home of a Catholic School that our neighbors sons go to. One of these "sons" either has a HUGE crush on our daughter, or is out to destroy her because he's always picking on her and saying things that are fairly upsetting. Anyway, he ended up being at this dance tonight and according to my daughter went out of his way to not only embarass her in front of his friends, but hers also.

I'm to the point with this kid that I'm about to tie him up to a tree and whip his a$$! He recently "lost" his mothers cellphone, only to have it turn up in my sons room, he's lied to our faces and in my opinion is simply a little turd!

I just don't know how to handle this, not only is this kid our neighbor, his father is also my boss. His parents in no way think he is an innocent kid, they know what a pain he is. But I know that there is nothing they could do to him that would actually make him stop this behavior, or change the damages that were done tonight. My only hope is that my daughters friends are able to realize that what he was saying were lies, because if he has caused problems for her at her school, I'll simply whoop his butt!

**huggles**

Bicycle Update

I thought I'd take a moment and update you on my daughters bicycle "situation". I worked at the office today and this afternoon my boss, who also happens to be a neighbor, called me and asked me to describe my daughters bicycle. After I did he said to hold on a second, when he came back to the phone he said "I've got her bike in my truck, I'll be back at the shop by 2". When I tried to get him to tell me where he found it and who had it he simply said "I found it, that's all you need to know for now, I'll tell you more when I get back to the shop".

When he got back to the shop he would only tell me that there was a kid riding it down the road and that he knew who the kid was, but wasn't going to tell me. When I asked why he said "You just need to be glad that she got her bike back and leave it at that".

At first, I was REALLY upset. I couldn't understand why he wouldn't tell me who had it, especially after looking at the bike and seeing the damage that was done to it. I've sat and thought about it for 2 hours now and although I still don't understand, I've decided to accept. We do need to be thankful that we don't have to replace a bike. And although it is damaged, the damage does not affect the ridability of her bike, only the look of it. So I'm thankful, but a little less trusting of the people who live around me, which I don't like one bit!

Thanks to all who read my vent, I appreciate it!
**huggles**

And the opposite of love

I'm pissed right now, REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY pissed! My daughter went outside to play a little while ago and discovered that her bike is gone. What kind of (*#&$(@#*$&(@#*&$)@#(*&$#@)($*&#@)($*&#@)$&*#)$*(&@#$)*(@# RETARD steals a kids bike right off private property? My only hope is that the person that stole it dies a very cruel, slow and inhumane death after being repeatedly beaten and tourtured and then rots in heck!

***UPDATE***
No, we haven't found the bike yet, and I'm not really going to hold my hopes out that we will, since we're surrounded by woods out here. BUT, Thanks to some of my posties and my daughter, I'm not quite so angry. And my daughter is already online looking for a replacement....LOL

**huggies**

Letting go......(just a little)

You know, some things in life you simply can't avoid. Getting older is one of them, and as you grow older, so do your children. It is so hard for me to believe that my oldest child is going to be 14 in just a few months! The changes I've seen in him in the past year and mind blowing! Although he's still very immature in many ways, he's quite grown up in others!

Take last night as an example. I'm out in the kitchen getting ready to start dinner and my son comes out and says "Mom, can I help? I've learned a few things in home ec and I'd like to help with dinner." Now, it's not that I don't think he's learned anything in home ec, because I know he has, it's just that I'm kind of a control freak over my kitchen, especially when it comes to cooking. Even hubby rarely helps me cook, so it's kind of "my turf". But, I gave in, especially since it was hubby he was going to be helping and not me, because last night was breakfast dinner, and that's mostly hubby's meal to cook, except the potatoes, which I take care of.

For the most part, I stood back and let the two of them do what they needed to do. My son went to work chopping veggies for the omelettes, which made me a bit nervous, because he was using my large chopping knife. But he did a wonderful job and was very careful! He helped dad with the bacon and omelettes doing a great job with everything he was asked to do. It was strange though!

See, I still see him as my "little boy", and little boys aren't supposed to be able to do things on their own, they need mom's help...LOL. So it tugged at my heart strings last night to realize that my "little boy" isn't so little anymore. Heck, in less than 2 years he'll get his learners permit and be able to start driving. But the hardest part was letting go of the reins a little bit and giving him some growing room.

But I'm proud of my son, heck, I'm proud of both of my kids! They're good kids!

Anyway, I'll stop being all mushy now...LMAO!
**huggles**