We are all healed, so on to Hanukkah!!

Everyone is finally over the headcold/flu thing that we had all of last week. Grandma was fortunate and never caught it at all. Andy had it first and spent two whole days down, including missing work last Monday. Max just had a runny nose for a few days, and a little asthma interlude mid-week, but nothing that required steroids or hospitalization. Josh had the stomach variety, which stopped his eating for almost two days, but as of last night's dinner he is back on track. For me it was just a head cold and gone after a day or two of echinachea tea (renamed POISON TEA around here), I was fine.

Wednesday begins Hanukkah and Max has decided, after reading a book "ONE CANDLE", that he would like us to add some new traditions to our celebrations. This year we are going to have a feast on the first night and also try making a potato candle to light each night along with the menorah. The candle will be filled with olive oil to symbolize the oil that burned for eight nights. Our feast will be roast beef, potato pancakes (latkes), applesauce, some kind of vegetables, gelt (gold wrapped chocolate coins) and some other sweets. I think we will drink sparkling apple juice with it.

Grandma's holiday shopping is finished, so at least one of us is done and I can feel good about that.

Andy and I are still going back and forth about what we want to do to finish up the boys Christmas stuf. For Hanukkah they are getting jerseys. Max is getting a football jersey, and Josh a basketball one. Andy is also getting a football jersey from the boys. For Christmas they are each getting some books, some pajamas, a computer game and a playstation game, some slippers, a football to share, some hockey gloves, yu gi oh tins and deck protectors and some mechanical pencils. We have $100 left in our Christmas money and we are arguing about what to do with it. Andy wants to get each of them a $50 playstation2 game, which they want. I am sick just thinking about putting two gifts under the tree using that much money. I want to find a way to buy a bunch of things that they would like with the money, to make them have LOTS of gifts on Christmas morning. I also have guilt about thinking that way, because I know that they will be thrilled with the two games Andy wants to get them.....

The problem with such a materialistic world is HOW do you go back??? I am really focusing on this in my own life right now and think I want to make it a focus for my family as well.