Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Burning the Candle at Both Ends Results In Burnout...Believe It!

Not liking the policy put in place and distributed via company e-mail stating that call-ins will not be accepted and you will not be paid sick time or vacation time during the holidays.  I can't recall the exact dates that were stated on the memo.   Well, I went to work the entire weekend ill and of course I have not had any time to recover so now I cannot talk and can barely breath.  Nothing short of a miracle or hospitalization is going to let me off work.

So what do I do?  I am going to the doctor at 4:00.  I either have pneumonia or a really bad case of bronchitis.  The hubby is on his way home so I can go to the doctor sans kids.       

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Twas the Wednesday Before Christmas

Who Wants to do My Christmas Wrapping For Me?

I truly meant to start wrapping last night.  It just slipped my mind.  I definitely have to do it tonight.  I have no excuses because I have a bigger house and more storage space (more hiding places too).  Why do I hate wrapping so much?   I don't hate it just a strong dislike and a procrastinating nature finds me up every Christmas Eve late to finish it.  Not this year though because I have to work Christmas Day.  

Work had free wrapping for up to 3 gifts but I forgot to take some gifts in, plus I am particular about the paper matching.  Who cares about that right?  It'll all be torn to bits in a matter of seconds.  My mom used to wrap stuff in newspaper.

I am going to cut this short today.  It's late now I started this earlier in the day.  Now I really do have to think about wrapping my gifts.  We are having some old friends over tomorrow for dinner and fun.        

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Twas the Tuesday Before Christmas

Do you Homeschool All Year Long?

My plan has been to homeschool all year long and take breaks when it suited us.  My son is upset because his friends are all out of school for the holidays and he still has to do school work.  He got over it but I know I am in for a fight with him when summer comes.  That alone makes me wish I had home-schooled them right from the beginning.

The plan this week is to bake cookies for me to take to work on Christmas Day.  Andrew says he will do language arts today and math tomorrow.  I relented on the schedule and said they only have to do one lesson a day during the holidays.  We are having company over for a cook-out on Thursday.  Sorry all my Canadian friends and family (Did I mention cookout in December?).

We are using time4learning and Saxon Math as our traditional stuff.  If anyone would like to buy us Rosetta Stone German Language course we would be forever grateful.  We are participating in some co-ops with other home-schooled children.  I must mention how glad I am to have found PEAK (peaknetwork.org).  They welcomed us with open arms and we have been having a great time.     
   

Monday, December 20, 2010

Twas the Monday Before Christmas

Are you finished your Christmas shopping?  Really?  Neither have I, still have to get stocking stuffers and some more things for my husband so he has something under the tree.  He bought himself a big screen 3D television for christmas, says he got a deal...Whatever.

I have to work Christmas this year.  The kids and I intend to make lots of cookies for the patients in my unit who are unfortunate enough to have to be so sick at Christmas time, and for my coworkers who have to be away from their families.  We work long hours (6:30AM to 7:00PM) so there isn't much time even to spend with family after the shift.  My Mom is a healthcare worker and she has to work Christmas Day.  Come to think of it I think she has worked on Christmas Day every year for as long as I can remember.

The puppy is doing great.  He is really attached to my son.  My other two dogs still don't like him too much but they tolerate as long as he doesn't get in their space.  He sleeps in his crate at night but he had an accident in it last night.  The crate is the smallest one they have but he is such a little puppy he can pee on one end and sleep on the other.  He'll grow into it though.

I have laundry to do and dogs to walk.  Talk later.         

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Got My Son a Puppy (Brussels Griffon)

My Son wanted a Pug.  Pugs are really expensive and hard to find.  I saw an ad in the local newspaper for Pug and Brussels Griffon puppies.  I had never heard of a Brussels Griffon breed of dog so I googled it.  Basically it looks like a pug but with wiry hair like a terrier.  They are rather homely.

Herein lies the journey to the middle of some swamp in Mississippi, to retrieve the Brussels Griffon puppy (thank you GPS).  Amid all the I'm hungry's, and the arguing we made it to a ramshackle trailer home.  We met the breeder's daughter who was very nice.  My Son got to pick the puppy he wanted out of two males.  He picked the smaller of the two.

The puppy peed on my Son on the way home but that has been the only accident that he has had since we brought him home.  The pup's name is Andy and he also slept in his crate until my Husband's alarm went off at 4am.  Also the only time my Son put me in charge of the pup so he could go back to sleep.  I honestly think that getting the pup for him was a good thing.  I at least know that I may end up having to do a lot of the training,  you cannot expect a 9 year-old child to take on that big a responsibility.  He will have to take on the brunt of it though.

I should mention that I have two other rescued dogs who are spoiled rotten but really sweet.  They keep their distance from the pup so far.  But I am sure they are more worried about the crate that arrived with the pup than anything.  Wish us luck. 

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

My Water Damaged MacBook Suddenly Started Working Today

Yes, you read that right.  She began to work properly today.  I can't be happier.  I thought she was dead and beyond repair (the cost to fix her would have been slightly less than to replace her all together).  My kids think it was the elf-on-the-shelf we named Jingle's doing.  Maybe it was magic.

Maybe it was that I left it alone for about a month and just turned it on for the first time today because all the other computers were being used for school-work.  Who knows but it works.  It was damaged by my 6 year old dumping a whole glass of water on it while it was on.  It was filtered water as though that makes any difference.

Thought I'd share my great news.  Now I'll be posting a lot more often.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Long Time No Post

I have been busy.  Just looked at my amazon earnings and I got paid this year.  Kinda surprised.  It's pretty easy to make a few bucks online.  It helps out too.

We have had a whirlwind of visitors lately.  It almost seems weird to not have a house full of people.  Thanksgiving was great, Black-Friday was really interesting too (got a bunch of bargains). We also slipped in a cruise, and my husband went to Europe for business and to visit family.

The homeschooling is going well.  I have heard some opposition from some family members (not mentioning any names) but that is to be expected.  Both children are almost finished language arts in their grade level and should move into the next after the new year.  I knew they were bright but they have surpassed my expectations.

Getting ready for Christmas and will start advent today.  I am going to start keeping up with this blog more often. Maybe I can increase my readership and my revenue.