Helmets

My boys have taken up skateboarding. I'm not quite sure how I feel about this. We sat down with them after getting their boards and all of their gear and had the "YOU MUST ALWAYS WEAR A HELMET" chat. It was readily received (mainly because they wanted us to shut up and let them get to it), but my husband took it one step further. He actually looked up some video on YouTube to show how many kids have been really hurt by not wearing their protective gear. This is the same chat we had when they got their bikes.

When I lived in Japan, we had a rule about wearing our bike helmets. I did and didn't, I don't know why, but one day one of our Elders was hit by a car. A really FAST car. His helmet (luckily he was wearing one) was blown to bits on impact. This young man did survive this terrible incident, but just barely...and with years of painful recovery.

I've also seen motorcycle accident attorneys discussing how valuable helmets have been in accidents, and how catastrophic it is when there isn't a helmet used.

I am a HUGE fan of helmets now. In fact, I wanted a helmet for each of my kids as they learned to walk! How is it all of us made it past this stage in our lives without much more damage? My kids always seemed to get up to speed with their steps, only to smash head first into a wall or down on to the floor! I did tell the boys that, "No, a helmet isn't always going to save your life, but you stand a much better chance of surviving if there is one on your head!" This is a family rule that isn't going anywhere!

The Last Big Game!!

Today is my oldest son's last basketball game! I'm glad it is coming to an end-I'm not a big fan of the way the program is run. That said--I should mention that Yes, we will sign up again next year. What I don't like--oh so many things. No one has ever gone over the fundamentals of the game--just threw all of the kids together and have them play a game. Another point--every team has at least one girl on the team. Some teams have two--but our team is the ONLY team with 3--and they aren't the tall girls that other teams got--they are the little tiny short ones. In fact, our entire team is head and shoulders shorter than any other team on the roster!! They rarely get a chance to shoot the ball, and when they do--the other team just tips their bodies in with their arms up, and our kids are totally "caved" in! It will be the same next year--different team shifts--but hopefully my little guy will get a couple of inches between now and then!!

My Kind Of Party!

I am so excited! I was just invited to a "home party" by a friend. It's next Saturday afternoon, and aside from a few hours with good friends, this party is all about getting healthy. I am excited because it's for products set up to help promote energy. I'm hoping they sell something like Solo Slim or one of those "If your wagon is a draggin'" kind of energy drinks. I don't mind healthy weight loss products and high-protein drinks are right up my ally too. I'll have to let you know what I find.

Sick Boy--Maybe

I just got a call from the school! Apparently Daniel is complaining of stomach problems. I'm not sure what the problem is--but he wants to try to make it through lunch to see if it gets any better. Lunch is his favorite part of the day-and if he's not in enough pain to come home immediately but can sit through lunch--I can't imagine why he couldn't make it the rest of the day!

Me thinks it has something to do with Friday being test day! He may be just be a little nervous about his spelling test--although we studied all of the words last night--so he really should feel comfortable with it. He may just be prone to appendicitis like his momma! That is a miserable fate if that's the case. Of course, if he were having that kind of pain--there would be no staying for lunch!!

Spring Break

I think I'm going to plan a trip to Canada for Spring Break. We are pretty close! I think we'll drive to Detroit the first day--spend the night and then cross the bridge into Canada. My kids have never been out of the country--well, I guess the youngest two have--they've been to the border towns of Mexico. But I think Canada sounds like fun!

It will require a little study by me to determine exactly what we are close to, and the fun things to see--if we go! I will let you know tomorrow what I find, and where we are headed! If you've ever been to Canada by way of Detroit--what should I look for??? Let me know!

Boo Boo's!

My little Brett just cut his finger on a razor blade! I am no new comer to kids and blood--but my question is this...WHERE DID HE FIND A RAZOR BLADE??? I cleaned the bathroom this afternoon and searched the house for one. With little ones learning to brush their teeth-I have toothpaste glopped on the sink at all times. It's just easier to razor the globs off--but I could not find one.

Give up on the search, find something else to do--turn my back on him for 2 minutes and he finds the one thing I searched 1/2 of an hour for!! mmmmm hmmmm, that's just scary!!

He's wasn't unhappy or crying at all--but he's not thrilled with the big paper towel taped to his finger with strapping tape! Again, with little ones in the house--band aids are a rare commodity!!

Poor thing!!

