Money, Money, Money

Its a love/hate relationship. I love to have money, I love to spend money, I hate doing the budget and balancing the checking account to our Quicken records. Now I don't hate the math, I don't hate the time it takes, I hate how incredible inept and stupid I feel as I do it and see how badly I have blown it yet again this month.

With hubby being on a deploying boat we sat down and talked it through. We decided that I should take over out finances and budgeting since he would be gone alot. 6 months ago he carefully explained it all. When the money comes in, what bills are due when, what needs to go into savings, the whole 9 yards. We spent hours going over the budget spread sheet deciphering the columns and doing the math. It was a painfully agonizing experience, and humbling as well.

I am a fairly intelligent person, I can manage a household of 5, 3 different school schedules, a dog. I can plan cross country moves that go so smoothly no one knows how much work they really take. I am capable of, on short notice, planning and directing large group activities for small children and grown ups alike. I can keep a house clean, laundry done, and homework finished on schedule. So why can't I do the budget?

Why has it every single month, for the past 6 months, been a complete and utter failure? Why does it hurt me every time I fail at it? I actually want to cry and it doesn't matter what else I have accomplished and done well that month because this one thing was a complete fail. I feel beat down and fairly worthless because I cannot be the helpmate my husband needs on this one stupid thing.

I feel as I am a disappointment to him, and to us, when I fail at this. It matters so much to him to keep our checking account balanced and to build our savings and I have let him down each and every time. The worst part is, I don't know why I can't seem to do this. And it breaks my heart cause I so desperately want to do this well.

If you don't laugh, you'll cry. And for once, I can't seem to laugh

The Parenting game

So our house is finally settling down. The kids have ended the "Who's in charge" game and I have won....for the moment.

I had inspiration strike today as I was texting with a friend, I realized one of the advantages our kids have. Are you ready for it? Sit down cause you might need to let this sink in for a moment.

Our kids KNOW this is a game. Not only do they know, but they spend their days trying to figure out how to bend the rules, adjust the time clock and pick a fight with the Refs.

We are told very early on in our childrens lives that they simply do not understand us. Doctors, teachers, grandparents, even other mothers spend their days trying to convince us (and perhaps themselves) that our children simply do not know what we are asking of them. When they stare at you as you give them directions and then they ask you "what?", they are simply confused. When they look you in the eye as you direct them to stop jumping on the bed and then do it "just one more time", they simply did not process your request. When they carefully pick a fight between two other children and then sneak off so as not to get caught, they didn't understand they were hurting someone elses feelings.

I am not buying it. I happen to know my childrens IQ's and know they are so much smarter than that. I have seen the look in their eyes and can almost hear the wheels turning in their brains as they develop a plan of attack for the next round of the 'Parenting Game'.

Now my question to you is this....If you decided to look at this the way our children do, if you decided that this really is like a game, would that change how you parent?

Now don't get me wrong, parenting is HARD. It is hands down the most difficult, emotionally draining, physically exhausting, spiritually crying out job I have ever had. But if I decided to take every mean and hurtful thing my children say or do to me with a grain of salt because I understand the rules to this game, would those words cut as deep and would I react as strongly to something we both know she did not mean? Could you shake off those tantrums and screaming fits a little easier if you viewed its as a challenging of the rules instead of a personal commentary on you as a parent?

Now the brilliant part of this analogy, at least to me, is the one part the children are hoping you forgot. Are you still sitting down? YOU make the rules, YOU control the clock, and YOU, yes YOU are the supreme Ref in this game and have final call in all game disputes.

So tomorrow when I wake up, I will grab my jersey and whistle and go play. I will remember not only am I the Ref, I am the mom, I love my children, and that ultimately it is my house and my rules.

If you don't laugh, you'll cry.

parenting or negotiating with terrorist.....you decide

Ummm, we seem to have a situation on our hands. The children have rebelled and and its gotten ugly here in this place.

Now I know they have been through a lot this month. I truly understand that hubby and I have turned their worlds upside down, inside out, and sideways and they have done a marvelous job with handling all of that. I applude their confidence, their ease with change, their ability to trust. I praise their understanding of hubbys job and what it requires from us as a family, I really truly do.

On the other hand, ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME!!!!!!!!!

We have been bombarded with every bad attitude, snotty voice, wild hurricane, and distructive thought they have ever had in the past 48 hours. J has decided that he can do NOTHING on his own, A's voice has raised 59 octives so its at a pitch even the dog has trouble understanding as she whines, but my favorite tonight was K.

