It's The Giving Season

Ok so a couple of updates here for me on a Friday snow day.

First, I got a call from school yesterday at about 8:30 to say that school would be canceled today. This was after my work sent out a note at 2pm telling people to start heading home because of the weather. Since I was working at home at the time, I actually asked people if it was snowing there but no it was still sunny. And while I appreciate getting a call at night, can we at least wait until the first flake starts falling? Snow didn't start until after 11 last night. Granted, it was a lot and school would have been canceled, but it still seemed weird.

Second, we went to the dentist on Wednesday and yay - no one has any cavities. Little Miss has some pitting in two teeth, but they aren't soft, so we'll just keep brushing well and monitoring them. Unfortunately, they both announced that they never want to go to the dentist again.

Third, Little Miss is on more meds, and I'm not real comfortable with that. Her pediatrician wants her on steroids twice a day for the next few weeks and once a day until summer. When I look at the side effects of Pulmicort -- including a weakened immune system -- I just don't feel like this is a good idea. How do I tell this to my pediatrician? Little Miss is also on antibiotic ear drops for her first post tube removal ear infection. We lasted three weeks after the tubes came out; this isn't looking good. Interestingly, I also read that many ear and lung issues are caused by a dairy allergy that can be taken care of by eliminating all dairy from the diet. I'm debating trying this, but when I start looking at all the foods that have cassein and whey in them, this is a major change for my milk, yogurt and cheese girl. Has anyone had any experience with this?

And lastly, it's Christmas, and it's a rough Christmas for a lot of people. Then there are those who are trying to make the world a brighter and better place. Who are these people? They're everywhere. They're helping out at schools and nursing homes. They're adopting families and helping them for Christmas. They're shoveling neighbors' walks. There are all sorts of neat and great things people are doing.

And it doesn't stop there. I've found all sorts of bloggers that I read regularly who are working on brightening the holidays for their readers. Who are these people, you ask?

First up, we have Jaci, who's giving away Fiestaware. A whole place setting of it even. That stuff is so cool (and yes, it comes in purple - plum, technically). You've got until Christmas Eve to pop in over there.

Kat at Sunshine and Lemonade is giving away three prizes this week! She has the coolest scrapbooking Disney album sets. As an added bonus, she shows us all how she made some great photo books from her own Disney trip. You've got until Saturday!

The SITS girls - one of my favorite sites out there - is giving away a $40 gift certificate to LaLa Baby Boutique. Again, you have until tomorrow to go visit the boutique and let them know how you'd spend the $40. It wasn't hard for me to find a way to spend umm just a touch over the $40. A lot of bloggers are trying to figure out how to get more readers and commenters, etc. This is a great site to network on to gain more of both.

Dawn at her Because I Said So Reviews is giving away Word World Moon Sand. The wee ones saw this show's "people" last winter at an event we went to and fell in love with them. Again, you've got until Saturday (tomorrow) to enter. And Dawn is also giving away a grocery list electronic gadget that I am absolutely drooling over. It's called the SmartShopper Grocery List Organizer, and you have until Monday to enter. She has another one (c'mon, Dawn, you're making everyone else look bad!) for Dunkin' Donuts that also ends on Monday. You can get a pound of coffee and a travel mug.

And Outnumbered2to1 is giving away a four pack of Disney on Ice tickets in Milwaukee for Thursday February 5 at 7pm. You've got until January 23, but ... only enter if you or a loved one can make it, deal?

Good luck, and I promise tomorrow I'll be more together. These snow day things really throw me! And no, I didn't send the teacher gifts to school yesterday. That would have been too easy!