Monday, March 31, 2014

Reading...

      We finally found a love of reading in our house.  It was a matter of finding the right subject to get Evan off and running.  Around Christmas time he was reading level 1 books and hadn't found books that really interested him.  Evan is my picky kid, he only likes certain toys, movies, foods.  Once Evan finds what he likes he is happy.  So I bought a few Lego level 1 books and some superhero, Biscuit, and Little Critters books.  He loved the Lego books and was devouring them.  Unfortunately the library doesn't carry any.  So after a weekly investment in Lego books (thank goodness for Amazon prime) he told me he needs something more challenging.  So a stack of Level 2 books arrived and he does them 90% on his own.  When we are reading about superheroes there are some difficult vocabulary words.  He can be lazy about sounding out words. But once I tell him the word he doesn't forget it. 
    I look forward to having Sara read because she is never as picky as him.  She will most likely be so proud to read that she will read the hundreds of other books in our house. 
    Sara returned to the Dr's. on Saturday with her second bout of Strep this month.  She also was diagnosed with it on 3/17.  Now we have Augementin which is disgusting.  I have been measuring it out and then adding snow cone syrup to it to disguise the flavor.  She gets a few M&M's before her dose and a few after.  The taste of it is horrid.  I contemplated teaching her to take pills but my Mom who is a pharmacist said it comes in a huge tablet.  We have 7 more days of it and hopefully no more strep throat.  My Mom said I have never had it, either has Evan.  My mother in law told me everyone in their family had it multiple times.  I hope its not a yearly event for poor Sara.
  Today I did lunch duty at the kids school.  I do it every other Monday during my lunch period.  When I came home today and asked the kids about the day, Sara told me it was  great day.  When I asked why she told me because Mom came to school today!  Friday the kids have Catholic Charities Carnival day.  They have bounce houses, carnival games,  raffle items, and small toys to purchase.  We cleaned some unwanted gifts from our home and donated them.  Since we have had some unexpected sick days I am being cautious about taking any time off.  So far I have had 7.5 days and know I will need some more half days for the kids graduations at the end of the year.  Grandma is going to attend the carnival with the kids on Friday.  I am sad to miss it, it was great fun last year.  I think I will try to pick some pizza up and run over on my lunch Friday.  Many parents stay for the carnival and eat lunch with their children on this day. 
    This past weekend we visited a maple sugar farm.  Saturday night we received a foot of snow, so it wasn't as fun filled as anticipated.  We did purchase some syrup and some cotton candy.  The farm we visited was only a few miles from our house.  In the past we visited a huge operation that had wagon rides and vendors.  Maybe next year if the weather permits. 
    This weekend we have 2 birthday parties on Saturday and I am supposed to go out for dinner with my high school friends.  Since I have had children I am so bad about spending time with my friends.  I have a few that I talk to each week or month and the others I talk to once or twice per year.  It seems each time I make plans someone is sick and I have to cancel. 
    Today was in the 50's and we spent some time outside.  It was so nice to see neighbors and to let Evan and Sara run around.  We really have been stuck inside for months.  It was such a chilly winter they only went out a few times to play. 
    I have been so bad about taking pictures of the kids.  As I was looking at our monthly calendar I realized I barely have any pictures to make next years.  We have some fun events coming up around Easter so I will have to get busy! 

Monday, March 17, 2014

I thought March was a sign of spring??

This winter seems to be endless.  I know I am from Buffalo, NY... the city with a bad reputation for snow.  Honestly I can't remember a winter like this since I was in grade school.  We have had 8 snow days, 2 blizzards, 2 ear infections, and now strep throat.

I was so excited for St. Patrick's day today.  A leprechaun visited our house last night and colored the toilets green, put a shamrock on the toilet paper to seal the rolls, left green frosting messages for the kids, put stickers on their hands last night, and left green M&M's in their boots this morning.  Evan and I are planning on building a Lego trap after school to catch him. 


My silly girl at a bowling party
Sara has been struggling for the past few weeks with her ears.  She had her 2nd ear infection so far around Valentines Day and then had fluid in her ear (which is only treatable by Benadryl, Sara and Benadryl don't work well together) and she started complaining each morning her ear hurt.  Saturday night she said the top of her mouth hurt and was up a lot and very inconsolable last night.  This morning I planned on having my Mom take her to the walk in clinic at our pediatricians.  Well Sara was hysterical and on letting go of me, which is so out of character for her even when she is sick.  I called in to work at 7:10, I am supposed to be there at 7:50.  We went to the peds and hit the right time and did not have to wait.  Her ears were fine, and they asked if I wanted to do a strep test. .   I said why not we are her, Sara was not a fan of this test.  It came back positive and hopefully she can return to school tomorrow.  We are now on our second prescription for amoxicillin this winter and the 3rd in her life. Evan was not happy that Mom was home and he wasn't. 

