Tar

As I was grabbing the clothes out of the dryer today I noticed that a pair of underwear was stuck to the inside. I pried it off and found a blob of black goo.

Apparently Michael had stuffed a piece of road tar in his pocket and thus proceeded to place his dirty clothes in the clothes basket. Yea for him for getting that down.

So, I doused the dryer with veggie oil and the stuff came right off. I was happy about that.

I've got a weak stomach

Michael just came down the stairs and said, "Hey Mom, I know this is going to gross you out and I'm sorry about that.... (he paused long enough for me to brace myself)... but I just lost another tooth!"

Teeth loss grosses me out. I'm even having a hard time writing this without gagging.

So, the moment I hoped would never happen to my children has come. Michael has a huge gap. He has lost his two front top teeth. Yuck. It makes kids talk goofy and look goofy.

Date Night

Jamie rented a few movies. We started watching one tonight. I was really excited about it. It seemed to do well at the theaters and a lot of people gave it good reviews. I, personally, hate it. HATE IT!

'I am Legend'

I admit, it's very well done. But, I am totally freaked. I think we're only about 20 minutes into it. Maybe 30. And the last 10 minutes I had my ears covered and my eyes covered to see just the top right corner of the screen. My chest is so tight I feel like I'm going to suffocate and my head hurts.

I decided to just leave the room and read. After I squirt vinegar on the porch of course!

* Nothing like a good ol' barf session to get your mind off of a scary movie. Maggie was coughing so hard that she threw up. I got the job of cleaning her body up while Jamie got her bed all set. Good times at the Wetzel house tonight!

I'm such a dork!

A really quick update... I'll try to post some pics soon.

Michael had a blast at camp. He wore the same underwear and t-shirt that I sent him in. Apparently I "hid" all of his clean clothes in his suitcase. He came back with some new funny songs and some inside jokes. I think he grew up while he was gone those 2.5 days.

Michael was so surprised when he came home and saw his room. It's really not that drastic looking, except it's really really clean. I repainted the walls a light cream color. It's fresh and new. He loved the light saber's on the wall. And the bed is really fun.

Ok, here's the dorky part... I sent Michael to camp with a disposable camera. We took it to Walgreen's to have the pictures developed.

Clerk: Would you like these back today or tomorrow?

Me: Is there a price difference?

Clerk: No.

Me: Ok, I'll pick them up later today.

Clerk: Would you like single or double prints?

Me: Well, it's my sons camera. I'm not sure how many turned out so I don't know off hand how many copies I'll want. If I order single prints now can I somehow get another set later if they look good?

Oh. My. Goodness. My father will be hanging his head in shame. Have I really gone that digital that I've forgotten about negatives?

Winter

I really like winter. Even here in Michigan. We've had a lot of snow this year which is my favorite. I just like being cold and I like how it makes everything look clean. It's pretty. I like candles and hot chocolate. It motivates me to clean and exercise in order to get warm.

I drove Michael to school. Came home. Noticed that the trash hadn't been taken out. Noticed that Jamie had already left for work. So, I took out the trash and the recycle bin. Only to come back in and notice on the computer screen the garbage pick up schedule for February. We missed our pick up this week. Who'd-a-thought that everyone in the city 'celebrated' President's Day Monday except our garbage picker uppers.

Argh. It's mornings like this that make me not enjoy winter.

Re-Cap

Michael's appointment went well? yesterday with the oral surgeon. He's doing great. He's so excited because he was told that he can rough house again. He's been refraining from playing rough with Jamie for a long time. I'm sure the light sabor's and rubberband guns are going to be dug out of the closet this afternoon.

I refuse to go anywhere today. Besides drop off / pick up of Michael. It's really really cold again. Yesterday just about killed me. Maggie and I were in and out all day. I never warmed up. Maggie was complaining that her feet hurt because she was so cold. She begged for a hot bath.

Plus, the house is super duper trashed. Every spoon, plate, glass, and bowl is dirty and sitting on my kitchen counter. Every sock, underpant, jean, towel, and pj is piled high either in the hallway, bedroom floor, even the living room. The house isn't just messy... it's dirty. It will take me awhile today to tidy it up and then clean it.

