Charlyn’s Web

Because I know you are just dying to know what we got the kids for Christmas, especially after my rant here and several rants verbally if you were close enough to hear.

The Children received from their Wise, All Knowing Parents (I’ll wait until you stop laughing….)

5, cinco, funf, five presents. (Plus stocking stuff).

Here is a run down of what they got:

1. Pajamas. Do you know that it is nearly impossible to find nightgowns any more? Much less ones made of cotton or flannel or ones without some T.V. character on it that don’t cost a fortune.

2. White boards, markers and erasers. (Thanks Dawn for the tip!) They are pretty small 12X 10 or so. Blank on one side and with lines on the other. They like drawing on them and we can use them for school. Ooow! Double use!

3. The Girls- tutus. I was going to throw them in their stockings if we didn’t get anything else for The Boy but we found a snap together model airplane for him.

4. Bibles. The Girls shared one and The Boy got his own. (O.K. so The Girls technically received 4 1/2 presents.)

5. The Boy got a telescope and microscope set. Pixie got one of those fashion drawing things where you put paper over the templates and rub with a crayon to make the silhouette. I had been thinking about getting one for her anyway- I always wanted one as a kid and then KN suggested it too. TG got Lincoln Logs. I am disappointed in the set because it has very few larger pieces and tons of the little one inch ones.

So after all that angst and gnashing of teeth, the kids did get presents and I think they actually enjoy them. They, of course, received many wonderful gifts from Grandparents and Uncles and friends. Overall, it turned out to be a Blessed Christmas.

We leave people with interesting impressions of us on many occasions. I know we have managed to leave a dozy behind us again.

I mentioned that we went over to my Uncle and Aunt’s house after Christmas to visit with them and their children who live out of state. My two cousins have new boyfriends so it was fun to get to meet them. We tend to get over there and then stay for hours on end- I feel we are pests really but we are comfortable there and really enjoy the company so we settle in for the long haul. My Aunt and Uncle have grown used to us staying forever, let the kids wrestle on the floor and often, feed us. This time though, I was prepared. I took over a plateful of cookies, cut up veggies, dip and some of my popular jalepeno poppers.

When we got home, there were still a few poppers  left and so I ate one- I like them but hadn’t taken the time to eat one on this trip. I chewed. Then realized something wasn’t quite right. The jalepeno was crunchy and extra spicy. Then it dawned on me- I hadn’t cooked them before we left because I thought they would store better and then completely forgot that they weren’t done.

Oy! I served raw, crunchy jalepeno poppers to people I know and love plus people I was meeting for the first time. So my signature appetizer was a bust and we most likely lift them with stomach bug germs all over the place.

I bet the new boyfriends remember us!

I was chopping up cabbage for a salad to take to The Col.’s office party (yes, the old standby Chinese Cabbage salad with ramen noodles in it- it’s what I had the ingredients for!) when my finger somehow got in the way of the knife. It was a pretty good cut near my fingernail- it was a real bleeder. Those kind are no fun at all.

For Christmas, The Col. bought me a very nice knife but he said I was not to use it to cut my fingers off. Don’t you hate it when people give you gifts and then place stipulations and restrictions on it?

We went to my parent’s house on Christmas Eve for the annual gathering of my Dad’s extended family. I had talked to my brother earlier in the day and he told me that his son had been ill with a stomach bug. He was no longer throwing up and my brother was waiting for my nephew to get up to see if his fever was gone. I thought that if the fever was gone then he wouldn’t be contagious any more.

We had a lovely gathering of family and a pleasant Christmas morning. But on Wednesday, stomachs started to not feel too good. My Dad and oldest brother started feeling it first then HP complained of a stomach ache. We thought HP was making a fuss about it because he didn’t want to go over to my Aunt and Uncle’s house with us. He wanted to stay with his cousin. So we left him there with strict instructions to stay calm and that his Uncles could take turns beating him if they felt it necessary- or if they just felt like it. The rest of us had a nice visit with my Uncle, Aunt and cousins. The cousins had new boyfriends to get acquainted with and it was an enjoyable time. One boyfriend dances and he and TG were having a grand time performing lifts and jumps plus some wrestling thrown in for fun. TG started acting like her tummy was bothering her which is surprising because she is the one with the steel stomach. We packed the girls up and headed back to Mom and Dad’s.

When we got there we found The Boy laid out on the couch- he definitely had the bug. My Dad and oldest brother were still feeling terrible and my other brother knew he was getting it so he packed up my nephew and headed the hour and a half home while he still could make it. Then TG started in and it was a joyous evening for all.

We had planned on heading home on Thursday afternoon but The Col. checked the weather and saw that there was supposed to be snow accumulation along the freeway and I was worried he or I would get the bug which would make the drive awful to say the least, so we threw our stuff in the van and headed out as soon as we could.

We made it home. KJ hadn’t shown signs of the stomach flu but she had had a bug a few weeks ago so I think she was immune. BUT she came home with a bad cough followed by a fever. She still has a runny nose and isn’t feeling up to snuff. The Col. seems to have sneaked by without being hit. I felt a bit puny for a few days, then felt better and now may be catching the cold part.

