"To Iraq and Back"

Hubby and I watched the Bob Woodruff special on abc last night, To Iraq and Back. To say the least it was eye opening. The trauma that he endured and miraculously recovered from is astonishing. However, it was the truth that he uncovered about the number of soldiers that are returning from the war who have brain injuries or are otherwise maimed that moved me the most. According to his report, the US government has issued a gag order for journalists about this very subject. They do not want the US people to know the staggering numbers of soldiers who are returning with these injuries. He also shed light on the fact that many of these soldiers will face substandard care from their local VA hospitals once they return to their homes. The hospitals are simply not equipped or staffed appropriately to deal with the brain injuries that these soldiers have. I just sat in awe as I watched this. How can our government continue to send our sons and brothers to fight in a war that has gone on far too long and then not provide them with adequate care should they be lucky enough to return? How infuriating! To read more about the projects that Mr. Woodruff is affiliated with click on the pictures below.

And, in honor of my own brother who is in his 25th year of serving our country in the USAF, read this post.

Tater Tot is back on his feet

It was about 5:00 a.m Sunday morning when little Tater Tot crawled in bed with me and hubby. Every square inch of his body was hot. A quick check of his temperature showed that it was exactly 102.5 degrees. I gave him a dose of Motrin and it came down quickly. However, the normally extremely active little six year old spent the entire day laying on the couch in his pajamas. The fever continued to spike each time the medicine wore off until it finally broke this afternoon. Yesterday when I told him he wouldn't be able to go to school today he said, "I know this is going to sound strange, but I actually want to go to school tomorrow because I kind of like school now." Well, that was music to my ears. But, he had to stay home today anyway. We've watched a LOT of Sponge Bob, played a few games, colored and snuggled the past two days. No mother likes to see her children sick, but I must admit, I did like taking care of my little Tater. The extra lovin' was an added bonus too!

Multicultural Day at the boys' school

Konichiwa! I had the privileged of spending the entire day at the boys' school today. I walked in with them this morning and didn't leave until they did this afternoon. Boy, it's been a while since I've done that! The reason for my "day of school" was to volunteer for multicultural day. I spent the first half of the day in Tater Tot's kindergarten class. All five of the kindergarten classes spent the morning rotating between classrooms. They learned about a different aspect of Japan in each room. Our role was to provide each class with a taste of Japan... sticky rice. (I, and five other moms, prepared the rice and brought it to school with us.) The children were even provided with chop sticks! In the other classrooms they made a Japanese flag, got to try on a real kimono and other activities.

Tater Tot (far left) and friends

After lunch, I said "sainara" to Japan and headed to the third grade. Once there, it was my job to travel with the students from classroom to classroom. They were learning about Germany. Thanks to other volunteer moms, we got to taste German food. I must admit, very few of the children liked any of it though. After that it was off to another class to learn to polka and waltz. It was so cute watching 8 and 9 year old girls and boys paired up together, dancing. Of course they all protested and were afraid of getting "cooties" from the opposite sex.

Bubby learning to Polka with a friend

I really enjoyed the day and learned many things about each country that I did not know before. During supper tonight I also quizzed the boys to see if they were paying attention...they both did really well. I'm looking forward to learning about different countries next year. So, until then, auf wiedersehen. (Now I finally know what Heidi Klum says as she bids each designer farewell on Project Runway!)

Me & Bubby

An amazingly beautiful floral rug created out of real flowers!

February in the South

Sometimes I really miss "home." Home is where hubby and I are from. It's where we still have tons of friends and family. But, today wasn't one of those days. Today it was 73 degrees here in the south. That, I LOVE. I have never been a big fan of winter. At "home" (West Virginia) there were many, many days that it would be in the teens in the winter time. Weeks would go by that we wouldn't even see our grass because it was covered with snow. Here, in the south, we have Easter lillies in our backyard that are already in full bloom. The local stores already have their stock of spring/summer flowers out. Winter items are already in the clearance aisles. That's why.......I love February in the south! See my post on this very subject from this time last year. You'll see our beautiful "winter lillies."

