Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Furlough days aren't all bad

As economic times are hard and everyone is trying to find ways to cut corners to save money, school systems are cutting days off the school calendar.  The down side is obvious, a cut in pay, but the upside is more time with family which I love and in my opinion you can't put a dollar amount on!  Due to fewer school days, Terry and I have the whole week off for Thanksgiving this year.  Since we are both so busy during the school year we always have a long list of things that we want to get done given a free day or two.  On the top of Terry's list was cleaning out the garage which has become more of a storage for junk then cars.  So, on Monday I took care of the kids until 2 so he could sleep in and then clean out the garage. Then I took off for a while and looked around at the mall.  I wanted to see if I could find a new top for myself for the family picture we are going to take on Friday as well as possibly buy a Christmas gift or two.  I found a sweater that I may or may not wear for the picture, got a Christmas present for a family member (I can't let out any secrets) and got a Christmas present for Isaac.  His present I can talk about since he can't read yet and therefore won't be reading this.  I am having a lot of fun thinking of ideas for him this year because there is so much he can do and so many things he likes.  Of course I can't get him everything he points to in all the catalogs that come in the mail, but one thing that he has consistently asked for lately is an Ironman mask and glove.  The funny thing is that he has never seen the movie and doesn't even know who the character is, but since it is a popular thing right now he has seen it often in stores and catalogs and I guess something about it attracts him.  I had  a moment where I thought I don't really want to get this for him, but once again I had to remind myself that it is not about me.  My thoughts quickly turned to how excited he would be to get this so I put it in my shopping cart.  Today it was my turn to sleep which was a real treat.  My two main goals today were to clean and to go to Walmart to get all that we would need for Thanksgiving and for the next few days.  I asked Terry to take the boys somewhere for a couple hours so I could really clean.  He took them to an inflatable place at Discovery Mills Mall.  It was wonderful to have the house to myself where I could concentrate on cleaning.  The 2 1/2 hrs that they were gone went by so quickly!  I didn't get all my cleaning done, but I did get a lot accomplished and I appreciate Terry so much for taking them!  He is always so great to take care of the boys if I need to run errands or if I need him to take them somewhere so I can get stuff done.  He is an awesome husband and daddy and I am so blessed!  When they got back it was nap time for the boys and time for me to run to Walmart.  When I got home I unloaded the groceries and made dinner while Terry and the boys continued to play.  After dinner I cleaned a little more, but also got in some play time.  It has been a busy couple of days, but we amongst our busyness we have also spent some time playing together.  Last night it was fun to watch as Terry and Hayden chased each other around.  Terry would hide behind corners and Hayden would laugh.  This morning the boys and I played hide and seek.  I hope we get the whole week off again next year!
Tomorrow Mom, Dad, and the Cliffords arrive and I am so excited!  This is the first Thanksgiving at our house.  It will be so great to all be together!

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