My tree is still up and my neatly boxed Nativity set is in the middle of my kitchen. I am going to turn over a new leaf and exercise a little patience, just like I did when he left the skeleton hanging on the hook on our front porch until Thanksgiving.

Today was the start of the kids first full week back at school. I should have gotten up a little earlier. I spent half my morning writing out checks for, lunch money, field trips, yearbooks and Erin's carpool. Maggie said she didn't need money because she has a credit card at school. She doesn't realize that I send money in so she has money on her lunch card. She will be Visa's best customer someday.

I looked over Ryan's homework after he went to bed. I didn't realize that he learned to write in Chinese. My boy is so advanced. He did a math worksheet and it was so sloppy, I hardly recognized one number. I believed I asked him to write his spelling words at least three times while I was making dinner. He somehow dodged that task without me noticing until he was fast asleep. He was however, successful at guitar hero this evening. Dave asked him if he got any TR's today. TR's (I'm not sure what it stands for) are like a demerit. If you get four you get detention and for each TR you lose your recess. Ryan said he had a sub today, lucky him, she probably doesn't even know what a TR is. If she comes back tomorrow I hope she knows how to read Chinese so she can grade my oh so gifted son's math worksheet.

Maggie smuggled three baby dolls in her backpack to school today. I didn't even notice her backpack bulging at the seems, I guess I was too busy writing checks. After school she told Shannon that she accidentally put them in her backpack. I am going to start frisking her in the morning. Ryan left his folder with his Chinese homework on the kitchen table. I told Lauren that I could probably bet the house that he will get in the van tomorrow without getting his folder off the table.