Green with Envy

I am so jealous of Daniel. He has a very close relationship with his extended family. They all live within 30 miles of us and they all gather together for every holiday.

My family, on the other hand, is not so lucky. I have an aunt and 2 uncles, 5 cousins, and a second cousin on the way that I only get to see at Christmas time. It is so overwhelming to try to catch up from a whole year in a short period of time like that.

I wish so badly that I could have my cousins (4 of them girls born within 5 years of each other) at my disposal all year long. I wish I could call them up for dinner or to go to church events together or just hang out and eat ice cream! But, nonetheless, I enjoy my time with my cousins when we do get to see each other, once a year! I have so many memories of our Christmas' together and I hope they don't end anytime soon.

I do hope to have some pictures of Christmas to post soon. But I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you!! Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and ring in the New Year just the same!

All Smiles

Food for Thought

Just a post to note a few things that have ran through my busy little mind lately:

-I wonder what my baby girl is doing in Heaven for her 1st Christmas.

-My husband does so much for us. It is 10:18 p.m. and he is back at work.

-I have done waaayyy too much for Christmas this year and my bank account is feeling it. (Thank God for the previous thought!!)

-How can people stand listening to Christmas music an entire month before Christmas arrives? A week before, and I am good!

-I love my job. But the hardest thing to do is to "replace" someone who retires from a company after 20 years. I know I did not and cannot replace her and guess what I am not trying. I will do me and you do you!!!

-Christmas is Jesus birthday!! And that is all! It has, in my opinion, become entirely too commercialized.

-Eat better. Exercise. Eat better. Exercise. I have got to find time to do these things. Can I blog and exercise and eat, healthy, at the same time?!

Make it Stop

This mom is o.v.e.r.w.h.e.l.m.e.d!!!! Maybe it's the holidays. Maybe it's the basketball season. I don't know but something has this little family running around like chickens with their heads cut off!! The last few weeks in the O'Neil house have looked something like this:

8th- church
7th- Daniel's basketball game
6th- Triston's basketball practice, grocery store
4th- Triston's basketball game and work Christmas party
3rd- Presley's doctor's appointment, lunch date, shopping day
2nd- Triston's basketball practice
1st- church
30th-Daniel's basketball game
24th-26th- Thanksgiving festivities

Do you get my drift?! Let's add all that on top of working 8 hours a day and being away from the house, seemingly, all the time. My house looks like a tornado swept through it and the laundry is beginning to stack to the ceiling. Dinner happens, usually, in a 15 minute span before heading out the door to another function. Needless to say, this family-on-the-go is ready to stop and relax. But there will be none of that in the near future. As the next few weeks look like this:

10th- Christmas party
11th- Triston's basketball game
12th- Church and family photos...take 2
13th- WHMS basketball game
14th-Daniel's basketball game
15th- Triston's basketball practice
16th- Dinner with the girls at work
18th- Triston's basketball game and another Christmas party....

Okay, I am exhausted just typing all that!!! Maybe I should stop blogging and go occupy my couch while I have the chance.

The Playground

Friday we got a call from Triston's school. Never a good sign! It was the assistant principal and she said that Triston needed to tell us about an incident that happened on the playground. So, in his normal fashion, Triston owned up to the happenings and said that he tackled a kid on the playground and tripped him and possibly tried to put him in a head lock.

After talking to Tris, Daniel got back on the phone with the assistant principal and asked her why she can't paddle for this kind of thing. We agree with the school that if our child makes a poor choice he should receive a consequence. She said that paddling is their last resort but that we could leave work and come up to the school and do that if we liked. (Ha!) Anyway, so they decided they would give him a detention.

So, when I picked Triston up Friday he explained to me what happened. He said the other boy picked up the football and was throwing it at Triston. He said the other boy claimed to be throwing it with Triston but he felt as though he was throwing it at him. He said at one point it almost his him in the face. Triston told me, "if I had a video I could prove it!" I explain to Triston that there are better choices for him to make in that situation and he agreed and gave me some options of those better choices. During the conversation I wondered what the other child received as a consequence. When I asked Triston he told me nothing!!! You heard me, nothing!
Two children were involved in an incident, went to the office with two different stories (claiming their innocence), and one got a pretty harsh sentence and the other got nothing.

I was livid. I began rehearsing what I was going to say to that assistant principal when I got in touch with her. Then, I got a phone call. It was from Triston's teacher. She told me that when she walked the boys to the office she proceeded to tell the assistant principal that the other boy provoked Triston until he got so mad he reacted. She told her that and she still did not punish the other boy. Now that just added fuel to my fire!!

I was baffled. I was enraged. I still am. I can't wait to express my feelings about the way the situation was handled. Not that I think Triston should not have received the punishment he did. But I do think the other boy, being the instigator, should have received some sort of punishment. So, I am curious. What would you do?

*Let me also say that I have a lot of "things" I could say about how this is a vital time in a child's life and how badly they need good leadership and examples of the authority at their schools. How consistency is so important for them to see early on in their schooling. But I won't!