What books and/or magazines did our family read this month? After a long agonizing wait, Gauge received his newest “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” book. He completely fell in love with the series, and it actually sparked a like (I won’t go as far as to say love) of reading. I always told myself that when and if my children began to like reading, I would go to great lengths to encourage them. So, Gauge is the proud owner of the entire “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” series and several books from the Geronimo Stilton series. His reading dwindled over the summer and now I am back into pushing him into reading. So this book couldn’t have come along at a better time. He read the book in a little over a day. Woo Hoo!! The child who used to fight, and I mean FIGHT, me every day about reading. Reid, well he is a completely different story. Although he fights me in just about everything, he LOVES books. There are days that I don’t even get through the door after work and he has a book in his hand and he’s dragging me in to the living room to read. And it’s never just one book…or two, or three…it’s closer to ten or twelve or so. I’ve started going to the library and bringing home new books for him, because he, I mean Rod and I, are beginning to get bored with the same books over and over.
What movies, television shows, plays, etc. did we watch this month? Shrek and Fred Clause have been playing on HBO all this month and although I could do without Shrek, both boys really like that silly movie. Gauge and I are the ones who like Fred Clause. They’ve both been watched a handful of times in the past few weeks.
What fun things did we do with my family and/or friends? What gifts did we give and/or receive? October is full of birthdays for us. Paetyn’s birthday was first and we got her a few Disney Princess DVD’s. Jaide’s was next and we got her Hannah Montana season 1 on DVD. For Katie’s birthday we got her Anne of Green Gables on DVD and a few scrapbook pages (but I haven’t given them to her yet). For Ashley and Trista, I made their usual, scrapbook pages (but we haven’t seen the girls to give them their presents yet either). Rod’s birthday was on the 31st, but we don’t exchange gifts, so all he got was a card. That makes me sound like a bad wife. Note to self, forget the no gift rule next year and get him something awesome…he sooo deserves it!
What special or unusual purchases did we make? Christmas presents!!!! We are completely done with our Christmas shopping other than a few things for Gauge and printing photos. Yay!!
What illnesses or health concerns did we have? It’s flu shot time! I received my flu vaccination at work, Reid received his first dose of the vaccination on the 15th (along with three other shots…OUCH!!), and the first week of November, Reid will receive his second dose, and Gauge will get his. I though Gauge’s eyes were going to bulge out of his head when he heard me mention the word shot. The biggest concern this month was the big question…to vaccinate or not to vaccinate for the H1N1 flu (swine flu). It’s been all over the news and it has officially hit our county. Gauge came home and said there are two kids from his class that are out of school with it and although no one Rod or I work with have been infected, two of my friends have had family members infected. We haven’t heard of any very serious cases, but with it only being October, I’m sure there are many more to come. As far as our decision to vaccinate…both boys will be receiving the vaccine. Both for themselves and for me. Reid will be receiving it because of his age (under the age of two is recommended) and Gauge will be receiving it because of his asthma. As far as I’m concerned, my immune system is almost non-existent with all my RA medications, so with them being vaccinated, that will hopefully keep the germs out of our house.
What were our accomplishments this month? Gauge scored a basket at his last basketball game!! His poor team was getting creamed and Gauge was the only one to score a basket for his team in the second half. He got the “Best Offensive Player” of the game. He was quite proud and earned a special iron on basketball patch for his jersey.
What were our disappointments this month? The situation with Alyssa and all the false stories and accusations that have been told. Enough said.
Anything else noteworthy to include? Trick or Treat was so much fun this year. Reid was a chicken, Jake was a cow, and Gauge was quite a trooper and went along with the whole theme and was the farmer. The all looked so cute in their little costumes! We got about two four blocks away from home and Jake was sound asleep in the wagon. Reid wanted no part of being in the wagon and no part of being held. He wanted to walk and also wanted to pull the wagon. It was quite nice this year that we had an entire hour of daylight to trick or treat. It is usually dark as soon as we start out, but since trick or treat was from 6-8 and it was before daylight savings time, we lucked out.
