Grateful

OK, so this morning I was feeling REALLY sorry for myself. Sickness struck again. Yes, again. I've since gained some perspective. (Thanks to the telephone and some good laughs.) We're all in the same boat, really. My problems are quite small.

Plus, how can you look at this picture and not crack a smile?

Happiness Isn't...

How fitting that I posted that jolly little ditty just before this post. This one is going to be full of darkness and gloom. (I'm laughing as I type that, so I'm actually kidding--mostly).

Well, happiness isn't waking up at 12:30 a.m. (and every twenty minutes thereafter) to a puking kid. And happiness isn't cleaning up said puke. And it for darn sure isn't the anticipation of the rest of the clan getting this crazy stain of hooey.

WHEN WILL WE BE BETTER??? I think I'm two pukes away from crazy!!!

Happiness Is...

What made me happy this past week? Here we go:

*My mom making me homemade spaghetti (with leftovers to boot).

*Warm weather, riding bikes, watching the kids slosh around in our neighborhood skaking rink (what's left of it). No more heavy coats (at least this week)!

*Making a mix tape for my friend, Stacey (I know, it was a CD. But anything with Tiffany and Boy George has to be called a mix tape.) I laughed my head off the whole time. Glad you like it, Stacey!


*Going through the annual "thinning of the toy herd." Hubby calls it the opposite of Christmas Eve. It goes like this: We put the kids to bed and go through their toys and get rid of the ones they'll never miss. It feels good to simplify.


*Baby slept for eleven hours straight (one night)!!! What a miracle. I won't say anymore so I don't jinx myself! The other kids didn't sleep, but a girl can only expect so much.


*Two of the three bathrooms are painted! Yippee. R calls them the "new bathrooms."

Eating Crow

Okay, I dished myself a nice hearty helping of "crow" today. According to Wikipedia: Eating crow is an English idiom meaning admitting wrongness or having been proven wrong after taking a strong position. I was very happy to admit I was wrong about this one though!!!


S and I came home from a movie last night and Mike said that he answered a call from American Girl. We both stared at him as he said that the poster my daughter made was chosen as one of sixteen winners. And, unbelievably, there were over 20,000 entries! We both started screaming and S started crying. We were jumping up and down. Baby L was screaming because he was terrified by our hysterics.


So, the winners will be posted on the American Girl website on April 6. There was one Grand Prize Winner and fifteen First Place Winners in her age group (8-10). She won an American Girl doll (Chrissa), three books, and a movie. Her school will get $250, a full-size reproduction of her poster, the movie, and books. Her poster may appear in American Girl magazine and/or upcoming American Girl catalogs. They haven't decided which of the winning posters will be included yet.


I have to say that I had a lot of trouble falling asleep last night because I was so excited for her. Twenty thousand is a lot of entries!


And next time maybe I'll go a little easier on the "dream killing" thing.

Spring Break Update

When S got on the bus yesterday morning, I was feeling kind of sad. I don't like missing out on so much of her day. Spring break seemed to go really fast...I could have done another day. But, off she went.

Those feelings suddenly disappeared when I got the dreaded call from the school nurse. S was in her office with a fever (101) and a headache. I went to pick her up and the nurse said, "Oh, by the way, even if she's better tomorrow, she can't come back to school." So there you go. An automatic two day extension to spring break. When all of this sunk in, I have to say that whole "Oh, I wish she could stay home..." thing went right out the window.

So, I could add another case of pink eye and another fever/cough combo to the spring break tally.

Here's the medication I get to dispense twice daily, or as needed. I need some Peeps!

Spring Break Tally

We had an early spring break this year. The week had its ups and downs...here's the official tally of events:

Fun outings: 4 (Trips to Science Museum, Children's Museum, Fieldhouse--awesome new find; Bolt at the dollar theater)

Treats: 3 (McDonalds for breakfast, Peeps, take-out for dinner)

Fun Projects: 2 (painting glass figures, new play dough toys)

Other: 2 (watched movies, played games)

Now, this is where things take a turn.

Ear Infections (we're still only talking one week): 5 (S had one, R had two, L had two)

Cases of Pink Eye: 2 (so far)

Goopy Green Noses: 3

Trips to the Doctor: 3 (Including lots and lots of waiting in teeny tiny rooms; they each had to have their moment to shine!)

Despite the run of bad luck at the end, I'm sad it's over.

Contest Genes

I love a good contest. I get that from my dear mother. As a kid, she entered us in lots of contests. Some we won. Others...we had no shot! (Modeling, mom?) My sweet little daughter decided to enter the American Girl Bully Poster Contest. She spent a lot of time planning and executing her design. She keeps asking me if they've called to tell her she's won. Bless her heart! I finally told her that she's probably not going to win. Yes, I'm a dream killer! I do think she did an amazing job though.