Just So You'll Know

I don't think being outside causes illness. I think germs cause illness (and then only sometimes). If my kids want to go outside with no coat and no hat and no shoes when it's 32 degrees and sleeting it's ok with me. When they are cold they will come back inside. Don't feel you need to call me about it! If you see them practicing their hatchet throwing or sacrificing small animals THAT would be the time to call me.

I'm Dreaming of a White Thanksgiving

Doing a quick catch up... We awoke Thanksgiving morning to snow. It melted off by evening but the kids had a blast. F and L even went out in the morning in their pjs. These pics are poor because mommy stood inside to take them.



We had a nice day. The kids played outside alot. We played games in the evening. This is an act of LOVE. I am not really a big game person except for cards but I gamely sat through Cadoo, Chinese Checkers and Mancala. The funny comment of the day came from S. "Why are snowmen single? They have snow balls." Ah, 10 year old humor.

Friday was our town Christmas lighting and the appearance of Santa. I asked L who is 6 what she told Santa. She told him she had been, very, very, very, very, very, exceptionally good. I guess all the verys weren't emphatic enough. I asked F who is 3 what he asked Santa for. He said "A sucker." LOL. His wants are few.

Saturday I splurged and took the oldest four kids to the Incredibles. They had wanted to see it and I had the opportunity. It also poured rain all day so it seemed like a good time. They enjoyed it but I sure couldn't afford to do movies very often.

Today I went to Lowe's. I know there are people who enjoy remodeling and decorating. I would like to state for the record I am not one of them.

Not Native Friendly

What started as a simple "What I made at Kindergarten" pose

turned into some kind of underage Chippendale's thing



Tomorrow we will be feasting by ourselves since we are a burden to others :-P but tonight I made homemade pizza and let the kids have pop (not something they get very often). My 8 year old announced that this was the best meal ever!!! Could we please have it again tomorrow?

What weekend?

It is now Monday and I can rest awhile. When did weekends get so busy? Was it when mom's went to work so things needed shifted or was it when we all thought every hour needs to be filled? I keep my kids activities to a minimum but with six of them the time seems to disappear. Saturday included three kids with basketball practice, two kids in a dance recital, a church bazaar where I needed to help and a church supper. Sunday was church, one kid staying there for youth group putting up the tree then all of us returning for supper and Hanging of the Greens. The kids did have a blast Sunday night. The kids all go downstairs and just run around. Ah, unstructured play without adult intervention. I hope it makes a good holiday memory for them. "Hey, remember when we'd all go to the basement and play chase and dodge pillow?" Before everyone comments that I could just take my kids out of all activities, we tried this. There is literally no one at the parks or playing in town for the kids to play with. Most of their close friends live on farms too far to bike ride to or in another little town 10 miles away that uses the same school. Remember when everyone ran around and it was easy to find a group to play with. I guess they should be glad they at least have some sibs to play with.

Food

It's been quite awhile since I posted about food. I thought of it because we've reached the point where I'm going to have to be exceptionally creative. You know, the point where you're thinking maybe they'll eat a sauerkraut quiche if they're hungry enough. I don't have time to go shopping today or tomorrow and Aldi's is closed on Sunday. I could go to the SuperWalmart if we're desperate but I think if I'm creative we should be able to last until then. I also think it would be good to use some of the stuff that's been sitting on the shelves. So... if you've made it this far you can now join me in organizing my thought.
Breakfasts: Toast (will make honey/oatmeal bread to use up those two ingredients) or pumpkin muffins (uses a can of pumpkin)
Lunch: peanut butter sandwiches, ramen noodles with peas (that makes it a health food, lol), peanut butter pancakes(we just roll up pancakes like crepes with peanut butter and jelly or cinnamon and sugar)
Dinner: mac&cheese with mexican tomatoes (not sure how long I've had those), hamburger gravy and biscuits (want to get rid of cheap crisco knockoff, not as good as the real thing) with green beans or corn, grilled cheese and tomato soup (will make homemade from tomato paste) I could also make rice and beans .
Snacks: popcorn, apples, I think we have a few saltines left, I might make some pudding.

We are out of potatoes, bananas, oranges, spaghetti, all the staples. We'll see how the Great Pantry Emptying goes.

Let's see, this must be the reason we spent tens of thousands of dollars remodeling the house. It was all for some cabinet boxes.

