let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Today we finally got some snow!!  Not a lot (2 inches), but enough that the kids are having fun.  I LOVE snow leading up to Christmas time.  Nothing puts me in a holiday mood more than snow outside and the Christmas tunes turned up!  It's also awesome that I almost never have to worry about venturing out on the roads; I'm sure that's part of why I'd love to have a good 6 inches of snow right now.  However, here is what I don't like. 

Tonight, I am here:

(that would be my home)

And Jeremy is here:

(that would be work)

Jeremy works at Bin on the Lake, which is owned by the Woodmark Hotel.  The roads are so bad tonight that the managers have decided all employees will not be allowed to leave, and must stay at the hotel. (for free, of course)  I am extremely thankful he works at a place that is so concerned for employee safety that they would put them up for the night, but it is a bummer he can't make it home.  Oh well, I'm going to keep enjoying my snow.  Hopefully he'll make it home sometime in the next couple days!

oh brother!

We have determined, without a doubt, that Nahshon is what sitcom brothers are modeled after. Truly, he's incredible.

The other day, he and Isaac were talking to Jeremy in the kitchen and Jeremy told Nahshon to go blow his nose.  Can you guess what Nahsh did?  He leaned into Isaac's back, and blew his nose into Isaac's shirt. Seriously.  And THIS is what Cai and Noah have to look up to as a role model; I can't wait.

Jim and his staples

I know right now you are wondering, who is Jim and what is so important about his staples? Well, let me tell ya!  "Jim" is Nahshon.  And those staples?  They are in the side of his head. Yeah.  At the start of this week little, sweet, never gets in trouble Nahshon, was jumping around at the dinner table and apparently jumped himself right off his chair and into the bookshelf behind him.  Needless to say, there was blood.  Jeremy rushed home from work and we took the little tyke down to Children's Hospital where they stapled his head shut.  You might think such an even would be very traumatic for a young child, and it seems, the drug companies would agree with that.  Before they took the office equipment to his head, they shot some stuff up his nose and said pretty soon he'd look and act like he'd just downed a couple pints at the local pub.  At one point Jeremy asked Nahshon his name, and in between little snorts and fits of giggles he replied "JIM!"  At that time we informed his nurse that he was thoroughly trashed and ready to go.  Here's the really amazing part though: the drugs they gave him cause him to actually FORGET the whole ordeal!  Crazy, right? 

At first I thought it was fantastic that he wouldn't remember it, but within minutes of getting home I began to see the serious downside of it all- he didn't remember he hurt his head!  His head was still puffy, the staples still shiny, and he was attempting to stand on the arm of a chair!  This entire week, we've had this conversation about 10 times per day:

(me) NAHSHON! Do you still have staples in your head?

(him) yes

(me) Then stop that right now, you're going to get hurt!

(him- in an angry shout and then stomping away with his arms folded) OK MOM!


I would love to think this will be the first and last time we have to deal with something like this, but we all know that probably isn't true.  Wonder if they sell those staple kits for home use.............

YES YES YES!!!

Today was THE day.  The day Jeremy and I have practically pulling out our hair trying to reach for the past two years.  Today, Elijah read a book.  Anyone on the outside would probably be thinking, didn't he just celebrate his 8th birthday?  Shouldn't he be reading already?  If it was any of my other kids, I would agree, but not with Elijah.  If you know my family, then you know we've struggled with him from day 1.  Ever since we pulled Elijah from school, I've wrestled with my decision  There is so much risk that he'll just get overlook and lost in the "system" at public school, but then there's that constant nagging feeling that I might not know how to teach a child like him.  This year though, I tossed out "traditional" schooling for him.  Last year was so hard, and I wasn't going to put any of us through it again.  In place of stacks of books, we gave him a Leapster system.  On day one I could see we made a good choice because he was getting excited again about learning. (that is the foundation to a successful education, in my opinion)  The only workbook I ordered for him this year was a language arts book, which we do in a group lesson with Bella. Today their lesson included a long list of words, and they had to find the match.  After the assignment was complete, I asked Bella to please read me the list of words.  Elijah quickly joined in, and I asked Bell to stop so we could hear Elijah.  To the surprise and amazement of us all, he read the entire page correctly.  Not long after I handed him a small book for beginning readers, and he read the entire thing without help!  This is exactly what we needed to kick start our school year in the right direction.  How fantastically awesome!



On another happy reading note...... Yesterday Genna started a new book.  The title escapes me, but I know it was a Halloween mystery book.  (that girl loves a good mystery)  I asked her to read a chapter before bed, and told her she could go read in my room so it would be quiet.  A while later I went to check on her, and she had already read three chapters and begged me to let her read one more.  I said OK, but that she had to go to bed right after.  She obeyed and went to bed, but about 45 minutes later came out of her room saying she couldn't sleep because she couldn't stop thinking about her book and could she pleeeaaassseeee read a tiny bit more.  I figured she didn't have anywhere to be in the morning, so why not?  I wasn't all that surprised when a bit over an hour later she came and said she finished the entire book!  It actually made me laugh a bit because I remember when I was her age and would read an entire book in a day when I had to spend time at my parent's store. (or would use a flashlight to read in bed)  I love that she loves to read, and I hope she never loses that passion.