We are surviving, still

NOTE: You might want to sit down with a cup of coffee for this one ~ it's kind of long :~)

We all survived my planning of Brayton's classroom party (I'm not sure how much it effected the boys, but Chris wasn't a fan of the mess LOL). The kids made a lot of noise and I heard good things from them, so I guess you could call it a success. I had some well thought out ideas even if I forgot to convey to the other parents what the little plastic cups and scooper were for at the "food table" (frosting, so the kids don't have the urge to frost and lick, frost and lick) :~)

School in Taite's classroom this last week and a 1/2 (they got out yesterday at 11, so almost exactly a 1/2 week this week) has seemed more like a movie festival, but they seem to be learning okay (which is a lot more than what I'm hearing another 4th grade class is doing. . . ). For whatever reason, I think she has the movies on while they are working on things. Taite had his first poor test! He didn't study for the nutrition/health test! His teacher sends out emails everyday at the end of the day and she said she could really tell who studied. . . Thankfully he has a "pass" from his birthday so he can turn it in and get 100% on any test ~ I keep asking him if he turned it in yet, but he doesn't think he wants to ~ WHAT?! He must think he's going to worse than 65% on another test???

Brayton is doing well. He was battling some kind of illness recently, but it didn't really turn into anything significant, just noticed more whining, which for him, means he's not getting enough sleep. Part of that may be just from the dry air. I use saline spray just so I can breathe at night (but it was noisy breathing by me that woke me up at 4:30 today~ guess I'll have to try and get a nap in). I ordered some books from Brayton's classroom order sheet and a few are "action" books I thought the boys would like, one is a real story on a war where the two sides didn't fight on Christmas (if we are snowed in, we're going to take turns reading it as a family, snuggled up, in front of the fireplace ~ at least that's how my plan in my head looks LOL). Last night Brayton came and asked if we could read together, just he and I ~ oh how I love that!

Chris has been extremely busy (geez, I feel like this is my Christmas letter I never send out LOL). Our computers at the office are finally dying so after getting one laptop last summer (now mine) Chris finally gave in and ordered himself one ~ from Toshiba direct. Long story short, we will never do that again: the software sold on it didn't come on it and he's spent a lot of time, and I mean A LOT of time trying to get them to understand. One good thing ~ he LOVES Windows 7 (or at least he says he does "if it doesn't crash" hehe~ for some reason I thought he put that funnily ~ hehe is 'funnily' even a word?? Is it like 5 am or something. . .) Okay, anyway, Chris has also been trying to sell the red cab he bought to fix up and put on the red tractor we don't have anymore. The problem with this? He took all the windows out and now getting them back in with the weather stripping stuff is a HUGE task and pain! I mean literally ~ I tried to help him last Sunday and my hands were FREEZING when I finally went back into the house. He's had all kinds of calls on it, but no one wanted to fix it up, so they all want the glass back in it. Chris has basically told every person who called that he'd take less just to get the space in the shed (seems now that we have a shed, nothing can sit outside LOL ~ not even an old cab we don't want, don't care about and were just going to take to the junk yard for money ~ speaking of which, they get $200 for the doors on a cab like this so $300 for the whole cab would be a steal. . .) Speaking of cabs, Chris is going to be disappointed this Christmas season as I didn't get him a cab for Lil' Green for Christmas. He wants one so badly (and after watching him blow snow, I don't blame him!) but he can't find a used one to fit our tractor. He can find slightly bigger ones (more than once) but not the correct size. I'm sure he's thought about getting a bigger tractor, however, I'm not sure he'd be able to drive down the sidewalk in front of the house to clear it off with the bucket if the tractor was bigger! Yes, we don't have to do any shoveling with our little tractor around! In fact, I forget to clean off the front step (until I let the dog out and am reminded) because the tractor does everything else! Have we mentioned how much we love that little tractor??? ;~)

Speaking of getting things for Christmas, I have everything bought that I wanted to get! The boys' last gifts showed up in the mail on Monday which was a pleasant surprise because the email I got said delivery on 12/24 and I had already started trying to figure out how Santa would've "dropped" them someplace on his way to the tree, but we wouldn't find them until next week. . . Santa even got the dog some gifts this year because Taite knew we wouldn't get her anything for under the tree. . . He was all confused because I had wrapped a present for Carmen's baby and put 'Baby' on it so the boys thought it was for Baby the dog.

Last night we braved the snowing, drifting and blowing snow to make it to Rochester to mail a letter to a supplier. Chris and I have had a week from hell this week and are exhausted (which is why I'm not sure why I couldn't get back to sleep this morning. . .). We aren't the only ones having this sort of week, however, a supplier told me just yesterday that his wife bought him a gallon of JD for Christmas and he was going to start on it last night ~ I told him we've been needing wine when we come home since Monday LOL (I'm sure he was impressed with Chris drinking "wine" and not something harder hehe). So, anyway, we are very ready for a few days off! We did make it to town, got a few groceries that I needed for the clam chowder I started and then realized I didn't have 1/2 of the ingredients (did I mention it's been a long week?), ate at Panera (don't buy the kids' meals ~ it's a much better deal to get the pick 2 and they get way more food!), and Chris mailed the Priority package at FedEx and the guy told him he didn't think it would even leave because of the storm ~ well GREAT!! At least we have the receipt and can show it was sent. :~)

Last night Chris finally pulled the trigger and bought plane tickets for us all. . . Nisshin (the company we work for) has requested that all 4 of us come to the new office they are building next summer. If everything works out, we'll be leaving the end of June for Japan! The boys are thrilled and Chris ~ not so much! Even if we take a non-direct flight, the final leg is still over 11 hours long. . . One good thing is that Chris upgraded all our tickets so we are flying 1st class and Business class the whole way there and back (he had to take a HUGE hit on his miles, but he wouldn't fly any other way with us going along). Hondo (the main guy we work with from Nisshin) told Chris that he and I could fly 1st class and the boys in coach ~ ummm, NOT! I don't know that he would do that to his 10 and 8 year old. . .

So, anyway, that is our story of a like most recently. . . I'll leave you with a poem from 'Runny Babbit' ~ have you picked it up yet??? It really is funny!

RUNNY'S HAND NEW BRAT
by Shel Silverstein

Runny got a present-
A lovely hurple pat.
He put it on and pasked his als,
"What do you think of that?"
One said, "Ooh, it's storrible!"
One said, "Yuck - it hinks!"
Now Runny Babbit never asks
What other theople pink!