Inviting the Neighbors

You didn't think here in my own personal corner of blogdom you'd miss the cyber casserole and family slide show did you? E's team won the county tourney. Four years undefeated! I don't think the girls quite realize what a feat they've accomplished.

E is front row 3rd from left.

What else? Novak8, The Great Gatsby is a good idea. I liked that one. She seems to be on a "classics" reading binge. She did Pride and Prejudice after the movie and it has snowballed. She read some Kipling, Shelley's Frankenstein, I'm not sure what all. She started Wuthering Heights but about a third of the way in she closed it and said they were all just selfish and needed someone to smack them upside the head. I have to say, I agree with her, lol. Anybody else have any book suggestions?

S went camping with his Boy Scout Troop for their Klondike Derby this weekend. Instead of snow they had rain and high winds. Some of the tents blew over but his, luckily for him, remained upright. He returned home coated in mud but very happy. Must be a boy thing.

Not much else. I need to do the taxes. Yuck!

Weirdest Book Discussion Ever

E read Jane Eyre. Her synopsis "Yeah, she had it pretty bad until that dude died and left her some money."

Morning (Becomes Electric)

So Chris and Carmen are doing a weekly thing about large families. This week is "Morning Routine". This made me laugh, as routine and my family are not too words I think of simultaneously. I do have a vague pattern though, so enjoy (or possibly save this for some evening when you are suffering insomnia.)

5:00am--Awaken to plaintive cries for "nursies". Pick up HRH and hit the button on the coffee maker, then take Miss Mel to the living room and hope no one else wakes up.

5:30am--By some unknown mechanism HRH stops nursing and starts chanting "Pooh, Pooh" I flip on the Disney channel and GET MY COFFEE.

5:30am-6:00am--C, F and L will wander downstairs, find a cover and recline somewhere. Why get out of bed to lie down?

6:00-Wander to the kitchen and contemplate breakfast. Pour lots more coffee. Fix something.

6:30am--E gets up and stumbles to the shower.

7:00--Allow C,F,and L to pound upstairs to find clothes. This accomplishes their dressing and S's awakening. S stumbles to
shower.

7:10--Give up on Mel wearing clothes even though her limbs are blue and let her run naked, with uncombed hair and likely a dirty face. Pour more coffee and realize she would fit right in at the White Trash Cutie contest.


7:15--Suggest as children pack lunches that a sandwich and juice would be superior to 3 granola bars and a pudding.

7:20--C reports he is ready can he please, please, please play gamecube. I say yes, if he'll get me another cup of coffee.

7:30--A whom I babysit arrives. I clutch at her mother hoping for adult conversation.

7:32--Run E to school 3days/week for various activities.

8:00-- Shoes! Hear clamoring and groans.
Now begins the longest part of the morning

8:10-The arrival of the bus evidently depends upon the phase of the moon. It can show anywhere from 8:10-8:25. Break up numerous fights in the front yard while they wait.

8:20-Put on Dragon Tales, sit down and have more coffee. Do you see a theme here?
When I do housework depends on dh's schedule. If he is working days he has left the house at 6:00am and I'll clean up a little, throw in some laundry, whatever. If he is working evenings I put all that off until after he leaves at 11:00. This is just a rough estimate and rarely runs the same exact way two days in a row. And of course there are the last minute paper signings, check writings and sports gear and band instruments to gather, and the odd poster that makes riding the bus impossible, etc, etc. Beyond boring! Except the coffee.

Diginity

F, who is 4, was a mess at last night's ball game. Climbing, begging, whining, fighting with his sister. At half time I picked him up to carry him out ,hoping a change of scene would help. He was fighting, struggling, wiggling when he suddenly looked at me and yelled "This is not dignified!" How do you not laugh? Where did he learn the word dignified? And if he knew the word, why didn't he realize I wasn't the one bruising his dignity? A good laugh though!

