Yesterday in the mail I received a $10 rebate from Kellogg's which I'm adding to the vacation fund. I transferred the $75 bonus interest from Bank of America as well, allocating it 50% vacation-50% Corvette repair. And my grandma sent me a check for $100 (she does this every month, and it started out covering baby formula for the kids, then diapers, then hot lunches, now she just sends it. My grandma is certainly a role model for love and generosity-help with no strings attached) that I'm putting into the EF for now. Balances look like this:
Vacation $97.50
Corvette repair $537.50
Emergency Fund $10,481

And DH said his job is "safe" through mid 2010. Apparently the bid to keep him and the title change were successful. A consulting group came in and made recommendations about revamping the sales dept (doing away with lower level reps and adding higher end sales) which could lead to a $12 million increase in revenue. Now DH and his boss get to analyze this strategic move to see if it is above and beyond the normal projected sales range. Anyhow, glad to hear it. This little excursion was a wake-up call to keeping an eye toward the unforeseen. I feel like I will be doing a better job with things like money management.

Children are still on the road to recovery - lots of napping and coughing. The school-aged ones all went today and I am glad it is Friday. Not too much going on this week end (but a dance competition about 45 minutes away tomorrow).

Son's party is today and three of the seven can't make it - which is fine with me. Son was feeling kind of sad - til I pointed out that a smaller group can play "cooler" games like hide and seek using walkie-talkies, etc. We are tie-dying and playing wii games, etc. AND this party is totally about him, all the brothes and sisters are going over to Grandma and Grandpa's for a pizza dinner and dessert of their own. It is sometimes hard to provide a totally exclusive get together for the kids, but it worked out this time.

Well, I have a to-do list that is about six items (four musts) so I've got to tackle that starting now. I think I've got enough energy to get it all done.

Things I've learned during this string of illness:
(1) Kleenex brand tissue is best
(2) It is best to stockpile generic meds when they are on sale, they work as best as namebrand
(3) Powedered milk might be a good option to have as extra toilet paper (My mom saved me twice - once with meds/once with milk and toilet paper).
(4) If a sick child needs companionship or supervision, make him or her a bed on the floor in your bedroom. Move a matress if possible. PARENTAL SLEEP IN ONE'S OWN BED BEATS A NIGHT OF SLEEP ON THE COUCH ANY DAY!