I scrubbed the bathroom today, I even did the grout!!  Now I need to tackle the master bath.  That room is my biggest downfall.  Since no one sees it I am terrible about doing a really thorough cleaning.  Marc scrubs the shower and I do the sinks, toilet, and counters.  But, I am really bad about the baseboards, floor (we have dark tile and grout) and wiping down the cabinets.  I would love to have someone come to do the bathrooms, floors, and dusting.  Maybe next year that will be my plan from the beginning of the school year.

We make our last car payment this week!!  It will be so nice to not have a payment.  If only our crazy property taxes would end we could really get ahead.  This year our taxes were $9,000.  The are up $3,000 from when we built this house.. its crazy!! 

Evan was student of the week and needed a picture of him at school
We have had a busy winter, Evan's birthday party.  Birthday parties for their classmates almost every weekend.  We have been to a movie party, bowling parties. a movie night at a home,  a bakery party, and they will continue through the end of the school year.  Luckily last year I hit a great clearance sale at Wegmans and Target and stocked up on squirt guns, snow cone makers, and sprinklers, we are prepared with a stockpile of gifts. 

All Butterflies
Last week we celebrated Irish Night at our church.  The kids had an amazing time.  There were Irish dancers, music, crafts, food, and a great game of tag!  We also visited the Science museum over February Break, and this weekend did a program at Wegmans where the kids made their own organic salad and planted two organic plants.  The Wegmans program was a bargain for $5.  They offer them almost every month but we have never went before.  Sara's best friend and her mom joined us for a girls day and we had a blast.  On Friday Sara had Dad's day.  He picked her up from school and took her to Fisher Price for some hand modeling and then to Applebees for lunch.  Dad took her to dance for the first time and she was proud little girl. 

Racing with his best bud Brady

Legos Evan builds without any help
 

Snow Days...

This is a post from February... I'm a bit behind

These snow days seem to be endless.  I never thought I would complain about to many snowdays.  We have had 4 this month and one in December, I am pretty sure we will have another one tomorrow.  The kids love being home and I do get lots done, but my work load at school is another story.  We were supposed to administer tests to the high school students this week.  In between proctoring exams we can work on our materials, grade our own midterms, and finish first semester grades.  Losing two days this week is not ideal.  So far the rumor is we won't have to make up days.  Our contract is 188 days and NY requires 180 days.  I guess we will have to see what happens. 
     Today we celebrated with snow cones (made with ice not the snow outside).  Last year while wishing for a snow day I told the kids we could celebrate with snow cones.  They never let me forget it.  We worked on hats for crazy hat day on Thursday.  This week is Catholic school week and the kids are missing all of the fun days.   Tomorrow Evan is supposed to go the movie theatre (there is one a block away from the school).  Today the Bishop was going to visit the school. 

   Marc called around 9am and said he forgot to pack enough clothes for the week.  He is usually gone 2 night a week.  His company was taken over and last week he was gone 4 nights in a row, he went from Buffalo to Philly  to Detroit to Ohio and finally home.  I am hoping this week won't be so long.  Today he went back to Philly.  So I had to meet him near the big mall so I ran into JCP's, Old Navy and Michaels.  Our JCP had really nice stainless cookware for 9.97 per piece.  Since my pots were 15 years old and looking pretty rough I splurged and for $50 I have almost a complete set.  The only pot I am missing is the 8quart pot.  Unfortunately they didn't have it. I will take our old ones to our cottage where we lack quite a few pots and pans.   I didn't find anything at Old Navy but I was only looking for a super hero shirt for Sara.  Tomorrow is Super Hero day, so she is content to wear Evan's sweatshirt instead of a pink girl shirt.  At Michaels' I picked up some foam hats and some decoration's for them.  Sara and I had fun decorating, we even took pictures from the school site and laminated the teacher pictures.  Our plan is to attach them like a rainbow over the top with pipe cleaners.  I am sure they will be thrilled to see yearbook pictures... NOT... I hate when my students look at the old ones!