This Holiday Season...

...has sucked big time.  It started Tuesday night with C getting sick.  She was better by Christmas Eve, thankfully.  Christmas morning found me sick, and by afternoon B wasn't feeling too good.  B and I are still sick.

Of course, even though I was sick, I was still expected to cook Christmas dinner.  Had two people that were supposed to come over for that dinner.  One decided to come around 5 hours early, the other around 4 hours early.  And neither one of them wanted to help out in the kitchen, nor help with any of the clean up.  Okay, yes, they were guests.  But as a guest, you do not show up that early to a dinner you have been invited to unless you are going to help do something!  And if you are 4-5 hours early, and you see the hostess is not only sick, but taking care of a sick child, then offer to do something!

R & C both said it was their best Christmas ever, so they at least enjoyed it.  B enjoyed all his gifts after he took a nap.  If you ask R & C what their fave gift was, they will both say, "My DS."  B's fave gift seems to be his tools 

Me, Venting

Some people seem to think that just because I don't have a "job," that I sit at home on my butt all day long, therefore making me free to help with out with whatever, whenever.  Sorry, not the way it works. 

While I may not have a 9 to 5 type job, I DO have a job.  My job is one of the most important in the world, IMO.  It is called being a parent!  My kids don't get themselves up and ready for school in the mornings on their own.  My kids don't drive themselves to school or home from school, nor do they drive themselves to doctor appointments and such.  The house doesn't clean itself, and the groceries don't magically appear in my kitchen.

Just because I don't work outside of my home, doesn't mean I am free to help you out at the drop of a dime.  I do make plans, I do things outside of my home.  I will NOT drop everything to help you out, unless it is an emergency!  No, I will NOT pick my child up late/early from school when you need a ride to work just so you get there on time.  You want a ride from me, YOU will either get there early or late.  If your work is approx. 26 miles away from my child's schoo, use a brain...there is no way I can have you there on time and still pick up my child on time 15 minutes later!  NO, I will not miss my child's class party that I committed to a couple weeks ago just because you decide to call me the night before wanting my help at the same time as the party.


   

Christmas Memories

Last year, DH lost his job not too long before Christmas time, so money was really tight.  The kids weren't going to get much for Christmas, but I was determined that it was still going to be a great Christmas for them.  One thing I always have in the house is ingredients for baking.  So I set everything out, then the kids and I got to work.  We made several different kinds of homemade cookies, homemade caramels, homemade hard candy, homemade truffles, etc.  We even got my youngest involoved, and he was 2.5 at the time.  We spent the whole week before Christmas baking.  Sure, it made a mess, but we had some great fun.  And what was even better was seeing the joy on the kids faces when they would pass out their goodies to other family members while telling them about making them.  And you know what?  Here we are a year later, and my kids don't remember a single gift they did get for Christmas last year.  But they sure remember making all those goodies.

So this Christmas, make some memories with your kids.  Get in the kitchen and bake some cookies together.  Or do holiday crafts, go caroling, or whatever.  It doesn't matter what you do, as long as you do it together.  You can even invite other family members over to join in on the fun (we had my brother come help last year).   

Pet Peeves About Pet Owners

Those who know me, know that I am a huge dog lover. Even if you don't know me, I'm sure you can figure that fact out about me seeing that I have 6 dogs. I didn't mean to start out with 6 dogs. It started with one, then another, then another. Then a stray came along and we couldn't find her owners. Then another stray, and again, couldn't find her owners. Then another that I got on purpose. Owning any kind of pet can be great for you and the pet. But you must use common sense when owning a pet. Lately I have seen more and more pet owners not using any common sense at all. So here is just a short list of some of my pet peeves on pet owners.

1. If you aren't going to be in it for the long haul, don't get a pet! It's that simple. If you do get a pet and decide it's not for you, find another home for it. Your local vet may even be able to help you do that. Whatever you do, don't just drive out into the country and dump the poor thing (I'm pretty sure this is how I ended up with my 2 strays, along with some cats that I have found homes for)!
2. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER pick a dog, cat, whatever up by their collar, then try to laugh it off, saying, "That's how it's mom picks it up." NO! A mother dog/cat/whatever does NOT pick a baby up by the collar! It picks the baby up by the scruff of the neck, which is a hell of a lot different. Picking the baby up by the neck doesn't put pressure on the front of the baby's throat, choking them. Picking them up by the collar and carrying them around is animal cruelty!
3. If you get mice coming into your home trying to find warmth from the cold nights, DO NOT PUT OUT MOUSE POISON! Even if you put it in a place your pet can not reach, the mice move around after they eat the poison. If you pet finds the mouse after it dies, it will want to investigate it, maybe even eat it. If you do have mice, there are several different options out there other than poison. Use some common sense. If you wouldn't put it around your children, then don't put it around your pets.
4. If you are not a pet person, then don't get a pet. Not even if your young children beg and beg you for one. Nine times out of ten, YOU will be the one that ends up taking care of that animal, not the kids. Same goes for it you like one kind of pet, but not another. DO NOT get the type of pet you don't like. For example, my kids keep asking for a cat. I am not a cat person. I think they are cute and all, but I really don't like them. Therefore, I will not get a cat. If you aren't a dog person, then don't get a dog.
5. Baby puppies/kittens/etc chew! Don't be surprised by this fact. They chew because they are teething (just alike a human baby does). They chew because it's their way of playing. They chew because it's their way of investigating objects. If you don't want them chewing on your things, then invest in a few chew toys for them (you can get some from the dollar store even ).

Sick again

It seems like for the past couple of months, once I get over having one cold, I get another one. I am so tired of going through a box of tissue just about every day. I've been drinking plenty of liquids (cold and hot), using my Neti-Pot, and increasing my Vitamin C intake. I hate taking medications though. What do you do to help when you've got a cold? Leave me a comment and let me know.

Report Card

R got his first report card for the year today. He got 2 A's, 3 B's, and a D. The D was in Spelling, but we are working on that more, and using games to help him learn them. So hopefully that D will be brought up before the next report card.

Another "Boo-boo"

B sure keeps me on my toes...the poor boy. Just as a quick history lesson:

• At a year and a half old, on a Christmas Eve, B busted his head open on the dining room table. Spent forever in the ER on that one
• At 2 years old, he was jumping on the bed, fell off, and had a heck of a black eye from it. Didn't phase him one bit though, he went right back to jumping on the bed 2 seconds later.
• The dog bite (which can I wrote about here and put pics up here) happened when he was 3. Also was the incident a couple weeks ago where he kept hitting his eye on everything at the family reunion, which I wrote about here.

So that brings me to now. The other day he was in his room watching TV, when he started crying. Hubby went to his room to see what was wrong, and came carrying him down. B was bleeding from his chin. I got the bleeding to stop right away. And once I got him cleaned up, it was just a little worse than a scratch. I asked him what happened. He told me, "I was jumping on my bed and fell." Just a couple hours later, I caught him jumping on the bed again!

So I have come to the conclusion that the only way I can keep him from getting hurt is to wrap him in bubble wrap, lol