Oh boy howdy, that child! Tonight after dinner K got to take a bubble bath in our giant tub, put on her new Cars 2 pjs, and came downstairs to pack up her backpack (new) with her (new) school supplies. After we carefully did that she went in the kitchen and saw that we (I) had opened a bag of candy that she wanted. "Can I have this" she asks. "No K, its almost bedtime" her father answers. "I was asking mom" (snotty voice where you can hear the 'duh') is K's reply. "K, you may not have that candy" dad answers again and she actually rolls her eyes at him.

My first thought is, well maybe I dont want to admit to that one. What mom then does is send her to bed. Done, complete, game over, you lose.

As I am sitting at the table thinking of what I am going to say to her when I go upstairs to have our come to Jesus talk I am truly baffled by this first showing of open defience by K. She has mouthed off to ME before, talked back to ME, even risked her very life by telling ME 'duh' before but this with daddy is new.

Now you may be thinking that since K was disrespectful to daddy then he should be the one having a conversation with her, not mom, but I don't agree.

I believe that our daughters learn how to be respectful of their future husbands by watching their parents relationship. She will learn much more about me as a wife simply by watching me then any thing I tell her as a teen and young adult.

I am also a firm believer that Hubby is MINE. He is my best friend, my home, my safe spot in a world of chaos and I will not allow my children to be disrespectful to someone I cherish beyond all else. So when K is rude and mean and ugly to my best friend and I do nothing to challenge that, what is she learning? K will learn that friends don't stand up for each other. She will learn that husbands and wives don't defend each other. She will learn that she can divide us by simply using her words. K needs to understand that he is MY husband and because I love him, I will not allow anyone, including and especially her, to talk to him that way.

Now when I went up to speak with her we talked about the 'why' behind her being in bed early and this is what it comes down to. When K told her daddy that she was only asking me, she was telling him he didn't matter. When K rolled her eyes at him she was telling him that she did not love him enough to be respectful. Now those are some really harsh realities for my 7 year old but they are also some very important lessons that she needs to understand. They are lessons that will affect all her future relationships, both friendships and dating, and I am hoping to help her get them right now when the consequences are so small. Daddy went up to talk with her too and K has made this right. I am hoping that next time she will stop and think about what her words and actions mean before they hurt someone who might not be so quick to forgive.

If you don't laugh, you'll cry.

The meaning of words

I grew up knowing that my words matter. Not only did they matter but the meaning behind my words mattered a great deal. My father is an english major who enjoyed nothing more than debating what a word, sentence, or phrase meant both literally and metaphorically. I learned quickly what all those bad words truly meant, (had to copy dictionary lines), I knew that to say I hated meant I wished someone or something dead. I knew that 'may I' and 'can I' were very different phrases with very different definitions and would grant me very different answers.

One of my favorite things about my english major father though is that never did he simply tell us the meaning of a word. It always started with asking us what we thought it meant. Then why did we think that? Could we defend our opinion? I loved the debate because I remember those words still. One year in sunday school he asked a class full of young adults and teenagers what the definition of love was. It took us 5 weeks to come to an agreement and I still remember it to this day a good 15 years later. "love, an unconditional commitment to another persons well being". The other two words I can still tell you without pause are Grace and Mercy.

"Grace, getting something you don't deserve" "Mercy, not getting what you do deserve"

I have decided that everything involved in this move has been an act of Grace, of receiving things I do not deserve. The house on base, the school I wanted the kids in, the car ride that went so smoothly, the visit with inlaws where everyone was instant companions, the safety as we traveled across snowy and icy roads. My parents caring for our children as the hubby and I celebrate our 1o year anniversary and keeping the kids 2 more weeks while we unpack and set up a new home.

I have done nothing that allows me to think I deserve these gifts. I have whined, complained, had sleepless night of doubt and yet I have still been blessed, have still been given Grace. I am so very thankful for a God who is so full of Grace and Mercy and loves me so very much and gives me such incredible gifts....now if only I would remember this next time we move

If you don't laugh, you'll cry

Adventures in moving...Part 2

Graduation for the Husband

Load up and hit the road

drive 9 hours

Check engine light came on

share a hotel room with 3 kids

Husband, in his sleep, pulls my pillow out from under my head and throws it across the room

i kicked him :)

wake up

hotel breakfast

fire car shipment company for contract breech, meaning they are morons who should not be trusted

hired a new company, using my cell phone, husbands iphone, and my laptop.