Baseball

Tonight is the first practice for my older boys baseball teams. They are really excited! We did all the shopping and got them all set up with their own bats and batting helmets. I'm a weird mom, and don't like the idea of every boy on the team using the same batting helmet! You know, lice!!

Jacob is on the Yankee's and Daniel is on the White Sox. It costs a fortune to keep them in baseball, but they love it--and it's about all they do extra-curricular-ly-so I don't mind. I wish they loved basketball as much as Robyn's boys--there are at least bleachers to sit on and air conditioning or heating to enjoy! Baseball is on lawn chairs in the sun!!

But their smiles of accomplishment is all we do it for! Go Yanks!! Go Sox!!

Back To School

Today was my boys first day back at school. It was a long weekend-and it was nice to have them in school again. They will come home with a ton of homework--but that doesn't really bother me. I'm a homework fan--I believe it is important for them to have their attention spans stretched now so that Jr. High and High School is an easier transition.

I'm going to take my younger two to my sisters house to have a play date with her kids. Her daughter has school--but that's ok--my kids fit nicely around her two littlests ages--so they both don't mind playing with him.

Then I will get to sit and chat with my sister! That's always the best part of the day!

Change of Plans!!

Well, my sister just called and invited my boys to go with her and her family to see a Bulls player. My boys are excited and want to go--but it will kind of sink our plans for the day. Not really--I guess we'll send the boys with her and take the two younger ones out. We won't be seeing a movie--but if we aren't paying for a movie--we could swing a Chuck E Cheese's night for the younger two. They would love that--and call me crazy-but I LOVE their pizza!!

Plus, they have ride on rides that my little ones enjoy--especially the Barney, Teletubbies and Bob The Builder rides. Now my husband will still want to play the video games--but without the older boys here-even that cost will be cut in half! So I think we have a winner! Now I just have to dig out their Bulls jerseys to get signed-and find them a camera! I think they will have a lot of fun!

Casmir Pulaski Day!

Darn! Earlier I posted that I wanted to take my kids to the movies tomorrow with my sister and her kids. Sounds fun--but I totally forgot--her son and my son both have basketball games. Her son is done at 1:30 but mine isn't done until a quarter to 4! That makes any plans for an afternoon movie impossible!

So now we are thinking we will plan the outing for Monday! We have this weird holiday here in Chicago called Casmir Pulaski Day. He is apparently some Polish Freedom Fighter--I'm all for it--but it would be nice to know a little more about what the holiday is for! Are we supposed to do anything in particular? I think there is a parade in Polish town--but I don't know if it will even be on tv. That might be kind of fun-but it is too snowy here to go sit downtown and watch a parade!!

Oh well, a movie it shall be!

A Day Off!!

My neighbor called earlier today to see if we would like to go roller skating with her and her family. Of course, with the day off of school, I thought it sounded like fun! She was going to run to the Credit Union and then give us a call to let us know when to leave to meet them! Well, she never called. I think that is kind of strange--but oh well! I think if we can get up in the morning tomorrow and get our chores done--I may try to take the kids to the movies. I'll have to check and see what kid movies are out there. They've been really good kids these past couple of days--so that would be a nice treat for them!

I may have to call Robyn and see if they want to come with us.

Mmmmmmm, Donuts!!

Have you ever made homemade donuts? I know, it's probably a really strange question. But today after picking the kids up from school all I could smell was fresh fried donuts. It really made me want to come home and make some!

Now--I'm not nearly as talented at making donuts as Dunkin' Donuts or anything--but they are so easy to make--and eating them warm with powdered sugar is AMAZING!!

My kids are out of school for a 4 day weekend--and I think I see some baking coming on!
I've been wanting to make Snikerdoodles too! I guess I really shouldn't make all of these sweets--or me and my kids will weigh a ton!!

Home Sick!!

My husband came home early from work today. He hasn't been feeling well the last couple of days, but I have to tell you--if he's home from work at all--it's got to be pretty bad. He would go to work on his deathbed if he had to. He has called out sick ONCE in our entire marriage--and he only did it because I threatened that I would call him in sick if he didn't!

He's the boss--so he takes his position very seriously. If he is at work when he doesn't feel his best--it let's his employee's see that they are expected there unless they are on their way to the Emergency Room!! Over the years--he's had tons of employees that call out for any reason and blame it on being sick. We even ran into a couple at the movies or out to dinner on a day when they called out--to sick to move! Oh, the look in their eyes was priceless!!

