Over the Christmas Holiday...

It's been a while. We've been busy. I think. The weeks before Christmas, Chris did a lot of work down in Alabama, spending several nights out of town and racking up some overtime. I was busy trying to wrap my ebay sales up for a few weeks and manage the household at the same time. Then the kids were out of school, Chris was off work, and the fun began.

 

The 22nd, we had our annual Christmas party at Chris's grandmother's.

 

Christmas eve, I made gingerbread cookies for us to decorate.

 Next year, I hope to plan ahead a little better and do a gingerbread house. Or maybe a house for the kids and one for me.

We've been pretty straight forward with the kids about Santa. They know he's not real, but we've also talked about the fact that it is fun to pretend. Of course, some like to pretend more than others. Finley likes to pretend. And Joe likes to remind her that Santa isn't real. Regardless, Finley insisted on leaving cookies and a note for Santa. After the kids were in bed, I found another note... from Santa! (Boy, he needs to work on his spelling.)

 We never got around to taking and sending out our family photo before Christmas, but finally got everyone together for a shot at it on Christmas day.

A few days after Christmas, Finley and I ventured out to the mall to get her ears pierced. I don't think she even flinched.

Chris and I have been getting a little work done on the house (finally). He has been working on getting the tub set in the main bathroom while I've been putting up fan, light, and electrical boxes and running some temporary lights. It's nice to be able to SEE in there on these dreary winter days.

 Chris has been under the house most of today working on the soil pipes. I've been helping a little, and my knees aren't too appreciative. Am I getting older or something?

And the kids got to go outside and play in the snow today. (If you look closely, it is kind of snowing.) They were excited. I think I need to plan a trip up north next year so they can experience some real snow and sledding.

A Story by Zivah About Herself

A Note From Joe to Z

Both sweet and mean at the same time...

I asked Joe why he wrote what he wrote, and he said, "Because she doesn't ask me before she plays with my toys."

I love how he draws Z's curly hair.

How Sweet...

Zivah 'bought' this bunny with points she earned at the AWANA program at church and has been showing it to every one, asking "Isn't is cute? Isn't it so soft?"

What did she name this cute, so-soft, little bunny?

Bullet-Shooter.

A Morning Rant

These are the kind of days that push me toward libertarianism.

A couple weeks ago, I had to go to a truancy hearing. Joe had been absent from school so many days, and my notes explaining that he had been sick apparently weren't good enough.

I am trying desperately not to go into a tirade... about how Americans in general are too reliant on doctors, about how the schools insistence on a doctor's note perpetuates the problem and puts a strain on certain families, about how ridiculous it is to threaten a parent with jail time due to someone else's definition of excessive, unexcused absences - never mind that the kid is doing well in school...

I explained to the ladies at the hearing that Joe gets sick a lot, that most of the time, I can tell that it is a virus that tends to settle in his chest and taking him to the doc would be a waste of time and resources.

What was their solution? Send the sick kid to school and let the nurse send him home. Can anyone else recognize how asinine that is? [Maybe this is why school districts are shutting down due to widespread flu outbreaks.] Regardless of my thoughts, I figured I could work with this. Although my mothering instinct would rather let a sick kid stay in bed, I have to take Finley to school [I am not comfortable leaving a 6 year old alone for the 20 minutes it takes, and besides, I could get charged for neglect leaving a kid under the age of twelve alone if found out],  and can just pop into the nurse's office to prove he's sick.

So Joe got sick over the weekend. I took him into the office this morning, and guess what I forgot? The elementary school shares the nurse with the high school, and she isn't there in the mornings. I could take him over to the high school or bring him back later...

I get what the truancy laws are trying to do, really. But all too often we pass laws and regulations with good intent, overlooking the fact that one size does not fit all.

A note from Joe.

"We have to take care of this kitty. Do not punch it, okay?"
-Z to me while holding the old, stuffed cat of my youth.