Only took me 2 hours

drove 9 hours

dinner, baths, Advent

reward for me and husband, a seperate hotel room :)

if you dont laugh you'll cry

adventures in moving...Part 1

Packers came

Household goods loaded on a truck

Moved into a hotel

Cleaned out house

Took kids to children's museum

K broke her arm at said museum

Trip to the ER to get x-rays and a sling

Spent the day icing it and giving meds for swelling and pain

Christmas concert at church Sat night and Sunday morning

Singing cost me my voice for a few days, totally worth it :)

Husband took A to Boston for an eye appt.

I took K to orthopedics to see if we would do a cast or just a sling and immobilize it

Dinner, baths, Advent each night.

So far its been interesting and we haven't even gotten in the car yet....

if you don't laugh, you cry

A home to call my own....

So its been awhile since I wrote on here and for that I am sorry. To make up for it I will make a confession....I am a whiner.

I know you are all gasping in shock at this, I understand your disbelief, but I, Julianne, am a whiner. I whine about my childrens attitudes, I whine about my messy house, I whine about the weather, etc etc on into infinity.

Now I have another confession to make and this one is harder, I don't like change that I can't control. For those who didn't know my family and I have moved to Connecticut for 6 months, yes that's right, 6 months. It was a HUGE change for us and took something like 2 months just to get settled in and find some friends and feel normal again. Now is is almost time for us to pack up and move again. Another change, another city, another school, all of which I have very little control over and I have not handled it with much grace.

I would love to brag that I love moving, I love the change but its not true. The funny part is, I don't have trouble making friends, I don't have trouble finding a church family, I don't struggle with fitting in most places. My kids adjust pretty quickly, they love going to new schools and making friends. My husband likes his job and the responsibilities that come with it. I like having a automatic support group being in the FRG (family readiness group) so why is this so hard?

Why can I not simply smile and nicely follow where my husband leads and the navy sends? Why do I whine and complain? Why can I not remember that each and every time we have moved God has provider far and beyond my needs?

Here is another example of how much I am given. We are moving to Bangor and one of the only real downfalls to being there is the waiting list for base housing. When we got orders there we were told it could be up to a year wait till they would have a house available to us and that meant we would be moving into an apartment for as long as that took. Now there is nothing wrong with living in an apartment, the part that i whined about was that we wouldn't really settle in there. We wouldn't know how long we had there or when we were moving again, more change I cannot control. It has weighed heavy on my mind and heart and my poor husband heard more than his fair share from his crazy wife about how much I hated this, how hard it would be on me, why I hated it.

It is so very unsettling not knowing where you will be living when you move. You have said goodbye to everyone you know, everything familiar and are now going to a place where even a home of your own is not a certainty.

Tonight though hubby got a call from Bangor. They have a house for us if we would like to accept it. This NEVER happens in Bangor. They often won't even speak to you till you are at the base and we will not arrive till Jan. God again has given me exactly what I needed and more. He has given us a home is a good neighborhood with a good school for the kids, its close to work for Luke and has a 2 car garage for him to play in.

So while I go and once again apologize to my hubby and cuddle while we watch Mystery Science Theater (look it up, you will thank me) you can laugh with me. I will laugh because once again I have been a dork and not trusted that the God who loves me will provide all my needs and the same God has proven to me He will even as I whine.

If you don't laugh, you'll cry.

swimming lessons, riding a bike, and other tortures we inflict upon ourselves

Its summer, a time when kids ride bikes, swim in the local pool, jumprope with neighbor kids as you all just chill and unwind from a long school year.

Unless you live at my house. Todays adventure in parenting involved swimming lessons for my two oldest, K and A. Now I knew going into these lessons that K was not at all thrilled with the idea. I was prepared to deal with some whining and moaning and dragging of feet while we were trying to get out the door. I was not however, prepared for the knock down, drag out, kicking and screaming fit she threw while in the middle of her class. All of the sudden there she was yelling at her instructor who had the gall to suggest K try the kick board while the teacher held her up. I was mortified. I hurried over to calm her down and talk to her because that will normally work. Not so much today. I tried telling her she could do this, that the teacher was there to keep her safe, that all 7 year olds know how to swim. I tried telling her that if she truly wanted to be a Jedi Knight( a WHOLE other story) she would have to be able to swim, I tried threatening her with never going to a the pool to play again and nothing worked. K ended up sitting against the wall while her class finished its lesson and A finished her class across the pool.