He's currently tucked in his bed sleeping! I sent the kids next door to play at the neighbors house until dinner. That way they get to have fun, and dad gets to sleep and rest--cause I guarantee--he'll be up and out the door to work tomorrow!!

Wednesday!!

My sister called and invited us to the Blue and Gold Banquet for her son tonight. He will be getting his Wolf award and doing something with whipped cream. I really should go--but Wednesdays are not the quietest of days for us! Daniel has basketball tonight, and Kate has Ballet!

But--it is a free dinner--Hawaiian Luau, so I really should go. Plus-they are supposed to be having a Pinewood Derby track there and I know my son would love to take on his two cousins! He built his very own car-- and what it lacks in "speed" it more than makes up for in style!! I really do need to catch a picture of it, before it's been played with beyond recognition!

How Fun Is This!!

As I've been stating for months--I've hated my Blogger template. It was fine-but it was just too boring. So I chose an all new template--and totally shook it up. I bet you can't even tell what template it was to begin with--that's just how good I've gotten! Just kidding!

I chose a template with the sidebar on the right--but I really wanted my sidebar on the left--and I hated the colors they give you to choose from--so I found an awesome site that gives html color codes, and then hit the html section of my template!

I was brave enough to mess around with it until I figured out how to move the sidebar, change the background, and add items that I wanted! I LOVE it! It no longer feels like the "Ugly Neglected Step Sister" to my sisters "Burberry" themed blog!!

Ain't technology Grand!!

I Think It Found Me

It has been a crazy day and it's not even 12:00 noon yet! My husband couldn't find his keys this morning when he was leaving for work. So I got up to help him, found them in the microwave--yes, that would be the work of my 2 year old! But by the time we found them, and he was out the door, it was only 15 minutes until it was time to get the kids up for school.

So I came over to have a seat and type away my thoughts. But then I'm realizing--I don't feel good. My stomach is tight, and I am really going to throw up. I hate this--my sisters entire family has had this stomach gunk--so I'm going to put the blame squarely on her shoulders! So without to much information for you all--I got up and took care of business. Yes, it always makes you feel better when you do it--but it's still just horrid to do it. I would almost rather curl up in a ball and fight it for hours on end, than get up and take the three minutes to feel better! Yes, I would make a TERRIBLE bulimic!

What's That I See??

I walked out the door of my house today--and what is that I see ebbing out of the melting snow?? Can you say TULIPS!! Ohhhh, it's too early for this--I don't want them to freeze, but at the same time-it's always so fun to finally see them popping up again. Who cares about the Groundhog--when my tulips start to bloom--I know Spring is coming!!

Tonight my sisters husband is taking their daughter (named after me) on a daddy daughter date! I think that is such a cute idea--and so sweet of dad to think of it! My big sister has all of the great ideas, I'm always copying them!! I'm going to have to go over tomorrow morning and see how Blakey liked her date with her dad!! You can check out all of the fun over at her blog: Genki Desu Yo

6 Months Comes Fast

February 21st brings the renewal of our car insurance. We've been with the same company for over 5 years, yet every 6 months the husband decides it's time take a look at our car insurance coverage and see if there are savings to be had. Then inevitably, we renew with the same old company! It's like a little control dance we play every 6 months. I control the finances in the house, I pay the bills. But every so often he feels like he needs to dip his toe in and test the waters. Once he realizes that we are running like a well oiled machine, he takes his leave and the universe returns to it's normal, functioning self!

I Need A Gym!!

I want to join a gym! I know I say that alot--but I really do. I need to find one with a section for kids. Since I have 2 little ones that aren't in school-they would need to have a toy section.

My sister in law swaps that out. She gets a free membership at the gym, and then on her times not in the gym--she covers the kids section. I would LOVE this! Do they have them here in Illinois?? Anyone?? I will have to take a minute and see what I can find!

I will let you know!

Sick Babies

I just got off the phone with my sister. Bad news! We were going to get together today and let the kids play in the snow. They actually have toboggan runs here--where were they when we were little! But it turns out all three of her boys are sick. She didn't sound too great either--but the boys have the stomach flu--and I really don't want that invading my house. My kids have already missed so much school for being sick!

So now I have a long three day weekend to plan something fun! I wonder what movies are out there for the kids. We still have free movie tickets left from Christmas--and it's warm in the theaters!! hmmmm, I'll have to give this a little more thought!