We decided not to go to church yesterday. KJ was definitely not well enough to go. We decided that the rest of us were walking petri dishes of festering germs and didn’t want to share anymore. It was a good decision as TG is still showing signs of the stomach bug working it’s way through her system and now has the cold too. HP is still not overly energetic either.

I can just see my cousins and their boyfriends getting this and then having to fly on airplanes. Just the discomfort of that plus spreading the lovely little bug to others on the plane and then it’s all over the States. Oy. Not pleasant thoughts. Who would have thought in the beginning the wide stretching reach of a little bug that we thought wasn’t able to infect us anymore? ‘Tis the Season of giving, I guess.

As things funnel down to the last days before Christmas, I feel as if things are spiraling out of control. The presents are here, the ones for the kids aren’t wrapped yet but ones for other people are. I have shipped out all the boxes to loved ones in other states. That in it’s self is a feat- we are known for mailing our boxes on Christmas Eve. Hey, it was tradition! We believe in spreading out the Christmas cheer. Oops, there is one more box I’ll have to get ready, forgot that. But overall, that area is in good shape. The house is decorated, the tree (gasp!) is up and decorated.
A few weeks back I made up a batch of cookie dough and froze it to get a jump on things. Then, because I had a jump on things, I proceeded to do nothing. Know where that dough is right now? Still in the freezer. Man, I need to get that out and defrosted! I have now baked a double batch of my Grandmother’s fruit cake for my Dad and my kids. The kids and Dad fight over it. I give a few small loaves of it away to people who have foolishly said they like it therefore dooming themselves to receiving some every year. The other cookies I made went into the packages that were mailed off so I need to keep busy and make more. I also need to round up the gifts for Brett’s office people, church friends etc. No pressure. Snort!

Yesterday we went to town and played with the other homeschool families at a local gym and then we went to a friend’s house for a Christmas Party. Tonight nothing is planned but it’s the lull before the storm, so to speak. Thursday we take cookies and gifts to a local treatment place for alcoholics and sing songs with them. Then on Friday we are scheduled to have dinner with friends (oh, won’t that be a hardship!). Saturday morning we have a church play practice at 9 AM and we’ll have to work in our Christmas (we celebrate Christmas as a family then go to Grandma’s and Grandpa’s for another one). Then Sunday is church with the play. For Sunday School we are having a Continental Breakfast and I, in a moment of insanity, said I would bring cinnamon rolls. Then Sunday night is Brett’s office party. Monday we will head out to Grandma and Grandpa’s, Lord willing and the creek don’t rise.

Whew! I’m tired just writing it all down!

I’m tired in general, from battling a cold and having to get up numerous times to cover up children and let Somebody’s Dog out again. I opened up the dishwasher this morning and wondered to myself if “your mother ran the dishwasher?” No, she hadn’t. I then wished the kids had a better Mother and was glad there were no telepaths around.

The outside temperature has been pretty cool. Did you know what is considered “cold” and “cool” are subject to interpretation? The Col. doesn’t think it’s “cold” until it is around 0 (zero) degrees. I consider it “cold” more around 32 degrees (Fahrenheit). We did get down to 1 degree last week and we all agreed that was “cold”. Most of the rest of the week the high has not been much over freezing. I consider that “cold” but then I am a weeny.

The inside temps have been around 70 degrees because I am cheap frugal and believe in bundling up so we don’t pay through the nose on our electric bill. (Electricity is fairly reasonable here so we are on a totally electric system.) I have noticed that even though I am wearing socks and shoes, my toes are cold. Then I look at my children, who are not wearing socks or slippers. They refuse to put them on and when I feel their feet it’s like touching an ice block. Don’t they feel it? They don’t seem to mind. They act like I am asking them to pull their finger nails out one by one when I even suggest putting something on. They put on socks when they go outside and, after coming in because their feet are cold, promptly take them off. “Take them off” is, of course, a nice way of saying it- they remove them from their feet, turning the socks inside out in the process, and fling them about the house. I find socks in the most interesting of places. And then they wonder why they never have clean socks- even when I have done the laundry. Could it be because when you wore three pairs outside in the snow and they somehow got wet so you threw all three pairs about, never to be seen again? It makes the whole process simpler when you do it three at a time, she says with heavy sarcasm.

Now excuse me while I go slip into something warmer and start a load of laundry.

Snap! Thump!

Oh no.

I sneak towards the kitchen and, from as far away as possible, peer into the floor vent.

Yep.

The trap is flipped over.

The only thing I like less than live mice are dead ones.

I emailed The Col. that he had better come home soon or he will not get a dinner as the kitchen is contaminated.

There is also five, count them 5!, inches of snow on the ground. If I put stock in anecdotal evidence; I would say this is NOT a sign of Global Warming.

This week has been interesting, that’s for sure!

“I didn’t know you were expecting again!” Said the voice loudly across several feet of store.

I sighed deeply and quietly said “scream!”

We meandered over to talk with the teenager we are acquainted with who made the comment. I guess she didn’t hear our quiet denials because, after we listened to how awful her life was going, she asked-

“So really, how far along are you?”