Now here is the question. Why does she need to learn to swim? Whats the big deal if she never does? Will she be that much less of a grown up if she never learns? What will she gain if she suffers through this? If I suffer through this?

I think what this battle comes down to, is that K needs to learn to swim because right now she thinks she can't. She thinks she will fail even before she tries and I worry about that mind set. She is scared of something she thinks will destroy her if she has to face it and I worry about that too. I don't want K to ever be afraid to try something simply because she might fail. I don't want her living in fear of something she THINKS she can't face. I want her to have a strong enough belief in herself so the next time something is hard and scary she can look back and say "hey wait, I faced this before and did something I thought I couldn't do. This is nothing I can't handle." I want her to learn to trust me when I tell her she is good enough, she is strong enough, she is brave, and she can do anything.

So next week we will go back to swimming lessons and try again. I will be going with a different mind set though. I believe in my child and know that she can swim. My job next week is to let her find that out on her own.

If you don't laugh, you'll cry.

Moving day

So tomorrow is day 1 of our pack out. For my non-military friends that is when the military send a moving company and they pack you up and move you out, hence the name. We are moving in shifts this time. Tomorrow is called unaccompanied baggage. Since we are moving across an ocean we are allowed to send supplies before us so we have dishes and bedding while we wait the 8 weeks it takes to get the rest of our furniture. Only for us, its not 8 weeks but 6 months before we will see our household goods again. We decided that unpacking an entire house for a 6 month tour and then packing it again would drive me to drink. ( more than I do now anyway) I have spent the last couple of weeks deciding what we could live without and what was a necessity.

I have learned a couple of things since I started. First, my kids are pretty resilient. They have sorted toys, books and clothes and planned for an exciting trip and a new adventure. Second, we have a whole lot of crap. I thought I was pretty good at keeping the clutter down and not being a pack rat, I was wrong. I have taken out 7 bags of trash and my back porch is covered with things that are going to the ladies garage sale. When did that happen? Where did this desire to store build? Third, I am not a nice person when you make me deal with change. During this move I have been picking fights with my husband, not sleeping, tearful. I used to think that I handled anything life threw at me with a good attitude, that I would handle it with grace and understanding. I can hear you laughing by the way. I have had to apologize to my husband more than once about my attitude and been humbled on a daily basis that my kids have handled this in a more adult manner than I have.

I now need to laugh at myself, to remember that I can choose my attitude, that I am only as moody as i choose to be. I need to love on my husband and kids and enjoy my time here before its gone. So lets choose laughter and live aloha

today i feel, you know it doesn't matter...

it's true. It really doesn't. What matters is what I choose to do with it. I feel sad, frustrated, angry, agitated, wound-up. I feel misunderstood, un-grateful, torn, heart broken. I have chosen to be mean, bitter, ugly. I have chosen to yell at my children, sneer at my husband, ignore my friends phone calls all to indulge my own self pity. Yes my feeling are valid, yes there is nothing wrong with having them, there is however something very wrong about what I do with them. My feelings do not give me license to treat the people that love me with anything less then all the love and grace they have shown me. And the grace and love my Savior has given me defiantly means that I have no room to whine and moan.

So I choose to once again remember the words of a women who loved me no matter what. I will choose laughter.

you know your a mom when...

you no longer dream of hours in a bath with a book, just 10 minutes in the shower without an audience

your version of swear words are stinky bunny, for crying out loud, and funky monkey

you calmly count to 10 when your hubby walks in, steps over the trash bag, past the folded laundry, pats the kids on the head as they do their homework, and asks why dinner isnt ready

your daughter watches you dress and wants to know why you are allowed to draw lines on your tummy but she got sent to her room for drawing a smiley face on hers

your day of rest includes making breakfast, lunch, and dinner for 5, breaking up 3 fights, 4 loads of laundry, 18 tattle telling incidents, 1 spilled milk glass ( that was supposed to not tip), and 3 showers of sticky little bodies

the difference between boys and girls

K is a tomboy. She likes tools, blocks, climbing trees, and wears dresses on Sundays when her mother threatens her life. Now because K understands that she is not like other girls every so often she tells me she wishes she were a boy. I carefully explain that God made her special and that she is exactly who God made her to be and that stops the questions for a little while.

