Cooties
This past month, Quiet Tiger brought home some major cooties from school and passed them to Jay, then to me, then to Super C. Only Super E seemed resistant to the germs, but whoa man! If I take a sick day from work and sleep all day long in my bed, you know I'm really sick! I won't even mention what it means if I take 2 sick days! It was awful. I don't recommend that bug because what we had lasted for weeks. Stay healthy, everyone!
Clean Up Efforts
It took an entire weekend, but I got my dust bowl of a house cleaned up after our construction project wrapped at the end of January. I had to hand-wash all my new tile floors, scrub walls from construction smudges and dust, scrub showers and tub after toilets had been removed and then replaced once the tile was installed, and dust every surface from tile and construction dust. The biggest task was scrubbing the carpet on the stairs -- something we don't intend to change for quite some time. Oh, the dirty traffic that the construction guys left on my stairs. Ew!
I think we have decided to start saving and budget to do the exact same tile on our main level, including living room, laundry room, Super C's room, bathroom and hallway. Should be the exact same square footage, and much easier on our living situation since we won't all be forced to sleep elsewhere. Just as long as that much needed laundry room can be tackled first. I can't imagine being unable to do laundry for 2 1/2 weeks.
Treats
My sweet friend Dawn who visited over Chinese New Year sent me a thank you of Garrett's Popcorn from Chicago. She knows me! Such a treat sent me over the moon with happiness! I may or may not have hugged the tin.
We celebrated Super Bowl Sunday quietly at home with snack food galore, by far my boys' favorite dinner ever! The popcorn added to our festivities. What a surprising football game! Never would have imagined such a comeback by the Patriots. But I was happy for all the Collins family members out east cheering them on!
Freedom
I officially ended my 16-week part-time gig at Jay's office in mid-February when his assistant returned from maternity leave. What a relief to have her back! Equally a relief was that we weren't audited by our Home Office during my temporary stint as BOA On-Call. That would have stressed me out beyond belief. The boys and I celebrated my first day back home by going resale shopping (they do love resale shopping with me - read: hunting for used Nerf guns - and had some Christmas money to spend). I was perturbed that resale shop prices were as high as they were. What the heck happened in 16 weeks? Yet, we enjoyed our first day back together. Jay also enjoyed that very night as a product partner took him and some fellow Jonesies out to the Minnesota Timberwolves game with amazing seats! A treat for Jaybird too was well deserved after 16 long weeks.
For Valentine's Day, my sweet hubby planned a Widows Luncheon with some of our clients. We wished more could have attended. But he gave each gal a rose and some chocolates. Jay and I celebrated Valentine's as a family at home. Later that weekend, Jay and I enjoyed a date night for Thai food. We tried a great place, Hong Thai, in Rogers. We'll go back for sure.
Best Day Ever!
In mid-February I took the boys on a field trip. Dog sledding!!!!! Oh my gosh, BEST... FIELD... TRIP... EVER!!!! It wasn't cheap though, so that's why I decided to take just the boys. I did invite my brother and his daughter and some of my local friends but it was just us in the end. I was more than happy to treat the boys who had so much on their shoulders at home while I was at work. From school work, to dogs, to house chores, to cooking dinner, these boys did a lot. It brought me such joy to see their excitement with the sled dogs! The lack of snow was definitely a disappointment, but we still had a blast!
I learned a good lesson that day -- it's good to get out and do things with just my boys. Sure, we go here and there while the girl is in school, they get hours of my undivided attention during homeschool, but I mean something beyond the ordinary. They struggle with their sister at home too. They need a break, and more than just going grocery shopping with mom. They need things that bring joy and fill them up. Had we taken Quiet Tiger to the dog sledding event, she would have sabotaged the event, been all over the place, refused to listen, and made it difficult for any of us to enjoy. This event, with just my boys, gave us 2 hours of uninterrupted joy, filling us up to overflowing (you can ask my boys and they will tell you that I practically sobbed the entire drive home because I was so filled up). Despite lack of snow, it was truly a day I'll never, ever forget and I'll cherish that memory with my 2 amazing boys.
