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.

Halloween in Perfect

The title refers to television advertisements from Walgreens I think, anyway... So far Halloween festivities are going well. Last night I took all the kids to the Boy Scout hot dog roast. One of E's friends was there because her little brother is a cub scout so she was happpy. We then took all the boys down town (You have to realize I live in a very small town, think Mayberry). The town was having it's Scarecrow Festival. Local businesses, schools, groups, etc create scarecrows to decorate downtown. The street is closed and all the businesses have games or treats or something for the kids to do. There was apple bobbing, donut on a string, hoola hooping, pumpkin decorating, wheel of fortune, you get the idea. We took all the boys on the haunted hayride. Lots of fun, lots of screaming. I then let everyone 8 and up wander around for awhile on their own while I took the youngest 3 around. I had 2 extra kids because they had no ride home. We met 45 minutes later and everyone had a good time. Today was pretty good. I got out the box with the costumes from lo' these many years plus anything I've picked up and garage sales and stuff given to us. We tend to be the dropping place for lots of stuff people don't know what to do with. We are having "Pumpkin Princess" E in a really atrocious orange formal from somewhere, S a hunchback monster, C a racecar driver or ninja, L a fairy princess- a gown with wings, wand and crown, F will be a dinosaur and Mel will be a cow. It is a very cute outfit some seamstress (this would NEVER be me) made and the treat bag is an udder. I will of course be Professor McGonigal. I need to get a new outfit. We carved our pumpkin. Note that was singular. This did not please the kids but it's what dh came home with. He doesn't get they'd all rather have a microscopic pumpkin that they don't have to share rather than a huge one that someone else gets to have input on. Tonight S went to a party so I'll at least have to stay awake long enough to pick him up. Tomorrow I'm teaching Sunday School so I'll probably take them treating at church and of course Trick or Treating tomorrow night followed by A Charlie Brown Halloween...because I want to see it, I don't think the kids really care. I hope they are up for school Monday. Maybe we'll just all lie around the house with insulin shock instead.

Please Stop.....

I am a firm believer in voting, I treasure my rights, I love my country but please.....stop the election noise!!! If I hear either side predict doom and gloom and be rather ungentlemanly toward the other I will scream. I actually did run screaming from the news the other night, just on principle. It shocked the kids. Come on Tuesday and lets get this over with.

What else has been going on? Wednesday the kids and I enjoyed the eclipse, Thursday I conducted the Halloween party at ds's preschool. I had to take Mel and L but they were good. Well, Mel was in the sling so she didn't have much choice but L was good. I had one other mom show up to help. I hate being one of the only sahms. It means you get elected to everything. I know you can say no but then they just cancel the party, trip , whatever. And I was a wohm for a long time, so I can sympathize. Tonight is supposed to be the cub scout bonfire/cookout but it is raining. The plan was to cook hot dogs and marshmallows and then attend our town's scarecrow festival as a group for games and a hay ride. We'll see if it stops raining.

F is now trying knock -knock jokes. What amuses a 3yr old amazes me. "Knock knock" "Who's there" "Ducky" "Ducky who" "Poop, poop!" Collapse in peals of laughter. It pales for me after the 33rd telling :-P

Will They Notice

So I'm sitting here with a headache and sore throat reading blogs. I was reading Chris' blog and was relieved others guestimate those milestones. I got Mel's baby book down to put 1st birthday cards inside and saw all those blank pages. I made up some dates just so she won't have that to report to her future therapist too. I hope they remember that I was always willing to play ball or badmitton, let them color their hair, climb way too high in trees, served ice cream for breakfast and tried to only stress about the big stuff. I don't always succeed but I hope they at least notice I tried. I guess we'll know how successful I was when I see if I rate a nice nursing home or get left at the bus station.

For excitement today I nearly electroduted myself. I was putting the panels over the breaker boxes since I am done painting the utility room. I heard a bzzzt, felt a tingle and all the power went out in the house. I'm still not sure whether I pushed on something or crosses some wires or what. It was excitement I could do without.

Well, time to pick up dd from basketball practice. Sigh... seems too early to be starting "winter" sports. Can't we have a summer do over???

This~n~That

So, just some random stuff here. Dry wall is really a pain to prep and paint. Can we say !dusty!. Of course, my lung function is worth saving the $1200 that the contractor budgeted to paint it. We're getting down to the end here. I need to paint, the floor will be here in 3 weeks, after that the electrician can come back and wire the heaters, lights, etc. The gutters need hung outside. The door ways and other trim needs put up, and as you can see in the pictures below the kitchen wall needs drywalled. I refuse to live with green styrofoam. On Sunday we had my family over for cake. Mel was 1 on 10/20, my dad was 77 on 10/22, my SIL had a birthday on 10/23 and today is me and dh's 18th anniversary. And they said it wouldn't last {smirk}. Here is the 'party' and my horrible kitchen walls.




DD is now bugging me to teach her how to download from itunes. The kids are home today for records day. I treated them to lunch at Pizza Hut. This a big deal for kids who don't go out much. We also went to get Mel her 1 year shots but they were out of MMR vaccine so we went to the park instead. All in all a pretty good day.

Happy Birthday to Mel!

My baby is one today. I can't believe how, not sad exactly,( but maybe nostalgic or wistful would be the word )that I feel. Where did the baby go???
Here she is doing her favorite thing, unloading the kitchen cabinets.

Her "today" cake. We'll have family over Sun for a nicer one.

It took her no time to decide she liked chocolate cake.

Not a cool blog....

So, I've been tooling around blogland since Mel has a cold and is in hold me/nurse me/love me mode. I've been looking at content, templates, comments and have come to the conclusion....I am as boring as I thought I was. Arghhh!!! This was just what I was afraid of in high school. Back when I thought I'd move to Chicago and have a killer apartment and an awesome career. But you know what I really wouldn't trade. Dh and I look at each other and talk about friends and aquaintances. "What do they do????"