Last Sunday we are on our way home from church and K is in the back seat and all of the sudden tells me that she is a boy. "No your not, your a girl" says A snottily and the argument continues Looney Tunes style of, no I'm not, Yes you are and on and on they go. I interrupt thinking that this is a good time to explain the difference in boys and girls. I talk about how J is a boy because he has a penis and K and A are girls because they have vagina and then ask if they understand. Both girls look at me and nod their little heads and I am quietly patting myself on the back when I hear K's little voice saying "I wish I had a penis"

If you don't laugh you'll cry

School Days

Well school has begun here in Hawaii and we are three weeks into the new year. K and A were so excited to start and new year. K is thrilled that as a first grader she can walk to class all by herself. A is thrilled to finally be in school with K cause that means she is as big as her sister. ( a story for another day).

The girls have only been in school for 3 weeks now and I am not sure their teachers will make it the whole year. K had a good first day and came home excited about her new class and loving her math lessons. I met with her teacher and we talked about how K was doing and what i needed to help her with and then thought everything was good. Silly mama. We had parent orientation last week and her teacher pulls me aside with this apologetic look and shows me K's journal. Its empty. Every morning the kids are supposed to come into class, hang up their bags and put their homework in the basket, then sit down and write in their journals. The teacher doesn't check these all the time and the kids are being trusted to finish a page and then turn it in. Only problem is K has been lying to her teacher and telling her she had finished. Oh man, seriously couldn't this have waited until junior high. I dont know which was worse, that K was lying about her schoolwork, or my embarrassment at being the parent of the first grader lying about her schoolwork.

If you don't laugh you'll cry

An apology to my parents

Dear Mom and Dad,

I am sorry. I am sorry for all the times i rolled my eyes at you, stomped my foot, yelled, or ignored your request. I am sorry for the clothes on the floor, the toothpaste all over the counter, the water splashing everywhere except the tub. I am sorry for the notes home from my teachers, the snotty comments that got me written up, and making my teacher cry. I am sorry for teasing my sister just to entertain myself, knocking down my brothers just to make them cry, and waking everyone up at 4am just to have someone to play with.

Now will you please lift the curse of "just wait till you have children of your own". I would really appreciate it.

Love,

your daughter

A rose by any other name...

I love how kids think, how they process the information around them, how they come to the conclusions that they do. Like the time A was so upset about me telling a friend on the phone that J was turning into a monster. She was certain that he was physically changing and wouldn't go into his room the next morning for fear of what she might find.

K's kindergarten teacher pulled me aside last Friday to discuss why, in all the paperwork and meetings, we had never told her about the divorce. Pan to my shocked face as I am racking my brain to figure out what in the world K could have meant. I stood there in shock as her teacher informed me that K was telling her classmates that she really wanted to go see her old mom and dad but her new mom wouldn't even let her call them on the phone, and it hit me.

K has been referring to my parents, her grandparents, as her old mom and dad because thats what I call them. I am so glad that her teacher has a sense of humor or that could have been bad. Oh man what will she think of next.

If you don't laugh, you'll cry.

matching is all relative, right?

I love that my girls are growing up. I love that they can wake up, get their glasses, eat their breakfast, brush their teeth, and get dressed in the morning with minimal supervision from me. The other side of that coin though is that they pick out their own clothes for school now. K is pretty predictable on what she will choose, shorts and t-shirts, for my tomboy. A on the other hand, well you see the picture right? She has her own style and is very vocal about it.

Just in case your wondering the whole outfit does match. She has one white sock and one purple sock but they both have purple beads on them. The white squares on her plaid shorts match the white sock, and the purple heart shirt matches the beads.

I would like to have a shirt that say "She dressed herself"

If you don't laugh, you'll cry.

having patience

Its coming. The kids know its coming. Easter is almost here. I love Easter, the church services, the dresses, the food, and the kids hunting eggs all make for a great day. The kids love it too and I really do understand that waiting for the day to get here when your 4 and 5 is as close to torture as it gets. Now since i really do remember being young and how hard the waiting is I don't mind having the kids talk about it and make their plans and ask the endless questions that come along with it. Will we buy shoes? Can I paint eggs? Will daddy hide them in the yard again? When can we eat the candy we find? Can I eat Josh's candy? He is still a baby.

Last night though, as we are driving home from bible study at 8:30 at night, I just wanted some quiet time. The girls were told it was time to stop asking questions, start relaxing and getting ready to sleep. "but mom!!" says A, " Who will hide the eggs" A no more, we will talk about it tomorrow. "Mom" says K, "will i get more eggs than A?" Thats enough says the mom, no more talking at all till we get home. K-"Knock, knock mom, we are talking about Easter! HELLOO!"