At home, we've seen bald eagles up close and personal again, eating their prey in neighbors' yards. Trumpeter swans have been flying over. And my deer have been in my back woods on a few occasions. I love our wildlife around here! I can't even explain what joy they bring to me.
Back to School
Getting back into the swing of homeschool was joyful for me, but a reminder of just how busy it is to homeschool 2 kids. For those of you thinking we sit around all day, you couldn't be more wrong! I had forgotten just how busy it is at home while teaching. But being home also gives me time to work on much needed house projects, like cleaning out the toy bin, cleaning out the deep freezer, organizing the pantry and cleaning the fridge. All those things had been put off for 16 weeks and were a complete disaster!
Google Calendar
This past month has also been filled with appointments. Both boys have been to one orthodontist for a free evaluation. I told the docs that they'd only get 1 child of mine in braces at a time and they actually went above and beyond. Normally, with an underbite, Super E would be needing braces ASAP so that he doesn't cause more damage to his teeth. But they are trying to keep him OUT of braces all together!!! His molars all line up perfectly and we can do some things at home to hopefully move those front teeth forward and those bottom teeth backwards. They offered to see us for another FREE visit in 6 weeks to see if our home treatment will work. So, until we see results with Super E, we will hold off braces for Super C, just in case home remedies don't work for Super E. It was suggested that Super C be in braces for about 12-14 months. I was glad to hear that the clear braces I had in high school are the same price as the standard metal ones. We'll get 1 more professional opinion from the orthodontist my niece went to and see what they have to say before making any decisions or scheduling the hardware. Please pray that Super E's teeth respond to the home treatment. Jay told him he'd get a large reward if he works hard on treatment and saves us thousands of dollars in orthodontia expenses!
Quiet Tiger had her appointments on the calendar as well. Jay and I met with the school staff to inquire about an IEP or a 504 Plan to help her through school. Now that we have a diagnosis of attachment disorder and anxiety disorder, she qualifies for help. The school has eliminated homework for Quiet Tiger so that she can leave school at school and we can focus on home at home. Sadly, (and this is what I didn't tell you last month), we learned that Quiet Tiger had been going into other students' belongings at school and stealing their personal items. While this may be relatively common in kids this age, this is a sure sign of her attachment disorder as RADs frequently steal. Towards the end of the month, QT would return from school with her lunch untouched. She was eating food belonging to other students, either given to her freely or possibly stolen. Sharing food in public school is a rule violation! I was at the end of my rope once again. Believe me, the first thought I had in my head was to pull her from school and return to homeschool. The school wasn't very helpful before this meeting and I felt like perhaps they were trying to drive us out. I still toy with the idea of pulling her, but at this point, with a meeting under our belt and some new understanding between parents and educators, she will finish the year out at public school and we will revisit the whole schooling situation over the summer. For now, we still do not have an IEP or 504, but the homework will remain at school and the teacher and social worker are trying to find a way for her to do the work at school. There are other things we still need to work out with the school staff, but for now, we have made a small step in the right direction.
Weird Weather
Forties, fifties and then sixties? Seriously? A week after Valentine's Day the ice was nearly out on our pond. A pair of ducks had happily returned. Grass was turning green! We were sad that a snowstorm missed us at the end of the month. We miss our sledding hill! Will winter ever return? There is typically a March blizzard, so we'll see what happens, but we're crossing our fingers for snow!
Coming Next Month
I forgot to mention this earlier. Super C, my teenage boy, is doing the 30-Hour Famine with World Vision and his youth group at church. He is seeking support from friends and family to help starving children around the globe. If you've followed my blog over the years, you know that this is something we live with daily as we raise a child who knew hunger for 2 years in an orphanage. The event is in 2 weeks, but should you feel like supporting him, you can go to this link to learn more. Thanks friends!
Phew! What a busy February! Here's to a good March!