My goal is to tidy up the whole house, wash all the clothes (that includes folding and putting them away), and do all the dishes (wash by hand and put away). Dusting, vacuuming, and wiping of any kind will be done at another time.

Of course, my work load is a little bit lighter than what I'm conveying to you. Micheal does have an after school list that he does everyday that includes putting his own clothes away and wiping down the bathroom. So, those jobs will get done too.

Wow, it's already 11!?! I better start moving. My strategy on days like this? I set my oven timer for 15-20 minutes and rush around and clean as fast as I can. I make Maggie wait during this time if she needs me for anything. After the timer goes off, and after I've taken care of Mag's, I reward myself with 10-15 minutes of computer time. Usually my reward is reading just one blog, writing one email, or playing one game. Actually less than the time I give myself. Then, I set the timer again and clean super fast again.

It works for me!

Radom thoughts

I think we are all 'healthy'. Whatever that means? No one seems to be blowing their noses or coughing. That's a good thing. Although, my head hurts a lot.

I worked in Michael's classroom this morning. The teacher became side tracked by a question asked by a student and decided to help the kids figure out how many hours a week they spent at school with each other. Appx. 37.5 hours. That's crazy! I'm almost tempted to home school. I know that it wouldn't take that long to teach/learn the stuff he's learning in a given week. Alas, that is not the route we have chosen for our children's main academic learning.

I'm looking forward to this weekend. Michael has Thursday and Friday off for teacher work days. We're going to head up to our place in Seney for a few days. We'll head over to Marquette Friday night to watch the dog sled races begin. Michael and Jamie went last year. It should be fun for all of us.

Michael has an appointment at the oral surgeon's office this afternoon to check on the progress of his teeth. Remember how he smashed in two adult teeth during Christmas? Well, we're hoping that having him eat soft foods for 40 days would have given them enough time to heal. We'll see.

The kids and I had a great time at my parents house this weekend. We just hung out. It was nice for Maggie to be able to play with different toys. Michael and my dad went out to the Museum for an afternoon. My brother took me on a couple of errands. It was relaxing and nice to be taken care of. Thanks family!

I suppose that's all the excitement around here. It's cold. And, I have to head out again in about 15 minutes. It's been a run around kind of day. I'll plan on staying home tomorrow.

Snow day and sickness

Michael is off of school again today due to the snow. Don't ask me how much we got. I don't pay attention, remember? That makes 5 snow days this year. 4 of which have occurred in the past two weeks. Crazy! He better go back tomorrow. It's killing me!

Our friend, Tom, was so kind to take him over to his house to play with his kids this afternoon. It will be good for Michael to get out and play with the boys.

Maggie woke up a few times last night sobbing that her ear hurt. It was so sad. I took her to the doctor this morning. Turns out she probably did have the flu last week. Now she's got a bunch of fluid that's floating around her cavities. Inside her ear it got infected. The doctor took one look at it and said it looks like she has a cherry tomato in her ear.

... and the mother of the year award goes to....

I felt awful. The doctor proceeded to tell me that this type of ear infection comes on quickly and I got her in at a good time. She's loaded up on meds and sleeping right now. I actually had the pleasure of rocking and singing her to sleep. Something that isn't a normal occurrence around here. My children love their sleep time and don't want to be bothered with a sappy mommy. This was a nice change.

I probably should mention that I feel amazingly well! I slept and relaxed as much as I possibly could yesterday. I woke up this morning feeling groggy and achy. But, I'm functioning rather well this afternoon. I'll keep the decongestions going in me to ward off any infected fluid in me.

I'm looking forward to a nice weekend at my parents house. Jamie has a staff retreat so the kids and I will head over to Livonia after school time. Should be a good time for all of us.

Apparently...

... a 33 year old mommy shouldn't jump up and down at the end of a Super Bowl game. I peed my pants :)

Undone

My fingers came apart this morning! Woo Hoo!

I ended up 'taping' them together last night. I figured that way I'd be able to sleep without freaking out when they pulled at each other. That was beginning to hurt.

