This is rough

I guess when we moved or when we came home from the hospital when I had Derek and Joseph too...I misplaced the handbook. The instruction manual. Surely they did not send me home with this new bundle of joy. This tiny human being without instructions!
You get a handbook when you buy a car, an iPhone, heck we even got one when we got Stella!
I have searched the house and nope I can't find it.
Funny thing.... I asked my other mom friends and they don't have a copy I can borrow. What is up with that? I am hoping Ryan and Whitney get one when their little bundle arrives so we maybe can photo copy it. I don't need the infant/toddler section (thank goodness) I am just gonna skip to the pre-teen section.

I can't even tell you the issues going around here. Do you recall the peeing on the Christmas tree? Well Joe did again on a shrub in the yard Sunday afternoon. There was another boy involved who thought it was a good idea and Joe, who had done it once before, showed him how to do it. Daddy was home this time and after Derek dropped the big news on Daddy, he grounded Joe for the day. I think I was the one that got punished on that one. I had to deal with a very sad, remorseful Joe who could not watch tv, play Lego's, ride his bike or play video games. That was a rough afternoon. Mostly he sat on my lap and cried and shot daddy dirty looks.

The main issue is Derek... he's had this sore throat for a few days. He always wants to stay home"he's so sick" he'll say. No fever, his throat doesn't even look red! Joseph has had a terrible cough. So finally today I said Fine stay home and we'll go to the doctor. No video games, no friends over. They seem fine with it and have been laying around so far (it's very early in the day) not complaining much.
When Derek tells me he is sick I tell him it's important that he goes to school, he misses so much and then has extra work to turn in and it's pain. He says I am being mean. Even when Joe is sick, he misses to much. I get guilt from the teachers (they need to be here) I get guilt from the kids who usually are sick.
Maybe being a stay at home mom I do let them stay home too much. It's not like I have to juggle day care to keep them home.
It's a tough call for me.
So here I am with two sick boys. I know I am doing the right thing by keeping them in, keeping the germs from their classmates and taking care of them. And since I don't have a hand book, I am gonna go with that this is the right thing to do.