Hair is a Ball

This is a 'do I did this week. It happened to be on the day Annika's class was going on their first field trip. She was sure she would miss the bus and the trip if I did a "fancy" style, so she was a little miffed that she did not get a quickie 'do this morning. Hence the happy smile and the coat on, ready to go.

By the way...She made it on time. It really doesn't take that long.

Checking the Mail

Some days it is fun to get the mail. Yesterday was one of those days. I got some great free stuff!
Along with some free hair care samples I received, I got this: It was an offer from Fed Ex a couple of weeks ago where I gave my name, address, and email and they sent me this gift card for $10 worth of free photo prints at their kiosk. Pretty fun!

I also got a $5 rebate I sent in to Kitchen Aid for a hand blender I got while I was in Ohio on a super good deal. I am not much of a cook, but I love kitchen gadgets. I found this toy:

and with the rebate, I was sold. It has actually been quite handy and I have used it a lot. In fact, I made soup with it just today.

Responsibility is Hard

Nathan and Kade both asked Santa for a Nintendo DS for Christmas. Santa informed them they would not be getting one because their mom and dad wanted them to save the money to get one. It was hard to tell them they wouldn't get the only thing they asked for, but it is important to me that they learn how to delay gratification, work hard for what they want, and see how every little bit saved adds up.

A DS costs $129. Nathan and Kade must save up half. Their jobs pay anywhere from 0.25 to $1.00, so it obviously will take quite a while. They were given some money from Santa and Grandma, so that helped a lot.

Finally, last weekend, Nathan was short $3 from the necessary $65. We bartered, bargained, and parlayed, and came up with a great compromise. He gets the rest of the money for shoveling the rest of the driveway.

We went to get the DS. Brought it home. Nathan shoveled. And shoveled. And shoveled. It was cold and dark outside and still he shoveled.

Finally...it was done. Finally, the DS was officially his. He sat down to play it, but didn't have any games.

Saving up some more.

I tried to get him to trade in his old Game Boy, but he wanted to save it for Kade to play while Kade was saving for his DS (he's about $20 short now). Very sweet.

Except on Friday night Nathan got out his Game Boy for a little reunion...The LCD screen was broken.

Nathan was heartbroken. Kade began to cry and apologized profusely. There was this game he was playing...it was really hard...it was really frustrating...and he banged his head against the screen. Broken. Broken. Crying all around.

Kade owned up. I was so proud, but so sad. He would have to make it better. To replace it would cost around $35, and take a huge chunk out of his own saved money.

The compromise was that Kade would buy Nathan a game for his DS instead. We took his money to the store, Nathan picked out his game, and Kade bought it (with some help from mom). He has learned a hard lesson. It is was very hard for me to let him learn it, but I really admire his willingness to take responsibility. I am not sure I could have done the same.
So proud. So hard.

Nurse Mommy

I finished my continuing education in the best of all spirits. 30 hours of CE crammed into a much smaller window of time. But I am now officially re-licensed to practice the fine art of cleaning up body fluids (including the "not so much fluid" fluids), poking people with sharp things, making sure they move when they should, and lie still when they should. I can officially give medication, change wound dressings, educate, and suction various orifices.
I think the most important thing I can officially do, even as a stay at home mommy who will likely not see much nursing action in the next couple of years is to "mourn with those who mourn, and comfort those who stand in need of comfort".
What an interesting dichotomy my profession is.

Inquiring Minds Should Know

How did your congressman/woman vote on the porkulus bill? What do they think about writing off interest from car loans on your tax bill? How do they vote on immigration?
Inquiring minds want to know. I want to know. It is critical that we do know, and let them know we know.
You know?
You should.
Find out here
You can register through your zip code to follow all your representatives in congress. Do it, today, now.

He's A Mean, Green, Fighting Machine

We are proud to announce that Sempai Kade has now advanced to the rank of green belt in Karate.

Congratulations Kade!

Weekend Warriors

The Men

The Machines

That's right, it's Pinewood Derby time again.

Nathan's car was fast, but not fast enough for first place this year.

There is a special race just for the dads in our ward. The dad cars don't have to adhere to any of the rules, so anything goes. Burke actually put in a little motor from one of Nathan's RC toys that got demolished. He hooked it up to his rear wheels and burned up the track. I could almost hear the grunting from across the room.

Next year there may be three cars for daddy to work on, as Kade may be able to participate.

**************
Kade was the ultimate warrior this weekend.

He took his belt test to progress from purple to green.

In case you are wondering, the ranks go like this: white, yellow, orange, blue, purple, green, brown, red, black.

He tried really hard and did very well. There were lots of things for a 7 year old to remember. Some of those forms can get complicated.
He will find out if he is going to be a green belt on Monday...