Win your very own Rhyme-N-Tyme board game

The girls over at 5 Minutes for Mom are hosting a fantastic give away this week. It's super easy to enter too. So, head on over. After you enter to win, stay a bit and browse around. It's the perfect place for all things "mommy."

How we spent President's Day...

I had high hopes for today. The boys had today off from school of course. Hubby is out of town so I had planned a mommy and boys day out. I thought after they straightened up their rooms a little I would surprise them and take them here. The place just recently opened up so I thought we'd go check it out. I knew they'd love it! Well, things didn't go exactly as planned. I awoke at 8:30 a.m. to the sound of children (lots of children) in my backyard. They boys have been instructed not to leave our house if I am asleep. They also know it is against the rules to have friends over if I'm still slumbering as well. I called them both in and in a very calm voice asked them if they were supposed to be outside. They simultaneously said "no." I asked if they should have friends over and received the same answer. Then, they must have realized why I was asking these particular questions and started making excuses. They begged for "just one more chance. " As much as I wanted to, I couldn't give it to them. They spent the remainder of their school holiday grounded. They were not allowed out of the house unless it was on fire. I think every child within a 5 mile radius came over during the day to see if they could play. I was tempted to have them announce it on Nickelodeon that Bubby and Tater were not able to play today! But, we did get some much needed housework done. I helped each of them clean their rooms and closets. Then, I moved on to my closet. So, the day wasn't a total waste. I sure hope they learn their lesson this time. I really want to check out Monkey Joe's!

Taterisms

I asked, "So, what center did you go to in school today? Blocks?" He replied, "No, I'm taking a break from blocks."

While addressing his Valentine's day cards to his classmates he stopped and said, "I have to rest a minute. My hand is getting grouchy."

Payton recently asked me, "How come when I'm sick you take care of me and Daddy just watches TV?"

"How do Nana and Papa (hubby's parents) get money if neither of them work?" I answered, "well they are retired and get money from Papa's old job." "But what will they do when the money runs out?" He's six people...SIX!

I recently overheard Tater asking a friend, "Do you think I'm too little to be a Romeo?" His friend told him, "No, man!" I'm not quite sure what that means but I'm a little worried.

Tater Tot recently pooted while he was in the same room as me. His daddy said, "What have I told you about doing that in front of girls?" Tater answered, "Dad, I wasn't in front of her. I was behind her!"

Sunday Six

I got this from Andria (quite a while ago). Tater Tot gladly answered the following questions....

1. When you see Mommy on the computer, what am I doing? Paying bills
2. How does a telephone work? Power lines give it power.
3. When you play a game at an arcade, what happens to the coin you use to start the game? It goes in with all the other ones.
4. How does milk stay cold? Because the frig is cold
5. What makes the car move? Gas
6. How does a radio work? With wires

Good answers, Tater Tot!

A college valentine from Bubby

Bubby is going to college one night a week! Yes, he's only 9 years old, but he's going to BJU once a week for two hours. A few weeks ago a professor from the university called to see if I'd be interested in letting him come to campus two nights a week to receive free tutoring. Well, duh! Free? He's there!! He is working with a wonderful student who is studying to become a teacher. She helps him with reading primarily. But, it's how she does it. She's very creative and he actually enjoys going. Tonight she helped him create a themed story, type it into the computer and then print it out. He loved it. She let him pick the topic. What did he pick? Something he knows a lot about he said.....his mom. Boy did he score some points. This is what he wrote:

My Mom

My mom's name is Shane. I love my mom because she is nice.

My mom makes me laugh. My mom has blond hair.

She is pretty. My mom and I like to cook. Her favorite color is pink.

He even added a little cupid clip art and drew a red heart with an arrow through it. Isn't that so sweet? That is what Valentine's Day is made of when you're a mom.

What a great February day!

Bubby and I are sitting on our screened in back porch right now. The sun is shining and it is in the mid 60's. We're doing homework, blogging, snacking and chatting. What a great way to spend a mid-February afternoon!

