In my memory from childhood, this is the time of year we usually got significant snowfall (for Tennessee). And over the last few years we had closed school for several snow days by the third week of January. It was a year ago last week that a snow came through more quickly than expected and stranded a lot of people in Nashville.
This year the school system is stockpiling time to build in snow days. We do this by adding thirty minutes to the school day which gives us 13 snow days. If we don't use these snow days we cannot shorten the calendar and get out of school early so we lose them (kind of like an insurance policy). At this point it appears Mother Nature is playing a cruel trick on us. We haven't missed one day due to snow yet.
WORDS THAT WILL MAKE A PARENT CRINGE. That happened to me when Jenna yelled, "Daddy, Nate is playing in the toilet!" Jenna and Ben never bothered things like the toilet much. Nate, on the other hand, really keeps us on our toes.
WAS I TOO HARD? Sunday afternoon I had a slight headache, probably from being a little hungry. After lunch the kids were having a great time running up and down the hall. What was getting to me was their shrill screeches every time they went by the kitchen where Vicki and I were. I finally stopped them and said, "Guys, I don't mind if you run and play, just stop the screeching." Thirty seconds later they were screeching again so I made them sit down for a moment and explained again that they could run and play but not to make the loud noise. After I let them go they ran around for a bit and then came back to the kitchen. Jenna asked, "Daddy, can't we even laugh?"
A NEW ENTERTAINMENT CENTER. Over the years we have given Mom and Aunt Mar a new TV and ourselves a new VCR/DVD player for Christmas. When we did this we kept the old units these presents replaced. I had Monday off and one of my projects was to set up the TV and VCR upstairs for the kids to use. Since I'm not connecting an antenna I'm not worried about them tuning into something they shouldn't see but now they can watch their videos during their TV time without monopolizing the TV downstairs. Jenna and Ben are really proud of their setup.
THE WINNING CONTINUES! We are on a roll with our third victory. Jenna's team won today 19-8. She was really excited after Thursday's practice as she hit several goals. Unfortunately she didn't make any points again today but I saw her snag a few rebounds!
CHRISTMAS IS FINALLY OVER. You will remember two weeks ago my welcoming my new cousin, Harper Dee, into the world. We have been trying to get over to Ashland City to see them but each time we would schedule the visit someone would get a little sick. Today everyone was healthy and we paid them a visit to see Harper and do Christmas together. We had a lot of fun. Harper sure is cute! She is Riley's twin sister born 3.5 years later. It was very late when we got home.
Joe
