Accomplished

I feel like I actually accomplished something today.  Samuel went back to school, which was a relief to all of us.  Joseph took a great morning nap, for about 1 hour and 45 minutes, so I was able to get lots of stuff done in the house.  I am feeling very overwhelmed with the amount of packing we are going to have to do to move.  It seems like I am filling up boxes, but nothing seems to be disappearing.  I filled up four boxes today and put them out in the garage.  I am trying to organize by area and emptying out drawers full of junk.  It is actually a good feeling to find useless things and just throw them away.  I am hoping I find more of those things.  I am one of those people that keeps everything.  I become emotionally attached to lots of junk (don't worry you don't have to call on the Hoarders show).  Luckily I have Dave that doesn't mind throwing things away or donating them.

So yesterday was an interesting day.  We were busy all day playing games and watching movies.  I have been craving homemade coleslaw for about a week because I was watching the food network and Paula Dean made a delicious looking coleslaw, so I wanted to make some myself.  It was DELICIOUS.

I call my coleslaw: Falling Down the Stairs Coleslaw (I'll explain the name later)
Cut up half of a regular cabbage
Cut up a whole red cabbage (it was pretty small)
It made about 5 or 6 cups of chopped cabbage
Mixed together:
1 cup light mayo
about a teaspoon pepper
a few dashes of Kosher Salt
about a teaspoon celery seeds (add more to your liking)
about 2 tablespoons of Dijon Mustard (I used the stone ground kind)
Champagne Vinegar (I bought this at a local olive oil store.  I was looking for white balsamic and they had this.  A little bit goes a long way).  I mixed in the vinegar until the dressing was smooth and easy to pour.
I poured it over the cabbage and chilled it for about an hour.

We made turkey and corned beef rubens.  They were so good.

Here is the story behind the name.  I was so excited about making my coleslaw.  The boys were up and playing in the kitchen while I was mixing everything up.  As I am pouring the dressing over the cabbage, I think oh my gosh, where is Joseph.  Then I hear a loud thump coming from the living room.  Joseph must have high tailed it upstairs and then fell down them and knocked him poor little head on the wood floor.  I felt like a terrible mom.  I have no idea how high he got up on the stairs and I don't know how he fell, but he had a small bump on the back of his head.  He had no bruises or scratches anywhere else.  I woke him up at nap time to make sure he didn't have a concussion and then he was up every 4 hours in the middle of the night.  He is perfectly fine today, but I think he is getting a cold, so he is cranky anyway.

I know you are wondering why I don't have a gate on the stairs.  Well, all of our gates are in storage and we are going to get one this weekend.  He normally is never out of my site, so I haven't been that worried about the stairs.  But Joseph is a wild man and I need to be more vigilant.

On another note, I have a serious question to all you moms with kids who go to school or interact with lots of other kids.  As you know Samuel is in school and goes now 5 mornings a week.  He has come home now twice with scratches.  One was a huge scratch on his face and then today he came home with scratches around his neck.  The Director came out with Samuel after school and told me about the scratches.  Apparently a little boy in his class (the smallest tiniest boy) will not leave Samuel alone.  She said that he is always grabbing him and squeezing him and obviously hurting him.  She said she has already talked to the little boys mom and they are working with him to stop.  I asked what Samuel does and she said that he doesn't cry he just gets really annoyed and tries to get away from him.

So my question is...What do you do about the situation?  What questions do I need to ask the teachers?  What steps do I need to take?  What advice do I tell Samuel?  (I ask him what happened at school and only once did he tell me about the little boy.  Most of the time he doesn't say anything).

I have a hard time figure out what to do as a parent.  Please give me advice!!!!!!

That is it for now.