Maybe we've conquered this pill thing? Well, maybe not.

Well a couple of years ago when Reed's acne got pretty bad, we took him to the dermatologist. She prescribed VERY expensive medication (I think it was like $600, of which we thankfully only paid the co-pay). But....he'd never taken pills before. It didn't go well. We tried all the suggestions for helping kids learn to swallow pills (starting with swallowing Tic Tacs, moving up to mini-M&Ms, then full size M&Ms), but it just wasn't happening. And since the medicine wasn't for anything that was truly serious, we just let it go.

We've been so very fortunate that we don't have kids who get sick all the time (knock on wood), so they haven't needed to take any pills. So while I'm guessing many other kids have that down, our kids do not.

Reed came down with a sinus infection over Christmas. The doctor kind of scoffed at the idea of giving him a liquid antibiotic, so we went with the pills. They're a little large. He's struggled with getting them down....there was ONE dose he managed to swallow and seemed to have a bit of an "a-ha" moment about it, but then back to the drawing board. Doing a lot of practicing, hoping to get there eventually. *Sigh*

Secret Santa Amy

Leading up to Christmas, Amy said she had a few close friends she wanted to get gifts for. Tod took her shopping and she purchased very thoughtful gifts for each of them - a cake mix, frosting, and a Christmas-themed spatula for Morgan, who likes to bake; a Starbucks gift card and candy for Claire, who is obsessed with Starbucks; a pad of paper and colored pencils for Calla, who loves to draw; and movie candy and card games for Maddie, who loves candy and is stuck at home with a new baby sister.

Then Amy got herself all wound up. She wanted to give these gifts, but she didn't want her friends to feel like they had to reciprocate, or to feel bad if they couldn't. So she checked in with neutral third parties to ask what they'd prefer - getting an anonymous gift, or getting a gift from someone that they wouldn't have bought a gift for. Whoever she talked to said they'd rather get an anonymous gift, so that's what she went with.

On Christmas Eve, we drove her through town dropping off the gifts. She ended up letting Morgan know who the gift was from, and had to tell Claire because it looked like they were out of town and Amy'd put her gift in the mail box. But Calla and Maddie hopefully really enjoyed their special Secret Santa gifts.

Amy is a very kind, caring girl!

What a happy email to receive

A NTM from Dad

Last night was one of the most entertaining family dinners on record. I really enjoy our family dinner and want to make it a priority, it payed off big time last night. All 4 of us were laughing at each other's comments and it did not end in tears or us punishing the kids. Reed is normally very tight-lipped about his day, but he offered up a long explanation of his tech ed project (a wooden clock). Amy told us about a lunch time "where to sit" dilemma. I'll take it as a glimpse into a kids maturing but not expect it to happen every night.