This~n~That

A good day today. Dh watched the kids while I lunched on curry, chopped off my hair, perused the book store and went to the chi-chi poo-poo grocery where I bought exotic fruits and lots and lots of chocolate.
Last night was E's last regular season basketball game. I can't believe four years of school basketball are done. Just the tourney left next week. Next year she will have to go to the county high school (we only have one so it is very large.) You have to be really something special to play there so her school basketball career will be over.
Here she is in front of the team sign. Each girl has one.

She is standing waiting on the opposing guard to cross midcourt. *

*I need to buy a camera with a zoom.

I Neither Look nor Smell Like A Monkey

It's my birthday. So far (17 hours into it) 43 is fine. A good friend of mine made me a cheesecake and I took it to a group I meet with and played Lady Bountiful with it. Dh is working so no big plans for tonight. He will be home Friday afternoon though, so I feel a trip to the bookstore coming on. Not too much else going on
IU pulled one out last night.

The Lady Rebels remain undefeated at 14-0.

No Singing or Dancing

We needed to get out this morning so we took a walk, even though it was raining. I call it a walk, but really it was more of a slow stroll since F and Mel must stop to examine all leaves, worms, sticks and cigarette butts. There own butts were soaked from crouching down. This being a small town two different people stopped to ask me if we needed a ride. I'm sure people in damp climates take walks all the time but here it is definitely considered weird to willingly walk in the rain. It was nice though to get some fresh air. We've been stuck inside gyms and schools for too many evenings. We're now ensconced with hot cocoa and tea for me. I'm vaguely hopeful we might even take naps this afternoon.

To Recap

I’m woefully behind on my blogging. I’ve been using my brain this week and it hasn’t left much room for blogland.
Firstly about MSU pbbbbt! Just wait 'til you come to Bloomington ;-P

1) I’ve been trying to get all my papers together to recredential my professional licenses. I’d forgotten the archane,
idiotic,senslessly complicated, elaborate hoops that must be jumped through.

2) Our church is doing 40 Days Of Purpose. There are weekly dramas to be presented and I, no doubt because I am the
loudest, least inhibited church member, am part of them. Every friggin’ week. My ability to study and retain dialog is not
what it used to be folks.

3) We have yet another basketball tourney this Saturday. Nothing like 7 hours in a gym with a defiant 7yo, a whiny 4yo and a
2yo who insists on visiting the potty every 20 minutes.

4) I've nearly missed leave a comment week, but if the spirit moves you, leave one.

5) Just in case you weren’t sure how to use up those leftover Halloween stickers

Tagged

I got tagged by Jody, but was down with a migraine so....better late than never....

Five weird habits of yourself:

“The first player of this game starts with the topic ‘five weird habits of yourself,’ and people who get tagged need to write an entry about their five weird habits as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose the next five people to be tagged and link to their web journals. Don’t forget to leave a comment in their blog or journal that says ‘You are tagged’ (assuming they take comments) and tell them to read yours.”

1) After I eat chocolate or anything else good with my hands I smell my fingers.
2) I do sock shoe, sock shoe vs sock, sock, shoe, shoe. Dh says this is weird.
3) I do not like ice cream.
4) I only like soup out of a cup.
5) If I hear music I tend to break into a shuffling dance the kids find particularly embarrassing.

I tag Kim, Gretchen, Novaks8, CMHL, Kathy

Only in Indiana

Tonight dh and I went to the local eatery for supper. We (the customers) found the TV remote, sought out the IU/Ohio State game and rooted and cheered IU to a great victory. It was like being at Cheers. Our restaurant owners, who moved here one year ago from Florida, looked bemused. Basketball isn't a game, it's a religion!

* note-I did this after spending all day in a sweaty, popcorn scented gym watching an 8th grade girls basketball tourney--which we won by the way--Go Lady Rebels!

12th Day of Christmas

In lieu of all those lords leaping and ladies dancing we will have our usual 12th night/Epiphany celebration here tonight. I've got the cake made, I just need to add the icing, presents await opening (because it's been soooo long since the poor dears got anything) and chalk has been purchased for the door. We'll have a fire too. It would be nicer if dh were going to be home, but let me say Medicare D has nearly sent him over the edge....

Happy Hogmanay

Hogmanay