Mom vs. the Dot: Making it COUNT!

Twas the day before school started and all through the homestead people were sluggish and filled with dread Then what to my wondering eyes should appear but our Idlewild passes! "Wanna go, dear?" So off in our minivan we flew like a flash to blitz Idlewild once more  in an end-of-summer dash! The night before school began, we took one last trip to our favorite children's amusement park, Idlewild! After riding the train, climbing around in Jumpin' Jungle, and riding all the rides in Raccoon Lagoon, we decided to try something new.  THE SPIDER! Our newly-minted 4-year-old said this was the one ride he wanted to go on before summer ended.  He knew the way there. Lead us right to it. We took great pains to talk our daughters (ages 8 and 5) into trying it.  How bad could it be? Loading took a while, but once we got going, my 8-year-old buried her head like an ostrich in the sand.  I began with "Wheee-ee" and "Woooo's ,...

Valentine's day meant a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese and had a homeschool Valentine's Day party.  And no school.  How much fun was that?  The germs must've been flying at one or both of those events because 48 hours later (the incubation period for germs), we were in the emergency room with our son, who was puking up neon green fluid.  We didn't think that was normal, so we took him to the professionals. Would you believe that my coat and his, and my purse, received the full force of the voms upon entering the ER?  A passer-by took one look at me and exclaimed, "You need HELP!"  Yes I do, lady - truer words have never been spoken.   We were triaged and taken right to an exam room - the one good thing could come from such an entrance.  Then followed a 5-hour stint of poking, prodding and testing the poor boy to find out what was happening in his little body.  On Monday, our son seemed to be back to health, so I decided ...