Well, I've definitely had better weeks

It has been a trying week to say the least, but not all bad.

So the bad stuff first:

1. Doug has been home running a fever all week.

2. There's nothing like being stuck in a basement while tornadoes rip through the area while a child is running a 103 degree temp and is maxed out on meds he can have.

3. While Doug did not officially get diagnosed with strep (I think the doc did not want to swab his throat a second time after the puke two days earlier), Andy was diagnosed with it and I (for the first time in my life) was diagnosed with strep.

The goodish news:
1. We seem to be improving health-wise and we are some of the fortunate who have both power and adequate water. (My favorite thing to do when a child hits 104.8 degrees is to throw them in a shower...that requires power and water).

2. My professor whose house was in the direct path of the tornado is fine and at least one of her housemates is fine (have not officially heard about the other one). If you want a testament to a miracle, the only house left standing one their street is their house...and they are nuns.

3. We have seen people banding together for the greater good, and that is refreshing. I know that some areas of the country may have moved on to happier news (such as royal weddings), but there are many people in need after the severe storms. We are counting ourselves blessed and have been doing what we can.
It is true that they need everything...and I do mean everything. Right now the needs are food, water, shelter, blood donation, etc. But next they will need household items, clothing, books, toys. There is also need for school supplies. At least two schools are damaged beyond repair and one will not be able to reopen before the next school year. So even school supplies are needed.

Why make it complicated

Josie and I were watching something on the Disney channel today. She saw and advertisement for dressing like a Disney Princess.

Josie: Mommy I want to do that.
Me: Where are they doing that (I wasn't watching the TV that much).
Josie: At the Disney store so it is at Disney World.
Me: That is pretty far away from us.
Josie: No problem, we just take a plane.

Detail oriented

I find it so interesting to see my children's personalities expressed in their actions.

Early on I saw tendencies in Doug towards him being particular, detail oriented and....well, some might say anal retentive about things.

He is particular about lining up his little green army guys and creating bases for his Lego Storm Troopers. He used to line up his Hot Wheels in a long straight line and he would even "park" them.

He also has this tendency to be able to find coins when we go out somewhere.

Put these two tendencies together (detail oriented and finding money) and it resulted in this.

Doug, with no coins anywhere in sight, turned to me the other day and proceeded to tell me which coins have bumpy edges and which are smooth.

I was a bit impressed.

Good Fortune

We went out for Chinese food at our favorite Chinese restaurant. The kids love getting their fortunes. I do not remember what Jim had, but Josie had something about developing a new relationship in the next month. Doug and Andy each had something about celebrating good news (different fortunes but very similar messages).

My fortune said that my feet would touch many soils in my lifetime.

Andy, who was sitting in my lap while I read it, looked at me and said,

"I guess you're going to see a lot of dirt, mom."

Spring has Sprung

Sure signs that it is Spring in the South

• Colorful flowers on stalks, bushes, and trees.
• Every car is a yellow car...all the same shade of pollen yellow.
• Every week there is some sort of thunder storm with possible tornadoes
  
• The ants don't build hills...they construct mountains overnight.

I do like it here...but while I love the fruits and vegetables that come into season and the fact that it is a comfortable temperature here (not as damp cold as Winter and not so hot that you do not want to be outside like in Summer), Spring is not actually my favorite season here.

Spring Break

Well, Spring Break has come and gone for us here. Tomorrow it is back to reality.
Did I do everything I wanted to? No...of course not.

I did get to spend some quality time with my family.
We visited the local model railroad club. We went swimming. We picnicked in a park. We treated ourselves a bit. We had friends over to play. We went to the library. We visited Nana and Pop where we hunted pirate treasure, fished, bounced in bouncies, climbed trees (well...the kids did the last two things), and played. We slept in a bit and occasionally stayed up a little bit late.

In general we had a good time. So despite the fact that I am now playing catch-up on laundry (as usual...so I suppose it is not technically catch-up), cleaning, and getting ready to face the week... it was a good break and I am thankful for my husband and my children.

I'm feeling overdressed

Somehow my children love to run around half naked....

Hopefully I am not the only one with born strippers.

We can mess with their minds!

We have, for some reason or other, accumulated several pairs of fake glasses. I usually leave them with the dress-up box and occasionally the kids will find them and put one on.

Tonight Doug found a pair and Jim started calling him "Harry Potter." So yes, it was amusing that every time Doug would put them on Jim would ask where Doug was and when Doug would take them off Jim would ask where Harry was (Doug thought this was hilarious).

However, I think that it is even funnier that when Doug, with his glasses on, came up behind Jim he grinned at me and then pulled the glasses down to make sure that I realized that it was really him and not someone else.

Cravings

Josie seems to get sort of stuck on one or two foods. She adores chocolate and would eat fruit until she exploded, but she will not eat much when it comes to sweet breakfasts (a third of a donut, one small pancake, not big on poptarts, etc.).

First it was corndogs.
Next meatballs, she wanted them for both breakfast and lunch.
Then string cheese and/or pizza.
She went through a chili stage where she wanted chili on hotdogs or on chips.
At the moment she is stuck on grill cheese sandwiches with ham in them. She usually wants them for both breakfast and lunch. I did talk her in to a quesadilla the other day. It's basically equivalent to a grill cheese sandwich. I must say that I have turned out some beautiful grill cheese sandwiches recently.... I guess that's what I get for getting so much practice due to her craving.

Funny what they figure out

I was tucking the boys in to bed. We were discussing what tomorrow holds for them.

• They have dental appointments (which my kids like the dentist so no worries there).
• They have a field trip
• Doug pipes up and adds, "we only have to practice our sight words for homework."

Three days out of the week we have a homework sheet to review and usually on one day (or more depending on how long it is) we have some sort of hand-writing sheet to complete. However, by Thursday we have completed all the specific homework pages and I only make them practice their sight words. I guess Doug had noticed that this coincides with it being Thursday.