Gripes & Giggles

It's been a mixed bag in the Hill House over the past few days. Let's start with Friday...
Friday:
PARP Family Reading Night at our elementary school. I attended with NCH, CAH and KBH. We really enjoyed listening to several teachers read stories to us while we sat on pillows and blankets.

NCH was suddenly "too cool for school" and sat on the very edge of our blanket until his friend arrived!

Yummy cookies and milk for a treat afterwards and we headed home.



I put the younger three to bed, but NCH stayed up - he was off to his first all-night lock-in with his church friends at the YMCA! I was very reluctant to let him attend - kids need sleep! (We ALL need sleep!) He seemed too young for such an event, but hubby said he would go with him, so off they went.
Saturday:
The younger three and I got up and had a huge breakfast - scrambled eggs with extra sharp cheddar cheese, toast, and orange slices. I kept them quiet, doing some coloring, playing dress up, watching a movie and then playing outside. Finally hubby and NCH got up, groggy and feeling out of it. I decided that I had better do my Couch to 5K workout on the treadmill, even if all 4 kids plus hubby were in the same room with me! Not much fun, but it had to be done!! Later, I was happy to "escape" for a bit with a few girlfriends - dinner at a new restaurant "Pasta Pane" and a girlie movie "Dear John." It was a wonderful night out and I was so thankful to hubby for staying home with the herd!!
Sunday:
NCH was still out of it and tired, so hubby stayed home from church with the boys. The girls and I, all wearing warm and snuggly hand-made knitwear, enjoyed worshiping together, arm in arm. After church, I did some laundry, but found the washer to be broken. Good old hubby to the rescue (again)!!

Later that day, CAH had a friend over while NCH headed off to his musical rehearsal. After that, I drove the girls and CAH's friend to AWANA, got some groceries, picked everyone back up, and off we went to a Super Bowl party at a friend's house. Oh - great news at AWANA: NCH and CAH both finished their books!! So proud of them! Anyway, during the Super Bowl party, NJH was screaming and miserable, and NCH seemed to be wilting.
Monday:
Now Monday is a day that stay-at-home moms tend to enjoy - the house gets emptier and we can get everything cleaned and organized. I feel like the weekends are messy, and Mondays are for laundry, cleaning, straightening, etc. Not this Monday! NCH had a fever and stayed home from school, NJH was MISERABLE and cried the whole morning, KBH was bored and looking for trouble, and when CAH got off the kindergarten bus, she tried to "help" but made matters worse with every effort! I was thrilled when hubby came home a little early and I could run on the treadmill...unfortunately, at that time, there were 5 people on the couch, no more than 2 feet from me! And the lovely Caillou was on TV - hooray! Oh well, at least I got the workout in. I am hoping that all this running on the treadmill with small people staring at me (and saying things like, "Wow, look at mommy's big white belly! It's all jiggly!" and "Mommy's bum-bum is huge!!") will 1) motivate me to run faster and longer and 2) help me to appreciate running outside in peace and quiet when that time comes! Oh, the older two kiddos got their report cards and I am so proud of them! They have been putting forth great effort and it is showing. My favorite part, better than letter or number grades, is when a teacher comments on my child's thoughtfulness, kindness, and helpfulness!!
Tuesday:
NCH still had a fever, so he stayed home from school again. CAH headed off to kindergarten and KBH was off to preschool. I was super-happy hubby stayed home - he took NCH to the doctor (quick strep test came back negative). During nap time, I decided to get some errands done, so CAH and I left the others home sleeping for several hours. She and I got: her hair trimmed, her feet measured (they actually grew a whole size!), her materials for her 100 days of school project, each of the kiddos' designated contributions for their school Valentine parties, and several other items. While at Walmart, I had the strangest cashier - the man ahead of me in line evidently left his chicken wings, but she didn't even bother to run after him! Once I realized what had happened, I offered to go chase him down and asked her if all my items were there...she said yes, so CAH and I left and looked for the man. We never found him, but when I got home to unpack, I noticed one of my items wasn't there!! Was this for real? Did the cashier want people to leave items so she could take them home??? I know I sound paranoid, but I WILL be going back to Walmart later today to have a word with the manager! Anyway, last night all four kids used the word "stupid" and I decided enough was enough: I made "The Bad Word Bowl." I filled a bowl with about 60 glass bead/marbles. I told the kids I would remove one marble every time I heard anyone in the family say a bad word. On February 27th, we will count the marbles left in the bowl. If there are 20 or more left, we will have a family make-your-own ice cream sundaes night. If there are less than 20, we will have to start over and try again next month. So far, I've had to remove 2 marbles since 7pm last night. Not bad! Oh, last night I received an early Valentine's Day gift from hubby: an iPod Shuffle!! I had tried to run with my iPhone strapped to my arm, but it was heavy and awkward. The Shuffle is TINY (and pink!!) and I can't wait to use it for my treadmill workout later today. Hubby gave me an inservice last night on music libraries and files and playlists. I made 2 workout playlists, but I will be looking for suggestions from friends for more songs to add. Yes, this is much better than a bread maker!!
Wednesday:
I was supposed to be going to my cousin Jenn's this morning - her clan was going to play with half of my herd! But we're still waiting to hear the results of NCH's 24-hour strep test, so we had to cancel. It's snowing to beat the band right now, so staying in jammies is ok today. The kids have been playing on frozen dirt when outdoors lately, so some snow is welcome!