Pizza Night with Daddy

Tonight was "pizza night with daddy." He stopped on his way home from work and got everything they'd need. It was even his idea! I was surprised, but happy. The boys had a great time cookin' with dad. I had a great time watching (and then cleaning up after them). I think they should do this more often. Way to go daddy!

**As always I took too many pictures (if that's possible). To see the rest of them, go here.

A Late Night

It is now 10:32 pm and hubby is still at work. But, I am not complaining! As you know, it wasn't that long ago he was without a job. I'm thankful that he's at work right now, no matter what the hour. We knew that when he started this new job it would require a few late nights here and there along with some overnight trips, so I was prepared. How could I not be? Hubby is so excited about his new position. He's enjoying going to work again, and that makes me so very happy. He can already tell, after only one month, that leaving corporate America for a family owned business was the right move. I'm so excited about what the future holds for hubby. I know he's good at what he does and his new employer will reap the rewards of his experience. So, I'm in it for the long haul and will have all the patience in the world. I plan to stand by my man until the end!

P.S. - If you need to get caught up to date on how the new job came about go here.

The things they'll say...

"Hold your cows" (instead of horses I suppose) -- Tater

"Look mom, it's a '54 catarack!" (cadillac) -- Tater

"shamp lade" instead of lamp shade -- Garrett

"If they get in my way I just knock them down. Because, you know, life isn't always easy." -- Tater Tot referring to playing soccer

After he recently burped, I asked Tater what he should say. Without even hesitating he replied, "Thank you God for letting me be able to burp."

Tater & the class bear

Tater's class is making a book with the help of their classroom teddy bear. Each night one child gets to bring Teddy and the book-in-progress home with him. Before going to bed they are to write down what they and Teddy did and then draw a picture illustrating their adventures.

Give the above picture a click and read all about it!

Ta Daa!

See what a professional can do? It makes a world of difference when someone actually knows (& understands) html. Kudos to Susie at Bluebird Blogs for the great design.

Pick something & stay with it!

I know that's what you all are thinking, right? Well, it's official...I've thrown in the towel. I'm going to leave blog design to those who actually know what the heck they're doing. So.........stay tuned.......something big is coming to Shane Shares!

Just call me "Her Royal Highness"

In the spirit of useless fun, I present to you my new title:

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Her Royal Highness Shane the Uncanny of Bismorton Shropcake Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

When did they move Daylight Saving time?

I feel like I've been hiding under a rock or something. I read in today's paper that starting this year, daylight saving time starts four weeks earlier. Apparently, in August 2005, Congress extended it in the name of energy efficiency. What? Where in the world was I? I never heard anything about this. It's not like Congress usually consults with me before voting on important matters, but geez! You'd think it would have garnered a mention on the evening news at least. So, I guess the majority of the U.S. will enjoy more daylight beginning March 11th and going through November 4th. So, in case you've been in the dark too (pun intended), mark your calendars now.

P.S. - I also learned that there is no "s" on the end of daylight saving time. And to think I've been saying it wrong all these years!

I may never leave the couch!

I can already see it...my house will never be clean again, the laundry will never be "caught up" and we'll be ordering a lot of delivery for supper. Why? Because my behind may never leave the comfort of our family room couch now that I have a laptop. Hubby got it for me as a slightly belated birthday gift. The TV is tuned to HGTV, my feet are propped up on the ottoman, sweet tea is at my side and I'm surfing the web. Oh the joy! I'm too spoiled. Thanks for the best gift every, honey! I may even share it with you once in a while (a very short while).

P.S. - If you know us at all you know he didn't pay retail for it. That's a sin in our house. Yep, another extremely satisfactory ebay purchase. Ebay rocks!

Bubby is a "Terrific Kid"

Bubby was honored by his peers today and received a "Terrific Kid" award from our local Kiwanis club. Every month the students in each class vote for one of their classmates to be given this honor. We're so very proud of him. We're always being told how polite and helpful he is to others at school. I guess his classmates have noticed too. Way to go, Bubby! For more info about the "terrific kid" program, read this post from last year. And, you can read about his brother being given the same recognition here.