I took a shower this morning. As I was drying off I was trying to hold the towel between my thumb and pointer finger. I decided that I could get a better grip using my thumb and other fingers instead. Suddenly I realized that I had a strong grip on the towel and looked down to see my fingers separated. Yippy!

Stuck

Two of my fingers are glued together... with super glue. I've been trying to get unstuck for 2 hours. I'm tired. I'll tape them together and pray that they'll be separated in the morning.

The funny thing is, I was using glue to seal up cracks in my fingers due to extremely dry skin. Now both of my hands are pealing because of all the chemicals Jamie gave me to help. Soap, lotion, nail polish remover, mineral spirits, even WD-40.

What a mess! I amazed myself though. I'm actually able to type!

a first for us

Christmas afternoon we headed to Livonia. We met at my sister and brother-in-laws. We ate a wonderful meal of bbq ribs and cheesy potatoes (we're known for our non-traditional holiday meals!). We opened presents and hung out. It was a lot of fun! The kids had so much fun together.

The day after was... eventful. Again, I'm terrible at recounting stories, but this has to be shared with you all!

My parents have a stationary baby gate in their home. It has two sides that are attached to either side of the doorway and in the middle is the gate part that opens and closes. Michael, my super smart 6 year old, was holding himself up using the two sides and swinging? forward and back. Well, apparently he wasn't sure how to stop himself and fell face down on the ground. Right onto the bar that stabilizes the whole unit.

The blood... oh the blood. I almost threw up and Jamie almost passed out. It was crazy gross. Jamie and my mom and my brother took Michael to the emergency room. He had a few cuts inside his mouth and a few little ones on the outside. He ended up getting a few stitches in the corner of his mouth. And, three of his bottom teeth were loose. Overall he was pretty ok.

I had to take him to an oral surgeon the next day about his teeth. There's still a little bit of concern. One of the loose teeth is a baby tooth, no biggie. But the other two are adult teeth. Their roots have not been established. So, he's been on soft foods and has to go back later this week for a check up.

He's doing great now (Jan 1). The swelling on gums is completely gone and his stitches are healing very well. We'll find out Thursday how his teeth are holding up.

Merry Christmas!

This has been a great Christmas season for us! And, it's not over yet!

Last night we went to our church's Christmas Eve service. My mother and father-in-law went, and my Aunt too. And a family that we're friends with... we go way back. They have three boys. One is in Michael's class at school and one is Maggie's age. I sat with my in-laws and Aunt and Maggie. Michael sat with 'all the boys' a few rows ahead of me.

Highlights of the service: My good friend Bethany (I sometimes refer to her as my neat and tidy friend) danced to the song Breathe of Heaven. It. Was. Awesome. She did such a great job. I'm so proud :)

Ok, here's where I want to tell you a super funny thing that happened during the service. But, I'm a terrible story teller. But I'll give it a go.

So Rick, our senior minister, is doing a short sermon during the service. Towards the end he starts talking about how he loves Christmas Eve. How that's when things slow down. How everything is closed up for a day or two. How you can't go to Walmart, Target, Meijer, or even... he pauses... and says "Oh, sure 7/11 is open but who would want to go there?".

Michael shouts out "I do!". Thunderous laughter followed. Oh my goodness, I was crying. Partly because it was really funny. The timing was so perfect it couldn't even have been planned better. But also because I was super embarressed. I recovered, so did Rick, and thought for sure only Jamie and I would really know who said it. The place was packed and there were tons of kids and Michael was sitting in a sea of boys.

But, as I was walking down front for communion, about 20 people patted me on the back and said "Man, I love your son" and chuckled. Ahh... it was a good time.

After the service we came back to our house and had a few people over. We nibbled on pigs in a blanket, veggies, cookies, and nachos and talked.

This morning my in-laws came over (they live across the street) and also my Aunt spent the night. We opened presents together and watched the kids play. It was so nice. Arch, my fingers hurt but I want to tell you about their gifts and stuff. It was a great year present wise.

The only reason why I'm typing right now is because Maggie is sleeping, Michael is playing, and Jamie is gone helping at a Christmas Breakfast that our church puts on every year. He should be home soon and once he's showered a few times (he's a cook this year) we'll pack up the van and head over to my sister's for the evening.

Merry Christmas everyone!