More Proof...

that I won't be winning mother of the year. If you saw a red bead on the floor would you A) let it lay, B) throw it away C) push it up your nose. We all know what a three year old will do. He started yelling the minute after he did it. After I figured out what he'd done I just shook my head. Dh was home and did not take it so calmly. He tried having him blow it out, then put him on the table and kept looking up his nose with the flashlight. He was getting really panicky (dh , not three year old, lol) I did what any sensible mom would do, I shone the light into his eyes which made him sneeze which shot that little bead right across the room. I sincerely hope if they ever sever an artery I'm here and not dh.
It also occurred to me about 20 minutes ago that L is the "Star Student" this week and I was supposed to send pictures to Kindergarten with her to share. I'm sure I'll hear about my inadequacies when she gets home. E is also upset because I'm not going to be able to attend either of her basketball games this week. I'm sure they are keeping a log of all these faults to relate to their psychotherapist some day. On the bright side (and this is bragging), the three kids who get grades were all on the honor roll, two of them with straight A's. This really had nothing to do with me but they did work hard to get those grades. It gives me hope that they may have a work ethic afterall!!!!

One Reason to Love DH

Tonight DH and I went out for a coffee. On the way home we were singing to the Eagles on the radio and talking about things from "back in the day". As we drove past a hotel he suddenly asked me "Hey, want to check in as Mr. & Mrs. Ivana Humpalot?" I had to crack up.

Looking Up

Well, my mood was much better Wednesday. The kids only had a half day of school. I'm not sure why they didn't do that on Veteran's Day. For the same reason they had the Monday before Halloween off and not the day after I guess. Something about teacher contracts. Anyhoo... I got groceries and stopped at Lowe's to buy lighting fixtures. I also bought a bakers rack to use as a microwave shelf and to replace the storage I lost when the island went away. It looks superdydooperdy (think I watch too much Barney?) The flooring guys came and started the floor. They don't appear to be the kind who are going to work too hard. They knocked off for the day at 2:30. The electrician has started wiring in lights so I have hope of power and an actual floor by next week. That just leaves trimming out and plumbing. The kids played outside all afternoon. I did hear Fletch come in and went to check on him. He was busily coloring his shirt sleeves with green marker. But look at this face, does he know how to work those eyes or what!

Sad Week

Well, this week is not shaping up too well. Monday one of my husband's coworkers was killed in a car accident. Later that evening I found out a woman I am aquainted with (kids on same teams, kids in same pre-school) has a mass in her lung. They will be doing surgery tomorrow. Her kids are 18,10 and 8. Now kim has posted about a tragedy in her church. All this makes me very sad and reminds me you really don't know when you get up in the morning what will happen. Hug your kids, even the annoying, runny nosed, whiny ones.

Eye of Newt

Why can't kids just read about stuff in school? When did all the "projects" become so popular? E's science class is required to have each group create a habitat for an animal (no mammals), get the animal, observe the animal, blah, blah, blah. I got to go buy the newt and accoutrements. No other parent "had time". I send them to public school to avoid this stuff.*sigh* I realized I would make a lousy homeschool mother because I would never want to do projects like this. Maybe I'm projecting too much of my own personality into this. I love to read, about anything, all the time. I have no real desire to do the stuff I'm reading about. I'll take the author's word about the habits of newts, or economies, or the topography of Indiana. (I used to find lots of creative ways to avoid labs in school.) I also hated group projects, with a vengence. Control issues here I know. Anyway... I delivered the slimy little amphibian, gravel, food, plastic plants, etc. I am supermom!!!

Food drive complete and a success. 957 cans of food. Not bad for a little town. I even managed not to let any of the little nippers get hurt. Today after church I finally had a chance to get E some jeans. I've checked Goodwill and the Salvation Army store but I had the results I expected. She is very difficult to fit. We made a trip to Old Navy where they were having a sale. We managed to find some size 0 with a slim fit. (I probably couldn't fit one thigh in them, lol). What I found annoying about the trip was the Christmas music, the Christmas print clothes, sacks, and even the Christmas print on my Starbucks cup. It is just the week after Halloween right?.

This Week in Fast Forward

Tuesday: voted, dusted drywall,ran kids to various events
Wednesday: helped in L's kindergarten class, decided perhaps my kids are ok afterall, cleaned,
laundered and committed housewifelyness, yuck
Thursday: primed new bath and bedroom and existing dining room (like we dine there ?), was a
planner for S's Family Fun Night at school so made sure of drinks, enough food, games,
etc.
Friday: got groceries, E has a friend staying over, they are going to the middle school dance
tonight. I forgot how much effort goes into looking good so you can stand in a dark
cafeteria

Coming Attractions: Tomorrow is the Cub Scout Food Drive-- this involves walking around town for
hours while trying to keep 8 and 9 yr old boys polite, helpful and alive since
none of them possess the ability to pay attention to the road they are walking
down. I see a bottle of wine in the future for Sat night!!

Halloween

Here is the required picture of the kids in their costumes.


And here they are "killing" the pumpkin


Halloween was nice. I thought we'd only be out for a little bit but they all hung on for the whole two hours of walking, even 3yo. If it had been a trip I wanted to make however you can bet he'd have been tired 20 minutes into it.

Monday was a loss as I had a migrane. Enough said.