Not Much

Sarah likes to play Star Wars once the big kids are at school.


Nathan playing Lego Star Wars on his Gameboy...this is the only picture we've taken of him this month.



Sarah dressed up by Hannah. She loves phones. All phones and always wants to say "Wehwoh".

Girls dressed up and playing together.

...to blog about. After a reminder that my blog has been a wee bit idle (attempting to use some Irish lingo there to explain my lack of attention), I was about to respond that I just blogged a week ago when I realized it has been 10 days! How did that happen? I'll tell you.

Actually I'm not really sure. Kids have been sick (some still are). Parents have been on the verge of being sick. Kids have been coming into the bed of parents in the wee hours (Irish lingo again) of the morning. Threats have been made to stop the aforementioned behavior. Parents have been frantically trying to find ways to fit in work outs in order to be able to at least finish the half- marathon coming up in 3 weeks! Weather has not been cooperating at all with half-marathon preparation. Mom has added some more fun social activities to the calendar since Dad is actually home these days---just this week, I saw a movie (Brad Pitt as an old man) and played Bunko. Kids have been filling up the calendar with birthday parties and playdates. Parents have gotten lots of sad news about friends moving away way too quickly. Parents have been busy planning trips and activities with aforementioned friends and others. In the next few months, trips are planned to Paris (Mom and Dad), London (just Mom), and Ireland/England (everyone). We're beginning to understand the appeal of a travel agent. However, our budget doesn't understand that appeal at all.

Really. That is all that has been going on. That along with the usual first grade, preschool and pre-preschool stuff. Kids have one more week of school next week before the winter break. We are staying home for winter break so we are hoping for warmer weather and no more nasty germs! Just this week we are seeing the sun come up a wee bit earlier and stay up a wee bit longer (when I say sun, I don't always mean that we see the actual sun, but the light that we assume is the sun behind all of the clouds). Today we saw the actual sun in between bizarre snow/sleet storms, but it is still entirely too cold. We are done with winter. Hannah has been day dreaming about going back to Texas "where it is hot". We all miss the sun.

Valentine's Day is done a wee (promise that was the last time) bit differently here. No parties, but there are candygrams delivered to the kids from other kids and parents (sold by the grade 4 students as a fund raiser). Nathan and one of his friends planned ahead and bought each other a candygram. Nathan brought his wallet every day until the students came around selling them in his class. He told us that since his friend didn't have any money he paid for both of them. His friend told his mom the same story and when she said that he should give Nathan 1 Euro back, he said, "No, Mom, I can't. There was no change to give him back". Nathan later wanted to give a candygram to another friend, but after counting up what was left in his wallet, asked if he could use my money this time. When I asked if he'd like to buy one for his sister, he said, "Hannah?" (Has to clarify because as he told his teacher, "Hannah is my least favorite sister"). When I told him, of course, Hannah, he said, "No thanks, but you could give her one". Ah, the love between siblings.

On a much brighter, more loving note, tonight before they went to bed with praise from us parents for sleeping all night without joining us in our bed (after a lot of yelling and grumpiness for continually joining us for days), I overheard this conversation:

Nathan: "Hannah, if you wake up scared, just wake me up and I'll help you go back to sleep".

Hannah: "Okay. If you wake up, you can wake me up and I'll help you go to sleep. And if I wake up and wake you up, can you move on the outside so that I won't be scared of the floor?"

Nathan: "Yes, I will. Just wake me up, okay Hannah".

Does it actually play out that way? The whole idea behind putting them in the same bed to comfort one another was so that they'd sleep. Apparently there is a whole lot of "waking up" going on. Not sure, but we'll take the moments of love any way we can.

So that's it. We're even slacking in the picture department, but with all of the planning we've been doing that will soon change. Kids are good. We're good. Life is good.