Um, I’m not pregnant.

Her jaw drops, she stares at my tummy, looks at my face and then back to my tummy.

I am seriously considering giving that empire waist top away.

I am crying in my tea.

I think I need something stronger.

I’m going to go get some chocolate!

One of the harder things about blogging, besides thinking of something semi-intelligent to say, is thinking up an appropriate post title. How much do you give away? Is it too obscure? What in the world should I call this one? That is where I am today because there is no real theme just a basic catch up post.

I was ill with a cold for a number of days last week. I wasn’t really all that sick but was totally drained of energy. I lay on the couch and read a magazine and napped while the children ran wild. They didn’t really run wild. They used their time constructively. The Boy taught KJ how to climb the walls. Yep. I am so thrilled. The Boy is practically a spider boy the way he can climb up to the ceiling using just the walls. It’s in the hallway where the walls are close together and somehow he braces his legs on the wall, they bow outwards so it looks painful, and walks up the wall to the ceiling. We have vaulted ceilings so he gets up to the point. If one looks at this new development with squinty eyes and suspends their natural negative viewpoint, one can see some good in it. They cooperated together, The Boy exhibited teaching abilities and patience, K showed her usual determination and it kept them entertained. It helps if I take off my glasses, cock my head and squint really hard; suspending my normal negative viewpoint is so hard to do.

Anyway, back to the cold stuff. I finally am feeling better but TG’s nose has been runny again, The Col. is a bit stuffy and now KJ was looking pretty hang dog and sounded stuffy. We so love to share germs.

We went to a Rec day for home schoolers yesterday at a local gym. KJ was confused last year with the word “gym” and now TG is exhibiting the same confusion. “Gym” sounds like “Jim” and so they think it’s a person we are going to see. Last year my three kids glued themselves to my side on the bleachers and refused to go forth and play. It’s just a run around free time inside the gym with balls, jump ropes, etc. If I forced them away from me the wandered down the bleachers and sat together. I threatened through clenched teeth that we would never leave our house again if they didn’t get out there and PLAY! That is why we went to all this trouble to get down here was so they could run off energy! It dampened my enthusiasm for going down there. But I signed up again this year and down we went and 2/3 of them ran out there right away and played! Whew! We have spent a little bit of time getting to know some of the other kids better and that helped. This year I only have one glued to me- TG- who last year was the one most likely to go out there and play. Go figure. Must be her age.

We had snow for several days last week. KJ got over her fear of crunchy snow and began to enjoy playing in it with HP. TG was still deathly afraid of it and screamed the whole time I walked around with her in it. I am so glad the neighbors all work. Then a wind came through and melted it all off. It was gusting pretty hard for several days. There are lots of branches scattered about the yard now.

So that’s about the last week in review. Wasn’t it thrilling?

There was snow again yesterday (and more today) which is pretty unusual for this early in the season. But we take what we can get! The Col., who loves driving in this kind of weather, drove the van to work to see how it would handle in two inches of snow. At our dinner of turkey burritos, he told us that it didn’t do as well as he had hoped. He told us of turning into the road that leads to his work and sliding until his front wheels hit the curb. He drove on down to the parking lot and when he tried to make that turn he went into another slide which he couldn’t get out of until the front wheels were in the grass. He thinks it might be the tires.

Also, at dinner The Col. told me how he had not done well that day in sticking with his diet. It seems some of his office mates ordered in pizza. He was determined to behave and ate his salad (with turkey- notice the recurring eating theme here?) before the smells of pizza filled the office. He was strong until mid afternoon when he saw pieces lying around and he succumbed to their siren song. He commented how he had done so well over Thanksgiving but fell off the wagon today. This innocent piece of information put him in the frying pan.

“Yes, Thanksgiving, the meal I slaved over? The one you hardly ate any of?”

“Um yeah.”

“You couldn’t find it in your heart to succumb to the glories of that meal but you fell to a cold slab of greasy Dominoes pizza?!?!?!?”

“It wasn’t Dominoes, it was Pizza Hut.”

“Oh, like that makes it better.”

To appease me he tried the candy I had made; it’s an Aplets type candy with apples and nuts. He said it was good but I am beginning to doubt his palette.

About this time a little voice popped up from the other side of the table.

“Papa, if you had gone slower you wouldn’t have slid.” Said KJ seriously. She had been thinking the whole thing through.

“Yes,” said her Papa sarcastically, “I shouldn’t go 60 miles an hour through there.”

She seriously nodded her head and said; “You should drive slow on that road like Mama does.”

She looks at me and I nod, trying to hide my smirk.

She proceeded to lecture her father, the man who has a CDL, who drove over the road trucks for awhile, who can drive anything out there, who has driven on more snowy, icy roads than she has ever been on in her whole life, the one person I want to be riding with in bad weather, on how to drive.

This morning he wondered if he should drive the van or dig the 4 wheel drive Suburban out of the shop. I told him that now that he has been told how to drive in the snow, he could probably take the van. KJ heard this and continued on with her lecture about driving slow while we shared a laugh.

You gotta be careful what you say around these here women folk, you never know what will land you in a whole heap of trouble and a lecture or two.