Can you hear my head explode from there?

If you don't laugh, you'll cry.

how much is postage to alaska

Every so often in this house, (ok like every week it seems) I am challenged by my children. Not challenged by smarts or cleaning or cooking even. This is a Knock down, drag out, yes i can make you obey, and yes I am the MOM and i am in charge kind of challenge.

I know it sounds bad to some of you but this house is not a democracy, it is a monarchy. And when you stage a coo it becomes a dictatorship. And this dictator has come out to play. It starts pretty small usually, refusing to answer me, not picking things up when asked, giving me lip when they do finally answer me. I know its coming, I start getting ready for it. I know that one or the other or sometimes both are going to pick a thing and take a stand. Yesterday it was both.

K and A have both just been bullies lately, to each other, Josh, even to their best friends. I am willing to over look alot of things but intentionally hurting others isn't one of them. I understand the power trip behind it but I don't get the actually doing it. I hate being mean (despite what my children think) and would love just to play nice and have a fun time together but tonight that isn't going to happen.

After yesterdays fights and power struggles I was done. The punishment for bulling the next day were they go straight to bed. No dinner, no story, no nothing. K didnt believe me. It's 4:37 and she is in her pj's and down for the night.

If you dont laugh, you'll cry

attitudes

Attitudes-you hear that word and you kinda cringe. You know that that word is almost never a based on anything positive and you are just waiting for a bomb to hit you. Attitudes-should almost be a swear word for mothers, you know the kind, like crap or damn it. Not one of the biggies that get you stared at in public because you just muttered it under your breath as your child, once again, has decided to become a human pinball as you walk down the crowded aisle. I should feel better as I mumble it to myself. I should feel release that I have at least named the monster in the closet. I should feel joy that the dead elephant in the living room has been identified.

But I'm not. I feel as though I am battling the attitudes in this house on a daily basis. Sometimes they are little ones such as not saying please or thank you, picking up your dirty clothes. and my personal favorite "but why mom". Other times they are huge attitudes, hitting me or dad, being disrespectful to a teacher or babysitter, the knock down drag out fight over the fact that YES I AM THE MOM and sometimes that is enough.

I wonder what I am to do with tonight though? K is still sick, still coughing so hard, and still needs to be with me out here not only to make sure that she is OK through the night but so that her sister can sleep. Once again it seems like such a small thing to me but A is truly upset. She truly believes that she is being intentionally separated from the group and is beginning to resent that fact. The attitude is not so much that she wants the attention but that she wants to know that she is loved just as much as K and that I prove it.
So again I have to ask, what do we do now? Hubby had a wonderful plan though. I love his plans. A gets a daddy date all by herself on Saturday. K doesn't get to come because she is sick. Just A and Daddy going to lunch and the store to look at the toys. It takes so little to change these attitudes sometimes.

Attitudes-big, little, or honest, like everything else in life, are real and I have to choose how to handle them without developing an attitude of my own.

If you don't laugh, you'll cry

cough, cough

So its 10 pm and i am writing this as i wait for K to fall asleep on the couch. Poor baby is sick and has a cough so i though she would do better propped up tonight. She is doing better and hopefully tomorrow will be headed back to school. (please Lord let her go back to school) Admit it moms you all whisper that same prayer.

Now this isn't really a big thing in my eyes but in A's eyes its huge. She has been so upset these past few days that K is sick and she isn't. K gets the Gatorade while A has to drink regular juice. K gets medicine and A doesn't. My children are weird and actually like taking the stuff. K got to stay home from school and A had to go to preschool and play with her best friend and flirt with her teacher. So on and so forth till eternity.

A has even taken it so far as to try her hardest to convince me that the thermometer is wrong and she really does have a fever and cough ( which you can hear the fakeness all the way over there can't you?) and desperately needs that medicine. Cough, cough. Oh brother.

What do you do with that? I'm not about to give her medicine she doesn't need, (though she might nap better), but No No, sorry I digress. She doesn't need the medicine but wants the attention of being sick.

So I pull out the cough drops and chicken soup and everyone has a sick bed in the living room and we have a pj's and movie day at our house. Does A win the drama war? i don't think so. I mean you like being the center of the world so why shouldn't my 4 year old?

If you don't laugh, you'll cry